So when Olaya talked to Mathurin that day, leading to a later offer from the NBA Academy Latin America, there was no reason to hesitate.

Never mind that it would represent a huge leap of faith both on and off the court. Mathurin was the Latin America programs first Canadian player. He spoke French, English and Creole but not Spanish.

It was hard, Mathurin said. People would try to talk to me and I couldnt understand but on the court, it was pretty easy.

When the coaches were talking, they were pointing with their fingers so I could understand. And a player translated for me, simple things like screen that I couldnt understand. I just had to learn to talk with people.

The 6-foot-6 Bennedict Mathurin is a four-star prospect.

Communication, in whatever form, was essential to make the most of Mathurins raw talent.

Mathurin says he helped his basketball footwork and IQ from playing quarterback for a youth football team in Montreal. But his experience with Canadas national winter sport was, well lets just say he was athletic and powerful back then, too.

Hockey was different, Mathurin said, chuckling. I was skating fast but I didnt know how to slow down, so I was always crashing into the glass.

The same concept applied, to some degree, once Mathurin arrived in Mexico City. Mathurin said his game was mostly about dunking and taking lobs and thats pretty much what his coaches saw.

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With late brother as both memory and motivation, Arizona Wildcats commit Bennedict Mathurin charts course for basketball future - Arizona Daily Star

Its big trouble for new artistRari in little China. The Virginia-native created popularity in 2018 with a growing fanbase and breakout song, The Realest. Catchy, witty and suspenseful, Rari new catalog makes its latest entry in new song, titled, Not What It Seems.

Directed by the talented PDGRFX, the new song is produced by hugely recognized producers HighDefRazjah and Grammy-nominated Johnny Juliano. In New York, Rari stars in a snappy, slick-talking visual about finding themselves.

Rari about making Not What It Seems:

This track is a motivational anthem for anybody feeling like all their hard work has been in vain. I think everyone can relate to being an underdog. Johnny Juliano & HighDefRazjah found a sound for me to deliver the message and now its time to make my mark.

Not What It Seems follows a string of hits by the upcoming star. Arriving on the scene in 2018, Rari established notoriety in previous efforts, The Realest, Live in the Garden and New Habits. For more Rari news, you may follow the new artist on Instagram and Twitter.

Stream it now.

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Rari Drops Motivational Visual for the Hit, "Not What Its Seems" - Substream Magazine

Ty Clark spent the last season down in Louisiana at CMP Prep Academy working on his football skills.(Photo: Submitted by Ty Clark)

ASHLAND - Ty Clark Jr. hoped he would be impressing his new coaches at Ashland University right now.

After spending a year in Lafayette, Louisiana, at CMP Prep Academy, he made the move back closer to home to continue his football career in the purple and gold as an Eagle.

Catching the eye of head coach Lee Owens and quarterbacks coach Tom Stacy was how he envisioned his spring.

Instead, due to the COVID-19 pandemic, Clark is missing out on what he was hoping would be his golden ticket to making a name for himself at Ashland.

"It's a weird feeling, especially for us underclassmen," Clark said."Spring time for football is when you can really get your name out there to coaches before fall camp. We don't have that opportunity, it's weird thinking if you're going to get that chance or not, and how long it'll be before you get that opportunity since you didn't have a chance to in the spring.

"I was hoping to make the most of that opportunity because it was just me and (Austin) Brenner there, I was going to try to get my name up on the roster early before we had six quarterbacks this fall."

Upon graduating from Crestline in 2019, Clark had offers from Division III schools and even some at theDivision II level including Ashland but not to play quarterback. He opted to spend a year at CMP Prep to work on his football skills and grow as an athlete.

Week 1 | Buckeye Central at Crestline football on Aug. 24, 2018.(Photo: Mike Dornbirer/Correspondent)

"I enjoyed myself in Louisiana," Clark said."Coach Hutch, coach Black and coach Butler all took good care of me, took me in, made sure I wasn't just out on my own right away because I didn't know the area. It was a fun experience, they have some of the best food down there, we had really nice apartments with nine swimming pools. They taught me a lot about football, coach Black taught me the characteristics of being a quarterback and coach Hutch got my 40 time from a 5.1 to about a 4.9 and I put on almost 40 pounds doing so.

"They got me right down there, I was fortunate to be there."

It paid off as Clark proved himself as a quarterback and now has the chance to compete for a spot on the depth chart at Ashland.

Right now, his days are pretty routine work, train, school, sleep, repeat.

"I work about 50 hours a week, give ortake, Monday through Saturday," Clark said."Then I try to do my schoolwork when I get home. I work for Brian Glowaski at MWD Logistics, he has a weight room upstairs, so I work out right after work, go home, do some school work, then run."

Unlike numerous athletes right now, Clark is fortunate enough to have access to a weight room. He's using that to his advantage and hopes it'll pay off when he's able to link up with his new football team.

"I've been working out just about every day lifting," Clark said."I want to take advantage of this time to separate myself because I know not everyone is working out, not everyone is doing this because they don't have the opportunity to.

"When it is time, I can say I gave it my all."

Ty Clark moves from CMP Prep Academy to Ashland University this year.(Photo: Submitted by Ty Clark)

School is the one thing he has found most difficult during these times.

"I'm not too good with online learning as it is and you can tell these classes aren't meant to be online courses," Clark said."And it's hard to just sit there and want to do school work. It's weird."

His coaches check up on him and the rest of the team routinely reminding them how crucial this downtime is to their success both in the classroom and on the field.

"The coaches have been checking in every once in a while to see how we're doing and make sure we're still coming back in the fall," Clark said."Right now, the whole conference is canceled through May 31st, so we're hoping in June we can get back there, start lifting and working together.

"They express it all the time they're here for us if we need anything. A place to stay, food, really anything. It feels good knowing we have that support system. But they also stress taking advantage of this time and keep up with classes, but make sure we're working out so that we don't get behind.

"There will be players who do get left behind because they took time off instead ofworking out."

Clark, will not be one of those players.

zholden@gannett.com

419-617-6018

Twitter: @Zachary_Holden

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Missed opportunity in spring now motivation for incoming Ashland University QB Ty Clark - Bucyrus Telegraph Forum

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As life in lockdown continues it's becoming harder to tell one day from another, so it's understandable that a lot of people are struggling to keep up with their health and fitness goals. Lack of equipment aside, simply working up the energy to start a workout can feel overwhelming.

In a recent thread on Reddit, people have been sharing the ways that they have been able to build habits and cultivate a positive mind-set, so that they can start exercising even on days when they really, really don't want to.

For some people, it's useful to remember the investment they made in getting fit when they're feeling unmotivated; a financial motivator is still a motivator.

"I always keep in mind that I'm only cheating myself one way or another," says WeeJay11. "Be it my gym membership fees, or the home gym equipment I invested in for home use, or even skipping out on exercises I don't like to do or doing them improperly. I'm only cheating myself, and in some cases I'm letting somebody else take advantage of my desire to be a healthier individual through paying them for a service I'm not utilizing."

"I hate running, but I've been running regularly for over ten years now," says saugoof. "There are a couple of things that keep me running. One is that although I dread going for a run and hate it while I'm running, I have never regretted going for a run. I'm always glad afterwards that I did."

"Another is that often I make something I want a condition of doing a run first, e.g. I won't have dinner until after I've gone running. I also have a minimum distance that I run each week. I do this each and every week, no matter if the weather is shit, if I'm on holidays or away on business, busy this week, etc. If for some reason I do not manage to make my minimum distance I make up for it the week after. I know myself well enough to realise that if I didn't stick religiously to this, I'd quickly lapse."

There are many benefits to having a workout buddy, from the social element to the increased accountability in showing up and doing the work, so it's unsurprising that a number of responses on the thread encourage group activities as a way of staying motivated.

"Have someone to exercise with," says Chairchucker. "Keep each other accountable for going and exercising. Maybe play a team sport. Then if you don't exercise you'd be letting down the team."

Of course, in our current situation that is easier said than done but you can foster that sense of accountability by joining group workouts online.

All too often at the start of a fitness journey, people can feel discouraged if they feel they're not making immense progress right away, making that final goal, be it weight loss or building muscle, seem unreachable. Which is why it's important to break that one endpoint down into smaller, attainable targets, as this commenter points out:

"It's also really important to make short term achievable goals. Saying you want to lose 25 lbs is great but that's gonna take a long time and there will be obstacles and frustration. But if you start with aiming at running a sub 10 minute mile or being able to to 10 pullups, you can see your incremental progress."

"I start small. 5 mins a day or so," adds lequalsfd. "Then when that becomes habit and the time has been mentally carved out I increase it to maybe 10 mins. And so on and so on until my habit is fully formed. It's hard to motivate anyone to get up and immediately start a 30-60 min run. Start small stick to it and increase it after a week or two."

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Fit People Who Hate Working Out Are Sharing How They Stay Motivated - Men's Health

Amdavadi girl Shiny Doshi, who rose to fame with the shows Saraswati Chandra, Sarojini, Jamai Raja etc, is currently the part of Alif Laila. It is more than a month to lockdown and she badly misses being on the sets. Shiny says, I am missing the work on the sets in film city. It has been the longest time that I have been away from camera. But, life Is any day a bigger priority. She is currently with her mother in Mumbai. She says, I am glad to have her by my side. It keeps me emotionally and mentally balanced to have a loved one with me in such tough times. Though, I badly miss my brother, sister in law and my Nephew they are in Ahmedabad. I keep talking to them daily on video calls. This quarantine time has made this pretty actress learn lot of new things. I have started doing all the home tasks By myself. I am cooking all my favourite food. But my biggest take away From this lockdown phase is that I have finally got that self motivation to do my workouts without anyone pushing me. Trust me, I needed to be pushed by my trainer regularly to do my exercises. Now, I am doing it all by myself, says Shiny.

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Thanks to lockdown, I have finally got that self motivation for workouts: Shiny Doshi - Times of India

Tuesday marked the 20-year anniversary of Richard Baumhammers, a white man, murdering five people in Allegheny and Beaver counties: a Jewish woman, two men of Indian descent, two men of Asian descent and a black man.

Tuesday marked 20 years since a man murdered five people in a racially motivated series of shootings in Allegheny and Beaver counties.

Richard Baumhammers, now 54, of Mount Lebanon, was an unemployed immigration lawyer when he went on a shooting rampage on April 28, 2000.

Baumhammers, a white man, shot his neighbor Anita Gordon, a 63-year-old Jewish woman from Mount Lebanon, and set her house on fire. He then drove to the Beth El Congregation of South Hills, a synagogue Gordon attended, and shot out the front windows and painted red swastikas on the building.

Afterward, he drove to a grocery store in Scott Township and shot and killed 31-year-old Anil Thakur, an Indian man, and shot 24-year-old Sandip Patel, who is also of Indian descent. Patel became paralyzed and died about seven years later.

Baumhammers then drove to a Chinese restaurant in Robinson Township, where he shot and killed 34-year-old Ji-Ye Sun, a native of China, and 27-year-old Thao Pham, who left Vietnam in 1979. He finished his shooting spree by driving to C.S. Kim School of Karate in Center Township, where he shot 22-year-old Garry Lee, a black man.

He was arrested at gunpoint as he entered Ambridge. It is believed his next target was Beth Samuel Synagogue in Ambridge.

It took a jury less than three hours to sentence Baumhammers to death.

Baumhammers showed no expression as the verdict was read. He was reportedly living with his parents at the time of the shootings and was undergoing psychiatric care.

His lawyers did not argue whether Baumhammers killed his victims, but instead said he lacked the mental ability to tell right from wrong. Psychiatrists said Baumhammers suffered from a delusional disorder of the persecutional type, as he believed the FBI and CIA were monitoring him and that the family house cleaner was a spy.

Baumhammers was supposedly on prescription medication, but tests later found he had not been taking his medicine.

Allegheny County Deputy Assistant District Attorney Ed Borkowski told jurors during the trial that Baumhammers was not insane, saying he was anti-Semitic and racist, noting that he read racist and anti-immigration literature and saw Oklahoma City bomber Timothy McVeigh and Adolf Hitler as heroes.

Baumhammers lawyers lost an insanity defense and he was given the death penalty for five murders.

Then newly elected Gov. Tom Wolf on Feb. 13, 2015, declared a moratorium on Pennsylvanias death penalty, causing controversy over cases like Baumhammers.

Center Township Police Chief Barry Kramer, who was the first officer on the scene where Baumhammer murdered Lee, wrote a letter to Wolf asking the governor to allow capital punishment for egregious crimes, according to the letter.

There is fear that some death-row convictions have been biased due to race/ethnicity or socio-economic status; this is certainly of concern, the letter read. However; we believe that to completely eliminate the death penalty for those who have executed certain egregious crimes where guilt is clear would be irrational. Baumhammers 90-plus-minute, eye-witnessed rampage was fueled by racial and ethnic hatred from a man who came from a quiet, upscale, suburban community. Baumhammers was a white, well-educated man, was not poor or economically depressed, and from all aspects apparently had every opportunity for a successful life. In this case of cold-blooded murder of six innocent Pennsylvanians, we believe the death penalty is warranted.

Additional signatures attached to the letter included those of state Senate President Pro Tempore Joe Scarnati, House Speaker Mike Turzai, Sens. Camera Bartolotta and Elder Vogel Jr., and Reps. Jarret Gibbons, Jim Christiana, Jim Marshall and Rob Matzie.

Kramer said Wolf never responded to his February 2015 letter.

There is no political agenda, Kramer said, noting that his letter to Wolf wasnt about politics; it was about justice. I understand the governor might want to examine death penalty cases. But there were eyewitnesses to almost all of the murders. Theres no question to whether he committed these crimes.

Baumhammers lost an appeal Nov. 26, 2019, and remains in the State Correctional Institution at Green in Greene County.

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20-year anniversary of Baumhammers' racially motivated killing spree - Ellwood City Ledger

Spotify wants to help you stay mentally healthy during the coronavirus quarantine with the launch of its new Daily Wellness mix. Unlike most of the playlists on its service, the Daily Wellness mix contains both podcasts and music, ones that are relaxing, positive, motivational, and other similar positive things. To keep things fresh, Spotify is updating the mix twice a day.

If youre spending most of your time at home, theres a good chance youre feeling a bit trapped, potentially depressed or lacking in motivation. Self-care is the practice of helping keep your mood and lifestyle in the positive, something that can involve anything from taking time to relax to meditation, engaging with positive media, and more.

Daily Wellness is, as its name suggests, a mix that combines relaxing and positive music and podcasts for both your morning and evening, the two times of the day that Spotify says it will refresh the mix with new content. Spotify says that subscribers and users can find hours worth of content in the daily mix.

Though the content will vary based on the day and what is curated, Spotify offers examples of the kind of content you can expect, including things like Yoga Girl Daily, Daily Quote, The Slowdown, Daily Breath with Deepak Chopra, and more. These podcasts cover things like poetry, meditation, inspirational quotes, and more.

As you probably expect, the morning content will be more uplifting, designed to get you up and moving around. The evening refresh will bring more chill, mindful content designed to help listeners unwind from the day and destress in time for bed. Both free and premium subscribers have access to Daily Wellness.

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Spotifys new Daily Wellness mix has motivational podcasts and music - SlashGear

Chicago Bulls shooting guard Zach LaVine has been closely watching The Last Dance, like many other players and fans confined to their own devices. The 6-foot-5 skywalker actually holds the highest scoring average for a Bulls player since Michael Jordan, something he didnt even come to realize until a recent interview with Alex Kennedy of HoopsHype.

Its a cool individual feat for LaVine, but watching the ESPN docuseries has inspired him even more to work on his game in order to help his Bulls actually win games:

I tweeted this out yesterday as I was watching it: Any time I watch it, I want to go outside and work out or play or do something, said LaVine. You miss it. I appreciate you telling me that stat! Thats something that I didnt even realize until you just told me! (laughs)

Its cool, but you wont be recognized as great or get put where you want to be put for individual things you need to have that team success. Thats what Im looking forward to. Im looking forward to helping the Bulls get back to where were supposed to be.

LaVine is having a similar reaction to many kids who grew up during the Jordan era, finishing a Bulls game only to go outside and play with their friends before it gets dark.

While the circumstances are greatly different during this quarantine period, the itch is still the same for LaVine, who has been paying close to attention to each episode of the popular documentary series:

I think its great, LaVine said. Its really cool to get an inside look at these things. Its obviously a lot of stories that weve heard and seen, but just to see the entire background of how it all happened is great. Theres a lot of stuff that you dont know, especially as someone who was born in 1995.

I was obviously a huge Michael Jordan fan and I watched all of his tapes and highlights when I was growing up, so I know a lot about him. He was one of my inspirations to play basketball along with Kobe Bryant. But there are just little things that I didnt know about, so I think the series has been really good up to this point. It gives me something to look forward to every week, just sitting on the couch and not moving for two hours.

LaVine is learning plenty about Bulls lore and the greatness of Jordan, even some stuff he had no idea about despite playing for the franchise for over two seasons now.

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Bulls Zach LaVine reveals how hes motivated by The Last Dance - ClutchPoints

French police are seen in front of the Paris Police headquarters in Paris, France, Oct. 3, 2019. Photo: Reuters / Christian Hartmann.

The man who committed a car-ramming attack near the French capital of Paris on Monday reportedly told police he was motivated by a pro-Palestinian ideology.

Two motorcycle policemen were seriously injured when they were deliberately struck by a speeding car in the northwestern Paris suburb of Colombes while they were enforcing a coronavirus lockdown. They remain hospitalized.

The French daily Le Monde reported on Tuesday that the 29-year-old attacker identified only as Youssef T., who is apparently Muslim told police at the scene that he had seen videos on the situation in the Gaza Strip and the plight of the Palestinians, which motivated him to act.

In addition, Le Monde reported that the suspect left a letter in his car stating that he had sworn allegiance to the Islamic State terrorist group and wanted to go head on into the battle to impose sharia law on the whole world.

April 28, 2020 4:54 pm

The National Counter-Terrorism Prosecutors Office has opened an investigation into the attack, saying one of the charges was relations with a terrorist enterprise and association with criminal terrorist malefactors.

Initial investigations revealed that the French security agency the General Directorate for Internal Security had not been previously aware of the man or his radicalization.

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Paris Car-Rammer Says He Was Motivated by 'Plight' of Palestinians - Algemeiner

George M. Johnsons book All Boys Arent Blue is out everywhere and examines his life experience from childhood through his young adult years examining topics relevant to societal existence. Through a series of personal essays, All Boys Arent Blue is both a primer for teens eager to be allies as well as a reassuring testimony for young queer men of color, according to the official details.

The subject matter ranges from gender identity, toxic masculinity, and brotherhood to family, structural marginalization, consent, and Black joy. In an exclusive interview with theGrio, Johnson shares his opinion on the timeliness of the release and the intent behind his words, down to the books title. All Boys Arent Blue is a result of multiple influences, all impactful to Johnsons experience.

READ MORE: 2 Teen authors debut book examining the national seeds of racism

I named the book All Boys Arent Blue for a myriad of reasons. The first reason is the most obvious. It kind of is a play on my gender reveals and how we know when kids are born. Its like, oh, girls are pink. Boys are blue. And so in saying like, well, all boys arent blue is kind of a statement, like, oh, OK. And let me think about that for a second, says Johnson.

He continues to describe how growing up in a household where his father served as a member of the police force, and the contemporary fictional character Blue of Queen Sugar,and Tarell McCraneys original play Moonlight,which inspired the Academy Award-winning film directed by Barry Jenkins, helped influence his work.

Johnson also recognizes the importance of analyzing race and gender and increasing queer visibility on multiple mediums. Although the representation of queerness continues to grow, so does violence against queer-identifying people. Acknowledging that oftentimes, negative thoughts and attacks against queerness are homegrown, George hopes his book exists as a resource to families who may need help navigating their childrens identity.

Now that we have more children who are starting to identify at a much younger age, we have to be the community that is a blueprint that starts to put systems in place, and safety mechanisms in place for them, when they do come out, he explains. So that they are safe and that they have homes to go to and also resources. We didnt have a lot of resources when I was growing up and I felt that the book, most importantly, could be a resource guide to families, in particular Black families who were looking for a way to figure out what may be going on with their children.

READ MORE: George Johnson hopes Zaya Wades visibility will trigger protections for less-privileged trans folks

Johnson also details recognizing his queerness at a young age in All Boys Arent Blue. From the time he was small, Johnson recognized that he was different, without being able to put a name or label on his desires. He felt that it is important to highlight that children oftentimes know what is going on within them and need space to express their feelings.

I think the great thing about the way I wrote the book was the introduction to my queerness comes very early and it comes at the age of 5. And even though I didnt have the language at the age of 5, the only thing I knew was that I was different and I knew what that difference was, says Johnson.

He continues, We are more than capable, especially at that age, of telling you something is different about me, and this is what I like and this is what Im feeling. Especially around the age of 10, 11, when puberty starts and I was starting to have feelings.

Johnson says that he made sure to talk about his thoughts and express how heavy those feelings were towards the same sex, and just towards things that didnt fit into the box of a hetero[sexual] norm.

Its so important that when people read this book, they understand that children really do have a firm grasp on whats going on with them, he stresses. That we, as adults, havent created a space for them safe enough to actually tell us the truth, that theyre living outside of what were projecting onto them and what were trying to force them to be.

All Boys Arent Blue is a YA adult and Johnson is aware of the pushback and the possibility of the book being banned from schools.

I think when the vessel is white and queer, theres a savior effect that happens, kind of like victimhood, that happens in a community. Where its like, Oh, this is a disgrace story and we need to champion it, we need to support our kids, we need to do this,' says Johnson.

He continues, When the vessel is someone like myself and not only am I talking about homophobia and sexuality and gender, but Im also talking about racism and anti-Blackness and how those systems intersect.

Johnson explains that the intersectionality of his book could create an environment where parents are upset about the novels subject matter, deeming it too mature.

Its like, No, my kids dont need to be learning about this. I know my kids. Why are we learning about this? Why do we need to know about gay sex and why do we need to know about what happened in this Black boys life and etc.,' he says. So, yes, I do think it would be banned. Yes, I do think there are going to be a lot of school systems that push back.

He adds, If it happens, it happens and Im prepared for it.

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George M. Johnson shares motivation behind book 'All Boys Aren't Blue' - TheGrio