As the saying goes, “You don’t know what you’ve got until it’s gone,” and that’s absolutely true when it comes to bags. They may not always be at the top of the priority list when it comes to clothes, but… boy do you miss them when they’re not there? To make sure you don’t have to choose between a good piece and pockets, we’ve found 18 dresses, lounge sets and leggings to match — and they’re all on sale during Amazon’s Big Spring Sale!

Whether you’re looking for a new set to lounge in or looking for a fresh dress for spring, these pocketable pieces will slay the game. Read on for our picks!

Dresses

1. Make it a Maxi: Like an extension of your favorite T-shirt, this Maxi dress is a classic and comfortable style and goes with just about anything – was $33, now $26!

2. Spring Stripes: Made with horizontal stripes, this mini T-shirt dress has a light nautical theme that’s perfect for the transition from spring to summer — was $48, now $30!

3. Two-in-one: This can make you look like you put effort into your outfit (even if you didn’t). midi dress has the look of a T-shirt tucked into a flowy skirt – was $38, now $35!

4. Lightweight and Stretchy: Simple but chic, this midi dress features short sleeves, a round neckline, a flared waist and a soft and stretchy fabric — was $33, now $30!

5. Beautiful LBD: If you love a good LBD moment, you’ll definitely want to check this out midi style with spaghetti straps, an A-line silhouette and of course pockets – was $39, now $18!

6. We love a shawl: This midi dress features a flattering wrap design, a V-neckline and a cinched waist that’s ideal for everything from beach days to date nights — was $46, now $22!

Lounge sets

7. A bestseller! Made from a fun ribbed fabric, a half-zip sweatshirt and a cozy polyester fabric, we can see why this lounge set is an Amazon bestseller – was $53, now $37!

8. So, so soft! This may look like a nice jogging setbut it’s made from a cozy and breathable fabric that feels like pajamas — was $43, now $34!

9. Has a hood: Not only this set have a front pocket to keep your hands warm, and also a hoodie to keep your head warm — was $70, now $60!

10. Dying for Tie Dye: If you’re a fan of tie-dye clothing, you’ll definitely want to take a look this set which comes in a pair of tie-dye prints – was $47, now $41!

11. Easy and Breezy: This lounge set features a button-up top and matching shorts, both made from lightweight and breathable rayon fabric, ideal for hot summer days — was $40, now $33!

12. Easy, but Sublime: Couple this set with a chic belt and some minimal jewelry and voila! You have a cozy lounge set that still looks incredibly chic: $49, now $35!

Leggings

13. A good deal! Don’t be alone these leggings they are on sale now, they also come in a pack of three, giving you three for the price of one – $26, now $23!

14. Shopper Loved: With thousands of 5-star reviews, we know you want to achieve this four-way stretch leggings daily – was $26, now $20!

15. Cute Crossover: These leggings have a cute criss-cross waist detail that is also flattering on the bump — was $28, now $24!

16. Specify the compression: Compression leggings aren’t just fun this Incredibly flattering, they’re also a healthy choice for workouts because they help increase blood flow and stabilize your muscles — was $34, now $20!

17. Cute and Cropped: An Amazon bestseller, these leggings have a shorter length and a pocket on each side – was $30, now $20!

18. Beautiful Patterns: Add some extra style to your workouts these leggings which come in lots of cute patterns – was $23, now $20!

Billie Piper has confessed to stealing memories from all the sets she has worked on.

The actress, who is currently promoting her starring role in the Netflix film Scoop, confessed on The Jonathan Ross Show that she has no problem getting props and costumes.

‘I take things from the set, I see things, I take them.’ she admitted. “Lots of things, rings, jewelry.”

Among her belongings are some racy items from her time on hit ITV2 drama The Secret Diary Of A Call Girl, as she said: ‘I’ve got a whip and some underwear.’

But it’s her Doctor Who souvenirs that really shocked presenter Jonathan, as Billie admitted: ‘I took a lot of stuff out of the TARDIS, the center console.’

Billie’s latest project is the role of Newsnight producer Sam McAlister in the anticipated Netflix film Scoop.

The film dramatizes the infamous 2019 interview between Prince Andrew (played by Rufus Sewell and Emily Maitlis, played by Gillian Anderson).

The full trailer for Netflix drama Scoop was unveiled on Monday with a standout moment in the trailer comes from Billie trying encourage the prince to talk to the BBC about his friendship with convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein.

Sam probes: ‘With respect, you know how people see you.’ As the late queen’s third child watches blankly, he muses, “Spell it out,” prompting Sam to blurt out “Randy Andy…”.

In the infamous 2019 interview, Emily discussed Virginia Giuffre’s claims that she was forced to have sex with Andrew three times when she was 17 on Epstein’s orders.

The prince strongly denied the claims during the interview.

The discussion, in which Andrew made a series of claims – including claiming that he could not have been with Virginia at the time of the alleged meeting because he was dining at a Pizza Express in Woking and that a medical condition prevented him from sweating – has since gained notoriety and is widely acknowledged to have embarrassed the royal family.

The interview was described as a ‘car crash’ and on November 20, 2019, a statement from Buckingham Palace said Prince Andrew had been suspended from public duties ‘for the foreseeable future’.

In May 2020, it was announced that the prince was permanently resigning from his public positions.

In January 2022, Virginia was given the green light to sue Andrew for unspecified damages in a civil court in New York.

Despite promising to fight the claims and repeatedly protesting his innocence, the prince agreed to pay a huge sum to settle the case before it ever reached a jury. interview and then the film.

Netflix describes the production as follows: ‘The inside track of the women who broke through the Buckingham Palace establishment to secure the scoop of the decade that led to the catastrophic fall from grace of the Queen’s ‘Favorite Son’ .

‘From navigating vetoes at the Palace, to breaking Prince Andrew’s inner circle, the high-stakes negotiations and the intensity of the rehearsal – to the breathtaking interview itself.

‘SCOOP is the insider’s account of the inner workings of the Palace and the BBC, two bastions of the British establishment, spotlighting the journalists whose tenacity and courage broke through the highest ceilings – and into the inner sanctum and calculations of one man with losing everything.”

Megan Fox has finally set the record straight when it comes to her various plastic surgery procedures.

For years, the Transformers star, 37, has baffled fans with her ever-changing looks, but she has kept quiet amid the ongoing speculation.

In particular, her drastically different outlook at a Super Bowl afterparty last month led to a frenetic guessing game on social media about what she had recently done — with posters and even plastic surgeons thinking she was getting a nose job, cheek filler and a brow lift.

Now the mum-of-three has detailed the cosmetic procedures she’s had, including spending $30,000 on the ‘biggest breasts that could fit my body’. She also admitted to having a nose job in her early 20s, but denies having the procedure seven or eight times.

Megan went on to dismiss rumors about other procedures she’s had – insisting she’ll never have fat removed from her body because she’s so skinny – as she candidly discussed the work she wants done in the future .

Ironically, despite admitting that she loves the results of surgery and wants people to think of her as a “circus freak,” she confessed that she has avoided many common procedures because she is terrified of anesthesia.

Speaking about the Call her daddy podcast, she revealed the work she had done to her face — filler and Botox but no facelift or threads — a non-surgical procedure designed to lift sagging skin and stimulate collagen production.

She explained: I’ve never had a facelift, no lateral brow lift Even though I would love one!

Not an ordinary eyebrow lift, I have never done threads before. That’s not because of any moral issue, I just don’t really believe they work and I’m also afraid they will interfere if I need a facelift.

‘I’m very tempted to get rid of my eyebrows completely [back]. I want that look. That seems nice and you can do it during a lunch break and I understand why it’s so tempting,’

She went on to dismiss rumors that she had buccal fat removed (cheek slimming), explaining: ‘I’ve never had that done, I will never have any fat removed.

“I’m a skinny person who doesn’t have enough body fat or fat in my face, so I’ll just put fat in there.”

“I will never remove fat, which leads me to never having liposuction or body contouring or anything like that.”

Talking about her ample breasts and slim body, she said: ‘My boobs have been fake since I was 21 or 22. I had them done between the first and second Transformers. But I had them done conservatively.

‘Because then everyone did the work, but you had to do work that was undetectable.

‘I, always, that little girl standing in the mirror, always thought, “Where are my breasts?” I always wanted big breasts. So I wasn’t happy with the first set.

“I had them redone after I finished breastfeeding my kids because I don’t know where they went, but they went.”

‘Then I had to have them redone recently because with the first set I didn’t have enough body fat to hide – you could see the wavy thing from the implants.’

Megan continued: ‘I don’t like surgery – my body doesn’t respond well to general anesthesia – so if I have to have surgery it’s a really big deal.

‘Going under anesthesia is a risk to your life. So when I had to go in for this set, I thought, “Look, if you’re going to put me to sleep, if I’m going to be sick for two months from the general anesthetic… I better wake up with the biggest boobs you’ve ever seen.” can fit in my body.”

“And that’s what he said he did. And they’re not even that big. It’s a 32D which isn’t that big, they just look big on my body because my body is small.

‘But if he could have gotten bigger, I would have let them get bigger, because I don’t like operations, and because I had to do it, I thought, ‘I want a reward for the suffering I have to go through. I don’t want to wake up with a full B cup.” There’s no point, I won’t do it.

‘I wanted t*tties. I don’t care what’s trendy, give me stripper titties from 1990. And he did it.”

Megan went on to reveal that she also wants a bigger butt but stops people when they look at her, but revealed that this isn’t possible at the moment because she is so slim.

When asked if she had had a Brazilian butt lift or implants, she said: ‘If I could, I would. I have no extra body fat. I’d have it done if I could.

‘That operation is so difficult to recover from. It’s basically like having to lie flat on your face for three months. You’re bruised for an eternity.

“If I ever did that, if I survived that operation, you would give me an a**e, that’s an anomaly.

“Like I’m walking through a park, and I’m going to turn around and everyone’s going to whisper and laugh and talk because they’re like, ‘What? What are we looking at?’ Like a circus freak.

“If I go through that healing process, that’s what I want. I don’t come out with, “Oh, has she actually been to the gym lately?”

‘It’s supposed to stop people. But I don’t have the body fat to do that. But if in the future you can take donated fat from people, I will do that.’

She explained why she had withdrawn from other work that people speculated she had done: “I am very afraid of dying under general anesthesia.

‘So I don’t take surgery lightly and because of that I haven’t had many. So it’s probably a saving grace that I have this paranoia, or this fear, otherwise God knows what I would have been up to.”

Recently, Megan was accused of being ‘xenophobic’ as she tried to defend her shocking new look, comparing herself to a ‘Ukrainian blow-up doll’ in a photo.

The Transformers star responded to critics by attributing the change in her image to a “shady” photo.

However, her rebuttal sparked controversy when she proudly claimed that she “really” looks like a “super expensive real silicone sex doll” from Japan.

“Oh my god, guys, look how different I look…at all,” she began her bizarre post. ‘It turned out to be just a shady cell phone photo of me looking like a Ukrainian blow-up doll. when in reality I look like one of those super expensive real silicone sex dolls that you can only get in Japan.”

Megan previously shared her thoughts on plastic surgery with Allure magazine in 2010, saying it was “amazing” that “we have the technology to do the things we do.”

‘I would encourage anyone to talk to a therapist first, to try to find out where this craving comes from, because it is often not related to your teeth, your nose or your chin – the surgery will not remove that uncertainty. you,” she said at the time.

“Then if you feel like, ‘This is something I want to do,’ then do it. It’s amazing that we have the technology to do the things we do.”

Megan has also admitted that she is very ‘insecure’ about her appearance.

After her breakthrough in Transformers, she told Rolling Stone in 2009: ‘I’m really insecure about everything. I see what I look like, but there are things I like and things I don’t like.

‘My hair is fine. The color of my eyes is of course good. But I’m too short. Overall, I’m not super excited about the whole thing.

‘I never think I’m worth anything. I have a sick feeling that I am constantly being mocked. I have a lot of self-loathing.”

Famous Big Brother contestant Louis Walsh is not one to shy away from speaking his mind.

And Tuesday’s episode will show that he will continue to share his outspoken opinions.

In a clip shown on Late and Live on Monday, hosted by AJ Odudu and Will Best, it was revealed that the former X Factor star, 71, has some strong opinions about Sir Bob Geldof.

As the participants gathered in the kitchen in the morning, they talked about certain songs that had been released over the years.

Colson Smith, 25, from Coronation Street, spoke specifically about it, asking: ‘Who wrote it? Bob Geldof?’ to which an unimpressed Louis responded with a “Pfft!”

She tried to coax the answer out of Irish music manager, Marisha Wallace, 38, then asked: ‘Who wrote it? Prince?’

Louis simply nodded his head and when Marisha exclaimed that Prince had written so many songs, an irritated-looking Louis replied, “Yes, he did.”

Sensing that the TV personality was unimpressed, Zeze Millz then said: “I take it you’re not a Bob Geldof fan, Louis?”

Louis, still in his dressing gown, poured himself a cup of tea and didn’t hold back on what he really thought about the fellow countryman who has raised millions for charity.

“Well, I think it’s full,” he said.

He then added: ‘He’s from Dublin. I know little bits. The Boomtown Rats were good.”

Marisha, seemingly shocked by Louis’ reaction, openly apologized in case Bob was watching, to which Louis then angrily exclaimed, “I don’t care!”

Fans shared their thoughts with X – formerly known as X.

One seemed to side with Bob and couldn’t quite believe what they were hearing, writing: ‘How dare Walsh now slam Bob Geldof, the master of the live aid patch.’

Another agreed with the music manager, writing: “Louis is honestly right about Bob Geldof.”

The shocking revelation comes after Louis was spared from elimination this week and will see himself go straight to the finals.

In Monday night’s episode, Fern Britton unknowingly spared Louis after Big Brother tricked her into believing she wanted him deported.

Fern was told to secretly place a red snake on the pillow of the person she wanted to evict.

Later, as the housemates were relaxing in the bedroom, they were told to find an intruder.

Louis was later told by Big Brother that he had been chosen for eviction by a fellow housemate, and so a snake was placed on his pillow.

He was then told to look in the hatch in front of him, where he found a four-leaf clover, meaning he missed the next round of nominations and guaranteed his place in the grand final.

But determined to find out the culprit, Louis vowed to unravel the mystery, convinced it was ‘never the obvious person’.

A public notice issued by the office of the Delhi Chief Electoral Officer directed district election officers or returning officers to enforce the Model Code of Conduct (MCC) in letter and spirit during the 2024 Lok Sabha elections.

Lok Sabha elections: Control rooms have been set up and flying squadrons have been deployed across Delhi in a bid to curb MCC violations and check incidents of voter intimidation in the national capital, the city’s Chief Electoral Officer said on Sunday.

A public notice issued by the office of the Delhi Chief Electoral Officer directed district election officers or returning officers to enforce the Model Code of Conduct (MCC) in letter and spirit. According to the report, flying squads and control rooms have been set up in the city’s seven Lok Sabha constituencies to monitor cases of violation of voting codes and intimidation of voters.

‘Giver’, ‘receiver’ of bribes to initiate legal action

Flying squads have been formed to register cases against both the “giver” and “taker” of bribes and take action against those involved in threatening and intimidating voters, the notice said.

“All citizens are hereby requested to refrain from all illegal activities as above and in case anyone offers bribe or has knowledge of the bribe or any case of threat/intimidation of voters, he/she should call the 24× toll-free number 7 Complaint Monitoring Cell of the Returning Officers/Districts set up for receiving complaints,” the report said.

Report MCC Violations: Poll to Delhiites

The poll body has also urged people to inform about incidents related to MCC violations, including damaging public property/property in public view, distributing cash, liquor, gifts or offering/attempting of bribes by candidates/political parties to the returning officers of their respective constituencies.

“If there are threats/intimidation of voters and cases of other electoral malpractices, it should be reported to the district election officer,” the report said.

Under Section 171 B of the Indian Penal Code (IPC), any person who gives or accepts any reward in cash or in kind during the election process, with the intention of inducing any person to exercise his/her right to vote, shall be punishable with imprisonment. maximum one year or a fine or both.

Section 171 C of the IPC states that any person who threatens any candidate, voter or any other person with injury of any kind shall be punishable with imprisonment for a term which may extend to one year or with fine or with both.

Single window system for applications

The Delhi poll body has also set up a ‘single window system’ in the offices of all seven returning officers in the city for receiving applications and granting permission/decisions to political parties and candidates for public meetings/rallies/processions/loudspeakers and the use of vehicles for electioneering and the use of non-commercial/remote/uncontrolled airports/helicopter pads etc. during the election period.

Political parties/candidates seeking clearance must register online through the mobile app ‘Suvidha Candidate’ or ‘ENCORE’ on the Election Commission of India website along with details of expenditure plan at least 48 hours before an event.

Parties/candidates seeking permission may also approach the Deputy Commissioner of Police (Consent) at the counter in the office of the returning officer concerned.

A political party/candidate can apply for permission for events/meetings/processions organized within seven days of submitting the application (excluding the day of application).

For more than one event on a given day, a separate application must be submitted, the poll body said.

“In case any event/meeting/procession etc. is held in the area falling under the jurisdiction of more than one Returning Officer of the Parliamentary Constituency, separate applications have to be made to the Deputy Commissioner of Police (permission ) in the office of the returning officer concerned,” the report said.

The permission or decision to the applicant will be issued on a first-come, first-served basis from the one-stop shop system, it added.

Lok Sabha elections announced

The elections to the seven Lok Sabha seats in Delhi will be held on May 25 in the sixth phase of the general elections, with 1.47 crore people eligible to exercise their franchise, as per the schedule announced by the Election Commission on Saturday India has been announced.

Meanwhile, voting for the 543 Lok Sabha seats across India will take place in seven phases, with the first on April 19. The votes will be counted on June 4.

The Model Code of Conduct came into force on Saturday with the announcement of the Lok Sabha polls by Chief Election Commissioner Rajiv Kumar, who asked political parties to maintain decorum during their campaigns.

Kumar also advised the parties against hate speech, caste or religious appeals, criticism of any aspect of private life, disguising advertisements as news and social media posts defaming or insulting rivals.

(With PTI inputs)

AJ Odudu looked nothing short of sensational as she hosted the latest live eviction of Celebrity Big Brother on Friday.

The presenter, 35, sent temperatures soaring in a figure-hugging brown rubber dress as she took to her Instagram Stories ahead of the show.

AJ’s outfit hugged every inch of her stunning figure and featured a very racy, thigh-high slit that showed off her long, toned legs perfectly.

She added extra height to her slim frame with a pair of strappy heels and wore her brunette locks in loose waves.

AJ oozed confidence as she posed up a storm for the camera before taking to the stage with co-host Will Best, 39.

Earlier in the episode, Louis Walsh revealed he was diagnosed with a ‘rare’ form of cancer in 2020, as he spoke about the major health concerns for the first time.

The former X Factor star, 71, revealed he had Waldenstrom’s Macroglobulinemia, a rare form of blood cancer, but all has since cleared up after receiving treatment in Dublin.

When discussing his health with housemates Levi and Ekin-Su, he told the pair that “no one knew he was sick.”

Levi asked how Louis was spending the coronavirus lockdown, he replied: “I was sick, and I don’t think anyone knew I was sick. I had cancer. A mild version, a rare one.’

Levi asked, “Which part?” Pancreatic cancer?’

“In my blood, I didn’t even know I had it until I went to the hospital, and then they checked me, checked me, checked me, and then they found it.

“They said it was rare, and I said [shrugs] away. Away,” Louis replied.

The music manager admitted that the cancer diagnosis left him in ‘shock’ and gave him a ‘reality check’.

He continued: “It has affected me mentally, I have to be honest with you. [Points to his head] it’s just here, even if I go to a hospital, I almost get sick.

‘It’s all gone, I’m fine. It was just the shock of being sick and that word… no one wants that word.

‘I blocked it out, a reality check, you see so many people sick and it’s terrible.

‘My world was all about pop music and stuff. I didn’t think about anyone getting sick or anything like that. And that was like wow reality check, you’re in the real world.’

Waldenstrom macroglobulinemia (also known as lymphoplasmacytic lymphoma) is a rare form of low-grade lymphoma (a type of bone marrow cancer), which in most cases is associated with the presence of an excessive amount of abnormal protein in the blood.

Before entering the house, Louis revealed he had signed up for the ITV show to have fun after attending two recent funerals for friends, giving him a reality check about his own mortality.

He told the Mirror: ‘I don’t want to be in my last chapter, I want to live. I want to enjoy. I do not wanna die. But then it makes sense that you reach this age and think: why not? Life is too short.

‘I’ve lost a number of people in my life lately and it changes you. I’ve been to two funerals. Yes, it’s definitely a reality check. It makes you think about what life is about. It makes you think about what is important and what you care about. Losing friends makes you think about your own mortality.

‘I want to enjoy more. I want to see the world. Everywhere. I don’t have a bucket list. I don’t like that word. I just want to see the rest of the world. I just want to enjoy life – live, love and laugh. I don’t want to be older and think: I wish I had done that. I don’t want to do that, no. There is no time for regrets. I’m happy. To be honest, I am happy at the moment and this has given me an extra push to enjoy life even more.’

SALT LAKE CITY — Scott Mitchell sinks into the soft gray sectional at 1 a.m.

Hey look, Barry Sanders is on television. It’s a promo for “Bye Bye Barry,” a documentary that debuted on Amazon Prime one hour earlier.

Watching Sanders was always a thrill, even when he was a teammate. Sometimes Mitchell was criticized for doing just that rather than following through with his play fake after handing off. The way Sanders moved was mesmerizing, and Mitchell couldn’t help himself.

Now the 56-year-old has time to watch television at 1 a.m. A few weeks earlier, he was let go from his job as a sports talk radio host for KSL Newsradio, a job he held for seven years.

Mitchell finds “Bye Bye Barry.”

There’s Sanders saying the Lions might have won some playoff games if they hadn’t let go of some players, including Mitchell’s predecessor, Erik Kramer. There’s head coach Wayne Fontes telling Sanders, “We had every piece but the quarterback.” There’s Eminem saying the Lions could have won more if Sanders wasn’t a one-man team. There’s Jeff Daniels joining the chorus.

Mitchell isn’t attacked as much as dismissed.

He seethes, gets off the couch, makes his way to his iMac, logs on to Facebook and begins to type. As soon as he finishes, he thinks he should delete it.

Nah. He hits “Post.”

---

  Scott Mitchell:    I just watched “Bye Bye Barry” on Amazon Prime and It wasn’t a very pleasant experience. I was Barry Sanders teammate for five years. I had a front row seat to some of the most amazing plays in NFL history. He will never have an equal as a pure runner in the NFL. I could argue there were several backs more complete, but I won’t. Barry was great!!

The 6-foot-6 Mitchell couldn’t do much with his feet, but with a left arm like Dumbledore’s wand, he didn’t have to. The ball left his big hand at the highest point and glided over the field, a gull over the sea. And the spin — it should have been the subject of a physicist’s thesis.

Greg Landry, Lions quarterbacks coach in 1995-96: “He could throw the heck out of the football, so accurate.”

Lomas Brown, left tackle: “Scott threw one of the prettiest balls — one of the tightest balls — I’ve ever seen. He could spin that thing, he really could.”

Herman Moore, wide receiver: “He threw probably the best ball that ever was thrown to me, just perfect passes. His was the easiest pass for me to catch.”

Marc Trestman, quarterbacks coach in 1997: “The ball always came out of his hand spinning, almost without effort. There was nothing he couldn’t do in the pocket.”

In three years at Utah, Mitchell set 10 NCAA records and became the 11th leading passer of all time. Miami chose him in the fourth round of the 1990 draft, and he was embraced and empowered by the great Don Shula, who handed Mitchell a playbook on his first day and told him he would be calling his own plays in practice. Mitchell learned how to be a pro by backing up Dan Marino, passer of passers.

Mitchell loved being a Dolphin and bonded easily with many of his teammates. The South Florida lifestyle suited him. But it was a dead-end job, and after two seasons without attempting a pass in a game, Mitchell volunteered to play for the Orlando Thunder of the World League. He threw for the second-most yards in the league and led the Thunder to an 8-2 record.

That year, he also joined Freeman McNeil, Marcus Allen and nine other players in an antitrust suit against the NFL that resulted in unrestricted free agency for the first time in the league’s history.

Then, in Week 6 of the 1993 season, Marino tore his Achilles and Mitchell had his showcase. He was named NFL offensive player of the week after his first game as a starter. Then he was named offensive player of the month.

In the first year of free agency, Reggie White was the grand prize. In 1994, it would be Mitchell. The Dolphins wanted to make him the highest-paid backup in the league with an unheard-of-at-the-time $1.5 million-per-year offer, but richer overtures followed.

The charming Fontes came to Mitchell’s home and showed him the cigar he would light if Mitchell signed with Detroit. The Vikings handed him an 11-page booklet explaining why he was the only quarterback they wanted. Saints coach Jim Mora gave him a 90-minute sales pitch. Rams coach Chuck Knox pledged that, with Mitchell as his QB, no one would call him “Ground Chuck” anymore.

Mitchell had misgivings about how Fontes had used — or misused — quarterbacks in the past but decided to sign a three-year, $11 million deal with Detroit that included a $5 million signing bonus, the second largest in NFL history at the time and $500,000 more than White received from the Packers the year before. Lions GM Chuck Schmidt flew to South Florida to hand Mitchell the check.

“It was a blue check. More zeros than I had ever seen, ever,” Mitchell says. “And I was nervous, like, we need to get this in the bank.”

After making the deposit, he and Dolphins center Jeff Dellenbach celebrated at Burt and Jack’s, Burt Reynolds’ waterfront Fort Lauderdale restaurant. They ordered the two largest lobsters in the house — six-pounders — and a pair of filets so massive they needed to be butterflied to cook evenly.

The celebration ended when Mitchell arrived in Detroit.

  Scott Mitchell:    I am so tired of hearing that I was the reason Barry Sanders never won the Super Bowl. I’m so tired of hearing that I wasn’t a good QB. My only response is F### you all! That includes Eminem and Jeff Daniels.

The Lions made the NFC Championship Game two years prior and were loaded with former or future Pro Bowlers. All they needed, the narrative went, was a quarterback.

Mitchell probably was resented in his own locker room because of that blue check. And because he wasn’t Kramer, a well-liked part-time starter over three seasons. Brown believes Lions management failed to properly integrate Mitchell into a veteran team that was “still upset with them letting Erik Kramer go.”

When he got to Detroit, Mitchell sensed something was off, but he wasn’t sure what. “I just felt like I was interrupting a party,” he says. “Of all the places I played, Detroit was the one where I felt the most disconnected from my teammates.”

Moore was the exception. The quarterback and receiver recognized that they needed one another and bonded through shared commitment. They eventually could tell what the other was thinking without words or gestures. Moore says it is no coincidence that Mitchell was his quarterback all three years he was voted first-team All-Pro.

But Mitchell didn’t concern himself enough with chemistry, relationships, even reading the room. He would host a yearly dinner for the offense — buying prime steaks, fresh stone crabs from Florida and cheesecake from Chicago — but his focus, almost his sole focus, was being the best passer he could be. Naivete led him to believe he could succeed in any situation if he just applied himself more. It resulted, Mitchell believes, in being perceived as aloof and unapproachable.

“Scott was Scott,” Brown says. “Mostly to himself. Kind of quiet.”

In his first eight starts, Mitchell threw 11 interceptions and completed 48 percent of his throws. He was booed in his first game at the Pontiac Silverdome — and every subsequent game. He was struggling against the Packers in Week 9 when he suffered a broken right hand and was lost for the season.

In a 2012 radio interview, Brown said he purposely missed a block on the play that knocked Mitchell out for the season. Brown’s recollection of the play was faulty — he handled his assignment well while Sanders failed to pick up a blitzing safety — but he acknowledges his disgust with Michell’s play and regrets his ill intent.

“I was pissed off during the game,” he says. “I mean, I was mad.”

Mitchell wasn’t aware of Brown’s feelings during their playing days, but the lineman’s admission hurt him. “I’d never do that to another person, let alone a teammate,” Mitchell says. “I felt I got thrown under the bus for no reason. I don’t see Lomas. I don’t talk to Lomas. I don’t want to either.”

After the season, teammates presented him with a trophy featuring a turkey on top — the “Wanker of the Year” award given annually to the biggest complainer.

“I didn’t know if it was a joke, or if they were saying I was kind of a dick,” he says. “It could have been either one.”

  Scott Mitchell:    I can’t even tell you what a disappointment it is to hear my own coach, Wayne Fontes, who went out in free agency and actively pursued me to the point of begging me to come to Detroit, say that he wanted Joe Montana and Warren Moon, and that the only thing missing from the team winning the Super Bowl was a quarterback. A little support from the coach may have gone a long way. Wayne never had my back!

The 1995 season began with the Lions losing three games they easily could have won. Fontes called some of his team leaders to his office. One of them — Mitchell thinks it was safety Bennie Blades — said, “You brought this quarterback here to throw the ball. Let him throw it.”

Tom Moore, who had been promoted to offensive coordinator in the offseason, met with Mitchell. Detroit’s offense was reimagined using the same take-what-the-defense-gives-you, audible-based system Moore and Peyton Manning later used to set records and win a Super Bowl in Indianapolis.

“We changed our strategy,” Mitchell says. “We stopped forcing Barry Sanders on people.”

In Mitchell’s first 15 games with the Lions, he averaged 23 pass attempts. After the meeting with Moore, he averaged 37 attempts per game. Detroit won 10 of 13 and led the league in yards. Mitchell was the NFL’s second-leading passer behind MVP Brett Favre.

“That year we put up statistically was because of Scott and his ability,” Brown says.

But that was the regular season. In a 58-37 wild-card-round loss to the Eagles, Mitchell was intercepted four times and Sanders rushed for 40 yards.

With Mitchell flinging it at a similar rate the next season, the Lions started 4-3. Then Fontes pulled him in the middle of a series during a three-interception game against the Giants. The next night, Mitchell showed up at the team Halloween party dressed as his coach: a pillow under his shirt, a cigar — and Mickey Mouse ears.

He was warming up for a practice later that week when he pulled a muscle off his ribs. He was so determined to play that at 5:30 a.m. the next day, he drove 45 minutes to Henry Ford Hospital, where they stuck a four-inch needle into his ribs and kept it there for 12 minutes to deaden the pain. He passed out the first time, then went back every subsequent morning for another.

It helped his pain but not his passing. “I just couldn’t throw,” Mitchell says. “It was the damndest thing.”

Mitchell started six more games, all losses, performing poorly. Tired of being told he sucked, he stopped going to grocery stores, restaurants and movies.

After the season, Lions owner William Clay Ford asked Mitchell what he should do about Fontes, who had a 66-67 record in nine years. Mitchell never felt like he was one of Fontes’ guys, but he says he told Ford there was nothing wrong with the team and asked him not to change the offense. “We just need more time,” the quarterback told the owner. “Just give us more time.”

Ford fired Fontes and hired Bobby Ross, a former Army lieutenant who coached like one. In Mitchell’s first meeting with his new coach, Mitchell said he thought the offense had much more potential than it had shown. Ross told him Herman Moore told him the same thing and asked if they were in cahoots. “And then he goes, ‘All you guys are interested in is your stats,’” Mitchell says.

According to Mitchell, Ross barred him from meeting with new offensive coordinator Sylvester Croom and told him not to speak with Ford or his son, William Clay Ford Jr., with whom Mitchell had become friendly. The Lions had already decided to double down on Mitchell by giving him a four-year, $21 million contract extension with an $8 million signing bonus, but Ross hadn’t had a say in the decision.

Sanders refused to report until the Lions adjusted his contract so his average per year exceeded Mitchell’s. Mitchell long suspected Sanders didn’t think much of him, and the relationship had difficulties.

“It was challenging to play with him,” Mitchell says. “A lot of those other running backs of the day weren’t going to get you behind the chains very often, and we were behind the chains a lot with Barry. If you didn’t run Barry the right way, it was hard, and it put everyone else in a bind.”

In most offenses, Mitchell would have taken former Bengals teammate Corey Dillon over Sanders. Or Emmitt Smith. Or Marshall Faulk. Or Terrell Davis.

“When we used (Sanders) the way we did in Tom Moore’s offense, I’d take him over anyone,” Mitchell says. “But what made it great was our willingness to throw the football.”

With Croom replacing Tom Moore, the offensive philosophy changed, de-emphasizing the passing game.

“Sylvester got so stuck on Barry and running the ball that a lot of guys were forgotten,” Mitchell says. “Barry rushed for 2,000 yards and it was all wonderful, but we could have been so much more. … It was an amazing opportunity lost.”

In Ross’ first year, Trestman served as a sounding board for Mitchell and a bridge to Ross. But he left after the 1997 season and was replaced by Jim Zorn, who clashed with Mitchell about almost everything. The Lions made the playoffs but lost 20-10 to the Bucs. Mitchell had 78 passing yards in the third quarter when he left the game on a stretcher with a concussion. Sanders rushed for 65 yards.

After opening the 1998 season with two losses, Mitchell was benched in favor of rookie Charlie Batch. His Lions career was over. Detroit traded Mitchell to Baltimore in the offseason for third- and fifth-round picks.

“Us failing wasn’t about Scott as much as it was failing to put the right coaching, schemes and systems around him,” Brown says.

“Scott had an offensive line. He had a running back. He had receivers,” Herman Moore says. “Some of the coaches that came in were so rigid that it was their way or the highway. In that regard, we were all set up to fail because there was no collaboration.”

Mitchell was the opening-day starter for the Ravens the next season but was benched after the second game. In 2000, he signed with the Bengals as a backup and started five games late in the year. He returned to Cincinnati the following season but never started again.

During a preseason game against the Lions, he planned to fire a pass at the sideline to bean Ross. He didn’t do it, but after retiring, he called his former coach to apologize for his rancor nonetheless. Mitchell says Ross appreciated the call and told him, “For what it’s worth, I never should have benched you.”

For the next two years, Mitchell practiced every day as if he would be starting an NFL game soon. He called Cowboys coach Bill Parcells repeatedly to ask for a chance. Parcells never called back. The Raiders finally asked him to come to Oakland for a workout. When he arrived, the tryout was delayed. Then it was canceled.

Mitchell went home and set up for another practice. Then it hit him. It was over.

“I fell to the ground,” he says. “And sobbed uncontrollably.”

  Scott Mitchell:   Bottom line. Barry had everything in Detroit. Everyone loved him. Everything was built for Barry to succeed. In his 10-year career, he won one playoff game and everyone else was the problem? How many yards did Barry have in the playoffs in 94, 95, and 97? I’ll give you a hint: Not very many. We are all to blame for not winning a SB in Detroit, even Barry Sanders.

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One of Mitchell’s earliest childhood memories was when he was about 2, staying with his grandmother and waking to the smell of Kentucky Fried Chicken, then sitting up in his crib and yelling, “I want Tucky Chicken!” It was the start of a lifetime of unhealthy eating habits.

In his book “Alive Again,” Mitchell acknowledges struggling with his weight during his playing career. He often gained 20 pounds or so in the offseason, but he always dropped the weight and says he never was fined for failing to make his prescribed playing weight of 235 pounds.

By 2014, Mitchell was 13 years and 125 pounds beyond his NFL days. Weighing 366 pounds, he became a contestant on the TV show “The Biggest Loser,” which had him doing eight hours of cardio a day and preparing his own healthy meals. It was hard, so hard he decided to quit in the middle of the show.

“At that point, I felt like I failed,” he says, wiping a tear.

It wasn’t about failing on “The Biggest Loser” as much as it was about failing in football, in life. He took a hike in the Santa Monica mountains and decided to rest. Alone, he sat on a dusty dirt trail. That’s when he says he heard a deep, booming voice: “If you quit now, you’ll regret this for the rest of your life.”

He woke the next morning and saw his football career in a different light. He realized adversity had shaped his character. Through his disappointments and failures, he became more forgiving — even of himself. He developed patience and perspective and discovered he was more resilient than he knew.

Mitchell didn’t quit the show. He lost 124 pounds. And he stopped feeling like a failure.

Since then, it’s been a struggle. Mitchell weighed as much as 418 last year but lost 35 pounds after starting a weight-loss drug and embarking on a workout program with his wife, Anne, whom he married last month. But in January his kidneys shut down, and after five days in the hospital, he developed blood clots in his lungs. He has since regained his health and expects to resume his weight-loss program soon.

He doesn’t talk much to Sanders, who was unavailable for this story. Hardly anyone does. Or ever did.

“He never said a word, ever,” Mitchell says. “After games, he’d just duck out the back door. And it was OK. But I was not close to Barry at all. I don’t know who he is.”

Mitchell has time for fly fishing, 18 holes and playing guitar, or trying to. And for hosting weekly cooking classes for any of his five adult children — you should taste his almond/coconut encrusted sweet chili salmon with cauliflower mashed potatoes and asparagus with lemon, garlic and feta cheese.

He has time to look for a new platform while remaining the color commentator for Utah football on ESPN 700. He has time to follow his old team. Mitchell hasn’t been to a Lions game in five years, but he pulls for Dan Campbell, Jared Goff and Lions fans.

He has time to start a non-profit to provide disadvantaged youth with STEM education and mentoring from athletes. He has time to drive a visitor to the airport.

In years gone by, passengers would remark about his driving — it was a problem to solve, a game of “Tetris.” How can I get to the destination as quickly and efficiently as possible? He gripped the wheel tightly, looked way down the road and didn’t say much, all focus on the challenge.

He’s not driving that way now.

He’s chatting, appreciating the sights. Here’s Point of the Mountain, which separates Salt Lake City and Provo and is the dividing line between Utah fans and Brigham Young supporters. It’s about 230 miles that way to Moab. Four hours this way is the Grand Canyon.

Mitchell is seeing things he never could have 20 years ago.

He believes the Lions could have won a Super Bowl if he had been properly supported. He wants the world to know it. That was the reason for that Facebook post. He needed to get it out and put it in his rearview mirror.

What would he have done differently if he could go back in time?

He looks out the window. The sun shines. In the distance, the Wasatch mountains wear white caps.

“If I knew what I know now,” Mitchell says, pausing, “I would have stayed in Miami.”

(Top illustration: Dan Goldfarb / The Athletic; photos: Vincent Laforet / Allsport via Getty; Dan Pompei / The Athletic)

MANCHESTER UNITED has set up a special task force to investigate the possibilities for a new stadium.

Olympian Lord Sebastian Coe will chair the group and Gary Neville will provide advice as the club looks to revive Old Trafford.

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