Countdown to FFF: Byrd

Countdown to FFF: Byrd 2016 was a season Byrd would like to forget. The Jackets had their first losing season since 2009, including a 27 points loss to rival Captain Shreve, "Last year was an unusual year for us with all of the injuries we've had. We talked about it the day after we finished practice, what goals we set during the offseason and for this upcoming season. Our guys have worked hard, but we still have a lot of work to put in," said head coach Mike Suggs. "We had to overcome the struggles of losing 14 starting seniors, so we had to get used to using a lot of younger guys on offense and strive through the defense," added center Brock Hernandez. While the season was tough, Suggs was encouraged by the way his players handled it, "It was a let down season for us last year. We faced a lot of adversity. It was a positive experience. Even though it was tough losing all of those ball games, our young men handled it well." Everyone knows year in and year out, one of the Jackets biggest strengths is their head coach. While we've seen a ton of coaching turnaround across the Arklatex this year, that hasn't been a problem at Byrd for a long time. In fact, Suggs is entering his 28th year with the Jackets, " When I first got here, I thought I'd be here a year. Here we are 28 years later and I'm still here. Just having some continuity and the expectations. Knowing what the coaches expect from you year in and year out is part of building a program. It's hard to do that if you have turnover every so often." No one can deny Suggs has built quite the program on Line Avenue, with 2016 being just one of two losing seasons for him in the past ten years. And as he said, there were some positives, including a four game winning streak to close the regular season. Suggs hopes his team can build on that momentum and return to form in 2017. FFF Results Post #486 -- Patreonage The Comics Reporter Original content ©2017 Tom Spurgeon. All rights reserved.All bylined articles and art/statements utilized through Fair Use and are ©2017 their respective copyright holders.Portrait of "Spurge" by Sam Henderson.Logo courtesy of Eric Reynolds. Former health chiefs to Trump: Avoid new 'Obamacare' crisis WASHINGTON (AP) — Don't make things worse. That's the advice of former U.S. health secretaries of both parties to President Donald Trump and the GOP-led Congress, now that "Obamacare" seems here for the foreseeable future. The 2018 sign-up season for subsidized private health plans starts Nov. 1, with about 10 million people currently served through HealthCare.gov and its state counterparts. Stability should be the immediate goal, said former Health and Human Services secretaries Kathleen Sebelius, Mike Leavitt and Tommy Thompson. At minimum: Dispel the political and legal uncertainty — fueled by presidential tweets — around billions in subsidies for consumers' insurance copays and deductibles. The three former officials shared their views with The Associated Press. Beyond the urgent need to calm markets by providing clarity on subsidies, Democrat Sebelius and Republicans Leavitt and Thompson differ on the direction Trump and Congress should take. They agree that Republicans still have an opportunity to put their stamp on the Affordable Care Act, even if the drive to "repeal and replace" former President Barack Obama's legacy program appears to have hit a dead end. "They can make changes that signal a new ideological direction without generating a logistical and political mess," said Leavitt, who led HHS during former President George W. Bush's second term. "They won the right to make changes. However, they should do it in a skillful way." Leavitt shepherded the Medicare prescription drug benefit through its rocky rollout in 2006. "Stabilizing the current situation can only — I think — be to their benefit," Sebelius said of the Trump administration. "In an environment in which (insurance) companies are enrolling customers, they've got a lot of time to actually go back to the drawing board and figure this out. The worst of all worlds for them would be to have the current situation unravel because of decisions by this administration." Sebelius helped steer Obama's law through Congress and later oversaw the troubled launch of HealthCare.gov, when the computer system locked up on the first day of sign-up season, frustrating millions of consumers and embarrassing the White House. She took the heat, but Sebelius stayed on task and ultimately helped deliver a successful open enrollment. "It would be a mistake to further destabilize the (insurance) market," said Thompson, who served during Bush's first term and led HHS preparations to meet the bioterrorism threat after the deadly anthrax mailings that followed closely the Sept. 11 attacks. Thompson urged a health care summit between Trump and congressional leaders of both parties, followed by a period of intensive legislative work under a deadline to reach a truce in the political battle over health care. Trump and top lieutenants like HHS Secretary Tom Price have sent mixed signals. Leading congressional Republicans want to try to move limited legislation after lawmakers return next month, worried they'll suffer consequences in next year's midterm elections. At the very least such legislation would provide clear legal authority for the ACA's cost-sharing subsidies, which reduce copays and deductibles for people with modest incomes. Stopping the payments would lead to a spike in premiums, more insurers leaving the markets and increased federal deficits, the Congressional Budget Office warned last week. The markets already saw steep premium increases this year, and more insurers have since bailed out, citing financial losses. Get news headlines sent daily to your inbox The administration has continued to make monthly subsidy payments to insurers, as recently as last week. But Trump on Twitter and in interviews has repeatedly threatened to pull the plug. Sebelius has been sharply critical of the Trump administration's stewardship of the ACA. Two of the former health secretaries — Leavitt and Sebelius — said states are now likely to assume a bigger role in shaping the future of Obama's law. A waiver pathway for states was built into the law, and Republicans want to make it less restrictive. That's a key focus for Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee Chairman Lamar Alexander, R-Tenn., as he plans bipartisan hearings this fall with Democratic counterpart Patty Murray of Washington. Leavitt sees waivers as a way to provide states more flexibility to tailor their insurance market rules to local needs and preferences. Sebelius says that should not be done in a way that undermines federal consumer protections like standard benefits. She'd like to see states use waivers to help offset the cost of care for the sickest patients. Thompson says he believes a bigger deal, at the federal level, is still possible if Trump plays his cards right with Congress. Former HHS Secretary Sylvia Burwell, who served during most of Obama's second term, declined interview requests. Copyright 2017 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.