Latest news with #Zay
USA Today
25-05-2025
- Sport
- USA Today
Ravens receiver's star continues to rise but the spotlight still avoids him
Ravens receiver's star continues to rise but the spotlight still avoids him This could get very exciting very quickly. There's much to get excited about with this Baltimore Ravens team. They're home to an underappreciated but legendary head coach in John Harbaugh. Their defense is indeed formidable and led by its coordinator, Zachary Orr. They drafted a few new pieces in Malaki Starks, Mike Green, and a potential third-day steal in Aeneas Peebles. On offense, they field a two-time league MVP in Lamar Jackson. They paid a small fortune to ensure Derrick Henry is in the fold through the 2028 offseason. They have a decision to make at tight end after the 2025-26 campaign sees its end, but for now, they're loaded with Mark Andrews, Isaiah Likely, and Charlie Kolar. With so many great players to discuss, it's easy to overlook some of the talent on the rise. Look no further than a shifty and steadily improving target in the slot. Zay Flowers is one of the NFL's most underappreciated rising stars. Mention the Ravens, and it's easy for thoughts to drift towards Ray Lewis, Terrell Suggs, and Ed Reed. In a blue-collar town like Baltimore, no one should be shocked when the faces of the franchise are the guys who struck fear into the opposition for years. That may be changing, as this is Action Jackson's team. When drafted, he promised that the Ravens would "get a Super Bowl out of him." We believe him. It's only a matter of time. The defense still produces legends in the making, like Nate Wiggins, Kyle Hamilton, and Roquan Smith. For that reason, someone like Zay Flowers has flown below the radar. All he's done in his first two professional seasons is stack over 1,900 yards receiving on 151 receptions. He's reached the end zone nine times. He's added 112 rushing yards and a TD on 17 career carries—nine more snags, 156 yards, and a TD during two postseason games. He earned his first Pro Bowl nod to conclude last season. Pro Football Focus named him the 25th wide receiver on their ranking of the NFL's top 32. He lands in the fifth tier, though. That seems debatable. Trevor Sikkema is the writer of this one. Here's his explanation for Zay landing, where he is on an impressive list. Flowers turned in his best season in 2024, earning an 83.8 receiving grade and finishing with 1,059 yards. Over the past two years, his 863 yards after the catch rank 10th among all NFL receivers." There are two ways we can look at this. Sure, the mention is nice, but the fifth tier? That shows that Zay's rise hasn't equated to a deserved spotlight. Maybe that's the result of playing with other stars crafting Hall of Fame careers. Perhaps it's motivation for Zay to ball out again. Last season, he notched 1,059 yards receiving, the NFL's 19th-highest total and the 16th-highest total among wide receivers. He was one of only 24 players to reach the 1,000-yard plateau. He played in a run-heavy offense with a mobile quarterback and the NFL's second-leading rusher. That alone deserves another round of applause. The national spotlight may not be burning as bright as it should be, but one of pro football's best-kept secrets may not be a secret to the general public much longer. 2025 sets the stage for a breakout and some more 'flowers' at season's end.
Metro
25-04-2025
- Health
- Metro
We put our 'healthy' dogs to sleep - here's why
It was the moment Tom caught sight of his dog's white fur covered in blood that he realised they'd reached the point of no return. Next to the Wheaten Terrier, which was lovingly called Mr Pickles, was Tom's partner Zay, also covered in blood. On that sunny summer's day in 2024, it would be the final attack the couple would endure. The vet had warned them that this time would come. 'How bad does it have to get?' he implored. Mr Pickles had been bought as a puppy from a breeder by Tom and Zay three years earlier, during one of the lockdown waves of the pandemic in 2021. 'We'd named him Mr Pickles because we thought it would make people laugh,' Tom tells Metro over Zoom from the couple's home in south London. They were 'dog people', he adds, gesturing at the picture wall behind him and Zay, featuring art prints of various dogs. 'But now we're wary.' The first 'incident' came when Mr Pickles was just five months old in July 2021. 'He became so obsessed with a crisp packet when we were out on a walk. I was worried he'd suffocate,' explains Zay. She tried to prise it away from him by offering treats, but he bit her. Her injuries were so bad that she had to go to the hospital to get them seen and have a tetanus shot. At first, the couple were sure it was a one-off – but then Mr Pickles attacked again, and many more times. It got to the point where he had to wear a muzzle. It was even worn at home, as it was the only way they could spend time together. In a bid to curb their pet's aggression, Zay and Tom took Mr Pickles to several behaviourists and, on their vet's instruction, fed the dog a cocktail of drugs to calm him – but nothing worked. Most of the time, it was Zay who was on the receiving end. 'Around 80% of the time it was me,' she remembers. It was often around food, but standing too close or making a minor movement could also send Mr Pickles into overdrive.' The incident with Mr Pickles and all that blood in June 2024 was the end of the road for the couple. Zay had been walking the dog on a grassy patch in front of their home when she noticed there was some dirt – possibly faeces – on some of his face. When Zay tried to clean Mr Pickles up, he attacked her – it was prolonged and violent. 'I'd shove him away, but he'd just charge back at me,' she remembers. According to a survey by welfare charity People's Dispensary for Sick Animals (PDSA), 60% of vets noted a rise in dog behaviour problems in 2024. Meanwhile, research from the Royal Veterinary College (RVC) showed that many owners who got a puppy during the Covid lockdown struggled with their dogs' behaviour by the time their pet reached 21 months. According to another 2021 RVC study, 26,676 (91.5%) dogs who died in one year did so via euthanasia. 'Undesirable behaviour' (encompassing a range of behaviours considered 'unwelcome', such as severe aggression) was one of the main reasons. Dr Rowena Packer, a lecturer in companion animal behaviour at the RVC explains that one of the most common reasons for euthanasia now is 'aggression' rather than old age or illness. She adds that dogs under three years of age are at a proportionately high risk of death due to 'undesirable behaviours', and males are more likely than females to die in this way. 'Most people don't anticipate that when they get their puppy, that in three years, they might put it to sleep because they're aggressive,' says Dr Packer. 'It's unthinkable for the average owner, but it's wildly common.' Vet RVC researcher Dr Bree Merritt Vet Dr Bree Merritt has spent most of her career in animal shelters. 'Like the human world, the vet world is very focused on physical health. Emotional health is almost seen as separate, but it's just as critical,' she tells Metro. Although she believes that the vast majority of dogs she's treated are just 'terrified', Dr Merritt cautions that these dogs can also be terrifying for the people caring for them. 'Sometimes the best option is to put these dogs to sleep,' she admits. Looking back on Mr Pickles' life, Zay feels she may have missed some warning signs – his pinned back ears and tense body. But not every attack went that way. Some days, he would sit happily between the couple, then suddenly lunge. 'He was like Jekyll and Hyde,' she remembers. The first time the word 'euthanasia' was uttered by a vet to Tom and Zay was when Mr Pickles was under a year old. '[The vet] made it about us. He was like, you guys don't seem like you're in a good place – this is clearly distressing for you. And he put it on the table: Mr Pickles would just have a nice sleep. He wouldn't know any better,' Tom remembers. Then the vet said something that hit a chord with the couple. 'Having a pet should be a mutually beneficial relationship, and, at the moment, you're not benefiting.' The sentiment stuck with them until the end of Mr Pickles' short life. 'We talked about it progressively. We couldn't do it for the rest of his life,' remembers Zay. 'I'd have absolute adrenaline fear running through my body on a daily basis.' Describing one of Mr Pickles' growls, she remembers: 'It was so menacing – it's when he flicked, in those moments, he wasn't our loving dog.' Briony and her husband Harry adopted their rescue puppy in September 2019. 'He was already called Neo and we kept the name because it suited him,' she tells Metro. At first, the pup slotted into their lives perfectly. Briony had loved Neo, who they later found was a mix of 22 breeds, from the moment she set eyes on him when he was four months old. He was a happy boy who loved his walks and she even documented their journey on Instagram. But slowly, the dog became wary of people coming to the house and barked at men on walks. When Neo turned two, things escalated. He would lunge and bark at Harry when he tried to go near Briony, or nip at his legs when he got out of bed during the night. Neo had even sunk his teeth into a woman riding her bike in the park. The couple did everything they could for him – sectioned off their home to make it safe for Neo, kept him in a crate at night and gave him a muzzle for walks. But every time they got over one problem, they were hit with another. 'We even worked with a trainer who refused to take our money, because I'd been doing everything they would,' remembers Briony. 'It got to a point where Neo ruled our entire life. We put his comfort before our own.' Briony knew things needed to change when she discovered she was pregnant, and the couple spent nine months getting Neo ready for it. He had safe spaces just for him and Briony even walked around with a doll, so the dog could get used to another little creature sharing his home. When the baby was born, they made the introductions very slowly, as advised, and were hopeful. 'But then Neo tried to attack our baby,' recalls Briony. The couple weighed up the idea of rehoming Neo, discussing it in depth with canine professionals and the rescue centre they'd adopted him from. But Neo was looking for a 'unicorn' home; one so vanishingly rare that it's unlikely to exist – he'd have needed somewhere in the middle of nowhere with a woman who had absolutely no visitors. The couple reasoned it would also be unethical to keep him in kennels while he waited, as his behaviour would deteriorate even more, and they didn't want another family to go through what they'd experienced. When it comes to the reasoning behind an aggressive dog's behaviour, it often focuses on genetics or breed. Notoriously, the XL bully has been banned, but Dr Packer explains that it is actually 'multifaceted'. A dog can be affected by their history, their trauma and how they're treated by people. 'We'll often hear, for example, that dogs have bitten 'out of the blue' and, biologically, that's unlikely, because they will display a spectrum of subtle behaviours [such as lip licking, yawning, turning their heads or tucking their tail] to show their discomfort in situations that could precipitate a bite before they actually bite,' she explains. 'Dogs learn from every interaction, including negative ones. If one has, for example, shown aggression in a context – they might have snarled, shown their teeth, growled – and a person or dog moved away, they've learned that's an effective strategy, so they're more likely to use it, then potentially escalate if it's ignored. Learning early signs of stress in dogs before they escalate to later stages – like a bite – is key.' The dog training world is unregulated, so finding the right kind of trainer can be difficult, says Jade Nicholas, a clinical animal behaviourist and dog trainer. She explains there's a massive divide in approaches – hers is science backed and reward based (no punishment or pain); whereas another school of thought uses 'aversive' techniques – such as prong collars, which have metal prongs that apply pressure to a dog's neck and shock collars, often marketed online as 'anti-bark' tools that provide 'mild electrical stimulation.' But these products cause pain and, according to Jade, are not 'ethical'. Dr Packer adds that owners who got dogs during the pandemic tend to lean towards 'aversive techniques' thanks to social media. 'But these techniques don't resolve issues, they make them worse,' she explains. When given the choice of prong collars or death, Jade is certain. She'd rather a dog went to sleep peacefully in their owner's arms, than have them spend the rest of their life with their behaviour brutally suppressed and their needs ignored. Despite everything, Tom and Zay loved Mr Pickles and Briony and her husband adored Neo. 'There were little pockets of moments where we had a normal dog,' remembers Zay. Both couples revelled in those joyous moments. 'When Neo cuddled me, it made me feel like he'd chosen me,' adds Briony. Before they died, Mr Pickles and Neo were given beautiful final moments. Zay and Tom took their dog on a beach holiday. 'It was June, and it was miserable grey weather, so there was no other soul in sight,' says Tom. 'It was just us three and we got to walk for hours uninterrupted and have a beautiful few days to say goodbye.' Briony and Harry booked a secure field for Neo so he could run around without a muzzle or lead. 'He loved squirty cream, so I brought a can with us and I didn't have to worry about how much I gave him,' says Briony. 'We cried an awful lot and I remember saying to Harry 'Why can't it always be like this?'' More Trending Neo's ashes are now in an urn in their home. 'I like him being there,' says Briony. Two days after Neo went to sleep, she and Harry were on the sofa – 'it was the first time we'd sat together for months' – their baby in a bouncer by their feet, and Briony began to sob. 'What's wrong?' her husband asked. 'We're safe,' replied Briony. 'It was such a bizarre feeling to feel safe in my home, and that shouldn't be a bizarre feeling,' she remembers. Briony always called Neo 'reactive', 'difficult' or 'challenging', but since his death, she's realised the right word is 'dangerous'. 'He doesn't fit that stereotype, he's not an XL Bully – he doesn't match what you expect a dangerous dog to look like,' she explains. 'But at least I know he's finally at peace.' MORE: Toddler in hospital after dog attack at child's birthday party MORE: Woman scarred for life after best friend glassed her face in argument about a dog MORE: Jack Russell puppy gets stoned after eating bag of weed he found on walk
Yahoo
19-02-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Does Indianapolis need a casino? Indy lawmakers advocate for one after past failed attempts
A bipartisan pair of Indianapolis senators advocated for a downtown Indianapolis casino on the Senate floor Tuesday, despite years of pushback to the idea from some industry giants. Senate Bill 43, which the Senate passed by a 33-16 vote on Tuesday, simply requires the Indiana Gaming Commission to study where the top three regions in the state would be to place a casino, but some lawmakers' public support of an Indianapolis-based facility could signal an Indy location is possible in the distant future. Lawmakers have to approve the relocation of gaming licenses and new casinos. The decision to study such a move stems from a discussion lawmakers had to relocate a casino license from Rising Sun, a community along the Ohio River in southern Indiana, north to New Haven near Fort Wayne. Earlier this session the Senate's Committee on Public Policy held a hearing on Senate Bill 293, which would have allowed the move, but the bill died after Lafayette Republican Sen. Ron Alting, the chair of the committee, decided not to call it for a vote. As senators from northeast Indiana debated the bill Tuesday, Indianapolis Sens. Aaron Freeman, a Republican, and Greg Taylor, a Democrat, said they would welcome a "serious discussion" about gaming in Indianapolis. Freeman told IndyStar it's clear that downtown Indianapolis would be the best location for a casino that would boost the state's gaming revenue. The potential dollars from a casino could solve budgetary issues in Marion County and should go toward Indianapolis roads, he said. Members of both political parties and stakeholders like the airport, the convention center and chambers of commerce should come together to consider the opportunity, Freeman said. "I hope everybody can come together and say, 'Indianapolis is a world-class city.' We have world-class events. We have world-class entertainment," Freeman said. "And to support that and to support our conventions and everything else, absolutely we should put a casino in downtown Indianapolis." Subscribe to our politics newsletter Sen. Andy Zay, R-Huntington, carried both SB 43 on studying gambling operations and SB 293 on moving the Rising Sun casino to New Haven. Zay said he recognizes that a casino would add another element to downtown Indianapolis, which already has draws like the convention center, hotels and restaurants. But the city would likely run into the opposition he saw in northeast Indiana, which ranged from moral concerns about expanding gambling to competing gaming interests. 'You're going to have a lot of resistance with the other casino players and how we can balance all that,' Zay told IndyStar. 'How Sen. Freeman, potentially Sen. Taylor, can negotiate through that could be a tremendous challenge. But what would it add to downtown Indianapolis? Could be exciting.' Previous attempts to open a casino in Indianapolis have failed. In 2015, Full House Resorts Inc., which owns Rising Star Casino Resort, proposed building a casino-anchored project on the site of the old Indianapolis International Airport terminal, moving half of its 1,400 allowed gaming gambling table and slot machines to Marion County. That plan died after the Indianapolis Airport Authority rejected that proposal. Similarly, when lawmakers discussed moving a Gary license to a new location in 2018, Matt Bell, president of the Casino Association of Indiana, said he had some members who would "vigorously oppose" the idea of a central Indiana casino. Currently there are 13 casinos scattered across the state, with the closest casinos to Indianapolis located in Anderson and Shelbyville. Senate Bill 43 now goes to the House for consideration. If the bill passes, the study would have to be presented to lawmakers by October. Contact IndyStar government and politics editor Kaitlin Lange at or follow her on X @Kaitlin_Lange. Contact IndyStar state government and politics reporter Brittany Carloni at Follow her on Twitter/X @CarloniBrittany. This article originally appeared on Indianapolis Star: Indianapolis lawmakers signal openness to Indianapolis casino
