The Jan. 28, 2024 fight for the NFC Championship title came down to the San Francisco 49ers and the Detroit Lions, as they battled it out at Levi’s Stadium in Santa Clara, California, the home field of the 49ers. Things were not looking good for quarterback Brock Purdy and the 49ers, as they found themselves at a 17-point deficit by halftime, but they persevered and performed a miraculous comeback, outscoring the Lions 27-7 in the second half. The 49ers clinched the NFC Championship with a final score of 34-31, advancing to the Super Bowl.

The Kansas City Chiefs faced off against the Baltimore Ravens at M&T Bank Stadium in Baltimore for the AFC Championship game. Many people doubted the Chiefs’ ability to stop the Ravens’ explosive offense, but the Chiefs’ defense, coached by Steve Spagnuolo, was able to put pressure on quarterback Lamar Jackson and hold the Ravens to 10 points, tied for their season low. Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes along with tight end Travis Kelce made an unstoppable duo, with Kelce scoring the first touchdown of the game to give the Chiefs an early lead. The game ended with a final score of 17-10 with the Chiefs claiming the AFC Championship title and moving on to compete in the Super Bowl yet again.

As Super Bowl LVIII approaches, we can look back and see what happened the last time the Chiefs and the 49ers competed against each other in Super Bowl LIV. Patrick Mahomes became the Chief’s starting quarterback in 2018 and has since led his team to the Super Bowl in four of the previous five seasons, winning two of them. Super Bowl LIV was Mahomes’ first appearance in the Super Bowl, and though the Chiefs were down early, Mahomes’ offense scored 21 unanswered points in the 4th quarter to win 31-20. 

This will be a challenging matchup between two teams led by talented young quarterbacks and two of the league’s top ten defenses, with both teams proven to be able to handle comeback situations. Chiefs fans hope to see their team win their second consecutive Super Bowl, while the 49ers aim to win their first Super Bowl since the 1994 season. Super Bowl LVIII will be played at Allegiant Stadium in Las Vegas, Nevada on Feb. 11 at 5:30 p.m. (CT) with Reba singing the National Anthem and Usher performing for the halftime show.

“The team’s preparation for this event cannot be explained in a paragraph or even the length of this newspaper. In short, we got this team to be as physically fit as possible and worked on their technique while pushing them to swim speeds that would help them compete to the level of competition,” said Gole.

“We do a lot of weights, and running as well as swimming to keep us in the best shape we can be in,” said sophomore international relations and french major Delaney Haralson.

Haralson finished the day by placing fourth in the 400 individual medley (IM) event.

“It’s a lot of work, but definitely necessary since we finish with a four day meet that basically lasts all day,” she said.

Many members on both teams had the best performances of their careers.

“The greater majority of the members of the men’s and women’s swimming program went lifetime best times in at least one or two of their individual events,” said Gole. “Only a handful did not go a best time and the coaching staff is still trying to figure out how that happened. I applaud the individuals that commit themselves to working as hard as possible to swim as fast as they do at the end of the year.”

Trey Roggenstein, senior recreation and sport major, was one of these Cardinals who performed well, placing fifth in the 400 IM.

“Everyone wants to be that one person to step up and lead the team,” said Roggenstein. “This year we had some great performances right from the first swim of the meet til the last one. I think many people surprised themselves with how they did.”

Both the men’s and women’s teams also took home the James R. Spalding sportsmanship award from the event.

“Winning the sportsmanship award on both the men’s and women’s side means a great deal to me and the program,” said Gole. “Supporting their teammates and cheering on their opponents has become something that the members of this program see as the right thing to do.”

According to Gole, the men’s team has won the award every year the GLVC has sponsored swimming, and the women’s team has won the award twice in the last four years.

“We do try to make it a point to be the loudest, proudest team by the pool, especially during finals,” said Haralson.

While a few individuals and relay teams will be making an attempt to qualify for the NCAA Division II national championships in March, for the majority of the team, this is an uplifting end to their season. Gole and the team seem eager to improve next season.

Photo courtesy of Jewell Athletics.

Durant was a superstar on the Thunder. In 2012, he led them all the way to the NBA Finals, only to be beaten by the Miami Heat. In January 2014, Durant averaged 35.9 points per game all while scoring 30 or more points in 12 straight games. This included a career-high 54 points against the Golden State Warriors.

In Durant’s final seasons with the Thunder, he had many career setbacks. He was diagnosed with a Jones fracture, he injured his ankle and he had to undergo foot surgery. But Durant still showed the world that even though he had many reasons to give up, he was the best.

During his final season with the Oklahoma City Thunder he averaged 28.2 points, 8.2 rebounds and five assists, leading his team to 55 wins and the third seed in the West. Kevin Durant was on Oklahoma City’s very first professional basketball team. He was with the Thunder for nine years and was constantly professional on and off the court.

Even after all his success with his first team, he wanted something else. He wanted a championship. All the greatest players in the NBA have championships. It is one of the only sports where championships play the biggest factor in becoming one of the greats. Durant is easily a top three player in the league, but he wasn’t winning championships. He was tired of losing in the playoffs.

Basketball is a team game. However, the Thunder relied on 1-on-1 basketball instead of team basketball, which is what always hurt them against good team basketball like the Spurs and Warriors. He wanted to play for a team that moved the ball around and played unselfishly, and the Warriors established themselves as one of those teams.

Durant saw how easily they got open shots and how much fun it was. So after nine years with the same team and still no championships, he decided to join a team that fit his style and was what he wanted.

“I understood cognitively that I was facing a crossroads in my evolution as a player and as a man, and that it came with exceptionally difficult choices,” Durant writes in his tell-all article, My Next Chapter.

He released this article July 4, 2016 to tell his fans that he had decided to join the Golden State Warriors.

“I will miss Oklahoma City, and the role I have had in building this remarkable team. I will forever cherish the relationships within the organization — the friends and teammates that I went to war with on the court for nine years, and all the fans and people of the community,” said Durant.

The NBA is a business, and he saw an opportunity in a culture that would better suit his needs on the court. He felt as though he had made the right decision to continue his growth as a player going to a new city and a new team. That’s how any job is. If another job fits you better, you take it. But that’s not how the fans saw it.

Photo courtesy of YouTube

Jerseys were burned, angry tweets were shared and the basketball world went crazy. Kevin Durant’s new teammates were thrilled to have him once the news dropped. Draymond Green tweeted, “Welcome to THE FAMILY @KDTrey5 let’s just do what we are setting out to do!! #Blockoutthenoise”

But a lot of other professional basketball players were skeptical of the move. Paul Pierce of the Boston Celtics tweeted, “If u can’t beat em join em,” since many people believe that Durant only joined the Golden State Warriors to get his first ring, considering they beat the Thunder in the Conference Finals of Durant’s final season. But he is tired of getting all this hate for his decision.

After a year of lying low and taking the heat for his move, Durant is tired of being told that he made the wrong decision. He has recently tweeted that he did not like playing for the OKC coach Billy Donovan, and the roster wasn’t good. But the tweets weren’t enough. He is also dropping some new shoes with a special something for his haters. On the soles of the shoes there are some of the names he’s been called in a list. These include: Weak, Quitter, Doesn’t Care About Fans, KowarD, Snake and Traitor. On top of the list, in yellow, are his scores from each game in the finals, “2017 Champs”, and “Finals Most Valuable Player.”

Photo courtesy of SB Nation

People knew how good he was, but they forgot how great he was and is until the NBA finals. He was a four-time scoring champion, an MVP and arguably one of the greatest college basketball players at the University of Texas, even though he played only one season.

In that one season, he averaged 25.8 points, 11.1 rebounds and 1.3 assists per game for the Longhorns, and he was recognized as the unanimous national player of the year, winning the John R. Wooden Award, the Naismith College Player of the Year Award and all eight other recognized honors and awards. This made Durant the first freshman to win any of the national player of the year awards. He went to the best team in the NBA and became their best player, even better than the previous two-time MVP Steph Curry. He immediately fit right in with the Warriors and lead them to an NBA championship and dominated the finals.

At the end of the day, Durant loves the game of basketball. All he cares about is playing the game he loves. He is sick of all the hate he’s getting from everyone. Who wouldn’t get annoyed of getting attacked constantly by everyone around the world? He just wants to play basketball and prove to everyone that he is a great player that made a smart decision. You can hate him for his decision. It is your right to voice your opinion, but you can’t argue how great of a player he is on the court and off the court.

This year the team had a large number of members making NCAA II ‘B’ cuts, meaning more students had the opportunity to qualify for the NCAA II National Championships.

“This year has been really exciting for the Nationals swimmers,” said Paige Meredith, senior business administration and ACT-In major.

Meredith got first in the 200 fly, setting a GLVC record.

“We are shocked that we could potentially have more than 10 people go to nationals this year! Which is a lot since in previous years we have only had two or three,” said Meredith.

Qualifiers were announced Wednesday, and the program will be sending five individuals and four relay teams to Birmingham, Ala. in early March for the Championships meet. Previous National Championships qualifiers, Meredith and Maddie Allen, junior nursing major, qualified again this year and will be accompanied by some new faces including some first-years. In total, 11 members qualified including Meredith; Allen; Keaton Dir, junior psychology major; Ayleen Burt, first-year; Anthony Aranda, sophomore; Craig Haug, junior; Aaron Stanek, first-year; Corbin Grimes, sophomore;  Dylan Walters, sophomore; Shea Marcinski, junior; and Carley Wood, sophomore.

“We are so excited for nationals. Going to this meet changes the way you look at the sport. Swimming is a very dedicated sport and we swim year round to try and qualify for this meet. Once you’re there and see these amazing swimmers, you are almost starstruck,” said Meredith, “I’m so excited to share this experience with more of my teammates because I do think in the future we can have a team at nationals.”

Burt was the first All-GLVC selection at Conference this year and set a school record in the 400 individual medley earning a NCAA II ‘B’ cut time.

“[Conference] was really fun,” said Burt, “We had been building up to that event for a while and when the day finally came, I was not disappointed. It felt so fun to race and cheer on my teammates. There was so much energy. I think the team did an awesome job and I am so proud of all the energy and effort we showed.”

This year, the team has six seniors: Meredith, Chris Stack, Heather Cistola, Lane Bland, Mason Brown and Kyle Ainge. This can be a bittersweet time of year, especially for those who have been swimmers for most of their lives.

“I have been a swimmer for 14 years, so you can imagine all of the emotion running through, not just me, but all of the seniors especially during the final session Saturday night,” said Cistola, “All six of us have put an incredible amount of dedication into making this team the best that we possibly could during our four years on The Hill. Being part of the William Jewell swim program has helped me become a better person on and off the pool deck. I am fortunate for the relationships that I have been able to form and I hope those relationships last long after I graduate. This crazy, but incredible, group of individuals are more than just a team to me, they are my family.”

More results and individual times can be found on the Jewell sports page and the GLVC page.