Latest news with #Speights
NZ Herald
01-07-2025
- NZ Herald
Steve Braunias: An ode to Auckland
Steve Braunias: "Auckland is never the road less travelled. Every road is glued with traffic." Auckland held the two of us in a state of awe. We drove – very well, she drove; I sat in the passenger seat, the closest I have ever come to the action in my long non-driving life – across the isthmus on a recent Thursday afternoon, in the smoky light of winter, father and daughter having nothing better to do than hang out with each other in traffic. I was so happy. Our outing felt like a family holiday. We chatted about travelling to England together one day and I imagined that we were already tourists in somewhere like Cornwall or Yorkshire. In fact, we were headed for East Tāmaki. Auckland has it all, as in it has all the sticky mangrovial creeks you could ever want, creating a giant kind of wetland interrupted by housing. No, she said, she never gets homesick. She loves Dunedin. She wears Speights jerseys to Highlanders games – she was shown on the big screen at one game, cheering, an avid blonde fan raised in West Auckland on the Te Atatū Peninsula. I suggested we drive out that way or maybe Henderson. She suggested East Tāmaki. Her cousin Nina told her it had great op shops. I would have said yes to anywhere. I am forever haunted by thoughts of parents who never see their kids, who don't know their kids – the scariest word in the English language is estranged. Auckland is never the road less travelled. Every road is glued with traffic, a city of automobiles often not very mobile at all, stuck on motorways and at the lights – but such is the price you pay for living in New Zealand's best and biggest city, with its grassy volcanic cones and hibiscus blooming pink and orange even in winter. We headed south. East Tāmaki is veering towards the airport. She asked what I'd like to listen to and I said Taylor. She sang along to Fearless beneath the flight path. Auckland is many Aucklands, moneyed and broke, living in mansions and in TENANTS PARKING ONLY units, cocktails at harbourside and sitting with a cup of tea on front porches watching trains rattle past their fence. East Tāmaki was something else altogether. It was six-lane highways with warehouses on either side. No one walked the pavements. I saw one person in a bus shelter – he looked as though he'd been waiting there for five or six years. We shopped and chatted, travelled and chatted, played Red and chatted. All parents develop patterns and languages with their kids; I tried to get us back to our old reliable dynamic, in which I play the idiot and she scolds my stupidity, but she had got too old for it. She wanted actual conversation. Auckland is 1.65 million people (2023 census), including the happy Vietnamese woman who manages Country Roast next to the SPCA op shop in East Tāmaki. I ordered chips and a cup of tea, and got to talking. She said she worked from 9am until 9pm, six days a week. She had two kids, aged 16 and 13. 'They say, 'We never see you!' But we spend Sundays together.' I asked, 'Doing what?' She said, 'Drives.' I was lucky. I had a carefree Thursday to share with my kid, 18, on the yellow brick roads of Auckland's damp, magical Oz. Auckland twilight has a fragile beauty in winter; in East Tāmaki, the sky sad and lonesome above Shower Solutions and Universal Granite Ltd. We headed home. I asked, 'What are the five most monumental moments of your life?' Her answers were like an edited highlights package of a happy childhood growing up in pretty, ambitious, desperate, watery, hard-working, hanging-in-there, traffic-jammed Auckland.
USA Today
27-06-2025
- Sport
- USA Today
Rams' 25 most important players for 2025 –\u00a0No. 25: LB Omar Speights
Speights has a chance to make a name for himself in Year 2 with the Rams There are just 25 days until players report for Los Angeles Rams training camp at Loyola Marymount University, which means guys will be back on the field practicing in just over three weeks. With training camp approaching, we're counting down the most important players on the Rams' roster this year. This isn't necessarily a ranking of the best players by skill, but rather how valuable and irreplaceable they are. In other words, if a player were to get hurt, how badly would that loss hurt the team? Kicking off the list at No. 25 is a former undrafted linebacker who went from earning a roster spot after just two preseason games last year to becoming a starter down the stretch. Yes, it's Omar Speights, one of the young bright spots on Chris Shula's defense. How he got here The Rams signed Speights as an undrafted rookie out of LSU last year, giving him a chance to compete for a roster spot in the summer. Thanks to standout performances in practice and the first two preseason games, Speights made the team without even needing to prove himself in the final exhibition game. 2024 stats 17 games (10 starts): 67 tackles, 2 TFL, 2 passes defensed – PFF grade: 66.8 (77th/189 LBs) Projected role There's no surefire starter at inside linebacker for the Rams, which makes this position so difficult to project. Nate Landman, Chris Paul Jr. and Troy Reeder will all be competing for snaps, as well, so the Rams have options – even if none of them elicit overwhelming confidence. Speights is a returning starter and has an even clearer path to playing time this year with Christian Rozeboom gone. We're projecting him to be one of the two starters at linebacker, likely alongside Nate Landman initially. He could even wind up being a three-down player for them if he improves in coverage, thus helping keep him on the field in obvious passing situations. Why he's important The Rams need someone to step up at inside linebacker this year and Speights is a strong candidate to do just that. He has experience in Shula's system, which gives him an inside track to a starting job. And while he's hardly a speed demon in the middle of the field, he does a good job flowing to the ball and avoiding blockers – better than someone like Reeder. His instincts are also good, allowing him to diagnose plays and shoot gaps when the opportunity presents itself. Those are things you can't really teach, increasing Speights' value to the defense. Inside linebacker is viewed as the Rams' biggest weakness, partly because the team doesn't prioritize it as highly as other positions. But if someone like Speights can step up and take command, it could be a game-changer. Follow Rams Wire on X, Facebook and Threads for more coverage!
USA Today
26-05-2025
- Sport
- USA Today
Sixers draft history: Mo Speights selected No. 16 overall back in 2008
Sixers draft history: Mo Speights selected No. 16 overall back in 2008 With the NBA draft right around the corner, now is the time to look at some past drafts and see what the Philadelphia 76ers have done in their history. The Sixers have selected some big-time players in the past who have become an important part of the fabric of the franchise's history. This series continues with the 2008 draft. After the Sixers made a surprise run to the playoffs and gave the heavily favored Detroit Pistons a run for their money, they held the No. 16 pick as they were looking to add to their roster. They did so by selecting Mo Speights out of Florida. Speights spent three seasons with the Sixers helping them reach the playoffs in 2009 and 2011. He averaged 7.2 points and 3.7 rebounds in 205 games for Philadelphia before he was sent to the Memphis Grizzlies in a 3-team deal in 2012. Speights would go on to play 10 years in the league averaging 7.9 points and 4.1 rebounds playing for the Sixers, Grizzlies, Cleveland Cavaliers, Golden State Warriors, Los Angeles Clippers, and Orlando Magic. He earned the nickname "Mo Buckets" during his time with the Warriors and finished seventh in the 6th Man of the Year voting in 2015 for Golden State.
