The Seattle-based e-commerce giant’s stock fell 9% in after-hours trading.

Amazon reported a loss of $3.84 billion, or $7.56 a share, for the first three months of the year. A year ago, it reported a profit of $8.1 billion, or $15.79 a share, for the first quarter. Wall Street analysts expected a profit of $8.35 a share in the latest quarter, according to FactSet.

The ocean of red ink in Amazon’s report came mostly from the company’s accounting for a $7.6 billion loss in value of its stock investment in Rivian Automotive. Rivian went public in late 2021 and its stock traded at close $180 at one point. It closed Thursday at $32.18. Ford Motor Co. reported a similar write-down of the value of its Rivian investment Wednesday.

Meanwhile, sales at Amazon’s cloud-computing business, which helps power the online operations of Netflix, McDonald’s and other companies, grew 37% in the quarter. And sales in its advertising business, where brands pay to get their products to show up first when shoppers search on Amazon’s site, rose 25%.

Still, the slowdown in online spending is real and broad-based. While in-store sales rose, March is the first month to show decline in online sales since the pandemic began, according to Mastercard SpendingPulse, which tracks spending made over the Mastercard payments network and survey estimates for other payments made with cash and checks.

Amazon prospered during the COVID-19 pandemic as homebound people eager to limit human contact turned online to purchase what they need. But growth has slowed as vaccinated Americans feel more comfortable going out. According to the e-commerce research firm MarketPlace Pulse, the value of goods sold on Amazon last year grew by half the rate compared to 2020.

Like many others, Amazon is dealing with pressure from inflation and supply-chain issues. In the past two years, Amazon’s Chief Financial Officer Brian Olsavsky said the company has doubled the size of its operations and nearly doubled its workforce. He said labor shortages and a lack of physical space are no longer major issues, but the company continues to face a variety of pressures such as increased shipping costs.

Inflation-related expenses added roughly $2 billion of incremental costs when compared to last year, Olsavsky said, adding that the company also incurred another $4 billion in costs related to productivity loss and other inefficiencies.

“The pandemic and subsequent war in Ukraine have brought unusual growth and challenges,” said Amazon CEO Andy Jassy in a statement. “Our teams are squarely focused on improving productivity and cost efficiencies throughout our fulfillment network. We know how to do this and have done it before.”

To offset rising fuel costs and inflation, the retail giant has added a 5% surcharge to fees it charges third-party sellers who use its fulfillment services. Last quarter, Amazon also hiked its annual Prime membership fee by $20, a first since 2018. Despite the fee hike, Olsavsky said millions of new Prime members have enrolled during the quarter.

Revenue rose 7% to $116.44 billion, compared with $108.52 billion in first quarter 2021, representing the company’s sixth consecutive quarter of revenue topping $100 billion. Amazon had projected sales between $112 billion and $117 billion. Analysts surveyed by FactSet were expecting $116.5 billion.

“Given the pace at which the business grew over the past few years this shift is hardly surprising,” said Neil Saunders, managing director of GlobalData Retail. “It represents more of a post pandemic reset than catastrophic failure. Nevertheless, the slowdown raises important questions over how Amazon can restore momentum and regain its leadership position as one of the primary drivers of online growth.”

Amazon said it forecasts sales for the current quarter to range between $116 billion and $121 billion, below the $125.33 billion that analysts are forecasting.

The results come as Amazon is closing all of its brick-and-mortar bookstores, as well as its 4-star shops and pop up locations, as the online retail behemoth reworks its physical footprint. The company also faces a growing unionization push from inside its workforce.

A second union election is currently underway at a company warehouse on Staten Island, New York, the same borough where workers at a nearby facility voted to unionize earlier this month. Amazon has filed objections over the election with the National Labor Relations Board and is seeking to re-do the vote.

The final outcome of a separate union election in Bessemer, Alabama, is still up in the air with 416 outstanding challenged ballots hanging in the balance. Hearings to review the ballots are expected to begin in the coming weeks.

At the beginning of our streaming media renaissance, our options were pretty simple: Netflix, Hulu, maybe YouTube. Our goals were straightforward: escape the rising costs of paying for cable television.

Today, it feels like we have a zillion options: HBO Max, Discovery+, Peacock and Disney+, to name a few. That doesn't count the live TV services aimed at fully replacing cable, including Sling TV and YouTube TV.

A 2021 video trends report from TiVo found the average viewer in North America subscribed to nine different streaming services during the second quarter of 2021, more than double the number in 2016.

An abundance of streaming subscriptions means we're paying more money to get our TV and movie fixes, and that dream of saving dollars by cutting the cord becomes tougher to achieve.

Need to make a change to your streaming plans? Here's what you should know:

What are my streaming options?

The good news is you have plenty of choices. Here are some of the higher profile services and what they cost:

Netflix

The basic plan is $9.99 a month, but only one person can watch at a time. The standard plan is $15.49, bumping up to two people watching at once and adding high definition support. The $19.99 Premium plan lets four people watch simultaneously and adds Ultra HD support. And Netflix has said it's exploring a cheaper plan with ads.

Hulu

Their standard plan with ads is $6.99 a month, while a version without ads (a handful of shows still include ads) costs $12.99 a month. They've also got several bundles. For example, you can subscribe to Disney+, Hulu and ESPN+ for $13.99 a month. They also have pricier bundles that include Hulu Live TV starting at $69.99 a month.

Amazon Video

If you already subscribe to Amazon Prime ($15 a month, $139 a year) for free shipping, then you get this as a bonus. If not, it's $8.99 a month.

HBO Max

Consumers have two choices: a plan with ads for $9.99 a month or no ads for $14.99 a month. The no-ad plan also includes free downloads and support for 4K.

Disney+

Right now, there's one plan for $7.99 a month or $79.99 a year. But the entertainment giant said they will introduce a cheaper, ad-supported plan later this year. The company did not say whether that will affect the price of their current, ad-free offering.

Discovery+

This is one of the more straightforward and affordable streaming services out there. Consumers get two choices here: the service with ads for $4.99 a month or no ads for $6.99 a month.

Paramount+

There's an Essential plan featuring ads for $4.99 a month and a Premium plan ditching the ads for $9.99 a month. You can also pay for both plans annually. The Premium plan also includes the consumer's local live CBS TV station.

Apple TV+

Apple's got its own plan, too, starting at $4.99 a month. The service does not show ads and includes offline downloads. Also, if you buy an Apple device, you can get three months for free.

Peacock

The NBC-supported streaming service is rare for offering a free plan with ads. There's also a Premium plan for $4.99 a month, which adds live sports and full access to their selection. The Plus plan for $9.99 offers all that with no ads, plus the option to download movies or TV shows.

What about Live TV?

If you want a more direct cable alternative, there are also several choices for live television, including the aforementioned Hulu Live TV service.

YouTube TV

There's one plan starting at $64.99 a month, and it gets pricier if you want to add channels like HBO or Showtime. You know, just like cable.

Sling TV

If you want a taste of live TV without the bigger prices, Sling has three plans to choose from: a sports-friendly Orange plan for $35 a month, an entertainment-focused Blue plan for $35 a month or all available channels for $50 a month. 

Philo

The best way to describe Philo is cable without any sports channels. You get 60 live channels for $25 a month.

FuboTV

If you really like live sports, there's FuboTV, which starts at $69.99 a month for its Pro plan with 115 channels or an Elite plan with more than 170 channels for $79.99.

Streaming: With ads or without?

The obvious benefit to choosing a plan that features ads is price. Typically, plans with ads are cheaper than plans without ads. 

However, some of those ads can be super annoying. A survey conducted last September by Morning Consult found 69% of U.S. adults thought ads on streaming services were too repetitive, while 64% felt they were invasive.

A good example: I subscribe to Peacock's premium plan. Programs include multiple ad breaks, but you even get served ads when you pause your show. 

How to trim your streaming budget

If your streaming library has become overwhelming, and expensive, here are some tips on how to cut back.

Figure out what you really want to watch. There are multiple apps breaking down where TV shows and movies are streaming. Let these be your guide in discovering where your favorite content lives. It can really help you figure out the services that matter most. 

Study your streaming habits. Do you see that streaming app icon sitting on your phone or media player and realize you haven't used it in a while? It might be time to move on.

Don't forget these four words. "Cancel at any time." Is there a show you really want to binge, but you don't want the long-term commitment? Join for one month, scratch that viewing itch, then cut ties.

Look for bundles and deals where you can. The Hulu bundles are a good example of receiving multiple streaming services for one price, which can help you save money. Meanwhile, wireless carriers offer some services as part of a plan. For example, AT&T offers some unlimited plans that include HBO Max. Some Verizon plans include Hulu and Disney+ for free. Meanwhile, some T-Mobile plans include Netflix for free.

Follow Brett Molina on Twitter: @brettmolina23.

• While the federal mask mandate is now void, some local authorities are keeping mask requirements in place on public transit.
• Masks are still required at several airports and in some cities, on buses, Uber and Lyft.
• 3. Even where masks aren't required, they may still be encouraged.

Travel is looking completely different than it did at the start of this week – or any day in the past two years – as masks are now optional on just about every major mode of transportation.

From airlines to rideshare companies, transportation providers have quickly pivoted after a federal judge in Florida voided the federal mask mandate Monday. U.S. District Court Judge Kathryn Kimball Mizelle said the mandate exceeded the authority of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, which failed to justify the order and didn't follow proper rulemaking procedures.

The Biden administration appealed the decision Wednesday at the request of the CDC, which said the mandate "remains necessary for the public health. The federal government is not enforcing the mandate during the Department of Justice's appeal.

While the mandate is no longer in effect, "CDC continues to recommend that people wear masks in indoor public transportation settings at this time," the public health agency said in statements posted on its website.

Why the CDC appeal matters

Monday's decision put into question the CDC's authority and reopened nationwide debate over court orders, but the health agency saysthe mask mandate is "lawful" and "well within CDC’s legal authority to protect public health."

The appeal does not change the removal of the mask mandate's lifting earlier this week. The Justice Department said it would not ask for a temporary stay, which would have overturned the federal judge's ruling and reinstated the masking requirements.

The mask mandate was set to expire May 3, after being extended by 15 days last week. White House press secretary Jen Psaki defended the administration's extension , arguing it was made to assess an increase in COVID-19 cases.

"We still feel that is entirely reasonable based on the latest science, and public health decisions shouldn't be made by the courts," Psaki said. "They should be made by public health experts."

When asked by a reporter in New Hampshire on Tuesday whether people should continue to wear masks on planes, President Joe Biden said, "That's up to them."

Are masks required on planes?

Every major U.S. airline has now made face masks optional for passengers and employees. That includes Delta, United, American and Southwest as well as Spirit, Frontier and Allegiant, and newer airlines like Breeze and Avelo.

Some airlines reminded travelers to respect the decisions of people who choose to continue wearing masks.

"We look forward to seeing your smiles on board & encourage kindness & respect for those who continue to mask," Sun Country Airlines tweeted.

Several airlines noted that some destinations, particularly abroad, may still require wearing masks.

Like airlines, many airports across the country are leaning on TSA guidance and lifting mask requirements. Airports like Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International and Dallas Fort Worth International have made masks optional. The Port Authority of New York and New Jersey tweeted that face coverings are now optional at Newark Liberty International and Teterboro airports but still required at New York facilities, including John F. Kennedy International and LaGuardia airports.

Are masks required on trains? 

Amtrak is still encouraging, but not requiring, face masks on its trains. 

"While Amtrak passengers and employees are no longer required to wear masks while on board trains or in stations, masks are welcome and remain an important preventive measure against COVID-19," Amtrak said in a statement. "Anyone needing or choosing to wear one is encouraged to do so."

Brightline, which provides rail service in Florida, has made face masks optional but suggested them for people who are considered "high-risk," including people who are not fully vaccinated.

Regional commuter train and subway policies may vary across the country.

Are masks required on buses? 

Coach USA, Megabus and Greyhound are no longer requiring face masks for passengers or employees.

"The CDC still recommends wearing a mask while on public transit and we encourage customers to make the choice that makes sense for them," Coach USA and Megabus Vice President Colin Emberson said in a statement. "Please be mindful that masks may still be required while traveling through the bus stations we serve."

Greyhound still required face masks as of Monday evening, but in a statement via communications specialist Crystal Booker on Tuesday, the company said: "In accordance with the Transportation Security Administration no longer enforcing the federal face mask mandate, face masks on all our buses and facilities is optional with the following exceptions: Face masks are required on cross border trips into Canada and Mexico until Canada and Mexico remove their requirements. Face masks will still be required if mandated by local municipalities."

Do I need to wear a mask on Uber or Lyft?

Mask are now optional for riders and drivers on Uber and Lyft in most places across the country.

"Remember: many people still feel safer wearing a mask because of personal or family health situations, so please be respectful of their preferences," Uber posted on its website. "And if you ever feel uncomfortable, you can always cancel the trip."

Uber also noted that the CDC still recommends wearing face masks.

"Anyone who wants to continue wearing a mask is encouraged to do so," Lyft said in a statement. "As always, drivers or riders can decline to accept or cancel any ride they don’t wish to take."

But that rule doesn't apply uniformly across the nation. In New York City and Los Angeles County, masks are still required in taxis and other for-hire vehicles, like Uber and Lyft.

But that discrepancy is already proving confusing. 

Zac Fleming, an editor at Bloomberg, detailed his own experience in an Uber Tuesday. 

"Uber driver just now said he contacted hq to clarify this nyc mask palaver and was told Uber isn’t requiring him to mask up and it’s up to him if he wants to follow the city’s rules," Fleming wrote, calling the situation "messy."

Meanwhile in Los Angeles, even though LADOT tweeted Tuesday that it would riders would no longer need to mask up, the Los Angeles County Public Health Department issued a Health Office Order on  Thursday saying masks would still be required on public transit and in indoor transportation hubs.

What do travelers think?

Eighty-year-old Robert Reidy of Santa Fe, New Mexico, called the judge's mask ruling "ridiculous." 

"I think that we need to comply with the perception of what’s good for everyone," Reidy said Monday night at Oakland International Airport in California.

"It still feels a little risky at this point. Cases go up and they go down," added David Peterkofsky of Oakland. "We're not out of the woods yet."

The federal mask mandate was extended last week through May 3 after a rise in cases of coronavirus subvariants like omicron BA.2.

The ruling couldn't come soon enough for Nicole Kelso of Dallas. 

"We prefer not to wear masks, but if it's required, we'll put it on," Kelso said at Harry Reid International Airport in Las Vegas. "We're from Texas, and we haven't been wearing masks for about a year and a half."

Pat Cane of Walnut Creek, California, also said he'll follow whatever the rules are.

"I won’t wear a mask if not mandated,” he said. “We have to move on and get to the point where we treat (the coronavirus) like any other virus. We can’t continue to shut down the economy or jobs."

A number of videos on social media showed elation among airline passengers Monday as they learned the mask mandate would not be enforced.

"While I've seen those videos, anecdotes are not data," Psaki said. "Certainly that does tell a part of the story. But we don't make these decisions based on politics or based on the political winds on a plane or even in a poll."

She said many Americans, according to polls, still want to have mask mandates in place.

Contributing: Dawn Gilbertson, Terry Collins, USA TODAY

• Souvenirs are often much more than the physical item, they are receptacles of an emotional connection
• Local honey is often produced by local beekeepers on a smaller scale than a commercial operation​​​​​.
• Nearly every local beekeeper has a story and a narrative.

Even the most well-traveled cannot resist buying a souvenir from each place they visit.

Souvenirs are often much more than the physical item, they are receptacles of an emotional connection to the memory of a place. They are totems of the adventures we want to remember forever. And nothing can be more memorable than a jar of local honey.

Thought to have been harvested since the Neolithic period, this sweet nectar symbolizes more than just our deeply interconnected relationship with bees. Honey has even made it to the international space station because of its long-lasting shelf-life!

Nearly every local beekeeper has a story and a narrative. And honey has numerous uses and beneficial properties besides being something delicious to eat. 

"Honey is known to have natural antioxidants, antibacterial, and anti-fungal properties," Rebecca Diederick, owner of Deeds Bees in Santa Rosa Beach, Florida, said. "Honey can help alleviate sore throats, seasonal allergies, and function as an antiseptic for cuts or wounds."

Local honey is often produced by local beekeepers on a smaller scale than a commercial operation, oftentimes meaning it is raw and not pasteurized. This is important because pasteurization kills the natural enzymes in honey, and strips the pollen particles and antioxidants, essentially removing many of the benefits that raw honey provides.

"Local honey is produced by the bees from the flowers in the surrounding environment. The added benefit is knowing exactly where the honey is from and understanding the beekeeper's perspectives," says Jonathan Hitchcock of Wild Apiary Island in Bermuda. "Because of its small size, Bermuda does not have large scale monoculture or single variety plants. Instead, their bees forage entirely on wildflowers – most of which are endemic – creating honey entirely unique to Bermuda. Summer harvest is dark in color and consists of nectar foraged from Fiddlewood trees, Bay Grape trees and others. Fall harvest is lighter in color with a sweet floral taste and peppery after taste thanks to the Brazilian pepper tree."

Honey is the essence of a region

Local honey is the truest essence of a region. I still remember the taste of the honey I purchased from a roadside vegetable stand in Puerto Rico.

Harvested from the island’s population of African-European hybrid honeybees, the honey was packaged in recycled alcohol bottles without any labels or markings. For months after my visit, every taste of the sweet dark amber nectar took me back to the island – almost as if the soft breeze of the Atlantic Ocean and the vibrant flavors of Puerto Rico were bottled up just for me.

In their constant search for food, honeybees play a significant role in the pollination of many agricultural crops. They are responsible for the pollination of one in every three bites of food. Not only does this help us humans, but directly correlates to global biodiversity.

In their daily search for food, bees pollinate the flowers of many shrubs, trees, and plants, producing a seed crop for the flora they reach. Local beekeepers use this to their advantage.

Hayden and Jen Sachedina from Queensville Ontario found a large beehive in their barn four years ago. Rather than calling an exterminator to remove the bees, the mother and son duo called a local beekeeper for advice. Now, they are looking to sell their small-batch hyper-localized honey in farmers' markets.

"Our honey is indicative of our farm. These bottles tell our story – the love, care, and respect we have for these incredible insects," says Hayden.

Each terroir of honey documents the composite taste of a region in terms of time, place, and season.

"We have seen nectar from the same neighborhood differ in taste and color each season, localizing the multitude of flavors," says Nicole Buergers of Bee2Bee Honey Collective, which provides a mentorship program for beginner beekeepers and a hive hosting collective that places beehives in backyards, rooftops and businesses all over Houston. 

So be it honey from thorny plants in Jordan that give it a tangy taste, silky-smooth honey from Yemen that has a buttery texture, or wildflower-and-clover raw floral honey from Calgary that reminds me of the mountains, each honey pot tells a tale – rich in culture, history, people, and community – exactly what a travel souvenir should do!

Karthika Gupta is a culture and travel photographer, freelance writer and podcaster who focuses on documenting stories and visual narratives around global culture, diversity, and lifestyle.

Brown decided to revisit his cache to reflect on how the food world has changed since his signature Food Network show launched more than 20 years ago. Back then, sous vide was done by only an anointed few in the fine-dining world. Now, anyone can get a decent immersion circulator shipped overnight to their doorstep for about $100. Accessibility to ingredients has exploded. These days, even mainstream grocers stock spices like sumac and Aleppo pepper.

And, most important, people’s attitudes about cooking have changed. They are more adventurous, more willing to spend time learning-by-trying in the kitchen.

"If I had published a recipe 10 years ago that called for gochujang, people would have thought I was nuts," Brown, 59, tells USA TODAY.  

He feels no apprehension about including the Korean fermented red chili paste in his latest cookbook, “Good Eats: The Final Years” (Abrams, 432 pp., out now). In true Alton Brown fashion, he explains what the condiment is and how it’s made, and he uses it in a recipe (the dolsot bibimbap looks amazing).

“Understanding equals power,” he says. "You have power over your fears, so you have confidence if you know what's going on."

“Good Eats: The Final Years” is organized chronologically by seasons of "Good Eats: Reloaded" and "Good Eats: The Return" because “I couldn’t think of a better way to arrange them,” Brown writes.

Containing about 150 recipes, the pages are jampacked with the history and science of food and sprinkled with Brown’s wit and sardonic humor. In a breakout section about simple roasted chicken, Brown laments countertop glass spice racks (“I would eradicate those from planet Earth if I could,” he tells us. “I would go out into the world and bulldoze those into a landfill.”) While improving his chicken parmesan recipe, Brown writes about learning the hard way that older Pyrex baking dishes were made with borosilicate glass, which stood up to rapid temperature changes under a broiler, whereas the newer formula uses soda-lime glass, which doesn’t.

In the “Lost Season” section, which focuses on the never-aired “Reloaded” Season 3, Brown offers his response to his much-maligned slow cooker lasagna recipe. For those who aren’t familiar, the slow cooker recipe uses layers of noodles, vegetables and meat along with goat's milk powder and calls for a propane torch to brown the cheese topping. 

"It's not a good dish," Brown says. “Clever isn’t always smart.”

His new version, which spans several pages and ends with “The Final Lasagna,” is the most lasagna lasagna out there, he says. He recommends taking a vacation between making the ragù alla bolognese and assembling the final dish because it’s “quite a bit of work.”

“I’m done with lasagna," Brown says. "(This) is the way to do it. I can walk away. I have atoned."

Brown is doing a book tour, hitting about a dozen cities including Seattle; Washington; New York; and Dallas, and ending May 11 in Atlanta. If you go, you might hear someone ask about his famous tips – like adding mayonnaise to get creamy scrambled eggs or starting pasta off in cold water. But what’s his greatest tip, the one he says is the single biggest thing you can do improve your cooking?

“Read the recipe,” he says. “Sit down and read it. Don’t cook. Don’t start gathering pots and pans. Make notes if you have to. ... That's not very exciting, but it’s absolutely true.”  

“Good Eats: The Final Years” isn’t just the fourth installment in the franchise’s cookbook series: It’s the last. Brown says he’s done with the iconic show – at least for now – and won’t be shooting Season 3 of "Good Eats: Reloaded."

But before fans melt down faster than Gruyère in fondue, that doesn’t mean he’s done with entertainment. Brown has a big announcement coming soon. He has teased a project slated to launch this summer with a streaming service. When asked if he can share more details, he gives a kind but-firm no.

“If I were to tell you, a helicopter full of lawyers would descend on my building,” he says. “I'm currently in a state of flux, but in a good way. I’m not done yet."

Check out these recipes to up your kitchen game: 

• Hard-boiled eggs:  Two easy ways to hard boil eggs to perfection
• Creamy risotto: Pearl couscous is the trick ingredient for creamy risotto
• Fried rice: The secret to making great fried rice at home
• Jambalaya: How to make Cheesecake Factory's Cajun jambalaya pasta at home
• Mustard makes it better: How to use mustard not as a condiment but as an ingredient
• Pasta salad: Perfect every time: The only pasta salad recipe you'll ever need
• Cranberry sauce: Three cranberry sauce recipes you need to try
• Sugar cookies: 'The best sugar cookie I've ever baked.' Here's the recipe.
• Kale can be tough: Raw kale can be tough. Here's how salt can help

In early April, they funded a billboard.

This past weekend, unhappy Cincinnati Reds fans brought their message into Great American Ball Park, wearing T-shirts, holding signs, dropping grocery bags over their heads and even flying a banner over the stadium calling for owner Bob Castellini to sell the team.

In at least three cases, the Reds gave fans a choice: drop your signage or leave the stadium.

On Monday, the team stood down.

"This was a mistake on our part," said Tim O'Connell, vice president of facilities and operations. "We have taken corrective action."

O'Connell said team management is now instructing staff that fan messaging, "even if it is to express displeasure," is OK.

"We understand people want to express themselves in the ballpark," he said. "We don't think we'll have another problem with that."

Former Red: Nick Castellanos feels sorry for Reds fans, says team didn't call after he opted out

'I let my frustration get the best of me': Phil Castellini apologizes to Reds employees

Need paper bags? Let's go Krogering

With that pivot, Cole Murray will have to decide whether to make another trip to the Kroger store in his Independence, Kentucky, neighborhood.

That's where he pit-stopped en route to Friday night’s game against the St. Louis Cardinals. He and two friends grabbed paper bags from the self-checkout lane when they bought soft drinks.

Murray and one friend decorated their bags with what's become a trending hashtag on social media: Sell the team, Bob.

They put on the bags – after cutting out eye holes -- at the top of the fourth inning. A local TV reporter soon arrived for an interview.  “A spokesperson from the Reds came down in the middle of the interview and said we had to take the bags off and they couldn’t cover our faces,” said Murray.

He and one friend complied. The third kept his bag on, with the eye holes ripped open to reveal his full face. (O'Connell confirmed that Reds' policy prohibits full-face masking in the interest of safety.)

Murray said he donned his bag to make a point. “I’m 24 and I’ve never seen the Reds win a playoff series,” the industrial engineer said. “It was a gut punch when our favorite players got traded away or not re-signed.”

Bagged by bag check

The next night, Logan Wolf traveled 40 miles from Blanchester, Ohio, to catch the second game in the weekend series. Given the pandemic, he had not been to the stadium in a year and a half.

His message for Reds ownership, penned on a poster board, didn’t make it past the bag check staff.

“They told me I could throw it away or I would not be permitted to enter the stadium,” the 28-year-old Spectrum contractor said.

He followed the directive so he could catch the game with family members.

But he thinks the team suppressed his right to free speech.

"We can go to the games and have fun at the ballpark but we should still be able to show that we aren’t happy with the team they’re putting out there,” he said.

A different kind of flyover

Overhead, before the Saturday game began, fans captured photos of a plane trailing a banner that read "Where You Gonna Go? Already Gone. Thx Phil." The message references Reds CEO Phil Castellini's opening day remarks about fans' options. 

Inside the stadium, a fan with a choice seat behind home plate waited until the ninth inning to bag his head. The front of his bag said "Sell the team, Bob," while the back read "9,696 days since Reds won last playoff series." Like Murray and Wolf, he was asked to remove the bag or leave the ballpark.

Cincinnati fan Taylor Lowe, 22, did not carry a sign, wear a bag or otherwise face the threat of expulsion this weekend. But he's not pleased with the Reds' 3-13 start to the season or their play in recent years.

"For the last 10 years, we've been an afterthought," said Lowe, who has owned weekend season tickets since 2019. "I wish everyone would be wearing brown paper bags. What are they going to do? Kick us all out?"

No, they aren't. Not anymore.

“We fully understand our fans’ frustration right now," O'Connell said. "Our entire organization -- players, coaches and the front office -- is committed to playing in a way that makes our fans proud." 

The six-time Super Bowl champion head coach and de facto general manager of the New England Patriots surprised again Thursday night when he selected Chattanooga offensive lineman Cole Strange in the first round. 

Strange, who played at the Football Championship Subdivision level, was not expected to be taken in the first round, but he was pulled off the board by the Patriots with the 29th overall pick. 

One of those surprised Strange was selected that high: Los Angeles Rams head coach Sean McVay. 

"How about that! And we wasted our time watching him thinking he'd be at 104, maybe," the Super Bowl 56 winner quipped during a Rams press conference when Strange was selected by the Patriots.

Belichick justified the pick after the first round, saying that "Cole fits well into our scheme and our system, and obviously, we think he's a good player." 

NFL draft tracker 2022: Analysis on every pick in the first round

NFL draft best available players: Malik Willis, Nakobe Dean highlight Day 2 options

NFL newsletter: Sign up now to get football news delivered to your inbox

The longtime Patriots coach also said the team may have still picked Strange if they stuck at No. 21 instead of trading down, and he insisted that Strange "wouldn't have lasted much longer" on the board.  

An out-of-the-box pick is hardly new for Belichick. Just two years ago, the Patriots' first pick (at No. 37 overall) was Kyle Dugger out of Division II Lenoir-Rhyne. In 2017, their first pick (at No. 83 overall) was defensive end Derek Rivers out of the FCS' Youngstown State.

Thursday was a banner night for the defense of college football's 2021 national champions but not so much for the guys who break the huddle and throw the ball. The first round featured a flurry of trades – deals that included picks and players, though maybe not the guy some expected to be dealt.

And it could all be prelude to an eventful Friday, one that's sure to feature a lot of good players in Round 2 and perhaps more action around the league before the draft resumes.

But for now, let's focus on the first round's winners and losers:

NFL DRAFT TRACKER: Analysis on every pick in the first round

MORE: The 10 most intriguing moves of the 2022 NFL draft

WINNERS

New York: The Big Apple cleaned up in Sin City. Since the start of the 2017 season, the Jets and Giants have both gone 22-59, tied for the NFL's worst record over that span. But Thursday might mark a course correction for both franchises, each benefiting from a pair of top-10 picks. The Giants came away with Oregon DE Kayvon Thibodeaux and Alabama OT Evan Neal, two players who seemed to be under consideration for the No. 1 pick at varying points of the pre-draft process. The Jets snagged Cincinnati CB Ahmad "Sauce" Gardner and Ohio State WR Garrett Wilson, highly regarded prospects who addressed primary needs for Gang Green. However GM Joe Douglas' move back into Round 1 to end Florida State pass rusher Jermaine Johnson II's slide at No. 26 might be the stroke that renders the Jets the big winners of this draft.

University of Georgia defense: The first round began with the Jacksonville Jaguars making Bulldogs DE Travon Walker the No. 1 overall pick. It ended with Dawgs S Lewis Cine going to the Minnesota Vikings. In between, DT Jordan Davis (Eagles), LB Quay Walker (Packers) and DT Devonte Wyatt (Packers) were all called, giving Georgia an NFL common draft record (since 1967) five defenders enlisted in Round 1. And LBs Nakobe Dean and Channing Tindall will almost certainly hear their names called Friday. Let's also give an honorable mention to Johnson, who played for Georgia in 2019 and 2020.

A.J. Brown: He got traded from the Tennessee Titans to the Philadelphia Eagles but gets a four-year, $100 million extension ($57 million guaranteed) to assuage the aggravation of relocation. He should pair quite nicely with DeVonta Smith, and the duo ought to provide QB Jalen Hurts every opportunity to thrive in 2022.

Wide receivers: A half-dozen came off the board between slots eight and 18 – also the first time six wideouts were taken within a draft's first 20 selections. Ohio State's Wilson and Chris Olave (Saints) went back-to-back at the 10th and 11th spots. Meanwhile, A.J. Brown and Marquise Brown (Cardinals) were traded. Such a run on the position provides further evidence that receiver has elevated into the NFL's second-most important position ... as if the financial commitments to the likes of A.J. Brown, Davante Adams and Tyreek Hill weren't proof enough.

Amazon: Perhaps you've heard of the quaint internet commerce company? If not, the NFL shone a spotlight on it by revealing in the middle of the draft that the Chiefs will host the Chargers on the first Thursday night game streamed on Prime Video on Sept. 15. 

Colts: The Carson Wentz Experience cost them their spot in the first round, but it sure looked like the gap between Indianapolis and Tennessee, which has won the past two AFC South crowns, narrowed – perhaps significantly – with A.J. Brown exiting the division.

Packers track record: They still haven't picked a wideout in Round 1 since Javon Walker in 2002. Here's hoping they can find another Adams, Randall Cobb, Jordy Nelson or Greg Jennings in the second round.

Defense: For the first time since 1991, the first five players drafted did not come from the offensive side of the ball. The Panthers broke the streak at No. 6 by taking N.C. State LT Ikem "Ickey" Ekwonu.

Michigan: Whether you're a fan of the Wolverines or Lions, you had to be pretty stoked to see DE Aidan Hutchinson move from Ann Arbor up the road to Detroit with the No. 2 pick. Expect the Plymouth native – is it wrong to compare a UM guy to Ohio State's Bosa brothers? – to bring some needed juice into Ford Field for the next decade. (And if Hutchinson needs help getting his new fan base revved up, game-breaking former Alabama WR Jameson Williams ought to make up the difference.)

Derek Stingley Jr.: Perceived as a future top-five pick after his scintillating freshman season at LSU in 2019, he turned out to be exactly that – going No. 3 to the Houston Texans and surprisingly the first cornerback chosen – despite a rocky injury road that derailed Stingley the past two seasons in Baton Rouge.

Chaos: The picks began furiously exchanging hands midway through Thursday evening. Once the dust settled, the top three selections of Round 2 were under new ownership. The Tampa Bay Buccaneers will select first Friday, followed by the Vikings and Titans. The Arizona Cardinals, Chicago Bears, Cleveland Browns, Indianapolis Colts, Denver Broncos and San Francisco 49ers are slated to make their 2022 draft debuts in the second round.

LOSERS

Deebo Samuel: While A.J. Brown was moved and paid, and Marquise Brown shifts to a more pass-centric offense as he's trying to build a case he's a top-shelf target, Samuel's desire to be liberated from the Niners will apparently not be fulfilled. Time for some marriage counseling.

Cardinals: Parting with a first-round pick for Hollywood Brown, much as it might please his former Oklahoma teammate, QB Kyler Murray, is pretty rich for a receiver who's been good but not great in three NFL seasons. Perhaps Brown explodes after being unshackled from Baltimore's run-centric offense, but it's quite a gamble by GM Steve Keim.

Rookie quarterbacks: Only one, Pitt's Kenny Pickett, was taken. The last time there were that few in Round 1 was 2013. The 20th player selected, it was the longest wait for a draft's QB1 since Jim Druckenmiller lasted until No. 26 in 1997.

Veteran quarterbacks: With Liberty's Malik Willis, Cincinnati's Desmond Ridder, Ole Miss' Matt Corral and North Carolina's Sam Howell still on the board, probably diminished chances veterans like the 49ers' Jimmy Garoppolo and Browns' Baker Mayfield see their 2022 situations resolved Friday since so many moving pieces remain.

Steelers: Given they share their training facility with the Pitt Panthers, no NFL team had better visibility on Pickett ... so Pittsburgh coach Mike Tomlin and retiring GM Kevin Colbert certainly deserve the benefit of the doubt. But the burden will shift to Pickett to prove he's a superior prospect to Willis, whose upside looks significantly higher. And considering the Steelers already had veteran Mitchell Trubisky on the roster, the selection of Pickett just seems to land like a bit of a lateral move.

Terrell Owens: The Patriots' stunning selection of OL Cole Strange at No. 29 means T.O. is no longer the highest-drafted player from Tennessee-Chattanooga. Owens, who became a Hall of Famer, was the 89th pick in 1996.

Patrick Mahomes and Aaron Rodgers: The run on receivers left Mahomes' Chiefs and Rodgers' Packers – Kansas City traded Hill this offseason, while Green Bay offloaded Adams – out in the cold and eyeing other positions with their multiple first-rounders. Quality pass catchers will be available in Round 2, where the Pack have historically found them, but the former league MVPs will hit the pillow no longer dreaming of Williams, Olave or Wilson. 

Running backs: Not a single one was called in the first round for the first time since 2014.

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