ASPN Part 2

Plan To Be The Best

Spring Training For Avila Football

By: Brittany Freeman

Avila University started a new tradition in Fall 2018. The university entered a new conference by partaking in the Kansas Collegiate Athletic Conference (KCAC). Changing from The Heart to the KCAC, multiple sports teams became successful. Starting with football, the boys started a trend by ending on one of the best records within the past couple years. Not knowing how successful the football team would be, it was too great achievement to acknowledge Coach Benavidez who started a new era. He became head coach at the start of the new fall season, and has succeeded in every aspect. Head Coach Benavidez, he stated, “Something that I have known for a while, but last season really showed to everyone is that the game isn’t about the X’s and O’s. You can have the best plays in the world, but at the end of the day, your success as a team revolves around people and relationships.”

With spring training ramping up, it is no surprise that Benavidez is more than ready to achieve his set goals and outcomes. He noted that the development of each player will be huge during this time, along with building strength and power. “I could care less about overall ‘conditioning’ in February or March. We need a team that can peak physically by 6pm on September 7th and be able to maintain that until December,” Coach Benavidez stated. When asked about main goals, the head coach remarked, “Our biggest goal is to build a team chemistry that will keep us on the right track during the entire season. A football season is very demanding, not just physically, but mentally. We must be able to maintain our focus and do what we can to accomplish our 2019 team goals.” Though they lost some talented players last year, there is no doubt that the team can come together. The current players can improve and grow to meet the high expectations. Not only did they improve this past season, they continued to grow into a new era for Avila history. They have embarked into a new style of playing and can only go up from here. They are striving to become better and better each day, as they step into spring training.

Photo Credit: Tola

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Nike Just Did It

Young basketball star suffers injury due to Nike shoe quality

By: Trey Heinrich

When Duke and North Carolina faced off on February 20th, no one could have imagined what was going to happen in the first minute of the game. On the first possession of the game, Zion Williamson, star forward for Duke and regarded by many as the number 1 draft pick in this year, drove to the basket, planted his foot, and fell to the ground. After falling to the ground, he immediately grabbed his leg and looked to be in some serious pain. The bottom of his shoe ripped open completely, causing him to sprain his knee. He was wearing the Nike PG 2.5 shoes. After this event, many people took to social media to question the stability of Nike’s basketball shoes. As a result of this, Nike’s stock the following day was down 1.37%. Although this sounds like such a small percentage, this drop equalled out to almost 3 BILLION dollars. Nike, who fully sponsors Duke’s basketball team with shoes and other gear, issued a statement on the incident. “The quality and performance of our products are of utmost importance,” the company said. “While this is an isolated occurrence, we are working to identify the issue.” In comparison to Nike’s declining stocks, a few other rival companies increased in value. Puma increased by 1.96% and Adidas went up by 0.64%. Although their stock is down now, experts don’t foresee it having a big impact on Nike going forward. It was an isolated incident that involved a player, over 260 pounds, who a very hard move. Given the amount of hours that the team has played without an accident like this, I think that this will turn out to be pretty minuscule in the long run.

Photo Credit: www.store.nike.com

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When Will Bryce Harper Sign?

As Spring Training Continues, Harper Has Yet to Sign Free Agency Contract

By: Makenzie Musgrove

Much of the Major League Baseball offseason has been spent wondering where some of the top free agents will sign. Bryce Harper has headlined this group of individuals, along with Manny Machado. Machado agreed to a deal with the San Diego Padres worth $300 million over 10 years. Teams in the discussion to sign Harper have been the Washington Nationals, the Philadelphia Phillies, San Diego Padres, Los Angeles Dodgers, New York Yankees, and many other “mystery” teams offering Harper. From the beginning of the offseason, it seemed that the Phillies were the frontrunners to sign the all-star. However, it seems that if that were the case, the deal would’ve taken place by now. It has been reported that ever since Machado signed his contract, that Harper has turned down offers reportedly over $300 million. Also, after Arenado signed an extension with the Colorado Rockies for eight years worth $260 million, Harper will look to cash in on a huge contract. Harper joined the MLB in 2012 at just 19 years old. The hype for Harper to join the league was huge. He was nicknamed “Baseball’s Chosen One” as he appeared on the cover of Sports Illustrated at just 16 years old. Harper has since then lived up the expectations that come along with having the nickname of “Baseball’s Chosen One” as he was named NL Rookie of the Year in 2012, six all-star game appearances, and 2015 NL MVP.

Will it pay off for one of baseball’s biggest stars to play the waiting game? Only time will tell.