Latest news with #Benson
Indianapolis Star
6 hours ago
- Sport
- Indianapolis Star
Indiana football getting starting offensive lineman back in time for fall camp
LAS VEGAS — Indiana football coach Curt Cignetti told reporters at Big Ten media days Tuesday that starting left guard Drew Evans has been fully cleared for fall camp. Evans went down with an Achilles injury during a practice leading up to IU 's game against Michigan last season. The former Wisconsin walk-on followed his position coach Bob Bostad to Bloomington before the 2023 season. He went two full seasons without playing in any games before starting IU's 2024 opener against FIU and remained a fixture in the lineup until his injury. He was IU's highest-graded pass-blocker with a 81.7 grade, per PFF, and didn't allow a sack or quarterback hit on 282 pass blocking attempts over nine games. "He's full go, he's cleared," Cignetti said. "We'll manage him somewhat early in camp, I expect him to be out there." Redshirt freshman Adedamola Ajani spent the entire spring working with the first-team offense in place of Evans. He would give IU three returning starters from last year's line alongside left tackle Carter Smith and right guard Bray Lynch. The Hoosiers landed Notre Dame center Pat Coogan out of the transfer portal to replace Mike Katic and have an open competition at right tackle that includes Colorado transfer Kahlil Benson and Ohio State transfer Zen Michalski. Benson, who also missed camp with an unspecified injury, played mostly right guard last year for Colorado. Cignetti said there's ongoing discussions about where he best fits on line. "We're keeping all options open, you want to put the best five guys on the field," Cignetti said. "You have a good competition over there with Zen, Benson and some of those guys. Benson has played both, but played more right tackle with Bob more than anything. We'll let it play out in camp."
USA Today
5 days ago
- Sport
- USA Today
Arizona Cardinals RB Trey Benson might have his breakout year in 2025
Trey Benson will enter his sophomore NFL season with optimism and recalibration. Arizona Cardinals running back Trey Benson was a highlight reel in his collegiate days at Florida State University. For much of the 2023-24 NCAA football season, Benson was long argued to have been deserving of the Heisman Trophy. Yet, consistent lingering injuries kept Benson from maintaining his renown among NFL and college football analysts at the conclusion of the college season. Still, the Cardinals took a chance by drafting Benson in the 2024 NFL draft and fans were able to see some of his upside in his rookie NFL season. Benson had his reps in moderation, playing behind starting running back James Conner, but still, Benson finished his rookie season with 63 carries and 291 rushing yards and one touchdown. Benson, however, appeared to be running gingerly in his rookie season and rightfully so. An avoidant approach to football should have been expected for Benson given his recent injuries in college. However, it'll have been after two years of recalibration in the fall and fans should expect to see Benson turn it up a notch. The Cardinals have long needed a one-two punch at the running back position and soon Benson may have an opportunity to act as the successor to Conner. Benson's agility and downhill running style should help the Cardinals on early downs and allow for offensive coordinator Drew Petzing to open up the playbook the way he has been wanting to. Get more Cardinals and NFL coverage from Cards Wire's Jess Root and others by listening to the latest on the Rise Up, See Red podcast. Subscribe on Spotify, YouTube or Apple podcasts.
Boston Globe
5 days ago
- Entertainment
- Boston Globe
Why the Gen Z stare has every generation talking
Related : Advertisement Some Gen Zers have tried to defend their age group, arguing they glare when they're listening to Get Love Letters: The Newsletter A weekly dispatch with all the best relationship content and commentary – plus exclusive content for fans of Love Letters, Dinner With Cupid, weddings, therapy talk, and more. Enter Email Sign Up So what makes a stare a Gen Z stare? It's a blank look where a response is reasonably warranted. Think of the way Sydney Sweeney and Brittany O'Grady's characters in 'The White Lotus' silently looked from their pool chairs as Alexandra Daddario's character asked them questions. Advertisement 'Me personally, I would never give the Gen Z stare because I'm the type to ask really dumb questions unintentionally, whether I'd be super tired or the menu could be right there and I don't see it.' Related : At other points, Alarcon said she's gotten the glare when trying to order food with young workers. 'Sometimes, it gets to a point where I kind of feel uncomfortable, so I just leave,' she said. 'Or if there's a self-order thing, I prefer to do that.' Jarrod Benson, a 33-year-old Orlando content creator who makes videos poking fun at generational idiosyncrasies, believes a 'perfect storm' of Gen Z constantly being on social media and the physical isolation from the pandemic led to a socially awkward generation. Benson said he once had a waiter not say a word while his table ordered food, instead just looking at each person. 'It's like they're always watching a video, and they don't feel like the need to respond,' he said. 'Small talk is painful. We know this. But we do it because it's socially acceptable and almost socially required, right? But they won't do it.' Related : Benson says he's guilty of the millennial pause — when it takes a second or two to start talking at the beginning of a video — and sometimes forgets to edit it out after he's filmed a video on his phone. Then there's the comparison to Advertisement At the end of the day, it's all in good fun. Benson says he's gotten kind messages from people of all ages as he reenacts their signature quirks. As every cohort gets older, each takes on more habits the other generations can cringe and laugh about. Still, as more young people enter the workforce, he said, 'Gen Alpha is going to be terrible.'
Boston Globe
6 days ago
- Politics
- Boston Globe
Steve Benson, provocative editorial cartoonist, dies at 71
In an interview in 2017 with KJZZ Radio in Phoenix, Mr. Benson said that 'the role of an editorial cartoonist is not really to give the bottom line on anything, because all we want to do is kick bottoms and, and if it incentivizes people to jump into the -- into the riot -- then that's great.' Get Starting Point A guide through the most important stories of the morning, delivered Monday through Friday. Enter Email Sign Up 'I don't aim to please,' he often said, as his mantra. 'I just aim.' Advertisement In criticizing President Trump's insistence on extending barriers along the US-Mexico border in 2018, Mr. Benson depicted President Reagan speaking before a wall topped by concertina wire and saying, 'My fellow Americans, don't build this wall.' It was a takeoff on Reagan's speech in front of the Berlin Wall in 1987, when he famously invoked Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev in declaring, 'Mr. Gorbachev, tear down this wall!' In one of the 10 cartoons that earned Mr. Benson the 1993 Pulitzer in editorial cartooning, Prime Minister Yitzhak Shamir of Israel and Secretary of State James Baker are standing beside a graveyard of Jews whose tombstones say they were killed by terrorists. Shamir asks, 'I suppose you're going to blame us for this growing Jewish settlement, too, Mr. Baker?' Advertisement Another was that of a starving Somali child whose torso takes the shape of an hourglass with its sand having nearly run out; it appeared at the time of a US-led United Nations military intervention in Somalia. He had been a finalist for the prize in 1984, 1989, and 1992 and would be again in 1994. Mr. Benson grew up in a Mormon family, a grandson of Ezra Taft Benson, the president of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints from 1985 until his death in 1994 and the secretary of agriculture under President Eisenhower. Steve Benson's cartooning and religious faith clashed when he often lampooned Evan Mecham, a conservative Republican who was the first Mormon to be elected governor of Arizona; Mecham served only 15 months, stepping down when he was convicted of two charges of misconduct in an impeachment trial in the state Senate in 1988. While in office, he rescinded the holiday that honors the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. Mr. Benson, who had early on been a supporter of Mecham's, ultimately portrayed him as a 'paranoid pipsqueak whose ethics rose no higher than his socks,' The New York Times wrote in 1988. His cartoons rankled his Mormon relatives -- he was excluded from a Thanksgiving dinner at his in-laws' house -- as well as Mecham, who called to tell him that his work violated the Ten Commandments. Advertisement Even more, Mr. Benson was ousted as a local church official in 1989 after his cartoon, 'The Second Coming' -- drawn after Mecham said he would run for reelection in 1990 -- showed the governor descending from heaven holding a volume titled 'The Book of Moron, by Ev Mecham.' In 1993, Mr. Benson and his wife at the time, Mary Ann Benson, announced that they had resigned from the church. Steve Benson said he had become an atheist. He also moved from conservative to liberal in his politics, expressing his new leanings with cartoons that supported civil, transgender and abortion rights and Native Americans. Stephen Reed Benson was born Jan. 2, 1954, in Sacramento and grew up in Salt Lake City; Richardson, Texas; and Fort Wayne, Ind.. His father, Mark, was the president of a division of Saladmaster, which makes cookware. His mother, Lela (Wing) Benson, was a music instructor. Steve's early drawing talent was nurtured by his paternal grandmother, Flora Benson, who arranged for art lessons. As a teenager, he enrolled in an art correspondence course, on a scholarship, and submitted work all through high school (in Richardson and Fort Wayne). One summer job in high school was caricaturing customers at the Six Flags Over Texas amusement park. After serving a two-year Mormon mission in Japan, Mr. Benson entered Brigham Young University, where he was a political cartoonist for the student newspaper The Daily Universe. He started as a graphic arts major but switched to political science when he 'realized that he needed a bigger canvas,' Ferguson, his wife, said. He graduated with a bachelor's degree in 1979. He was hired by The Arizona Republic, based in Phoenix in 1980. In 1990, he left for The Tacoma Morning News Tribune in Washington state, but returned to the Republic a year later. Advertisement Mr. Benson stayed at the Republic until 2019, when he was laid off; he then joined The Arizona Mirror, a nonprofit news website, which preserves his cartoons online in 'Benson's Corner.' The collection includes a cartoon of the Statue of Liberty standing on a map of Arizona and saying, 'I'm here to help you guard your reproductive rights.' After Mr. Benson's death, Jim Small, the editor of The Arizona Mirror, wrote in a tribute, 'His work was as ubiquitous as it was powerful, and it not only sparked water cooler conversations in workplaces across the state, but it sometimes actually drove news cycles.' Mr. Benson retired in late 2023. In addition to his wife, he leaves his daughter, Audrey Benson Nuamah, and his sons, Brent and Eric, all from his first marriage, to Mary Ann Christiansen, which ended in divorce; his brother, Michael; his sisters, Stacey Ann Reeder, Margaret Ferry, and Mary Richards; and seven grandchildren. Another sister, Stephanie Benson Young, died in a car accident in 2022. Another daughter, Rebecca Benson, also from his marriage to Christiansen, died in 2018 when a vehicle struck her bicycle. Steve Benson found a fan in Queen Elizabeth II after he portrayed her as rain-soaked, wearing galoshes and carrying a dripping umbrella to Buckingham Palace after her West Coast tour in 1983, which coincided with severe rainstorms. A palace guard asks her, 'A pleasant trip, your majesty?' A spokesperson said that she had been amused by the cartoon and asked Mr. Benson for the drawing. Mr. Benson told the AP that 'as one of the queen's loyal subjects' he would make an exception to his rule against giving away originals. Advertisement This article originally appeared in
USA Today
14-07-2025
- General
- USA Today
Watch paraglider strike power line, crash into North Dakota river
A paraglider escaped with no injuries after he struck a power line and fell into North Dakota's Red River. Video footage filmed by onlooker Dusty Howlett shows the electric paramotor-operated parachute spark as it collides with powerlines, sending a loud boom echoing on July 8. The parachute, along with the paraglider, then drops into the river in Grand Forks. 'Whoa, oh no!' Howlett can be heard yelling in the video as the paraglider crashes into the river. Emergency crews were later seen retrieving the wreckage from the water. Watch paraglider strike power line, crash in river in North Dakota Paraglider 'flew way too low,' says witness Howlett, in a Facebook post, said he was on a walk with a friend when "this guy in a powered parachute flew way too low" and didn't see the power line. 'He landed in the river and was waving and talking to us - water rescue is here now, so hopefully he will be ok," Howlett continued. "If you have a recreational aircraft, please be careful and pay attention to your surroundings!' Responding to a comment on the post, Howlett said the paraglider was "thankfully" okay. Need a break? Play the USA TODAY Daily Crossword Puzzle. Boat rescue pulled paraglider from water, officials say Lt. Travis M. Benson with the Grand Forks Police Department told USA TODAY on July 14 that the pilot had been flying low along the Red River and, due to the sun obscuring his vision, could not see the overhead power lines "until it was too late." "He attempted to drop beneath them but struck the wires instead," said Benson. Benson said that though the paraglider dropped straight down into the river, he was able to stay afloat until help arrived due to the buoyancy of the craft's wheels. Grand Forks Fire Department, in a July 8 news release, said that a rescue boat was launched into the river and crews found the paraglider uninjured. The paraglider, whose identity was not revealed, was uninjured in the incident. Saman Shafiq is a trending news reporter for USA TODAY. Reach her at sshafiq@ and follow her on X and Instagram @saman_shafiq7.
