Welcome, Great Pumpkin

Good morning Staker! Here’s what’s cookin’ today. Reading makes us healthier and wiser; Eli Lilly’s super weight-loss drug also reduces sleep apnea; and he NHL goes primetime across the pond.

But first, our weekly poll!

Literacy is a precondition to virtually any form of success in the modern world, and those who read more often and more deeply tend to yield greater outcomes, both financially and mentally.

“We cannot do but read. Reading, almost as much as breathing, is our essential function,” wrote Alberto Manguel in his book, A History of Reading.

The human condition demands literacy. We’re social animals, meaning we communicate with each other for survival, and because of our advanced cognitive abilities, we also survive by telling stories.

Reading for the sole purpose of understanding may just be the most human thing we do, and though many are naturally obsessive readers, others have to put in more effort to read in what some have referred to as a post-typographical world.

Moving pictures and quick-hit soundbites rule the mainstream today, but in doing so, are watering down the wisdom of those who are content to get their information from superficial and oversimplified sources. It’s easy to ask a chatbot to summarize the history of Western thought; it’s quite another to study it intensely.

Deep reading correlates with contentedness, happiness, self-esteem, reduced anxiety and depression, and even longevity itself.

Stake reported last week on Eli Lilly’s successful clinical trials for retatrutide, its weight-loss drug that triggers a trio of hormonal responses that combine the effects of GLP-1 and GIP drugs.

As a result, the medication leads to significantly more weight loss than comparable products like Ozempic and Mounjaro. However, it turns out that’s not all.

In addition to being a miracle weight-loss drug, investigators also found those taking it experienced significantly less sleep apnea.

Obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) is a condition whereby the airway muscles block the process of breathing, leading to instances of ten seconds or longer where the person stops breathing in their sleep.

Obesity can lead to OSA, and so Eli Lilly wanted to see if its obesity drug could also reduce apneas. They recruited 700 people from within retatrutide’s broader phase 3 trial, half of whom were obese, had type 2 diabetes, and had OSA. The other half were just obese and had OSA.

The trials found regardless of dosage, those taking it experienced fewer apneas than those taking a placebo. They also found over half of those on retatrutide had their OSA downgraded to mild, allowing them to no longer require positive airway pressure machines while sleeping.

The NHL announced the launch of NHL Monday Night Hockey, which will actually take place in the afternoon in NHL markets, because the initiative is designed for a European broadcast.

16 different teams will be featured across 11 Monday afternoon games throughout the year, in order for the games to be broadcast in primetime across European markets.

While the NHL isn’t quite taking a page out of the NFL’s playbook by actually playing these games overseas, the broadcast specials could certainly be a precursor to a larger and more regular NHL presence across the pond.

“NHL Monday Night Hockey was created to provide international fans the opportunity to watch live NHL hockey and the world’s best players compete in a weeknight primetime broadcast window,” said Julie Yufe, NHL Executive Vice President and Managing Director, International.

The first game will take place on Nov. 30 with the Ottawa Senators heading down Broadway to the heart of Nashville to take on the Predators at Bridgestone Arena.

You can view the complete schedule here.

Ozzy Osbourne’s farewell concert is being released in a vinyl and Blu-ray box set on Dec. 11 for fans to listen to and watch the show over and over again.

Back to the Beginning took place in July of last year at Villa Park in Birmingham, England, where Black Sabbath originated from.

The show featured several numbers from Ozzy’s solo career, along with a reunion on stage with all three of his Sabbath bandmates (Tony Iommi, Geezer Butler, and Bill Ward). It was the first time the full original lineup had played together on stage in two decades.

The vinyl will include both Ozzy’s solo set, along with his performance with Sabbath. In addition, the Blu-ray concert film will feature all 27 songs performed at the marathon show in commemoration of the crazy train that was Ozzy’s career.

In April of next year, the entire concert will also be released on vinyl and placed in a super deluxe box set that will also feature the Blu-ray concert film.

Trick of treat! 👻🎃🍫

Well, we’ve finally arrived at the Halloween eve, and with that our final spooktacular game. We’re quizzin’ you on all kinds of ghoulish goodness, with today’s trivia!