suaralifestyle.blogspot.com
LAWRENCE, Kansas – The West Virginia University baseball team bounced back for a 10-7 win over Kansas on Saturday afternoon at Hoglund Ballpark.
A day after dropping the opener of the three-game, Big 12 Conference set, the Mountaineers smacked a season-high four home runs and tallied 13 hits in the series-evening victory. WVU scored in six of the nine innings, including three each in the fourth and sixth.
Freshman right-handed pitcher Chris Sleeper earned the win out of the bullpen, bolstering his record to 3-4 on the season. Fifth-year senior right-hander Chase Smith tallied the save, the first of his Mountaineer career, while Payton Allen took the loss for KU.
"This is the second time that we've had our backs against the wall," WVU coach Randy Mazey said. "We were down two games to Texas Tech and came out and won the finale. It felt like this was that kind of game, too. When you get into a game that you have to win, your best players have to play well, and every guy in our lineup had a hit."
The Mountaineers (25-16, 8-6 Big 12) jumped out to a 1-0 lead in the top of the first inning, thanks to a pair of back-to-back doubles. First, freshman infielder JJ Wetherholt smoked a ground rule two-bagger, before junior outfielder Victor Scott II drove him in with a double of his own.
Kansas (18-25, 3-11 Big 12) took the lead with a two-run, bottom of the first inning, but WVU answered right back in the top of the second. Freshman infielder Grant Hussey led off the frame with an opposite-field blast to left center to make it 2-2.
Then, WVU took its second lead in the top of the third on sophomore catcher McGwire Holbrook's big fly to left. The Orlando, Florida, native sent his fifth homer of the year – a solo shot – 450 feet over the wall.
However, the Jayhawks cashed in on their own solo bomb to tie it at 3 after three innings.
In the fourth, the Mountaineers hit their third homer of the day, a three-run shot off the bat of senior outfielder Austin Davis to make it 6-3. Still, the hosts wouldn't go away, responding with three runs in the bottom half to tie it once again.
KU took a 7-6 lead with another solo homer in the bottom of the fifth. The advantage was short-lived, though, as the Mountaineers put three on the board in the sixth. West Virginia tied it at 7 with Davis' RBI double, before Scott II drove in the go-ahead run with an infield single.
The Mountaineers stretched it to 9-7 with their final run of the frame on a wild pitch.
Trailing by two, Kansas loaded the bases in the bottom of the seventh. But Smith got the Mountaineers out of a big jam by getting a KU hitter to ground into an inning-ending double play to preserve the WVU lead.
The Marietta, Georgia, native went on to pitch the final 2.2 innings of the ballgame. He struck out one and didn't allow a hit to slam the door.
"He's a veteran and really threw the team on his shoulders," Mazey said of Smith. "He can keep the ball in the ballpark; it's hard to elevate the ball with him. So, on a big, home-run day, you want a guy that can throw it down in the zone and get some ground balls."
The Mountaineers found an insurance run in the top of the ninth when Hussey belted his second homer of the game to stretch the lead to 10-7. The freshman finished 3-for-5 with two RBI at the plate. For the year, the Washington, West Virginia, native now paces the club with eight long balls.
Along with Hussey, Davis and Scott II enjoyed multi-hit efforts in the win. The pair combined for six RBI.
Sophomore left-hander Ben Hampton started the game on the mound for West Virginia. He allowed five runs on seven hits with five strikeouts in 3.1 innings, before Sleeper logged 3.0 innings of relief. The Henrietta, New York, native was tacked for two runs on four hits.
With the win, the Mountaineers matched their 2021 season win total. The squad also finished the month of April with an 11-7 record.
Up next, the Mountaineers and Jayhawks are set to settle the series with Sunday afternoon's rubber game. First pitch in Lawrence is set for 1 p.m. ET.
For more information on the Mountaineers, follow @WVUBaseball on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram.
"four" - Google News
May 01, 2022 at 06:18AM
https://ift.tt/1AS8fsL
Four Homers Power WVU to Series-Evening Win - West Virginia University Athletics - WVU Athletics
"four" - Google News
https://ift.tt/le1nWJN
https://ift.tt/itIDcNC
"It was really cool. It's really cool because I know a lot of those guys and I'm friends with a lot of those guys," Camarda said about multiple punters being talked about as draft picks. "To be able to go through it with them together and just to see the opportunities unfold and for everything to go down the way it has -- it's been really cool."
"I was sitting on the couch, I was watching the draft," Camarda said of his draft experience, "every single pick, just hoping I'd get a phone call, hoping that a team would hit me up and I'd just be able to have that moment."
Stout and Camarda were surprisingly taken before San Diego State punter Matt Araiza, who became known as the "punt god" after setting an NCAA record last season with a booming 51.1-yard average.
Araiza was selected in the sixth round by the Buffalo Bills with the 180th overall pick.
Stout, who set a Penn State record with a 46.6-yard average, became the highest punter taken since 2019. Mitch Wishnowsky was drafted 110th overall by the San Francisco 49ers in that draft.
The arrival of Stout likely means the departure of Sam Koch, who has played in a franchise-record 256 games for the Ravens. Koch, 39, has the third-highest cap figure ($3.175 million) among punters this year. Baltimore can free up $2.1 million by cutting Koch, which could help the team sign a wide receiver or pass-rusher after the draft.
Similarly, Camarda's arrival almost certainly signifies the end for Tampa Bay veteran Bradley Pinion, who would count $2.9 million against the Bucs' salary cap this year.
Camarda averaged 45.78 yards per punt in 53 career games at Georgia and 46.7 yards in the Bulldogs' national championship year last season. He was named the SEC Special Teams Player of the Year in 2020.
The last time two punters were drafted in the first four rounds was 15 years ago, when the Jacksonville Jaguars selected Adam Podlesh and the Pittsburgh Steelers went with Daniel Sepulveda in the fourth round.
"four" - Google News
May 01, 2022 at 02:43AM
https://ift.tt/g7UBbfs
Baltimore Ravens, Tampa Bay Buccaneers select punters in fourth round of NFL draft - ESPN
"four" - Google News
https://ift.tt/le1nWJN
https://ift.tt/itIDcNC
For investors, one factor will almost always stand head and shoulders above the rest: Your TAM (total addressable market) needs to break at least $1 billion.
But alongside a massive addressable market, investors are also looking to see that you have existing customers, even they’re few in number, who truly love your product.
However, communicating the steps between your existing users (wedge) and your long-term potential as a company (TAM) can be incredibly tricky.
At TechCrunch Early Stage this month, we sat down with Felicis Ventures partners Viviana Faga and Niki Pezeshki to talk about scaling, product-market fit, and why it’s crucial to be “10x better” than the incumbents.
Product-market fit
Startups must be able to demonstrate that they have users that love their product. But what does “love” really mean?
Faga and Pezeshki believe that startups need a framework to measure their initial push into a niche audience. They suggest running a survey with your first cohort of users that asks how they would feel should the product no longer exist. Anything below the 50% threshold — in other words, one of every two users should be upset were this product to stop existing — isn’t good enough to move on to the next step.
Even then, they warn, it’s important to stay focused on the niche you’re building for before moving on.
Faga described a founder she’s currently working with who is building in the beauty space, and they’re interested in applying what they’re building to the CPG market.
“We had to take a step back and say, ‘Let’s own beauty,'” she explained. “Let’s do that really well. Let’s repeat it. Let’s scale it. And then, that affords you the right to move into the CPG space, because what will happen is that the CPG space might take you in a totally different direction. You can eventually get there, but own beauty first. Do it really well. That gives you that graph that’s up and to the right and gets a lot of investors really excited.”
While maintaining focus on your niche and working to hit that 50% threshold of users who couldn’t continue on without your product, start paying close attention to your Net Promoter Score (NPS). Using that, find the group of users that are rating your product a nine out of 10 and charge them for it. If your NPS drops down to two, you don’t have product-market fit.
"four" - Google News
May 01, 2022 at 02:07AM
https://ift.tt/DQBf0Xj
Felicis Ventures partners share the four pillars of scaling a SaaS startup - TechCrunch
"four" - Google News
https://ift.tt/le1nWJN
https://ift.tt/itIDcNC
May the 4th is coming and, as you may know, it’s an important date for Star Wars fans. This is why Apple is teasing a new Behind the Mac video with the artists from the Skywalker Sound company, which is set to be released a few days from now.
On May the 4th, go behind the Mac at Skywalker Sound to meet the artists who make the sounds of a galaxy far, far away.
In this 68 seconds teaser, Apple shows the process of creating the iconic sounds found in the Star Wars franchise.
“If you were to close your eyes, and just listen to the sounds, could you just identify the movie and where we are in the movie? Everything is just so… iconic,” says someone while we listen to sounds of R2-D2, Chewbacca, and a lightsaber.
This special Behind the Mac episode will be out next week, on May the 4th. This date became so important to Star Wars fans due to the similarity of a key phrase of the franchise: “May the Force be with you.”
In this series, Apple tries to promote creators and other professionals that use the Mac to edit movies, make music and 3D objects, and so much more.
That said, the end of the transition from the Intel Macs to the company’s own silicon is yet another important moment to highlight how great a Mac could be for professional users.
With the M1 Pro, M1 Max, and M1 Ultra available on the new MacBook Pro and Mac Studio, the company has also recently released its Studio Display, a more affordable option when compared with the 2019 Pro Display XDR.
You can watch the Behind the Mac: Skywalker Sound teaser below.
FRISCO, Texas – Breaking down all four Cowboys fifth-round draft picks on Saturday:
Name: Matt Waletzko (No. 155 overall)
Position: Offensive Tackle
College: North Dakota
Height/Weight: 6-7/310
The Rundown: Waletzko started 28 games in four seasons at North Dakota, including 10 last season. The Fighting Hawks gave up only three sacks during his time with the program, according to his official school bio. Waletzko is the second offensive lineman drafted by Dallas this week, joining first-round pick Tyler Smith, who's expected to compete for the left guard job as a rookie. Waletzko showed good lateral quickness for his size in college, and he'll likely have a chance to compete for the backup tackle spot behind eight-time Pro Bowler Tyron Smith and projected starting right tackle Terence Steele. Last year's fourth-round pick Josh Ball is expected to work at right tackle and Smith will take some backup left tackle reps in addition to left guard.
Name: DaRon Bland (No. 167 overall)
Position: Cornerback
College: Fresno State
Height/Weight: 6-0 / 197
The Rundown: Bland seems to fit the mold of big, rangy cornerbacks with great ball skills. That's the type Dan Quinn has tried to acquire since taking over as the defensive coordinator and Bland looks to fit the part. He played just one year at Fresno State after a season at Sacramento State. Bland has collegiate track experience in the long jump and 60 meters, proving that he brings serious athleticism to the table. His 4.46 time at his Pro Day helped his cause, especially since he wasn't invited to the combine. He'll likely step in and compete with young cornerbacks Nahshon Wright and Kelvin Joseph right away.
Name: Damone Clark (No. 176 overall)
Position: Linebacker
College: LSU
Height/Weight: 6-2/239
The Rundown: For the second straight year, the Cowboys drafted a former LSU linebacker with upside. Last year it was Jabril Cox, who's expected to compete for extensive snaps after undergoing ACL surgery last fall. Now Clark will have a chance, eventually, to earn a role once he's healthy. He reportedly underwent spinal fusion surgery in March to repair a herniated disk. Although his timetable in 2022 is uncertain, the Cowboys clearly like his long-term prospects. He was a Dick Butkus Award finalist last year after leading the SEC with 135 tackles, the fourth-highest single-season total in LSU history.
Name: John Ridgeway (No. 178 overall)
Position: Defensive Tackle
College: Arkansas
Height/Weight: 6-5/321
The Rundown: Ridgeway becomes the second player from Arkansas drafted by the Cowboys since Jerry Jones bought the team in 1989. He's a big-bodied athlete that takes up space in the middle of the field. Ridgeway played three years at Illinois State before transferring to Arkansas for one season. He had two sacks and four tackles for loss – all career highs in his one season in the SEC. He'll likely replace the role the Cowboys had for Brent Urban, who missed most of last year with an injury and has not re-signed in free agency.
The McIntosh MX950 sound system in the new Jeep Grand Cherokee will split your head open. It's got a 17-channel amp, 19 speakers, and, as the name implies, 950 watts. The bass will rattle loose change out of your pockets. A punchy snare can make your socks fall down. If you told me you want to feel like you're in the recording studio with Steely Dan, I'd say be careful what you wish for, but the McIntosh will take you there. You really wouldn't want to change anything about it. Which is fortunate, because you can't.
Car stereos from my formative years—the 1980s and '90s—were mostly standardized, with a DIN-size head unit directly powering whatever flimsy speakers the manufacturer deigned to provide. But both head unit and speakers were easy to replace, and once you had the interior torn apart anyway, you might as well add an amp and a subwoofer. By high school, I was well versed in impedances and crossover slopes and fuse blocks, and I could install my own stuff semi-competently, as could my friends. This free labor allowed us to plow more of our summer-job earnings into increasingly ridiculous sound systems, until I came to believe that having two 12-inch subwoofers (as I did in the IROC) was the bare minimum to do justice to "Whoomp! (There It Is)." My friend Adam had a dual 15-inch speaker box that he once pulled out of his Subaru and used to DJ a high-school dance. That's where we set our standards: If your car stereo sounds loud in a gym, it's probably almost loud enough for your car.
I first foresaw the end of zany DIY car stereos in the early 2000s, when my buddy Dave tried to put a relatively restrained system (only one amp and 10-inch sub) in his Saab 9-3. Even with a professional installation, the aftermarket head unit disabled the Saab's security system, which was somehow networked into the factory stereo. Dave could crank Elton John's "Tiny Dancer" or have a functioning keyless entry system, but apparently not both. The 9-3 presaged the imminent demise of sound systems that could be hot-rodded by high-school kids.
But you know what doesn't have an infotainment system? The regular-cab 2003 Ram that I bought last year. Among its minor foibles was a dead stereo, so I decided to resurrect my old skills and revive it with a semi-boomin' system. Since aftermarket head units typically evince the cool aesthetic restraint of a Japanese pachinko parlor, I bought a Chrysler OEM replacement (from the creatively named 1 Factory Radio company) discreetly hacked with an auxiliary jack so you can plug in a phone. Then I ordered a slim eight-inch powered subwoofer to hide under the seat and embarked on a fun and rewarding project. Ah, that old familiar feeling of wishing you paid someone else to do this! I remember it well. Speaking of which, did you know you have to remove the Ram's upper seatbelt anchors to get at the rear speakers? Running the power cable to the battery required breaching some kind of firewall grommet with a coat hanger. In the process, I lacerated my hand on various unseen razor-sharp pieces of metal that Dodge included just to frustrate this process and get you to trade your dumb truck for one with the Infinity sound system.
After going full MacGruber and tapping into a switched hot wire to get the amp to wake up, I had a system that looked stock but thumped hard. Which is great, except now I'm thinking of all the other stupid things I could do—kick-panel components, multiple amps, behind-the-seat sub boxes. Maybe I don't know how to build a car stereo that sounds as good as a McIntosh MX950. But I bet I still know how to make one that's louder.
This content is created and maintained by a third party, and imported onto this page to help users provide their email addresses. You may be able to find more information about this and similar content at piano.io
Welcome to the Friday edition of the Pick Six newsletter!
If I've learned one thing in my life, it's that if you put an event in Las Vegas, there's a 100% chance it's going to be absolutely crazy and the 2022 NFL Draft was no exception. I hope someone gave the draft a breathalyzer before it went home last night, because it was drunk.
The first round basically turned out how a trip to Vegas usually goes: Things start off quietly and then, before you know it, you're passed out in a gutter covered in tequila. Although there wasn't much action with the first 10 picks, the draft went totally off the rails after that with nine trades over the final 22 picks of the first round.
If you're wondering whether that's a record, we'll be letting you know later on in the newsletter. We'll also be letting you know what the biggest surprises were in the first round, plus we'll be giving you a Day 2 mock draft that will include both the second and third rounds.
If you're going to be out and about over the next two days, but you still want to keep tabs on who's being picked, you can do that by clicking here and going to our draft tracker. If you plan on watching the draft tonight, it starts at 7 p.m. ET and will be televised by ABC, ESPN, and NFL Network (If you want to know how to watch the final four rounds on Saturday, be sure to click here).
As always, here's your weekly reminder to tell all your friends to sign up for the newsletter. All you have to do is click here and then share the link. Alright, let's get to the rundown.
1. Today's show: NFL Draft winners and losers for Round 1
If this entire newsletter is a jumbled mess today, it's because I stayed up until 3 a.m. last night recording a draft recap podcast with Will Brinson, Chris Trapasso and Josh Edwards. During the pod, we touched on everything you need to know about the first round of the NFL Draft and let me just say, it's probably for the best that you listen.
We rehashed the entire first round and if you're wondering how long it takes to do that, I can tell you that today's episode is not a short one. As a matter of fact, I think it clocked in at 90 minutes, which is kind of ironic, because I also think that's how much sleep I got last night.
Here's a list of some of the winners and losers that we came up with after the first round:
Winners
Teams in the Big Apple. The Giants and Jets are usually two teams we're all making fun of after the draft, but not this year, and that's because they both nailed their picks. Not only did the Jets land Sauce Gardner and Garrett Wilson, but they also traded back into the first round to get Jermaine Johnson (Johnson was viewed by many to be a possible top-10 pick). As for the Giants, they had two highly touted players -- Ikem Ekwonu and Kayvon Thibodeaux -- fall right in their lap. In past years, the Giants probably would have kicked those guys out of their lap and taken a running back or something instead, but this year, the Giants actually drafted intelligently.
Ravens. When you look around the AFC North, the Ravens easily had the best first round of any team in the division. The Steelers drafted a player (Kenny Pickett) who might not take a single snap this year, the Bengals selected a player (Daxton Hill) who almost certainly won't be a starter in 2022 and the Browns didn't even have a pick. As for the Ravens, they hit two home runs by getting the top safety (Kyle Hamilton) and the top center (Todd Linderbaum) in the draft.
Lions. After taking Aidan hutchinson with the second overall pick, the Lions pulled off one of the most surprising trades of the first round when they jumped up from 32nd overall to 12th overall to draft Alabama receiver Jameson Williams. Basically, the Lions landed one player on each side of the ball and they could both turn out to be stars, which is good news for the Lions, because they don't have a lot of stars.
Losers
Aaron Rodgers. In what seems to have become an annual occurrence at the draft, the Packers needed a wide receiver, but they decided not to take one. This year, the fact that Green Bay didn't get a wide receiver was somewhat understandable. By the time the Packers were on the clock at the 22nd overall pick, there had been six receivers taken, so there weren't a lot options. In an interview on The Pat McAfree Show during the draft, Rodgers didn't sound too upset about how things played out. However, he still doesn't have anyone to throw the ball to and that's something Green Bay will need to fix today and if they don't fix that today, Rodgers might be throwing the ball to himself this season.
Malik Willis. Two weeks ago, it was looking like the Liberty quarterback might go in the top 10, but that definitely didn't happen on Thursday night. Not only did Willis get left out of the top 10, he went through the ENTIRE FIRST ROUND without being selected.
Saints. I'm not going to say the Saints have no idea what they're doing, but it seems like they have no idea what they're doing. They paid big to add a second first-round pick this year in a trade with the Eagles and then they paid big again to trade up from 16th overall to 11th overall in the first round. They ended up landing Chris Olave and Trevor Penning, which isn't bad, but it actually is when you consider what they ultimately gave up to land those two picks. ESPN's Mike Clay has a good breakdown of what the Saints traded away and you can check that out by clicking here.
If you don't like surprises, then you probably hated the first-round of the NFL Draft because there were a ton of surprises. No one loves a good surprise more than CBSSports.com's Tyler Sullivan, which is why we put him in charge of writing about the biggest surprises from Round 1.
With that in mind, here's our list of the biggest surprises:
Only one QB drafted."In recent years, the NFL Draft has centered around the quarterback position. However, this year was entirely different as just one signal-caller (Kenny Pickett, Steelers) was taken in the opening round, which marks just the second time in the past 20 years that this has occurred (2013)."
Rare defensive run to start the draft."Five defensive players -- Travon Walker, Aidan Hutchinson, Derek Stingley Jr., Ahmad Gardner, and Kayvon Thibodeaux -- were taken to begin this year's draft. That's the first time in 31 years that the draft started with five straight defensive picks. Back in 1991, six defensive players were taken in a row to start the draft."
Lions trade up 20 spots for Jameson Williams."The Detroit Lions, who were fresh off taking Aidan Hutchinson with the No. 2 pick, decided to leap up 20 spots from the No. 32 overall selection to take Williams. What was even more interesting about this seismic trade-up was that it was with their NFC North rival, the Minnesota Vikings. Detroit sent picks No. 32, No. 34, and No. 66 in exchange for No. 12 and No. 46. That seems to be a solid price for Detroit and somewhat of a head-scratching move by Minnesota to help them land a talent like Williams."
Patriots make a strange pick."There's always going to be a team that reaches for a player in the draft, but the Patriots may have extended a little too far for UT-Chattanooga's Cole Strange. While Strange was expected to hear his name called at some point this weekend, the consensus on his draft position was somewhere late in the second round or early in the third."
Note: The A.J. Brown and Marquise Brown trades aren't on this list because they're on our next list, which is a list of the biggest trades from the first round.
3. NFL Draft goes trade crazy: A.J. Brown and Marquis Brown both get dealt
After the first 10 picks of the draft went down on Thursday, it looked like it was going to be a boring night in Las Vegas, but as we all know, there's no such things as a boring night in Las Vegas, which might explain why things got so crazy.
Starting with the 11th pick in the draft, there ended up being a total of nine trades in the first round and although some of them were small -- I'm not sure the Bills-Ravens deal even counts as a trade -- there were also some monstrous ones like the Eagles pulling off a deal for A.J. Brown.
Let's take a look at the three biggest trades from the first round:
A.J. Brown traded to Eagles Eagles get: A.J. Brown Titans get: 18th overall, third round (101st overall) Eagles Takeaway: I don't hate this trade for either team. On the Eagles' end, they needed to do something at receiver and that's because they were downright abysmal in 2021. Last season, the Eagles receivers totaled just 149 receptions, which was the second-fewest of any receiving group in the NFL. By adding Brown, the Eagles have an instant No. 1 receiver who should make Jalen Hurts better.
Titans takeaway: Brown ended up getting a four-year, $100 million from Philly and I get why the Titans didn't want to pay that. Tennessee has an offense that revolves around Derek Henry, which is one reason why they likely didn't want to pay Brown anywhere near $25 million per year. The Titans used the 18th overall pick on a receiver (Treylon Burks) and if Burks can replace just 80% of what Brown did, the deal will look good for Tennessee and that's mostly because Burks comes at about one-tenth the price of Brown (Burks' four-year rookie deal will pay out a total of $14.3 million plus it comes with a fifth-year option).
Marquise Brown traded to Cardinals Cardinals get: Marquise Brown and 100th overall pick Ravens get: 23rd overall Cardinals Takeaway: Once again, I like this trade for both teams. I like this trade for the Cardinals because it reunites Brown and Kyler Murray. Murray and Brown are familiar with each other after spending two seasons together in college at Oklahoma. Brown's best season with Murray came in 2018 when he caught 75 passes for 1,318 yards and 10 touchdowns (Murray won the Heisman that year). We've seen what former college teammates can do at the pro level (See: Joe Burrow and Ja'Marr Chase), and if Brown and Murray still have any chemistry, Hollywood could become a huge weapon for Arizona's offense.
Ravens takeaway: As for the Ravens, they took the 23rd overall pick they acquired and traded down to 25th overall to get Tyler Linderbaum. So in the end, they traded away Brown and the 100th overall pick to land Linderbaum and the 130th overall pick. The Ravens were in dire need of help at center so the move made a lot of sense for them.
Lions move up 20 spots Lions get: 12th overall and 46th overall Vikings get: 32, 34 and 66 Lions takeaway: Of all the trades that only involved picks, this felt like the steal of the draft. The Lions moved up TWENTY SPOTS and all they had to do was drop back 12 spots in the second round (34 to 46) and give up a third-rounder. Detroit ended up using the 12th overall pick on Jameson Williams, who you could easily argue was the best receiver in the draft (His stock only dropped because he tore his ACL in January).
Vikings takeaway: I actually like Minnesota's pick at 32 (Lewis Cine), but I feel like they got crushed in the trade. Not only did the Lions get the better end of the deal, but the Vikings made things harder on themselves because they got robbed by a team in their division.
One trade that didn't happen:Deebo Samuel to the Jets. According to NFL.com, the Jets offered to send the 10th overall pick to San Francisco for Samuel, but the 49ers turned them down. It's hard to imagine the 49ers getting a better offer than that in a future trade for Samuel, so that could be a decision they eventually regret.
Heading into Day 2 of the NFL Draft, there are plenty of top players still available. Out of the top 32 players who got a first-round grade in our prospect rankings, seven of them are still on the board, which means that several teams could come away with a steal or two in the second or third round.
With that in mind, here's a look at the the top-10 players who are still available. The number next to their name represents their overall ranking in this year's class (For example, Nakobe Dean is at the top of the list and we had him as the 14th best player). If you see your favorite team announce any of the names below, that's most likely a good thing.
1. Nakobe Dean, LB, Georgia (No. 14 overall)
2. Andrew Booth Jr., CB, Clemson (No. 16 overall)
3. Bernhard Raimann, OT, Central Michigan (No. 21 overall)
4. Malik Willis, QB, Liberty (No. 23 overall)
5. Boye Mafe, EDGE, Minnesota (No. 24 overall)
6. Roger McCreary, CB, Auburn (No. 25 overall)
7. George Pickens, WR, Georgia (No. 32 overall)
8. Matt Corral, QB, Ole Miss (No. 34 overall)
9. Jalen Pitre, S, Baylor (No. 37 overall)
10. Daniel Faalele, OT, Minnesota (No. 38 overall)
11. Kyler Gordon, CB, Washington (No. 39 overall)
12. Logan Hall, DT, Houston (No. 40 overall)
13. Arnold Ebiketie, EDGE, Penn State (No. 41 overall)
14. Jaquan Brisker, S, Penn State (No. 42 overall)
15. David Ojabo, EDGE, Michigan (No. 44 overall)
5. NFL Draft Day 2 mock: Two receivers go in top 10
If you thought the end of the first round meant there would be no more mock drafts, I have some bad news for you: We have another mock draft for you to read.
After the first round ended last night, Chris Trapasso put on a pot of coffee and then stayed up through the night putting together his mock draft for the second round.
With that in mind, let's check out the top 10 picks from his mock:
1. (33rd overall) Buccaneers LB Nakobe Dean (Georgia)
2. (34th overall) Vikings: CB Roger McCreary (Auburn)
3. (35th overall) Titans: OL Bernhard Raimann (Central Michigan)
4. (36th overall) Giants: CB Andrew Booth Jr. (Clemson)
6. (38th overall) Jets: S Jaquan Brisker (Penn State)
7. (39th overall) Bears: WR Skyy Moore (Western Michigan)
8. (40th overall) Seahawks: QB Malik Willis (Liberty)
9. (41st overall) Seahawks: DL Logan Hall (Houston)
10. (42nd overall) Colts: WR George Pickens (Colts)
Trapasso actually put together a multi-round mock that also covers the third round and if you want to see how it all plays out, be sure to click here.
6. NFL Draft makes history: Crazy facts from the first round
There was so much history made during the first round of the NFL Draft that we're going to have use an entire section here to tell you about it.
Here's a look at a few historical draft nuggets:
NFL teams get trade happy in first round. The nine trades that went down on Thursday night were the most we've seen in a first-round since 2004. The 2004 draft started off with a trade when the Chargers sent Eli Manning to the Giants after selecting him with the No. 1 overall pick, and then things only got crazier from there.
Ugly year for quarterbacks. This draft marks just the second time in 20 years that we only saw one quarterback taken in the first-round (The other one came in 2013). Kenny Pickett was selected at 20th overall, which is the latest in the draft that the first QB has been taken since 1997 when the 49ers selected Jim Druckenmiller at 26th overall.
Defensive players dominate the top of the draft. The first five picks in the draft were all defensive players, which marks just the second time that's ever happened. The only other instance came in 1991 when the top-six players were all from the defensive side of the ball.
Georgia's defense takes over first round. UGA had 5 defensive players drafted in the first round with Travon Walker (first overall), Jordan Davis (13th), Quay Walker (22nd), Devonte Wyatt (28th) and Lewis Cine (32nd) all getting selected. The five defensive players is the most by a single school in NFL Draft history.
Packers infatuated with UGA defenders. Of the five Georgia players who got drafted, two of them -- Quay Walker and Devonte Wyatt -- went to the Packers, marking the first-time in the common draft era that two defensive players from the same school got drafted in the first-round by the same team (The common draft era started in 1967). Also, the Packers have now gone 20 straight drafts without taking a wide receiver.
Cornerbacks steal the show. With Derek Stingley (Texans) and Sauce Gardner (Jets) both going in the top five, that marks the first time in 25 years that two corners have gone off the board in the first five picks. The last time it happened came in 1997 when Shawn Springs (third) and Bryant Westbrook (fifth) were both selected.
Record run on wide receiver. There were a total of six receivers taken in the first round and the twist here is that all six were taken in the top 20, marking the first time that's ever happened in the common draft era. The six receivers was also tied for the second most ever taken in the first round of one draft.
Not a great draft for skill players. Although plenty of receivers were taken, not a single running back or tight end got drafted, marking the first time in draft history that those positions got shut out of the first round in the same year.
Small school party. Two non-FBS players were taken in the first round -- Trevor Penning (Northern Iowa) and Cole Strange (Chattanooga) -- which is rare occurrence. The last time it happened came in 2008 when Joe Flacco (Delaware) and Dominique Rodgers-Cromartie (Tennessee State) were both selected
Hopefully you can use these nine facts to impress your friends this weekend.
"four" - Google News
April 29, 2022 at 11:58PM
https://ift.tt/ifXFgmv
Four biggest NFL Draft surprises of Round 1, plus looking at all the first-round trades and a Day 2 mock draft - CBS Sports
"four" - Google News
https://ift.tt/dpJhYPg
https://ift.tt/0OFrGCX
LEXINGTON, Ky. – Four Kentucky men's tennis players were named to 2022 All-Southeastern Conference teams, the league announced Friday. Juniors Gabriel Diallo and Liam Draxl were listed on the All-SEC First Team, while Millen Hurrion and Joshua Lapadat were named to the All-SEC Second Team.
Diallo earned his second career first team selection after a 30-6 record, the most wins on the team, including 16-3 in dual meets and 9-1 against SEC opponents. The Montreal native peaked in the singles rankings at No. 4 on Dec. 8, 2021. He held a 10-1 record at the three spot before moving up to the two mid-season, with his best win from court two coming against No. 5 Johannus Monday of Tennessee in dominant fashion by a 6-0, 6-1 result. Diallo picked up consecutive match-clinching wins in the SEC Tournament en route to the team's run to the title match. He led the team in match-deciding victories with six.
The list of accolades continues to pile up for Draxl, who earned the second All-SEC First Team honor of his career. The reigning Intercollegiate Tennis Association Player of the Year had another stellar season, picking up 13 wins from the top spot. Currently the No. 8 singles player in the country, Draxl led the team in ranked wins and held a three-match win streak against top-40 opponents. He defeated UGA's No. 11 Hanish Stewart, LSU's No. 40 Ronald Hohmann and Mississippi State's No. 27 Florian Broska to finish with eight wins in 12 SEC matches.
Hurrion garnered his second career All-SEC Second Team nod after another standout year, serving as the captain for the team that picked up its most conference wins since 2014. The fifth year finished with an 11-4 record at the two spot and a perfect 5-0 from court three. With a 17-7 record, Hurrion's best win came against Tennessee's No. 45 Emile Hudd in straight sets. He comprised half of the doubles tandem that peaked at No. 22, playing with partner Draxl. Their most prolific win together came against Duke's No. 45 Garrett Johns and Sean Sculley on Feb. 13.
Lapadat picked up the first all-conference bid of his career, being named to the second team after finishing with a perfect 11-0 record during singles competition in SEC play. The sophomore finished with a 19-2 record in dual matches, good for the most wins on the team, and was undefeated against ranked opponents in singles. His 6-3, 7-6(3) win against USC's No. 59 Lodewijk Weststrate on Feb. 19 put UK in the Elite Eight of the ITA Indoor Championship in Seattle. He peaked in the singles rankings at No. 37 twice, reaching the spot on both Feb. 9 and March 9, and reached No. 22 in the doubles poll with partner JJ Mercer. His best win in doubles competition came with partner Diallo when they defeated Georgia's No. 14 Trent Bryde and Philip Henning by a 6-4 score.
The Wildcats finished with a 21-7 overall record and were 10-2 in conference play, finishing as the runner up in the SEC Tournament this past weekend. Kentucky awaits its postseason fate until the NCAA Selection Show on Monday at 6 p.m. ET on NCAA.com.
For the latest on the Kentucky men's tennis team, follow @UKMensTennis on Twitter and Facebook, @kentuckymenstennis on Instagram, and on the web at UKAthletics.com.
- GO CATS - For more information contact:
Ryan Cullinane (rrcu222@uky.edu) - (859) 257-8309
More than four in 10 parents say their kids fell behind academically during the COVID-19 pandemic, when California trailed the country in reopening classrooms to in-person learning, according to a poll released Wednesday.
Now that their kids are back in the classroom, three out four parents support the state’s decision to no longer require masks. But two-thirds of them are OK requiring students to receive COVID-19 vaccines once they’re approved by the Food and Drug Administration.
The new poll from the Public Policy Institute of California offers a glimpse of how parents in the Golden State feel state leaders and educators have dealt with the turmoil from the pandemic and the impact it’s had on the state’s 6 million K-12 students.
“I think it’s important to note that there are many people who feel that students suffered and that they’re concerned about the direction of the school system,” said PPIC president and CEO Mark Baldassare.
California, the first state to impose a statewide stay-home order in 2020, was the slowest to resume in-person instruction a year ago amid growing evidence students were falling behind and suffering mentally and emotionally from prolonged remote online instruction that substituted for in-class teaching.
Parent frustrations helped force Gov. Gavin Newsom to face a recall vote last fall. But he handily defeated it, arguing during the campaign that states that reopened schools faster and declined to mandate face masks and vaccines suffered more COVID-19 deaths in their overall population.
The poll reflected that seeming disconnect, with large numbers of parents and Californians frustrated, but majorities supporting Newsom’s handling of K-12 schools and saying public education is going in the right direction, though those feelings were sharply divided along partisan lines.
Among the findings:
44% of parents with school-age children and 46% with kids in public school say their youngest student “has fallen behind academically during the pandemic.” Of those, 19% of parents with school-age children and 20% with kids in public school say their child has fallen behind “a lot.” By the same measure, 53% of parents with school-age children and 54% with public school kids say their child did not fall behind.
57% of California adults say the state’s K-12 public education system “is generally going in the right direction,” and 39% in the wrong direction. Though 77% of Democrats say it’s going in the right direction, 79% of Republicans and 51% of independents say it’s going on the wrong direction.
42% of California adults think the quality of education in the state’s K–12 public schools has gotten worse, while 13% say it has improved over the past few years.
60% of California adults approve and 36% disapprove of the way public education has been handled by Newsom, including 83% of Democrats and 53% of independents approving and 78% of Republicans disapproving.
The poll also found that 62% of California adults and public school parents say teacher salaries are too low. The National Education Association ranks California third among states in average teacher salary at $85,856 and fifth in starting pay at $49,933. New York is tops in average salary at $90,222 and ninth in starting pay, $47,618.
Megan Bacigalupi, executive director of the advocacy group CA Parent Power and a parent whose sons attend school in Oakland Unified School District, helped organize efforts to urge schools to reopen and drop mandates sooner. She said her group’s own survey out this week also shows high concern among parents about students falling behind.
The Parent Power survey found 61% of parents say their child’s education has fallen behind because of school closures, including 23% who say they are “extremely far behind.” It also found parents more divided on state leaders, with 40% having favorable and 49% unfavorable feelings about Newsom. Parent Power’s survey involved 1,242 interviews in California from April 8-13.
“The vast majority of Californians, 80%, and parents of school aged children, 81%, believe that children will be dealing with the consequences of the pandemic for years to come,” Bacigalupi said, “and this presents an opportunity to our statewide leaders, including Governor Newsom, to prioritize the well-being of children in his budget and priorities going forward.”
Baldassare said the PPIC poll results in many ways reflect the recall results in terms of parents and voters holding Newsom to account for their frustrations.
“People who were not with him aren’t with him,” Baldassare said, “and those who were with him are still with him.”
But Baldassare added that the numbers expressing concern should make state leaders uncomfortable with elections around the corner.
“I think when you’ve got numbers of people — it’s not a majority, but quite a few — saying schools or the economy are going in the wrong direction, I think that that suggests that in that kind of environment, people are going to be looking at change as a possibility,” Baldassare said.
The PPIC poll was conducted from March 30-April 13 of 1,591 California adults in English, Spanish, Chinese, Vietnamese and Korean. That included 1,059 likely voters, 424 parents, 342 parents with school-age children and 307 public school parents. The margin of error in percentage points was plus or minus 3.3 for the total sample, 6.1 for parents, 6.9 for parents with school-aged children and 7.2 for public school parents.
"four" - Google News
April 28, 2022 at 10:53PM
https://ift.tt/ApljCue
More than four in 10 parents say kids fell behind from school closures - Vallejo Times-Herald
"four" - Google News
https://ift.tt/dpJhYPg
https://ift.tt/0OFrGCX
Earbuds are a terrific way to listen to your music.
I can remember my first Sony Walkman, back in the 1980s. Its headphones went over your head, and the earpieces were small speakers that actually went inside your ears. It was very immersive, and I can remember really liking the sound.
Fast-forward more than 30 years, and today’s earbuds have lost the wires, but I’m still impressed with the sound.
I’ve been testing two sets of earbuds that have very different ways of fitting in the ear, and both have advantages. They also have very different price points.
This isn’t a comparison. These products have different target markets.
Eppfun Cute Meet 300 earbuds
The Eppfun Cute Meet 300 earbuds ($50.99 at Amazon.com) have an earpiece design that’s very similar to Apple’s original AirPods, but the Eppfun earpieces are a bit smaller.
There is no silicone tip that fits into the ear canal. The part that fits in your ear is hard plastic. It sits just inside your ear and doesn’t make a seal.
You still hear a fair amount of ambient noise when you are listening to music or talking on the phone.
Since there are no removable silicone tips, the fit of the Cute Meet 300s will either work for you or it won’t.
I’m a big guy, and for me, they feel comfortable.
I’m writing mostly about the fit because the sound isn’t adjustable. You can twist the buds in your ears just a bit, and the sound does change, but there is no way to adjust the sound coming from your phone. There is no app to provide equalizer presets or a bass boost.
The quality of the sound will depend on how the earpieces fit in your ear.
Specs
The Cute Meet 300 use Qualcomm True Wireless Mirroring technology, which means only one earbud is connected to your phone, and the second bud mirrors the connected bud.
There are no sensors to indicate when they are in your ear, so when you’re listening to music and you take them out of your ears, the music keeps playing until you put them back in the case.
The buds will play for six hours on a charge, and the charging case provides enough juice for 26 more hours of listening. You can also use just one while charging the other, if you prefer.
They are IPx5 waterproof, so you can work out with them or use them in the rain, but don’t go swimming.
Each side has dual microphones, and my voice did sound pretty good on phone calls. I’ve heard my voice sound better on more expensive earbuds, but for the price, I have no complaints.
Each bud has a 13mm driver. The product description says it will deliver “powerful bass, rich midrange and crisp, clear treble.” That is wishful thinking.
Final thoughts
I’d say the music sounded a bit better than I’d expect from a $50 set of earbuds.
I used them when mowing my lawn last week and they sounded just fine and they never cut out, which is all I can ask.
I am impressed with the size of both the earbuds and the case. The buds fit in the case horizontally, and the case is very thin but long. It looks more like a contact lens case, and it really disappears in my pocket. The case charges with an included USB-C cable, but you’ll need to provide your own charger.
Pricing and discounts
The Cute Meet 300s are available from Amazon in black, green, silver or gold. The list price for black is $50.99 at the time of publication, but there is also a 30% coupon you can click to apply when you add them to your cart that drops the price to just under $36. The other colors list for $61.99.
Pros: Small, long battery life, decent sound for music and calls.
Cons: No equalizer settings, no auto pause when you remove them.
Bottom line: For the price, I think the Cute Meet 300s are a bargain.
The Sennheiser CX Plus True Wireless earbuds.
Sennheiser CX Plus True Wireless
Sennheiser has been synonymous with great-sounding headphones for as long as I can remember.
The company offers a wide range of headphones and earbuds with an equally wide price range.
The CX Plus True Wireless earbuds ($129.95, en-us.sennheiser.com) are all about true sound reproduction. Their tagline is Superior sound. No compromise.
Seems about right. I really like the CX Plus sound, but again, it is all about the fit.
Getting the right fit
The CX Plus earbuds sit flush with your ear with a small silicone ear tip that seals in your ear canal.
They ship with four sizes of ear tips (XS, S, M, L). You should allow for a few minutes to sit down in a quiet place to try out all the tip sizes.
Everyone’s ears are different, and you may even need different sizes for your left and right ears.
The tips just pull straight off and you can press on a different size in about five seconds.
Once you put the buds in your ears, rock them back and forth until they sit comfortably and seal out the outside noise.
You will probably know whether your ears are large or small, but you may be surprised at what size ear tip feels best.
Smart Control app
After you get a good fit, make sure you download the free Smart Control app that will let you try different equalizer presets or even make your own custom preset.
You can also toggle on active noise cancellation, which works really well.
The CX Plus earbuds also have transparency mode that lets in some of the sound of the outside world. You can set up transparency mode to pause the music when you tap the left bud.
This is handy when someone starts talking to you. Tap the bud, and music will stop and the microphones on the buds will let you hear clearly while the buds are in your ears.
The app will let you customize the touch buttons on each bud. You can customize what happens with a single tap, double tap, triple tap or a long press.
By default, a tap on the right bud will play/pause the music. Long pressing on the right turns volume up, and long pressing the left bud turns the volume down.
Battery life
The CX Plus buds will play for about eight hours on a charge.
The Sennheiser CX Plus True Wireless earbuds in their charging case.
The charging case can charge them up two more times for a total of 24 hours of playback before you need to charge the case. They ship with a USB-C cable to charge, but you need to provide a charger.
In use
The CX Plus have proximity sensors to know when you are wearing them.
You can triple-tap on the right bud to bring up your phone’s voice assistant.
They are IPX4 rated for water resistance. They can take sweat and light rain but not much more.
Each bud has a 7mm dynamic driver and dual mic beamforming arrays.
I found my voice to be clear on phone calls, but since the buds are flush with your ears, I really had to speak up to be heard clearly on calls.
As I said above, I really liked the sound from the CX Plus.
I’m wearing them as I type this review, and Robert Earl Keen sounds great.
Pros: Great sound, lots of tip sizes, equalizer settings in the app.
Cons: Microphones couldn’t pick up a soft speaking voice.
Bottom line: Buy these for music listening, not so much for phone calls.
“The secret of all great fortunes, when there’s no obvious explanation for them, is always some forgotten crime.” These words come from “Le Père Goriot” (1835), Honoré de Balzac’s great novel about the mysteries of Paris, and in English they’re most often quoted without the qualifying phrase in the middle. After all, what counts as an obvious explanation? The ownership of land? Balzac’s society might have thought so; now we ask how that land was first acquired. Innovation? Maybe, but take a closer look at the human costs and natural resources needed to bring ideas to market.
Of course, we also have to consider who’s speaking. Balzac puts those words in the mouth of a master criminal, and then adds a final twist. The crime has been “forgotten, mind you, because it’s been properly handled,” the bodies neatly disposed of and the bank notes washed clean.
That’s the hope anyway — or the fear, depending on whose side you’re on — and that’s the world Hernan Diaz explores in “Trust,” his intricate, cunning and consistently surprising second novel. Trust: both a moral quality and a financial arrangement, as though virtue and money were synonymous. The term also has a literary bearing: Can we trust this tale? Is this narrator reliable? Diaz breaks the book into four sections, and the title of the first one is similarly ambiguous, echoing that of the whole work. It’s called “Bonds” and presented as a novel written in the third person by someone named Harold Vanner. We won’t know who he is until the later sections, many pages after “Bonds” is over; let’s call him a forgotten novelist, whose case has been properly handled.
“Bonds” begins comfortably, its assured prose the appropriate instrument for its tale of a well-upholstered life: “Because he had enjoyed almost every advantage since birth, one of the few privileges denied to Benjamin Rask was that of a heroic rise.” We are in old-money New York in the last years of the 19th century, and though this world will remind readers of Edith Wharton, Diaz has a much keener interest in just how that money works. Industrialists have replaced merchants as the city’s rulers, and will in turn be replaced by financiers. Rask comes from a family of tobacco traders, but he hates “the primitive sucking and puffing” that a good cigar requires. As soon as his father dies, he sells out and begins to play the market: to play it not as one plays golf or baseball but as a musician plays an instrument, caressing its strings, lightly pressing this key or that.
The Heads of State
Rask will become a virtuoso of money, but he never connects the tunes he plays to any effect they might have on the world outside. Instead he views “capital as an antiseptically living thing. It moves, eats, grows, breeds, falls ill and may die. But it is clean. … The larger the operation, the further removed he was from its concrete details.” Diaz’s own prose keeps an antiseptic distance of its own, no matter who his narrator might be. His superb first novel, “In the Distance,” a finalist for the Pulitzer Prize, is set in the American West during the Gold Rush, and its language creates a world in which both physical and psychic space seem stretched. Some writers capture their characters’ thoughts through what creative writing teachers call a close third person. Diaz relies in contrast on a far one, and his sentences are at once cool, deliberate and dispassionate. In both books, he reports on his characters’ inner lives instead of dramatizing them, and in Vanner’s hands especially, the result reads more like a biography than a novel: a narrative without dialogue, in which Rask’s life is given to us more often in summary than in scenes.
It’s a disorienting but effective way to present a character who seems almost entirely without an inner life of his own, whose whole being lies in anticipating the clickety-click of a ticker tape. Still, the rich man does eventually discover that he is in want of a wife. His choice is a young woman named Helen Brevoort, an American girl from an old Knickerbocker family who has been raised in Europe. She’s interested in the arts and philanthropy, and she also has strange talents of her own, including a memory so faultless that after a brief glance she can recite from two randomly chosen books at once, alternating them sentence by sentence. But no talent is without its price, and hers will eventually lead her to a Swiss sanitarium.
So add Henry James to Wharton, and Thomas Mann too. Diaz’s first book was a study of Jorge Luis Borges, and like the Argentine master he has the whole literary past at his fingertips. “Bonds” sets the tune on which the novel’s three other sections play variations, and I’ve concentrated on it in order to avoid any spoilers; for much of the novel’s pleasure derives from its unpredictability, from its section-by-section series of formal surprises.
Still, I can say that the second part claims to be a memoir by another financier, its pages full of notes meant to be developed later, and full as well of self-exculpation. This man claims he only ever wanted what was good and right for his country, and that includes his attempt to short the entire stock market in advance of the Great Depression. The book’s third and longest part is in the voice of an Italian American novelist, Ida Partenza, the Brooklyn-born daughter of an anarchist printer: an old woman now, in the 1990s, recounting a story from her youth that will make us distrust the entirety of the novel’s first two sections. I won’t say anything about the brief fourth narrative except that it too revises everything that has come before.
1
“Imagine the relief of finding out that one is not the one one thought one was.” Those words are as true of this exhilarating and intelligent novel as they are of the mysterious character who speaks them, a figure hidden at the center of money’s web. Taken together, the four parts make “Trust” into a strangely self-reflexive work: strangely, because unlike some metafictional exercises this book does more than chase its own tail. The true circularity here lies in the workings of capital, in a monetary system so self-referential that it has forgotten what Diaz himself remembers. For “Trust” always acknowledges the world that lies outside its own pages. It recognizes the human costs of a great fortune, even though its characters can see nothing beyond their own calculations; they are most guilty when most innocent, most enthralled by the abstraction of money itself. Diaz gives an extreme form of that fascination to his most attractive character, who says, “Short selling is folding back time. The past making itself present in the future,” like a modernist writer dealing with the flux and flow of consciousness. The speaker of those words cannot even imagine that such a fortune might hide a crime. That doesn’t mean there isn’t one.
Michael Gorra’s books include “The Saddest Words: William Faulkner’s Civil War” and “Portrait of a Novel: Henry James and the Making of an American Masterpiece.” He teaches at Smith.
TRUST, by Hernan Diaz | 402 pp. | Riverhead Books. | $28.
It's finally here. The 2022 NFL Draft is upon us. Hope you are ready for tonight's festivities.
After much angst, it's time to live with this final mock forever. The top 10 I produced on Monday is fairly well reflected here, and things seems to be coming into focus. At least that's what I keep telling myself.
For as wild and wacky as many thought this draft would be -- and perhaps it still will be -- the pull of certain players and certain position groups seems to be growing stronger. We have heard for months about the top offensive linemen and edge rushers and corners, and I suspect that is reflected in the actual selections once they begin coming off the board. Ready? Let's jump in.
"four" - Google News
April 28, 2022 at 11:08PM
https://ift.tt/rJp9Cb5
2022 NFL Mock Draft: Four big trades, three involving QBs, highlight Jason La Canfora's one and only mock - CBS Sports
"four" - Google News
https://ift.tt/JbERXLl
https://ift.tt/sd034ZG
In less than six months, Apple will announce the upcoming Apple Watch Series 8. Rumors so far are a bit sparse, but there are some features very likely to be available with this new generation of smartwatches. Read on as we round up four of them that we expect to see on the Apple Watch Series 8.
Same screen sizes as the previous models
Apple has been pretty consistent in changing the screen size of the Apple Watch. The original Apple Watch until Series 3 had 38mm and 42mm options, Series 4 to Series 6, 40mm and 44mm, and starting now with Series 7, 41mm and 45mm.
For the Apple Watch Series 8, we expect Apple to maintain the same screen sizes as the Apple Watch Series 7. After analysts and leakers wrongly predicted the new design of Series 7, I don’t think anyone would say Apple will radically change how the upcoming Apple Watch Series 8 will look like.
At least a new sensor is coming to the Apple Watch Series 8
As of now, Bloomberg, the Wall Street Journal, and analyst Ming-Chi Kuo predicted Apple Watch Series 8 will finally bring a new sensor. Both publications and the analyst say a body temperature sensor is in the works.
WSJ: “A planned use for the sensor in 2022 would be for fertility planning, the people said, giving women clues about where they are in their ovulation cycle.”
By the beginning of 2022, Bloomberg’s Mark Gurman said “body temperature was on this year’s roadmap, but chatter about it has slowed down recently.” While it doesn’t mean that Apple scrapped its plans to bring this new sensor, we still have to wait for new reports to make sure this feature will actually be released.
Better processor
After not updating the processor for Series 7, it seems like Apple is readying a new S8 SoC for the Apple Watch Series 8 bringing “major updates to activity tracking” with “faster chips across the board,” according to Bloomberg‘s Mark Gurman.
I think this year will be the biggest in the history of the Apple Watch since the original model. I’m looking for three new models this fall: an Apple Watch Series 8, an Apple Watch SE and an Apple Watch geared toward extreme sports. I wouldn’t expect any major new health sensors this year, besides the possible inclusion of the oft-discussed body temperature feature. But look out for major updates to activity tracking and faster chips across the board. Also, the Apple Watch Series 3 may finally be retired.
Better sleep-tracking tech
After years of waiting, Apple finally brought a built-in solution for those who like to track their sleep. Unfortunately, the stock app isn’t as good as third-party options.
With that in mind, the Wall Street Journal says the Apple Watch Series 8 could have new sleep tracking features, including the ability to detect advanced sleep patterns and sleep apnea. The publication says that one challenge for Apple in terms of expanding sleep tracking capabilities, however, is battery life.
Wrap-up
So far, these are some of the features users can really look forward to in the new Apple Watch Series 8. Of course, we’ll have a better look at upcoming functions with the preview of watchOS 9 in June, during WWDC 2022.
Are you excited about the new Apple Watch? Share your thoughts in the comments section below.
LEXINGTON, Ky. – Four Kentucky men's tennis players were named to 2022 All-Southeastern Conference teams, the league announced Friday. Juniors Gabriel Diallo and Liam Draxl were listed on the All-SEC First Team, while Millen Hurrion and Joshua Lapadat were named to the All-SEC Second Team. 
/cloudfront-us-east-1.images.arcpublishing.com/dmn/IICXE2KYBVDA5D6FZBMAP2RKCM.jpg)
/cloudfront-us-east-1.images.arcpublishing.com/dmn/JBYF35X5KNDGVJNIBIRBLAUREA.jpg)
