Second-year wide receiver DK Metcalf was incredible during the Seattle Seahawks' 23-17 win over the Philadelphia Eagles on "Monday Night Football." The former Ole Miss star caught 10 of 13 targets for a total of 177 yards -- including a 52-yard pass that set up Seattle's first score of the game early in the second quarter. Metcalf is quickly becoming one of the best wide receivers in the league, and that was very apparent once again this week on a national stage. While Metcalf is probably accustomed to big games by now, something was reportedly said during pregame that ended up sticking with him, and motivated Metcalf to go above and beyond for Seattle's eighth win of the season.
During his postgame press conference, Metcalf told reporters that one of Philly's defensive coaches came up to him before the NFC showdown and said that he was in Detroit with "Megatron," and that Metcalf isn't "there yet." Metcalf said that he wasn't trying to be Megatron, and that he was just trying to be himself. He said the comment "made him mad," and gave him a chip on his shoulder for the entire game. Since it was obvious who Metcalf was talking about, a reporter then asked him if former Lions head coach and current Eagles defensive coordinator Jim Schwartz made the remark. Metcalf confirmed it indeed was him.
With the kind of size and speed Metcalf possesses, it would make sense that he would be compared to former Lions wideout Calvin Johnson. Just last week, Johnson was actually named as a semifinalist for the 2021 Pro Football Hall of Fame class.
Johnson was selected with the No. 2 overall pick in the 2007 NFL Draft out of Georgia Tech. The 6-foot-5 athletic specimen spent his entire career with the Lions, and in 135 career games, he caught 731 passes for 11,619 yards and 83 touchdowns. While many claimed he retired too early after just nine seasons, Johnson is still No. 31 on the all-time receiving list.
Metcalf didn't come into the NFL with the kind of pedigree Johnson had, but with how big and fast he is, the 22-year-old is certainly giving us déjà vu of the famed Megatron.
December 01, 2020 at 12:54PM
https://www.cbssports.com/nfl/news/how-one-little-comment-from-an-assistant-coach-sparked-d-k-metcalfs-big-night-against-the-eagles/
How one little comment from an assistant coach sparked DK Metcalf's big night against the Eagles - CBS Sports
Members of the Gwinnett County adjudication review panel look over scanned ballots at the Gwinnett Voter Registrations and Elections office Nov. 8, 2020, in Lawrenceville, Ga. | Jessica McGowan/Getty Images
By JOSH GERSTEIN
Updated:
A judge handling an election-fraud lawsuit brought by allies of President Donald Trump said the case was backed by “precious little proof,” but went on to issue a restraining order aimed at blocking three Georgia counties from making any changes to their voting machines as he considers whether to permit a forensic examination of those systems, according to court records.
U.S. District Court Judge Timothy Batten Sr. made the comments during an hour-long Sunday night court hearing on a lawsuit filed last week by Sidney Powell, a firebrand attorney who briefly joined Trump’s legal team in recent weeks before being dismissed from it.
The hearing was held via Zoom and not announced in advance on the court’s docket or accessible to the press or public, but it was transcribed by a court reporter who provided the transcript to POLITICO on Monday evening.
The transcript shows that Batten repeatedly wavered on whether to grant any relief to the Republican plaintiffs in the case, before settling on the narrow relief limited to three counties.
Powell and her colleagues initially wanted all voting machines in the state impounded pending further court action, but the state’s lawyers said that would present a slew of problems, including preventing some local elections set for this week and potentially interfering with the pair of U.S. Senate runoff elections set for Jan. 5.
“What the plaintiffs are seeking is basically going to take certain voting equipment out of the equation for the election scheduled to take place this Tuesday, as well as the election scheduled to take place on January 5th, because plaintiffs are wanting us to hold and basically mothball and preserve these machines at the county level — not in our possession, not in our custody and control,” Assistant Attorney General Russ Willard Sr. told Batten.
“In terms of a currently underway election, it is going to be throwing sugar in the gas tank and gumming up the works.”
Batten seemed open to the plaintiffs conducting what he called “a quick inspection” of the machines, with Powell initially asking to scrutinize the machines from 10 counties. She said “the bulk” of the inspections could be conducted within three days.
When called on by the judge, Powell aired her startling claim that the machines from Dominion Voting Systems were impacted by an algorithm that markedly increased votes for the Democratic presidential nominee, Joe Biden, and decreased them for Trump.
“It’s not just the data that comes out of the machines that is crucial to the fraud case that is so rampant across the country, it is the fact that an algorithm we believe was uploaded to the Dominion machines that weighted the votes for Mr. Biden over the votes for President Trump at approximately 1.22 versus .78, and that is what was crucial to making the proof of the fraud absolutely inconclusive and irrefutable,” Powell said.
Powell also asserted that Dominion was doing the handiwork of late Venezuelan strongman Hugo Chavez. “It was conceived and created by Mr. Chavez’s regime for the very purpose of ensuring that he won future elections — as corrupt as it could possibly be,” she said.
Powell’s statements grew even more extreme on Monday, as she retweeted a Twitter message that called on Trump to declare an insurrection, halt the planned convening of the Electoral College in each state in Dec. 14 and use “military tribunals” to investigate alleged fraud related to the just-completed election.
Dominion and election officials have said Powell’s claims about the company’s machines are nonsense. And during the hearing Sunday, her assertions seemed to grate on the state’s lawyer.
“I apologize. I am used to dealing with facts and law, not innuendo and accusation,” Willard replied. He went on to suggest that the kind of access Powell was demanding could put her or her experts in a position to commit fraud.
“It poses a security risk for Powell’s minions to go in and image everything, download the software, and figure out for future elections a way to hack in so their preferred candidates can win,” the Attorney General’s office representative said. “That is something no federal court can possibly countenance.”
Yet, Batten still seemed open to the idea, although he acknowledged to both sides he was going back and forth on the issue.
“Although they make allegations of tremendous worldwide improprieties regarding the Dominion voting machines, those allegations are supported by precious little proof,” the judge said.
As Batten appeared to be on the verge of denying the request for a TRO, Powell’s co-counsel Lin Wood spoke up and seemed to persuade the judge to at least freeze the machines in three counties for a possible inspection.
“I don’t see any harm to the state to preserve this information on a very limited basis,” Wood said.
Powell later called the proposal to inspect machines in Cobb, Gwinnett and Cherokee counties “the bare minimum.”
After Williard said he planned to appeal to the 11th Circuit Court of Appeals, Batten ultimately agreed to simply order a freeze of the machines in those three counties and to set an in-person hearing for Friday in Atlanta on whether an inspection of the machines should be permitted.
During the hearing, the judge also clarified that a pair of directives Wood posted online Sunday were “draft proposed orders” and not final orders in the case.
However, without mentioning Wood directly, Willard complained that the disclosures were stoking the rumor mill.
“There has been a lot of rumor, innuendo, and misinformation spread out there regarding what has taken place in a number of courts around the country, and this court today," the assistant attorney general said. "There were a number of social media posts made about this court’s indication of the two rulings."
Batten offered no public criticism of Wood for releasing the proposed orders the judge circulated to the parties Sunday.
As of late Monday night, no appeal had yet been filed in the case.
December 01, 2020 at 01:43AM
https://www.newportri.com/story/sports/college/2020/11/30/tivertons-molly-little-try-out-u-s-womens-lacrosse-team/6466396002/
Tiverton’s Molly Little invited to try out for U.S. national women's lacrosse team - newportri.com
LONDON (Reuters) - Bank of England policymaker Silvana Tenreyro said on Monday that progress in the development of COVID-19 vaccines was only likely to translate into a significant economic boost once they had been widely rolled out in Britain.
FILE PHOTO: A general view shows The Bank of England in the City of London financial district, amid the outbreak of the coronavirus disease (COVID-19), in London, Britain, November 5, 2020. REUTERS/John Sibley/File Photo
Tenreyro struck a more cautious line than the BoE’s Chief Economist, Andy Haldane, who said last week that news of effective coronavirus vaccines had improved financial market conditions and business confidence.
Consumer spending was unlikely to pick up markedly until public health restrictions were relaxed and people felt safe enough to go and socialise, which would not be until vaccines were widely available, Tenreyro said.
“As economists, we often focus on the idea that positive news about the economic situation in the future will lead more confident consumers to spend more today,” she told an event hosted by the Resolution Foundation think-tank and the Money Macro and Finance Society.
“But since the positive news is about future health outcomes, some may be more inclined to postpone spending on many goods and services until vaccines and reduced health risks actually arrive.”
Earlier this month -- before news of the vaccines -- the BoE forecast Britain’s economic recovery would go into reverse this quarter due to a four-week partial lockdown in England and other restrictions to stem a second wave of COVID-19 cases.
Tenreyro said she still believed the economy was on course to shrink, and stood by her decision to vote for a year-long 150 billion pound ($200 billion) expansion in bond purchases.
“My rationale for the recent QE expansion was to mitigate the risk of any tightening in monetary conditions that might make it harder to bring inflation back to target,” she said.
“The reduction in uncertainty about vaccine production makes it even more essential that we avoid those risks.”
Tenreyro also restated her view that cutting interest rates below zero percent could boost Britain’s economy if needed.
“Apart from the bank lending channel I would expect the other channels to also work well -- the exchange rate channel, and the wealth or asset price channel,” she said, based on the effect of negative rates in the euro zone and elsewhere.
The BoE is conducting a review to see if differences in the structure of Britain’s banking system would limit the potential effectiveness of negative interest rates, and other policymakers have raised doubts about the idea.
Reporting by David Milliken; Writing by William Schomberg; Editing by Catherine Evans
November 30, 2020 at 10:13PM
https://www.reuters.com/article/us-britain-boe-tenreyo/boes-tenreyro-sees-little-immediate-economic-boost-from-covid-19-vaccine-idUSKBN28A23S
BoE's Tenreyro sees little immediate economic boost from COVID-19 vaccine - Reuters
little.indah.link At a meeting Monday, Craig Wortham of Alyeska Tire asked the Kenai City Council to pass a city-wide mask mandate. He said it’s been difficult to enforce a mask requirement at his stores without support from the city or state. (Screenshot from Kenai Council)
Just as Gov. Mike Dunleavy has left decisions on mask mandates up to Alaska cities, all but one Kenai Peninsula city has left those decisions up to businesses.
Local officials say they’d rather give owners the option to enforce — or not enforce — mask wearing. But that hands-off approach has put some in a bind.
Craig Wortham is the general manager of Alyeska Tire, an Alaska auto repair and tire chain with four stores on the peninsula and several others around the state. He’s required masks at all locations since the pandemic started.
“We’ve been called names at the front door. We’ve been called ‘libtards,’ ‘communists,’ ‘socialists’ and more recently ‘Nazis.’ It’s been a remarkably difficult journey for us,” he said.
Wortham has been following recommendations from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and World Health Organization since day one. Recently, he experienced the toll of the virus firsthand when an Alyeska employee died from the virus.
The measures at Alyeska have helped ensure that no outbreak has originated from any of the stores. But the blowback from customers has been difficult. On top of the taunting, Wortham estimates nearly half of his potential customers turn around when they see they have to wear masks inside his business.
“It feels like all the responsibility has fallen on the doorsteps of the businesses to educate the consumer, educate the community, educate employees,” he said.”We get virtually no support from city officials, we’ve gotten virtually no support from the leadership on the state level and we haven’t got much leadership on the federal level, either.”
On Monday, Wortham asked the Kenai City Council to implement a mask mandate to take some of the pressure off his business. He said he plans on making a similar appeal to the Soldotna City Council.
Kenai Mayor Brian Gabriel said it’s unfortunate that mask-wearing has become politicized, but that he’d rather see decisions about masks left to individuals. He pointed to a video he put out last week and a joint resolution from the cities and borough asking residents to take precautions.
He also said he thinks a mask mandate would be difficult for cities to enforce. Last month, Kenai City Councilman Henry Knackstedt said he worries mandates might lead to fights between those who are enforcing the rules and those who refuse to wear masks.
But that’s something Wortham’s already had to deal with on his own.
“I had a gentleman jump in a truck coming down to beat me up one day from our Palmer location for mask-wearing,” he said. “And the police had to intervene. The troopers did. And it was all over asking someone to wear a mask.
Pamela Parker is the only member of the Soldotna City Council who has openly advocated a mask mandate for the city at meetings. She also owns Everything Bagels in Soldotna and requires masks there.
“It’s so challenging to come out and take a stance on some of these more politicized issues because you’re not removed from the community at all,” she said. “You’re not the governor of the state whose sole job it is to make these tough decisions. You’re the neighbor to people who are disagreeing with you. You’re a business owner in the community, you have kids in the community. You see everyone when you’re out grocery shopping.”
She said she wishes the state would do something to alleviate the pressure on city governments and business owners.
“I do think it would carry a lot more weight if it did come from the top down,” she said.
Still, there are plenty of customers who applaud the measures these businesses have taken. Wortham said he’s gotten some encouraging feedback at his Soldotna store, which is down the street from Central Peninsula Hospital.
“I received phone calls from doctors in the community, lending their support and giving me high fives and telling me how much they appreciated what we were doing, how positive it was and how it was helping them in their fight and their battle,” he said. “The medical community seemed to rally behind us.”
Seward once again became the only city on the Kenai Peninsula to instate a mask mandate at its Monday night meeting. The city had a similar mandate in place this summer.
November 30, 2020 at 11:08PM
https://www.alaskapublic.org/2020/11/30/with-little-local-government-action-kenai-peninsula-business-forced-to-enforce-mask-rules/
With little local government action, Kenai Peninsula business forced to enforce mask rules - Alaska Public Media News
December 01, 2020 at 01:30AM
https://www.richlandsource.com/business/nonprofit_giving_guide/little-buckeye-calls-on-richland-community-for-giving-tuesday/article_5cc9a9b0-3323-11eb-b64f-4352d8bb2ca9.html
Little Buckeye calls on Richland community for Giving Tuesday - Richland Source
AIX-EN-PROVENCE, France & SAN DIEGO--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Regulatory News:
Verimatrix, (Paris:VMX), the leader in powering the modern connected world with people-centered security, today announced that New York-based Little Cinema deployed Verimatrix Watermarking and Multi-DRM technologies for its virtual premieres and previews.
A groundbreaking digital studio, Little Cinema has partnered with Netflix, ABC, CBS, HBO Max, and Warner Media to produce state-of-the-art virtual premiere events for an industry that used to rely solely on in-person debuts. To fulfill the enhanced protection requirements for this high-value early-release content, Little Cinema looked to Verimatrix and its Secure Cloud. These innovative and highly-interactive virtual streaming events have made waves in Hollywood, earning the studio recognition in BBC News, Vogue, Variety, Vanity Fair, The Hollywood Reporter, and more.
“Verimatrix supplies us with the needed anti-piracy protections and overall peace of mind that Hollywood studios demand when switching to virtual events,” said Jay Rinsky, founder of Little Cinema. “Recently, Verimatrix allowed us to securely preview Season 3 of Star Trek: Discovery with CBS All Access. Our partners trust us with their most vital digital assets, and when all attendees are participating remotely, it’s more important than ever that the event goes seamlessly. Verimatrix helps us deliver better, more secure virtual events.”
Verimatrix Watermarking leverages both client and server-side solutions that protect the entire path of content consumption. Imperceptible and robust, Watermarking for HTML5 protects video content during postproduction and distribution. The solution’s pre-integrated Reveal Service can track the source of piracy within minutes. Additionally, Verimatrix Multi-DRM is fully compatible with PlayReady, Widevine and Fairplay, allowing for a quick, scalable deployment that’s trusted by the most security-minded studios.
“We are pleased that Verimatrix’s cloud-based protection technologies accommodate remote preview events for some of Little Cinema’s most prestigious partners,” said Asaf Ashkenazi, Chief Operating Officer at Verimatrix. “Multi-DRM and Watermarking stand as a powerful combination that answers today’s ever-changing needs. It’s an honor to work with such a uniquely innovative entertainment provider such as Little Cinema as it continues to revolutionize the virtual cinematic experience.”
About Little Cinema Founded by audiovisual artist Jay Rinsky, Little Cinema is a creative studio dedicated to creating shared experiences through technology, multidisciplinary performance, production and reinvention. Little Cinema has created proprietary technologies enabling elevated virtual events for the film and television industry. From virtual festivals and junkets to virtual red-carpet events and innovative live streams including a groundbreaking AR Photobooth. Little Cinema produces its own audience-facing immersive cinema shows as well as works with major studios to reimagine their press, red carpet and marketing events.
Collaborating with partners like WarnerMedia, Paramount Pictures, House of Yes, Brooklyn Museum, and the Institute of Sound & Music Berlin, Little Cinema has enthralled audiences inside, Musée d’art Contemporain de Montréal and MASS MoCA, as well as the Screen Actors Guild Awards, Bonnaroo Music & Arts Festival and MUTEK. Bringing new life to the iconic, the collective’s multidimensional creations have attracted acclaim from New York Magazine, Vogue and Variety and from artists such as Darren Aronofsky and Patty Jenkins. Every film is a performance. Visit www.littlecinema.net.
About Verimatrix Verimatrix (Euronext Paris: VMX) helps power the modern connected world with security made for people. We protect digital content, applications, and devices with intuitive, people-centered and frictionless security. Leading brands turn to Verimatrix to secure everything from premium movies and live streaming sports, to sensitive financial and healthcare data, to mission-critical mobile applications. We enable the trusted connections our customers depend on to deliver compelling content and experiences to millions of consumers around the world. Verimatrix helps partners get to market faster, scale easily, protect valuable revenue streams, and win new business. To learn more, visit www.verimatrix.com.
November 30, 2020 at 11:45PM
https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20201130005088/en/Little-Cinema-Taps-Verimatrix-To-Secure-Hollywood%E2%80%99s-Virtual-Premiere-Events
Little Cinema Taps Verimatrix To Secure Hollywood's Virtual Premiere Events - Business Wire
What’s that ticking sound
under the red velvet sofa,
breathing a little click-song
stolen from South Africa,
perched on a windowsill
or lost in a coffin drawer
singing a half-pint of good
luck, aping such big emotion?
Whatever it is, it materialized
up here on the second floor,
as if from my head—the silent
timekeeper’s rasping alarm.
I pace around the room, careful
not to trip on the tiger rug,
to search out the mechanical
night song of a small being.
What good can it bring now
in our highly evolved world
of climate change & hunting
death stars to give the names
of hermit kings & outlaws.
Love, have I always listened
with my whole damn body,
18k. tick of a pocket watch?
I rise, gazing into an inlaid box
of hex signs & cheap rings.
Now I hardly hear the faint
noise, yet know it is here.
I cover my eyes with my left
hand to hear the machine
pulse of a careless heart, &
in a patch of early-morning
sunlight I see a black cricket.
Someone kicks off her shoe
before I can think to say, No,
one of us must show mercy.
ALBANY — The passage of New York’s Child Victims Act was front page news, and countless individual lawsuits have made headlines across the state as thousands of cases accuse churches, schools, Boy Scout troops and other institutions of abetting the sexual abuse of children in decades past.
What has been covered less is the nitty-gritty of the process - what it’s like for someone to bring a claim forward, what the process of securing a lawyer is like and what the legal timeline is for the deluge of cases.
The process is exhausting for people who must seek out a lawyer and relay their worst memories in detail over and over. And it is promised to take many months, if not more than a year. The law was signed in 2019, but a lawyer whose firm handles hundreds of cases said the first wave of settlements likely won’t hit until at least four more months from now.
Abigail Barker, 27, filed a CVA case in August saying that a Sunday school teacher from her former Troy church abused her while babysitting when she was five years old.
“I finally have the legal avenues that I have wanted for so long to pursue this,” she said of the CVA. “I felt that I would regret it forever if I didn’t (file).”
She started looking for an attorney in January, saying that the process of finding a good one is like finding a therapist: “You really have to dig.”
Finding lawyers for CVA cases has been a struggle for many who want to bring cases forward against individuals or small organizations, as legal fees are expensive and there’s a much smaller possibility of a large payout at the end.
Nearly 5,000 lawsuits have been filed under New York’s Child Victims Act since it came into effect last August. The landmark law, which had been pushed by activists for years, was signed into law Feb. 14, 2019.
The law expanded the statute of limitations on childhood sexual abuse allegations, and it opened a “lookback window” where people could bring lawsuits against abusers or the institutions they were a part of in civil courts — no matter how long ago the alleged abuse occurred.
“Whenever you call a law firm to ask them if they want to take on your case, you have to tell them in explicit detail every horrible moment that happens to you,” she said. “After the 15th, 20th time, somewhere in there, you become a little robotic.”
“You don’t want to re-traumatize yourself every time you call an attorney," she said.
It wasn’t until the Fourth of July weekend when Barker finally found a firm that would bring her case forward. Together, they put together a written complaint that was filed in court in August. She had done so much prep work before meeting with her lawyers — writing down her memories in detail, preparing records and timelines — that they said she was the most prepared client they'd ever had.
“I think I was running on maybe like 10 hours of sleep a whole week this entire summer,” she said. “Everything seemed a little bit more concrete and real when you put it on paper. … When you put it on paper and you read it back and it’s staring at you in very plain black-and-white, it’s hard. It’s very hard.”
Cynthia LeFave, of Guilderland law firm LaFave Wein & Frament, handles 370 CVA cases in New York in partnership with a law firm based in Saint Paul, Minnesota, that specializes in abuse cases.
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After filing a case, the lawyers of the accused parties respond, which can take months with extensions. From there, the case goes into “paper discovery” where both sides ask for records from the other to examine the facts, another months-long process. Then there’s depositions, where witnesses are brought in and questioned under oath by lawyers, followed by another round of paper discovery.
And COVID-19 has made the entire process messier, LeFave said.
“The secrets that they carry are heavy, very heavy, and very hard for them,” LeFave said of her clients. “It’s so much easier to do it face-to-face when you’re talking about hard subjects like this - the parts that have sat buried in their gut for all these years.”
There’s two basic ways cases will end. Mediation — where a settlement is hammered out between the two parties with the assistance of an unaffiliated lawyer — and a trial, LeFave said. Trials would need to be scheduled far in advance, and it’s unclear when courts will be fully open again. CVA cases won't see trials for months into 2021.
But because such a large portion of CVA cases are against large institutions like the Catholic church and the Boy Scouts, LeFave said, it’s likely that many will be settled through mediation ahead of a trial, which has happened historically with such cases. LeFave said she expects the first such mediation settlements to come in the next four-to-five months, and she welcomes it.
“It gives our clients the opportunity to tell their story in the mediation, and sometimes that’s the most cathartic part of the whole experience: being able to tell their story,” she said.
YEREVAN, Armenia — Two weeks after a Moscow-brokered peace agreement changed the map of the South Caucasus, fear and mistrust stalk the communities displaced by the redrawn borders.
In the early hours of November 10, Armenia’s Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan announced a cease-fire deal had been signed with Azerbaijan and Russia to end the fighting around Nagorno-Karabakh, which has killed thousands of troops and dozens of civilians.
The punishing terms of the agreement saw Armenia cede areas in and around Nagorno-Karabakh — an enclave internationally recognized as Azerbaijani territory but controlled by Armenians since the 1990s — to Baku, including the strategic city of Shusha, known to Armenians as Shushi.
The war, which began in late September, displaced a large part of the enclave’s population; Nagorno-Karabakh authorities estimated 90,000 of 150,000 inhabitants fled. Many made their way to the Armenian capital, Yerevan, sheltering in hotels, schools and apartments of private citizens. The government is struggling to find accommodation for the rest.
Some have returned. On Sunday, local officials claimed that as many as 25,000 residents had gone back home since hostilities ended.
Among the returnees was Arega Pogosyan, 64, who had fled her hometown of Martuni in eastern Nagorno-Karabakh a month ago.
People wait to take a bus to return to Stepanakert, in Yerevan, Armenia, on November 19, 2020. | Anush Babajanyan for POLITICO.
Martuni has been devastated, having been bombarded throughout the six-week war. Broken glass and twisted metal line the road to Pogosyan’s house; just across the street stands the town’s cultural center, its windows blown out and walls spattered with shrapnel. But that didn’t deter Pogosyan.
“I have a daughter and six grandchildren,” she said, “and they are all back now too. We don’t have electricity or gas but we have candles and wood. We’ll survive. This is my home and it’s better to starve to death here than move.”
But not everyone shares her confidence.
In the outskirts of Yerevan, Onnik Davidian wandered around a drafty government-run shelter for displaced people. Until the fighting erupted, the 62-year-old operated a movie projector in his village’s social club, screening old Soviet and Bollywood films.
“Now,” he said, “it’s a place where we hold wakes for the dead.”
Davidian’s village of Vardadzor lies in the province of Martakert, which will remain under ethnic Armenian control, although several nearby settlements were handed to Azerbaijan on November 20. He was gloomy about the prospects of returning.
Families from Nagorno-Karabakh on a bus to return to Stepanakert, in Yerevan, Armenia, on November 19, 2020. | Anush Babajanyan for POLITICO.
“What do we have left? We feel we are surrounded now. I know it was either death or give them the land, but Pashinyan should still resign, that’s the right thing to do,” he said.
Pashinyan has resisted repeated calls for his resignation since signing the peace deal, with unrest exploding in Yerevan shortly after his announcement. Subsequent days saw a series of high-profile resignations, including the foreign and defense ministers.
Azerbaijan, meanwhile, erupted in celebration. Baku has since said that Armenians wishing to live under its rule would become Azerbaijani citizens and be granted rights and protections.
Azerbaijanis know the pain of displacement: During the first Nagorno-Karabakh war in the 1990s, hundreds of thousands of Azerbaijanis were driven from their homes by Armenian forces in and around the contested territory. Many of them now hope to return to the areas that Azerbaijan has retaken.
Yet many Nagorno-Karabakh Armenians believe they would not be safe under Azerbaijan’s rule, and have little hope of returning. Some even set their homes on fire before Wednesday’s handover of Kelbajar, the penultimate region to be ceded to Azerbaijan.
“They say there has been looting. Do we even have a house to go back to?” asked Hrant Yardumyan, 62, a pensioner from Lachin — the last region to be transferred to Azerbaijan on December 1.
Aghanik Balasanyan, 34, and her family walk towards a bus to return to Stepanakert, in Yerevan, Armenia, on November 19, 2020. | Anush Babajanyan for POLITICO.
“I don’t trust anyone,” he added. “Not Azerbaijan, not Russia, not Armenia. Lachin isn’t safe anymore, the enemy is next door.”
Olesya Vartanyan, senior analyst at the International Crisis Group, said that with continuing uncertainty around matters like law and order, property rights and the political status of Nagorno-Karabakh, many will be reluctant to go back.
“If an Armenian or an Azerbaijani crosses into each other’s territory, what will happen to that person? Which body will prosecute them? It’s naïve to think that life will remain the same, but the difference is how local people will view the change — as one of humiliation and living under constant threat, or one of safety and confidence,” she said.
Some are certain they cannot return.
Ani Hayrapetyan, 27, fled the town she knows as Shushi with her daughter and extended family while the male relatives stayed behind to defend their hometown.
“My husband called me twice to say goodbye,” she said. The couple, who ran a children’s entertainment business, were eventually reunited but now their city is firmly under Azerbaijani control, leaving its 4,000 former residents exiled.
Hayrapetyan and her family are sheltering in a relative’s apartment in Yerevan and have felt welcome in the city, although a recent incident while enrolling her daughter at a school has made her wonder if the mood toward the newly displaced could darken.
Families from Nagorno-Karabakh return to Stepanakert, in Yerevan, Armenia, on November 19, 2020. | Anush Babajanyan for POLITICO.
“As we were leaving, the psychologist came up to us yelling: ‘If you have one drop of patriotic blood in your body, go back to Karabakh. Our soldiers died for you,’” she recounted.
She added: “I’m trying to stay positive but many others are in torment and mental health is a taboo subject here. But it’s time to let go of the emotion and start the hard work. We can’t wait for help to come to us, we have to do it ourselves.”
Last week, the European Commission pledged €3 million in emergency aid to civilians caught up in the conflict and Russia said it would be sending construction materials and medical equipment. But to date, the humanitarian response in Armenia has largely been a grassroots operation — with ordinary citizens opening their doors to refugees and fundraising for essential supplies.
Zabelle Berberian, 64, used to welcome tourists from around the world in her hilltop hotel in Yerevan but now accommodates more than 40 refugees from across Nagorno-Karabakh free of charge with financial support from the U.S.-based Armenian diaspora. In the street outside the hotel, a fluttering black banner — a ubiquitous sight across the country — marks the home of a fallen soldier.
For the past month, Berberian has listened to guests recounting the loss of their loved ones. In the nation of 3 million, almost everyone knows someone who died; the death toll on the Armenian side stands at nearly 2,500. (Azerbaijan has not disclosed its losses.) The figure is certain to rise as bodies continue to be salvaged from the battlefield.
Ani Hayrapetyan, 27, (left), her husband Gevorg Hayrapetyan, 25, and their daughter Emilia, 2, in Yerevan, Armenia, on November 19, 2020. | Anush Babajanyan for POLITICO.
On an iPad, Berberian pulled up a photo taken weeks ago of a group of more than 20 young men from her hometown standing in formation. “They were volunteer soldiers. All of them except two or three died. Killed in the same drone strike,” she said.
Many of the women at Berberian’s hotel are from the de-facto capital of Nagorno-Karabakh, Stepanakert, which will remain under Armenian control but lies in the shadow of the captured mountaintop city of Shusha/Shushi, 5 kilometers away.
The new proximity to Azerbaijan is unnerving for many, despite the presence of some 2,000 Russian troops who will patrol the line of contact for at least the next five years.
Rozanna Arestamyan, 45, is unconvinced the Russians can protect them. “I stopped believing in anyone and I’m losing the desire to go back,” she said. “We need Armenians there to defend us, not Russians.”
“It’s impossible for us to live together, we’ve been enemies throughout history,” said another woman from Stepanakert who didn’t give her name. “Yes, the Russians are there but Azerbaijanis are in Shushi and they can fire at us whenever they want. We won’t be going back.”
A man who worked for the town’s local council joined in: “We would prefer Russians not to be there, but we trust them more than any of the European countries that did nothing for us other than talk. It’s a lesser evil.”
Families from Nagorno-Karabakh hosted in the Parev Doon hotel, in Yerevan, Armenia, on November 19, 2020. | Anush Babajanyan for POLITICO.
At Yerevan’s southern bus station on a gray Thursday morning, Aghavnik Balasaryan, 34, waited for a bus to return to Stepanakert with her three young children and a pile of plastic bags containing clothes. In the early days of the fighting, before evacuating, she worked as nurse in the local children’s hospital. She bit her lip at the memories.
“We saw terrible things. Soldiers came with injuries that I can’t forget,” she said. “Thank God our house is okay, but I pity the ones whose homes were crushed. Some are going back and some will stay, but many will leave for Armenia or Russia.”
The family spent most of the war in Echmiadzin, a city near Yerevan, accommodated in a primary school with more than 100 other refugees.
“They treated us very well, but it was near the airport and my youngest daughter panicked every time a plane passed overhead,” she recounted.
Her son was less timid. “He wants to be a soldier, like his father. We bought him a toy tank.”
“I want to get a gun!” the son shouted.
A center in Yerevan’s Kanaker-Zeytun district, in Armenia, on November 19, 2020. Here refugees from Nagorno-Karabakh are registered and allowed to overnight until temporary housing is arranged for them. | Anush Babajanyan for POLITICO.
“Oh yes, you want to get a gun and kill the Turks?” Balasaryan asked, using a derogatory term many Armenians use for Azerbaijanis. (Turkey and Azerbaijan share many historical, cultural and linguistic ties, and Ankara has supported Baku in the fight over Nagorno-Karabakh.)
“I want to get a gun and kill the Turks!” the three-year-old boy cried.
A fleet of buses pulled up and dozens of families began piling in. A child poked a Nagorno-Karabakh flag out of the window. Balasaryan picked up a clutch of bags and smiled sadly.
“Before the war we felt free. Now we will find out if we still are.”
When big-legged Carolina Panthers kicker Joey Slye lined up for a field-goal attempt with 6 seconds to go and the Vikings clinging to a one-point lead, the 54-yard try probably felt like a chip shot to Minnesota fans.
Zimmer watched Slye boot 'em from 60 yards and longer in pregame warmups on Sunday, Nov. 29, so Zimmer's confidence was about as high as it ever was in the Blair Walsh Era.
Slye's leg is so strong, he was using his kickoff attempts in Sunday's game — six of which went for easy touchbacks — to practice different types of kicks. He popped one up that looked like a routine flyball to the left fielder. Touchback. He rocketed one on a low line drive that even Miguel Sano could've turned into extra bases. Touchback.
So with the game riding on Slye's foot, with no wind, no fans and no noise, the conclusion seemed foregone.
listen live
watch live
But Zimmer and Vikings fans forgot one thing: Slye kicks for the Vikings of the South.
Carolina doesn't have as lengthy a history as the Vikings do, but it's nearly as painful.
The Panthers have lost two NFC Championship Games. They've also lost the only two Super Bowl appearances in franchise history, getting blown out by Denver in one and leaving Tom Brady 68 seconds to drive for a winning field goal in the other.
So when Slye's kick sailed wide left with 1 second remaining on the clock, securing a 28-27 Minnesota victory, the feeling was a familiar one to fans on both sides. Another painful loss for the Panthers, effectively ending any sliver of hope they had of making the playoffs. On the opposite side, the Vikings and their fans took a split second to empathize. But no more than a split second.
When Zimmer says the Vikings got a little lucky, maybe we agree with him. Or maybe we don't.
If that’s the case, then Tennessee got a little lucky on Sept. 27 at U.S. Bank Stadium when Stephen Gostkowski was 6-for-6 on field-goal attempts, including three of more than 50 yards, and the Vikings blew a two-touchdown lead with four minutes to play in the third quarter in a 31-30 Titans win. (Aside from the Vikings game, Gostkowski is 9-for-17 this season.)
If that’s the case, then the Seahawks got a little lucky on Oct. 11 at Seattle, when the Vikings offensive line and Alexander Mattison couldn’t get a half a yard on fourth-and-inches with 2 minutes remaining, that would’ve sealed a Minnesota victory. Instead, Russell Wilson marched the Seahawks 94 yards in 102 seconds for the game-winning TD.
If that’s the case, then Dallas got a little lucky a week ago, when Minnesota had a four-point lead with 2:05 to go and couldn't stop the Cowboys on a fourth-and-6 play that would've all but wrapped up a Vikings win. Dallas scored the game-winning touchdown five plays later.
So, yes, maybe the Vikings were a little lucky on Sunday. But that's what the NFL is about, and no one needs to or will apologize for a victory, however it comes about. Success for every team is largely defined by how many one-score games they can win.
There were dozens of singular moments that defined Sunday's game. Slye's kick just happened to be the last big, hold-your-breath downhill drop during an emotional roller coaster of an afternoon.
Some of the most head-scratching of those moments came in the final three minutes.
The Vikings' defense — which held Carolina's offense to 13 points — stopped the Panthers at midfield with 2:10 to go, but Chad Beebe dropped the punt at his own 10 and the Panthers recovered. A touchdown would've sealed a victory for Carolina, but the Vikings of the South managed to burn just 19 seconds off the clock before Slye kicked a 21-yard field goal for a 27-21 lead with 1:51 left.
Then, again much to the surprise of Vikings fans, Kirk Cousins led Minnesota on a 75-yard touchdown drive, with no timeouts, in just 65 seconds. The drive was capped with a 10-yard TD pass to none other than Beebe.
"At the end of the day, a lot of that (drama) was on me," said Beebe, whose receiving TD was the first of his NFL career. "I came to the sideline (after the fumble) and everyone was positive, they had a never-give-up attitude. Our entire team felt that way. We had plenty of time to go down and score, and that's exactly what we did."
Former Vikings quarterback Teddy Bridgewater, who played most of the first half like he wanted the Vikings to win Sunday's game, needed just three plays to drive the Panthers into field-goal range, only for Slye's long kick to fly wide.
Had it split the uprights, the luck would have been on the Panthers' side. But it didn't. And the Vikings weren't apologizing for it.
"I thought Kirk played well all day," Zimmer said of Cousins, who was 34-for-45 passing for 307 yards, three touchdowns and no interceptions. He completed passes to seven different receivers and became just the fourth QB in NFL history to complete seven or more passes to four different receivers in a game. "On that last drive, he was terrific.
"That's kind of how this year has gone. It seems every one of these games comes down to a chance to win it at the end."
Jason Feldman covers the Vikings for Forum News Service. He can be reached at jfeldman@postbulletin.com.
When big-legged Carolina Panthers kicker Joey Slye lined up for a field-goal attempt with 6 seconds to go and the Vikings clinging to a one-point lead, the 54-yard try probably felt like a chip shot to Minnesota fans.
Zimmer watched Slye boot 'em from 60 yards and longer in pregame warmups on Sunday, Nov. 29, so Zimmer's confidence was about as high as it ever was in the Blair Walsh Era.
Slye's leg is so strong, he was using his kickoff attempts in Sunday's game — six of which went for easy touchbacks — to practice different types of kicks. He popped one up that looked like a routine flyball to the left fielder. Touchback. He rocketed one on a low line drive that even Miguel Sano could've turned into extra bases. Touchback.
So with the game riding on Slye's foot, with no wind, no fans and no noise, the conclusion seemed foregone.
But Zimmer and Vikings fans forgot one thing: Slye kicks for the Vikings of the South.
Carolina doesn't have as lengthy a history as the Vikings do, but it's nearly as painful.
The Panthers have lost two NFC Championship Games. They've also lost the only two Super Bowl appearances in franchise history, getting blown out by Denver in one and leaving Tom Brady 68 seconds to drive for a winning field goal in the other.
So when Slye's kick sailed wide left with 1 second remaining on the clock, securing a 28-27 Minnesota victory, the feeling was a familiar one to fans on both sides. Another painful loss for the Panthers, effectively ending any sliver of hope they had of making the playoffs. On the opposite side, the Vikings and their fans took a split second to empathize. But no more than a split second.
When Zimmer says the Vikings got a little lucky, maybe we agree with him. Or maybe we don't.
If that’s the case, then Tennessee got a little lucky on Sept. 27 at U.S. Bank Stadium when Stephen Gostkowski was 6-for-6 on field-goal attempts, including three of more than 50 yards, and the Vikings blew a two-touchdown lead with four minutes to play in the third quarter in a 31-30 Titans win. (Aside from the Vikings game, Gostkowski is 9-for-17 this season.)
If that’s the case, then the Seahawks got a little lucky on Oct. 11 at Seattle, when the Vikings offensive line and Alexander Mattison couldn’t get a half a yard on fourth-and-inches with 2 minutes remaining, that would’ve sealed a Minnesota victory. Instead, Russell Wilson marched the Seahawks 94 yards in 102 seconds for the game-winning TD.
If that’s the case, then Dallas got a little lucky a week ago, when Minnesota had a four-point lead with 2:05 to go and couldn't stop the Cowboys on a fourth-and-6 play that would've all but wrapped up a Vikings win. Dallas scored the game-winning touchdown five plays later.
So, yes, maybe the Vikings were a little lucky on Sunday. But that's what the NFL is about, and no one needs to or will apologize for a victory, however it comes about. Success for every team is largely defined by how many one-score games they can win.
There were dozens of singular moments that defined Sunday's game. Slye's kick just happened to be the last big, hold-your-breath downhill drop during an emotional roller coaster of an afternoon.
Some of the most head-scratching of those moments came in the final three minutes.
The Vikings' defense — which held Carolina's offense to 13 points — stopped the Panthers at midfield with 2:10 to go, but Chad Beebe dropped the punt at his own 10 and the Panthers recovered. A touchdown would've sealed a victory for Carolina, but the Vikings of the South managed to burn just 19 seconds off the clock before Slye kicked a 21-yard field goal for a 27-21 lead with 1:51 left.
Then, again much to the surprise of Vikings fans, Kirk Cousins led Minnesota on a 75-yard touchdown drive, with no timeouts, in just 65 seconds. The drive was capped with a 10-yard TD pass to none other than Beebe.
"At the end of the day, a lot of that (drama) was on me," said Beebe, whose receiving TD was the first of his NFL career. "I came to the sideline (after the fumble) and everyone was positive, they had a never-give-up attitude. Our entire team felt that way. We had plenty of time to go down and score, and that's exactly what we did."
Former Vikings quarterback Teddy Bridgewater, who played most of the first half like he wanted the Vikings to win Sunday's game, needed just three plays to drive the Panthers into field-goal range, only for Slye's long kick to fly wide.
Had it split the uprights, the luck would have been on the Panthers' side. But it didn't. And the Vikings weren't apologizing for it.
"I thought Kirk played well all day," Zimmer said of Cousins, who was 34-for-45 passing for 307 yards, three touchdowns and no interceptions. He completed passes to seven different receivers and became just the fourth QB in NFL history to complete seven or more passes to four different receivers in a game. "On that last drive, he was terrific.
"That's kind of how this year has gone. It seems every one of these games comes down to a chance to win it at the end."
Jason Feldman covers the Vikings for Forum News Service. He can be reached at jfeldman@postbulletin.com.
Mendoza had seven daughters, and is also a grandfather and great-grandfather. On Thursday, one of them said the family hadn't planned to be together this Thanksgiving because of the COVID-19 pandemic but they are now trying to support each other through the tragedy.
Another press conference was held Sunday to reaffirm the call for action and increase the reward to $5,000.
"It doesn't matter if it's going to be today or tomorrow, five years from now, 10 years from now; we need justice," daughter Leticia Torres said. "We have questions, and we're not going to let go of this until we find the answers."
Mendoza was hit by a gray GMC SUV, Chicago police said.
When big-legged Carolina Panthers kicker Joey Slye lined up for a field-goal attempt with 6 seconds to go and the Vikings clinging to a one-point lead, the 54-yard try probably felt like a chip shot to Minnesota fans.
Zimmer watched Slye boot 'em from 60 yards and longer in pregame warmups on Sunday, Nov. 29, so Zimmer's confidence was about as high as it ever was in the Blair Walsh Era.
Slye's leg is so strong, he was using his kickoff attempts in Sunday's game — six of which went for easy touchbacks — to practice different types of kicks. He popped one up that looked like a routine flyball to the left fielder. Touchback. He rocketed one on a low line drive that even Miguel Sano could've turned into extra bases. Touchback.
So with the game riding on Slye's foot, with no wind, no fans and no noise, the conclusion seemed foregone.
listen live
watch live
But Zimmer and Vikings fans forgot one thing: Slye kicks for the Vikings of the South.
Carolina doesn't have as lengthy a history as the Vikings do, but it's nearly as painful.
The Panthers have lost two NFC Championship Games. They've also lost the only two Super Bowl appearances in franchise history, getting blown out by Denver in one and leaving Tom Brady 68 seconds to drive for a winning field goal in the other.
So when Slye's kick sailed wide left with 1 second remaining on the clock, securing a 28-27 Minnesota victory, the feeling was a familiar one to fans on both sides. Another painful loss for the Panthers, effectively ending any sliver of hope they had of making the playoffs. On the opposite side, the Vikings and their fans took a split second to empathize. But no more than a split second.
When Zimmer says the Vikings got a little lucky, maybe we agree with him. Or maybe we don't.
If that’s the case, then Tennessee got a little lucky on Sept. 27 at U.S. Bank Stadium when Stephen Gostkowski was 6-for-6 on field-goal attempts, including three of more than 50 yards, and the Vikings blew a two-touchdown lead with four minutes to play in the third quarter in a 31-30 Titans win. (Aside from the Vikings game, Gostkowski is 9-for-17 this season.)
If that’s the case, then the Seahawks got a little lucky on Oct. 11 at Seattle, when the Vikings offensive line and Alexander Mattison couldn’t get a half a yard on fourth-and-inches with 2 minutes remaining, that would’ve sealed a Minnesota victory. Instead, Russell Wilson marched the Seahawks 94 yards in 102 seconds for the game-winning TD.
If that’s the case, then Dallas got a little lucky a week ago, when Minnesota had a four-point lead with 2:05 to go and couldn't stop the Cowboys on a fourth-and-6 play that would've all but wrapped up a Vikings win. Dallas scored the game-winning touchdown five plays later.
So, yes, maybe the Vikings were a little lucky on Sunday. But that's what the NFL is about, and no one needs to or will apologize for a victory, however it comes about. Success for every team is largely defined by how many one-score games they can win.
There were dozens of singular moments that defined Sunday's game. Slye's kick just happened to be the last big, hold-your-breath downhill drop during an emotional roller coaster of an afternoon.
Some of the most head-scratching of those moments came in the final three minutes.
The Vikings' defense — which held Carolina's offense to 13 points — stopped the Panthers at midfield with 2:10 to go, but Chad Beebe dropped the punt at his own 10 and the Panthers recovered. A touchdown would've sealed a victory for Carolina, but the Vikings of the South managed to burn just 19 seconds off the clock before Slye kicked a 21-yard field goal for a 27-21 lead with 1:51 left.
Then, again much to the surprise of Vikings fans, Kirk Cousins led Minnesota on a 75-yard touchdown drive, with no timeouts, in just 65 seconds. The drive was capped with a 10-yard TD pass to none other than Beebe.
"At the end of the day, a lot of that (drama) was on me," said Beebe, whose receiving TD was the first of his NFL career. "I came to the sideline (after the fumble) and everyone was positive, they had a never-give-up attitude. Our entire team felt that way. We had plenty of time to go down and score, and that's exactly what we did."
Former Vikings quarterback Teddy Bridgewater, who played most of the first half like he wanted the Vikings to win Sunday's game, needed just three plays to drive the Panthers into field-goal range, only for Slye's long kick to fly wide.
Had it split the uprights, the luck would have been on the Panthers' side. But it didn't. And the Vikings weren't apologizing for it.
"I thought Kirk played well all day," Zimmer said of Cousins, who was 34-for-45 passing for 307 yards, three touchdowns and no interceptions. He completed passes to seven different receivers and became just the fourth QB in NFL history to complete seven or more passes to four different receivers in a game. "On that last drive, he was terrific.
"That's kind of how this year has gone. It seems every one of these games comes down to a chance to win it at the end."
Jason Feldman covers the Vikings for Forum News Service. He can be reached at jfeldman@postbulletin.com.
CHICAGO (CBS) — Police on Sunday warned residents of the Pilsen and Little Village areas about a string of cellphone store robberies that have transpired over the last several weeks.
In each incident, the suspects entered a store, took out a gun or knife, and demanded or took property by force.
The incidents happened at the following times and locations:
• At 12:20 p.m. Wednesday, Oct. 7, in the 2000 block of West Cermak Road;
• At 3:33 p.m. Friday, Oct. 23, in the 2800 block of West Cermak Road;
• At 4:50 p.m. Friday, Oct. 23, in the 3200 block of West 26th Street;
• At 12:45 p.m. Sunday, Nov. 29 in the 3900 block of West 26th Street.
Police did not say how many suspects were involved and did not provide a useful description.
Anyone with information is asked to call Area Four detectives at (312) 746-8253.
November 30, 2020 at 07:21AM
https://chicago.cbslocal.com/2020/11/29/police-issue-warning-about-cellphone-store-robberies-in-pilsen-little-village-areas/
Police Issue Warning About Cellphone Store Robberies In Pilsen, Little Village Areas - CBS Chicago
When big-legged Carolina Panthers kicker Joey Slye lined up for a field-goal attempt with 6 seconds to go and the Vikings clinging to a one-point lead, the 54-yard try probably felt like a chip shot to Minnesota fans.
Zimmer watched Slye boot 'em from 60 yards and longer in pregame warmups on Sunday, Nov. 29, so Zimmer's confidence was about as high as it ever was in the Blair Walsh Era.
Slye's leg is so strong, he was using his kickoff attempts in Sunday's game — six of which went for easy touchbacks — to practice different types of kicks. He popped one up that looked like a routine flyball to the left fielder. Touchback. He rocketed one on a low line drive that even Miguel Sano could've turned into extra bases. Touchback.
So with the game riding on Slye's foot, with no wind, no fans and no noise, the conclusion seemed foregone.
But Zimmer and Vikings fans forgot one thing: Slye kicks for the Vikings of the South.
Carolina doesn't have as lengthy a history as the Vikings do, but it's nearly as painful.
The Panthers have lost two NFC Championship Games. They've also lost the only two Super Bowl appearances in franchise history, getting blown out by Denver in one and leaving Tom Brady 68 seconds to drive for a winning field goal in the other.
So when Slye's kick sailed wide left with 1 second remaining on the clock, securing a 28-27 Minnesota victory, the feeling was a familiar one to fans on both sides. Another painful loss for the Panthers, effectively ending any sliver of hope they had of making the playoffs. On the opposite side, the Vikings and their fans took a split second to empathize. But no more than a split second.
When Zimmer says the Vikings got a little lucky, maybe we agree with him. Or maybe we don't.
If that’s the case, then Tennessee got a little lucky on Sept. 27 at U.S. Bank Stadium when Stephen Gostkowski was 6-for-6 on field-goal attempts, including three of more than 50 yards, and the Vikings blew a two-touchdown lead with four minutes to play in the third quarter in a 31-30 Titans win. (Aside from the Vikings game, Gostkowski is 9-for-17 this season.)
If that’s the case, then the Seahawks got a little lucky on Oct. 11 at Seattle, when the Vikings offensive line and Alexander Mattison couldn’t get a half a yard on fourth-and-inches with 2 minutes remaining, that would’ve sealed a Minnesota victory. Instead, Russell Wilson marched the Seahawks 94 yards in 102 seconds for the game-winning TD.
If that’s the case, then Dallas got a little lucky a week ago, when Minnesota had a four-point lead with 2:05 to go and couldn't stop the Cowboys on a fourth-and-6 play that would've all but wrapped up a Vikings win. Dallas scored the game-winning touchdown five plays later.
So, yes, maybe the Vikings were a little lucky on Sunday. But that's what the NFL is about, and no one needs to or will apologize for a victory, however it comes about. Success for every team is largely defined by how many one-score games they can win.
There were dozens of singular moments that defined Sunday's game. Slye's kick just happened to be the last big, hold-your-breath downhill drop during an emotional roller coaster of an afternoon.
Some of the most head-scratching of those moments came in the final three minutes.
The Vikings' defense — which held Carolina's offense to 13 points — stopped the Panthers at midfield with 2:10 to go, but Chad Beebe dropped the punt at his own 10 and the Panthers recovered. A touchdown would've sealed a victory for Carolina, but the Vikings of the South managed to burn just 19 seconds off the clock before Slye kicked a 21-yard field goal for a 27-21 lead with 1:51 left.
Then, again much to the surprise of Vikings fans, Kirk Cousins led Minnesota on a 75-yard touchdown drive, with no timeouts, in just 65 seconds. The drive was capped with a 10-yard TD pass to none other than Beebe.
"At the end of the day, a lot of that (drama) was on me," said Beebe, whose receiving TD was the first of his NFL career. "I came to the sideline (after the fumble) and everyone was positive, they had a never-give-up attitude. Our entire team felt that way. We had plenty of time to go down and score, and that's exactly what we did."
Former Vikings quarterback Teddy Bridgewater, who played most of the first half like he wanted the Vikings to win Sunday's game, needed just three plays to drive the Panthers into field-goal range, only for Slye's long kick to fly wide.
Had it split the uprights, the luck would have been on the Panthers' side. But it didn't. And the Vikings weren't apologizing for it.
"I thought Kirk played well all day," Zimmer said of Cousins, who was 34-for-45 passing for 307 yards, three touchdowns and no interceptions. He completed passes to seven different receivers and became just the fourth QB in NFL history to complete seven or more passes to four different receivers in a game. "On that last drive, he was terrific.
"That's kind of how this year has gone. It seems every one of these games comes down to a chance to win it at the end."
Jason Feldman covers the Vikings for Forum News Service. He can be reached at jfeldman@postbulletin.com.
