robinson the journey

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The End of a Voyage.

The start of an adventure..

When the Esmeralda crash-lands on Tyson III, a boy named Robin is left stranded. He must rely on his wits – and HIGS, one of the ship’s AI units – to survive. As he searches for the lost crew and comes face-to-face with dinosaurs, Robin discovers that Tyson III is not the paradise once promised…

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“It started out with us being inquisitive about a new medium,” said Robinson Producer Fatih Özbayram. The release of our debut PS VR game Robinson: The Journey is just months away, and development is in full swing. So today, we’re excited to launch our first dev diary

November 08, 2016

Robinson: the journey is here – check out the launch day trailer.

We have lift-off! Today marks the arrival of Robinson: The Journey for PlayStation® VR, and after a lot of hard work for an amazing new platform, we're very excited to be able to share the launch trailer for the game with you.

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Release Date: November 8th, 2016
Publisher: Sony Playstation , Crytek

Robinson — The Journey

Robinson: The Journey is a first person sci-fi adventure game developed by Crytek, available for PlayStation VR and Oculus Rift. When the Esmeralda crash-lands on Tyson III, a boy named Robin is left stranded. He must rely on his wits – and HIGS, one of the ship’s AI units – to survive.

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Deutscher Computerspielpreis 2017 – Best Presentation – Robinson: The Journey

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Robinson: The Journey review

Robinson's squashed.

Peer beyond the foliage that enshrouds Robinson: The Journey's planet of Tyson III and you'll find a little piece of Crytek's history, a fossil that's now been brought to live as a towering embodiment of so much that's defined this developer. Back before Jack Carver had even packed his bags for the South Pacific in the original Far Cry, Crytek made its name with tech demo X-Isle Dinosaur Island. Almost 15 years later it'd return there, this time for a tech demo that explored the possibilities of VR, and now we have this: Robinson: The Journey, a full-priced PlayStation VR title that has you stranded on a dinosaur-infested planet as you strive to find other survivors of your downed spacecraft.

True to many a Crytek game before it, Robinson: The Journey is stunning to behold, and an early contender for the finest looking game to grace PlayStation VR. Confident art direction that takes well-worn sci-fi tropes and infuses them with a little lived-in character - the space pod that your character, the young Robin, lives in is as messy as a teen's bedroom - is delivered with technical excellence. Virtual reality games have rarely looked better, making it all the more impressive that Crytek is getting this performance from a mere PlayStation 4 (the PlayStation 4 Pro version that contains some improvements wasn't available to us before launch, but the vanilla edition is more than handsome enough).

Jungles crawl with wildlife and bristle with detail, tarpits bubble away and all the while Robinson: The Journey harnesses the wonder and awe of having dinosaurs amongst its cast. They're impressive beasts, beautifully rendered and animated, and there's something of that same spectacle that Jurassic Park's CGI dinosaurs harnessed so many years ago. Look skywards to take in the size of a 'longneck' - Tyson III's own brontosaurus - and you'll get that same feeling audiences had in 1994 when presented with something that's part of the collective conscience brought to life in such a brilliantly, shockingly new way.

Like its cinematic inspiration (and at one point towards the adventure's end, Crytek goes beyond homage to straight-up VR remake) Robinson: The Journey is an elaborate theme park where you're mostly invited to stop and gaze at the wonders around you. It's a frequently impressive theme park ride, mind, and one in which you're afforded some freedom. As Robin you must navigate several small interconnected areas, each offering numerous paths as you track down clues towards the whereabouts of your fellow crew members.

You're not entirely alone on your adventure. Laika, a baby tyrannosaurus, joins you, as does HIGS, a floating AI orb, both of whom help you in the light puzzles you encounter. Those puzzles themselves are simple things, sometimes involving re-routing power in a short mini-game and more often involving moving objects around the map via a tool that's ever-present on the screen (curiously Move controls are currently not supported).

There's just not enough to it, though, the puzzles being clumsy and uninspired while the finer details of the world around you fall equally flat. HIGS himself is a banal companion, a weak Wheatley with a personality bypass, while the story you uncover feels like it's been told countless times before. Crytek's environmental storytelling is much more powerful than its writing, however, and for all its failings the world they've created is compelling - visually, at least.

It's also where you'll find the most satisfying part of Robinson's make-up, with traversal that's been borrowed from Crytek's excellent earlier VR outing The Climb. You find hand holds by craning your neck, moving one hand from another and finding a simple rhythm. It's been pared back here from its earlier outing - there's no stamina bar to worry about, nor do you have to bother chalking your hands - but it's enjoyable nevertheless.

It's a small part of a small game, though, and Robinson: The Journey is slight. There's a premium feel to how the world you explore looks and feels, but the price-tag Robinson: The Journey commands is noteworthy seeing as it doesn't offer that much more than Rocksteady's more reasonably priced Arkham VR.

Robinson: The Journey is as hollow as it is spectacular, and only ever makes small steps away from its tech demo origins. Crytek knows VR intimately, and Robinson is as smart and assured as anything else in the medium. It knows all the tricks that make for a great VR experience, and isn't shy in using them. It doesn't quite know how to match that with a half-decent game, though, leaving this a theme park ride that's over too soon and that's all too forgettable.

Robinson: The Journey Review

First Released Nov 8, 2016 released

Walking with dinosaurs.

By Jason D'Aprile on December 5, 2016 at 9:00AM PST

Crytek has been experimenting with ways to make games more immersive by utilizing new tech for a while, whether it’s the exceptionally good use of stereoscopic 3D effects in the Crysis games or impressive demos for Oculus Rift. Taking that experience to PlayStation VR, the developer has released Robinson: The Journey, a virtual-reality game that’s everything great and annoying about VR all rolled into one.

The Journey is about a boy named Robin, one of thousands of passengers aboard a massive starship seeking a new world. This craft, the Esmeralda, crashes on Tyson III, a habitable world stuck in the equivalent of Earth's Cretaceous period. Unfortunately, Robin and his floating robotic companion (an AI orb known as HIGS) are apparently the only survivors of the crash.

Soon after landing, Robin discovers a just-hatched and adorable T. rex--and, like any reasonable person would, he adopts her, hugs her, squeezes her, and gives her a name: Laika. Their story then jumps forward a year: Robin and HIGS have made their escape pod a home, they have a working garden, protective energy fences, and a semi-trained baby Laika.

The appeal of Robin's adventure relies on the spectacle of dinosaurs to create a visually stunning VR experience. This is easily one of the best-looking, most technically impressive games to hit PlayStation VR, but it’s also an incredibly interesting, engaging game. Crytek has transformed their earlier VR demos like Back to Dinosaur Island and The Climb into a narrative-focused experience revolving around exploration and puzzle-solving that really shows off how VR can create a new level of immersion.

Robin follows the various paths from his home base, searching for the memory cells of non-functional HIGS units. Such memories yield more insight into how the Esmeralda crashed. Of course, finding these robots is made more difficult by the terrain and prehistoric inhabitants. Thankfully, Robin seems to be part monkey; he can easily climb natural structures, vines, giant cables, and more.

This is easily one of the best-looking, most technically impressive games to hit PlayStation VR, but it’s also an incredibly interesting, engaging game.

The climbing mechanic uses two floating hands (controlled with the left and right shoulder buttons respectively) to simulate actually being there, effectively enhancing your sense of immersion. You have to tilt and turn your head to find the next viable hand grip--and some of these climbs are dizzyingly high. At times, getting the correct hand to grab an obvious grip requires shifting your body around to match the precise angle the game demands.

Robin can also levitate and manipulate items from a short distance, but it's a painful mess of trial-and-error since there’s no smooth way to finely manipulate them in the air. This is readily apparent in the endgame, when you must shove cylindrical power cells into round sockets.

Most puzzles revolve around climbing and manipulating objects, but the objectives are frequently vague. HIGS occasionally provides hints, but the game largely relies on you to figure things out on your own. Laika, for instance, isn’t just a cute sidekick, but a useful puzzle-solving tool. She can growl loudly to scare herbivores, go to specific spots, and come when called. Just the same, part of the overall vagueness of objectives may simply be to lengthen the adventure.

Just running straight through, you can easily finish The Journey in less than three hours (and probably a lot less). The game includes hidden data cells to find, which when analyzed can provide more background data and there is a kind of minigame for analyzing and cataloging the array of exotic animals and insects on the planet, but for the most part, this is a linear trek from start to finish.

Short experiences are nothing new for PSVR, though, and when Robinson: The Journey works, it does so amazingly well

Short experiences are nothing new for PSVR, though, and when Robinson: The Journey works, it does so amazingly well. The sheer sense of scope and detail is stunning. Tyson III is a beautiful place, and its massive dinosaurs are even more impressive. Events like a brachiosaurus stampede, stealthily avoiding raptors, and a particularly inspiring climax involving a fearsome T. rex show off just how amazing VR can be.

At times, you see the game from HIGS’ view. These stationary sequences show off an aerial view of Robin’s surroundings and are easily among the most visually stunning uses of VR to date. The game’s use of 3D to create depth is amazing on the whole, with impressive, but the holographic-like visuals in these segments steal the show.

There’s a distinct advantage to playing Robinson: The Journey on the PlayStation Pro. The game defaults to using step turning where it flips like a slide show in the direction you turn to reduce motion sickness. You can select the smooth-turning option, but unless you’re playing on the PS Pro, there’s a far greater chance of motion sickness due to poor frame rates. The frame rate and draw distance of environmental objects are also enhanced on the Pro, and it looks a little better. It’s still a beautiful game no matter what you play it on.

Robinson: the Journey is one of the most immersive, engaging games to hit PSVR, but it suffers from its short length and reliance on vague objectives. Still, the sheer visual splendor and moments of legitimately awesome sights make it an engaging experience. Crytek has taken their usual flair for gorgeous visuals and made a world worth stepping into.

Leave Blank
Engaging exploration
HIGS-view sequences are stunning
Some truly impressive sights--especially the dinosaurs
An immersive and involving world
Far too short
Slow movement
Controlling levitating objects is a challenge
Some obscure objectives and puzzles

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Robinson: The Journey

PS VR headset required
DUALSHOCK 4 vibration

Global player ratings

When the Esmeralda crashes on Tyson III, a boy named Robin is left stranded. He must rely on his wits – and HIGS, an AI companion from the ship – to survive. As he searches for the lost crew and comes face-to-face with dinosaurs, Robin discovers that Tyson III is not the paradise once promised… VR games may cause some players to experience motion sickness. 3D Display with compatible 3D glasses (sold separately) required for 3D features. 1 player DUALSHOCK®4 3D Game PlayStation®VR Required Software subject to license (us.playstation.com/softwarelicense). Online features require an account and are subject to terms of service and applicable privacy policy (playstationnetwork.com/terms-of-service & playstationnetwork.com/privacy-policy). One-time license fee for play on account’s designated primary PS4™ system and other PS4™ systems when signed in with that account. © 2016 Crytek GmbH. All rights reserved. Crytek, CRYENGINE, Robinson: The Journey and the respective logos are trademarks or registered trademarks of the Crytek group in the EU, U.S. and/or other territories. All other trademarks are the property of their respective owners.

Crytek's VR Walking Simulator - Robinson: The Journey

Explore an alien planet

While we here at Rock, Paper, Shotgun have been ardent admirers of walking simulators for years, the mainstream video games industry is only now starting to cotton on to their wonders - and I suspect that's mostly because expensive cybergoggles somehow make it 'cooler'. While video games are still searching for our Citizen Kane (searching so desperately! crying ourselves to sleep over this hackneyed metaphor!), we might have found our Avatar .

Crysis folks Crytek today announced Robinson: The Journey [ official site ], a virtual reality game about exploring a lush alien planet and discovering its odd wildlife. It sounds like a walking simulator to me. I wonder if their recent Dinosaur Island VR demo is related.

I don't know whether their vagueness is intentional or they're holding back for a big reveal at a press conference this week (for goodness' sake, please don't mess me around any more than E3 week already does), but all Crytek have to show is two similar pieces of artwork and all they really have to say is:

"Harnessing the power of Crytek's CryEngine, Robinson: The Journey will offer players an unparalleled sense of presence in a game world as they assume the role of a young boy who has crash-landed on a mysterious planet. With freedom to explore their surroundings in 360 degrees of detail, players will become pioneers by interacting with the rich ecosystem around them and unearthing incredible secrets at every turn."

Aye, that sounds like a walking simulator to me.

Avatar was the first 3D movie I saw, which was also when I discovered my eyes apparently don't work right with modern fake 3D trickery, seeing everything blurry. Imagine sitting through Avatar - all three hours of Avatar - with only its writing and acting to enjoy. Just imagine! Every Oculus Rift I've tried has been similarly wonky, so I'm awfully sceptical of this supposed VR revolution (not to mention the cost). How long did the 3D movie fad last?

No word yet on when Crytek will release Robinson.

Sport Lauren Robinson's unexpected journey to becoming a wheelchair basketball coach

A woman basketball coach is standing on the sidelines, watching a game.

In 2022, Lauren Robinson received a surprise invitation.

It was the chance of a lifetime to join the Australian Gliders, Australia's women's wheelchair basketball team, as team manager for their series against Japan at the Australian Institute of Sport (AIS).

It was an opportunity that would be the catalyst to change her career direction from playing to coaching elite wheelchair basketball.

It happened when she ran into the head coach of the Gliders, Craig Campbell, at the airport when travelling to the AIS.

"The first thing that he said was, 'as you're floating around, if you want to jump on court, and start coaching, you're more than welcome to'," she said.

"In the back of my head, I was screaming a little bit because I've never coached wheelchair basketball before."

Wheelchair basketball journey

For Robinson, her basketball career had been an unexpected journey.

Unable to progress to higher levels of the game as an athlete, she continued developing her coaching experience to stay connected to the game.

A group of Australian female wheelchair basketballers huddle around a coach who is giving instructions.

Coaching junior domestic teams for seven years before moving into a head coaching role for junior championship basketball, the highest level of junior competition, Robinson's coaching skills developed and a few years later she joined a coaching team for Basketball Victoria.

But at only 24, she would never have thought she'd be able to coach athletes who skilfully play basketball in a chair.

Accepting the offer allowed Robinson time on the court with the athletes.

"I think people just get freaked out because of the chair and the specific chair skills; the concepts of the game are very similar, they just have to be tweaked to cater for it — you just adapt it to what their functional capabilities are," she said.

Robinson's time as team manager with the Gliders was a great learning opportunity.

Not only did it help her see the different coaching roles available to her, and provide the chance to connect with coach Craig Campbell, Robinson also quickly learned how much para-athletes navigate just to get on the court.

A woman basketball coach sits on a chair and gives instructions to a young woman wheelchair basketballer.

"I think being involved with the Gliders has opened my eyes up so much more to the possibilities within basketball, but also the limitations to accessibility for basketball within certain areas," she said.

"The amount of extra planning that has to go into place to make sure that hotels are accessible for athletes, or court space is available for people to put their chairs on the side, or travelling with athletes who have day chairs and sports chairs and how that impacts the timeline of getting from place A to B.

"It's a lot of the little things that you wouldn't see from the outside."

Passion for research

Alongside her coaching, Robinson studied for a Bachelor of Exercise and Sports Science with Honours, her research focusing on the interpersonal development of coaches in wheelchair basketball.

Robinson's research led her to join the campaign for Basketball Victoria's Kevin Coombs Cup team, a state team for wheelchair athletes, to gain more experience from the coaching team.

The cup is named in honour of Australia's first Indigenous Paralympic wheelchair basketball athlete.

Robinson gained exposure to basketball relevant to her research at the tournament and it deepened her love of wheelchair hoops.

One year later, she joined the Gliders as assistant coach while also starting a PhD to continue her research.

Two female wheelchair basketballers are on the court, one is preparing to shoot, the other is defending.

"Wheelchair basketball just provides a completely different conceptual version of the game," she said.

"It's very cognitively stimulating for me, and it's making me think more as a coach to get the same results from my athletes, but also has made me a better coach through needing to have greater discussions with the athletes to ensure I'm appropriately catering for their needs.

"It's such an accepting culture and there's so much positivity from this group and want to succeed that it's infectious to be around."

Even with her depth of experience as a coach and academic researcher, Robinson still second-guesses herself, as she is often the younger one in the coaching group.

"The biggest challenge to me is just finding my voice in situations I'm not comfortable in and actually recognising that I can do it and backing myself in those situations," she said.

Robinson's multi-skilled experience has taught her how to manage the pressure and is grateful to contribute to the game she loves.

"I love being able to watch athletes' success on and off the court regardless of if that's a win or a skill development. Seeing growth within an individual that I am fortunate enough to be a part of their journey."

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Deakin University

Meet the Cast of 'The Deadly Getaway'

BET+'s original movie, "The Deadly Getaway," premieres this weekend. "The Deadly Getaway" begins with a chaotic home invasion gone wrong, resulting in a man's death. The story then shifts to Hope and Jacob, a couple seeking to escape their monotonous routine with a spontaneous trip to Wolf Creek—where Jacob plans a surprise proposal. Upon arrival, their expectation of a secluded retreat is shattered when Hope's ex, Derrick, shows up with his new girlfriend, Jada. Tensions quickly mount. The unsettling coincidence of Derrick's presence at Wolf Creek raises questions. Why is he there the same weekend as Hope? And why is he ominously toying with guns?

Let's take a look at the cast.

YANDY SMITH-HARRIS as “Hope Robinson”

Hope is a real estate agent who prefers city life to the outdoors. Her attachment to her phone strains her relationship with her boyfriend, Jacob. To mark their anniversary and possibly rekindle their romance after past infidelities, she reluctantly agrees to a weekend trip with Jacob that takes a dangerous turn.

Yandy Smith-Harris is best known for appearing in the "Love and Hip Hop" franchise.

JASON WEAVER as “Jacob Haughton”

Hope's scheming ex-boyfriend, Derrick

Jacob is an IT professional who is very attentive to Hope's well-being. To shake up their routine, he surprises her with a trip to Wolf Creek, where their lives are endangered by Hope’s ex-boyfriend Derrick.

Jason Weaver has been active for over twenty years as a singer and actor. He is best known for his role as Michael in "The Jacksons: An American Dream" and his singing role as young Simba in "The Lion King."

JEFF LOGAN as “Derrick Thompson”

Hope's scheming ex-boyfriend, Derrick is currently evading the authorities due to his role in a failed heist. Despite the passage of time, Derrick remains fixated on Hope, convinced that she belongs to him and him alone.

Jeff Logan is an actor, model, and fitness influencer. He appeared in Cardi B's "Press" video and as Eric in Allblk's "Double Cross."

PRINCESS LOVE NORWOOD as “Jada Hawkins”

Jada is Derrick’s exotic dancer girlfriend. Once she finds out that Hope is Derrick’s ex-girlfriend, the tension rises between the two ladies.

Princess is best known for appearing in the "Love and Hip Hop" franchise and executive-produced "The Conversation" for the Zeus Network.

THE DEADLY GETAWAY, directed by Charles Jones, will premiere on BET+ on May 9.

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Travel Updates

Bodies of murdered Perth brothers begin journey home from Mexico

The bodies of two Perth brothers who were killed on a surfing trip in Baja California have begun their journey home.

Four more boat arrivals detected

Major station evacuated after threat

‘Very calm’: How pilot landed safely

The bodies of murdered Perth brothers Callum and Jake Robinson have been moved into the United States, beginning their journey home after they were killed in an attempted carjacking in Baja California.

The brother’s deaths sparked an outpouring of grief after they disappeared on April 27 while on a surfing trip in the northern Mexican state. They were found at the bottom of a well a week later.

Callum and Jake’s American friend Jack Carter Rhoad was also killed.

On Friday’s the men’s bodies were moved to a funeral home in San Diego, with the bodies are expected to then be transferred back to Perth.

The news comes after the infamous Sinaloa Cartel claimed it “handed” over the alleged killers of the men.

Jesus Gerardo Garica Cota, also known as “El Kekas”, along with his brother Cristian Alejandro and girlfriend Ari Gisel have since been arrested by Mexican authorities.

The infamous Sinaloa Cartel has claimed it ‘handed over’ the alleged killers of Perth brothers Callum and Jake Robinson and their American friend Jack Carter Rhoad. Source: Facebook

But in a stunning twist the Sinaloa Cartel – one of the most powerful drug syndicates in the criminal underworld – broke its silence over the trio’s deaths and claimed it had turned the alleged killers in.

A cartel member said the three were not part of the cartel.

“They were low-level robbers acting alone,” the anonymous member told US outlet The Daily Beast. “But we handed them over.

“We learned that the cops were looking for the gringos and also began looking for those who were responsible. We called the authorities to let them know where to find them.”

The cartel member said the criminal organisation was afraid of getting “unwanted attention” from Mexican authorities.

The Robinsons and Mr Rhoad were on a surfing trip in Baja California when they were allegedly killed in what prosecutors allege was a carjacking gone wrong.

I t follows Gerardo fronting a Ensenada court this week, where prosecutors revealed Ms Gisel had become a key witness in the case.

So far prosecutors have only charged Gerardo with forced kidnapping but this is expected to be upgraded to murder.

Nine News correspondent Alison Piotrowski, who was in the courtroom for the hearing, told 2GB on Thursday it was alleged that Gerardo had told Ms Gisel he “f. ked up three gringos”.

The court heard she had asked, “What do you mean?” to which he replied, “I killed them.”

Baja California’s Attorney-General, Maria Elena Andrade Ramirez, said prosecutors would allege the foreigners were confronted by the Mexican nationalists who intended to rob the trio.

“In response to the victims’ reaction, they deprived them of their lives,” a statement from her office read.

“Through the investigations carried out … the white Chevrolet Colorado vehicle in which the victims were travelling was found burned.”

Brothers Jesus Gerardo Garcia Cota and Cristian Alejandro Garcia were two of the three arrested in the suspicious deaths of the trio.

Jake and Callum’s parents formally identified the brothers’ bodies in Mexico this week.

Ms Robinson on Tuesday paid tribute to the pair, saying the world had become “a darker place” for them and that their hearts were broken.

“We also mourn the loss of Carter Rhoad, a close friend. They were young men enjoying their passion of surfing together,” Ms Robinson said.

“Now it’s time to bring them home to family and friends – and the ocean waves in Australia. Please live bigger, shine brighter and love harder in their memory.”

She also thanked those who had offered their condolences and said they had been “overwhelmed with the outpouring of emotions and support”.

“We have always been very proud of their academic and sporting achievements and admired their life choices as,” Ms Robinson said.

Four additional people have illegally arrived in Australia by boat after dozens of suspected asylum seekers were found on Friday.

Sydney’s largest train station was briefly evacuated on Monday after police received an anonymous threat.

The 53-year-old pilot behind the plane that had a landing gear malfunction was reportedly “very calm” before he safely touched down at Newcastle Airport.

Miles Robinson: USMNT defender enters Hell is Real with FC Cincinnati

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The Hell is Real derby between the Columbus Crew and FC Cincinnati has shot into prominence as one of MLS’s most entertainingly intense matchups, fueled by the Ohio clubs’ rise into the league elite and the colorfully quirky nature of the respective fanbases’ trash talk over its first seven years of existence.

It will undoubtedly remain the case at Lower.com Field on Saturday as the two sides in possession of MLS’s two biggest trophies tangle again in the showcase fixture of the first matchday of Rivalry Week presented by Continental Tire (7:45 pm ET | Apple TV - Free ; FS1/FOX Deportes).

All that said, anyone with a passing familiarity with the rabid sporting culture of the Boston area can imagine how Miles Robinson may have experienced even nastier antagonism in the fierce local showdowns of his adolescence in Arlington, Massachusetts.

“You got generations of people growing up in the same town, they’re very prideful in where they're from – and they definitely don't like you if you're not from where they’re from,” the FCC defender told MLSsoccer.com last week. “That type of energy, that passion that you can definitely see when you see all of Boston sports.”

There was no love lost when his Arlington High School teams faced off against their counterparts from places like Belmont, Winchester and Wellesley – and in Robinson’s case, those were actually happening on a court rather than a field, because he played basketball, not soccer, for AHS, due to rules restricting top club players from playing school soccer.

He was no slouch, either, despite spending most of the year playing soccer: He won league co-MVP honors and led his team in scoring, rebounding, assists and steals. Brian Ainscough, CEO of the Boston Bolts, Robinson’s club soccer team, told Boston.com “we’re just fortunate enough he wasn’t a few inches taller. He might have been playing basketball for Syracuse. We’re lucky we have him as a soccer player.”

Youth journey

Unsurprisingly, his talent made him a target for opposing fans on those cold winter nights at gyms across the region.

“Those high-school basketball games when you get individually booed, like, that type of energy is pretty sweet, honestly. I remember getting pretty harassed, almost, in high school basketball,” he recalled, the enjoyment of the memories clear in his voice. “That type of energy definitely brings out the best in me.”

Robinson has shown as much throughout his career. In youth soccer, he and his Bolts teammates took a special delight in locking horns with their local professional academy, the New England Revolution . Avert your eyes here, Revs fans: In a parallel universe, the commanding center back might have turned out as a homegrown signing for the club.

“They did,” said Robinson when asked if the Revs recruited him to join their system. “And I remember Syracuse kind of wanted me to go there too. And I was like, ‘nope.’

“I was always loyal to the Boston Bolts; I always thought they were a great organization, and they always did right by me," Robinson said of what's now an MLS NEXT program. "Honestly, the Revs wasn't even really close to where I was. Boston Bolts were just easier for me to go to, but also, I was always a part of them, and I wouldn't want to leave … I think I made the right decision. And definitely, all the love goes out to Bolts and Syracuse for helping develop me.”

The journey continued in heated NCAA clashes in Atlantic Coast Conference play, traditionally considered the top competition level in college soccer. Robinson’s Orange dueled bold-faced names like North Carolina, Duke, Wake Forest and Clemson – “Oh yeah, we hated Clemson for sure,” he said, perhaps remembering a tense meeting with the Tigers at the 2015 College Cup, Clemson booking a trip to the national championship game via a penalty-kick shootout after a 0-0 deadlock.

His upward progress earned him a Generation adidas contract after his sophomore year, Atlanta United snatching him with the second overall SuperDraft pick as they prepared for their MLS expansion debut in 2017.

USMNT vs. Mexico

As he matured into one of the top defenders on the continent and became a regular member of the US men’s national team , Robinson showed a knack for big performances in big games. And in Concacaf, they rarely come bigger than USMNT vs. Mexico, particularly when hardware is on the line, as it was when Robinson scored the game-winning goal on a 117th-minute header to cap a man-of-the-match display in the 2021 Gold Cup final, prompting an epic night out in Las Vegas for Gregg Berhalter and his squad.

“You need a little rivalry in sports, just to add some pressure and tension in any environment, whether it's like a local game, or town soccer, up to Syracuse, obviously big ACC matchups, and then with Atlanta, Orlando was our big rival. And then with the national team, it’s obviously Mexico that we play quite often,” he said. “Those games are the ones you want to play in and you want to perform well.

“When it's a rivalry game and you feel the passion in the crowd, that type of energy definitely can translate onto the pitch.”

Robinson’s approach to occasions of this magnitude has evolved over the years.

“Early in my career, I’d get really nervous. I think I still get nervous, but it's the type of nerves that propel you into a different level, almost, of focus and attention in the match,” he explained. “Those types of nerves, those butterflies that you can kind of harness in the right way to perform well.”

Choosing Cincy

DeAndre Yedlin saw this as he got to know Robinson on USMNT duty, and is now also his colleague on Cincy’s back line thanks to a trade from Inter Miami CF earlier this year.

“He's one of the most relaxed guys ever. Very, very calm, just an even keel. You don't really hear him yell a lot – honestly, you don’t hear him talk a lot,” said Yedlin. “But he's one of those guys that just speaks with his actions. There's not many center backs that I've played with before this that I felt as comfortable playing with as Miles.

“Especially with the way that we want to play, which is pretty high intensity, and where I'm on the front foot a lot and I'm pushing forward pretty high a lot, you need somebody that can cover space. So that's the perfect guy to do it. He's a freak athlete, obviously. Good on the ball, really good in the air – there’s not a lot of flaws to his game.”

Yedlin’s words follow closely those of coach Pat Noonan and others around the Orange & Blue who were thrilled when FCC convinced Robinson they were the best next step in his career when he left Atlanta as “probably the most coveted free agent” in MLS last winter, in the words of general manager Chris Albright.

Note carefully: That’s ‘best next step,’ not ‘next best.’ Despite being widely expected, for years, to try his hand in Europe at that point, Robinson signed a rare ‘1 + 1’ contract with Cincy instead, balancing his earning power and hunger for winning with the desire for future flexibility via a seven-figure wage without a long-term Designated Player deal.

“Being a free agent is pretty unique to a lot of MLS players; a lot of players never get that opportunity, especially in MLS. So I think I wanted to take advantage of it,” Robinson told MLSsoccer.com during Cincinnati’s preseason camp in Clearwater, Florida. “In general, it's very rare to have a short-term deal in MLS and I think that can be very beneficial, especially someone like me, that can be in the national team pool. It's kind of like betting on myself, hoping I can do the best, and I think this is a place where I'm going to be set up for success.

“If I'm going to potentially lose money going overseas, I wouldn't really want to do it, in general,” he added. “Based on all the situation, every aspect of the decision, I think it was pretty clear to me that I wanted to come here, whether it be financially, based on my friends and family, my career, all that.”

Trusting your gut

It provided a fresh setting, a galvanizing change he felt he needed, without gambling on too many variables shifting all at once. That means something when you consider the most traumatic public setback of his career thus far: the ruptured Achilles tendon in Atlanta that crushed his 2022 World Cup dreams, an experience Robinson says “made me more patient, and recognize how much I love this sport, and I want to continue to be a player for as long as possible.”

He believes European adventures are still out there to be had, just as the 2026 World Cup looms on the horizon, heightening both the opportunities and the perils at his feet. Staying closer to home to hunt further MLS honors in the meantime almost instantly made Robinson a flashpoint among the very online USMNT supporter community, a hefty chunk of which declared he had to cross the Atlantic now, not later.

“A lot of people look at players’ situations and they think soccer is the only thing that they have going on in their life,” said Yedlin, who’s lived both sides of this equation as a richly-hyped young export who spent seven years in the English Premier League and Turkish Süper Lig before returning to MLS in 2022. “We got families, we've got children, there's certain stuff that could be going on off the field.

“So I think a lot of people were surprised the fact that he decided to stay in MLS, or maybe disappointed was the word. But at the end of the day, nobody else is living his life. Nobody else knows what he's going through. And at the end of the day, it's his decision. He's worked to get where he is, he's worked to get the contracts that he's gotten, and it’s his decision.”

Berhalter himself laid out the stakes in clear terms.

“The expectations will be that he's a dominant center back in this league, that he performs at a really high level at this league,” said the US coach in January. “And I think he's well aware of that.”

Hell is Real

With FCC hard on the heels of Leo Messi ’s league-leading Inter Miami in this season’s early going, anchored by his elite backline corps, Robinson feels confident in his choice.

“To dominate, your team has to be one of the best in the league and I think we're proving that,” he said. “We have to continue to grow as a team and play well, because I think at the end of the day, if the team looks good then every individual on the team looks just as good. So for me personally, I'm just trying to bring that as a team, hopefully win trophies and then the rest will hopefully fall into place.

“We're in pretty good form now, but we’ve got a lot to build on, and I think everyone still has a few more gears left in them.”

It’s not only Berhalter who’s closely watching Robinson’s level in Cincy. As the most prominent MLS-based USMNTer, his place in the national-team pool will be scrutinized for many reasons, by many observers as this summer’s US-based Copa América, the biggest event on the team’s calendar in the ‘22 cycle, looms.

A big result this weekend against a menacing Crew side that just reached the Concacaf Champions Cup final via some of the best MLS performances against Liga MX opposition ever seen? That’s a decent way to keep yourself in the national conversation.

“It's a rivalry that's gained national recognition over the last few seasons, since Cincinnati’s been an elite team in the league and obviously Columbus had a great season last year,” said Robinson. “You just have two very talented rosters and I think it's definitely going to be a good game between both sides, and great coaches involved.

“It's big for the state of Ohio, that's for sure.”

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Bodies of murdered australian brothers callum and jake robinson begin journey home from mexico.

The bodies of two murdered Perth brothers have been transported across the border from Mexico to the United States, beginning their journey home.

Callum, 33, and Jake Robinson, 30, and their friend Jack Carter Rhoad, 30, were on a surfing and camping trip in northern Mexico when they failed to check in to their pre-booked accommodation near the city of Ensenada on April 27.

When police arrived at their last known whereabouts, they discovered a campsite covered in blood.

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Journalism for the curious Australian across politics, business, culture and opinion.

Days later, three bodies were found dumped in a well about 6km away and on Sunday, their families confirmed their identities.

Mexican authorities believe that at some point between the afternoon of April 27 and the following day, several people approached the trio intending to steal their vehicle , and “due to the reaction of the victims, they deprived them of their lives”.

The medical examiner in Baja California confirmed that they each died from one bullet wound to the head .

On Tuesday, in an emotional statement on Ocean Beach where their son Callum had been living, their mother Debra Robinson said it was “time to bring them home to family and friends and the ocean waves in Australia”.

“Please live bigger, shine brighter and love harder in their memory.”

And on Friday, their bodies were moved to a funeral home in San Diego.

Bombshell confession

On Thursday, Baja California Governor Marina del Pilar Ávila Olmeda confirmed three people were in custody as a result of the investigation into the execution-style killings.

One of them was identified as 33-year-old Mexican national Jesús Gerardo - also known by the alias, el Kekas - who made his first appearance in court on Wednesday . He is charged with forced disappearance, equivalent to kidnapping.

He has a criminal record that includes drug dealing, vehicle theft and domestic violence.

During the hearing, the judge read a letter from a woman who identified herself as his girlfriend, who was taken into custody after an iPhone belonging to one of the murdered men was found in her possession.

She has told police she was not involved with the deaths, but alleges Gerardo confessed to the killings, telling her he “f***** up three Gringos”, and when she asked him what he meant, he responded: “I killed them.”

Gerardo has not entered a plea and remains in police custody until his next court hearing in November.

His brother was also arrested but has not been charged.

7NEWS understands authorities have not ruled out the possibility that others were involved.

While Baja California has been plagued by drug cartel violence in recent years, it rarely occurs in tourist areas like Ensenada. Dozens of people held a protest last week in Ensenada calling on authorities to do more to tackle violence facing tourists and locals alike.

While parts of Mexico are established tourist destinations, violent crime including kidnapping and human trafficking plague parts of the country, particularly in border areas.

Mexico’s homicide rate is among the highest in the world, and more than 100,000 people remain missing in the country. Studies show only around seven per cent of murders in Mexico are ever solved.

- with 7NEWS US correspondent Mylee Hogan, NBC, CNN and AP

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African American Farmer David Robinson Creates Sustainable Coffee Business in Tanzania

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The light was still gray from a sun not yet fully risen. A slight mist blurred the line of 16 men as we walked single file along the trail leading into the forest on the outskirts of the village.

From my position at the end of the line, I could half see and clearly consider the diversity of people before me. We were men of five Tanzanian tribes, and my son and I were from the African American diaspora.

Carrying axes, picks, shovels, and hoes, we of different origins walked towards a single place and purpose: to clear the forest and establish my family’s farm.

Both the sights and the feel of that morning inspired our farm’s name, Sweet Unity. The year was 1990.

In 1947, my father, Jack Robinson, broke the stranglehold of segregation in the American national pastime of baseball, creating progress for his family, his race, and the American society as a whole. His victory empowered generations of African Americans to expand our vision for survival and development into all aspects of society.

Twenty years later, in 1967, when I was 15 years old, Jack and Rachel Robinson created the unique opportunity for their son to travel to Africa to see and experience the continent of our ancestors and the homeland of our race’s great human and material wealth.

In the 1980s, as the African American struggle began to expose the international nature of some of our problems and potential solutions, I returned to Tanzania in an effort to utilize the gift my parents had given me and the potential of our African resources.

Coffee became my focus.

After long months of discussion, a community of third generation Tanzanian coffee farmers invited my family to join their village and their efforts in developing sustainable and profitable farming initiatives.

Although coffee originated in Africa, farmers of African descent have been excluded from and exploited by the billion-dollar coffee industry. We invest our land, expertise, and labor to grow coffee but are isolated from the tables of business where coffee prices and profits are determined. We have not invested in the production facilities where our raw coffee is turned into finished coffee products with the value added to generate developmental income and economic growth. While others dominate the international coffee industry, we remain laborers and consumers only.

One of the objectives of our initiatives in Africa has been to explore and learn the potentials and challenges in agricultural production and global processing of goods for sale to the international community.

We intentionally established ourselves as medium/small-scale farmers, as are 95% of Tanzania’s annual coffee crop producers.

We work strategically as members of cooperatives and in partnership with our neighbors because such cooperatives hold the organizational potential to consolidate the production of Tanzania’s over 400,000 family-owned farms and prepare such production in the volumes necessary to enter the international coffee trade.

In the 1990s, our coop grew from its initial 47 members to several hundred. In 1998, we purchased hand-powered coffee pulping machines to be shared by members. In this new century, we have imported and operated two diesel-driven coffee pulping machines and built the related facilities to collectively process the highest-quality coffee grown on small—and medium-scale family-owned farms.

As the decades passed, our next generation grew. Our children began to study and work in America. They were rooted in their African upbringing and absorbed an understanding of their American history and community.

Today, our daughter Meta Robinson leads our U.S. operations, and our daughter Rachel Robinson brings international expertise to our cooperative’s coffee consolidation and export administration.

Working in America as coffee roasters and sellers of finished coffee products, we offer our coffee products to corporations and individual consumers through E-commerce.

We have launched a new initiative to seek wholesale/retail partnerships with social, civil, and faith-based organizations to broaden the number of people enjoying fine African coffee and the number of American institutions engaging in and benefiting from global direct trade with African and African American farmers.

To learn more about our work, please visit www.sweetunitycoffee.com.

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Slain Australian surfers' bodies arrive in U.S. on journey home

Agence france-presse.

The bodies of two Australian surfers murdered in Mexico were taken to the United States on Thursday to be delivered to their relatives for the long journey home.

The funeral home transporting the remains of brothers Jake and Callum Robinson, who were aged 30 and 33 respectively, confirmed that they had been transferred from Tijuana to San Diego where their parents were waiting.

The body of their 30-year-old American friend Jack Carter Rhoad, who was also murdered, was in the care of another funeral company.

The tourists had been camping in a remote beachside area in violence-hit Baja California state when they were killed in what investigators believe was an attempt to steal their pickup truck.

Their bodies were found last Friday in a cliff-top shaft with bullet wounds to the head.

On Wednesday, a Mexican court ordered the prosecution of the main suspect in the triple murder, Jesus Gerardo "N" -- alias "El Kekas."

The prosecution has said it is gathering evidence to charge two other suspects, who remain in detention for alleged possession of methamphetamine.

Baja California, located just south of California, is popular with US tourists thanks to its inviting beaches.

It is also one of Mexico's most violent states because of organized criminal gangs, although tourists are not usually their targets.

The parents of the two Australian brothers earlier this week urged well-wishers to use their memory as an inspiration to "live bigger, shine brighter and love harder."

Speaking from California, Debra and Martin Robinson said that "the world has become a darker place" since the deaths.

Martin thanked friends and family in Australia and the United States who have offered "overwhelming support" since the men went missing.

With the ocean at their backs, mother Debra then struggled to read through prepared remarks.

"It is with heavy hearts that we share the news that Callum and Jake have been murdered," she began, her voice cracking with emotion.

"Our hearts are broken and the world has become a darker place for us."

She described Callum as a "lovable, larger-than-life character" who played professional lacrosse in the United States, where he became known as "the big koala."

Jake was described as a "happy, gentle and compassionate soul, who was pursuing a career in medicine" and had a keen love for surfing and cricket.

"They were young men enjoying their passion of surfing together," Debra said. "Now it is time to bring them home to family and friends and the ocean waves in Australia."

Stories Chosen For You

Should trump be allowed to run for office, zelensky: halting russian offensive near kharkiv is 'number one task'.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has said disrupting the Russian offensive near the north-eastern city of Kharkiv is the army's "number one task" at the moment.

"The accomplishment of this task depends on every soldier, every sergeant, every officer," he said in his daily video address published on Saturday evening.

Russian troops have occupied five Ukrainian border villages north of Kharkiv, the Defense Ministry in Moscow announced on Saturday, largely confirming unofficial Ukrainian reports.

'Mighty damn corrupt': Senate likely to investigate Trump’s 'quid pro quo' with oil barons

Former President Donald Trump recently made a controversial proposal to a gathering of oil executives and lobbyists at his Mar-a-Lago residence in Florida: favorable policy in exchange for $1 billion in campaign cash.

Now, it looks as if the U.S. Senate may launch an official inquiry into the ex-president.

That's according to the New Republic's Greg Sargent, who spoke to Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse (D-RI) about Trump's recent entreaty to the oil industry. Whitehouse said it was " highly likely " that the Senate Budget Committee would investigate the former president over his brazen offer.

"The phrase that instantly came to mind as I was reading the story was ‘quid pro quo,’" Whitehouse said, adding that he was also concerned about a series of proposed executive orders oil lobbyists drafted for Trump and to have ready to sign on day one should he win a second term in November.

"Put those things together and it starts to look mighty damn corrupt."

READ MORE: 'Undisguised corruption': Critics slam Trump for 'selling the White House' to Big Oil

Billionaire oil magnate Harold Hamm arranged the Mar-a-Lago event, which the Washington Post reported was designed to allow for the fossil fuel industry to be able to bring concerns over environmental regulations directly to Trump.

At the meeting, Trump reportedly promised to overhaul President Joe Biden's policies relating to electric vehicles and wind energy.

"The contrast between the two candidates on climate policy could not be more stark. Biden has called global warming an ' existential threat, ' and over the last three years, his administration has finalized more than 100 new environmental regulations aimed at cutting air pollution and greenhouse gas emissions, restricting toxic chemicals, and conserving public lands and waters," wrote the Post's Josh Dawsey and Maxine Joselow.

"In comparison, Trump has called climate change a 'hoax,' and his administration weakened or wiped out more than 125 environmental rules and policies over four years."

Whitehouse, who chairs the Budget Committee, said Trump's proposal to oil executives was "practically an invitation to ask more questions." He added that the inquiry would hopefully shed light on the myriad ways in which industries like Big Oil exploit the campaign finance system and find ways to make the system more transparent and accountable.

Noah Bookbinder, who is president of the anti-corruption watchdog group Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington, said that while Trump's offer was technically legal, there is still plenty of work to do in cleaning up the grey areas in federal campaign finance laws.

"There’s a clear legislative purpose in determining what happened at the meeting,” Bookbinder told Sargent. "If this really constituted “an attempt to link significant campaign contributions with specific policy promises, that suggests a huge loophole that needs to be closed.”

READ MORE: 'Corrupt': Jared Kushner's business deals under fire as Trump runs for president

Many of the environmental policies Trump suggested he would do away with in a second term are in the Inflation Reduction Act , which was the $485 billion bill Biden signed into law in 2022 that included a swath of clean energy infrastructure initiatives and incentives for electric vehicle development. Economists projected the clean energy development grants could generate roughly $1.5 trillion in new economic activity, and could reduce carbon dioxide emissions by five billion tons before the next decade.

Conversely, some of the executive orders the oil industry has prepared for Trump would undo the progress on climate Biden has made since taking office. Politico reported that some of the orders would lift Biden's pause on new natural gas export permits, open up new protected federal lands for more oil drilling and allow for more offshore oil drilling leases.

Trump casting Biden as an opponent of Big Oil is somewhat confusing, given that the United States officially hit record-high domestic oil production levels earlier this year. The U.S. Energy Information Administration found that in 2023, the U.S. produced 13 million barrels of oil per day on average, making the United States the world's largest oil producer.

Trump was trying to turn RNC into family business by making Barron party delegate: niece

Barron Trump’s aborted installation as a Florida delegate at the Republican National Convention was the latest attempt by his father to make the presidency and the Republican Party a “family business,” his niece said Saturday.

Donald Trump’s 18-year old son was announced to be entering politics and attending the convention in Milwaukee in July, where he would nominate his father as the party’s presidential nominee.

But just days after the news was revealed, the office of his mother Melania Trump shut it down in a statement which read: "While Barron is honored to have been chosen as a delegate by the Florida Republican Party, he regretfully declines to participate due to prior commitments."

Trump’s niece Mary Trump , an outspoken opponent of her relative, speculated that it was the latest move to shore up control of the party — coming hot on the heels of his daughter-in-law Lara Trump being appointed as co-chair of the RNC.

“He is trying to make this another family business that would likely fail,” said his niece on MSNBC.

ALSO READ: Mike Johnson is speaker because Hakeem Jeffries allows it

“If that is the case, it’s another way in which Donald is always putting himself first. Barron is 18 years old and has not graduated from high school yet. He needs to be out of this.

“Thankfully somebody came to their senses and pulled the idea. It never should have happened in the first place.

“We can get the sense of where Donald is heading and making sure all of his family members are in key positions politically.”

Mary Trump also talked about the criminal trial Trump has been sitting through, particularly the salacious revelations he had to listen to this week as adult movie star Stormy Daniels took the stand.

The former president is accused of business fraud involving hush money payments that were allegedly made to hide a sexual relationship he had with her.

“Donald Trump is incapable of shame or embarrassment,” his niece said.

“He is capable of humiliation, but the kind of details that were revealed in the courtroom are not really the kind of details that bother him. He has no problem being seen as somebody who is sleazy and does not treat women well.

“Unfortunately, he takes it as a badge of honor.”

Watch the video below or at this link.

Trump told to pay up before rallying in N.J. town he previously stiffed

How republican plans will make us sicker, marjorie taylor greene delays financial disclosure day after motion-to-vacate debacle.

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26 episodes

Welcome to Alternatives to AA. We're Josh and Monique. Combined we're over 5 years sober and we’re on a mission to make the difficult journey of sobriety easier to manage. We’re not against AA, but we realized we needed to know how to manage the other 23 hours of the day. From communication to relationships to self-care, we’re going to show you how to cope when your triggers try to take you down. Join us every Monday at 6 PM as we uncover not only how to live without alcohol, but how to actually thrive in sobriety and swap out your addiction for a better life.

Alternatives to AA Josh and Monique Robinson via Podcast Principles

Health & Fitness
31 JULY 2023

Episode 24: 4 Months Sober vs. 4 Years Sober

Becoming sober is a life path with many challenges – but more importantly, it’s a life-long journey with many stages. In this week’s episode, Josh sits down with his good friend Brian once again to check in on his sobriety journey as well as compare insights from a newbie to that of a veteran. On the episode, they also cover life after alcohol – it’s ups and downs, the culpability you have when you “black out”, the body-mind link, dissociation and much more! Episode Highlights: 0:00 - Introduction 0:49 - Episode beginning 1:23 - An update on Brian’s sobriety 8:42 - Being addicted to “the feeling” 12:25 - The “hair of the dog”, the relation between alcohol and Xanax 22:14 - Caffeine and low-alcohol substitutes 33:26 - Blacking out 101 37:12 - The suitcase story 52:45 - Feeling present and dissociating 1:01:59 - A recent example About Joshua and Monique Robinson: Joshua is a recovering alcoholic turned life coach and psychologist. Co-host of Alternatives to AA is his wife, Monique Robinson. Josh Robinson is a bodybuilder, athlete, and life coach currently pursuing a degree in psychology. Through hard work, relationship building, and developing their own ways of coping, Josh and Monique are now packaging their recovery in the form of a podcast. He and his wife battled and overcame alcoholism without AA, and their mission is to help others do the same. Connect with Joshua and Monique Robinson! Josh’s Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/joshua.robinson.395 Moniques Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/mo.cool.56

Episode 23: Discussion with the CEO of EverBlume

In this week’s episode, Josh sits down with Sonia Kahlon, founder and CEO of EverBlume - an alternative to AA that places people into smaller groups that are more tailored to their specific sobriety struggles. Sonia discusses her own sobriety and how she struggled to get her life together, as well as what made her stop, routines, the EverBlume platform, and more! Episode Highlights: (0:00) - Introduction (0:53) - Episode beginning, introduction to Sonia (4:08) - Sobriety can change with time, beginners vs. pros (9:40) - Finding an alternative (11:24) - More info on the guest’s groups and her platform (14:14) - Some different groups guest has (20:10) - What made you want to stop? (24:56) - Different coping mechanisms for drinking (28:26) - You cant have a routine when you’re drinking About Joshua and Monique Robinson: Joshua is a recovering alcoholic turned life coach and psychologist. Co-host of Alternatives to AA is his wife, Monique Robinson. Josh Robinson is a bodybuilder, athlete, and life coach currently pursuing a degree in psychology. Through hard work, relationship building, and developing their own ways of coping, Josh and Monique are now packaging their recovery in the form of a podcast. He and his wife battled and overcame alcoholism without AA, and their mission is to help others do the same. Connect with Joshua and Monique Robinson! Josh’s Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/joshua.robinson.395 Moniques Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/mo.cool.56

Episode 22: Addiction from a Family Members Perspective (Part 2)

Getting sober is such a personal journey - sometimes it can be easy to forget how it affects other people. In this week’s episode, the conversation between Monique and her brother Rick continues as he joins the show to share his experiences with Monique when she wasn’t sober. They dive into what’s changed, what it took for Monique to finally get sober and Rick even recalls some stories to give some more background into Monique’s journey. Episode Highlights: (0:00) - Introduction (0:48) - Episode beginning (4:36) - Some more rehab background (10:10) - Rick doesn’t forget (12:45) - What is different about Monique now that she’s sober? (15:49) - “Do you consider yourself an alcoholic?” (20:10) - Some other thoughts on dealing with alcoholism (25:48) - Episode wrap-up About Joshua and Monique Robinson: Joshua is a recovering alcoholic turned life coach and psychologist. Co-host of Alternatives to AA is his wife, Monique Robinson. Josh Robinson is a bodybuilder, athlete, and life coach currently pursuing a degree in psychology. Through hard work, relationship building, and developing their own ways of coping, Josh and Monique are now packaging their recovery in the form of a podcast. He and his wife battled and overcame alcoholism without AA, and their mission is to help others do the same. Connect with Joshua and Monique Robinson! Josh’s Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/joshua.robinson.395 Moniques Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/mo.cool.56

27 MAR 2023

Episode 21: Addiction from a Family Members Perspective (Part 1)

Getting sober is such a personal journey - sometimes it can be easy to forget how it affects other people. In this week’s episode, Monique’s brother Rick joins the show to share his experiences with Monique when she wasn’t sober. They dive into what’s changed, what it took for Monique to finally get sober and Rick even recalls some stories to give some more background into Monique’s journey. Episode Highlights: 0:00 - Introduction 0:47 - Episode beginning 1:46 - “In what ways is Monique different from when she was drinking?” 7:11 - Nothing was working 9:25 - The ability to be honest 14:40 - Some more background on Monique’s alcoholism 22:39 - Dealing with loneliness and planning for pregnancy 28:52 - How often were you worried about Monique’s safety? 34:40 - Monique’s pattern 37:09 - What Rick always feared, more fallout from drinking About Joshua and Monique Robinson: Joshua is a recovering alcoholic turned life coach and psychologist. Co-host of Alternatives to AA is his wife, Monique Robinson. Josh Robinson is a bodybuilder, athlete, and life coach currently pursuing a degree in psychology. Through hard work, relationship building, and developing their own ways of coping, Josh and Monique are now packaging their recovery in the form of a podcast. He and his wife battled and overcame alcoholism without AA, and their mission is to help others do the same. Connect with Joshua and Monique Robinson! Josh’s Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/joshua.robinson.395 Moniques Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/mo.cool.56

27 FEB 2023

Episode 20: Boundaries and the Role They Play in Sobriety

One of the most important pieces to sobriety is understanding what leads you to drinking, or using in general. Establishing boundaries around these triggers, whether they be habits or actual people, is crucial to your success. In this week’s episode, Josh and Monique talk about boundaries - not only setting them personally for yourself - but also setting them around other people. They’ll discuss where boundaries need to be created as well as how to do so properly. You’ll even get to hear about a recent experience Josh has had in his own life with setting boundaries. Episode Outline: 0:00 - Introduction 0:48 - Episode beginning 1:15 - Overview of boundaries 3:35 - Josh’s experience with setting boundaries 7:25 - Boundaries are part of “the process” 18:47 - Steps for setting up boundaries 21:58 - Being your own person 24:06 - Why boundaries are important to getting sober 29:35 - Setting boundaries for yourself 38:38 - Episode wrap-up About Joshua and Monique Robinson: Joshua is a recovering alcoholic turned life coach and psychologist. Co-host of Alternatives to AA is his wife, Monique Robinson. Josh Robinson is a bodybuilder, athlete, and life coach currently pursuing a degree in psychology. Through hard work, relationship building, and developing their own ways of coping, Josh and Monique are now packaging their recovery in the form of a podcast. He and his wife battled and overcame alcoholism without AA, and their mission is to help others do the same. Connect with Joshua and Monique Robinson! Josh’s Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/joshua.robinson.395 Moniques Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/mo.cool.56

20 FEB 2023

Episode 19: Tips for Staying Sober Long-Term

Leading a sober life is a daily challenge - it takes steady commitment, effort and support. This week, join Josh and Monique as they discuss some of their tips for staying sober in the long-term. With close to a decade of sobriety between them, they’ll let you in on some of the tools they utilize to keep their sobriety on track. Episode Highlights: 0:00 - Introduction 0:49 - Episode beginning 1:05 - Create a reality that you like more than the one you have with alcohol 5:32 - Dreams come with issues, your ego can trick you 11:06 - Keep track of your progress 16:15 - Finding new things to interest you and occupy your time 18:44 - Envisioning where “going backwards” would take you 21:25 - Bringing back things you enjoyed as a kid 23:30 - Helping others with their sobriety 26:21 - Looking at sobriety as a daily challenge 30:07 - “Drinking dreams” 32:43 - Live in love, not fear 35:50 - Episode wrap-up About Joshua and Monique Robinson: Joshua is a recovering alcoholic turned life coach and psychologist. Co-host of Alternatives to AA is his wife, Monique Robinson. Josh Robinson is a bodybuilder, athlete, and life coach currently pursuing a degree in psychology. Through hard work, relationship building, and developing their own ways of coping, Josh and Monique are now packaging their recovery in the form of a podcast. He and his wife battled and overcame alcoholism without AA, and their mission is to help others do the same. Connect with Joshua and Monique Robinson! Josh’s Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/joshua.robinson.395 Moniques Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/mo.cool.56

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Before Jackie Robinson became a baseball icon, he was an elite multisport athlete

Jackie robinson may not have been the best baseball player in america when he turned pro, but he was an elite athlete who changed the game..

Andrea Williams is an opinion columnist for The Tennessean and curator of the Black Tennessee Voices initiative.

April 15 is Jackie Robinson Day. And every year, on Jackie Robinson Day , we celebrate Jackie’s contributions to baseball: his breaking of Major League Baseball’s modern color line, as well as his speed and tenacity that revolutionized the way the game is played in the Majors.

What we don’t talk about is who Jackie was before he joined the Brooklyn Dodgers, namely that he was perhaps the best all-around athlete this country has ever known.

At UCLA, Jackie excelled in football, basketball, track and baseball. He was only the second athlete in school history to letter in four sports. This part we know; these are the stats rattled off in rushed asides, like footnotes. But these details are, in fact, critical. They explain why Jackie was the perfect choice to integrate MLB and, pioneering, barrier-breaking achievements aside, how he became one of the greatest baseball players to ever lace up a pair of cleats.

Another column by Andrea Williams: At South Carolina, Coach Dawn Staley is building a legacy bigger than one player

History records Jackie Robinson's multi-facted dominance

In the winter of 1940, after helping push the Bruins to an undefeated 1939 season, the first in UCLA history, Jackie turned to basketball. He integrated the team and quickly made the foundering program relevant.

On Jan. 12, against Stanford, Jackie scored 23 of UCLA’s 38 points. “Robinson,” wrote Lester Grant of the Oakland Post Enquirer, “living up to all advance notices, staged a first-class exhibition in his debut in conference basketball.” That spring, Jackie won the Pacific Coast Conference’s broad jump title. He also made waves on the baseball diamond.

In a March scrimmage against Cal, Jackie went 4-4 from the plate with three stolen bases, including home. He was also errorless at shortstop, contributing to three double plays, and was brought in as a relief pitcher. “We doubt if there is anything to which he set his hand and mind he couldn’t do,” declared the California Eagle. The accolades kept coming. Ahead of the 1940 football season, Babe Hollingbery, Washington State’s head coach, dubbed Jackie “the world’s greatest athlete.”

And on September 26, just ahead UCLA’s season opener, sportswriter Maxwell Stiles dropped the most complete case for Jackie’s multi-faceted dominance in the Oakland Tribune:

There is little doubt that this man Robinson is today the greatest all-around athlete in the world. Last year he led the Nation in average yards from scrimmage (12 per play) and also topped the country in punt returns (average 20 per run back). He broad jumps 25 feet 6 inches, runs 100 yards in 9.7 seconds, bats over .400 in baseball and topped the Pacific Coast Conference basketball scorers. He plays golf in the low 70s and reached the semi-final of the National tennis championships for the Negro race.

It’s not at all unreasonable to say that, had the NFL not had its own color line when Jackie left UCLA, No. 42 would’ve been a Hall of Fame football player who never again stepped foot on a baseball diamond. What’s more, had the sports climate of the 40s been anything like today’s, Jackie’s baseball exploits would’ve been dismissed well before he had a chance to rewrite history books.

Ace white pitcher Bob Feller, who barnstormed with Satchel Paige and played the regular season in Cleveland, remarked that Jackie had “football shoulders and couldn’t hit an inside pitch to save his neck.” Meanwhile, Black pitcher Hilton Smith, who played with Jackie on the Kansas City Monarchs of the Negro American League, called him “an average fielder.”

Today, a player like the one described by Feller and Smith doesn’t become a first-ballot Cooperstown inductee. Today, that player is forced to make football (or track or basketball) work until it no longer does, with baseball never becoming a viable option.

Where Major League Baseball's diversity aims fall short

On opening day rosters this year, only 6% of Major League players were Black American, a number that harkens back to the mid-1950s , before every MLB team had even one Black player. It’s an issue that is often discussed in conjunction with Jackie Robinson Day, and it’s something that Major League Baseball is clearly working to remedy. Through a number of diversity efforts , numbers of Black American players selected in the first round of the MLB draft has risen, even if that change has yet to be reflected in the Bigs.

Yet for all the progress being made, the fact remains that most of the Black athletes who are able to take advantage of MLB’s diversity initiatives are either lifelong baseball players (picking up a glove as early as 5 or 6), or they’re kids who have already specialized in the sport — that is, they’re on the diamond year-round, eschewing basketball, football and other sports. In some cases, they’re both.

To be clear: This isn’t a bad thing. It says a lot for baseball’s staying power, it’s appeal. And it certainly says a lot to naysayers who justify predominately white rosters across all levels of the sport by suggesting that Black kids just aren’t interested in playing.

But it does nothing for kids who may have come to baseball later, who were forced out of the game by a coach who relegated them to the outfield and the bottom of the lineup, or who, like UCLA-era Jackie, have abilities in other sports that overshadow their still-developing baseball skills.

Professionalization of youth sports hurts kids and the game

Specialization and year-round competition aren’t unique to baseball. AAU basketball means you can hoop through spring and summer long after the winter season is over; even tackle football has taken to the road, with the travel season serving as a sort of bridge between fall and the 7v7 contests of warmer months. But I believe baseball, and its potential participant pool, are most harmed by this professionalization of youth sports.

It doesn’t matter if a kid has never picked up a basketball in his life, if he’s 6’4” in the eighth grade, he’s gonna make somebody’s team. In football, if he’s quick and shifty, somebody’s gonna give him the rock and tell him to run. But baseball, they will tell you, is a game of endless reps, of elusive mastery, of practice that never quite makes perfection. There’s no showing up and making a team based on athleticism and potential. He’s too behind, they’ll say. He’s too raw.

It’s why coaches want kids there for the spring and summer travel season, for fall ball, for all the trainings in between. And if they’re not — whether because their family can’t afford it or because, increasingly, the kid doesn’t want to walk away from football or basketball or track—they lose.

They lose the opportunity to join the most competitive teams with the best coaches. They lose the opportunity to learn how to fail, again and again, because baseball is full of failure. And as they fall further and further behind their specialized contemporaries, these kids lose the opportunity to play at higher and higher levels, to impact the game for generations to come.

They lose, and we lose, too.

Jackie Robinson and Patrick Mahomes had this in common

There were, of course, many reasons why Jackie was chosen to break Major League Baseball’s color barrier, his experience on predominantly white teams and his ability to draw a crowd included. Chief among them, however, was his athleticism.

Jackie may not have been the best baseball player in America when he joined the Monarchs or the Brooklyn Dodgers organization, but he was a competitor. He was elite — the kind of well-rounded, multi-faceted athlete we celebrate when we cheer for Super Bowl quarterback Patrick Mahomes, who loved baseball first.

Those kinds of elite talents are still out there, leaping four feet off the ground for a one-armed touchdown catch and swiveling past defenders on a drive through the paint. They’re there, and baseball needs them. But even as coaches and executives tell us that, we haven’t quite figured out how to pull them into the sport, just as they are.

We should, though. We owe it to the game and to ourselves. And we owe it to one of the greatest all-around athletes to ever live, whose legacy we celebrate every April 15.

Jackie became a baseball player by accident, by nature of racism and segregation and all the ills he would spend his whole life fighting against, even after he hung up his cleats.

But none of those whys matter anymore. All that matters is that he did, and that the baseball — and our world — are better for it.

Andrea Williams is an opinion columnist for The Tennessean and curator of the Black Tennessee Voices initiative. She has an extensive background covering country music, sports, race and society. Email her at [email protected] or follow her on X (formerly known as Twitter) at @AndreaWillWrite .

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