Mindy  gave a shake of her head  as she loked at the USC players  getting  ready to return thier  kick.

 I played  sports..i played at a high level. I've been the starter, i've been on the bench when you get  to a game this  big, and you use  an injured player to play in place of  a healthy  starter? that..well.. that can't  sit well . We're not talking  a Goal line package, or a wildcat package . we're talking  one injured player  in for a healthy player. I don't agree? But I don't have a  1 million dollar job to lose, if  i lose this game...

  she  looks   away from the camera  for a bit as she says,The kid  is going to do what the coach says... the kid  that  has to watcy  instead of  getting his PT..he'll do that as well..  that's the nature of the beast. But a few months from now. one of those gys  will be  smiling   and getting  drinks on his story of how he played  hurt on the opposite side of the ball. The other  guy will be a nameless player, thinking  of the time he lost  in a very short career, and no one, not even him, will be able  to  know what would have happened, had he got to play.

  The  Kick  sent  Runns   1  yard  deep, he caught the BAll  and   took a knee. trojans on the 25

     jogging straight out to the   Ball, the Trojans  swung  their blade,  The Three  headed monster  was on the filed Pells lined in the  slots, Runns and Sticks    , split backs  with Gains  on the Trojan sideline,  the TE on the left.

  The  backs   carried  5  straight  times,  the short run was  4  yards, the  Long  12. The Auburn backer shouted  something to Olsen  as the   trojans   always lined up and watched the placards  Pells  split out  a bit   further, The TE  shifted   two yards , the formation was spread.. Olsen merely looked  at the  Linebacker  and game him  the  'come here' wiggle  Fingers .

 the  Ball was snapped, and the Linebacker  came, clean through.  Runns  Picked him  up with a devastating  block, and the TE  was  running down the Hash   with    safeties  trying to catch him clutching the  ball he  caught.

The Line backer  was shouting something to Olsen, but Olsen  didn't care he was  already moving players   around  as they reached  the Tigar 30, The defense   dug in with short runs of  3 yards it came down to  4th and  1..with  15 seconds left on the clock.

 They chose to kick from the 22.

The Kicker  punched  it through easily.  end  of  3rd  quarter

 USC  33  Auburn 30

"Well, if Auburn loses, this will come up a lot in the next few days. If they win, this won't be the conversation unless Max Woodson can't continue on to the next game. All I can say is that Coach Frye is going to be questioned on this controversial decision by a lot of people. For now, though, we have just over a quarter to go in this game and apparently anything can happen. Back at ya Baily"
-----

After the Booth took it back, Lindsey turned to Mindy and Bob. "That was really weird, right?"

The Trojans took their turn and came up with a field goal by the end of the quarter.

"This is going to go to the wire, isn't it?"

 Mindy   looked around  as she said ,Look, ..That Woodson kick  is  a good  DB.. he could go in the   2nd or  3rd  round..higher if that   Kid from LSU and the other  one  from  Utah sya in school..they have been making  noise  about    declaring.

 her  Voice was  a harsh whisper,it was all fun and games  when they put him out there before?  But  Injured? Its not  just this   Game  for Woodson..its his career.. yeah yeah..big stories  about  toughing it out..but you do that  on your side of the ball....and how does the Coach say in , 40 minutes from now when we're in the   Press room?..." I was using  my Best players".. so the kid that busted his ass  all year on office, is   'told", you're not  as  good  as  an Injured  DB?

 I was  hinging On  rooting  for USC, Mostly because of your BF...but this? I dunno... I wouldn't want to be that kid who sat out  those plays.

 as far as the Game goes. SC is making them earn their yards   now, starting at the  25. Thier kicker is better..and Olsen doesn't  seem to give one  damn how hot the spotlight is..i guess me you and  Millions of   other  folks have to wait  15 more minutes.

  Lindsey ( whenever his gets a chance to look)

 hey!, Just so you know, I tried to get  bronk to come to my Hotel to watch the Game  one the  Monster screen  with the  pats?.... after he said  no, i told him he  could come to my room and we  could  watch it there..and  he said  no!!!..then he said stuff  about me  , being a Pats  person  and ...i was Blonde!..that  boy needs  help!

Mindy certainly had strong feelings about Frye putting Max in while injured. Maybe it wasn't fair to the receiver who would have been in if Max wasn't, but for all they knew Max was always supposed to be in. Frye would have to answer that question more than once in the aftermath. The risk to Max's career was the bigger concern, and it was something else Frye would have to explain. For her part, Lindsey agreed but like anything else that happened in a game, all she could do is report.

"Yeap." Lindsey responded to Mindy's last statement. "We still have a quarter to go and I don't think I can be surprised by anything at this point."

As the quarter changeover got underway, Lindsey noticed a text from Lacy. Lindsey really liked Lacy, but it was things like this that really challenged that. It was just baffling. Lacy admits that she tried to get Adam to her room, and knowing Lacy, Lindsey understood what she wanted. Lacy must really think that sex with players was just a game and that Lindsey was playing also. What the actual fuck was wrong with her. And all that to complain about how he needed help? For sure there was more to the story, but Lindsey certainly hoped that the reason he rejected her wasn't just because she was blonde and a Patriots person.

[I told you he didn't like blondes. But also I hope his rejection was because of me and not you.]

yeah..whatever.. it  could be, but he's a guy right? all kinds of cameras  flashing...who sits in their  damn  townhouse and watches  games  when  a chick offers  him  a Night....i almost  called Steele, but that would be like..slumming...

she  ended the  text with   a 'bummed out' emoji

As the commercial ended and the telecast returned to the fourth quarter, Max again jogged out for the kick return. This time, the kicker put it high and toward the sidelines, but Max easily ranged over to be in position to catch it. However, the return man let the ball bounce at the three, and took a sideways carom out of bounds! When you play with fire...

The white hat signaled 'illegal procedure' and set the ball out at the 40. Having gone 12 and 10 personnel on their two third quarter possessions, the Tigers now went with a 21 grouping, showing the Trojans yet another look. The defense seemed to be in a nickel on first down with the Tigers in a classic I-formation. They ran power-iso over the right side, and the linebackers were overwhelmed. Carver easily danced into the secondary before he was dragged down after a gain of fourteen.

The SC defensive co-ordinator looked chagrined as he subbed out a nickel back for another linebacker, and that made the difference. The Tigers went off-tackle on first down, ran a sweep with pulling guards on second, and then did a quick pitch on third down. They gained four, two, and three yards bringing up fourth and one from the thirty-seven. There was no hesitation as the Tigers sent in the elephant personnel grouping again, but this time not on the goal line. The wing TE went in motion again, and stopped right next to Dempsey, just like they had done on the goal line previously. Only this time, it was a fake to Carver and Dempsey rolled to his right. SC was wise to the tactic and the well-coached OLB kept contain and got right in Dempsey's face in a flash. But the Auburn QB saw it and seemed to completely expect it as he coolly pitched the ball forward to the wingback who had trailed the rollout along the line of scrimmage. The TE put his shoulder down and carried two tacklers across the line to gain, setting up first and ten on the thirty-five.

Auburn went back to their pro-style 21 grouping, this time splitting the backs. SC properly settled into their base D as Auburn ran an iso to the right for four. On second and six, they finally ran the counter trap, looping the right side guard and tackle through the hole on the left side. Carver again found daylight and galloped for twelve before being sandwiched by two guys in the secondary just inside the red zone. After the hit, Carver was slow to get up, and as he stayed down the telecast cut to commercial.

When they came back, the telecast mentioned that it looked like it might be a knee sprain, and Carver was in the medical tent. Auburn left Sammy Duff, their fullback in and went to 11 personnel, with Dempsey settling back into the shotgun. Duff blocked well as Auburn started slinging the ball all over the field, getting completions of four, five, and seven to set up first and goal at the three. They went heavy again, handing off to Duff a pair of times, but he didn't get much. On third and goal from the two, a false start pushed Auburn back to the seven, and then Dempsey was incomplete in the back of the end zone. Replays showed that SC had blanket coverage...nobody was open and throwing it away was a much better choice than trying to force something. The Tigers kicked a short FG to even the score at 33 with just over ten minutes left in the game.

 at the TV  time out, both   crowds were shouting  and  chanting , whatever they chanted..  SC's  Coach talked to Olsen and   The  QB  Coach, holding  up a  finger  as he  nodded to both of them, and they  nodded back.

 the whistle that the  break was over, Sent Olsen and the Offense up to the Line.after the Kick was  permitted to go into the endzone.

   The Three headed  Monster  came  back out. The #2  Wide out   was running up and down the side line , but every time he stopped   it  took him a few limping  steps. The Other  wideout  waited near the  HC in case the package   was changed.

   a Surpris  was  a  Fake  Jet sweep to Pells  , heading to the  Trojans  side line  with  the  Gains  , Runns and sticks  setting  a wall..maybe should have  given it to him!.. But the TE  Snacked  another pass   down the Hashes  for a  gain of  14.... then the machine churned,   wrap around draws rb Runns, Pitches to Sticks   with  Pells  coming in Motin  to seal the edge.  and   Gain Hitting what ever   DB was lined up on  him, regardless of where the ball went. Gains, finally  did an arrow  route where he caught the ball  as he broke back to the sidelines .  A Flag at the   15 brought it back..'block in the back' that really wasn't needed. The  TE raised his  hand to the  SC  Bench, patted his chest and shook his head.
 Gains  Just  gave him a slap on the back, Olsen acted like it never happened.

 the spot   foul only gave them 8 yards on  the  big play.  The  placards  started  going up in two areas   now, and they went Up  fast, the headset  told  Olsen where to look, and he called the  pay at the Line, Runs  with a  a quick Screen to Gains, before a holding called help kill the drive. Olsen took the  ball  and ran up the  Middle, taking the hit  to get the ball 8 yards  closer  for his  kicker.

  the FG  team came on, kicking  a 37 yarder  to set the score  at  SC 36  Tigers  33  7:08 minutes  left
This message was last edited by the GM at 19:08, Sat 29 Oct 2022.

  Baily   shook his head,It appears that the  Trojans  have issues  with the  #2  wideout , Damian Smart.,and appears to be happy with bringing in the  'Thre headed  Monster'

 Vic  agreed,The thing is? teams like this  around the country , that have   capable backs, will just  go to ground and pound, but all three of these kids  can  catch the ball and run with i, something Coach  scouts for ,when he  talks to scholarship recruits

........

Baily got people excited on Gains TD, but the  block in the back brought it   , most of the way back.

 That might have been it, right there?

 Yeah.. that young man will be thinking about that  the rest of the offseason, if  they don't win!. But He took ownership , raised his hand to his teammates and coaches. Olesen
 didn't even acted phased , just went  back to work.

Colleen's  spot ..

 The SC  Bench  here was about  to erupt? but they saw the Flag, Coaches  are moving up  and down the sideline  preaching '  The game isn't over   until the zeros  hit!"..there are some  coaches  talking to the  Defense.. players   , for the Most
 part  are focused, though you can see some  anxious  looks.

The FG  was kicked  and   she added.You said it before, Baily..this is going to be a classic.

 the  cut to Lindsey....

"Thanks Baily. I think what we're seeing here is two teams that recalculating every drive. This is now a battle of tactics on the ground. It's clear that both coaches and their respective quarterbacks understand that if they don't treat the other team as mortal threat, they will lose this game. Blow outs and big plays make for great television and emotional highs, but this is turning out to be a fascinating show of skill. Not just athletic skill, but also in terms of strategy and how to play the field."

"Now down to the nuts and bolts.  Olson, still as cool as Christmas snow, continues to execute without any real show of emotion good or bad. Dempsey seems to be in the zone, moving the ball and the team down to the last few yards. There seems to be some trepidation when the field gets short. They're taking the field goals to keep from falling too far behind. This is not just a game of inches, it's also a game of taking smaller scores because neither side can count on the big plays. And on that note, Auburn is going to have to work even harder with the possible loss of Carver and with Woodson still in less than top shape."

"This is not just going to be a classic, this will be a beautiful example of how two teams play to win without getting ugly. Bravo to USC and Bravo to Auburn. I'm going to continue to hold my breath until the very end."

"Back to you guys"

-------

After her broadcast, Lindsey went back to her phone to see what Lacy was throwing at her. She was so conflicted on how sh should feel about it. On teh one hand Lacy had the gall to say to Lindsey;s face that she was trying to seduce her boyfriend. Lindsey wasn't the jealous type but she felt like she should be offended by Lacy's overtures. But she wasn't offended. She knew how Lacy was and she knew that no matter what she said to the contrary, Lacy and so many others continued to believe that Lindsey's relationship with Adam was more showmance than romance. In the end, Adam would do what Adam would do, and she felt quite secure about how he would handle the likes of Lacy Owens. As for her text, Lindsey fired back a quick consolation.

[Hey, I think you're overlooking Mik. He's single, he's cute, and he's be thrilled to play ball with you. Def stay away from Steele. No amount of scrubbing would remove that stain.]

This kick was again high and deep, and a much safer distance from the sideline than the last one. Max caught it seven yards deep in the end zone, again looked at the coverage, but took the touchback after seeing that the coverage had no significant holes.

The Tigers switched back into their 11 personnel grouping, but Carver didn't answer the bell for this drive with the clock just outside of seven minutes. Instead they rolled with a combination of Whisper Stevens and Sammy Duff as the rotating setbacks. The former was more of a scatback, who was a good change-of-pace from Carver. Duff was an excellent blocker who excelled at picking up blitzes.

The Tigers went to the short passing game, with draw plays to both backs interspersed throughout the drive to keep the defense honest. It took them seven plays to cross the fifty as the clock rolled under four minutes. On second and seven from the USC 48, the Tigers ran play-action. Dempsey looked downfield, but the Trojans were in a deep zone, so Dempsey dumped it off to Stevens in flat. The scatback had just enough wiggle to evade the first defender, picked up a pair of blocks from his receivers, and turned a dump off into a seventeen yard gain as the clock went under two minutes.

On first down, the Tigers handed off up the middle, but there wasn't much there. SC used their first timeout to kill the clock with 1:37 remaining. Second down was an outside zone run to the wide side, but SC's LB's were equal to the task, holding Duff to only two more yards bringing up third and seven from the twenty-eight. SC took another timeout.

Auburn was in a position where a first down would allow them to bleed clock and at worst force overtime. All they needed was seven yards. Dempsey settled into the shotgun with Duff in the sidecar, and his TE and flanker to the short side. He sent the flanker in motion to get a trips look to the right. Auburn went with a zone flood, putting several guys at various levels near the right sideline. The TE also dragged across the field, and it was him that Dempsey hit with pass.

Or he tried to. The pass was a little low, and a sliding attempt by the intended receiver resulted in no joy for the Tigers. On fourth and seven with 1:23 left, Auburn sent out their placekicker for a forty-six yard FG attempt. He again stared at the spot where the holder would set the ball, gave a nod, and then took a quick run up and sent the pigskin sailing high into the air.

The kicker pushed the kick a bit to the right, and all the Tigers that were on the field started leaning to the left, trying to will the ball to hook. In the end, it did!

The three points were met with jubilation from the Tigers' sideline as the game was all tied up with 1:18 to play and only one timeout for SC to use.

Tigers 36, Trojans 36

  The  Kick  came  down to  Sticks, who signal  for the fair catch to get the ball at the  25.

  75 yards  away from  home, but they didn't need  75. Olsen  , again talked   with the coaches   during the TV  time out, he   would Nod  as he looked around, like he was  in a hurry to go some    where. The  Coach whapped him  on the head  gear,   and he ran to the Huddle. In the Huddle, his head jerked  as  he gave the Commands of what they were going to  Do. Once more the Auburn LB   was shouting something to him,  This time  Olsen just sneered, the  Ball   came   Back,  , Olsen when to fire the out, but the Tigers DB  jumped it!...the sad thing, Olsen  still had the  ball, reloaded  and let it go down the Auburn sideline where  2nd  team WR  Bennie  Neil hauled it  in before   getting knocked out of  Bounds at the  Tiger  33..

 Bennie  Jumped up  and Down  as he ran off the field  and the three headed monster  came in.
 Olsen , since the clock stop. took the  Tine   to give   Niel a   whap on the shoulder as he went by.

:58 left to play..the auburn fans   were Mixed..half  sat down, stunned, the other have screamed their brains out.. the  player s  waved    towels and arms. On the other  side  the  Trojan Band played the fight song while everyone stood .. pounding thier Feet

  when they began to line up once More,  Olsen gave the signal  for  quiet,,, and   SC fans  went to a whisper and the band stopped..

  Runns  took a    simple   dive for  6,  they hustled to line up as the  clock ticked  and the ball was  snapped.  Sticks  took the  pitch  and went  wide  diving out of bounds  for a  gain of  5 The  1st down and Out of Bounds  stopped the Clock with  ....:36 s One time out.

 Olsen and three trojans  huddled  Auburn brought in more Line, SC didn't change a    Thing.

 The   fake to Runns  was  carried all the way into the Line, Olsen   poped up and  hit the TE for his third  catch of the game..he  had 10 coming into this game.

 Oslen took a  Hit  as he Let the Ball go,  But   pushed the   DE off him as he  Jumped  up to motion the team forward. they Hustled to the  line  and he clocked it , after they set.

   3  and  2 at the  Tiger  19  :23 s

    Olsen stood there   looking to the  sidleines, the coach talked into the  head set,, three  sets of placards  went up,

  Gunns  took the Dive  towards the   right hashmark  Gained  4  yards,  Olsen stood right next to the Ref, and  called the Time out   with 4 seconds  left.

 Louie  Alton came on  to kick with the ball spotted at the 15, it would be another 32 yarder...but the biggest one of the  year.

  Auburn coach was  taking off his headset and handing it to the  Intern as did the USC coach. a whole season rested on the foot of  an English soccer playerm who played a total for  14  American football games.

 The  stadium was   rocking,,Tiger  fans  trying to shake  the   Englishman...Trojans  trying to support him, then..half of the feeling went  quiet... the Thump of the  ball was  solid  and  it   cut in the  the pipes, the Refs  arms went Up and the cardinal side of the stadium went   crazy.

 Olsen  and His coach  Hugged, and the QM  smiled  handing out high fives  and  fist  bumps, the teams moved out on to the Field looking for  opponents to  greet.


USC 39 Tiger  36

On the last play, Max was in on the field goal block unit. He was lined up so that all the pressure would be on his good ankle - it was the one that was away from the center of the field. He turned the corner, dove, and extended, but the ball was away.

Max skidded across the turf and didn't need to look at the referees to tell that the kick had been good. He pushed himself up on one knee, and looked up at the scoreboard to see the final score. The cornerback heaved a deep breath, then pushed himself to his feet and looked for his opposite numbers to congratulate and wish well when they played in the Championship game in January.

Losses hurt. Playoff losses hurt worse. The guys that were hurting the most were the seniors that would never play football again. Most of them would eventually break down crying and stay on the field for a while. Because once they were off the field, they would never, ever experience anything like this again.

Max still had high level football in his future, but he'd wanted this one. He'd wanted it bad.

After he offered congratulations and well wishes to the Trojans, Max found where his family was sitting and lifted a fist to them. Parents and sisters waved and all looked proud of his effort.

 The head Coaches  met  at  Midfield  and   wrapped each other in , back pounding hugs The trojan Coach was   Smiling, but  did not gloat,  The Auburn Coach  had a thin lipped  smile  of  understanding, they greeted Asst. Coaches  before  talking to opposing QBs  and  Backs.

 Newtwork folks were all over Olsen. Colleen was gushing as she asked him questions.

It was almost as soon as the ball split the uprights, the two teams were coming out to meet midfield. As expected, the Trojans were upbeat and the Tigers were somber but, but they met with high fives and respectful tidings. Even before that ended, the mad scramble for interviews commenced with the vast majority of reporters swarming Nick Olsen. He deserved the limelight. Lindsey was determined to get some words from him, but there were other voices to consult while he was forced to answer the banal and predictable post game questions that usually came from swarm reporting. The Auburn players were of less interest to the post-game press, and would be the first to quit the field. There were some obvious questions people would want answers to from them, so Lindsey made her rounds there. Coach Frye was busy with an interview, but Jack Dempsey was standing nearby almost like a sidecar. He looked engaged but really wasn't so Lindsey swooped in.

"Hey, Jack Dempsey. It's Lindsey Garret. In case you forgot me already." She gave him a knowing grin. "I know this wasn't the outcome you wanted, but what are your thoughts about how the game went?"

"No, Ma'am. How could I forget you?" She gave her subdued smile. "Well, you're right, this didn't go our way. We planned and trained and practiced, but still, here we are. I mean, I'm proud of our game and of every Auburn player. It was close and slight misstep could have had us as the winners. So what are my thoughts? Congratulations to USC, and for us I wouldn't change anything."

"You say you wouldn't change anything, but does that mean USC gave you exactly what you expected?"

"Yes and no. They played as we expected, but they ended making adjustments as the game went on. Their defense was tough but they still didn't stop us from moving the ball. The tough part was when the field got short and there was less room to work. They're good or else they wouldn't be here. We didn't win this one, but I think we gave a championship performance."

"So about that short field game. Could you have used your fullbacks more to take pressure off the receivers and Lamont Carver?"

"Maybe, but this wasn't about any specific plays. The Fullbacks might have pushed us closer, but that would have just shortened the field some more. I think the receivers did a great job as did Lamont. There are so many things that could have went differently, but second guessing doesn't get you anywhere."

"So, you're a senior and this was your last game. What's next for Jack Dempsey?"

He laughed. "Next I take a shower, go back to home and enjoy my Christmas with my family. After that, we'll see."

"Awesome. So any last words or shout outs."

"Hi Mon, Hi Dad. I love you. To my fiancee, Christina, I love you. Merry Christmas everyone."

"Thank you, Jack."

From that interview, Lindsey noticed Coach Frye extricating himself from the last of the gaggle of reporters. She was right there, so she turned to him.

"Hi Coach. Looks like I caught you at an opportune time."

"Ah, Miss Garret. You seem to be very good at that."

Lindsey's eyes flashed with her grin. "Great game. You didn't pull it out but it was a horse race all the way to the end. Thoughts?"

"I think my team played a hell of a game. The execution was fantastic and we continued to score. You just talked to Jack Dempsey. He was a great leader and no one will ever be able to say we didn't deserve to be here. We were putting points up all game long, but so was USC. In the end we came up short, but it easily could have gone the other way."

"For sure. In the first quarter you had a touchdown called back for Offensive interference. There are some who could say that that might have been the difference between winning and losing."

"Nope. Every game is full of mistakes and penalties are part of that. We scored but if not for that push off would we have? What I'm saying is that no one mistake was the thing that changed the outcome. That score is the result of every second of game play, good and bad. That penalty didn't cost us the game."

"So tell us about Max Woodson. He was injured, but in the third quarter he comes back out to play. There was a lot of commentary about whether he should have even been on the field, but not only did he return, you played him on offense. That caused a firestorm of commentary. Can you explain why you did that?"

"There was a lot of in the moment discussions about how play it. He's a top player in what could have been and turned out to be the last game of the year. He's leader and we wanted him on the field. The Docs said he could play, so he played. That was a no-brainer. Playing him on offense was a tactical decision. He trains to play both ways and that was always in the playbook. On offense he cuts off the other ankle so we all made the decision to go with the configuration as planned. It worked. He gave us a 56yrd reception and put us in position for the next points. As far as I'm concerned it was a good play."

"So this turned out to be the last game this season for you. What's next? And then give me you last thoughts and shout outs."

"Like you said, this was the last game, so what's next is my team gets a well deserved break. My seniors will go on to the draft or whatever carer choices they made. for those coming back next year, spring training is not far away. This was a close game. A lot of people predicted a blowout on the part of USC, but we came and made a good showing. it could easily have gone our way, and they know it. I'm going to recognize the team and all the support staff that put us here. Merry Christmas to all and a Happy New Year."

"Coach Chance Frye, thank you."

To be continued

Keeping her eye on Nick Olson, Lindsey chased down and got interviews from Sammy Duff, Scooter McGee on the Auburn side. Lamont Carver was MIA and again, Max was nowhere to be seen, but she knew how to catch up to him. On the USC side, she snagged Buster Runns, DC Riley Yott, and Alexander Gravis for a few questions before she was crowded out. But when Gravis was swarmed, Olson made a stealth run at the tunnel, and Lindsey was ready in her tennis shoes. In reality, it was a good thing that Olson's run was really a fast walk.

Lindsey caught him just as he passed the cover of the medical tent and there was no other reporter in sight.

"Hey Nick," She said as she came up alongside him. "Lindsey Garret. We talked yesterday."

"Yes, Ma'am. How could I forget. You seem to be an expert at getting players alone for one on one's."

"Yeah, it's better than shouting out questions over everyone else. So, on that, can I get some comments?"

"Sure thing, Ma'am. I'd be happy to. Shoot." He stopped walking and Bob came around to get them framed.

"So first, congratulation on the win. When we spoke yesterday, you were confident, and today you're vindicated. But you also made some comments about how Auburn's schedule wasn't as tough as yours. They gave you a run for your money today. Did this go the way you thought it would?"

"Yes. We won." He laughed. "Okay, seriously. It's never a good idea to predict how a game is going to go. Not in detail anyway. The Tigers played a great game and they deserved their shot. We came out on top because we executed according to our coaching and our strategy."

"I noticed more than a couple times how focused you were. Whether you score or even when you threw that interception, you never even flinched. You just kept playing as if every play was the same. How do you stay so calm?"

"Well, it's just discipline. There are going to be ups and downs, but the game isn't won until the end. Every down is the most important down in it's own moment and it won't succeed or fail because of what happened before. It will succeed or fail based on our execution. Staying calm and focused means I will execute based my training and according to the demands of the play. Not karma or streaks of luck, good or bad. Keeping it steady and consistent is how we prevail more times than not."

"So impressive. On that interception though. You did go have some words with the official. It didn't go your way, and you just let it go. Can you tell me about it?"

"You're an eagle-eye aren't you? Right well, there was a tug on the jersey which let Max Woodson get that pick. I think it was a penalty and should have been called back. The ref disagreed. I wasn't going to argue and Coach Gravis didn't pursue it, so I turned my attention on to the next play. It's frustrating, but like I said, there are ups and downs. In the end, if I had thrown it better even that tug wouldn't have mattered, so it was on me. I'm not going to cry over spilled milk."

"Wow, I know professional quarterbacks who could learn a thing or two from you. Speaking of that, though. What about your future. There are going to be quite a few teams interested in signing you."

"Right now, I'm focused on winning the next game. We still have finals. After that, yeah I'll go into the draft and we'll see what happens."

"Have you considered Free Agency? The NFL is changing and there are more options."

Olson laughed. "No. That's not how it's usually done. And I guess you would know. I don't even know how that would work, but I suppose I could look into that. Thanks for the tip."

"You're welcome. I know you want to get cleaned up and start your holiday. Nick Olson, thank you for giving me this one on one. Congratulations again, and Merry Christmas."

"Merry Christmas, Lindsey."

With a wave, Lindsey saw Olson off to the tunnel and she turned her attention back to see who was left on the field. She sent out a text to Mindy

[Hey, where are you at? Let me know if you see Max Woodson.]

To be continued

  Mindy  texted,  , Last time a saw him , he was headed to the Auburn Sidelines, I guess  looking for   family ior friends... I don;'t know, i was tracking SC folks.

Lindsey walked back out to the field to have a look around. It was entirely possible that Max had gone in to have his ankle dealt with, but she wasn't ready to give up and go marching into the Auburn locker room. The field was still quite active and seeing through the crowd of players and reporters was a challenge in itself.

Finally after skirting along the sideline, Lindsey spotted Max midfield among some of his teammates. There were no reporters around, which in and of itself was interesting. The losing team didn't get as much attention for sure, but given how much controversy there was with playing Max after his injury, she would have guessed many would have some questions. but it was good for her that he was frees.

"Max!" She called out when she got within earshot. She didn't want to risk him disappearing into the throngs. "Hey Max, it's me." She waved, catching his attention. "Wow, you were hard to find for some reason."

"Are you up for some questions?" Assuming he was she went ahead into it.

"Well, my condolences in the loss. I have some specific questions, but can you tell me how your feeling right now?"

"You made some really big returns in the first half, and you had the only interception of the game, which you ran in for a touchdown. Aside from the end score, you had a great game. Is there anything you think you could have done differently?"

"On that interception, Trojans quarterback Nick Olson thinks you never would have had that if not for the tug on the jersey. What do you say to that?"

"So the big controversy was when you came back in the second half. After your kickoff return, it looked like you indicated your ankle wasn't doing as well as you wanted. What happened there?"

"And after you had them put a better support on it, Coach Frye played you on offense. That set off a firestorm of criticism. Coach Fry said you were always slotted to play on offense and that the injury didn't change that plan. With a full slate of players, most of whom only play one way, why would you play both ways and why do it at that point in the game, especially considering the risk of your injury affecting the game and maybe your career?"

"So, despite that criticism, you did haul in a fifty-six yard pass. It was one of the few big plays of the game. Tell us about it."

"Given how much of the game was played withing thirty yards of the opponents endzone on both sides, and how many drives ended with field goals instead of touchdowns, would you say that this was a good showing of the effectiveness of the defensive backs?"

"Well, I'm sorry this game didn't go your way. What's next?"

"Do you have any final thoughts on you want to share, and of course, any shoutouts?"

Max smiled broadly at the reporter as she approached. "Yeah, I always have time for your questions, Lindsey. Shoot."

Max responded to each of her queries in turn. "How do I feel? Absolutely gutted. We worked all season for a shot at the title and came up short. Unlike in the pros, there is a much shorter clock that ticks for us in college. Once time is up, you never get another shot."


His lips pressed together at the question about what he could have done differently. "At some point I could have knocked a ball down? We are a team that prides ourselves on our defense and got here because our defense shut down some of the best teams in the country. And USC punted exactly zero times. Our offensive guys played their tails off and scored far more than anyone expected. And I'm the captain of the one unit that underperformed today. It's a tough pill to swallow."

His face clouded at the question about the pick, and then he chuckled. "That throw was behind the receiver, Lindsey, you saw that. So what he said to you is entirely nonsensical. If the throw was out in front of the receiver where it should have been, maybe he gets that call. And I'm sure everyone saw what was and wasn't being called out there for both teams. The refs were pretty consistent over the sixty minutes, which you'd expect of the crews that make it this far."

He nodded. "After the first kick return of the second half, the tape wasn't quite doing what I hoped. Once I got my ASO brace, I was doing much better. Still couldn't cut quite like I can when healthy, but my straight-ahead speed didn't suffer at all."

He tipped his head to the side at the mention of criticism. "That's our Flash package, Lindsey, same one that came out last week. This time of year, coach wants to put us in the best position to win that he can. That particular personnel grouping usually gets one series a game, either second or third quarter. We put our four fastest guys on the edges, and have Carver as a single setback. The overall speed on the field in that package can create matchup problems for the other team. Coach usually wants to see how other teams react to our personnel changes to see if he can create mismatches. It's all part of the chess match between the guys pulling the strings, ya know?" He shrugged. "If anyone was confused, it's because they didn't bother watching the tape from last week."

He looked out on the field and pointed to the numbers right around where he made the catch. "I had been doing a little bit of acting on the plays leading up to the big catch. A bit of gamesmanship to see if the defender might let his guard down under the assumption I lost a step. To his credit, he didn't miss more than a single step, but that was enough. The line protected against a fearsome pass rush and Dempsey put the ball right where it needed to be for me to snag it."

He frowned at the question about the defensive backs. "Sorry, but I don't think any of my defensive backfield mates are going to be happy with today's results given the lack of punts. I can only speak for us - SC will have their own take on their guys. My fellow Tigers all played hard and did their best, but they're not happy about the results."

He raised an eyebrow and smirked at the final questions. "What's next is I huddle with my family and talk about my options. As far as shoutouts, most everyone knows my parents and brother. But my sisters probably haven't gotten too many shoutouts. So to the best footballers I know - Malia, Tasha, I love you guys. Keep kicking, uh, butt." He grinned broadly at the end.

"Thanks Max. I appreciate your perspective. Merry Christmas." Lindsey called for the cut. "Have a safe flight back home, Max. Maybe I'll see you in New Jack during your stay. Take care."

After a wave Lindsey looked around. There were so many players. She sent a text to Mindy again.

[Hi Mindy. I've hit all the bigs. If you're ready, meet me at the entrance of the home tunnel. Otherwise, I'll get more comments from whoever I can grab.]

After she and Mindy gathered were done, they met at the tunnel and got ready to go. Their bags were being held at the hotel, so they would have to go by there on the way to the airport.

To Travel Times

 Mindy came over  with a bit of a smile,I got  some names, Got  Alston's  take on his FG. he was fun

 I'm done  with Indy ,  I'm ready to go.

(( Fashion Show, Friday before Chiefs game))


From Dragon Den

Lindsey arrived at the Dragon Arts Building at about 9:10. There was already a fair amount of activity, indicating that the show prep was already underway. Marta had told her that they would provide the wardrobe, presumably from the sponsoring labels. Still unsure of what to expect otherwise decided to leave her bags in the car, taking only her phone and purse.

Inside the building the stage was already up, and a dozen men and women were running about with decorations and setting up chairs and tables. Lindsey spotted Marta consulting another woman with a clipboard.

"Hi Marta," She greeted after the other woman walked away. "So nice to see you again. I came early to get instructions."
This message was last edited by the GM at 13:42, Sat 11 Feb 2023.

  Marta  smiled   and   waved to the dressing room  area,I am soooo glad you made it. Now, befoe we go on, i want to say, it was an Interesting   choice you made,  not to slime  that Lana person? But  it is being talked  about  with you being  praised , bashed, or questioned on the choice. Either way.. the news is more about you, then Lana.

 reaching the dressing area, there were a couple Models there  already, they were  'staging' their outfits  for the 'theme' of the segments

 Evening wear,...  fancy dressed and panst suits

  Daily wear... clothing for 'on the go' and normal activities

 Business  wear... for office  work

 Swimsuits,...two runs.. one piece and  2 piece

  Marta  smiles  as she  shows  Lindsey the  order.we purposely put the swimsuits last, to keep the men here longer, they tend to spend more  at the bar  and  snack area.

Lindsey gripped Marta hands in greeting. And she was rather surprised that the first thing Marta mentioned was the slime thing with Lana. But Marta had a point. If Lindsey had slimed Lana, everyone would be talking about Lana, some sympathizing, some cheering. But by not doing it, Lindsey was focus of the conversation. Was she right or wrong? Why didn't she?  "I wish I could take credit for planning it that way, but I like how it turned out."

Marta led Lindsey to the dressing area where she explained the sequence. It seemed logical. "Okay, so do you want me to pick out my outfits or will someone assign them?" She looked around to see if the other models were people she recognized