We’ve been together too long to hide this:

My desire is to produce an NFL pregame show that is radically different from all the others because it is, get this, interesting, entertaining, thoughtful, and leaves viewers with something worth knowing and remembering.

I assume that decades of wasted hours and millions of dollars would be easily recouped.

Crazy, I know.

I’d start by filling it with good stuff, like the one seen for a few seconds during a Fox broadcast earlier this month. It was a home video of Cowboys center Cooper Beebe, barely a breakout lock but now the team’s starter — a position he had never played before — snapping footballs to his mother in the backyard.

Welcome back to our queer film retrospective “A Gay Old Time.” In this week’s column, we take another look at the 1982 crime thriller Death trapin which above all a, well… *Spoiler alert*

Crime and mystery novels tend to have a particularly queer appeal. The worlds of Agatha Christie, Jessica Fletcher or Benoit Blanc are always full of larger-than-life characters hiding secrets from each other, exotic far-flung places, fabulous women in outlandish clothes and drama hiding in every corner.

The genre revels in the archetypes and narratives we are drawn to, either because of its camp feel and heightened reality, or because themes such as hiding one’s true identity and finding meaning in a chaotic world are reflections of our own experiences.

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The canon of crime stories in film is broad and extensive, and while they always manage to find a queer audience, open queer representation in them is surprisingly quite low. Films like 1975 The last of Sheila1976s Murder by death (which we have already covered in this column) and more recently the Knife out There were queer characters in films of varying degrees of prominence. However, it was rare for a character’s queerness to serve as a central plot point or motivation in the story.

This week to celebrate the recent release of the biographical documentary Super/Man: The Christopher Reeves StoryLet’s take a look at a crime film that made a cultural statement by adding a queer layer to its source material, exposing the themes that otherwise simmered quietly beneath.

The structure

The 1982 film Death trap The film stars Michael Caine as Sidney Bruhl, a once-famous thriller playwright who now faces critical and financial decline in his career. Stuck in a creative rut after the failure of his latest play, Sidney is surprised to receive a manuscript one night from a former student, Clifford Anderson (Christopher Reeve).

The play proves to be one of the most brilliant works he has ever read, and his very supportive wife Myra (a spirited Dyan Cannon) persuades him to invite the young writer to discuss collaboration. But Sidney has other plans: he intends to murder Clifford and secure credit for the play in order to revive his own career.

*From now on, this article will be quite spoiler-heavy. So if you haven’t seen it yet Death trap and enjoy the film’s many twists and turns, do so and come back!*

After a cat-and-mouse chase throughout the evening, Sidney successfully murders Clifford. But to his wife’s great surprise, he comes back to life in the middle of the night and tries to take revenge. This is too much for Myra’s poor heart and she dies of a heart attack. But then Sidney and Clifford look at each other and smile: their plan worked. They successfully killed his wife and can now enjoy their fortune together. And they share a kiss.

The rest of the film follows the distrust that the two men develop towards each other as Clifford attempts to write a play based on the crime committed by the two (it is a film full of complex narrative themes and techniques).

Related*

Making the crime thriller queer in the truest sense of the word

It’s a very cleverly plotted, fast-paced and gripping meta-crime with three funny performances at its center. Cannon stands out as the unsuspecting victim, with Reeve effectively weaponizing his boyish charm and Michael Caine comfortably falling into an archetype he’s done before (the film has many similarities to 1972). detectivewhere he played alongside Laurence Olivier).

Death trap The film is directed by Sidney Lumet, returning to the genre after directing the star-studded 1975 film Murder on the Orient Expressand effectively translates the “stageiness” of the source material into a dynamic and claustrophobic cinematic experience.

The film is based on Ira Levin’s 1978 play of the same name, which at the time had the honor of being the longest-running comedy-thriller on Broadway. Although the play suggests that there is a romantic and sexual relationship between the two leads, the film made this clear by including the kissing scene, which caused great controversy at the time. The film was booed by audiences in previews, and since the discourse it generated apparently revealed a major twist in the film’s plot, the studio assumed it would have cost millions of dollars in ticket sales.

A crime of passion

However, the kiss, and therefore the romantic nature of the central relationship, is a key element of the story and what sets it apart from other entries in the genre. Unlike other films where a character’s sexuality can be used as information against them (see The last of Sheila or just a touch of personality and backstory that never comes into play, the attraction and bond between Sidney and Clifford is what sets the entire plot in motion.

They kill because they want to be together, and the tension that grows between them after the murder is heightened by their feelings for each other. The professional jealousy at the core of the theme makes more sense and is felt more strongly between two lovers than if they were just colleagues.

Interestingly, and rather disappointingly, there have been attempts at revivals of the play that have unsuccessfully attempted to deepen this romantic relationship even further. In 2012, a Los Angeles LGBT Center production staged the post-murder conversations as a post-coital nude scene and had to cancel performances when the production was canceled by Ira Levin’s estate. But it’s not as if this creates a dynamic that isn’t already present in the text.

A twist of fate

Death trap is a worthy entry into the canon of both crime adaptations and queer films. Although it is significantly longer than it needs to be, and its stage origins are sometimes too obvious, it is full of surprises, twists and gore to both embarrass and captivate the reader.

The fact that it centers on a queer couple feels both groundbreaking and surprisingly familiar; It’s a genre we’ve felt at home with for so long that it feels somewhat natural to see ourselves portrayed openly.

Deathtrap is currently streaming on Hoopla, Plex and Tubi. It can be rented digitally or purchased via Amazon Prime Video and Apple TV.

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Hurricane Helene has left its mark on North Carolina and many residents are trying to make sense of the devastation it left in its wake.

Helene brought heavy rains, strong winds, damaging debris and flooding to the state. Power outages and life-threatening flash floods were reported in the western part of the state.

In many areas of North Carolina, such as Chimney Rock and Asheville, residents saw more than a foot of rain. The highest rainfall reported was 29.5 inches in Busick Raws, Yancey County, North Carolina, Gov. Roy Cooper’s office said.

The heavy rains prompted Rutherford County Emergency Management to issue an immediate evacuation notice to residents near Lake Lure Dam on Friday morning.

On Friday evening, the county government office provided an update on the dam’s water level.

“The water level in Lake Lure has stopped rising and is beginning to decline,” the county government office wrote in a Facebook post. “Emergency personnel rescued over 25 people through rapid water rescue, EMS, fire and law enforcement.”

Emergency personnel provided an update around 9:00 p.m. local time that the storm had knocked out many phone lines across the county, particularly in Lake Lure.

If you didn’t draft a top defense and play the streaming game on D/ST, our NFL team Week 4 Fantasy Football Defense (D/ST) Rankings are here to We will help you find the optimal setup.

The Titans and Dolphins have plus matchups and are in the top 10 in RotoBaller’s Week 4 DST rankings. Check out where other defenses rank, including the Jets, Steelers, 49ers and Bears, among others.

Our Week 4 Defense Fantasy Football Rankings (DST) are compiled by Nick Mariano, Brandon Murchison, Andersen PickardAnd Scott Angel. In addition to our staff rankings, below is a summary of this week’s important fantasy football injury news.

Be sure to check out all of our 2024 fantasy football rankings:

• DeMarcus Lawrence faces a significant absence
• Has a solid start against the injury-plagued Rams
• New Orleans D/ST A good bet against Atlanta
• Steelers D/ST a top fantasy option against Indianapolis
• The Ravens will have a tough test in Week 4
• Jets defense a top option in Week 4
• Joey Bosa is out for Week 4
• Antoine Winfield Jr. misses another game
• Browns defense draws a plus matchup in Week 4
• Myles Garrett will play on Sunday
• Packers D/ST A tough task against Minnesota

The rankings will be updated until kick-off. Don’t forget to bookmark our weekly PPR rankings, semi-PPR rankings and standard rankings

D/ST level	D/ST rank	D/ST name	position
1	1	New York Jets	Summer time
1	2	Pittsburgh Steelers	Summer time
1	3	San Francisco 49ers	Summer time
1	4	Kansas City Chiefs	Summer time
2	5	Cleveland Browns	Summer time
2	6	Dallas Cowboys	Summer time
3	7	Miami Dolphins	Summer time
3	8	Chicago Bears	Summer time
3	9	Houston Texans	Summer time
3	10	Tennessee Titans	Summer time
4	11	Minnesota Vikings	Summer time
4	12	New Orleans Saints	Summer time
4	13	Las Vegas Raiders	Summer time
4	14	Green Bay Packers	Summer time
4	15	Buffalo Bills	Summer time
5	16	Cincinnati Bengals	Summer time
5	17	Baltimore Ravens	Summer time
5	18	Seattle Seahawks	Summer time
5	19	Philadelphia Eagles	Summer time
5	20	Detroit Lions	Summer time
5	21	Indianapolis Colts	Summer time
6	22	Tampa Bay Buccaneers	Summer time
6	23	Los Angeles Rams	Summer time
6	24	Arizona Cardinals	Summer time
6	25	Atlanta Falcons	Summer time
6	26	New England Patriots	Summer time
6	27	Denver Broncos	Summer time
6	28	New York Giants	Summer time
6	29	Los Angeles Chargers	Summer time
6	30	Carolina Panthers	Summer time
6	31	Jacksonville Jaguars	Summer time
6	32	Washington commanders	Summer time

Pittsburgh Steelers DST – Fantasy Football Outlook

The Pittsburgh Steelers have been strong defensively this season, giving up the fewest yards and points per contest in the NFL. They are primed for more success at home against the Indianapolis Colts in Week 4.

Although the Indianapolis offense has put up a respectable number of points over the last three weeks, Colts quarterback Anthony Richardson currently leads the league in interceptions thrown. If running back Jonathan Taylor struggles against a Steelers defense that allows the second-fewest rushing yards per game,

Richardson could be forced to throw the ball as he deals with intense pressure from DPOY favorite TJ Watt. Fantasy managers should include Pittsburgh’s DST in lineups of all shapes and sizes on Sunday.

-Jorden Hill, RotoBaller

New York Jets DST – Fantasy Football Outlook

The New York Jets defense pulled off a great draw at home against the Denver Broncos in Week 4. The Broncos have struggled offensively this season, ranking 23rd in points per game and 26th in yards per game through three weeks.

The Jets have one of the most talented defenses in the league and are in a great situation at home against rookie quarterback Bo Nix. With New York considered a 7.5-point home favorite in a game with a low over/under ratio of 39.5, fantasy gamers should be confident heading into Week 4 with the Jets defense.

– Matt T., RotoBaller

Cleveland Browns DST – Fantasy Football Outlook

The Cleveland Browns defense will hit the road to face the Las Vegas Raiders in Week 4. Cleveland’s defense was solid through three games, recording nine sacks, good for tenth in the league.

The Raiders will call on Gardner Minshew II at center after benching him for Aiden O’Connell last week, but Minshew is on a leash after throwing just three touchdowns and three interceptions in the first three games of the season Thrown and didn’t score a vote of confidence from head coach Antonio Pierce during the week.

However, the Browns’ defense enters Week 4 pretty banged up, as Myles Garrett (foot, hamstring, hamstring), Jordan Hicks (ribs, elbow) and Mike Ford (knee) all missed a few practices this week due to their respective injuries. The Browns are 1.5-point away favorites in a game with a low over/under of 36.5 points, so fantasy managers can feel confident starting the unit as a top-10 option this weekend.

– Matt T., RotoBaller

Download our free mobile app for news and alerts

Do you like what you see? Download our updated fantasy football app for iPhone and Android with 24/7 player news, injury alerts, rankings, starts/sessions and more. All free!

Win more with RotoBaller

Be sure to check out all of our other daily fantasy football articles and analysis to help you decide the winning lineups, including this new RotoBaller YouTube video:

Check out all of RotoBaller’s fantasy football rankings. Employee rankings are updated regularly for all positions and include standard formats, PPR scoring, tiered rankings and dynasty leagues.

Israel dealt a major blow to Iran by killing Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah on Friday – but experts say the country is prepared to accept any likely reprisals to fend off looming threats from its neighbors.

Nasrallah, 64, was killed in an Israeli attack on Hezbollah headquarters in Beirut on Friday.

His death, officially confirmed by the terror group on Saturday, immediately sparked a wave of dismay, jubilation and condemnation across the Middle East and beyond.

“It was a very hard decision because we will feel the consequences,” a senior Israeli official told The Post about the decision to take action against Nasrallah.

“But we are playing the long-term game because Israel has to exist for the long term. That’s why we took this action.”

Nasrallah – who led Hezbollah as its sole commander since 1992 – was the “main architect of the killing spree” that Iran has built around Israel, with the ultimate goal of destroying the Jewish state, the official said.

Israel is determined to avoid a ground war with Hezbollah, and in recent days the leadership has concluded that the only way to prevent this is to eliminate Nasrallah.

“He was at the center of the axis,” the insider said, noting that even after Israel destroyed more than half of Hezbollah’s missile and missile inventory last week, “it was clear he wasn’t going to stop.”

Describing him as a “zealot,” the official said Nasrallah was behind the construction of this “noose of death” with infrastructure for a simultaneous ground invasion on many fronts, including tunnel networks, weapons hidden in schools and private homes.

Nasrallah and Hezbollah were supported by Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, who on Saturday called on Muslims in the region to “stand by the people of Lebanon and the proud Hezbollah by all means and help them confront the…evil regime.” to help Israel.

Nasrallah’s death was a major blow to the Iranian regime, which uses Hezbollah, Hamas and rebel forces elsewhere in the Middle East as a front line in the conflict with Israel.

The fall of the Hezbollah leader could be “a pivotal point” in the fighting, the Israeli official told The Post.

While Iran could replace Nasrallah, some people are “so powerful, so persuasive that they are irreplaceable,” they suggested.

“We are not seeking a major war. “Iran needs to consider what to do,” they said.

Experts agreed that the next phase of the conflict will depend on Iran’s response.

“It was a very impressive operation,” Doron Avital, an Israeli politician who served for Kadima in the Knesset between 2011 and 2013 and was a commander during the 1982 Lebanon War, told The Post on Saturday about the attacks in Beirut.

“This is an important time and a crucial crossroads in the fight and it will be interesting to see what follows,” Avital said. “The next phase is to figure out how Iran will respond and what our strategy will be.”

“The Iranians may now think that they are not as strong as they thought. But they have allies – Russia and China,” he continued. “We (Israel) will also have to decide whether to go ashore with ground troops or not. This is a very crucial moment in which everyone has to reassess their position in the game.”

“Killing a leader is not a magical solution to the terror we face, but eliminating Hezbollah’s leadership is a big step,” agreed Sarit Zehavi, founder and president of the Alma Research and Education Center in northern Israel .

Zehavi spoke to the Post on Saturday while running to shelters as sirens warned of possible rocket attacks on Israel from Lebanon.

“But we shouldn’t stop now. If we really want to win, we have to keep taking them all out. It is clear that no diplomatic agreement will help. We have to get rid of all of them and all of their strategic weapons,” Zehavi emphasized.

Jonathan Elkhoury, a Lebanese Christian whose family was forced to flee to Israel when he was young, told the Post that the news of Nasrallah’s killing was “for me one of the happiest days for the Lebanese people.”

“This is one of the most important and transformative days for the Middle East,” said Elkhoury, an independent expert on politics and politics in Lebanon and Israel.

“Hezbollah not only terrorized the Israelis, they also terrorized the Lebanese. When Hezbollah took over Lebanon, it used force to conquer vast areas in the east and south. Lebanon was no longer just for the Lebanese, but just a base for the Islamic Republic of Iran.”

“I’m really optimistic. This is a historic day for Lebanon as it begins to limit the Islamic Republic’s control over Lebanon and the Lebanese people.”

But some warned that killing Nasrallah was not a direct path to victory for Israel.

“Israel’s assassination of Hassan Nasrallah is the culmination of this total war that Netanyahu promised the Israelis would bring them ‘total victory,'” Fawaz Gerges, a professor of international relations at the London School of Economics, told NBC News.

“This has proven elusive in Gaza and will prove even stronger in Lebanon,” he said.

“Netanyahu and his allies prematurely celebrate the killings of Hezbollah leaders and top operational commanders, confusing tactical successes with strategic breakthroughs.”

“This moment will be viewed historically as Netanyahu’s ‘mission accomplished’ moment in both Gaza and Lebanon,” he predicted, referring to former President George W. Bush’s premature declaration of victory in Iraq in May 2003.

Every week of the NFL season, the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, like all teams, spend an entire week preparing for how to exploit their opponent’s weaknesses. At the same time, they want to develop a game plan that allows them to capitalize on their own strengths. Many different people invest a lot of time, research, effort and strategy to ultimately achieve a relatively simple goal – to have the most points on the board when the final whistle blows.

However, it is a team game. And despite the fact that there are 11 players on the field at any one time, certain players in certain positions can have a greater impact on the final outcome than others.

Let’s take a look at two matchups that we think will be particularly impactful heading into Sunday’s game between the Tampa Bay Buccaneers and Philadelphia Eagles.

READ MORE: Bucs starting wide receiver injured during practice on Friday

Sure, this matchup could just as easily be described as Jalen Carter versus the Buccaneers’ interior offensive line. The combination of Graham Barton, Cody Mauch and Ben Bredeson will have to do better against the Eagles than they did against the Denver Broncos for the Bucs to have a chance in this competition. The problem? Jalen Carter. So far, Carter appears to be the best defensive tackle in the entire league in 2024. He is a game destroyer. Not only is he a force in the running game, but his combination of strength, length, mobility and tenacity also make him an absolute nightmare when it comes to overwhelming the passer from the inside.

In the first two games of this season, Baker Mayfield showed the best pocket retention we have ever seen from him in his professional career. His ability to remain calm even under pressure while keeping his eyes on the ground allowed him to achieve a lot of success that wouldn’t have been possible if he had instead panicked or crashed too soon. Unfortunately, that’s exactly what happened last week against the Denver Broncos. Mayfield became impatient and missed a lot of open receivers as a result.

With Jalen Carter staring at him this Sunday, Mayfield will be under pressure. If the Bucs’ IOL can play well that will certainly help, but keeping Jalen Carter out of the backfield all game isn’t a realistic goal. That’s why Mayfield needs to regain the poise he had in the bag at the start of the season and find ways to extend plays without looking downfield. When he does that, you can trust that his receivers will find ways to open up.

For the first time in his six-year career, Saquon Barkley is playing behind a dominant offensive line. The results speak for themselves, as Barkley currently leads the NFL in rushing yards (351) and rushing touchdowns (4). Additionally, Saquon is one of the most explosive and physically versatile running backs in league history. He is a unique weapon and has the ability to change the course of a game in an instant.

For this reason, the Bucs’ linebackers will play an especially important role on Sunday. Despite playing one of his worst games in recent memory last week, Lavonte David can be counted on to fill gaps, fend off blockers, make tackles and penetrate pass coverage. KJ Britt, on the other hand, can’t do that. That doesn’t mean he can’t do it, but Britt is far more one-dimensional as a linebacker goes. Britt can run downhill and make a tackle, but his lack of agility, lateral quickness and coverage skills have been evident so far this season.

Second-year player SirVocea Dennis has performed brilliantly in points this season. His performance in the Bucs’ Week 2 win over the Detroit Lions was a deciding factor in the outcome of that game. However, due to injuries and the fact that he was selected in the fifth round of the draft, Dennis hasn’t had much opportunity to show his consistency. Although Dennis Britt is clearly superior in his coverage skills, the Eagles are depleted at the receiver position, negating his value in this particular matchup in the eyes of his head coach.

Whether it’s KJ Britt, SirVocea Dennis or a combination of both playing alongside Lavonte David on Sunday, there’s no doubt the Bucs’ linebackers will need to play better than they did against Denver last week. Unless? Saquon Barkley could have a field day. And if that happens, it becomes much more likely that the Bucs lose their second straight home game.

READ MORE: Bucs punter’s early struggles cast doubt on future

Stick with it Bucs game day for more FREE coverage of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers during the 2024 season.

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