From the outside, the couple seemed to have a bright future together. But a gunshot shattered that facade onMarch 10, 2007 in Knoxville, Tennessee. Just after 9 p.m. a 911 dispatcher received a call from 31-year-old Eric McLean, who said he had an intruder in his house. The dispatcher asked if he wanted to speak to an officer. But Eric changed his mind claiming that the intruder was now leaving.

Less than five minutes later, a second call was placed to 911 from the same house. This time it was Erics wife, 29-year-old Erin McLean.

My husband just killed someone, she said, according to Snapped on Oxygen.

The dispatcher asked if her husband was there with her.

No, but the... the bodys here.

Erin met Eric at a coffee house in 1994. Eric was a freshman at the University of Tennessee. When he wasnt in class, he played in a local rock band. Erin was a junior in high school. The two immediately hit it off.

I just really, fell in love with her.

After Erin graduated from high school, the pair moved in together. Within a few months, they were able to buy modest home in North Knoxville, Tennessee.

Financially it was extremely tight, but it didnt really matter that much we had a lot of fun together and we were able to get by and have a good time, said Eric.

The pair married in 1996. They had two sons together.

But being a full-time mom wasnt the long-term goal for Erin. Eric put his own education on hold and took on extra jobs so that Erin could go back to school. A top-notch student, Erin graduated with honors in 2002 and quickly followed up by earning a Masters Degree in Literature. In 2006, she re-enrolled in school to earn a second Masters in Education.She was hoping to get a Ph.D. and become a college professor. But first, Erin had to go back to high school as an intern, part of her training to get a graduate degree. During her internship, Erin met a smart but rebellious 17-year-old boy named Sean Powell. He had a troubled past and was an aspiring artist. He began confiding in Erin, who was then 28.

She started tutoring him because she said he was going to fail school if she didnt, Eric said. He said he ended up taking care of the kids most of the time while Erin was working her internship and tutoring Sean. Eric was also back in school, which he was juggling in between delivering pizzas and playing in his band. This left little romantic time for Eric and Erin, which allegedly bred resentment from Erin.

It was almost like she was regressing back to her teenager kind of emotions. She just stopped talking to me all together in November. It was like there was no communication at all, said Eric.

Well, at least no communication with Eric. Erin was spending her time communicating a lot with someone else: Sean.

I would come home and find you know the phone on the floor and the sleeping bag on the floor whered she been up you know all night talking to him on the phone, Eric said.

Sean got suspended from school after being caught with alcohol and was sent to a rehab facility. He turned 18, left school, and soon moved in with the McLeans. Eric, who didn't suspect an affair, put Sean up in his bands practice studio at Erins request, thinking that the favor could help out their relationship. Eric even befriended the troubled teen. They all hung out together. Sean would watch movies with the kids. Sean may have watched G-rated movies with the children, but he was having an X-rated experience with their mom. It got to the point where Erin and Sean walked into a club where Eric and a band mate were watching a performance, and Erin was openly hanging all over Sean, sticking her tongue in his ear.

Just one week before the shooting, Eric walked in on Erin and Sean having sex.

I said, you know, I should have known that you didnt care about me at all thats basically all I said to her and she didnt even care, Eric said.

On the night of the shooting, Sean Powell drove up to McLean house. Eric told him to leave, that he wasnt welcome there anymore.

He just ignored me, walked right down my sidewalk and walked right into the house, Eric said.

According to Eric, he immediately called 911, only to hang up once it looked like Sean was starting to leave. But, Sean didnt fully leave. Eric claimed that Sean and Erin began taunting him.

They were making fun of me for calling 911 like I couldnt even get him out of my house on my own like Im just a big [expletive] or something.

Erin allegedly began telling Eric that Sean was twice the man he was. She allegedly told Eric that she didnt want the kids to grow up like him. She then threatened to leave and take the children with her.

Thats when Eric got the rifle. He claimed that he just wanted to scare Sean. But, Sean wasnt scared. In fact, he laughed and allegedly said something along the lines of, Hey, in two weeks theyll be calling me daddy.

Then, according to Eric, Sean had lunged forward and grabbed at the gun. And, thats when the gun went off. At least thats what Eric later said on the stand. But when Eric turned himself in to police after the shooting, he didnt mention anything about Sean lunging for the gun. The contradiction was brought up in court.

The news got hold of the shooting and the salacious scandal, and it made national headlines. Despite being negatively portrayed in the media, Erin wasnt charged with any crime. There was no evidence shed had a sexual relationship with Sean until after hed turned 18. Erin packed her bags and headed west with her two boys. She hid out at her mothers home in Nashville. A few days after the shooting, Erin attempted suicide. She took a bunch of pills and locked herself in a bathroom. 911 was called and she was brought from her mothers house to a hospital where she was diagnosed with PTSD, put on medication and started therapy.

Shifting the blame for Seans death to Erin was Erics only chance at not going to jail for murder. The fact that Erin had an affair with her former student more than ten years her junior would give Erics attorneys plenty of ammo.In a taped interview aired on the Today Show, Eric came across as a heartbroken man driven to desperate ends by his wifes betrayal.

Matt Lauer: Why not leave her?

Eric: I know, I just couldnt leave her.

Matt Lauer: Explain that. Why not?

Eric: Cause I love her [sobs].

Erin soon resurfaced in the news after a story broke that she had gone back into teaching. She had used her maiden name to get hired at a private school. Several parents accused Erin of inappropriate behavior at that school: allegations of her inviting boys over, and giving them alcohol. Once those allegations broke, Erin left her kids with her mom and checked herself into a mental health facility in Nashville. Two days later, Eric filed for divorce. He also, despite having a murder trial only months away, requested custody of his two sons. The week after Eric filed for divorce, Erin left the mental hospital, snuck into her mothers house, and grabbed the kids. Her sister called 911.

My sister has taken her children and shes completely unstable and shes a harm to her herself and to her children. Shes not supposed to have them. DCS has put her kids with my mom.

Erin and the kids disappeared, and began traveling around with a man Erin met at the mental hospital. She didnt show up for the divorce hearing. Erin didnt know there was a divorce pending. She was living in and out of hotels with her friend from the mental hospital along with her kids. The judge ordered the McLean children to be placed in protective custody and granted Eric visitation rights. Eric got what he asked for: the property, the house, and fifty-fifty time with the boys.

Erin was not asked to testify during Erics 2008 murder trial.

The prosecution said in court, Look, youre not going to like her. We dont like her. Shes, you know, a bad woman she had an affair with a student. They claimed that Eric was aware of the relationship between his wife and Sean. The prosecution alleged they were in an open relationship, and that Eric just got jealous. They also pointed out that it looked like Sean had a defensive wound, which meant he may have died trying to defend himself. Additionally, it was Erics contradictory confession was brought up. When he turned himself in at the police station he didnt mention that Sean reached for the gun or that the gun went off by accident, like Eric claimed in court.

But, the jury believed Eric.

He was found not guilty on all murder charges and on voluntary manslaughter charges. He was found guilty of reckless homicide and was sentenced to a mere ninety days in jail, with credit for time served.

I dont believe that any of us believed that he intentionally went out there to kill Sean Powell, said juror Chris Rowher.

Erin actually ended up spending more time in prison. A judge sentenced Erin to 95 days in jail for contempt. The sentence was five days more than Eric had received for shooting Sean, a fact that left both the Powell family and Erins attorneys pretty upset. Eric was released early with credit for time served. He is appealing his 12-year probation sentence. He has been awarded primary custody of the children. Erin is currently out on bond and is also appealing her sentence. Sean Powells family has set up a memorial in his name with Childhelp Childrens Center of East Tennessee.

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Anatomy Of A Love Triangle: Husband Kills Wife's 18-Year-Old Lover And Former Student - Oxygen (blog)

Everybody feels like they are a contender at training camp. Sometimes optimism can get the best of us before the hard dose of reality can set in. Every league has a set of favorites before the first puck is dropped.

There is one common denominator within the heart of just about every championship team; confidence and unconditional faith in the system. It takes more than just talented players and just about any mega-rich guy can spend his money on hired guns to be a competitor. In most cases, it is the team that did not take the shortcuts that get to raise the cups.

How to make a champion

Foundation- There are good owners and there are great owners. The guys that provide a great foundation for a coach to work with are the same guys that get to kiss the hardware.

Support- The team needs an iron clad support staff and diehard supporters that will go down with the ship if needed.

Coaching- The right guy can make all the difference. Championship caliber coaches are made at championship winning programs. Talking about winning and having the experience to actually do it are entirely different animals. The coach needs to have confidence in the players he brought to the table and be able to actually coach them through the developmental process.

Chemistry- It only takes a single floater in the punch bowl to keep everyone from drinking the Kool-Ade. Coaches need to select guys that are going to fit into the system and get along with the rest of the group. The programs that create a family atmosphere often experience a high degree of success.

Leadership- From the guy signing the checks, to the coach and to the team captain, the leaders of the team are always going to be the most important component of a champion.

Confidence- This cannot be taught or bought. It has to be installed at the first day of training camp and reiterated all along the way with practice, patience, and execution. A champion goes the distance expecting to win.

In 1990-1991, the Anchorage Aces formed a team to compete at USA Hockey's National Championships and managed to win the hardware. In 1992 and 1993, the team worked itself to both finals, only to come up short. In 1994, everything was in place for the club's second championship. 1995 saw the third 2nd place finish. During these years, I learned about the difference between a champion and contender.

In 1995-96, I skipped out on the Aces move to pro hockey to help jump start a new junior program in Alaska. Because the closest junior teams were in Seattle or British Columbia, we played an entire season against Alaska's strongest men's open adult clubs. We begged USA Hockey's Dave Tyler to allow us to enter the "B" tournament, but he would have none of it and forced us into the "C". He can't say we did not warn him. Our team headed to Pittsburgh with confidence and a roster choke full of guys with "A" level experience. We leveled the competition and cruised to the championship.

Today, every player on that team can reach back to that season for an easy smile. I am still very proud of that group, a perfect mix of leadership, talent, and confidence.

There is an old saying that you can't teach old dogs new tricks. I have a better one. A few old dogs can teach the younger ones all kinds of new tricks.

Carry on with your summer boys.

Stephen Heisler has spent a lifetime in the game of hockey. Stephen is also working as a consultant with individual teams, coaches, and players with the Heisler Hockey Group. When not on the road, Stephen and his family spend most of their time at home in Orlando, Florida.

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DAILY DISH: ANATOMY OF A CHAMPIONSHIP - Junior Hockey News - JuniorHockey.com

January 21, 2005: Police in East Moline, Illinois, got a call from a man named Tony Reynolds. His daughter Adrianne was missing. According to Adriannes father, the 16-year-old hadnt come home after school that afternoon, or shown up for her after-school job at a local fast-food restaurant.

He told Snapped on Oxygen: I knew immediately something was wrong, because she didnt go to work. She loved going to work. Shed get ready an hour before she was supposed to be there. Her boss said she would never miss work. She was a dependable kid.

Adrianne Reynolds had recently moved up to Illinois from Texas, just a couple months earlier. Her classmates, Cory Gregory and Sarah Kolb, were the last ones to be seen with her.

Like Adrienne, Sarah Kolb knew what it was like to be the new kid in town. She was born into a military family that traveled all over the world. Sarah was trying to find her identity, and she found solace in the horror-themed hip-hop group called the Insane Clown Posse. She and Cory met and become friends a year earlier, after meeting at a local mall and sharing a joint. They were inseparable. It was common knowledge that Cory had a crush on Sarah but Sarah was more into girls. Sarah and Cory started hanging out with the local group of Juggalos and after years of feeling like an outcast, Sarah finally felt like she fit in. She became the groups leader, the alpha female. She was the one who called the shots.

Then Adrienne Reynolds showed up.Adrianne had grown up fast. She was smoking pot almost daily as a youth and she went into treatment for crystal meth as a young teen. In November of 2004, two months after her sixteenth birthday, she was sent to Illinois to live with her father. The first time Sarah laid eyes on Adrianne, she told a friend, Look at her. Shes hot.

The feeling was mutual. They two teens wanted to date each other.

After a few weeks of flirtatious note passing, the girls went off to a party together. Adrianne got romantic, but not with Sarah. Adrianne left the party for a few hours, and when she came back she allegedly told Sarah that she had slept with two guys she met at the party. After that confession, Sarah decided that she didnt want to date Adrianne anymore but Adrianne wasnt ready to give up. She began pursuing Sarah and wrote her letters stating, Oh, I really like you. Give me a second chance.

Sarah began telling everyone that she was going to kick Adriannes ass.For weeks, the teens went back and forth. Adrianne would write notes to Sarah asking, Why do you hate me? Why do you hate me so much? Why are you telling everybody you want to kick my ass?

After that party Sarah just thought that she was, she felt threatened by her I guess, like she thought that she was gonna take all of her friends, leave her all alone, said Jonathan Polanchek, a friend of Adriannes.

On January 21, 2005, Sarah finally talked to Adrienne in the school hallway, asking her to lunch. They headed off to Taco Bell and Adrianne was never seen again.

That evening, Tony Reynolds called the East Moline Illinois police to report Adrianne missing. Based on what Adriannes father and stepmother told them about Adrianne's life, police initially thought the teen had just run away from home. But she had left her paycheck and all her clothes behind.

Police were soon given the names of Sarah Kolb and Cory Gregory. An officer called Sarah. She told the officer that after lunch, she had dropped Adrianne off at McDonalds, at Adriannes request.

If you do hear anything, I would appreciate it if you would call me and let me know, Sarah told police.

Police also called Cory. He said he was with the girls, and that they had gotten into a disagreement over something on the way to Taco Bell.

Police called Sarah again. She explained that the argument in the car was over a letter that Adrianne had written to Cory.

She had been hanging out with my friend who likes me and I like him, but she likes him and we got into an argument about that because she wouldnt leave him alone," Sarah said over the phone.

Sarah was soon interviewed in an interrogation room at the police station. She said that she and Adrianne had argued, got into a punching match and then parted ways. Police asked if Adrianne was in good condition when Sarah left, and Sarah replied yes.

Corys family began noticing that something was bothering the teen. He was unable to sleep for days. Guilt was eating away at him.

Four days after Adriannes disappearance, Corys father called police and said his son wanted to talk.

Cory told police that Sarah had been angry when she drove to Taco Bell that Friday. He said that Sarah was mad at Adrianne because Sarah did not want Adrianne to hang out with her friends anymore, especially her best friend Cory. Cory said that when Adrianne had started writing him notes, Sarah decided she needed to put her foot down. But Adrianne wasnt having it. The two teens started punching and choking each other. Cory told police that he stayed completely out of the fight, that he was mostly looking out the car window during the altercation. When Cory claimed he decided to intervene, the fight was over. Sarah had locked Adrianne into a chokehold. Adrianne was blue in the face. Cory said she was dead at that point.Cory claimed Sarah then came up with a body disposal plan. He said they drove out to Sarahs house, where she picked up a gas can out of the garage. Then the duo drove to Sarahs grandparents farm. Cory told detectives that they had driven to a secluded spot in the woods on the back of the property. Then, Cory said he waited in the car while Sarah tried to dispose of Adriannes body: he said Sarah took the body out of the trunk all by herself and dragged it over to an area, put a tarp on the body before pouring gas on it, and lit Adrianne on fire. The body burned, according to Cory, but not as much as Sarah hoped. Sarah allegedly lit her on fire, poured more gas on her -- at least three or four different times. Then, the pair decided to sleep on it and brainstorm how to get rid of the body. Cory told the detectives that he helped cover the charred body with brush.

Sarah dropped Cory off at his house and then she went home. On Saturday, Sarah had to work. It wasnt until Sunday that he and Sarah came back to the farm -- with a saw. Adriannes head and hands were cut off because they are identifying pieces of the body. Cory claimed Sarah dismembered Adrianne before leaving Adriannes torso and legs in a ravine on the farm. They then took the head and the arms in a trash bag and drove out to Black Hawk State Park where Sarah dumped Adriannes remains along a trail, at the bottom of a storm sewer.

Police, Cory and his lawyers went to the state park and Cory led detectives to the manhole. In it, a black plastic garbage bag with Adriannes head and the arms.

The next day, Sarah was taken into custody. She refused to do another interview or give a statement. Both of the teenagers were charged with first-degree murder.

17-year-old Sarah Kolbs murder trial began on Halloween 2005. In its open, the defense went after Cory, claiming that the statement he gave the police was a cover-up. The defense stated that Cory was the real killer. To prove that Sarah was the one behind Adriannes death, the prosecution showed the jury Sarahs personal journals. In one entry, Sarah wrote, I want to [expletive] kill her. Classmate Nathan Gaudet was called to the stand by the prosecution. He said that Sarah didnt cut up Adriannes body. He did.

Nathan said that on the Sunday after Adrianne went missing, Sarah and Cory had called him to ask if he wanted to see something cool. He testified that they asked, Hey Nate, you wanna come see a dead body?

Nathan told jurors that he brought over a saw and helped Sarah and Cory dismember Adriannes body. They took the head and the arms in a trash bag, threw it in the trunk of their car, and stopped at the McDonalds drive-thru to eat before going to the park. Nathan said he did it out of loyalty.

I thought I was just helping a couple of friends out.

He said that Sarah and Cory were laughing at the corpse, telling Adrianne that she deserved what she got for being promiscuous.

In court, Sarah admitted that she and Adrianne had fought in the Taco Bell parking lot, but said that it was Cory who killed her. She said that she didnt have the strength in her hands to strangle somebody. Sarah was emotionless as she described the death.

The jury just couldnt decided. The trial ended in a hung jury.

So, Sarah went on trial a second time. This time, the defense made a dramatic change. They didnt call Sarah to the stand.

I dont think anyone expected during the first trial she would be so cold and so emotionless and that probably hurt her, said Nicol Lally, a reporter who covered the trials.

On February 22nd, the jury found Sarah Kolb guilty of murder. She was sentenced to 48 years for murder, to be served without parole. She also received five additional years for concealing a homicide. Sarah Kolb said at her sentencing that she felt nothing as Adrianne died.

She was cold, very cold for 16, said Tony Reynolds.

Sarah has exhausted her appeals. When released from prison, she will be at least 66 years old. Cory pled guilty to one count of first-degree murder, and was sentenced to 45 years in prison. Nathan Gaudet served three years for concealing a homicide.

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Anatomy Of A Love Triangle: Jealous Teen Strangles And Dismembers Classmate - Oxygen (blog)

e-Anatomy is an award-winning interactive atlas of human anatomy. It is the most complete reference of human anatomy available on web, iPad, iPhone and android devices. Explore over 5400 anatomic structures and more than 375 000 translated medical labels. Images in: CT, MRI, Radiographs, Anatomic diagrams and nuclear images. Available in 8 languages.

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e-Anatomy, the interactive atlas of human anatomy - IMAIOS

Welcome to the Anatomy of a Goal, where each week we dissect one goal (or near goal) from the previous weeks Columbus Crew SC match.

For match 19 of the 2017 MLS Season, we take a look at Hector Villalbas 64th minute goal that put Atlanta United up 2-0 as part of their win over Crew SC on Saturday.

Here is a look at the finish from the Atlanta winger.

Though Columbus dominated possession for much of the first half, the team never really threatened Atlanta. Usually possession oriented, the Five Stripes were happy to lose the possession battle with the Black and Gold, instead focusing on long balls into open spaces. Just like Nathaniel Marhefka predicted in his lineup preview, Atlanta exploited the space vacated by Crew SCs attack-minded right winger and right fullback. Villalbas second goal is a direct result of the Five Stripes getting into the vacant space on the Columbus defensive right.

As usual, Nate absolutely nailed his focal area when he said to expect a tug-of-war between [Harrison] Afful and [Ethan] Finlay for Crew SC & [Yamil] Asad and [Greg] Garza for Atlanta United.

Atlantas second goal begins with their No. 10, Miguel Almiron, receiving the ball just inside the Black and Golds defensive half. Marked by Wil Trapp, Almiron has three options. He can continue his dribble, make a quick pass straight ahead to Greg Garza, or play a long pass to Yamil Asad into the space behind Harrison Afful.

Almiron opts for the more difficult pass over the top. Asad has already begun his run and will easily beat Afful, who gets caught sitting back on his heels.

Asad is by Afful before the ball hits the ground. If Asad is able to cleanly play the ball then hell have an easy chance on goal.

Lucky for Crew SC, Asad badly misplays the ball. Instead of letting the ball run ahead of him, the midfielder attempts to control the ball as it lands, sending it behind him. Defender Josh Williams, just to the right of Asad, does a good job to get near the Atlanta attacker, causing him to take that extra touch.

With the ball heading away from the Columbus goal, both Afful and Williams are in position to make a quick clearance before Asad can recover. Striker Josef Martinez has his own idea, and quickly moves toward the loose ball. Somehow, Martinez beats both Williams and Afful, neither of whom try to play the ball. Instead, both Black & Gold defenders act surprised at the misplay by Asad and fall back on defense rather than playing the ball back up the field.

Meanwhile, Artur, just beside the referee, hustles back.

Having beaten Afful and Williams to the ball, Martinez can either continue his dribble up the field, play a pass to Garza running up the wing or slot a pass to Asad. The pressure from Artur and Williams will force Martinez to play the ball out to Garza on the wing, away from his own goal.

As Garza receives the ball and is marked by Afful, he will fire a cross into the Crew SC goal box. Atlanta has three players (from left to right: Martinez, Asad and Villalba) in the area to receive Garzas cross. Three Columbus defenders (from left to right: Williams, Jonathan Mensah and Jukka Raitala) are in good positions to deny the Five Stripes attackers.

Williams is in the perfect position to win Garzas cross and sends a headed ball out to the top of the 18-yard box. Jonathan makes an awkward hop at the ball, but provides cover were Williams to miss his clearance.

This is an excellent bit of defensive coverage from the Black & Gold, calmly marking Atlantas attackers and clearing out a goal-scoring opportunity. Sadly, the Crew SC defense will be let down by their inability to stop the next cross.

That red highlighted blur is Almiron, who ran in from the midfield to win Williamss clearance right in front of Kekuta Manneh. Either by lack of communication or lack of awareness, Manneh totally missed Almiron running right toward the ball. Had he notice Almiron before the Atlanta attacker won the ball, Manneh could have made a clearance or quick pass to a wide open Trapp.

Having won the ball, Almiron will drive directly at Artur.

If Artur can slow or dispossess Almiron, he will have multiple passing options to start a counterattack. If Almiron beats Artur, Columbus will face another defensive scramble.

Your browser does not support HTML5 video.

As the above video shows, Artur halfheartedly stabs at Almiron and is beaten by the Five Stripes attacker, setting up an Atlanta cross.

Having blown by Artur, Almiron, with a difficult angle on goal, faces immediate pressure from Williams. The Five Stripes No. 10 will likely have to send a cross into the box.

Just below Almiron is Asad, who is not yet marked by Trapp and is wide open for a slotted pass to his feet. Martinez is available at the near post, but is marked by, the taller Jonathan. Villalba is at the top of the 18, and should be marked by Raitala if he makes a move toward goal.

As Almiron chips in his cross, the Black & Gold have Atlantas two options covered. Almirons decision to cross has taken Asad out of the immediate picture, and he will likely be pressured by Trapp if the ball pops out. Jonathan lets Martinez in behind him, but has six inches on the Atlanta striker. Raitala is aware of Villalbas position and has him covered. . . for now.

From the side angle, you can see that most of Atlantas attackers are covered. If Almiron were able to turn his hips quickly enough, he would have an easy pass right to the feet of Asad. However, things change as soon as the ball is played.

Just before the ball is played, Martinez floats a few feet behindJonathan. As the ball floats into the face of the goal, the center back fails to find Martinez and misjudges where the ball will land, allowing the shorter Martinez to contest him for a header. Raitala, unsure of what to do, sprints back toward the goal, leaving Villalba totally alone.

Comparing this image to the image above, you can see that Raitala has moved about two yards toward the goal, and is standing on the top line of the 6-yard box.

Though Jonathan misjudged the ball, he is able to contest Martinezs header, deflecting the ball out into the path of Villalba. Seeing the ball bounce out, Raitala oddly decides to keep heading toward the goal and plants his feet right on the goal line.

Your browser does not support HTML5 video.

In the above video, you can clearly see Raitala sprint back toward his goal like he thinks the ball is heading right into the net. It seems Raitala thought that he needed to cover the back post of the goal, which seems odd given Steffen not having come off his line and Jonathan being in position to deflect the cross.

With his main defensive threat inexplicably standing on the goal line, Villalba moves toward the ball headed right into his path. Jonathan is forced to scramble into Villalbas path.

Villalba has ample time to settle the bouncing ball as Jonathan scrambles to defend.

Jonathan is able to get in a decent position but is just a half second too late to block Villalbas shot . . .

. . . and Atlanta takes a 2-0 lead.

Findings

Read the original post:
Anatomy of a Goal: Villalba's Dagger - Massive Report

Several students traveled from far and wide to explore the human body at N.C. Wesleyan Colleges first offering of the Human Body and Disease Camp.

While the camp may be too intense for everyone, the students who attended the camp seemed fascinated with the opportunity to dissect rats, sheep brains and pig hearts. Dr. Dan Stovall, who served as the instructor for the camp, said the students also went to the planetarium at the Imperial Centre to learn more about how space affects human physiology.

While the camp was offered on the campus of N.C. Wesleyan College in Rocky Mount, most of the students came from places outside the Twin Counties.

Rising high school senior Austin Strickland, who lives in Goldsboro, said he came to the camp because he wants to be a surgeon, and this camp offered something new.

I have never seen a camp like this before, Strickland said.

The price of the camp was a $415, a figure that seems pricey compared to many other summer day camps in the area. However, considering the camp earned students a college credit, the price may be considered a bargain.

Stovall teaches a number of classes related to the human body at Wesleyan, including anatomy and physiology, cancer biology and human development. He said the Human Body and Disease Camp offers a taste of all those courses.

This course is sort of a condensed version of the anatomy course will all the fun stuff thrown in, Stovall said.

Meagan Colston, a rising senior at Roanoke Rapids High School, said she has attended several science camps at N.C. Wesleyan College over the years and was excited to see this camp offered.

Elena Miller, another rising senior from Roanoke Rapids, said she especially enjoyed the opportunities for dissection.

I hope to go into some medical field, and so it was really interesting to get to know more about the body systems and how the body works and functions, Miller said.

Nia Farrow, who lives in Greenville, said she has a grandmother who lives in Pinetops and has attended a Wesleyan Science Camp in the past. Farrow, who plans to become a physical therapist, also said she relished the opportunity to carve open a pigs heart.

I really enjoyed the dissection because I have never been able to do one before, said Farrow.It is interesting to learn about the human body and to compare human organs with other animal organs.

Stovall said he thinks camps like this offer a great deal to students.

This camp is really relevant because health sciences is an exploding field right now, Stovall said.

See the original post:
Students examine anatomy at camp - Rocky Mount Telegram

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The rescue team in action

As a big fan of Greys Anatomy, Ive always dreamed of learning CPR (cardiopulmonary resuscitation) and to experience what its like to be a medical responder on the field.

More than just the drama in the medical field, what I really love about Greys is that when disaster strikes in rainy Seattle, the doctors and medical responders almost always come through at the end of the day.

So, when the opportunity to become a Red Cross volunteer presented itself, I jumped at the chance to live my dream.

But first I had to go through the Red Cross Occupational First Aid and Lay Rescuers seminar. I still remember the moment we were handed our participant kits and the instructor, Rodino Cruz, walked in. It felt surreal.

But I was so into it, I couldnt care less even if each session was seven to eight hours long, and packed with the vital information I needed to pass the course.

Learning CPR

The class learns how to assess a life and death situation

After giving a brief historical background of Red Cross, Cruz discussed its services, its seven fundamental principles, and the Red Cross emergency number, 143.

Then he went straight into the nitty-gritty of basic first aid, some common illnesses, and how to size up and assess an emergency situation.

The highlight was on the discussion of performing hands-on CPR and learning all the intricacies of assessing whether or not a person needs it, and the tedious but delicate act of kneeling and executing at least 15 cycles of 30 compressions on the Red Cross CPR dummy to master this important life-saving skill.

One lasting impression was stressing the importance of blood donations, and the scarcity of blood donors today because of many misconceptions. The truth is, Red Cross promotes state-of-the-art technology that ensures safe, adequate and quality blood supply to save the lives of patientswhich could very well be your own life in the future.

Common sense

We also got to learn about common emergencies, such as bleeding, wounds and burns. We learned about emergency preparedness and how to respond to extraordinary situations such as earthquakes or fires, and how to handle drills.

We learned dozens of bandaging techniques for different types of injuries, and how to perform emergency lifts and moves.

What really struck me was the importance of applying common sense during intense situations. During our practical exam, we committed mistakes in bandaging and lifting that could have been avoided had we not been under pressure.

Cruz emphasized that the most important thing about being a first-aider is to stay calm and think clearly to treat the victim in the best way possible.

D-Day

The seminars final day was the most exciting of all sessions. We joined other aspiring volunteers at the Red Cross Quezon City chapter office to take our final exam and participate in a simulated mass casualty incident (MCI).

We learned about the different jobs and teams that are crucial in an MCI. We were assigned either as rescuers, first-aiders or documenters (I joined the third one).

Once the simulation started, chaos ensued as rescuers scampered around carrying the MCI victims to the makeshift treatment area. Blood was literally all over the place.

We had to treat stab wounds, lacerations, burns and even help a pregnant woman deliver her child. Because of the commotion, I did not even notice that I actually suffered a cut in my arm while trying to save lives.

It was like we were all in our own Greys Anatomy episode, performing the very same tasks that I have watched countless doctors do to save their patients lives.

Saving lives is for everyone

Newly minted Red Cross volunteers in a posterity pose

Seeing different people from different age groups and all walks of life working together toward completing a virtual rescue mission surprised me. It made me look back to the first session and my uncertainty of attending the seminar because I thought I would be the only 16-year-old interested in first aid.

Seeing strangers communicating and working together on even the simplest tasks proved that, when it comes to saving lives, anyone can and must do the right thing.

Saving lives seems a big task only for doctors like my Greys Anatomy heroes, Meredith Grey and Derek Shepherd. But I found out that being a Red Cross Youth volunteer can also go a long way in helping save real lives one day, maybe even tomorrow. CONTRIBUTED

(After attending the Red Cross seminar, the author has embraced her role as Red Cross Youth (RCY) ambassador hoping to convert more students all over the country into life savers.)

For those interested to become RCY volunteers, e-mail the author at juliaRCY@gmail.com

Subscribe to INQUIRER PLUS to get access to The Philippine Daily Inquirer & other 70+ titles, share up to 5 gadgets, listen to the news, download as early as 4am & share articles on social media. Call 896 6000.

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How Red Cross helped me live my 'Grey's Anatomy' dream - Inquirer.net

By Douglas Anele

For example, over seventy percent of his SMC and the General Officers Commanding (GOCs) were northerners. Buharis military dictatorship was so blatantly pro-caliphate that, shortly after the coup, it kept Alhaji Shagari under house arrest at a federal government facility in Ikoyi whereas his deputy, Dr. Ekwueme was thrown into Kirikiri prison.

After less than two years in office Buhari was overthrown and Maj. Gen Ibrahim Babangida (who, like Yakubu Gowon and Murtala Mohammed, promoted himself to General) assumed power. Babangida tried to create the image of a detribalised leader who came to heal the wounds inflicted on Nigerians by Buharis draconian rule.

Nevertheless, he was squarely in the gravitational field of caliphate colonialism. In addition to what had been achieved by his northern predecessors and Obasanjo (a southern agent of the caliphate) in that direction, Babangida took several steps that strengthened the stranglehold on political power by the northern ruling cabal or what Prof. Ben Nwabueze called the invisible government within government. In 1986, he aggravated religious tensions between christians and muslims by attempting to register Nigeria as a bona fide member of the Organisation of Islamic Countries (OIC).

Caliphate colonialists were jolted from their hubristic complacency in April 1990 when Major Gideon Orkar announced in a radio broadcast the end of caliphate domination of Nigeria by excising Bauchi, Borno, Kano, Katsina and Sokoto from the federation. Orkars coup was a misguided but understandable response to the lopsided federation which favoured the north to the detriment of the south, the economic oxygen of Nigeria.

Had the coup succeeded, it could have triggered another civil war whose outcome might be totally different from what happened in the Biafran war. Kingpins and theoreticians of caliphate colonialism learnt nothing from the Orkar coup, because they continued to insist on, and justify with specious arguments, the unjust system that has crippled Nigeria since 1966. One of them, Alhaji Yusuf Maitama Sule, in 1992 proclaimed, among other things, that Northerners are endowed by God with leadership qualities.

The Yoruba man knows how to earn a living and has diplomatic qualities. The Igbo is gifted in commerce, trade and technological innovation. God so created us individually for a purpose and with different gifts. Maitama Sules bizarre argument fits very well with the fatalistic interpretation of individual and communal destiny embodied in the Koran. Little wonder, then, that several members of the northern establishment oftentimes use koranic verses to justify domination of the highest political office by northern muslims and their agentsfrom the south who are willing to serve the interests of the caliphate.

Having survived the Orkar coup, the most far-reaching action by Gen. Babangida to demonstrate his allegiance to the northern military-civilian hegemonists while hiding under the smokescreen of a nationalist was the acrobatic transition programme that eventually ended in a very disappointing and distressing note. In his enthralling account of the annulment of the June 12 presidential election entitled The Tale of June 12, Prof. Omo Omoruyi, former director-general Centre for Democratic Studies (CDS), analysed in details measures taken by several prominent members of the domineering northern establishment to scuttle Babangidas half-hearted attempt to transfer power to a civilian government. The two presidential candidates in the election, despite being muslims, were unacceptable to the caliphate for different reasons. Chief M.K.O Abiola, flagbearer of the Social Democratic Party (SDP), was too rich, too connected and very popular nationwide to be anybodys stooge as President, whereas his opponent, Alhaji Bashir Tofa of the National Republican Convention (NRC)was an obscure businessman from Kano who had no influence on the inner sanctum of caliphate power base. Before the election proper, it was obvious that Abiola would defeat Tofa unless something extraordinary happens (for instance, government- engineered massive electoral fraud). Despite Abiolas contri butions to the growth of Islam in Nigeria, the Sultan of Sokoto at that time, Alhaji Ibrahim Dasuki, Alhaji Aliyu Mohammed, and Gen. Sani Abacha did not want him to be President.

The anti-Abiola coalition also included non-muslims like Lt. Gen. Joshua NimyelDogonyaro and Brig-Gen. David Mark, an indication that agents of caliphate colonialism are not necessarily muslims.To be fair, at the initial stage Babangida was serious about the transition programme notwithstanding the false starts and unforced errors that hampered the process. When some highly-placed elements in the north realised this, they initiated the removal of Chief Olu Falae as Secretary to the Federal Military Government; a Fulani, Alhaji Aliyu Mohammed, was appointed in his stead. From March 1993, Ibrahim Dasuki and Aliyu Mohammed mobilised anti-democratic forces to truncate Babangidas transition programme without considering the efforts and financial resources expended on it already or the repercussions on the polity.

Gen. Babangida himself was afraid for his life:Abacha, Dogonyaro, Mark and other Babangida boys who seem implacably averse to Abiola becoming President might take extreme measures against him if he went ahead and allowed the results of the election to stand that is, if the National Electoral Commission (NEC) announced Abiola as the President-Elect. Moreover, Babangida did not want to offend his friend, Abacha who stood by him in trying times. According to Prof. Omoruyi, Babangida argued that Sani, you know, risked his life to get me into office in 1983 and 1985; if he says that he does not want Chief Abiola, I will not force Chief Abiola on him.

Babangida also quoted David Mark as saying Id shoot Chief Abiola the day NEC pronounces him the elected President. From all this, one can infer that, for the dominant section of caliphate hegemonists, no independent so utherner (independent in the sense of unwillingness to be a puppet to the caliphate) should become President to avoid reversing the British design for continuous northern domination of political power in Nigeria.

Clearly, the sudden emergence close to the June 12 electionof pro-military groups lobbying for the continuation of the military in office, such as the Association for a Better Nigeria and the Third Eye, was a carefully planned strategy Babangida and his cohorts to impugn the integrity of the election as an excuse to annul it.

That was exactly what happened. Gen. Babangida and his officials tried to justify the annulment with spurious reasons, including the ludicrous judgement Arthur Nzeribe obtained from an Abuja high court cancelling the election and debts the federal government owed to Abiola. But the truth is that prominent members of the northern power block did not want a southerner they cannot manipulate to become President, and since they thought that Abiola might be unmanageable it was better for the election to be cancelled. Alhaji Ibrahim Dasuki and some Islamic leaders in the north pleaded with Chief Abiola to allow Allahs will to prevail; that if Allah wanted him to be the President of Nigeria, no mortal could stop him. Dasuki and the persuaders failed to realise that their argument can be used to justify anything, no matter how unjust, evil or atrocious it might be.

Gen. Babangida handed over to an Interim National Government (ING) headed by Chief Ernest Shonekan, after retiring the entire military high command, but for strategic reasons retained Gen. Abacha as minister of defence and chairman, Joint Chiefs of Staff. With Abacha still around, Shonekan lacked real power to govern. On November 17, 1993, the caliphate struck: Abacha forced Shonekan out of office and became head of state. Interestingly, some human rights activists, including Chief Gani Fawehinmi and Ken Saro-Wiwa, welcomed the move, based on Abachas promise that he would rule for a short period before restoring Abiolas inco nclusive mandate.

Of course, Abacha had other plans: it is really amusing that intelligent people like Fawehinmi and Saro-Wiwa even Abiola himself believed for one second that Abacha would keep his word, for there was no way the power-hungry bespectac led general who had earlier opposed Abiolas emergence as President would execute a palace coup and hand over to Abiola. It is therefore not surprising that when Chief Abiola, goaded on by some of his Yoruba kinsmen and overzealous pro-democracy groups, declared himself President at Epetedo in 1994, Abacha jailed him. Gen. Abacha was paranoid about power. He imprisoned anyone he thought might be a threat to his authority: he even deposed and jailed the sultan of Sokoto, Ibrahim Dasuki. In spite of that, Abacha was a hard core caliphate colonialist: he strengthened the lopsided political structure in favour of the north by creating more states and local government areas in the north than in the south.

It is distressing that military dictators and unapologetic agents of caliphate colonialism use prominent southerners, more disappointingly the Igbo, to do their dirty work. We have already noted that Justice Akinola Aguda was used to move the capital away from Lagos to Abuja. Karl Maier, in This House has Fallen, wryly noted the spectacle of two former Biafran wartime propagandists, Comrade Uche Chukwumerije and Walter Ofonagoro, plying their trade on behalf of the Babangida and Abacha dictatorshipsand the young pro-military campaigner, Daniel Kanus comical YEAA, for Youths Earnestly Ask for Abacha . To be continued.

Original post:
The anatomy of Caliphate colonialism (7) - Vanguard

Shortly after midnight last Friday, Ann Nolan, deputy head of the Department of Finance, and two officials working on AIBs flotation hailed a taxi from the Dawson Street base of stockbrokers Davy in Dublin to the home of Paschal Donohoe.

The Finance Minister of just one week had been on standby in Phibsborough all evening, as department officials, investment bankers from Deutsche Bank, Bank of America Merrill Lynch and Davy, divvied out AIB shares to more than 230 international fund managers and 6,500 small investors who had sought access to Europes largest initial public offering (IPO) so far this year.

The Minister made us a cup of tea and we spent an hour with him, said Des Carville, head of the Department of Finances banking unit and official in charge of the flotation, who shared the taxi ride. He had plenty of questions and we walked him through where we were with the deal and the final list of investors.

Armed with Mr Donohoes approval and signature on various documents, the trio headed back to the deals nerve centre in Davy, to finalise paperwork, paving the way for AIB to return that morning to the main stock markets in Dublin and London after a 7-year absence.

It was after 2am before all assembled, including AIB chief executive Bernard Byrne and his chief financial officer Mark Bourke, who had flown in from London that evening, headed home. They wouldnt get much sleep.

Project Viking, two years in the planning, culminated at 7am that morning when the Government confirmed it had sold an initial 25 per cent stake in the most expensive surviving Irish bank to bail out during the crisis, raising 3 billion. As the shares rose by as much as 7.7 per cent in early trading in Dublin, the investment banks underwriting the deal exercised an option to buy a further 3.8 per cent stake from the State and placed it on the market, raising a further 400 million for the exchequer.

The bank that floated was a very different animal to the one that was seized by the State two days before Christmas in 2010 to avert its collapse under the weight of mounting bad debts.

To limit its taxpayer bailout to 20.8 billion between 2009 and 2011, AIB was forced to sell billions of euros of assets including its profitable Polish unit, Bank Zachodni WBK, and 24 per cent stake in US lender M&T Bank and inflict 5 billion of losses on holders of its riskiest, subordinated bonds.

As a ward of the State, the company slashed thousands of jobs and put as many as 2,000 staff into a loan-restructuring unit to work through and restructure a mountain of soured loans, which topped 29 billion in 2013, over a third of its entire loan book at the time.

The fruits of the efforts were apparent in early March, when the group reported its impaired loans had fallen to 9 billion, pre-tax profits came to 1.7 billion for 2016 and that it had sufficient capital in reserve to give regulators comfort for AIB to pay a 250 million dividend.

The market reaction to the full-year 2016 results were very important we assessed it very closely, said Mr Carville. The icing on the cake was getting the dividend. That was very material in terms of AIBs valuation and also [potential investors in] the bank. Suddenly the guys who really like to have income in their investments were very interested in this as well.

While the then minister for finance, Michael Noonan, stuck to a script that he saw two windows to float AIB this year in May/June or in the autumn officials working on the deal were emboldened enough by the London reception and general market conditions to start working towards a deal in early May.

British prime minister Theresa Mays move on April 18th to call a snap election on June 8th put paid to such plans. An announcement on a deal was notionally put back until the end of the month, meaning it would price towards the end of June, leaving investors plenty of time to digest the UK vote.

But no one had counted on a second UK surprise, when it became clear in the early hours of June 9th that Theresa May had failed to return an expected landslide victory and now found herself short of a parliamentary majority 10 days before crucial Brexit talks were due to start.

As markets absorbed the shock outcome, AIBs chief executive, Mark Bourke popped out of his office at the banks headquarters in Ballsbridge in Dublin at 8am to meet Des Carville in a nearby coffee shop. Matters were out of their control at this stage, so they decided to keep a watching a brief on European markets.

At mid-morning, bankers from Deutsche Bank, Bank of America Merrill Lynch and Davy, who were leading the 3 billion share sale, as well as the Department of Finances independent advisers, Rothschild, gathered in Dublin for a pre-scheduled meeting on how the deal was going down.

While feedback from the nine firms working on the deal, including Citigroup, Goldman Sachs, Goodbody, JP Morgan, UBS and Investec and whose analysts had carried out 1,500 meetings with potential investors in less than two weeks, was upbeat, the UK result had thrown a spanner in the works.

By the time the markets had closed on Monday, advisers on the deal felt that issuance of the price range and prospectus could actually be brought forward. Michael Noonan made the call that evening to proceed immediately, setting an initial price range for the shares being sold at between 3.90 and 4.90 each. It would be his last major decision as finance minister, capping six years in office.

At AIB Bankcentre in Ballsbridge, a team in a fourth-floor room in the investor relations department where a wall carried four clocks displaying times in Dublin, Los Angeles, New York and Hong Kong kicked into action, mobilising three teams to market the bank globally.

Robert Mulhall, head of AIBs Irish retail and commercial banking division, was already on the west coast of the US, having attended a Google executive conference in Silicon Valley that weekend, according to sources. Group director of finance and investor relations Myles OGrady flew out to meet him on the Tuesday and begin that leg of the roadshow.

In Dublin, Bernard Byrne, Mark Bourke and investor relations managers Niamh Hore and Rose ODonovan kicked off in Dublin meeting fund managers before heading to London, where they were joined by group chief operating officer Tomas OMidheach.

Meanwhile, group treasurer Donal Galvin, chief economist Oliver Mangan and Janet McConkey of investor relations flew to Singapore to begin the courting of Asian investors before returning to Europe, where they met up with Colin Hunt, head of wholesale and institutional banking.

Within 24 hours of the initial pricing range being set, the investment banks decided to prod potential investors by putting out a notification that they had received enough orders to cover all the shares being sold.

On June 21st, Paschal Donohoe signed off on a narrowing of the price range to between 4.30 and 4.50, and the following morning he allowed managers of the transaction to send out a warning an hour before the order books closed at noon that any bids below 4.40 risked being cut out of the deal.

With the price of the transaction set at 4.40, the three main firms managing the process assembled at Davy at 5pm on June 22nd with Department of Finance officials, including Scott Rankin, Joseph Cummins, Ronan Heavey, Gary Hynds and Elaine McNamara and AIBs Bernard Byrne to go through the allocation of shares to investors.

Some 6,500 small investors would receive 10 per cent of the shares on offer. About 30 per cent of the institutional investors who sought to get on board were refused any shares as they hadnt met analysts or management during the process.

Wed never heard of them. The majority of them, if not all of them, were just momentum traders, who would sell immediately if the stock went up, said Mr Carville. It would have been close to midnight before the allocations were completed.

US investors snapped up a quarter of the shares being sold, with UK-based institutions accounting for a third, with the remainder handed out to investors across Europe and the rest of the world.

The reception in continental Europe wasnt quite as good as elsewhere, said an investment banking source close to the deal. There still is a bit of scepticism in Europe about Irish banks and, indeed, the banking sector in general.

While non-performing loans have come down sharply across Irish banks over the past four years, as the economy rebounded from the crash and lenders restructured problem loans at pace, almost 16 per cent of loans across the sector remain impaired, according to Government figures. Thats three times the European average.

Still, AIB shares jumped 4.5 per cent on the opening of trade in Dublin at 8am last Friday, to 4.60, before rising as much as 7.7 per cent.

Im absolutely satisfied that the 4.40 price was right, said Des Carville, a former corporate financier with Davy, who was hired by the department in 2013 to head the management of the States stakes in bailed-out banks. We lost quite a number of investors at that price, as it was just too expensive for them. Thats the acid test. But, importantly, we also kept equally high-quality investors at that level. But once you went above 4.40, the quality fell off a cliff. Mr Carvilles first congratulatory text of the day came within minutes of trading getting under way, from Richie Boucher, the outgoing chief executive of Bank of Ireland, in which taxpayers continue to own a 14 per cent stake.

He was followed shortly by Jeremy Masding, chief executive of Permanent TSB, which is 75 per cent State owned.

After that, it was around to Doheny & Nesbitts on Baggot Street for 18 members of the departments banking team for a quick celebratory breakfast.

Mr Byrne sent a short video message by email to AIBs 10,400 staff less than half the banks workforce before the crash shortly after 7am.

This marks a really satisfactory conclusion to what has been a long, difficult and complicated process, he said. Everyone should be very proud of what this investment means.

Now we are in a position where the bank that weve been building, the bank that weve asked everyone to believe in is clearly one that investors believe they can invest in.

Before the IPO, AIB had repaid only 3.3 billion of capital pumped into the bank. However, the State had also recouped an additional 3.5 billion in cash from AIB, the most costly bank rescue behind Anglo Irish Bank, by way of interest payments on bailout bonds and guarantee fees.

Mr Donohoe told journalists last week that he was confident the State would recover all of the money injected into the bank, over time. Still, by Michael Noonans previous admission, it could take up to a decade before taxpayers are fully rid of AIB shares.

Meanwhile, Nolan, a key figure on the States bailout and restructuring of the banking sector during the crisis, signalled yesterday she plans to retire at the end of next month

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Inside Project Viking: Anatomy of deal to float AIB - Irish Times

The Seattle Sounders stole a dramatic road point against the Portland Timbers last Sunday in what was their arguably their best effort of the season. Down a man and a goal for the entire second half, substitute Clint Dempsey headed home an equalizer in the 94th minute to stun Providence Park.

The entire sequence, though Roman Torres pinpoint cross to Dempsey, Dempseys towering header and the unlikeliest of goals did not matriculate from nothing. What led to the Sounders game-tying tally was a seemingly inconspicuousdefensive play by Cristian Roldan on Dairon Asprilla.

Nearing the end of the 93rd minute, the Timbers cleared the ball from their own 18-yard-box and found Asprilla in open space on the left side of the pitch. Desperate for an equalizer, the Sounders had thrown almost everyone forward, which in turnleft Asprilla and Fanendo Adi in a 2-on-2 situation with Nouhou and a retreating Roldan.

Rather than sprinting back aimlessly, Roldan defended with purpose, coming in goalside on an angle behind Asprilla.

When Asprilla finally receivedthe ball, his options were limited because of Roldans positioning. Asprilla turnedand facedbackward, attempting to hold up the ball in search of a teammate. He never gets the chance to find one.

Hanging on Asprillas right shoulder, Roldan reached his left leg around Asprilla and poked the ball away. Roldan then quickly led the Sounders back in the ascendancy and left an off-balanced Asprilla on the Providence Park turf.

What Roldans stalwart defending did was not only unbalance Asprilla, but the entire Portland team that had just begun pushing forward to clear its own end in anticipation ofan attack. Roldan recognizedthis and pickedout Osvaldo Alonso wide open in the center of the park.

The Timbers were scrambling at this point, but they were not totally undone until Dempsey set up his own attempt on goal with a simple off-the-ball run that very few players would have had the wherewithal to make.

Alonso hadthe ball and was looking for Dempsey to his right, but he was being trailed by Diego Chara with Ben Zemanski blocking Alonsos passing lane.

Rather than stay put or check back to Alonso, Dempsey saw a pocket of space behind Zemanski and to Zemanskisright. Dempsey ran toward it and by doing so, pulledChara out of position and forcedZemanski to lean in that direction, opening a giant passing lane for Alonso to find the late run ofTorres.

Another reason why Dempsey was able to able to rise and meet Torres cross without much resistance was becausehis run into the box was unimpeded. When the ball swungwide to Torres, Chara shifted his attentionand left Dempsey free to roam.

This left the two Timbers center backs with very little time to communicate on whose responsibility it was to guard Dempsey. By the time they figured it out, Dempsey was jumping over Amobi Okugo and redirecting Torres cross past a helpless Jake Gleeson in goal.

Dempseys finish was a fantastic one and is another example of why hes on the brink of becoming the United States all-time leading goalscorer, but it would not have happened without his subtle off-the-ball movement and a little help from the Swiss army knife that is Cristian Roldan. Goals dont happen in a vacuum. Singular moments of brilliance are always preceded by several small but vital plays, and the Sounders proved that yet again on Sunday.

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Anatomy of a Goal: How Cristian Roldan's defense, Clint Dempsey's movement led to equalizer against Portland - SoundersFC.com