Author Archives: Lauren Yelner

UNC coach accused of racist comments

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By LAUREN YELNER

A recent report in The Washington Post uncovered that Sylvia Hatchell, University of North Carolina’s women’s basketball, has made racist remarks directed at her players.

This discovery comes after the coaching staff for the team was placed on paid administrative leave after players raised concerns about how they were being treated. The university is conducting an investigation to further prove or deny these claims.

It is alleged from players and staff that Hatchell told players they would be “hanged from trees with nooses” if she did not see improvement in their skill. This also comes with allegations that Hatchell made her players continue playing despite having serious injuries that required medical attention.

These comments have opened up talks questioning Hatchell’s character and her views on race. Various stories have reported her use of the words “noose” and “hanged,” which have a clear racist connotation.

Reporting on this story has come in waves, but it is clear that there would be more coverage if this was the men’s basketball. Women’s sports often get underrepresented, and in times of a controversy, it is easier to brush things under the rug.

Further reports say that Hatchell also tried to get her team to engage in a “war chant” that was supposed to honor Native American assistant coach, but clearly just made her uncomfortable.

North Carolina’s women’s basketball team went 18-15 overall this season. It is difficult for many to see that this scandal is the reason they are getting attention, rather than for their talent and the games that they play. Many hope that this will open people’s eyes to women’s athletics and what they have to deal with playing at their high level.

Fans suspect a Hannah Montana reboot

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By LAUREN YELNER

After an eight-year hiatus, fans of Miley Cyrus, often known as Hannah Montana are expecting a reboot of the character than so many know and love.

The speculation comes weeks after another Disney Channel favorite band, the Jonas Brothers created an Instagram for themselves, and ultimately ended up reuniting and putting out music. The reunion of this band apparently made Cyrus nostalgic of her days on Disney with the “Jo-Bros,” who are some of her best friends.

Fans noticed an Instagram handle made for @Hannahmontana, the same way that the Jonas Brothers sneakily hinted that they would be reuniting. Cyrus later posted on her personal account a video of her in the famous Hannah Montana wig, singing the theme song to the Disney show.

She also featured a post on her Snapchat account wearing the same wig Hannah wore in the show where she said to fans “it was so hard going back and forth so I think I’ll just be Hannah forever!”

The statement is inspired by the Disney Channel show, “Hannah Montana” which premiered 13 years ago. The show followed a seemingly normal teenage girl, Miley Stewart, as she tried to balance being a regular teenage girl with also being a worldwide pop star when she put on her blonde wig.

Both Montana and Cyrus created music that many fans enjoyed. After the show ended, Cyrus continued on as a musician and actress and had a very successful career. Many girls look up to her as she has not only been around since the childhood of many, but she is also very philanthropic, starting her very own Happy Hippie Foundation. Speculation will continue about a Hannah Montana comeback, but no one will know the truth until it happens.

March Madness favorites open with wins

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By LAUREN YELLNER

As March rolls around, college basketball fans find their spirit reignited after a long season. Hope stirs among crowds and people prepare for what lower-seeded teams hope will be madness.

Fans who have long awaited selection Sunday wait to see if their team made the most elite 68 teams in college basketball. As for those who have had their dreams cut short, they often hope for the excitement that comes with high-pressure games. Coming off a tournament where for the first time in history, a No. 1 seed fell to a No. 16 seed, fans were unsure with how much more exciting the tournament could get.

Based on solely the first day of competition, the answer is limited in excitement. It was smooth sailing in the first day of competition, as No. 1 seed Gonzaga and number two seed Michigan rolled past their competition, both coming out with wins with a large margin.

The upsets that did occur on the first day were far from surprising, with No. 10 University of Florida, a fairly consistent team throughout the season beating No. 7 seed University of Nevada, who rarely has tournament success.

These predictable tournament results are great for bracketologists who pride themselves on making the correct picks; however, this is not good for media outlets who are looking to write interesting stories about the “Cinderella teams” of the tournament. Media coverage is always plentiful for the tournament, but lacks an entertaining value when the tournament goes exactly as planned.

Day two holds three games for No. 1 seeds, leaving room for many surprising games, as well as many classic wins. The Duke Blue Devils, are likely to keep the classic trend going, as they are 26.5-point favorites to beat the North Dakota State Bison in the first round. Maybe there is hope for the No. 12-15 seeds — for a more interesting tournament than we have seen on opening day.

The Last Dance honored at Duke

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By LAUREN YELNER

For many, Dwyane Wade’s announcement that he was going to be leaving the NBA after his 2018-19 season did not come as a surprise, but still brought heartbreak. Wade has officially played for both the Miami Heat and the Cleveland Cavaliers, has touched more than just fans from these two cities.

His final season, which he refers to as his “last dance,” has been hard for fans of basketball everywhere. Wade’s last season in the league is being covered heavily by news outlets due to his extreme connections with fans.

On March 5, 2019, Duke University aired a tribute video to Wade during one of their basketball games, despite the fact that he was never a student at the university. The video was Blue Devil’s Coach K thanking Wade for all he did for basketball throughout his career.  Krzyzewski highlights especially Wade leading team USA to a gold medal in the Olympics, and emphasizes how important Wade is to basketball in America.

Duke’s tribute is not the first tribute to Wade that has happened this season or that will happen. The NBA made sure the Wade’s final All-Star weekend was not one to forget, hosting a tribute dinner for him. Guests at this dinner were some of Wade’s best friends from within the league, as well as others that have helped him throughout his journey.

The Los Angeles Lakers, Golden State Warriors and Chicago Bulls have all honored Wade during their games against the Heat, making it clear how much of an impact he has had since being in fifth first-round pick in the 2003 NBA draft. Wade indicated that it was very hard for him to make the decision to leave the game he loves behind, but he knows that it is the right decision for himself and his family at the current moment.

Boeheim to coach despite legal trouble

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By LAUREN YELNER

Bleacher Report recently released a story that says Syracuse basketball coach Jim Boeheim will coach the Orange as they take on the No. 1 ranked Duke University Blue Devils, despite his accident earlier this week that killed a pedestrian on I-690.

The accident occurred after Boeheim swerved into a group of people that were standing next to their vehicle that had just been driven into a guardrail. Boeheim passed a breathalyzer test and cooperated with police after the incident. It is not believed that Boeheim will face any criminal charges.

Many people are unsure if Boeheim should coach in this week’s game against the Blue Devils, while Syracuse fans want to win no matter what it takes.

Bleacher Report used information from ESPN to report on the actual occurrence as well as further highlighting the basketball team and its recent accomplishments. The article also expands on the situation that both teams are in, noting that Duke recently lost its star player Zion Williamson to a knee injury in a game against the North Carolina Tar Heels.

Bleacher Report also addressed Boeheim’s reaction to hitting and killing the pedestrian, as well as adding a link to the statement that Syracuse’s director of Athletics made regarding the situation. It was made clear that the community is stronger together and that Boeheim coaching will bring more people together rather than ostracize him.

Boeheim will not likely face any criminal charges and will continue his coaching. The Syracuse community will need to rely on each other in this situation to be strong and to help their coach get through this hard time in his life.

NBA reveals high-tech jerseys

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By LAUREN YELNER

The National Basketball Association announced its “jersey of the future” this morning to kick off All-Star Weekend 2019. The jersey is cutting edge, with the ability to alter both the number and the player name at any time. This is something people have never seen before, as they are used to having to buy many jerseys to support all of their favorite players.

Bleacher Report publicized this release with a video that featured NBA commissioned Adam Silver showing people the functionality of the jersey, and even making it go from a Stephen Curry No. 30 jersey, to the classic Michael Jordan No. 23.

It is not surprising that the NBA is testing out technology among its clothing, as it is always trying to stay one step ahead of the game. Sports are driven by consumers who love the game, and this jersey will enhance the fans’ ability to support their favorite players without having to break the bank on a multitude of jerseys.

This jersey will not be able to withstand changes in style or players being traded, however, die hard fans of one team will be able to represent many players on a single jersey.

Sports illustrated also commented on the release of the new jerseys, adding that this was not the only technological advancement that was coming for the NBA. “Silver also announced plans for facial recognition ticketing, hologram mascots and virtual reality glasses to take fans from their couch into a virtual arena,” wrote Michael Shapiro of SI. NBA fans should be excited to see how the league keeps up with the ever-changing technology, especially in the near future.

‘Modern Family’ comes to close

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By LAUREN YELNER

CNN and ABC have both recently announced the renewal of the 11th and final season of the hit show “Modern Family.” The show, which has been running for 10 years, is a favorite of many people. Each character depicts a family member that we all know and love, making it easy to relate to the show.

CNN announced the end of the show in a news story that did not come as a surprise to many. Fans understand that the writers can only come up with a few more topics before the show is exhausted. CNN included a tweet from one of the main actors of the show where he expressed that it will be very hard to leave something that meant so much to him.

The announcement also featured a quotation from the co-creator and highlighted the 21 Emmy awards, multiple Screen Actors Guild awards and the Peabody that the show received in its time on air. While many are sad to see the lovable show come to an end, many are excited to see where the characters lives will end up.

Record temperatures blast Midwest

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By LAUREN YELNER

The United States — specifically the Midwest states like Wisconsin, Illinois, Michigan and Indiana — are seeing brutally low temperatures as January comes to a close.

Wind chill temperatures close to negative 40 degrees Fahrenheit are shocking those in the Midwest, but it does not stop there. Wind chill has made the situation considerably worse, dropping the temperatures down to record-breaking levels of around negative 40 to 50 degrees.

Shockingly low temperatures are having major effects on the cities they are hitting. Various news outlets have reported that the temperatures are dropping to those that are colder than Antarctica. This is changing the way many major cities are operating.

CNN is one outlet that is specifically covering the damage and changes that many cities are going through. I admire the way that they are reporting on individual instances that the snow is causing in a list format, and then expanding on each in their own articles.

The blistering cold has impacted the Midwest with school cancellations, mass transit cancelling the entirety of its services and is even causing deaths. Not only have local schools been closed, various universities among the nation have halted classes until the weather is safer to operate in. Packages are also not being delivered and flights are being cancelled until the weather normalizes.