NFL Pretenders or Contenders?

Bianca Long

Every year, as football fans and sports analysts, we pretty much know what teams in the National Football League are going to be good, and which ones aren’t. There are the teams that get off to a good start, but eventually work their way back to the bottom, in their respective places. 

There are also the teams that surprise us by how good (and sometimes bad) they are playing. Halfway through the 2014 season, there are several teams that seem to have a new identity, going against the NFL ‘s status quo.

Going into this year’s football season, can you honestly say that you knew that the Cowboys were going to be as good as they are? Granted, they have always been a fairly decent football team, but this year the Cowboys seem to be more than just decent. No one knows for sure how long this Cowboy luck is going to last, but one thing is for sure, the team is playing at a very high level, and have their eyes set on the Division Title.

And what about the Arizona Cardinals? Despite having several key injuries, Arizona seems to have a good grip on the NFC West, and are currently the division leaders.

Of course there are the teams that you expect to be good. The Broncos, Packers, Colts, and Patriots all seem to be living up to preseason expectations, and are in their respective places thus far. On the other side of the coin, teams such as the Raiders, Jaguars, and Browns just cannot seem to work their way up from the bottom.

But the shocking aspect of this season, are the teams that seem to have found their way to an unfamiliar spot at the bottom.

Take the defending-champs for instance. The Seahawks just don’t seem to have the same fire that they had a year ago on offense and defense.  Now think about the 49ers. ESPN analysts originally had them ranked among the top five in the league in preseason rankings, but now they are not even considered a threat due to numerous key injuries. 

And let’s not forget about the NFC South. The New Orleans Saints lead the division despite only having four wins. At this point, it is safe to say that every team in that division is playing bad football, despite the high-caliber players that the division has.

One thing is for sure; this season has been full of records, upsets, and surprises that go against all of our predictions. The only thing that we can do now, is sit back and watch as the second half of the season unfolds.

Sexism in Videogames

Charlee Cobb

Many people would not tolerate sexism in the real world, but in the world of make-believe it runs rampant. Hundreds of video games throughout the last decade have created female characters as sexualized versions of soldiers or other male characters. Many people have generated content showing their opposition to these depictions. If you have ever been to cracked.com, a website dedicated to funny videos and articles, then you may have seen a post called Female Armor Bingo.

Created by a user named OzzieScribbler, the bingo sheet is dedicated to point out some of the flaws of skimpy outfits that female characters often wear in battle in videogames. Some of the pieces on the bingo cards include “No underwear”, “cleavage”, “metal worn directly on skin” and “random patches of skin uncovered”.

Female characters being sexualized in videogames is nothing entirely new, but some people wonder why it is still a continuous thing. Many females have spoken out about their distaste for the outfits of the characters, but recently blogger Anita Sarkeesian has stood out more than the rest. Sarkeesian has been under fire from gamers all over the country who disagree with her opinions of how woman are sexualized in games.

Recently, Sarkeesian was going to visit Utah State University on October 15^th but suddenly had to cancel the event. The cancelation was due to threats sent to the university that someone would commit “the deadliest school shooting in history” if she were to come on campus. For the safety of the University, Sarkeesian did not visit the campus.

She talked about this episode and other death threats with publications such as the New York Times, The Guardian, Associated Press, and on the radio during an interview with NPR.

The comments on her videos have since been disabled. According to The Guardian there were many inappropriate threats on Ms. Sarkeesian’s life in the comment section. Some of those comments included, “I hope you get cancer” and “This is what happens when you let Jews and liberals infect your industry." To say the least, the comments are very offensive and crude. However, Anita Sarkeesian, and many women like her, won’t stop until videogames are no longer depicting women as merely sexual figures.

Preview of 2014-2015 NBA Season

Erik Threet II

With the 2014-2015 NBA season just beginning, there are a heap of questions that fans are itching to be answered. Will LeBron and company bring a championship to Cleveland? Will the Spurs repeat as champions? How will the Pacers do without Paul George? This past NBA offseason has been one of the most memorable due to unforeseen injuries, superstars on the move, and how will these moves affect the final standings when the playoffs roll around.

Injuries have been a huge concern this offseason for the young star players of today’s game. Kevin Durant, Paul George, and Bradley Beal are all missing a significant portion of the season due to injury. These three players play a key role in the success of their teams. Bradley Beal broke his left wrist. Paul George suffered a compound fracture to his right tibia and fibula during a Team USA game. Kevin Durant, last year's MVP, fractured his right foot. They will all miss the start of the NBA season.

Steve Dykes/Getty Images from espn.go.com

Where do I start? Lebron leaves Miami for Cleveland while Kevin Love is shipped there. The Wizards acquire Paul Pierce, but lost Trevor Ariza to the Houston Rockets. Isaiah Thomas is a Phoenix Sun. Pau Gasol is a Chicago Bull. Chandler Parsons is a Dallas Maverick along with Raymond Felton and Tyson Chandler. Lance Stephenson is a Charlotte Hornet. Luol Deng is a Miami Heat. The Lakers lose Steve Nash for the year, but gain Jeremy Lin and Carlos Boozer. This offseason even entailed Jason Kidd, the former coach of the Brooklyn Nets, being traded to the Milwaukee Bucks for a second round pick.

Who’s at the top right now? The expectation is that the Cavaliers will play the Bulls in the Eastern Conference Finals, but in the West nobody has a clue. Kobe Bryant, who is coming back from a torn Achilles and a broken knee, is trying to command the Lakers to a playoff appearance after an abysmal 2013-2014 season.

Nobody knows what to expect of this NBA season given the commotion of the offseason. Different leaders will emerge, different teams will be at the top, and the different outcomes will surprise us.

The NFL’s Backward Thinking

Kevin Jackson

378. That’s the amount of players in the NFL that were listed on the leagues injury report after week eight of the season.

That’s 22.3 percent of the amount of players in the league which doesn’t even include the players who had minor injuries throughout the games played. At this current rate of injuries occurring it seems apparent that the size and speed of the league has grown to a level that the human body can’t take.

With all of the recent studies revolving around the NFL and player safety, showing that all the collisions on the field lead to some very damaging / life altering injuries like Chronic Traumatic Encephalopathy (CTE), you would think the league would be looking toward not only bettering equipment and rules to ensure player safety but also looking into the fields of science and medicine for help with player safety.

Instead the league has begun to crack down on the use of medicines that make help players feel better. With the ruling a few weeks ago, the NFL has stated that they will begin to test player for HGH (Human Growth Hormones) and suspend them if it’s found in their system. The problem with this is that through many scientific studies, it show that HGH does nothing more than increase injury prevention and decrease injury recovery time and give athletes no added competitive advantage besides being able the heal from injuries.

This just seems like a backward way of thinking for every stand point in the league. On the players side, it would be very beneficial to be able to take these drugs that prevent some injuries and extend their careers.

On the business side, this would allow for the best player/product out on the field. Throughout this season, we’ve seen the league make a lot of mistakes and mishandle a lot of situations and I think this is their biggest blunder yet.

There Goes Honey Boo Boo

Rashanae Papania

TLC’s hit show “Here Comes Honey Boo Boo,” was not expected to be as successful as it was and lasted longer than critics and viewers initially thought. Despite the doubts, it lasted for four seasons and was filming the fifth season. Unfortunately, due to allegations of June ‘Mama June’ Shannon dating a child molester, the show was cancelled.
To make things worse, the molester had sexually abused her oldest daughter, Anna ‘Chickadee’ Cardwell while one of her younger daughters Lauryn ‘Pumpkin’ Shannon was in the room in 2002.

Since Mama June’s split with her boyfriend of ten years, David ‘Sugar Bear’ Thompson back in September, she has been spotted with her sex offender ex, Mark McDaniel. She denies all allegations that she has rekindled a romance with McDaniel, however her actions have proven otherwise.

Mama June and her rumored boyfriend Mark McDaniel

Mama June’s behavior is affecting the entire cast in more ways than one. Not only is this the ultimate betrayal to her daughters, but other cast members were angry that they may not get paid for the unaired fifth season. But TLC blames the Honey Boo Boo matriarch for the shows cancellation and said she is the only member not getting paid.

Despite the tragic canceling of the show, TLC will still reach out to all of the daughters and offer them counseling if they need it to cope in such a disappointing time of their life.

Mama June has since been spotted with Sugar Bear after the cancellation of the show. It appears that she is just trying to prove that she and ex McDaniel are not an item. However, only time will tell what is truly going on as far as her love life. For the other cast members, we can only wish them the best. Maybe there will be a spin-off without Mama June to give all of the Honey Boo Boo lovers some hope.

HallOUween Goes Out With A Bang

Charlee Cobb

On the 40th anniversary of the Halloween block party in Athens, there was no doubt that it would be exciting. Athens locals and students expected good music and exciting costumes, but no one was expecting gunshots.

After 2 o’clock on Sunday morning, a man pulled out a gun and fired twice in the air on S Court Street. Police immediately responded to the shots by shutting down Court Street.

On twitter the OU scanner let out a series of tweets following the event to update students on the action. The suspect was said to go in the direction of Voigt Hall. OUPD and APD searched the premises, but did not find the gunman.

Someone reported a description of the suspect near the Richland Avenue Bridge according to OU scanner. Police proceeded to shut down Richland Avenue after receiving the reports to investigate. No arrests were made and the shooting still remains under investigation.