Five of the forty-five passengers and crew aboard a flight at Kennedy International were killed.
Among the passengers on this flight were professors John Dumont and George Johnson, both of whom teach at Backwater State University. They both were able to escape injury, and they live to tell the horrific events they witnessed.
Investigation is ongoing about why the plane failed to depart on the runway. However, it is confirmed that five have passed, and more are injured.
Men’s Tennis has been dominated over the past few decades by Rafael Nadal, Novak Djokovic, and Roger Federer. None of those superstars are from the U.S., and it has been nearly a decade since the U.S. has produced a top player, the last of which was Andy Roddick. However, at just twenty years of age, Ben Shelton has opened eyes this September in the U.S. Open, which is one of four Grand Slam tournaments. Shelton will take on arguably the greatest player of all time, Novak Djokovic, in the U.S. Open Semi-Final on Friday. Shelton’s improbable run is quite the spark for U.S. tennis; however, his young career has been far from perfect.
Dan Wolken of USA Today says, “The former Florida Gator and NCAA Men’s Singles Champion, Ben Shelton, turned pro shortly after winning the title.” Shelton’s father, Bryan Shelton, was a tennis professional in the 1990s but had a mediocre career. Bryan Shelton was the coach of Florida when Ben won his NCAA Men’s Single Championship. After watching Shelton’s impressive victory over fellow American Francis Tiafoe, it is clear that Ben is a stellar athlete. His serve is unmatched and sometimes reaches 140 miles per hour. Though Ben’s ability is unmatched, he needs more experience than other pros have.
Having never stepped foot on red clay or grass courts, he went 4-11 on those surfaces. However, things began to look upward for Shelton as he reached the Australian Open QuarterFinals and played on the hard court, which he has known all his life. This explains the success he is seeing in the U.S. Open, as the tournament is played on a hard court. Although Novak Djokovic will prove to be a tall task for the twenty-year-old, Shelton has quite a lot of passion for the game that will prove beneficial when put in difficult situations on the court.
Kurt Streeter of the New York Times stated, “There is no neutral with Shelton. He pumps his fists and shouts in celebration and shows what he feels at virtually every moment of every match — often with a broad, inviting smile.” However, that smile was a look of disgust for most of my early career. Shelton had previously lost nineteen matches, and with the win earlier this week over Dominic Thiem, Shelton secured his first back-to-back victories since January. for someone who did not play in the junior circuit and any significant events that, typically, any player wanting to become a pro plays. However, his past struggles have seemed to light more fire under him these past few weeks in the U.S. Open. It is such an excellent achievement for such a young star. He is undoubtedly climbing the ranks with his past few performances.
For someone dominating the tennis world, one would think he has had a racquet in his hand for ages. However, Shelton was serious about football until the seventh grade, when Tennis became his go-to sport. Those years playing football have paid evident with the footwork and agility he uses on the court. Streeter also has this to say about watching Shelton, “During his matches in Melbourne, he flashed an eye-widening talent that gave a tennis head like me goosebumps, reminding me of the first time I saw Roger Federer.”
Speaking of Roger Federer, Shelton has signed with On, a shoe and clothing company that Federer is highly involved with. Federer must see something in Shelton, as the other tennis player on the On team is women’s Iga Swiatek, ranked number one in the world.
Overall, Ben Shelton has set the Tennis and sports worlds on fire. However, his next task is no small: second-ranked Novak Djokovic awaits him in the Semi-Finals. According to Adesina O. Koiki, Shelton had this to say about Djokovic, “It does not get much better than that,” Shelton said at the prospect of facing Djokovic. “It has been tough the last two matches, playing against Americans, but hopefully, you guys can bring it for me two days from now.” Aside from Serena Williams, U.S. tennis has been in a drought of producing high-end talent for years, and now that three U.S. men are ranked in the top twenty (and Ben Shelton is not among those yet), U.S. tennis seems to be holding serve for quite some time.
Index
Ben Shelton Makes history, reaches US Open semifinals. (n.d.). Usopen.org. Retrieved September 6, 2023, from https://www.usopen.org/en_US/news/articles/2023-09-06/2023-09-05_ben_shelton_makes_history_reaches_us_open_semifinals.html
Streeter, K. (2023, September 2). The tennis education of Ben Shelton. The New York Times. https://www.nytimes.com/2023/09/02/sports/tennis/us-open-ben-shelton.html
Wolken, D. (2023, September 3). Meet Ben Shelton, US Open semifinalist poised to become next American tennis star. USA Today. https://www.usatoday.com/story/sports/tennis/2023/09/03/us-open-ben-shelton-rising-american-star/70758627007/
By: Joshua Bern
East Dakota Highway patrol cars have gotten rid of radar guns that sit inside their car, as they are said to emit radiation waves.
Studies are ongoing, but until studies have concluded, spokesman Adam Smith says, “The feeling here is to err on the side of caution until more is known and the issue.”
Two months ago, a few officers developed cancer from using the radars in their cars. Seventy radar guns have been banned from these patrol cars, and more are to be evaluated. Patrol officers will continue to use these radar guns mounted outside their cars.
September 7, 2023 by Joshua Bern
https://www.si.com/fannation/wrestling/news/a-deeper-look-at-cm-punks-dismissal-from-aew
Article: A Deeper Look Into at CM Punk’s Dismissal from AEW
Article By: Justin Barrasso
Overview of Article: Phil Brooks, who goes by CM Punk in the wrestling world, was fired a few days ago by All Elite Wrestling (AEW). Punk has captivated audiences for decades with his boisterous promos on the microphone and his high-flying wrestling style. AEW Owner and Chairman Tony Khan addressed the AEW crowd ahead of the night’s event in Punk’s hometown, Chicago. Khan claims that he felt threatened by Punk and that he is a threat to others within the company. Punk has been known to cause chaos, as in the past, he was suspended from AEW for locker room altercations. He also had quite a few run-ins with WWE. While he wrestled there for most of his career, he did not have a good relationship with the company. Towards the end of the article, the author, Justin Barrasso, states that he believes this move will benefit AEW and Phil Brooks. He has proven after a few years off from wrestling (2014-2021) that he still has it, which could open many doors for him.
My Thoughts: I am shocked about Punk’s departure. Although I am no longer a huge wrestling fan, I am a Phil Brooks fan. He, John Cena, and Dwayne Johnson were the biggest superstars while I was growing up. During my first year of high school, I got a notification from ESPN that CM Punk had made a surprise appearance at AEW, and my mouth dropped. At that point, I had not watched wrestling for nearly a decade, and let me tell you, I started paying more attention when he came back after a seven-year absence from professional wrestling. I used to watch promos from Punk, and I would gawk at his public speaking abilities. His tone, pitch, and vocabulary are so impressive. Someday, I would like to possess his public speaking abilities. As for his wrestling abilities, while in the WWE, he had an excellent match at Wrestlemania (WWE’s biggest pay-per-view of the year) against the Undertaker. I remember watching Wrestlemania with friends around when I was twelve.I look forward to what Brooks decides to do next, as, like his wrestling style, he is very unpredictable.
As for AEW, this will affect them, but only minorly. AEW’s roster is filled with young talent, and I am super excited about the future of the wrestling industry MJF (Maxwell Jacob Friedman). MJF is even better than Punk on the mic, and even in the videos I have seen of meet-and-greets, MJF stays in his in-ring character, which is very rare. He has zero filter, enabling him to create memorable memories for the wrestling world. I am excited to see what the future has in store for him. As for the rest of AEW, As for the rest of AEW, it will be interesting to see how they try to compete with WWE. I will not be paying as close attention as I did when Punk was there, but I am still very intrigued.
https://newrepublic.com/article/175107/sports-cards-antitrust-panini-fanatics
Article : The Vicious, Multibillion-Dollar War Over Sports Trading Cards
By: Matt Ford
Overview of Article: Panini America, the primary sports card company in a billion dollar industry, has recently just lost its licensing to the National Football League Players Association (NFLPA), as the Association announced Monday that they had terminated its license. This comes years before the contract was supposed to end. Fanatics, a retail shopping giant for all major sports, recently just got into the trading card business as they acquired the Topps Company, is now the new holder of the NFLPA licensing. Panini just a few months ago filed a antitrust lawsuit against Fanatics. However, Fanatics filed a countersuit against Panini. The details on these lawsuits are quite vague, but Fanatics is said to be in the process of trying to create a monopoly; while, Panini is aledged to have had horrific quality control, poor customer service, and all in all a disgrace to the hobby.
My thoughts: There is quite a lot to disect in this whole fiasco involving these two companies, so here are my initial thoughts. Panini America in the past few years has had a really hard time appealing to the average collector, like myself. Entry base products are no longer affordable, and this has certainly affected cash-strapped collectors such as kids, from collecting cards from their favorite players or teams. For example, Panini Prizm Football, which I would classify as a mid-entry product has seen a huge increase in price over the past couple of years, and it is all due to Panini raising the price of it rather than the market driving it up in price. The average price of a Panini Prizm Football hobby box a few years ago was around $300, which by no means is cheap, but it is accessible to most. This years release of 2022 Panini Prizm Football hobby box retailed for around $700, and on the secondary market they are around $900. That is absurd, especially when looking at the years rookie class which was subpar at best. There is no reason for this product to be at the price point it is.
Now for my thoughts on Fanatics. I am personally nervous for what they will do for the hobby. Michael Rubin is currently overlooking the sports card division for Fanatics, and he seems credible from the podcasts and interviews I have listened to. I do believe they have a better customer service team than Panini which should boost the market quite substantially. However, I am nervous that there will be little to no ways to profit off of the hobby due to the lack of information provided about print runs, and the company deciding to produce more serial numbered cards and more “short prints”. All in all, I am worried about another junk wax era taking place like the one the industry saw in the late 80’s and 90’s.
Destinee Martin, child of Shannon and Torey Martin, grew up in Manson, Iowa, a small town just over an hour and a half from Sioux City. While in Manson, Destinee became a three-sport athlete in high school, with her highest accomplishments being medaling in track two years in a row in the shuttle hurdle. Destinee does not participate in sports here at Morningside but is very involved in and around campus. She currently balances two jobs, one being at Olive Garden and the other at Miles Inn Bar and Grille. On top of working long hours, Destinee is a double major. She is majoring in both English and Marketing. Shortly after she graduates in 2025, Destinee will be a publisher for Simon and Schuster as she flourishes in writing and editing. Destinee spent all summer traveling with her friend/roommate, Ellie. Ellie is also an English major, and on any given night, one can find Destinee and Ellie working on long assignments together in their apartment. When Destinee is not busy with her two jobs and endless homework, she is currently watching American Horror Story. She has the potential to be a great film critic, as she enjoys lots of shows and movies. Leslie Mann is her favorite actress, and Destinee loves most, if not everything, she is in.
I am Josh Bern. I am currently a Junior here at Morningside University. I am majoring in English and have a double minor in Marketing and Advertising. In my spare time I work at a before and after school program, where I watch around fifteen fourth and fifth graders (love waking up at 5 a.m. every morning to do that). I have been working at the same program for the past three years, and I really enjoy it. My hobbies include vinyl record collecting, hockey card collecting, and collecting autographs of my favorite celebrities and athletes. This summer I went to two Major League Baseball stadiums, Tropicana Field and LoanDepot Park. I have been to twenty different Major League Baseball stadiums out of thirty. In September I will cross off another stadium, as I will be traveling to Arizona to see the Chicago Cubs face off against the Arizona Diamondbacks. I look forward to a great semester!
