Opinions: College isn't for everyone.
Sports: Women's soccer looks to extend winning streak.
AWARD-WINNING STUDENT NEWSPAPER OF WESTERN ILLINOIS UNIVERSITY. SERVING MACOMB SINCE 1905.
WesternCourier.com
Wednesday, October 9, 2019 - Vol. 120 Issue 22
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Child Health Day takes over the University Union
By Marc Ramirez news editor Western Illinois University’s Dance Marathon celebrated Child Health Day Monday and Tuesday in efforts to support children living with pediatric illnesses and spreading awareness. Child Health Day is a movement, represented at over 400 college, university and K-12 campuses. Child Health Day is a day of action, with Dance Marathon programs and participants coming together to raise funds and awareness for their local Children’s Miracle Network Hospitals, more specific Cardinal Glennon Children’s Hospital and St. Louis Children’s Hospital. Dance Marathon’s Executive Board hosted a recruitment and educational the two days before in efforts
to get 150 people signed up for the main event which will be held March 28, 2020. Members of the 2020 team handed out buttons that read “Change Kids Health Change The Future.” People can “Change Kids' Health and Change the Future” by fundraising money to help the children in the community, spreading the word on Dance Marathon and what is organization entails, use the hashtags #ChangeKidsHealth and #ChildHealthDay to join the conversation and by encouraging others to join the movement as this generation fights for the next. When participants registered on the spot, they were able to take a photo with a signed signifying that they signed up for the event, and their button and were posted
on the WIUDM Twitter page. Members were also seen driving around on a golf cart encouraging students, faculty and staff to get signed up for the big event. Tuesday was used as a huge fundraising push where each participant was challenged to raise $62 to support the 62 children who enter a Children’s Miracle Network Hospital each minute. Tuesday also doubled as a Miracle Jeans Day, a day where employees across several businesses around town had the opportunity to donate a minimum of $5 and wear jeans to work that day. In addition to showing their support by wearing jeans they also received MJD stickers to signify why they weren’t in their typical work attire. Dance Marathon nationally
posted that while helping sick and injured kids is the primary reward for our fundraising efforts, CMN Hospitals is hosting a contest to reward one fundraiser for their hard work on Child Health Day. It was advertised that one Miracle Network Dance Marathon participant who fundraises on Child Health Day on Monday will be randomly drawn to win two first-class tickets on Delta Air Lines and five-night stay at a Marriott property in Hawaii. In efforts to get as many students signed up as possible, the Dance Marathon Executive Board in collaboration with their Child Health Day Committee decided to surprise the student body with a special discount registration code. “Today only, WIU Dance Marathon is offering a promo
Western Illinois University Dance Marathon decorated the mall this week to celebrate and encourage people to sign up for their main event.
code for $10 off registration,” Dance Marathon said in an email sent out to past dancers. “Our goal is to get 150 new participants signed up in honor of the 150 Children's Miracle Network Hospitals across the country. The link to register is Tinyurl.com/ WIUDM20 and the promo code is FTK15.” For only $15, participants receive entrance into the event, a t-shirt, food the day of the event and a truly priceless experience. Students are highly encouraged to not miss this opportunity to sign up because the price will never be this low again for the entire year. If people have any questions or want to learn more about Dance Marathon, they are highly encouraged to contact DM President Julianna Kessler at jr-kessler@wiu.edu.
TATE DOWELL/ COURIER STAFF
Correction: A printing error led to the front page being printed twice on Monday's issue. You can read the complete edition online on the Western Courier's Facebook page.
2 NEWS
Wednesday, October 9, 2019
Campus Crime Reports
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•On Sept. 22 at 1:07 a.m. Elijah Davis, 18, of 1404 Thompson Hall, was issued a notice to appear Oct. 29 for a Macomb City ordinance violation for illegal consumption of alcohol by a minor in Q-Lot. •On Sept. 24 at 2:05 p.m. a student reported the theft of $15 in quarters on Sept. 14 and $60 cash on Sept. 21 from her room in Thompson Hall, as well as several unauthorized charges on her credit card. The incident is under investigation. •On Sept. 25 at 4:24 p.m. Jack Butts, 19, of 820 Thompson Hall, and Karim McIntosh, 20, of 819 Thompson Hall, were issued notices to appear in court Oct. 29 for a Macomb city ordinance violation of possession of less than 10 grams of cannabis near the Lamoine River footbridge. At the same time a student was judicially referred for cannabis possession. •On Sept. 26 at 8:12 a.m. OPS and the Macomb Fire Department responded to a fire alarm in Henninger Hall. No smoke or fire were found and no injuries were reported. •On. Sept. 26 at 1:58 p.m. OPS and the Macomb Fire Department responded to a fire alarm in Corbin Hall. No smoke or fire were found and no injuries were reported. •On Sept. 27 at 5:36 p.m. Trevor May, 18, of 1114 Washington Hall, received a notice to appear Oct. 29 for a Macomb city ordinance violation for possession of drug paraphernalia in the Knoblauch Hall parking lot. •On Sept. 28 at 7:19 p.m. a University employee reported to OPS that a student reported she had been sexually assaulted by a person known to her. The incident is under investigation. •On Sept. 29 at 2:43 a.m. five students were judicially referred for illegal possession of alcohol by a minor
in the Sherman Hall circle drive. •On Sept. 30 at 3:47 p.m. OPS and the Macomb Fire Department responded to Q-Lot for a report of a car with smoke coming from under the hood. No smoke or fire were found and no injuries were reported. •On Sept. 30 at 10:15 p.m. OPS and the Macomb Fire Department responded to a fire alarm in Thompson Hall. No smoke or fire was found and no injuries were reported. During the same incident, three students were judicially referred for failing to evacuate the building. •On Oct. 2 at 12:39 a.m. three students near Lincoln Hall were judicially referred for possession of alcohol by a minor. •On Oct. 2 at 11:55 p.m. Ivelis Rodriguez, 18, of 1735 Thompson Hall, was issued a notice to appear Nov. 5 for a Macomb city ordinance violation for resisting, obstructing and interfering with a public employee near Lincoln Hall. •On Oct. 3 at 12:56 p.m. an employee reported criminal damage to government property in Grote Hall, estimated value of $100. The incident is under investigation. •On Oct. 3 at 7:43 p.m. Tiesha Hayes, 20, of Grote Hall 405C, was arrested at the intersection of Charles and Chandler streets for driving without a valid driver's license. She was transported to the McDonough County Jail at 7:49 p.m. where she was lodged pending bond. •On Oct. 4 at 3:01 a.m. three students near Thompson Hall were judicially referred for possession of cannabis. Nonstudent Eugene Wooden, 18, of Chicago, was issued a notice to appear Nov. 12 for a Macomb city ordinance violation for illegal possession of cannabis (less than 10 grams).
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By Marc Ramirez news editor
Western Illinois University’s Fraternity and Sorority Life has announced their current or upcoming philanthropic efforts for the fall semester. FSL at Western is comprised of six Panhellenic sororities and 12 Interfraternity Council fraternities. Each organization is paired with a specific non-profit where they actively bring awareness and support in efforts to better the community. This week at Western, three Greek organizations have announced or are currently hosting philanthropic events for paired non-profit. Alpha Sigma Tau raises money and awareness of the American Cancer Society. This year, the sorority brought back the three-day sporting event that all of the fraternities on campus are invited to participate in. “Since we would like to raise as much money as possible for the American Cancer Society, we will be accepting any and all donations from any organization that
Wednesday, October 9, 2019
would like to donate,” Tau Challenge 2019’s Facebook page reads. For Tau Challenge, every fraternity will pay an entry fee of $40. Shirts were also sold this year in efforts to fundraise for the philanthropic event. The events this week include a spaghetti dinner on Monday, a basketball tournament on Tuesday, a softball tournament on Wednesday and the crowd’s favorite flag football on Thursday. In addition to this, there will be coin wars at each event. Pi Kappa Phi fraternity will be hosting a three day philanthropic tabling outside of the University Union in efforts to raise money for The Ability Experience. The Ability Experience is their national philanthropy that supports and raises awareness for people living with disabilities. On Tuesday, the fraternity men hosted a “Pi Smash” where people had the opportunity to donate between $1 and $8 to throw an assortment of water balloons, eggs, whipped cream, flour or a mixture of all at the
willing participants. Today they will be hosting “Experience the Push,” an event where they do push-ups for each dollar donated. Tomorrow they will have “Pi a Pi Kapp” where you pay a dollar to pie a brother. The Alpha Tau chapter of Alpha Gamma Rho will be hosting their 27th annual Smokin' Hog on October 26 from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. where they will be serving lunch at the AGR house. “After lunch we will be setting up for our free community concert with Jacob Bryant performing at 9 p.m.,” Smokin’ Hog 2019 Facebook page reads. “Tickets will be sold before the event for $5 or during for $7. All proceeds will be donated to Feeding Homes First, Agriculture Adopt a Classroom, WIU Ag Open House, WIU Food Pantry, Student Association for Nutrition Education, Shop With a Cop, FCC Action and OutReach Committee, Fire Protection Studies and Salvation Army. If you have any questions, contact James Talley at 815-9942015 or jd-talley@wiu.edu.”
ALPHAGAMMARHO.WORDPRESS.COM
Greek organizations across campus prepare and host annual philanthropic events.
NEWS 3
TATE DOWELL/ COURIER STAFF
SARA REMAR/ ASSISTANTPHOTO EDITOR
4
OPINIONS
Wednesday, October 9, 2019
WesternCourier.com
JIMMY PIERSON/PRODUCTION MANAGER
From the time we were young, Generation Z and Millenials have heard the infamous words “go to college.” Most of our parents have been repeating that mantra to us since we started school at 5 years old and our teachers have drilled that dogma into our heads as well. Most of us have strived toward a college education because that is what is expected of us. We open our college acceptance letters in glee and tell everyone how we got accepted to college and how big things are ahead of us. Fast forward to August of the following year, we give our families one final hug before we see them for the holidays. We watch them drive off in the distance, go back to our unpacked dorm rooms, look around and go, “now what?” The problem with that scenario is that this is the dream that society, as well as our parents and teachers in high school when they prep you for the ACT or SAT, sells us.
To put it simply, a lot of people are not ready for college or need to go down the college path to do what they want in life. There are trade schools and other job opportunities to pursue if you do not want to go into higher education. Not every job in society requires a college education. But for those who do pursue a college education, it is not exactly a dream. You get accepted, move in and now you are supposed to “make it.” People have no clue what to do with their newfound freedom and do not know what resources are available to them to help them out in that time of transitioning from high school to college. The problems that lead to an unsuccessful first year of college are either poor work ethics, emotional instability or the struggle of balancing all areas of your life. Luckily, most people make it over the hump and do much better in their second semester of college, now that they
Is college really needed to succeed in life?
know what works for them and what doesn’t. For the ones still struggling, there is still hope. At Western, there are many opportunities available for struggling students. The easiest and most direct route to pursue is talking to your professor during office hours. Scary, I know, but they don’t bite. They actually would like you to pass and not waste thousands of dollars on classes that you failed. If you’re afraid of face to face interactions, there are still emails you can send off to your professors that do the job just as well from the comfort of your home. There are tutoring locations and The Writing Center all around campus that are easily accessible. You can look on Western’s tutoring page to see what times and locations they have available. To help with the stress of college or just needing someone to talk to who has an unbiased opinion of your situation, there is the University Counseling Center available in Memorial Hall on the first floor. The college experience is supposed to be challenging, but not too challenging. So if you want to turn it around, all you need to do is ask for help.
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OPINIONS 5
Wednesday, October 9, 2019
What is the autonomous car? We may be the first generation to witness the wide scale production of autonomous vehicles. This statement is not only realistic, it is happening as we speak. Well, at least the race to the first autonomous car is in the works. When people ask what they would do with an autonomous car, most might scoff at the idea. Technology and the reaction time of the vehicles have to be almost perfect. This may sound like a pipe dream, but it is something that artificial intelligence
can pull off. The reason that this is possible is that AI already has a faster reaction time than humans do. The problem is that we have to teach the AI what to react to and what not to react to, since so much human interaction is necessary in driving. Most companies have decided to use Q-learning or reinforcement learning. In short, this type of learning tries to emulate the way that humans learn. Through trial and error, the AI begins to understand why the
mistakes made were wrong and try to prevent them from happening again. Now, how and where does this type of learning take place? Well, it is a combination of simulations and real-life test runs. The AI will begin one simulation and then continue to do simulations at increased difficulties as it accomplishes the previous simulation. Eventually, the AI will become good enough in the simulations that real-life test runs have to be done to assess the capability of the AI. Currently, we are in the real-life test run phase; AI is capable of passing the simulations and needs spontaneous scenarios to test their judgment. If all goes well with the real-life test runs, companies will start to
adopt autonomous vehicles in their business. Fewer drivers means prices will be lower for items in transit. Depending on how widespread autonomous vehicles become, decreased costs in the market place is a possibility. Autonomous vehicles are only the beginning. AI has the potential to be implemented in more than just vehicles. AI could be used for shipping items across the oceans or air. Both of these tasks are much more complicated than land vehicles, which is why we have to master the roads first. Now, many may think that this implementation of AI will take jobs away from people, and this is unfortunately true. Although, there is a silver lining, the AI can
not be entirely run on its own, and if something fails, someone has to fix it. This opens new jobs for people as others disappear. The thing that will disappear is unskilled labor. As time goes on, less unskilled labor is required because technology is doing the work for us. AI can be a good thing or a bad thing. The human race is progressing and improving, and anyone that refuses to improve themselves will inevitably be left behind. Technology allows us to do more tasks than we could without it, which means that we should not be afraid of it. Embracing progress and becoming informed about AI will prevent confusion and fear. The only way is up from here and looking down is not accepted.
Why should you take a cruise? Vacations can be very expensive when everything adds up. I know that several people have not even been on a vacation because they cannot afford to go anywhere, even if it is just to another state. My family and I are blessed enough to travel every now and then. We save and save some more until we are finally ready to be able to choose a destination to travel to. Our
favorite kind of vacation to take are cruises. There are several benefits that come along with cruising and I want everyone to take it into consideration when choosing a vacation destination. One thing that is a plus while going on a cruise is that they can be fairly inexpensive. Depending on how long you’re looking to cruise for, they can start anywhere from $300 and go up in price from there. But
with the price comes the destinations. If you are paying the low price of $300, you are probably going on a shorter cruise, around three or four days, but that still means you are getting to see a new place every day. A big attribute of going on a cruise is that you get to experience a different place almost every day while on the ship. There are some “days at sea,” but this means you’re experiencing something new at every port. Each island or location has something to offer whether it be beautiful beaches, international shopping or good food to eat. It is the best part about cruising because each destina-
tion has different excursions you can attend, but that is an added cost. Cruising is almost as all-inclusive as if you were going to a resort. Every night on most cruise ships, there is a formal dinner that has an appetizer, a main course and dessert. You cannot beat this because you do not have to pay any extra money for it. There is also a buffet open almost 24 hours a day. There is endless food available, and it is included in the price of your cruise when you book it. I know that several people are nervous about going on a cruise because they are nervous about the boat sinking or
they are frightened of water. I can say from personal experience that it is a very rare occasion that you can feel the ship moving while aboard. I am terrified of water just as much as anyone else and I am a cruise fanatic. There are so many activities on board that you can’t even tell that you’re on a ship most of the time. If you are hesitant about taking a cruise, I highly suggest stepping out of your comfort zone and just doing it. They are affordable, you can travel to new places and there are so many things to do while aboard. Don’t be afraid because it is worth taking a leap of faith!
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.
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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
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Wednesday, October 9, 2019
SPORTS
WesternCourier.com
Browns burn with Taking a look at the two NL Baker during MNF divisional series game fives
When reality hits, it can feel like a building of bricks falling on top of your head. Some people and organizations operate in future predictions, expected sales and basically count their eggs before they hatch. Then when the future finally rolls around and the expectations aren’t met, the situation is disappointing. Right now, the Cleveland Browns hit Earth after the hypefueled plane finally ran out of fumes. After an offseason where they were the most talked about and anticipated organization in all of the NFL, it’s safe to say after a 2-3 start and two blowout losses in primetime matchups that the Brown’s aren’t meeting expectations. The real question is why should we be surprised? After winning seven games last year and breaking the spell of the winless Browns organization, the world thought Baker Mayfield might just be the next QB in Cleveland worthy of hope. He now has nine wins over six teams. None of those wins have come against an opponent with a winning record. Everyone believed that Mayfield was poised to lead a playoff caliber team with star studded talent with newly acquired targets Odell Beckham Jr. and Jarvis Landry. However, not even Deshaun Watson had this hype after going 11-5 and making the postseason last year. The only difference between the two is that Mayfield unlocked the beer after getting a win for the Browns. Simply because Mayfield won for a team that has not seen success in a generation, all of a sudden meant that he was the next prince; the next man up that will bring football back to Cleveland. For a fan base that
has been patient for years, why rush your next quarterback? Mayfield needs to win a game against a winning team for the Browns to start believing in him. Beckham Jr. dropped multiple catchable balls in Monday night’s blowout loss to the San Francisco 49ers and has not seen the explosion in production that people were expecting. Beckham Jr. struggled with the last losing situation he was a part of in New York. How long will he wait for the Browns to start winning before he starts to complain? Everyone is expecting the Browns to be a competitor this year. What if they aren’t? Unfortunately, Cleveland is on a dangerous road. When losing, blame is placed. Will the new head coach, Freddy Kitchens, take all the blame, or will Mayfield take all the blame? How will the team handle a losing situation, one they have been a part of for a decade? Now with everyone expecting wins to come consistently, what will happen if losing continues in Cleveland? The future is now in Cleveland, and Mayfield has to be the man. Cleveland has hope. They should have hope, but not hype. They should have realistic expectations of a mediocre season with a new head coach and a second year quarterback still finding his rhythm with a busload of offensive weapons. Mayfield is no Patrick Mahomes, and he is no Tom Brady. The NFL expected him to compete at that level, but he is not there. Reality is settling in Cleveland and it hurts. The expectations need to change for the rest of this year. Hype can come later. The Browns may not go to the Super Bowl, but they aren’t the Miami Dolphins. Good luck Cleveland.
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Fall is here and that means postseason baseball is in full swing. The New York Yankees shockingly swept the Twins. Just kidding, the Twins have lost 16 postseason games inarow, and the last 13 have come from the Yanks. In the other ALDS series, the Houston Astros have the lead against the Tampa Bay Rays. That leads us to the two series in the NLDS. The Washington Nationals vs the L.A. Dodgers, and the St. Louis Cardinals vs the Atlanta Braves. Both series have been more competitive, forcing both series to go the distance for tonight’s Game 5. The first game at 4:02 p.m. is the NL Central Champs the St. Louis Cardinals on the road against the NL East Champs the Atlanta Braves. This has been the most entertaining series so far in the playoffs. Every game has been decided by three runs or less, and three of the four have been decided by one run. Both of the Cardinals’ wins have come in the ninth inning or later, including future Hall of Famer Yadier Molina’s walk off sac fly
TALKING CHOP
Luke Duvall takes off after making contact with the ball.
in the 10th that extended this series to today. The Braves, on the other hand, have gotten their production from the unlikeliest of heroes. In Game 2, starting pitcher Mike Foltynewicz went seven shutout innings and only allowed three hits. Earlier in the year, Foltynewicz was sent down to AAA because he had an ERA over six. He will get the start in Game 5 and look to send the Braves to their first NLCS since 2001. Their other hero is Adam Duvall. Duvall pinched hit for Foltynewicz in Game 2 and came up clutch, hitting a two-run home run sealing their first win of the series. That wasn’t the end of late game heroics for Duvall. In Game 3, Duvall got the game-winning hit in the ninth driving in go ahead runs. The Cardinals will have ace Ryan Flaherty, who was very good in Game 2, but made the one mistake to Duvall in the seventh. Flaherty and Foltynewicz will have their rematch in Atlanta to decide which team will clinch the first spot in the NLCS. Expect another great performance from them, adding to
VIVA EL BIRDOS
Yadier Molina looks into the crowd during a game.
WC
this drama filled series. Following this game is the Wild Card Washington Nationals at the NL West Champs the L.A. Dodgers at 7:37 p.m. So far in the series, both teams have won every other game. The Dodgers got off to a great start winning the first game 6-0, thanks to Walker Buehler’s six shutout innings. The following game, Clayton Kershaw struggled early, giving up three runs in the first two innings. That’s all Stephen Strasburg needed to give the Nats their first win of the series. In Game 3, the Dodgers' bats exploded for 10 runs, with seven of those coming in the sixth. That was more than enough for potential CY Young winner HyunJin Ryu, who went five innings and only gave up two runs in the first. Patrick Corbin who only gave up one earned run in Game 1, gave up six earned runs in less than an inning in relief. Max Scherzer was fantastic in Game 4, sending this to Game 5 tonight. Tonight’s matchup will be Strasburg vs. Buehler, with plenty of options in the bull pen for both teams. The Nats are looking for their first NLCS appearance since moving to Washington, and the Dodgers are trying to advance to their fourth in as many years.
CBS SPORTS
Max Scherzer satnds on the mound and waits to pitch.
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Sports 7
Wednesday, October 9, 2019
Wrestling starts a new era of entertainment
In case you didn’t know, last week was a huge week for the professional wrestling industry. The WWE (World Wrestling Entertainment) held its “premiere week” with the season premieres of the top two longest running weekly television programs in history in Monday Night Raw and Friday Night Smackdown. Smackdown made history by making its debut on network television on Fox. While both Raw and Smackdown had impressive showings last week, we must take a look at what may become the most competitive and entertaining night of the week for professional wrestling since the Monday Night Wars of the 1990s (I’ll get to that in a bit). Last Wednesday, WWE aired the “premiere” of its developmental brand NXT on the USA network (yet oddly enough the show had already been airing on USA since Sept. 18, so I don’t get how it could be a premiere) at 7 p.m. At the same time, on rival channel TNT, All Elite Wrestling (AEW) debuted its very first episode of Wednesday Night Dynamite. Before I go into why this competition will make pro wrestling relevant again, I must dive deep into wrestling history and the importance of the Monday Night Wars. Monday Night Raw debuted on the USA Network on Jan. 11, 1993 from the Manhattan Center in New York City. As a wrestling show, it ran unopposed as a prime time wrestling show in its time
slot. That same year, rival wrestling company World Championship Wrestling (WCW) promoted former commentator Eric Bischoff to Executive Vice President. It wasn’t until 1995 that Bischoff concocted the idea to run a weekly episodic television program and run it at the exact same time on WCW majority owner Ted Turner’s own network TNT. WCW Monday Night Nitro aired its first episode from the Mall of America in Minneapolis on Sept. 4, 1995. The show was filled with many familiar WCW stars such as Sting and Hulk Hogan, but it wasn’t until the main event that people started to realize the seriousness of the new show. During the main event Lex Luger, whose contract with the WWE (then WWF) had recently expired the previous week, appeared at the show. Those in WCW knew Luger had opted not to resign with WWF and signed with WCW. However, the fans had absolutely no idea and thought a WWF Superstar was betraying his company. Luger was the first of many WWF Superstars that defected to WCW over the years, but with his initial appearance, the Monday Night Wars were born. For the next decade, the two companies would battle for ratings supremacy. It was thanks to this war that we have legendary factions like the nWo and D-Generation X and for legendary superstars like The Rock, Sting, “Stone Cold” Steve Austin, Booker
T and many more. To make a long story short, the competition between these two powerhouse companies put wrestling on the map. That brings me back to the present day. The similarities between the Raw/Nitro war and what could become the NXT/Dynamite feud are real. AEW announced on May 15 this year that they reached a deal with WarnerMedia that they would be airing a weekly primetime show on TNT (sounds familiar doesn’t it). This past August, WWE announced that its very popular developmental brand would make its debut on the USA Network beginning in September. Now, where have I heard this before? WWE’s announcement sparked conversation across the pro wrestling world about the potential of Wednesday Night Wars. What show should I watch? Can AEW compete with the WWE? Will we see a WCW/WWE caliber competition? There are answers to each of those questions. Let’s start with the competition. NXT’s roster consists of numerous established stars, many of which have been at one time or another considered the best in the world, in the likes of Adam Cole, Matt Riddle and Tommaso Ciampa, just to name a few. AEW has the same caliber roster featuring former WWE Superstars Cody Rhodes, Chris Jericho, John Moxley (known as Dean Ambrose in WWE) and Dustin Rhodes (known as Goldust in WWE) and non-WWE talent like Kenny Omega and the Young Bucks. But what do these rosters look like in action? That brings us to last Wednesday. Each show’s card was
stacked to the brim with matches that had amazing potential. As a fan, it was so hard to choose which I should watch. So, me and my friends did the only logical thing we could think of: we set up two TVs and watched the shows simultaneously. Boy, were we not disappointed. NXT started off with an NXT championship match between champ Cole and challenger Riddle. The high-flying acrobatics mixed with the pure storytelling had me at the edge of my seat, not knowing who was going to win. Cole retained his championship and the match ended up with a rating of four and a quarter stars out of five from Dave Meltzer of the Wrestling Observer. After the match, WWE superstar Finn Balor made a surprise return from injury, making the statement that he was back in NXT to the surprise and shock of many. The highlights of Dynamite saw a main event tag team match between The Elite (Omega and the Young Bucks) vs Jericho and Santana & Ortiz. The match saw huge spots from the Young Bucks and Jericho but was highlighted by Moxley interfering and beating Omega all over the arena. After the match was done, Cody ran in and attacked Jericho, who had done the same earlier in the night, only to be met by his opponent from earlier, Sammy Guevara. To help out Cody was his brother Dustin who ran in to a huge pop. The largest pop, however, was awarded to the surprising debut of former WWE Superstar and current Bellator MMA fighter, Jake Hager (formerly known as Jack Swagger). Hager destroyed any good guy he could find and stared down
the camera when he was finished. Fans had witnessed the creation of a new faction consisting of Jericho, Santana & Ortiz, Hager and Guevara, that will most likely be AEW’s version of the nWo. The next day, the coveted ratings came out for the two shows. NXT had amassed a total of 891,000 viewers while its competitor AEW had intrigued wrestling fans so much that they totaled 1.4 million viewers on their first episode. Before people start to get all worked up that AEW is greater than WWE, there’s a simple explanation as to why the numbers were the way they were. Fans were curious about what AEW had to offer. That’s it. Those numbers don’t specify who has the better product, or at least they don’t for right now. WWE released a statement last Thursday that read, “Congratulations to AEW on a successful premiere. The real winners of last night’s head-to-head telecasts of NXT on USA Network and AEW on TNT are the fans, who can expect Wednesday nights to be a competitive and wild ride as this is a marathon, not a onenight sprint.” That statement could not be more accurate. So before you settle down tonight to watch whichever program you prefer, let these words from former WWE champion CM Punk resonate in your head. “Don’t let either company trick you into thinking it’s an us versus them thing. Just enjoy the wrestling. Whether it’s WWE or AEW or NXT, you guys don’t have to choose. You can (expletive) watch them all. And that’s rad.” So sit back, relax and enjoy what is about to be one of the greatest eras in professional wrestling history.
WWE continues to disappoint fans The WWE has been a television mainstay for longer than I have been a living human being. They’ve been here through thick and thin, so it seems like they would have a general semblance of sense when it comes to putting on an entertaining product. After their pay-per-view Hell in a Cell last Sunday, it’s officially become an inescapable fact that they are completely out of touch with the community and current era of wrestling. Lighting in a bottle is an understatement when describing what WWE had in their hands with Bray Wyatt’s new character “The Fiend.” Wyatt’s Firefly Funhouse episodes had entranced WWE fans for the past few months as the demeted children’s television show host sawed a poster of himself in half, smashed a puppet’s head with a mallet and fed a puppet of Vince McMahon stacks of money. The absurdity of it all endeared Wyatt to an audience.
It was different, weird and a little bit terrifying. Literally the only objective the WWE should’ve had on Sunday was to put Wyatt over and crown him the new Universal Champion. The rest of the card didn’t really matter and WWE basically said that themselves as they added multiple matches the day of the event due to them not having enough matches to fill an entire pay-per-view card. Of the announced matches, there was only one that fans were 100 percent behind the winner. I, myself, would’ve prefered Sasha Banks beat Becky Lynch or Bayley beat Charlotte Flair, but it wouldn't have mattered if Wyatt came out of the main event as champion. As the main event started, I sat up in my seat to watch the spectacle that was to come. This was only the second time we had come across the new iteration of Wyatt. To give WWE credit on one thing, they nailed the atmosphere around this match.
The Fiend is unlike anything we have in wrestling right now and it does seem like they understand that simple fact. For the main event, they left the entire arena bathed in red light which instilled a unique vibe from the viewers at home and it seemed like we were on the way to the coronation of a new champion. The perfect scenario here would’ve been a brisk seven minute match where The Fiend completely decimates Seth Rollins on route to a 10 minute victory. What we got instead was a match that looked like it was a lame playout of a video game that was being controlled by an 8 year old. Rollins hit what seemed like 800 of his so called “finishing move” and was unable to put The Fiend down. As the boos from the audience grew louder, the match just got more preposterous. One headshot with a steel chair, another headshot with a steel chair and a ladder, another with a steel chair, a ladder and a toolbox and finally a headshot with a steel chair, ladder, toolbox and sledge hammer led to Rollins being disqualified in what is supposed to be the most brutal match in all of WWE. I’ve watched WWE for
most of my life and as a result, I’ve been disappointed countless times, but never in my days have I been more let down by a result of a match. After the disqualification, the cage was raised and The Fiend gained new life and attacked Rollins to the point where he was vomiting blood. It’s apparent that WWE was trying to go for the unkillable horror movie villain and if they would’ve done a better job with the match, I may have completely bought in. Most of what I like about Wyatt’s new character is the aura around him that makes him feel like the horror icons I’ve come to love over the years, but it all fell flat on Sunday night. Most wrestling fans complain nonstop about WWE and I’ve tried to be one of those who see the glass half full. If I hated WWE, I wouldn’t watch it, but they do know what they’re doing to a point. Last year, I was absolutely captivated with the evolution of Becky Lynch and they knocked her storyline out of the park. Their NXT brand is probably the best two hours of wrestling on the planet. Before Hell in a Cell, they were doing an amazing job with Wyatt, but
I’m not sure what they expected to get out of this. Last weekend, sports editor Bradley Piros and I went to a Glory Pro Wrestling house show in Missouri. Glory Pro is a small wrestling promotion that has flown under the radar for quite some time. The house show was in a small Masonic Lodge that couldn’t have seated over 300 people. Before going to the show, I was completely unfamiliar with the promotion and knew almost nothing about all but one of the wrestlers there, but by the end of the night, I was so fired up and fulfilled by a night of great and exciting wrestling. I bring this up because a company the size of WWE should not leave fans in arenas and at home feeling disgusted by what they just saw. In this era where there is more wrestling at the fingertips of fans to view, WWE is falling behind the curve when it comes to satisfying their fans. It seems like McMahon needs to let someone else take the lead when it comes to scripting and planning matches, but I don’t think anyone who even knows a little about McMahon sees that happening soon.
Women’s soccer looks to make it five in a row against Denver Pioneers By Bradley Piros sports editor The Western Illinois University women’s soccer team (6-5-1) will head to Colorado to take on the University of Denver Pioneers (4-4-3) tomorrow night. The teams have squared off against each other five times in the past with the Leathernecks taking a loss each game. Last season, the Pioneers beat Western 3-0 in Macomb. Last year ’s 3-14-1 campaign for the Leathernecks was a bit disappointing, but they’ve put that behind them and have been off to a great start in 2019. Western is currently riding a four-game win streak and is 2-0 in conference play. So, if the Leathernecks were to “upset” Denver, this is the time to do it. Western has shut out their opponents for three straight games. Back on Sept. 30, the Leathernecks beat Chicago State University 1-0 with the lone goal coming from sophomore forward Amy Andrews in the second half. Back on Oct. 3, Western began conference play with another 1-0 win, this time against the University of Nebraska Omaha Mavericks. The goal was converted by junior midfielder Jenna Lundgren in the 38th minute. She made a move inside the 18-yard box and drew a penalty kick. She stepped up to the spot and confidently put the ball in the back of the net for the game-winning goal. The last time out for Western was on Sunday when they took on the Purdue University Fort Wayne Mastodons. Western won 2-0 with goals from sophomore defender Zoe Clarke and junior forward Lauryn Peters. Clarke broke the tie in the 55th minute with a beautiful free kick and then Peters doubled the lead only four minutes later. Clarke got the assist on the goal when she swung the ball in from a corner kick and Peters headed it in to make it 2-0. Western has been dominating their opposition lately, so much so that for the first time in program history, Western won both the offensive and defensive Summit League Player of the Week Awards. With Clarke’s goal and assist against the Mastodons, she earned her first player of the week honor of her career. Assistant coach Josee Primeau was happy for her player. “Zoe has played very well so far this sea-
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Lauryn Peters slides in to try and block an incoming shot.
son. Having her score the opening goal against Purdue Fort Wayne really helped our morale in that game and gave our girls the boost we needed to push through the rest of the match,” Primeau said in an interview with WIU Athletics Communications. “I'm extremely happy for her and can't wait to see her play this week.” A good team is only as good as their goalkeeper, which in this case is very good. Senior Ines Palmiero Herrera earned defensive player of the week for her second time, earning her first back on Oct. 9, 2017 (her sophomore season). With three straight shutout victories, it’s no question why she received this honor. Palmiero Herrera recently climbed up into fourth all-time with 234 career saves. She led The Summit League last season and currently sits third in The Summit with 57 so far this season. She made 13 saves against the Mastodons to pick up her seventh career shutout. “She (Ines) has worked incredibly hard for us this year and has helped us maintain a clean sheet in our last three matches,” Primeau said. “She came up big for us this weekend in our League opening weekend and we're very excited to see what else her senior year has in store.” Western still has a tough task ahead of them in the Pioneers and they can’t assume another victory. Denver has scored 10 goals in 11 games, seven of them coming from only three different players. Denver has a front three that Western could have a difficult time shutting down. Sophomore forward Samantha Feller leads the team with seven points (three goals, one assist). Fellow sophomore forward Camryn MacMillan has two goals and an assist on the year as well as senior midfielder Hannah Adler. Western’s defense has been very strong lately and the Pioneers will be testing just how strong they really are tomorrow night. Western will be fighting to stay undefeated in The Summit League while Denver will be looking for their first conference win. It should be an exceptional game between two quality teams. Kick off is set for 8 p.m. in Denver. The Leathernecks will return home on Sunday to face North Dakota University at noon. Twitter: @bradjp08
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Natalie Nagle crosses the ball across the field to a teammate.
Ines Palmiero Herrera takes a goal kick.
BECCA LANGYS / PHOTO EDITOR
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Jenna Lundgren sprints to get back into the play.
BECCA LANGYS / PHOTO EDITOR
Zoe Clarke goes in for a tackel with a teammate.