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RAPPER 21 SAVAGE ARRESTED FOR OVERSTAYING HIS US VISA

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NEWS

News Editor: Jessica Truby – J.L.Truby@iup.edu Lead News Writer: Emily Loose – E.D. Loose@iup.edu

(Ashley Lutz/ The Penn) Journalism department chairwoman Michele Papakie is IUP’s first faculty-in-residence.

(Jeremy Stout/ The Penn) Michele Papakie has been living in the dorms since the begining of this spring semester.

Professor becomes first faculty-in-residence JEREMY STOUT

Staff Writer J.W.Stout2@iup.edu @ThePennIUP

One IUP professor has opted to spend this semester living in the dorms with students, or as she likes to call them “the natives,” as IUP’s first faculty-in-residence.

Journalism department chairwoman Michele Papakie said this opportunity came about very quickly when the Living-Learning Executive Team talked to the department chairs in the College of Humanities and Social Sciences back in October about a certificate program that would focus on a living-learning community.

This piqued Papakie’s interest in the program, so she said she asked the team if there had ever been a faculty-in-residence. With the answer being no, she said that she then asked if they’d consider her as the person to be the first.

“One thing led to another, and before I knew it, in January, I was in

News

the dorms,” Papakie said.

She then met with the provost, Timothy Moerland, who gave goals for the team to look at and “some specific students to work with.”

“Through meetings, I decided I’d work with the students with undeclared majors,” Papakie said.

The wing she’s living in, in Stephenson Hall wasn’t specifically designed for her to be staying with those undeclared students this time because housing had been established prior to her arrival, but she said there’s been talk that if this happened again, it might work to provide assistance in that way.

She also has her own personal reasons for being interested in taking on this journey.

“I feel disconnected from my students…I feel like I’m losing touch because we don’t have common events,” Papakie said.

She said things like TV and music have become more fractured with people going off in

(Jeremy Stout/ The Penn) Michele Papakie hung this sign outside of her dorm room door to encourage students to talk with her.

their own niches.

“It was a good opportunity for me to reconnect [with students] on a different level,” Papakie said.

February 8, 2019

She noticed quite a few differences since the last time she was living in the dorms.

“We were two people in a little tiny room with cinderblock walls,” Papakie said about her college experience. “We kept out door open and met people and socialized, and now, with the suites, I don’t see that happening as much.”

This led to her hanging a sign on her door that read “I’m homesick! Please knock—let’s talk” to encourage students to come out of their rooms and engage with her.

She is living in a four-bedroom suite by herself with a kitchenette and common living area, but she’s adjusting well to her modest conditions.

“With 32 years in the military, I have a little experience with communal living,” Papakie said. “Also, I lived in a Conex shipping container for six months in the desert, so it’s still a step up from that.”

She said the experience of

opening a can of SpaghettiOs gave her “flashbacks” to her freshman year.

“At least I had a microwave this time around,” Papakie said.

Living where she works has also increased her productivity in a healthy way, she said.

“Usually when you commute home, by the time you get and dump everything, you just want to go ‘ahh’ and not work on anything,” Papakie said. “But here, I have an office in Stephenson… so I walk down the hall and am productive.”

She said that the experience has led her to want to do this again and that students have been coming to her with just the right level of issues she can deal with. She also said that she’s still definitely a little “homesick” and that “empty nesting” with her own son had helped ease the transition period.

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February 8, 2019

News

Students swing into Black History Month GINA BIANUCCI

Staff Writer G.M.Bianucci@iup.edu @ThePennIUP

The Six O’Clock Series started off this semester celebrating Josh Gibson and Black History Month.

The presentation had two IUP baseball players, Trajan Jones and Francisco Manzano, present Sean Gibson’s and Pedro Sierra’s biographies, in which both Josh Gibson and Sierra spoke about playing in Negro leagues and diversity.

Jones said Josh Gibson had never been on a losing team and was a Hall of Famer along with Jackie Robinson, Satchel Paige and Cool Papa Bell.

“We need to do something back home and educate not only the African-Americans but everybody on the Negro leagues,” Sean Gibson said when asked why he decided to join the Josh Gibson Foundation.

Sean Gibson is the great grandson of Josh Gibson and runs the Josh Gibson Foundation.

Josh Gibson was an African-American baseball player who played for the Pittsburgh Crawfords and the Homestead Grays and was regarded by many

(Gina Bianucci/ The Penn) The first Six O’Clock Series of the semester had two IUP baseball players present Sean Gibson’s and Pedro Sierra’s biographies.

(Facebook) Josh Gibson was never on a losing team and was a Hall of Famer along with Jackie Robinson, Satchel Paige and Cool Papa Bell.

as the greatest Negro League player ever.

The Josh Gibson Foundation is a Pittsburgh-area non-profit foundation. It was established in 1994 in an effort to keep the memory of Pittsburgh’s Josh Gib-

to fulfill my dream to becoming a professional baseball player,” Sierra said.

Sierra, a former Negro League player, is from Cuba and played for teams such as the Detroit Stars, the Minnesota Twins and the Washington Senators. He also worked for the Department of Recreation in Montgomery County, Maryland, the Delinquency Prevention Program and became regional liaison for refugees

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son and the entire Negro League alive. The foundation partners with the University of Pittsburgh, Duquesne University and Carnegie Mellon University by matching up college students with elementary and middle school youth for tutoring.

“I want to thank Robinson for becoming the first black player in the major leagues because it opened the door for many of us players, and he allowed me

affairs as part of a special task force program that dealt with the new arrival of Cuban refugees during the 1980 Cuban Refugee Crisis.

At the end of the program, Gibson and Sierra signed autographs, and a raffle was held for students to win baseball prizes.

Students were also able to look at artifacts and pictures of Josh Gibson and his belongings from his career.

News

February 8, 2019

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(James Neuhausel/ The Penn) Folger Dining Hall houses the new True Balance Allergen Solutions Station.

Folger Dining Hall introduces new allergen solutions station EMILY LOOSE

Lead News Writer E.D.Loose@iup.edu @ThePennIUP

(IUP Dining Facebook) Christine Lorenzo-Mikeska (left) and Rosemarie Cooper (right) are the chefs at the True Balance Station.

Eating on campus with allergies or intolerances can be difficult, and checking every item available can be time consuming.

Now IUP students will not have to worry with the opening of Aramark’s new True Balance Allergen Solutions Station.

Located in Folger Dining Hall, True Balance is a station that keeps out seven of the top eight food allergens that people have.

The station is open from 11 a.m. to 7 p.m. Monday through Friday.

True Balance was created to answer the needs of students so that they no longer have to worry about what they can eat.

According to Aramark’s district manager Richard Iams, the station provides “equal opportunity” for all students.

Folger was chosen to house the station due to its separate storage spaces and a separate kitchen.

The menu at True Balance not only ensures safe food for everyone but also has creative menus that change daily. The

lunch menu Thursday included lettuce-wrapped Thai chicken, potato and lentil soup, lime rice and roasted potatoes.

~Keith Stinnette Senior Kinesiology

One of the chefs at True Balance is Rose. While she is very happy with the options she is able to provide to students, she hopes that they can add even more options as time goes on, specifically desserts.

“We want to add cookies, but we are still trying to find one that

anyone can have,” she said.

Despite being new, True Balance has already garnered a lot of attention from students, and not just those with allergies.

Keith Stinnette (senior, kinesiology) said he thinks that anyone who wants to eat healthy should try going to True Balance for their meals.

“Not many places on campus have these kinds of options,” he said. “You either have to go and get pizza or burgers. There should be more of this on campus so people can eat healthy and so there are more options for those with allergies.”

Students have the choice to eat at the dining hall or take out.

Takeout does not include other stations at Folger due to cross contamination. True Balance can be bought using meal swipes and Flex.

Even though True Balance has made sure to keep safe of allergens, IUP still recommends that students be careful and aware at other dining facilities.

For any questions or concerns regarding food on campus or True Balance, contact IUP’s dietician at (724)-357-2570.

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February 8, 2019

News

University Senate discusses retention, new budget plans JEREMY STOUT

Staff Writer J.W.Stout2@iup.edu @ThePennIUP

The University Senate met Monday to discuss reports on Gov. Tom Wolf’s proposed budget, the impending redesign of the state school system and university registration.

IUP President Michael Driscoll said Wolf’s proposed plans would see an increase of $7 million in university funding and feature an increase in Pennsylvania Higher Education Assistance Agency (PHEAA) funds that would provide students with larger one-time payments.

“I was in the capitol the other day, and people there seem hopeful about the PA economy,” Driscoll said.

The redesign of the 14 state universities was also brought up.

Driscoll said that the redesign was in its early stages but “moving quickly,” and the difference in this redesign is that university presidents are being consulted regarding possible changes.

(Jeremy Stout/ The Penn) IUP President Michael Driscoll spoke to the audience Monday during the University Senate meeting.

Tentative university registration numbers of 10,283 students were also announced. This puts retention at 86.2 percent, up from 86.09 percent.

Driscoll said that spring enrollment is mostly good news, but the university was about 140 students below the budget target for spring.

“We’re pretty close to where

we needed to be, not quite there,” Driscoll said.

IUP provost Timothy Moerland said during his report that final enrollment numbers would be available Wednesday for the “15day census.” The report indicated that online registration had students waiting longer to get registered for classes.

“Behavior of students has shift-

ed perceptively in just a couple of years,” Moerland said, “so that registration is very much a last-minute thing…and I think that our experience this year that, that is really visiting us as well.”

Moerland said this was a “superb” showing from faculty members combating the issue and getting students engaged with the registration process.

“Thank you to everyone who has been engaged in that; it made a big, big difference,” Moerland said.

Other topics that were discussed during the meeting include the announcement that vice chairperson Colin Hale had resigned, and that will be handled at the next meeting.

There was also the approval of new classes in the departments of psychology and safety sciences (PSYC 460, SAFE 809, SAFE 814 and SAFE 815), modifications to the pre-requisites for the journalism class “layout and design” (JRNL 327) and the approval of four courses for distance education (MAED 461, SAFE 809, SAFE 814 and SAFE 815).

Students were also involved in the meeting.

“I love that IUP allows the SGA members to come to this, because we get a lot of knowledge about things going on around campus,” IUP student body President David Laughead said.

OPINION

NFL season ended, but sports aren’t dead NFL fans are coming off one of the most disappointing Super Bowls of all time. People may look on the television on Sundays and wish it was September again, but don’t fret, sports fans, this is the best time of the year.

Football will not have as long of a break as in recent years as the new Alliance of American Football League (AFF) starts Saturday on CBS. The league will feature eight teams and consist of 10 weeks.

Besides the new league, there are other sports. The National Basketball Association (NBA) and the National Hockey League (NHL) are getting closer to playoffs.

Starting with the NBA, the trade deadline just passed and provided a few surprises. Anthony Davis is going to stay in New Orleans much to the chagrin of fans of both the Pelicans and Lakers. LeBron will not get his wish to add the superstar this season, and the Lakers will remain a mid-caliber playoff team.

Other things happening in the NBA include All-Star Weekend starting on Feb. 15. Fans will be treated to watching their favorite celebrities and players compete against each other. The dunk contest is the main event many will be watching, especially after a disappointing last few years.

Moving onto the NHL where things are starting to heat up closer to playoff season.

Like every season in recent time, the Met-

(TNS) With warm weather and baseball season around the corner, sports fans will be occupied with plenty of excitement following a disappointing Super Bowl.

ropolitan Division is one you can’t predict.

The biggest surprise this season has been the New York Islanders. They lost their best player, John Tavares, but they have been able to overcome difficulties and currently lead the Capitals and Penguins in the division.

In the West, the battle will be for the last wild card spot. The Vancouver Canucks have a spot and have 54 points. The fun part for fans is that the Kings, the worst team in the West, are only six points out of the spot. An enticing last couple of months are ahead for hockey fans.

Another professional sport is right

around the corner to the start of the season. Baseball approaches the start of spring training with games beginning Feb. 21.

This year will contain many well-named football players who were invited to their respective team’s roster. Although they were invited it does not mean they will play with the Major League team.

To start off is current NFL player Russell Wilson, who will play with the New York Yankees. Wilson has said that he will play in spring training but will return to the Seattle Seahawks at the end.

From one current player to one former

player, we have Tim Tebow. Tebow currently has a contract with the New York Mets and has been climbing the organization for the past three years. It is widely expected that he will play ball in AAA Syracuse, which is one step below the majors.

Finally, the last player to watch is top NFL prospect Kyler Murray. The ninth overall pick in last year’s MLB draft has made a name for himself on the gridiron by winning the Heisman Trophy this past season. Reports state he is leaning toward baseball, but with the realistic possibility of him getting drafted in the first round of the NFL draft, nothing is known for sure.

The main event coming up on the calendar is March Madness. You may be saying, “wait, that isn’t until next month.”

Oh, contraire.

March Madness starts right now with conference tournaments approaching.

Who will be in, and who will be out? The excitement will build soon enough.

All in all, if your friend tells you that sports is dead without football, quickly tell them they are completely wrong. Welcome to sports season.

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February 8, 2019

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Culture

Culture Editor: Steven Langdon Jr. – S.Langdon@iup.edu Lead Culture Writer: Heather Bair – H.Bair@iup.edu

(Facebook) Immagration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) arrested rapper 21 Savage after finding out his United Kingdom visa expired.

Rapper 21 Savage arrested for overstaying his US visa ABE ESHELMAN

Staff Writer A.Eshelman@iup.edu @DukeOfKalos

This article contains opinion.

When it comes to the world of rap music, there is a certain style and background expected.

Rap is deeply tied to the urban, American lifestyle, the inner-city conflict and struggle.

Ordinarily, an arrest of a famous rapper doesn’t garner much attention. However, when Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) arrested rapper 21 Savage, real name Shayaa Bin Abraham-Joseph, on account of him being an illegal British alien, the story went viral.

According to ICE, which was later corroborated by 21 Savage’s legal team, 21 Savage entered the U.S. at age 12 in 2005 and then failed to leave once his visa expired.

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(Facebook) It is unclear whether or not 21 Savage’s current tour will continue.

The Internet has taken his arrest in stride, memeing the rapper’s legacy into the dust with British stereotypes. Commonly seen posts include implying that 21 Savage is referring to the Queen whenever he raps about women, the usage of British redcoats and referring to him as “Sir Savage the 21st."

Even other celebrities got in on the fun, though it didn’t end well for one notable figure. When Demi Lovato posted on Twitter that she adored the 21 Savage memes, she was bombarded with memes at her expense, referencing her semi-recent drug overdose and experience with drugs.

February 8, 2019

Lovato later posted about how upsetting the Internet’s reaction was to her trying to make a joke, which then became its own meme of sharing her offended post paired with the drug-themed jokes, comments and tweets.

21 Savage’s lawyers have recently spoken out against the arrest,

condemning it for several reasons.

The arrest is most likely connected to his previous felony charges related to drugs, which would put additional pressure on his deportation. However, his lawyers argue that he has strong ties, through his legal mother and three children living in the U.S., as well as his charity work.

His most notable philanthropic work was his literacy education campaign, popularized by The Ellen DeGeneres Show. His lawyers also argued that this is a continuation of the persecution black immigrants face, even if they are from predominantly white areas such as the U.K. They also wanted to make it clear that 21 Savage did not know he was not legally a citizen and had never attempted to hide from or lie to the U.S. government. They argue that he is a role model to youth in the U.S. and that his detainment is unfair, unnecessary and a violation of his

Culture

February 8, 2019

Culture

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(Facebook) YouTube giant PewDiePie (left) has been battling with T-Series (right) for being recognized as the most subscribed channel for more than a year.

The battle for top YouTube channel gets saucy ABE ESHELMAN

Staff Writer A.Eshelman@iup.edu @DukeOfKalos

This article contains opinion.

For the past several months, war has broken out – a brutal war between a multicultural coalition of 9-year-olds and a massive Indian corporation.

Since December 2013, PewDiePie has been the most subscribed YouTuber on the platform.

However, in early 2018, the music/ media corporation and channel, T-Series, became the second most-subscribed YouTube channel.

Ever since this quickly growing channel took the silver trophy in terms of subscribers, a rivalry has brewed online between fanbases and creators. Several times it seemed like PewDiePie was about to be surpassed; however, each time, a resurgence of fan support and attention pushed him ahead.

These resurgences are usually tied to massive amounts of online and social media concern or largescale stunts like YouTuber Mr. Beast’s “subscribe to PewDiePie” billboards and PewDiePie's diss track on T-Series, “Bitch Lasagna.”

In the last few days, PewDiePie fans were worried that T-Series would finally overtake PewDiePie due to the small and shrinking gap in subscribers. Then, veteran PewDiePie supporter Mr. Beast,

pulled a stunt none had thought possible.

Mr. Beast was going to attempt to bring blankets into the 2019 Super Bowl that could be held up as banners to read the words “Subscribe to PewDiePie.” After a brief visit to the Atlanta Zoo, where he and his friends asked animals to subscribe to PewDiePie, tragedy struck.

Security confiscated the PewDiePie blankets, stating that they don’t allow banners and similar objects. So, Mr. Beast had to adapt his plan. With three plain white t-shirts, Mr. Beast and his friends labeled each shirt a segment of “Subscribe 2 PewDiePie.” When the game began, the friends donned their supportive shirts and waited for the perfect moment. Multiple times throughout the game, the big screen, ESPN television cameras and several other cameras caught full shots of the entire message written on the shirts. These video clips, images, screenshots and the video made by Mr. Beast himself all went viral online and gained massive attention.

While some fans were disappointed by the lack of a formal advertisement, this still blew up on Twitter. It paired well with the recent declaration on Twitter by Elon Musk that he wants to host “Meme Review,” one of PewDiePie’s

biggest currently running shows on his channel, which got a lot of attention online.

With these massive attention-grabbers in his camp, PewDiePie subscriptions surged

once again, leading to an increase in the subscriber gap. In order to keep this tide going, PewDiePie hosted a record-breaking Fortnite stream.

Only time will tell if or when

T-Series will surpass PewDiePie, but most experts predict it will happen in the coming months.

That is, of course, unless the Mr. Beast-like fans do anything else to gain the world’s attention.

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February 8, 2019

Culture

(Facebook) “Tom and Jerry” premiered 78 years ago this Sunday.

Tom started chasing Jerry 78 years ago HEATHER BAIR

Lead Culture Writer H.Bair@iup.edu @ThePennIUP

Everyone’s favorite cat-and-mouse team made its first debut 79 years ago this Sunday.

In 1940, MGM, looking for a brand-new cartoon idea, had storyman Joseph Barbera, with William Hanna, find the perfect characters for a new cartoon.

Together, the team created the duo we know today.

They first appeared on Feb.10, 1940, in the cartoon short “Puss Gets the Boot,” in which Tom (named “Jasper” in the short) tries to catch a mouse (who was unnamed in the script but renamed as “Jinx” in post-production). The episode shows how Jasper tries his best to catch Jinx, who constantly antagonizes him.

The episode was a smash hit for viewers, who loved the story.

However, MGM decided against doing more episodes and focused more on the newer cartoons.

After receiving letters requesting more

of the “cat-and-mouse duo,” Hanna and Barbera were sent to work on the new cartoon shorts.

“The Midnight Snack,” which premiered in 1941, would be the first of many episodes to feature the newly named cat, Tom, and mouse, Jerry, who now had a name of his own.

“Tom and Jerry” centered around the battles cats and mice have with each other.

In the first few production episodes, Jerry was usually the one teasing Tom, while the end of the episodes would show Tom either kicked out of the house or suffering some sort of injury.

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Viewers have enjoyed debating for years whether Tom or Jerry was the one always in the wrong. When the show was picked back up again in 1961 by MGM, new writer Gene Deitch was opposed to the “needlessly violent” cartoon.

While everyone loves the cartoons, there’s been controversy in the past about the stereotypes, underlying messages and even racial slurs that have appeared throughout the entire run.

In the first few episodes, a character known as “Mammy Two Shoes” was shown to be Tom’s owner. She was portrayed as the stereotypical housemaid with a thick accent.

Whoopi Goldberg was responsible for the voicing in some of the

episodes; however, she made a disclaimer, stating that the stereotype was “wrong for then, and it’s wrong now.”

In one of the final episodes, Tom and Jerry are both featured sitting on a train track, awaiting the oncoming train. This was looked at as the solution both the cat and the mouse wanted to finally end the infamous feud that had been going on for the past years.

While many episodes have certain scenes that have been deemed unsuitable, that hasn’t stopped children and teenagers alike tuning into Cartoon Network and Boomerang on the weekends to watch one of their favorite cartoons.

With “Tom and Jerry” turning 79, the best way to celebrate is by watching some of the favorite episodes. Boomerang, Cartoon Network, Teletoon and even Amazon Prime streaming have episodes of “Tom and Jerry” available for watching.

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February 8, 2019

Culture

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(Facebook) Jason Aldean, Luke Bryan and Eric Church perform their 2012 hit, “The Only Way I Know.”

Woolcock: Country music needs more collaboration SETH WOOLCOCK

Editor-In-Chief S.M.Woolcock@iup.edu @Swool15 (Facebook) Kelsea Ballerini on set of the music video for “This Feeling” with The Chainsmokers.

(Facebook) Social media has dubbed Luke Combs the possible savior of country music.

This article contains opinion.

With rap and hip-hop currently dominating the Apple Music and Spotify charts, let’s roll back to a simpler time, 2014, when the more relaxing and easy-going country music genre was at a peak and dominating the charts.

Some of the veteran country musicians were in their primes producing hit records on the reg, while new artists were starting to burst onto the scene.

Luke Bryan’s “Crash My Party” (2013) debuted at No. 1 on both the U.S. Billboard and eventually ended up going four-time Platinum, which is a very impressive mark to hit for a country album.

Other veterans like Jason Aldean, who released “Old Boots, New Dirt,” and Eric Church, who released “The Outsiders,” kept finding ways to stay on top.

Sam Hunt, who tried out for the Kansas City Chiefs just five years before releasing his debut album, “Montevallo” in 2014, quickly became a super star after his album went triple platinum.

Other newcomers like Florida Georgia Line and Cole Swindell perfectly began bridging the gap between country and modern music.

Fast forward to 2019. Hunt still hasn’t released an album since “Montevallo” five years ago. Bryan, along with so many other artists,

is doing all he can to stay relevant, even though he is older than 40.

And maybe the saddest feat of all: today there are currently three country songs on the Apple Music charts.

Three.

Two by Dan & Shay and one by Luke Combs, the artist who people say on social media “will be the one to save country music.”

What happened? Where has all the love for the songs of the South gone?

Aside from how hip-hop and rap stars have completely outmatched country stars on social media, there is one major component missing from today’s country scene.

Collaboration.

Collaboration can keep everything feeling fresh.

It’s something the hip-hop scene picked up on and ran with from the beginning.

In the ‘90s, there was N.W.A, WuTang Clan and Run DMC among others.

Today there is Kanye, Cudi, Wiz and Snoop Dogg, and features with artists such as Swae Lee and Quavo have became the new norm.

Even Travis Scott’s “Sicko Mode,” the song he performed during this year’s Super Bowl halftime show, featured Drake, maybe the most notable hip-hop artist today.

And it seems that some of the leading ladies in country maybe have already picked up on this trend.

Carrie Underwood teamed up with Ludacris last year when the unlikely duo released “The Champion.”

And Maren Morris, who began her country career in 2016 when she joined Dierks Bentley on the track “I’ll Be the Moon,” continued to collaborate with country’s biggest names when she paired up with Thomas Rhett and released the 2017 single “Craving You.” She showed her diversity when she and Zedd, the popular electronic DJ, released “The Middle” this past year.

Kelsea Ballerini, another one of the top female performers, also combined with an EDM artist when she joined The Chainsmokers on the track “The Middle” on their album “Sick Boy.” But what about the male country leads? Why aren’t they collaborating together?

In 2012, Aldean teamed up with Church and Bryan to create the track “The Only Way I Know.” The track was a major success, reaching No. 1 one on the Country Airplay chart and going platinum.

This is the type of teamwork that may be needed to save a music genre that is struggling to stay relevant with most of today’s youth.

Imagine heading into your summer bumping to a new Jake Owen and Brad Paisley collab, or how about tearing up Wolfie’s Country Night with a fresh track featuring Luke Comb, Kip Moore and Chris Stapleton?

And maybe it won’t fix it and country music will slowly fade as other genres have in the past. Or maybe, just maybe, it will remind us all what it’s like to be country.

Sports

Sports Editor: Elliot Hicks – E.Hicks@iup.edu Lead Sports Writer: Brad O’Hara – B.L.Ohara@iup.edu

(Autumn Dorsey/The Penn) Jacobo Diaz (senior, economics) scored 19 points Wednesday in a victory over Slippery Rock.

(Autumn Dorsey/The Penn) Armoni Foster (redshirt freshman, criminology) scored nine points at Wednesday night’s “blackout” home game.

Men’s basketball gets revenge in dominant victory against rivals JEFF HART

Staff Writer J.R.Hart2@iup.edu @ThePennIUP

The IUP men’s basketball team once again reasserted its dominance in the PSAC West Wednesday as the Crimson Hawks easily defeated Slippery Rock 77-48.

Pitted against its longtime rivals, who handed IUP its first loss of the season in January, the men’s squad was looking for redemption.

It was tightly contested at the start of the game with The Rock taking an early 10-7 lead against

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the Crimson Hawks. Then the Hawks came back on Slippery Rock and got the score within two points. After this point, IUP turned up its performance.

The Crimson Hawks went on a 10-2 run that put them up on The Rock. This run, along with others in the first half, put the Hawks up 4124 at the end of the half.

Before the end of the half, Slippery Rock suffered a monumental loss when its All-American Micah Tills suffered an injury going into halftime.

When the second half began,

The Rock was already fighting an uphill battle without their arguably best player. Slippery Rock was suspect to a dismal offensive performance on the night.

The Rock shot with 26 percent accuracy from the field, along with a 17 percent accuracy rate from 3-point range. This poor offensive performance came to no surprise due to IUP’s superfluous defense.

“We just locked in defensively, and it led to the easy buckets in transition,” Malik Miller (junior, communications media) said.

“When we defend and rebound

February 8, 2019

well, our offense just comes naturally. I feel like our guys are starting to feed off our defense more.”

The Crimson Hawks outperformed Slippery Rock in almost every category, most notably out-rebounding The Rock by 21.

IUP saw stellar performances from a conglomerate of players, including Miller, Jacobo Diaz (senior, economics) and Marko Krivacevic (senior, information systems.)

All these players were catalysts for their squad, collectively putting up 58 of IUP’s 77 points.

Miller’s elite production resulted

in 21 points, nine rebounds and a steal. He was imposing his will in a number of ways, helping to raise his teammates and carry the team to beat such a talented squad.

IUP looks almost unstoppable when it’s firing on all cylinders. Players and fans alike feel that IUP can really go the distance.

“We had a chip on our shoulder,” Miller said. “If we always play with that chip every night, I don’t see our guys losing.”

Next up for the Crimson Hawks is a Saturday trip to Gannon. The Golden Knights sit at 8-14.

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February 8, 2019

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(Autumn Dorsey/The Penn) Carolyn Appleby (senior, safety sciences) scored 13 points Wednesday in a victory over Slippery Rock.

Women clinch PSAC berth in yet another colossal victory BRAD O’HARA

Lead Sports Writer B.L.Ohara@iup.edu @ThePennIUP

The IUP women’s basketball team has officially clinched its spot in the PSAC playoffs after picking up a large win Wednesday against Slippery Rock, 88-51.

Slippery Rock was already struggling this season before entering Wednesday’s game. Despite having a fairly good offense, The Rock still had a losing record because of their inability to stop opposing teams defensively. Slippery Rock has the worst defense in the conference statistically as it gives up

the most points per game, has the worst rebounding margin and has the third lowest assist-to-turnover ratio. This gave IUP a wonderful chance at keeping its winning streak alive as the Crimson Hawks have the highest-scoring offense in the PSAC. IUP dominated in the first half and took away any hope of Slippery Rock coming back in the game. IUP scored first and never let up, getting a double-digit lead before Slippery Rock could even score.

The Crimson Hawk offense was on a roll in the first quarter, making 11 of their first 13 field goal attempts, with four of the made shots coming

from beyond the 3-point line.

That momentum carried straight through into the second quarter where IUP extended its lead to 30 points going into halftime up 5121.

The first half was all about shot efficiency and applying pressure.

The Crimson Hawks’ offense found a groove as it made 20 of the 29 field goal attempts, giving it a field goal percentage of almost 70.

Natalie Myers (junior, developmental studies) played a large part in the IUP offense as she made all five of her shot attempts, including four from beyond the arc, giving her 14 points in the half.

Defensively, the Crimson Hawks did not give up any easy shots and consistently applied pressure to Slippery Rock. This pressure kept Slippery Rock from making most of its shots as The Rock made only 16 percent of their field goal attempts, 4-17 from 3-point range.

“Defense has been on the top of our list of focuses lately,” said Brittany Robinson (senior, education). “Every day Coach McConnell emphasizes how important it is to create offense from our defense.

We break down the fundamentals of defense every day and pride ourselves on being known as a defensive nightmare to teams. But

we know we have to keep working hard on our defense every practice to hold true to that standard.”

The second half was simply IUP keeping its lead while giving younger players some experience.

With their starters pulled for much of the second half, IUP and Slippery Rock played even basketball with IUP outscoring The Rock by seven points. This gave the Crimson Hawks an 88-51 victory and their 19th win of the season.

IUP will now get back on the road as they travel to Erie Saturday to take on Gannon, who sit at 11-12 on the season, with a 7-8 record in the conference.

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February 8, 2019

Sports

(TNS) Carter Hart is 10-5 in 16 games as a Philadelphia Flyer, earning a .925 save percentage in the process.

(TNS) The Toronto Maple Leafs signed Auston Matthews to a five-year contract extension.

Start of February brings hot goalies, cold hard cash to NHL TYLER COMO

Staff Writer T.D.Como@iup.edu @ThePennIUP

January proved that a little effort in a few weeks can push a team’s confidence to defeat whomever they please.

This theory shows itself in many teams, one being the Philadelphia Flyers. After returning from the allstar break, teams can benefit from

the time off, or they find themselves lacking after the long break.

In any case, we’re another month down and another day closer to playoff hockey.

The longer you underestimate a team, the easier it is for it to surprise you. But the Flyers do so in a spectacular fashion.

In the past 10 games, the Flyers have gone 9-1. They are flying to the top, passing by the competi-

tion with an eight-game win streak.

Even though they may still be in the bottom three of their division, they definitely continue to win to prove a point.

Less than a month ago, they held the league’s worst record, and now they are seven points out of the playoffs. Newly acquired goaltender Carter Hart may be considered the savior to lift the Flyers out of the rut and bring more hype to the team than local orange monster, team mascot Gritty.

Speaking of ensuring success, the Toronto Maple Leafs have agreed upon a contract to extend Auston Matthews’ stay with this team, and for good reason.

Matthews has been signed for a five-year deal for $58.17 million, which sums up $11.634 million AAV. That makes him the second highest-paid player behind Connor McDavid. There was some worry of how much the Leafs would be willing to pay him, but they found a decent price and will still be able to develop and add to the team as they see fit. It helps them keep

open space for players they will need to lock up.

While the Leafs benefit from their star player, the Wild are having some trouble of their own.

The Minnesota Wild (26-22-5) played the Buffalo Sabres (26-206) Tuesday. Already down 1-0, Wild captain Mikko Koivu was involved in a collision. One of the Sabres’ wingers didn’t have a chance to slow down and the two crashed.

After some time, Koivu was sent to the locker room and looked at.

Minnesota’s captain suffered a torn ACL and meniscus. He is expected to undergo surgery Friday. For a team that was sitting comfortably in a playoff spot, we’ll see how the team can adjust to a massive takeaway.

The trade deadline is coming up, and it’s time for general managers to adjust and find what needs changed to assure their team to solidify a playoff spot. The first of the month came from the Pittsburgh Penguins.

GM Jim Rutheford has been known to be exuberant in his

trades. Earlier last year, the team received Derick Brassard from the Senators. He seemed like a good fit in Pittsburgh but has slowly proven that wrong.

After minimal progress, he and Riley Sheahan were recently traded to the Florida Panthers, and in return, the Pens received Nick Bjugstad and Jared McCann.

Pittsburgh is looking into younger talent as seen with recent bring ups from the AHL, like Teddy Blueger, who has two goals in the four games he’s played for them already.

The Nashville Predators made a deal to acquire New Jersey Devils forward Brian Boyle for a second-round pick.

New Jersey is looking to help themselves out next season, considering they’re currently in last place in their division.

The Preds acquired New York Rangers forward Cody McLeod for a seventh-round pick in 2020. With a minus-10 on the current season, the Rangers are hoping they can get a better deal in the future.

February 8, 2019

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(TNS) Conor McGregor was suspended for six months following the events of UFC 229.

(Facebook) Anderson Silva will fight for the first time in two years at UFC 234 Saturday.

Suspensions doled out ahead of UFC 234 BRAD O’HARA

Lead Sports Writer B.L.Ohara@iup.edu @ThePennIUP

The UFC has been buzzing lately with the move to ESPN, the return of legends, upcoming pay-perviews and timely suspensions.

First is the conclusion to a story that feels like it has been going on forever.

Khabib Numagomedov and Conor McGregor have finally received their punishments from their brawl at UFC 229. McGregor was given a fine along with a sixmonth suspension. Despite being away from the UFC for six months, McGregor is making sure that his name is still relevant as he continuously calls out the top guys in the division.

The largest possibility for McGregor’s next fight has shown to be Donald Cerrone. Cerrone has been calling out McGregor ever since UFC 229 with little to no response from McGregor. However, that all changed when Cerrone picked up win No. 35 against Alexander Hernandez at Fight Night 143.

Directly after the fight, McGregor accepted Cerrone’s invitation.

That being said, there is still no contract or any point in the schedule for when that fight might take place.

Numagomedov, on the other

hand, was given a nine-month suspension, but he said that he plans on extending his suspension three extra months to support his teammates who were suspended for a year. Unlike McGregor, Nurmagomedov is okay with his name being out of the media for a while and has spoken very little since UFC 229.

Second, we have recently witnessed the return of legends.

At UFC Fight Night 144, we saw both Demian Maia and Jose Aldo make their returns to the octagon. Maia is considered one of the greatest grapplers of all time, and he showcased his submission talents in his fight against Lyman Good. Many were skeptical of Maia’s abilities, as he is now 41 years old, but the legend showed why he still deserves his spot in the rankings as he finished off Good in the first round by submission.

Aldo also had a lot to prove as he fought in the co-main event against the No. 4 featherweight, Renato Moicano. After fighting once in 2018, Aldo decided that he would retire from mixed martial arts. After less than a year, Aldo changed his mind and was back in the octagon and he fought like he never left.

After a back-and-forth first round, Aldo took the upper hand in round two and finished Moicano with a knockout.

Lastly, comes the return of the

spider Anderson Silva.

Silva is known as one of the greatest fighters in UFC history for his incredible win streak from 2006 to 2012. However, with the streak ending to Chris Weidman in 2013, Silva went on to lose five of his last

six fights.

Now after not fighting in two years, Anderson Silva is looking to return with a solid victory over Israel Adensanya, who is currently undefeated and has been praised for his talents and mobility with many

comparing him to Silva.

At UFC 234, we may either see the return of a legend or the passing of a torch.

The fight starts at 10 p.m. Eastern Saturday night, taking place in Australia.

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