VolleyRuller96

YESTERDAY'S RESULTS LEG 1 GROUP A Fenerbahce Istanbul 1:3 Knack Roeselare GROUP B VFB Friedrichshafen 3:1 Halkbank Ankara GROUP C Lokomotiv Novosibirsk 3:0 Dinamo Moscow ROUND 1/16, 1st LEG CSKA Sofia 0:3 Belogorie Belgorod Hapoel Mate Asher Akko 2:3 Jihostroi Ceske Budejovice Kladno Volejbal 3:2 Arcada Galati Perungan Pojat Rovaniemi 0:3 Asseco Resovia Rzeszow Drasma Dynamo Apeldoorn 0:3 Lindemans Aalst Hurrikani Loima 0:3 Shakhter Soligorsk VK Dukla Liberec 3:2 Neftiochimik 2010 Burgas ROUND 1/16, 1st LEG Volley Schoenwerd 1:3 Prefaxis Menen Lokomotiv Baku 3:1 Fonte Bastardo VKP Bystrina SPU Nitra 1:3 Maliye Pyango SK Ankara

Oh right, I keep mistaking them

Hard to say - Morawiecki's personal opinions are generally more open minded and less anti EU, but he still is a PIS sympathizer, so I do not think many changes will follow, if any at all.

Our Prime Minister Beata Szydlo has announced her resignation tonight. She will be replaced most probably by PiS politician Mateusz Morawiecki. Edit - Ok, Morawiecki is not a PiS politician, but expresses sympathy for the party.

TODAY'S SCHEDULE LEG 1 GROUP A Fenerbahce Istanbul - Knack Roeselare GROUP B VFB Friedrichshafen - Halkbank Ankara GROUP C Lokomotiv Novosibirsk - Dinamo Moscow ROUND 1/16, 1st LEG CSKA Sofia - Belogorie Belgorod Hapoel Mate-Asher Akko - Jihostroi Ceske Budeiovice Kladno Volejbal - Arcada Galati Perungan Pojat Rovaniemi - Asseco Resovia Rzeszów Drasma Dynamoo Apeldoorn - Lindemans Aalst Hurrikaani Loima - Shakhtor Soligorsk Dukla Liberec - Neftochimic 2010 Burgas ROUND 1/16, 1st LEG Volley Schonenwerd - Par Ky Menen Lokomotiv Baku - Fonte Bastardo Azores VKP Bystrina SPU Nitra - Maliye Piyango SK Ankara Watch games at : https://www.laola1.tv/en-int/channel/volleyball

Well, Group C is definitely the weakest. The rest are pretty balanced.

I do not know how I could miss it. Take a look - absolutely amazing play by some of the best players in today's volley

‘Block Devils’ claim remake of 2017 semi-final in dramatic ‘Match of the Week’ Luxembourg, December 6, 2017. The eagerly anticipated Italian derby featuring Cucine Lube CIVITANOVA and Sir Colussi Sicoma PERUGIA lived up to the expectations with the ‘Match of the Week’ producing a real drama – and ending in a come-from-behind victory for the ‘Block Devils’ of PERUGIA in a replay of the 2017 semi-final. Zenit KAZAN surprisingly lost one set to rookies Spacer’s TOULOUSE VB but eventually swept the following three to start their quest for a fourth straight CEV Volleyball Champions League crown in style. Newcomers CHAUMONT VB 52 Haute Marne produced the sensation of the night with their 3-1 away victory over PGE Skra BELCHATOW but JASTRZEBSKI Wegiel promptly restored Poland’s honour as they stormed to a 3-0 home victory over the BR Volleys. Zaksa KEDZIERZYN-KOZLE pulled out a 3-0 victory over Arkas IZMIR to open the second night of play in the group stage of the 2018 CEV Volleyball Champions League – Men. The visitors from Poland claimed three almost equally close sets to take the top spot in the current standing of Pool E. Sir Colussi Sicoma PERUGIA (ITA) vs. Cucine Lube CIVITANOVA (ITA) 3-2 (28-30, 20-25, 25-23, 25-19, 15-9) • In the first set, PERUGIA had an extraordinary winning streak thanks to Atanasijevic. During the second set, Atanasjievic scored three times in a row, including an ace measured at 119 km/h. • Cucine Lube changed the course of the game in the second set moving the score from 13-16 to 21-17 in their favour. • In the third set, Atanasijevic scored three consecutive aces, finishing this section of the game with 10 points of his own and a 90% success rate in attack. • PERUGIA won the fourth set without making any mistakes in attack. • MVP Atanasijevic scored 34 points, with a 67% rate of successful attacks. Aleksandar Atanasijevic, player of Sir Colussi Sicoma PERUGIA: “This evening we demonstrated our character, we showed that we are a big team and that we can play as a real collective. This win is extremely important for us because it allows us to keep working with the right spirit and focus. We will have a long way to go in this competition, but we are determined to achieve further success and we want to win again.” Giampaolo Medei, head coach of Cucine Lube CIVITANOVA: “This was an extremely important match. We had to show more determination and concentration. It is important to maintain our concentration also during the second part of a match. This evening we paid a high price as we failed to do so and because of our own mistakes. All of my congratulations to PERUGIA.” PGE Skra BELCHATOW (POL) vs. CHAUMONT VB 52 Haute Marne (FRA) 1-3 (25-19, 18-25, 19-25, 27-29) • The clear favourite of this game eventually lost it despite winning the opening set in emphatic style. The French rookies making their first ever appearance in the CEV Champions League showed great determination and they caught a perfect start to their campaign in the very competitive Pool C. • The match reached its climax in the fourth set, when Stephen Boyer failed to cash a match point for the visitors and the challenge after the next rally resulted in a set point for PGE Skra. Boyer finished a difficult point and it was the last chance for PGE Skra to come back into the game. The last point for the visitors came from a great serve of Javier Augusto Gonzalez Panton. • The Hala Energia in Bełchatów serves as the venue for Skra’s Champions League home matches only from time to time, as the Polish powerhouse usually play their most important games in Atlas Arena in Łódź, some 50 km from Bełchatów. However, it is worth mentioning that the last team to claim an away victory at Hala Energia was Germany’s VfB FRIEDRICHSHAFEN back in 2008 and PGE Skra hold an impressive record of 13 wins out of 17 matches contested in this stadium. The reigning French champions are the fifth side to claim a victory there. • Powerful serves were a major asset for CHAUMONT VB 52 and the best example came at the end of the third set, when Nikola Mijailovic closed that part with two aces in a row, and the final point of the match scored by Gonzalez Panton. • PGE Skra made 31 mistakes in this match, including 24 serves. • Stephen Boyer was the true leader of the French champions, killing 8 out of 12 attacks in the second set, 6/8 in the third plus 10/12 in the last. The 21-year old opposite scored 33 points in Bełchatów to crown his CEV Volleyball Champions League debut with success. The rising star of European Volleyball killed 65% of his attacks (26/40) and added four blocks and three aces to his personal tally. Silvano Prandi, head coach of CHAUMONT VB 52: “I could not recognise my team in the first set, we played very negative. Fortunately, in the next sets we started to play our Volleyball – it is not the greatest in the world, but it is a really good one. We are a decent team and showed how to fight for every ball and how to defend. The serves? The serve is an artwork; you cannot know in advance that you will serve perfectly. We practiced a lot and it paid off. We deserved to win.” Mariusz Wlazly, team caprain of PGE Skra: “Their powerful serves helped them come back into the match after they lost the first set. Unfortunately, our serves were one level or two lower than usual and that is why the result is like that. We are disappointed but we will fight in every match of this difficult Pool C.” Spacer’s TOULOUSE VB (FRA) vs. Zenit KAZAN (RUS) 1-3 (31-29, 20-25, 23-25, 19-25) • Spacer’s TOULOUSE VB caused a real sensation by taking the first set of their matchup with Zenit KAZAN (31-29) on a block of their rising star, 19-year-old middle blocker Barthélémy Chinenyeze. • Zenit KAZAN recovered from this early setback and swept three sets in a row to claim their first victory in this year’s Champions League where they are vying for a record sixth title and fourth in a row. • Zenit KAZAN were missing two of their star players, Maxim Mikhailov and Wilfredo Leon. JASTRZEBSKI Wegiel (POL) vs. BERLIN Recycling Volleys (GER) 3-0 (25-21, 25-19, 26-24) • As many as 1,700 people came together for this eagerly anticipated match. • A service winner by Salvador Hidalgo Oliva closed the match in favour of the home side. • The Cuban outside hitter with German passport was also the best scorer of the match with 17 points. • In the third set, JASTRZEBSKI Wegiel came back from 13-18 to win it 26-24. • Paul Carroll and Steven Marshall were the best scorers for the BERLIN Recycling Volleys with 12 and 11 points, respectively. Salvador Hidalgo Oliva, outside hitter of JASTRZEBSKI Wegiel: “It was a dream coming true. Actually, it was my first game in the group phase of the Champions League. I was very excited, because I played against my former team. I know these guys very well, and a lot of them are my friends. I have no words to describe how I feel right now.” Luke Perry, libero of the BR Volleys: “We are really disappointed with how we played. We give credit to JASTRZEBSKI Wegiel, but we are not satisfied with our performance. They took all the chances. On the other hand, we couldn’t take our chances in the right moments.” Arkas IZMIR (TUR) vs. Zaksa KEDZIERZYN-KOZLE (POL) 0-3 (23-25, 28-30, 23-25) • Arkas IZMIR claimed an early lead in the first set (8-7), which they kept for most of the time (16-15) before Zaksa edged ahead towards the end (25-23). • With the help of their Cuban opposite Michael Sanchez Bozhulev, Arkas put up a fight in the second set as well. The hosts claimed a 16-13 lead at the second technical time-out and had a couple of set balls before Zaksa emerged victorious at 30-28. • Arkas attempted a comeback in the third set but Zaksa controlled the game from start to finish (8-5, 16-11, 25-23) with the help of their outstanding libero Pawel Zatorski. • It was a relatively close match but Zaksa used their experience to storm to a 3-0 victory. • Michael Sanchez Bozhulev top scored with 16 points for Arkas IZMIR as Sam Deroo scored 15 times for the visitors. Glenn Hoag, head coach of Arkas IZMIR: “We played ok certain times but we have many young players and when you make several execution errors as we did, it is hard to play against a team like Zaksa. We need to take our lesson from this loss. We will focus on the next match against Noliko MAASEIK.”

TODAY'S RESULTS LEG 1 GROUP A Sir Colussii Safety Perugia 3:2 Cucine Lube Civitanova GROUP C PGE Skra Bełchatów 1:3 Chaumont VolleyBall 52 Haute Marne GROUP D Spacer's Toulouse 1:3 Zenit Kazan Jastrzębski Węgiel 3:0 Berlin Recycling Volleys GROUP E Arkas Izmir 0:3 Zaksa Kędzierzyn Koźle ROUND 1/16, 1st LEG OK Novi Pazar 2:3 ACH Volley Ljubljana Calcit Kamnik 3:2 GFC Ajaccio VB Volley Amriswil 3:0 Omonia Nicosia Barkom-Kazhany Lviv 0:3 Vojvodina NS SEME Novi Sad SWD Powervolleys Duren 3:0 Abiant Lycurgus Groningen Jedinstvo Bjelo Polje 3:0 Posojilnica AICH/DOB Montpellier UC 2:3 United Volleys Rhein Main Ribnica Kraljevo 0:3 Calzedonia Verona ROUND 1/16, 1st LEG : Penzugyor Budapest 0:3 Gazprom-Urga Surgut Levski Sofia 3:1 Orion Doetinchen Mladost Zagreb 2:3 CEZ Karlovarsko Pafiakos Pakos 1:3 Parnu VK Olympiacos Piraeus 3:0 Tours VB Lausanne UC 3:2 Stroitel Minsk Viking Bergen 0:3 Fonikas Syros KDS Sport Kosice 0:3 CSA Steaua Bucuresti Volejbal Brno 3:0 Lokomotiv Kharkiv Gentofte Volley 0:3 Bunge Ravenna

Skra

TODAY'S SCHEDULE LEG 1 GROUP A Sir Colussii Safety Perugia - Cucine Lube Civitanova GROUP C PGE Skra Bełchatów - Chaumont VolleyBall 52 Haute Marne GROUP D Spacer's Toulouse - Zenit Kazan Jastrzębski Węgiel - Berlin Recycling Volleys GROUP E Arkas Izmir - Zaksa Kędzierzyn Koźle ROUND 1/16, 1st LEG OK Novi Pazar - ACH Volley Ljubljana Calcit Kamnik - GFC Ajaccio VB Volley Amriswil - Omonia Nicosia Barkom-Kazhany Lviv - Vojvodina NS SEME Novi Sad SWD Powervolleys Duren - Abiant Lycurgus Groningen Jedinstvo Bjelo Polje - Posojilnica AICH/DOB Montpellier UC - United Volleys Rhein Main Ribnica Kraljevo - Calzedonia Verona ROUND 1/16, 1st LEG : Penzugyor Budapest - Gazprom-Urga Surgut Levski Sofia - Orion Doetinchen Mladost Zagreb - CEZ Karlovarsko Pafiakos Pakos - Parnu VK Olympiacos Piraeus - Tours VB Lausanne UC - Stroitel Minsk Viking Bergen - Fonikas Syros KDS Sport Kosice - CSA Steaua Bucuresti Volejbal Brno - Lokomotiv Kharkiv Gentofte Volley - Bunge Ravenna Watch games at : https://www.laola1.tv/en-int/channel/volleyball

SASTAMALA pull out dramatic win to crown League Round debut with success Luxembourg, December 5, 2017. Ford Store Levoranta SASTAMALA made history on Tuesday night as they started their first ever campaign in the group stage of the CEV Volleyball Champions League with a dramatic 3-2 victory over PAOK THESSALONIKI – thus crowning with success their historic debut in the pool phase of Europe’s elite club competition. The Finns came back from 1-2 to pull out a tiebreak win much to the delight of more than 2,500 fans in attendance at Elenia Areena in Hämeenlinna. In the other match of the night, three-time CL gold medal winners TRENTINO Diatec cruised to a 3-1 away victory in their first Pool E fixture with Noliko MAASEIK of Belgium. Ford Store Levoranta SASTAMALA (FIN) vs. PAOK THESSALONIKI (GRE) 3-2 (25-19, 27-29, 33-35, 25-23, 15-11) • It was the first ever match for a men’s team from Finland in the group stage of the CEV Volleyball Champions League – and it ended with their first ever victory! • The match lasted almost three hours with 242 rallies needed to determine the eventual winners. • It was a great fight between two outside hitters with Urpo Sivula scoring 28 times for Ford Store Levoranta SASTAMALA and Ramon Martinez Gion piling up 31 points for PAOK. • PAOK THESSALONIKI claimed the second set 29-27 after Ford Store Levoranta SASTAMALA had two set balls and the visitors did the same in the third after converting their eighth chance to make it 2-1 in their favour after fending off three set balls for the home side. • As many as 2,584 fans attended the match played at Elenia Areena in Hämeenlinna. Ford Store Levoranta SASTAMALA will play their next home matches in Vantaa and Turku. Sami Kurttila, head coach of Ford Store Levoranta SASTAMALA: “It was a great night in front of this great home crowd. This is the first victory for many of us in the group stage of the CEV Champions League. We have been getting up from hard situations before, so we did it once more tonight. I am very proud of this team. It was a good start.” Daniele Ricci, head coach of PAOK THESSALONIKI: “For the fans it was a good match, but not for us. We did not play so good. The home team fought well. We made too many mistakes today. We had an opportunity to win this match in the fourth set. The net was not our friend today.” Ramon Martinez Gion, player of PAOK THESSALONIKI: “Personally, I feel good. Now I play in a famous club and I am really motivated.” Noliko MAASEIK (BEL) vs. TRENTINO Diatec (ITA) 1-3 (17-25, 23-25, 25-23, 17-25) • With two kill-blocks in a row, Australian Aidan Zingel opened a middle-blockers’ party for TRENTINO Diatec. Opposite Renee Teppan added another five points to cruise past Noliko MAASEIK in the opening set (9-5, 18-11 and 25-17). • The locals took the upper hand in set two, going 8-4 up thanks to an ace by Timo Tammemaa. Only at 16-15, Luca Vettori and friends took control. Setter Simone Giannelli’s block for 23-20 crushed Noliko’s last hopes (25-23). • Surprise in the third set, when Tammemaa first turned TRENTINO’s comfortable five-point lead from 8-13 into 16-15. What was more, after trailing 20-22, with the help of Jolan Cox and Jelte Maan, Noliko MAASEIK grabbed the three-set victory out of TRENTINO’s hands (25-23). • Coach Angelo Lorenzetti saw his team regroup in the fourth set, and this time Filippo Lanza only confirmed their 14-9 early lead for an eventual 25-17 win, thus taking their first three points back to Trento. • On both sides, the Estonian players excelled. Renee Teppan topped the charts with 19 points for TRENTINO, on the Belgian side Timo Tammemaa fell only three points short to teammates Nicolas Bruno and Jelte Maan, who scored 12 each. The star setter of TRENTINO Diatec, Simone Giannelli firing up his teammates Dane Mijatovic, player of Noliko MAASEIK: “In the first two sets, we didn’t feel confident enough to reach our best level.” Joel Banks, coach of Noliko MAASEIK: “I’m really proud of my guys, since many of them have no experience on this Champions League level. I am glad they were rewarded for their fighting spirit with the victory in the third set. I consider this game as a stepping stone for the rest of the season.” Aidan Zingel, player of TRENTINO Diatec: “I am glad with this victory, especially since it is my very first game in the CEV Champions League. We were the favourites and we felt the pressure, moreover MAASEIK played really well in the second and third sets. But it’s excellent that we came away from this very difficult match with a precious victory.”

YESTERDAY'S RESULTS LEG 1 GROUP B Ford Store Levoranta Sastamala 3:2 PAOK Thesalloniki GROUP E Noliko Maaseik 1:3 Trentino Diatec ROUND 1/16, 1ST LEG SCM U Craiova 0:3 Ziraat Bankasi Ankara ROUND 1/16, 1st LEG Union Reifeissen Volley Waldviertel 1:3 Biogas Nafaels Hapoel Kfar Saba 1:3 Montana Benfica Lisboa 3:0 UVC Holding Graz

Good decision by IOC. There should not be any tolerance for doping in sports, regardless if you are Russian Olympic Team or San Marino universiade team.

Wow, we are going to play quarterfinals good job girls.

Ten things you need to know before the start of the #CLVolleyM League Round Luxembourg, December 4, 2017. It is finally time to enjoy the group stage of the 2018 CEV Volleyball Champions League – Men with the first matchups coming up this week following the Drawing of Lots held this past November 17 in Moscow! There is much to look forward to as Europe’s top teams take to the court in an effort to secure their progression to the Playoffs, with the world’s best Volleyball players set to provide fans with exciting actions and many moments to remember! However, before we start proceedings, let us review a few interesting facts and ask a number of questions ahead of the League Round… It will be interesting to figure out whether you did know most of these facts already or these are completely ‘new’ even to the die-hardest Volleyball fans! 1. Will Russia add another chapter to their success story in the men’s competition? Russian teams have swept all titles since 2012 – courtesy of Zenit KAZAN (2012, 2015, 2016 and 2017), Lokomotiv NOVOSIBIRSK (2013) and Belogorie BELGOROD (2014). 2. Will Zenit KAZAN defend their title? If they manage to do so, they would seal a record sixth crown to go with those they won in 2008, 2012, 2015, 2016 and 2017. 3. No team has claimed the men’s Champions League title for four years in a row – the current record stands at three straight shared by Italy’s TRENTINO Diatec (2009, 2010 and 2011) and Russia’s Zenit KAZAN (2015, 2016 and 2017). 4. Since the very first edition of the CEV Volleyball Champions League in the 2000-2001 season, teams from four countries (Russia, Italy, France and Germany) have claimed the top honours. Teams from Poland and Turkey are likely to play a role in the quest for the 2018 title. 5. Last year Zenit KAZAN dropped only two sets on their way to the continental throne. As they lost one set in their away match with VfB FRIEDRICHSHAFEN, the Belgian coach of the German team, Vital Heynen, kept his promise and paid a beer to each one of the 2,355 home fans in attendance in order to celebrate such an accomplishment. Will the star-studded roster of Zenit KAZAN be able to improve on such an astounding performance this year? 6. Osmany Juantorena and Wilfredo Leon have quite something in common – other than their Cuban roots and impressive resumes. They both received the award for the MVP of the Final Four two times in a row – they did so in 2010-2011 and 2015-2016, respectively. Juantorena and Leon will be chasing another such distinction this year when playing for Cucine Lube CIVITANOVA and Zenit KAZAN. 7. The ‘Hammerschorsch’ is back! György Grozer has returned to the European stage for the first time after spending two seasons in Asia – first in Korea and after that, in China. Grozer was instrumental to Germany’s winning a historic silver medal at the 2017 EuroVolley in Poland and while playing for Lokomotiv NOVOSIBIRSK, he will be hoping to add a second CL crown to his resume after standing on top of the podium in 2014 with Belogorie BELGOROD. 8. Ford Store Levoranta SASTAMALA are the first-ever men’s team from Finland – and any Nordic country – to compete in the group stage of the CEV Volleyball Champions League. LP SALO had achieved the same feat in the women’s competition back in the 2014-2015 season. 9. France’s reigning national champions CHAUMONT VB 52 Haute Marne are making their debut in the competition – after crowning their European Cups premiere last season with a historic silver medal they took after losing to Russia’s Fakel NOVY URENGOY in the finals of the CEV Volleyball Challenge Cup. Their star opposite hitter, Stephen Boyer, will make his CL debut after top scoring in the last edition of the FIVB World League. 10. The ‘Match of the Week’ from the first leg will be an Italian derby featuring Sir Colussi Sicoma PERUGIA and Cucine Lube CIVITANOVA – a remake of last year’s semi-final which PERUGIA eventually won at the tiebreak.

TODAY'S SCHEDULE LEG 1 GROUP B Ford Store Levoranta Sastamala - PAOK Thesalloniki GROUP E Knack Roeselare - Trentino Diatec Round 1/16, 1st leg. SCM U Craiova - Ziraat Bankasi Ankara Round 1/16, 1st leg Union Reiffeisen Waldviertel - Biogas Volley Nafaels Hapoel Kfar Saba - Montana Benfica Lisboa - UVC Holding Graz Watch games at : https://www.laola1.tv/en-int/channel/volleyball

Wow what a nice first game

TODAY'S RESULTS Round 1/32, 2nd Leg Jedinstvo Bemax Bjelo Polje 3:1 MOK Rijeka KV Luboteni Ferizaj 0:3 Drasma Dynamo Apeldoorn Qualified to next Round: Jedinstvo Bemax Bjelo Polje Drasma Dynamo Apeldoorn 2nd Round, 2nd Leg Volejbal Brno 3;1 Mladost Ribola Kastela Qualified to next Round: Volejbal Brno

TODAY'S SCHEDULE Round 1/32, 2nd Leg Jedinstvo Bemax Bjelo Polje - MOK Rijeka KV Luboteni Ferizaj - Drasma Dynamo Apeldoorn 2nd Round, 2nd Leg Volejbal Brno - Mladost Ribola Kastela Watch games at : https://www.laola1.tv/en-int/channel/volleyball

Well... we should finish at least third in our group, but then...

TODAY'S RESULTS Round 1/32, Leg 2 Mladost Brcko 0:3 Hapoel Mate-Asher Akko Qualified to next Round: Hapoel Mate-Asher Akko 2nd Round, 2nd Leg Olympiacos Piraeus 1:3 Inegol Beledyie Bursa (Golden Set 15:13) Tricolorul MVP Ploiesti 3:2 UC Lausanne Remat Zalau 2:3 Benfica Lisboa Levski Sofia 3:0 VC Strassen Apoel Nicosia 3:1 Lokomotiv Baku (Golden Set 11:15) VKP Bystrina SPU Nitra 3:0 Fino Kaposvar Gentofte Volley 3:0 BK Tromso Forde VBK 1:3 Viking Bergen Qualified to next Round: Olympiacos Piraeus UC Lausanne Benfica Lisboa Levski Sofua Lokomotiv Baku VKP Bystrina SPU Nitra Gentofte Volley Viking Bergen

TODAY'S SCHEDULE Round 1/32, Leg 2 Mladost Brcko - Hapoel Mate-Asher Akko 2nd Round, 2nd Leg Olympiacos Piraeus - Inegol Beledyie Bursa Tricolorul MVP Ploiesti - UC Lausanne Remat Zalau - Benfica Lisboa Levski Sofia - VC Strassen Apoel Nicosia - Lokomotiv Baku VKP Bystrina SPU Nitra - Fino Kaposvar Gentofte Volley - BK Tromso Forde VBK - Viking Bergen Watch games at : https://www.laola1.tv/en-int/channel/volleyball

So just like Hitler,another genocidal maniac turns out to be a coward? How... shocking and unexpected