The Green Bay Packers spent the offseason upgrading the tight end position.

Ted Thompson added Martellus Bennett, the top tight end hitting the free-agent market, and accompanied that move by adding Lance Kendricks, who had 50 receptions for the Rams last season.

Adding the two tight ends, along with Richard Rodgers' return, has Aaron Rodgers believing the Packers' offense could be more balanced in 2017. Running more "12" personnel -- one running, back, two tight ends, two receivers -- allows for better run-pass options.

"I think we're going to have a lot more flexibility in that package," Aaron Rodgers said, via the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel. "(The) '12' personnel is more of a run-pass balanced personnel and it has been throughout the league and for us the past few years. The opportunity to put two guys on the line of scrimmage and have an opportunity to run right, run left and then run all of our vertical passing game is going to be something that could definitely change and be more difficult to stop."

Added Rodgers: "I think we saw a shift last year, as we shifted away from really an '11' personnel -- three receivers, one tight end, one running back exclusive personnel -- to really mixing things up, and Mike (McCarthy) did a great job of that, of really evolving the offense and trying to get more people involved as we saw it was going to be important that we didn't just stick in one personnel group."

The Packers ran 74 plays from "12" personnel in 2016, their third-most used formation, per Next Gen Stats. That average of 4.63 plays per game was well behind the 28.69 plays per game the Packers ran from "11" personnel (459 plays). Four receiver sets "01" personnel -- came in second last season with 230 total snaps.

Even if the mixing-up formations didn't happen on the level Rodgers seemed to suggest, it was leaps and bounds different from 2015, when Green Bay ran 688 plays from "11" personnel, and a mere 19 total plays from "12" (their seventh-most-used formation that year).

The additions of Bennett and Kendricks indicate the Packers want to diversify their offense, making it more difficult for defenses to key on formations.

With receivers Jordy Nelson, Randall Cobb and Davante Adams still on the squad, there will still be plenty of "11" personnel run in Green Bay. Perhaps just not as much as previous seasons.

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Aaron Rodgers: Packers more flexible after TE adds - NFL.com

Some of the sports stories The Associated Press is covering Wednesday. A full Sports Digest will be sent by about 3 p.m. All times EDT:

BOSTON Former NFL star Aaron Hernandez hangs himself in the prison cell where he was serving a life sentence for murder, taking his life on the same day his ex-teammates on the New England Patriots are set to visit the White House to mark their Super Bowl victory.

WASHINGTON Star quarterback Tom Brady will not join his New England Patriots teammates when the Super Bowl champions visit the White House to accept congratulations from President Donald Trump for another NFL title. Public ceremony at 2:30 p.m.

Three first-round NBA playoff games: Atlanta (down 1-0) at Washington, 7 p.m.; Oklahoma City (down 1-0) at Houston, 8 p.m.; Portland (down 1-0) at Golden State, 10:30 p.m.

Pau and Marc Gasol have been battling each other on a basketball court since they were children, with the older brother always finding ways to win. Now little brother Marc is doing his best to rally the Memphis Grizzlies to avoid being swept in their first playoff meeting.

CHICAGO Hard to believe, but the Chicago Bulls return home with a 2-0 lead in their first-round series with the Celtics after taking the first two games in Boston. They have their sights set on becoming a rare eighth seed to knock off a top seed.

MILWAUKEE The building of a new arena isnt the only sign of progress around the Milwaukee Bucks. From the emergence of Giannis Antetokounmpo as an All-Star to a return to the playoffs, this has been an important season for Milwaukee.

INDIANAPOLIS Paul George isnt happy. Hes upset that the Pacers have to fight their way back from a 2-0 deficit against LeBron James and the Cleveland Cavaliers. And hes upset about what put the Pacers in this hole the play of his teammates.

MEMPHIS, Tenn. The San Antonio Spurs and Cleveland Cavaliers can take very big steps Thursday night toward wrapping up their first-round series with sweeps if they can play as well on the road as they have at home.

Four first-round NHL games: Washington (down 2-1) at Toronto, 7 p.m.; Ottawa (up 2-1) at Boston, 7:30 p.m.; Minnesota (down 3-0) at St. Louis, 9:30 p.m.; Anaheim (up 3-0) at Calgary, 10 p.m.

Vladimir Sobotka of St. Louis is one of a handful of late-season surprise additions making an impact for his team in the first round of the Stanley Cup playoffs. Late March recall Kasperi Kapanen scored twice for the Toronto Maple Leafs and college star Charlie McAvoy is earning every bit of the 25 minutes a game hes playing on defense for the Boston Bruins.

SAN JOSE, Calif. For Columbus and Chicago, the task is to stave off elimination on the road. For the other two series being played Thursday night, its all about taking control after the teams split the first four games.

FLOWERY BRANCH, Ga. Time for the Atlanta Falcons to move on. The team begins offseason workouts with an eye toward getting over a stunning Super Bowl loss. It wont be easy.

MONACO Top-ranked Andy Murray makes his return from an elbow injury as he faces Gilles Muller in the second round of the Monte Carlo Masters. Nine-time champion Rafael Nadal is also in second-round action as the defending champion takes on Britains Kyle Edmund.

Two Champions League quarterfinals, second leg: Monaco at Borussia Dortmund; Barcelona at Juventus. Both games start 2:45 p.m.

Kenneth Jones is the oldest runner in this years London Marathon. The 83-year-old Jones, who has run every single London Marathon since the first in 1981, puts his longevity and enthusiasm for running down to his love of the fresh air and nature, his longstanding passion for Tai Chi and his wifes vegetable stews.

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BC-AP Sports Preview Digest (Apr 19, 2017) - FOXSports.com

Updated from April 17 with additional information.

Shares of Netflix (NFLX) fell on Tuesday after the streaming media company posted fewer-than-expected net subscriber additions for the 2017 first quarter, as well as weak earnings guidance for the second quarter.

In the first quarter, the company added 4.95 million subscribers, lower than the company's own forecastfor 5.2 million subscriber additions and also lower than the consensus analyst estimates for 5.3 million net subscriber additions.

In the U.S., Netflix added 1.42 million subscribers, while outside the U.S., the company added 3.53 million subscribers.The company now has almost 99 million subscribers worldwide.For the first half of 2017, Netflix is expecting to add 8.15 million subscribers, vs. 8.42 million added in the first half of 2016.

For the second quarter, Netflix forecast additions of 600,000 U.S. and 2.6 million international subs, better than consensus estimates for 373,000 U.S. and 2.17 million international adds. But its EPS guidance of $0.15 was below a $0.24 consensus estimate.

On Tuesday afternoon, Netflix shares were down 2.2% to $144.05.

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Here's How Many Subscribers Netflix Added in the First Quarter - TheStreet.com

The inside of Gateway Plastics in 2001.(Photo: Ronald Overdahl)

MEQUON - Gateway Plastics received unanimous plan commission approval for two additions equaling 70,000 square feet.

The additions to theirfacility at 5650 W County Line Roadare both 35,000 square feet, according to Assistant Director of Community Development Jac Zader.

He said one addition will be on the north side of the building and the second on the southern side. The northern addition is for warehousing while the south is for replacement of larger equipment with smaller equipment, Zader said.

Gateway Plastics has a 280,000-square-foot facility, according to itswebsite.

Some material on the building will be used on the additions with trees and landscaping set to be added along the west property line, as well as additional security lighting on the property.

Another change to the property will be the addition of an access road off County Line Road, which terminates in a cul-de-sac. Zader said the main reason for it is mainly maintenance but also can serve as access if the area is developed furtherin the future.

No changes are planned for the parking lot, as the additions will only add a minimal number of employees.

Zader said Alderman John Wirth had expressed some concerns to him regarding trucking traffic. Zader said staff believes most of the issues are with Kleen Test and not Gateway Plastics.

Additionally, he said the developer mentioned there would be very little extra traffic from these additions.

Gateway Plastics started in 1970 and specializes in plastic injection molding, according to its website. It said they have expertise with in-house design of custom plastic products as well as in-house tooling, mold construction, warehousing, and distribution.

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Gateway Plastics looks to add 70000 square feet to Mequon facility - Ozaukee Now

While 2006s Final Fantasy XII sold incredibly well, this PlayStation 2 game didnt enter the world under the most fortunate of circumstances. For one, it released smack-dab between the respective launches of the Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3, giving it no choice but to immediately feel dated. Andperhaps more importantlyFinal Fantasy XII faced some serious production problems: citing health issues, its original director departed, leaving another creative talent to deliver what could only be a compromised vision.

Thankfully, the story of Final Fantasy XII doesnt end there. On July 11, Square-Enix will releaseFinal Fantasy XII: The Zodiac Age, which seeks to address the problems of the original gameall while bringing its production values up to the HD standard that became the norm 10 years ago. And while the games vision has no choice but to be compromised, this new version could stand as the best compromise FFXII has ever seen.

In traditional Japanese RPG fashion, Final Fantasy XII received a refurbishment of sorts in 2007 with the International Zodiac Job System edition. Most "international" editions typically graft on additional bosses and other small doses of content, but this improvedversion amounts to a significantreworking of the game's guts. Through the "license board" system, the original game allows every party member to master each available skillif you have enough license points, that ismeaning each character can end up feeling exactly the same by the end. After all, why bother specializing in any particular set of skills when you're empowered to go beyond specific roles?

To make party members feel more unique, International Zodiac Job System asks players to choose a specific jobout of some very familiar Final Fantasy classesfor each of them at the outset. This reworking does a great job of making the characters feel more unique, as each job features its own license board with a specific arrangement of abilities tailored to that particular role. The major downside, though, comes in how you're permanently locked into a job once you've made your decisionmeaning you could be stuck with a less-than-ideal party if you don'tdo a ton of research ahead of time. 10 years ago, Square-Enix tried their best, but they simply traded one problem for another.

The Zodiac Age approaches Final Fantasy XII's central issue in a slightly more thoughtful way than the International Zodiac Job System edition. Yes, you still choose one job per character, but, early on in the game, you'll also gain access to the "license board plus," which allows each party member to take on an additional job simultaneously. This means you'll still have the chance to make each character fill a unique role, but you won't be completely hamstrung if said role doesn't live up to your expectations. We don't yet know how this new take on the job system will play out over the course of FFXII's incredibly long journey, but right nowthis change seems like it could be for the better.

The job system doesn't stand as the only thing being changed in The Zodiac Age, as Square-Enix will be including some other minor additions to make this version feel definitive. The Zodiac Age now features an optional transparent overlay map that sits right on top of the actionmeaning you won't have to keep expanding your traditional mini-map to get your bearings. And, along with including a fully remastered soundtrack, The Zodiac Age will also feature eight new songs by the original game's team of composers. If you enjoyed Final Fantasy XII's stellar soundtrack, this should come as extremely good news.

If anything, it's nice to see Square-Enix isn't content to simply "HD-ify" one of the two previously-existing editions of Final Fantasy XII. On the surface, The Zodiac Age's addition of a second job per character may seem minor, but it amounts to an incredible amount of work on Square-Enix's partwork they didn't necessarily have to do. And with any luck, their efforts could end up making The Zodiac Age Final Fantasy XII's definitive edition when it launches for the PlayStation 4 this July 11.

How Final Fantasy XV Makes Its Open World Matter

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'Final Fantasy XII: The Zodiac Age' Square-Enix's Second Attempt to Fix a Troubled Game - Fandom (blog)

By Lisa Richwine and Narottam Medhora

(Reuters) - Streaming video pioneer Netflix Inc ended the first quarter with fewer customers than Wall Street expected but issued a bullish forecast on the number of new subscribers it expects by mid-year, in a positive sign for its big international expansion.

The company pushed back the next season of its defining hit, "House of Cards," and other programing to the second quarter, which should boost the number of new subscribers in that period, Netflix said.

It added just under 5 million subscribers globally in the first quarter and expects 3.2 million more in the seasonally slow second quarter. Analysts had forecast nearly 2.4 million for the second quarter, according to FactSet.

Netflix shares, which typically swing wildly after earnings reports, dropped as much as 3 percent in after-hours trading before rebounding to gain 1.3 percent.

The company, which shook up Hollywood with its monthly, on-demand streaming service, said it expects to top 100 million global customers this weekend, and the after-hours share move put it on track to open at a record high.

Netflix has expanded around the world over the last few years, betting that its U.S. formula would pay off in other countries. Opening in new markets and creating shows in additional languages was an expensive proposition.

Netflix earnings per share in the first quarter beat Wall Street targets due to the change in timing of "House of Cards," which pushed costs into the second quarter, boosting operating margins from January through March and reducing them in the second quarter.

"We have come to see these quarterly variances as mostly noise in the long-term growth trend and adoption of internet TV," the company said in its quarterly letter to shareholders.

For the quarter that ended March 31, Netflix added 3.53 million subscribers outside the United States. (http://bit.ly/2puJ1Yt)

Analysts on average had estimated 3.68 million additions, according to research firm FactSet StreetAccount.

In the United States, the company added 1.42 million subscribers, compared with analysts' average estimate of 1.50 million.

The Los Gatos, California-based company said revenue rose 34.7 percent to $2.64 billion in the quarter.

Net income rose to $178 million, or 40 cents per share, from $28 million, or 6 cents per share.

Netflix said it expects to add 600,000 subscribers in the United States in the current quarter, above the FactSet estimate of 364,000.

In international markets, Netflix expects to add 2.60 million subscribers, above the average estimate of 2.09 million.

Up to Monday's close, Netflix's stock had risen nearly 19 percent in 2017, outperforming the roughly 5 percent gain in the broader S&P 500 index.

(Reporting by Narottam Medhora in Bengaluru; Editing by Savio D'Souza and Peter Henderson)

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Netflix misses subscriber target, but firm outlook helps shares higher - Yahoo News

As we button up our suits and prepare to head out on another mission, additional images and details are coming in forKingsman: The Golden Circle.Once again teaming-up Taron Egertonand Colin Firth for more spy-fuelled mayhem, this time they will be joined by the likes of Jeff Bridges, Julianne Moore, and Channing Tatum, among others.

The latest look atMatthew Vaughns espionage sequel certainly gives the impression that the second Kingsman film will be an all-guns-blazing affair. Heading Stateside, it looks like the saying rings true and everything really is bigger in America.

In an article featured on Empire Online, Vaughn revealshis giant plans for the film and also provides a sneak peak at some of the cast in action. With the first film involving a four-minute brawl in a church, how does Vaughnintend on topping the sheer madness of the original?

Theres an opportunity with Kingsman 2 to make it bigger and bolder and funnier and crazierThe church sequence, everyone wants something like that, but weve got action sequences which are just as original but different.

Kingsman: The Secret Service shocked audiences with itsgraphic violence and all-star cast, but what else would you expect from the man who brought us Kick-Ass? The epic scale of The Golden Circle can certainly be quantified by the new additions to the cast and promise of more stunts. This time, we will be focusingon two teams of agents and introduce the American-based Statesmen. Jeff Bridges will be playing their version of Colin Firth, heading up the team as Agent Champagne. Berry will play tech-guru Ginger, while Pedro Pascal is Agent Jack, teaming up with Egertons Eggsy to take down Julianne Moores Poppy. Vaughn describes this films villain asAmericas sweetheart gone wrong.

As for these images they offeranotherlook at the stetson-sporting Tatum, who has gone full Indiana Jones it would seem. He portrays Agent Tequila, described as the cockiest member of the Statesman. Vaughn also teased that a move to a new location allowed him to mix up the dynamic of the characters and more away from the stiff-upper-lip of Firths Harry Hart:

Theyre great characters. Theyre multi-billionaires with huge jets, and their base is a giant distillery in Kentucky. Weve got all this fun Americana and were combining it with the Englishness.

The second image gives a closer look at Eggsy, who has come a long way from his council estate days at the start of 2015s Kingsman. While Eggsy may have brushed-up his image and learned a few things last time, Vaughn revealed that his story is far from over:

Weve got a huge arc for Eggsy.Where does he go? What does he have to learn? And now hes got a huge moral dilemma the audience will totally relate to.

While there may be a slew of new additions, expect the story to still very much be about Harry and Eggsy. While we twiddle our thumbs waiting in anticipation for a trailer, Kingsman: The Golden Circle promises to deliver big on its promises and attempt to top its predecessor when it hitstheaters.

Source: Empire Online

Original post:
Kingsman 2 Images & Details Introduce the Statesmen - Screen Rant

The Love Shack, a sister restaurant to Black Sheep, will be a Polynesian-themed bar and restaurant. It's due to open in late May at 106 W. Seeboth St.(Photo: The Love Shack)

The Polynesian bar and restaurant planned for Walker's Point will have a menu designed by sister restaurant Black Sheep's chef and serve rum flights at the mezzanine Rhum Bar, the owners say.

Michael Sorge and Wesley Shaver, who own Black Sheep wine bar and restaurant in Walker's Point, released details Monday about the Love Shack, 106 W. Seeboth St. That's in the Point on the River building, in space previously occupied by Wine Maniacs on the River. Sorge and Shaver's partner in the project is Gary LaCourt, CEO of jewelry company Forever Companies.

The Journal Sentinel first reported the plans last week.

Shaver, the managing partner, said in the written statement that the setting'sviews of the water were well-suited to the Polynesian theme. The building is at the confluence of the Milwaukee and Menomonee rivers.

The restaurant will serve dishes by chef Adam Pawlak such asbraised pork in a steamed bun; seared scallop and crisped Spam with mango and radish salad; vegetable and tuna poke bowls; and melon salad with roasted red pepper andcitrus vinaigrette. Prices for the plates are expected to be $15 or less, Shaver said.

Drinks will be rum-based and made with fresh fruit juices, and the upstairs Rhum Bar will stock rare rums.

The Love Shack will have a second-floor deck off the Rhum Bar in addition to patio seating off the first floor. The patio will have lounge furniturein additions to tables, and will have fire tables and palm trees.

Itwill be open daily; the opening is expected in late May. Find the Love Shack online on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.

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Details on food, drink at new Polynesian spot the Love Shack - Milwaukee Journal Sentinel (blog)

Last week, Ship of Heroes was brought to KickStarter and closed all in the space of a few days. Though that may be the case for now, the team has taken the lessons learned to heart to form a solid plan for the future. Check out our exclusive interview to see where Ship of Heroes is headed next.

MMORPG: Why cancel the Ship of Heroes Kickstarter?

A: There are a well-established set of criteria for successful MMORPG Kickstarters. For example, if a new MMORPG has enthusiastic supporters, it will draw about $100 per donor, compared to $35-50 for videogames in general. SoH was drawing about $115 for several days and ended at $108, showing that we have solid enthusiasm for the game. But Kickstarters in this genre also need to achieve about 25% of the goal in the first three days to succeed. We achieved about a third of that amount, which reinforced the messages we received from possible donors, who were hearing about the game for the first time during the Kickstarter, and weren't ready to back it yet. Pulling the program was simply smart, decisive business sense. Were building a game, and after three days we knew that we needed to go down another route.

MMORPG: What have you learned from your Kickstarter?

A: First, we've learned is that there is a very enthusiastic crowd of SoH supporters out there willing to support funding of the games development. Second, there's a much larger group of possible supporters who had not heard of Ship of Heroes before the Kickstarter. They need time to learn and become excited about the game. Third, we've learned that we should make a more focused game and launch sooner. Before the Kickstarter we were considering building a larger game before launch, taking more time and money to polish and expand. That decision is made for us now. In a way, its quite helpful; our percent complete just went up.

MMORPG: What is the path forward for Ship of Heroes now?

A: The Kickstarter allowed us to understand what our community wants, with more clarity. They want to be certain that we actually have a game that they will be able to play. Some are ready to fund us now, and more will be ready as the game advances. Given the high level of support weve received from our community since we canceled the Kickstarter, well develop a smaller game at the beginning and then expand it using subscription revenues to become the game we originally planned. This allows our supporters to experience the game during development, and to have more input into the direction that we take. The biggest change we are making is to limit the environments we will develop before launch. We have an incredible setting, Apotheosis City, right now. Were going to improve it and use it for the launch. Weve also decided to limit to 20 levels of character advancement initially. Of course, this could change if we decide to go back to crowdfunding in the future.

MMORPG: Do you think Ship of Heroes will have another crowdfunding event?

A: Its quite possible, but not for a while. Theres a trade-off in indie game development. A small team can promote their game continuously and let building it take second place, or the reverse. We put game development first; coding, story, and art implementation are the top priorities of the team. But we also know that we have to continue to reveal a steady stream of real, integrated advancements to our supporters, not just a stream of words punctuated with a few pieces of concept art. Our fans want much, much more than that.

MMORPG: What will supporters of Ship of Heroes see next?

A: Were going to be showing some very significant additions between now and the end of 2017. First up will be a look at the Sci-fi interiors of Apotheosis City, something we have not shown before in any setting. Its a major change for us to show interior scenes because of the additional art assets, lighting techniques, story elements, etc. In addition, the areas that well be showing will be used for our first instanced missions. Instanced missions are incredibly important to our community, because many have had bad experiences with MMOs that over-emphasize street-sweeping, which can lead to waiting for enemies to respawn after someone else kills them. Were eliminating that problem right at the outset. Well also be expanding our list of factions and showing more details about them, and well be showing off a lot more details about the powersets and powers that can be used to customize your characters. Were still on track to take some friends of the game through escorted Alpha testing at the end of 2017.

MMORPG: Do you think there's a stigma attached to the game now, with the failed Kickstarter? How do you combat that public perception?

A: No there is no stigma. In fact theres a bit of the reverse. Our community has rallied around us, viewers per day on YouTube actually increased after we canceled, we have more subscribers to our newsletter than ever, and the number of people asking us to set up donations on our website is quite large. Since we showed a very advanced state of pre-Kickstarter game development, and a setting that allows new content and new experiences for our players, our community has actually been extremely supportive. We also get a lot of kudos for canceling quickly and moving forward with a good Plan B. Our forums are full of ideas for pushing Ship of Heroes to a launch. No superhero KS has succeeded in several years, and it has even been difficult for non-superhero MMORPGs. These days people understand that there is almost no connection between succeeding on Kickstarter and actually building a game. As long as we keep producing and showing real progress in development we think public support will continue to grow.

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Ship of Heroes - Lessons Learned Lead to a Plan for the Future - MMORPG.com

Longtime and long-suffering Boston Breakers fans will know this story: the one about the No. 1 draft pick and the season that wasnt. The struggle, and the trade, and the what could have been.

If you know the story to which Im referring, congratulations youre probably old and reading this in between fits of all-caps tweeting at the Tumblring teens about how back in your day the only way to watch a professional womens soccer game was via days-later grainy YouTube clips shot from space on the used camcorder your grandparents gifted your parents with the express purpose of recording your sisters dance recitals in the 1980s.

If you have no idea what Im talking about, first, please stop trying to teach me Snapchat. Second, lets take a walk down memory lane and make a pit stop in a place called Cautionary Tale. It is 2009, the first year of Womens Professional Soccer. The Boston Breakers, with the first pick in the first-ever WPS draft, select a promising young striker out of USC.

With an Olympics already under her belt, Amy Rodriguez was well on her way to becoming a fixture on the USWNT by the time the Breakers picked her up for the inaugural WPS season. Rodriguez was supposed to be the next big thing or one of the big things in this brand new league; one of the next generation of the U.S.s seemingly endless supply of star strikers. Rodriguez was fast, could get into good positions, and had a nose for goal.

Once she pulled on that Breakers blue though, all that promise disappeared, washed out to sea on the wave thats adorned the Bostons crest for so many years. Whatever success A-Rod was having on the international level never quite translated to the week-in-week-out grind of the professional game, and by the end of her rookie season, Rodriguezs contributions included a just a single goal and a lot of frustration.

By the following season, A-Rod had been traded to Philadelphia, where she quickly became an essential part of an Independence team that made it all the way to the WPS championship game.

Now, eight years and one league later, the Breakers are again the owners of the No. 1 draft pick, though this time it came from last years last place finish, Bostons second time at the bottom of the table in as many seasons. With that top pick at the 2017 college draft, Boston again went for a promising young talent with some time with the USWNT under her belt. On a January day in Los Angeles, Rose Lavelle became a Boston Breaker.

In the context of Rodriguez like if youre reading this while still in Cautionary Tale circa 2009 Boston picking up Lavelle is a terrifying prospect. Its almost enough to make you wish someone else got her. Also, if you are still in 2009, dont get attached to WPS; it gets super sad toward the end.

While Bostons track record with the top pick and just in general may not be that great, its also maybe not quite fair to compare Lavelle to what happened to A-Rod nearly a decade ago. Though the two share the distinction of going first and getting a boost from the USWNT hype train, thats about where the similarities end.

The most obvious difference is that were in a whole other league now, and one that despite the fact we just found out, a whole two days before the start of the season, where and how to watch the games doesnt feel like its flying quite as much by the seat of its pants.

Were in year five, smashing through the previously impenetrable three-year barrier that felled the previous two leagues. The relative infrastructure, history, and stability that the NWSL brings as compared to WPS, especially when Rodriguez was a rookie, means that at the very least, there are four other people who once stood where Lavelle is now, and based on where at least three of them are now, things will probably turn out OK.

Perhaps the tale we should be looking at for comparisons sake isnt A-Rods at all. Perhaps we should instead head west, to Chicago in 2015. The Red Stars, for all their struggles in the WPS era and in the early days of NWSL, made the playoffs for the first time in 2015, and they did it largely on the strength of a team devoid of the kind of names youd think theyd need to get there.

Unlike some of the leagues other teams, Chicagos never been particularly flashy. The Red Stars have made few trades over the years, and beyond retirements, no ones really fled. In 2015, with many of the NWSLs top players revolving in and out of the picture due to the World Cup, the Red Stars quietly became one of the leagues best teams, and they did it largely on the strength of a handful of rookies and players whod come up in Chicago.

Sure, sometimes they had Julie Johnston and Christen Press, but mostly it was players like Danielle Colaprico, Arin Gilliland, Sofia Huerta and Vanessa DiBernardo who saw the Red Stars through.

Boston, without many big names to lose (Lavelle is the Breakers only USWNT allocation), has a chance to start to duplicate what the Red Stars have done. In addition to Lavelle, Boston picked up Morgan Andrews, Ifeoma Onumonu, Midge Purce and goalkeeper Sammy Jo Prudhomme in the 2017 draft. Its a rookie class that could bring some success to Boston, and more importantly, one the Breakers could start to build off of.

Speaking of building, Boston has started to establish its own solid core of players returning year after year. Julie King has been a Breaker since the inaugural NWSL season, and Libby Stout, Abby Smith, Christen Westphal, Kylie Strom, Natasha Dowie, Angela Salem and Brooke Elby are all in their second season in Breakers blue and white.

In addition to the rookies and that core of returning Breakers, Bostons added a handful of NWSL veterans in places it really needed them. None are particularly flashy signings, but all are big improvements.

Adriana Leon was a Breaker in 2013 and returns to Boston after stints in Chicago, Western NY, and Switzerland. Tiffany Weimer was briefly a Breaker in the WPS days and returns after playing just about everywhere else in both the NWSL and Europe. Amanda Frisbie, despite someones best efforts to make her disappear, joins Boston after stints in Western NY, Kansas City, and Iceland. Amanda DaCosta has played for both Chicago and Washington. Megan Oyster spent two seasons in Washington before being traded to Boston in November. Allysha Chapman spent last season in Houston.

Chapman (Bostons sole Canadian allocation) and Oyster are good additions to a defense that was at least partially responsible for a league-worst minus-33 goal differential in 2016. That Smith is back on the field after a suffering a season-ending knee injury less than halfway through her second appearance for Boston last year is more good news for a team thats been hemorrhaging goals.

Lavelle and Andrews are two of 2017s most promising rookies. And that Dowie will be around for more than the last month-and-a-half of the season is one of the best things that could happen to an offense that looked like it had all but forgotten the meaning of the word. Forgotten-like Dowie somehow led the Breakers in scoring in 2016 and she only scored three goals, including the game-winner in her debut, the whole thing leaving Boston fans to wonder what life wouldve been like had she been around for a whole season.

This year, well get the answer to the Dowie question, to the one about what happens when you keep your high draft picks rather than trade them away for players who turn out to be busts, and to the one about whether what happened way back when with A-Rod was a fluke or the start of a pattern thats taken eight years to develop.

Part of the answer to all those questions, probably, is that things wont change completely overnight. Boston likely wont make the playoffs this season, but the Breakers probably wont finish dead last for a third consecutive season, either. This whole building a soccer team thing is something of a puzzle after all, and for the first time, Matt Beard and Co. at least have the pieces that are the same colors as the picture on the box. Whether the cat comes in at night while they sleep and knocks the whole thing onto the floor and, like Amanda Frisbie, disappears under the couch again? October is a long way away.

Houston Dash vs. Chicago Red Stars, 2:00 PM ET, BBVA Compass Stadium (go90)

Portland Thorns FC vs. Orlando Pride, 3:00 PM ET, Providence Park (Lifetime)

Washington Spirit vs. North Carolina Courage, 3:00 PM ET, Maryland SoccerPlex (go90)

Seattle Reign FC vs. Sky Blue FC, 10:00 PM ET, Memorial Stadium (go90)

FC Kansas City vs. Boston Breakers, 6:00 PM ET, Childrens Mercy Victory Field (go90)

Originally posted here:
NWSL Week 1 preview and fixtures: The Boston Breakers have hope again - SB Nation