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The Other People who need Sports OSU concessions workers react to a world without sports. Kelly Kerr

C OV E R S T O RY

C o w b oys At h l e t i c s

The Other People who need Sports Sam Hutche n s , Sports Reporter,

@ Sam _hu tchens0 1

Quentin Bell was not surprised when he was told he couldn’t come to work. He, like many of his co-workers during Oklahoma State University athletic events, anticipated being without a job while OSU halted sporting events over this extended quarantine period. “We knew that everything was being shut down.” Bell said. OSU employs many people like Bell who make game days run smoothly. People who

operate concessions, tear things down at the conclusion of an event, and work behind the scenes would normally be in high demand right now. Kyle Waters, OSU’s senior associate athletic director for facilities, says that his team of people would have been busy, even without football and basketball. “Since we are done with basketball and football, the only large event that we had on the books was the NCAA Tennis Championship,” Waters said. The NCAA Tennis Championship, along with baseball and softball, were the main events that require a lot

of people to operate. OSU hosting the NCAA Tennis Championship would normally mean Bell would be very busy. He said that for tournaments, a workday could mean getting to work at 7 a.m. and getting off at midnight. Instead, his job has been put on hold since the beginning of March. The lack of hours has relegated Bell to working out, getting to spend time with his brother, and watching ESPN’s “The Last Dance.” Bell said that he and his coworkers are, “Tired of being at home” and that, “We all just want to go back to work.” Though the sports shut-

down has taken its toll at OSU, the silver lining is that football and basketball, the two biggest sports economically for the university, escaped relatively unscathed for their most recent seasons. But as talks swirl of a potentially altered 2020 football season, many more people around OSU could be affected by the sports stoppage in the future, most notably volunteers. “For the football games…most of the groups of concessions are volunteers,” Waters said. “Whether they are the Boy Scouts or a little league team, they are working gamedays in the concession stand to earn

OSU concessions workers are impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic. WEDNESDAY, JUNE 10, 2020

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money to go travel to a tournament or to pay for a party.” OSU football games alone require approximately 200-300 people to work concessions. Combined with the volunteers that assist in other ways, like parking lots and ticket taking, and there simply may not be fundraising opportunities available for groups without the return of OSU sports. “That would be the significant hit that you would see people take,” Waters said. The economic impact that sports has on OSU has been well chronicled. The rights to televise games and ticket sales for

football games alone benefits the entire university in a significant way. And that extends to the jobs that OSU sporting events create for people like Bell, as well as fundraising opportunities for groups. “If we don’t play football games, you would see three to four hundred folks not have that opportunity to earn extra money,” Waters said. OSU currently plans to resume in-person classes for the 2020 Fall semester. Though the future is uncertain, the university remains committed to protecting its students and employees while also returning to normalcy.

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THURSDAY, JUNE 11, 2020

Horoscope

FOR RELEASE JUNE 11, 2020

Los Angeles Times Daily Crossword Puzzle Edited by Rich Norris and Joyce Lewis

By Nancy Black Tribune Content Agency Today’s Birthday (06/11/20). Grow a lucrative shared venture this year. Learn and practice valuable tricks with consistent discipline. Navigate a challenge with a partner for surging benefits. Summer brings changing shared financial priorities, motivating reflection and review before a romantic spark ignites. Support each other for common gain. To get the advantage, check the day‚Äôs rating: 10 is the easiest day, 0 the most challenging. Aries (March 21-April 19) ‚Äî Today is a 7 ‚Äî Review your priorities and update plans. Harmony requires effort. Clean messes and organize. Strategize and sort. Consider ways to take advantage of an unexpected opportunity. Taurus (April 20-May 20) ‚Äî Today is a 7 ‚Äî Find ways to support your team and community. Illusions fade and hidden dirt becomes apparent. Clean what you can. Ask for help when needed. Pull together. Gemini (May 21-June 20) ‚Äî Today is a 7 ‚Äî Work takes priority. Take charge to get results. Avoid risky business. Monitor what‚Äôs happening, despite chaos. Don‚Äôt gamble with the rent. Follow an elder‚Äôs advice. Cancer (June 21-July 22) ‚Äî Today is an 8 ‚Äî Your investigation reveals hidden ugliness. A mirage has faded and you can see the naked truth. Find creative ways to safely explore. Study options. Leo (July 23-Aug. 22) ‚Äî Today is a 7 ‚Äî A barrier blocks the road with your shared finances. Assess the situation for solutions. Avoid nebulous directions and go for solid ground. Work together. Virgo (Aug. 23-Sept. 22) ‚Äî Today is a 7 ‚Äî Collaborate on strategies. Clean messes as soon as possible. Abandon the idea of doing everything yourself. Let go of unrealistic expectations or false assumptions. Work together. Libra (Sept. 23-Oct. 22) ‚Äî Today is an 8 ‚Äî You can see what wasn‚Äôt working. Physical or health challenges block the way. Adapt strategies to suit new conditions. Spontaneous ideas can work. Scorpio (Oct. 23-Nov. 21) ‚Äî Today is a 6 ‚Äî Take off those rose-colored glasses. A romantic fantasy could evaporate. Assess the situation. Adapt strategies to suit new realities. Treat others and yourself with compassion. Sagittarius (Nov. 22-Dec. 21) ‚Äî Today is a 6 ‚Äî Keep domestic systems running, despite potential breakdown. Call in support when needed. Wishful thinking doesn‚Äôt pan out. When the pipe breaks, call the plumber. Capricorn (Dec. 22-Jan. 19) ‚Äî Today is a 7 ‚Äî Your research uncovers a mess. Follow an unexpected clue or a spontaneous idea where it leads. Use your imagination. Sift through data for an important discovery. Aquarius (Jan. 20-Feb. 18) ‚Äî Today is a 9 ‚Äî A lack of funds could slow a project. Hold your temper and adjust. Adapt to temporary shortages. Reduce fantasies to fundamentals. Cleverly conserve. Pisces (Feb. 19-March 20) ‚Äî Today is a 9 ‚Äî You can make things happen. You can see what‚Äôs missing. Illusions have burned away. Don‚Äôt ignore your fears or concerns. Take a stand.

Level 1

6/11/20

Solution to Wednesday’s puzzle

Complete the grid so each row, column and 3-by-3 box (in bold borders) contains every digit, 1 to 9. For strategies on how to solve Sudoku, visit sudoku.org.uk

ACROSS 1 Color similar to sand 5 NBC show since 1975 8 Instrument played with a plectrum 14 Lorelei Lee’s creator 15 Middling grade 16 Con 17 Fail at a barbecue? 19 One of the lesser apes 20 Star in the Plowman constellation 22 Fancy home 23 Fail on a field? 25 Pressure 29 Simple partner? 30 OPEC member 31 Head lock 33 Pop duo __ & Him 36 Fail in a ring? 40 Artist’s skill 41 Like crook and creek, etymologically 42 Nesting site 43 One spelling a superior: Abbr. 44 Bread flavoring 46 Fail at a dock? 51 Cheapen 52 Beachgoer’s protection 56 Big name in sports caps 58 Fail on a dance floor? 60 Competed on TV’s “Ink Master” 61 Quaint word of disapproval 62 Game for which Wyatt Earp was once a dealer 63 “In the Land of Israel” author 64 Age abbr. 65 Triathlon part DOWN 1 “The Lord of the Rings” figure 2 Roy Rogers ingredient

6/11/20

By Paul Coulter

3 Big laugh 4 Letters at Camp Lejeune 5 Scrubs 6 Introduction to chemistry? 7 Abate 8 Band booking 9 TV’s “Fringe” involved a parallel one 10 Drink 11 Indian drum 12 Bikini, for one 13 Kidney-related 18 LAX listings 21 City WNW of Boca 24 “Pipe down!” 25 Place 26 Cafeteria item 27 Autumn item 28 Charlotte-toRaleigh dir. 31 Rich desserts 32 ER staffers 33 Catch during practice 34 Busy place 35 Dept. formed under Carter

Wednesday’s Puzzle Solved

37 Like much FM radio 38 Brit’s “Baloney!” 39 100 yrs. 43 Holdings 44 Hawthorne title septet 45 “__ take time” 46 Reef denizen 47 Construction girder

6/11/20

48 Took care of 49 Role for Kristy and Sarah 50 Live, TV-wise 53 Rubs out 54 Cat’s scratcher 55 Byron of “MythBusters” 57 Cutting tool 59 Brady of Tampa Bay, now

THURSDAY, JUNE 11, 2020

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