Month: September 2020

New York Times: https://www.nytimes.com/2020/09/03/sports/ncaafootball/high-school-football-coronavirus-pandemic.html?action=click&module=Features&pgtype=Homepage

Noah Aniser

The article is about the postponed high school football season in some states and how players are affected by that. The author starts with a story about a 16 years old high school student named Marion Sanchez. He is a slot receiver and defensive back who was about to play his senior year at Olathe North High School until Covid-19 crushed his dreams. Mario wants to play football this year in order to get a scholarship to go to college. With Kansas postponing the 2020 season, that was at stake. The only option he had, was to change his High School. 

Mario decided to join Norman High School which is about 350 miles from where he grew up. 

Norman High School is located in Oklahoma where football has not been canceled yet. 

Teams in Utah or Alabama already played their first games while other schools are shifted their season to the spring or are in quarantine because their players got tested positive. 

No state has officially canceled the entire football season, but a lot of players see no other way then leaving their hometown to play for another High School in a different state. Crossing state boarders to keep the dream of studying at a college alive, starts to sound as a reasonable way. At least for players like Mario Sanchez who suffered a lot through Covid-19 and who are in an age where these choices can change your life. 

After that the author mentions similar cases and talks more in detail about the current regulations for practices, quarantine and games without fans in the different states. 

I think the article is really well written because the main information can be found in the first view paragraphs. Afterwards the author gives some more examples, background information and stories about athletes with similar cases. In the end he comes back to the main protagonist to round up the story. The headline sounds really appealing and interesting. 

I also believe the article is newsworthy just because it is about sports which is one of the most important things In the U.S. 

Noah Aniser

Sources:

•  https://www.nytimes.com/2020/03/14/sports/sports-coronavirus-impact.html
• https://fortune.com/2020/04/02/college-football-coronavirus-ncaa-d1-sports/
• https://www.voanews.com/student-union/desperate-play-coronavirus-impact-college-sports
• https://www.washingtonpost.com/sports/2020/04/27/fearing-cuts-non-revenue-college-sports-look-ways-to-weather-this-storm/
• https://www.washingtonpost.com/sports/2020/07/25/colleges-dropping-non-revenue-sports-jeopardizes-us-olympic-model/

Is Covid-19 the End for Non-Revenue Sports in College?

Through the pandemic, colleges started cutting non-revenue sports like women’s water polo, men’s volleyball or soccer. The virus had an undeniable impact on sports in the United States and Colleges are facing a significant decrease of their annual revenue. 

Cutting non-revenue programs might have a bigger impact then most of the people think. According to the Washington Post, four of the of the last Gold Medals that the U.S. won at the 2016 Olympics in Rio de Janeiro were won by athletes from sports among the 11 programs that Stanford decided to cut. Overall, Twenty-nine U.S. athletes who had ties to Stanford won combined 27 medals for the United States, more than any other university’s contingent. 

The American system is different from the systems that countries like Germany have because in the U.S. model, sport is tied to school. Out of the 558 members of the 2016 Olympic team, nearly 80 percent participated and competed at a college level. The success of American athletes at big sport events is undeniable and almost scary but the dominance might come to end. If more colleges like Stanford start cutting sport programs, the U.S. Olympic model is lost. 

The coronavirus pandemic is threatening the revenue streams that help athletics departments to survive. The revenue made through broadcast rights, ticket sales, donations and more is gone. Schools like Stanford see no other option than cutting sports that are not always in the public eye or sports that have no revenue at all. Even though some college sports don’t generate as much revenue as football, basketball or baseball, they are important and very much needed. 

Since the N.C.A.A. cancelled the Men’s Basketball National Tournament in March, coaches knew that it could affect their sport. For all the people who are not familiar with college sports in the U.S. here is a quick crash course of how the athletic departments or in general how the N.C.A.A. operates. 

Basketball and Football are the two sports that usually receive the biggest amount of money. They spent the money on scholarships, gear, trainers and just other costs that come with competing at college level. But the basketball and Football programs of that country are also the sports that generate the most profit. The revenue is generated through ticket sales, broadcast rights and sponsorships. That helps fund all the sports that are not able to finance themselves because the are just not as much in the public eye as basketball or football. 

David Ridpath, a professor of sports management at Ohio University said that even before the pandemic “it was a very fragile system” and that he thinks “anybody like me who’s been around it for 30-plus years knew that a tipping point was going to come one day.”

That question that a lot of people ask themselves is why schools rather cut several different sport programs across the nation instead of putting less money into athletic departments like football or basketball. Wouldn’t it be the better way to have several different athletic departments and therefore a broad-based athletic program? 

The college system in the United States is facing a big decision and it will be very interesting what they choose. One thing is sure though, some athletic departments will suffer. 

Moyer Quick 65 of South Iowa City was killed in a two car yesterday Morning at 11 a.m.

The accident happened two miles east of Sioux City on Hwy. 28. The vehicle Moyer Quick was driving collided with a truck driven by Randy Radin, 17.

The three survivors were transported by ambulance to Sioux City General Hospital.  The injured included two passengers out of the Quick vehicle. Dorothy Quick has been released from the hospital, Maxine the second passenger in Quick’s car is in a “fair ” condition and scheduled to be released . Radin is listed as “critical”, with a fractured skull and internal injuries.

Patric Stewart, an South Iowa Highway Patrolman said, both vehicles were westbound on the two-lane highway. Quick passed the Radin vehicle but his rear-end struck Radin as he completed the pass. The impact sent both vehicles into the ditch on the north side of the road. Quick’s vehicle rolled once.

The accident, which is still under investigation, occurred under cloudy skies with rain in the forecast. The road was clear and dry but the autopsy showed that Moyer had a heart attack which may have caused the accident.

Hand-held radar guns got banned yesterday but Adam Smith said “The whole situation is under review.”

They were banned because of concerns that troopers could develop cancer from longterm exposure to the radiation waves emitted by the device.

The ban affects 70 radar guns that will be withdrawn from service. State troopers will continue to use radar units with transmitters mounted on the outside of their cruisers.

The move is considered to be the first of its kind by a state police agency. It comes two months after three municipal officers in cedar Rapids filed workman’s compensation claims, saying they developed cancer from using the hand–held units.

“The feeling here is to err on the side of caution until more is known about the issue,” Smith said. Studies are conducted into the possible links between cancer and the use of such guns.

New York Times: https://www.nytimes.com/2020/08/28/world/australia/melbourne-covid-doctor.html

The article is about a medical worker who expresses his fears about the effects that Covid-19 may has. Of course, there are the fears of people dying, especially elderly people but he is even more concerned about the fact that we lose what it means to be human. The author starts the article by explaining the current Corona situation in Australia. As in most parts of the world, the second wave of infections is increasing but at least the medical stuff could use the calmer times to restock on medical equipment and stuff. People know now that there is a very high chance that they will catch it at some point, but at least they know that they will probably be better in no time. As of now the uncertainty which caused a lot of fear is gone. After describing the current situation and the hope for the future, the author comes up with an interesting question. “Are we allowing this virus-which is the antithesis of humanity- to win anyway?”

To Dr. Lokuge, the biggest threat is that we slowly lose the ability to be and know what it means to be human. 

The virus took away touch and hugs but also gatherings and even the smile with mandatory masks almost everywhere. Dr. Lokuge even describes the feeling of losing a patient unexpectedly and not being able to express any emotions because of contact restrictions. 

The author mentions an even harder situation afterwards. People in nursing homes haven’t seen their families in months, some people even say goodbye through video chat which is just far from being human. 

After that the doctor shares a personal issue that he is facing at the moment. His father is part of the risk group because of his age and several other stuff which means he isn’t supposed to see him at all, but he insists to stay in contact. He says: If hugs are numbered why wouldn’t you want as many as possible. 

Humans need contact and if people gather at park, it is not always because they are selfish, is because they are human. 

I personally think that the article is really interesting and well written. The structure makes definitely sense and the topic is highly relevant. There are a lot of discussions about the selfishness of especially young people who gather in a park or somewhere else, but he says that things like that is just human. I think it is definitely news worthy because it relates to all of us. Everybody is facing covid and we are all missing important parts of being human like hugs and touches. 

The author is in my eyes not really objective, because he shares a clear opinion and clear statements towards one direction.

I also think that the headline is chosen very well because it attracts the audience right away. If a doctor says something, people are usually listening. 

Over all, I think the article is really good and should be read by a lot of people.