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coochiequeens · 1 year

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I’m not a lawyer but it sounds like the courts threw out a controversial case on the ground that high school students graduated and moved on leaving this for the next group of high schools who call out the bs of competing against bio-males. And their case will be stalled or slow moving until they too graduate.

CNN —

A federal appeals court on Friday threw out a case brought by four cisgender high school girls in Connecticut who claimed the state’s trans-inclusive sports policy violated their civil rights and deprived them of a “chance to be champions.”

The lawsuit, filed in 2020, had been seized on in recent years by state lawmakers and governors pushing anti-trans sports bans, with Republicans citing the claims made by the plaintiffs as they sought to prohibit trans girls and women from competing on teams that match their gender identity.

A federal district court judge dismissed the case in April 2021, saying the girls’ request to block the policy was moot because the two transgender athletes mentioned in the suit graduated in 2020 and there was “no indication” that the plaintiffs would again compete against trans athletes in the state. The district court also said the plaintiffs lacked the procedural threshold – known as standing – needed to bring the suit.

It its Friday ruling, a three-judge panel of the Second Circuit Court of Appeals affirmed the lower court’s decision, writing in a scathing 29-page ruling that the plaintiffs’ claim that the Connecticut Interscholastic Athletic Conference’s policy put them at a competitive disadvantage was unfounded.

“All four plaintiffs regularly competed at state track championships as high school athletes, where plaintiffs had the opportunity to compete for state titles in different events. And, on numerous occasions, plaintiffs were indeed ‘champions,’ finishing first in various events, even sometimes when competing against (Andraya) Yearwood and (Terry) Miller,” the ruling reads, referring to the two trans athletes, who later joined the suit to defend the CIAC policy.

“Plaintiffs simply have not been deprived of a ‘chance to be champions,’” the panel wrote.

The Alliance Defending Freedom, the conservative nonprofit that is representing the plaintiffs, said in a statement following the ruling that they’re “evaluating all legal options, including appeal.”

“Our clients – like all female athletes – deserve access to fair competition,” Christiana Kiefer, the group’s senior counsel, said in the statement. “Every woman deserves the respect and dignity that comes with having an equal opportunity to excel and win in athletics, and ADF remains committed to protecting the future of women’s sports.”

The plaintiffs had argued that the CIAC policy is a violation of Title IX, which bars discrimination on the basis of sex. The policy, they said in the suit, results in “boys displacing girls in competitive track events in Connecticut.”

But the court disagreed with the plaintiffs’ Title IX claim, citing, among other things, a 2020 Supreme Court ruling that said federal civil rights law protects LGBTQ workers.

“Title IX includes language identical to that in Title VII, broadly prohibiting discrimination ‘on the basis of sex,’” they wrote. “Thus, it cannot be said that the policy – which prohibits discrimination based on a student’s transgender status by allowing all students to participate on gender specific teams consistent with their gender identity – ‘falls within the scope of Title IX’s proscriptions.’”

Though conservatives pushing anti-trans sports bans have argued that transgender women and girls have physical advantages over cisgender women and girls in sports, a 2017 report found “no direct or consistent research” on any such advantage.

The Connecticut lawsuit was unique in that it represented a rare instance in which a trans-inclusive sports policy was challenged by cisgender athletes. The legal battles around the issue have largely been brought by LGBTQ advocates, who have in recent years had some limited success in fighting the bans, including last year when a federal judge temporarily blocked West Virginia’s enforcement of its anti-trans sports ban.

“Today’s ruling is a critical victory for fairness, equality, and inclusion,” said Joshua Block, an American Civil Liberties Union attorney who defended the Connecticut policy in court. “The court rejected the baseless zero-sum arguments presented by the opposition to this policy and ultimately found transgender girls have as much a right to play as cisgender girls under Title IX.”

Block added in a statement to CNN that the ACLU hopes the decision “finally puts this case to rest and allows everyone involved to move on with their lives.”

#CNN #those girls aren’t cisgender girls they are girls #title IX #women’s sports are for women #trans athlete es can form their own leagues #Connecticut Interscholastic Athletic Conference’s #Scholarships earmarked for women are at stake #Alliance Defending Freedom #Of course Joshua Black a man thinks it’s ok #American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU)

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africanamericanreports · 3 months

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Gulf Coast Athletic Conference Set to Become HBCU Athletic Conference on July 1, 2024 https://www.africanamericanreports.com/2024/03/gulf-coast-athletic-conference-set-to.html

#hbcu #hbcu news #HBCU athletic conference #hbcu sports #college sports #sports #african american

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globalcourant · 2 years

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Cincinnati, UCF, Houston to join Big 12 in 2023 after reaching deal with American Athletic Conference

NEWYou can now listen to Fox News articles! The University of Cincinnati, UCF and Houston will become members of a Power 5 conference in 2023 after the three schools reached an agreement with the American Athletic Conference Friday to join the Big 12 in 2023. Unlike in other instances of schools bolting for other conferences, it appears the American Athletic Conference and the three schools…

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#American #athletic #Big #Cincinnati #Conference #deal #Houston #Join #reaching #UCF

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hopetorun · 4 months

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matthew asking keith not to talk to the media about him isn't new information (the athletic, 5/10/2023), and as the lede of that story makes clear, keith honored that request:

Matthew Tkachuk put his father in “timeout.” That’s why Keith Tkachuk, an 18-year veteran of the NHL and one of the league’s best American-born players, wasn’t available to talk about his son’s remarkable run that has taken the Panthers from “biggest disappointment” to one win from the Eastern Conference finals. [...] Now, there’s no time for distractions, and Matthew wants to keep a lid on his pops, who informed The Athletic of his “timeout” via text.

that article goes on to quote matthew's mother, sister, family friends, teammates, and coaches and mentors at various levels, so it's safe to say that keith's exclusion is a notable one.

as far as i can recall, the interview last night is the first keith has talked about matthew publicly since, and it wasn't a comment on matthew's performance or his team's play. should keith have said on the broadcast that matthew gave him the silent treatment? hard to say from the outside! i don't think "he didn't talk to me for a bit" gives us any meaningful new information* since we could already infer that he was mad, but i can understand why someone else might want to keep that particular detail private.

i don't bring this up a lot in my fannish posts and comments on tumblr because it's a little bit peeking behind the veil, but the tkachuks have very clearly made being a family the brand. now, that was a low hanging fruit for sure, because the nhl loves father-son narratives and fraternal narratives, but they absolutely lean into it. as a consequence, we know a lot about the family, and can often infer even more. (think brady not quite saying it but boy was it clear that he didn't appreciate matthew interfering with his contract stuff.) they can't just not talk about each other at all, because the story they've woven about themselves requires it. there's no version of this where keith never gets asked about matthew again. i think it's quite impressive how long he's managed to go without commenting on matthew's play. did he even say anything during the conference final?

look, i think there's plenty of things to point to if you want to construct a narrative about matthew and keith not always getting along (especially since no one gets along with each other all the time, perhaps especially not their parents). and there's plenty to dislike or find grating about keith! i also have my own beliefs about where in their relationship there's most likely to be tension, which i'm happy to get into on request but aren't the point of what i'm saying here. and if you're just here to play around with the idea of really contentious father-son relationship and have picked matthew and keith as your paper dolls for this purpose, then who am i to stop you? as one of my dear friends always says, all rpf characterization is fake.

but for me at least, the leap from the information we have to "keith hates and/or disrespects matthew" is a big one.

#*except for the use case of writing rpf where 'matthew gives people the silent treatment when he's mad' is in fact a useful detail #also i wish the athletic let you do gift links like the nytimes; it's such a useful feature #i'll come back and tag this later when it hopefully won't shoot to the top of the tags #sorry 2 any friends whose filters won't catch this #also i am going purely on what other people have said about the conversation #i am not listening to those men speak unless there's a cash prize at the end❤#hockey #matthew tkachuk

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readyforevolution · 5 months

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JACK DANIELS HOLSCLAW (1918-1998)

Tuskegee Airman Jack Daniels Holsclaw was born in Spokane, Washington, on March 21, 1918. His father, Charles, was a clerk in a downtown store, and his mother, Nell, was a manager at Pacific Telephone and Telegraph. Holsclaw attended North Central High School in Spokane, where he excelled both academically and athletically. When he was 15, he became the first black person in Spokane to earn the Eagle Scout badge.

Holsclaw entered Whitworth College in 1935 but transferred to Washington State College (now Washington State University) in 1936 to play baseball. Beginning in his junior year, he played center field and helped the Cougars finish as co-champions of the Northern Division, Pacific Coast Conference. He was the second African American earn a varsity letter in baseball at the college.

In 1939, Holsclaw transferred to a chiropractic program at Western States College in Portland, Oregon, where he met his wife, Bernice Williams. They had one son, Glen. Holsclaw completed the chiropractic program in 1942 and passed the Oregon state board examination.

While there, he enrolled in a government sponsored Civilian Pilot Training Program at Multnomah College and earned his pilot’s license. On October 5, 1942, he enlisted in the army as a private and entered flight school, training at Tuskegee Army Airfield, Alabama. After completing his training, he received his wings and was commissioned as a 2nd Lieutenant on July 28, 1943. Lieutenant Holsclaw received advanced training at Selfridge Field near Detroit, Michigan before his squadron was shipped to Italy in December 1943.

Lieutenant Holsclaw flew in the 100th Fighter Squadron, 332d Fighter Group, an all-black pursuit squadron. Holsclaw named his favorite P-51 “Bernice Baby” in honor of his wife. The 332d Fighter Group had distinctive red tails giving them the nickname “Red Tails.” The 332d Fighter Group escorted bombers on their runs over enemy territory, shielding them from German fighters. To the bomber crews that were protected by them they were the “Red Tail Angels.”

On July 18, 1944, in an aerial battle over Italy, Holsclaw shot down two German fighters. For this action he received the Distinguished Flying Cross. By December 1944, Holsclaw had completed 68 combat missions, nearing the limit of 70, when he became Assistant Operations Officer, an important administrative position that included aerial mission planning. In January 1945, Holsclaw was promoted to captain.

Captain Holsclaw returned to the United States in June 1945 to serve as assistant base operations officer at Godman Field, Fort Knox, Kentucky. He served as an Air Force ROTC instructor at Tuskegee Institute and then Tennessee State College.

From 1954 to 1957, Holsclaw was assigned to Japan, and from May 1962 to the end of 1964, he served as chief of the training division, Sixth Air Force Reserve Region at Hamilton Air Force Base, California. He directed the preparation of two textbooks to guide incoming air force personnel. Holsclaw retired from the Air Force on December 31, 1964 as a Lieutenant Colonel.

From 1965 to 1973 Holsclaw served as a manager in the Marin County Housing Authority, California. In 1973, he and Bernice returned to Washington where Holsclaw joined the staff at the People’s National Bank in Bellevue. He remained there until his second retirement in 1983. He and Bernice took up residence in Arizona, where Jack Holsclaw died on April 7, 1998, at the age of 80.

In August 2019, the Jonas Babcock Chapter, NSDAR, dedicated a historical marker in the memory of Lt. Col. Holsclaw at the site of his childhood home in Spokane.

#jack holsclaw #blacktumblr #black history #black liberation #african history

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bongaboi · 1 year

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Memphis: 2022-23 American Men's Basketball Champions

FORT WORTH, Texas − Kendric Davis not only looked like the best player in the AAC, the Memphis basketball All-American looked like one of the best players in the country.

In the blink of an eye, Davis sent a pair of heat-seeking torpedoes right through No. 1 Houston’s heart. His back-to-back 3-pointers that came 11 seconds apart in the first half let everyone inside Dickies Arena how this Championship Sunday might play out.

The Tigers (26-8) avenged a pair of regular-season losses to the Cougars (31-3), claiming a 75-65 victory – the first AAC Tournament title in program history – and sending the Big 12-bound program out on a sour note. Penny Hardaway’s team led by as many as 19 points, the largest deficit Houston has faced at any point this season. It is the first league title of any kind for the Tigers since 2013, when they won Conference USA.

Davis finished with 31 points.

Memphis will soon find out exactly where it will begin the NCAA Tournament, as the selection show begins at 5 p.m. on CBS.

Houston made a very Houston-like comeback, cutting the lead to 55-50 with 11:03 left in the game. But, if the first half belonged to Davis, a series of second-half clutch moments from senior guard Alex Lomax’s snuffed out any and all hope the Cougars had left.

Up 65-55, Lomax picked Terrance Arceneaux's pocket around mid-court, took off toward his goal (injured groin and all) and got the ball to go down despite being fouled by Jamal Shead. Lomax, after strutting his stuff for a few seconds, added the ensuing free throw for good measure. Lomax also secured a pair of key rebounds (including one offensive board that led to a Malcolm Dandridge field goal) and two assists.

#2023 #american athletic conference #memphis tigers #college basketball #march mardness

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soberscientistlife · 4 months

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Baseball legend Jackie Robinson had an older brother, Matthew MacKenzie "Mack" Robinson (July 18, 1914 – March 12, 2000), who was also a star athlete in his own right. He won a silver medal in the 200-yard dash in the 1936 Olympics — coming in second to Jesse Owens, by 0.4seconds.

Mack was born in Cairo, Georgia, in 1914. He and his siblings were left fatherless at an early age, leaving their mother, Mallie Robinson, as the sole support. She performed in a variety of manual labor tasks, and moved with her children to Pasadena, California, while the children were still young. Mack remained in town for school, and set national junior college records in the 100 meter, 200 meter, and long jump at Pasadena Junior College. In 2016, the 1936 Olympic journey of the eighteen Black American athletes, including Robinson, was documented in the film Olympic Pride, American Prejudice

Mack attended the University of Oregon, graduating in 1941. With Oregon he won numerous titles in NCAA, AAU and Pacific Coast Conference track meets. He has been honored as being one of the most distinguished graduates of the University of Oregon and is a member of the University of Oregon Hall of Fame and the Oregon Sports Hall of Fame.

For a time in the early 1970s, Mack was a park director of Lemon Grove Park, a park in the East Hollywood part of the City of Los Angeles.

Later in life, he was known for leading the fight against street crime in his home town of Pasadena. The Pasadena Robinson Memorial, dedicated to both Matthew and Jackie, was dedicated in 1997. The memorial statue of Jackie Robinson by sculptor Richard H. Ellis at UCLA Bruins baseball team's home Jackie Robinson Stadium, was installed by the efforts of Jackie's brother, Mack.

Several locations are named in honor of Matthew Robinson. In addition to the Pasadena Robinson Memorial, the stadium of Pasadena City College was dedicated to him in 2000. That same year, the United States Postal Service approved naming the new post office in Pasadena the Matthew 'Mack' Robinson Post Office Building.

He died of complications from diabetes, kidney failure and pneumonia on March 12, 2000, at a hospital in Pasadena, CA; he was 85.

Source: African Archives

#black history month

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hopefulromances · 6 months

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roy kent and 26 <3

#26 All American Bitch by Olivia Rodrigo

"I don't get angry when I'm pissed I'm the eternal optimist I scream inside to deal with it, like, "Ah" Like, "Ah" (Oh my fucking God)"

You were everything Roy Kent wasn't. You were smiley, giggly, full of joy and optimism. You were the new coach for the AFC Women's Team and you were everything someone could want in a figure head. You were great with press, always knew when to smile and laugh, great with fans, always taking time with each person, and great with the girls, you were fucking smart.

He couldn't figure out how you could do all of that and still be so fucking smiley. He thought he would hate you. Keeley kept insisting that he should go out with you, that you would surprise him but Roy just didn't get it.

Then he walked in on you in the boot room.

"FUUUUCCCCKKK," You screamed throwing boots across the room. "GODDAMNIT. FUCK FUCK FUCK FUCK."

After a moment, you took a breath, picked up the boots you'd thrown, and turned to leave.

"Well, that was a lot," Roy grunted, quirking an eyebrow.

You yelped when you saw him, throwing a hand over your chest. "Jesus Christ, Kent, you scared me."

Roy threw up his hands. "Sorry, didn't mean to startle you. Was just- Doesn't matter, are you okay?"

"What me? Oh yeah, great, me, just fine," You chuckled humorlessly. "Just another press conference with stupid fucking questions."

Roy nodded understanding. He hated doing those press conferences. He hated them even more now that he was head coach. He didn't know how Ted did them so easily and how he made the press like him effortlessly.

"I mean who really wants to know what brand of athletic wear I'm wearing, like is that something people truly care about?" You continued, shaking your head.

"Fuck no," Roy agreed. "I don't know how you manage to keep all that-" he gestured to the general area "in all the time."

Now it was your turn to quirk an eyebrow. "I mean have you tried? Roy thought about it for a second. No, he hadn't. Never had to, it was encouraged for him to mouth off to the press. "That's what I though. Here's the thing Coach Kent, if I said half the shit you said to the press, I'd be painted as an ungrateful bitch."

Roy suddenly admired you so much. That smile, that optimistic attitude he'd come to hate was your way of protecting yourself. Roy never had to do that. He couldn't imagine being forced to smile all day every day.

"Sound fucking awful."

"s'fucking stressful is what it is," you agreed with a smile. But this was a real smile. Not the fake one you used for the press but a genuine smile that reached your eyes. Roy liked that smile. "But, anyways, I won't keep you, the boot room is all yours."

You moved to walk past him when he reached out and stopped you.

"If you ever want to, you know, fucking, destress together, I know a great kebab place down the street," he said. Fuck he sounded stupid. But however stupid he sounded you must have liked it cause that smile was back and Roy was practically blinded.

"Sounds like a date, Coach Kent," you quipped. "After training today?"

"Yeah, sure, of course," He answered readily.

"Then I'll see you there."

And you were gone and Roy was left wondering what the fuck had just happened.

#hopefulromances 1k celebration #spotify wrapped game #Roy Kent #Roy Kent x reader #roy kent x you #roy kent x y/n

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anygivengameday · 1 year

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Tulsa Golden Hurricane at SMU Mustangs

Sunday, January 1, 2023

Moody Coliseum, University Park, TX

#University of Tulsa #Tulsa #TU #Tulsa Golden Hurricane #Golden Hurricane #Southern Methodist University #Southern Methodist #SMU #SMU Mustangs #Mustangs #Ponies #American Athletic Conference #The American #AAC #NCAA #Basketball

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eretzyisrael · 1 month

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By Benyamin Cohen and Mira Fox

Robert Kraft, the Jewish billionaire donor who Columbia University’s Jewish student center is named after, said Monday that he “no longer” recognized the school and would stop supporting it “until corrective action is taken,” after a weekend of anti-Israel protests on campus led Columbia’s president to take the extraordinary step of moving all classes online out of concern for students’ safety.

Kraft, the owner of the New England Patriots, graduated from Columbia in 1963 and has been a major philanthropic backer of both Jewish life and athletics on campus. His $11.5 million gift led the campaign to create the Kraft Center, which opened in 2000 and serves as headquarters for the campus Hillel.

Tensions remained high Monday near Columbia’s gates at Broadway and 116th Street, where around 100 pro-Palestinian activists gathered. Two yelled “Free Palestine” as they were handcuffed. Many more congregated on the campus inside the gate, which was locked to outsiders.

Your weekly guide through the news and the noise of how rising antisemitism and disputes over how to address it are shaping American Jewish life.Terms(Required)I agree to the Forward'sTerms of Service and Privacy PolicyEmail(Required)

“The recent harassment and rhetoric is vile and abhorrent,” said New York Gov. Kathy Hochul, who visited the school Monday morning. Four Democratic representatives, all of whom are Jewish, held a press conference outside the school Monday afternoon to voice their support. There are roughly 5,000 Jewish students at Columbia, comprising roughly 17% of its student population, according to Hillel International.

The turmoil at Columbia, which has seen ongoing demonstrations against the war in Gaza since the Oct. 7 Hamas attack on Israel, intensified in recent days. Columbia’s president, Nemat Shafik, testified before a congressional committee on Wednesday, where some House members grilled her on the college’s response to antisemitism, while others questioned her commitment to protecting pro-Palestinian speech.

#robert kraft #columbia university

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fannyyann · 1 year

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Matthew Tkachuk, the Panthers’ goalie-goading throwback, delivers hits — and wins — when it counts

by Hailey Salvian and Jeremy Rutherford

Matthew Tkachuk put his father in “timeout.”

That’s why Keith Tkachuk, an 18-year veteran of the NHL and one of the league’s best American-born players, wasn’t available to talk about his son’s remarkable run that has taken the Panthers from “biggest disappointment” to one win from the Eastern Conference finals.

On a Toronto radio station in March, the elder Tkachuk called the Panthers “soft.” By many accounts, that assessment was accurate at the time, and the words seemed to light a fire under the team — as did Paul Maurice’s tirade on the bench the same day during a game against the Maple Leafs.

Florida won its next six games and went 6-1-1 down the stretch to qualify for the playoffs.

Now, there’s no time for distractions, and Matthew wants to keep a lid on his pops, who informed The Athletic of his “timeout” via text.

After upsetting the 65-win Bruins in the first round, the Panthers are the betting favorites to win the Stanley Cup, leading 3-0 in their second-round series against Toronto with a chance at a sweep Wednesday at FLA Live Arena.

And the 25-year-old Tkachuk — in the midst of another career year that would have been MVP-worthy had it not been for Connor McDavid’s otherworldly season — has led the way, from scoring game-winning goals and delivering rousing speeches in the room, to delivering cross checks and goading goaltenders into fights.

He’s the player people love to hate, and he’s building a following of haters as he pushes the Panthers along in the postseason.

And even though the person who’s been most influential in Matthew’s career isn’t talking, others are. The Athletic spoke with a dozen people who for years have tracked Tkachuk’s brand of hockey — he’s a highly skilled agitator (a modest 6-2, 201 pounds) who opponents hate to play against.

Keith — known as ‘Walt,’ a nickname given to him by Winnipeg Jets teammate Eddie Olczyk because his surname was so similar to former Ranger Walter Tkaczuk — was traded to the Blues in 2001. Matthew, only 3 years old at the time, would start playing hockey with a youth program in St. Louis. Let’s just say he wasn’t a phenom.

Chantal Tkachuk, Matthew’s mom: They thought they were getting this ringer of a kid. We went to his first game and he was terrible. He was by far the worst player on the ice.

But that wouldn’t last long. Tkachuk improved steadily, adding a diverse skillset, and working through minor hockey, the U.S. national team program and the Ontario Hockey League.

Jimmy O’Brien, longtime family friend, owns OB Clark’s bar in St. Louis: They had a goal in their backyard, and 50 pucks would be lying in the driveway. Anytime you pulled up to the back of the house, you had to watch from running over the pucks because the driveway was littered with them.

Jon Benne, longtime family friend and strength trainer: I used to take wrist shots at him, and he’d knock them into the net. So when I see him tip a goal in now, I’ve seen that a million times.

Jordan Janes, St. Louis Junior Blues coach (2009-10): Matthew would do some of these between-the-legs (moves) before anybody was doing that. I would always look over at Keith and smile because in my mind I’m thinking, “Holy s— ,” like this is incredible that a 14-year-old is doing this. But you could tell that Keith, who was a “go to the net hard” type of guy, it drove him crazy.

O’Brien: His father told him, “If you ever do that stuff in a game and it doesn’t work, you won’t get off the bench.”

Taryn Tkachuk, sister: He’s not going to do that stuff just to do it. The through-the-legs goal against Nashville, he was like, “There was no way I could’ve shot that regularly.” He practiced that all growing up, so he knows he’s going to be able to do it.

Rob Simpson, assistant general manager of the London Knights: He would try new things all the time. It speaks to how smart a player he is. He was always trying to be creative in different ways to produce or make plays based on what he is seeing against defenders or what they’ve done against him before. He’s always been a creative, out-of-the-box thinker.

There are elements of Tkachuk’s game that can be traced back to the fact that he is Keith Tkachuk’s son.

Don Granato, Tkachuk’s coach with the U.S. National Team Development Program (2013-15): I think you can give some credit to — if not genetics, then just being around his father over the years.

Chantal Tkachuk: When Keith was still playing, they got to go down to the rink, skate after practice. Some of the players would play around with them.

O’Brien: He was a rink rat. He was always hanging around his dad, always going to his practices.

Barret Jackman, Blues defenseman (2002-15): I remember the coaches would have to come by and say, “Hey Walt, practice was supposed to start 10 minutes ago. Can you get Matthew off the ice?”

Benne: Matthew would be sitting on the bench the whole practice, and Keith would come over and say, “Watch T.J. Oshie. Watch how he goes into that corner and comes out.” Matthew would just be sitting there with a helmet on, just absorbing it all.

O’Brien: It’s hard to get a better education in the hockey world than sitting there with professionals and watching them at a young age.

Chantal Tkachuk: Every night, we always watched hockey. The boys would get up before school and the first thing they would do is turn on NHL Network.

Taryn Tkachuk: That was the only thing we really watched on TV. We never really watched other shows on Disney channel.

Chantal Tkachuk: Keith retired in 2010 and stepped away from his career and took almost five years off. In that time, he totally devoted all his time to youth hockey. That happened to align with the most important developmental years of the boys’ lives.

Janes: Keith knew what it took to get there. He demanded a work ethic out of his boys. Goals or not, assists or not, he just wanted to see you work. If you worked, Keith was happy. He knew if you did that, everything else would come.

O’Brien: One of Walt’s favorite things to say is, “Hey, you didn’t win? Play better!”

Taryn Tkachuk: Oh, he says it all the time. If someone didn’t play as well and maybe they’re complaining, like, “The ref did this or that,” or, “The other team wasn’t letting me do this,” my dad is just like, “Play better!” Nothing else. It’s just “Play better!”

Janes: That quote is the most Keith quote I’ve ever heard.

Growing up, Matthew was always competing with his brother Brady (23), and sister Taryn (20). Whether it was roller hockey, basketball or a made-up game they called “trampoline football.”

Benne: Matthew, Brady and Taryn would be on the trampoline, which was enclosed, and I would throw the football in the air as high as I could into the trampoline. It became an MMA wrestling match to see who got the football.

Taryn Tkachuk: I don’t even know how the game got made up. I just remember it being very physical. Literally whoever had the ball, you were about to get decked.

O’Brien: We were playing a two-on-two basketball game, and there were some of the most violent fouls you’ll ever see in your life. I had a bloody nose when we were done.

Taryn Tkachuk: If we were playing basketball, Matthew would never let me just go in for an easy layup. Of course he was going to foul me.

Jackman: I remember during one of the lockouts, Matthew was 15 at the time, and he skated with some of the NHL guys. I went into the corner with him, thinking I was going to play him hard. He tried to reverse hit me, and then he came out of the corner with the puck on his stick. He didn’t back down, even at 15, and I was in my early 30s.

Chantal Tkachuk: The most somebody hates to lose, that would be him.

Tkachuk committed to play at the USA Hockey National Team Development Program a few years before his first season there. But, at 16 years old, there was a learning curve playing with the national team and in the USHL, an under-20 league. In his first USHL season, he scored only 17 points in 33 games. He would double that production one year later in fewer games.

Granato: We knew of his talent, but in his first year, his production wasn’t there.

Nick Fohr, U.S. NTDP associate coach (2013-15): He wouldn’t shoot it. He literally wanted to show off those hands all the time.

Granato: I would tease him a bit. I’d say, “Hey Matthew, do you like to score?” And he’d say, “Yeah.” And I’d say, “No, you like to stickhandle.” He was so good at it, but I needed him to see that he wasn’t going to be that up-and-down-the-rink player.

Fohr: He wanted to have that agitator piece to him because it was kind of ingrained into him at that point, but he wasn’t big enough or strong enough to do any of that stuff at 16 years old.

Chantal Tkachuk: It was the second year in the program. That was the point where we thought he could make it.

Fohr: He played most of his second year with Auston Matthews and Jack Roslovic, which was an unreal line. Auston was the marked man, and Matthew — after being around his dad — was like, well, “Auston is my center, nobody is touching him.” And he started to become that guy. Any little scrum, he was right in the middle of it to make sure that his teammates were taken care of.

Granato: By the midpoint of the second year, he was playing just like he plays in the NHL right now. He was great in the same areas of the ice, great in the same ways.

In the 2016 Memorial Cup Final, the London Knights were in overtime against the Rouyn-Noranda Huskies. Tkachuk, in his first (and only) season in the OHL, took the puck up the left side, toe-dragged around a defender and scored the game-winning goal.

Aaron Berisha, London Knights teammate: At first, it looked like he was on a harmless rush.

Simpson: Matthew could always elevate at the right times.

Robert Thomas, Knights teammate (2015-16), and family friend: We always joked that Christian Dvorak actually tipped it, but obviously Matthew got all the credit for it. Just a big-time player making a big-time play.

Simpson: It’s not just by coincidence that he’s big in the right moments. He puts in the work.

Fohr: He’s in those moments because it’s just who he is. You saw it on the overtime goal against Boston. He knows somebody’s got to go in there and get the puck, somebody’s got to go screen the goalie.

Simpson: He wasn’t the one who shot it in the net, but if he didn’t have the sense and savvy to pop out and screen the goalie, it doesn’t go in.

Fohr: It’s no surprise that you see him do it in overtime in Game 7 because he does it every shift, every game.

Janes: The way Matthew was (growing up) and the way he is today, he will do what it takes for his team to win a hockey game. Period.

Because of his ability to stir up drama on the ice and (at times) cross the line, Tkachuk is one of the most polarizing players in the league.

Fohr: He’s that guy that everybody hates unless he’s on your team.

Benne: I don’t think Matthew came into the league fearing anybody. He just played with that edge, like, “I’m here, I’ve arrived, and look out!”

Granato: He could stoke a situation and get it stoked and get everybody’s emotions running on overdrive. And then, even in a highly emotional state that he stirred up, he will execute where many, many skilled players cannot.

Fohr: If he’s agitated somebody somehow, now a little bit of their focus is on Matthew and it takes just a little bit of focus off what they’re good at and impacts so much of the game.

Granato: It’s like a diversionary tactic, and a highly effective skill that he brings. He’s always ready to score the goal after he disrupts the situation, where other guys just want to take his head off. He never loses sight of, OK, while you’re trying to do that, I’m going to be scoring a goal.

Benne: He’s just going to play hard. He’s going to hit you, and he expects to get hit himself. If you watch that game against Toronto, he hammered two guys, and then he got hammered. Not whining, that’s the way the game goes. That’s the way he plays. He’s pretty fearless out there, but I think he plays right on the line. That’s where he wants to be.

Thomas: It was in full force in London. He’d always find himself mixing it up. He’s feisty and he’s got all the skill in the world. Some people just have it, and he definitely has it.

Berisha: It’s funny when people play against him and say, “Man, I hate playing against him, he seems terrible.” He’s actually one of the best guys ever.

Taryn Tkachuk: Matthew has this switch. Off the ice, he’s a completely different person: super nice, super fun. Once he steps on the ice, the switch just goes off and he puts on these different goggles and just has this compete level that you don’t even know how to explain.

The most common ways to describe Tkachuk: He’s a throwback. He’s a unicorn. He’s just like Keith … and maybe better.

Eddie Olczyk, TNT analyst, former teammate of Keith (1991-96): You see (Matthew) and it’s like turning back the clock 25, 30 years to when we played with each other in Winnipeg.

O’Brien: Walt played in an extremely physical era, and the way Matthew plays is refreshing because it’s a throwback to how it was all the time.

Janes: One thing Keith taught these boys at a young age was, if you want to score, you’ve got to be around the net. They got that right from Keith. They just took it a step further as far as their skillset goes.

Fohr: It’s just a place he’s not afraid to go to. Some players are. They don’t want to go there because it’s a hard area to play in because the D are big and strong. There’s an art to getting there and doing it the right way and Matthew has mastered it.

O’Brien: When Walt was playing, you’d see a big guy out there and you wouldn’t think a guy like that has deft hands. But Walt had sick hands, especially tipping pucks. And that’s one of Matthew’s strengths, too.

Olczyk: Matthew will make a play and you go, “Well, there’s Walt.” It’s eerie, but it’s not surprising that the boys are a chip off the old block.

Chantal Tkachuk: To this day, they tease me because skating has always been Matthew’s deficiency, so they make fun of the fact that I taught him how to skate. Keith will take credit for everything else.

Granato: Matthew plays the same kind of style as his dad. He just does it with more talent.

Fohr: To be a thorn in the side of the opponents and then have that elite ability on top of it, that’s pretty special.

Simpson: It’s very hard to find hockey sense that is that elite but also comes with the poise to make the play when it matters most.

Taryn Tkachuk: He’s literally doing every single aspect of what different players bring in a hockey game. It just makes him so unique.

Benne: Matthew doesn’t care what the media writes about him. Matthew doesn’t care if the fans boo him. Boston is going to hate him now, and Toronto is going to hate him after this series. But that’s what drives him. He wants to perform. He wants to put on a show. But more important than anything, he just wants to win.

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