Netflix’s ‘Russian Doll’ Season 1 ending explained

Warning: Major spoilers for Russian Doll: Season 1 lie ahead.

Russian Doll is a freaking phenomenal bit of television. I laughed. I cried. I got nervous about my cat’s whereabouts, called a friend to say I love them, spent hours curling my hair.

What more could a girl ask for? Well… some answers would be nice.

Natasha Lyonne’s heart-wrenching story of a “broken man” and a “lady with a death wish” traversing numerous timelines to solve a metaphysical mystery sucked me in the moment it started—and its many unsolved mysteries have hung with me ever since.

Russian Doll‘s meticulously crafted details create a mystifying universe with quirks that felt, if not entirely novel, fresh and newly perplexing in a been-there-done-that genre. Each new enigma left with me a sprawling flowchart of questions, some of which are still troubling me.

For example: What do we make of the disappearing fish and people? Puzzling decaying fruit? Oatmeal and Horse’s bizarre connection? The social acceptability of regularly shouting “sweet birthday baby” in a public setting? That vagina door?!

There’s a lot to unpack. And while most of my theories are probably best saved for the Reddit threads I fully intend to obsess over, there are a few big topics we should all get on the same page about right now. Having binged Russian Doll three times back-to-back—like I said, great show!—I humbly offer my flimsy “expertise” to answer (read: wager a guess at) a few big series questions.

What’s the final reality?

If we go off of the “life is like a box of timelines” thesis, both Alan and Nadia lived out each of their deaths in some sense. But after the credits roll, what should we consider the final chain of events in their respective narratives?

I just want these two sweet babies to be okay.

As I see it, both Nadia and Alan live at the series’ end. However, their inexplicable metaphysical linking does not allow them to both survive in the same universe. On the night when Nadia gets hit by the cab, Alan does not jump off the roof. On the night Alan does jump off the roof, Nadia does not get hit by the cab. Put plainly: For Nadia to live, Alan must die. For Alan to live, Nadia must die. And if neither acts to save the other, they will both experience yet another hard bathroom restart.

Presumably in the final reality, Nadia(s) and Alan(s) both live and die although the methods of their deaths are unclear. (I would personally argue they are certainly linked to the first and last iterations of the loops as stated above, but to each their own.) In considering that final scene, however, it doesn’t seem to particularly matter.

What’s going on in the final parade scene?

Russian Doll begins with a party and ends with a party.

Russian Doll begins with a party and ends with a party. As the final moments of the season crescendo, Alan(s) and Nadia(s) walk down the street, finally converging at a tunnel. There they are greeted by a large parade, complete with massive puppets, costumes, lanterns, and our old friend Horse. Nadia and Alan become singular again, passing themselves from other timelines in the crowd to charge bravely into the night. Roll credits.

This final scene is unquestionably vague and has already sparked debate between me and a friend who has seen the series. That being said, if you go by the scene’s visual cues—heavily reminiscent of a Day of the Dead celebration with a few puppets of Nihilist philosophers mixed in, maybe?—this is likely representative of Alan and Nadia crossing over and accepting their deaths together.

So… Is there any chance of a Season 2?

God, I hope not.

Yes, Russian Doll has been widely praised by critics (Mashable’s Proma Khosla included) and fans would love to see more of Lyonne’s fantastic character. But in my mind, a large part of what makes this series so effective is its willingness to walk away from its own “day repeated” premise.

On Nadia’s final day on Earth, she saved Alan from dying by suicide, loved her friends fully, and spoke kindly to an elderly man about his deceased wife. On Alan’s final day on Earth, he saved Nadia from getting hit by a cab, flirted with a stranger on the street, and righted some wrongs involving Mastiff puppies.

While it might seem a bit abrupt, the finality of Russian Doll‘s conclusion is quite fitting. Unlike the ending to the obvious comparison of Groundhog Day, in which Phil Conners thwarts his repeated deaths and goes on to live an improved life, the passing of Nadia and Alan emphasizes the show’s simple, but profound message: Life is far more about the journey than about the destination — and just one shot at it? Well, that should be more than enough.

Russian Doll: Season 1 is streaming on Netflix now.

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Energizer to launch 26 new phones this month. Yes, you read that right

That’s…that’s a lot of phones.

Image: Energizer

By Stan Schroeder2019-02-04 09:31:19 UTC

You may be forgiven for not knowing that Energizer makes smartphones.

The company, known primarily for its batteries (and that bunny ad), actually has quite a few in its lineup, though the devices it sells are mostly niche products: rugged phones, phones with huge batteries and the like.

At this year’s Mobile World Congress in Barcelona, though, Energizer its taking its smartphone lineup a few steps further. The company will announce no less than 26 phones at the show, including a foldable phone and a phone with a pop-up camera and nearly no bezels.

The original announcement from Energizer, who partnered with Avenir to manufacture the phones, didn’t have too many details, but on Friday, GSMArena shared a number of details about some of the upcoming devices.

The Energizer Ultimate U620S Pop, for example, will have a 6.2-inch Full HD screen, a triple rear camera with 16/5/2-megapixel sensors and a dual pop-up camera with 16/2-megapixel sensors — something we haven’t seen before. The phone has 6GB of RAM, 128GB of storage and is powered by the MediaTek Helio P70 chipset. There’s also a fingerprint reader on the phone’s side and a 3,200mAh battery inside.

The Energizer Ultimate U630S Pop has a 6.3-inch screen with 720p resolution and a larger, 3,500mAh battery. It’s powered by a Helio P22 chipset with 4GB of RAM and 64GB of storage, and only has a dual rear camera.

There will also be a couple of “Ultimate” models without the “Pop” moniker, meaning they have a waterdrop notch for the selfie camera instead of the pop-up system. The most interesting of these is the 6.5-inch Energizer Ultimate U650S, with a 16/2-megapixel dual rear camera, a 16-megapixel selfie camera, 4GB of RAM, 128GB of storage and a 3,500mAh battery.

GSMArena also details a couple of cheaper, notched models with weaker specs, likely to be sold at a lower price.

The outlet has no details about some of the most interesting devices announced by Energizer, though. The company said it would also launch a foldable phone (like everyone else this year) and a phone with an insane, 18,000mAh battery.

We’ll be there in Barcelona to check out Energizer’s lineup, which is bound to be interesting. The company’s all-out, guns blazing approach to entering the higher end of the smartphone market is unlike any that we’ve seen so far, though time will tell whether it will pay off in the long run.

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Portuguese shopkeepers using ceramic frogs to ‘scare away’ Roma

Porto, Portugal – Surrounded by baskets of oranges and tangerines, a bright green ceramic frog stands at the entrance of Helena Conceicao’s grocery shop.

“Everybody has frogs here,” she said. “It’s to scare away Gypsies because they are afraid of frogs.”

Similar ornaments have been placed at the entrance of shops, cafes and restaurants all over Portugal.

“No one likes to have Gypsies around,” said Conceicao.

She explained that she is aware that the Portuguese law forbids discrimination, “but I’m not forced to put up with people who steal and cause trouble”.

Ten shopkeepers in Porto admitted to using ceramic frogs to dissuade Roma from entering their shops. Only Conceicao agreed to go on record.

Others secretly recorded by Al Jazeera explained that the frogs were meant to show Roma people that “Gypsies are not welcome”, using language with deeply ingrained prejudice and racial slurs.

Roma communities arrived in Portugal in the 15^th century but were only recognised as citizens in 1822.

It’s so common in Portugal to insult Roma, that it is seen as something normal. What scares me the most is how normalised the prejudice is.

Maria Gil, Roma actress and activist

Persecuted for centuries and subjected to repressive laws, they remain one of the most discriminated-against minorities in the country.

A survey conducted by the European Union Agency for Fundamental Rights (FRA) in 2016 found that 71 percent of Portuguese Roma had suffered an episode of discrimination within the previous five years.

According to the study, Roma continue to face “intolerable levels of discrimination” and unequal access to services.

They are discriminated againstin employment, education and housing, even when entering a shop.

“It’s so common in Portugal to insult Roma, that it is seen as something normal. What scares me the most is how normalised the prejudice is,” Maria Gil, a Roma actress and activist, told Al Jazeera.

Gil tried to boycott shops displaying the “hideous” frogs, but there are so many in her neighbourhood that sometimes she is forced to buy things from them.

“I once counted 13 frogs in shops close to my home, including pharmacies and clinics,” she told Al Jazeera.

Gil, an actor and activist, has campaigned to get shopkeepers to remove the frogs [Marta Vidal/Al Jazeera]

Roma communities in Portugal see frogs as symbols of evil and bad luck.

“Older generations still have a strong superstition about frogs and wouldn’t come close to any shop displaying them,” explained Gil. “But younger generations don’t care. They would refuse to enter shops with frogs because of the racist meaning behind it and not because of superstition.”

The frogs are there to tell Roma they are not welcome. But this form of discrimination is so subtle that shopkeepers can always deny if confronted.

“It is not explicit, so it is very hard for authorities to do anything about it. I don’t think the law will ever recognise it as a racist symbol,” adds Gil.

Leonor Teles, a Portuguese filmmaker whose father is Roma, expressed her outrage in a short film.

In Batrachian’s Ballad, which won the Golden Bear in 2016, she is filmed snatching the frogs from the shops, smashing them on the ground and being chased down the street by angry shopkeepers.

“Her film generated more awareness,” said Gil. “But some people who didn’t know about the frogs found out why they are used. Frog sales actually increased after the film was screened in Portugal.”

Also in 2016, Gil was one of 18 Roma from different parts of the country who participated in a campaign aimed at raising awareness of the discriminatory frogs.

Catia Montes, a Roma firefighter, participated in the campaign in Moura [Courtesy of Rui Farinha]

Organised by photographer Rui Farinha in cooperation with the rights organisation SOS Racismo, the campaign targeted shops displaying frogs in six different cities.

A small group of activists questioned the shopkeepers and talked to them about anti-Roma discrimination.

“We decided to talk about the issue without confrontation. Some shopkeepers didn’t want to talk about it, but eventually, almost all of them admitted they had the frogs to keep Roma away,” said Farinha.

“We had a few bad experiences but, in the end, half of the shopkeepers decided to get rid of the frogs. In one of the restaurants we went to, the owner initially hesitated. But his clients told him he should give the frog away. When he did everyone clapped.”

Supported by the High Commission for Migration, a public institution, the campaign visited 44 shops and convinced half of the shopkeepers to replace the frogs with signs saying “open to everyone” and “closed to prejudice”.

Farinha believes the campaign’s less confrontational approach helped change the shopkeepers’ attitudes.

Teles’ film, he said, was “very provocative”, but also an important way to “tackle the subtle racism that is so prevalent in Portugal”.

Most Roma live below the poverty line and are not informed about their rights. There is also a lot of resignation; many Roma don’t complain because they don’t think complaining will change anything.

Marta Pereira, anti-racism activist

According to a report published in 2018 by the European Commission against Racism and Intolerance, hate speech and racism are present in public discourse in Portugal and aimed in particular at the Roma minority and black people.

Last December, an elected official of Porto’s municipality was ordered to pay a fine for racial discrimination after blaming “Romanian Gypsies” for theft and littering near his home, an accusation he posted to his Facebook page.

For Marta Pereira, an SOS Racismo member and veteran anti-racism activist, it was a landmark case of a public figure being fined for discrimination, but it was not enough.

“There are a lot of complaints of anti-Roma racism, but no independent organism that could investigate them, and there are rarely any consequences,” she said.

“Most Roma live below the poverty line and are not informed about their rights. There is also a lot of resignation; many Roma don’t complain because they don’t think complaining will change anything.”

In 2013, Portugal adopted a National Strategy for the Integration of Roma Communities, which included several measures to address exclusion and discrimination. But, according to Pereira, these measures have not been successfully implemented.

“Roma continue to lack access to housing and jobs. They have been discriminated for 500 years, and even though they are citizens, they are constantly denied their rights. The government’s plan is not enough to address the structural problems that Roma face.”

Roma rights activists in Gondomar [Courtesy of Rui Farinha]

A survey conducted by the High Commission for Migration counted 37,000 Portuguese Roma, but the numbers are estimated to be higher because not all areas were included.

Like France, Portugal does not collect ethnic or racial data.

Pereira argued that the country’s “racial colour-blindness” makes it impossible to prove institutional racism.

But this might change in 2021 when the national census is expected to include questions on ethnicity and race.

“In Portugal, there is a perverse form of structural racism that is never acknowledged,” said Gil, the actor and activist.

The Roma activist argued that minorities are often blamed for their own marginalisation.

She said that some of her family members have hidden their Roma identity in order to keep their jobs.

“I’m also often told I should stop being so vocal about Roma rights because no one will hire me again,” she said. “But as activists, we won’t stop. We can’t stop.”

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Was Jared Goff’s Super Bowl Performance a Cause for Concern?

Jared Goff (16) de los Rams de Los Ángeles reacciona tras la intercepción de su pase durante el segundo tiempo del Super Bowl ante los Patriots de Nueva Inglaterra, el domingo 3 de febrero de 2019, en Atlanta. (AP Foto/Mark Humphrey)

Mark Humphrey/Associated Press

ATLANTA — The most important game of Jared Goff‘s life was a dud.

The 24-year-old Los Angeles Rams franchise quarterback posted the second-lowest passer rating of his third NFL season in a shockingly anemic performance as the Rams laid a Super Bowl LIII egg in Atlanta. His team managed just a single field goal in a punt-fest—marking the first occasion since Goff was a rookie that the usually high-powered Rams offense was held to fewer than six points.

And while Goff put together a strong 2018 season on paper, this was yet another red flag for the 2016 No. 1 overall pick.

Does Goff lack the big-game fortitude required for a quarterback to achieve NFL greatness?

It’s not as though this was his first underwhelming rodeo. Goff’s lowest-rated performance of the 2018 campaign also came in a critical spot when the Rams were battling the New Orleans Saints for the NFC’s top seed. He completed just 20 of 44 passes and threw four interceptions and zero touchdowns in a 15-6 Week 14 loss to the Chicago Bears.

One week later, he struggled again in a crucial home loss to the Philadelphia Eagles. And after completing just 19 of 38 passes for 229 yards, zero touchdowns and an interception in Sunday’s 13-3 Super-debacle against the New England Patriots, Goff’s career playoff completion percentage has dropped to 55.0 and his postseason passer rating has sunk to 73.6.

The reality is Goff padded his numbers a tad this season with big games against weak defenses. He clammed up in Seattle, Denver and Chicago during the regular season, and—outside of the occasional impressive completion—he looked overwhelmed and intimidated in the team’s NFC Championship Game victory over the New Orleans Saints and in Sunday’s Super Bowl defeat.

This was a painfully winnable game for Goff and the Rams. The defense held Tom Brady and the New England offense in check all night, but Goff reacted and released at an unacceptably slow rate when he had receiver Brandin Cooks wide-open in the end zone in the third quarter:

Dov Kleiman @NFL_DovKleiman

Jared Goff had a touchdown, WIDE OPEN to Cooks but waited too long.

https://t.co/mq4IKMMaZq

That’s a can’t-miss moment for an NFL quarterback and a play every professional passer needs to make.

Goff just didn’t have it in him.

That was also the case later on that drive when he failed to quickly progress to his second read in the face of immense pressure, couldn’t locate an open receiver underneath and took a nine-yard sack that almost took the Rams out of field-goal range.

That was one of four sacks against Goff, and it wasn’t the only one that was avoidable. Just take this third-down play from the second quarter where he had Tyler Higbee open in the flat but failed to let go of the ball:

Cougs in the Pros @BYUpros

Kyle Van Noy gets to Goff for a sack!! https://t.co/KQW9XVeLc7

Despite all of that, Goff had a chance to redeem himself with the Rams down seven points in the final five minutes. The Rams were inside the New England 30-yard line for just the second time all night. It was the sort of moment legends live for, the sort of moment in which legends are made.

And Goff responded by throwing a back-footed duck interception into the hands of Patriots cornerback Stephon Gilmore:

Roto Street Journal @RotoStJournal

Jared Goff picked off by Stephon Gilmore!! #EverythingWeGot #SBLIII https://t.co/GDYmPWSLql

“It’s my fault,” he said of that game-icing gaffe afterward. “I can’t put us in that situation.”

It didn’t help that the Rams once again struggled to run the ball while inexplicably neglecting to fully utilize All-Pro running back Todd Gurley, but Goff personally choked on several vital throws for an offense that converted just three third downs all evening.

Following the loss, I asked Goff if he was more nervous than usual coming into this game.

“I felt great,” he said. “I felt excited.”

But he didn’t look great, and it’s possible to be excited and nervous at the same time. What if he simply lacks the nerves of steel required of a Hall of Fame quarterback?

Both Goff and 33-year-old Rams head coach Sean McVay stated late Sunday night that they and their young team would learn from this, and it’s entirely possible they will. But the Patriots are an exception to NFL norms, and there’s also a decent chance Goff and the Rams won’t get back to this stage anytime soon. There’s plenty of change potentially on the horizon for an organization that has lofty decisions to make regarding several key players.

They don’t yet have to decide anything when it comes to Goff, whose rookie contract runs through 2020 when you include the fifth-year option. But if he continues to fall flat in major moments over the course of the next two years, and if he and/or the Rams regress (or even fail to progress) in the fall of 2019 and beyond, plenty of questions will be asked about whether he’s got what it takes to reach superstardom.

Brad Gagnon has covered the NFL for Bleacher Report since 2012.

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Elon Musk shows off SpaceX’s Starship Raptor engine firing

Who knew seeing a rocket fire up close could be so pretty?

On Sunday, SpaceX CEO Elon Musk shared photos and video of the company’s Starship Raptor engine firing in its first ground test.

A still shows a kaleidoscope of colours streaming from the engine, although that could be just the camera not quite keeping up with the fire’s intensity.

“Green tinge is either camera saturation or a tiny bit of copper from the chamber,” Musk added in a tweet.

Two videos show the full force of the rocket.

SpaceX has been developing its Raptor engine for years, but the latest iteration has been radically redesigned, according to a tweet from Musk in December.

Sunday’s test firing comes after Musk gave us a glimpse of the Starship’s first test vehicle in January, which will be used for suborbital take-off tests from SpaceX’s facility in Texas as soon as February.

The Starship, formerly known as the BFR, is slated to replace SpaceX’s existing family of vehicles. It will be used for a moon mission carrying Japanese billionaire Yusaku Maezawa and a group of artists, which aims to takeoff in 2023.

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Meet one of Lebanon’s smallest Syrian refugee communities

Ashqout, Lebanon – In a small town called Ashqout, not far from one of Lebanon’s most famous and lavish ski resorts, Faraya village, is an informal Syrian refugee settlement.

The camp, in the predominantly Christian region of Mount Lebanon, houses 42 people who fled Aleppo in 2014 to Lebanon’s Bekaa Valley in the north.

A year later, they decided to move to Ashkout, hoping to find better work opportunities.

“The conditions in the Bekaa were terrible,” Alaa al-Hamidi, one of the Syrian refugees living in the camp, told Al Jazeera, before adding that living among in a smaller community has been “safer”, especially for the women in his family.

“The first camp we arrived at was heavily populated and our women couldn’t move freely or spend time outside the tent,” he said.

While life there may be safer, al-Hamidi said economic conditions are just as bad in Mount Lebanon. Syrian refugees in Lebanon can only obtain work permits to work in the agriculture and construction sectors.

Like the rest of the community, he works in the tomato fields for six months. For the remaining half of the year, the father-of-two waits for the fields to defrost.

“In the summer, we work in the landowner’s tomato fields but during the winter we have no work,” the 26-year-old said.

Working in the fields is the only way the community is able to afford their stay and pay rent for the eight tents that house them.

In the summer, we work in the landowner’s tomato fields but during the winter we have no work

Alaa al-Hamidi

Ashqout’s refugee community say the United Nations refugee agency (UNHCR) has not been assisting them for the past three years.

Upon moving to the area, they were provided with tarpaulins and wood to support the tents’ structures. But following two almost consecutive winter storms that hit the country last month, residents are demanding new material to renovate, as many of their tents have been damaged by rain and snowfall.

Rateb al-Hamidi, Alaa’s older brother, said his tent collapsed onto his family of four during the first storm, dubbed Storm Norma. The community helped rebuild his shelter but he said more needs to be done to protect the fragile structures from collapsing again.

According to the UNHCR, 574 campsites, housing more than 22,000 people, were affected by Storm Norma.

The tents have either completely collapsed or were flooded with rain and wastewater from nearby septic tanks.

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People think Adam Levine’s Super Bowl singlet looks exactly like their home decor

Maroon 5’s Adam Levine performs at the Super Bowl LIII in his tank top pre-nipple controversy.

Image: Mark Humphrey/AP/REX/Shutterstock

By Shannon Connellan2019-02-04 05:48:56 UTC

One of the best things about the Super Bowl LIII halftime show was everyone making fun of Maroon 5, but one particular reason proved closer to home than others.

Frontman Adam Levine donned a patterned tank top for the performance on Sunday, and before he took it off mid-performance (a nipple-baring move that didn’t get him in trouble unlike Janet Jackson), some noticed they’d seen this pattern before.

Twitter user Morgan Jordal‏ posted an image of Levine’s singlet side-by-side with some “70s home decor.” It’s pretty spot on.

Soon enough, others noticed the pattern in armchairs, throw pillows, and curtains.

Pretty close. Levine didn’t wear the couch pillow patterned singlet for long though, removing it during the set with the ease and privilege lended to someone who isn’t going to be blacklisted by the NFL for getting one’s nipples out. Lucky for him.

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Julian Edelman Solidified Hall of Fame Career with Super Bowl MVP Performance

New England Patriots' Julian Edelman holds the trophy after the NFL Super Bowl 53 football game against the Los Angeles Rams, Sunday, Feb. 3, 2019, in Atlanta. The Patriots won 13-3. Edelman was named the Most Valuable Player.(AP Photo/John Bazemore)

John Bazemore/Associated Press

Given that the Pro Football Hall of Fame announces its annual class the week of the Super Bowl, it’s hardly surprising that the candidacy of the players taking part in football’s biggest game would be a topic of discussion leading up to game time.

This year was no different, and earlier this week, the internet buzzed with arguments for and against the worthiness of New England Patriots wide receiver Julian Edelman. On Sunday night in Atlanta, Edelman made his own case.

It was a compelling one—in scorching the Rams with 10 catches for 141 yards and helping spur the Pats to a record-tying sixth Lombardi Trophy while winning MVP honors, Edelman solidified his status as a legitimate contender to be enshrined in Canton, Ohio, one day.

Chuck Burton/Associated Press

Boomer Esiason of CBS Sports got the brouhaha started in earnest last week when he called Edelman a Hall of Famer while talking to WEEI Radio.

“Is Julian Edelman not a Hall of Famer? I know his numbers in the regular season don’t add up to Antonio Brown, AJ Green or Julio Jones,” Esiason said, “but his numbers are awesome in the playoffs. He’s right behind Jerry Rice. Considering these guys are still doing it, he might get a few more years in the playoffs to add to those numbers. The guy is clutch in the biggest of games. I don’t know what else to tell you. He is, in my eyes, truly the definition of a Hall of Famer: make the play when the play needs to be made in the biggest games to win the game.”

That radio interview gave rise to a Twitterstorm of back-and-forth and plenty of articles both for and against Edelman’s Canton-dacy.

Can we call that a word now?

Outside of the Boston metro area, the majority seemed to believe that while Edelman is a very good player, he’s not worthy of serious consideration as a Hall of Famer.

In fact, some went so far as to say he’s not even the best slot receiver of the Tom Brady–Bill Belichick era in Boston.

Those detractors made some valid points. In nine NFL seasons since being drafted in the seventh round in 2009, Edelman has never been named an All-Pro or even selected to the Pro Bowl. Just twice in those nine seasons did Edelman top 1,000 yards. Only once did he exceed 100 catches. And the former collegiate quarterback has never so much as finished in the top 10 in receiving yards in a season.

That settled that.

And then Super Bowl LIII happened—and we were all reminded that Edelman’s so much more than just his raw stats.

Patrick Semansky/Associated Press

In a game choked with stars at the game’s skill positions, it was Edelman who stood head and shoulders above everybody else. All night long Edelman essentially got open at will, running razor-sharp routes, catching just about everything thrown at him and beating the Rams inside and out—underneath and down the field.

The Rams knew Edelman was killing them. And there wasn’t a thing they could do about it.

In hindsight, Edelman’s explosion shouldn’t have been as surprising as it was. He’s made a career of making the big catch when Brady needs him to the most—like his ridiculous grab in the fourth quarter of Super Bowl LI.

NFLonCBS @NFLonCBS

The story of Super Bowl LI is the tale of an unforgettable comeback.

Julian Edelman recounts his impossible catch that helped the Patriots make “28-3” part of sports history. https://t.co/enqYpP2gqM

He’s also made a habit of stepping up in the biggest of games. Super Bowl LIII marked the second time this postseason and sixth time overall that he’s topped 100 receiving yards in a playoff game. Four of those outings have come in his last two postseasons.

Among all NFL receivers, only Jerry Rice has more catches or receiving yards in the postseason than Julian Edelman.

The game capped an outstanding rebound season for Edelman, who missed all of the 2017 season (and the team’s loss in Super Bowl LII) with a torn ACL.

After the game, Edelman told the NFL Network that he treated Sunday’s game the same way he did all of this season—as an opportunity to overcome adversity.

Patrick Semansky/Associated Press

“Tough times don’t last,” Edelman said. “Tough people do. When you keep your head down, and you work hard, and you don’t worry about the noise and what everyone’s telling you and what everyone’s saying, and you worry about things you can control—good things happen.”

That’s just about the most Edelman quote ever. The mantra of a true grinder.

As the confetti settled at Mercedes-Benz, Adam Schefter of ESPN fired up the discussion again on Twitter—and was mostly roasted for it.

Adam Schefter @AdamSchefter

As the MVP of this year’s Super Bowl, Patriots’ WR Julian Edelman is playing himself into a spot in Canton in the Pro Football Hall of Fame.

No, Edelman’s career numbers in the regular season aren’t especially impressive. In nine seasons played, Edelman has 499 catches for 5,390 yards and 30 scores. On the surface, those numbers aren’t blowing anyone away.

But Edelman’s value to the greatest dynasty in modern NFL history goes well beyond the numbers. The Patriots aren’t a team that’s going to target a receiver over and over and over—unless he’s open. The ball is going to be spread around. The game plan can vary wildly from week to week.

And to his credit, unlike many high-end receivers, Edelman has never pouted if he wasn’t regularly targeted 15 times a game.

But seemingly every time the Patriots have ever needed a big game or big catch from Edelman, he’s delivered—especially on the biggest stages.

If you think that postseason success and heroics can’t get a player most of the way to Canton, then you’ve never seen the entire list of inductees.

The Welker vs. Edelman debate is that of big numbers in the regular season vs. success in the playoffs. And in any event, it’s not an either/or proposition—cases for induction can be made for both.

Patrick Semansky/Associated Press

No one’s saying Edelman’s a first-ballot inductee. Or even a lock to get in. He’s going to need to finish his career strong. Some more big games in the postseason would certainly help.

And the Edelman vs. Calvin Johnson argument was…stop. Just please…stop.

But dismissing Edelman’s greatness simply due to a lack of gaudy statistics is just as foolish as comparing him to Megatron. Without elite size or elite speed or elite anything, Edelman has carved out a fantastic career as an integral part of a Patriots team that has been to four of the last five Super Bowls and will no doubt open 2019 as the favorites to represent the AFC in Miami.

In an era where the slot receiver position has truly come into its own as a vital part of offensive success, Edelman has shown time and again to be the best in the game.

So, dismiss Edelman’s Canton credentials at your own risk. Very few people expected him to ever amount to much as a pro. Fewer still thought he’d be the MVP of the Super Bowl one day.

If you made that wager Sunday, congrats on that 20-to-1 payday.

Julian Edelman has made a career of exceeding expectations—by surprising people.

And after Sunday’s heroics, it’s increasingly likely that his last surprise in the NFL will be a beige jacket.

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‘Don’t send me to Bahrain!’: Hakeem al-Araibi fights extradition

Bangkok, Thailand – After weeks of detention in Bangkok’s Klong Prem Remand Prison, refugee footballer Hakeem al-Araibi has appeared at Thailand’s criminal court to fight extradition to Bahrain, the country he fled from in 2014.

“Please don’t send me to Bahrain!” he shouted on Monday morning, as he walked off the prison bus barefoot, his feet shackled.

Later, in a crowded courtroom filled with international diplomats in a show of support for the 25-year-old, al-Araibi denied all allegations against him and told the judge he feared being tortured if he was sent back to Bahrain.

In 2014, Bahraini authorities sentenced him in absentia to 10 years in prison for allegedly vandalising a police station.

Hakeem al-Araibi walked off the prison bus barefoot, his feet shackled [Jorge Silva/Reuters]

The footballer, a former member of Bahrain’s national team, has denied the accusation, saying he was playing a televised match at the time.

He fled to Australia in 2014 after hearing of his sentence, saying he had been tortured in Bahrain when he was arrested two years earlier, allegedly for his brother’s political activities during the 2011 Arab Spring uprising.

In Australia, which granted him political asylum in 2017, al-Araibi started playing as a defender for Pasco Vale, a Melbourne-based semi-professional club.

‘Cruel and cynical extradition request’

At Monday’s court hearing in Thailand’s capital, the ruling judge denied bail but agreed to a defence request to file a formal petition opposing extradition by April 5.

An arraignment date was set for April 22, when a witness list and trial date will be confirmed.

Al-Araibi’s court appearance came more than two months after being arrested at Bangkok’s Suvarnabhumi airport by Thai police, who were acting on an Interpol “Red Notice” issued by Bahrain.

The footballer and his wife had just flown from Australia to begin their honeymoon.

Since his arrest in November last year, prominent rights groups have been calling for his immediate release and return to Australia.

“The Thai authorities should stop all proceedings relating to this absurd, cruel and cynical extradition request,” Katherine Gerson, Amnesty International’s Thailand campaigner, said in a statement on Monday.

“It is well known that Hakeem survived torture in Bahrain and that his relatives continue to face persecution there. Hakeem and his wife have found sanctuary in Australia; he should not spend another day in detention and should be allowed home, to Melbourne, immediately.”

‘Why is Bahrain doing this?’

Bahrain has a history of human rights abuses, according to the US State Department’s Country Report on Human Rights Practices.

The report indicates instances of “arbitrary or unlawful killings by security forces; allegations of torture of detainees and prisoners; harsh and potentially life-threatening conditions of detention; arbitrary arrest and detention”, among others.

The Asia Pacific Refugee Rights Network (APRRN), a network of hundreds of civil society groups committed to advancing the rights of refugees in the Asia Pacific region, has also been highly active in supporting al-Araibi’s case.

Evan Jones, programme coordinator at APRRN, has been working closely with the footballer, as well as the Australian government and world football governing body FIFA to ensure his safe return to Australia.

“Any move by the Thai government to extradite Hakeem would seriously tarnish Thailand’s reputation as a country that abides by fundamental international human rights principles,” Jones told Al Jazeera.

Jones said al-Araibi has not been able to sleep properly for days and has fallen sick from being in an overcrowded prison.

He says al-Araibi told him recently: “Why is Bahrain doing this? They don’t respect human rights. I have been tortured before and they will do it again.

“I am a refugee and I live in Australia. I want to go home to Australia I don’t want to go to Bahrain. Why won’t Thailand just let me go home?”

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Jared Goff on Super Bowl 53 Loss to Patriots: ‘It Kills. It’s Terrible.’

Mark Humphrey/Associated Press

Los Angeles Rams starting quarterback Jared Goff struggled mightily in the team’s 13-3 loss to the New England Patriots in Super Bowl LIII on Sunday night, and after the game, he spoke about his disappointment.

Tom Pelissero @TomPelissero

Jared Goff at the podium now. Says this hurts him so much, knowing how well the #Rams defense played. “Toughest loss I’ve ever had. It kills. It’s terrible.” https://t.co/pSSKZdaHI9

“It hurts me knowing how well our defense played, against that team, against Tom, and us not holding up our end of the bargain,” he added, per Michael David Smith of Pro Football Talk. “It’s our job to score points and we didn’t do that tonight.”

Goff, 24, finished 19-of-38 (50 percent) for 229 yards, no touchdowns and an interception. He was sacked four times, and his fourth-quarter interception was particularly ill-advised and left the Rams with slim chances of coming back in the game.

The reviews were not kind for Goff after the game:

Frank Isola @TheFrankIsola

Never believed for a minute Jared Goff was beating Bill Belichick.

Skip Bayless @RealSkipBayless

Congratulations also to Bill Belichick, whose defense played its best game of the season. Yet it helped that the opposing QB was Jared Goff. This stage was just too big for him for much of this night.

Booger @ESPNBooger

Goff has to get better. Right now he is a play action qb. And when the run game isn’t working by in large Goff struggles.

Bill Belichick and the Patriots put on a clinic, the sort that Goff and his head coach, Sean McVay, won’t soon forget. The Rams have the talent to return to the Super Bowl in the future, but only if they address the offensive weaknesses that were exposed on Sunday night.

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