The Dodgers path to the 2020 World Series was anything but business as usual. After the year started with so much hope and promise in acquiring Mookie Betts, reality set it very quickly. The COVID-19 pandemic shut down the entire world by March, baseball included.

So while his team was left to wonder and wait, Dave Roberts made sure to leave them with a piece of wisdom. Before going into the Summer Camp restart, Doc imparted a quote on the team from Lakers legend Kobe Bryant.

The first thing I told our guys this past spring before we stopped before Summer Camp and the quarantine, I reference a Kobe Bryant quote. I was at his last NBA game, and he said The dream is the journey and I just really wanted our players to understand that the ups, the downs, the trials, the failures, the successesthats a part of it. And although we were still in a World Series or bust, we still needed to focus on the journey.

Even before his passing, Kobes words carried a lot of weight on any athlete, not just those playing in Los Angeles. But that wisdom to drown out the noise and move forward with your goal is ultimately what drove the Dodgers to their first title in 32 years.

Getting to be on a team as talented as the Dodgers only to face the shutdown of a sport could have been a devastating blow to Roberts and his guys. Instead, they picked up that Mamba Mentality and ran away with it. Did we really expect anything less?

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Dodgers: The Kobe Bryant Quote Used by Dave Roberts to Motivate His Team in 2020 - Dodgers Nation

When 2016 United States Olympian and current unbeaten pro Charles Conwell signed up for this whole boxing thing, he probably never expected that he would one day be fighting in a parking lot.

No, not at all, laughed Conwell, who will be doing just that in Hollywood tonight when he faces fellow unbeaten Madiyar Ashkeyev in the latest installment of Ring City USA. I watched the fights in November, and it was awkward to me because it was in the parking lot.

What Conwell is really concerned about is that the December temps might hit the same lows hes been experiencing in his native Ohio. Well, it is 59 at the moment in Hollywood, which is better than 29 in Toledo, but perhaps its better to change the subject, especially since I was hoping Conwell had some story of a parking lot fight elsewhere.

That's a different type of fight, he laughs.

The 23-year-old Conwell is as comfortable as hes ever been around the media this year, perhaps a testament to being in the spotlight pretty consistently since he turned pro after the Olympics in 2017. Back then, lets just say Conwell wasnt exactly Bernard Hopkins in interviews. But he has settled in, is showing off his sense of humor, and when you add in the fighting style that has led him to a perfect 13-0 (10 KOs) record, hes got star potential at 154 pounds. Just dont tell him that 2021 is his year.

They said that last year, he chuckles. They said 2020 was the year. I'm tired of people saying every year is the year and I'm tired of putting a day on it. I'm just gonna let everything play out. I know a lot of stuff happened (in 2020), but every time somebody says something's gonna happen, they're kinda jinxing it.

I do remind Conwell that the COVID-19 pandemic kind of put an asterisk on everybodys year, and he agrees, but he still got in a decent 2020 campaign after a 2019 that ended on a down note after the death of Patrick Day after their October bout.

At the beginning of 2020, it was a little rocky, Conwell said. Then it started picking up - I got to fight in October and now I'm fighting in December, so it's been starting to pick up for me. I think if it weren't for the pandemic, I probably would have had four or five fights this year, depending on cuts or injuries. So it was a rocky start, but it's gonna be a good ending.

Add in a February stoppage of Ramses Agaton, and Conwell could be 3-0 for the year by the end of Thursday night. And if he does reach that mark, it will be a big deal because Kazakhstans Ashkeyev is expected to be the Olympians toughest test to date. Then again, fans expected 12-0 Wendy Toussaint to be that test in October. Conwell knocked him out in the ninth round.

I think they just said that because of the person's record, he said. I don't think that was the toughest fight for me in my career so far. He was a good opponent, and he came out and fought, but at the end I got the job done and got the KO.

So what was the toughest fight so far?

The Pat Day fight was pretty tough and the fight before the Pat Day fight with (Courtney) Pennington. He was crafty. That was my first 10 rounder, so that was tough.

Will Ashkeyev be a similarly tough puzzle to figure out?

I think he's gonna be pretty tough, said Conwell. I think he's gonna be tougher than Wendy Touissant, but I know for a fact I can beat him. It's how I'm gonna beat him; that's what I'm waiting to see. I don't know if it's gonna be a knockout or if it's gonna be a decision, but I know I'm gonna beat him for sure.

Then Conwell can get on with the business of having that big year everyone keeps predicting for him. But first, its a trip home to Cleveland and the holidays with his six-month-old daughter.

It feels good, he said of fatherhood. It gets kinda sad because you miss a lot of growth, a lot of milestones that the baby's doing, but it's always good to see how far she came when you get to go back home.

Fatherhood is when boys become men, and Conwell wouldnt dispute that his maturity has a lot to do with the bundle of joy that came into his life in June.

To be honest, I really think that might be something to do with it, said Conwell, who admits to having talks with his Soul City Boxing teammates about what the future may hold. And with 2020 U.S. Olympic team member OShae Jones and hot prospects Otha Jones III and Isaiah Steen (who is Conwells brother) on the team, that future is a bright one. But before they get carried away, he stops them.

We always talk about what we're gonna do when we get there, but to be honest, we gotta get there first and we ain't there yet.

Yeah, not too bad for 23.

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Conwell Motivated To End Year Strong, Expects Tough Fight With Ashkeyev - BoxingScene.com

By Express News Service

NEW DELHI: With the government staying firm on the farm laws, Union ministers Amit Shah, Narendra Singh Tomar and Piyush Goyal went into a huddle with the BJP national general secretaries at the party headquarters, with indications emerging that it is gearing up for the political challenge thrown up by the farmers protesting at the Capitals doorstep.

Minutes after the meeting concluded, Tomar, Union Minister for Agriculture and Farmers Welfare, released a hard-hitting letter addressed to the farmers, singling out conspirators for fuelling anarchy.

The meeting also came in the midst of the outreach by BJP leaders across the country to explain their position on the contentious farm sector reform laws and the steps taken by the government for the benefits of the farmers.

There is clarity that certain elements who have consistently been at loggerheads with the Narendra Modi government are fanning the farmers protests for vested interests. The BJP will effectively respond to the motivated campaign, said a senior BJP functionary.

Unions to consult four top lawyers

Farmer unions said they will first consult four top Supreme Court lawyers Prashant Bhushan, Colin Gonsalves, Dushyant Dave and H S Phoolka before taking a call on the SC impleading them in the case and forming of an impartial committee to resolve the matter

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Farmers protest: Motivated campaign, says BJP, readies to fight it out - The New Indian Express

LAS VEGAS Jason Moloney won a fight ESPN televised two days after his twin brother, Andrew, lost his WBA world super flyweight title to Joshua Franco.

Now, two weeks after Jason lost to Japanese star Naoya Inoue, Andrew Moloney feels it is his turn to help them take positive vibes on their long trip back home to Australia. Andrew Moloney will return to the same ring Saturday night where each of the aforementioned fights took place to face Franco in their immediate rematch.

Jason Moloney, as usual, will be ringside for his brothers shot at regaining his 115-pound championship from Franco at MGM Grand Conference Center.

Its definitely added motivation, Andrew Moloney told BoxingScene.com. Its similar to last time around, when I lost two days before Jason fought, and he had to redeem our name and show everyone what were all about. He did that. He put on a great performance and won his fight. And now its my turn to do the same, to redeem our name and show everyone over here and around the world that the Moloneys are the real deal. To get a win on Saturday night, itll remind people who we are.

Jason Moloney (21-2, 18 KOs) challenged one of boxings best fighters, pound-for-pound, when he fought Inoue (20-0, 17 KOs) on October 31. Inoue knocked down Moloney once in the sixth round and again in the seventh round, when their scheduled 12-round, 118-pound championship match was stopped.

Four months earlier, Jason Moloney stopped Mexicos Leonardo Baez (18-3, 9 KOs) after the seventh round June 25 at MGM Grand Conference Center. That victory occurred two days after Andrew Moloney (21-1, 14 KOs), who was a 9-1 favorite, lost a unanimous decision to San Antonios Franco (17-1-2, 8 KOs).

Franco scored an 11th-round knockdown June 23 and won by slim margins on all three scorecards (115-112, 114-113, 114-113). Andrew Moloney promised their rematch will unfold far differently from their first fight.

I just need to control the fight, Andrew Moloney said. Last time, I let him control the fight too much. This fights gonna be a lot different. Im gonna control the fight this time, and youre gonna see a much better version of myself. I was nowhere near my best last time, not even close. Probably one of my worst performances as a professional, and it was a close fight. I know that me performing better, I beat Joshua Franco, no problem, and Im confident that I do that on Saturday night.

ESPN will televise the Franco-Moloney rematch immediately before the main event, Terence Crawford-Kell Brook, starting at 10 p.m. EST. Crawford (36-0, 27 KOs), of Omaha, Nebraska, will defend his WBO welterweight title against Brook (39-2, 27 KOs), of Sheffield, England.

Keith Idec is a senior writer/columnist for BoxingScene.com. He can be reached on Twitter @Idecboxing.

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Andrew Moloney Drawing More Motivation From Brother's KO Loss To Inoue - BoxingScene.com

Jarrod Ulrey |ThisWeek group

Braden Anderson believes the Worthington Christian football team turned a season of uncertainty into a season to remember.

In addition to being one of only four seniors in a program that had inexperienced players at several key positions, Anderson helped the Warriors battle through injuries and occasionally having players quarantined because of COVID-19 issues.

Worthington Christian finished 7-2 overall and placed second (5-1) in the MSL-Cardinal Division behind Berne Union (5-0).

The Warriors lost to the Rockets 28-21 on Oct. 2 and followed Oct. 17 by falling to 13th-seeded Lucasville Valley 27-21 as the No. 4 seed in the second round of the Division VI, Region 23 playoffs.

They then closed the season with wins over South Charleston Southeastern (21-20 on Oct. 24) and Zanesville Rosecrans (52-14 on Nov. 5).

Its interesting because (coach Jeff) Hartings is always great about taking all the adversity and turning it around into more motivation, Anderson said. Even for us to have guys being gone having to quarantine, it turned into one of the (most fun) seasons Ive had. Im so proud of this season even though we didnt make it as far as we wanted to (in the postseason).

Anderson missed three games with an elbow injury but finished with 707 yards and 10 touchdowns on 84 rushes as well as adding one scoring reception.

The only other seniors were two-way linemen Jeb Burford, Chase Fourman and Zach Hoheisel.

Fourman finished with 55 tackles and 3.5 tackles for loss, and Hoheisel had 48 tackles and 4.5 tackles for loss.

We had four very good seniors who were big guys in our program for four years and I think thats a reflection of where our program is going, Hartings said. We do have a young teamand really I think injuries probably played a big part in our inability, in my opinion, to improve and progress the way we expected to and hoped to as coaches. While we finished with a victory, the playoff loss was indicative of the injuries where we had to play guys in different positions.

Hartings handed the reins of the offense to freshman quarterback Hobie Raikes and he completed 98 of 152 passes for 1,566 yards with 20 touchdowns and six interceptions.

Juniors Aaron Eisel (23 receptions for 232 yards, 2 TDs) and Jaiden Reynolds (30 receptions for 425 yards, 8 TDs) give the Warriors two strong wide receivers eligible to return, and sophomore Correll Amsbaugh (H-back) had 16 receptions for 379 yards and two scores.

On defense, junior Tyler White (LB/RB) and sophomore Joshua Carrel (LB/OL) led the team with 86 and 77 tackles, respectively. White also had 8.5 tackles for loss.

Junior Daelon Johnston was expected to be at tight end and linebacker but missed the season with an injury.

Sophomore Jordan Gray (WR/DB) also battled injuries.

Freshman Dax Zartman (LB/RB) made 48 tackles.Other key contributors on defense were juniors Dauda Diakite (LB/TE) and Caden Leidich (DB/WR) and sophomore Cayden Lassiter (DB/WR).

Lassiter also served as the backup quarterback.

Junior Adam Dunson (WR) and sophomore Ethan Albert (RB) are others eligible to return.

Im very pleased with how our kids are building a culture within our program, Hartings said. They come to work every single day and are learning to focus and get better every single day. The most important thing they do is give relentless effort.

julrey@thisweeknews.com

@UlreyThisWeek

FOOTBALL

Record: 7-2 overall

MSL-Cardinal standings: Berne Union (5-0), Worthington Christian (5-1), Grove City Christian (4-1), Fisher Catholic (3-3), Fairfield Christian (2-4), Corning Miller (1-5), Zanesville Rosecrans (0-6)

Seniors lost: Braden Anderson, Jeb Burford, Chase Fourman and Zach Hoheisel

Key returnees: Correll Amsbaugh, Joshua Carrell, Aaron Eisel, Daelon Johnston, Cayden Lassiter, Hobie Raikes, Jaiden Reynolds, Tyler White and Dax Zartman

Postseason: Lost to Lucasville Valley 27-21 in second round of Division VI, Region 23 playoffs

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Worthington Christian: Warriors turned adversity into motivation - ThisWeek Community News

Trevor Bauer became the first Reds pitcher to win a Cy Young Award on Wednesday. Cincinnati Enquirer

Trevor Bauer sent a text message to his former teammate Shane Bieber before the season when he saw the odds from a sportsbook on the 2020 Cy Young winners.

The two players, who had lockers right next to each other in Cleveland, had the same odds.

All I replied back was, hey, why not go two for two? Bieber said. (Bauer) said, That sounds like a deal.

Cincinnati Reds starting pitcher Trevor Bauer (27) delivers the ball in the day baseball game against Pittsburgh Pirates on Monday, Sept. 14, 2020, at Great American Ball Park in Cincinnati. Reds win 3-1. (Photo: Meg Vogel)

They lived up to their word. Bauer became the first Reds pitcher to win a Cy Young Award in club history and Bieber became the 10th American League pitcher to win a Cy Young by a unanimous vote. Bieber kept a screenshot of the conversation.

Teammates in 2018 and 19, Bauer and Bieber have a friendly competition between themselves. Bauer likes to joke that Bieber was the only member of Clevelands rotation in 2018 that didnt have more than 200 strikeouts. Bieber, however, was only in the rotation for half the season. The 25-year-old Bieber will point out that he beat Bauer in strikeouts in each of the past two years.

He beat me in strikeouts again, that little I cant, Bauer said, laughing. Ive got to find a way to get up on him. It probably serves me right for ribbing him so much when he didnt strike out 200 in 2018.

Bieber learned from his veteran teammates in the rotation when he was beginning his big-league career. Along with Bauer, he could pick the brains of Corey Kluber, Carlos Carrasco and Mike Clevinger.

We were able to develop a consistent culture, Bieber said. Whats special about it is that it carried over even when guys went to other teams. Thats kind of what we saw this year. I was able to share a bunch of cool moments with Trevor even though we werent in the same clubhouse anymore. To be able to do what we did is extremely special and Im always confident well have that friendly competitiveness and always competing against each other whether were in the same league or not.

Cleveland Indians starting pitcher Shane Bieber (57) throws a pitch in the first inning of the MLB interleague game between the Cincinnati Reds and the Cleveland Indians at Great American Ball Park in downtown Cincinnati on Tuesday, Aug. 4, 2020. The Reds led 2-0 after five innings. (Photo: Sam Greene)

Bauer kept close tabs on Biebers incredible season. Bieber finished fourth in the AL MVP voting after he posted an 8-1 record and 1.63 ERA in 12 starts with 122 strikeouts across 77 1/3 innings. He led the Majors in wins, ERA and strikeouts.

We talked a little bit throughout the year about how cool it would be to have ex-teammates win the award together and here we are, Bauer said. Im really happy for him. Being able to share that with his family and the amount of success hes been able to have since walking on at Santa Barbara his journey has been quite spectacular from going a walk-on in college and not pitching a whole lot when he first got there to being a fourth-round draft pick, flying through the minor leagues and coming up.

I think hes one of the best human beings that Ive had the pleasure of meeting in professional baseball. There are too many positive things to say for this call, but just really happy for his success.

Bieber enjoyed watching Bauers dominant season. He knew how much the Cy Young Award meant to Bauer and all the work he did behind the scenes.

All that hes gone through, how bad hes wanted this and how public hes made it and hes gone after it, man, Bieber said. Thats all you can really ask for somebody that is a little bit outspoken is that they put in the work and actually go out there and do it. Thats what hes done.

Bauer respects the quite spectacular journey that Bieber had from a walk-on at Santa Barbara to the best pitcher in the world in 2020.

I think hes one of the best human beings that Ive had the pleasure of meeting in professional baseball, he said. There are too many positive things to say for this call, but just really happy for his success.

Bauer and Bieber have different personalities, but they became friends because of their competitiveness and desire to improve. Bauer never hid the fact that he chased the Cy Young Award throughout his career. Bieber is more reserved.

Shane is a little bit more of the traditional, I dont want to say superstitious necessarily, but dont count your chickens before they hatch type of thing, Bauer said. There is a little bit of that push and pull there between us.

But talking about doing that and mainly, I was looking at him, Dude, youre the frontrunner. Its going to be so cool for you. He was like, Well, might as well make it two for two, and have you do it as well.

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How Cy Young winners Trevor Bauer and Shane Bieber motivated each other - The Cincinnati Enquirer

Joker has always been obsessed with Batman, but the Three Jokers conclusion takes it to sickening levels

WARNING: The following contains spoilers for Batman: Three Jokers #3, by Geoff Johns, Jason Fabok, Brad Anderson and Rob Leigh, on sale now.

Batman: Three Jokershas reached its chilling conclusion and it has redefined the Joker and Batman relationship on top of revealing long-hidden secrets from the Batman: The Killing Joke. The Killing Joke is used as the benchmark story of the Joker's origin and Three Jokersexpands upon and twists the Clown Prince of Crime's lore into something even more cleverly sinister. While the revelation that there have been three Jokers all along is startling enough, the last Joker standings revealed twisted motivations --even by Joker's own lofty standards.

The three Jokers have been terrorizing Gotham in search of the perfect specimen to become the newest and best Joker to date. "The Criminal" Joker tells Batman in the Monarch Theater that Thomas and Martha Wayne's murderer, Joe Chill, is next in line to inherit the Clown Prince of Crime's throne. Batman manages to save Joe from falling into a vat of Ace Chemicals and stops Joker in the process. Shortly after Joe Chill is rescued, "The Comedian" Joker comes out of nowhere and shoots "The Criminal" in the head and turns himself in. "Take me in Batsy. I want to get off this crazy ride."

RELATED:Batman: Three Jokers Leaves Its Biggest Mystery Open-Ended

Batman is riding to Arkham with "The Comedian" in the back of a prisoner transportwhile he interrogates him. This is where Joker tells him he has Batmanexactly where he wants himbecause his plan was just executed to perfection. Joe Chill was selected as the new Joker not because The Comedian thought he'd survive the transformation, but because he wanted to get to Batman in a brand new way. He wanted to help heal Batman's childhood trauma and make peace with Joe Chill. Joker knew that if Batman read Joe Chill's letter to Bruce Wayne he'd see he's truly a changed man and Batman would have no choice but to forgive him -- which in turn would help heal his spirit. But why would Joker want to heal Batman?

RELATED:Batman: Bruce Wayne Is Ready to Move On But [SPOILER] Isn't

The Joker wanted to heal Batman of his greatest pain for one reason --so that Joker would be the greatest single source of pain in Burce Wayne and Batman's life. Joker wants to be the star of the show when it comes to torturing Batman. He even knows his secret identity, but won't tell anyone because he wants Batman to keep the cape and cowl. "I'll hurt you. I'll keep twisting that knife until the day we both die together," Joker tells Batman.

Joker has proved once again he's a psychotic and obsessive Batman fanboy to his very core. Joker has always gone to incredible lengths of sadism and destruction to keep Batman's attention, but this is different. Joker wants Batman's attention so bad he was willing to heal his "greatest wound," even if it happened througha psychotic spiral of events. Not to mention, the irony of the Joker leading Batman down a path of forgiveness has to be hard for Batman to live with. While Batman was able to keep the secret of Joker's long lost family from him and lock him back away in Arkham, it's clear the emotional, mental, and physical trauma inflicted will have everlasting ramifications. Even though Joker is locked up at the end of the story, it still feels like he got a big win. The Three Jokers dug a deep scarinto the Bat-Family legacy that will never be forgotten.

KEEP READING:The Joker Just Set Up Gotham's Newest War

DC Teases Batman's New, Female Sidekick - and She's Not a Robin

Jonathan Olsen-Koziol has been training for this his entire life. Since he was a young child he's been consuming and studying comic books, movies, video games, heroes, villains, story arcs, and pop-culture. Now he gets to relay a lifetime of passion and knowledge to the people! If his writings find you; hopefully you leave entertained. Jon graduated from Central Washington University with a Bachelor's in journalism and concurrently works as a head editor and digital content specialist for RespectMyRegion.com.

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Batman: The Joker Revealed His True Motivation - And It's Sickening - CBR - Comic Book Resources

Motivating people to do their job to the best of their ability is one of a managers most challenging tasks. Simply getting employees to do the work is not that difficult; as long as theyre reasonably paid and not treated too badly, theyll do just enough to hang on to their jobs.

Where measuring output is simple, as with some repetitive tasks, financial incentives can increase output. But this is getting people to perform; its not truly motivating them. US psychologist Frederick Herzberg famously clarified this distinction by telling the story about his dog.

When it was a puppy, he would nudge it in the rear with his foot, and it moved. When it was older, he would hold a biscuit in front of it, and once again it moved, this time towards the biscuit. But was the dog ever motivated?

Of course not. It was Herzberg who was motivated, not the dog. And this led him to ask: why does the motivational generator run so readily in some people and not in others? And what can be done to get these generators started and running in everyone? Every manager needs to ask this question, then strive to put systems in place to make it happen.

The psychology of motivation is complex. People have different energy and motivational levels, and attempts to motivate will work better with some than with others. However, there are a few ground rules that apply to everyone.

In any work environment, working conditions have to be reasonable and fair.

If, for example, there are petty and inequitable company policies, supervisors who favour some employees over others, backstabbing, or a low salary, employees will inevitably feel dissatisfied. In this situation, motivating the workforce will be well-nigh impossible.

These are what Herzberg called the hygiene factors; unless they are fixed, there is little chance of getting the motivational generator started in anyone.

The true motivators Motivation flows from what Herzberg called the true motivators, and these arise from one source only: the job itself. They include the following:

Building motivation is always a work in progress. As a manager, you will never complete the tasks of cleaning up the hygiene factors and putting the true motivators in place. Good luck!

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Building a motivated team - Farmer's Weekly

Detroit Red Wings head coach Jeff Blashill believes Bobby Ryan is poised to make a significantimpact in his first season with the team after signing as a free agent.

Ryanwas bought out by the Ottawa Senators in September and signed with the Red Wings in Octoberon a one-year, $1 millioncontract. He won the Masterton Trophy this year after publicly sharing his battle with alcohol issues.

"Bobby Ryan, I reallylike the spot hes atin his life," Blashill told The Athletic."Just talking to him on the phone, I thought it was a really great conversation. I think hes really motivated to have a great year. I think hes in a real good spot personally. He brings, obviously, a right shot to our lineup that we dont have many of. A right-shot power-play guy that, with (Sam) Gagner and him, it allows you to have a couple right shots potentially on each unit, and that brings a greater depth of types of plays that we can run.

"And hes been a high-end offensive talent, and we dont have a lot of guys that were drafted as high as he is, that have that real high-end talent. So, I think hes got a chance to have a real good year, but well see. This is a hard league, and it doesnt get easier as you get older, and youve gotta put yourself in the best position to succeed. Meaning, youve gotta be in unbelievable shape, and as you get older youve gotta keep, probably, breaking barriers of how much youre doing. I think hes doing that. Hes working with a skating coach that hes mentioned to you guys. Hes, I think, training as hard as ever, and hes coming to camp in great shape, and if he does that, I think hes got a chance to have a good impact for us."

Ryan, whohad five goals and eight points in 24 games with the Senators last season,had two years left on his contract at a $7.25 million cap hit when he was bought out.

The 33-year-old winger spent the last seven seasons in Ottawa with the Senators. Prior to his time in the nation's capital, Ryan played six seasons with the Anaheim Ducks.

He has 254 career goals and 301 assists in 833 NHL regular season contests.

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Blashill: Ryan 'motivated to have a great year' - TSN

As rookie Essang Bassey works to establish himself in the Broncos secondary, he plays for his brother. Because Efiong cant.

Efiong, 25, is autistic. The two share a special bond and Bassey, 22, eventually wants to be his brothers caretaker.

But first he needs to keep showing coach Vic Fangio and the Broncos he can continue to grow as a player.

Hes my motivation that I use every day, Essang said in a phone interview with The Denver Post on Wednesday. Im blessed to be doing what Im doing and at the level Im at, so I take (the thought of Efiong) with me every day and every time I step on the football field

He doesnt have the ability to communicate as effectively as normal people, and hes very hyperactive, so its not that he knows exactly that (Im an NFL player). But I can always feel his presence when Im around him, and when Im gone away for some time, theres always excitement between us that Im back around. Those feelings are definitely big motivators for me.

In addition to Efiong, Bassey got more motivation in April, when the Wake Forest product was initially passed over in the NFL draft. Bassey thought he had a good chance of being picked, and rallied his family around him on draft weekend in his hometown of Columbus, Ga.

Instead, he ended up signing with the Broncos for a $20,000 bonus as an undrafted college free agent.

Some teams fell in love with size, some teams fell in love with the potential of other guys, the 5-foot-10, 190-pound Bassey said. For whatever reason it was with me, it just didnt happen, but I tried not to think too much about that. I looked forward to the opportunities in front of me (with the Broncos).

With that mindset, Bassey went to work. He spent the first part of training camp as a cornerback, but then switched to nickel back in Denvers sub-packages. A door opened, and hes taken advantage, playing eight games at nickel back this year.

I knew at the beginning of camp that my opportunities would be very limited, Bassey said. I knew theyd come at some point, but once I had a chance to show what I could do, I had to make the most of it. Every rep I took, I took it as a game rep and like it was the most important rep of my life. I attacked each day in practice, and went into the facility with an underdog mentality as an undrafted guy, and knowing Im not a guy a lot of people are thinking about.

At midseason, Basseys baptism-by-fire is warranting praise, with Fangio giving a vote of confidence by describing him as a good, young football player whos learning.

Basseys the 24th player since 1997 to make Denvers Week 1 roster as an undrafted free agent, a list that includes several prominent players on the current roster including running back Phillip Lindsay and outside linebacker Malik Reed.

(Basseys) got the right attitude and disposition, and he approaches his job the right way, Fangio said.

If asked to play a big role Sunday in Las Vegas, Bassey will be ready, even as Bryce Callahan and A.J. Bouye return from injuries (ankle and concussion, respectively) that kept them out of action last week in Atlanta. Bassey has played 305 snaps this year, fourth-most among Broncos rookies behind center Lloyd Cushenberry (who has played every offensive snap), cornerback Michael Ojemudia and receiver Jerry Jeudy.

Bassey has 15 tackles and two tackles for loss. He played 48 snaps in the loss to the Falcons on Sunday, getting targeted three times and giving up two catches for 18 yards. But Bassey isnt letting growing pains, such as when he was benched at halftime of the Week 4 win over the New York Jets in favor of DeVante Bausby, dent his confidence.

I knew my first year in the league, there were going to be times I struggled, Bassey said. Even as a defensive back in general, theres going to be times that plays are had on you that you know you can make I try not to get too down on myself. I always stay ready and I know my role on the team and in the defense.

That steady approach has earned Bassey the respect of his veteran teammates.

Hes very consistent in what he does, he is a smart player and knows where he needs to be on the field, safety Kareem Jackson said. When I see him out there, I know hes going to be consistent, and thats because hes shown that since Day 1 when he walked into the building.

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Undrafted rookie Essang Bassey motivated by brother with autism while establishing himself in the Broncos secondary - The Denver Post