Tyson's Blog

The Jimmy V perseverance award was awarded to Stuart Scott last night at the Espy awards.

Stuart Scott is an American sportscaster and anchor for ESPN, who became well known for his use of unique catchphrases and “hip” language making him stand out when commentating both professional football and basketball.

He is the recipient of this award because of his battle with cancer. He was diagnosed in 2007 and has battled everyday since the diagnoses. A big theme of the speech was “Never Give up”.

Scott Jim Valvano’s speech from twenty-one years ago saying “The most poignant seven words ever uttered in any speech anywhere. ‘Don’t give up, don’t ever give up’“. He believes after receiving this award he has a responsibility to never give up.

On the topic of his battle with cancer Scott said “I’m not losing. I’m still here, I’m fighting. I’m not losing”. He continued on to talk about his view on what he believes fighting cancer really means.

“When you die, that does not mean that you lose to cancer. You beat cancer by how you live, why you live and in the manner in which you live.“

This quote is inspiring to those fighting cancer or any other adversity in their lives. You win through the way you live.

At the end of the speech Scott invited his daughter onto the stage for a hug after sharing his biggest motivation to keep fighting. “The best thing I have ever done, the best thing I will ever do, is be a dad to Taelor and Sydni. It’s true. I can’t ever give up because I can’t leave my daughters”.

The speech was emotional and impactful to share the story of man who has done great things through great adversity and obstacles.

38 year old Laurette Brunson was shot by her new husband Richard Brunson who she married yesterday.

The couple was married on the front porch of their home at 2pm in front of 30 of their relatives and friends.

The incident occurred the following day when Laurette supposedly threw a plate of macaroni salad from the wedding reception at Richard who in response shot her with a .22 caliber handgun. A neighbor, Walter Corse who had heard the shots said “WCorse”.

By the time the police arrived Richard was gone. Marilyn Corse witnessed Richard fleeing the home after the shot and said “WCorse”

Laurette is in St. Luke’s Hospital in satisfactory condition as she was not shot in the abdomen but when questioned she was reluctant to conversation saying “Laurette”.

President Biden issues a stark warning to Russia on the use of Nuclear bombs in Ukraine.

in his speech Biden renewed his warning saying it would be a “incredibly serious mistake” to use a nuclear weapon on Ukraine. He also made comments that the United States had not yet determined whether or not Russia’s intentions to set off a bomb.

Just a few hours before the speech Ukrainians accused Russia of planning terrorist acts using nuclear weapons.

This is news because it affects all people. The beginning of nuclear warfare would mean deaths to hundreds of thousands in Ukraine, Russia, and the other targets of nuclear weapons. Not only would it affect those currently in war but it also affects the U.S. United States presence may have to be increased to deescalate nuclear efforts.

Another thing this conflict will effect is the situation with Britney Griner, an American basketball player, who is being held in prison in Russia for drug charges. Biden’s efforts to bring her back to the U.S through a potential prisoner swap may be difficult given the new circumstances.

Russian court rejected Brittney Griner’s appeal to her nine year sentence on drug charges.

This rejection brings the United States closer to having to make a high stakes prisoner swap between Moscow and Washington. Bringing Griner home is on the Biden administrations to do list.

Griner was not present at the Moscow Regional Court hearing about her appeal but was shown via video from a penal colony outside the capital where she is currently being held.

The nine-year sentences seems excessive given the maximum sentence of ten years. Griner admitted to having the canisters in her luggage but testified that she packed them accidently in the rush to make the flight home and had no criminal intent.

The article shares the information on the case and the current events that are happening to attempt to bring Griner home. Some information that we get in article that is not included in the video story is about the tensions between Russia and the United States. The prisoner Russia has asked to swap for Griner was an arms dealer back in Russia. We also get more on past prisoner swaps with Russia and how determined Biden is to bring home honorable and wrongfully detained Americans from other countries.

The video from ESPN though was more of a push for the support of bringing Griner home as soon as possible by gathering more support from fans. Claims that the Biden Administration needs to act were mentioned in the video. The Biden Administration made an offer to Russia which was countered with a different offer that wasn’t feasible at this point.

A partial solar eclipse will be visible from Europe, northern Africa, the Middle East and Asia on Tuesday.

A partial solar eclipse is when the moon makes moves in its orbit to be in between the sun and the earth. The moon will block a part of the sun giving spectators a rare sight from Earth.

The partial solar eclipse can be seen first in Reykjavik, Iceland, at 8:58 a.m. local time. From Reykjavik the sun will be 20% covered. The sun coverage will vary depending on your viewing location, coverage will get all the way up to about 79% if you view from Chelyabinsk in Russia’s southern Ural region.

Robert Massey the deputy executive of the Royal Astronomical Society in the United Kingdom who uses the “wow” factor to determine how good of a view can be seen from different locations said “In London, the eclipse will be a ‘bit wow’ and in Chelyabinsk the eclipse will produce a ‘medium wow'”. Regardless of the “wow” factor Dr. Massey also says “if you’ve never seen one before, its a great experience”.

Before you watch the eclipse remember to never look directly at the sun. To safely watch the sun use a pair of special pair of glasses or use a pinhole projector.

Dr. Massey mentioned eye safety as well as talking about the eclipse, he said “People need to understand it is not safe to look at the sun, even if it is 20% covered”

For those who won’t be able to view the eclipse due to the location of the astronomical event, a total lunar eclipse will occur from November 7th to the 8th and will be visible from the Americas and Eastern Asia. A lunar eclipse is when the moon passes through the Earth’s shadow and this lunar eclipse will be the last one for the next three years.

The Pirouette is a crème filled wafer that comes in bag inside of a tin. Opening the bag you find the cylinder wafers filled with a fudge crème. You can smell the fudge the second you open the bag.

Holding the Pirouette you can feel it is very light and could easily break. The first bite brought a crunch followed by the taste of chocolate filling your mouth as the crème escapes its holding.

The taste is similar to others beloved be sweet lovers and could be a great snack for someone looking for that.

Track and field coach Frank Wallace has been hired as the track and field coach at Morningside University after Dave Nash leaves the program.

Wallace was a track athlete at Briar Cliff, and coached at the college level at Wayland Baptist in Texas. He has been acknowledged as the NAIA coach of the week multiple times and has helped multiple athletes compete at the national meet.

Coach Dave Nash, who had been the head coach since 2003, stepped away to coach his son, Gabe Nash, who has shown a lot of talent through his high school years and the cross country team at North High in North Sioux City, South Dakota. Nash was beloved by athletes and others on campus creating some “big shoes” to fill.

Wallace took the opportunity to become a head coach for the first time after a lot of success as an assistant coach.

Sioux City is familiar to Wallace from attending Briar Cliff (Morningside’s cross town rival) which made the transition from Texas easier.

Jared Nicholas, a sprinter who specializes in the 200m and 400m said “I’m excited for change!” Wallace specializes as a coach in the same events that Nicholas runs. As for how preseason is going Nicholas answered “It’s definitely different from last year’s preseason coaching, I think we will be more prepared than we have been in the past couple of years”.

Nicholas also commented on recovery, “Our new warm up and cooldown is long, but I think it will help me stay strong throughout the entire season”. Wallace has put into place a much longer warm up than athletes were used to under previous coaching staff and has taken some getting used to, but should reduce the number of injuries that the team has to deal with.

Another member of the track team, Ashton Banker, had a few things to say about Coach Wallace. Banker is thrilled that Wallace is “tougher” than previous coaches and pushes athletes more than before. Also, Banker appreciates the seriousness and competitiveness Wallace brings to practice everyday to make his athletes better.

Later in the interview Banker talked about the changes in the weight room. The team lifts together at 7 o’clock on Mondays and Fridays. As for how the weight room experience has changed with Wallace as head coach, Banker said ” There is more energy in the weight room and we move quicker. We are always getting something done. We do less lifting than we did previously but the exercises seem more specific to track, hopefully our lifting will show in our results this season.”

Another athlete who is on both the track and cross country team at Morningside, Grace Lange, also shared her opinions on Wallace as the head coach.

Similarly to the rest of the athletes that were interviewed she is excited for the track season. She unlike the others though had more of a connection to Coach Nash who just left. She said ” I will miss Coach Nash. He was a big reason I chose to come to Morningside.”

Even though she was sad to see Nash go she said ” Coach Wallace seems to know what he is talking about and I think he will push us to be better runners”. She is both ready to be pushed harder than before but also a little nervous for some hard practices down the line, ” He is intense in good way! I’m a little nervous for some of the hard workouts he has been hinting at”.

As a group the athletes seem to be curious to what Wallace brings to the table. He has had experience with some talented athletes and has shown that he can improve their times. With the work ethic the Morningside athletes have, the athletes believe that a lot of improvements to times will be made this year and the program will grow as a whole.

Investigations find U.S women’s soccer executives, owners, and coaches have been turning away from reports of abuse from players for years.

Multiple different incidents have occurred in Women’s including emotional abuse, verbal abuse, sexual relationships, private meetings to watch inappropriate content.

In a report from Monday, players refused to take the field after being outraged by the culture of abuse in their sport and demanded change.

Most were more concerned about being sued or not getting paid due to the finances of Women’s sports if they stood up to the abuse.

This is news because there are serious issues in the NWSL that need to be fixed urgently. It is not a good look for the coaches in the league, nor is it good for the young girls who watch the games wanting to be a professional soccer player one day.

A change to rules needs to be made and enforced to keep these athletes safe. Coaches that abuse players should fined and fired with no return.

Andy Nelson is currently the Morningside University Campus Chaplin and Director of ministry and community service.

He has held this position since 2017 and his role is to tend to spiritual life of Morningside community. Nelson helps and supports the community in their faith regardless of what that faith is or what it means to each person.

Pastor Nelson ensures students and staff have the ability to express and practice their faith as well as provides resources through his connections to bring likeminded people together.

His office on campus follows an open door policy. It is a safe place to talk about whatever a student or staff member might be going through. A confidentiality agreement ensures safety of the conversation. Pastor Nelson stated “Anything that is said in my office between the two of us will not be shared unless I have permission first”.

The decision to become a pastor and campus Chaplin started at a young age. His family was heavily involved in the church growing up and this lead him to study religion and political science at Lutheran college in Iowa. He then went on to attend seminary school in St. Paul, Minnesota.

After Seminary Nelson got his “first call” to serve in Rochester, Minnesota.

Later he became the campus Chaplin at the University of South Dakota and worked there until his wife took a position at Morningside university leading him to later apply to be the campus Chaplin here.

A few things Nelson shared about his Job as the Campus Chapin are ” There are days you have to trust you’ve planted a seed or kept someone going for the day” meaning in his line of work results aren’t always immediate or clear but some days are great. He said “There are also days when I have a successful event or have a great conversation”.

Some things Nelson would like to bring to Morningside University is more opportunities for the community to come together in their faith. He hosts Midweek Mindfulness with other professors at the university where they hold events on Wednesdays at noon just to get together and discuss faith. Also he organizes student faith stories where students share what god is doing in their life right now and gives the opportunity for other students to listen and learn from their experiences.