WELL IM CALIFORNIA SOBER AS THEY SAY, and lately im the only ones setting up these setlists so letsssss goooooo!
SET 1: (8:20 - 9:33)

1. Slow Train
2. Hide & Seek
3. Cabin Song
4. While I’m Waiting Here >
5. Ride Me High (J.J. Cale)
6. Ain’t Nothing To Me (Leon Payne)
7. Fire Line >
8. Running The Route >
9. Running
10. A Robin Built A Nest On Daddys Grave (Ralph Stanley)
11. On The Line >
12. Train 45

SET 2: (9:58 -

1. Know It All
2. Ralphs Banjo Special (Ralph Stanley)
3. Crown Of Thorns (Mother Love Bone) >
4. Wargasm
5. Peartree (Doc Watson)
6. Fiddling Around (Jeff Austin/Dierks Bentley)
7. John Deere Tractor (Larry Sparks)
8. The Fire On My Tounge
9. Doin Things Right
10. Tulsa Time (Don Williams)
11. Rock Salt & Nails (Rosalie Sorrels)
12. Heartbeat Of America
13. Streamline Cannonball (Roy Acuff)

Encore: 1. The Lonesome River (Stanley Brothers) 2. If Your Hairs Too Long, Theres Sin In Your Heart (Bobby Davidson) 3. Roll On, Buddy, Roll On (Traditional)

I'm preferably looking for the 2023 codes from my ISO list. My ISO list is at the bottom of the list, titles in bold are my top wants.
UNTOUCHED: 20th Century Women - VUDU - HD A Quiet Place: Part II - VUDU or iTunes - 4K Adaptation - MA/VUDU - 4K Alice in Wonderland (1951) - MA/VUDU - HD Alita: Battle Angel - MA/VUDU - 4K Ambulance - MA/VUDU - 4K American Psycho - VUDU or iTunes - 4K Amsterdam - MA/VUDU - HD Antlers - MA/VUDU - HD Assassination Nation - MA/VUDU - HD Atlantis: 2-Movie Collection - MA/VUDU - HD Avatar: The Way of Water - MA/VUDU - HD Babylon - VUDU or iTunes - 4K Beast - MA/VUDU - HD Black Adam - MA/VUDU - 4K Black Widow - MA/VUDU - 4K Bodies Bodies Bodies - VUDU - 4K Boy Erased - MA/VUDU - HD Brother Bear: 2-Movie Collection - MA/VUDU - HD Bullet Train - MA/VUDU - HD Chaos Walking - VUDU or iTunes - 4K Christopher Robin - MA/VUDU - HD Cinderella: 3-Movie Collection - MA/VUDU - HD Cloverfield - VUDU or iTunes - 4K Cool Hand Luke - MA/VUDU - 4K Creed III - VUDU - 4K Cruella - MA/VUDU - 4K Daybreakers - VUDU - 4K Dear Evan Hansen (Studio Code) - MA/VUDU - 4K Death on the Nile - MA/VUDU - 4K Disobedience - MA/VUDU - HD Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness - MA/VUDU - 4K Don't Worry Darling - MA/VUDU - HD Downton Abbey: A New Era - MA/VUDU - HD Dumbo (1941) - MA/VUDU - HD Dune - MA/VUDU - 4K Dungeons and Dragons: Honor Among Thieves - VUDU or iTunes - 4K Edward Scissorhands - MA/VUDU - HD Encanto - MA/VUDU - 4K Eternals - MA/VUDU - 4K Everything Everywhere All At Once - VUDU - 4K Evil Dead Rise - MA/VUDU - HD Fantasy Island - MA/VUDU - HD Father Stu - MA/VUDU - HD Firestarter - MA/VUDU - HD Freaks of Nature - MA/VUDU - HD Free Guy - MA/VUDU - 4K Gallipoli - VUDU or iTunes - HD Green Book - MA/VUDU - HD Green Lantern: Beware My Power - MA/VUDU - 4K Halloween Ends - MA/VUDU - 4K Halloween Kills - MA/VUDU - 4K Highlander - VUDU - 4K Hitman's Wife's Bodyguard - VUDU or iTunes - 4K Honest Thief - MA/VUDU - HD How to Talk to Girls at Parties - VUDU - HD Indignation - VUDU - HD Interstellar - VUDU or iTunes - 4K Jackass Forever - VUDU or iTunes - HD/4K John Wick: Chapter 4 - VUDU or iTunes - 4K Jojo Rabbit - MA/VUDU - 4K Jungle Cruise - MA/VUDU - 4K Kingsman: 2-Movie Collection - MA/VUDU - 4K Last Christmas - MA/VUDU - HD Last Night in Soho - MA/VUDU - 4K Leave No Trace - MA/VUDU - HD Let Him Go (Studio Code) - MA/VUDU - 4K Lightyear - MA/VUDU - 4K Love, Simon - MA/VUDU - HD Mad Max: 4-Movie Collection - MA/VUDU - 4K Memory - MA/VUDU - HD Men - VUDU - HD Missing - MA/VUDU - HD Mission: Impossible - 6-Movie Collection - VUDU or iTunes - 4K Moonfall - VUDU or iTunes - 4K Morbius - MA/VUDU - 4K Mortal - VUDU or iTunes - HD Mortal Kombat (2021) - MA/VUDU - 4K Nomadland - MA/VUDU - HD Nope - MA/VUDU - HD Once Upon a Deadpool - MA/VUDU - HD One Ranger - VUDU or iTunes - HD/4K Operation Fortune: Ruse de Guerre - VUDU or iTunes - 4K Ordinary People - VUDU or iTunes - HD Orphan: First Kill - VUDU or iTunes - HD/4K Paranormal Activity: The Ultimate Chills Collection - VUDU or iTunes - HD Peter Pan: Return to Neverland - MA/VUDU - HD Peter Rabbit: 2-Movie Collection - MA/VUDU - HD Plane - VUDU or iTunes - 4K Polite Society - MA/VUDU - HD Professor Marston and the Wonder Women - MA/VUDU - HD Rambo: 5-Movie Collection - VUDU - 4K Ratatouille - MA/VUDU - 4K Raya and the Last Dragon - MA/VUDU - 4K Ready or Not - MA/VUDU - HD Red Eye - VUDU - 4K Red Rocket - VUDU - HD Redeeming Love - MA/VUDU - HD Renfield - MA/VUDU - HD Repo! The Genetic Opera - VUDU - HD Reservoir Dogs - VUDU or iTunes - 4K Rocky: The Knockout Collection - VUDU - 4K Rogue (2020) - VUDU or iTunes - 4K Ron's Gone Wrong - MA/VUDU - 4K Saint Maud - VUDU - HD Scream (2022) - VUDU or iTunes - 4K Seriously Red - VUDU - HD She Said - MA/VUDU - HD Sleeping Beauty (Signature Collection) - MA/VUDU - HD Soul - MA/VUDU - 4K Spell - VUDU or iTunes - HD/4K Spider-Man: 3-Movie Collection - MA/VUDU - 4K Spider-Man: No Way Home - MA/VUDU - 4K Spies in Disguise - MA/VUDU - 4K Spinning Gold - MA/VUDU - HD Spirit Untamed: The Movie - MA/VUDU - HD Spontaneous - VUDU - HD Stillwater - MA/VUDU - HD Studio 666 - MA/VUDU - HD Swiss Army Man - VUDU - HD Teen Spirit - MA/VUDU - HD The Alfred Hitchcock Classics Collection - MA - 4K The Alfred Hitchcock Classics Collection Vol. 2 - MA - 4K The Amazing Spider-Man: 2-Movie Collection - MA/VUDU - 4K The Aristocats - MA/VUDU - HD The Art of Self-Defense - MA/VUDU - HD The Banshees of Inisherin - MA/VUDU - HD The Batman - MA/VUDU - 4K The Best of Mickey Collection - MA/VUDU - HD The Black Phone - MA/VUDU - HD The Bob's Burgers Movie - MA/VUDU - 4K The Cabin in the Woods - VUDU or iTunes - 4K The Card Counter - MA/VUDU - HD The Craft: Legacy - MA/VUDU - HD The Dentist Collection - VUDU - HD The Exorcism of God - VUDU or iTunes - HD The Fabelmans - MA/VUDU - 4K The French Dispatch - MA/VUDU - HD The Green Knight - VUDU - 4K The Grudge (2020) - MA/VUDU - HD The Hunchback of Notre Dame: 2-Movie Collection - MA/VUDU - HD The Invisible Man (2020) - MA/VUDU - HD The Invitation - MA/VUDU - HD The Jungle Book (1967) - MA - HD The Jungle Book 2 - MA/VUDU - HD The Killing of a Sacred Deer - VUDU - HD The Last Duel - MA/VUDU - 4K The Lion King: 2-Movie Collection - MA/VUDU - HD The Little Mermaid - MA/VUDU - 4K The Lobster - VUDU - HD The Lodge - MA/VUDU - HD The Lost Boys - MA/VUDU - 4K The Lost City - VUDU or iTunes - 4K The Maltese Falcon - MA/VUDU - 4K The Man Who Invented Christmas - MA/VUDU - HD The Marksman - MA/VUDU - HD The Menu - MA/VUDU - HD The Monster - VUDU - HD The Night House - MA/VUDU - HD The Prestige - MA/VUDU - 4K The Princess and the Frog - MA/VUDU - 4K The Remains of the Day - MA/VUDU - 4K The Rescuers: 2-Movie Collection - MA/VUDU - HD The Shawshank Redemption - MA/VUDU - 4K The Super Mario Bros. Movie - MA/VUDU - 4K The Terminator - VUDU - HD The Unholy - MA/VUDU - HD The Whale - VUDU - HD The Woman King - MA/VUDU - 4K Thor: Love and Thunder - MA/VUDU - 4K Ticket to Paradise - MA/VUDU - HD Tolkien - MA/VUDU - HD Turning Red - MA/VUDU - 4K Umma - MA/VUDU - HD Unbreakable - MA/VUDU - 4K Uncharted - MA/VUDU - HD Underwater - MA/VUDU - HD Vivo - MA/VUDU - HD Voyagers - VUDU or iTunes - 4K Wall-E - MA/VUDU - 4K Wander Darkly - VUDU or iTunes - HD West Side Story - MA/VUDU - 4K Where'd You Go, Bernadette - MA/VUDU - HD Wreck-It Ralph - MA/VUDU - 4K X-Men: Dark Phoenix - MA/VUDU - 4K Yesterday - MA/VUDU - HD You Were Never Really Here - VUDU - HD
SPLIT: 101 Dalmatians II: Patch's London Adventure - GP - HD Bambi II - MA/VUDU - HD Danger Close - VUDU - HD Spies in Disguise - MA/VUDU - HD The Book of Henry - iTunes - HD The French Dispatch - MA/VUDU - HD The Guest - iTunes - 4K
MY ISO LIST: 2023: 65 / A Good Person / Maximum Overdrive / Creed III 4K / The Running Man 4K / Shazam! Fury of the Gods 4K / Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania 4K / The Italian Job 4K / Moving On / Operation Fortune: Ruse de Guerre / Knock at the Cabin / Superman I-IV 5-Film Collection 4K / Champions / Deep Impact 4K / Supercell / Jesus Revolution / The Man Who Fell to Earth 4K / Magic Mike's Last Dance / Marlowe / Righteous Thieves / Transfusion / Confess, Fletch / Mickey and Friends: 10 Classic Shorts / Warner Bros 100th 25-Film Collection, Vol. One, Two, Three, Four / Missing / Plane / Babylon 4K / M3GAN / Seriously Red / Alice, Darling / A Man Called Otto / The Whale / Women Talking / B'Twixt Now and Sunrise / Devotion / Puss in Boots: The Last Wish / Rocky: The Knockout Collection 4K / Whitney Houston: I Wanna Dance with Somebody / Empire of Light / The Inspection / The Old Way / The Price We Pay / The Remains of the Day 4K / 3 Days of the Condor / The Fabelmans / Strange World / Mickey and Minnie: 10 Classic Shorts / Spoiler Alert / Big Night / Bones and All / The Diving Bell and the Butterfly / Event Horizon 4K / Gallipoli / Young Sherlock Holmes / Mindcage / Rock Dog 3: Battle the Beat / Violent Night / Double Jeopardy 4K / Till / She Said / Armageddon Time / Prey for the Devil
2022: Tár 4K / Gigi and Nate / American Murderer / Call Jane / Lyle, Lyle, Crocodile / Ticket to Paradise / 48 Hrs. / Another 48 Hrs. 4K / Adaptation. 4K / Amsterdam / Better Off Dead / The Warriors / Don't Worry Darling 4K / Bros / The Good House / The Inhabitant / Jerry and Marge Go Large / Three Thousand Years of Longing / Aqua Teen Forever: Plantasm / Saturday Night Fever 4K / The Classic Christmas Specials Collection 4K / Honk for Jesus. Save Your Soul. / The Polar Express 4K / Columbia Classics Collection: Volume 3 4K / The Invitation / Fall / Mack and Rita / Orphan: First Kill / Paws of Fury: The Legend of Hank / Rumble / Beast / Frankenweenie / The Limey 4K / Paranormal Activity: The Ultimate Chills Collection / Universal Classic Monsters: Icons of Horror Collection Vol. 2 4K / Catch Me If You Can / DC League of Super-Pets / Mean Girls / Vengeance / Fatal Attraction 4K / Real Genius 4K / Where the Crawdads Sing / Minions: The Rise of Gru / Mrs. Harris Goes to Paris / American Carnage / Stalag 17 / Event Horizon 4K / Harry Potter 20th Anniversary: Return to Hogwarts / Lilo and Stitch: 2-Movie Collection / Vivo / The Bob's Burgers Movie / Angel Heart 4K / Galaxy Quest / Memory / After Yang / The Bad Guys 4K / Cinderella / Giant 4K / The Emperor's New Groove: 2-Movie Collection / Father Stu / Fatherhood / The Rescuers: 2-Movie Collection / 1776 4K / The Untouchables 4K / Malignant 4K / Teen Titans Go! and DC Super Hero Girls: Mayhem in the Multiverse / Umma / Extreme Prejudice / Infinite / Top Secret / The Alfred Hitchcock Classics Collection Vol. 2 4K / Dog / Blacklight / The Outfit / Cyrano / The Exorcism of God / The Humans / The King's Daughter / C'mon C'mon / Marry Me / Ordinary People / Red Rocket / Redeeming Love / Rugrats 3-Movie Collection / Belfast / Escape from L.A. 4K / Looper 4K / Almost Famous 4K / Clifford the Big Red Dog / The Addams Family 2

My john deere X300 will turn over but no spark. When I disconnect the grounding wire from the electrical coil it starts immediately but won't engage the pto. Any ideas where the issue lies?

Link to Hub

Recapping 2022

2022 was a dangerous year to be a Vikings fan, especially if you have a pre-existing heart condition. While a season of 13 wins -- tied for the most since 1998 -- may seem like the team is in a position to make a Superbowl push, the actual quality of the team is a lot more... well, mediocre.
The 2022 Vikings ranked 19th in offensive EPA per play, 25th in defensive EPA per play, 27th in Overall DVOA, and 15th in Pythagorean Wins (with 8.4 expected wins). Kevin O'Connell always preached the performance of the team in priority situations. The team finished 12th in 3rd down conversion rate and 8th in red zone conversion rate. And the team led the league -- by far -- in the number of 4th quarter comebacks and game winning drives. When it was time to put up or shut up, the team put up hard. Except for in the playoffs.

2023 Offseason

All of that made the future of the Vikings tough to read. But Kwesi Adofo-Mensah and the rest of the front office told us what they thought of the team with their free agency moves. In a league where teams are trading the farm for Hall of Fame QBs and giving $20M/Year deals to nose tackles and guards, the Vikings' big free agent splash were a one year deal on an injury-prone DE and a good-not-great corner that doesn't even crack the top 20 highest AAVs at the position. Concurrently, the team parted ways with half of the team's 2022 captains to try to get under the cap. All of this while the team is not done with transactions -- Dalvin Cook still presents as a cut candidate due to his age and contract structure.
Notable Departures:

• WR Adam Thielen ($6.4 Saved / $13.5 Dead)
• LB Eric Kendricks ($9.5 Saved / $1.93 Dead)
• CB Patrick Peterson (Unrestricted Free Agent)
• DT Dalvin Tomlinson (Unrestricted Free Agent)
• EDGE Za'Darius Smith (Post-draft trade)

Notable Arrivals:

• CB Byron Murphy (2Y / $17.5TOT / $8.1GTD)
• EDGE Marcus Davenport (1Y / $13TOT / $10GTD)
• TE Josh Oliver (3Y / $21TOT / $8.2GTD)
• DT Dean Lowry (2Y / $8.5TOT / $4.2GTD)

Other Notable Transactions:

• Re-Signed C Garrett Bradbury (3Y / $15.75TOT / $5.15GTD)
• Re-Signed RB Alexander Mattison (2Y / $7TOT / $6.35GTD)
• Re-Signed FB CJ Ham (3Y / $5.6TOT / $3.3GTD)
• Re-Signed All-Pro LS Andrew DePaola (3Y / $4.025TOT / $1.515GTD)

The other major change that influenced how the team addresses the draft was the shift from Ed Donatell's Cover 2 shell defense to Brian Flores's aggressive man defense. Compared to the 2022 Vikings, Flores's 2021 Dolphins blitzed over twice as often and played with light boxes at roughly half the rate. On top of the front seven, one of the biggest changes in scheme is the Cover 2 alignment, which Donatell employed on nearly half of all defensive snaps compared to just 12% for Flores's 2021 Miami team. With one crop of rookies and free agents brought in to play in a Fangio style scheme, the defense would have to undergo a massive shift to succeed in a scheme that can only be described as the complete opposite of what was run in 2022.

Draft Needs

Cornerback - Arguably the Vikings' biggest need, the team was without a true CB1. Byron Murphy comes aboard as the most experienced player. Pegged a slot-only player through his first three years, Murphy spent most of his time in 2022 outside and had a career year. After that, the team looked to rely on improvements from their 2022 draft class with Andrew Booth and Akayleb Evans, two players that combined for fewer than 300 defensive snaps last season primarily due to injury. You can see how KAM and crew, confident in their scouting ability, are betting on health to affect the secondary for the better. But taking another bet on a young player is a smart move at a position where depth is always a good thing.
Interior Defensive Line - The loss of Dalvin Tomlinson -- who played 551 snaps last year and compiled 14 pressures -- leaves issues next to Harrison Phillips. Jonathan Bullard was third on the IDL with 319 snaps last season and returns on a one year deal. Tonga and Lynch had some flashes, and the team brought in Lowry. The rotation (optimistically) can get to competent. But finding a true winner on the inside of the line was viewed by many as a priority.
Wide Receiver - The Vikings starting personnel at WR heading in to the draft was Justin Jefferson (stud), KJ Osborn (decent), and... Jalen Nailor? Brandon Powell? Oh dear Lord don't tell me it's Jalen Reagor. The loss of Adam Thielen was expected, but nevertheless leaves a gaping hole next to JJ and KJ in the lineup. Keenan McCardell is arguably the best WR coach in the league, and playing with Jefferson would give one-on-one opportunities for any receiver. But having somebody that can actually win those one-on-ones remains a question.
Inside Linebacker - Eric Kendricks's jersey change marks the true end of an era at LB. Kendricks struggled in Donatell's scheme last season, as did most players. But he was a longtime leader on the defense and a valued community member. Jordan Hicks, Brian Asamoah, and Troy Reeder sit atop the depth chart. Hicks can be solid and Asamoah had flashes, but counting on this group as every down players is a risk to say the least.
Offensive Guard - Ed Ingram was one of the worst starting guards in the league last season. But he's a rookie. Maybe he gets better in year 2. Maybe he stays terrible. Even if you're optimistic there, Ezra Cleveland is entering a contract year at left guard. Adding interior offensive line depth is always smart.
Quarterback - This offseason, reports surfaced that the team and QB Kirk Cousins could not finalize a contract extension. That means for the first time in his Vikings tenure, Cousins is entering a contract year. Cousins has been an above average QB during his time in Minnesota. Last year saw him finish 4th in yards, but he was painfully mediocre at efficiency stats like TD percent (17th), ANY/A (18th), and ADOT (20th). Entering his age-35 season, it would be wise to look for a successor even if the team plans on retaining Cousins past 2023.

The Draft

*Indicates measure is taken from Pro Day
1.23 WR Jordan Addison, USC
Profile: Jr 5'11 173lbs 31.5 Arm\ 8.75 Hand 75.125 Wing* 4.49 40 1.57 10 34 VJ 10'2 BJ 4.19 SS* 7.05 3c 5.95 RAS*
2022 Stats: 11 Gm 59 Rec 875 Yds 8 TD 2 Drops
Steve Smith Sr: "Addison has one of the highest ceilings among WRs in this draft due to his blend of route running chops and his all around athleticism. He is a three level route runner: intermediate, deep, and short... The way he can get in and out of his breaks is so natural. He uses leverage. And he manipulates the DB consistently"
Addison -- a Biletnikoff Award winner during his Pitt days -- is one of the highest floor players in the class. He is a route running technician with proven dominance playing inside and outside. He had more than 3 yards per route run in two different offenses. He understands how to marry his athleticism and quickness with the breaks in his routes. He finds the DB's blind spot and forces them to lose. Addison is a bit on the small side, but not abnormally so given this draft class. He does have some concerns with his hands -- his drop rates as a freshman and sophomore were 14% and 10%, respectively -- but he showed improvement in this as a junior.
The need here is clear. As mentioned earlier, the WR depth past JJ and KJ is abysmal. Even with Thielen and Osborn on the roster in 2022, the Vikings needed juice in the WR room. The 2022 Vikings had one top 5 WR in yards per route run (Jefferson). There was no other receiver in the top 100. Teams were not worried about Thielen or Osborn. Teams could put two or three defenders on Jefferson without any fear of what anyone else might do to their defense. Hockenson fixed this a bit down the stretch, but an outside playmaker was still needed.
The real question here is why the team opted not to go for CB Joey Porter Jr, who filled what many considered to be the team's biggest need and was a higher ranked prospect for Lance Zierlein, PFF, Danny Kelly, Matt Miller, and Dane Brugler. The answer here -- if I can take a guess and stretch my logic a bit -- is that the need at WR2 was greater than the need at CB. Patrick Peterson was the biggest loss in the secondary, and the team brought in Byron Murphy to try to fill that role. On offense, Minnesota had not brought in a replacement for Adam Thielen. The depth chart past Jefferson and Osborn was filled with bodies that might not make a 53-man roster on a lot of teams.
Trade: SF gives 3.87 to MIN for 3.102, 5.164, 7.222

	Jimmy Johnson	Rich Hill	Fitzgerald-Spielberger	Harvard
Total give	155	48	737	115
Total get	117.7	45	1334	197
Absolute Diff	-37.3	-3	+597	+82
Percent Diff	-24%	-6%	+81%	+71%

The biggest thing to consider when evaluating this trade is that the Vikings came into the draft with 5 picks, only two of which were in the top 100. In my biased opinion, this was a home run trade, even if the traditional charts disagree. To take three swings at the bat instead of one is a humble and wise strategy, especially for a team with limited draft capital. The move looks even better in hindsight because there were no CBs taken between 87 and 102.
3.102 CB Mekhi Blackmon, USC
Profile: 6Sr 5'11" 178lbs 31" Arm 9.25" Hand 74.625" Wing 4.47 40 1.47 10 36 VJ 10'5" BJ 11 Bench 7.44 RAS
2022 Stats: 14 Gm 66 TKL 2 TFL 1 FF 15 PD 3 INT
Brett Kollman: "Feisty, physical press corner who definitely has to play more under control in the NFL to avoid flags, but he has all the competitiveness you want to see from a potential CB1 at the next level. Never backs down from anyone. Has easy gas to stay in control of a route from top down, even against true burners. Legit 4.4 speed and gets up to it quickly. Outstanding ball production... Held up extremely well despite being targeted often. Battle tested, aggressive, and confident... Very similar to Desmond Trufant."
An unrecruited high school positionless player out of high school that signed with JuCo San Mateo, Blackmon followed up four seasons at Colorado with a breakout 2022 campaign as one of the best defenders on the USC defense. The Trojans played a man-heavy scheme, which let Blackmon shine. He has great anticipation and instincts. His production this year says as much. He plays bigger than his size, and he has inside-outside versatility. He will have to clean up some of his physicality to avoid flags at the next level. He will also have to refine his technique to stay with the more complex routes he'll see. But he is a strong culture and scheme fit for what Brian Flores is bringing to the defense.
The need at CB was obvious even before hiring Flores. The Vikings ranked 31st in passing yards allowed, 26th in Passing DVOA, and 24th in EPA allowed per pass attempt. Bringing in Byron Murphy helps. So do the healthy returns of Booth and Evans. But Murphy has not yet shown that he can be a consistently great player (or at least not markedly better than what we got out of Patrick Peterson last year). And Booth and Evans are unproven. Blackmon -- taken with the last pick on Day 2 -- is not expected to come in and be Jalen Ramsey or Sauce Gardner. But in a shift to a more aggressive man-coverage defense with a thin CB room, Blackmon is an upside player that will have every chance to take a starting spot on a porous defense.
Trade: MIN gives 4.119 to KC for 4.134, 2024 5th\*

	Jimmy Johnson	Rich Hill	Fitzgerald-Spielberger	Harvard
Total give	56	24	578	88
Total get	58.4	24	898	133
Absolute Diff	+2.4	0	+320	+45
Percent Diff	+4%	0%	+36%	+34%

On top of entering the weekend with a mere 5 draft picks in the current year, the Vikings also entered with a mere 5 draft picks in the 2024 class (3rd rounder traded for Hockenson, 5th rounder traded for Reagor). Dropping 15 picks in a relatively flat part of the draft while adding a mid-Day 3 pick is good business given this team's lack of capital.
*Here we assume a future pick in round n is valued at the middle pick of round n+1, not accounting for compensatory picks. In this case, a 2024 5th is equated to pick 176.
4.134 S Jay Ward, LSU
Profile: Sr 6'0.5" 188lbs 32.5" Arm 8.25" Hand 76.875" Wing 4.55 40 1.54 10 34.5 VJ 11' BJ 4.35 Shuttle\ 7.31 3c 16 Bench 6.70 RAS*
2022 Stats: 13 Gm 60 TKL 2.5 TFL 5 PD 1 INT 2 FR TD
Nate Tice: "A ton of fun. I just like this fit because of Brian Flores's defense. Just picture all of those mixture guys that the Patriots have used over the years... Jay Ward can be that"
A three year starter with reps at safety, slot, and outside CB, Ward is one of the most versatile players in the class. He possesses excellent length and movement skills. His experience at CB make him a fluid player in coverage. In the run game, Ward's size is a concern. His 188lbs Combine weight puts him in just the second percentile for safeties. This translates to issues with taking on blocks. He is a very aggressive player, beelining to the ball as soon as it's out. But his size coupled with his impatient playstyle lead to a lot of missed tackles. He was also flagged seven times last season.
In his final season in Miami, Flores was extremely creative with how he employed his safeties. Jevon Holland had the 2nd most blitzes in the league at the position. The number 1 player? His teammate Brandon Jones. With the defense taking on Flores's amoeba identity, an aggressive player with experience at multiple positions has the potential to find a role early on. The defense will look to utilize him similar to how Jevon Holland was used as a rookie. And with Harrison Smith well into the twilight of his career, Ward is a timely pick as the team attempts to thread the needle in their competitive rebuild.
Trade: MIN gives 5.158, 6.211 to IND for 5.141

	Jimmy Johnson	Rich Hill	Fitzgerald-Spielberger	Harvard
Total give	32.4	13	722	103
Total get	36	15	492	74
Absolute Diff	+4	+2	-230	-29
Percent Diff	+10%	+13%	-47%	-39%

It's a bit strange to see Adofo-Mensah move away from the analytics charts in favor of the traditional ones, but the value swap here is not absurd. The real question with this trade will be if Roy ends up being a true contributor.
5.141 NT Jaquelin Roy, LSU
Profile: Jr 6'3" 305lbs 32.75" Arm 10.125" Hand 78.125" Wing 5.13 40\ 1.82 10* 26" VJ* 8'5" BJ* 5.00 Shuttle 8.01 3c 30 Bench 3.72 RAS*
2022 Stats: 13 Gm 49 TKL 3.5 TFL 0.5 SCK
Lance Zierlein: " The more you watch, the more you like the way Roy plays the game... Despite limited starting experience at LSU, he already displays signs of a rush plan and the athletic talent to execute it. Roy is an ascending talent with the potential to become a quality starter. "
After a 30 tackle, 1.5 sack campaign as a rotational player in 2021, Roy shifted from a penetrating 3T position to more of a traditional nose tackle under new HC Brian Kelly. This transition let Roy shine as a run stuffer. He eats space and is incredibly tough to move from his spot. He averaged almost 52 snaps a game in 2022 and his motor never let up. He has some work to do if he wants to be a three down player, particularly as a pass rusher. His bend and balance in this front are especially lacking.
The Vikings' front office seems to be a lot more comfortable with the current IDL room than I am. Harrison Phillips is a plus starter. Past that, the roster is filled with unproven youth or proven subpar players. As a 5th round pick, Roy has an uphill battle to separate himself from that group. But he's a good lottery ticket at this price. His positional versatility ensures that the defense can simply put their best players on the field.
5.164 QB Jaren Hall, BYU
Profile: RSr 6'0" 207lbs 39.75" Arm 9.5" Hand 71.875" Wing 4.63 40\ 1.59 10* 4.19 Shuttle* 7.06 3c* 7.96 RAS*
2022 Stats: 12 Gm 248 Comp 376 Att 66% Comp 3171 Yds 31 TD 6 INT 86 Rush 789 Rush Yds 9 RUsh TD
Kwesi Adofo-Mensah: "We added a really talented player that has a ton of upside... The ability to make decisions, throw the football accuracy, deal with conflict when it comes his way, and sometimes try to make a play outside the framework of the playcall. He does all those things at a really great level... That's an outstanding young man. I'd like to see him lead my team or any organization I'm a part of."
Despite being the third oldest prospect in the QB class, Hall only has 24 starts under his belt due to two years on religious mission and one year with a hip injury. But when Hall took over for Zach Wilson in 2021, he hit the ground running. BYU went 10-3 in that first year with Hall compiling a 4:1 TD:INT ratio. He is a two time team captain, and all reports of his character are off the charts.
Hall is a poised pocket passer capable of extending plays and picking up yardage on the ground. He was only sacked 12 times in 2022, which is a testament to both BYU's offensive line and Hall's ability to create under pressure. There are conflicting opinions on Hall's upside and arm strength, with Lance Zierlein calling his arm "unimpressive" while Kyle Crabbs claiming that hall has a "live arm with the ability to throw with juice off platform". Where there was near-universal agreement was in his understanding of the scheme, as Hall operated BYU's RPO-heavy offense like a machine. He has a clean release and quickly gets into a rhythm. His largest universal concerns are his age (he turned 25 in March) and his injury history (missed 20 games in the last 4 years). He also has ball security issues with 13 fumbles over his career.
I expected the Vikings to draft a QB in this class. The only question was if it would have been via a trade up on Day 1 or a flyer on Day 3 (or a falling Will Levis). With his age, size, and injury history, there are plenty of questions about what Hall can be. He will have a year in practice to put together his audition tape to be Kirk Cousins's replacement -- it's certainly a viable path for this team to take a RiddeHowell/Mills-esque year to evaluate Hall while they continue retooling the defense. But the more likely path is that Hall becomes a long-term backup for the team. Cousins has been the model of health, but that doesn't mean that QB2 is an unimportant position. Sean Mannion, Kellen Mond, and Nick Mullens have manned that position to various degrees over the past few years. None has shown that they can be a competent plug-in player if needed. There is some hope that Hall -- who operated the BYU offense with a mechanic efficiency -- can be that player.
7.222 RB DeWayne McBride, UAB
Profile: Jr 5'10" 209lbs 30.625" Arms 9.5" Hands 73.125" Wing 20 Bench\*
2022 Stats: 11 Gm 233 Att 1713 Yds 19 TD 7.4 Y/A 2 Rec 10 Rec Yds
Dane Brugler: "Overall, McBride is unproven as a pass catcher and blocker, which might restrict his NFL role, but his contact balance, vision and lateral agility are among the best this running back draft class has to offer"
In an era of advanced metrics and Combine showmanship, perhaps the trait that has gone underappreciated more than any other in RB scouting is balance. McBride may have the best balance in the entire RB class outside of Bijan Robinson. He comes from a heavy outside zone scheme at UAB, where he led the FBS in yards per game and set school records for single-game and single-season rushing. McBride absorbs contact like a sponge. His short area burst is strong, and he makes defenders miss with power and finesse. McBride has ideal size and toughness. His concerns are simple. He was not utilized as a receiver in college, and he had more career fumbles than catches in that time. McBride profiles as a two-down player at the next level. Although Adofo-Mensah has voiced his belief that McBride's passing game usage was a product of scheme rather than ability, McBride still has to prove that he is more than just a short yardage runner in the NFL.
After spending a pick in back to back years on RB and re-signing Mattison to a modest contract, RB was a bit of an unexpected pick for this regime. Dalvin Cook still seems to be movable (a likely cut candidate at this point), which would make this pick more logical. Chandler struggled with injuries as a rookie, but both he and Nwangwu profile more as speedy scatbacks than true between-the-tackle runners like Mattison. Even Mattison has never been a true three-down back. McBride plays much more similarly to Mattison than the other backs on the team. He will try to carve out a role behind him as the future thunder to the lightning provided by Chandler and Nwangwu.

UDFA

FB Zach Ojile, Minnesota Duluth
Profile: 6Sr 6'0" 241lbs 31.5" Arms 8.5" Hands 75.5" Wing 4.78 40\ 1.79 10* 31" VJ* 9'1" BJ* 4.40 Shuttle* 31 Bench* 4.15 RAS*
2022 Stats: 11 Gm 12 Rush 53 Rush Yds 3 Rush TD 25 Rec 289 Rec Yds 5 Rec TD
A Twin Cities native, Ojile was a late addition to the roster, joining after a May rookie minicamp tryout. Ojile played LB, QB, FS, and RB in high school but found a role as an H-Back at UMD. He served as a team captain the past two seasons and finishes his collegiate career with over 1100 total yards and 24 total TDs. He was an All-Conference player for the DII NSIC Bulldogs. Whether Ojile participates at FB or TE, he'll need to prove his versatility to beat out the veterans on the depth chart. Working in his favor is Kevin O'Connell's shift to a more base-heavy offense in 2023.
WR Cephus Johnson, Southeastern Louisiana
Profile: 6Sr 6'4" 223lbs 33.25" Arm\ 8.5" Hand* 78.625" WIng* 4.57 40* 1.59 10* 36.5" VJ* 10'1" BJ* 4.39 Shuttle* 7.25 3c* 18 Bench* 9.48 RAS*
2022 Stats: 11 Gm 184 Pass Att 65% Comp 1354 Pass Yds 10 Pass TD 5 INT 89 Rush 488 Rush Yds 5 Rush TD
Johnson is making the fulltime switch from QB to WR as he attempts to latch on to an NFL practice squad. He earned the starting role for South Alabama as a redshirt junior before transferring to SE Louisiana, where he took some snaps at WR in spring games. Johnson's stats were unimpressive as a starting QB, notching just 1354 yards and a 2:1 TD:INT ratio in 11 starts. He has good size and instincts as a runner, but he has basically no experience playing WR.
WR Lucky Jackson, W Kentucky / XFL DC Defenders
Profile: RSr 6'0" 179lbs 9.624" Hand\ 32.25" Arm* 75.875" Wing**
2023 Stats: 10 Gm 36 Rec 572 Yds 5 TD 1 Fmb
Jackson last put on a college uniform before the pandemic for Western Kentucky, where his 2019 season saw him put up over 1100 yards on 94 receptions. Following his college days, Jackson spent time in the CFL and the Spring League before joining the XFL's DC Defenders and becoming an All-XFL receiver.
WR Malik Knowles, Kansas St
Profile: RSr 6'2" 196lbs 32.25" Arm 8.75" Hand 77.625" Wing
2022 Stats: 14 Gm 48 Rec 725 YDs 2 TD 8 Rush 164 Rush Yds 3 Rush TD 23 KR 592 KR Yds
Knowles is a vertical threat with good size and length. He offers value as a kick returner and leaves Kansas State with a top 5 rank in all-purpose yards. Knowles is an undeveloped route runner that struggles with quick change-of-direction. He also has trouble with press coverage. He'll need to prove his value on special teams, where he has plenty of collegiate experience as a kick returner.
WR Grant Maag, North Dakota
Profile: 5Sr 6'4" 206lbs 9.25" Hand\ 31.875" Arm* 77.625" Wing* 4.49 40YD* 1.60 10YS* 40.5" VJ* 10'5" BJ* 4.34 Shuttle* 6.90 3c* 8.50 RAS*
2022 Stats: 12 Gm 41 Rec 540 Yds 5 TDs
Maag was brought in following the announcement of Ben Ellefson's retirement. He is an Inver Grove Heights native and a graduate of St Croix Lutheran in St Paul. He leaves North Dakota with over 2000 yards over his five years and served as a team captain the past two seasons. His size gives him an advantage with a shorter WR group ahead of him, but Maag is a far cry from a roster lock.
WR Thayer Thomas, NC State
Profile: 6Sr 6'0" 198lbs 9" Hand\ 30.125" Arm* 73.5" Wing 4.56 40* 1.63 10* 37" VJ* 10' BJ* 4.03 Shuttle* 6.93 3c* 15 Bench* 7.85 RAS*
2022 Stats: 13 Gm 57 Rec 642 Yds 4 TDs 2 Rush Att 44 Rush Yds 1 Rush TD 17 PR 128 PR Yds
A multisport athlete that was drafted by the Red Sox in 2019, Thomas walked onto the Wolfpack football team and got onto the field any way he could. In 2018, he saw work as a receiver, punt returner, and passer. Thomas has good hands (a career drop rate of 4%) and a high work ethic, but he is an undeveloped route runner that struggles to create much after the catch. He will need to prove his worth on special teams if he wants to make the roster.
TE Ben Sims, Baylor
Profile: RSr 6'4" 250lbs 33.125" Arm\ 9.5" Hand* 80.125" Wing* 4.58 40YD* 1.56 10YS 36" Vert* 10'2" Broad* 4.41 Shuttle* 7.46 3c* 15 Bench* 8.40 RAS*
2022 Stats: 12 Gm 31 Rec 255 Yds 3 TDs 2 Drops 1 Rush TD
Sims projects as a blocking tight end with limited ability as a receiver. He's a patient run blocker with good balance and toughness, but he is still cleaning up some technique. He isn't a creator with the ball in his hands and his tape fails to demonstrate the explosiveness that his testing suggests.
OL Alan Ali, TCU
Profile: RSr 6'4" 301lbs 32.875" Arm 9.5" Hand 77.625" Wing 5.23 40\ 1.89 10* 26.5" VJ 8'5" BJ* 4.91 Shuttle* 7.94 3c* 3.80 RAS*
A 5 year starter for TCU and SMU, Ali is a fundamentally sound center prospect with good body control and core strength. He has experience playing at all 5 OL positions but spent most of the past 4 years at center. His lack of athleticism and length are likely the reason he went undrafted.
OT Jacky Chen, Pace
Profile: RSr 6'5 1/4" 299lbs 10" Hand\ 34.5" Arm* 80.75" Wing* 5.41 40* 1.81 10* 29" VJ* 8'10" BJ* 4.74 Shuttle* 7.90 3c* 24 Bench* 5.39 RAS*
It's hard to find very much information on an undrafted lineman from a DII school whose toughest opponent was the University of New Haven. Chen is an OT prospect that is viewed as a ball of clay. Chen's 40 yard dash and 3 cone were underwhelming to say the least, but he was an above average tester in burst and explosiveness drills. That combined with his length make him an interesting project.
EDGE Andre Carter II, Army
Profile: Sr 6'6.5" 256lbs 9.375" Hand 33.275" Arm 81 Wing 4.91 40\ 1.65 10* 30" VJ 9'1" BJ 4.36 Shuttle 6.97 3c* 11 Bench 6.29 RAS*
2022 Stats: 10 Gm 41 TKL 7 TFL 3.5 SCK 2 PD
The highest profile UDFA signing of the class, Carter was getting 1st round buzz this time last year. At that time, Carter was coming off an 18.5 TFL / 15.5 sack season. However, Carter struggled to repeat his production as a senior, notching just 3.5 sacks. Carter finished out the draft cycle with lackluster testing, failing to run under a 4.90 in the 40 yard dash and weighing in at a mere 256 lbs -- a big concern given his 81 inch wingspan and towering stature. Carter has a ton of upside, but he doesn't have the frame to be a real NFL player right now. After 4 years training to be an officer in the US Army, he will need at least one season (maybe more) in an NFL weight room where he can focus on building muscle mass. He'll look to follow the mold of fellow Army player Alejandro Villanueva, who added 43 lbs to his 277 lbs frame entering the league before becoming a 7-year starter. Luckily, he joined the team with one of the best training facilities in the league.
EDGE Junior Aho, SMU
Profile: 6'2" 260lbs 9" Hand 33.875" Arm 79.875" Wing 4.58 40\ 1.66 10* 33.5" VJ* 10'3" BJ* 4.90 Shuttle* 7.38 3c* 9.38 RAS*
2022 Stats: 13 Gm 23 TKL 2 TFL 2 SCK 1 FF
Quite simply, Aho is an athletic freak that should find his way onto the team thanks to the International Player Pathway roster spot. He takes pride in his speed and athleticism, but he also understands the limitations to his game. Aho was a solid rotational player for SMU. He will look to follow in the footsteps of other International Pathway players like Efe Obada and Jordan Mailata.
DT Calvin Avery, Illinois
Profile: RSr 6'1" 343 lbs 10" Hand\ 32.5" Arm 81.87" Wing 5.37 40* 1.84 10* 30.5" VJ* 8'5" BJ* 8.01 3c* 31 Bench* 3.12 RAS*
2022 Stats: 13 Gm 23 TKL 2 TFL 1 PD
Avery is a former four star recruit out of Texas, earning snaps in 12 games as a true freshman. He started 12 games in 2022, primarily at nose tackle. He has a wide, large frame that makes him hard to move. However, he is an underwhelming athlete to say the least, and his statistical production is nearly non-existent.
LB Abraham Beauplan, Marshall
Profile: RSr 5'11" 241 lbs 9.25" Hand 31.75" Arm 77 1/4" Wing 4.62 Shuttle 35.5" VJ 9'9" BJ 7.33 3c 22 Bench 4.52 RAS
2022 Stats: 12 Gm 66 TKL 6.5 TFL 1 SCK 3 PD
Beauplan started the draft process by making an appearance on Bruce Feldman's Freaks List, reportedly squatting as much as 565 lbs and benching as much as 285. The few reports that exist on Beauplan suggest he's an urgent, downhill run defender that will look to carve out a role on special teams early on.
LB Wilson Huber, Cincinnati
Profile: 6Sr 6'4" 241lbs 9.75" Hand 32.375" Arm\ 80" Wing* 4.70 40* 1.66 10* 35" VJ* 10'4" BJ* 4.45 Shuttle* 6.91 3c* 18 Bench* 8.34 RAS*
2022 Stats: 13 Gm 54 TKL 6.5 TFL 1 SCK 1 PD
A 3 star recruit out of Indiana, Huber started his career at Cincinnati as a TE. He played a hybrid role in his first 2 non-redshirt seasons, earning snaps on offense, defense, and special teams. He made a full role switch to the defensive side of the ball in 2020 and eventually earned the team captain moniker in 2022. Huber had some solid testing despite profiling as more of a thumper.
LB Ivan Pace Jr, Cincinnati
Profile: Sr 5'10.5" 231lbs 30.25" Arm 9.5" Hand 72" Wing 4.59 40\ 1.70 10* 35" VJ 9'8" BJ* 4.40 Shuttle * 7.18 3c* 22 Bench* 5.71 RAS*
2022 Stats: 13 Gm 137 TKL 21.5 TFL 10 SCK 3 FF 4 PD
Ranked the 11th best LB for Daniel Jeremiah, 9th for Dane Brugler, and 7th for PFF, many thought Pace could have gone as early as Round 3. Pace was a one year starter for the Bearcats after transferring from Miami (Ohio), and he hit the ground running. He led the AAC in tackles and TFLs. He is a smaller player (although not abnormally so in today's game) that plays with his hair on fire. He gives tremendous effort on every play and is always around the ball. Pace is a super tough player that loves to tackle. His size is a concern; he gets washed out of plays too easily. He is also lacking in coverage skills, struggling to stay connected in man coverage. Still, it's incredible that Pace went undrafted. He's an easy special teams projection as a rookie with the upside to be put in position to win under Flores.
CB CJ Coldon, Oklahoma
Profile: 6Sr 5'10" 186lbs\ 8.375" Hand* 31.125" Arm* 75.125" Wing* 4.60 40* 1.58 10* 37 1/2" VJ* 10'5" BJ* 4.24 Shuttle* 7.31 3c* 3.92 RAS*
2022 Stats: 12 Gm 42 TKL 2 TFL 4 INT 6 PBU
Coldon is an instinctual football player that relies on his feel to create ball production. He spent 5 years at Wyoming before transferring to Oklahoma and leading the team in INTs and PBUs. In zone, Coldon watches the QB and looks for the right cue to understand when and where the ball is headed.
CB NaJee Thompson, Georgia Southern
Profile: 5'10" 200lbs 9.125" Hand 32.75" Arm 76.625" Wing 4.57 40\ 1.63 10* 32" VJ* 9'8" BJ* 4.56 Shuttle* 7.40 3c* 13 Bench* 1.59 RAS*
2022 Stats: 13 Gm 37 TKL 1 TFL 11 PD 1 INT
Thompson's love for the game is undeniable. After struggling to latch onto the Georgia Southern WR room, Thompson approached his head coach asking to be exclusively a special teams player. He relishes being a gunner on punts. He eventually got moved to CB in 2021, logging 557 snaps at the position in 2022. He's undeveloped at the position, but his special teams prowess gives him a good shot at the roster.
CB Jaylin Williams, Indiana
Profile: RSr 5'9" 184lbs 9.125" Hand 29.875" Arm 71.75" Wing 4.43 40\ 1.58 10* 34.5" BJ* 9'11" BJ* 4.20 Shuttle* 7.01 3c* 13 Bench* 5.54 RAS*
2022 Stats: 10 Gm 40 TKL 2.5 TFL 7 PD 1 FR 1 BLK
A longtime role player for the Hoosiers before becoming a fulltime starter in 2019, Williams's 6 career INTs were the most amongst active players on the team last season. He earned second team All-Confernece honors in 2020 and was an honorable mention in 2021.
K Jack Podlesny, Georgia
Profile: RSr 6'0" 195lbs 29.25" Arms 9" Hands 74.75" Wing
2022 Stats: 31 Att 26 Made 50 Long 109 Kickoff 72 Touchbacks 74 PAT Att 73 PAT Made
Ranked as Dane Brugler's 4th kicker and Lance Zierlein's 3rd kicker, Podlesny enters Vikings camp following a career that saw him walk on to Georgia's football team and finish with an 82% hit rate. He hit all but one extra point last season for the national champion Bulldogs. A concern with Podlesny is his leg strength. His accuracy beyond 40 yards falls to just 54%. His clutchness may also come into question as he missed two kicks in the national championship semifinals against Ohio State.

Projected Depth Chart

Pos (Projected 2023 Rostered Count / 2022 Rostered Count): Starter, Rookie, Cuts
QB (2/2): Kirk Cousins, Jaren Hall, Nick Mullens
RB (4/4): Alexander Mattison, Kene Nwangwu, Ty Chandler, DeWayne McBride, Dalvin Cook
FB (1/1): CJ Ham, Zach Ojile
WR (5/5): Justin Jefferson, KJ Osborn, Jordan Addison, Jalen Nailor, Brandon Powell, Trishton Jackson, Jalen Reagor, Blake Proehl, Thayer Thomas, Cephus Johnson, Malik Knowles, Lucky Jackson, Garrett Maag
TE (3/3): TJ Hockenson, Josh Oliver, Johnny Mundt, Nick Muse, Ben Sims
OL (9/10): Christian Darrisaw, Ezra Cleveland, Garrett Bradbury, Ed Ingram, Brian O'Neill, Chris Reed, Austin Schlottman, Oli Udoh, Blake Brandel, Josh Sokol, Vederian Lowe, Alan Ali, Jacky Chen, Sam Schlueter
DT (7/6): Harrison Phillips, Dean Lowry, Jonathan Bullard, James Lynch, Esezi Otomewo, Jaquelin Roy, Khyiris Tonga, Ross Blacklock, Sheldon Day, TJ Smith, Calvin Avery
EDGE (4/5): Danielle Hunter, Marcus Davenport, Pat Jones II, DJ Wonnum, Luiji Vilain, Curtis Weaver, Benton Whitley, Kenny Willekes, Andre Carter II, Junior Aho
ILB (4/4): Jordan Hicks, Brian Asamoah, Troy Reeder, Ivan Pace Jr, Troy Dye, William Kwenkeu, Abraham Beauplan, Wilson Huber
CB (5/6): Byron Murphy, Andrew Booth, Akayleb Evans, Mekhi Blakmon, Joejuan Williams, Kalon Barnes, Tay Gowan, John Reid, CJ Coldon, Najee Thompson, Jaylin Williams
S (5/4): Harrison Smith, Lewis Cine, Jay Ward, Josh Metellus, Camryn Bynum, Theo Jackson
K (1/1): Greg Joseph, Jack Podlesny
P (1/1): Ryan Wright
LS (1/1): Andrew DePaola
KR: Kene Nwangwu
PR: Brandon Powell

2024 Needs

Starters Needed: QB, OG, EDGE, DT -- Whether due to expiring contracts (Cousins, Cleveland, Davenport, Hunter) or overall suckitude (Ingram, Lowry), we need to find new starters at this positions in 2024. Could we go on with average-level free agents? Maybe. Should we? Maybe not.
We'll see how the group plays: CB, LB, RB -- These are positions where the front office is counting on young players (Booth, Evans, Asamoah) to fill the roles of departed starters. If those players take that step up, these positions drop on the needs list. Otherwise, we're in for a rough season.
Depth needed: WR -- The depth after Jefferson, Osborn, and Addison is not great. And Osborn is entering a contract year. Unless Keenan McCardell works some magic with Jalen Nailor or Trishton Jackson or Thayer Thomas, this should be a position we add to next year.

Final Thoughts

Versatility. When we look at this Vikings draft class, that's the first word that comes to mind, and it comes in big bold letters. Addison has inside-outside versatility. So does Mekhi Blackmon. Jay Ward is the most versatile of the group, capable of playing every DB position plus some spot snaps at LB. Roy has been productive everywhere from 0T to 4i. And the team has talked about how much they believe McBride can contribute as a pass catcher on top of his bruiser mindset as a between-the-tackles runner.
On offense, this shift seems to stem from a philosophical change following the TJ Hockenson acquisition last year. O'Connell's unit went from trying to copy-paste Sean McVay's outside zone scheme (largely a 3WR offense) to Kyle Shanahan's outside zone scheme (largely a TE-FB offense). And in that mold, O'Connell was looking for players he could use to create the illusion of complexity. That is, how can we employ versatile players to present defenses the threat of multiplicity?
On defense, the answer is a lot simpler. By bringing over Brian Flores, the team is hoping for a jolt in tenacity and an overall move to a hybrid amoeba scheme. You can look historically at how Bill Belichick has utilized flexibility in his defenses to maximize his gameplan for whatever offensive scheme is next on the menu. You can look at players on the line of scrimmage that have experience in both 43 and 34 schemes (Hunter, Phillips, Lynch, Bullard). And in the secondary, look no further than the selection of Jay Ward as an attempt to clone players like Jevon Holland and Kyle Dugger.
As Adofo-Mensah has repeatedly said, he approaches his job with humility. He listens to those around him and he finds the point where stories marry data to make informed decisions. And in O'Connell, he found someone who shares that mentality. With the emphasis on versatility, that mindset can now be applied on a weekly (and play-by-play) basis to opponents. We'll see how successful that strategy is as the team continues to straddle the line between competitive and rebuilder, but there is certainly an energy around the fanbase with the continued success of the offense and the addition of Brian Flores.

Hello once again. No, I'm still not shutting up about this. The end of the 2022-2023 season is drawing to a close and I just felt like letting you know how it ended for Dinamo Bucharest. For those of you who don't know what I'm talking about, I wrote a series of posts on this subreddit about the history of Dinamo Bucharest (the craziest football story, bla bla bla). If you are curious to find out about it, I will link parts 1, 2, and 3 for you, along with the update that I posted back in the middle of May. This one right here is meant to wrap up the whole thing, one final update on what's been going on at Dinamo Bucharest. And no, no one asked to but I'm doing it anyway.

The last fixture

So, the last time I told you about your (now) favorite Romanian football club, we still had one more match to play in the Romanian Second League playoff. We were tied on points with Otelul Galati and if we could get a better result than them in the last fixture, we would be promoted back to Romania's top flight. Our opponents in the last match would be the leaders and already promoted side, Poli Iasi. They won the playoff by a landslide, having an 8-point lead over second-placed Steaua before the last game and they also allowed 10 of their players to go on vacation earlier, some of whom were regular starters. So in theory, Dinamo had a pretty easy job of obtaining the 3 points that we needed. All that was left was to hope that Otelul wouldn't win their match against 6th-placed Unirea Dej.
However, real life isn't always as easy as it is on paper. Dinamo started the match poorly, conceding in the 8th minute due to a clumsy mistake from our goalkeeper, who literally passed to ball to the opposing striker. Poli Iasi then made it 2-0 after some more chaotic defending from us. We managed to get one back, however, in the 23rd minute and the score at halftime was 2-1. We even had a free kick near the end of the first 45 minutes, but we sadly hit the crossbar. Everyone believed that we would bounce back in the second half as, again, Poli Iasi had nothing to fight for anymore and our determination would be enough to turn the tables on them.
But, once again, reality hit us like a ton of bricks and the home team made it 3-1 in the 49th minute. Dinamo were completely dominated for the rest of the game and even conceded a 4th goal with ten minutes left to play, losing the game 4-1. This came as a huge disappointment to a lot of people, as many of us believed it was finally time for lady luck to be on our side for once. But in the end, we couldn't get the job done. Again. Luckily, at least Otelul won their match as well, defeating Unirea Dej 1-0 at home. Why luckily? Because at least the players wouldn't have to live with the thought that if they had won, they would've been promoted. At least this way, their result was irrelevant in the grand scheme of things.
The most worrying aspect of them all was regarding the players' morale, as the promotion/relegation tie was going to take place about a week later, so they needed to forget this failure and focus on what was to come. It would be the second year in a row when Dinamo would find themselves in such a tie, only this time they would try to climb back up in the Romanian First League, rather than fighting to stay up. Our dance partner was going to be former 2-time Romanian champions, FC Arges Pitesti.

Promotion battle: the first leg

The first match took place in Bucharest at the largest stadium in the country, the National Arena, in front of a crowd of 25.000 strong. The fans were hopeful, but optimism wasn't exactly at an all-time high, as we were clear underdogs for this bout. We had what looked like a weaker squad and very little experience in playing against first-league teams. What Dinamo did have was a lot of heart and the support of thousands of people in the stands. They sang loudly even before the match began, in an effort to both encourage our team and intimidate the opposition, who weren't used to playing in front of large audiences.
We had our first corner of the match in the 15th minute. The cross was aimed at the near post, and our player there deflected it to the far post for a teammate who headed it in, and just like that, we opened the score. 9 minutes later, we got a free kick from about 30 meters out. The shot hit the wall and bounced inside the box toward one of our players, who tapped it in to make it 2-0. It all seemed too good to be true, but Dinamo was actually dominating the match.
in the 28th minute, FC Arges gave away an easy ball close to their box, allowing striker Alexandru Pop to score with a sublime goal from the 18-yard line. With five minutes left to play in the first half, French midfielder Lamine Ghezali received a ball near the center of the pitch and went on a solo run, dribbling past two opposition players and then scoring with a slick lobbed ball of his own. No one could believe what they were seeing. Dinamo was leading 4-0 at halftime. FC Arges' players were in shock. They had a huge chance themselves shortly after Dinamo opened the score, but conceding that second goal messed them up completely, being incapable of any sort of reaction from that point until the end of the first half. Dinamo was like a hungry beast that smelled its prey's blood, being absolutely relentless and attacking with everything they had.
FC Arges did look like they were bouncing back in the 2nd half though, even pulling one back after 10 minutes of play. Fans may have been a bit fearful of an away team comeback at this point, but it wasn't to be. In the 56th minute, Spanish midfielder Dani Iglesias tried his luck with a long-range effort, which got deflected by an FC Arges player into his own net, bringing the goal difference back to 4. Six minutes later, Ghezali did a wonderful give-and-go pass near the middle of the pitch, sprinted toward the FC Arges box, and slotted it in calmly, making the score 6-1.
Dinamo had a few more chances after this through players that were brought on during the match, but their eagerness to score themselves instead of offering simple assists for their teammates ruined said opportunities. FC Arges could've scored as well toward the end but only hit the crossbar with a shot from the edge of the box. After 90-something minutes of play, the ref blew his whistle and Dinamo won the match 6-1.
This was by far the best match we've played all season. Despite going up against what seemed like a stronger side, the boys kept their cool, played like a real team, and won the game in dominating fashion. For the first time in who knows how long, fate finally seemed to be on our side. We only had like 2 misses the entire match. Almost every shot that we attempted went in. It was a more-than-perfect result for us. However, we were not done yet, as we still had the second leg to play.

Roles reversed

A year ago Dinamo played their first promotion/relegation tie, which they lost. Back then, we barely looked like a team. There was just a group of people brought together to play football, with no chemistry, no team bonding, nothing. The atmosphere at the club was horrendous, we played terribly and deserved to get relegated. This time it was different. We looked not just like a real team, but a family. We now had an identity, a style of play, and for the first time since the '15-'16 season, a head coach who would spend a complete season in charge. The hellfire that was the second league cleansed us of a lot of dead weight. We now only had people at the club who were all fighting for the same purpose. We no longer had "big names", there wasn't a "him" at the club anymore, there was only "us".
On the other side, there was FC Arges who were in the same position that we were last year. They reached the promotion/relegation tie in the last second, narrowly avoiding a direct fall. They went into the first match away from home, lost, and were now afraid of going down. And just like Dinamo last year, the atmosphere over there was abysmal.
One of their players, Andreas Calcan, got interviewed after the match and at one point told the reporters "Maybe you should ask our foreign players what they think about this result." This clearly indicated that there was a rift between their players and were not all on the same page. During the match, one of FC Arges' players was brought off when the score was already 6-1. He could then be seen on the touchline kicking a water bottle and trying to rip his shirt off.
It was also a known fact among Romanian football fans that FC Arges players had one or two unpaid salaries. However, news broke out after the match that the board paid the wages before the first leg, but only for some players, driving an even bigger wedge between them. But wait, there's more!
FC Arges was lucky enough to receive state funding for rebuilding their stadium. Every legal aspect was taken care of, so their second match against Dinamo was going to be the last match they ever played on their old home ground. However, given that they were thrashed 6-1 in the first leg and were unlikely to turn things around, they probably didn't want their last ever match there to be one where they got relegated. So they moved the event to a different city altogether, claiming that their stadium's floodlights weren't working.
The day before the second match, things reached an even more ridiculous point. FC Arges sent an official letter to the Romanian Football Federation asking them to withdraw Dinamo's license for the next season, in an effort to remain in the first league. Also, one of their main investors went into a live interview on TV, claiming that they had received "information" that some of their own players got paid to "fix" the first match. This says more about the type of people at FC Arges rather than Dinamo, but I still thought I should mention these aspects just for the sake of it.

Promotion battle: the second leg

The stadium for the second match was filled to the brim. Even though the arena only had about 8000 seats, the atmosphere was red-hot. FC Arges wasted no time and went on the attack from the first minute. In the 14th minute, they had already opened the score through a long-range effort courtesy of their team captain, that got deflected off of a Dinamo player. The very next minute, Arges made it 2-0 after a counter-attack. Some minutes later, they had two more huge opportunities, but both efforts went over the bar.
Things weren't looking bright, as Dinamo was in the ropes. Though we had a 5-goal advantage from the first leg, it was already clear that nothing was decided yet. Luckily, we managed to calm things down by lowering the tempo of the game and keeping possession of the ball. Dinamo even scored in the 40th minute through the one and only Ghezali, by far our best player this season. The score at halftime was 2-1. There were 45 more minutes of purgatory to endure.
Shortly after the second half began, FC Arges made it 3-1 after a corner kick. In the 51st minute, following another corner, it was already 4-1. It was bad. FC Arges were more and more determined to turn things around and Dinamo weren't looking like they could weather the storm. Forget Arsenal and Borussia Dortmund bottling their league titles. If we would somehow lose this tie after winning 6-1 in the first leg, we would be the laughingstock of the world.
Right when things were seemingly going in FC Arges' direction, Andreas Calcan, the player who subtly criticized his foreign teammates after the first match, got a second yellow card and was sent off in the 55th minute. This completely killed his team's drive and they even conceded a second goal five minutes later. Arges tried to stay on the attack, but that spark from the beginning of the half wasn't there anymore. In the 94th minute, the ref blew for full-time to make it official: DINAMO IS BACK IN THE FIRST LEAGUE!
​
Celebration after the second leg against FC Arges
It was a weird season, to say the least. We started off with a terrible run, losing 5 times within the first 7 matches, and were hoping to at least avoid relegation to the 3rd tier or bankruptcy. We had even less money than the previous year, we weren't allowed to sign any players during the winter break, we couldn't afford to pay the salaries of the ones who were already at the club, and it looked like we were never going to get rid of our former owner, Dorin Serdean.
However, this is where we can remember a message displayed by our supporters a number of years ago: "True defeat is giving up on your dreams." And that's the most important thing that we never did. We never gave up (jeez, I'm starting to sound like John Cena.) Even when the situation looked like it couldn't get any worse, we kept the hope alive. Not the hope for promotion as that seemed like a fantasy, but the hope of keeping Dinamo alive.
We, the fans, kept going to matches, donating money, and doing whatever was in our power to "keep the engine running". The players, the coaches, the employees, everyone at the club kept doing their job as best as they could, even though there were months when they received no payment for their work. Their devotion through these hard times was immeasurable and we could never thank them enough for believing in the cause until the very end.
As cliche as it may sound, this is what happens when you don't give up and keep working hard. We hit rock bottom but through our collective effort and, I need to say it, a LOT of luck, we pulled through in the end and turned fantasy into reality. We got the promotion, we now are hoping to get financial stability, and then finally start making progress and get back to the top of the league. Though the recent years have been dreadful we did not forget about the good times, and the thought of reliving them one day is what kept us alive.

A story ends, and another one begins

And this is where we end things. This has been the story of Dinamo Bucharest, the craziest football story you've never heard of...until now. Sure our story will continue long after this post of mine, but this is where (hopefully) the "crazy" part of it has reached its conclusion. We now have new ownership, new management, people who (again, hopefully) will start investing serious funds into Dinamo and bring it back to glory. We will HOPEFULLY enter a new era, one of normality. One where we will mostly be talking about football and not scandals. But, if things do go south again (God, please no), I may just return and let you know about it. Sure, scandals will still pop up here and there, we are in Romania after all but, (for the last time) hopefully, we won't be hearing about arrests, backstabbing, fraud, mutiny, throwing matches, or owners who can't/ won't invest at the club ever again.
For one last time, thank you all for reading and I hope you enjoyed it.

Everyone's ready to get to the conference season. It's entirely possible some people were overlooking the final non-conference game. Would focus be a problem? Who would get through with the momentum? And would the games played today matter when the Selection Committee gathered? Let's find out.
*****
#1 UCLA 87, #25 Illinois 74. It's been a long road through a lot of difficult teams, but UCLA did what they set out to do: repeat a 12-0 start.
Bill Walton had 20 points, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar was two blocks shy of a triple-double, and the Bruins (12-0) took out the Illini (9-3) to run their winning streak to 49 and finish non-conference's play undefeated for the second consecutive year.
"We look at every game as important," Bruins coach John Wooden said after the game. "We're not about to slack off, and we're not about to take our focus down at all. Illinois is just as important as Kentucky to us."
For a while, the Illini road the hot hand of Derek Harper to stay with their foes. Harper had 14 points by halftime as the teams entered the locker room deadlocked at 43. However, Reggie Miller's defense kept Harper out of the scoring column in the second half and provided the difference.
"It's a 40-minute game, and I wasn't there for 40 minutes," Harper said.
#3 Kentucky 67, #8 Michigan 58. If UCLA is the undisputed #1, could Kentucky be the undisputed #2? Voters can be weird, but we'll see.
Cliff Hagan led all scorers with 15 points as the Wildcats (11-1) ended their non-conference schedule in style with a win over the Wolverines (9-3), who had been hoping for their second Super Five scalp of the season.
"I think this shows we still have room for improvement," Michigan coach John Beilein said after the game. "We need to make some adjustments before Big Ten play, but I think we can find them and do something with them."
Kentucky's starters, other than Hagan, struggled during the game. Dan Issel was held by Chris Webber to a mere 5 points on the night. But the Blue Line -- Kentucky's "second starters" as coach Adolph Rupp calls them -- came through in the clutch, as Jamal Mashburn had 12 points to spur an 11-3 run that put Kentucky up for good.
"It's a good luxury to have 10 starters," Rupp joked.
#4 Duke 72, #15 Southern Cal 68. In the NIBL postseason, you survive and advance. Duke is getting ready for that mentality early.
Elton Brand's 16 points and 11 rebounds led the way as the Blue Devils (10-2) held off the Trojans (9-3), who finished non-conference play 0-3 against the Super Five and 9-0 against everyone else.
"What that tells me is that we can be a 2 or 3 seed, and that the Sweet Sixteen is good, but it also says we have work to do to compete for the big prize," coach Sam Barry said when asked about the unusual split. "We'll have time to work on our game, we'll face UCLA a couple times... I hope we can improve over the course of the season."
Duke, meanwhile, enters ACC play with two close wins after a loss to Michigan. Coach Mike Krzyzewski isn't worried, though. "We'll be ready," he said to reporters. "We've played tough teams, and we're a tough team."
DeMar DeRozan led the Trojans with 15 points.
#5 Kansas 77, #9 Notre Dame 65. Notre Dame had been overachieving throughout the non-conference season. It had to come to an end with a reality check.
Paul Pierce took over in the second half, getting a personal 8-0 run as part of his 24 point outburst as the Jayhawks (10-2) knocked off the Fighting Irish (9-3) to enter Big XII play with momentum.
With the score tied at 55, Pierce hit a three-point jumper to give Kansas the lead. A steal by JoJo White followed, and White fed Pierce for a dunk to extend the lead to five. After an Adrian Dantley miss, Pierce drove the lane and got the layup plus a foul on Bill Laimbeer, completing the three-point play to give Kansas a lead they wouldn't give back.
"It's like my man [Kevin Garnett] says, anything is possible. We feel we can win it all, man," Pierce said after the game. "If Wilt [Chamberlain] is having a bad day, I can step up, Joel [Embiid] can step up, JoJo [White] can step up... we got options!"
Austin Carr led the Irish with 15 points.
#16 Maryland 71, #17 DePaul 66. George Mikan was rested and ready to go. Unfortunately, so was Len Bias.
Bias scored 22 points to lead all scorers and outduel Mikan (20 points) as the Terrapins (9-3) defeated the Blue Demons (8-4) in the final non-conference game for both teams.
"Len is our spark plug," coach Gary Williams said after the game. "When he gets an open floor, he's hard to beat. We're glad to have him on our team."
Mikan, who played sparingly in the previous game against Rhode Island, was a monster underneath in the halfcourt set. He went 9-13 from the field (2-2 from the line) and added 14 rebounds and 5 blocks. However, Bias was able to get around Mikan on multiple occasions for dunks, and sixth man John Lucas II made a critical three to provide the final score.
"They're good," Mikan admitted. "We're going to take these lessons and prep for the Big East."
#14 Arizona 90, #7 Syracuse 53. When the week began, Syracuse was 8-1 and looked like they could compete with the two Super Five teams in the ACC. Now, questions abound.
Jason Terry and Richard Jefferson each had 25 points as the Wildcats (9-3) sent the Orange (8-4) to their third straight defeat, all against Top 25 competition -- and all against the Pac-12.
"We're not taking anyone lightly," coach Jim Boeheim insisted. "The Pac-12 is a powerful conference. We just had a bad week. We're going to be drilling extra hard in practice to prepare for the ACC season."
Syracuse used their usual 2-3 zone, which discourages going inside and dares three-point shooters to hit their shots. But Terry and Jefferson did that, leading a barrage (with help from Mike Bibby and Steve Kerr) of 15-27 shooting from long-range.
"We just didn't miss," Jefferson said, amused. "We were all dialed in. Heat checks were going in. Everything worked."
Louisville 72, #22 Florida 59. It looks like Florida's stay in the Top 25 won't be repeated.
Donovan Mitchell had 19 points and 6 assists as the Cardinals (9-3) upset the Gators (8-4) to make a statement about their place in the ACC pecking order... and perhaps the Top 25 itself.
"Oh, we definitely belong," Mitchell said when asked. "You look at how we started the year, you look at who we beat; we deserve the recognition that teams like Duke and [North] Carolina do. ACC ain't all about Tobacco Road."
Gators coach Billy Donovan was disappointed in his team's effort. "We're capable of playing better, especially when we get the looks we got today," he said. "You can't do that against teams like Kentucky and Tennessee and expect to get away with it."
Bradley Beal led the Gators with 14 points.
Houston 80, #23 Iowa 67. Rumors of Houston's demise appear to be exaggerated. Iowa, meanwhile, may not be as strong as they looked.
Hakeem Olajuwon went for 21 points, 14 rebounds, 4 blocks, and 4 steals as the Cougars (9-3) jumped out to a 20-point lead by halftime and held on to beat the Hawkeyes (8-4) in the final non-conference game for both teams.
"Now that's more like it," coach Guy Lewis said of Olajuwon's performance. "We're a dangerous team when we click on all cylinders, and Hakeem is a big cylinder. We look ready for Big XII play now."
"We dug ourselves too deep of a hole," Hawkeye forward Connie Hawkins said after the game. "We need to start better and we need to finish better."
California 83, #20 Minnesota 75. The Pac-12 hopes to get more than three bids this season. If it's going to happen, teams like California have to step up the way they did today.
Jason Kidd had 17 points and Shareef Abdur-Rahim had 11 with 6 blocks as the Golden Bears (9-3) took out the Golden Gophers (8-4) in a battle of "golden" teams in the Big 10-Pac 12 rivalry.
"I love how Jason plays," Bears coach Pete Newell said after the game. "But I'm really proud of the progress Shareef has made. Today he dominated the paint on defense, and that's how we were able to get the W."
With Cal up 4 and a minute to go, Abdur-Rahim blocked a Mychal Thompson layup attempt. The scramble went to Archie Clark, who found Kevin McHale underneath. However, Abdur-Rahim blocked the dunk attempt, and Kevin Johnson ran the ball out to get fouled and begin the march to the free throw line.
"Everyone had a good game, and we had a good game," Johnson said.
*****
#24 UNLV 70, Princeton 66. In the mid-major non-conference game of the season, it was thought that Princeton's best chance was to keep UNLV from making it a full-court game. Add some three-pointers, and they could steal a win.
That's almost what happened. But talent won out in the end.
Shawn Marion led all scorers with 17 points as the Runnin' Rebels (8-4) held off the Tigers (7-5) in a game between two of the top mid-majors in the country.
"You gotta give them a ton of credit," coach Jerry Tarkanian said after the game. "Princeton is a team that doesn't lose easily. They're going to be a tough out down the line if, no, when they make the Dance."
With both teams trying to play at their more comfortable pace -- Princeton's average possession was about nine seconds longer than UNLV's -- it was play underneath that kept the Tigers alive. Bill Bradley and John Hummer each had 17 points as Sidney Green was unable to keep up defensively. But in the final seconds, Larry Johnson and Armen Gilliam denied inbound passes, forcing Brian Taylor to put up a three-pointer. It missed, and Reggie Theus' two free throws made the final score.
"So close and yet so far," Bradley told reporters.
*****
HOW THE TOP 25 FARED

1. UCLA 87, 25. Illinois 74
2. North Carolina 95, Arkansas 64
3. Kentucky 67, 8. Michigan 58
4. Duke 72, 15. Southern Cal 68
5. Kansas 77, 9. Notre Dame 65
6. Michigan State 108, Saint Louis 58
7. Syracuse 53, 14. Arizona 90
8. Michigan 58, 3. Kentucky 67
9. Notre Dame 65, 5. Kansas 77
10. Indiana 82, N.C. State 70
11. Ohio State 72, Arizona State 58
12. Connecticut 80, Tennessee 64
13. Texas 75, Saint John's 74, OT
14. Arizona 90, 7. Syracuse 53
15. Southern Cal 68, 4. Duke 72
16. Maryland 71, 17. DePaul 66
17. DePaul 66, 16. Maryland 71
18. LSU 80, West Virginia 71
19. Georgetown 94, Tulsa 69
20. Minnesota 75, California 83
21. Alabama 69, Washington 68, OT
22. Florida 59, Louisville 72
23. Iowa 67, Houston 80
24. UNLV 70, Princeton 66
25. Illinois 74, 1. UCLA 87

SmackDown Episode #1241
Venue: Mohegan Sun Arena at Casey Plaza (Wilkes-Barre, PA)
Attendance: ~9000

Results of Tonight's Show

Match	Stipulation	Winner
The Brawling Brutes vs. Austin Theory & Pretty Deadly	Six-Man tag Match	Austin Theory & Pretty Deadly
Luke Gallows & Karl Anderson vs. Hit Row	Tag Team Match	Luke Gallows & Karl Anderson
Zelina Vega vs. Lacey Evans	MITB Qualifying Match	Zelina Vega
Montez Ford vs. LA Knight	MITB Qualifying Match	LA Knight

IMPORTANT NOTES:

• Tonight begins with a tribute to the history of Roman Reigns' championship reign, running through his successful defenses and showing how many other champions whose reigns he has outstood.
  
• Austin Theory greets us from the ring. It's a special night because of Roman's title celebration, but what if you combined it with the greatest US Championship reign (aka Theory's reign) you'd have 1209 days. It's inspiring, like being the guy who beat John Cena at Wrestlemania. He knows he'll have a 1000 day celebration, maybe more thousands, but if he keeps being given guys like Sheamus he'll be US Champion forever. But he's here for those who do what was right, and that's why he's teaming with Pretty Deadly tonight. They join him in the ring and note it was their pleasure destroying those ugly gremlins, the Brawling Brutes. They want to show Austin their appreciation for him as a champion and gave him a YESSS BOYYYYYYY.
  
• Paul Heyman is speaking at Solo Sikoa backstage, talking about how they need to make tonight special especially after everything that happened at Night of Champions. He's going to go talk to Adam Pearce to make sure the Usos are nowhere to be found.
  
• Earlier today the OC was chatting backstage about taking out Hit Row.
  
• Post-match, AJ Styles takes down Top Dolla with a Phenomenal Forearm. And Cole attempted something that I'm not sure could be called a "rap"
  
• Adam Pearce is pre-emptive with Paul Heyman. The Usos's travel was canceled and he's promising there will be no issues.
  
• Seth "Freakin'" Rollins vs. Damian Priest World Heavyweight Championship match announced for Raw!
  
• It's the Grayson Waller Effect with guest Raw Women's Champion, Asuka. They replay Asuka's win over Bianca Belair at Night of Champions. Waller notes Money in the Bank is coming soon, plus Bianca will likely be coming for the championship again soon again, right? Asuka pops off with her screaming craziness and Waller agrees. IYO SKY interrupts, and the two begin screaming at each other in Japanese. Waller tries to interrupt when Bayley's music hits. She says obviously a member of Damage CTRL is going to win the Money in the Bank... and is then interrupted by Shotzi who wants to crush her dreams. And is interrupted by Lacey Evans, who says the contract is coming home to her. AND IS INTERRUPTED by Zelina Vega who says they're all underestimating her. It becomes a screaming argument while Grayson Waller giggles and says he loves America. Asuka reminds everyone that nobody is ready for her just in time for Bianca to attack from behind, with officials attempting to separate them.
  
• Cameron Grimes is talking to Adam Pearce about wanting to get his hands on Baron Corbin, but he's a free agent now showing up in NXT.
  
• During the break while they were cleaning up after the Grayson Waller Effect, Lacey cheap-shotted Zelina ahead of their match.
  
• After Zelina's win, the LWO meet to celebrate backstage, ahead of Santos Escobar also having a MITB qualifying match next week. Rey Mysterio says he can see it, Santos & Zelina, Mr & Mrs Money in the Bank.
  
• Post-match, LA Knight pulls out a super-tall ladder and poses with the dangling Money in the Bank briefcases.
  
• Spooky winter forest with spooky weirdos sacrificing things over a fire… it's a vignette for Alba Fyre & Isla Dawn.
  
• Triple H joins us in the ring tonight. He says we will be talking about this man for generations, welcome the Tribal Chief, the Undisputed WWE Universal Champion, Roman Reigns. Roman, Solo & Paul join the ring and Triple H congratulates him on a reign that hasn't happend in almost 40 years. To commemorate this, Triple H reveals the new WWE Undisputed Universal Championship belt. Roman removes the old WWE Championship belt and Triple H fastens the new title around his waist. Roman asks the entire universe to acknowledge him... and the Usos' music hits.
  
• Jimmy stares down Roman in the ring while Jey paces. Roman tells Jey to kick him in the face. He needs to fix this, kick him in the face. Jey continues pacing and as Roman again demands him to kick Jimmy in the face and fix this, Jimmy says the only one that needs fixing is Roman. He did what he did because he was being a brother, and brothers treat brothers with love and respect... and lately Roman hasn't been such a good brother. What kind of brother manipulates, betrays, and beats down his own family? He's going to protect his brother, including Solo, as Roman will eventually turn on him too, use him up and kick him in the dirt. Roman says the only reason why the crowd champs Uso is because of him. He's the Tribal Chief, and Jimmy's the imposter. Roman says why don't we hear from Solo who he's loyal to & who he runs with. Solo stands contemplating with the mic in his hand before acknowledging his Tribal Chief... but these two here are his brothers. So then walks over to stand beside the Usos.
  
• Jimmy asks Roman, do they want to run this thing together or does he want to be on the Island of Relevancy all by himself? Roman tells Jimmy to shut his mouth but Jimmy hits him. As it looks to spin up Jey stands between them, telling Roman that they need him and they don't need to fight like this. Jimmy agrees saying they're stronger together, and let's run this place together. Jey is still pacing as Roman sweats it out before finally embracing Jimmy in a long hug... and replies... "no." Solo hits Jimmy with a Samoan Spike.
  

Additional Plugs

• Revisit the live thread
  
• Check out our SquaredCircle Twitter account for all sorts of AMA announcements and interaction!
  
• Join our SquaredCircle Discord for live chat!
  
• Be sure to follow @WWE on Twitter and Like WWE on Facebook!
  
• Like other wrestling promotions? Perhaps you're looking for other subreddits related to wrestling? There's a sub for that! Check out /AEWOfficial, /luchaunderground, /njpw, /ImpactWrestling, /ROH, /indiewrestling, /Wrasslin and more!
  

Next week's Smackdown will be live from Des Moines, IA.

Company Name	Title	City
Amazon Warehouse	Warehouse Worker - Urgent Hire	Fargo
Brambles USA Inc	Container Flow Analyst - Bismarck, ND	Bismarck
RTI International	Field Interviewer - NSDUH	Bismarck
Software Engineering Services Corporation	SW3 - Software Engineering - Journeyman	Cavalier
Fisher Industries	Welder	Dickinson
Fisher Industries	Machinist	Dickinson
Weatherford	HR Business Partner	Marmon
CHI Living Communities	Medication Technician	Fargo
CHI Living Communities	Immediate Openings Housekeeping Aide Riverview Place Fargo	Fargo
CHI Living Communities	Immediate Openings Housekeeping Aide Riverview Place Fargo	West Fargo
CHI Living Communities	Immediate Openings Resident Care Manager Riverview Place Fargo	West Fargo
CHI Living Communities	Immediate Openings Director Of Marketing Riverview Place Fargo	West Fargo
SpartanNash Company	Stocking Associate	Bismarck
Spherion	Warehouse Clerk	Bismarck
ChampionX	Warehouse/Pump Shop Manager	Dickinson
Abercrombie and Fitch Co.	Hollister Co. - Stock Associate, West Acres	Fargo
Northern Tool + Equipment	Lead Stocker	Fargo
ACME ELECTRIC MOTOR, Inc.	Warehouse Worker - $20+/hr DOE, Full & Part-Time, Daytime Hours	Fargo
Aramark Uniform Services	LoadeUnloader	Fargo
John Deere	Part-Time Student-Supply Management-Fargo ND-Partial Remote	Fargo
Dakota Boys and Girls Ranch	Warehouse Support/Driver	Fargo
Ferguson Enterprises, LLC	Warehouse Associate - 1st Shift	Fargo
Coborn's, Inc.	Overnight Stock Clerk	Fargo
Luther Family Buick GMC	Parts Warehouse/Shipping & Receiving	Fargo
CHS, Inc.	Packager- 2nd shift	Fargo

Hey guys, here are some recent job openings in nd. Feel free to comment here or send me a private message if you have any questions, I'm at the community's disposal! If you encounter any problems with any of these job openings please let me know that I will modify the table accordingly. Thanks!

Alright got my 520 running great about a month ago. Decided to rake hay with it today. She ran great for 30min then started to misfire. With showers supposedly incoming I figured I’ll finish then check her out. Got about 1/4 acre left and I ran her out of gas not paying attention. Filled her up and when I started her the spark was jumping from the coil wire to the distributor wire. Why is it doing this? I thought we’ll maybe the wire was bad, but they are brand new a month ago with less than an hour on them. Spark is not getting to one/both of the plugs due to the arcing. Any help is appreciated.

With only days separating us from the Centenary Edition of the 24 Heures du Mans, it's time again for the Le Mans Primer thread! This is the place if you’ve got any questions about the 2023 Le Mans event, no matter how small! There are no dumb questions about Le Mans!

CONTENTS

• The Race
• Session Times
• The Track
• The Classes
• The Legends
• Videos and Documentaries
• Entry List and Spotters Guide
• Endurance Chat podcast
• Broadcast Details
• Social Media
• Live Timing
• Get Involved!

The Race

It all comes back to Le Mans. A century ago, people asked ‘Could a car continue to drive for 24 hours straight?’, an event was made to test that theory, and a legacy in racing, motorsport, and motoring was born. The 24 Heures du Mans is the holy grail of endurance motor racing, and brings up its Centenary edition this year. In its 100 year history, the 24 Hours of Le Mans is recognised as the most prestigious and gruelling test for innovations and improvements in motorsport technology. Technologies such as disk and air brakes, streamlined bodywork, fuel, oil, and lubricant improvements, improvements to engine efficiency and longevity, even things as simple as LED lighting and windscreen wiper blades have been trialled and tested at Le Mans. The normally hot conditions in the middle of June stretch the limits of reliability, with all the teams knowing that in order to beat their competitors, they must first beat the event. A variety of different engine configurations, displacements, positions, fuels, and hybrids have won over the history of the event. So far, petrol-fuelled traditional piston engines have been the most successful. Mazda managed to win using a Wankel Rotary engine in 1991 with the Mazda 787b (oh god listen to that sound!), while Audi was the first to win with an alternate fuel, taking victory in the diesel-powered R10 TDI in 2006. 2012 ushered in the era of the Hybrid, with Audi taking victory in the R18 e-tron Quattro, featuring a flywheel hybrid engine.

Qualifying

The Qualifying format for Le Mans is unique to the event, and called Hyperpole. In this format, all classes are permitted to use the track in the 1 hour qualifying session on Wednesday evening. The top 8 cars from each of the 3 classes then progress to the Hyperpole session on Thursday night, which sets the top of the grid for each class. This means that each class will be segregated on the final grid.

Session Times

• Ligier European Series Practice 1 – Sunday June 4th, 08:00 Local, 06:00 UTC, 02:00 ET, 16:00 AEST – 45 Minutes
• Ligier European Series Qualifying 1 – Sunday June 4th, 09:15 Local, 07:15 UTC, 03:15 ET, 17:15 AEST – 20 Minutes
• Test Day Session 1 - Sunday June 4th, 10:00 Local, 08:00 UTC, 04:00 ET, 18:00 AEST – 3 Hours
• Ligier European Series Race - Sunday June 4th, 14:00 Local, 12:00 UTC, 08:00 ET, 22:00 AEST – 60 Minutes
• Test Day Session 2 - Sunday June 4th, 15:30 Local, 13:30 UTC, 09:30 ET, 23:30 AEST – 3 Hours
• Porsche Carrera Cup Practice 1 – Wednesday June 7th, 09:00 Local, 07:00 UTC, 03:00 ET, 17:00 AEST – 45 Minutes
• Ferrari Challenge Practice 1 – Wednesday June 7th, 10:15 Local, 08:15 UTC, 04:15 ET, 18:15 AEST - 45 Minutes
• Road To Le Mans Practice 1 – Wednesday June 7th, 11:30 Local, 09:30 UTC, 05:30 ET, 19:30 AEST – 1 Hour
• Free Practice 1 - Wednesday June 7th, 14:00 Local, 12:00 UTC, 08:00 ET, 22:00 AEST - 3 Hours
• Qualifying Practice - Wednesday June 7th. 19:00 Local, 17:00 UTC, 13:00 ET, Thursday 03:00 AEST - 1 Hour
• Road To Le Mans Practice 2 – Wednesday June 7th, 20:30 Local, 18:30 UTC, 14:30 ET, Thursday 04:30 AEST - 1 Hour
• Free Practice 2 - Wednesday June 7th, 22:00 Local, 20:00 UTC, 16:00 ET, Thursday 06:00 AEST - 2 Hours
• Ferrari Challenge Practice 2 – Thursday June 8th, 09:00 Local, 07:00 UTC, 03:00 ET, 17:00 AEST – 45 Minutes
• Porsche Carrera Cup Practice 2 – Thursday June 8th, 10:55 Local, 08:55 UTC, 04:55 ET, 18:55 AEST – 45 Minutes
• Road To Le Mans Qualifying Practice – Thursday June 8th, 12:55 Local, 10:55 UTC, 06:55 UTC, 20:55 AEST – 20 Minutes x 2 Classes
• Free Practice 3 - Thursday June 8th, 15:00 Local, 13:00 UTC, 09:00 ET, 23:00 AEST - 3 Hours
• Road To Le Mans Race 1 - Thursday June 8th, 18:30 Local, 16:30 UTC, 12:30 ET, Friday 02:30 AEST - 55 Minutes
• HYPERPOLE - Thursday June 8th, 20:00 Local, 18:00 UTC, 14:00 ET, Friday 04:00 AEST - 30 Minutes
• Free Practice 4 - Thursday June 8th, 22:00 Local, 20:00 UTC, 16:00 ET, Friday 06:00 AEST - 2 Hours
• Porsche Carrera Cup Qualifying – Friday June 9th, 09:00 Local, 07:00 UTC, 03:00 ET, 17:00 AEST – 45 Minutes
• Ferrari Challenge Qualifying – Friday June 9th, 10:15 Local, 08:15 UTC, 04:15 ET, 18:15 AEST – 45 Minutes
• Road To Le Mans Race 2 - Friday June 9th, 11:30 Local, 09:30 UTC, 05:30 ET, 19:30 AEST – 55 Minutes
• Ferrari Challenge Race 1 - Saturday June 10th, 09:30 Local, 07:30 UTC, 03:30 ET, 17:30 AEST - 45 Minutes
• Porsche Carrera Cup Race 1 - Saturday June 10th, 10:45 Local, 08:45 UTC, 04:45 ET, 18:45 AEST - 45 Minutes
• Warm Up - Saturday June 10th, 12:00 Local, 10:00 UTC, 06:00 ET, 20:00 AEST – 15 Minutes
• RACE START - **Saturday June 11th, 16:00 Local, 14:00 UTC, 10:00 ET, Sunday 00:00 AEST

The Track

The Circuit de la Sarthe covers 13.6 kilometres of the French country side. It combines the permanent race components of the Ford Chicanes, the pit straight, under the Dunlop Bridge and through to Tertre Rouge as well as the normal everyday roads of the Mulsanne straight through to Indianapolis and Arnage. The track has gone through many iterations over the years; originally, the cars raced into the heart of the city, turning just before the river Sarthe, before hurtling down the 8.6 kilometre straight. In 1932, the circuit removed the journey into the city, and more closely resembled the track we see today. Here’s a video of Mike Hawthorn touring the circuit with a camera and microphone attached in 1956, one year after his involvement in the Le Mans disaster. The addition of the Porsche Curves and the Ford Chicanes in 1972 added an extra dimension to the high speed, fast flowing track. In the late 80’s, the Group C prototype cars would reach over 400km/h, achieving average speeds of almost 250km/h in qualifying for the entire lap. This is an onboard of Derek Bell’s Porsche 956 in 1983, showing the ridiculous speeds on this configuration of the circuit. This configuration remained relatively unchanged right up to 1990, until FIA mandations required that for the circuit to be sanctioned, it must not have a straight longer than 2km. The 6km Mulsanne straight was cut down into three relatively equal length portions by two chicanes, giving the iteration of the circuit used today. Allan McNish takes you on an onboard lap of the 2008 circuit in this video. McNish is one of the gods of the modern prototype era, winning Le Mans 3 times; once with Porsche and twice with Audi. For a more comprehensive focus on the track, John Hindhaugh’s track walk takes you on a 30 minute exploration of the track, with in depth focus on corners like the Dunlop Esses, Tertre Rouge, Mulsanne Corner, and the Ford Chicanes.
For some modern on boards, check out the fastest ever lap in the Circuit de la Sarthe: Kamui Kobayashi's 3:14.791 in 2017 Q2, and last year’s Hyperpole lap, by Brendon Hartley, setting a 3:24.408
The Dunlop Bridge
The iconic Dunlop Bridge has been a part of the Le Mans track since 1932, making it the oldest Dunlop Bridge at any track. This part of the track requires a good launch out of the first chicane before cresting the brow of the hill, and plunging through the esses out onto the Mulsanne straight. As the LMP cars are much more maneuverable, caution must be taken passing the slower GT traffic, as Allan McNish discovered in 2011.
Tertre Rouge
Tertre Rouge is the corner that launches the cars onto the long Mulsanne straight. Maintaining momentum through this corner as it opens on exit is imperative to ensure maximum straight line speed heading down the first part of the Mulsanne. The undulation in the road makes for fantastic viewing at night, with some magic images of the Porsches throwing up sparks on the exit in 2014. Finally, this was the location of Allan Simonsen’s fatal crash in mixed conditions in the 2013 Le Mans. The Danish flags will fly at the corner in his memory.
Mulsanne Corner
After the incredibly long Mulsanne straight, the Mulsanne corner nowadays features a subtle right hand kink before the tight 90 degree turn. Here, the cars decelerate from 340 km/h down to below 100 km/h, resulting in a brilliant opportunity to overtake. Again, care must be taken overtaking slower traffic; unaware drivers have caught out faster cars attempting to pass through the kink, such as Anthony Davidson’s spectacular crash in 2012 resulting in a broken vertebra for Davidson.
Indianapolis and Arnage
The Indanapolis and Arnage complex is one of the most committed areas of the track. Hurtling down the hill from the Mulsanne Corner, the road suddenly bends to the right, a corner which only the bravest prototype drivers take flat out, followed by a beautifully cambered open left hander taken in third gear. A short sprint leads the cars into Arnage, the slowest point on the track. The tight right hander was the scene of heartbreak for Toyota in 2014 when the leading #7 broke down and had to be retired after an FIA sensor melted and shut off the electronics. Kazuki Nakajiima was unable to make it to the pits, leaving him stranded on the circuit.
The Porsche Curves
At a terrifyingly high speed, the Porsche Curves is the most committed part of the lap. Getting caught behind GT traffic in this section can mean losing phenomenal amounts of time. This was the site of Loic Duval’s horrific crash in practice for the 2014 event. Keeping momentum through the flowing right-left-right handers that lead into Maison Blanche requires 100% commitment and ultimate precision, with severe punishment for getting it wrong. The exit of the Porsche Curves underwent significant change in 2020, with additional run-off added in the middle part of the section. This has turned the treacherous and claustrophobic sweeping left-hander into an open and sweeping corner, encouraging every little bit of road to be used on the exit. What it hasn’t changed is the terrific consequences for making a mistake
The Ford Chicanes
The final chapter in the 13.6km rollercoaster that is Le Mans is the Ford Chicanes. Two tight left-right handers with massive kerbs are all that separates the driver from the finish line. Watching the cars bounce over the kerbs in beautiful slow motion is certainly something to behold, but 24 hours of mistreatment can lead to suspension and steering issues. The drivers have to be attentive until the very end, lest they throw it all away in the last minutes of the race.
The Circuit de la Sarthe requires over 85% of the lap on full throttle, with the cars accelerating from less than 100km/h to over 300km/h five times each lap. The challenge of having a car finish Le Mans is in itself, an achievement.

The Classes

The WEC consists of three classes on track at once, resulting in three separate races on track each in their own battle for 24 Hours. The classes are split based on their car type, with LMH and LMDh machinery facing off in the Hypercar class, purpose built prototypes with a spec engine and gearbox battling in LMP2, and GT machinery racing in GTE. Each class has its own set of regulations, driver requirements, and relevance for the Le Mans event.

Hypercar

The current top class of endurance sportscars is Hypercar, combining cars built to Le Mans Hypercar (LMH) and Le Mans Daytona (LMDh) specifications. Fighting it out will be LMH machinery from Toyota, Ferrari, Peugeot, Glickenhaus and Vanwall, while Porsche and Cadillac will be racing in LMDh cars. The LMH cars are bespoke sportscars, designed to a strict set of requirements dictating maximum power, drag coefficient, and weight, amongst other parameters, intended to limit the cost of the category. LMDh machines on the other hand are based on the future LMP2 chassis offerings, with manufacturers able to develop their own engines and bodywork, aligning with the power and drag coefficients of LMH. As part of cost-cutting, the Hypercar class is also subject to a Balance of Performance (BoP) formula, to level the playing field and ensure good racing! Hypercars are a little slower than their LMP1 predecessors, with lap times around the 3:24 mark for the Circuit de la Sarthe, which is on par with the 2014 LMP1 cars.

LMP2

The second prototype class is LMP2, and provides an excellent platform for endurance racing on a budget. The LMP2 class features a spec drivetrain and gearbox, using a Gibson V8 producing 400kW, and a selection of three chassis to choose from, of which the Oreca 07 has been the chassis of choice. This ensures that the competition in the class is very tight, and often comes down to the drivers and the team’s performance instead of just having the best car. While LMP2 was capable of 3:25 lap times in years previous, part of the ‘stratification’ of classes with Hypercar’s inclusion, the LMP2 class has lost some power and had some weight added. This should put LMP2 at the heels of the Hypercar pace, but with laptimes outside the 3:28 mark.
LMP2 is the first class that must feature amateur rated (FIA Silver or Bronze) drivers. The Amateurs must drive for a minimum of 6 hours in the car over the course of the race. This means that there's an element of strategy of when to use your amateur driver throughout the race, as the amateur driver is generally slower than the Pros. The pro drivers in this class range from up and coming talent, former F1 drivers, and some of the best sportscar pilots in the world, and with 24 cars in this class, LMP2 is sure to be a hotbed of action over the 24 hours.

LMGTE-Am

GT class cars are cars that are derived from production models, and feature some of the most iconic cars and brands battling it out at the top of the field. The GTE cars are on the border of aero dependency, and can lap Le Mans in around 3:45 in a professional driver’s hands.
This year is the last year of the GTE class, and features 21 cars in a Pro-Am category, with cars from Ferrari, Porsche, Aston Martin, and Chevrolet on the grid. Despite the lack of a Pro category, the driver quality in GTE-Am is still incredibly high, with factory drivers, young stars, experienced champions and every level of experience in between on the grid, with each car featuring one Bronze and one further Bronze or Silver rated driver. With two amateur drivers, the strategy considerations multiply. While GTE-Am might be the class focussed on the least over the course of the race, the stories that come from this class are phenomenal, and it's well worth following.
The GT classes feature a range of different cars and configurations, and to equalise each of these against each other, the class goes through a process called 'Balance of Performance' or BoP. The organisers can adjust each individual car's weight, fuel tank, air restrictor, turbo boost pressures, and aero performance to alter performance levels to enable the different cars to race competitively. This can sometimes be contentious as every team will feel hard done by, but it is a necessary evil to having the variety of cars on the grid.

Innovative Car

Each year, there is the option for an Innovative Car, with untested or innovative technology, allowed to enter in it’s own category. In years past, this has allowed for entries from the Deltawing, or a modified LMP2 to allow amputees to race.
This year, the Innovative Car entry is a modified Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 Next-Gen NASCAR, run by Hendrick Motorsports. The Next-Gen NASCAR features modifications to allow it to run safely on the Circuit de la Sarthe, and will be driven by multiple NASCAR Cup champion Jimmie Johnson, Formula 1 World Champion Jenson Button, and Le Mans Overall Winner Mike Rockenfeller.

The Legends

Part of the allure of the Le Mans 24 Hours is the history, and the legends steeped in history over the course of its 88 previous editions. The race has had many headline battles in its history - periods of time where two or three teams went toe to toe for years, with the drivers, cars, and brands embroiled in these battles given the chance to elevate themselves above the rest, and show their prowess.
In 2019, we at /WEC, took our normal Le Mans Legends celebrations to a new level; each week, members of the community have been writing reviews on some of the closest, most fascinating finishes in Le Mans history! You can check out these reports below!

• The 1966 Dead Heat by kinkymulsanne
• 1983; Factory Porsche dominates with a 1-2 victory, but only just! by Floodman11
• 1987; The colossal struggle between Porsche and Jaguar (Part 1) by Lagiacrus7
• 2016; FUCK by Cybershrike
• 1979; Boogie Nights meets Days Of Thunder by SolHiemis
• 1991; the Hiroshima Screamer Prevails by AE_Racer
• 2010; the Day the Peugeots All Died by kiwichris1709
• 1999; The Le Mans Turning Point by starzonda
• 2011; The Final Audi vs Peugeot Rivalry by Stuff_And_More
• 1988; The colossal struggle between Porsche and Jaguar (part 2) by Lagiacrus7

Bonus CookieMonsterFL Write-Ups

• 3.5L: The Downfall of Group C
• Airborne Crashes

For a bite-sized history lesson on every Le Mans event, check out this post by u/JohannesMeanAd2, describing every Le Mans in a single sentence!
The early races were dominated by the Bentley company in their Speed 6, who won 5 of the first 7 races. Cars were separated into classes by their engine displacement, and the overall winner was based on distance covered. If two cars had finished with the same number of laps, the car with the smaller displacement was declared the winner. The race wasn't run during the second world war, and comparatively very little information is available on the stories of the early days of Le Mans.
After the second world war, teams such as Jaguar, Ferrari, Mercedes, and Aston Martin became the dominant teams. This era featured the legendary Jaguar D type, the Mercedes Benz 300 SLR, the Ferrari 250 Testa Rossa, and the Aston Martin DBR1. Jaguar won 5 times between 1951 and 1957, followed by an era of Ferrari dominance. Drivers such as Mike Hawthorn, Stirling Moss, Juan Manuel Fangio, and John Fitch became household names as Le Mans became a battle between German engineering and British "garagistas".
Ferrari and Ford was the story of the 60's, with Ferrari winning 6 times straight before Ford won four in a row with the GT40 Mk II, taking their first win in 1966. The story of their rivalry is legendary in it's own right - Henry Ford had almost successfully bought out the Ferrari motor company, only to be knocked back by Enzo himself at the 11th hour. In retaliation, Ford planned to hurt Ferrari where it mattered most; on the track. The Ford GT40 was so comprehensively dominant that it won the 1966 edition 21 laps ahead of the next car back - a Porsche 906/6. None of the Ferrari 330P3's finished the race. This battle gave drivers like Bruce Mclaren, Dan Gurney, and Jacky Ickx their first Le Mans victories, and propelled them to the forefront of motorsport stardom at the height of motorsport's popularity.
The 1970's saw the dawn of Porsche, with the 917k taking the brand's first win in 1970, with the same car winning the following year in the hands of Helmut Marko (yes, that Helmut Marko). It would be 5 years before Porsche would win again, with Matra taking 3 victories in the interim, each at the hands of Henri Pescarolo. Porsche returned with the 936 and the 956/962c dominating the race for the next 20 years. In fact, from 1970, Porsche won 12 times in 18 events, including 7 in a row, and they miiight have been a bit cheeky about it. Amongst these 12 wins, there were 4 for both Jacky Ickx and Derek Bell, and two for IMSA legend Hurley Haywood, as well as the first win for the Joest team in 1984. This era coincided with the introduction, and subsequent destruction of the Group C sportscar formula, widely regarded as the best Sportscar championship regulations of all time. Porsche’s dominance was eventually ended by Jaguar in the XJR-9LM, at the height of Group C’s magic. Ickx's 6 wins at this stage had earned him the nickname 'Mr Le Mans', a fitting title for one of the best drivers in the world at the time.
GT cars became a force to be reckoned with at the end of the Group C era, with classes being split into LMGTP and LMP. McLaren and Porsche had wins in GTP cars, in the F1 GTR and the 911 GT1 respectively, while Porsche, BMW and Peugeot scored LMP wins. 1997 saw the first win for Tom Kristensen, while the following year Allan McNish took his first victory, starting their journeys into the legend books of Le Mans.
The 2000’s ushered in the era of Audi, with all 13 of their wins coming since the turn of the century. GTP was disbanded due to safety issues, being replaced by GT1 and GT2. Audi picked up wins in the R8, the R10, the R15, and the R18, often dominating the might of the Peugeot 908. Audi's dominance elevated not only their drivers to legend status, but also their team managers, car designers, and race engineers. People like Reinhold Joest (team manager), Dr Wolfgang Ullrich (Audisport director), Ulrich Baretzky (engine designer), Leena Gade, Howden Haynes (race engineers) behind the wall and Allan McNish, Tom Kristensen, Rinaldo Capello, Marcel Fassler, Andre Lotterer and Benoit Treluyer have become household names in the sport not only for their wins, but their longevity and domination. Audi's dominance was only broken by a win for Bentley in 2003, running basically an Audi under a British racing green skin, and Peugeot in 2009, before being ended for good by Porsche in 2015. After both Porsche and Audi left the top class, Toyota rose to dominance, taking the last 3 Le Mans events in a row!
Between 2015 and 2017, Porsche added to their victories, now holding a record 19 overall victories at the Circuit de la Sarthe. Audi trail with 13, with Ferrari, Jaguar and Bentley holding the next three positions. Toyota finally took their first overall victory in 2018, and have won every year since. Tom Kristensen is has the most victories at Le Mans, with 9 overall victories over his career with Porsche, Audi and Bentley, inheriting the title of Mr Le Mans.

Videos and Documentaries

• Truth in 24 and Truth in 24 II - The story of Audi’s victories against testing conditions and the might of Peugeot in 2008 and 2011.
  
• Le Mans - made in 1971, this movie follows a fictional Le Mans race in 1970, featuring fantastic footage and sounds of the Porsche 917 and the Ferrari 512 starring Steve McQueen
  
• The Deadliest Crash - The BBC documentary on the 1955 Le Mans disaster. For more information, see CookieMonsteFL’s amazing post on the incident
  
• Our Return: A documentary of our road to Le Mans 2015 - Porsche’s youtube documentary chronicling their return to Le Mans and their eventual win.
  
• McLaren at Le Mans: Pursuit of Perfection - The story behind McLaren's 1995 victory
  
• The fastest ever lap at the Circuit de la Sarthe. Kamui Kobayashi's 3:14.791 in 2017 Q2
  
• Mark Blundell’s explosive lap - Blundell was going so fast, he was overheating the blowers in the car. After being told to turn down the engine and abandon the lap, in true racing driver fashion he simply turned off the radio.
  
• Clearwater Racing: Journey to the 24 hours of Le mans
  
• Cetilar Racing: The Italian Spirit of Le Mans - A documentary on Cetilar Villorba Corse's journey to Le Mans in 2018
  
• McLaren at Le Mans: Pursuit of Perfection - The McLaren F1 road car's story and development for the historic LeMans race of 1995.
  
• Ford vs Ferrari / Le Mans '66 - Coming out late 2019, this movie tells (a stylised version of) the story of the battle between Ford and Ferrari at Le Mans in the late 1960's. While there are some inaccuracies, the movie has been widely heralded as one of the best Motorsport themed movies ever made, and has been enjoyed by critics and motorsport fans alike.
  
• Michael Fassbender: Road To Le Mans Season 1 and 2, Season 3, Season 4 – Actor and Amateur Driver Michael Fassbender documents his 4 year journey from Porsche Carrera Cup into the ELMS and finally, to the 24 Hours of Le Mans.
  
• Racing with Giants: Porsche at Le Mans - Narrated by Patrick Dempsey (Yes, that one), Hagerty looks back at the history of Le Mans' most successful manufacturer, Porsche
  

Entry List

Spotters Guide thanks to Ziombel_444!**

Once again, /WEC is proud to have a fan-made spotters guide produced by Ziombel_444. In a few short years, Ziombel_444 has gone from making the spotters guide to replace the official guide by Andy Blackmore, to being commissioned to make spotters guides for the 24H Creventic series! Make sure you check out Ziombel_444's other guides at spotters.guide and support this great effort!

Endurance Chat

/WEC's podcast, Endurance Chat, will have four episodes in the lead up to Le Mans, as well as a Pre-Pre-Race show in the hours before the event. Watch this space for updates!

• Endurance Chat S8E11 – The Centenary 24 Hours of Le Mans Preview - History, context, and insight into this year’s edition of the Le Mans 24 Hours
  
• Endurance Chat S8E12 - The 2023 Le Mans 24 Hour Hypercar Class Guide – In the first year of convergence, we break down the 16 entries in what is the largest top-class entry to Le Mans in over a decade.
  
• Endurance Chat S8E13 - The 2023 Le Mans 24 Hour LMP2 Class Guide – 24 cars split between LMP2 and LMP2 Pro-Am littered with former F1 talent, up and coming superstars, and some of the best prototype drivers in the world
  
• Endurance Chat S8E14 – The 2023 Le Mans 24 Hour LMGTE-Am Class Guide – For their final performance, 21 cars makes up the GTE-Am field. While there is no GTE-Pro, there has certainly been no shortage of action, and the quality of the grid makes it easy to see why!
  

In addition, Endurance Chat made a series of features detailing the history of sportscars in the late 60’s and early 70’s, at the transition point of GT and Prototype machinery. The series details some of the machinery, events, and drivers in one of the fastest and most dangerous periods in racing history. You can find a playlist to these features here!

Streaming and Television

Official TV Broadcast distribution Find out how to watch in your region!

• Official stream OUTSIDE US ONLY - The Le Mans package gives you access to all WEC sessions (Practice, Qualifying, Warm Up and the Race) with a choice of on boards, cross platform compatibility, and up to 5 devices connected at once. Additionally, replays of the event are free after the event. Official comms headed by Martin Haven, Anthony Davidson, and Graham Goodwin, who in my personal opinion properly nail the tone of the event. Has been known to get overloaded and crash however
• Eurosport will likely be broadcasting the event in a variety of locales throughout Europe. This will be updated when confirmed
• Radio Le Mans will be streaming live radio for every session

For American audiences, unfortunately the Official stream is geoblocked for your area. American and English-speaking Canadian audiences can access coverage through Motortrend On Demand
Any further updates on TV or Streaming distribution will be added as they are released!

Social Media

If you're looking for more interaction, you can find most of the teams, drivers and commentators on Twitter, giving you instant interaction with those in the midst of the event.
Twitter list of teams and drivers competing in this year's event - thanks to thatsmehere

Live timing

• Official Live Timing

Be sure to join the discord for alternate timing solutions!

Get Involved!

By far the most fun you can have watching an endurance race is watching it with the official /WEC Discord! It's a lot of fun and a really great atmosphere to watch the race in!
If you want to have a go at picking who you think will be winning in each class, jump into mwclarkson's Fantasy Endurance Contest! It's free to enter, and if you win, you'll get the satisfaction and achievement of being right!
If there's anything you'd like us to add, or need clarification on, please comment below and we'll add it in!`

So, Frieza vs Kaos, a matchup I'm really vibing with and that has quickly become my favorite for both, so it's only right I make a script for it right? I think this is my longest script yet as there was a lot I wanted to include in here, even if a good chunk of it can be dumbed down to "lasers" if you wanna do that lol (it's dragon ball, whatcha expect?) Anyways, I hope you enjoy!
We begin with a shot of the Skylands. Floating isles, hidden amongst a wafting of mist and fog high in the sky. Each was themed towards the different elements that power the land, its inhabitants and its defenders, the mighty Skylanders, however there was one location in particular reserved for the most rotten of them all. On the Cloudbreak Islands lay the Kaos Fortress, where the dark lord Kaos himself resides. In this fortress, Kaos sat on his large, comfortable chair, a chair that was realistically far too large for him to sit on. Standing next to him was his loyal right hand, a demure and lanky goblin man named Glumshanks, who held for Kaos a large strawberry milkshake that the dark lord was eagerly drinking. However, Kaos' drink was cut short by a new arrival.
Floating down from the clouds above was a large, circular ship, made of high tech materials and construction. The flagship of the Frieza Force, reserved for their own Mighty Lord, Frieza himself. The hatch at the top of the ship opened up, and out from within floated up the white and purple tyrant himself. Clearing his throat as his tail casually swished around behind him, Frieza seemed as though he was preparing for some sort of business meeting with how casual he seemed. Although, his words were far from as disarming as his actions. "Haha, residents of the Skylands, it has come to my attention that you exist. I tried to tell your Master Eon to kneel but the old man was delusional enough to deny me. And so I, the Mighty Lord Frieza, grant you the honor of being the first graveyard amongst the Skylands!" He announced, casually raising his finger up to the air, a small burning orb of fiery light formed at the tip of his finger, swelling into the form of his deadly Supernova attack. It grew until it eclipsed the fortress below, before Frieza pointed down at the ground below, intending to detonate the island like he did to Planet Vegeta. However, before the Big Bang could hit the ground, a crackling aura of purple energy surrounded the attack. The aura held the attack back and forced it to shrink, shrinking it smaller and smaller until it was the size of a mere soccer ball before it transmuted into a confused, seemingly traumatized sheep.
Kaos stepped out onto his balcony, with Glumshanks placing a large stepping stool out on the edge for his Lord to use to heighten himself. Handing Kaos a megaphone, Glumshanks stepped back and plugged his ears, preparing for the ear shattering speech to follow. "FOOL! You believe you get to rule the Skylands?? The Skylands belongs to me! The bringer of ultimate mega DOOM! LORD KAOS! GLUMSHANKS, TELL HIM," Kaos holds the megaphone down to Glumshanks mouth, and the monotone goblin spoke into it. "sigh, yeah, yeah he's right."
Frieza chuckled, amused by the defiant buffoon, as more Frieza Force ships begin to descend from the clouds, launching pods filled with Saibamen onto the fortress. Manning the walls of the Kaos Fortress, trolls began to mount onto cannons and turrets to blast at the pods, blasting a few out of the air but missing a precious few, which landed on the ground and released their Saibamen. The Saibamen started blasting holes through the walls of the Fortress, flooding into it's inner walls to take it from the inside, only to find Cyclopes and Spell Punks meeting them within. "Send the Ginyu Force!" Frieza commanded, cackling to himself as he watched his forces battle Kaos' down below and, as he commanded, the Ginyu Force landed on the Island, with their theme song playing as expected. In response Kaos screeched, "DOOMLANDERS! Don't just stand there, bring them their doom!!" As he instructed as well, the Doomlanders met the Ginyu Force on the field of battle.
The two groups would fight for a brief while, however soon enough the Doomlanders would emerge victorious. Kaos began to cheer for his victory, only to see a comet of purple energy hurtle towards the ground, slamming in the middle of the Doomlanders. Standing in the middle of the crater left behind was Frieza, the strength of his landing alone vaporizing the Doomlanders with the alien tyrant giving negative shits about it. He pointed up to Kaos, and a bright beam of purple light blasted from his finger towards the short portal master. Kaos narrowly leapt out of the way, with the beam blasting into the top of the fortress and blasting a hole through it's roof.
As Kaos began descending, he used a spell to make himself float as he bared down on Frieza, flying towards him as he threw balls of blue fire at the white and purple alien. Frieza sidestepped and ducked around them, charging forward at Kaos with an attack prepared for him. When Kaos got close, Frieza whipped him with his tail and sent Kaos flying towards the ground, cratering the ground below him. "Oww! That was rude! Glumshanks, bring me a bandaid!" He yelled, with his minion somehow understanding him even from so far away. Frieza landed down in front of Kaos, kicking him to the side to send him even further away, *right when Glumshanks reached the area with a comically large first aid kit in his hands,** causing the man to sigh as he realized how much more he'd have to run. Frieza floated over to Kaos, chuckling to himself.* "Interesting, you're being beaten to death and your crying over a boo-boo? I find you so pathetic that I'm tempted to let you live," Frieza teased, lifting Kaos up out of the ground and blasting him up into the air, blasting upwards into the sky to trail behind him. He blasted more and more rapid fire purple lasers, but Kaos was not outdone. Kaos teleported out of the air and back down to the ground, leaving Frieza confused until he looked back down to the ground, seeing Kaos mount up onto his supercharger that he got out of a portal he summoned. Igniting his superchargers engine, Kaos launched up into the air, now being the one to chase Frieza through the sky, sadly just as Glumshanks reached him again causing the poor servant to be launched back by the rocket boosters, sending the first aid kit out of his hands.
Frieza now started flying away from Kaos, with Kaos flying after him and blasting his own purple lasers at Frieza in the shape of rings, waves, lines and zig-zags, throwing Frieza off his game and causing him to be pelted by lasers at every turn, all while Kaos monologued behind him. "Stupid fool! You run away from your doom? From Kaos? You'll only lose tired… GLUMSHANKS! WHERE IS MY BANDAID?!" After a while, Frieza started to wisen up to the patterns of Kaos' blasts and began to deftly dodge them, annoying Kaos. Summoning another portal, Kaos pulled out one of his artifacts, a powerful red and gold gauntlet. The Iron Fist of Arkus. "You have annoyed me for long enough, Freezer!" Kaos said, his voice deep and distorted into that of a robot. Frieza's flight was halted as his tail was grabbed by Kaos, now in the form of a massive, powerful Arkeyan robot, his eyes glowing bright blue. "Unhand me you idio-" Frieza yelled before his words were cut off, with Kaos swinging Frieza down onto a nearby mountain, pulverizing it with the force of the impact, leaving Frieza in a massive crater in the ground. However, Kaos was not done. Leaping up into the air with his massive robot form, Kaos landed a comically large peoples-elbow on his opponent who was currently many times smaller than him. Standing back up to his feet, Kaos stomped down onto the crater multiple times, smashing Frieza further and further into the ground, before pointing his head down to blast a powerful beam of light out of his eyes down into the crater. "That's…ENOUGH!" Frieza cried out, a powerful burst of golden light dispersing the laser of the Arkeyan Kaos immediately as Frieza flew up to Kaos' head, landing a powerful punch into Kaos' chin in his now-golden form. Kaos was launched up into the sky but by the time his large, robotic frame was done flying up, Frieza was already behind him and pointing his finger forward, blasting repeated blasts of ki into his back, severing the gauntlet off of Kaos' robotic hand and reverting him back to his base form, showering the ground below in craters formed by Frieza's ki blasts, the ground being covered in a layer of smoke.
"Fool…FOOL! You DARE power up? ONLY I GET TO POWER UP!" Kaos whined, his voice growing distorted once again as he spoke. The smoke dispersed around him to reveal him in his Traptanium form, floating with a lower half made of Traptanium crystal and dark purple skin. He flew up to Frieza, blasting beams of purple energy at him as the two began to engage in a ranged air-skirmish. The two eventually get taken to melee, with Frieza kicking Kaos to the side where Kaos smacks into the screen, breaking it for a few seconds as he flies back into the fight again (cuz Traptanium Kaos breaks the fourth wall.) When Kaos flies back though, Frieza blasts Kaos back down to the ground, now following him to the ground and slowly, dramatically walking towards him. "This sparring session is getting less and less entertaining you buffoon," Frieza said.
"Master Kaos, I have your bandaid," Glumshanks said, running up in-between Frieza and Kaos desperately panting for breath, bandages spilling out of it and flapping in the wind like loose toilet paper. "Want a large one or a small one?" Glumshanks asked. Frieza rolled his eyes and pointed at the tall goblin man, Death Beam'ing him through the chest and causing Glumshanks to die, just like how Frieza killed Paragus. "Such a tragedy," Frieza mocked, before looking back at Kaos. Kaos however was…still. He wasn't screaming, he wasn't whining, he was just…angry. Very angry, and Frieza could tell. “So much for that blundering buffoonery! I did wonder when you would stop whini-“ Crackling purple light emanated from Kaos as his body bulked up and grew, cutting off Frieza's words. His muscles bulged and hulked out, metal armor covered his body, and his hair and eyes burned a bright, crackling blue…something that sparked a memory in the sadistic tyrant Frieza.
When the smoke clears fully, a familiar cackle, now deepened, can be heard as Kaos emerges in his Super State and begins charging a blast. "Your doom will be slow, Frieza!" Kaos threatened.
“That’s…that’s…” Frieza could barely force the words out of his mouth as a flash of memory crosses his mind…a memory of his second death, a familiar foe charging a similar blue blast.
“FRIEZAAAAA!!!!” Goku shouted in his memory
Cut back to reality, Frieza’s flashback distracting him long enough for him to take the blast in the gut, sending Frieza to the ground. As it dissolves…he begins fuming in rage.
“ANOTHER BLASTED!” Frieza punches the ground with each word. “STUPID!” Finally, rage overtakes him completely, in an ironic reference to the first transformation of the one who killed him in his cybernetic state, and he transforms into his Black form! “MONNNNKEEEEYYYYYY!!!!!!!!” A powerful purple aura enveloped Frieza, his skin turning black and his eyes burning bright red. The two where now in their highest forms, and the fight would truly commence.
The two battled against one another in the air and on the ground, blasting waves of energy at eachother in varying shapes and sizes. Kaos summoned his Doom Sharks, sending a wave of chomping energy sharks at Frieza who dispatched them quickly with a series of blasts. Frieza tried to land a flurry of punches on Kaos, but Kaos summoned his large, energy construct Doom Hands to grab the alien racist by the tail and smash him down on the floor, opening him up to more and more blasts of chaotic energy from Super Kaos. However, Frieza wasn't done yet.
"I have had enough of this charade! Kaos, your end is now, and it only makes me more annoyed that I won't be able to savor your quick demise!" Frieza cried out, flying up into the sky and raising a hand to the air, a large ball of purple energy forming above him as he prepared a large, powerful Death Ball. "Kaos doesn't know defeat, Frieza! But you, you will know DOOM!" *Kaos shouted back in his deepened voice, raising his large Doom Hands as he prepared to catch the Death Ball. Frieza launched the ball, a wave of energy erupting from it as it collided with the Doom Hands…

FRIEZA WIN

The Death Ball barely overpowers the Doom Hands, blasting through them and colliding into Kaos. Kaos screamed out in pain, using his magic to try and contain it like he did to the Supernova previously, but it was too much. The raw power of the Death Ball caused rocks and pebbles to rise up from the ground, orbiting it like a star, with the sheep-supernova from earlier swirling around alongside them. Eventually though, Kaos accepted his own doom, reverting to his base form as his body disintegrated, shouting his final lines. "YOU'RE STUPID!" He shouted, as if trying to get one last insult in to his opponent.
After Kaos was incinerated, Frieza floated down to the ground, his forms exhausting as he reverted to base, covered in bruises as he crossed his arms. "That's one island down…let's hope the rest have less childish rulers," Frieza said, not realizing he was pouting like a petulant child.

KAOS WIN

Kaos's Doom Hands closed around the Death Ball, slowly compressing it and crushing it into nothingness. "T-thats not possible!" Frieza cried out, before the Doom Hands grabbed him by the tail. Frieza was slammed down onto the ground, where Kaos used his Doom Hands to repeatedly pummel into his face. He summoned his Psychic Shot blades to stab into Frieza's limbs, pinning him to the ground as his Doom Hands beat the tyrant for death. "This is for Glumshanks you fool!" Kaos cried out, "W-wait! No, stop! I am the mighty Lord Frieza-" Frieza begged before Kaos finished his assault, splattering Frieza's head against the ground. Kaos reverted to his base form, falling back to the ground as his tongue comically hung out of his mouth in exhaustion. "Victory…belongs…to Kaos…fool…" Kaos said, the final shot being of the supernova-sheep coming over and licking his face like the deer in Hulk vs Broly.

CONCLUSION:

Best for both imo, thank you for reading, I hope you enjoyed! Lemme know your thoughts in the comments below.

I have John Deere Z225 and it cranks but for the love God it will not start. The engine that is on here is a Briggs and Stratton 18.5HP. I have used starter fluid and it starts for a few seconds then dies quickly. I have replaced the carb, all the fuel lines, fuel filter, spark plugs, cleaned gas tank, replaced solenoid (awhile back), checked solenoid turn off, changed oil and filter, got a new battery, and re-did the wiring for my battery due to a loose connection. I pretty much like to learn by doing so before I give up and take it in I figured I'd ask around Reddit. I was thinking possibly the starter but it isn't making that heavy whining sound indicating it needs replaced. If not maybe the solenoid? Anyways any help I would love

I have John Deere Z225 and it cranks but for the love God it will not start. The engine that is on here is a Briggs and Stratton 18.5HP. I have used starter fluid and it starts for a few seconds then dies quickly. I have replaced the carb, all the fuel lines, fuel filter, spark plugs, cleaned gas tank, replaced solenoid (awhile back), checked solenoid turn off, changed oil and filter, got a new battery, and re-did the wiring for my battery due to a loose connection. I pretty much like to learn by doing so before I give up and take it in I figured I'd ask around Reddit. I was thinking possibly the starter but it isn't making that heavy whining sound indicating it needs replaced. If not maybe the solenoid? Anyways any help I would love

I know, I know, this place is filled with this same question, but my Manco kart doesn't have a model number, and I need identification for parts. Specifically, 3 things; I may need new wheels, I would like to convert to live axel, and probably need a new sprocket and drum brake system because these ones are basically rusted out.
The kart came with a 3hp B&S stamped 1987, so I assume the kart was built around then. It may have had a fiberglass body on it at one point, but I have little to no memory, as it is around double my age. The serial number on the kart is 1464577, and I could not find a model number.
As for the engine, it is in pretty good shape, only a little surface rust, no water in the crankcase, oil seems fine, but I will definitely replace it if I can get it to run. Today, on the carb alone, I've replaced the main jet, diaphragm & spring, carburetor header gasket, the gasket that mates the tank and the carb, and the gasket that mates the carb to the air filter, as well as the breather tube grommet. The gaskets were horrible, the grommet was cracked, and the whole carb was a little dirty, so I think the engine is breathing/drinking better now. However, I still have no spark, even after replacing the plug. I replaced the plug with a champion cj8, which was what I pulled out of it. I don't know if the engine uses breaker points or not, and I also don't know if the ignition coil is bad or not. The flywheel is pretty rusty on the surface, including the magnet, and so is the armature on the coil. I think I'm going to sand off the rust on the flywheel magnet and the armature and pull the flywheel off to check for a breaker point system. I've already Ohm'd out the coil, and I can't remember if it was 26 or 2.6 kilohms, but I did get a good reading. I am an electrician, not a mechanic, so the irony is kind of pissing me off that I can't get a spark, but I can get everything else to work.
I don't really plan on reusing the B&S long-term, because I'm in the process of building out a predator 212 to throw on instead, but I'm trying to learn small-engine repair, and this is turning out to be a great learning tool. Any and all help will be appreciated, Thanks!