Monthly Archives: April 2024

Iowa athletes file federal lawsuit against DCI after sports betting investigation – UI The Daily Iowan

Posted: April 29, 2024 at 11:24 am

This is a developing story. Check back for updates.

After the state of Iowa dismissed all charges against Iowa athletes involved in the sports gambling investigation, 26 athletes have filed a federal lawsuit against the Division of Criminal Investigation.

The lawsuit states the investigators violated the constitutional rights of the athletes by using geolocation software to track cell phone activity without a warrant. The 26 former and current athletes involved include 16 from the University of Iowa, nine from Iowa State, and one from Ellsworth Community College.

Iowas former and current athletes involved include:

It is our hope that through the civil action we can help these young men put their lives back on track and gain a measure of justice for the violation of their rights, the attorneys for the plaintiff said in a statement, according to ESPN.

Beyond alleging a violation of constitutional rights, the athletes state the investigation and report caused humiliation, degradation, public ridicule, loss of personal reputation, and emotional distress. The athletes are seeking compensation for these impacts, as well as punitive damages.

The DCI investigators utilized a third-party company GeoComply as evidence for the now-dropped charges against the involved athletes.

The lawsuit also states that GeoComply trained DCI investigators on how to use the program to locate sports betting activity. Brian Sanger, one of the DCI special agents involved in the case, reportedly reached out to GeoComply in 2021 to collect data on users of sports betting sites and platforms.

State charges previously dismissed with prejudice

In March, the state dismissed all charges in the sports gambling investigation.

The case was dismissed with prejudice following the revelation that the investigation was conducted without a warrant. This is independent of the NCAA investigation, which barred several athletes from competing in the 2023-24 season. The NCAA has yet to release a statement on the dropped charges.

Lawyers representing Iowa State football defensive lineman Isaiah Lee wrote that Division of Criminal Investigation agents monitoring gambling was the result of Sanger conducting a warrantless search on the University of Iowa and ISU campuses.

Lees lawyers stated that the DCI went forward with the warrantless investigation, placing the geolocation tracking technology around UI dorms without any tips, complaints, or evidence that underage gambling was occurring.

Iowa wrestling coach Tom Brands commented on the DCI investigation earlier this year during a press conference, stating that basic liberties were infringed upon while gathering evidence.

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Minnesota Timberwolves vs Phoenix Suns Game 4 Predictions, Player Props & Odds (April 28) – Sports Betting Dime

Posted: at 11:24 am

Apr 26, 2024; Phoenix, Arizona, USA; Minnesota Timberwolves guard Anthony Edwards (5) puts up a layup against the Phoenix Suns during the second half of game three of the first round for the 2024 NBA playoffs at Footprint Center. Mandatory Credit: Joe Camporeale-USA TODAY Sports

What was expected to be one of the closest series of the first round has turned into a rout. After three straight double-digit victories, #3 Minnesota Timberwolves (59-26, 27-15 away, 43-40-2 ATS) have a chance to sweep the #6 Phoenix Suns (49-36, 25-17 home, 35-48-2 ATS) in Game 4 on Sunday night at the Footprint Center (7:40 pm MT/9:40 pm ET).

The T-Wolves vs Suns Game 4 odds slightly favor the Suns, but the line is nearly a pickem.

Phoenix is a -115 home favorite in Sundays NBA odds with Minnesota at -105 to complete the sweep. The Game 4 total is sitting at 212.5, which is up five points from Game 3 but

Odds as of April 28 at Fanatics. Claim this Fanatics Sportsbook promo code to bet T-Wolves vs Suns on Sunday night.

The Suns were actually slight -115 favorites to advance to the second round of the NBA playoff bracket heading into the series, but they are now +1000 longshots to overcome a 3-0 deficit, which no team has ever done in NBA history.

Emerging superstar Anthony Edwards dropped a game-high 36 points in Fridays lopsided 126-109 win in Phoenix, going 12-of-23 from the floor and 11-of-11 from the line. Center Rudy Gobert was solid again at both ends of the court and his game-high 14 rebounds helped the T-Wolves finish +22 on the glass.

Phoenix shot 46.1% from the field, led by 28 points from Bradley Beal, but only had five offensive rebounds in the entire game.

Unfortunately for the Suns, Grayson Allen (13.5 PPG, 3.9 RPG, 46.1 3P%) remains questionable for Game 4 due to an ankle injury.

Kyle Anderson (6.4 PPG, 4.2 APG) is the only player on Minnesotas injury report. Anderson is questionable with a hip injury. He suited up in Game 3 but only managed two points in eight minutes.

NBA player props from DraftKings Sportsbook on April 28.

The props for Game 4 show Edwards with a game-high point total of 26.5 while Durant (25.5) leads the Suns players. Gobert once again has the highest rebound total of the night at 13.5. Towns, who averaged 8.3 RPG in the regular season and is averaging 9.5 RPG in the postseason, is listed at just 7.5.

I backed the the Timberwolves in Game 3 and wont be backing off my handicap for Game 4. Minnesota has looked like the far superior team throughout the postseason and their defense has very few holes to exploit. Edwards development into a true go-to scorer is the last piece of the puzzle to convert the Timberwolves from a good team to a true championship contender.

This series ends tonight.

MIN vs PHX pick: Timberwolves moneyline (-105)

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Sascha was a hockey player in his youth, a lawyer in his capricious mid-20s, and has been with SBD since 2014. He specializes in football, basketball, politics, baseball, and hockey.

NFL NBA MLB NHL NCAAF NCAAB Politics Tennis MMA Sportsbooks Gambling

Sascha was a hockey player in his youth, a lawyer in his capricious mid-20s, and has been with SBD since 2014. He specializes in football, basketball, politics, baseball, and hockey.

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Minnesota Timberwolves vs Phoenix Suns Game 4 Predictions, Player Props & Odds (April 28) - Sports Betting Dime

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NBA Betting Promos For Heat vs. Celtics, Game 4 – Winners and Whiners

Posted: at 11:24 am

The top-seed in the Eastern Conference, the Boston Celtics, continue their series with the 8th-seeded Miami Heat on Monday night in Miami. Check out some of the bestNBA betting promos on the market and get involved!

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The Celtics and Heat are meeting in the playoffs for the sixth time since 2010. This is the first time that the two rivals have not met in the Eastern Conference Finals since 2010. Some of the top online sportsbooks are providing extra incentive for players looking to bet on the action.

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Winners and Whiners has free NBA predictions for all of the NBA Playoffs including Monday nights matchup between the Celtics and Heat. You can find free picks for all the major action including the NHL Playoffs and all of the action in Major League Baseball. Visit the Winners and Whiners YouTube channelfor free videos from our expert handicappers on all the NBA playoff games and even more! You can also check out theexpert pickson all major sports.

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Mark has been a sports fanatic since childhood. He is also an avid follower of sports analytics and has used it in his own betting analysis for over two decades. Now we have Mark on our team! He holds degrees in marketing, broadcasting, and English and uses this vast array of assets to dissect and analyze game matchups. Mark will provide you with a wide variety of statistics to consider and a strong opinion in each matchup that he covers. Please follow him daily for an up-to-the-minute analysis of all the important games.

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NBA Betting Promos For Heat vs. Celtics, Game 4 - Winners and Whiners

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Sports betting CPI hears from Brazilian Footbal Confederation representatives this Monday – Games Magazine Brasil – GAMES MAGAZINE BRASIL

Posted: at 11:24 am

The vice-president of the CPI, senator Eduardo Giro (Novo-CE), is the author of the invitation requests to the two directors.

For Giro, it is true that manipulation of results has existed for a long time. The senator argues that this type of situation must be fought vehemently by the CBF, a larger entity that has the responsibility for managing sports competitions in this modality.

According to Giro, there is no doubt that the CBF Director of Governance and Compliance has fundamental importance at this time of seeking fairness in our football.

Giro says he considers that Hlio Menezes Jnior's testimony will allow the elucidation of several aspects related to the CPI's object of investigation.

According to one of Giro's requests, in 2022 there were 139 football matches registered under suspicion of manipulation. Last year, there were 109 matches. The suspicions affect all series of the Brazilian championship (A, B, C and D).

Giro says that, as Jlio Avelar is responsible for the board whose objective is the planning, operation and organization of all competitions administered by the entity, he has a lot to contribute to the work of the commission.

Sportradar

The CPI will also hear the CBF Integrity officer, Eduardo Gussem. The commission's rapporteur, Senator Romrio (PL-RJ), is the author of the request for Gussem to be heard as a witness.

According to Romrio, the CBF has a contract signed with the monitoring company Sportradar, regularly receiving reports about suspicious matches. The senator argues that Eduardo Gussem is the person indicated to provide information about the treatment given to the reports received by the CBF, as well as about the employees involved in analyzing this data and what types of warnings are provided about possible manipulations in football matches.

The CPI for Manipulation of Games and Sports Betting was created by a request from Senator Romrio (RQS 158/2024). The commission, chaired by senator Jorge Kajuru (PSB-GO), is made up of 11 full senators and 7 substitutes, and is expected to last 180 days.

The objective of the Parliamentary Commission of Inquiry is to investigate facts related to allegations and suspicions of manipulation of results in Brazilian football, involving players, managers and betting companies.

Source: Agncia Senado

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Sports betting CPI hears from Brazilian Footbal Confederation representatives this Monday - Games Magazine Brasil - GAMES MAGAZINE BRASIL

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Betway Sportsbook Promo Code: Grab A First Bet Reset Of Up To $250 For NBA On April 29th 2024 – Bookies.com

Posted: at 11:24 am

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Must be a new verified Betway customer & present in AZ/NJ/PA. 21+. Opt-in may be req'd. Make your first min. deposit of $10+, place a wager up to $250 (with odds of 300 (1.33) or greater (i.e. -300, -150, +150, etc.)) and receive up to $250 as bonus bet funds if the wager loses. Wager must be settled within 7 days from new account opening Gambling problem? Call 1-800-GAMBLER (NJ, PA). Call 1-800-NEXT-STEP (AZ).

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Betway Sportsbook Promo Code: Grab A First Bet Reset Of Up To $250 For NBA On April 29th 2024 - Bookies.com

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Kentucky Derby Projected to Receive More Attention in 2024 – Covers

Posted: at 11:24 am

The Bluegrass State legalized sports betting in September, which should lead to even greater betting action on the 150th running of the Kentucky Derby.

Apr 29, 2024 06:04 ET 4 min read

The 150th Kentucky Derby isnt just a milestone year for Americas longest continuously running sporting event.

Online and retail sports betting launched in September in a state thats long been known for pari-mutuel wagering, bringing even more attention to an event that has surpassed its handle record in each of the last two runnings.

Twenty horses qualify for the Kentucky Derby, which is set to run May 4 at Churchill Downs in Louisville.

The Kentucky Oaks runs the day before, and 14 Saturday events will keep pari-mutuel bettors and horse-racing enthusiasts entertained throughout the weekend.

For newcomers to horse racing or those with existing sportsbook accounts, heres a look at how much money will be wagered and where to bet The Most Exciting Two Minutes in Sports:

What kind of betting figures will this years Kentucky Derby run by three-year-old thoroughbreds on a 1 1/4-mile track generate? If recent history is any indication, itll be historical.

Counting all wagering sources, the $288.7 million bet during the 2023 Kentucky Derby Day program set a record, passing the $273.8 million from 2022.

Last years Kentucky Derby alone recorded a handle of $188.7 million, up 5.4% from the previous year. The entire Derby week brought in $412 million in bets, also a record-high and up from $391.8 million produced in 2022.

The first leg in the quest for the Triple Crown is set to surpass them all.

"The Kentucky Derby has broken its own handle record the past two consecutive years, Andrew Moore, general manager of racing at FanDuel, told Covers. Given the excitement around the 150th anniversary and the increased reach via online sportsbooks like FanDuel, we expect another record year in handle.

FanDuel has a unique partnership with Churchill Downs that allows account holders to place Kentucky Derby bets from their sportsbook.

FanDuel continues to lead the industry as the only online sportsbook to offer a single account and wallet for sports and horse racing wagering, Moore said in a statement. Coupling this exceptional race and our leading technology is a unique opportunity to introduce new fans to the sport of horse racing. We will be utilizing our platform to bring FanDuel customers a set of special offers and a one-of-a-kind experience for the Derby.

Other states where FanDuel users can place bets from the sportsbook app include Colorado, Illinois, Louisiana, Maryland, Indiana, Michigan, Ohio, New York, Pennsylvania, Virginia, West Virginia, and Wyoming.

Bettors in other states FanDuel operates in must download the FanDuel Racing app to wager on the Kentucky Derby.

FanDuel doesnt have the market cornered on horse racing.

TwinSpires.com is the official online betting partner of the Kentucky Derby and has been taking horse-racing bets long before online sportsbooks became legal in the U.S. The pari-mutuel company has a desktop and app version for watching and betting.

DraftKings launched the DK Horse app in 19 states last year. BetMGM Horse Racing is available in Ohio, Louisiana, and Florida.

Caesars Racebook is available in 21 states, including California, Florida, and Kentucky.

Newcomers to pari-mutuel racing have the opportunity to cash in on sportsbook promotions at sign-up.

FanDuel is offering a No Sweat Bet of up to $500 for first-time customers.

DK Horse has a 100% deposit match up to $250, while TwinSpires.com is giving away a $200 sign-up bonus. Caesars Racebook also offers a first-time deposit match.

The Kentucky Derby is bound to get some first-time bettors. And the options can be daunting to understand. Sure, picking horses to win at varying odds is available, but wagers can be made on place and show.

There are also a host of exotic wagers, like exacta and trifecta that involve multiple horses for big payouts.

The horse racing sites and apps come with how-to guides to help customers find the bets that fit them the best.

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Maine made progress in wages and productivity, but still faces shrinking labor force – Press Herald

Posted: April 27, 2024 at 12:13 pm

Maine has hit targets for productivity and wage growth in the last few years, but faces a declining labor force, the state reported Friday in its updated 10-year economic development strategy.

Real wages employee pay after inflation and productivity were up 10% in the last four years, according to The Maine 2020-2029 Economic Development Strategy: The 2024 Reset. Though Maine has made significant progress in labor force growth, its fallen short of where we need to be, the report said. Productivity measures how efficiently money and labor are used to produce goods and services.

The updated plan was released at an event at Bigelow Laboratory for Ocean Sciences in East Boothbay Friday morning.

The initial report in 2019 was intended as a roadmap to execute, Commissioner Heather Johnson of the Department of Economic and Community Development said in an interview.

Now its time to refresh that project suite. It is an implementable plan and were all focused on it, she said.

Unlike the initial reportthat was submitted to the Legislature for its consideration, this report can serve as a guide for lawmakers as they work on policy, Johnson said.

The state set a goal of adding 75,000 workers to the labor force over 10 years but reports an increase of 13,400 in three years. At that rate, Maine would add fewer than 45,000 employees in a decade.

The goal of increasing what the report calls the talent pool would be achieved by migration and an increased labor participation rate, the report said. The pandemic affected both factors, it said.

Migration into Maine, particularly of residents younger than 45 years old has increased. At the same time, more Maine workers in the baby boom generation those born between 1946 and 1964 are retiring than young people are joining the workforce, the state said.

So we are doing better than expected, but not as well as we need to do, the report said.

Johnson said Maines demographic trends have been true for decades. In the 1980s, however, the problem was high unemployment, she said. More recently, technology is driving greater productivity, allowing employers to use fewer workers, she said.

The state Department of Labor reported this week that the number of non-farm jobs in March was the second-highest on record, at 656,100, after hitting a record high of 656,400 in February. While the states unemployment rate is near a record low of 3.3%, the labor force participation rate of 59.3% was down slightly from the previous three months.

The state report said labor force participation has recovered from the pandemic, but still remains below its levels in the early 2000s. Maine projects a gap of about 100,000 workers between its labor force goal of 725,000 in 2030 and a projection of about 625,000.

A stagnant or shrinking labor force undermines the economy by slowing growth as fewer goods and services are produced, leading to higher taxes as government struggles with a smaller revenue.

The report cited a few ways to expand the labor force. In 2022, Maine made community college free for recent high school graduates. More than 11,500 students have enrolled, nearly 50% more than projected, the report said. The same year, Maine established the Maine Career Exploration Program, which provides paid work experiences for Mainers ages 16 to 24; 2,000 are enrolled.

As of 2021, 55% of Maine adults have a credential of value, which is up from 44% in 2018, and well on the way to a planned goal of 60% by 2025, the report said. And enrollment in Career and Technical Education is up 18% since 2018, with 10,012 students enrolled in 2023.

MAINE ECONOMY GREW 6.2% IN 2023

Maines $93.1 billion economy increased by a 5.9% annual rate in the fourth quarter of 2023, the fastest among the six New England states, according to the U.S. Department of Commerce. However, Connecticuts $340.2 billion economy grew the fastest in the region for the year, expanding by 6.5%, while Maines economy grew more slowly, at 6.2%.

Gov. Janet Mills, introducing the report, touted Maines rebounding economic performance. Maine was one of the last states to fully recover from the recession of 2008-09 and economic growth had increased at only a third of the rate of the rest of the U.S. in the previous decade, she said.

Patrick Woodcock, president and CEO of the Maine State Chamber of Commerce, said legislation that Mills recently signed to put a $25 million research-and-development bond on the November ballot will provide the seeds for long-term economic prosperity.

However, businesses had hoped for some type of support in the recently concluded session of the Legislature for childcare to help businesses hire more workers and parents to enter the labor force.

To attract workers, businesses are creating more flexible shifts, partnering with day care to help working parents and male-dominated employers are looking at ways to hire more women, Woodcock said.

Alotofthisyoucannotsolvewithjustgovernmentpolicy,hesaid.

Rep. Tiffany Roberts, D-North Berwick, the House chair of the Legislatures Innovation, Development, Economic Advancement and Business Committee, said the report aligns with what we have done and maybe informs us about what the next step is.

The Legislature has helped expand the workforce with measures easing occupational licensing and earmarking $1 million for nurse faculty loan repayments, Roberts said.

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Maine made progress in wages and productivity, but still faces shrinking labor force - Press Herald

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No Rest For the Wicked | Review In Progress – XboxEra

Posted: at 12:13 pm

After twenty or so hours I think No Rest For the Wicked might be the most frustrated Ive ever felt. As a Cerim, a fighter of myth, you visit a plague-filled land to try and stop the rot that your ancestors did a millennia ago. The game is drop-dead gorgeous, with some of my favorite art styles of all time. Combat attempts to elevate the Action RPG into something smarter, and harder, and succeeds often. The game launched into early access on PC and Im glad it did because most of the parts around that great gameplay framework can be a dreadful slog.

No Rest For the Wicked begins upon a ship as you head to a secluded island nation. Your ship is attacked and you barely make it ashore alive. First things first, holy shit is this game beautiful. Moon Studios has upped their games from the fantastical Ori franchise into something like Diablo-Dishonored. Its dark, murky, dreary, and it looks incredible in motion. Cutscenes show off some of the coolest-looking character designs Ive ever seen. Voice acting and music are great when they happen, though the music is a bit sparse in this early stage.

Immediately youll notice that this is no turn your brain off and go nuts ARPG. While not a Soulslike the game wants you to think about every action you and your enemies may take. Utilizing the genres tried-and-true perspective you have a punishing stamina system, an equally punishing poise system, and will need to forage for and cook food to heal. The game has durability, though its been made far less burdensome in a recent patch, and when Im at an equal level with my enemies I adore its combat.

That has rarely happened for me though, as the games progression seems completely broken at this early stage of early access. So far Ive had a handful of major quests, most of which are routinely set in zones 5+ levels above my character. This means that even when I go and grind earlier areas to catch up the moment I finish them the next quest is again 5+ levels above me. Enemies take a dozen hits to kill and I can die in two or three. It has been incredibly frustrating because the short spurts in which Im equal level have featured brutal but fair combat and rewarding exploration.

Moon like elevating genres and I think theyre on the right track here. As much as I love the Diablo series it has always been a bit mindless in practice. The fun is building up a set of gear and skills that lets you tear through content you couldnt before. NRFTWs approach is a slower, more methodical combat system. You can dodge, block, and parry but every system is limited. Eventually, youll be able to gear up to lessen these burdens but the games enemies will power up as well. I focused on a sword and board setup that featured an incredibly powerful parry. Parrying requires you to wait until the last second and then actually hit your enemys weapon away with your shield by pressing the left trigger.

X is your main attack button while the left and right bumper can access special abilities for your main and off-hands. Those weapons are selected via socketable runes that go into said weapons and its an interesting take on the system. Im not the biggest fan of it so far, preferring to choose a class and have things unlock in a steady path, though as Ive only seen a small handful of abilities and spells in my nearly two-dozen hours with the title so far.

Healing is another issue as the game has a few survival style elements to it. Food is found in the environment and some can be eaten raw. Most require you to cook it via recipes that youll procure from vendors, get through bounties, or find in the world. Im not against it but compared to Diablo IVs potion drop system it is far too time-consuming and cumbersome. Ive had to spend upwards of an hour farming up the food and herbs needed to cook the better meals as I attempted to take on bosses and I simply didnt find it fun.

As you progress youll reach a main city which starts massively spread out, though you can slowly build shortcuts into all of it as well as places to further empower your gear. These places seem like they can break and youll need to repair them, level them up, and there are ample systems to encourage a lot of grinding. Much like the rest of the game, I see where it can eventually be fun, its just not there for me yet at this early stage. You dont have enough inventory space and have to run back and forth repeatedly as fast travel is pretty shitty.

There are checkpoints you must activate dotting the landscape. Theyll bring you back to the city, and using the city one brings you back to the last one used. It means unlocking new areas and checkpoints dont mean anything, as youll need to run back every time you activate a checkpoint anywhere else. Its tedious to the point of driving me insane. It may be a system that gets better at some point, but Im this far in and it still feels like a massive chore to ever go to any quest marker or have to return to town to try and sort through my drops/repair/etc.

While the gear side of things is early and will go through a lot of iteration over time the graphics are out of this world gorgeous. While playing the game from the main perspective most ARPGs can look good. The camera is so damned far out though that theres no reason to go all out with the textures. Diablo IV was the first truly gorgeous ARPG and it has now been outclassed by the art style of No Rest For the Wicked. Moon are wizards with Unity, and going for a more human look for the first time theyve knocked it out of the park.

Characters have a distinct look, not only in their faces but in their proportions as well. Everyone has long, ape-like arms and sharply defined features. The voice work is mostly damned good with the occasional annoyance of repetition. Running to a boss in the sewers had me hear the same few lines a dozen times as I passed one of his henchmen who had been crucified. The music is OK when it hits, but that isnt very often. Its a mostly quiet game right now and runs in stark contrast to everything else. It feels like the most early access out of everything so far.

Bug-wise I have seemingly run into a few major ones, all tied to progression. I had a distinct lack of level-appropriate quests after only two hours in. The moment I hit town I was given only two objectives, both of which were level 12 whereas I was only level five. I had to run around the same area I had started the game in, killing enemies for bounties before I finally reached level 9 and could try and progress in one of the only two quests I had. After beating those two quests I was level 15 and then the entire game world jumped to level 22. At this point I have nowhere I can go where Im not killed in a few hits, and it takes me 10-20 to kill most mobs. It is miserable and outside of starting a new realm for my character, Im not sure what to do.

This is a review in progress and Ill be checking the game out constantly as it progresses through early access. Right now Im not having nearly as much fun as I was hoping. Gorgeous visuals, occasionally stellar combat, and an intriguing narrative have been held back by progression issues, and far too much busywork in-between runs. I have confidence that Moon Studios will figure things out, though, and that by version 1.0 this game could be an all-timer.

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No Rest For the Wicked | Review In Progress - XboxEra

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The Progress Report: How 4 Schools Are Teaching Kids to Read and Seeing Success – Voice of San Diego

Posted: at 12:13 pm

Betsy Hall stood at the front of a classroom at Johnson Magnet School in Emerald Hills. She led her pupils, who sat in small groups at circular tables, through chapters of Uncovering the Logic of English.The book uses systematic phonics techniques, in part, to lay out simple rules for reading and speaking English.

Hall spoke about how the suffix ed, was added to make verbs past tense and why it made three different sounds. She had her students place their hands to their throats so they could feel how their vocal cords rumbled when they said voiced consonants and how they didnt when they said unvoiced consonants.

What are the four letters English words dont end in? Hall asked.

J, U, V and I, the students responded.

It felt like any other class: a teacher patiently guiding students through curriculum, and the students dutifully participating. The only difference was that Halls pupils were teachers themselves the teachers at Johnson.

Johnson is one of four schools in southeastern San Diego that have for years worked with the Diamond Educational Excellence Partnership, or DEEP for short. DEEP is something of a resource clearinghouse that partners with various education-focused community organizations to funnel support into four elementary schools that send students to Lincoln High School. Those are Chollas/Mead, Encanto, Johnson and Webster.

The organization funds programs and advocates for additional funding from San Diego Unified. Hall, for example, is a professional learning coordinator for the California Reading and Literature Project chapter based out of UC San Diego whose work was funded by a combination of district and organization money.

The organization, founded about 11 years ago, has always focused on research-backed methods to teach kids to read. And over the years, its seen success in driving up student literacy rates at poorer schools that had long struggled with low test scores.

Allison Ohle, the organizations executive director, said DEEPs work is proof that If you provide appropriate support, there is no reason why low-income kids cannot be high achieving kids.

DEEPs work can be broken down into three buckets.

Before children start school: The group works with families and community childcare providers to help kids build pre-literacy skills to prepare them for kindergarten.

During school: It provides a bevy of resources and supports to aid instruction at its partner schools in southeastern San Diego. Those range from teacher training on systematic, evidence-based literacy practices to developing professional learning communities for the schools principals.

Outside of school: The group also works to provide K-3 students with learning opportunities outside of the classroom, like a summer literacy acceleration program for students whove fallen behind thats paired with science and arts instruction.

These pillars all shoot for one key goal: ensuring kids are able to read by third grade. That goal isnt unique to DEEP. Research has long shown that whether kids can read at grade-level by third grade is a powerful predictor of future success and opportunities.

Ohle stressed that those pillars are not an a la carte menu.

All those things have to be happening, Ohle said. Kids dont learn to read by third grade just because youre focusing on teaching them how to read in third grade, all this other stuff around them needs to be happening.

The program has seen results.

The four Lincoln cluster schools DEEP partners with have for years performed better on state standardized English tests than many schools with similar demographics. Of the comparable Lincoln Cluster elementary schools, the DEEP schools scored highest on English standardized tests. They also scored high on our Income vs. Test Score metric, which controls test scores for poverty levels.

DEEP was founded at a time when many schools were embracing balanced literacy approaches to teach kids how to read. Balanced literacy tended to focus more on simply getting kids to read than actually teaching them the foundational skills they needed to read.

It also often relied on strategies like the three cueing method that amounted to having kids guess words rather than actually read them. The approach has been widely criticized by researchers and was one of the subjects of the blockbuster Sold a Story, podcast.

Balanced literacy was saying, we need to have kids exposed to all of these different kinds of books so that they love reading, and they were advocating for kids to read books when they didnt have the decoding capacity, Gina Gianzero, the founding executive director of DEEP said. It was denying students the tools to decode the words themselves.

Gianzero agreed with some of that approach. She did want kids to be exposed to interesting books and to develop background knowledge and reading comprehension through writing and discussion. But when they were launching DEEP, Gianzero said they consulted data, with community members, with other nonprofits and spoke to many teachers in southeastern San Diego schools.

What they found was many of those teachers were struggling to teach third and fourth graders basic skills. What those teachers needed was in-depth training on these strategies.

You needed to teach kids how to decode words, so that they can focus on the meaning and the comprehension, Gianzero said.

So, they partnered with the California Reading and Literature Project, which embraced strategies more aligned with a science of reading approach. That umbrella term refers to strategies developed by interdisciplinary research into how kids learn to read. It incorporates things like robust phonics instruction, but advocates, like Gianzero, are quick to point out its not just phonics instruction.

Its true that learning to read is complex, Ohle said. But its not elusive. We actually know how the brain learns to read. Its not a mystery. But it is very systematic, and it is very expensive.

Helping defray some of that cost and working with parents to help them understand what science says about how kids learn to read are part of what DEEP has long focused on.

There are a lot of barriers that prevent folks from being the most productive educational partners for their kids, Ohle said.

Some of those barriers may boil down to resources, like a lack of books, but others may be a lack of information about how kids brains process information and actually learn to read.

We dont think were here to help people be better parents, but were here to remove barriers that may get in the way of stressed out very busy parents being the first teacher for their child, Ohle said.

As proud as Ohle is of the work DEEP and the teachers at its partner schools have done, she acknowledges they still have a long way to go. Even though the schools theyve partnered with perform better than other comparable schools, kids still arent passing standardized tests with flying colors. This is slow, deliberate work, that requires buy-in from teachers and administrators alike. Luckily, staff at schools like Johnson have worked hard to implement these strategies.

Ohle believes teachers, by and large, are under-resourced. The success DEEP schools have seen, she believes, is proof of what can happen when those missing resources are connected to a school.

She hopes that the organization can continue to help bring gradual, substantive growth to the Lincoln Cluster schools theyve partnered with, but she doesnt want the growth to be limited to DEEP schools.

I want the whole cluster and the whole district to be achieving at a higher rate, she said. I would love to work our way out of a job. In a perfect world, organizations like ours do not exist.

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PROGRESS MADE IN COLE REHAB? – Bleeding Yankee Blue

Posted: at 12:13 pm

The Yankee starting pitching has done the job, more so than we thought would happen and for me personally... the Yankees biggest critic, I have to say I'm happy with that. I'm also looking for the other shoe to drop, but for now, I'm gonna soak it all in.

We do have an update on Gerrit Cole however, and it comes from the New York Post:

"Gerrit Cole stretched out to making 50 throws from 120 feet Tuesday..."

Youre out to 120, so its moving, Cole said. Moving along...Out since early March with nerve inflammation and edema in his right elbow, Cole has maintained he is focused on taking his rehab on a day-to-day basis and not getting too far ahead of himself...

I am looking forward to seeing Cole back with the Yankees rotation. If the Yankee starters can keep going as well as they have, when Cole gets back it will just be icing on the cake. You gotta love that.

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PROGRESS MADE IN COLE REHAB? - Bleeding Yankee Blue

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