Wednesday, April 22, 2020

W e d n e s day, A P R I L 2 2 , 2 0 2 0

Getting Green With Chuba Hubbard and Tylan Wallace returning, A.J. Green looks ot be OSU’s top NFL draft prospect

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C OV E R S T O RY

Ways to celebrate Earth Day while social distancing E l l i e Me l e ro Ne ws E di to r @ e l e ano r_me l e ro

Joshua Cleary/O’Colly

All eyes are on two-time All-Big 12 cornerback A.J. Green and where he ends up in the 2020 NFL draft.

A.J. Green’s NFL draft preview Sud eep Tum m a Assistan t S p ort s E d i to r @ask tum m a

With Chuba Hubbard and Tylan Wallace returning to Stillwater, A.J. Green is likely OSU’s only draft prospect.

Background A former 3-star recruit out of DeSoto High School from DeSoto, Texas, Green was seldom used as a freshman before breaking out as a sophomore with 47 tackles, five deflected passes and a team-high four interceptions.

Green continued his strong play his next two seasons as he earned second-team All-Big 12 honors as a junior and senior. He totaled 99 tackles, two interceptions and 16 deflected passes in those two seasons.

Green was a team captain in 2019 and a key cog for OSU’s underrated secondary, but his production dipped his senior year.

Green’s draft stock was a third-round grade to begin 2019, where is it now?

Lance Zierlein, a draft analyst for NFL.com, appreciates Green’s length and size, which helps Green in press coverage, but the lack of speed concerns Zierlein.

Green ran a 4.62 at the 40-yard dash, third slowest time among all cornerbacks at the 2020 NFL combine.

“It’s a concern and it is what you saw on tape as well,” Zierlein said. “That 40 (time) and the tape are the reasons that he’s more likely to be considered primarily by zone teams instead of teams who play man.”

And that’s where Zierlein sees Green’s best fit. Zierlein said Green will need to play in a zone-heavy defense to keep up with the speed of NFL receivers.

Adding to the question of speed is production.

Green was targetted just as much as senior as he was previously, but his ball production declined as he went from 11 to five passes deflected in 2019.

“You never want to see a cornerback come into

a draft with a down year compared to the previous season,” Zierlein said. “I don’t know if his play was much different, but the ball production was.”

Draft projection When you put it all together, that third-round grade has become a fifth or sixth for most people, but Zierlin said teams will place their own grades.

“I’m guessing with his size and strength, but lack of speed, he goes around the 4th round,” Zierlin said.

Other Cowboys in play Johnny Wilson, OL: Wilson’s durability, toughness and versatility could be appealing to teams. Projection: Undrafted free agent Marcus Keyes, OL: A four-year starter, the 6-foot4, 315-pound offensive guard has been drawing interest from multiple teams.

Projection: 5th-7th round Jordan McCray, WR: While the production and 40-time weren’t what McCray hoped for, his 6-foot-6 frame and ball skills are enticing. Projection: Undrafted free agent

On April 22, 1970, 20 million Americans rallied behind Sen. Gaylord Nelson (D-WI) and took to the streets to protest pollution and bring attention to the environmental harm caused by unregulated industrial development. Fifty years later, Earth Day has gained support worldwide, but a global pandemic is forcing people to stay indoors.

People who want to celebrate Earth Day while staying safe have many options. Several institutions and organizations are hosting virtual events to commemorate the day, such as the American Museum of Natural History and NASA. But if you would rather not spend Earth Day on your computer, here are some

ways to celebrate while still practicing social distancing.

Plant a garden with your family Gardening is a great way to celebrate Earth Day. You can buy some seeds from your nearest gardening store and plant them. If you don’t have a yard to plant a garden, you can always buy pots and plant your garden in your windowsill. Just remember to water your plants.

Make arts and crafts out of recyclables There are all sorts of crafts to be made out of recyclables, and the only limit is your imagination.

Plastic grocery bags can be woven together to make a bathmat. Aluminum cans can be cut up and glued together to make a lamp shade. Bottle caps can be made into murals. Plastic bottles can be repurposed

into a watering system for your garden. Repurposing things you might otherwise throw away is a great way to get into the Earth Day spirit, and you might just be left with a great artwork when you’re done.

Picnic on your front lawn Although parks and trails are still open, going to public places can sometimes make it hard to practice proper social distancing. Instead, why don’t you make some sandwiches, grab a blanket, and picnic on your lawn or apartment balcony.

That way, you can enjoy the great outdoors while staying safe. If you coordinate with your neighbors, you can all be on your lawns at the same time to get in a little social interaction, too.

Kimberly Mears/ Unsplash

One way to celebrate Earth Day is to enjoy some time outdoors and have a picnic on your lawn.

lifestyle

Date night dinner under quarantine M egan Hays Li festyle Editor @ m egther ep ort er

Just because it’s the middle of a pandemic doesn’t mean that romance is dead. But with all the typical date night activities are closed, it can be hard to keep the flame alive. Cooking a date night dinner at home but not everything is available making this whole thing harder than it used to be. So to keep the romance alive, here are some pantry friendly and delicious date night meals.

Chicken and Gnocchi with sage butter sauce Sounds very fancy and feels that way too but it is extremely easy and affordable. Gnocchi is basically soft pillows of potato that make the meal feel like a special occasion. It’s also nice because this dish only uses two pots.

Ingredients: Chicken breast, prepackaged gnocchi (since no one really knows what it is, it’s always in stock in the pasta aisle), fresh sage, unsalted butter, minced garlic, splash of olive oil, parmesan cheese (you can go fancy or go Kraft, whatever is in your budget).

How to make it: Start by getting a medium pot of salted water to boil, this will take a few minutes so you can start on the chicken.

Season the chicken with salt and pepper (maybe

some granulated garlic if you have some) and cook over medium heat with a lid for roughly 10 minutes in a pan with a tablespoon of olive oil. Flip occasionally to avoid burning. When ready, take the chicken out and cut into chunks that are roughly the same size, if there is a little bit of pink left, don’t worry, it’s going back in the pan. Save the gunk in the pan, that’s going to add flavor to the sauce.

Hopefully by now, your water is boiling so put in the gnocchi the boiling water. When it floats, that means it’s ready.

While the gnocchi is cooking, start the sauce at medium heat by adding two tablespoons of butter, 5-10 rinsed and dried sage leaves, and how ever much minced garlic you want. This is for date night so it might depend on what’s happening after dinner and dessert. Add the chicken back into the sauce and let it finish cooking. The gnocchi is done when it floats to the top of the water so when that happens transfer it to the pan, add a little bit of the starch water with each spoonful of gnocchi to help thin the sauce to coat everything. After 5 minutes of cooking everything, add a healthy handful of the parmesan cheese, this thickens the sauce and who doesn’t love a cheesy sauce.

Plate and top with a little more cheese. If you are

Megan Hays/ O’Colly

There’s still time for romance in the middle of a pandemic so here is a full dinner’s worth of recipes to impress your significant other with.

watching your waistline, subbing out the chicken for mushrooms or no meat at all works too. For the mushrooms, rinse and cook until fork tender (~8 minutes).

Roasted asparagus with crispy cheese Veggies are an important thing to add to any meal and since there is already meat and potatoes, a green vegetable is appreciated.

Ingredients: A bunch of asparagus, minced garlic, parmesan cheese, Italian breadcrumbs..

How to make it: Preheat the oven to 425 degrees. Rinse and dry the asparagus before laying on the cutting board.

The ends of asparagus are very fibrous and

not fun to eat so simply break off the ends, where it naturally breaks is the end of this unenjoyable part. Lay flat and even over an aluminum lined baking sheet before covering in roughly a half cup of shredded parmesan and ¼ cup of breadcrumbs. Spread some minced garlic over the top and pop it into the oven for 15 minutes.

Out comes crispy cheesy asparagus that’s a perfect compliment for your dinner.

Nutella Cookies While on their own, cookies don’t sound very romantic but these can act as those fancy chocolate lava cakes that you can get at fancy restaurants with only three

ingredients. 15 seconds in the microwave and served over ice cream makes for the perfect way to end this dinner.

Ingredients: AP flour, 1 large egg, a whole jar of Nutella (yes a whole jar).

How to make it: Using two spoons scoop out some Nutella and maneuver into one inch roughly spherical shapes (nobody’s perfect so don’t worry if they look more like blobs than balls) on a lined baking sheet. It might be easier if the Nutella has been in the fridge for a few hours. Next put the tray into the freezer for at least three hours but overnight works better.

The dough is just adding 1 cup of flour, egg

and a cup of Nutella to a bowl. Work the ingredients together until no flour can be seen and the consistency is similar to modeling clay. When the Nutella balls are completely solid, scoop a little bit of the dough into your hand and mold it around the solid ball.

Set back on the tray and repeat until you’ve used all the dough, it’s ok if some of the cookies are different sizes, it’s not like Paul Hollywood is judging you. If you are extra fancy add some flaky salt to the top of the cookies. Bake at 350 for 12-15 minutes, just until the top is starting to have a matte finish instead of a shiny top.

N E WS

Coronavirus affects senior capstones K a lyn n Sch wan dt O’Colly Contributor @kalynnschwandt

Because of the coronavirus pandemic and transition to online classes, seniors at Oklahoma State University now have to complete their “lasts” remotely until the delayed graduation ceremony in December.

One of these “lasts” is senior capstone projects.

Capstone projects are a typical way for seniors to complete their degrees.

These projects depend on the specific major a student has, but most include hands-on learning that incorporates realworld experience.

Brittany Felts, a hospitality and tourism management senior, will complete her final year at OSU with online capstone projects.

Felts only had nine credits to complete in her final semester. Her courses include Capstone Leadership Experience and International Beverage Tasting. Her International Beverage Tasting course was canceled as other courses were moved online.

“I have been looking forward to that class for a few semesters now,” Felts said about her International Beverage Tasting course.

The main project to be completed in Felts’ capstone class is to work with 20 classmates to plan an entire event.

The members split into

Adam Luther/O’Colly

Oklahoma State switched to online classes in response to the coronavirus pandemic, and that has caused changes for many senior capstone classes.

areas of the project such as culinary, beverages, events and marketing/finance. The students were to start with the design of a food menu and what it would consist of.

Now that each of Felts’ classmates cannot meet in person, Facetime and GroupMe have been utilized to continue on with the project. Originally, two oral presentations were to be created, but now, the group will work on a written-style presentation.

“It’s been hard getting everyone on the same track since no one is in Stillwater anymore,” Felts said.

Animal science senior Natasha Green’s senior project also had to be

altered to accomadate the online classes.

For Green’s class, the students are required to write a research paper and do a presentation on a topic of their choice.

Green chose to do hers over law enforcement dogs.

Had classes continued normally, Green would have done her 10 minute presentation in class.

Instead, Green had to record herself giving her presentation and then upload the video to a discussion post in Canvas.

She and her classmates had to watch the videos and comment on them with questions and other feedback.

“It’s honestly more time consuming because

you have to wait for people to upload and then you have to ask questions about it,” Green said.

“Time zones are a big part of it because, living in Arizona now, 9:59 is my 11:59. It’s a lot more time management and a lot of planning.”

Green said she would have preferred to give her presentation in class, but the advantage to doing it online was that she could start over when she messed up so she knows the video she submitted was her best work.

For Felts, classes are not the only things that have changed; her graduation plans have also changed because of the pandemic.

“I will be entering the

hospitality industry, and at the moment, that is what is hurting within the economy,” Felts said.

“I am very people and experience oriented, and with restaurants closed and events canceled, it has changed what I am looking for within my job search.”

Felts said she has job interviews lined up, but they keep getting postponed because of the pandemic. She plans to move to Dallas, Texas, after graduation to continue her job search.

Also a member of Kappa Delta sorority, Felts said she has been looking forward to activities as a senior for years.

“When we got the email that we were going

to be permanently online, I cried,” Felts said.“I felt that everything that I have been working towards was taken away from me.”

Felts said that she wants everyone that gets to return to OSU in the future to enjoy every moment.

As OSU’s graduation is postponed instead of canceled, Felts said she is thankful and looks forward to a trip back to Stillwater.

“I will be able to reconnect with friends and we will still get the recognition that we deserve from the university.”

Felts said.

FOR RELEASE APRIL 22, 2020

Los Angeles Times Daily Crossword Puzzle

Houses For Rent

Edited by Rich Norris and Joyce Lewis

ACROSS 1 Tablet compatible with Apple Pencil 5 Just short of the A-list?

10 Entice 14 “Yikes!”

15 Snorkeling spots 16 “Marriage Story” actor Alan 17 Strict prerequisite 19 Telegraph taps 20 Circus prop 21 Good dog’s reward 22 Powerful force for innovation 26 Softly hit hit 27 Senior advocacy group 28 Spanish eight 29 Certain Muslim 32 Part of an all-inone printer 35 Spoke frankly 38 Go (for) 39 Like pop tunes 40 __ collar 41 Shiny fabric 42 Crete peak: Abbr.

43 Trattoria seafood dish 49 Seismic event 50 Certain believer 51 Push 52 Aquarium collection 57 Hawkish god 58 Set straight 59 Playing to break a tie, briefly 60 Newbie 61 Full of gossip 62 Some hosp. scans DOWN 1 Platform for 1-Across 2 Honor society letter 3 New England cape 4 Makes the world a better place 5 UCLA player 6 Washington portraitist Rembrandt __ 7 Slow, musically 8 Eerie sky sight 9 W-9 or W-2 ID 10 Often unjust accusation

600+ Rental Units Available Full Listings @ Stillwaterpm. com Stillwater Property 633 N. Husband 405-743-2126

WEDNESDAY, APRIL 22, 2020

Your Classified Ad or Business Square could be here! $10/Week Published online 3 times a week.

Email ads@ocolly.com or lori@ocolly.com Advertise your business specials, online or remote church activities, houses and apartments for rent, help wanted ads, or any other special your business is offering.

By Nancy Black Tribune Content Agency

Level 1

2

3

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4/22/20

By Bruce Haight and Richard Lederer

11 Presumed 8-Down pilot 12 Baggage requirement 13 Hint 18 Makeupremoving swab 21 Preakness horse’s age 22 Yosemite climbing spot featured in “Free Solo,” for short 23 Like four Koufax games 24 Belief system 25 Cartoonist Guisewite or her title character 26 Western neckwear 29 Passport mark 30 Suite spot 31 Fortune rival 32 Belong 33 Cell terminal 34 TV ally of Hercules 36 Part of an ancient boast 37 “Don’t make waves”

Daily Horoscope

c las s if ieds

Tuesday’s Puzzle Solved

4/22/20

Solution to Tuesday’s puzzle

©2020 Tribune Content Agency, LLC

41 In this way 42 Ponder 43 Stocky 44 Get a move on 45 Wild party 46 “Luther” actor Elba 47 Bay sound 48 Weasley sister 52 Ticked off 53 Journalist Velshi of MSNBC

4/22/20

54 Common wordending letters that can be pronounced five ways, as demonstrated in five long puzzle answers 55 Highway hazard 56 Presumed 8-Down crew

Complete the grid so each row, column and 3-by-3 box (in bold borders) contains every digit, 1 to 9.

For strategies on how to solve Sudoku, visit sudoku.org.uk

© 2020 The Mepham Group. Distributed by Tribune Content Agency. All rights reserved.

Today’s Birthday (04/22/20). Fortune favors long-distance expansion this year.

Your consistent work is gaining respect. Adjust to summer changes with a joint venture, before a productive creative communication surge. Shift direction with an exploration. A winter income slowdown gets offset by blossoming shared profits. Discover powerful new tricks.

To get the advantage, check the day’s rating: 10 is the easiest day, 0 the most challenging.

Aries (March 21-April 19) -- Today is a 9 -- Use creative communications for sales and marketing under this Taurus New Moon. Step into new levels of prosperity. Begin a lucrative phase.

Taurus (April 20-May 20) -- Today is a 9 -- A new personal phase dawns with this New Moon in your sign. Take charge. Take your talents, capacities and skills to new levels.

Gemini (May 21-June 20) -- Today is a 7 -- Insights, breakthroughs and revelations sparkle under this New Moon. Dreams seem within reach. Practice benefits a philosophical, spiritual and mindful phase. Make long-term plans.

Cancer (June 21-July 22) -- Today is an 8 -- Take a group endeavor to new heights. Breakthroughs in friendship, social networks and community provide cause for celebration under the New Moon.

Leo (July 23-Aug. 22) -- Today is a 9 -- Professional opportunities shine under this Taurus New Moon. Accept new responsibilities as you prepare. Develop a project from an idea to reality. Innovate and create.

Virgo (Aug. 23-Sept. 22) -- Today is an 8 -- Study with a master. Education, travels and exploration sprout under this New Moon. Consider different views and perspectives. Reach out for a long-distance connection.

Libra (Sept. 23-Oct. 22) -- Today is a 9 -- Find creative ways to grow your family’s nest egg. A lucrative phase dawns with this New Moon. Launch a profitable initiative together.

Scorpio (Oct. 23-Nov. 21) -- Today is an 8 -- Support each other through changes or transformations. Partnership blossoms under this New Moon. Begin a new chapter together. Collaborations flower beautifully with nurturing.

Sagittarius (Nov. 22-Dec. 21) -- Today is an 8 -- Your physical moves seem energized. This New Moon sparks growing health and strength. Put your heart into your actions. Practice for strong performance.

Capricorn (Dec. 22-Jan. 19) -- Today is an 8 -- This New Moon initiates a twoweek family, fun and passion phase. A romantic relationship transforms. It’s all for love and love for all.

Aquarius (Jan. 20-Feb. 18) -- Today is an 8 -- Wrap your love around home and family. A new domestic phase arises with this New Moon. A seed planted long ago flowers.

Pisces (Feb. 19-March 20) -- Today is a 9 -- Profit through communications.

Breakthroughs arise in conversation under this New Moon. Share gratitude and appreciation. Reach out for a powerful connection.