Yearly Archives: 2022

Movies/TV/Theaters

A review on ‘Enola Holmes 2’

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By: McKenzie Welch

*Warning: Contains some spoilers*

Many people have heard the name Sherlock Holmes, but have you heard of Enola?

Enola, alone spelled backwards, is a display of what it’s like to live in someone’s shadow, especially when you have the same aspirations. Enola Holmes wants to be a detective, just like her brother, but somehow she always finds herself twisted up in cases much bigger than either she or Sherlock could have ever imagined.

‘Enola Holmes 2’ follows Enola as she navigates through starting her own business, the idea of loving someone else, and a case that continuously involves her in dangerous situations.
Life is hard, but life as a woman in 1885 is harder. Enola is perpetually looked down upon, especially in a detective setting, for both her age and her gender. As she tries to get her business off of the ground, it seems as though the people around her are using all of their force to push her down deeper. It isn’t until she finds a pro bono case for a young girl named Bessie that Enola finds herself with some work to do.

A case of a missing woman turns into a murdersome, blackmail-filled catastrophe quicker than the blink of an eye. Sarah Chapman, who is fighting for the lives of many girls working in a match factory, is missing. But who else is involved?

It isn’t long before it’s clear that Sherlock and Enola’s cases are intertwined. Again. Whilst neither of them are quite happy about the scenario, they do make a good team, and the pair result in plenty of humor-filled moments.

Whilst I won’t spoil the ending of the movie, I will say that it’s quite unexpected. The layout of the film makes it so viewers are practically detectives themselves, working alongside Enola to solve the case.

This movie has both romantic and humorful moments, but the true genre is action. There are many escape scenes, fight scenes, and more that kept me completely enthralled. Despite the main focus being action, there are many important themes that present themselves throughout the film, like being yourself and standing up for what you believe in.

The film was also somewhat based on a true story, as there was a real Sarah Chapman who stood up for the girls who were working and dying in a match factory due to the cheaper phosphorus the factory’s owners had decided to start using. This gave representation for the women working in the factory, and displayed the mistreatment of women in the nineteenth century.

All in all, I gave ‘Enola Holmes 2’ a rating of 4.5/5 stars. I greatly enjoyed the fact that, despite being action, the movie contained moments that were tender and based around family and friendships, which are two things that I find extremely important. Also, I was intrigued by the movie and its happenings the entire time I was watching.

My only critique was that some of the plot twists were fairly easy to decipher as long as you were paying attention, which can make the movie slightly less entertaining, but it was nothing too extreme as to deter me from finishing the movie.

I believe that if you enjoy action movies with moments of romance, comedy, and friendly banter, you should give this movie a try.

You can watch ‘Enola Holmes 2’ on Netflix.

Movies/TV/Theaters

‘The 5th Wave’

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By:Leticia bugg-Sam

Plot

‘The 5th Wave’ is an action movie that follows a girl trying to survive and find her remaining family. Four waves of increasingly deadly alien attacks have left most of earth in ruin. Cassie is on the run desperately trying to save her younger brother Sam.

The human race stands on the edge of extinction as the aliens attacks the planet, causing earthquakes, tsunamis, and disease. About half the population didn’t make it through these disasters.

Separated from her family, a teenager named Cassie Sullivan will do anything to reunite with her brother. While she was trying to reunite with her brother, during her journey, she runs into a guy named Evan Walker; a mysterious young man who may be her last hope. They forced each other to trust each other. During her journey, they fall in love with each other and together they fight for survival and against the fifth assault from the invaders.

Cassie Sullivan the Ohio high-schooler armed with an M4 carbine, meets Evan when she emerges from the woods and sees an abandoned gas station. She decides to raid the gas station for food. In the gas station she hears another person and she goes and checks, and the person she sees in there is a wounded man. That man is Evan.

I liked the movie. There was a lot of action, it went fast, and there was also some good suspense. Overall, I would give this movie 7/10.

‘The 5th Wave’ is based on the book by Rick Yancey, and you can watch it on Hulu.

Editorials/Student Voice

How is it fair that teachers had to be in school during the digital learning day on Election day?

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By: Grace Blumer-Lamotte

On Tuesday, November 8th, 2022, there was an election for the new governor of Minnesota. The results came in the same night, Governor Tim Walz was elected again for the governor of Minnesota. 

On that Tuesday, all Saint Paul Public Schools (SPPS) had a digital learning day. According to the SPPS website, “A Digital Learning/E-learning Day is where students will be able to access work in Schoology during asynchronous time. During synchronous time, staff are available to assist and support students learning via Google Meet.” 

The schedule for the day was a B day. Period 1 was from 8:30am-9am, period 2 was 9:05am-9:35am, period 3 was 9:40am-10:10am, period 4 was 10:15-10:45am. Teacher’s office hours were from 11am-12pm. During that time period, 8:30am-12pm, teachers and students were to be on the Google Meets. 

Students were able to sit in the comfort of their own home, while teachers needed to be in the school that they work at. 

From a student’s perspective, I think this is unfair for the teachers. They deserve a day off; they work very hard educating their students. I also think that they would feel more relaxed in the comfort of their own home. 

I interviewed a teacher from a SPPS school, another student from SPPS, and a parent of a student at SPPS. I asked them these questions:

How did you think the digital learning day went?

Do you think it’s unfair that teachers had to go to school for the digital learning day? Explain?

I asked only the SPPS teacher this question:

Would you have felt more comfortable in your home compared to the school on the digital learning day?

I asked just the SPPS student and parent this question:

Do you feel that teachers would’ve felt more comfortable in their own home on digital learning day? Explain?

The SPPS teacher responded to the first question saying, “I think the digital learning day went pretty well. It was a bit hectic trying to get to all of my classes with only a 5 minute break, but I managed.”

They replied to the second question saying, “I don’t think it’s necessarily unfair that us, teachers, had to go to school for the day. I would’ve enjoyed showing my pets and kids to my students during the Google meet, which is a little upsetting I wasn’t able too, but it’s okay.”

They answered the third question saying, “I personally would’ve felt more comfortable and relaxed at my own house on that day. But again, it was not my choice to make. One thing I would like to mention is that it was difficult to get to my voting place, the one closest to my house, because I live fairly far away from the school.”

A student from SPPS responded to the first question saying, “I didn’t like the digital learning day personally just because I get work done better inside the school environment.”

They replied to the second question saying, “I would only think it’s unfair for the teachers to go to school that day if they didn’t vote already, or they didn’t have the chance because of the location.”

They answered the third question saying, “To a certain extent I do feel that the teachers would’ve felt more comfortable in their home on that day, but I think most of their materials are at school.”

A parent of students from SPPS responded to the first question saying, “For my 2 kids, I feel like the digital learning day went fine. I think my kids are more engaged with in-person learning. Ultimately I support the day of digital learning if it allows more adults to participate in the election.”

They replied to the second question saying, “Yes I think it’s unfair that the teachers had to go to the school, for two reasons. Number one, if students can learn remotely then educators have the ability to teach remotely. Number two, I think our country should make election day a national holiday to free up all workers to more easily vote.”

They answered the third question saying, “Yes, I feel that teachers would’ve felt more comfortable teaching from their own home because, teachers are professionals we should trust them to know what they need to do to educate our children.”

Sports

Highland Park MTB team

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By: Toby Martin-Kohls

The Highland Park Mountain Bike team ended its season at the State Championships at Redhead Mountain Bike Park in Chisholm, MN on October 16. It was the most significant and final race of the five-race 2022 season. Highland had 8 high schoolers racing across four different categories. Karl Haaland and Toby Martin-Kohls were the lone Varsity riders for Highland, while Josh Thompson raced JV3. Liam Hefferan, August Johnson, and Benji Brunner raced JV2, and Theo Miller and Trevor Kristjanson raced Freshman. Minnesota has a high school league for mountain biking, the Minnesota Cycling Association, that is not affiliated with MSHSL. 

There are a few differences between racing in the Minnesota Cycling Association and a typical MSHSL sport. There are still Varsity and Junior Varsity athletes, but there is no limit to how many can race in a category. For team scoring, high schools with a larger team are in Division 1, while smaller schools are in Division 2. 

Also, unlike some MSHSL sports, there are many more categories for athletes to race under. Everyone who wants to race gets to race, regardless of ability. Because of this, the Minnesota Cycling Association has seven categories of races. Races are also separated by gender. 6th Grade, 7th Grade, 8th Grade, Freshman, JV2, JV3, and Varsity. Racers are put into the appropriate category by age and racing experience.

Mountain Biking is a great way to get outside and improve your fitness. The Highland Park team officially practices 2-3 times a week, starting at the beginning of July and ending in mid-October. The first races are usually in late August and run until mid-October. Like other Highland teams, we practice with the Saint Paul Composite Mountain Biking team (SPY MTB). However, we race as different teams.

Practices are usually around 2hrs long. On Tuesdays, the team meets at Hidden Falls for a road ride. On Thursdays, we meet at various trails around the Twin Cities

There is no obligation to race, many people join the team just to have fun biking the outdoors with a great community. 

Below is an interview with Karl Haaland, who is a Junior, and races at the Varsity level.

Q: Why did you decide to join the Mountain Biking Team?

A: Because my dad had started coaching, and I wanted to try something new.

Q: What is your favorite part about being on the team?

A: Being able to bike with friends and be able to compete against others from all around the state.

Q: What advice would you give to someone considering joining the team?

A: You should join it, you don’t have to race if you don’t want to but it is not stressful at all.

Q: What is your favorite trail in the Twin Cities?

A: Lebanon Hills in Eagan. 

Q: If you had unlimited money what bike would you buy?

The Trek Supercaliber 9.9 XX1

Image taken from: https://www.trekbikes.com/us/en_US/bikes/mountain-bikes/cross-country-mountain-bikes/supercaliber/supercaliber-9-9-xx1-axs/p/35145/
Sports

UFC 281 recap: Better than 280?

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By: Dylan Moore

(*NOTE: prelims not included*)

Following the card of the year that was UFC 280, I was one of many people that had to remind myself that not every card could be that exciting top to bottom. In saying that, I was one of many people who was shocked to see the fights of 281 (which we’re overall less high-profile) matching and even surpassing the far more anticipated 280 card.

Dan Hooker vs Claudio Puelles: In this fight, an up and comer in Claudio Puelles (13-3) looked to prove himself against Dan Hooker (22-12). Throughout his respected career, Dan Hooker has had electrifying fights in which his toughness and ability to go to war with a fighter of any caliber has been put on display. Coming into this fight, Dan had lost 3 of his last 4, losing against very difficult opposition like Islam Makachev and Michael Chandler, and was looking to bounce back. He did just that. Puelles was dominated from start to finish, looking to go to the ground all throughout the fight against a lethal opponent. In the second round, Dan Hooker showed why he is so respected with a KO/TKO stoppage.

Frankie Edgar vs Chris Gutierrez: The storyline behind this fight was a young contender looking to prove himself against a legend of the sport in his final fight. Frankie Edgar, a former champion and 15 year veteran of his sport, announced that this would be his last fight. Gutierrez looked to use the notoriety of a fighter like Edgar to make himself more known as a contender in the Bantamweight division. In the first round, Gutierrez scored a highlight reel KO, which knocked Edgar out cold. A sad way to go out for sure, but a very very impressive display from Chris Gutierrez, slightly overshadowed by his opponent’s retirement. 

Michael Chandler vs Dustin Porier: 2 heavily respected and battle hardened lightweight contenders in Michael Chandler (23-8-0) and Dustin Porier (29-7-0, 1NC) duked it out. The first round of this fight was one of the best rounds of a fight seen in a long long time. It showed the versatility and toughness of both fighters. Following a second round that showed that they still had plenty of gas in the tank, Porier got in control of Chandler on the ground and didn’t look back. Porier submitted Chandler on the ground in round 3, and both fighters faces we’re bloodied up from this short-lived war of a fight. Me, along with many other fans, are very excited to see what comes next from both of these fighters. 

Carla Esparza vs Weili Zhang: In the co-main event, the women’s Strawweight title was on the line. Carla Esparza (20-7-0) fought Weili Zhang (23-3-0). While Zhang was seen as a scary contender with an outside shot to win the title, most had confidence in Esparza to keep this title. With that being said, Weili Zhang took it to Esparza and stripped her of her title via a submission early in round 2. This performance put Zhang on the map, giving her much deserved respect in the mainstream MMA world. 

Israel Adesanya vs Alex Pereira: The dominance of Israel Adesanya in the Middleweight dividsion cannot be understated. He defeated all of the contenders in his division in such convincing fashion, his next opponent was the relatively unproven Alex Pereira (6-1 coming into the fight). The reason the champ fought such an unproven fighter was because these 2 had some history. The last time Adesanya lost in his actual weight class was back when he did kickboxing, and guess who he lost to? Pereira. Twice. Once Pereira took up MMA, he beat his opposition in convincing enough fashion that the UFC fast-tracked him to a title shot, to test the seemingly invincible Adesanya. Throughout the first 4 rounds, it was a back and fourth fight, with Adesanya seemingly having the upper hand. Towards the very end of the round, Adesanya had a huge knockdown, in which Pereira was saved by the bell. In the fifth round, Pereira used his control of positioning to his advantage, backing Israel down before landing a series of punches that lead to a stoppage, shockingly giving Pereiera the title and third victory over Adesanya. Their is a lot of controversy over the nature of the stoppage, many fans thinking it came too early. 

Of the 5 events on the main 281 card, all of them lived up to expectations and then some, each fight bringing its own unique storyline and traits to the table. Full of controversies, battles, and shock victories of an all-time caliber, UFC 281 was a great card, and rivals 280 in the actual fights it produced, despite receiving far less media attention and hype then its predecessor.

Movies/TV/Theaters

‘Percy Jackson and the Olympians’: The television series and what we know so far

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By: Julia Sikorski

*Warning: Minor spoilers

On May 14, 2022, Rick Riordan officially announced that a long-awaited television series adaptation was in the works for the beloved ‘Percy Jackson and the Olympians.’ Produced by Disney, season one will cover the events of ‘The Lightning Thief.’

This will not be the first Riordan adaptation. Fox released two ‘Percy Jackson and the Olympians’ movies in 2010 and 2013, but the changed plot lines and aged characters failed to satisfy fans. Since then, readers have clamored for a book-accurate adaptation to give the stories what they deserve.

For those unaware, ‘The Lightning Thief’ was originally written in 2005 by Rick Riordan as the first installment of the ‘Percy Jackson and the Olympians’ books. The five-book series launched Riordan’s highly successful career.

‘The Lightning Thief’ follows twelve-year-old Percy Jackson, who has spent his whole life trying to be a “good” kid. Despite his efforts, however, something has always gone wrong. Shuffled from school to school, he has never lasted at any of them for more than a year. It doesn’t help that his stepfather, Gabe, is abusive towards Percy and his mom, Sally Jackson. Percy never knew his birth father.

When—yet again—Percy works himself in an unexplainable situation at his current boarding school, it seems to be the final domino in an invisible row. Sally tells Percy that it’s time he went to the one place he’ll be truly safe: summer camp. Percy finds this an odd decision. But Camp Half Blood is no ordinary summer camp.

Percy soon finds himself at the heart of events that can be traced back centuries…to Ancient Greece. The gods are still very much alive, and they are angry. With the help of both new friends and old, the responsibility for setting wrongs right falls on Percy’s shoulders. He just has to hope that he isn’t too late.

After several exciting updates, including an open casting call and reassuring confirmations that the writing was going well, Rick Riordan announced who our main hero would be played by. Walker Scobell—who played young Adam in ‘The Adam Project’— joined production on April 11, 2022. Scobell’s casting was followed by those of Leah Sava Jeffries (Annabeth Chase) and Aryan Simhadri (Grover Underwood).

Since then, the cast has expanded to include Virginia Kull (Sally Jackson), Jason Mantzoukas (Mr. D), Megan Mullally (Mrs. Dobbs), Glynn Turman (Chiron), Timm Sharp (Gabe Ugliano), Olivea Morton (Nancy Bobofit), Dior Goodjohn (Clarisse LaRue), Charlie Bushnell (Luke Castellan), Jessica Parker Kennedy (Medusa), Suzanne Cryer (Echidna), Adam Copeland (Ares), and most recently, Lin-Manuel Miranda (Hermes).

Rick Riordan revealed on June 28, 2022, that the show will be of exceptional technical quality. As stated on his website, “[the show has] partnered with Industrial Light and Magic to build a new Volume stage […] one of the most advanced production stages in the world.” Viewers can likely look forward to fantastical visual effects, costumes, and sound design.

Overall, Riordan seems to be pleased with the shape that the television series is taking. He and his wife, Becky, are both producers, and Riordan has expressed that the production team as a whole is “A group that knows the books, understands the importance of making longtime (and brand new) readers happy, but also making a show that feels fresh and surprising in the best ways.”

Filming is currently taking place in Vancouver, Canada and is expected to run through mid-January, with an uncertain release date of early 2024. Season one will consist of eight episodes.

There are high hopes all around for this television series, and I look forward to seeing whether they will be met. Until ‘Percy Jackson and the Olympians: The Lightning Thief’ is released, you can watch Disney’s teaser for the show on YouTube, linked below.

For more information, please visit:

National

The 2022 US Midterm Elections: Expectations vs. Turnout

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By Erin Moore

On Tuesday, November 8th, 2022, the US Midterm Elections took place. How did it go and how did those results compare to what was expected to occur? This article is here to explain just that.

Before I begin, I will note that all the information in this article was gathered from multiple sources from each side (the exact numbers used agreed upon by both Fox News and the New York Times), thus is verified information and holds no bias.

This year, the elections held were mainly for senators, representatives, and governors. Around 86% of the combined number of seats were up for election this year.

Prior to the election, the Senate had a 50-50 split between democrats and republicans. However, the Vice President breaks any voting ties within the Senate, and the current Vice President is democrat Kamala Harris. This number gave democrats a very narrow majority since the last elections were held for (some) Senate seats during the 2020 election.

The House of Representatives also had a narrow democratic majority, with 222 democratic-held seats and 213 republicans, meaning around 51% of the House of Representatives was democrats following the 2020 election.

Additionally, the president elected in the 2020 elections was a democrat (Joe Biden). This means that from 2020 following the election to 2022 prior to the election, the Senate had a slim democratic majority, the House of Representatives also had a slim democratic majority, and there was a democrat in office. 

However, the 2022 midterms looked bad for democrats for two main reasons: party in power and redistricting.

The first is significantly more simple: whichever party holds office typically loses a large amount of their seats. Since the current president of the United States is a democrat, they were projected to lose several seats in these midterms simply because of the party Joe Biden is a part of. 

The second, redistricting, is more complex. Redistricting typically takes place after a census, and it is exactly what it sounds like: the border lines for districts are changed, which typically benefits one of the two major parties. 

The most recent redistricting affected both parties. New Mexico, Illinois, Nevada, and Oregon’s districts were drawn in a way that benefited democrats. However, Texas, Georgia, Ohio, Tennessee, and Florida’s districts were beneficiary for republicans. 

When asked who redistricting would affect more in an interview with NPR, Michael Li, redistricting expert, said, “Republicans have an advantage that I think will play out.”

However, democrats greatly overperformed expectations in both the Senate and the House of Representatives. 

In the Senate, democrats won the majority with 50-49 seats. Georgia will hold a runoff election later, which will determine whether the seats are 50-50 with the vice president as the tiebreaker or 51-49. Either way, the democrats will hold their Senate majority for at least the next two years. 

However, in the House, the republicans have taken control with 218 seats called by various sources and 210 for democrats, with 218 seats needed for control. 

Of the thirty-six governor elections and thirty-four called races, each party has seventeen governors. In Minnesota, our governor will remain Tim Walz, another democrat. 

All in all, the election did not go as expected, and is going fairly well for both parties, with democrats coming out a bit better currently. However, there are still races left to be called. 

Want to learn more? Visit the following websites: 

Tech/Games

The Twitter disaster

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By: Reed Morris

Preface

In my articles, I prefer to look at events in the form of a story, however, the disaster that has been Elon Musk and Twitter over the past year or so is something that must be attacked chronologically to fully comprehend. Musk’s decision to buy Twitter for $44 Billion has to be one of, if not the worst, financial decision since the Enron disaster at the turn of the century (see my previous article if you want to know more about Enron). People will lose their jobs, Twitter will crumble, and immense risk has been put on Musk’s other financial endeavors. Such a terrible series of decisions can only be tackled chronologically, so let us start at the beginning. 

January 2022 

Musk makes his first investments in Twitter. The exact amount is unknown, but his investing did begin in late January according to documents filed to the Securities and Exchange Commission in the following months. 

March 2022

Musk decides to take control of the company. His share percentage in Twitter reaches 9.2% which is the highest percent holding of any other shareholder. This is when the larger public became aware of the ongoing overtake. At the time, there was uncertainty if he would go further or stop where he was at. As we now know, he continued to buy up more and more of the company. 

April 2022

April was a wild month in the Twitter dealings. At the start of the month, Musk officially disclosed the amount of money he really had sunk into the company. His shares reached a whopping $2.9 Billion. After he disclosed his true involvement with Twitter, shares in the company rose over 27% the day of his announcement. 

A day later, Twitter officially announced that Musk would be joining Twitter’s board of directors. He was welcomed aboard in a tweet by now former CEO, Parag Agrawal 

Shortly after being invited to the board, he flipped direction and said he would no longer be joining. 

Only four days after refusing to join the companies board, he proposed an official offer to buy out the company at $54.20 a share, valuing the company at a laughable $43 Billion. The offer overvalued the company by 38% but he stuck to his guns regarding the price. 

Twitter immediately responded with what is called a “poison pill” which essentially devalues shares for current board members allowing them to purchase more, but making it extremely difficult for Musk to purchase the necessary shares to take over. However, this strategy never took full effect as only a week later, Twitter decided to accept Musk’s original offer. 

While this feels like a good ending point to the story, it’s just the tip of the iceberg. 

May 2022

In May, Musk buckles down and starts to look at how he would finance such an acquisition. He gathered $7 Billion worth of financing from several investment firms including Sequoia Capital and Binance, a crypto exchange (you’ll hear more about them in the next article.) To fill the $43 Billion price tag, Musk also had to sell $8.5 Billion worth of Tesla Stock, dropping the company’s value ever so slightly.

All throughout May, Musk makes several claims and promises with little to no basis. The biggest of which was the claim that he could increase Twitter’s yearly income four fold, up to over $26 Billion a year. 

With hindsight being 20/20, we can now see that was an absolutely insane claim. While during the writing of this article, Musk has not been in ownership of Twitter for long enough to make financial changes, however the business model he seems to be adapting to is currently losing more money than before he bought the company. 

Musk, soon after making these claims, and presumably finally doing research, he quickly realized he made a mistake. He quickly announces that the deal would be on “temporary hold”, the reasoning of which, Musk claims, was the supposed prevalence of bot and spam accounts on the platform. 

Not long after he announced a temporary hold on the deal, a Reuters report surfaced claiming that less than 5% of the accounts active on twitter were bot or spam accounts. Musk requested more information but seemingly never received it. 

Only hours after announcing the deal’s stallings, he announced that he once again had changed his mind and was going through with the deal. 

Summer 2022

The Twitter excitement slowed down in volume but exploded in intensity during the summer months, so June, July and August will be grouped together for continuity’s sake. 

Musk once again jumps back on an old train and demands that Twitter supply more information regarding the possible prevalence of bots. This time, he threatened a full retraction of contract and claimed he would no longer buy the company per the deal he signed. 

After the Twitter board essentially said, “You know all we know and what we know is the truth,” Musk still moved to terminate the acquisition. 

On July 12th, 2022, Twitter sued Elon Musk in a Delaware Chancery Court. They sued on the basis that Musk knowingly breached his contract and that Musk must follow through with his deal. 

With tens of billions of dollars, several massive companies, and gargantuan investment firms involved, the outcome of the court case would have extreme ramifications no matter which way it sways. 

The court date would be set for late September, later stalled for mid October.

October 4th, 2022

Musk finally agrees to follow through with the deal, and to acquire Twitter at the original stock price. 

October 28th, 2022

Elon Musk officially becomes the new private owner of Twitter.

Final Thoughts

In theory, Elon Musk can afford this whole Twitter debacle, however on paper, things are much different. The aspect of this that scares me so much is the fallout it could have on his other businesses and ventures. While I am not a fan of Elon Musk himself, the engineers and scientists he employs at Tesla and SpaceX are doing truly spectacular work. 

In making this $43 billion deal, Musk put a lot of risk on his other businesses. Tesla stock is the main collateral involved in all of his extensive loans, and SpaceX bends at the will of his other enterprises. The question is not if Musk can keep Twitter from collapsing, it is merely if he can make it profitable, and how fast. The interest on his loans float around a billion dollars a year and if the economy faces more struggles or Elon can’t pay it all back, there will be serious ramifications. 

Musk put everything on the line for this passion project, and we will see in the coming months and years how it all turns out. If in the next 15 years Tesla and Elon Musk are forgotten or infamous names, then he failed. But if Elon Musk is still kicking and Tesla’s are still zooming around, and Falcon Heavies are finally taking people to Lunar bases, then maybe this whole Twitter debacle turned out alright. As we can’t see into the future, all we can do is buckle up, keep your arms and feet inside the ride, and let’s watch some more billionaire drama unfold. 

Soccer

A dramatic 2022 MLS Cup might go down in history as the best!

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By: Aedon Evenson-McDermott

On the 5th of November, 2022, the eyes of America’s biggest soccer league turned their attention to the Banc of California Stadium. The teams were solid and quite evenly matched which made it to be an insightful affair between the squads.

LAFC came into the final as the Western Conference 1st seed, and champions, and likewise as Philadelphia Union was the Eastern Conference 1st spot, and champions. Bedoya for the Union was a big miss as he was one of their biggest leaders and a stud in the midfield.

For the first 25 minutes, both teams ran up and down the field as they searched for the early goal. Two minutes later, when the 27th minute came, LAFC’S Acosta struck the net with a thunderous hit which struck the back of the net. 1-0 LAFC and the supporters section went crazy!

The second half would be all a soccer fan would dream of. The Union’s Gazdag put the ball in the back of the net in the 59th minute. 1-1! The constant drama of the back and fourth would be a lead runner for the rest of the game.

LAFC would respond near the end of the 90 minutes in the 83rd minute with a goal from Murillo. When most thought it was over and LAFC would walk away with the Cup, Union’s Jack Elliot smashed the ball into the back of the net with his thunderous header two minutes later in the 85th minute. The very few Philadelphia Union faithful fans had a lifeline.

The end of the regular 90 minutes of regulation would end thus prompting the 30 minute layover of extra time. Both teams had chances and in the 116th minute a bad back pass from center back Murillo to LAFC’S goalkeeper Maxime Crepeau led to the horrific collision between Crepeau and the Union’s Cory Burke. Crepeau is Canada’s number 1 keeper but will unfournately miss the World Cup. Milan Borjan or Minnesota United’s Dayne St. Clair would get the start. Crepeau was carted off and unfortunately would break his leg. This would prompt substitute goalkeeper, and penalty specialist, John McCarthy to come in for the remaining extra time.

After the end of the additional 30 minutes, there would be an additional 9 minutes added on after the injury for stoppage time.
In the 124th minute, a second incredible goal from the Union’s Elliot went in and it was the first lead of the game for the Union. 3-2! Four minutes later, the storylines would be written as the almighty Welshman Gareth Bale bails them out with an incredible jump for the header. 3-3 in the 128th minute!

After both teams finished tied at 3 a piece, it would all come to a penalty shootout. John McCarthy who played before, for the Union, would be in goal as Crepeau’s replacement. Knowing a lot of where the guys put their shots on goal he would put his mind to the test. Andre Blake, one of the MLS’s best, would step up first as he would save the penalty. Philly would miss their second penalty as it skied over the bar. Bouanga converted for LAFC making it 1-0 on their second kick. Union would miss their second kick. Hollingshead for LAFC scored and made it 2-0 in the shootout. The Union would miss their third shot as well. IIie would step up and put the winning shot into the back of the net. No coming back for the Union as they missed their first three shots. McCarthy would be the hero of the game and go on to win MVP.

It couldn’t have been more of a Hollywood ending with a great effort put on by both teams! Congratulations to the champions LAFC and better times for the Union. It was a joy to experience such a great game and a nail biting ending. It should be an interesting offseason for both teams and it will be fun with the league resuming in later February and early March!

Football

Minnesota Vikings come out on top in the NFL’s game of the year 

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By: Abby Altman

*NOTE: This article was written prior to the game against the Cowboys

Last Sunday’s noon matchup between the Minnesota Vikings and the Buffalo Bills will go down as one of the best regular season games that the NFL has ever seen. Kirk Cousins, also known as “The Noon Nightmare”, led the Vikings to yet another show stopping 4th quarter comeback this week, earning yet another 1 score win. 

“Frauds” and “Pretenders” are just some words that will not be following the Vikings name anymore. 

After a very sloppy 1st half, the Vikings found themselves down by 14 at halftime. 

In the 3rd quarter, the Vikings still did not appear to be playing their best football. Minnesota went almost the entire quarter scoring 0 points, and giving up 3. With 1:48 left in the 3rd quarter, Dalvin Cook rushed for an 81 yard touchdown up the side to make it a 10 point game. 

Going into the 4th quarter down by 10, Kirk Cousins is arguably the 1st QB you’d want on your team. This season, Cousins has led the team to 5 4th quarter comebacks, and is 7-0 in 1 score games. Last season, the Vikings finished 6-8 in 1 score games. 

The 4th quarter was one that will likely not be forgotten for a very long time. 

Minnesota’s defense stepped up big time for this 4th quarter comeback. 

Patrick Peterson showed up with an interception in the end zone on 4th and 2, running it back to the 35 yard line. 

Minnesota’s offense then responded with a long drive capped off with fullback CJ Ham’s first touchdown in 5 years. The touchdown put the Vikings down by 4 with 4:34 left in the game. Kicker Greg Joseph then missed the extra point, putting the Vikings in a position where a field goal would not suffice, and a TD would be necessary to win. 

The defense once again stepped up big, with Harrison Smith breaking up a pass to Stefon Diggs on 4th and 15. 

On the next drive, Cousins was sacked 2 plays in a row, setting up Minnesota with 4th and 18 with 2:14 on the clock. 

At their own 27 yard line, the Vikings were forced to go for it. Cousins sent a pass deep downfield, hitting Justin Jefferson at the Buffalo 40 yard line. 

Jefferson took that opportunity to make one of the best catches ever made. Jefferson jumped up in double coverage, grabbing the ball with 1 hand while fighting off Buffalo’s Cam Lewis, who had 2 hands wrapped around the ball. Jefferson managed to bring in the ball, and transfer it to his other hand without losing control. 

“One of the more remarkable catches I’ve ever seen,” said Vikings coach Kevin O’Connell, “He’s such a special, special player. I’m really proud of the way Justin has battled all season long against a lot of different looks and a lot of different coverages.”

This catch was the first of multiple miracles for the Vikings. 

The Vikings drove downfield, and had the ball at 1st and goal at the 3 yard line. Things then went south for Minnesota. 

On 1st down, Cousins was tripped up behind the line of scrimmage for a loss of 5 yards. On 3rd down, Cousins completed a catch to Jefferson, who appeared to break the goal line at first, but was later ruled down at the ½ yard line. 

On 4th and 1, Cousins passed to Cook on the side, who was unable to make the catch. However, offsides by the Bills gave the Vikings a repeat 4th down, where they opted for the QB sneak. 

Cousins was ruled short of the endzone, and the ball was turned over to Buffalo with 44 seconds left in the game. 

The Bills received the ball on the 1 yard line. Unwilling to take the safety and risk a Hail Mary, Buffalo decided to have QB Josh Allen run the ball out of the endzone. Allen, however, fumbled the ball on the snap. This was miracle #2 for Minnesota. 

Erik Kendricks recovered the fumble in the endzone, for a Vikings touchdown. Minnesota took a 3 point lead, with 37 seconds left in the game. 

Buffalo did not forget that they have one of the best offenses in the league. Allen connected with Gabe Davis downfield to set up a 29 yard field goal with 5 seconds remaining. 

The field goal tied the score and sent the game into overtime. 

Minnesota won the coin toss, and although they had an impressive drive downfield, they were unable to get the touchdown. The Vikings settled for a 33 yard field goal by Greg Joseph, and put the defense on the field to win the game. 

Josh Allen and the Bills offense drove downfield, and got into field goal range easily. Josh Allen threw 2 passes into the endzone from the 25 yard line. The first pass, intended for TE Dawson Knox was broken up by Duke Shelly, who joined the Vikings active roster the day before the game. 

The second pass was miracle #3. 

Patrick Peterson made his 2nd interception of the game, picking off Josh Allen in the endzone, and securing the win for Minnesota. 

Bills QB Josh Allen blamed himself for the loss, after multiple turnovers. 

“Losing sucks,” Allen told reporters. “Sucks this way even worse. Horrendous second half. I’ve got to be better. I’ve got to be better … It’s on me. Can’t have that.”

Although coming into this game with a better record than Buffalo, Minnesota was seen as a heavy underdog. The win secured the Vikings as a legit threat in many eyes, and moved Minnesota way up in most rankings. 

Clearly, this win wasn’t an easy one for Minnesota, but not just because of the comeback. The refs were not making good calls, and several of them could have cost Minnesota the game. 

The most important missed call by the refs came late in the 4th quarter, just before Buffalo made the game tying field goal. On a 20 yard pass to Gabe Davis, the refs failed to call for a review on the completion. The catch then set up the field goal leading to overtime. 

The NFL later stated that the catch should have been reviewed, as it was within the final 2 minutes and couldn’t be challenged. The NFL also stated that had it been reviewed, the catch would have been overturned, as Davis did not keep control when he made contact with the ground. 

With 5:27 left in overtime, the refs missed another crucial call. With the Vikings in the red zone, Dalvin Cook rushed up the side, and was tackled for a 3 yard loss. On that play, Buffalo had 12 defensive men on the field. This should have resulted in 1st and 1 for Minnesota, but was instead 2nd and 5. The Vikings were later forced to make a FG. 

While it is unrealistic to expect the refs to notice everything, there were several other missed calls that impacted the game. Minnesota was able to overcome these odds and won the game.

This game extends Minnesota’s win streak to 7, and Buffalo’s losing streak to 2. The Vikings are sitting comfortably atop the NFC North with a significant lead over the 4-6 Packers. 

The Bills, however, fall into 3rd place in the AFC East, behind the Dolphins and the Jets. This comes as a surprise to many, as Buffalo was largely the expected winner of the division. 

Next week Minnesota heads home to host the Dallas Cowboys while Buffalo stays home to host the Browns.