Tag Archives: Among

Technology

Sharin no Kuni: The Girl Among the Sunflowers for PS Vita cancelled

Leave a comment

Frontwing has cancelled the PS Vita version of Sharin no Kuni: The Girl Among the Sunflowers, the developer announced in a backers-only Kickstarter update.

“The direct cause of the cancellation of the development of the PS Vita game version was the overdue delivery date of the development contractor, but the final responsibility for the situation, including the management of the contractor, lies with the project team, or to be more precise, Frontwing, who is the main organizer of the project and in charge of the development management,” Frontwing said in the update.

Sharin no Kuni: The Girl Among the Sunflowers first launched for PC in November 2005 in Japan, followed by Xbox 360 in October 2010, PSP in February 2012, PlayStation 3 in February 2013, and Android in August 2014. The PC version is expected to release in English in March.

Here is Frontwing’s full message on the PS Vita version’s cancellation, via r/visualnovels:

It is with great regret that we have decided to announce that, although last-minute adjustments to the development and production schedule with all parties involved have been taking place until very recently, it has been confirmed as of last week that one of the main rewards for this project, the PS Vita version of the game (both physical and digital), will not be able to meet the deadline for its production. As such, we will be either cancelling and refunding, or exchanging the PS Vita version of the game to the PC one for all eligible backers and pre-order store purchasers.

We deeply apologize to our supporters who have been looking forward to playing the game despite the repeated delays.

Please note that we will not be accepting cancellations for the PC game version at this point, as we believe that it will be successfully released and delivered.

Details About the Cancellation of the PS Vita Version

We believe that we should be as open as possible about the circumstances that led to the cancellation of the development of the PS Vita game version, and as such we will share with our backers the circumstances that led up to this point.

From the beginning, the PS Vita development schedule suffered the effects of the delays from the development of the PC game version, but here we will focus on the developments in the last year and a half after the change of the publisher.

In the July 2019 update, we announced that our publisher agreement with Limited Run Games (LRG) had been dissolved and that we would be working from that moment on with the Hong Kong-based publisher Eastasiasoft Limited. The reason for this change was to avoid the issue of the PS Vita manufacturing ending in North America within that same year. The project team knew that by changing the publisher to a different region, the manufacturing deadline would also change, so we outsourced the pre-production and game development of the PS Vita version to a certain development company that has a license to develop PS Vita games, and rearranged the schedule in order to meet the deadline.

Although the COVID-19 pandemic and the changes it brought to workplaces all over the world affected that schedule, the completed master data of the game was scheduled to be delivered by October 2020 at the latest.

However, at the last minute, that date was changed and the game was not delivered to us in October due to circumstances with the development company, and the project team was not able to confirm the actual product until November. Even more problematic than that was the fact that the game was confirmed to have many bugs, including fatal flaws, at that stage, and additional development time was inevitable.

However, even at this stage and during all this time, we had repeatedly asked the development company for a clear deadline for the mastering of the PS Vita version in order to manufacture the cartridges by the end of the year. We set a manufacturing schedule for production through discussions with Eastasiasoft, shared this information with the development company, and the development company responded that they expected to meet this deadline.

Until the very last moment, the project team still believed that the game production was going to finish and enter the manufacturing stage, but in the end the multiple issues that kept appearing during development and the additional time required to fix every one of them resulted in the developer not being able to meet the deadline discussed with Eastasiasoft. We are currently in negotiations about the liability issues derived from the failure of the development contractor to meet the delivery date.

Even after last year’s delivery date had passed, throughout the month of January the project team had been studying and searching for alternative methods through various channels, including Eastasiasoft, but in February it became clear that we would have to abandon the production of the PS Vita version, and this is why we are making this announcement.

One thing we would like to make clear is that the schedule and development estimates that we have reported in updates and comments until now were never false: they were always based on the information that was shared with us in our meetings with the development company that we outsourced the project to. We believed that we would be able to deliver the PS Vita game version to everyone until the very end.

As you can see, the direct cause of the cancellation of the development of the PS Vita game version was the overdue delivery date of the development contractor, but the final responsibility for the situation, including the management of the contractor, lies with the project team, or to be more precise, Frontwing, who is the main organizer of the project and in charge of the development management.

We would like to make clear that AKABEi SOFT2, Eastasiasoft Limited, Limited Run Games, and Tokyo Otaku Mode Inc., which have been mentioned before as project members, have no role or responsibility in the delay or cancellation of the game, including the PS Vita version. Please refrain from contacting these companies individually with any complaints or inquires.

Read original article here

Health

Monoclonal antibody therapy shows promise among Modesto community clinic COVID-19 patients

Leave a comment

>> WE ARE HERE IN STANISLAUS COUNTY AT THE MODESTO MISSION CLINIC. WE ARE GOING TO WALK THROUGH THE CLINIC AS IF YOU ARE THE PATIENT. >> THIS IS A LOOK AT HOW MONOCLONAL THERAPY WORKS IT IS A PROMISING PREVENTATIVE MEASURE THAT COULD REDUCE SERIOUS, LOCATIONS DUE TO THE VIRUS. >> IT IS THE RIGHT THING TO DO. WE WOULD LIKE TO MAKE OUR COMMUNITY A HEALTHIER COMMUNITY. >> GOLDEN VALLEY HEALTH CENTERS IS THE ONLY OUTPATIENT CLINIC THAT OFFERS THIS TREATMENT. >> UNDERUTILIZED MEDICATION. >> WE HAVE A LIST OF — >> THREE WHERE THE LAST TO RECEIVE THE INFUSION. >> HE SAID HE CAN BREATHE BETTER. HE WANTED TO GO OUT. >> SHE SAYS THERE ARE SOME REQUIREMENTS FOR THEIR CLINIC. PATIENTS MUST BE 18 AND OLDER, MUST WEIGH AT LEAST 88 POUNDS. IT MUST OCCUR WITHIN 10POSSIBLE MUST UNDERLYING CONDITION. >> IF YOU HAVE CANCER. THOSE ARE EXAMPLES. >> WHAT ARE SOME OF THE SIDE EFFECTS INVOLVED WITH THIS TYPE OF TREATMENT? >> FEVER. BIT OF CHILLS. NAUSEA. >> THEIR PATIENTS HAVE NOT HAD ANY ADVERSE REACTIONS. SHE SAYS THE IMPACT OF THIS TREATMENT IS MULTIFACETED. >> THIS WILL DEFINITELY ALLEVIATE THE HEALTH CARE SYSTEM. IT WILL INCLUDING FAMILIES EMOTIONALLY AFFECTED BY COVID 19 DEATHS. >> KAY RECEDE. >> THE TREATMENT IS OFFERED FOR FREE FROM THE FEDERAL GOVERNMENT AND SENT DIRECTLY TO GOLDEN VALLEY. DOCTOR SORIANO SAYS ANYONE NEWLY DIAGNOSED WITH COVID-19 WHO FITS THE CRITERIA CAN CONTACT THE CL

Monoclonal antibody therapy shows promise among Modesto community clinic COVID-19 patients

A new treatment among COVID-19 positive patients at a Modesto area community health care clinic has shown promising results.The FDA approved monoclonal antibody therapy for emergency use in November. Golden Valley Health Centers began using the therapy the first week of February.Dr. Elaine Soriano said the treatment is a promising preventative measure that may reduce serious complications due to the virus.”(This is a) wonderful medication that is available to everyone, and we are happy at Golden Valley Health Centers to offer this medication for you if you have COVID and considered high risk,” Dr. Soriano told KCRA 3.Dr. Soriano added that GVHC is the only outpatient clinic in Modesto that currently offers the treatment used in this way.”Honestly, this is an underutilized medication that people may not know that it’s out there,” she said.She said, so far, patients have reacted well to the treatment, “and one of the patients that I talked to, he actually said could breathe better, his chest opened, up and he wanted to go out.”Dr. Soriano said there are some requirements.To receive treatment at GVHC, patients must be 18 or older, must weigh at least 88 pounds, the treatment must be used within the first 10 days of possible exposure, symptoms must be mild to moderate, and patients must have an underlying health condition, and if someone has an “immuno-compromised condition such as, you’re in chemotherapy, you have cancer, you have rheumatoid arthritis, lupus, those are just examples.”Dr. Soriano said in a clinical trial, side effects were similar to other infusion treatments, and occurred in less than 1% of users, “Low-grade fever, a little bit of chills, sometimes itchiness, nausea,” but she explained that none of their patients, so far, have had any adverse reactions. She also said, the potential impact of the treatment is multi-faceted.”This will definitely alleviate our healthcare system, this will definitely help everybody, including the families who are emotionally affected by the COVID-19 due to deaths of their families,” she said.The treatment is offered for free from the federal government and sent directly to Golden Valley Health Centers. Dr. Soriano encourages anyone who may have the criteria, to contact their health clinics.

MODESTO, Calif. —

A new treatment among COVID-19 positive patients at a Modesto area community health care clinic has shown promising results.

The FDA approved monoclonal antibody therapy for emergency use in November. Golden Valley Health Centers began using the therapy the first week of February.

Dr. Elaine Soriano said the treatment is a promising preventative measure that may reduce serious complications due to the virus.

“(This is a) wonderful medication that is available to everyone, and we are happy at Golden Valley Health Centers to offer this medication for you if you have COVID and considered high risk,” Dr. Soriano told KCRA 3.

Dr. Soriano added that GVHC is the only outpatient clinic in Modesto that currently offers the treatment used in this way.

“Honestly, this is an underutilized medication that people may not know that it’s out there,” she said.

She said, so far, patients have reacted well to the treatment, “and one of the patients that I talked to, he actually said could breathe better, his chest opened, up and he wanted to go out.”

Dr. Soriano said there are some requirements.

To receive treatment at GVHC, patients must be 18 or older, must weigh at least 88 pounds, the treatment must be used within the first 10 days of possible exposure, symptoms must be mild to moderate, and patients must have an underlying health condition, and if someone has an “immuno-compromised condition such as, you’re in chemotherapy, you have cancer, you have rheumatoid arthritis, lupus, those are just examples.”

Dr. Soriano said in a clinical trial, side effects were similar to other infusion treatments, and occurred in less than 1% of users, “Low-grade fever, a little bit of chills, sometimes itchiness, nausea,” but she explained that none of their patients, so far, have had any adverse reactions.

She also said, the potential impact of the treatment is multi-faceted.

“This will definitely alleviate our healthcare system, this will definitely help everybody, including the families who are emotionally affected by the COVID-19 due to deaths of their families,” she said.

The treatment is offered for free from the federal government and sent directly to Golden Valley Health Centers.

Dr. Soriano encourages anyone who may have the criteria, to contact their health clinics.

Read original article here

US

14-year-old ‘getaway driver’ among 4 Jacksonville teens charged in triple murder

Leave a comment

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – Four teenagers are accused of murder in the shooting deaths of a woman and two men late Monday night in a Northwest Jacksonville apartment. A young mother who briefly worked for the State Attorney’s Office was one of the victims.

JSO Director of Investigations Mike Bruno said Wednesday a 14-year-old girl who had previously been convicted of a felony was driving the car that fled the Calloway Cove apartments off West Moncrief Road after the shootings. Officers with the gang unit, who had been working inside the complex and heard the gunfire, chased the car for almost 3 miles before conducting a PIT maneuver to cause it to crash.

The girl, along with Keon Lester, 18, and Kyshawn and Owen Laureano Cosme, both 17, are all charged with second-degree murder and criminal conspiracy. Detectives have not yet identified who was the shooter or any connection between those charged and the victims.

The 14-year-old, who News4Jax is not naming because of her age, is also charged with accessory and fleeing a law enforcement officer. Bruno said all four have previous felony arrests.

Ad

Bruno said three handguns — one partially disassembled — were recovered from the car, which police learned was stolen out of Clay County.

Bruno said when the teenagers blurted out, “We didn’t shoot those people,” officers returned to the complex and searched until they found a woman and two men dead in an apartment in Building E. Also in the apartment police said they found over 100 oxycontin pills, a large ball of white powdery substance and a large amount of cash. Detectives believe robbery was the motive for the shootings.

Police said these four teens committed adult crimes Monday night.

“This is not a random act of violence,” Bruno said. “It’s shocking and appalling when you see that you’ve got kids — 14, 17, 18 years old — out there committing crimes like this in our city.”

The 18-year-old appeared in court Wednesday and was ordered held without bond.

Jacksonville police no longer identify victims of crime but did say they were the men were 27 and 30 years old and the woman was 30.

Ad

A GoFundMe site identified the woman victim as a former employee of the State Attorney’s Office who “would do what was needed for her son and family.” The family asked that her name not be used.

“If you truly met (her), you loved her for who she was inside and out,” her family wrote on the page. “May (her) character and love be with us forever and keep her spirit alive and positive.”

The triple shooting happened about 11:50 p.m. Monday. A neighbor told News4Jax she heard what sounded like an estimated 20-30 gunshots at the complex early Tuesday.

Police evidence photo of guns found in the car that fled a triple murder Monday night at a Northwest Jacksonville complex. (Jacksonville Sheriff’s Office)

The area has wrestled with violent crime for years. In 2015, Jacksonville City Council named 4229 Moncrief Road as one of the top locations in the city you were most likely to be a victim of a violent crime.

In 2018, Millennia Companies bought the complex at 4229 W. Moncrief Road and spent $10.6 million on renovations. A spokesperson for the company issued a statement to News4Jax in response to Monday’s violence.

Ad

“We are saddened by this violence and sympathize with those affected by the incident,” the statement said in part. “Our property management and leadership teams are deeply engaged in responding to this event and cooperating with law enforcement officials as they continue their investigation. For those who may need help coping during this difficult time, we have made counselors available for residents and staff.”

Anyone with information about this case is asked to contact the Sheriff’s Office by calling 904-630-0500 or via email at JSOCrimeTips@JaxSheriff.org. Those who wish to remain anonymous can call Crime Stoppers at 866-845-TIPS.

Copyright 2021 by WJXT News4Jax – All rights reserved.

Read original article here

Sports

Utah Jazz, Donovan Mitchell finding their new level among NBA elite

Leave a comment

2:49 AM ET

  • Tim BontempsESPN

When the Utah Jazz reconvened for training camp in December, they’d had three months to think about how the prior season had ended: with Mike Conley’s potential game-winning 3-pointer somehow spinning out against the Denver Nuggets.

During those three months, the Jazz thought over and over again about that shot rimming out, about the 3-1 lead they’d blown in that series, about failing to make it out of the first round of the Western Conference playoffs for a second straight season. And they came back for the start of this campaign determined to make sure things would go differently this time around.

“I really feel like we came back this year with a purpose,” Utah center Rudy Gobert said. “I really feel like we have a chip on our shoulder, and we need that if we are going to do what we want to do this year.”

After their latest victory Tuesday night, a 122-108 decision over the visiting Boston Celtics, the Jazz are now an NBA-best 20-5 this season and have won 16 of their past 17 games.

And unlike the other teams floating around them at the top of the NBA ecosystem — the Los Angeles Lakers, LA Clippers, Milwaukee Bucks and Philadelphia 76ers — Utah doesn’t have a true superstar on its roster. Instead, the thing that has carried the Jazz to this point through a third of the season is an ensemble cast that is working in perfect harmony.

The result is a team that is playing as well as any other in the league and is steamrollering through its opponents on a nightly basis.

“Anytime you see a team kind of mold itself for the players and coaches, that’s gratifying,” Jazz coach Quin Snyder said. “When you have a team that collectively tries to play a certain way, and is committed to that, I think that’s what we have.”

Part of the commitment the Jazz have comes from the way last season ended. The entire 2019-20 campaign, frankly, was a challenge for Utah. The team expected to make a push forward last year after trading for Conley, only for him to struggle mightily to adjust to playing on a team other than the Memphis Grizzlies for the first 12 years of his career. Then the Jazz added Jordan Clarkson to boost their bench scoring during the season — only to lose starting forward Bojan Bogdanovic for the team’s time in the Florida bubble due to wrist surgery.

And all of that, of course, pales in comparison to Utah being at the center of the league shutting down last March for several months after Gobert and Donovan Mitchell, the team’s two stars, tested positive for COVID-19.

But rather than all of that — as well as Utah’s heartbreaking loss to Denver — causing the Jazz to splinter apart, it instead sent them into the offseason determined to create something better.

“I think, you know, the biggest thing that went into it was just our motivation over the offseason,” Mitchell said. “Guys coming in. I look at Royce [O’Neale]. People don’t look at Royce because we don’t play on TV, but you look at Royce, and he came in the best shape of his career this year. The determination in that sense. You see the product on the floor, but I think the biggest thing is what you see off the floor.

“He and I went to Miami and worked out three or four weeks straight. The things I saw him do, I haven’t seen him do in his four years. Not to say he doesn’t work hard, but he took it to another level.”

“I think that is where we saw the difference. We saw the work ethic take another leap,” Mitchell explained.

What else has helped the Jazz has been that, in a season when so many things are up in the air for so many teams, Utah knows exactly what it is and what it wants to be.

After his initial growing pains last season, Conley — who currently is out with a hamstring injury — played better in the bubble, and he has been outstanding to start this season. Bogdanovic has returned from his wrist surgery and is beginning to round into form. Joe Ingles is shooting career-high percentages across the board. And Clarkson is the runaway leader, at the moment, to win the league’s Sixth Man of the Year Award. Meanwhile, the one prominent player Utah added during the offseason — big man Derrick Favors — had spent the vast majority of his first nine seasons in Utah before being dealt to the New Orleans Pelicans last offseason, leaving him extremely familiar with what it was the Jazz would want him to do.

And, of course, the team has seen continued excellent play from its stars. Gobert remains the league’s premier defensive player, anchoring a Jazz unit that, despite adding more offensive-minded players in recent years, still ranks third in the NBA. Mitchell, on the other hand, entered Tuesday shooting a career-best 41.6% from 3-point range — and that was before going 6-for-13 from the 3 line as part of his game-high 36 points.

Despite Mitchell’s shooting exploits, it was telling after the game that the thing he, Snyder and Gobert all talked about instead was Mitchell’s decision-making: Playing point guard for the injured Conley, he had nine assists and just two turnovers in 36 minutes.

“Decision-making,” Gobert said, when asked where Mitchell’s biggest improvement has been this season. “He’s really able to understand the tempo of the game and be able to find his teammates.

“I think he’s improved every single year, but this year is really the year it’s advanced — and when he does that, the team just goes to another level.”

play

0:27

Donovan Mitchell pulls up to sink a 3-pointer and draws the foul on Tristan Thompson to go to the free throw line.

The Jazz know what level they want to reach this season. It has been 13 years since Utah last reached the Western Conference finals, when Deron Williams and Carlos Boozer led them there in 2008 and they lost to the Lakers. It’s been 23 years since Utah last reached the NBA Finals, when John Stockton and Karl Malone lost to the Chicago Bulls for a second straight season.

Time will tell if Utah has the ability to reach that level, though the numbers at least give them a fighting chance. Utah is the only team in the league in the top five in both offensive and defensive efficiency. The only others in the top 10 in both categories? The Lakers and Bucks. And while questions will still linger about whether the Jazz will have difficulty slowing down teams that can draw Gobert away from the rim, Utah’s added punch offensively — the Jazz are leading the NBA in 17 3-pointers made per game — give them a balance they didn’t previously have.

And for those who are unsure of how high Utah’s ceiling is ultimately, the Jazz will have plenty of opportunities over the next couple of weeks to make their case. Starting with Tuesday’s win over Boston, the Jazz have a stretch of eight out of nine games against some of the league’s elite teams: the Celtics, Bucks, Miami Heat (twice), Sixers, Lakers and Clippers (twice).

Ultimately, though, the Jazz aren’t worried about what happens over the next two weeks. Instead, it’s about being ready for what lies even further ahead — and to make sure they don’t have the same bitter taste in their mouths at the end of this season that they did when leaving Orlando in September.

“I think the biggest thing is just focusing on what we do,” Mitchell said. “This is the first game of a big stretch we’ve got coming up, and we’ve just got to focus on the little details. We have teams [scheduled] that have high-level players, deep playoff experience, and we just have to go out there and do what we do.

“It’s not like we’re saying this is a make-or-break stretch for us. … We’re not playing to be ready by February … we’re playing to be ready in [July]. That’s when we have to have our best product, and these are good tests for us.”

Read original article here

Sports

National Signing Day 2021: Alabama, USC and Texas A&M among winners as new staffs struggled

Leave a comment

After a day full of hats on heads and socially-distanced announcements, 2021 National Signing Day is in the books — and with it, the Class of 2021 is nearly complete. The 2021 recruiting rankings have settled with Alabama not only on top but pulling in the highest-rated class of all-time. 

It has been a year of uncertainty in nearly every walk of life, and the same has been the case in recruiting for the 2021 class. NCAA rules due the pandemic limited the in-person contact that’s often used by both coaches and players to help finalize the decision-making process, so Zoom calls and unofficial visits to campus had to suffice for players and coaches. 

Now that National Signing Day has wrapped up, let’s take a look at who came out on top, and who lagged behind, on Wednesday.

Winners 

Alabama: The Crimson Tide locked up the No. 1 recruiting class of all-time, edging out 2010 Florida. There was little drama in it as 25 of the 27 players in Alabama’s class signed early in December, and even the 26th member was verbally committed in Camar Wheaton, who made things official at his school before lunch. Alabama’s class has 16 of the top 91 players in the country. There are an incredible seven five-star prospects. This includes the top two offensive tackles in the nation: JC Latham and Tommy Brockermeyer.

The Tide also have the No. 2 guard in Terrence Ferguson and the No. 1 center in James Brockermeyer. They also have four of the top 10 wide receivers in JaCorey Brooks, Agiye Hall, Christian Leary and JoJo Earl. Oh, plus the No. 2 running back Wheaton. Nick Saban has now hauled in six of the 10 highest-rated recruiting classes ever during his tenure at Alabama. Every class Bama has signed under Saban has won at least one national championship. 

Established coaches: Recruiting in the pandemic was quite difficult. There were no visits to college campuses or to high schools. There were no in-person evaluations. No summer camps. No official visits. This gave a big advantage to staff who had pre-existing relationships prospects. Of the top 15 classes in the 247Sports Composite team rankings, none hired a coach in 2019 or 2020. 

Texas A&M: The Aggies held off Texas for the commitment of four-star running back LJ Johnson. Texas A&M is rebuilding on the line of scrimmage with this lot, and in total, it has one five-star and 16 four-stars, according to the 247Sports Composite. The Aggies are No. 4 in the SEC and might not be done as No. 1 junior college offensive tackle Jordan Moko commits Friday. 

Oregon and USC: Parity can be fun on a week-to-week basis. The Pac-12 badly needs some teams to emerge as elites. A year after finishing 64th in recruiting, Clay Helton retooled his coaching staff and found his Trojans No. 8 in the country. Linebacker Raesjon Davis, a former commitment to LSU, picked USC over Ohio State and Oregon on National Signing Day. 

Speaking of Oregon, the Ducks outdid USC in signing the No. 6 class in the nation. This is the third consecutive year in which Oregon has had the best class in the Pac-12, and the Ducks best three classes in their history have all come under coach Mario Cristobal. The Pac-12 and the SEC are the only two conferences to have two teams in the top eight.    

Michigan: After a bad year on the field that included a lot of drama surrounding coach Jim Harbaugh’s future, Michigan retooled its defensive coaching staff and went on a run, flipping defensive tackle Rayshaun Benny from Michigan State and beating out a number of top schools for George Rooks. The Wolverines have the No. 2 class in the Big Ten and the No. 10 class overall. 

Wisconsin: Don’t look now, but Wisconsin might be turning its decade plus of winning ways on the field into something better on the recruiting trail. The Badgers signed their highest-rated class ever — by a wide margin. The No. 15 class in the country includes five-star offensive tackle Nolan Rucci and five other four-star players. Wisconsin’s previous high-water mark was the 2020 class, which finished ranked 26th. The Badgers are trying to go from Big Ten West contenders to Big Ten contenders. 

Losers

New coaching staffs: Unlike their entrenched counterparts, most new staffs struggled quite a bit. Those whose first season was in 2020 — or even worse, those who were just hired — ended up signing a lot of players they have never met. None landed a class in the top 15. None had an average recruit rating of 90+. Most were well below their recruiting standard of the last decade, though Ole Miss and Rutgers did hit or exceed their average of the last decade. 

Some, though, basically punted, electing to leave space open for future classes to back count or for transfers. Florida State signed just 17 players. Washington took 15. Auburn has just 16 signees. South Carolina has just 13 under new coach Shane Beamer. 

High schoolers who were not standouts: The numbers are still tricking in, and players can sign for the next few months, but early data suggests there were a couple hundred fewer players signed to scholarships at the FBS level this year. The reasons are pretty obvious: the transfer portal and the COVID-19 pandemic. 

Many schools preferred to hold back scholarships for existing college players in the transfer portal who the schools know can play as opposed to high schoolers who had limited or no reps this fall due to the pandemic. Staffs simply never got the chance to see them play in person. 

“If it is a borderline recruit for us, we’d rather take a transfer who we know can cut it physically at the college level,” said one staffer. Read more about the transfer situation here. 

Another limiting factor was money. While all 2020 seniors have been granted the ability to come back to school for a bonus year and not count against the scholarship maximum of 85 due to the pandemic, many schools in the Group of Five and even some in the Power Five are unwilling to fund scholarships above and beyond the normal 85 max. That means that many schools will be playing at 85, and if they accept some bonus seniors back for 2021, that self-imposed cap limited the number of high school players they could sign. 

require.config({"baseUrl":"https://sportsfly.cbsistatic.com/fly-139/bundles/sportsmediajs/js-build","config":{"version":{"fly/components/accordion":"1.0","fly/components/alert":"1.0","fly/components/base":"1.0","fly/components/carousel":"1.0","fly/components/dropdown":"1.0","fly/components/fixate":"1.0","fly/components/form-validate":"1.0","fly/components/image-gallery":"1.0","fly/components/iframe-messenger":"1.0","fly/components/load-more":"1.0","fly/components/load-more-article":"1.0","fly/components/load-more-scroll":"1.0","fly/components/loading":"1.0","fly/components/modal":"1.0","fly/components/modal-iframe":"1.0","fly/components/network-bar":"1.0","fly/components/poll":"1.0","fly/components/search-player":"1.0","fly/components/social-button":"1.0","fly/components/social-counts":"1.0","fly/components/social-links":"1.0","fly/components/tabs":"1.0","fly/components/video":"1.0","fly/libs/easy-xdm":"2.4.17.1","fly/libs/jquery.cookie":"1.2","fly/libs/jquery.throttle-debounce":"1.1","fly/libs/jquery.widget":"1.9.2","fly/libs/omniture.s-code":"1.0","fly/utils/jquery-mobile-init":"1.0","fly/libs/jquery.mobile":"1.3.2","fly/libs/backbone":"1.0.0","fly/libs/underscore":"1.5.1","fly/libs/jquery.easing":"1.3","fly/managers/ad":"2.0","fly/managers/components":"1.0","fly/managers/cookie":"1.0","fly/managers/debug":"1.0","fly/managers/geo":"1.0","fly/managers/gpt":"4.3","fly/managers/history":"2.0","fly/managers/madison":"1.0","fly/managers/social-authentication":"1.0","fly/utils/data-prefix":"1.0","fly/utils/data-selector":"1.0","fly/utils/function-natives":"1.0","fly/utils/guid":"1.0","fly/utils/log":"1.0","fly/utils/object-helper":"1.0","fly/utils/string-helper":"1.0","fly/utils/string-vars":"1.0","fly/utils/url-helper":"1.0","libs/jshashtable":"2.1","libs/select2":"3.5.1","libs/jsonp":"2.4.0","libs/jquery/mobile":"1.4.5","libs/modernizr.custom":"2.6.2","libs/velocity":"1.2.2","libs/dataTables":"1.10.6","libs/dataTables.fixedColumns":"3.0.4","libs/dataTables.fixedHeader":"2.1.2","libs/dateformat":"1.0.3","libs/waypoints/infinite":"3.1.1","libs/waypoints/inview":"3.1.1","libs/waypoints/jquery.waypoints":"3.1.1","libs/waypoints/sticky":"3.1.1","libs/jquery/dotdotdot":"1.6.1","libs/jquery/flexslider":"2.1","libs/jquery/lazyload":"1.9.3","libs/jquery/maskedinput":"1.3.1","libs/jquery/marquee":"1.3.1","libs/jquery/numberformatter":"1.2.3","libs/jquery/placeholder":"0.2.4","libs/jquery/scrollbar":"0.1.6","libs/jquery/tablesorter":"2.0.5","libs/jquery/touchswipe":"1.6.18","libs/jquery/ui/jquery.ui.core":"1.11.4","libs/jquery/ui/jquery.ui.draggable":"1.11.4","libs/jquery/ui/jquery.ui.mouse":"1.11.4","libs/jquery/ui/jquery.ui.position":"1.11.4","libs/jquery/ui/jquery.ui.slider":"1.11.4","libs/jquery/ui/jquery.ui.sortable":"1.11.4","libs/jquery/ui/jquery.ui.touch-punch":"0.2.3","libs/jquery/ui/jquery.ui.autocomplete":"1.11.4","libs/jquery/ui/jquery.ui.accordion":"1.11.4","libs/jquery/ui/jquery.ui.tabs":"1.11.4","libs/jquery/ui/jquery.ui.menu":"1.11.4","libs/jquery/ui/jquery.ui.dialog":"1.11.4","libs/jquery/ui/jquery.ui.resizable":"1.11.4","libs/jquery/ui/jquery.ui.button":"1.11.4","libs/jquery/ui/jquery.ui.tooltip":"1.11.4","libs/jquery/ui/jquery.ui.effects":"1.11.4","libs/jquery/ui/jquery.ui.datepicker":"1.11.4"}},"shim":{"liveconnection/managers/connection":{"deps":["liveconnection/libs/sockjs-0.3.4"]},"liveconnection/libs/sockjs-0.3.4":{"exports":"SockJS"},"libs/setValueFromArray":{"exports":"set"},"libs/getValueFromArray":{"exports":"get"},"fly/libs/jquery.mobile-1.3.2":["version!fly/utils/jquery-mobile-init"],"libs/backbone.marionette":{"deps":["jquery","version!fly/libs/underscore","version!fly/libs/backbone"],"exports":"Marionette"},"fly/libs/underscore-1.5.1":{"exports":"_"},"fly/libs/backbone-1.0.0":{"deps":["version!fly/libs/underscore","jquery"],"exports":"Backbone"},"libs/jquery/ui/jquery.ui.tabs-1.11.4":["jquery","version!libs/jquery/ui/jquery.ui.core","version!fly/libs/jquery.widget"],"libs/jquery/flexslider-2.1":["jquery"],"libs/dataTables.fixedColumns-3.0.4":["jquery","version!libs/dataTables"],"libs/dataTables.fixedHeader-2.1.2":["jquery","version!libs/dataTables"],"https://sports.cbsimg.net/js/CBSi/app/VideoPlayer/AdobePass-min.js":["https://sports.cbsimg.net/js/CBSi/util/Utils-min.js"]},"map":{"*":{"adobe-pass":"https://sports.cbsimg.net/js/CBSi/app/VideoPlayer/AdobePass-min.js","facebook":"https://connect.facebook.net/en_US/sdk.js","facebook-debug":"https://connect.facebook.net/en_US/all/debug.js","google":"https://apis.google.com/js/plusone.js","google-platform":"https://apis.google.com/js/client:platform.js","google-csa":"https://www.google.com/adsense/search/async-ads.js","google-javascript-api":"https://www.google.com/jsapi","google-client-api":"https://apis.google.com/js/api:client.js","gpt":"https://securepubads.g.doubleclick.net/tag/js/gpt.js","newsroom":"https://c2.taboola.com/nr/cbsinteractive-cbssports/newsroom.js","recaptcha":"https://www.google.com/recaptcha/api.js?onload=loadRecaptcha&render=explicit","recaptcha_ajax":"https://www.google.com/recaptcha/api/js/recaptcha_ajax.js","supreme-golf":"https://sgapps-staging.supremegolf.com/search/assets/js/bundle.js","taboola":"https://cdn.taboola.com/libtrc/cbsinteractive-cbssports/loader.js","twitter":"https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js","video-utils":"https://sports.cbsimg.net/js/CBSi/util/Utils-min.js"}},"waitSeconds":300});



Read original article here

Sports

Hall of Famers Will Shields, Joe Taylor among five new College Football Playoff committee members

Leave a comment

Former Kansas City Chiefs offensive lineman and Pro Football Hall of Famer Will Shields, who also won the Outland Trophy while at Nebraska, and Virginia Union athletic director Joe Taylor, one of the winningest coaches in HBCU history, headline five new College Football Playoff selection committee members announced Tuesday.

Kentucky athletic director Mitch Barnhart, NC State athletic director Boo Corrigan and Texas athletic director Chris Del Conte, along with Shields and Taylor, will begin their three-year terms this spring on the 13-member committee.

They will replace Oklahoma athletic director Joe Castiglione, former coach Ken Hatfield, former USC All-American Ronnie Lott, Georgia Tech athletic director Todd Stansbury, and Florida athletic director Scott Stricklin, whose terms have expired.

“Mitch, Boo, Chris, Will and Joe will continue the integrity that has been the committee’s hallmark through our seven seasons,” CFP executive director Bill Hancock said in a prepared statement. “Their knowledge, experience and character, along with their love of the sport of college football, will make the transition seamless.”

The CFP management committee, which comprises the 10 FBS commissioners and Notre Dame athletic director Jack Swarbrick, also extended the term of Iowa athletic director Gary Barta as selection committee chair for a second season. Barta, who has been Iowa AD since 2006, joined the committee in January 2019 and was appointed its chair a year later.

“We are pleased that Gary will return as chair,” Hancock said. “He was a valuable leader as the committee navigated a unique and challenging year. We look forward to him working with the other 12 members in what we hope will be a more traditional season in 2021.”

Shields, a former consensus All-America guard at Nebraska, played for the Cornhuskers from 1989 to ’92 and is one of only 16 players in school history to have had his jersey retired. In 2011, Shields was inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame.

He was a third-round pick of the Chiefs in the 1993 NFL draft, and he never missed a game in 14 seasons, starting 231 consecutive games at right guard and earning a team-record 12 Pro Bowl appearances from 1995 to 2000. He was inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 2015.

Taylor, who has worked at Virginia Union since 2013, had a 41-year career in coaching, including 30 as a head coach. During his administrative tenure in Richmond, the school has won 15 divisional, conference and regional championships.

As a head coach, Taylor’s teams won five Black college national championships, 10 conference titles and made 10 playoff appearances. Taylor posted a lifetime win-loss record of 233-96-4, and ranks third in career victories in HBCU history. Taylor was inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame in 2019 and the Black College Football Hall of Fame in 2020. He also has served as president of the American Football Coaches Association.

Barnhart, who has been Kentucky’s athletic director since 2002, is the longest-tenured athletic director in the SEC and was named chair of the SEC athletic directors in 2017. He was also a member of the NCAA Division I basketball and baseball committees.

Corrigan, who spent eight years as athletic director at Army, has held the same position at NC State since April 2019. He was named a 2017 Athletic Director of the Year by the National Association of Collegiate Directors of Athletics. While at West Point, Army won 20 Patriot League regular-season or tournament championships and sent 14 teams to the NCAA postseason.

Del Conte was hired as Texas athletic director in December 2017 after making a name for himself during his eight-year tenure as AD at TCU, where he oversaw the school’s entrance into the Big 12 Conference. He was also athletic director at Rice from 2006 to 2009.

Read original article here

Science

Big Ben-sized space rock among FIVE headed this way, as scientist proposes humans COLONIZE asteroid belt itself — RT World News

Leave a comment

While NASA warns of another five space rocks headed towards the Earth, one Finnish astrophysicist is proposing human colonization of the asteroid belt itself within the next 15 years.

As the Earth lurches out of month one of 2021, NASA has issued a brief, advising that five more asteroids that are potentially between 25 and 100 meters (82 and 98 feet) in diameter are due for close flybys before the month is up. 

On Tuesday, the 25-meter asteroid 2021 BD3, with a diameter roughly half that of the Arc de Triomphe’s height, will pass the planet at a safe distance of 3.9 million km (3.9 million miles). A short time later, an object dubbed 2021 AL, which measures 40m in diameter or roughly five London buses end-to-end, will whizz past at a distance of 4.1 million km.



Also on rt.com
Statue of Liberty-sized space rock among six asteroids set to make ‘close approach’ to Earth on Biden’s inauguration day


Next up, on Thursday January 28, will be the 40-meter space rock 2021 BZ, which will shoot past at 2.1 million km.

To round up a rocky start to the year, on January 29, asteroids 2021 AG7, which could be up to 100m in diameter or the same size as London’s Big Ben, and the 30-meter 2021 AF7 will pass the Earth at 4.2 million km and 6.8 million km, respectively.

Meanwhile, one forward-thinking astrophysicist proposes that, rather than asteroids coming to us, humans should instead colonize the asteroid belt, in as little as 15 years. 

Dr. Pekka Janhunen, an astrophysicist at the Finnish Meteorological Institute in Helsinki, has proposed the construction of habitable floating “mega-satellites” orbiting the dwarf planet Ceres, some 523 million kilometers from Earth, among the asteroid belt between Mars and Jupiter. 



Also on rt.com
How academic groupthink is trying to silence a Harvard astrophysicist who claims an alien spacecraft visited our solar system


Like something plucked straight from modern science fiction series, these disk-shaped settlements, linked by powerful magnets, would boast thousands of cylindrical structures which could house a total of 50,000 people who would all benefit from artificial gravity generated via floating cities’ slow rotation. 

Janhunen also proposes space mining from Ceres as a means by which to set up an economy and make colonization profitable and sustainable, making use of space elevators to carry resources back to the pods and potentially back to Earth for processing. 

Like this story? Share it with a friend!

Read original article here

Technology

Among Us Estimated To Have Sold 3.2 Million Copies On Switch In Launch Month

Leave a comment

That’s a lot of imposters

  • by Liam Doolan

Smash hit multiplayer game Among Us got a surprise release on the Nintendo Switch last December following an indie showcase and ever since it’s been at the top of the eShop charts. It’s only £3.89/$5.00 if you haven’t already picked it up.

According to SuperData, the game is estimated to have already sold a whopping 3.2 million copies on the Switch eShop in the same month and was also apparently the highest-earning version:

“Among Us player numbers fell from their November peak, but the game was still 2.8 times as popular as the next most-popular game, Roblox. The title also launched on Nintendo Switch in December. This edition sold 3.2M copies and was the highest-earning version of the game for the month.”

If you’re one of the many people who have already bought the game on Switch, there’s plenty to anticipate – with developer Innersloth currently working on the new Airship map with the plan to release it at some point early this year.

Were you one of the estimated 3.2 million who have purchased Among Us on Switch last month? Tell us in the comments.

[source superdataresearch.com]



Read original article here

The Ultimate News Site