The Chiefs are entering a new era on offense, as second year quarterback and first-round pick
Patrick Mahomes will be taking over the offense after the departure of Alex Smith, who was
traded after serving five seasons as Kansas City’s quarterback. Though Mahomes has been
touted as one of the most purely talented quarterbacks to enter the NFL in recent history, there
are plenty of questions surrounding his ascension to the starting role.

Despite the raw talent, there have been questions about Mahomes’ mechanics and ability to
thrive in the professional game. There has been little regular season film to look back on, as
Mahomes has just one career regular season start under his belt to this point.

Mahomes will, however, be surrounded by some experienced talent. Tyreek Hill and Travis
Kelce, the team’s top pass catchers from last season, are both returning. Second year
runningback (RB) Kareem Hunt will also return after a 2017 season in which he led the league
in rushing as a rookie. In addition to the returning talent, Kansas City signed wide receiver (WR)
Sammy Watkins in the offseason. Watkins is generally regarded as an explosive player, and he
scored eight touchdowns playing for the Los Angeles Rams.

On the defensive side of the ball, there are plenty of concerns. Kansas City lost their long-time
defensive leader middle linebacker (MLB) Derrick Johnson in the offseason. To replace him,
Kansas City signed former Cowboys linebacker Anthony Hitchens. Kansas City also traded Pro
Bowl cornerback (CB) Marcus Peters, despite the fact that the cornerback position was a liability
for the team at times last year. Kansas City hopes CB Kendall Fuller can help fill that role, as he
came over from Washington in the Alex Smith trade.

The secondary continues to be a concern, especially after a knee injury suffered by Daniel
Sorensen who was likely to play a starting role at safety this season. The Chiefs re-signed
safety (S) Ron Parker, who was cut by the Atlanta Falcons at the end of the preseason. While
there are plenty of new faces on the defense, Kansas City will lean on the experience of their
returning Pro Bowl starters, including S Eric Berry and defensive end (DE) Chris Jones.

The 2018 Chiefs enter the season with a great deal of uncertainty and analysts have had a hard
time predicting how the new-look team will fare. While the Chiefs have gained a reputation for
being a consistent and maybe sometimes boring team, the 2018 season looks to be different as
the Patrick Mahomes era begins in Kansas City.

Cover photo courtesy of chiefs.com.

Since reaching his current standing in the music world, Drake has received quite a bit of criticism for being a pop star instead of a true rapper. His music isn’t as deep or socially conscious as Kendrick or Cole. Instead, he’s a rapper out to make popular music, not necessarily aiming to convey a message or make a point. I think Drake is even beginning to accept this. Calling “More Life” a playlist, instead of an album, seems to me a cop-out aimed to shield Drake from the criticism of hip-hop heads who will dismiss his success because he has pandered to the pop charts and strayed away from traditional rap. Calling it a playlist sends a message to the listener that this collection of 22 songs is just something to enjoy, rather than examine. At the end of the day, though, it’s hard to knock Drake, as he’s enjoyed more commercial success than maybe any other rapper ever. All 22 of the tracks on “More Life” managed to chart the Billboard Top 100 at the playlist’s release.

This playlist seemed like a glimpse into the past of Drake’s career. The first two tracks on the album had me wondering if “More Life” was a second version of “If You’re Reading This” or “What A Time To Be Alive.” By “Passionfruit,” it was clear to see that there would be a little piece of every Drake album featured on this.

Drake has plenty of bangers on the playlist in tracks like “Free Smoke,” “Portland,” and “Gyalchester,” featuring some of hip-hop’s most commercially successful artists like 2 Chainz, Young Thug and, of course, Quavo. Before he even released this, I absolutely freakin’ knew there’d be a Quavo feature on this.

We see the pop star Drake that hip-hop heads complain about in songs like “Get it Together” and “Madiba Riddim.” It’s not that these tracks aren’t enjoyable or well produced, but they’re pandering to a pop audience rather than a hip-hop audience. Fluffy tracks like these make Drake vulnerable to criticism from hip-hop elites, but, at the same time, the fact that he has such a wide pop following speaks to his star-power and ability to reach across genres.

Speaking of reaching across genres, my favorite version of Drake appears as there are several tracks on the playlist where Drake crosses over into R&B. “Jorja Interlude” appears early in the tracklist and is fantastic. “Teenage Fever” is one of the best songs on “More Life,” sampling Jennifer Lopez on the hook. In principle, that seems kind of awkward, but hey, it made for one of singing-Drake’s best songs to date. The R&B spectrum of Drake’s portfolio is the best version of Drake. Not many other rappers can pull off a record like this, at least not like singing-Drake can. In fact, this ability to cross over into R&B music is something that set Drake apart early, as he was able to capitalize on this in “Take Care” on tracks like “Marvin’s Room” and “Doing It Wrong.” I wish Drake would accept that he’s not the best rapper in the game and embrace his ability as a sort of hip-hop/R&B artist because this is where he truly excels. I’d like to see that all-singing, no-rapping album that he has speculated about, but until then, I guess we’ll just wait.

“More Life” also displayed Drake’s continuous fascination with incorporating foreign cultures into his music. On “More Life,” he continues to incorporate Carribean beats and accents into his own music, despite the fact that he’s received some criticism for this. To be honest, the accent kind of throws me off. I’m not sure when Drake began to think he was Jamaican. Like dude, you’re from Toronto. Drake is blem, for real.  Either way, it’s different, and Drake deserves some credit for being able to pull from Carribean music and make popular music in the United States.

The absolute best part about “More Life” is Drake’s effort to bring grime, the British cousin of American hip-hop, into mainstream American music. Drake features grime artists Skepta and Giggs, who absolutely crush their verses. The best song on “More Life” is “KMT” featuring Giggs. Drake himself even attempts the British accent on “No Long Talk,” and it actually kind of works. If “More Life” introduced me to anything new, it’s grime. This is the best, and most original, part of “More Life.”

Ultimately, “More Life” was alright. It’s fun to listen to, but not much else. It’s hard to critically assess “More Life” because Drake wasn’t aiming to wow anyone with a profound message or a life-changing revelation. At times, I felt like I was still listening to “If You’re Reading This” or “Take Care.”

But “More Life” was made for fun, and that’s what it is. In my opinion, “More Life” is a sign of Drake’s inevitable decline as a true rapper. Other than the grime thing, he doesn’t do or say anything new. At times, it seems like he’s making a desparate reach to reinvent himself, but ultimately falling short. I’m not saying Drake won’t remain popular, but I feel that moving forward, traditional rap may increasingly disown a tired ole Drake, and he may have to pander more than ever to the pop audience in order to remain at the throne of music where he currently resides.

“More Life” was nothing new. But it’s hard to be too critical of Drake, who harnesses his star-power and achieves more commercial success than anyone else in the industry. So don’t look to deep into “More Life.” You’ll ruin it for yourself. Instead, use the equalizer on your Spotify to boost the bass, take a drive and enjoy “More Life.” Drake may fall someday, but for now he’s still the king.

More ‘chun for ya head top, so watch how you speak on Drake’s name, ya know?

Cover photo courtesy of Genius.

Streep’s comments sparked criticism from many fans of the NFL and MMA. Several figures from the MMA community responded to Streep’s comments, including some UFC executives. In an interview with TMZ Sports, UFC president Dana White responded, defending the sport and calling Streep out for taking a cheap shot at MMA.

“It’s not gonna be everybody’s thing,” said White, “and the last thing I expect is an uppity 80-year-old lady to be in our demographic and love MMA.”

White continued, “I’m not a big fan of golf, doesn’t mean people should stop watching it. If you don’t like it, change the channel.”

The NFL made no official comment in response to Streep. Why not? I’d have to imagine this is because the NFL is aware of their enormous presence and popularity. The NFL does not feel threatened by Streep’s comments. To put this in perspective, compare the viewership between Streep’s speech at the Golden Globes and the NFL wildcard game that was occurring at the same time. While an estimated 20.02 million viewers tuned in to hear Streep criticize football, the NFL boasted an audience of 34.28 million people watching the Packers-Giants game. Think about that. Fourteen million more people chose to watch Eli Manning throw a ball around than watch Streep receive an lifetime achievement award.

That many more people would rather watch Odell Beckham drop passes than watch a collection of world-famous actors gather to stroke one another’s egos. And this wildcard audience pales in comparison to the number of people who will tune in to watch the Super Bowl, which is sure to be well over 100 million as it has been for the last seven years. Over five times more people will watch Tom Brady win his fifth championship ring (yep, that’s mine and the official Hilltop Monitor pick) for playing a freakin’ GAME than they did to see an awards ceremony for Hollywood big shots.

I’m not done. Let’s put that into even further perspective. The Super Bowl has never once dipped below 39.12 million viewers, still almost double the audience for the 2017 Golden Globes.

AND that Super Bowl was in 1968, before the AFL and NFL had even merged.

AND this does not even account for the fact that only 16.4 American households owned a television in 1968 versus the 26.5 million who owned a television today.

None of this is to belittle Meryl Streep’s outstanding career. She has distinguished herself as one of the greatest actors of our time and was very well-deserving of the Cecil B. DeMille Award, one of the most prestigious awards given for acting. All I’m saying is that Streep should acknowledge the overwhelming presence and popularity of both the NFL and MMA in American culture before taking a cheap shot at the sports as if they are lesser than filmmaking. Regardless, the most ill-informed part of Streep’s comments were her thoughts that football and mixed martial ARTS are “not the arts.” This reveals a severe lack of understanding of both sports.

Have you seen Joanna Jędrzejczyk, Conor McGregor, Ronda Rousey or any other of the world’s top MMA fighters compete? It takes an incredible amount of skill, both physically and mentally, just to keep from getting dominated. It takes even more skill, strategy and grace to become a world-renowned fighter like any of the aforementioned fighters.

When it comes to football, I don’t know if Streep has watched an NFL game lately, but the game becomes more and more complex and nuanced every year. Coaches pour hours into watching film, creating playbooks and game-planning in order to be competitive. I would like to see Meryl Streep sit in on a coaches meeting with Bill Belichick or Andy Reid and still tell me that football is not artful. Streep does not understand the expertise that is required to analyze coverage and run an option- route like Julio Jones. She does not understand the vision that is required to be a patient runner and find an opening in the line like Leveon Bell does. She does not understand the technique and quick-thinking required to step up in the pocket and extend the play like Aaron Rodgers. And she does not understand the intelligence and mastery required to make effective adjustments at the line of scrimmage like NFL greats such as Tom Brady. Then again, to be fair, I’m not sure any of us really understand how Tom Brady does what he does.

Streep’s comments about football and MMA were ill-advised, ignorant and plain false. However, I think it all just comes down to a simple lack of understanding, and that goes for both sides. To be fair, I’m sure athletes and sports fans would appreciate filmmaking more if they were to spend some time on set. The truly unfortunate thing about Streep’s comments on sports were that they overshadowed her comments on politics. Streep had important things to say about the current political climate in the U.S., and coming from a respectable figure such as herself, they certainly would have been more impactful had she not decided to belittle two sports loved by millions. Instead, Streep’s comments contributed to the perception that Hollywood stars are arrogant, hypocritical and out of touch. UFC referee John McCarthy is among the millions who feel this way, as he expressed his opinion in a tweet:

Meryl Streep how ignorant are u. In your speech you stated "Disrespect invites disrespect" yet you ignorantly disrespected an entire sport.

— Big John McCarthy (@JohnMcCarthyMMA) January 9, 2017

Streep’s cheap shot at the NFL and MMA accomplished little other than fueling contempt for opinionated Hollywood stars. If anything, her comments serve as a clear example of a mutual lack of understanding that currently infects the U.S. If the divides in the U.S. are to be healed, all sides must come to a better understanding of one another and avoid delegitimizing the different activities, cultures and lifestyles that make the United States such an incredible country to live in. Whether you want to call it art or not, you can bet you bottom dollar I, along with 100+ million others, will be sitting down this Sunday to watch the Super Bowl, the greatest display of competition American sports have to offer. How barbaric of us.

Despite winning just one game, the team played hard and the win to end the season will provide the WJC football program with some necessary confidence and momentum.

Sophomore recreation and sport major Isaac Dozier said, “The season we had definitely is not one to brag about, but I am very proud of the way our team fought through from beginning to end. It was great to end the season on a win. This way we can carry the momentum over into the next season.”

Senior religion major Darrick Strzelecki shared similar thoughts, “The season was very difficult because losing is never fun, but finishing the season off with a win was huge for this program and for the seniors as well.”

The team faced a lot of problems this year, including getting all phases on the same page.

“The biggest problems we faced this year was getting the whole team on the same page so that the offense, defense and special teams could all be in sync with one another,” said Dozier, “Games where the defense would play good, the offense would not, and in games where the offense played well the defense did not.”

Injuries were also a major factor during the season.

“We had so many injuries all the way throughout, so were never completely at full strength,” said Strzelecki, “We had to move guys around and trust that they would perform to the best of their abilities in those positions.”

If nothing else, the season provided the team with some perspective, some experience for the future, and an opportunity to play the game they love.

“Over the course of the season our team just learned to have fun and enjoy the time we spent,” said Dozier, “It makes the games much easier when you don’t stress about failing and just focus on having fun. We were reminded that not everyone still gets the opportunity to play football like we do and we had to make the most of the time we had left because you never know what game will be your last.”

“The team as a whole found out exactly what we were made of,” said Strzelecki, “We lost week after week but we never gave up or changed the way we prepared and practiced everyday. We always played hard, studied film and lifted hard so we could best be prepared for each game.”

Jewell will look to learn from this season, and will begin to prepare for next season.