SPOILERS ahead for Captain Marvel.

Kevin Smith is officially part of the MCU thanks to a reference to Mallrats in Captain Marvel.

Kevin Smith took to Instagram and posted a very emotional picture and message that thanked Marvel for the inclusion of the script of Mallrats, which was being read by the one-and-only Stan Lee in one of his famous cameos.

“Just saw @captainmarvelofficial. I am a blubbering mess. After a lifetime spent referencing the movies, the movies just referenced me! Many thanks to @marvelstudios, #ryanfleck, #annabodin, and to my friend @therealstanlee for the cinematic shout-out! But if I’m now part of the @marvel Universe, I have only one question: Did I survive The Snap? #KevinSmith #captainmarvel #marveluniverse #marvel #marvelstudios #gratitude #kevinfeige #ryanfleck #annaboden”

The reference was more than just a silly nod as Captain Marvel takes place in 1995, the same year that Mallrats was released. Even more awesome is the fact that Stan Lee was also featured in a short but important role in Mallrats, which was written and directed by Kevin Smith.

Stan Lee’s cameo in Captain Marvel is obviously bittersweet as the legendary comic icon died at the age of 95 last November.

Captain Marvel is the latest MCU film and the last to be released before Avengers: Endgame. In our review, we said “Captain Marvel’s big screen debut puts a fresh spin on Marvel’s Phase One origin story formula.”

As for Kevin Smith, he does appear to have survived Thanos’ Snap as he recently began pre-production on the Jay and Silent Bob reboot and is also working on a Jay and Silent Bob VR series.

Have a tip for us? Want to discuss a possible story? Please send an email to [email protected].

Adam Bankhurst is a news writer for IGN who loves to see these cameos and nods to the greats of the entertainment industry. You can follow him on Twitter @AdamBankhurst.

KAMLOOPS, B.C. — Staff at an elementary school in Kamloops, B.C., were faced with a gym full of crying children after about 135 were stung by a swarm of wasps during their Terry Fox run today.

Diana Skoglund, communications manager for School District 73, says the Dufferin Elementary students were stung after running over a ground wasp nest.

The cross-country running team uses the trail every day but staff believe the high volume of kids today disturbed the nest.

Skoglund says parents and emergency responders were called immediately and all of the children were gathered in the gym to be treated with ice packs and sting remedy.

None of the kids with known anaphylaxis had extreme reactions, but two who had not been identified with anaphylaxis had strong reactions and were taken to hospital for observation.

Skoglund says many of the children went home with their parents, but many others returned to class after lunch.

Gwent: The Witcher Card Game is coming to iPhones later this year, with an Android release to follow “at a later date.”

“We’ve been preparing long and hard to adapt Gwent to smartphones,” said GWENT game director, Jason Slama. “Beautiful visuals aside, we’ve tailored much of our technology, including GOG Galaxy which powers Gwent’s multiplayer, to support mobile devices.

“I think our vision for bringing Gwent to smartphones combines the best we have to offer both in terms of graphics and gameplay. I can’t wait to share more details on the subject with you later this year.”

Gwent’s single-player campaign launched as a standalone game last December, while the first card expansion, Crimson Curse, announced earlier this month, will be dropping tomorrow.

Crimson Curse will add over 100 cards to the game on PC, PS4, and Xbox One.

Shabana is a freelance writer who enjoys JRPGs, wine, and not finishing games. Follow her on Twitter and Instagram.

LOUISVILLE, Ky. – Angelo State continued its rise and finally reached the top spot in this week’s NFCA Division II Top 25 Coaches Poll. The Rambelles (30-2), who received 14 first-place votes and 398 points, climbed to No. 1 for the first time since the 2012 season.

Angelo State enjoyed a program 26-game winning streak during its ascension to No. 1. Behind strong pitching and timely hitting, the Rambelles opened last week with four close shutout victories, beginning with two over Oklahoma Christian (2-0, 3-0). In Lone Star Conference play Angelo’s Brandy Marlett and Kenedy Urbany shut down the high-octane offense of No. 12 West Texas A&M in a pair of 1-0 wins, before falling in the series finale to the Lady Buffs, 3-0, in eight innings.

Shifting up one spot each was No. 2 North Georgia and No. 3 Southern Arkansas as previous No. 1 Humboldt State fell to No. 4. The Nighthawks (27-7) rebounded from a week-opening Peach Belt Conference loss at Flagler to post five straight league road victories. The Lady Muleriders (25-3) swept through Great American Conference play, closing out its series with a pair of wins over Southern Nazarene before claiming all four on the road at Southwestern Oklahoma State.

The Jacks (21-4), who still garnered two first-place votes, fell from No. 1 since taking over the spot in the first regular season poll. HSU dropped three-of-four at Cal State San Bernardino, salvaging a win in the final game of the California Collegiate Athletic Association series.

Valdosta State returned to No. 5 after a one-week absence. The Blazers (24-6) hosted Union University in Gulf South play, sweeping the Bulldogs (5-0, 10-2, 4-0). St. Mary’s (20-6) moved to No. 6, while Chico State (17-4) stayed put at No. 7 after splitting a CCAA series at San Francisco State.

Moving back into the top-10 at No. 8 is Saint Leo with Pfeiffer and Indianapolis coming in at No. 9 and 10. The Lions (25-7) went 4-1 with two wins over then-no. 18 Caldwell (5-0, 12-3). The Falcons (27-3) enjoyed a 5-1 week, posting three shutouts with its only defeat coming at the hands of then-No. 23 Limestone in Conference Carolinas play. Following an 8-0 week, the Greyhounds (21-5) rose 10 spots, having won eight straight and 14 of their last 15 games.

Joining the poll this week is No. 21 Southern New Hampshire, No. 23 Minnesota State and No. 24 Colorado Mesa, while Missouri Western, Caldwell and Shorter fell out.

The NFCA Division II Top 25 Poll is voted on by 16 NCAA Division II head coaches with two representing each of the eight NCAA regions. Records reflect games played through Sunday, March 19.

 

2017 NFCA Division II Softball Coaches Poll
Week 6 | March 22, 2017

Rank School Points 2017 Record Prev. Rank 1 Angelo State (14) 398 30-2 2 2 North Georgia 370 27-7 3 3 Southern Arkansas 362 25-3 4 4 Humboldt State (2) 359 21-4 1 5 Valdosta State 346 24-6 6 6 St. Mary’s 285 20-6 8 7 Chico State 267 17-4 7 8 Saint Leo 260 25-7 11 9 Pfeiffer 258 27-3 14 10 Indianapolis 231 21-5 20 11 Harding 228 25-3 16 12 West Texas A&M 220 23-6 12 13 West Virginia Wesleyan 200 12-2 15 14 Southern Indiana 191 19-5 10 15 Lenoir-Rhyne 180 28-5 5 16 Central Oklahoma 167 18-4 9 17 Tampa 150 21-5 19 18 Cal State Monterey Bay 149 19-4 21 19 Wayne State (Mich.) 129 21-5 24 20 Dixie State 89 26-7 13 21 Southern New Hampshire 64 11-5 RV 22 Limestone 61 24-4 23 23 Minnesota State 46 22-4 RV 24 Colorado Mesa 43 20-4   25 Missouri-St. Louis 42 20-8 17

 

Dropped Out: No. 18 Missouri Western, No. 22 Caldwell, No. 25 Shorter

New to Poll: No. 21 Southern New Hampshire, No. 23 Minnesota State, No. 24 Colorado Mesa

Receiving Votes:  Shorter (34), LIU Post (22), Missouri Western (15), West Chester (14), UAH (7), Le Moyne (4), Pittsburg State (3), Lubbock Christian (2), Anderson (2), Saginaw Valley State (1), California Baptist (1).

The NFCA Division II Top 25 Poll is voted on by 16 NCAA Division II head coaches with two representing each of the eight NCAA regions. Records reflect games played through 

CALGARY — A Manitoba senator says a proposal by Alberta’s United Conservatives to pick up the legal tabs of pro-pipeline First Nations is an example of age-old “divide-and-conquer” tactics.

Leader Jason Kenney touted the proposed legal fund in a Calgary speech this month as part of his party’s multi-pronged “fight-back strategy” against anyone wishing to shut down Alberta’s energy sector.

“His approach is nothing new,” Sen. Murray Sinclair, Manitoba’s first Indigenous judge and chairman of the Truth and Reconciliation on residential schools, told The Canadian Press.

“It’s very typical of the way governments have approached the issue of Indigenous people in the past, and that is to foment division and to ensure that those who are on the side of whatever government policy is at issue or whatever corporate interest is at play are the ones that get the corporate money or get the government money.”

In his speech, Kenney said Indigenous people in favour of natural resource development are often at a disadvantage compared with those working with well-funded environmental groups.

“If I’m premier, we’ll be writing cheques to allow them to go to court,” he said. “We’ll be supporting pro-development litigation.”

Indigenous entrepreneur Calvin Helin — who has proposed a $16-billion oil pipeline between the oilsands and the northern British Columbia coast — thinks the litigation fund is an “excellent idea.”

“You have First Nations people who often are natural resource rich but cash poor. They don’t have money for stuff like this. How do we compete against American foundations?”

Helin, president of Eagle Spirit Energy Holding Ltd., said a council of 35 chiefs and mayors along the proposed pipeline’s route are fed up with environmental groups coming into their communities and dictating how they should look after their people.

Earlier: LIberal MP grills Kenney on climate change

He said First Nations have been stewards of the land for thousands of years, but must also find ways to fund social programs and ease economic hardship.

“They really resent … these fly-in celebrities interfering in their traditional territories and interfering in their communities by basically hiring local people to be props and puppets for their opposition to most development,” Helin said.

Eagle Spirit’s chief council has set up a GoFundMe campaign for a legal fight against federal legislation banning tankers from B.C.’s north coast. It’s raised less than half of its $100,000 goal.

“In a lawsuit against the cashed-up federal government, that’s not going to take you very far,” Helin said.

An expansion to the Trans Mountain pipeline between Edmonton and the Vancouver area remains in limbo following a Federal Appeal Court ruling in August that quashed its approval. The ruling requires Ottawa to consult more with affected First Nations and to do further study on the impact of increased tanker traffic.

Sinclair wonders whether the government will “still run roughshod” if no amount of consultation can sway some First Nations.

“The indications I’m getting is that they might be willing to try to do that, but whether they’ll be able to do that is another question.”

Sinclair said compromise is possible, including moving the project’s end point away from Vancouver.

“Everything needs to be on the table and those that are advocating for the pipeline need to look at all options,” he said.

“The communities that are supportive of the pipeline need to be respected in their decision, but the ones who are not supportive of the pipeline also need to be respected.

“The question becomes, then, what’s the alternative? And if the alternative is finding a way that doesn’t harm their interests, then let’s find it.”

After three critically-acclaimed seasons, Netflix has canceled One Day at a Time – a reboot of the classic Norman Lear sitcom, which centers around a Cuban-American family for its modern retelling.

Netflix released a statement via its Twitter account: “We’ve made the very difficult decision not to renew One Day At A Time for a fourth season. The choice did not come easily — we spent several weeks trying to find a way to make another season work but in the end simply not enough people watched to justify another season.”

To put it mildly, the series’ loyal fan base is not happy, taking to social media to vent their frustrations. Most of the disappointment stems from Netflix’s lack of transparency when it comes to their cancellations. Unlike network and basic cable channels, which have viewership numbers closely tracked by Nielsen ratings, Netflix doesn’t have to share its data. And most of the time, it only gives out information if something is a huge success, like Bird Box being watched by 45 million accounts in its first week.

Some fans pointed out other Netflix series that they believe are less deserving of more seasons, like the controversial dark comedy Insatiable, which despite being the worst reviewed new series of 2018 (according to Metacritic), is coming back for a second season.

Another fan passionately noted that One Day at a Time was trending just behind Avengers: Endgame on Twitter after the cancellation news broke.

Even 96-year-old series creator Norman Lear shared his concerns about the cancellation, but also thanked Netflix and Sony for the three seasons the show received.

 

In short, no one really knows why some shows survive and some get the axe. In the past several months, Netflix has also canceled all of its Marvel series, with no outward indication as to why (though we can easily infer the business politics that led to those getting killed). Sure, the streaming giant says that not enough people watched One Day at a Time, but we think there’s more to it than that.

Netflix Wants to Own Everything

What Netflix’s Twitter post didn’t mention is that One Day at a Time is a licensed acquisition, not produced in-house, meaning that Netflix has to pay Sony Pictures Television (the studio that produces the series) a fee for streaming it on its digital platform. Just like Daredevil, Luke Cage, and Iron Fist, the licensing fees can be costly (although as a multi-camera sitcom, One Day at a Time was probably much cheaper to produce than the action-heavy Marvel dramas). So even if One Day at a Time had low viewership, we can surmise that the cost to host the sitcom also played a factor in its demise. To give you a reference for how much these fees can cost, Netflix paid Warner Media $100 million to retain the rights to Friends.

Lack of Marketing

Let’s be real… Netflix puts out A LOT of content each week. As soon as you’ve finished binging Russian Doll, another five shows and three comedy specials have already dropped – it’s enough to make your head spin. Unlike networks like NBC or HBO, which release far fewer shows during a given season, Netflix can’t possibly be expected to market all of its shows equally. It’s not fair to a show like One Day at a Time, but when Netflix has complete ownership of something, like Stranger Things, it’s more likely to get prime promotional treatment.

But fear not, One Day at a Time fans, there’s still hope according to The Hollywood Reporter, “sources say the indie studio plans to shop the series.” Perhaps Sony will find another home for the series – we’re just taking it one day at a time. (Sorry.)

What do you think about the cancellation and Netflix’s lack of transparency with its viewership numbers? Let us know in the comments.

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Guru Meditation:

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David Griffin still watches DuckTales in his pajamas with a cereal bowl in hand. He’s also the TV Editor for IGN. Say hi on Twitter.

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