McIntosh shielded her three sons from much of the domestic violence in their home. She hoped to keep her marriage intact until her youngest son graduated from high school.

“I kept thinking it would get better because I knew the good person in there,” McIntosh said. “I knew I wanted to keep a home for my boys and wanted to keep us together.”

Finally, Tracy Swinney told his mother she had to leave his father. They divorced, and the family’s home was foreclosed. When Dabo learned his parents were divorcing, he cried in the field house at his high school.

Read it all and enjoy the video also.

(Warning–Hard content to confront–KSH).

I’m not writing this article for my father. I’m writing it for the people in the parking lot.

Yes, if you say something, you may ruin the relationship you have with that person. You may get embarrassed in front of the other hockey parents. You may have to go through the awkwardness of filing a police report.

I can understand why a lot of people worry, “But what if I’m wrong?”

If you are wrong, that’s the absolute best case scenario. The alternative is that child is a prisoner in his own home. What you’re seeing in the parking lot or outside the locker room ”” whether it’s a kid getting grabbed and screamed at, or shoved up against a car ”” could just be the tip of the iceberg.

Read it all (Hat tip:DR).

Wayne Rooney”˜s 500th Manchester United appearance did not go as planned, and Manchester United boss Louis Van Gaal will be looking over his shoulder after Norwich City went into Old Trafford and shocked the Red Devils 2-1 on Saturday.

Cameron Jerome and Alexander Tettey scored on each side of halftime for the Canaries, while Anthony Martial pulled one back for the Red Devils off a 67th minute mess in the box

The loss was Manchester United’s first loss to a newly-promoted club since 2001.

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Bournemouth extended the greatest period in their league history by aggravating the troubled times at Manchester United. This thrilling win came a week after victory at Chelsea, leaving Eddie Howe’s top-flight debutants celebrating unprecedented achievements and United fans questioning harder what Louis van Gaal’s philosophy really means.

This defeat was a severe blow to the Dutchman, just days after United’s premature elimination from the Champions League. United, who have now failed to win in five matches, returned to domestic duty with a side even more depleted than the one beaten in Wolfsburg on Tuesday, injuries to Chris Smalling and Matteo Darmian forcing Van Gaal to field an inexperienced back four, with Paddy McNair and Guillermo Varela joining Daley Blind and Cameron Borthwick-Jackson.

But sympathy has been in short supply for Van Gaal, whose pre-game grumbles about United fans’ unreasonable expectations did nothing to spread belief in his management. Bournemouth supporters are certainly unlikely to tolerate sob stories from United, as Howe has had to contend with a fraction of United’s resources and an injury roster just as debilitating. But there is no doubt that Howe’s philosophy fits.

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ESPN E:60 presents: Longshot: The Journey of Stephen Curry from Northern Lights Communications on Vimeo.

There was no need for spectators to chant “attack, attack” (although a few did), because United were doing. They just lacked the invention to find a way through. There were boos at the end, and a mass exodus before the final whistle. The West Ham contingent had been waiting for that. “Is there a fire drill?”

Read it all.

Congratulations to #Cubs @JArrieta34 on winning the 2015 NL #CyYoung Award. pic.twitter.com/JS4UhYkfS5

— Today in the MLB (@TodayintheMLB) November 18, 2015

This one is a complete wipeout–get the Kleenex and watch it all.

For the student at the center of the federal complaint and all other transgender students at the district’s five high schools, the staff changes their names, genders and pronouns on school records. Transgender students also are allowed to use the bathrooms of their identified gender and play on the sports team of that gender, school officials said.

But officials drew the line at the locker room, citing the privacy rights of the other 12,000-plus students in the district. As a compromise, the district installed four privacy curtains in unused areas of the locker room and another one around the shower, but because the district would compel the student to use them, federal officials deemed the solution insufficient.

The dispute highlights a controversy that a growing number of school districts face as they struggle with an issue that few parents of today’s teens encountered. The Department of Education has settled two similar allegations of discrimination of transgender students in California, with both districts eventually agreeing to allow the students to use female-designated facilities.

Read it allfrom the Chicago Tribune.

I will take comments on this submitted by email only to KSHarmon[at]mindspring[dot]com.

They should have been thinking about the long flight back to Kansas City for Game 6. They should have been thinking they’d just run into Matt Harvey on the wrong night in November. They should have been thinking that some missions are more impossible than others, and this was one of them.

But those are the kinds of thoughts other teams think. Not this team. Not the team that just won the 2015 World Series on a shocking Sunday night at Citi Field, the Kansas City Royals.

If there ever was a team that could find itself two runs down to the Dark Knight in the ninth inning of a World Series game and think, “Cool, we’ve got these guys right where we want them,” this was that team — the kings of improbability. They’d spent an entire postseason acting as if down were up. So why stop now?

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Choking back tears, Kill, 54, announced Wednesday morning that he was retiring immediately, shocking fans across the state as he explained that he could no longer coach the way he wants because of his health issues.

With his wife, Rebecca, tearfully watching near the side of a university stage, Kill told a stunned audience that his seizures had returned, he hadn’t slept more than three hours a night in weeks, he had quit taking some of his medication and that he doesn’t “have any more energy.”

“This is not the way I wanted to go out,” Kill said. “But you all know about the struggles, and I did my best to change. But some of those struggles have returned, and I don’t want to cheat the game.”

Read it all from the Star-Tribune.

Watch it all.

What a huge victory for the cubs against a very fine Cardinals team. I am still trying to calm down.

(In case any readers were unaware or forgot, your blog host is a lifelong Chicago Cubs fan–KSH).

The Chicago Cubs have proven that they are willing and able to make history, but If they beat the Cardinals on Tuesday at Wrigley Field, they’ll accomplish something even more impressive than winning a playoff series over their hated rivals.

They’ll also clinch a playoff series on their home field for the first time in at least 112 years.

Granted, the Cubs have only won three postseason series (excluding the NL Wild Card Game vs. the Pirates last week) since the World Series was first contested in 1903, but it’s still shocking to realize that the team has never clinched a series on their home field.

Read it all.

After second baseman Starlin Castro squeezed the line drive for the final out in the Cubs’ 4-0 victory Wednesday over the Pirates, teammates danced around the field like the kids they still are.

In the middle of the mania, first baseman Anthony Rizzo lifted Jake Arrieta and put the pitcher over his shoulder for a few steps of frolicking. The man who had carried the Cubs this far was getting a well-deserved ride.

“Three cheers for Jake Arrieta!” a voice in a jubilant Cubs clubhouse yelled.

Three collective claps later, bedlam ensued. Rookie star Kris Bryant sprayed champagne and President Theo Epstein chugged it as teammates hugged and music blared. The pleasure easily exceeded the pressure.

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Coca-Cola, McDonald’s and Budweiser, three of the largest World Cup sponsors, are demanding that Sepp Blatter step down immediately from his presidency of Fifa, a week after he personally became the subject of a criminal investigation into a corruption scandal that has engulfed the organisation.

Visa, another important sponsor, also joined the call for Mr Blatter to fall on his sword. But the defiant head of Fifa pushed back in a statement through his lawyer, refusing to heed the companies whose deals with Fifa contributed to more than $1.6bn in sponsorship revenue for the body between 2011-14, according to consultancy IEG.

The demands from Coke, McDonald’s and Budweiser’s owner Anheuser-Busch InBev are the strongest yet. All three have urged Fifa to make swift progress in cleaning itself up but to date they had not called outright for Mr Blatter’s resignation.

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It’s getting cold everywhere but on the mound, where Arrieta has dominated team after team every five days, especially in the second half. In five more days, he’ll be on center stage pitching for the Cubs in the NL wild-card game against the Pittsburgh Pirates. But after Friday’s six shutout innings, it was time reflect on a historic season that produced the lowest second-half ERA (0.75) in history.

“I have not seen this,” manager Joe Maddon said. “I don’t think a lot of people have.

“To have the honor of managing that is pretty incredible.”

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The problems that trouble Graham are violence, the fraying of the family, poverty and the lack of safety for children. Raising children differently, too early, he says. He sees it everywhere, in the community and the school.

“It makes it hard sometimes to have high expectations,” he says.

Yet, in each of his professions he weaves the mantra of his church, from Proverbs 4:7: “With all your getting get understanding,” which means to learn something, to take away something that betters you, he says.

And the spiritual essence that girds his teachings crystallizes in a few firm principles: Integrity, work ethic and good character.

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Long before he became celebrated for his wayward way with words, Berra was hailed as one of baseball’s best players and fiercest competitors.
Berra starred on Yankees teams that dominated baseball during his 18 years playing in pinstripes, from 1946 to 1963. He played in 14 World Series and was on the winning side 10 times, both records. He also holds World Series career records for at-bats (259) and hits (71).
The American League Most Valuable Player in 1951, 1954 and 1955, he was elected to the National Baseball Hall of Fame in 1972, the same year the Yankees retired his uniform, No. 8.

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If the church is the body of Christ, then the megachurch is like an athlete on steroids.

Every major city has a bevy of churches drawing between 5k-25k people. To get a body to grow that big leaders have to use some sort of performance enhancer. These things””typically models, strategies, and techniques gleaned not from the gospel or the Christian narrative, but from the world of business and the narrative of consumer capitalism””serve as performance enhancers that help create enormous congregations with huge facilities and hundreds of programs.

The impact of these practices is akin to using performance-enhancing drugs. They actually alter the form and function of the body, causing real and serious long-term consequences for the church universal.

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Manchester United defender Luke Shaw is set for a long spell on the sidelines after suffering a double fracture in his right leg against PSV Eindhoven in the Champions League on Tuesday.

The England international was caught in a challenge with Hector Moreno when bursting into the box in the 15th minute. Although Moreno won the ball, the momentum of his tackle saw him catch Shaw with his follow through.

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Novak Djokovic’s U.S Open title allowed him to clinch the year-end No. 1 ranking for the fourth time.

The ATP announced Monday, a day after Djokovic’s 6-4, 5-7, 6-4, 6-4 victory over No. 2 Roger Federer in the final at Flushing Meadows, that the 28-year-old Serbian would add 2015 to 2011, 2012 and 2014 as seasons he finished atop the rankings.

“Knowing I will end the year at No. 1 keeps my mind relaxed,” Djokovic said in an interview with The Associated Press. “I have achieved a lot so far in the season, and I hope I can deliver the same game for the rest of the year.”

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Louis van Gaal responded to another stagnant half of football decisively. Ashley Young brought thrust and threat to United’s attack, drew the foul from Nathaniel Clyne and Juan Mata provided the assist for Daley Blind’s majestically struck opener.

Memphis [Depuy] received plenty of the ball against Clyne in the first-half and had the pace to bypass him but was, once more, erratic and a liability in possession. Van Gaal is particularly perturbed by ‘unnecessary ball losses’ and Memphis was culpable time and again. Experience trumped youth for United for the first, if not the third. Reds will argue Anthony Martial’s £36m fee was justified just to leave Scousers crestfallen.

Read it all.

Watch it all–a super powerful story about love and adoption; KSH

Even after pitching his first career no-hitter, Jake Arrieta wasn’t too big to wear his PJs.

He threw the second no-hitter against the Los Angeles Dodgers in 10 days, leading the Chicago Cubs to a 2-0 victory Sunday night.

Arrieta was lights-out on the mound, striking out a season-high 12. He was ready for lights out afterward, slipping into one-piece pajamas decorated with moustaches for the overnight flight home.

Fitting, since Arrieta had thought about throwing a no-hitter since he was a kid. His grandfather witnessed one of Nolan Ryan’s no-hitters in Texas.

Read it all from ESPN.

The matinee crowd was anything but typical, as the New York Yankees paid a visit to The Prospector Theater to recognize one theater’s incredible off-screen mission.

Watch it all.

When Jason Day fell flat on his back at the US Open in June, his head swimming with debilitating vertigo, the first person to help him to his feet was the most important man in his life.
Colin Swatton is much more than just a caddie to the Australian star who broke his major duck with victory at the US PGA Championship at Whistling Straits on Sunday.
Swatton’s support helped his ailing boss complete the US Open at Chambers Bay. Within two months Day fulfilled his golfing potential in brilliant style with a record-breaking major championship score of 20 under par.
To have risen from such a stricken position to the top of the golfing world, reflects the journey Day has taken in life with Swatton as mentor, coach and caddie.

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Louis van Gaal has warned his Manchester United attack that they will need to sharpen up if they are to mount a genuine title challenge.

The Dutchman watched his side move to the top of the Premier League table with a 1-0 win against Aston Villa.

But he admitted they must improve in front of goal if they are to seriously contend with Chelsea and Manchester City this season.

Read it all.