Western Courier| October 16th, 2019

Opinions: October is domestic violence awareness month.

Sports: Men's soccer wins back-to-back matches.

AWARD-WINNING STUDENT NEWSPAPER OF WESTERN ILLINOIS UNIVERSITY. SERVING MACOMB SINCE 1905.

WesternCourier.com

Wednesday, October 16, 2019 - Vol. 120 Issue 24

@WesternCourier

Dance Marathon holds McDonald's fundraiser

SARA REMAR/ASSISTANT PHOTO EDITOR

SARA REMAR/ASSISTANT PHOTO EDITOR

By Marc Ramirez news editor

SARA REMAR/ASSISTANT PHOTO EDITOR

Students gather at McDonalds for the Dance Marathon fundraiser.

Western Illinois University Dance Marathon hosted another event to actively involve the community and fundraise for their cause at McDonald’s last night.

Dance Marathon raises money for the Children’s Miracle Network Hospitals and supports families and those affected by holding events throughout the year to ensure that they flip their goal of $175,000. So far this semester, Dance Marathon has hosted their annual Color Run and now a McDonald’s Night fundraiser.

At the McDonald’s Night fundraiser, students involved in DM Leadership, Executive Board and Morale

SARA REMAR/ASSISTANT PHOTO EDITOR

will be responsible for taking orders, preparing orders and giving them to the customers. This not only gives the participants the opportunity to get more involved within the community, but it gives the community the opportunity to learn more about the cause and gives them the chance to contribute.

“I like McDonalds night because it gives me the chance to interact with the community on a more personal level, something I would not be able to do on a more daily basis,” Tate Dowell, Co-Director of Morale said.

“McDonald’s Night is a great night that brings the university and community together for a great cause.”

Participants will also be canning around McDon-

ald’s during the event for change to donate towards the cause. Dowell said that a small amount of change can change the world and change these kids' lives and he highly encourages people in attendance to give what they can.

“McDonald’s Night is important to Dance Marathon because as an organization, we are able to do two Mcdonald’s nights a year, one in the spring and one in the fall,” Mary Leamon, Vice President of Communication for Dance Marathon said. “That money goes towards our overall goal, but more importantly, it goes to helping the children in these Children's Miracle Network Hospitals and who doesn't love nuggets for kids.”

Wednesday, October 16, 2019

2 NEWS

WesternCourier.com

JIMMY PIERSON/PRODUCTION MANAGER

By Rachel Greene edge editor

There are many offices on campus that are often overlooked or forgotten about as the school year progresses.

The Student Development and Success Center at Western Illinois University is one of these offices. It houses many resources and functions that not many students know about. These resources, while underutilized, can really help both undergraduate and graduate students excel in their time here at school.

The Student Development and Success Center (SDSC), formerly known as the Student Development Office, assists students through their critical transitional periods from high school, community college or from another university. The office focuses mainly on academic and personal development, but it does this in a number of unique ways that cannot be found elsewhere on campus. Their developmental approach emphasizes personal responsibility and helping students learn to help themselves, preaching accountability and

WC Located on the third floor of the Heating Plant Annex on the south end of campus across from Sherman Hall.

Mail: 1 University Circle, WIU, Macomb, IL 61455 Phone: 309-298-1876 Fax: 309-298-2309 Hours: 8 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. weekdays E-mail: micour@wiu.edu Member: Illinois College Press Association, National Association College Press

growth rather than acceptance of circumstances. Housed on the first floor of Memorial Hall (Room 125), the office is open to any and all students. It is always better to be proactive, so even if you are not struggling, you can expose yourself to resources to help yourself stay successful.

The office consists of services such as academic success and personal development, emergency and crisis follow-up assistance, student absence liaisons, exit interviews/total university withdrawal and referral services. Along with these, the office also runs and supports the Interpersonal Violence Prevention Committee, an organization aimed at reducing incidents of assaults and stalking on campus. The office is unique in the fact that they work so closely with students who are withdrawing or leaving the university. Because of this, they are even better equipped to help retain and support those students who are at risk for withdrawal or failure at the university. They get to see and hear first-hand accounts of why students felt they could

no longer succeed here. They also offer many more services for current students and their family members. Calendars, events and services can be found on the SDSC section of Western Illinois University’s website.

The SDSC contributes to helping students succeed no matter what. This office recognizes that no two students are the same and that some students achieve success using different resources and methods than others. Regardless of the situation, this office strives to help each individual student find the resources, skills and support necessary to thrive in their college careers. This center provides a valuable resource that not every campus offers and does so at no additional cost to students.

If you are struggling, know someone who is struggling or just want to take advantage of a supportive and useful resource on campus; you should consider stopping by the SDSC. These resources are here waiting for you, but only if you take advantage of them.

WIU.EDU

The Student Development and Success Center is located in Memorial Hall.

STAFF MEMBERS PUBLISHING AND CIRCULATION editor-in-chief Devon Greene DJ-Greene@wiu.edu

proofreader Mary Kilbourne

news editor Marc Ramirez

MC-Kilbourne@wiu.edu

MA-Ramirez3@wiu.edu

photo editor Becca Langys

opinions editor Allison Young

RE-Langys@wiu.edu

AN-Young@wiu.edu

assistant photo editor Sara Remar

sports editor Bradley Piros

SE-Remar@wiu.edu

BJ-Piros@wiu.edu

production manager Jimmy Pierson

assistant sports editor Chris Bean

JM-Pierson@wiu.edu

CR-Bean@wiu.edu

business manager Janiya Haynes

edge editor Rachel Greene

J-Haynes2@wiu.edu

R-Greene2@wiu.edu

assistant business manager Nash Miller

copy editor Amanda Wandachowicz

NK-Miller@wiu.edu

A-Wandachowicz@wiu.edu

advertising manager Tyler Hoffman

proofreader Alexis Lowe

TE-Hoffman@wiu.edu

AL-Lowe@wiu.edu

adviser Will Buss WJ-Buss@wiu.edu

The Western Courier is published Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays during the regular school year, excluding holidays, finals week and semester breaks. The WC updates the website weekly during the summer. All content reflects the editorial discretion of the students operating the newspaper and must be interpreted as unofficial university communication. While every attempt is made to determine the validity of advertising contained herein, the advertising in the WC is not to be construed as endorsements of any specific products or services. The WC assumes no responsibility or liability resulting from the content of paid advertisements. Subscription price is $36 per year mailed third-class bulk rate from Macomb.

The WC is printed by The Galesburg Register-Mail in Galesburg, Ill.

COPYRIGHT 2017

No reproduction or reuse of material is permitted without written consent of the WC. All rights reserved. To request permission to reprint any material from this publication, please contact Will Buss at 309-298-1876.

ADVERTISING POLICY

The WC does not knowingly accept advertisements that discriminate on the basis of sex, race, creed, religion, color, handicapped status, veteran or sexual orientation, nor does it knowingly print ads that violate any local, state or federal laws.

One copy of the Western Courier is free.

Additional copies $1.

CORRECTIONS AND CLARIFICATIONS The WC needs your help to maintain accuracy. If you find a factual error, call the WC office at 309-298-1876 between 8 a.m. and 4:30 p.m. weekdays. Please ask to speak to an editor to ensure the inaccurate information can be corrected as quickly as possible.

@WesternCourier

Wednesday, October 16, 2019

NEWS 3

JIMMY PIERSON/PRODUCTION MANAGER

By Marc Ramirez news editor

On Oct. 24, Western Illinois University and the City of Macomb will honor the day as the 30th annual Take Back the Night event. The event is held by the Women’s Center in efforts to increase awareness of and to seek an end to sexual assault, dating and domestic violence, stalking and other forms of sexual and power-based interpersonal violence.

Take Back the Night is also designed to remember and honor victims and survivors.

The event empowers survivors in the healing process and inspires responsibility in all of us to put an end to the abuse. The event will kick off at 6:30 p.m. on the front steps of Sherman Hall.

The event opens up with a resource fair put on by the University Counseling Center and the Western Illinois Regional Council- Community Action Agency. There will then be a march from the Sherman steps to Chandler

Park starting at 7 p.m. If people need accommodations to attend the rally, they are highly encouraged to reach out to the Women’s Center to set up van rides. Everyone is invited to attend this powerful and unique event highlighting a topic that is too often left in the shadows.

The theme of this year's Take Back the Night event is “Your Voice has Power, Say it Louder.” Students who wish to share their stories are asked to attend a confidential check in on Oct. 21 from 3 p.m. to 4 p.m. or 5 p.m. to 6 p.m. in the Women’s Center Lounge, which is located in the Multicultural Center.

At last year ’s event, students shared stories through poems, songs and anecdotes.

On Oct. 14, the Take Back the Night Proclamation was signed at 4 p.m. in the Multicultural Center. Students, faculty, staff and community members are encouraged to come and support those who have been affected and show that, as a community, we are here to make a change.

A student holds up a sign at last year's Take Back the Night event.

WIU.EDU

4

OPINIONS

Wednesday, October 16, 2019

WesternCourier.com

Domestic violence awareness month Cameron Dillefeld Opinions Writer

October is here again, Leathernecks. That means exams, carving pumpkins and spooky decorations on every block. There is one part of October that not many people are aware of. October is also the month in which we spread awareness of domestic violence in our community. This is an uncomfortable topic for a lot of people, but there's too much on the line to shy away from it. Knowing what domestic violence is, the warning signs and what resources are available can make a difference in your own or the life of someone you know.

I was able to contact Sara Sefried, an experienced professional on domestic violence in central Illinois.

She has been a director at the Center for Prevention of Abuse for 15 years. Sara provided me with many resources and tips to share with the men and women of WIU. The information and statistics she shared with me were shocking and eye opening to a student that had never given much thought to the issue.

The statistics speak for themselves.

One in three women and one in four men have been victims of domestic violence in their lifetime.

The National Coalition Against Domestic Violence reports 20 people are abused every minute, which adds up to 10 million individuals every year. Last year, more than 50,000 individuals in the state of Illi-

nois received services for domestic violence – from case management to safe shelters. These individuals spoke up and came forward for assistance, and some of them are from right here in our community.

We know that on average, a person leaves as abusive situation eight times before they leave for good.

Nearly half (43 percent) of dating college women report experiencing violent and abusive dating behaviors. College students are not equipped to deal with dating abuse – 57 percent say it is difficult to identify and 58 percent say they don’t know how to help someone who’s experiencing it. One in three (36 percent) dating college students has given a dating partner their computer, online access, email or social network passwords and these students are more likely to experience digital dating abuse. One in six (16 percent) college women has been sexually abused in a dating relationship. These statistics can be hard to comprehend when you’re just trying to get good grades and scrape enough money together for gas and food. These do show that domestic violence is a real issue on college campuses.

Just because you don’t see it happening in front of you does not mean its not going on as it can be very difficult to spot it. It isn’t always as obvious as physical vio-

The purple ribbon represents domestic violence awareness month.

lence from a boy onto a girl. It can be mental abuse or even online abuse. It doesn’t matter the race or sexual orientation, any person can experience domestic violence, which is part of why it can be so frightening.

So how can we prevent it? The most important part is speaking up.

Seeking the resources around you and separating from the abusive person is the best way to get out of an abusive relationship. So why don’t all victims do that? It's also much more complicated than that for many victims. Many feel that their love for that person is worth more than the abuse. Some believe they can change their abusive partner. This almost never works and can put yourself or your friend in harm's way. If you or someone you know believes they are experiencing domestic violence, there is help out there. There are resources made for you. I’ve listed the domestic violence hotline numbers at the end of this article.

Sara Sefried and many other professionals are here to help you. If you are unsure if your relationship is abusive or harming you, I recommend reading and filling out the checklist on loveisrespect.org. October is a month of scary movies and haunted houses, but sometimes the real monsters are a lot closer than you would ever think.

NATIONAL DOMESTIC VIOLENCE HOTLINE: 1-800-799SAFE ILLINOIS DV HOTLINE: 877-8636338 MACOMB AREA :WESTERN ILLINOIS REGIONAL COUNCIL: http://wirpc.org/ 309-837-5555

ELIGIN.AF.MIL

OPINIONS 5

Wednesday, October 16, 2019

@WesternCourier

Should college athletes get paid? jobs due to the fact that they are doing things for their sport year around. Since they are not able to get jobs, most athletes go hungry and don’t have much money to eat. They are expected to everything do a regular student would do, and even more. Another reason why they should get paid is the amount of revenue that the sports teams bring into the school. I feel as if they should get a small percentage of that money. Next, athletes should also be able to profit

off of their name and likeness. I feel like if an athlete is good, they should be able to sell autographs and even their jersey number.

They should be able to receive the same benefits of a professional athlete due to the fact that they do pretty much the same thing. Also, when you look at sports games, they, to this day, use colleges in the games and the numbers of real players.

Why wouldn’t they be able to profit from that? Athletes, I feel, also bring students to the schools. Students love to go to football and basketball games of teams that are good and when you look at schools like Alabama, Penn State and Ohio State, you notice that

Whether it be much money or just an enjoyable job, people choose based on their own needs and wants. This is why parents and other essential adults throughout your life try to advise you to do things that would benefit or interest you.

The best thing that can happen for a child is finding something early on that interests them.

More importantly, if the parents get the child in programs or the material to stick with the child’s

interest, then that is even better.

Eventually, there will be a point when the child may want to quit or not do it as much, and as the parent, a choice has to be made.

The parent can try to have the child continue with their current interest and exclaim that things get hard in life or just let the child give up.

Now, in some situations, one of these options may be obvious, but I believe more often than not that it is better to have a child stick with something. The reason for this is that children will learn many great life lessons when they stick with their interests. One will be the determination that is hard to teach or show people that never had to.

ANDRE WHITLEY courier staff

I am a firm believer that athletes should get paid.

When you look at the amount of money they bring into a university, I feel as if they should get some type of compensation. Most people would say that athletes get free tuition in exchange for their services. However, they don’t know the amount of time that is dedicated to the sport, as well as the amount of stress that is put on their bodies.

Athletes are not able to get

the students go there simply to be a part of the family. The more students that go to the games, the more money the schools bring in. I feel like this comes back to the fact that students should be able to benefit and profit from that because they are the ones that generate the money.

They are the reasons why the atmosphere is the way it is. If there weren’t any sporting events, there would be less money for the schools to fund other things around the campus. It would be a domino effect in the sense that everything feeds off of how good the sports teams and student sections are at the games. All in all, athletes should be paid.

PIXABAY.COM

Cheerleading is a sport that rarely gets scholarships in college.

Find your interests early on Most of us, at some point, had someone tell us we had a knack for something or were told that we would be good at doing something. That type of talk is inevitable because people like to imagine others in certain situations based on their perception of the person that they are encouraging. When it comes to deciding what type of person to be or life to have, it has a lot to do with the type of career or job someone can obtain.

Another significant benefit is being able to specialize in something. In this day and age, it has become commonplace for people to have extensive knowledge or familiarity in their field.

If someone begins learning at a younger age, the information will come more readily to them, and they can start producing results faster than someone that starts later in life.

Even if you start later in life, it does not mean you have no chance of catching up, but it does mean you will be at a disadvantage while you are learning to keep up with your peers. Early learning has always been meaningful which is why schools try to lay the

foundation of math, reading and science so early. That way, when the more laborious tasks or questions arise, people are willing and able to complete or answer them.

It is essential to seek out your interest in life because the sooner you start, the sooner you will see results. Nothing will come easy, and it is not supposed to, but if you take the time now to pursue your goals, then you will not be asking yourself “what if” down the line. Nobody wants to have the feeling of missing out on an opportunity, so do something about it because it will only get harder as time goes on.

Editorial Policy

The editorial views of the Western Courier shall be confined to this editorial and are to be separate from news coverage otherwise noted. The editorial presented is based on the ideas and views of the WC editorial board.Columns are the opinions of the columnists alone and should not be construed as the opinions and beliefs of the WC staff as a whole.

Letters & Local Forum Policies

E-mail letters to the Editor and Local Forum messages to micour@wiu.edu.

Letters should not be more than 350 words in length. The author’s name and phone number must be included for verification purposes. Failure to include such information will lead to the letter being discarded. The WC staff will edit letters in cases of timeliness, obscenity length and grammar, and we do not guarantee publication of all letters.

2019 Fall Semester Editorial Board

Edge Editor - Rachel Greene Editor-in-Chief - Devon Greene Opinions Editor - Allison Young

6

Wednesday, October 16, 2019

SPORTS

WesternCourier.com

Why debate who the G.O.A.T is? Just enjoy it

Every sport has their greatest player of all-time. In some sports, the G.O.A.T may have played many years ago and has long been retired. Most sports compare current players to ones of the past, but all you can do there is compare stats.

Everyone knows that Michael Phelps is the greatest swimmer of all-time, or Tiger Woods with golf, Serena Williams of women’s tennis, Wayne Gretzy with hockey, etc. But, in some instances we get to witness two of the sport’s greatest competitors play against one another in our lifetime, and we’re so lucky to do so.

There are so many we’ve seen or that we currently get to see.

Tom Brady vs. Aaron Rodgers for the greatest QB of all-time, Roger Federer vs. Rafael Nadal in tennis, Jeff Gordon vs. Jimmy Johnson in NASCAR and most importantly, the reason I’m here today: Messi vs. Ronaldo.

Now, I will throw out a quick disclaimer. I’m not usually one to partake in these debates. I go in with the “enjoy this while you can” mentality. In a few year's time, all of those players will be retired, and we’ll look back and still be arguing about who was better. Ultimately, everything in life isn’t a head-to-head competition, so when we get to see two of the sport’s greats play at the same time, let’s all just shut up and enjoy it.

With that being said, let me tell you why Lionel Messi is better than Christiano Ronaldo (just kidding).

This debate is timeless. I can type this article today, I could type this article tomorrow, I could have typed it 10 years ago and I could type it in 10 years when both of these legends are sadly retired from the game. I chose to write this article today. Why, you may ask? That’s because Ronaldo just scored his 700th career goal at the age of 34.

I’m not here to debate, though.

I’m here to do a little comparing and contrasting and tell you why

we just need to enjoy this great thing we have going on because we won’t have it much longer.

You read that correctly earlier.

Ronaldo became only the sixth professional soccer player to score 700 career goals. It took him 974 games to do so, snagging 220 assists along the way. A whopping 450 of those goals were with his time at Real Madrid, 118 of them were with Manchester United, 32 with Juventus, five with Sporting Portugal and 95 for his national team Portugal.

Messi will reach that elite 700 goal club, but isn’t quite there yet.

He’s netted 672 goals and assisted 277 in 828 games. He sccored 604 of those goals for long-time club team FC Barcelona while the other 68 were scored while playing for his national team Argentina.

So, let’s do a quick bit of math.

A goal equals two points while an assist equals one. Ronaldo would have 1,620 points in 974 games while Messi would have 1,621 points in only 828 games. So, it’s easy to say that Messi is better because he has more points in 146 less games than Ronaldo and most people use this angle when defending Messi as the G.O.A.T. But still, I’m not here to debate.

The next thing people always compare is the number of trophies. Ronaldo has played in 76 tournaments and won 30 of them for a 39.5 percent win rate. Messi has played in 73 tournaments and won 34 of them for a 46.6 win percentage. So, you could conclude that Messi is better because he’s won more tournaments, but I’m not done.

Those are team tournaments.

Messi (very arguably) had a better team surrounding him. Think back to some of the players he’s graced the field with: Andres Iniesta, Xavi, David Villa, Sergio Busquets, Carles Puyol and Dani Alves just to name a few. Let’s not forget about that lethal attacking trio with himself, Luis Saurez and Neymar. The point is, team tournaments are team earned, not just by one player, so I feel they

CLASSIFIEDS Submit a classifieds ad to Micour@wiu.edu

shouldn’t be applicable to be used as stats when comparing two specific players. (Insert all the mad Michael Jordan vs. LeBron James debaters here) Rather, we can compare them by their individual trophies. The most notable individual prize in the world of soccer is the Ballon d’Or. This goes to the best male player of the year. Messi and Ronaldo have both taken home the hardware five times each. Messi won it four straight years from 20092012 as well as in 2015. Ronaldo won in 2008, 2013-2014 and 20162017. For the first time in 11 years, Messi didn’t make the Ballon d’Or finalists list and for the first time in 10 years, someone not named Messi or Ronaldo won the trophy; that player being Real Madrid and Croatia midfielder Luka Modiric.

There’s one more thing that people argue. Which player turns up on the big stage more? I’ll just say it; neither player has won a World Cup, so neither of them really shows up there. They can only carry their respected countries so far. The thing Ronaldo has Messi beat in is the Champions League. In 164 games, Ronaldo has 127 goals and 40 assists. He’s also won the tournament five out of 17 times (29.4 percent of the time). Messi has scored 112 goals and assisted 32 in 137 appearances, winning the whole thing four times out of 16 (25 percent of the time). Once again, though, the Champions League is a team tournament therefore titles should not be used to compare the two G.O.A.Ts. So once again, let’s do a little math; same rules apply, one point for an assist and two for a goal. That would give Ronaldo 294 points in 164 games and Messi 256 points in 137 games, which if you break that down even further, it’s pretty dang even.

Now, is my math equation maybe not the best comparison?

Probably. But, does it paint a picture that the two are the game’s greatest players of all-time? Yes. That’s the point here. It isn’t about who’s better. Sure, comparing their stats is fun and all, but we shouldn’t revolve our lives around debating who is better. Just enjoy these top athletes while you still can, because it’s not every day you get to witness two G.O.A.Ts playing one another.

WIKIMEDIA.ORG

Christiano Ronaldo plays captain for his Portugese national team.

Lionel Messi takes a free kick for FC Barcelona.

WC

WIKIMEDIA.ORG

RATES $5.50 per issue (open rate) $4.00 per issue (campus rate)

For Rent

For Rent

For Rent

Spacious 2-5 bedroom homes for rent. 10 month lease available. Great locations, close to bus stops, plenty off street parking, all new windows, AC, energy efficient furnace, hardwood and ceramic tile floors, free washer/dryer. Well maintained (24 hrs.) by local landlord.

Call 309-255-1233.

LARGE STUDENT RENTALS 5 and 6 Bedroom Homes are still available!! Ask for our $1000.00 Discount program! First come first serve for the last large homes that are open for the fall.

Available now: Close to campus, clean studio apartments, excellent condition, reasonable rent, and partly furnished.

Ceiling fans and a/c. Professionally maintained. No pets.

Semester leases offered. Call 309 837 4369 and leave your phone number if not there. Email: MandKhousing@gmail.com

Westen Investments has only two 4-Bedroom brich houses available. Call our office at 309-833-5995 to schedule a showing! We will show to 2-3 person groups as well!

Small 1BR apt near campus and downtown. All utilities included. (Electric, Water, DISH, Garbage) $500/month, $300 deposit. Available immediately. Also have 2BR, you pay electric. $600/month, $350 deposit available September 1st. Please contact 309-255-4367 for a showing.

STC Investments now leasing for the 18/19 school year. We have 1-6 bedroom apartments/houses ready for you to call home! Check out our selection at www.stcinvestments.com.

You can also find us on Facebook to see daily posts!

Westen Investments has just one 3-Bedroom ALL UTILITIES INCLUDED (Water, Sewer, Trash, Gas, Electric, and Internet) Apartment left! That’s right you just pay for rent, and the rest of it is on us! Call our office at 309-833-5995 to check it out.

For Rent: Little Swan Lake, 30 min from campus. 2br, 2bth, heated double car garage with work area. $600 per mo.

(309) 335-2206 after 6:00 pm, may leave message anytime.

.

ALL APARTMENTS - ALL INCLUSIVE Get control of your budget. Know exactly what you are spending each month. Each apartment includes free a/c, free heat, free electricity, free water, free cable tv, free hi speed internet, and free off street parking. Laundry on site.

No noise policy. Bus stop across the street. Close to campus. Well maintained. Studios are $460/mo, One bedrooms are $620/mo. Call Doug at 309-255-8179 for an appointment.

Sports 7

Wednesday, October 16, 2019

@WesternCourier

JIMMY PIERSON/PRODUCTION MANAGER

Devon Greene Editor-in-chief @Starewaytodevon

With Halloween right around the corner, I've gone into full horror movie mode.

But as a sports fan, I'm stuck watching plenty of football at the same time. As a result, the two have started blending in my head, so I thought it would be fun to cast some of the current starting NFL quarterbacks as some of our beloved horror movie icons.

To start it off, let's get the heavy hitters out of the way.

Green Bay Packer quarterback Aaron Rodgers would make a great Freddy Krueger of the “Nightmare on Elm Street” franchise. Rodgers and Krueger have a lot of things in common: they both give their opponents nightmares, they seem like genuinely cool guys (excluding the whole child abuse thing with Krueger), they've taken the souls of many people and they both have a decent sense of humor. Obviously, Rodgers is a lot more handsome than Krueger (especially when he starts rocking his mustache) due to the whole burnt body situation. I'd be willing to bet that most Cowboy fans around the nation will agree that they are still begging Rodgers to stop giving them the night sweats. One edge that Kreguer has over Rodgers is in the beer chugging department. Rodgers put together a pitiful effort at an NBA game last season and it's probably the only thing you can hold against the guy. He'd totally demolish Krueger in a throwing competition, though; I don't know how a person could throw with knife gloves on.

Next up is Leatherface from the “Texas Chain Saw Massacre” franchise. I was tempted to either choose Dak Prescott out of Dallas or Deshaun Watson out of Houston here because of the geographic convenience, but neither of them have anything in common with Leatherface. Instead, my pick is Matthew Stafford of the Detroit Lions. Of all the quarterbacks in the league

right now, Stafford seems the most rugged to me. He’s got the ability to grow a massive beard, plays in Detroit, he's a strong, hefty guy and it doesn't appear to me anyway that he's the sharpest knife in the drawer. Stafford seems to always make crucial mistakes in the season that cost the Lions a game or two. It also seems like he would be pretty easy to boss around, much like Leatherface if he was getting yelled at by his cannibalistic family. I'll never forgive the Lions for causing Calvin Johnson to retire, by the way.

One of my personal favorites, Jason Voorhees of the “Friday the 13th” franchise is up next. “Freddy vs. Jason” is the first horror movie I can ever remember watching and it scares the living daylight out of me to this day even though I can recognize that it is a pretty bad movie. From that point on, I've been captivated with Voorhees. I’ve watched all of the “Friday the 13th” movies multiple times and played the video game for hours and hours. The perfect person for Voorhees here is Patrick Mahomes of the Kansas City Chiefs. The biggest similarity between the two is that they can kill you in whatever way they want.

Mahomes is so ridiculous that I think we forget some of the absurd things he does.

Sidearm throws, off-handed throws, staring down referees during a live play and so much more while terrorizing whatever defense he's up against. Voorhees does much of the same. He’s punched people's heads off, shattered heads with liquid nitrogen and whacked people inside sleeping bags against trees.

His sense of improvisation is one of his greatest assets and the same goes for Mahomes.

Also, they both are almost impossible to tackle. I've seen people try to sack or tackle Mahomes dozens of times and they whiff every time. I've seen Voorhees get punched in the face, stabbed

and kicked and not go down, so I don't know anybody in the league that would have a chance against him. Mahomes is a lot faster than Voorhees, though, but I think Voorhees from “Friday the 13th: Part 3” might give him a run for his money.

The last of the icons is Michael Myers of the “Halloween” franchise who is probably the hardest to cast. Myers is a silent killer who strikes in the night. I wanted to pick New Orleans’ quarterback Drew Brees here, but he has those loud and inspiring pregame speeches that never fail to get me hyped up. I've watched every Halloween movie ever made and nothing Myers has ever said made me want to swim across the entire Pacific Ocean. So for that reason, I'm going to go with Denver Broncos quarterback Joe Flacco. Flacco was drafted in 2008 and I legitimately cannot remember a single word the guy has ever said.

Granted, he hasn't had to say much with teammates like Ray Lewis and Ed Reed running around. Yet, even if he was a guy that talked a lot, just by looking at his face, I don't think he could ever say anything that would get me hyped up. Myers has this iconic move where he tilts his head and looks at a person he just killed and I feel like if Flacco did the exact same thing, it would be because he was super confused about what just happened. However, Flacco does have a Super Bowl ring and he was the MVP of that Super Bowl, so he does get some credit. He’s still not elite though.

Right outside the big four horror movie icons is Ghostface from the “Scream” franchise. At the end of “Scream,” we find out that Billy Loomis and Stu are the killers. So for this pick, I think it’s only fair to go with two people, Gardner Minshew and Nick Foles of the Jacksonville Jaguars.

Minshew has been an absolute cold-blooded animal on the field this year (except against the Saints), and we all know what Foles can do on the grandest stage of them all. The players in this scenario have to be cold-blood-

ed because Loomis and Stu terrorize Sidney Prescott after killing her mother, with the former even dating Prescott. Both Minshew and Foles have a charisma about them that is unmatched by any other quarterback in the league. You could tell me any story about either one of these guys and I’d believe it.

Minshew has actually gained the nickname “Jockstrap King” and has been offered a contract by an adult film company. This works even better due to the fact that the actor that plays Loomis in “Scream” is named Skeet Ulrich. Everything pans out here.

One of the most outspoken and beloved villains is up next in Chucky from the “Child’s Play” franchise.

This is probably the easiest pick for me with Cleveland Browns’ quarterback Baker Mayfield fitting perfectly in the mold. Mayfield is charismatic, funny and outspoken, all things that describe Chucky. Mayfield is not perfect and neither is Chucky, but they can do some real damage on a good day.

Mayfield is also a small man. Chucky is a doll and is, consequently, small.

Getting into a more modern villain, Jigsaw from the “Saw” franchise. Jigsaw sits on a moral pedestal and judges everyone while putting them in various traps that maim and murder them. This description sounds a lot like Russell Wilson of the Seattle Seahawks. I'm a huge fan of Wilson; you can ask my parents and they'll tell you I was singing his praises on draft night in 2012 as one of the future stars of this league.

One of the critiques of Wilson is how “vanilla” he is. With all these outspoken and fun quarterbacks in the league, Wilson seems like the straight as an arrow kind of guy. This can be misconstrued as judgy by many fans and I don't really agree with it, but I'm going to run with it here because it fits my narrative. The biggest reason I'm picking Wilson here is because he tortures defenses like no other. He’s just as fast as a wide receiver and as accurate as any quarterback in the league so he can put anybody in the league in a blender.

Finally, let’s get down to probably the greatest villain in movie history, Hannibal Lecter from “Silence of the Lambs.” There can only be one man in the NFL to portray Lecter: Tom Brady of the New England Patriots. Lecter is smarter than everyone and so is Brady. Brady always seems to be 10 steps ahead of his competition and Lecter seems like he does the same, even though he’s a caged being for most of “Silence of the Lambs.” There really isn't an intellectual counterpart for Lecter except for Clarice Starling and I think the same goes for Brady with Bill Belichick. Plus, I really like the idea of Belichick taking the place of Jodie Foster in “Silence of the Lambs.” It'd be a marvelous train wreck.

Now, I obviously don't think that Brady eats people like Lecter does, but if it suddenly comes out some day that Brady was caught eating somebody in the bowels of Gillette Stadium, I mean, I wouldn't be terribly shocked.

He’s got to get his powers from somewhere. In 2015's “The Witch,” the witch that we see rubs the remains of a baby on her body to become young again. While some people think Brady might be that evil, I really don't.

Maybe he's just evil to the point where he'll cut someone else's face off and put it on his own face. Brady is better than any quarterback in NFL history at his position while simultaneously being one of the most handsome players in the league. That's not even mentioning the fact that he is completely shattering the status quo of the league by not being absolutely terrible at his advanced age.

There's one last one I want to go over: the shark from the “Jaws” franchise. To fill such big fins, we need an even bigger man, and that man has to be Jameis Winston of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. I only picked Winston for two reasons. He stole some crab legs when he was back in college, and his infamous “eat a W” pregame speech.

There are plenty more players around the league that frighten me to my core, especially on defense, but we live in the era of offense, so they set the tone.

Men's soccer wins second game in a row

By Christopher Bean assistant sports editor MACOMB, Ill. — The Western Illinois Leathernecks defeated the University of Detroit Mercy Titans, 2-0, for their second win in a row. Western moves to 2-11 overall and 2-5 at home this year.

Western gave UDM their eighth loss of the year and fell to 4-8-1.

The Leathernecks got off to a hot start thanks to junior Ryan Debois’ fourth goal of the year in the 14th minute. Debois’ goal was the only goal of the half, but there was plenty of action with three yellow cards in the first half. Aleks Vushaj and Mac Becker picked up their only card of the game for the Titans, while Cameron Territo picked up his first card of the game for the 'Necks. Despite all the cards, Western carried a 1-0 lead into halftime.

The chippiness would follow into the second half, as Territo picked up his second yellow card, which disqualified him from the game in the 57th.

Western played a man down the rest of the way, but that didn't define the tenacity of the game or their fate. The Leathernecks continued to play their best defense of the year, and sophomore Enric

Ferrer picked up Western’s third yellow card in the 76th minute.

Six minutes later, the physicality continued with the fifth yellow card of the game, thanks to Demetri Pliakos’ first yellow card of the game and the second for the Titans. Another six minutes passed and Jake Reitzoff got the sixth and final yellow card of the game, and third for UDM. Half a minute later, junior Luke Duball iced the game for the Leathernecks, scoring his first goal of the season in the 88th minute. The Leathernecks maintained their 2-0 lead for their second straight victory.

The Leathernecks have shown signs of life this past week. Even though this wasn’t a divisional game, Western is 1-1 in Summit League play and have clicked at the right time of the year after losing their first 11 games to start their season. Western only has three more Summit League games, and their next two opponents are conference games. This Saturday, Western travels to Fort Wayne to take on the Mastodons of Purdue Fort Wayne. Fort Wayne is 3-10 this year and 0-2 in The Summit League this year.

Western will look to continue their win streak for their third win of the year.

Ryan Debois keeps his eye on the ball.

making their 18th.

The No. 6 ranked Badgers are even making a case to once again be in contention for that coveted College Football Playoff. At 6-0, they are No. 1 in the nation in yards per game allowed (173.7), points allowed (29) and points per game allowed (4.8). The Wisconsin defense has scored more touchdowns and have the eighth most points per game scored (42.5).

If that doesn’t convince you, just look at how dominant Jonathan Taylor, Wisconsin’s junior running back, is. Taylor ranks third in the nation in total rushing (825 yards) and leads the nation in rushing TDs (14), total touchdowns (18) and total points (108). He also has four receiving touchdowns accompanied by 136 yards.

In the past at this point in the season, rival doubters would throw their “Wisconsin hasn’t played anyone relevant” comments in fans’ faces. The critics have been silent so far as Wisconsin proved they can topple some top teams. Wisconsin has beaten teams such as last year’s Big Ten West Champion Northwestern with a decisive 24-15 victory at Camp Randall.

This past Saturday, the Badgers

toppled a Michigan State team who had been ranked earlier in the season 38-0. The most decisive victory, however, is when the underdog Badgers defended their home turf against the favorites to win the Big Ten Michigan Wolverines in a 35-14 massacre.

While these few victories and stats paint a picture of domination, there are still six more games left, the majority of which are not going to be cake walks. Let’s take a look at who the Badgers have left on their schedule and how they may fare against their Big Ten opponents.

Illinois (Oct. 19): As much as I hate to get cocky and think of any game as an easy win, this game is about to be that type of game. The Fighting Illini produce only 337.5 yards per game this season, good for third lowest in the Big Ten. Going up against the No. 1 defense in the nation won’t be easy, especially when the team was only able to produce 20 points in their 49-20 loss last season. The Badgers go 7-0 after traveling to Champaign this weekend.

Ohio State (Oct. 26): When I mentioned earlier that the rest of the season wasn’t going to be a cake walk, this is what I was talking about. Ohio State has always been the kryptonite to Wisconsin’s Superman. The Badgers haven’t beaten Ohio State since Wisconsin upset then-ranked No. 1 OSU 31-18.

GOLEATHERNECKS.COM

Luke Duball dribbles the ball at home.

GOLEATHERNECKS.COM

The Badgers’ path to a potential championship

It is tough sometimes to be a fan of the Wisconsin Badgers football program. There are years like 1998 or 1999 where the Badgers win back to back Big Ten Championships and go on to win back to back Rose Bowls.

Then, there are years like 2018 where a week three loss to BYU at home derails thoughts of competing in the College Football Playoff and their season is over before even gaining any momentum. And finally, there are seasons like 2017 where the team wins 12 games for the first time in program history, takes the No. 4 spot in the playoff rankings heading into the Big Ten Championship and loses a close game to Ohio State to shatter those playoff dreams once again.

While none of these seasons saw a championship, they still have one thing in common: none of them were really awful seasons. At the end of the day, the Badgers still made bowl appearances at the end of the season. In fact, the Badgers hold the fifth longest active streak for consecutive bowl games. Wisconsin has made 17 straight bowl games and right now, they are on track to

From 2011 on it’s been all Buckeyes. In fact, the Buckeyes are 59-18-5 against Wisconsin all-time. This season the team, led by the power duo of J.K. Dobbins and Justin Fields, are 6-0 with decisive victories over Michigan State and Nebraska. It’ll be a tough battle in Columbus as two dominant defenses will duke it out for what will be a preview for the Big Ten Championship game.

Iowa (Nov. 9): Iowa, while only 4-2 this season, usually picks up some big wins late in the season. The Hawkeyes haven’t put up above average statistics this season, but their two losses were close matchups with Michigan and Penn State. However, with the game being held at Camp Randall in Madison, it looks like Wisconsin should be able to take this one.

Nebraska (Nov. 16): Like Iowa, Nebraska isn’t a bad team. The historic program just hasn’t been able to produce consistently in the past few years. After losing handsomely to Minnesota last week and being steamrolled by Ohio State two weeks prior, it doesn’t look like Nebraska is destined to win against the best defense in the nation.

Purdue (Nov. 23): Purdue isn’t looking like the competing program of old. The Boilermakers currently sit at 2-4 overall and 1-2 in conference. With this game taking place at senior day in Madison, the either unde-

feated or one-loss (depending on how Ohio State goes) Badgers will be pushed hard by their seniors to make sure their last game in Madison is a huge W. Minnesota (Nov. 30): The Battle for Paul Bunyan’s Axe. On Nov. 24, 2018, Wisconsin’s 5,495 day (15 year) streak of not losing to the Minnesota Golden Gophers came to an end. The Gophers took the Axe. This year’s matchup sends the game to Minneapolis, and the currently ranked No. 20 Gophers aren’t looking to relinquish the Axe any time soon. With this the final game of the regular season, if the Badgers are still undefeated or have one loss, the Playoff contenders are going to look to clean house and take the Big Ten West.

The only team that really poses a threat to Wisconsin making the playoff happens to be the one team that has kept them out of it all these years, the Ohio State Buckeyes. However, if the Badgers only loss in the regular season is the top four ranked Buckeyes, they still should stay top 10 and in contention for the Playoff. As long as they can beat Ohio State to win the Big Ten championship game, the Badgers are shoo-ins for the Playoff.

All Wisconsin fans can do now is sit back and enjoy what may be one of the most dominant college football defenses in recent years wreak havoc.