This is what the rankings looked like at the start of 2023 and as the season is already over this is probably a great chance to go through how the rankings started and how the rankings ended in 2023 and what are the big changes to those rankings and as you can notice already with some of the players in the top 10 to start the year what actually happened to them to drop out of the top 10 and where are the players that ended up in the top 10 at the end of the year and how they got into the top 10 by the end of the season. The first week of January we had Djokovic winning an Adelaide, the USA winning the United Cup but it didn't really result in too many ranking changes for those players however there were changes with Rublev going up two spots and Runa going up one spot pushing Ozealia Sim down a spot, Medvedev went down a spot at Hercatch also falling out of the top 10 to start the year we also had some ranking changes to the points with guys like Nadal, Ozealia Sim and Medvedev losing points that they made up from 2022. The week before the Australian Open nobody played and we didn't have any changes to the rankings as the seeds were already set for the big slam but then as we went to the Australian Open Novak Djokovic won the event got that 10th Australian Open and it helped his ranking he went up to number one in the world with Sidney Pass who made the final going up a spot as well guys like Rublev Fritz, Runa and Hercatch also gaining spots whereas guys like Elkiraz who actually didn't play the Australian Open he went down a spot Soda Kasparud and the two finals of 2022 Nadal and Medvedev they went down four spots each with Medvedev falling out of the top 10 completely really capping off a terrible couple of months for him that started in 2022 so some big changes to the rankings there with only the first month of the season down. First week of February we had the Davis Cup which meant nobody got any points and there was no changes to the rankings. The second week of February though we did have some changes with Fritz going up one spot thanks to making a semi-final in Dallas and Ozealia Sim dropping down a spot because he lost a lot of points from Rotterdam a tournament that he won 12 months prior. Other points that were changed Sidney Pass, Ruud and Rublev also dropping points from the 2022 events at this time. Towards the end of February we had some more changes with Medvedev getting back into the top 10 after winning in Rotterdam we also had Elkiraz winning in Buenos Aires and Fritz winning in Delray Beach however those two players didn't get any boost in the rankings Elkiraz actually lost points because he won a tournament 12 months ago that was worth more points in Rio. Final week of February Medvedev continued to win by winning in Doha this time and helped him in the rankings with both Fritz and Medvedev getting a boost pushing both Rublev and Nadal down the rankings. Djokovic, Sidney Pass, Rublev and Nadal all losing points due to playing really well in Dubai and Acapulco in 2022 and then the first week of March Medvedev wins a third title in a row which resulted in him going up another spot in the rankings. Ruiner also went up a spot in the rankings guys like Djokovic, Ruud Fritz and Rublev also gaining a lot of points thanks to successful weeks with guys like Rublev and Nadal and Ojelia Sim dropping down the rankings again then the first Masters 1000 event of the year complete Indian Wells Elkiraz taking the win in Indian Wells winning his first trophy here and being some big names to do it and it resulted in a massive change with Elkiraz getting back top spot Medvedev also made the final of Indian Wells makes him go up to one more spot as well and guys like Ojelia Sim and Hercatch also benefiting from playing well at the event. Djokovic he went down a number two with Fritz going down five spots after failing to defend the points from last year's event that he won and of course Nadal he drops down four spots after failing to defend the points that he made from the final of last year then we went to Miami and Medvedev wins another title his fourth title in five events and thanks to Elkiraz losing before the final Djokovic he regained top spot Medvedev also got another boost in the rankings with Rublev and Sinner also going up Elkiraz going down because he was the champion of Miami last year and he only made the semi-finals this time around Rude also dropping points due to the final of last year not being able to defend that and Hercatch also made a semi-final last year and didn't defend those points Ojelia Sim also a victim of dropping points so some big changes again and we're only three months into the year and the World Unborn ranking has already changed hands a couple of times. Onto the clay now and Rude wins his first title of the year in Esterel and got a little boost in the rankings with Sinner also getting a boost as well Medvedev and Ruiner end up dropping spots as a result then to the big start of the clay court season with Rublev taking out his first 1000 title in Monte Carlo in what was a very very stacked event didn't get a boost in the rankings though but guys like Rude, Medvedev and Ruiner who actually made the final did get a boost in the rankings at the expense of Citypass and Ojelia Sim of course Citypass had won the event in 2022 so he dropped a lot of points and it also affected his ranking going to the last week of April now and Elkiraz he wins in Barcelona defending the title there so didn't actually gain any points from that event and Holger Ruiner he won in Munich also defending the title that he had won 12 months ago so gets to keep his ranking the only change in the rankings was Medvedev going up and Rude going down there were some points being lost with guys like Djokovic, Rublev, Rude and FAA losing points from tournaments they had played 12 months ago then we headed over to Madrid and Carlos Elkiraz defending the title in Madrid and getting to keep all those points and keep close to Djokovic who was occupying the number one spot at the time there's only a little bit of a change in the middle though because Madrid was such a random event with Fritz going up and Ojelia Sim going down got a lot of players lost points Djokovic, Citypass, Rublev, Sinner, Ojelia Sim, Ruiner and Rude all dropping points at this event but it didn't affect too many of the rankings just yet then we went to Rome the last big event before the French Open and Daniel Medvedev he wins his first clay court title and the Claverdev memes were strong during this time and actually really helped his ranking as well he went up a spot as did Elkiraz after Djokovic dropping points so again another change at the top with Elkiraz going up Djokovic going down Medvedev gets to number two before the French Open and Ruiner also got a little boost in the rankings the week before the French Open Fritz ended up going up one spot with Sinner dropping down one spot after he made the semi-finals of Geneva so a little bit of a change there but it didn't affect the seedings going into the French then the French Open the second Grand Slam of the year Novak Djokovic takes the win at the French Open winning his second Grand Slam of the year and it helped his ranking as he went back up to the number one spot pushing both Medvedev and Elkiraz down a spot actually I've also jumped back into the top 10 after a successful French Open with Ozealia Sim dropping down outside the top 10 so his great start to the 2022 season is now coming back to haunt him and other points that were dropped guys like Rublev, Medvedev, Sinner and Ozealia Sim all dropping points after failing to defend those points that they made from 2022 then we headed on to the grass courts and Tiafo wins in Stuttgart which helped his ranking getting him back into the top 10 at the expense of Karin Hashinov points that were lost guys like Medvedev, Hashinov and Sinzipas all dropping points after winning the first events or playing well in the first events of the grass season last year then the second week of the grass court season cast Elkiraz he wins the Queen's Club event which he needed to do to get back to world number one and he did he takes the number one spot ahead of Wimbledon moving Djokovic down to number two going into the third Grand Slam of the year and again Elkiraz just seems to always overtake Djokovic at the right time just before the slams to secure the number one seeds Rublev also played pretty well getting to the final of Hella but Sinner was the one who got a boost in the rankings at the expense of Fritz who dropped down one as a result Fritz losing a lot of points from last year's events then the final week before the Grand Slam of course Wimbledon the third slam of the year we actually didn't have any of the top 10 in action so no change to the rankings then we go to the third slam of the year and Carlos Elkiraz gets the win he wins Wimbledon in an absolute epic final five step final beats Djokovic and keeps his number one ranking after that tournament of course they did play at the French Open in the semifinals where Djokovic got the win so this rivalry just started to get a little bit more interesting now however there was no change to the rankings even though we had so many points up for grabs the ranking stayed the same all right now we start getting onto the hard courts again but before that we play some clay court events Rubelev he wins a clay court event in Bastard taking out Rude in the final however there was no change to the rankings this week guys like Elkiraz and Rude dropping points from 12 months ago but it didn't change their ranking then the first events of the hard court season the US Open series of course coming up Taylor Fritz he wins in Atlanta however didn't result in any change to the rankings but there were some points that were lost guys like Sinner Elkiraz and TRFO all losing points from 12 months ago but again no change to the rankings just yet in the second week of the US Open series Sidney Pass wins his first title of the year in Los Carbos which gave him a nice little boost in the rankings he went up one spot pushing Rude down a spot and there were some points that were lost as well between Medvedev and Rubelev both winning events last year or playing well in events last year they ended up dropping a few points here and there then we go to the biggest hard court event since March and Yannick Sinner he wins his first 1000 event of his career in Canada and it resulted in a nice little boost to the rankings also Runa he got one spot higher as well in the rankings so those guys are starting to shape up nicely in that middle section of the rankings both Rude and Rubelev dropping down the rankings after losing points from 12 months ago guys like Rude, Rune and TRFO were the ones in the top 10 that did drop the most points at this part of the season then we went to Cincinnati and of course Djokovic playing in America for the first time in a couple of years and he didn't disappoint he takes out Elkres in the final he gets that revenge and wins the title in Cincinnati in an epic matchup as well just like Wimbledon except this time it was Djokovic's turn to win guys like Runa and Rude also got a boost in the rankings as Sidney Pass dropped down a lot in the rankings because of failing to defend the points that he made from the final last year guys like Medvedev, Sinner and Rubelev also losing a lot of points from Cincinnati in 2022 the week before the US Open no changes to the rankings and nobody played so it was just pretty much like every single Grand Slam this year most of the players in the top 10 don't play the week before the big slam and then of course we had the US Open the final Grand Slam of the year and Novak Djokovic he wins the US Open making it three out of four for the year taking out Medvedev in the final this time didn't have to play Elkres this time around he almost did though because Medvedev beat Elkres to then play Djokovic but Djokovic regains his top spot pushing Elkres back down to number two guys like Sidney Pass, Rudelev, Fritz and Zverev also getting a boost in the rankings with guys like Sinner, Rude and Tiafo dropping down the ranks of course Elkres, Rude, Tiafo all making it to the semifinals or better last year losing a lot of points also Sinner and Rune dropping a few points as well after not being able to play that well at the US Open compared to 12 months prior then we went back to the Davis Cup the group stage and there was no change in the rankings because of course Davis Cup is not worth any points and then the Asian swing we started going to the tournaments in China again for the first time in four years and Zverev he wins in Chengdu the only player in the top 10 that actually played for points because everybody else played for the Lever Cup or at least most of them did and Team World won the Lever Cup but of course that's not worth any points so there was no change to the rankings then we went to Beijing and this was a big one because a lot of the big names were playing this event and Yannick Sinner he beats Elkres and Medvedev to win in Beijing and he got a nice boost in the rankings he went up three spots this week pushing Runa Sintipas and Rublev down the ranks and he started to put his name up there as one of these big four contenders there were some other points that were lost as well with Djokovic and Runa losing points from 12 months ago in events that they didn't defend then we go to Shanghai for the first time in four years and this was a really weird event because Djokovic didn't play there were some massive names that did play but didn't do that well and her catch he ends up winning his second Master 1000 title in the final saving championship points beating Rublev in that final however Rublev did get a boost in the rankings he went up two spots Rude went up a spot and Zverev also went up a spot with guys like Runa Sintipas and Fritz dropping down spots not because they didn't play well in Shanghai last year because of course it wasn't an event it was because guys like Djokovic Fritz Sintipas and Medvedev all played well last year in Astana or in Tokyo and those events weren't put in this part of the calendar because Shanghai came back so there were a couple of changes in the rankings they're a little bit harsh on some of the guys then we start going back to the indoor hardcourts of Europe and only one change with Fritz going up and Zverev going down and some point changes as well with Runa and Sintipas losing points after making the final in Stockholm 12 months ago then we went to Vienna one of the big events of the season and Janik Sintipas wins again beating Denim Medvedev in the final he wins in Vienna didn't get a boost in the rankings but again his form post the US Open has just been so so good we did have changes though with Sintipas and Zverev going up with Runa and Fritz going down and some changes in the points as well with Medvedev Runa and Elkraz all losing points after failing to defend those points from 12 months prior then we head to the final week of the year the Paris indoors last chance for a lot of these guys to get into the adb finals of course and Novak Djokovic after a very tough week he looked like he was struggling with some illness as well he takes out Paris yet again in his first tournament since the US Open as well so he was on a massive winning streak he didn't get a boost in the rankings though because of course he was already number one he just extended his lead over Elkraz but guys like Rude Sverev and Fritz all got a boost in the rankings because Runa who was the defending champion failed to defend the title so he went down three spots guys like Runa Elkraz and Rude all dropping points from playing the event 12 months ago then the final week of the year before the adb finals all the points stripped from the adb finals so guys like Djokovic Rude Rubelev Fritz and Sintipas all losing points which gave guys like Sverev Runa her catch a nice boost in the rankings Fritz and Rude who played really well at the adb finals last year dropping a lot of points and unfortunately unable to defend those points they dropped down the rankings with Rude dropping out of the top 10 completely to end the season and then of course the adb finals the last event of the season and again Novak Djokovic winning the event he was the defending champion he did lose a match to the anexineral on the way but that didn't matter he still wins the whole event and actually resulted in no changes to the top 10 which is so weird at the end of this season with so many points up for grabs to not have any change at the end of the year that is very very strange but Novak Djokovic he wins the adb finals and stays on top for another season and then we have the Davis Cup with Italy taking out the Davis Cup finals of course Davis Cup not worth any points but there was something to mention with Sina taking out Djokovic to then go on and win with team Italy and win the Davis Cup for the second time in their history so that is what the rankings look like at the end of 2023 some things to note though and the changes that we had of course going back to the start of the season guys like Elcaraz Nadal and Rude being that top three Elcaraz goes down to number two after being number one to start the season Nadal started at number two in the rankings to start the year he's outside the top 600 now and Kaspar Rude at number three he dropped down to number 11 in the world outside the top 10 after failing to replicate what he did in 2022 since he passed he went from number four to number six in the world and Djokovic getting the biggest boost going from five to one over the span of the last 12 months Ozealia Sim also dropped from six to 29 in the rankings Mevvedev he went from seven up to number three with Rubelev going from number eight to number five Hercatch and Fritz they just swapped over their rankings and the guys that made it back into the top 10 or into the top 10 to end the year Runa he went from 11 to number eight Zverev went from number 12 to number seven and Sina went from 15 to number four in the world the biggest rise in the top 10 so that's what the top 10 look like let me know down the comments below what was the most exciting thing about the rankings for you this year I love the fact that we had the number one ranking going back and forth multiple times throughout the season and also seeing guys like Sina and Runa going up the rankings and getting into that top four for the first time getting some career high rankings there the rise of Mevvedev again remember Mevvedev at the start of the year dropped out of the top 10 and then of course ended up at number three in the world so he got to turn his season around but look into the comments below what was the craziest thing or the best thing about the rankings in 2023


to introduce President Ronald Reagan, the President of the United States. Thank you. Thank you very much. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. General Goodpaster, Reverend Clergy, General Means, the members of the United States Senate and House of Representatives were here. The officers on the platform, you, the family, the friends, the core, and above all, this graduating class. Nancy and I consider it a great pleasure to be here today to congratulate you, who have successfully completed your education and training at the United States Military Academy. I'm a little self-conscious being introduced as your commander when I began my military career as a second lieutenant in the cavalry, the horse cavalry, that is. I have threatened on occasion that that was the reason I got this job was so that I could re-institute that horse cavalry. But we honor you for the responsibility that you are willing to accept. Today you become officers in the armed forces of the United States. Guardians of freedom, protectors of our heritage, but more than that, you become the keepers of the peace. Those shrill voices that would have us believe the defenders of our nation are somehow the enemies of peace are as false as they are shrill. A Chinese philosopher, a Chinese philosopher, Sun Tzu, 2,500 years ago, said winning a hundred victories in a hundred battles is not the acme of skill. To subdue the enemy without fighting is the acme of skill. He, a truly successful army, is one that because of its strength and ability and dedication will not be called upon to fight for no one will dare to provoke it. There have been four wars in my lifetime. None of them came about because the United States was too strong. At the end of World War II, we alone were at the peak of our military strength. Our great industrial capacity was untouched by war's destruction. And it was then that in those dark days that Pope Tius XII said America has a great genius for great and unselfish deeds. Into the hands of America, God has placed an afflicted mankind. We set out to restore the war-ravaged lands of our erstwhile enemies as well as our friends. We prevented what could have been a retreat into the dark ages. Unfortunately, another great power in the world was marching to a different drumbeat. Creating a society in which everything that isn't compulsory is prohibited. The citizens in that society have little more to say about their government than a prison inmate has to say about the prison administration. About ten days ago, I addressed the graduating class at the University of Notre Dame. Young men and women of your generation were facing a future in which they wonder what jobs will be available and who their employers will be. You don't have that problem. You know what your job will be, and your employers will be those Notre Dame graduates as well as the rest of your fellow citizens. Now, of course, they won't be directly and personally in charge. That's left to those of us that they've chosen to represent them. Secretary Marsh, who is here, Secretary of the Army. But speaking on behalf of all of the people, those employers of yours, may I say that we intend that you shall find better working conditions, tools adequate to the tasks you're expected to perform, and pay somewhat more commensurate with the responsibilities you assume than has been the case in recent years. Now, you may have heard rumors to the effect that increasing government spending is not something I'm prone to do. And to tell the truth, there's a certain substance to those rumors. At the same time, I accept without question the words of George Washington, to be prepared for war is one of the most effectual means of preserving the peace. In spite of some things you may have heard, he didn't tell me that personally. Still, I'm in full agreement and believe that he did say it. But let me seriously speak about your employers. We've been through a period in which it seemed that we, the people, had forgotten that government is a convenience of for and by the people. And while we were busy with our own affairs, government began to grow beyond the consent of the governed. Its growth was nourished by an ever larger share of the people's earnings that it took by taxation which became more and more confiscatory. At the same time, government neglected one of its prime responsibilities, national security, as it engaged more and more in social experimentation. Our margin of safety in an increasingly hostile world was allowed to diminish. And for a time it seemed that there was an erosion of respect for the honorable profession that you have chosen. All of this has led to an economic crisis, deficit spending, an almost trillion dollar debt resulted in runaway inflation, lowered productivity, and great unemployment. And the tools of your trade were given a very low priority. Well, I'm happy to tell you that the people of America have recovered from what can only be called a temporary aberration. There is a spiritual revival going on in this country, a hunger on the part of the people to once again be proud of America, all that it is and all that it can be. The first step in restoring our margin of safety must be the rejuvenation of our economy. A vibrant and expanding economy is necessary if we're to have the research, the technology, and the industry and capacity to provide you with what you need to practice your profession. Reflecting the will of the people, the government has returned to our long-time tradition of bipartisanship, not only where national security is concerned, but with regard to the economic needs of our people. In recent weeks, one could say there were no Democrats or Republicans in Congress, just Americans. Yes, there are and will be disagreements, but they are legitimate differences of opinion on how best to reduce government costs, what tax changes will provide incentive to increase productivity, and how best to restore our defense capability. Already, the Congress has voted the greatest reduction in the budget ever attempted, and at the same time has mightily increased the spending for the military. The argument, if there is any, will be over which weapons, not whether we should forsake weaponry for treaties and agreements. My good friend Lawrence Bielenson authored a book a few years ago called The Treaty Trap. It was the result of years of research, and it makes plain that no nation that placed its faith in parchment or paper, while at the same time it gave up its protective hardware, ever lasted long enough to write many pages in history. Now, this is not to say that we shouldn't seek treaties and understandings and even mutual reduction of strategic weapons. The search for peace must go on, but we have a better chance of finding it if we maintain our strength while we're searching. Mr. Bielenson has recently authored a new thought-provoking book called Survival and Peace in the Nuclear Age. But weaponry alone does not mean security. General George Patton said, Wars may be fought with weapons, but they are won by men. It is the spirit of the men who follow and of the man who leads that gains the victory. Now, today we seek only to make one change in that statement. It is the men and women who follow and the men and women who lead. Now, I meant to ask the general before I got up here, and I forgot to do it, because I've been given two figures. I know that there are either fifty-eight or sixty-eight women in this graduating class, and I do know that women constitute more than nine percent of the army today. The indispensable factor for protection for all that we hold dear is leadership. The leadership of you and young men and women like you that you offer to this nation. You will be the individuals who most inspire and lead those who are called upon to do the hard and sometimes thankless job. There is a writer, James Warner Bella, sometimes called our Rudyard Kipling, because of his stories of our army on the frontier as we pushed westward. And in one of his stories, he described a poignant scene, a commanding officer lay dying in the field of battle. As he passed the command to a younger officer, he said, there may be only one time in your life when your country will call upon you and you will be the only one who can do the nasty job that has to be done. Do it, or forever after, there will be the taste of ashes in your mouth. A torch of leadership is being handed to you in this commencement ceremony today, a ceremony that in all this land is duplicated only in the several other service academies. I know that you've learned the principles of leadership here in this historic place. You know that it requires one to command respect of those who follow by deserving that respect, by dedication and total commitment to the defense of our country and all that it represents. You've had an excellent example to follow. General Goodpastner, who is, I know, an honorary member of your graduating class now, he arrived as superintendent almost at the same time as you enrolled as plagues, and he retires now as you graduate. He served his country well, retired as a four-star general, but was willing to leave retirement and give up a star to return to West Point. You're part of a great tradition. It's overused, I know, but the term, the long gray line, is descriptive of the tradition of which you are now a part. In that line have been men who turned defeat into victory, who stood in the breach till citizen armies could be raised. For a time, West Point was the nation's principal source of professionally trained engineers. The West was explored and mapped by members of the long gray line. A West Point graduate helped design the Panama Canal in the hallowed tunnel. Two were presidents. Two were presently cabinet members in this administration. Others have been giants of commerce and industry. Henry DuPont, class of 1833. Robert E. Wood, class of 1900. Dwight Eisenhower said even in the event of a complete disarmament, there is a role for West Point. Even if we just turned our graduates back into the body politic, it would be good. The graduates are trained people who understand their duty and who do it. Six of the astronauts were graduates of West Point. Among them the first man to walk in space, Colonel Edward White, who then lost his life in 1967 in a tragic fire that swept the Apollo spacecraft. But let us look ahead to the force of which you will be an important and significant part. I doubt there will be many surprises because in a way you've been Army for the last four years. There's little chance that you will be like that recruit in World War II, who asked in some bewilderment why the Army did certain things in the way it did.  If you were in charge of a brand new country and creating an Army for that country, you finally got a division organized, what would you call it? The recruits said, well, I guess I'd call it the first division. Well, he said in the United States Army, when they did that, they called it the second division. And he said, when you understand that, you know everything about the Army and why it does things the way it does. But our country has a unique tradition among the nations. Unlike the other powers with armies of conscripts, our military was always composed of citizen volunteers. In times past, the Standing Army was a skeleton force that expanded in wartime to absorb the draftees, the conscripts. We also counted on a National Guard, a trained reserve to bridge the period when the draftees were undergoing basic training. We must still have that reserve, and we're taking steps to upgrade it to a state of immediate readiness. We once had the luxury of time provided by the two great oceans, a luxury we no longer have. At the end of World War II, we continued the draft into peacetime, even though the peacetime draft was counter to American tradition. We had always believed that only in the most severe national emergency did a government have acclaimed a mandatory service of its younger citizens. But we returned to that tradition in 1973, a volunteer military. Some proclaimed it a failure from the start. I'm not going to take your time by reciting the pros and cons of the debate which still goes on, except to say that some expressed the belief that patriotism alone should be cause enough to serve. Well, George Washington, to quote him again, once said of patriotism, it must be aided by a prospect of interest or some reward. For a time it may have itself pushed men to action to bear much to encounter difficulties, but it will not endure unassisted by interest. Now it's true that patriotism can't be bought. Neither can it be coerced. And you here today are living proof of that. Obviously, you did not choose this profession with the thought of making a fortune. Samuel Johnson, 200 years ago, said an officer is much more respected than any other man who has so little money. That young men and women volunteered for duty in our armed forces and then found that too much of their reward was expected to be patriotism. And in recent years, even here, they were shortchanged. In much of the 70s, there was a widespread lack of respect for the uniform born perhaps of what has been called the Vietnam syndrome. The result was inevitable, a fall off of enlistments, but even worse, a drop in re-enlistment resulting in a great loss of experienced non-commissioned officers. The cry for a draft arose to a crescendo. Well, I still believe there is another way, one more in keeping with our system of rewarding those who work and serve on a scale commensurate with what we ask of them. I don't suppose we could put an exact price on the sacrifice that we ask of those who guarantee our safety, but one thing is certain, they deserve better than a bare subsistence level. I have asked Secretary of Defense Weinberger to form a Defense Manpower Task Force to review the entire military manpower question and to make proposals which will increase the effectiveness of the active and reserve all volunteer forces. Last year's pay increase was a step in the right direction, but we're asking for another one in the fiscal year that begins October 1st. We seek to channel pay increases and bonuses to those in the most needed skill areas. We're studying proposals for a merit pay system and increased flexibility in personnel practices. A few years ago, the GI Bill was eliminated and replaced with a program having fewer benefits. At the same time, we were expanding federal aid to college students. The federal government in effect provided more benefits to those who were not serving their country and reduced them for those who were. The Defense Manpower Task Force will be studying ways in which we can make enlistment more attractive to the kind of young people we need in our military forces. Already, enlistments are up and so are re-enlistments. And surprisingly, or maybe we shouldn't be surprised, many who have already left the service are now returning. There's also been a decided rise in quality as measured by educational and testing attainment. Something other than pay and benefits contributed to this. I mentioned earlier the new spirit that is abroad in our land. The era of self-doubt is over. We've stopped looking at our warts and rediscovered how much there is to love in this blessed land. All of us together, and you very definitely in the post you go to, can help restore the sense of pride our men and women are entitled to have in wearing the uniform. Let friend and foe alike be made aware of the spirit that is sweeping across our land because it means we will meet our responsibility to the free world. Very much a part of this new spirit is patriotism. And with that goes a heartfelt appreciation for the sacrifices of those in uniform.  You can transmit the historic heritage, which is in the very air of West Point. The first Purple Heart Medal was awarded here. It was the first decoration ever given to an enlisted man. At trophy point I'm told there are links of a great chain that was forged and stretched across the Hudson to prevent the British fleet from penetrating further into the valley. Today, you are that chain, holding back an evil force that would extinguish the light we've been tending for 6,000 years. Now before I finish, there is one thing that I should say on behalf of you directly. And that is that in keeping with what I understand as a tradition, I have asked the superintendent to grant an amnesty. I knew I should have saved that for the last, but seriously, I wanted to close with some other remarks. Almost two decades ago in the sunset of his life, a West Point graduate, Douglas MacArthur, returned to this place to address the Cadet Corps. No one who ever heard him that day can ever forget his call to duty, honor, country. Nor his declaration that so long as there was breath in his body, he would hear the words, the Corps, the Corps, the Corps. Do your duty, keep untarnished your honor, and you of the Corps will preserve this country for yourselves, for all of us, for your children, and for your children's children. God bless you and keep you. Mr. President, on behalf of the class of 1981, I would like to thank you and to express our appreciation to you for taking time out and traveling to West Point to speak to us at our graduation ceremony. As a small token of appreciation, we would like to present to you this Cadet Saber. Thank you, sir. Well, thank you very much. Thank you all. I'm very proud and most honored with this. And Senator, I may just wear this when I come up on a hill a few times. Ha, ha, ha.


Welcome to the USS Wasp. I hope you enjoy our commemoration of the War of 1812. We need the Navy for a thousand reasons. America needs the Navy. Few reasons why we need the Navy. Number one, we have so many of our citizens here in the United States. We live close to the water and we need that security to know if something happens, the Navy can jump in and help us. We need a strong Navy to help defend this wonderful country and allow us to have our freedom. It helps to keep the commerce lanes open, set the free trade throughout the world. We are just very excited to have you all here and God bless America. Where would we be without our Navy? I'm a retired U.S. Navy captain, served in the Navy from 1962 to 1985 in the Supply Corps. Proud to be there. America needs a Navy. We're 2,000 miles wide but basically in today's world we're an island nation. We have to be able to project our power around the world as fast as we can and with as much power as we can.


Hi Bev, my name is Ashley and I work in the Internet Department here at Oxfam Toyota. I noticed that you are interested in a new Corolla. I want to hit instant you over our current inventory for you to look over at your convenience. Please let me know if anything interests you. That way I can get you more information or even schedule a time for you to stop by a dealership. You can give me a call. My number is<PHONE_NUMBER> or also email me back. Thanks. Bye.


Hi everyone, I'm Joe for jaspyscasebreaks.com, happy Friday, coming at you with 2021 Hit Parade, Autograph First Round Edition, football jerseys, Autograph Football jerseys, Series 2, Ten Box Case Break, Random Team Number One, it's an example of what you can get out here. Some of these, I think most of these jerseys are custom jerseys, meaning there's no Adidas or Nike logo or whatever on it, but some of them are like the actual retail jerseys that you can get. So a lot of good stuff, each box is hand numbered, each box contains a first round draft pick, which is pretty nice. You can chase Mahomes and Lamar Jackson, among others. Everyone gets a team of the NFL. If it's a collegiate uniform, it'll go the team they are on the longest of their active, or the team they're currently on if they're active, the longest team they played for if they are retired. Thanks to this group of people right here for getting into the action, I appreciate it.  Let's get all of us on one screen, alphabetized by Column B by Team and we're gonna pause the video, we're gonna allow for a little bit of trade chatter when we come back. We'll see if there's any trades and then we'll have the break. Stick around, BRB. All right, welcome back everybody. There were no deals done, a lot a little bit of trade chatter but no deals were done so that list you saw right there remains the same. The case is back here and I know you don't see it here but it says hit parade first round edition on here so let's pop this open. Here we've got a box up on top and then that's one, two, three, four, five, six, seven, eight, nine, ten. All ten boxes are in here. Remember, like you saw in the description, Column B only made a hundred of these. Here's the first round edition sticker right there. All right, I'm actually gonna turn off the top camera because we're gonna play some lightning rounds of who am I. I don't want to reveal the jersey a little too early on the top camera. Turn that off temporarily. Since we've got ten of these, we're gonna kind of fly through these as quickly as possible. He's in his college gear here. I've played for two teams my entire career. Obviously all these are first-round picks. Quarterback drafted in 2019. Who's a quarterback drafted in 2019? Kind of in the middle round from Ohio State. Yep, Ray's got it. Dwayne Haskins. That goes to Oliver. He's in his Ohio State gear here. Maybe he can revive his, there's the autograph right on his familiar number seven. Maybe he can revive his career in custom jersey right there. Revive his career in Pittsburgh. All right, so Oliver has the Washington football team. Next one. Actually, Ben, you're right. He's not retired. That's an active player, college jersey. Sorry, Oliver. I know you really wanted that Dwayne Haskins, but that goes to Pittsburgh. Nick Stover with that one. Tyler, you might be lagging behind a couple of minutes. Make sure you're watching live. Yeah, Ben already pointed that out. It's my bad. All right, there you go. To the rightful owner. All right, next one we have, who are you? His number right there. What is this jersey though? Is that what that jersey looked like? Okay. All right. Who am I? I am a retired running back out of Miami. Obviously, all these are first-rounders. I was a first-rounder, 23rd overall in the early 2000s, played for one, two, three, four teams my entire career. Two-time pro bowler, ended up with 8,474 career rushing yards, 65 rushing touchdowns, a couple hundred receptions, and five receiving touchdowns. And this is this version of this player is his original team. Who am I? Not Portis, not Gore. There you go, Ben. Yeah, Willis McGayhee. There you go. So I guess I didn't realize this. I was like, what colors are these? But 21, this is this is his Bill's colors right here. I guess they had those colors. If you look right here, I forgot about those dark blue jersey days for the for the Bills. So that's Bill's edition going to Peter Lombardo and the Bills. The two jerseys in of the 10. Keep your thinking caps on. All right, here's an old school guy here. It's in his college gear, and he must have played for that team the longest, right? Yeah. Who am I? I was drafted in the late 60s, first overall. And in the NFL, I was the NFL most valuable player, NFL offensive player of the year in the early 70s, five time all pro, five time pro bowler, four time rushing yards leader, two time rushing touchdown leader, part of the 70s all decade team, 75th anniversary team, 100th anniversary team. Also when a Heisman have a career over 11,000 rushing yards and 61 career rushing touchdowns. Who am I? I also got into a little trouble in the 90s. Hey, what's going on, guys? Earl Campbell didn't get into this kind of trouble in the 90s. Yep, Sean and Ray's got it. Yeah, Ben's got it. Yep, the juice in his USC gear. This will go, he played for, played for the Bills the longest. That's another one for Peter Lombardo. There's a Heisman inscription right there in his USC gear. Now, I'm far too young to really understand the true impact of the fall from grace. I mean, OJ Simpson was beloved in LA and he was bonafide star, you know, so then murder. Wait, William saying who rebuked LeBron on Twitter yesterday? OJ? I'm not sure if he did in the position to be rebuking anybody. Mr. Juice, they're a call of famer here. Alright, we'll go to this person. Alright, so here's an old school guy from the NFC North. An old school defensive end. And he came out of, was born in Winston-Salem, North Carolina, sixth overall pick in the early 60s. Played for two teams my entire career, but everyone remembers him on this one team. An NFL champion in the late 60s, six-time pro bowler, a defensive player of the year, played 225 games, Hall of Famer, pro football, Hall of Famer, college football, Hall of Famer, Minnesota Vikings, Ring of Honor, 1970s, all decade team. Who am I? Not Randall, the other one. There's a lot of great defensive players from this Minnesota team, but just start naming them off and you'll eventually hit on it. Vikings, that is for Colin McCarver, has the vikes. Yep, Fulmer's got it. Carl Eller. So there's his autograph right there. Got a Hall of Fame inscription on the number. Got all these have like a JSA or something like that. No, Tyler, Randy Moss, Justin Jefferson did not get drafted in the late in the 60s. I think all these have been custom jerseys thus far. Yeah, they've just been custom jerseys thus far. I'll just leave those nicely folded in there. Colin on the board. Next one. Good luck, everybody. These are all first rounders. All first rounders. Who are you? All right. I think I'm in my Mississippi State uniform. What team did I play for the longest? Oh, that team. First round pick in the mid 90s, three time pro bowler, two time second team all pro, first time all SEC played for Mississippi State. I ended my career with 764 receptions, 9995 receiving yards and 49 receiving touchdowns. E Money was his was his nickname. Six foot two, 225 pounds, 24th overall in the first round out of Mississippi State. It's another hit for the bills drafted by the bills. I think you'll you'll remember his name once I say it. I'll just show you. It's in his Mississippi State here. It's uh Eric Molds. Remember Eric Molds? So it's Mississippi State custom jersey right here. There's his autograph right there. Dave and Adams authentication on that one. So that's he he was drafted by the bills played from 96 to 2005 and then a little stint with the Texans, a little stint with the Titans. But uh pretty solid. Another bill. Peter Lombardo. Buffalo. Kevin remembers. Another first rounder room. We're giving this away in a national treasures break on Jasper's case.com by the way if you want to try to win that. It's pretty nice. You don't remember Eric Molds Ray? That's the first round pick. 24th overall by Buffalo. Alright, next one. This looks like a an authentic jersey here. Alright, I was a first round pick last year, late first round out of LSU, a defensive player. Think about your defensive players late, late first round last year. 2020. Who am I?  He was a little inconsistent last year but he's supposed to be really good. Yeah, it's it's Patrick Queen for the Ravens. Frank with that one. It's a fanatics jersey right there too. There's his autograph. It's a pretty solid penmanship. There's the fanatic sticker queen on the back. Yeah, it's a Nike jersey. This might be worth taking a look at. So, this is nice. So, you get so with the with the Nike jerseys, of course, you get all the licensed stuff. You get all the the logos, the Raven, the NFL shield, the tag right here. I think it's a little bit bigger than it's not game use. It's just an authentic jersey. It's got the uh the tags on there already. So, pretty nice. Alright, so there you go. Frank Lupu has the purple birds. Ravens are hoping that he's going to he's going to develop into a really nice sort of sideline to sideline linebacker. That's what they're looking for. Next first rounder is going to be a custom jersey. Oh, okay. He's in his college uniform. Alright, who am I? So, remember, since he's in his college uniform, he's an active player. It'll go the team that he's currently on. But back in 2011, he was a first round running back. Who am I? Three-time pro bowler, a Heisman trophy winner, a BCS national champion, over 7000 career rushing yards, 62 rushing touchdown, 260 reception. Catch the ball a little bit, 10 receiving touchdowns as well. Goes the team he's currently on because but you're you may be familiar with him with another team. I guess two other teams and he played for Alabama. Yep, Ben's got it. Mark Ingram, who's a Texan now. So, he was he was drafted by the Saints. Um was there for a while, was with the Ravens for a couple of two or three seasons and is now with the Houston Texans and that's going to go to Brian Croft with Houston. He's in his college uniform right here. So, there's his autograph. He got a number inscription there. Mark Ingram's got his own own hologram sticker too. Nice. Mark Ingram has carved out a really nice career for himself. There you go. Brian with the Texans. Get the hip parade stuff in there too. Alright, almost there. A few more jerseys to go. Alright, who am I? Who are you? That's your number. Oh, yeah. Okay. Oh, right. There's your autograph. I see. Alright, who am I? I was a number one overall pick in the mid eighties. Played for one team my entire career. Pro Bowler, Heisman Trophy winner, all American, rushed for uh my career was cut short. Let's put it that way. My career was cut short but it could have been great. Running back out of Auburn. That might start to give it away and Ben's good at this. Bo Jackson. You're not looking these up. Are you Ben? He just maybe just knows the sports. Yeah. Nike Phil knows. Bo Jackson. He knows. Nike Phil knows. Bo knows. So, this is it's a custom jersey but there's the the Auburn kind of colors right there. Beckett. Witnessed. There's a nice autograph right there and just been only played for the played for the Raiders. There it is. Yeah, it's a custom jersey right there but still pretty nice. Nick Stover has my Raiders. Love Bo Jackson as a Raiders fan and just as a fan of sports in general. What a probably too young to really appreciate him but he was he was pretty great. Highlight plays left and right. Alright, two more to go. Ben says Manso looks like he could stop a freight train. Yeah, he does doesn't he? What's he doing? I feel like he has like uh uh sort of a rival to Frank Thomas' New Genics Company or he's like something like that. Something nutrition. Alright. Oh, okay. I know who you are. Let me just make sure let me look at the serial number. Yeah, this is a Nike jersey too. Alright, get your thinking cats on. Who am I? Let's see. What's he doing these days? He's a retired um he's a retired running back. Uh let's see. He's running some uh runs the Catch 22 Foundation dedicated to underprivileged youth and adolescents in the Gulf South region. Owned a dealership. Didn't work out. Uh part of the uh he's an athletic consultant at maybe his kids high school or something like that. It's going to be a TV and a local TV analyst. Owns and operates a restaurant now. There you go. Anyway, he was drafted in 2001 with a 23rd pick overall. Played for only one team my entire career. Two-time pro bowler, a Super Bowl champion, was in first team. All SEC guy from Ole Miss. Ole Miss running back, drafted in the early 2000s, 23rd overall. One team his entire career. Ended up with 6,000 rushing yards. A little over 6,000 rushing are almost 6,100 rushing yards. 49 rushing touchdowns. Yeah. Who am I? Yep. Ben again. Deuce McAllister played for the Saints. It's pretty dynamic for uh for a good chunk of time. Right there. There's there's Deuce McAllister's autograph. That goes to Adam Cupperman by the way. Got randomized the Saints. There's the Dave and Adams authentication sticker and got another authentic maybe his own authentication sticker right here as well. It's a Nike jersey. It's worth pulling out here. So, you got got the Saints Fleur-de-Lis right here. The Nike swoosh on the side. There's the front. NFL Shield in the middle. Doesn't have the retail tags on here. They must have taken them off but pretty nice. Lost the uh Dave and Adams card right there. There you go. All right. There you have it. Congrats once again to Adam and the Saints and the final one. Good luck everybody. All right. All right. See you Jesse. All right. Last one folks. Thank you everyone for playing America's favorite game. Who am I? This person played for one, two, three, four teams my entire career including two bird teams. This is one of his bird team jerseys right here. He was a number one overall pick. Four-time pro bowler and NFL comeback player of the Ward winner. A Heisman trophy finalist. I had a hundred and thirty-three touchdowns to my 88 interception. Twenty-two thousand four hundred and sixty-four passing yards. Six thousand one hundred and nine rushing yards and thirty-six rushing touchdowns drafted in the early two thousands. Number one overall. Who am I? All the other clues are gonna be a little too obvious I think. But if you won't see if you can get it with that. Yep. Ray, William, Ben, Tyler's got it. Michael, Vic. Pretty dynamic player. This is Eagle's edition of Michael, Vic. There's the all the JSA stuff right here. There's Vic on the back. Yeah. Custom jersey right here. Got into some trouble. Paid his dues and I feel like I feel like he's definitely paid his dues there and seems to be all about making things right. There you go. Philadelphia Eagles, Colin Mcarver with the Fly Eagles, Fly Nice, Michael, Vic. I'm Joe for jaspyscasebreaks.com. That was a lot of fun. I did post another one of these so we can chase some more some more first rounders. Another ten autographed jerseys to add to your collection. I'm Joe for jaspyscasebreaks.com. Thanks for watching. Thanks parade. We'll see you next time for the next break. Bye.


Good morning and welcome to CMC markets on Friday the 5th of October and this quick look at the week ahead beginning The 8th of October, but before we get on to that and the return of Chinese markets I think it's important to look back at the events of the last few days because I think we've had a choppy week for equity Markets on both sides of the Atlantic. We've seen the Dow make fresh new record highs But by contrast we've also seen the S&P and the Russell 2000 underperformed particularly the Russell 2000 Which has really accelerated moves lower over the course of the past couple of weeks And this divergence I think in US equity markets not only in US equity markets But also I think in European markets is I think making things a little bit Confusing for where the overall market direction is headed to certainly if we look at the DAX We can see that the downtrend that's been in place since the June highs remains firmly intact Concerns about European politics particularly. I think Brexit talks That's not that there is not a binary outcome between the UK and the EU But also the deterioration in the rhetoric between Italian politicians and the EU I think is weighing on risk sentiment in the Euro area And that's before we even start talking about the Breakdown in talks between China and the United States over trade with the Latest chip story unlikely to make things any better. So Looking looking ahead to the next week or so I think the big story of the week has been the rise in the US dollar But also the rise in US Treasury yields Now earlier this week. I wrote a piece on US US 10 year on the brink and certainly I think the breakout that we've seen earlier Earlier this week Above the highs that we saw in May and to the highest levels since 2011 has got an awful lot of people speculating that we could be on the cusp of a big move higher in the two and in the US 10 year Yields and a big sell-off in the US 10 year Treasury Now While I think there are concerns that inflation may be May well be coming in higher than people had expected. I think one of the drivers behind this move higher in yields Was comments earlier this week by J. Powell chairman of the Fed where he did a little bit of a reverse ferret on his comments At the FOMC press conference a week before In particular his remarks that were a long way from neutral have raised the prospect that raise could go quite a bit higher in The next few months particularly since he went on to state the interest rates Were still accommodative even if they aren't extremely accommodative now Obviously that's got an awful lot of people speculating about the pace of future US rate rises And I think it's made a December rate rise that much more likely more importantly I think what it's done is it's made markets consider very seriously the prospect that we could see three or four rate rises next year As well, and I think that's caught an awful lot of people the wrong side And I think that more than anything is what's caused this big sell-off in US treasuries But we are on the cusp of a very very key level on the US 10 year is between three point two percent and three point two five percent And that's where the two hundred month moving average is and you can read my comment You can read my commentary piece on the news and analysis section and the carousel Section of the website just scroll across and you can find it to listen to my thoughts or Read about my thoughts on the particular topic in question more importantly We've seen a bit of a break higher in the dollar index, but it's not been totally Conclusive if we look at this chart here, we can see what I would call a counter-attack candle So we had a very strong move higher on the Wednesday We opened quite significantly higher on the Thursday and closed pretty much back Where the previous close was the previous day that is called a counter-attack candle And that suggests to me that maybe just maybe this recent run higher in the dollar May start to run into a bit of steam But of course all of this is caveated by the fact that I'm recording this video just prior to the non-farm payrolls report and that could change the picture Completely we've had some really decent economic data this week out of the US If wages data this afternoon later this afternoon and the payrolls report later this afternoon Comes in particularly hawkish Then we could have another crack higher in the US dollar, but we could also see further pressure exerted In higher US yields now given the fact that we've already risen quite sharply from 306 percent already this week And they're currently sitting at 3.2 You have to question whether or not a slightly higher wages number isn't already priced in so I think you've got to Gotta bear that in mind. I'm recording this video blind It could be completely out of date by the time you listen to it on Saturday or Sunday So looking ahead To the upcoming week. I know I've used about five minutes of this video already We've got the latest UK. It is quite UK centrics next week. Obviously the brexit talks are likely to hang over the market There's still an awful lot of concern that there may be no deal on the Irish border And at the moment that does appear to be weighing on sentiment a little bit having said that the pound is looking fairly well supported So I think there's an awful lot of positivity seeing the economic data this week But ultimately while both sides are basically indulging in a staring contest Ultimately, they will come to an accommodation. I certainly think that's what the markets are pricing in We can certainly see that in the context of this cable chart posted a fairly positive daily candle On the Thursday of this week, which might suggest that we could well have another move higher We're still broadly in this uptrend from the lows in August and until such times as we take out one twenty eight fifty I'm not overly concerned that we're going to start to fall off a cliff EUR a dollar slightly more problematic. We did break below one fifteen found support around about one fourteen sixty Could well find a little bit of support down here But ultimately even if we do break lower, I don't see us breaking much below one thirteen in the short to medium term So looking ahead, we've got UK GDP and UK trade and that's out on the 10th of October, which is on the Wednesday Now last last, you know last week's September this week September PMI numbers have showed that the UK economy I think ended the quarter on a positive. No Manufacturing was at a four months high after a slowdown in August And I think the monthly GDP number should show an economic expansion of 0.3 helped by that rebound in manufacturing We've also got manufacturing and industrial production data for August On the Thursday and again the PMI data shown that manufacturing activity slowed sharply in August so that could well be a disappointing number Exports were a particularly weak area Now this could have been just a summer holiday induced slowdown as a result of maintenance shutdowns in key areas And probably won't be shown in next month's numbers So I think and let's nonetheless July. I think was a decent month And I think a rebound in September could actually offset that but we won't know that for at least another four or five weeks We've also got China trade And I think the big question here when China's Chinese markets returned from their Golden Week holiday Is whether the further implementation of US tariffs last month could have Significant effects on the Chinese surplus, which was at a record level in In in September. Oh, sorry August So I think judging by recent US data in the other direction the imposition of 10% tariffs that appears to have made a little difference having said that These will be the first numbers that could be affected by the 200 billion Dollars of tariffs that kicked in towards the end of last month And I think that's going to be a key area in the context of How Chinese exports do relative to imports? We've also got US CPI for September. That's going to be particularly prescient given the big jumps that we've seen in Prices paid in the recent ISM surveys As I had pointed out in my earlier on in the video Fed chief Jay Powell was at pains to admit that US policy makers weren't seeing much evidence of inflation repressions at the FOMC press conference He went he deviated from that slightly earlier this week So I don't think it's immediately clear what Fed policy makers views are with respect to inflation Certainly the move higher in oil prices is going to have an effect and it's certainly going to have an effect on Emerging markets in the days and weeks ahead particularly if we move to $90 a barrel Emerging market currencies still remain under enormous amount of pressure India in particular Indian Rupees made record lows as have a number of other currencies In emerging markets the Indonesian Rupiah for example has gone back to levels last seen in the Asian Financial crisis and the Turkish lira also still remains under pressure and we've also got the Chinese one which is back at 6.9 so The emerging market story still remains a story Particularly if the oil price continues to move higher, which I think there's a good chance that we could well head towards $90 a barrel. So certainly over the course of the next few days in the next few weeks The oil price story is going to be a factor the yield story is going to be a factor and the emerging market story It's going to be a factor There's a lot to get your teeth into Hopefully we'll be able to get the direction right or the general direction right. So that's it for this week Thank you very much for listening. It's Michael Houston signing off from CMC markets