Western Courier| February 14th, 2020

Opinions: How to make the most of Valentine's Day in Macomb.

Sports: Softball prepares for Getterman Classic.

WesternCourier.com

Friday, February 14, 2020 - Vol. 120 Issue 55

@WesternCourier

Western Illinois to receive $8.9 million for Center for the Performance Arts

WIU.EDU

A proposed sketch of the new Center for Performing Arts from 2014.

By Devin Brooks NEWS3 reporter

MACOMB, Ill. (NEWS3) — Gov. J.B. Pritzker announced the Illinois Capital Development Board (CDB) awarded $8.9 million to Western Illinois University to restart the Center for the Performing Arts (CPA) project on the Macomb campus.

According to WIU University Relations, in April 2014, the state announced funding

for the center ’s construction.

A second groundbreaking was held as a result, and the CDB began the construction document bid process based on the original architects’ renderings. However, the project stalled following the November 2014 election. According to Interim Provost Billy Clow, the release of the $8.9 million will allow for an update by an architectural team. The $8.9 million is part of the reappropriated $89

million recently announced

by Gov. Pritzker and the CDB. Construction could begin as soon as mid-Fall 2020, Clow added.

Officials said the Center for Performing Arts was first approved in December 2002, when the Illinois Board of Higher Education recommended a $22.5 million FY’04 appropriation for CPA planning and design. A ceremonial groundbreaking was held in April 2011.

“We are greatly appreciative to Gov. Pritzker, the General Assembly and the Capital Development Board for releasing the funds to revise the original concept, and begin the process, which we are hopeful will finally lead to the fruition of the WIU Center for the Performing Arts in Macomb,” WIU Interim President Martin Abraham said. “We look forward to the day we can begin building this amazing facility that

will benefit our students, faculty and staff, as well as the region. Thank you to our legislators, businesses, alumni, friends, donors, the General Assembly and the governor for their continued support of Western.”

were approved and discussed at the Western Illinois Faculty Senate meeting that took place on Feb. 4.

The minor will be an 18-19 credit hour program and most of the classes will take place through the School of Agriculture, however, additional coursework will come from the Department of Biological Science.

Western Illinois Interim President Martin Abraham has worked to expand de-

velopment at Western since taking the reins and he expressed his excitement for the new program.

“We're excited to be a part of this flourishing industry and providing in-demand, and new, academic opportunities for our students,” Abraham said. “Because of our many years of work in alternative crops, and the outstanding expertise of our faculty at Western, we are in a unique position to be at the forefront

of cannabis studies.”

According to the Illinois Department of Financial and Professional Regulation, Illinois dispensaries sold more than $39 million in recreational marijuana in the month of January alone. This was the second largest financial rollout in the nation’s history, only trailing California, who brought in around $70 million in their first month in 2018.

Courses that will be offered

in the minor include “Cannabis Biology and Production,” “Crop Sciences,” “Introduction to horticulture,” “Introduction to Plant Biology,” “Genetics in Biology and Agriculture,” “Pest Management,” “Plant Structure,” “Plant Physiology,” “Landscape Construction and Management,” “Greenhouse and Nursery Management,” “Plant Breeding,” “Crop Improvement” and “Hydroponic Plant Production.”

Performance Arts page 2

Western Illinois announces new Cannabis Production minor

By Devon Greene editor-in-chief

Students at Western Illinois University will soon have the opportunity to minor in one of the fastest growing economic markets in America.

Starting next fall, Western Illinois will offer a Cannabis Production minor through the School of Agriculture and Department of Biological Science.

The minor and its details

2

Friday, February 14, 2020

NEWS

Performance Arts from front page

WIU said the Center for the Performing Arts (formerly called the Performing Arts Center), will support the academic mission and programs in the College of Fine Arts and Communication, will include an approximately 1,400-seat proscenium theatre auditorium, a 250seat thrust stage and a 150-seat studio theatre. There also will be dance, jazz, percussion and theatre rehearsal studios and classrooms to facilitate the academic mission of the building, which complements numerous academic programs; dressing rooms adjacent to the theatres; a scenery/design workshop

and a costume shop; a box office; administration offices and a loading dock that will accommodate semis and buses for professional touring companies and orchestras.

University officials said the CPA, which will be located on the southwest side of campus along Western Avenue, will connect to Browne Hall and consolidate performance spaces close to classrooms in Browne, Memorial and Sallee halls.

Corbin Hall is adjacent to the center and includes a fine arts floor for students to complete the living and learning aspect of an arts quad.

WIU said the CPA will also include several naming opportunities, including the performance venues, rehearsal spac-

WesternCourier.com

es, the gallery, scene shop, lounges, VIP room and green rooms. Individuals may also purchase naming rights to seats in the proscenium and thrust theatres.

In 2011, the WIU Foundation announced that Tate Lindahl, a retired WIU administrator and Macomb resident, had arranged for a seven-figure bequest in his estate plans to assist in the maintenance of the center. In 2013, alumni Kenneth and Lorraine Epperson pledged a seven-figure gift for the center. WIU said the 5,000 square-foot iconic lobby will be named in their honor, and Herb and Nancy Strong of Macomb have funded the donation of the Herb and Nancy Strong Steinway Concert Grand Piano, which will reside in the center.

MMA Club invited to Florida Showcase

TWITTER.COM

The Western Illinois University MMA Club meets in the gym.

By Bradley Piros sports editor

MACOMB, Ill. – The Western Illinois University Mixed Martial Arts (MMA) Club will have the opportunity to participate in the National University and College Association of Mixed Martial Arts (NUCA MMA) Showcase 2020. This is the first time since the club’s creation in 2009 that they have been able to send members of the club to a high-level event like this one.

Five members will be making the trip, those five being: senior, and president of the club, Brock Daley, junior Brody Johnson, freshman Jaiden Speer, senior Anthony Gomez and freshman Ivan Rodriquez.

The MMA Club will travel down to the University

WC Located on the third floor of the Heating Plant Annex on the south end of campus across from Sherman Hall.

Mail: 1 University Circle, WIU, Macomb, IL 61455 Phone: 309-298-1876 Fax: 309-298-2309 Hours: 8 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. weekdays E-mail: micour@wiu.edu Member: Illinois College Press Association, National Association College Press

of Central Florida later this month on Friday, Feb. 28 to show off their skills and are hoping that all their hard work will finally pay off.

“The sport is beautiful,” Daley said in an interview with WIU Media Relations.

“You get out what you put in.

You have to put in about six months of preparation for two minutes of action.”

Daley has a fight on the Main Card of the event, and he will be going in undefeated.

Daley practiced with his high school’s wrestling team and also competed as a member of the Academy of Self Defense back home in Chicago.

He came to Western in the fall of 2016 and was very pleased to find out that they had an MMA Club.

The NUCA MMA is relatively new. Since it was founded in 2017 the organization has

been trying to help amateur MMA fighters as well as student athletes pursue professional careers in MMA, such as the Ultimate FightingChampionship (UFC).

Western has been part of the NUCA MMA since the fall of 2018 but have yet to be invited to event like this one. Western will be going up against other, much bigger, schools such as Arizona State University, Grand Canyon University, the University of Albany and Ohio University to name a few.

Since it is collegiate, there is no prize money for the winners. The showcase is primarily for showing off the skills of these athletes and getting them exposure to the MMA community. In a way, the NUCA MMA is a steppingstone for those who are trying to make it as a professional in

STAFF MEMBERS editor-in-chief Devon Greene

proofreader Mary Kilbourne

DJ-Greene@wiu.edu

MC-Kilbourne@wiu.edu

news editor Devon Greene

photo editor Becca Langys

DJ-Greene@wiu.edu

RE-Langys@wiu.edu

opinions editor Allison Young

assistant photo editor Sara Remar

AN-Young@wiu.edu

SE-Remar@wiu.edu

sports editor Bradley Piros

production manager Brandon Trost

BJ-Piros@wiu.edu

BL-Trost@wiu.edu

assistant sports editor Chris Bean

business manager Janiya Haynes

CR-Bean@wiu.edu

J-Haynes2@wiu.edu

edge editor Rachel Greene

assistant business manager Nash Miller

R-Greene2@wiu.edu

NK-Miller@wiu.edu

copy editor Amanda Wandachowicz

advertising manager Tyler Hoffman

A-Wandachowicz@wiu.edu

TE-Hoffman@wiu.edu adviser Will Buss WJ-Buss@wiu.edu

The Western Illinois MMA Club takes part in the Activities Fair.

WIU.EDU

mixed martial arts one day.

Along with the great exposure this showcase offers, it also shows the legitimacy of these fights. This event will give these fighters the experience of the legality and management issues associated with MMA, for instance health insurance and traveling. There’s a whole lot more that goes into MMA than just being able to throw a punch, and that’s what this event is trying to teach to these amateur athletes.

The final thing that this event offers is the chance to get to spar with other amateur fighters from all over the country in a safe and regulated environment. For those who aren’t familiar with MMA terminology, sparring is basically oneon-one practice with another fighter where the goal is to better your skills, not actually

hurt your “opponent.”

For any of those interested in either learning the ins and outs of MMA or just watching what goes into it, the club will be hosting an open workout tomorrow (Feb. 15) from 1-3 p.m. inside the Student Recreation Center.

The public will get an opportunity to learn about the club, get to know the students in it and even learn some new skills if they want to. Following practice, each member of the club will be asked some interview questions regarding the showcase at the end of the month.

The full card has not come out yet for the NUCA MMA 2020 Showcase, but for those who are wanting more information it can be found on their website http://www.nucamma.com or on their official NUCA MMA Facebook page.

PUBLISHING AND CIRCULATION

ADVERTISING POLICY

The Western Courier is published Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays during the regular school year, excluding holidays, finals week and semester breaks. The WC updates the website weekly during the summer. All content reflects the editorial discretion of the students operating the newspaper and must be interpreted as unofficial university communication. While every attempt is made to determine the validity of advertising contained herein, the advertising in the WC is not to be construed as endorsements of any specific products or services. The WC assumes no responsibility or liability resulting from the content of paid advertisements. Subscription price is $36 per year mailed third-class bulk rate from Macomb.

The WC is printed by The Galesburg Register-Mail in Galesburg, Ill.

COPYRIGHT 2017

No reproduction or reuse of material is permitted without written consent of the WC. All rights reserved. To request permission to reprint any material from this publication, please contact Will Buss at 309-298-1876.

The WC does not knowingly accept advertisements that discriminate on the basis of sex, race, creed, religion, color, handicapped status, veteran or sexual orientation, nor does it knowingly print ads that violate any local, state or federal laws.

One copy of the Western Courier is free.

Additional copies $1.

CORRECTIONS AND CLARIFICATIONS The WC needs your help to maintain accuracy. If you find a factual error, call the WC office at 309-298-1876 between 8 a.m. and 4:30 p.m. weekdays. Please ask to speak to an editor to ensure the inaccurate information can be corrected as quickly as possible.

Friday, February 14, 2020

@WesternCourier

NEWS 3

Macomb opens warming Food Insecurity Conference coming centers due to to Western inclement weather

MACOMB, IL -- The Western Illinois University Food Pantry will host a Food Insecurity Conference from 10 a.m.-3 p.m. Friday, April 17 in the University Union's Sandburg Theatre.

This conference will feature several guest speakers from around the country talking about increasing issues surrounding food insecurity on college campuses in America, what efforts are being made to combat this issue and what still needs to be accomplished.

Students, staff or faculty members is interested in attending or volunteering should fill out the form at bit.ly/31HpGXH. Those who are not students, staff or faculty members, and are interested in attending, or have any questions about the conference, email Casey Hendrickson at cv-hendrickson@wiu.edu.

Courtesy of University Relations

5 Day Weather Forecast sourced by FRIDAY

SUNNY

SATURDAY MOSTLY CLOUDY

SUNDAY

MOSTLY CLOUDY

MONDAY

TUESDAY

RAIN

CLOUDY

H 21 / L 16 H 36 / L 24 H 48 / L 35 H 45 / L 34 H 35 / L 12 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.

Letters & Local Forum Policies

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.

2020 Spring Semester Editorial Board

Edge Editor - Rachel Greene Editor-in-Chief - Devon Greene Opinions Editor - Allison Young

4

OPINIONS

Friday, February 14, 2020

WesternCourier.com

Celebrating Valentine’s Day in a small town Jiana Barrera Courier staff

Valentine's Day is the time for lovers to express their love and affection with gifts and cards to a significant other or even a secret crush.

This holiday of romance has been celebrated since about the 14th century and many businesses make thousands of dollars every year. Since Macomb is a smaller town, it can be difficult to make plans for this day of romance due to limited places to eat and gifts to buy for one another. However, many greek organizations on campus offer small treats and gift deals for the holiday.

For example, Alpha Sigma Tau has a yearly pop up flower shop in the University Union on Feb. 14 every school year. All of the roses sold come wrapped and the prices are, one rose for $5, five roses for $10, a half dozen roses for $20 and a dozen roses for $30. This amazing rose sale allows students to buy gifts on campus and goes to a

great cause.

Another organization that sells Valentine’s day gifts on campus is the sorority of Sigma Sigma Sigma. This greek organization allows students to order candy-grams for just $3 and offers delivery and pick up options. This is another great way to spread some love during this romantic holiday.

Although these organizations offer special deals on and off campus, I still believe that spending the holidays in the city of Macomb can be a hassle.

Barely any restaurants across town allow reservations for this holiday, resulting in long wait times and inconvenience.

I believe that Western Illinois University should offer a dinner paid from students’ swipes for this holiday because it will not only avoid this issue, but it would be a great way to strengthen the student and school community on campus. According to the balance

article, it is predicted that the amount of money Americans spend on Valentine's day will increase from 2019, which was a total of $20.7 billion. Due to the lack of organization in the city, I believe if the university offered a dinner for students on campus allowing reservation options, it would result in more money for the university. If Western Illinois incorporated more of these fun and creative ideas for students, I think the school would raise an abundant amount of money for remodeling or other financial needs. Since the students of Western tend to associate primarily within their own organizations, this would be a great opportunity for various groups to come together and interact as one.

Every year, students on campus spend enormous amounts of money on gifts for a significant other and enjoy celebrating the romantic holiday.

All of these funds will contribute to the school. If students were given this opportunity during many holiday seasons other than Valentine’s day, it will increase the interest of not only students but the Macomb community.

WIKIMEDIA.ORG

Roses are being sold by many organizations on campus and around town

Are Hyper Pods the transportation of the future?

Transportation is how we get from point A to point B. The farther away we are trying to go, the more energy, time and money it takes to get there.

I believe that we can get places faster with Hyper pods, but first let’s talk about what we have today. Currently, our means of transportation consist of cars, trains and planes.

I listed the transportation methods in order of cheapest to most expensive and, unironically, slowest to fast-

est. Now, whenever new ideas of transportation are considered, a lot of factors have to go through with it. One factor is comparability with current transportation.

The method I am talking about is Hyper pods, which are pods that transport people through tubes. Now, you may be thinking why would you want something like this? My answer would be because it is extremely efficient. Hyper pods can reach and surpass

speeds of our modern planes on land. That means that a traveler can cut down on air time and the time it would take you to get to and from the airport.

Hyper pods would emulate train track’s current infrastructure to lay a foundation for the routes of the pods.

Meaningless time is needed to construct the route for the pods. They reach high speeds by using magnets and reducing air friction. The magnets move the travelers at increasing speeds and lift the pod to avoid friction to the track.

The air friction is reduced by tubes that suck out the air of the tube while the pod travels. The end result is a pod that can reach higher speeds

and maintain them with little energy loss and little energy input.

Unfortunately, Hyper pods are still in the development stages and a lot of skepticism arises. One of the biggest is cost and that can be for the creation of the pods or the cost to commute on them. Like all things commercial, the objective is to make money. Some people would be willing to pay a premium for easier transport but the question is how many can actually afford to pay? That number will determine the price of the Hyper pods and ultimately how many and where the pods will be available.

Even if the pods were available today, another deterrent

Write for Opinions

for people is safety. Any new invention will have a lot of skepticism because people are afraid of change. The pods are extremely safe by design, but every invention has its possible drawbacks. For example, the pods are in a tube so if an emergency occurs, the tubes have exit points along your route. This is a lot safer than having to emergency land a plane. Another concern is the speed at 700 mph+ the speed increasing and decreasing can sound unsettling. The teams making the pods understand this and are creating ways to make the experience seamless.

As of now, the only thing we can do is wait and hope that we can have another way from point A to B.

Contact Allison Young

AN-Young@wiu.edu

Friday, February 14, 2020

@WesternCourier

OPINIONS 5

The impact of advertising during the Super Bowl

Groups gathered around watching the Super Bowl.

The NFL’s Super Bowl is regarded as one of the biggest sporting events in the United States. It is an event consisting of a contentious football game between two teams as well as entertainment in regards to half-time show. But one important and financially staggering aspect of the Super Bowl is the advertising that happens during the event.

Advertisers see the Super Bowl as a way to promote their brands to a massive audience and even produce extravagant advertisements for millions

of people at home to remember. Super Bowl advertising, while effective, is also expensive, costing millions to buy a slot to air a commercial making a 30 second to one minute ad extremely essential to take advantage of.

A television commercial very much depends on the audience you are trying to reach, when you’re trying to reach them and how much you are willing to invest to reach consumers. According to Alana Rudder, who specializes in marketing and technology,

SHEPPARD.AF.MIL

businesses spend approximately $34 in local TV ads per 1,000 viewers and $115,000 in national TV ads for 30 seconds. But a Super Bowl time slot trounced those costs in 2019 when CBS charged $5.25 million for a 30 second commercial alone. Businesses spend millions of dollars on commercials because millions of people watch the Super Bowl.

According to the Nielsen ratings in 2019, over 100.7 million people watched the Super Bowl, factoring TV and digital viewership. As millions of people watch, a brand’s recognition is highlighted for a period of time, especially on social media, and is cemented as unforgettable if memorable.

Overall, Super Bowl commer-

WIKIMEDIA.ORG

The Super Bowl brings in millions of viewers at stadiums and at home. cials are produced to capture millions of consumers' attention and attract new people by differentiating themselves from their competitors, as well as bringing awareness to certain issues and causes.

With millions of people tuned into the Super Bowl, businesses and organizations invest a vast amount of money into advertising, with such an investment put forward brands also implement celebrities and well known public figures into these commercials, as well.

In 2019, rapper Cardi B, who had just won her first Grammy award for Rap Album of the Year, was showcased in Pepsi’s Super Bowl ad alongside Steve Carell. Not only is Cardi B a very recognizable figure today, but that ad alone

resurfaced on social media with millions in viewership and people saying her catchphrase, “OKURRR.” Another Super Bowl commercial was in 2018 when celebrities, such as Jack Nicholson and Gordon Ramsay, were featured in the commercial talking to Alexa on Amazon’s new Echo device at the time. With such recognition and popularity by the company, the Amazon Echo and “Alexa” itself has become a popular voice recognition device, along with the likes of Apple’s Siri and Google’s Home devices.

This just goes to show you the outreach and overall appeal celebrities have to make a brand more well known or relevant to a mass audience.

6

Friday, February 14, 2020

SPORTS

Baseball kicks off 2020 season against Tennessee Volunteers

By John Bell courier staff

Knoxville, Tenn. — The second weekend in February. The universal starting weekend for college baseball.

With MLB pitchers and catchers reporting earlier this week, the future big leaguers begin their collegiate seasons this weekend. The Western Illinois University baseball team is traveling to Knoxville. this weekend to take on the Tennessee Volunteers of the Southeastern Conference.

The first pitch will be at 3:30 p.m. today (Feb. 14) from Lindsey Nelson Stadium and the game will be aired live on the Watch ESPN app and the SEC Network.

The Leathernecks are under new management as first year head coach Andy Pascoe has taken over the reins as the seventh head coach in the pro-

Drue Galassi looks at the pitch.

gram’s history. Pascoe joined the Leathernecks after serving as Butler University’s assistant coach for the past three seasons. Pascoe also spent time at his alma mater Evansville and as a scouting director for prep baseball in Michigan.

With the meeting between the Volunteers and Leathernecks this weekend, it will be the first such meeting between the two universities. Western is not shy of the powerhouse conference of the SEC, as the Necks have faced off with opponents 46 times from the conference, owning a 6-40 record. The last win for the Leathernecks against an SEC opponent was former head coach Ryan Brownlee’s first win in Purple and Gold as Western took down the No. 1 ranked Arkansas in the 2013 series finale.

The Leathernecks are coming off a strong 2019 campaign in which they collected 22 wins,

goleathernecks.com

tying the most wins in a single season in the past 12 years.

Seniors Drue Galassi and Javin Drake return for the Leathernecks as preseason players to watch, as released

by The Summit League.

Drake can become the programs all time strikeout leader with 35 strikeouts in the 2020 campaign. After setting the Leathernecks single season record with 109 last season.

Galassi is returning for his fifth season in Purple and Gold after redshirting due to medical reasons in 2016. Galassi returned to the field in 2017, earning collegiate baseball's greatest honor, Freshman All-American.

With a new coaching staff and a talented group of players, the future looks bright for the Leathernecks as they head to Knoxville to open up the 2020 season against one of the best baseball schools in the nation.

Javin Drake releases to home plate.

Myanna purdue

CLASSIFIEDS

WC

For Rent

For Rent

Submit a classifieds ad to Micour@wiu.edu

Spacious 2-5 bedroom homes for rent. 10 month lease available. Great locations, close to bus stops, plenty off street parking, all new windows, AC, energy efficient furnace, hardwood and ceramic tile floors, free washer/dryer. Well maintained (24 hrs.) by local landlord.

Call 309-255-1233.

LARGE STUDENT RENTALS 5 and 6 Bedroom Homes are still available!! Ask for our $1000.00 Discount program! First come first serve for the last large homes that are open for the fall.

Westen Investments has only two 4-Bedroom brich houses available. Call our office at 309-833-5995 to schedule a showing! We will show to 2-3 person groups as well!

Small 1BR apt near campus and downtown. All utilities included. (Electric, Water, DISH, Garbage) $500/month, $300 deposit. Available immediately. Also have 2BR, you pay electric. $600/month, $350 deposit available September 1st. Please contact 309-255-4367 for a showing.

STC Investments now leasing for the 18/19 school year. We have 1-6 bedroom apartments/houses ready for you to call home! Check out our selection at www.stcinvestments.com.

You can also find us on Facebook to see daily posts!

Westen Investments has just one 3-Bedroom ALL UTILITIES INCLUDED (Water, Sewer, Trash, Gas, Electric, and Internet) Apartment left! That’s right you just pay for rent, and the rest of it is on us! Call our office at 309-833-5995 to check it out.

Available now: Close to campus, clean studio apartments, excellent condition, reasonable rent, and partly furnished.

Ceiling fans and a/c. Professionally maintained. No pets.

Semester leases offered. Call 309 837 4369 and leave your phone number if not there. Email: MandKhousing@gmail.com NEGOTIABLE RENT!!!

NiCE, CLEAN, WELL MAINTAINED 1-6 BEDROOM HOUSES FOR 2020-2021 Our houses have hardwood floors, central air, washer and dryer and lawn service. All are close to campus with plenty of parking. We offer a ten month lease. Please call 309-255-1959 for a showing.

WesternCourier.com

For Rent: Little Swan Lake, 30 min from campus. 2br, 2bth, heated double car garage with work area. $600 per mo.

(309) 335-2206 after 6:00 pm, may leave message anytime.

ALL APARTMENTS - ALL INCLUSIVE Get control of your budget. Know exactly what you are spending each month. Each apartment includes free a/c, free heat, free electricity, free water, free cable tv, free hi speed internet, and free off street parking. Laundry on site.

No noise policy. Bus stop across the street. Close to campus. Well maintained. Studios are $460/mo, One bedrooms are $620/mo. Call Doug at 309-255-8179 for an appointment.

brandon trost / production manager

RATES $5.50 per issue (open rate) $4.00 per issue (campus rate)

Employment Employment Opportunities For Early Childhood, Teaching and Education Majors - Part-Time or Full-Time Work.

Monday though Friday 6:30 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. Have your weekends and evenings free. Gain valuable experience with children 0-12 years for your resume. We are open year round. We are looking for mature, dependable adults that enjoy working with children between the ages of 0-12 years old. Must pass a physchical exam and an extensive background check. Preference given to those submitting transcript with 60 study hours of college education and 6 study hours of child development. Applications can be found on our website at www.CatchAStarLearningCenter.com

Friday, February 14, 2020

@WesternCourier

Sports 7

The downfall of the San Jose Sharks Karlsson and made it all the way to the Conference Final.

They got some breaks along the way. A horrible call in Game 7 against the Vegas Golden Knights led to four power play goals in five minutes bringing them back from a 3-0 deficit. They won in overtime, and then beat the Colorado Avalanche in another hard fought seven game series. Then in game three against the St. Louis Blues in overtime they got away with a clear handpass in overtime to take a 2-1 series lead. After losing a hard fought game four, they were outscored 10-1 in games five and six and lost the series to the eventual cup champions. All in all, it wasn’t a bad year from an outside perspective, but some cracks were starting to show. Mostly in net, Martin Jones had been a solid NHL starter for a couple of years in San Jose but things started to just fall apart. In the 2018-19 season he posted a .896 save percentage in 62 starts and backup Aaron Dell was actually worse, posting a .886 in 20 starts and 25 appearances.

Now skip forward to this past off-season. They had a lot of free agent questions to answer. Erik Karlsson was a free agent, as was Joe Thornton Nyquist Joonas Donskoi and Joe Pavelsk.

Hertl and Meier and Kevin

Lebanc were also due to new contracts but they were RFA’s and their options were limited. The Sharks decided to bring back Erik Karlsson and who could blame them.

Eight years at an $11.5 million cap hit was steep but this was for someone who had won two Norris trophies and could have easily brought home two others. In doing that though they lost their first round pick in the 2020 draft to the Ottawa Senators as were the conditions of that trade. They brought back the two RFA’s on good contracts and resigned Thornton. They were even able to get Lebanc to take a one-year, $1 million contract so they could fit everyone under the cap.

Lebanc agreed to that contract even after putting up 56 points in a career year.

They had to let go of Donskoi and Pavelski but most had them tabbed to a contender in the Western Conference and a real shot to finally bring a Cup to the fans in San Jose.

So what happened? Let's get this out of the way first and foremost. They do have plenty of injuries. That doesn’t excuse everything because they were playing pretty terribly before the injuries to key players. However, when Logan Couture and Tomas Hertl are out for the year after getting injured in January it helps explain why they are a super awful team instead of just merely bad.

Goaltending has still been abysmal. Martin Jones sits with a .889 save percentage and while Aaron Dell has a .909; without the scoring of

last year ’s squad a .909 isn’t good enough. They are 27th in the league in goals for and 26th in goals against. For the players that are healthy, they just haven’t been the same. Karlsson has been his normal offensive self with 40 points in 56 games, which for him isn’t spectacular but still solid. However, his defensive game has been awful and after several injuries, over the last couple of years, it appears he has trouble turning at points.

Brent Burns is usually money in the bank 75 points but this year is the only pace for about 55. Marc-Edouard Vlasic has fallen off the map as a shutdown defender and that’s just the defense. They haven’t been able to replace Pavelski’s 30 goals a year and while Meier and Hertl have been good along with Evander Kane the depth just isn’t there like it has been for so long, leading to a very disappointing season.

It gets worse, though.

Not only is this season disappointing for San Jose fans, but the future also doesn't appear to be very bright either. Yes, they are bottom five in the league with a decent chance at getting the first overall pick.

However, their first round pick belongs to the Ottawa Senators so that doesn’t fix anything. Their farm system isn’t stocked with talent either and sits towards the bottom in farm system rankings. Free Agency? Well here are some of the contracts both good and bad that prevent them from making any big splashes. On the

In the second half, it was all South Dakota. They bullied Western’s smaller lineup and made it tough for the Leathernecks to keep up with their scoring.

We wanted to take advantage of the matchups with their smaller players so we put a big emphasis on driving the ball inside and making harder cuts to get to the line more in the second half. After only getting to the line two times in the first half, we did a nice job getting to the line in the second half attempting 23 free throws," South Dakota Head Coach Todd Lee said via Goyotes.com.

The Coyotes were led by the trio of Stanley Umude, Tyler Hagedorn and Triston Simpson. The trio combined for 59 points and was led

by Umude’s strong offensive night with 28 points on only 10 shots.

For Western Illinois, it was more of the same story, just a different game. They were

led by the two-headed monster of Kobe Webster and Zion Young. Webster was sizzling on the offensive end, as he tied for his career high in scoring with 29 points.

Behind him was his supporting guard, Young, who dropped 21 points. Despite the duo combining for 50 of the team’s 72 points, the Leathernecks were unable to secure a victory due to a poor performance from other members of the rotation.

Anthony Jones was the third leading scorer with seven points, and Ben Pyle added five total points.

Western Illinois will regroup, and look to end this seven-game losing skid at home on Saturday. They host the University of North Dakota, in a game which will be a big factor come seeding time for The Summit League Tournament. Game time is set for 7 p.m. at Western Hall and you can watch the game on ESPN+.

Kobe Webster follows through on his free throw.

Zach Remelius courier staff

The San Jose Sharks have been a staple of the NHL playoffs since the late 1990s.

Since the year 1998, they have made the playoffs 19 times and have consistently been a team that has been viewed as a contender for the Stanley Cup. In that span, they have won President’s Trophies and been to five Western Conference Finals and one trip to the Stanley Cup Finals. They have had some future Hall of Famers suit up for them like Patrick Marleau and Joe Thornton to go along with perennial All-Stars like Logan Couture, Joe Pavelski and Brent Burns.

Ron Wilson, their GM, has always been able to add the pieces he feels like they needed, getting top six forwards like Gustav Nyquist and Evander Kane whenever need be. The young guns in Timo Meier and Tomas Hertl appeared to be ready to take over the mantle after Joe Pavelski left this past season to sign in Dallas. It has not worked out at all however and they currently sit 12 points out of a playoff spot and in the bottom five of the NHL in points and quite frankly unless some massive changes are brought about they are going to go through some rough years.

Last season they acquired superstar defensemen Erik

good side, they have Couture (who’s already 30) locked up for seven more years after this one at eight million a year against the cap. Kane has five more years at seven million per year. Meier has three years at six million and Hertl has two at 5.625 million per year. The bad contracts are on defense. Karlsson still has seven years at 11.5 and is approaching 30 years old.

Brent Burns seems to have to start to slow down and has five years left at eight million. Then there are two disasters. Vlasic is already in a bit of decline at 32 years old and six years at 7.25 million and Jones the sub .900 save percentage goalie has four years left with a cap hit of 5.75 million. All of these contracts are untradable or ones you wouldn’t want to trade like Hertl and Meier.

Next off-season they have a little over 17 million in cap space unless the cap goes up.

Even then it will be around 20 million in cap space maximum. With that cap space, they need to sign or bring up seven forwards from the minors and three defensemen. Lebanc after taking that one million contract isn’t going to take a discount this time around either. Seeing their cap situation on Cap Friendly is astonishing and it is hard to believe this franchise could fall so quickly.

It appears they are going to give Ron Wilson the opportunity to fix this mess but it is going to take a lot of work.

After two decades of glory in the Bay Area, it may be time to wander the darkness.

Men's basketball makes it seven straight Summit League loses

By Brendan Reidy courier staff

Vermillion, S.D. — The Leathernecks went on the road this week to take on the University of South Dakota Coyotes. Western Illinois was riding a six-game losing streak, before making it seven losses in a row after falling 85-72.

Western Illinois was looking to complete the season sweep against South Dakota, after winning their previous matchup at home in thrilling fashion. However, it was a much different story on the road for the Leathernecks.

The game got off to a quick start and the Purple and Gold were getting buckets early and often in the Dakota Dome. Western Illinois led by as many as 11 points in the first half but were unable to hold on to the lead due to the aggressive play of the Coyotes.

becca langys / photo editor

Softball looks to bounce back after rough start to season

By David Koier courier staff MACOMB, Ill. The Western Illinois Leatherneck softball team takes a long trip down to Waco, Texas this weekend as they participate in the Getterman Classic hosted by the University of Baylor. Other teams participating in the tournament are the host Baylor Bears, the Prairie View A&M Panthers and the Grand Canyon University Lopes.

Each team will face each other once before the semifinal Saturday afternoon. The winner of Saturday’s semifinals will meet Sunday afternoon in the Championship while the two semi final losers will play in the consolation championship. Western’s weekend begins Friday at 10 a.m. against Prairie A&M. Almost immediately after that first game concludes, the Leathernecks face off against the Lopes of GCU at 12:30 p.m.

The Purple and Gold take the field once again Saturday afternoon for their final playin game against the host Baylor Bears at 12:30 p.m. The semifinal of the tournament

Jasmine Lara awaits the pitch.

brandon trost / production manager

is scheduled for Saturday at a time to be announced.

The Getterman Tournament Championship is scheduled for Sunday, again at a time to be announced.

The Leathernecks (1-4) are looking to bounce back from their last outing at the Rambler Rumble this past weekend where they faced off against teams like the University of Wisconsin-Green Bay, IUPUI, the University of Evansville, Miami of Ohio and Butler.

After a strong start to the season with a 5-2 victory over Green Bay, Western was swept by the remaining teams to earn themselves a four game losing streak.

The weekend was not only highlighted by the win over Green Bay, but the well fought pitcher ’s duel against Miami that resulted in extra innings. After the Redhawks took a 1-0 lead in the top of the fifth, the Leathernecks were down to their final out in the bottom of the seventh with a runner on second.

Savannah Rodriguez, who was pinch hitting for senior Jasmine Lara, stepped up and was able to single into left field, driving in the tying run and sending the game into extra innings. Unfortunately,

Jasmyne

myanna purdue

Meghan Henson looks at the ball go past her.

the Leathernecks allowed the go ahead run in the top of the loth and were not able to respond.

Junior Abby Carlin was able to pitch all 10 innings, surrendering nine hits and two runs with only one of those runs earned. Across those 10 frames, Carlin was able to sit six batters faced down on strikes. Carlin, who has stepped into the role of recently graduated senior ace Emily Ira, saw action against not only Miami this weekend, but also in the win against Green Bay. In her two appearances, she pitched two complete games, allowed four runs (three earned) off 15 hits while striking out 10 and allowing no walks earning her a 1.24 ERA. On the offensive side of things, freshman Kellie Marcheschi started off the season hot, notching three hits off eight plate appearances including her first career home run. Returning outfielder Alyssa Ealy also had some success at the plate and on the bases, smacking four hits herself, two of which were triples while also touching home a team high four times over the course of the weekend.

Alyssa Ealy rounds second base.

goleathernecks.com

goleathernecks.com

Kellie Marcheschi celebrates her homerun.