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Author: Henry Berry Page 1 of 3
The Oklahoma Football recruiting 2024 class has caught fire recently. Coming off of a 6-7 season, many of the top analysts in the country predicted that recruiting would fall off for the sooners as well. However, this was not the case as OU recruited its highest rated class of all time and a top five class in the country. This was the season after former head coach, Lincoln Riley, made a shocking leave to USC and stated that OU didn’t have the resources he needed to recruit a highly touted class. The sooners are looking to go even bigger this year by landing some of the biggest classes in the nation. They have already began to land these big names as they have secured six commits. These include cornerback Jeremiah Newcombe, quarterback Michael Hawkins, offensive tackle Isaiah Autry, wide receiver Kelly Daniels, safety Jaydan Hardy, and wide receiver Zion Kearney. This is a great start for the class and many names have received crystal balls to Oklahoma. Big names on the defensive line including David Stone, Williams Nwaneri, and Joseph Jonah-Ajonye. The sooners are also looking to make waves with major offensive recruits including Bryant Wesco and Caden Durham, who both were in attendance for the annual Spring game. Oklahoma has always been a major force in the college football universe and they will keep climbing back to the top in 2023-24
The early internet days were full of excitement and wonder as users around the world explored with all of the uses and methods that the internet could provide. Many of this excitement contributed from the ethos of open access and collaboration of users. The early internet age was all about sharing information and knowledge free of cost and the fathers of the internet believed that the public should all have equal access to this information. This ethos resulted in the creation of the first web browsers that were accessible and easy to use to the masses. Another ethos was very relevant was the idea of a decentralized internet and the freedoms behind that. There was no central governing body or company over the internet so there was a distinct lack of rules. This is a freedom that people weren’t familiar with and the internet became popular very quickly. This included search results as well as posting whatever you pleased. People were also able to find friends easier as they had the protection of a screen. Overall, the early ages of the internet were full of wonder and excitement of all of the possibilities that awaited users which resulted from new freedoms and opportunities.
My name is Henry Berry and I have found a home in media and feel driven to pursue it in my future. The question, you might ask, is what drives my passion for media. I find that my passion in media is rooted in my love for writing and sports. This brings about the question of how can I get the stories that I want to tell about the things I love out to a mass audience? I entered the Intro to Media course to help myself answer that question and to start my career in media and sports. As I write this before my last class before my final, I feel as though I have answered many of the questions that I had kept in my head throughout the semester. I have learned about the history of media and how it has progressed through time. I was shocked to learn about the many cultures in media and how they all play a part in the grand scheme of media around the world. One of my favorite sections of the course was learning how many of my hobbies, such as playing video games and reading books, are also a recognized part of media that I actively consume and contribute to everyday. As the semester is coming to a close, I now notice that I don’t find myself asking myself the same questions that I had at the beginning of the semester and instead am asking now questions with my newfound knowledge.
The 2023 NBA Playoffs have been electric from the start and the first round was full of upsets and thrillers. For the first time in NBA playoff history, all eight seeds have representation in the second round. This is thanks to a huge upset by the Miami Heat over the Milwaukee Bucks in five games. Star forward Jimmy Butler was on another level in the series, featuring multiple 40-point games and an all-time 56-point performance in game four. Other upsets included the Los Angeles Lakers beating the two seed Memphis Grizzlies in six games and the Warriors upsetting the Kings in a seven-game thriller. Game 7 was an epic performance by Steph Curry as he dropped 50 points and closed out the series. Now the second-round features elite matchups where storylines clash. Player matchups include Steph Curry vs. Lebron, Jokic vs. KD, and Embiid vs. Tatum. As the season nears to an end, only the truly good teams will remain and a new NBA champion will be crowned.
The 2023 NFL Draft took place in Kansas City this past weekend. The draft is a major weekend for every team as they build the future of their organization through young players from college. This year, the Carolina Panthers held the number one pick after trading the Chicago Bears for it in the offseason. The question heading into the draft was which top quarterback would they select to be their future. The prospects included Alabama’s Bryce Young, Ohio State’s CJ Stroud, Florida’s Anthony Richardson, and Kentucky’s Will Levis. There were many other teams, such as Indianapolis and Houston, that were also looking for a quarterback which upped the drama of the draft. Finally, the time came and Bryce Young was the first name called. Houston followed quickly after by drafting CJ Stroud and trading for the third pick, drafting Alabama defensive end Will Anderson. Anthony Richardson was then drafted fourth by the Colts thus meaning three of the top four picks turned out to be quarterbacks. The final top quarterback, Will Levis ended up falling out of the first round and was drafted by the Tennessee Titans. My favorite team, the Minnesota Vikings, held the 23rd pick in the draft and drafted wide receiver, Jordan Addison. This was a pick that was made to aid the receiver room in the departure of Adam Theilen. All 32 teams now have their players and now the training and installation process of the offseason will start now as we count down the days until the opening kickoff
The first amendment is a staple of United States law and is one of the main reasons why the U.S. is such a successful country. U.S. citizens seem to take the law for granted and many do not know the freedoms that they have are not commonplace around the world. This assignment was very intriguing in seeing the responses that people from different ages, genders, and political parties gave. Many of the older people that I asked, which included parents and grandparents, stated that we already have those freedoms and were familiar with the first amendment. When asked about the freedoms of it in our country, I received different answers. My parents seemed ok with the amount of freedom that is allowed and believe that people should have the freedom to speak their mind as long as it does not cause panic among the populace. On the other hand, my grandparents think that the government could be a little bit stricter when it comes to assembly in specific. They told me that protests are becoming too common over matters that can easily be resolved and do not require such a grandiose act of protest. When asking people that were around my own age, including my siblings and girlfriend, the knew about the main point of freedom of speech but weren’t as familiar with freedom of religion and the press. They believed that people should have the freedom to express their opinions and follow their beliefs. My girlfriend gave an interesting stance on freedom of the press, saying that the press may be too harsh in order to get a good story. A main example that she cited was paparazzi invading personal spaces of popular celebrities. These results line up to the national support of the first amendment as support for the law has increased in the last 15 years according to the Knight Foundation.
The Oklahoma Sooners traveled to Austin, Texas to face their bitter rival, the Texas Longhorns, this past weekend. The Sooners entered the series on tough straights with a .500 record at 19-19 and a blowout loss to Oklahoma State. Texas was ranked 14th in the country and had one of the better offenses at the college level. This was completely shut down by Braxton Douthit as he allowed only four hits with one run and Carter Campbell finished the job for a Friday 2-1 victory. In the second matchup, the Sooners opened up with an offensive explosion, opening the game up with an 8-0 in the top of the third inning. Texas attempted to fight back by sprinkling 1 run innings, but it was not enough as the Sooners got the series clinching win with a score of 9-6. The final game was a double header on Saturday where the Sooners continued their dominance with a 6-4 inning that combined both offense and defense to cap off the sweep. This is a huge boost to the Sooners resume and the first sweep of Texas in Austin of all time. The Sooners will look to continue their hot streak as the Kansas Jayhawks roll into Norman for a weekend series.
The Oklahoma City Thunder ended their night in Minnesota with a loss to the Timberwolves, but they were never supposed to be there. This game was the second game in the Thunder’s postseason run in the play-in tournament. The Thunder played a thriller in New Orleans where they upset the nine-seeded Pelicans. Despite the disappointment of not making it to a full playoff series, Oklahoma City may have shaved two years off their original rebuild plans. Before the ball was ever tipped, the odds were against them as experts picked the Thunder to only win around 20 games. The Thunder doubled this total by winning 40 games and having their best season since 2019. Another setback was losing rookie superstar Chet Holmgren with a foot injury suffered in a Pro-Am game. A large part of the squad’s success was the play of Shai Gilgeous-Alexander. This season, Shai turned from rising star, to arguably a top 10 player in the league and finished second in the most improved player award race. He would average 31.4 points a game while posting a 51% field goal percentage. Another welcome surprise was the play of rookie Jalen Williams. He also finished second for an award, which was the rookie of the year award. He was the Thunder’s second leading scorer this season and provided a great source of energy to draw the attention off of Shai. Finally, credit should be dealt to head coach Mark Daigneault, who finished second in the Coach of the Year race, for being able to maximize each of the young stars that the Thunder possesses. Long story short, the Thunder may have the brightest future of any team in the league and the 2022-23 put the league on notice
The Oklahoma Sooners held their annual Spring Game this past Saturday and it was a very insightful look into the future of the Oklahoma program. There were many new faces from last year’s 6-7 squad and the new looked much improved. The defense, especially, looked like a completely different squad and look to be a force to be reckoned with. Players that shone include Indiana transfer Dasan McCullough and Texas Tech transfer Reggie Pearson. Oklahoma also debuted many of the players from their fourth ranked recruiting class. This included the duo from Denton, Peyton Bowen and Jackson Arnold, who had an interception and a touchdown pass respectively. Freshman defensive end PJ Adebawore was also a force on the defensive line, and it will be hard for head coach Brent Venables to keep him off of the field. Sooner nation, as they always do, showed out for their team as 55,000 strong filled the stadium to send their support. Of course, returning stars still showed out as quarterback Dillon Gabriel tossed three touchdowns and running back Gavin Sawchuk caught one of those passes. This will be the last time that the team will play until they return to Oklahoma Memorial Stadium to face the Arkansas State Red Wolves on September 2nd