KANSAS CITY, Mo. – His hands clenched into fists and his biceps flexed. Running back Isiah Pacheco stomped down the Kansas City Chiefs sideline, his message punctuated by his demonstrative voice.

“Ay, bring that damn energy!Pacheco shouted to his attacking teammates, many of whom nodded in agreement. “Bring that s-! Bring that s-!”

A few minutes later, the Chiefs began the second half of their divisional round playoff game against the Buffalo Bills, the first time Pacheco had played in a road elimination game in his young, two-year career. Trailing the Chiefs by four points, Pacheco helped them score touchdowns on back-to-back drives by doing what has made him one of the NFL's most distinctive players: every time he touched the ball, he ran with anger, intensity and brutality.

Pacheco's running style was instrumental in the Chiefs' advance to the AFC Championship Game for the sixth straight season. He led all players with 97 rushing yards on 15 attempts, a significant number of those yards gained after the first defender made contact with him.

Sixty percent of Pacheco's carries ended with him going over the expected distance, according to NFL Next Gen Stats, the highest percentage of all qualified running backs in the divisional round.

As Pacheco entered the end zone early in the fourth quarter on his 4-yard touchdown run, which turned out to be the winning score, he called another message to leave Donovan Smith and Travis Kelce behind.

“They can't come with us!Pacheco said. He continued to encourage his teammates as he reached the sideline, saying:Everything you have! Everything you have!”

“We're going to make it quiet today!”

10 was on the mic for our division dub pic.twitter.com/bZOtjEYBz6

— Kansas City Chiefs (@Chiefs) January 24, 2024

In the Chiefs' two postseason victories, over the Bills and Miami Dolphins, Pacheco has backed up his words with dominant performances.

His teammates have also taken their play to the next level. The Chiefs' rushing attack, an area of ​​the offense that was inconsistent at times during the regular season, was exceptional in the playoffs. The offensive linemen – Smith, left guard Joe Thuney, center Creed Humphrey, right guard Trey Smith, right tackle Jawaan Taylor and backup guard Nick Allegretti – were the superior group in the trenches. And the Chiefs' three tight ends — Kelce, Noah Gray and Blake Bell — have all improved their blocking.

“I'm proud of how resilient the boys have been,” Humphrey said. “We've had a bit of a slump, but the boys kept pushing and we've improved, which is really good to see.”

Entering the playoffs, offensive coordinator Matt Nagy and quarterback Patrick Mahomes recognized that the Chiefs offense would need a simpler approach to limit mistakes in the postseason. The easiest way for coach Andy Reid and Nagy to accomplish that was to give Pacheco a bigger role in the offense by increasing his workload. Pacheco's 39 rushing attempts in the playoffs are the most he has had in a two-game span this season. He's been effective with those touches, too, producing 186 yards and two touchdowns — and eight rushes of 8 yards or more.

“I thought we did a good job with opportunities during the (regular season), but (offensive line coach) Andy Heck does a great job designing the runs, and the guys executed them,” Reid said. “The offensive line takes a lot of pride in what they do. They know it starts with them and they have been very precise with their blocking orders.”

Even in the fourth-coldest game in NFL history, with a temperature of minus-4 degrees at kickoff at Arrowhead Stadium against the Dolphins, Pacheco still ran the ball with rugged aggression through multiple defenders, including his three-yard touchdown. His highlights prompted many fans on social media to make exaggerated comparisons when they saw him perform.

Before Wednesday's practice, Pacheco shared his favorite.

“The funniest thing to me was when they said I run like I bite people,” Pacheco said, smiling and laughing. 'I'm not a zombie. That was crazy. It's a great opinion to have, I think. For me it just means being determined and understanding that I have a goal to achieve.”

Pleased @isiah_pachecoRB is aware of the memes about his running style pic.twitter.com/LgA8WeN1bV

—NFL (@NFL) January 24, 2024

Just a month ago, Pacheco missed two games as he suffered another right shoulder injury, the same shoulder he injured during the Chiefs' postseason run last year. He underwent what Reid described as a “clean-up surgery,” an arthroscopic procedure, before returning to the lineup on Christmas Day.

Since then, Pacheco has adjusted his post-practice routine so that he receives as much treatment as possible from the team's medical staff.

“Last year was the longest season of my career, so understanding that this is the second year, there was no offseason for me,” Pacheco said. “I had surgery, so it's been an ongoing process. I (stayed) longer in the building because I was one of the last to leave.”

Pacheco did not participate in practice on Wednesday due to a sprained toe, a decision Reid made as a precaution. Pacheco expects to play Sunday against the Baltimore Ravens and understands he could have 20 carries against the NFL's top-ranked defense, which has allowed just 16.3 points per game.

“It's very important to protect the ball,” said Pacheco, who has fumbled just once in five postseason games. “That's the biggest part of the game, knowing the team knows you're going to play it.”

THIS TOUCHDOWN IS A 10/10 pic.twitter.com/IEREnUKWkp

— Kansas City Chiefs (@Chiefs) January 22, 2024

Pacheco knows the ideal situation for him and the offensive linemen for Sunday's game: a final drive in the fourth quarter, where the mission is to get the first down that would secure a victory and send the Chiefs to Super Bowl LVIII to steer.

After Bills kicker Tyler Bass missed a potential tying 44-yard field goal after the two-minute warning Sunday, the Chiefs still needed to get a first down to exhaust all of their opponent's timeouts. Pacheco ran through two defenders and gained 8 yards on the first down. The Chiefs got the final play first on the next play, a three-yard run up the middle from Pacheco.

“That's what you want to do in that situation, let the coaches put it on our shoulders up front,” Humphrey said of the offensive line. “I'm really proud of the way the boys executed these two plays. Pop running really fast was also great to see.”

Pacheco's last two rushing attempts were similar to his previous thirteen in the game, full of determination, ferocity and hostility.

Before Pacheco left the stage Wednesday, a reporter asked a question he's heard before: Is that you? Real angry when you run with the ball?

“Absolute!” Pacheco responded quickly. “I'm willing to do whatever it takes to get the job done.”

(Photo: Kathryn Riley/Getty Images)

Bitcoin plummeted to its lowest point since 2020 on Monday after major US cryptocurrency lending company Celsius Network froze withdrawals and transfers citing “extreme” conditions, in the latest sign of how turbulence in financial markets is causing turmoil in the cryptosphere.

The move to freeze withdrawals at Celsius Network on Sunday triggered a drop in cryptocurrencies, with their value falling below $1 trillion on Monday for the first time since January last year, with the largest token bitcoin dropping 11 percent.

Following the Celsius announcement, Bitcoin hit an 18-month low of $23,476. No.2 token ether fell a whopping 16% to $1,177.

On Monday, Binance, the world’s largest cryptocurrency exchange, also halted withdrawals, blaming “transaction stuck” causing a backlog of transactions.

Binance CEO Changpeng Zhao said the halt to withdrawals would last only half an hour, but the system has already been down for an hour and a half at 10:30am.

Cryptomarkets have taken a dive in recent weeks as rising interest rates and rising inflation hurt riskier assets in the financial markets. The May collapse of the terraUSD and luna tokens also shook the industry.

“It’s still an awkward moment, and there’s some contagion risk around crypto more broadly,” said Joseph Edwards, head of financial strategy at fund management firm Solrise Finance.

Celsius offers interest-bearing products to customers who deposit cryptocurrencies on its platform and then lend cryptocurrencies to earn a return.

In a blog post, the company said it had frozen withdrawals and transfers between accounts “to stabilize liquidity and operations as we take steps to preserve and protect assets.”

“We are taking this action today to put Celsius in a better position to meet its withdrawal obligations over time,” the New Jersey-based company said.

The surge in interest in crypto lending has raised concerns from regulators, especially in the United States, who are concerned about investor protection and the systemic risks of unregulated lending products.

David Gerard, an author and crypto expert, said a lack of regulation has doomed the industry. Anyone who started investing in crypto in the past six months has been sold “magic beans” instead.

You can’t get rich for free. You would think that was obvious, but people keep hoping that there is a way out and that they will move forward, but it’s always false hope,” he said. “Some people are doing great, but more people are dying.”

Celsius and crypto companies that offer services similar to banks are in a “grey area” of regulation, said Matthew Nyman of law firm CMS. “They are not subject to any clear regulation requiring disclosure” about their assets.

Celsius CEO Alex Mashinsky and Celsius did not immediately respond to Reuters requests for comment outside of U.S. business hours.

Experts agree that this is a dark time for the digital currency and have warned investors to stay away from the stock during the current crisis – they predict prices will fall by another 50 percent.

Bitcoin looks poised to crash to $20K and Ethereum to $1K. If so, the total market capitalization of nearly 20,000 digital tokens would drop below $800 billion, from nearly $3 trillion at its peak,” said Chief Economist & Global Strategist at Europac Peter Schiff.

Don’t buy this dip. You lose a lot more money.’

Schiff told MailOnline that falling stock prices are a result of skyrocketing inflation and the cost of living following Friday’s announcement that US inflation rose to 8.6 percent.

“With food and energy prices rising, many Bitcoin HODLers will be forced to sell to cover costs. Supermarkets and gas stations do not accept Bitcoin. When Bitcoin crashed during Covid, no one had to sell,” the global economist said, using the slang for Bitcoin investor.

‘Consumer prices were much lower and HODLers received stimulus checks. The need to sell Bitcoin to pay the bills will only get worse as the recession deepens and many HODLers lose their jobs, especially those working for soon-to-be-bankrupt blockchain companies.

“If conditions change, long-term buyers without pay will be forced to sell.”

HODLers is a crypto slang term to describe a strategy used by buy-and-hold traders, rather than people who buy and sell at every dip.

It’s been a short honeymoon for Celsius.

The cryptocurrency lender raised $750 million in funding from investors including Canada’s second largest pension fund, Caisse de Dépôt et Placement du Québec, at the end of November. Celsius was valued at $3.25 billion at the time.

As of May 17, Celsius had $11.8 billion in assets, the website said, down more than half from October, and had processed a total of $8.2 billion in loans.

Mashinsky, the CEO, was quoted last October as saying that Celsius had more than $25 billion in assets.

The company’s website, which urges customers to “earn high.” Borrowing low,” said it offers interest rates of up to 18.6%.

Rival cryptocurrency lender Nexo said Monday it had offered to buy Celsius’s outstanding assets.

“We contacted Celsius on Sunday morning to discuss the acquisition of the collateralized loan portfolio. So far, Celsius has chosen not to participate,” says Nexo co-founder Antoni Trenchev.

Celsius did not immediately respond to a request for comment on Nexo’s offer.

It was a movie that eerily predicted the modern world of mass surveillance and social media, where millions document their daily lives on platforms like Instagram and TikTok.

Released 25 years ago today, The Truman Show starred Jim Carrey as the eponymous Truman Burbank, whose entire life was a fiction designed to entertain millions of people around the world.

The film, directed by Peter Weir and written by Andrew Niccol, grossed more than $264 million worldwide. garnered three Academy Award nominations for Best Supporting Actor, Original Screenplay and Director.

But it also eventually gave its name to a psychological delusion in which patients — of whom there were hundreds — believe themselves, like Truman, to be the subject of a TV show.

One sufferer killed his father and sister believing they were revealing his life to the world as part of a game show, another allegedly assaulted a toddler and his mother while thinking he should “get off the Truman Show.”

In the film, Truman’s every move from the moment of his birth is documented by 5,000 cameras placed all over his hometown of Seahaven Island, which is effectively a giant TV studio.

Everyone in Seahaven, including his wife Meryl – played by Laura Linney – is an actor.

As his life as an insurance salesman unfolds on screens 24 hours a day, a loyal viewership of 1.5 billion people around the world watches.

In what becomes his catchphrase, he cheerfully says to his friends and neighbors, “In case I don’t see you, good afternoon, good evening, and goodnight.”

Truman eventually begins to suspect his life is a fiction after a series of clues emerge, including the moment a lighting rig falls from the “sky.”

He decides to flee the made-up world, much to the anger of the show’s creator, Christof, who is played by Ed Harris.

When the movie came out, reality television was still in its infancy. The hugely successful Big Brother, originally a Dutch creation, premiered in 1999.

The show saw ordinary people sharing a home for several weeks as television cameras documented their every move.

From then on, the reality genre would become a global phenomenon, with shows like The Only Way is Essex and Keeping Up with the Kardashians proving to be extremely popular.

The Truman Show also basically foresaw both the mass surveillance and widespread use of social media in the modern world.

With the former, millions of CCTV cameras keep a close eye on ordinary citizens in Britain and elsewhere.

In the latest document, millions document every detail of their lives on Instagram and TikTok, for example.

And although the film was released towards the end of the 20th century, its premise went back thousands of years to the Allegory of the Cave by the Greek philosopher Plato.

In it, Plato depicted a group of people who had spent their entire lives chained to the wall of a cave.

The shadows they see projected on the wall from objects passing in front of a fire eventually get a name.

And while they are not a reflection of reality, the shadows are real to them.

Christof evokes this feeling when he says: ‘We accept the reality of the world that is presented to us. It’s that simple.’

Truman syndrome was initially named and documented by siblings, Dr. Joel Gold and his brother Ian.

It often affects successful people, who may end up believing that they are being filmed all the time and that the world is not real to them.

In 2009, Australian man Anthony Waterlow killed his father and sister because he believed they were broadcasting his life to the world as part of a game show to kill him or convince him to kill himself.

When examined by a psychologist, he specifically mentioned The Truman Show.

And in 2007, psychiatrist William Johns III allegedly assaulted a 2-year-old and his mother in New York City after he left his Florida home because he had to “get away from the Truman Show” that he believed was filming him in his residence.

The condition was named and documented by expert Dr Joel Gold and his brother Ian.

In an article in the journal Cognitive Neuropsychiatry they described it as: ‘…a new delusion, mainly persecutive in form, in which the patient believes that he is being filmed and that the films are broadcast for the amusement of others.

“We describe a series of patients who presented with a delusional system according to which they were the subject of something resembling a reality TV show…”

They investigated the lives of five patients who believed they were the focus of a secret TV show.

A patient walked into a federal building in New York City and demanded to see “the warden.”

He said he had to come to Manhattan because he believed the 2001 World Trade Center attacks were faked for the TV show filmed around him.

The man said he had to see for himself whether the Twin Towers were still standing. If they weren’t, he said, that would be the last proof that he was the reluctant star of a reality TV show.

Another was convinced that his every move was being secretly filmed for a TV match.

A third believed everything – the news, his psychiatrists, the drugs they prescribed – was part of a fake staged world in which he was the involuntary star.

In August 2008, another magazine article recounted how a 26-year-old mailman “felt like the world was a little unreal, like he was the eponymous hero” on The Truman Show.

The reviews for the film itself were mostly positive.

Christopher Tookey wrote in the Daily Mail in 1998: ‘The film works well as a surreal nightmare, in the vein of the TV series The Prisoner, or the horror classic Invasion Of The Body Snatchers.

“It’s convincing as a celebrity nightmare, of what the world could be like if it really revolved around you and no one acted normal in front of you.”

Famed American critic Roger Ebert, who gave the film four stars, added, “I enjoyed “The Truman Show” at its level of comedy and drama; I loved Truman the same way I loved Forrest Gump – because he was a good man, honest and easy going.

But the underlying ideas made the movie more than just entertainment.

‘Like ‘Gattaca’, the previous film written by Niccol, it portrays the new values ​​that technology imposes on humanity.

“Because we can engineer genetics, because we can broadcast real lives — of course we have to, right? But are these good things to do?

“The irony is that the people who will ultimately answer that question are the ones produced by the process.”