What's going on and welcome to the NBA DFS Q&A show? My name is Tom Vecchio I'll be here for the next 30 minutes taking your questions about tonight's nine game NBA slate you can find this Every Wednesday at four o'clock on the Fandal YouTube, Twitch, Facebook, Twitter, Pages, you name it It's there. You could follow me on Twitter at DFS underscore Tom Nine games on tonight's slate. It's looking like a good one We have a lot of games that are leaning towards higher totals Which is of course great to see plenty of scoring up plenty of fancy upside We have a few injury notes to look at for you know some key players. We'll certainly get to we also have a lot of value on this slate Jumping right in we got a question from Grim on YouTube. How do you feel about Corey Kispert, Joshua Primo or Max Struss tonight? Personally, I'm siding with Kispert slightly ahead of those ahead of those two But I would certainly have some shares of Max Struss as well I think that's going to be a really good game environment against Between the Hawks and the Heat. I'm really liking that for some fantasy production as well as the other ones Like there's no doubt that the Spurs and the Rockets is probably shaping up to be my favorite fantasy game of the slate So I have interest in all those players. It's obviously two varying degrees Why is the Bulls game so late tonight for being a central time zone? Grim's also asking like that's a great question I would love to know why The 10 o'clock start for Chicago is there. I assume it's Due to just TV scheduling or whatever it might be Which small forward or shooting or shooting guard you prefer K-2-Bates, D-Up, Deandre Hunter, Malik Mung, David Duke or Lonnie Walker? Personally, I wrote up Lonnie Walker. So that's he's my number one I wrote him up as one of my three value plays on tonight's slate. It was him, Anyaka Kangoo and Corey Kispert So certainly siding with Walker a little bit. I like Malik Mung We know that three-point shot can get going for him Providing plenty of scoring upside. He can have a low floor at times And as long as the three-point shot gets going, he has a very high ceiling I'm obviously not worried about the matchup against Sacramento. I love this game environment as well So it's buying into Mung his potential ceiling the weak matchup against the Cane who's not worried about their defense and the overall strong game environment. The Lakers are number one in the league in pace. Sacramento sitting at six We are looking at plenty of back and forth action So I like Walker Mung as my clear one and two out of that group You know K-2-Bates, D-Up, Deandre Hunter I think these guys are clear secondary options to Walker and Mung So those are my top two absolutely in that group Daniel Gafford or Mitchell Robinson? That's good question for the mid tier at center. I'm going with Gafford I love this matchup going up against Orlando Also just looking at the slate overall like a 2-0-4 over-under Really isn't super encouraging between the Mavericks and the Knicks You know 2-13 isn't amazing But it's simply better than the Mavericks and the Knicks just looking at this matchup. I mean 30th and 29th when it comes to offensive pace that is just so so bad for both of these teams Not saying that Washington and Orlando is like massively better But they're in the mid tier compared to Dallas, New York, or just dead last so I'm siding with Gafford Due to the game environment the matchup is also easy for him going up against Orlando during the bottom 10 against center So a few factors working in Gafford's favor ahead of Robinson for me When it comes to Some player props on tonight's slate if anyone's interested in that I took the over on Lonnie Walker 21 and a half points I took the over also on Dwight Powell 13 and a half points rebounds assist combined like I said not super interested in this game overall I just think that this line For Dwight Powell is a little bit low He's passed this line 13 and a half. He's been past this in six straight games And I think matchup wise he's gonna be out there for plenty of minutes He has to match the size or Dallas has to match the size of Randall and Robinson so You know 13 and a half isn't bad when he's been in You know double-digit real points in a lot of these recent games So he could certainly you know pass this you know 13 and a half I would say pretty easily and especially if we're going to be seeing the under hit on 204 That means there's going to be plenty of miss shots and plenty of rebounds So I took the over on Powell the over on Lonnie Walker the over on Lonzo ball 20 what is it 24 and a half 23 and a half points rebounds assist combined for him Whereas it's 24 and a half. So I have that I would certainly side with the under in the next game overall not super interested in that As I said on the on the daily I saw the podcast today The Celtics Pacers game. I think from a match perspective like it's fine We saw them play a couple days ago, but again just in context of the other games on the slate I'm not super interested in too many of the options from that game I think going to charlotte and philadelphia is awesome Miami and atlanta I think could go slightly overlooked considering how strong houston san Antonio la sacramento and brooklyn chicago are so There's we're like we're working with tears of the games tonight Where there's some very very clear ones of the top a few at the bottom then a number in the mid tier Jerry on facebook is asking Walker murray Caterbates df yaka purtle maybe christian wood what are your thoughts on What could be a game stack? I love this game, you know, I mentioned it on the podcast Both of these teams just play super fast fifth and third when it comes to pace for san Antonio and houston Is absolutely awesome both teams also in the bottom eight early houston's dead last only I don't think that should come as a surprise to anyone And this is when it comes to average feind who points allowed per game to all positions combined houston's dead last and san Antonio sitting as the eighth worst team in the So grabbing a number of options from this game is absolutely a route that I know why I'll be going like I said I Murray he's I mean murray is the cover guy for today's uh For the for the thumbnail on youtube. So I have a ton of interest in him. I wrote a plonty walker today I'm taking the over on murray's points. Uh christian wood was the cover on the Daily helper by austin swam on number fire dot com. So all the options in this game are totally in play Uh born on youtube is saying deandre hunter kaleb martin eric gordon or dorian finney smith Out of that bunch. I would side in in order. I probably side with kaleb martin hunter If he plays gordon and then dorian finney smith, you know finney smith I think is a fine option But again this game with a 204 over under when he's not a primary usage player is not something Uh, you know, I like going towards I like if i'm going to a lower over under game I'm going to be sticking with the main usage players Uh jerry saying do you think I will fly in a gbp? Sure like you're getting exposure to the players that have The best game environment and all have access to a ceiling because their mats are not tough You know high over under etc etc Uh, who would you be who would be your core at center tonight? So Paying up for a bead is absolutely one of my You know goals on tonight's slate.  That's without a doubt. I also wrote up on yakekangu for the atlanta hawks I think he's in a spot for a lot of minutes. That should not be a surprise He's 3900 and this can this will I'll Merge this into born on youtube his next question. He's asking a kangaroo or you're at seven I don't think that's like a direct question because as we can see they're they're pretty far apart when it comes to their salary I like them both for different reasons. I like going to an yakekangu because the salary relief is awesome That allows me to pay up for Murray treyong kevindoranth etc etc So there are different kind of questions. Why are you using each of those players because they're a different salary?  I think they're all great for their own specific purpose I also think Vucevich is in a great spot. We have seen Uh, you know, this is something I mentioned on the podcast We have seen the nets defense take a step back like they were Bad in the beginning portion of the season they got better and they have certainly regressed since then They're also going to be without the marker solidridge and I think vucevich is in a spot to easily post a double double tonight Uh, I I love this game environment overall with a 234 over under a 236 and a half over under it's got fed up a little bit and Just a match of his fantastic for him. So I'm going to Different centers at very different price, you know at salary tiers for different reasons. So embed your seven in the mid-tier Going to and yet kangu. I think is great Christian would if you want to roster him at the center position, that's totally fine And then yaka pearl. I think he's also a very very solid option Should be in for plenty of points against houston again another player in this game that will be very solid Uh, la veen and de rosen should be popular, right? Or that's just my thinking that's what jerry on facebook is asking I think so I again this game environment is One of the best on the slate for some reason la veen is 7200 Yeah, 7200. I think that's a very affordable salary for him Back and forth pace in this in this game should be there la veen can step out and hit plenty of threes So de rosen la veen all All in my player pool to start Uh, i'm into shrewder and uh, coro, uh, a coro. How about you guys? Uh, isaac or for cleveland? Uh, pretty sure he's ruled out it just get clarification on that if he is ruled out or doing Just just get clarification on any more chuma. Oh kiki is that get some spelling clarification there How many minutes do you think uh, thomas brine gets night for a season? Coming into the season finally that's good question because the wizards could obviously use him out there Uh, that's you know a player they've been missing for a while. I I mean, let's see what he's projected as if this is for Thomas brine like 10 minutes like That's I wouldn't say he goes past 15 Like I think that's probably really like 10 to 15 at most They're gonna have to get him into the offense Get him up to game speed all those sorts of things. So I i'm not expecting a whole lot from thomas brine I know they're on a back-to-back.  So Yeah, like him not him playing at most 15 minutes is probably what we're gonna be seeing So I'm not interested in thomas brine.  I will say I probably only go to him as When he's the chalk, you know this Varying high you know high Ceiling low floor type of stuff. I think it's fine in tournaments if that's where you want to use him You know, ultimately the match against the wizards I think as we saw last night like struggling against the thunder is not a good look and If he's gonna be out there for 30 plus minutes, it's gonna be good We just know that most of the usage in the orlando offense is going to colanthony and franz Wagner So I like him as a tournament option, you know, especially if You're willing to embrace that variance I just don't always go, you know that far down the usage Usage chart for a lot of teams Robin Lopez is in play with the bigs out for orlando Totally fine. It's you know, it is uh, he is going up against his former team So if you want to factor that in, you know, robin lopez is a player I'll say that I'm not often on when it, you know, I'm not on him And he's not actively in my player pool and you know, a lot of times he has those like weird double-double games where he just crushes value Uh, so, you know, I've taken the L on him a couple of times and I don't always seem to get him right I will say this is a fine spot for him though going up against washington So this is one of the games I think falls into You know, the mid-range between this between the seltics and the pacers I think that it's falls into the mid-range. I want to say maybe a little bit of this game With you know, uh with dallas and the nix clearly being at the bottom So we want to be focusing in on the teams and the players that are in games that are be the most conducive for fantasy production This is I want to say this by far number one on the slate for me And then it's a toss up between the lakers and the kings and the nets and the bulge because especially if we see You know, we have some injury updates. We want to see that harden in Irving both play for the nets I think that they both will they had a day off Uh, uh yesterday harden didn't play in their most recent game when they were at portland So i'm thinking they both should be good to go You know, whether or not seth curry plays tonight. I don't think it's a massive deal We know we can be looking to furkan quirkmas if he's not there The kemba walker is not going to be playing. We look to Potentially, uh alec berks. We know that for the nix although again not super interested in that game overall We should be seeing some pretty straightforward stuff from the teams and their lineups tonight Uh, yeah, he's gotta he's gotta get a spot to give him a chance I think you're referring to robin lopez for the magic. I totally agree There there are minutes going to be there for him against the wizards You know the wizards, I think that this line opened up for I think it opened up at eight or nine or seven or eight whatever it was for the magic Maybe it was nine when it opened up. I think I have a little bit of interest in the magic Just going up against the wizards throw in the back to back. They're a little bit shorthanded They looked really average last night against the thunder So a little bit of value I think potentially with the magic at plus six Maybe you got him earlier in day if they were at plus seven So that's a spot that I'll be looking I would side with the under in this game I like the hawks in this game, especially if we get confirmation that all their players are good to go The heat are just so shorthanded right now. Not a spot that I necessarily want to be looking at too often The lakers in sacramento, I think that this game will have a ton of scoring I have multiple Players that have already been in my player play. I know carmelo anthony is listed as questionable So if he doesn't play, I guess that opens up some extra minutes potentially for tht and austin reeves depending on how big or small they want to run things But more importantly, I'm focusing on lebron james and malik monk has probably my two favorite options from the lakers I mentioned it on the podcast about westbrook where First off, I think his salary is very affordable at eighty two hundred dollars So eighty four hundred for westbrook This is an awesome game environment between two teams in the top six league offensive pace And he's probably going to be going slightly overlooked at point guard given the other options that we have so You know, I spoke about this on the podcast He's interesting to me tonight a bit more than he normally is So that's also a spot that I think I may take a little bit, you know, more shares of westbrook than I normally do But for me tonight, I think this is where A lot of things are going to be starting. It's going to be with Lonnie Walker I want some Murray in there. I certainly want joel and beat in my lineups And if I'm not going to be it's probably going to an yakuya kangui to get the value at center to really open things up At small forward kispert is certainly an option at min salary. You can be looking to solid game from him last night I wrote him up on numberfire.com today as one of my favorite value plays I think, you know, he could be out there if curry doesn't start We can get getting some cork buds in there as well And you're working with some solid salary left to kind of maneuver your lineup at any way you want it So i'm spending up for Murray and bead As my main two top stars on tonight's slate You heard a rumor that the bulls were interested in trading white djj and tbj for lever and sabonis any truth to that if you If you're in the I have no truth to that.  Uh, I it would just wonder Like how that offense would work with it would be what ball lever Levine derosen sabonis and vucevich like that is a that's a loaded offense of players, but I mean, they would have to make a work of who's who's giving up some shots to You know, whoever joins them or whatever it might be.  I mean that happens sometimes just given the You know fluctuation of a game to game. I think westbrook is one of those players I think donva mitchell 8500 is a player that could be going a bit overlooked lamela balls only $8,000 So the guard position is I want to say very very strong tonight I know a lot of people will be looking back to spencer din witty after you know huge game last night Obviously with no Bradley biel. We know that playing the offensive usage is going to him going to kyle kuzma as well Good matchup against orlando. I certainly like that spot. This is really where a lot of my Core is going to be starting and if it's not going to be in beat as I said I'll drop down to Onyeka Kong will take that value there and then look to the you know forward position and try and get some Durant get some, you know derosen at shooting guard Here no try and pay up for some of these players and then still look for the value with You know, maybe it's going to be primo take some shares there go to back to small forward take some more of kispert at 3500 I mean murray derosen dirants all have 60 point upside. We're getting immense value out of kispert and onyeka kong I i'm on board with any combination of murray dirants derosen Embed, I mean you name it tonight. There are so many different ways to go about lineup construction Uh, did you do the sony open already open already? I didn't do that. That was a brandy gadulla and gymsonis They did that uh yesterday. I believe that that can be found on the feindl youtube Uh page the video is there. It's also up on the number on the feindl podcast network. You can find that also On number fire dot com Russ is low Zach is low randall's low. Yeah, like I said, I'm I'm interested in Westbrook tonight because I think he's gonna be going overlooked just due to the other options that we have at point guard But realistically, this is an awesome match up high over under the kings Do not play defense against point guards. We know that and if he's going to be going overlooked Uh, you know, especially in tournaments. That is great How do I feel about white side len hurdle? Who would you stay away from also would you stay away from stanley johnson? uh Stanley johnson. Yeah, definitely a player that has not been making my player pool lately You know a player that does not see a whole lot of offensive usage his minutes are certainly there But not a player. I am a fan of going to out of that group for centers Oh, mr. White side len and yaka perto. I would put yaka perto number one Just because the I think that game environment is the best I would then go to white side after that and then alex len in that order I would still say I would take Yaka perto and then probably on yaka kangoo ahead of either white side or len Uh, is reshawn holmes back? This is what jerry is asking. Would you play reshawn holmes? Isn't he still on the g league assignment for the kings? Or oh is he back? This is updated. He's cleared against the lakers. He'll be on a g league assignment. That was tuesday So if we get some update for reshawn holmes, that would be potentially be interesting I mean, that's just something we may not have until later because it's a west coast game Uh, because that info is from tuesday. So if he's ready to go maybe, uh, ultimately it would come down to The information of when I have it is late swap available, etc, etc. So that's just something we can answer right now So overall on this slate again Luke is great tonight. We always can be looking to him I mentioned him on the podcast this morning, but you want to be limiting your options from this dallas new york game I'm personally giving limiting my options from the boston and indiana game. Again, it's Comparing it to the other games on the slate Like what is the opportunity cost of taking more players from this game and then giving up players from the other games? So that's ultimately what it comes down to I want a few shares of luka, but I'd rather have more shares of murray going up against the rockets So that's the kind of you know thought process I go with it's like these players in their own are great But we have to look at them comparatively to the other options at their position on the slate overall So that's where i'm going as a Recap again, I took the over on lonzo ball points rebounds assist the over on murray his points is sitting at 21 a half going up against the rockets and then Dwight Powell over 13 and a half points rebounds assist combined like I said this game is not exciting overall Specifically from a fantasy perspective. I think there's a little bit more value when it comes to the betting angle for that game 500 type of night on feindl. I mean Points could certainly reach that high, you know the the top of the leaderboards could certainly reach that high with Some of the expectations we are seeing from some of these games when it comes to scoring very high over unders You know super close spread This spread looks bad compared to the others, but I don't think it's that much of an issue High over under close spread You know two very good teams of team philadelphia and charlotte We should see plenty of scoring there and then I think at lanta and milwalk Excuse me not milwalk in miami at lanta in miami is the spot that we could see a lot of scoring I'm also very interested in tre young. I mentioned him on the podcast Obviously his usage and production has been awesome, but more importantly Look at this miami giving up the fourth most three pointers per game to their opponents What is tre young great at he's great at stepping back and knocking down those threes given the Just lack of defense that we've been seeing from miami the You know overall thinned out roster that they have i'm looking there We look to miami this season right here miami is leaning as an over team You know, that's not something we've been able to say a whole lot over the past couple seasons They actually lean towards the over so they are playing in higher scoring games If we're getting a higher scoring game against miami, what does that mean from atlanta? It probably means that tre young is going to be knocking down a whole lot of threes So i've interested in him uh that this is why i've interested in young and murray ahead of luka Again comparing luka to the other options at point guard. We can make the case that murray and young aren't both better so Tonight's late, you know, we The fact that the fact that this bull's nets game is at 10 p.m. Again is beyond me but we need some updates on Irving and hardened because that changes things either if they're both out then We are getting immense value from the nets potentially that's you know hypothetically if they're both out We just don't have that information yet and then that would make durant You know an absolute lock play because all the offensive usage we'd be going to him so You know that's something we'd love to have earlier. We simply don't It would also change roster construction because it would change what positions you are prioritizing spending salary at And right now I think it's looking like center with embed and then the guard position With young murray Maybe one option at forward and then taking value where we can find it So i'm hoping that hardened and Irving play i'm personally expecting them to play I have my uh my like allocations and You know everything set under the assumption that they will be playing I get the news the same time as you guys do so i am ready that hardened and Irving will both be playing tonight Aaron on youtube is asking over two thirty and a half for la and sacramento. That's the way i am leaning for this game You know two teams that play just so so fast You know the lakers are really average this year. That's what it comes down to they're playing these higher scoring games They're not great on defense. We know sacramento is bad on defense Uh, so that is a spot that I would take the over Jerry's asking do you have a potential sours lineup? What do you mean by that like a lineup where Everyone is just the pivot or If I get some clarity on on the sours lineup, do you mean uh like who were the pivots a player that you were Initially looking to but then don't go to no one else's on oh spurs a spurs Oh That that's a little bit different question. Uh for the spurs. I think that We're gonna see murray. We'll see yaka perto We will see some of the value with lani walker k to be a keta baits d op all be uh very very popular so going to I mean you can go to 6300 We want to get some, you know jailing green in there. He isn't expensive like you're getting multiple options from this game so I am all uh All on board with this game Again, this game brooklyn chicago la sacramento And charlotte philadelphia are my top four games on the slate next up would be miami and atlanta and then Cleveland, utah, orlando, washington You know kind of all grouped together and then by far boston indiana, dallas new york At the lower tier like spots that i'm really not looking for a whole lot of options I don't want to be overexposing myself to games with 204 207 You know two of ten overrunters when there are games that have overrunters that are 20 points higher Yeah spurs spurs can sour too. Hopefully they don't sour tonight because I am already uh on board where with a lot of them Like I said the overrun murray Uh, I the overrun murray's points his points rebounds assist is I think is at 38 and a half right 38 and a half or 39 and a half Uh points rebounds assist actually not listed anymore Whatever injury information changed from this morning got taken down briefly, but You know 38 and a half or 39 I think is a obviously very reasonable spot for murray. I like the overrun his points to start I think that's where I'll be looking I guess all the spurs props are taken down at this point.  Uh, miami's averaging 11 of points per game last five playing a bottom Uh, excuse me 115.8 points per game last five games playing a bottom six defensive team Yeah, like I said, miami is a team that leads or is leaning towards the over recently And you know, that's not a spot that we have seen them in the past few seasons Especially you know, given the fact that they have no bam out of bio no jimmy baller So if they're playing faster and they're putting up all these points, uh, you know, and the game's gonna be hitting the over This is a spot for not only miami But also some options on elenta. Like I said, and yet their congo is going to be very popular On big entre young tonight. I think the three point upside is very clearly there for him I think we are in for a great slate of games night nine We want to be focusing in on the ones that we know are super strong Avoiding the games with the lower over unders get a little bit of clarity on the injury situation for the nets I think we are in a spot to You know wrap things up That does it for today's show. I'll be back next week at 4 p.m Right here on the fangle youtube twitch twitter facebook pages. You can follow me on twitter at dfs underscore tom until next time Good luck in your contests


Salam, you're watching the International Daily Roundup. People's dispatch is selection of some of the top stories from around the world. Let's first take a look at today's headlines. Pakistan's Prime Minister Imran Khan to face a no-confidence vote on Monday. Argentine's honour victims of civil military dictatorship. Brazilians face the impact of rising oil prices. We begin with Pakistan, which is in the midst of a major political crisis. Prime Minister Imran Khan is said to face a no-confidence motion on Monday after Parliament was adjourned on Friday as a mark of respect to deceased legislators. While the Speaker of the House, Asad Kesar, said that the adjournment was a routine procedure, the move was criticized by opposition members who suggested it took place to give the government time to bolster support. The National Assembly was convened on Friday after the opposition filed a no-confidence motion against the government. The Imran Khan-led government is on shaky ground as close to a dozen of his legislators have defected. Certain key allies have also left his coalition. However, it's unclear how these allies will vote when the no-confidence motion comes up. There have been multiple reports that Imran has lost the confidence of the military, which is the most powerful institution in Pakistan. The military's backing was key to his rise to power back in 2018. Media reports also say a compromise deal is being worked, which involves early elections. Pakistan is facing this political crisis, while it also faces a massive economic crisis. Inflation has caused great difficulty to the people there. Talks with the International Monetary Fund are at a stalemate, following the government's decision to reduce fuel prices. The IMF wanted the government to cut down on spending. Over the past few years, the country has also seen rising religious fundamentalism. Our next story is from Argentina, where on the 24th of March, tens of thousands took to the street to remember victims of the US-backed civic military coup of 1976. In Buenos Aires, wearing white scarves, shouting, memory, truth and justice, members and sympathizers of the mothers of the Plaza de Mayo and the grandmothers of Plaza de Mayo marched from 9th Julio Avenue to Plaza de Mayo, carrying a large flag with photos of the 30,000 victims. Over 100,000 people flooded the Plaza and surrounding streets. Human rights organizations have been at the forefront of the struggle for justice and truth about the disappeared relatives or victims of the coup. Massive demonstrations in marches were held in cities such as Santa Fe, Rosario, Salta, Cordova, Tucumán and others. This is the first commemoration since the pandemic. The civic military dictatorship, which lasted all the way till 1983, was marked by state terrorism and grave human rights violations. It's estimated that over 30,000 students, activists, trade unionists, writers, journalists, artists and other citizens suspected of being left-wing activists were kidnapped, tortured and disappeared. The military hunta silenced any political or ideological dissidents, even those seen as antithetical to its neoliberal economic policies. The armed forces even seized their property and their children. In Brazil, an increase in petrol prices has had a massive impact on activities across society. The poor and working class have been the worst hit as this rise affects food, transportation and every other aspect of life and leaves little money in their hands for other expenditures. The war in Ukraine is one reason for the increase, but a more structural aspect is how petrobras, the country's oil giant, has priced its products. We bring you this video from Brazil de Fato on how price hikes are affecting the people of Brazil and the reason behind the rise. When José Wachinson has a good fortnight of work, he earns about 1500 ha, which is almost $300 as an app delivery worker. That could be a satisfactory average wage if it wasn't for the costs with fuel that, in recent months, don't come cheap to José. He has to work more hours to compensate for the negative impact on his income. When I had to pay lower bills, I had to work 8 or 7 hours daily. Now I must work between 10 and 11 hours every day to make and submit. The reason for the successive changes in fuel prices is the rising prices at the refineries, which brought an adjustment for more than 24% in the price of diesel, almost 19% in gas, and 16% in cooking gas price. With such drastic changes, one can only resort to experts to understand the dynamic. It's caused by petrobras' pricing policy. The company dollarized its prices and opted to dispose of some parts of itself. It chose to give the profits to the shareholders and not reinvest in the process of refining oil or the distribution of oil and gas. Petrobras became a predatory company regarding the national market. Why? Because it increases the fuel price and fuels are the basis of the energy matrix and the transport of people and cargo. Therefore, it causes a chain reaction. And in this chain reaction, everybody suffers. However, the poorest part of the population suffers most since it almost doesn't see in its hands the money it earns. It's not just cooking gas that is going up. Everything we buy is going to be more expensive. How are we supposed to do with the wage that hasn't increased? The pandemic and the war in Ukraine are partially to blame in this situation, but the problem people are facing is older. In 2016, after the coup against President Dilma, petrobras' pricing policy changed. Now it uses what we call international parity price or PPI in Portuguese. It considers the dollar exchange rate, which it shouldn't. The Brazilian currency is to the value compared to the dollar. So this is the first impact. And it also takes into account the price of a barrel of international oil, although it produces our oil here in Rio. That's all we have on this episode of the International Daily Roundup. We'll be back next week with more for details on all of these stories. Please head to our website peoplesdispatch.org and follow us on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram. Thanks for watching. Goodbye.


Audio Key helps you find a lost processor by showing you where you last connected to Audio Key so you can retrace your steps. Select Find My Processor from the menu. A map will appear with Audio Processor icons marked on. This shows the exact location where you last used Audio Key with any audio processor that you have or that you are a guardian for. Tap on an audio processor to see which one it is and when you last connected to it. On the map, the blue dot represents your current location. The closer the blue dot is to the audio processor icon, the closer you are to your audio processor. Once you are very close, for example in the same room as your audio processor, you can turn on the Near Field Search. Please note, the Near Field Search function is not available for all audio processors. Tap the audio processor icon, followed by the red search icon. Move slowly around the room. As you move, the red dots on the scale will light up. The more red dots there are, the closer you are to your audio processor. When all the dots are red, your audio processor is very close. Now search around you to find the lost audio processor.


Go take a look at the the highlights in this one and let's go back to the first period of play and Brett Bovay From Nate arts and miles Fitzgerald here little offensive zone work in a big blast over top of the shoulder Now the gold tenor and miles came in right away Maybe even thought for a moment maybe got a piece of that it was Mitch McLean here This is a short-handed goal to it. It was early on the power play at Bayless sets this one up a little Shoulder bob and goes to the to the outside nice play and then we headed to the third period of play I'm going to stay takes over the hockey game and starts with Charlie O'Connor with a stick Going hard to that back post and Eric's back in the booth with any with me now Real nice goal got the crowd into it too in the third period that was at the 119 mark and here at the 719 mark Jerry Fitzgerald Beautiful shot. It was that was the nail right there Head up looks for it Probably had you know the four inch by four inch window to fire that in with right now And then a power play goal Brendan Harms here for up a Mitchie State off the back wall on a shot from white cloud and Beaver comes away with it Really good weekend for the Beves for one victory


Welcome to metals in biology, we are going to discuss hydrolytic enzyme. In the last two classes, we were discussing the mononuclear hydrolytic enzymes and dinuclear hydrolytic enzyme, today we will continue discussing on that. Manganese is one of the very important metal enzyme which converts L arginine to L ornithine and urea. You have seen that it has two metal centers, this is a homo metallic species, two manganese centers are bridged by a carboxylate linkage as well as a hydroxide, two type of carboxylate bridges are there, one is a you know the b bicoordinated another is monocoordinated bridging right. So, you have one manganese center, another manganese center both of them are in plus two oxidation state, you have this bridging aspartate between the two manganese center and you have another aspartate bridging through only one oxygen atom of the carboxylate. So, the shift of or bridging shift can happen pretty frequently. In fact, sometime this bicoordination to monocoordination occurs in terms of providing space for the incoming substrate, you have another histidine on both of the manganese site. This aspartate is bicoordinated with respect to manganese, but the other manganese center is having monocoordination as well as it is hydrogen bonded through this hydroxy bond. Overall this CN bond getting cleaved by the water molecule to form L ornithine and urea. This reaction is quite interesting if one is looking for the overall reaction mechanism ok. As you have seen in earlier cases that not only the active site of the metalloenzyme, active site meaning that where the reaction is happening and in the primary coordination sphere what are the ligand involved this complete structure will be called the active site. But except active site the other residue other protein backbone that is over there the you know amino acid backbone the side chain that is appended from the nearby residue also plays a crucial role. For instance in this case as you can see glutamate 277 participates in binding the organic substrate binding the organic substrate. For instance this is your L-Arginine this is where we start manganese 2 plus manganese 2 plus bridged by hydroxo. This hydroxo is going to attack on this electrophilic center over here, but it is helped positioned perfectly with the sorry it is helped position perfectly with this glutamate 277. Now, without this glutamate 277 over here we cannot have cannot have perfect positioning of this L-Arginine. So, not only the active site is important side chains are also critical in providing the catalytic activity mainly the rate of the reaction get enhanced significantly because of the substrate binding pocket multiple hydrogen bonding that is involved over there, but overall all these effect put together we get a very functional and very effective catalytic cycle. Once you see over here that the you have you have this attack on the nucleophilic center and subsequently this rebound or subsequent rearrangement RIC gives rise to the L-Arginine and the urea production. Now, urea is coordinated between the 2 manganese center and it supported by glutamate 277 subsequently one water molecule comes and produces urea ok and then a water molecule is bridged between the 2 manganese which can be deprotonated due to the dimanganese center the pKa value of this water is such that that now at pH 7 you can deprotonate this water molecule to regenerate manganese 1 or manganese 2 plus manganese hydroxo species. One of the things that we were discussing in the last class as well that none of these metal center undergoing any additional oxidation state change that means, wherever they are starting from its stage over there. For example, zinc 2 plus remained zinc 2 plus throughout the catalytic cycle that is quite a phenomenon or quite a standard phenomenon for the hydrolytic enzyme right. In most of the other enzyme where you will see that there is a reaction involved in those cases oxidation state of the metal center will be changing therefore, redox active metal center will be chosen for those cases. And this is particularly why in some cases zinc is taken because mostly let us say it is not required to do any oxidation state change in other cases let us say iron is chosen because number of oxidation state change is required, frequenting between those oxidation state becomes easier by having iron for example, present over there or even copper center present over there. Depending on the necessity and the availability and of course, hardness, softness, lability a number of factor that we tried to discuss earlier will contribute to the fact that which metal center will be chosen for a given enzyme. As you have seen over here it is a dimanganese center bridged communicated between the two and simultaneously there is a role for this deprotonation as well as attack on the substrate to prepare the desired compound ok. Now, we will try to see if synthetic chemist, bioinorganic chemist can mimic these activity. So, the objective here is we try to see how things are going on in nature and try to get inspired by nature for example, metal enzyme in these cases and then try to recreate the magic that nature has created, but now in synthetic set up that means, you will be able to take a reaction flask, star bar you know magnetic stirrer and add chemicals should be able to do these chemistry that in the laboratory other than without taking any help from the mother nature directly. Well sometime these activities most often are not actually that straightforward and that rewarding because mimicking nature is always going to be difficult. Well the good thing is you do not have to perhaps mimic 100 percent or you want to, but it is very difficult that is why any mimic is good enough. For example, there are two types of mimic usually people talk about one is the structural mimic another is functional mimic right. So, structural mimic meaning whatever you see in the metalloenzyme you try to mimic or you try to create that compound synthesize that compound in laboratory. You do not have to really worry about the reaction that means, whatever reaction is happening let us say you do not have to do or your compound is not capable of doing that is called structural mimic right. So, you try to let us say you have three histidine therefore, you try to put three histidine or at least three nitrogen center on the metal center and a water molecule in on the metal center. You have same metal let us say zinc so, you end up doing exactly same thing, but in the effect you are really not able to provide the reaction that is the zinc enzyme was doing. Well still it is a good mimic because it gives some spectro electronic spectral data electronic data of the compound and that can be perhaps matched with the original enzyme. So, these are structural motive for example, in the zinc cases you may end up getting a tetrahedral geometry and the and the zinc 2 plus is a detain system so, not much spectroscopic data you can get maybe by getting a structure of the zinc enzyme will help you immensely right. So, that is the structural motive, but more importantly if it is not really activity mimic then it is not that a great thing to do, but anyways still you can do, but there is another mimic which is called functional mimic wherein you may be not mimicking the enzyme perfectly in terms of its structure, but you are able to mimic the function let us say the activity of it, but all that is still good, but you may not have the structure. So, this is also not perfect, but also this functional mimic can be of this type where you do not have to have perhaps the same metal as the nature is having ok. You may lose out 1 or 2 binding mode what nature is having, but still without the right metal and perhaps without the right coordination let us say nitrogen versus oxygen coordination if there is a oxygen coordination you try to substitute by nitrogen coordination. As long as the reactivity that enzyme was producing that can be recreated it can be called the functional mimic, but as you have perhaps realized by now none of these are going to be that effective or any effective compared to any more effective compared to the natural design that is why both the structural as well as functional mimic is necessary ok. Now, you have seen the manganese structure in the last slide it is a you know it is over here. Two manganese center is coordinated by this aspartate and another aspartate and there is three at least aspartate where this is the fourth aspartate. This is going to be very, very difficult to mimic for a synthetic chemist because this is completely unsymmetrical structure first of all and the complexity involved although to you may it look like it is very simple, but if you want to implement or if you want to design a ligand which can hold the manganese the way perfectly what nature is doing it is going to be really, really complicated right. It is exact same structural mimic actually does not exist so far. So, you see the complexity over here there is bridging perfect bridging between two manganese. So, that perhaps is little bit easy to do if you have this, but how is one going to do exactly this mimic where one of the end is attached with manganese another end is hydrogen monodent that is not going to be that easy. Also monodentate aspartate as opposed to one is having bidentate another is monodentate that is also going to be very, very challenging and then on top of that you have a bidentate aspartate how exactly to mimic all the aspect that is there although it is very simple, but I would say this is going to be a one big challenge if exactly this is going to be synthesized in the laboratory. So, what alternatively people try to do people try to simplify it and not even perhaps looking at manganese maybe cobalt can do the same thing as we have mentioned that this is essentially to deprotonate water to make it hydroxide other metal center will suffice right will be good enough. So, this is where people try to take advantage of creating a dimetallic center even if possible with manganese if not it is getting characterized then other metal is also fine and try to design a ligand which will put these two metal center together let us look at one of those right. So, this is a gigantic ligand that has been designed and so, these are the two carboxylic acid part which is potentially going to hold the two metal center together if you are looking at over here, here is cobalt, here is cobalt and it is bridged by these two carboxylate unit none of these architecture is going to be bound or binding the manganese center only it is going to bind over here. So, this bridging manganese is over sorry bridging carboxylate is right over in between, but more importantly you see that there is a hydroxo bridged between the cobalt and there is this two nitrogen center bipyridine is right over there right this is going to be helpful in future when we see the reactivity. So, let us look at so, this is going to be a functional mimic as you see that manganese is no longer there even and of course, two histidine is there where sorry two pyridine is there there was one histidine per metal center all those variations are there this is not perfect, but good thing what I can tell you that despite not having the perfect structure synthetic chemist were able to show that this is capable of doing similar reactivity as we have seen in the L-arginage cases. So, what is over here we have redrawn or this is redrawn and taken from here this is the di cobalt structure with the di carboxylate bridge cobalt is having this bicoordination ok. Well, if you try to put this with respect to the manganese one I do not think this is matching perfectly, but what you see over here that there is a weakly coordinating ligand in this case ethanol that will be displaced by the mimic of the L-arginine. So, this is the urea unit at least over there and that is now coordinated with one of the cobalt center upon binding on the cobalt center one of the cobalt center the bridging that was bridged hydroxy one of the ends snap off. So, it comes out and this hydroxyl now it is becoming a nucleophile. So, this is where a nucleophile and a electrophile on two different metal center is there, but most importantly these are very close to each other right. These two both the nucleophile and the electrophile are very close to each other they are ready to react nucleophile is going to attack the electrophile and therefore, the hydrolysis of this of this compound is possible and Cn cleavage will lead to the urea formation as well as hydra gene in these cases ok. So, this is one of the way other way could be the dichobalt is bridged although the this hydroxo is new bridged. So, both of them are attached the cobalt is attached with only one of the substrate and then this nucleophilic attack is happening. So, what we are trying to say here is this mechanism may or may not be 100 percent clear what exactly is happening at this stage, but the fact that even by having cobalt in there in place of manganin and not having exact mimic of what these arginase were doing still we can promote L arginase type of chemistry hydrolysis of such a model substrate I think that is quite phenomenal. So, this is showing that this is what perhaps the mechanism where a hydroxy is bridged or it is on one of the cobalt center one of the metal center by having the electrophilic and electrophilic and nucleophilic file very close to each other these reaction can be made feasible and this these are quite a quite an effective reaction right over there. So, what we have seen right now an activity mimic functional mimic. So, the function that arginase is able to create that can be created in absence or in presence it does not really matter you need a Lewis acid center such as over here is cobalt, but in original enzyme it is manganese, but nonetheless we are able to see that it is able to do the chemistry that one is required to do by arginase. So, these are not going to be a structural mimic, but a functional mimic let us look at another enzyme and that is urea. So, you have in the last case you have seen the urea formation in this case you see that urea is converted to ammonia and carbon dioxide right. This is also a fascinating enzyme quite a lot of crystal structure has been reported it has been well studied enzymatic structure and the and the and the reactivity is quite fascinating. Mechanism although remained controversial and urea itself the enzyme can catalyze this reaction pretty efficiently without urea this reaction is very sluggish, but with urea you see that reaction is happening very fast and actually rate is enhanced by 10 to the power of 14 just imagine that how capable the enzyme is to promote these reactions right. So, let us take urea and try to make ammonia and carbon dioxide this is one of the crystal structure back in 1999 there are many crystal structure from many different sources, but all of them are telling one thing this is going to be a dinuclear nickel crystal or nickel compound ok. So, this is one of the crystal structure showing that it is a dinuclear center. So, dinical is there of course, depending on how it is crystallized this ligand may vary, but I think this is one of the simpler one you can find in terms of crystal structure being reported. Now, each of the nickel as you can see is having two histidine ok. So, two histidines are there and it is bridged by a bridged by this carboxylate which is quite exciting there is a hydroxo bridging also there is aqua molecule on both of them. So, that is I think it is quite quite quite simple yet beautiful active site right. This is a dinical previous case you have seen manganese dimanganese species now you are seeing dinical. Now, as we have discussed earlier the essentially these metal centers are Lewis acid. So, it is helping deprotonating water to make hydroxide under the physiological condition that is the first activity. Second thing is it will help activate the substrate directly by making it coordinated with the metal center and during this process other side chains will be also playing a role not only these side chain, but the other side chains that is present nearby will also be helping in carrying out the reactivity quite effectively right. Let us look at the mechanism and just to tell you that mechanism is still controversial it is not a solved deal, but let us try to understand the complexity in it. So, we will start over here as you can see a water will come in and it is getting deprotonated to give nickel hydroxide urea as you would imagine urea will be binding with the nickel center in a way that is shown over here. So, urea is bound and nucleophile is red urea this carbonyl center is the electrophilic center it is going to be attacked by this hydroxy as you can see and overall in this process a nucleophile attack and this ammonia goes out of the system to give rise to this you know intermediate which can be displaced by which the bridge can be displaced by water molecule again carbon dioxide this can be broken down into carbon dioxide and ammonia to equivalent of ammonia is getting generated from one equivalent of urea right. While that is I would say quite simple and interesting urea plus water giving you carbon dioxide plus 2 ammonia. So, this seems a quite logical mechanism and simple mechanism is not it, but the problem is there is another effective mechanism that cannot be ruled out let us look at that mechanism ok. Over here what you see is a subtle difference maybe you have not noticed yet over here ok. So, we start once again over here nickel hydroxide urea binds with the nickel. So, you have a urea bound nickel center then the hydroxy attacking on the carbonyl center that was happening in the last class. In this case urea shot it itself if you push the arrows this lone pair goes on there and then that goes outside. So, overall cyan net formation happen right a cyan net formation happen and then hydrolysis of this cyan cyan net by a by this water molecule gives rise to the carbon dioxide and ammonia right. So, almost it is like self reaction of urea to form the cyan net and then that can be hydrolyzed to give carbon dioxide and ammonia right another ammonia is over here. So, overall the reaction remains same water plus urea giving rise to carbon dioxide and to ammonia. Now, quite a lot of studies been done particularly in these cases computational studies will be quite useful and the bad news is even the computational studies cannot differentiate between the mechanism 1 and mechanism 2. That means, either this intramolecular hydroxo attacking on urea or urea itself shorting as is mechanism 2 both of them remained feasible. That means, it is very difficult to distinguish one versus another right. Well having said that when we will see in the next slide that urea is this synthetic model system has been has been created and then it is been studied what has been found that this cyan net could be detected in in some of the cases and therefore, it signifies that perhaps this is going to be lightly mechanism right you cannot still conclude. I think this is this is the one thing about mechanism you can never conclude about a mechanism right whether this mechanism is correct or that mechanism is correct that is not the right way to learn about any system. I think the best way is to keep an option open because you never know what exactly the mechanism is even if you have crystal structure, intermediate trap you have done many things to understand the mechanism still you can never be completely sure that that is or one particular mechanism is operating because there is always a chance to switch between the mechanism right. So, whenever you guys all of us write that you know this proves that this mechanism is correct I think that is a very dangerous statement to make if one should write down this suggests rather than this proves you cannot prove a reaction mechanism right you can gather information in support of your proposition right. So, this is what we should be talking that mechanism remain controversial, but this suggests that this is what is likely mechanism I think particularly in these cases that is going to be important. So, the suggestion of a mechanism is accepted or welcome, but complete proving of mechanism I think one should stay away even no matter what how sure one becomes still it cannot be 100 percent guaranteed that this is what or that is what is happening ok. Let us look at the synthetic efforts that has been done to mimic the urease all this remain to be quite interesting I would say many models exist, but essentially what we are looking at is a bridging center right. The center which can bridge between the two metal center this ligand is designed and that is quite turn out to be quite exciting in terms of functional mimic these are again not again going to be the structural mimic just more of a functional mimic. So, this center can bridge between the two metal center the way it is shown over there let us say these are the two nickel center this is closest one can get in terms of the enzyme. So, two nickel center bridged by a ligand and you have water molecule bridging between the two metal center and just like just like in the enzyme there are there are histidine center here you have the pyridine center once again mimicking mimicking the aspect of nitrogen binding. And what is interesting is such a molecule can indeed convert urea into carbon dioxide and ammonia that is functional mimic once again these functional mimics are quite important and remain quite valid as you have seen other metal can be synthesized and also can be started. So, to sum up what we have learned in the hydrolytic enzyme is it does not matter whether it is a mononuclear center or dinuclear center the role of metal center is precisely to be Lewis acid by being Lewis acid it allows the water molecule to be deprotonated to provide the hydroxide in the solution or during the reaction. Also these metal center will help bind the organic substrate that is going to be hydrolyzed that is going to be attacked by the nucleophile right. In addition to those you know to those ligand for the metal center the protein side chain also helps you in docking or orienting the organic substrate in front of the metal side so that so that these nucleophile electrophile business can go on very easily right. So, the pre-orientation of the of the organic substrate is crucial for a rate enhancement and for overall the activity as well. These are these are the I guess the main take home message I must must mention that in the last class where you have seen that urease is converted to converting urea into ammonia and carbon dioxide by doing so you can you can basically neutralize the acid right you are generating ammonia in the process you can neutralize the acid. So, these in the liver these enzyme actually provides the neutralization of the HCl and thereby some good you know bacteria such as H pyroly can be colonized right. So, and therefore, therefore, a lot of diseases can be prevented by having these urea to ammonia and carbon dioxide prevention and if these are not properly functioning. So, H pyroly it helps it grow H pyroly that is what neutralization of the ammonia to HCl does. Neutralization helps H pyroly to grow inside the inside our liver, but not in liver it is I guess in the in our body ok. In our abdomen now if things are not great then it can have effects such as such as you know it can provide the atmosphere so that ulcer is happening or even dreadly cancer could be there. So, these ammonia production from urea is quite helpful for our body. It has also long standing long standing implication in agriculture for example, by producing these ammonia it directly relates to crop production and overall as we have seen role of protein side chain electrostatic interaction hydrogen bonding are important and non-redox metal ions are used in all of these cases or most of the cases we or all of the cases we do not see any oxidation state change with this we will come action keep studying.


Pat Novak for hire. Pat Novak for hire. That's what the sign out in front of my office says. Pat Novak for hire. It's up there in block letters, but down on the waterfront in San Francisco, good printing doesn't mean a thing. You get that on the death certificate. If you're trying to make a living down here, you're not going to have any standing in the community except in a police lineup. I rent boats and do anything else that goes with a weak will and a strong stomach. It's not all bad. Once in a while, something happens that makes you feel good for a moment. Like remembering somebody you kissed a long time ago. But most of the time you buy your beer the hard way. It works out all right because most people want to fall in love with a dollar bill and forget about trouble. And everything sounds all right, but sometimes it isn't like saying happy new year to a lifer. I found that out Wednesday night. I was sitting in the office with a sports page reading about those big tears that Washington Senators were shedding when I saw Crockett Odom for the first time. He was a big red face guy and the vein stood out on his face and made a pattern as if he slept on an alligator bag instead of a pillow. He walked over to the desk and started to get quiet and a loud voice. I want to talk to you, Mr. Novak.  My name is Odom. You heard of Crockett Odom. I don't get around. Tell me about it. I'm a lawyer. I want you to watch a client for me. Her name is Wendy Morris. Is she hard to watch? You can get bloodshot eyes just looking at her. She drinks a little. What's a little? How should I answer that? Any way you like. A pint of quart. What's a little Odom? Is she a dipso? We'll leave it there. She can make a quart of gin disappear while anybody else is looking for the corkscrew. What am I supposed to do? Hide the bottles? Mr. Novak, a full grown octopus couldn't do that. I'm afraid this is more serious. It involves her husband. Let her take a drink and lose him. It'll save you money. It involves her husband or somebody who's supposed to be her husband. She's got a bad memory. She's a very wealthy girl, Mr. Novak. Five years ago, she married a man by the name of Stanley Morris. Immediately after her, he went into uniform. You make it sound selfish. He's been gone ever since, until a month ago. He spent most of that time overseas. The rest in the government hospital. Yeah. Now that he's back, something very peculiar has happened. I don't think the man is her husband. Well, that's a hard part to play. Has she got any theories? I think she suspects two. I don't know why I feel that way. He seems to have picked up where he left off. Knows everything about her. Seems normal, but I'm sure the man is an imposter. Look, Odom, find a corner and patch up that story. You can't get that near sighted on five years' booze. You don't understand, Mr. Novak. He was seriously injured. That makes identification hard. You think Stanley Morris is dead? I think he died somewhere along the line, and this man took his place. That's a lot of trouble just to share a board and room with a boozer. Not if he can share it with someone else on her money. That's why I want you to watch her, particularly tonight. Why tonight is Stanley full of temper? It's been leading up to this. He wants her to go to a gambling club. And I know he's too friendly with the owner of the club. I want you to go along as a friend. Now, look, Mr., I wouldn't go as her friend to a masquerade ball. If you're making a deal, make it out in the open. Do it your own way, Novak. It's $300. Earn it anywhere you can. Yeah. Where's the club? She'll take you. Just pick her up at this address. Does she know about it? She'll understand you. In fact, that's the only risk you run. I told you she drinks most of the time. When she doesn't, you're the type she cobbles up. I'll bring some cheese instead. That won't do any good. It's not the flavor she likes, Mr. Novak. It's the crunch. Good night. I know them walked out of there. I knew he was the kind of a guy who'd put the wolf at your door if he could get one wholesale. On the way up the pier, he stopped and looked out at the bay as if he intended to do away with it before morning. And then he turned and disappeared around the corner. Well, I sat there for a while, and I went over his story. I was sure it wouldn't hold any more water than a gross of holes, but I had no way of checking. Finally, about seven o'clock, I closed the office and I went by the address he gave me. It was a modernistic apartment up on Telegraph Hill, one of those places where they let a guy out of the basement long enough to paint murals on the front. This one had a guy waving a blonde wig in front of a tired old monk named Faust. Wendy Morris' apartment was up on the second floor when I rang the buzzer. She opened the door with a nice, easy motion, like a cat getting ready to eat its young. I could see right away what Odum was talking about. If you ever build a house, you'd want somebody like her in the blueprints. She leaned against the doorway and she was wearing a crepe evening gown that was supposed to let you know that nature had given her a square deal. She didn't say anything at first.  It makes a nice rattle. Are you Mr. Novak? Yeah, I rattle too. Invite me in. I'll bet you do. Come in. Are you all paid to like me? Will a drink help, Mr. Novak? Yeah. Sit down. I'll get some. No, this will do. What did Crockett tell you? He said you got thirsty. Did he mention men? Crockett thinks they're related. His sole concession to the medical profession. He mentioned your husband. Where is he? I thought that was the problem. Sounds phony. There must be a way to spot old husbands. How? I wouldn't know. Do you think Stanley Morris is dead? I don't know, Mr. Novak. He's gone away? As long as I'm safe? No. Stanley was no bargain. Why'd you marry him? I don't know. I suppose I confused a hangover with love. Well, he sounds exciting. I thought as lively as a dish rag and a steam bath. It doesn't make any difference now, Mr. Novak. I'm frightened. You've got to help me. You're in for $300? That's all. Where is this gambling joint? Out on Gary Boulevard. It's called the mother load. The sense of humor belongs to Frankie Fanon. Is he funny enough to deal with Stanley? I don't know. Stanley's been out there every night for two weeks. Now he's forcing me to go. There must be a reason. There must be a reason for what? Don't tempt me, Stanley. This is Mr. Novak, my husband. I never heard of you, Novak. You got me worried. He's a friend of mine. What does he do? Drive a beer truck? My husband is being subtle, Mr. Novak. He's going with us, Dan. We don't know anybody well enough to take him with us. You don't have to feel burdened. I'll take him. Aren't you worrying about that leash? Now look, Mr. I'm here in a straight deal. Cash and carry and your credit's through. From now on that mother, yours cost you dough. Go ahead and pout, Stan. You look better with your lip turned in. All right, if you like me, girls, I'll have to make another reservation. Hand me the phone, Novak. Yeah. Yeah. Thanks. Let's go, Wendy, your friend backed out. I hope they got a good price for my head because when I started down, shoulder blades were the best I could do for height. I rolled over once and then I stretched out on the floor as hard as a piece of chewing gum on a theater seat. I don't know how long I chased that woman in the bathing suit. Must have been about an hour when the phone began to ring. I tried to get up once or twice, but I couldn't get the box car off my chest and the phone kept ringing like a piece of crystal in a hail storm. I finally made a ladder out of my knees and got to the phone. Yeah. How's your head? It's a little ripe. What's on your mind? Something's gone wrong. I have to meet you. Not at these prices. I just got a message from Crocodotum. I'm leaving now. I want you to meet me in room 314 of the Galbraith Hotel. Where is it? A third-grade trap on Powell Street. It's important. Will you come? Yeah. And I'm sorry about your head. I'll have to rub the bruise for you. Wait till I get there. You can rub one of your own. She was right about that hotel. In a good season, they couldn't have drawn transient mice. I got there about a quarter to ten. I rode up to room 314. There was nobody there. So I sat down and started to wait. The floor was quiet except down at the end of the hall somebody was playing a phonograph record. The music was thin but loud and I knew they were old records. Way back when this bird Bix was a man instead of a memory. It stopped after a while and I looked at my watch. It was after ten so I left the hotel and I went out to the gambling joint. I toured the room but I couldn't find Wendy or Stan. I got a guy at the window and he remembered somebody like Wendy so I asked about her. He just pointed over at Frankie Fanon's office and went on making change. I crossed over and knocked at the door. The guy that opened it had a face like three pounds of warm putty. It was moist and pink and he got the idea they put the color in with a spray gun. And if his heart was made of the same stuff they drained the oil out first. Yeah. My name's Novak. Who's arguing? I want to talk to you. Yeah. Where's Wendy Morris? I don't know. She was in here the night. It's a jail term. I don't follow women home. Am I supposed to buy that?  I haven't seen her. How about her husband? He owes me dough. What else? Ask his wife. He's an IOU to me. I don't know what you're doing here but you'd better make your point. Fanon, if you've got a party I don't want to blow out the candles but I want some answers. Yeah. She got boosted in here the night. Why? I brought her in for word games. I told her if her husband didn't square his fill I'd work him into hamburger. Yeah. She offered to bring the buns. Now that's all the talk you get, mister. Tip the girl on your way out. I need the money. Come in. Choose up and tell me which one's Novak. I am. What's on your mind? The other guy's lucky. I'm Craig from homicide. Where's Hellman?  That's right. I just left room 314 of the Galbraith Hotel. So did I. Two of us made it then. The girl didn't. Novak, he's trying to tell you Wendy Morris is dead. How do you know she's dead? It's the only reason cops drool. You want to see her, Novak? No. She was better alive. Come on down anyway. Maybe I didn't try hard enough. I felt like a voice teacher with adenoids. Whoever Craig was, he was smart and he tagged all the bases because as we moved through the lobby, he motioned to me and the desk clerk nodded. I didn't worry about that desk clerk because he hadn't said no for years. But when we got to room 314, I needed to turn a passage. Three or four Craig's men grouped along the dim hall like dirty shadows and inside, Wendy Morris was stretched out looking in the wrong direction. There was a white sheet draped over and I wondered where the hotel had borrowed that, but Craig wanted to talk. You must have had a big beef, Novak. Sorry, we were friends. Oh, but that was fun. I was supposed to meet her here. She didn't show. The desk clerk said she did. Not while I was here. I was in that gambling joint by 1030. The desk clerk says you asked about Wendy Morris. Then you came up here and killed her. That's the way I'm going to book you. Check on her husband. You can fit him in near the top of the list. She got one. It's a lot of blonde hair to keep indoors. Good blondes run like salmon. Wait a minute, Craig. Give me that sheet. Well, well. Yeah? Craig, you better not book me for Wendy Morris. Huh? If you do, you'll mix up all the on-duty angels because somebody killed the wrong woman. This isn't Wendy Morris. Yeah, you must be wrong. How do you know? How does anybody know? They look different. They got different personalities. Take your pick, Craig, but somebody got the wrong woman. Take another look. I don't need another with Wendy. The first looks for names and faces. Yeah? If you take a second, look, Mr. It's for love. Craig liked to pick his dead because when he found out the woman on the floor was somebody else, he started to shake a little and his mouth hung open like a broken screen door. I didn't blame him much. I tried to think back and piece it together, but it wouldn't work out. It almost made sense, like the broken phrases of an old conversation, but not enough of it came back and there was still something missing. What happened to Wendy Morris and how about this girl on the floor? Where did she get her drag with heaven? I looked down at her again. She was pretty if you like quiet girls.  And the color was starting to leave her face. The light was bad and he had to look close to see her skin. There were little splotches of paint and the rest was white, like shrimp that hadn't been boiled long enough. Craig was worried and that's something he couldn't hide. Who is she, Novak? I don't know, Craig. We didn't meet her soon enough to know. You should have checked. The hotel register says Wendy Morris. Who read it for you? Oh, you're tough, Craig. I'll bet you got the wine of scared stiff. Keep on talking. I'll get you some help. Come on in. He wants to make a statement. On the bed, Novak. How'd you get your boys, Craig? They look tired. On the bed, Novak. All right, Joe. Take his arms. Yeah. The other two hold his head back against the bed. Where's Wendy Morris, Novak? I don't know, Copper. You sure you're from homicide? So it's against the law. Don't tell anybody. Now make a statement, Novak. Yeah. Here's a statement about you, Craig. We'll find out downtown. You can save some teeth. Where's the other girl? I don't know. Hold him up. Yeah. Where's Wendy Morris? Craig, you can go. Put his head against the bed. It's for exercise now, Craig. All right, he's not a seasoned pass. We don't have to hang on to him.  I felt my way down to the lobby and into the street. Most of the time, one question kept going through my mind. Craig was going to run me in before. Why had he changed his mind? Well, I found out when I started to turn the corner. Craig had a tail on me and he was real hard to spot like a red nash at the top of the mark. He moved out from under a light near the pool room on the corner and I watched him in the windows as we walked along. After a while, I quit worrying about him because I knew in a pinch he couldn't follow a conversation with a printed form. Well, I had a lot of ground to cover, so I looked up Jaco Madigan. He's a good guy and he was a smart one too. Until he found out if your eyes get red enough you don't need rose-colored glasses. I finally found him at the cafe house as tight as a tennis racket in the rain.  Jaco, I want to talk to you. Some belated Christmas carols, Patsy. The piano player quit and everybody else dropped out, so I'm doing it acapella by myself. All right, Jaco. Christmas eluded me, Patsy. I got up through Christmas Eve and then I seem to have missed Christmas entirely. Did they hold it this year? Well, it wouldn't happen if you'd get up in the morning. I refuse to get up early, Patsy. I refuse to get up in the morning until the streets have been aired. The only things that should be around at that hour are presents and a bunch of random deals. Jaco, would you listen? I'm in trouble.   You're like some of the rest of these people running around in a hurry. Jaco, please. Just plunging into anything. Look at the papers. I've spent years shooting a rocket 110 miles into the air. Watch the use. Will you listen? Watch the use. When you get 110 miles up, all you can do is turn around and come on back down again. We're killing time 110 miles in the air instead of learning to spend it down here. All right, all right. Oh, it's depressing, Patsy.  I'm ready to take the drink. Are you all through, Jaco? Yes. Humanity is a tough life. What kind of trouble? I bought a murder rap for 300 bucks. If it's a bargain, why complain? Who's dead? I don't know who she is. Homicide found her in a hotel on Powell Street. I tagged by before the murder. Serves her right. If I were a woman, I wouldn't trust you in the middle of Stanford Stadium with 80,000 people. It was the wrong woman. It was supposed to be a gown named Wendy Morris, but she didn't show. That was shrewd of her. I was hired by a lawyer named Crocodotem to watch her. Why? She's a dipso. She must have some faults. Odom suspects her husband. He was in uniform, and now that he's back, Odom figures he's a fraud out for the girl's money. Can't the girl tell the difference? She's not sure. I don't think she was observant. Now, look, this is a big story, Jaco. I can't fill in all the holes. You've got to help me. I want you to check on Crocodotem, will you? I need some money. Oh, you'll booze it away. Now hurry, Jaco. If you need money, get a job.  I'm a victim of my own conscience. I'm stuck with the dilemma. I'm willing to go to work, but I work too cheaply. And on the other hand, I'll not support slave labor. So it's morally impossible for me to go to work. Good night, lover. I left Jaco, and the two beatings began to catch up with me. I had enough headache to pass out to a Bay Meadows crowd on a bad day. The tale behind me began to look tired, so I dropped by headquarters to give him a rest. I asked for the head of homicide, but the desk told me that Helman was on his honeymoon, and they kind of laughed when they said it, as if they thought he got the girl there on a bench warrant. All I'd done at headquarters was identify the dead woman. Her name was Emily Van Kirk, and she had no record. I dropped by the hotel, and the first break showed down there. The desk clerk knew about Emily Van Kirk. He'd mixed the rooms up, and he'd put Wendy in the wrong one. That meant that maybe she was at the hotel after all. It also meant that Emily was in the clear. She was just a girl on her way to Seattle, and she got a longer ride than she paid for. I called Wendy's, but I couldn't get an answer, so I dropped by my place to wait for Jaco. Stanley Morris was there, chewing his fingernails, and when I walked in, he was up to the wristwatch. Mr. Novak, where's my wife? You're hiding her. He's good enough to hide, but this isn't the night. Oh, where is she?  How do you know she was there? Did you drop by too? Doesn't make any difference. Well, that makes a big difference to me. We're all out of phones. Now tell me about that hotel. Crockett Odom told me to come there. Why? I don't know. I was supposed to be there at 10.30. It was some kind of a crazy scheme. Was a dead girl mixed up in one? Sorry, it wasn't Wendy. Odom tried to break up this marriage. I wish he had. You sound feeble, mister. You don't know her the way I do. She's a cold-blooded animal. The only cold-blooded animal that doesn't bear fur. They're building a case. I don't know what have her around. I suppose you would. She has a certain localized beauty you'd go for, but nobody else would have her. They'd find out what she is, a puff-adder with a good figure. Yeah, wait a minute. We've got company. Somebody's coming in the door. Watch it. There goes the light. Alright, stand back. Couldn't have died any faster with a priority. I got to the door and threw on the light switch, but whoever it was had gone and the hall was dark. When I got back to Stan, he was lying there like a well-trained sponge. He wasn't a good enough guy to bleed in the living room, so I dragged him into the kitchen and left with the back way. I had to get word to Jaco, so I left a message at his place telling him to get in touch with me at Wendy's. I went up there to sit on her doorstep and wait if it took all night. I wasn't going to freeze, though, because she opened the door as soon as I knocked. She was still wearing that crepe gown, and she was yawning and stretching her arms. Oh, you might not want to bring her home to mother, but you'd want to start, anyway. Do you always look at women this way, Patsy? I feel like ease.  Do I argue or come in? You may argue, but do it in here. Yeah. When'd you get back? Why? Somebody just killed Stan. If you're sure, the drinks are on me. He didn't like you, either. We'd be even if he had anything to start with. Don't ever marry, Patsy. Now, look, lady, I'm nursing a murderer, and I need some answers. Would Stan a phony? He's the same guy I married, if that's what you mean. You weren't sure four hours ago? I wanted an answer then. What kind? You're too far ahead, Patsy. Get into a trot and have a drink.  I got one now. I'll bet you have, darling. Oh, this room isn't big enough for games, baby. Give me a Patsy. Go find a guy with a bag of wild oats. Stop shadowboxing, dad. All right, baby. That's what makes the poor so heavy. They don't have phones. Yeah. Patsy, this is Jocko. Where'd you find out? Crocket Odom is in love with Wendy Morris. Does it go both ways? Well, different rate of exchange. I got something else, too. A will is a big temptation. Go ahead. If she bows out, all the dough goes to her husband.  Oh, he's going to have it straightened out. What else? The funny part of the will. If they're both dead, all the dough goes to Crocket Odom. You better see him in a hurry. Well, that doesn't make sense.  Maybe not. Oh, you haven't seen her, Jocko. He wouldn't pass that up. She's nice and speedy. Oh, I can explain that. When you're over 50, you don't mind the speed. It's the freewheeling you hate to think about. There are seats. That story of stance finally made sense. There was only one reason why it could have been called there at 10.30. And for the first time, I tumbled why Craig had let me go back in that hotel room. Everything was right in place, like a mixed master in a bride's kitchen. I dropped my headquarters and left a note. And then the girl and I ran into Craig down at the desk. I briefed him on what had happened, and we rode up to Crocket Odom's apartment. When we got to the living room, things turned stormy. Hello, Novak. It's too late to start a party. No, you're going to like this one, Odom. That's right, darling. You'll love it. This is Craig from Homicide. He wants you for murder. It doesn't sound right, Craig. Novak's calling it. See him. I talked to Stan before he died. He tipped your mitt, Crocket. He couldn't tip a water glass. He was smart enough to know you sent for him. That's why he didn't show at 10.30. You better have it in writing. No, I don't need it that way. Craig, he won't let you out that easy. What's he talking about, Craig? Homicide will shake him down too fast.  I left a note.  Are you crazy, Craig, to come up here? I can't argue now. He's too lucky, Odom. I got all sevens tonight, Craig. Crocket Odom sold you bad goods. He did everything wrong. Thanks, Odom. I'm going to leave you. But don't let the bag get too heavy. Now, wait a minute, Craig. You're not going to let me hang for this. You won't. They burn in this state. Stay away from that door, Craig. Sorry, Odom. You dealt me in, but I got bad cards. I want to see you play them alone. I'll make a try. Hang on to your skin. Your hand, Novak. Yeah, anything to help you die. Here. How's Odom? He'll keep. Yeah. I'm sorry, Novak. What to do wrong? Everything. But mostly when you let me go up in that hotel room. Yeah. I should have pinched you then. I'm a tender-hearted guy.  I can move you down a step lower even.  I checked. You're not working for the city. They never heard of you downtown. I'm not going to make it, Novak.  I'll put it down easy. Goodbye, Craig. I hope you have a long night. They patched up Odom and got most of the story out of him. Jaco was right. Odom got tired of chasing the girl and went after the money instead. He drummed up that Coney story to plant a reason for a quarrel and then he tried to pay it off in that hotel room. He offered a cut to Craig for the heavy duty work. Wendy was supposed to show up at 10.15. Craig had killed her and wait. When Stan showed up at 10.30, Craig was supposed to stage a fight and kill him. That way he'd be in the clear and so would Odom.   But the whole scheme went haywire when the desk clerk mixed up the rooms. Craig killed the wrong woman and Stan got there late. That's why he got scared when it turned out to be somebody else, so he let me go. Odom was afraid that Stan had showed up and knew the story, so he had a ticket right away. The guy who told me was handy for that. When did I first tumble to something wrong? When I was sure that Crockett Odom had told a lie. He said the girl was a dipso, but when I got there, she was drinking soda with her whiskey. And a good dipso won't waste that much time. Well, it worked out all right. Hellman was on his honeymoon, so he didn't have any questions. Well, but his wife did.