Daily Archives: February 5, 2020

The program will feature chefs who are considered favorite winners from past shows, Robison said.

Robison was the winner of Guys Grocery Games in October, beating three other chefs to win the $20,000 prize.

She is making her second appearance on the show, which challenges chefs to prepare a dish or a meal that uses specific ingredients or meets certain criteria. They must find and buy ingredients and prepare their food items within a set time frame.

The show is basically four chefs battling it out for $20,000 -- so its the champions round, she said. The games are always different and the themes always different, but the concept is still the same.

The show starts with four winner-chefs and one is eliminated by a panel of judges at the end of each round.

The program that airs Wednesday was taped in October, shortly after her first experience on Guys Grocery Games, said Robison, noting that it was good to be back on the program.

I was exhausted after the first one, she said, and was overwhelmed, at first, at the thought of having to go through all of it again, because it was hard and with the anxiety and all that -- and I was on a high from winning -- so I was nervous to go back.

She was concerned, too, about taking more days off from work, said Robison, who is the executive chef at Arnolds Bar and Grill in Cincinnati, Ohio.

It was an amazing and humbling feeling to be considered one of their favorite winners, said Robison, who worked in several Grand Forks restaurants, including the Royal Fork, Italian Moon and Applebees, before moving to Cincinnati in 2011 to attend culinary school.

And to be up against even more challenging chefs, that was so cool.

Robison has also appeared on TV shows, including Man versus Food and Cheap Eats, but none was quite as nerve-wracking as her guest appearance on NBCs The Today Show, which aired live Thanksgiving Day and featured celebrity chef, Anne Burrell, she said. Burrell is co-host of the Food Networks Worst Cooks in America.

I was representing North Dakota, and I made a tater tot hotdish.

She represented North Dakota, not Ohio, because she grew up in the state, she said.

Among the 50 chefs who were highlighted -- one from each state -- she was one of only six who spoke during the segment, with half of America watching, she said.

Robison, the daughter of Lisa and Greg Sheard, of Grand Forks, said she cannot say too much about the show before it airs Wednesday, because the shows producers forbid it.

Robison, who lives in Cincinnati with her daughter, Dre, 9, has used her winnings from her first appearance on Guys Grocery Games to pay off debt and to support family members in need.

She is also planning to take an aunt to Paris and her immediate family to Disneyland, she said.

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Grand Forks Central grad to make second appearance on 'Guy's Grocery Games' Food Network show - Grand Forks Herald

A caucus goer holds their Presidential Preference Card in Des Moines, Iowa, on February 3, 2020. (Gene J. Puskar / AP Photo)

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After a night of chaos, in which it did not release the results of the first-in-the-nation caucuses, the Iowa Democratic Party finally produced some numbers Tuesday afternoon. Keyword: some. At this point, thats adding insult to injury.Ad Policy

The party has been under intense pressure to clean up the mess it made of the vote tabulation on caucus night when no results were released because the party relied on a dysfunctional app and a failed backup system involving a phone hotline that left callers on hold for hours. So on Tuesday afternoon, the party released some of the results62 percent, to be precise.

If one candidate had a big lead, an incomplete count might tell us something. But, with less than two-thirds of the vote tabulated, the top two candidates were virtually tied. Former South Bend mayor Pete Buttigieg had 26.9 percent, and Vermont Senator Bernie Sanders 25.1 percent. Massachusetts Senator Elizabeth Warren was at 18.3 percent and former vice president Joe Biden trailed with 15.6 percent.

Those percentages reflect the so-called state delegate equivalents, not the actual popular vote. The popular vote, which reflects the final alignment of people who attended the more than 1,600 caucuses statewide, put Sanders ahead with 28,220 votes to 27,030 for Buttigieg, while Warren had 22,254 and Biden had 14,176. If Iowa were a primary state, Sanders would be winning. Because it is a caucus state, Buttigieg got at least a momentary bump. But that could change tonight or tomorrowor sometime soon. MORE FROM John Nichols

So all we really know is that we dont yet know enough to say who won. Mayor Pete was collecting those cherished Buttigieg has narrow lead headlines and speculation by MSNBCs Chris Matthews that he is the new star as the Sanders campaign was thanking the people of Iowa because, in their words, from the partial data released so far its clear that in the first and second round more people voted for Bernie than any other candidate in the field.

Remarkably, the Iowa Democratic Party on Tuesday evening found a way to maintain the chaos and confusion of caucus night, to create more confusion and frustration, and to very possibly foster several false impressions. Sanders strategists believe their candidate has a good chance of winning in the final count. Bidens position could actually worsenperhaps even to a point where Minnesota Senator Amy Klobuchar closes a roughly 800-vote gap and pushes the former vice president into a fifth-place finish.

If it were caucus night and results were being released as they arrived at the party headquarters, few people would jump to conclusions before the count was final, because built into expectations about election nights is the possibility that a reported result will be corrected. But caucus night has passed.Current Issue

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So why, after screwing everything up when it mattered most, would the Iowa Democratic Party release part of the count? Why not get the count completed and release it when everything is in order?

The answer is that they are trying to ease their embarrassment by playing a dangerous game that they hope will satisfy the media.

It wont. The Iowa partys failure is writ so large across the 2020 campaign that before caucus night had ended, a serious debate had opened up about the need to yank Iowas first-in-the-nation status. Now, the party needs to stop playing games and announcing partial results and get it done right.

This is about more than bruised egos. This is about the possibility that the headlines and not the actual delegate count will carry weight into the next primaries and caucuses and warp the race for the presidencyas the Iowa Republican Party did in 2012 when the January 3 caucus night count gave a narrow win to eventual nominee Mitt Romney over former Pennsylvania senator Rick Santorum. Seventeen days later, the Iowa GOP declared that Santorum was actually the winnerbut that was after he has lost the New Hampshire and South Carolina primaries.

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What might have happened if Santorum had gotten the Iowa winner headline? Would he have done better in the primary race? Almost certainly. Indeed, a Washington Post headline from Tuesday, February 4 read: For Iowa, a second caucus debacle in eight years.

As Krystal Ball, the host of Hill TVs Rising, says, I cant believe they put out partial results. This is completely outrageous.

It is outrageous. And it is one more argument for ending Iowas first-in-the-nation status.

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Stop Playing Games With the Mangled Iowa Caucus Count - The Nation

Warcraft 3 Reforged has the lowest user score of any game on Metacritic, currently sitting on a 0.5. While this dubious record was previously held by Day One: Garry's Incident, a number of drive-by 10 out of 10s have pushed it up into second place, inflating its user score from 0.4 to 0.7. For comparison's sake, even Metal Gear Survive has a user rating of 1.2.

According to user bob4ever, Warcraft 3 Reforged is the "Worst remaster in the history of remasters." Meanwhile solwltar says that, "Blizzard disabled my old Warcraft 3 version and trying to force me to download additional 30gb(my game was only 2gb) , also I heard you no longer has option to play maps that had custom models like pokemon, naruto and dbz not to mention they removed custom campaigns and lan games. 0-10". And Encore 22 is upset that, "Blizzard has a paragraph in the user agreement for this game that they have exclusive rights to any custom game which is made in this game. Just unbelievably **** from one of the companies who used to be my #1 by miles. This game does not deliver on what it promises and I am not even going to start on the price (40$) on what is essentially a HD mod."

As well as complaints about being forced to update existing copies of Warcraft 3 to a new version, changes to custom maps, various bugs, and the updated EULA, a large number of players are surprised that the cutscenes haven't been updated as dramatically as the intro was (something Blizzard did mention, but only if you were paying attention to interviews they were giving at the time by which I mean waiting until five minutes into this). Some people aren't fussed by the new menus, and others expected more new dialogueBlizzard scrapped plans to rewrite the story after fans who wanted all the original voices left in complained.

After the Diablo Immortal announcement and the Blitzchung debacle, Blizzard really could have done with a win. Turns out, Warcraft 3 Reforged is not that.

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Warcraft 3 Reforged has the lowest user score for a game on Metacritic - PC Gamer

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. The Jacksonville Jaguars have long-term plans in place to generate more revenue. They expect to break ground on an entertainment district adjacent to their aging stadium this spring and eventually hope to develop the shipyards along the St. Johns River.

Both are years from completion.

In the meantime, the Jaguars have found a short-term solution: another home game in London.

Jacksonville announced Tuesday it has reached an agreement with the NFL to play consecutive home games at Wembley Stadium next season, doubling the franchises overseas income and potentially strengthening its foothold in a market the NFL wants to expand.

Fan reaction surely will be mixed, at best.

My expectation is that it should be very positive, said owner Shad Khan, adding that he doesnt believe playing two games abroad puts his team at a competitive disadvantage. Everything were doing helps the city, helps us. And thats what you need a small-market team to do to get on competitive footing with all the big-market teams.

The Jaguars will play back-to-back games at Wembley to bolster revenue during a period of significant change within the league, team President Mark Lamping said. Dates and opponents were not announced. Jacksonville protected home games against Pittsburgh and Chicago, so those teams will play at TIAA Bank Field.

Lamping said the recent relocation of the Chargers, Raiders and Rams will move all three out of the NFLs bottom fourth in local revenue. Jacksonville remains there, searching for ways out.

Makes our path here exiting the bottom quartile of the league more challenging, but we believe achievable, Lamping said.

The Jaguars have played a home game at Wembley every year since 2013 and is under contract to do so through 2020. Khan and Lamping expect to extend the contract. Its unclear whether the next deal will include two games annually abroad.

Im a big believer in you judge by actions and not just by words, Khan said. Weve talked about possibly playing two games (in London). But were not the sole judge here or the decision-maker. I think it has to make sense for the league, which ultimately decides. But right now this is just about two games this season.

The NFL is considering moving to a 17-game, regular-season schedule under the next collective bargaining agreement, a change that could help the Jaguars and other clubs play at varying venues without penalizing fan bases accustomed to attending the same number of games a year.

Jacksonville insists playing an extra game in London will help alleviate some financial concerns while Lot J is being developed. Khan is sharing the cost of the $700 million project in the main parking lot adjacent to the stadium.

The proposal calls for an entertainment district that includes restaurants, bars, luxury condominiums, an office tower and a five-star hotel. The renovated area could revive downtown Jacksonville and position the area to host world-class events. The shipyards are next on Khans to-do list, followed by a significant stadium renovation.

Khan has personally invested more than $100 million into making Jacksonville a more feasible NFL market.

We need to continue to do more. We cant do this overnight, Lamping said. These games in London will provide us with financial benefits during a much-needed time during the transition from where we are today until we open Lot J.

Were more confident than ever that we can be the catalyst to help the Jaguars and the city of Jacksonville realize our full potential.

Jacksonville, which has failed to regularly fill its stadium over the past 20 years (15 losing seasons), more than doubles its single-game revenue by playing overseas.

Jacksonvilles ticket, television, sponsorship and stadium revenue streams are smaller than those of NFL teams in larger markets. Earning money in London helps offset some of the disparity, and the game remains a critical part of the teams long-term plan.

The franchise got extended marketing rights in the United Kingdom when it signed its deal with the NFL in 2013 and even has an office and a 50,000-member fan club in London. The Jags credit about 11% of their local revenue to playing annually abroad. They expect that number to jump significantly with two games there.

While some assume that playing an additional game in London is the next step in Jacksonville moving there, NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell said last week before the Super Bowl that hes skeptical about the logistics of having a permanent team overseas.

The issue for us still is: Can we do this competitively for the team that is based there but also for the 31 other clubs? Goodell said. That involves scheduling, it involves a lot of other matters that you dont want to compromise. And until we can get comfortable on that, I dont think well be NFL-ready in London.

With other NFL teams wanting the financial boost that comes with playing in London, Khan tried to improve Jacksonvilles position there by bidding to buy Wembley in 2018. He eventually withdrew his offer after recognizing the extent of opposition to the sale.

Khan insists the move was never intended to create a potential relocation spot, but rather a way to gain more control over American football in the burgeoning market.

Khan remains open to buying Wembley if it were to end up back on the market.

Make no mistake: Winning is the top priority, Khan said. Everything were striving to do for the franchise and the city is about winning and about building a franchise thats expected to win consistently.

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Jaguars to play consecutive home games in London next season - West Hawaii Today

Launching today for the month of February on the mymaccas app is Maccas Mini Games, which is basically a set of fun games for us to play and explore on our phones with the chance of winning instant prizes, like free or discounted menu items.

The games include:

Totes A-Maze with a goal to navigate a labyrinth made of fries;

Lucky Dip with a goal to dunk a giant Chicken McNugget into one of Maccas iconic sauces;

Mini Mini Golf with a goal to score a hole-in-one off a put-put golf tee.

One game that requires a little more skill and has VISA cash prizes on offer is the Maccas Run, which involves the player running through a McDonalds-themed course before the time runs out.

All you need to do to play the games and have the chance to win some awesome prizes is download the mymaccas app on your device, play the game and then head into your nearest restaurant to redeem your daily prize.

Looks like we wont be getting too much work done today

You can find a list of all of the possible prizes below!

More here:

Macca's Have Launched Mini Games For Your Phone That Let You Win Instant Prizes - KIIS1065

Dungeons & Dragons and Magic: The Gathering publisher Wizards of the Coast has announced it is launching a new game studio who will be focusing on story-driven RPGs. It's also got some pretty hefty pedigree heading it up.

While Archetype Entertainment's current number of employees isn't known, the big two names are James Ohlen and Chad Robertson. Both previously worked for BioWare.

Ohlen, who was hired by Wizards of the Coast last April, was the lead designer and creative director on some of BioWare's greatest games: Baldur's Gate, Baldur's Gate 2, Neverwinter Nights, Knights of the Old Republic, Dragon Age: Origins and Star Wars: The Old Republic, while also contributing to Jade Empire, Mass Effect. He also worked on Anthem, but nobody can be perfect 100 percent of the time. He'll be the Archetype's Head of Studio.

Taking up the General Manager role, Robertson's mainly known as Head of Live Service for Anthem, though he previously worked on Star Wars: The Old Republic. He left Bioware Austin in November of last year, but before that was a main point of contact between the community and Bioware, providing updates on attempts to fix the game following its disastrous launch.

Interestingly, Archetype Entertainment isn't starting with games based on Wizards of the Coast's two major properties. Instead, it is working on a "story driven", "multi-platform roleplaying game set in a new science fiction universe". Ohlen's experience with the Old Republic series definitely gives him the clout to make a new sci-fi universe.

Wizards of the Coast has made a push into video games recently. Between Archetype Entertainment's project, the recently-released Magic the Gathering: Arena, and the upcoming Baldur's Gate 3 from Larian, it's worth watching the publisher in the years to come.

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Wizards of the Coast announces 'story driven' RPG studio led by ex Bioware vets - PC Gamer