Welcome everyone to the second annual ranking of the top 40 (25 edge/15 interior) defensive linemen in the NFL. As I’m studying every game of the season focused primarily on the offensive line, I take notes on what I see from their opponents across the line of scrimmage and have cataloged my findings over the last seven or so years, particularly for the annual OL Masterminds summit. This all works together to maintain a knowledge-base on which players are the best, knowing how they win (pass-rush plan, run-defense, etc.

I want to say thank you. From the depths of my soul and my deepest innards. Starting this Substack was a dive into the unknown for me and it has already opened doors and created connections with so many others- who, like me, have some pretty wild stories about life. Life in LA, life as a woman, life as an addict. Life as a human on planet earth. So if you’ve subscribed, if you’ve reached out and shared your own experiences, or even if you’ve just popped on for a quick peruse, thank you.

Let’s take a ride down memory lane and end the story we all cried while watching on a happy note. After the first bittersweet reunion, this not-so-viral second reunion melts hearts equally much, if not more. Years ago, we all had seen this video somewhere on the Internet where two middle school buddies meet after decades in a courtroom. That was not the kind of reunion anyone of us would hope for.

Oh, hi friends! I have something very sad to share but this newsletter is a constellation of relationships I have with people, and one of those people is no longer with us. I met Blakeney Schick in my Brooklyn running group back in 2016 and we clocked many miles, many races, many weekday let’s-figure-out-life coffees together. Running is a wild shortcut to lasting friendship. Last Monday, Blakeney died from complications after going into cardiac arrest.

It’s Hysteria week so time for a Hysteria retrospective! It’s August 1987. I’m 16 years old and at Zayre with my Mom shopping for clothes for my senior year of high school. Bored with that I head to the music section and come across something in the new releases section: a new album by Def Leppard! I grab the cassette and convince my Mom to get it for me as an early birthday present.