What is New in the Softball Universe?

Due to Covid-19, the sports industry has shut down entirely. Leagues and conferences began postponing and canceling their seasons starting in March. The NBA canceled the 2020 season after Utah Jazz player Rudy Gobert tested positive for the coronavirus. The sports world had gone silent, and audiences were anticipating a series that had been waiting in the wings, “The Last Dance.”

“The Last Dance” was highly anticipated, and the documentary itself was 20 years in the making of unseen footage of the basketball star, Michael Jordan. Still, with the entire nation quarantined, the anticipation for the documentary grew considerably. The expectation of this series led ESPN to air the documentary early, moving up the air date significantly. The show was not supposed to premiere until June, but ESPN instead revealed the 10 part documentary series beginning on April 19th, and the show would finish May 17th.

Throughout Jordan’s career, he received a plethora of accolades. Some of Jordan’s most recognizable accolades and accomplishments include six NBA Finals Most Valuable Player Awards, ten All-NBA First Team designations, nine All-Defensive First Team honors, fourteen NBA All-Star Game selections, three All-Star Game MVP Awards, and the 1988 NBA Defensive Player of the Year Award.

In 1999, he was named the greatest North American athlete of the 20th century by ESPN. He was also apart of the 1992 United States men’s Olympic basketball team recognizably know as “The Dream Team.”

Michael Jordan holds the NBA records for highest career regular-season scoring record, averaging around 30.12 points per game and highest career playoff scoring average at about 33.45 points per game.

“The Last Dance” also highlights the careers of influential teammates and people in Michael Jordan’s life. Some of the more infamous names are teammates Scottie Pippen, Phil Jackson, and Dennis Rodman, who all make special appearances in interviews and clips throughout the series.

“The Last Dance” contains never before seen footage, and Jordan has since stated that he is worried that the documentary will make him seem like a “horrible guy.” This comment only intrigued potential viewers and led anticipation to grow even more. Jordan has historically been reserved when it comes to his interactions with the media. This documentary is shedding light on years worth of interactions between teammates, coaches, administration, and more.

John Daniel Kendrick, 17, is apart of the Spain Park Men’s Tennis team. He has contributed to a legacy of competitive and hard working athletes that have come before in this program.

John Daniel has had much success in his tennis career, boasting a team 96-4 record at the middle school level. Winning two metro championships in middle school, John Daniel never lost a singles match. Consistency and dedication have propelled John Daniel into his high school career which has been very successful. During his high school career, he has accomplished winning his section draw two years in a row, and maintained a starting position all years. His Universal Tennis Rating (UTR) is a 8.28 and is on track to steadily climb to the college level. He is currently ranked second in the state of Alabama for Boy’s 18s.

Their team was only allowed a few matches before the season was cut short due to Coronavirus. A season that held held promise was unfortunately cut short.

The video highlights how John maintains his fitness and skills while in quarantine. He demonstrates drills, workouts, recovery, and more to show how he continues to work toward his goal of playing in college. The video allows insight into John’s tennis career and how it has been impacted by Coronavirus. Although the virus has changed how John Daniel works toward his goal, he keeps his sights set on playing in college and continues to work diligently to do just that.

My friend, Chloe, decided to help me create a softball hitting tutorial. The tutorial consists of necessary equipment, a stretching warm-up , and a step by step process on how to hit a softball. This is a tutorial for right handed batters and has subtitles describing what step of the process you are in.

The video covers everything from grip, stance, contact, extension, and a full swing demonstration. It also includes a few drills that are useful for breaking down a swing.

I hope you found this useful and you now know a little bit more about proper hitting form.

As Coronavirus continues to spread, our futures become more and more unknown. Media and News outlets continue to report daunting statistics on the virus leaving people fearful of what is to come.

Turning inward and looking to everyday people can bring comfort to others knowing they are not alone during this uncertain time. The goal of my podcast is to give an inside look into the lives of everyday people who have been affected by the virus in some capacity. Instead of reporting recycled statistics and more fear invoking news on the virus, I decided to change the narrative and attempt to bring comfort to those struggling during this time.

No one is untouched by the implications this virus has caused, but if we lean on one another we will come out on the other side stronger. It is essential in times of isolation to reach out to one another and let them know they are not alone. My podcast is being used for people to relate to because it is clear that we need some familiarity during this time.

The overall theme of my podcast is how current events are affecting everyday people. The news has been flooded with information regarding the Covid-19 outbreak, which is why I decided to use it as my podcast topic again. It is extremely intriguing to me how others are getting through this challenging time which was the impetus for selecting an “inside look” as a means of reporting the news. I chose to interview my brother who has suffered losses in experiences he would have had such as prom, tennis championships, and spending the last months with his senior friends.

I hope anyone who listened to my podcast is comforted by the fact that they are not alone in their losses. We will get through this!

On April 8, 2020, Mike Reilley a SPJ digital trainer who has taught Google News Initiative tools to more than 4,500 journalists and educators taught a virtual lesson on digital tools training.

His lesson covered everything from Google Earth Measure Tool, Fact-Check Explorer, Data GIF Maker, and many more. His goal is to help students and educators become more advanced by teaching them more efficient ways to research and communicate.

In his meeting he stated, “so many new tools have moved out of beta during this time and we are beginning to see new stuff.” It was interesting to see him work with so many new tools that have just been created. One search engine tool that he showed was Fact-Check explorer which was one of the newest in the presentation, only being a couple months old.

The work he is doing is fundamental to journalist and other media professions. My biggest takeaway from the lecture was how he is clearly invested in making research resources easily accessible and easy to understand which is shown through his countless hours spent teaching educators and students on the matter.

After learning about so many new tools it made me excited to do more research and broaden my horizons through using tools like Dataset search. He talked a lot about how you can research polls, crime rates, etc and how the possibilities are limitless with what you can do on these platforms.

His dedication to spreading knowledge has truly impacted my interest in the journalism field. I certainly feel more compelled to use these tools, and I’m sure many other students and educators are too now that we have gained the knowledge.

For the podcast I went with a current events theme, and more specifically interviewing people affected by what is going on in the world. I decided to interview my dad because he is working the front lines as a health care professional during this coronavirus outbreak.

My before photo was low quality and lacked contrast. I added a background, cursive letters with coloring, and isolated the two people in the photo and increased the brightness on them while creating contrast around them. The before photo was cropped from a wide shot to a medium shot, however I was unable to restore the original photo prior to cropping.

Easter is a Christian holiday that celebrates the resurrection of Jesus Christ as depicted in the New Testament in the Bible. The entire week leading up to Easter consists of holy days such as Palm Sunday, Good Friday, and Maundy Thursday. This is one of the most important holidays in the Christian faith because it represents salvation and sacrifice by Jesus for the sins of the world. Easter was still observed this year; however, Christians were not gathering together due to the Covid-19 pandemic.

My family like many others celebrated Easter a bit different this year due to the coronavirus. We adjusted what we ate, who we were with, and the activities we did.

Before the pandemic, my family would have been at church on Sunday morning. We would have been sitting in overfilled church pews at our church on Sunday. We would have been with our extended family and enjoying a large potluck meal after church. We would have shared in Easter festivities with our church and neighborhood. Unfortunately, this Easter all of our plans and comfortable traditions were flipped on their heads.

Clearly nothing was the same this Easter, so I am going to share how my family adapted our typical Easter celebrations and made the most out of our quarantine. My dad and mom did the majority of the cooking throughout the day. We ate tenderloin, green beans, and had potatoes which would be the typical meal of any of our holidays, but lacked company that we would normally host at our house.

Throughout the day we also had an Easter egg hunt. Typically the older siblings would each hide a carton of eggs for the younger cousins and siblings to go hunt for. In efforts to be cautious of other peoples needs when supplies are scarce we stuck to one carton we already had in the house. My brothers and I hid the eggs for Carson, the youngest sibling in our family to keep in line with tradition as best as possible.

My family did have the opportunity to partake in communion and also watch church on the television to continue our Easter normalities. Although it was in a new format, it was great celebrating the holiday with my family when I would have otherwise been back at school. Being at home this Easter gave my family perspective that even though life is different due to the coronavirus we still were able to recognize that good is all around we just need to look for it. My dad, who seemed to be the star of our Easter festivities said it best, “we may be celebrating Easter differently this year, but I am grateful for the little things, like being able to celebrate as a family!”

The novel COVID-19 virus is leading to panic. As the virus directly impacts highly concentrated areas and spreads rapidly through contact, colleges are a high risk location for the virus to fester. This has led to legitimate fears and panic amongst health professionals all the way to parents of children away at school. Twitter has been a major platform for relaying of information and raising questions past health concerns, but rather wellbeing of students at college.

Major organizations have taken to social media to aid in awareness regarding the Coronavirus. World organizations like World Health Organization and other groups like the CDC are taking to social media as well. As memes and jokes regarding the severity of Covid-19 arise there has been a rise amongst information being put on the internet. The goal of these organizations is increasingly to get the most accurate and up to date tactics on a platform where millions can see, like Instagram.

News stations such as CNN and Fox have been keeping up with the latest on college class cancelations and other updates regarding cases on campuses. CNN specifically covered the acute risks associated with college lifestyle and how it can intensify the Covid-19 outbreak. An article with the associated risks details how to protect yourself and the implications close living quarters can have.

In consideration of the circumstances schools all over are closing their doors temporarily. Many campuses have had students with symptoms of Covid-19 or have been diagnosed completely. Stanford, University of Washington, and Hofstra University just to name a few have temporarily shut down classes to help prevent further spread of the disease.

The Coronavirus has spread rapidly through many countries. Students who have partaken in study abroad programs have been sent home early due to the outbreak. Some of the countries include Italy, China, France, and many more. Cases are popping up increasingly in the United States which continues to lead to more college closures.

Here is a list of some of the most common means of spreading the Coronavirus. Many campuses are sharing posts and information from WHO or the CDC in the best prevention manners against Covid-19. Washing hands, avoiding touching your face, and more can all help prevent the spread.

As the outbreak continues to spread this causes questions to arise on what to do about it. More campuses are closing and news sources like New York Times, CNN, and Fox all have the latest updates on where outbreaks and quarantines are occurring and which campuses are already closing temporarily. It is essential to keep updated on information as students and general public to keep protected, and colleges shutting down is taking steps in the right direction to help prevent further spread.

On April 27, 2011 tornadoes ripped through the southeast. Specifically 62 tornadoes formed and destroyed thousands of miles of land. In Alabama from Tuscaloosa all the way to Birmingham, a mile wide tornado ripped across the state. The tornadoes that that roared through Alabama that day caused two hundred and fifty three deaths, and caused over a dozen billion dollars in damage. These images show a before and after image of the damage in Tuscaloosa. Communities are still rebuilding to this day and images like these serve as a grave reminder of why it is essential to be prepared for tornado season.

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