Julen Lopetegui lasted nine months at Wolverhampton Wanderers, 10 weeks at Real Madrid and, prior to Monday's trip to Newcastle, looked in real danger of adding a short reign at West Ham to his CV. But the Hammers produced their best performance of the season at the perfect time, deservedly winning 2-0 at St James' Park to move six points clear of the relegation zone. Prior to the match, former Crystal Palace striker Clinton Morrison said Lopetegui was "the most under pressure manager in the Premier League", and while that pressure has not been wiped away, it has significantly eased. "A huge result for the manager," ex-Liverpool defender Jamie Carragher said on Sky Sports. "I did not see how West Ham could win this game, they have to use this as a springboard now." Ex-Spain boss Lopetegui arrived at West Ham in the summer tasked with moving the Hammers away from the pragmatic football played under David Moyes, who left at the end of last season, and introducing a more attacking style. But in Moyes' final campaign they reached the Europa League quarter-finals and finished ninth in the Premier League. The minimum target for Lopetegui, therefore, will be to improve on that. He was allowed to spend in the region of £125m on improving the quality of his squad but, prior to Monday, there was little sign of that layout paying dividends. The attacking football West Ham fans hoped Lopetegui would introduce was rarely there to be seen as they struggled to score goals - their tally of 13 in their first 11 games was among the lowest in the Premier League with only Everton, Crystal Palace and bottom club Southampton scoring fewer. But against Newcastle they showed glimpses of what they are capable of going forwards, attacking with pace and in numbers while they were clinical with their chances. The West Ham team played with a confidence not always seen this season and as they passed the ball around in the final few minutes there were shouts of "ole" from the away end, something few of their fans would have expected to happen on their journey to the north east. "Rewarding the 3,000 West Ham fans who made the 600-mile round trip to Newcastle, knowing they would not get home until the early hours, is priceless for Julen Lopetegui," BBC Sport's chief football news reporter Simon Stone said. "Any club’s away supporters are the true barometer of backing for a manager and after the three-goal hammering at Nottingham Forest three weeks ago, they were really not happy. "West Ham delivered their best performance of the season at St James’ Park. This was a deserved win, unlike their last success, against Manchester United, which even club officials accepted was only possible because the visitors failed to take a ridiculous number of excellent first-half chances. "The Hammers were solid enough at the back. Carlos Soler was excellent in midfield on only his second Premier League start. Lucas Paqueta was something like his old self, Jarrod Bowen was a threat and Michail Antonio a battering ram in attack." West Ham fans will have hoped the arrival of Lopetegui would have emulated the impact Unai Emery had at Aston Villa. His start has perhaps been more like that of Andoni Iraola at Bournemouth. He too endured a slow beginning as he tried to implement his style of football but eventually it took hold. Lopetegui and the West Ham fans will know its too soon to suggest this has been a corner turned. Despite this win, they are still averaging fewer points and goals per game than Moyes managed in his final campaign, which saw some fans turn against him. West Ham averaged 1.58 goals per game last term but that has dropped to 1.25 this season. But defensively there has been improvement, with 1.73 goals conceded per game this term compared to 1.95 in 2023-24. "We have to build as a team if we are to work and know what we want to do," Lopetegui told Sky Sports after Monday's win. "I think about the play. That is the thing that we try to do. We have a lot of matches that we need to do and I believe in the future this team is going to be able to do the things and show the style as a team." A loss for West Ham at Newcastle would have left their fans looking nervously over their shoulder but now they are looking up. The Hammers are just three points off the top 10 and, although they face a tough test at the weekend with the visit of Arsenal, they then head into a favourable run of fixtures in December. They face managerless Leicester on 3 December, before games that they will see as winnable against Wolves and Southampton. "We have to take responsibility and do our work and we haven't done that to a high enough ability this year," West Ham forward Jarrod Bowen told Sky Sports. "[Beating Newcastle] was a real big moment and this is a really big turning point in our season."
Energy Drink Company Curated Art Basel Rubbish, Selling Pieces of Art For A Good Cause MIAMI , Dec. 11, 2024 /PRNewswire/ -- Lucky Energy , known for its full-flavor, deliciously refreshing energy drinks, kicked off its first-ever Art Basel appearance with an unforgettable activation that was as trashy as it was inspiring. Dubbed "Trashy Art," the activation featured models picking up garbage outside the Miami Beach Convention Center on days 1 and 2 of the art fair. The brand curated 30-40 pieces of this rubbish and sold them on ArtBaselTrash.com . All pieces went on sale for $13 - typically an unlucky number, but the brand finds that the most unlucky moments encourage us to "create our own luck." Proceeds of the sale will go towards DonorChoose. "Lucky Energy is a beverage and entertainment company that draws inspiration from pop art and fashion, so showing up in this format at Art Basel is an important milestone for us," said Lucky Energy Founder and CEO Richard Laver . Our "Talking Trash" initiative is a unique expression of our brand identity - it challenges conventional thinking and encourages deeper reflection. We believe it will resonate with our audience, who appreciate our delicious beverages, humor, and charm. Developed by Lucky Energy's in-house team, the website sold tickets to a Miami Heat Game, an unopened can of Lucky Energy Drink with lipstick on the rim, a long piece of black hair (rumored to belong to a famous sister that was once married to a rapper), an empty can of Redbull and more. "As the saying goes, 'art is art is art.' Art exists as its own entity, regardless of definition. With this insight, we ask, why can't trash fall into that category if everything is Art?" said Hamid Saify , CMO of Lucky Energy. "Our depiction of Art was designed to spark conversation and curiosity. As a brand, rethinking cultural norms is in our DNA. When told we can't or shouldn't, we are inspired to prove otherwise. We aim to instill that same 'can do' attitude and motivation in people, giving them the fuel they need to keep going. To make their own luck. This is why we are committed to supporting social causes, with the proceeds of "Trashy Art"' and an additional donation to funding a Miami -based kid's art program through DonorsChoose." Richard Laver founded Lucky Energy after experiencing tragic lows and dizzying heights; he launched the company to inspire people to persevere and keep going as he learned to do. He's the youngest survivor of the Delta 191 flight that killed his father and 136 others. After surviving the crash at just 12 years old, Laver suffered from depression and was homeless by 27. He eventually found the love of his life, Michelle, but during the premature birth of their first child, Kate, she was diagnosed with cerebral palsy and would need a feeding tube for nourishment. Through a medley of medical complications, he founded Kate Farms (now the #1 recommended plant-based tube-feeding formula) to save her life. In thinking about his next chapter, Laver landed on creating a cleaner alternative to the energy drinks on the market. To learn more about Lucky Energy and Trashy Art, visit www.luckybevco.com and follow @luckyenergyofficial on social media. Please contact Valeria Carrasco at valeria@hallettsconsulting.com with any questions. ABOUT Lucky Energy Drink Lucky Energy is a cleaner, better-for-you energy drink company founded by serial beverage entrepreneur Richard Laver . The brand creates high-quality products to motivate people to keep going . The product line features five flavors—with 5 super ingredients, including maca and beta-alanine, 0 sugar, 0 aftertaste, and only 5 calories. Products are available on Amazon. For more information, visit www.luckybevco.com and follow @luckyfckenergy on social media. View original content to download multimedia: https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/talking-trash-lucky-energy-debuted-at-art-basel-302329542.html SOURCE Lucky Beverage Company5 of the Best Free Android Podcast Apps
Australia’s House of Representatives have passed a bill that would ban children younger than 16 years old from social media, leaving it to the Senate to finalise the world-first law. The major parties backed the bill that would make platforms including TikTok, Facebook, Snapchat, Reddit, X and Instagram liable for fines of up to 50 million Australian dollars (£26 million) for systemic failures to prevent young children from holding accounts. The legislation was passed with 102 votes in favour to 13 against. If the bill becomes law this week, the platforms would have one year to work out how to implement the age restrictions before the penalties are enforced. Opposition lawmaker Dan Tehan told Parliament the government had agreed to accept amendments in the Senate that would bolster privacy protections. Platforms would not be allowed to compel users to provide government-issued identity documents including passports or driver’s licences. The platforms also could not demand digital identification through a government system. “Will it be perfect? No. But is any law perfect? No, it’s not. But if it helps, even if it helps in just the smallest of ways, it will make a huge difference to people’s lives,” Mr Tehan told Parliament. Communications minister Michelle Rowland said the Senate would debate the bill later on Wednesday. The major parties’ support all but guarantees the legislation will be passed by the Senate, where no party holds a majority of seats. Lawmakers who were not aligned with either the government or the opposition were most critical of the legislation during debate on Tuesday and Wednesday. Criticisms include that the legislation had been rushed through Parliament without adequate scrutiny, would not work, would create privacy risks for users of all ages and would take away parents’ authority to decide what is best for their children. Critics also argue the ban would isolate children, deprive them of positive aspects of social media, drive children to the dark web, make children too young for social media reluctant to report harms they encountered and take away incentives for platforms to make online spaces safer. Independent lawmaker Zoe Daniel said the legislation would “make zero difference to the harms that are inherent to social media”. “The true object of this legislation is not to make social media safe by design, but to make parents and voters feel like the government is doing something about it,” Ms Daniel told Parliament. “There is a reason why the government parades this legislation as world-leading, that’s because no other country wants to do it,” she added. The platforms had asked for the vote on legislation to be delayed until at least June next year when a government-commissioned evaluation of age assurance technologies made its report on how the ban could been enforced.None