Latest news with #COVID-impacted
Gulf Today
4 days ago
- Science
- Gulf Today
Female graduates outnumber males at AURAK event
Female graduates outnumbered males at the twin Commencement Ceremonies of the American University of Ras Al Khaimah (AURAK), while Artificial Intelligence (AI) took centre-stage with the number of graduates doubling in just one year. The two graduation ceremonies, 13th and 14th, saw a total of 331 graduate and undergraduate students receive their degrees, of which 188 (56.8 per cent) were female, reflecting the growing trend of women aspiring for careers and entrepreneurship. The second major takeaway was the rising prominence of AI in the career landscape. The ceremony saw the very first batch of the university's Bachelor in Artificial Intelligence receive their degrees. AURAK's Bachelor of Science in AI is a four-year programme that empowers students to design and develop computer systems and data models, using the latest advances in the field. The 13th Graduation Ceremony (Class of 24) had extra significance attached to it, for these graduates had entered university in the thick of COVID-19 disruption, and had to navigate through the unknown territory of online classes. AURAK, listed among Top 500 Universities in the 2025 QS World University Rankings and occupying the sixth position among UAE universities, honoured 68 graduates and 263 undergraduates at the two ceremonies held on successive days. Eight students earned the Summa Cum Laude (highest distinction) honour. Robert Raines, US Consul General in Dubai, who delivered the Commencement Adress, hailed the resilience displayed by the COVID-impacted graduates of the Class of 2024, and urged them to draw inspiration from the Ghaf tree, whose roots go 60 metres into the soil. 'Remember your resilience. Remember that you can do this, whether you become scientists, teachers, entrepreneurs, engineers, artists or diplomats. You're entering a world that faces serious global challenges. You will need your resilience to survive and to succeed, and the world needs you to succeed. Second, I hope that you'll remember the value and the importance of community... because it is your community that will nourish you as you grow,' Robert Raines remarked. Dr David A. Schmidt, President of AURAK, in his welcome address, said: 'The world you are stepping into demands resilience, adaptability and vision. You've proven that you can navigate uncertainty and adapt to the unexpected. You've pursued knowledge, not at the absence of obstacles, but often in the face of them. As we confer your degrees, we do more than acknowledge your academic accomplishments, we affirm your readiness to lead and to shape the future.' Prof Stephen C. Wilhite, Senior Vice President of Academic Affairs and Student Success/Provost, urged the graduates to carry the legacy of appreciation for diversity and a commitment to promoting cultural understanding and to fostering civic responsibility.
New York Post
06-05-2025
- Sport
- New York Post
Some signs the Yankees' pipeline for hitters is getting better
The Yankees have spent most of the post-Core Four-plus-Bernie-Williams period unable to develop average or better position players in any group fashion. They would hit on a Robinson Cano or a Brett Gardner or an Aaron Judge, but not accumulate much in volume at one time. Lately, it appears they are doing better in this realm — not only getting homegrown position players to the majors, but, notably, more lefty hitters. And they also are helping themselves more internally than in recent years. In the past 10 162-game seasons (so, not counting the COVID-impacted 2020 season), just three lefty swingers drafted by the Yankees have qualified for the batting title: Gardner six times, Ben Gamel in 2017 and Josh Smith last season. Only Gardner did it for the Yankees. Through the weekend, three lefty hitters drafted by the Yankees were qualifying for the batting title — Trey Sweeney, Ben Rice and Austin Wells; Rice and Wells were playing for the Yankees. Smith — a Ranger who was just short of qualifying with a .311 average and .864 OPS — is the regrettable one that got away in the ill-fated Joey Gallo trade. Those four were picked in Yankees drafts between 2019-21. Another lefty hitter, Spencer Jones, was the Yankees' first pick overall in 2022 and currently is doing a Gallo imitation at Double-A: power, athleticism and lots of strikeouts.
Winnipeg Free Press
01-05-2025
- Sport
- Winnipeg Free Press
Jets look to win series Friday that has favoured the home side
ST. LOUIS — The Winnipeg Jets have been here before. This time, however, they hope to be the ones forcing the handshake line inside Enterprise Center and moving on to bigger and better things. We take you back to April 20, 2019, when the St. Louis Blues hung on for a 3-2 victory in Game 6 of their first-round playoff series. It was a devastating development for Winnipeg, which had started the year with so much promise only to fade down the stretch. It would ultimately usher in a tumultuous off-season filled with change. For example: the franchise bid farewell to Dustin Byfuglien, who scored his final NHL goal that fateful night. Jeff Roberson / The Associated Press Files Dustin Byfuglien scores what would be his last NHL goal past St. Louis Blues goaltender Jordan Binnington and teammate Blake Wheeler during the third period in Game 6 of the Jets first-round playoff series against the Blues, in 2019. Jeff Roberson / The Associated Press Files Dustin Byfuglien scores what would be his last NHL goal past St. Louis Blues goaltender Jordan Binnington and teammate Blake Wheeler during the third period in Game 6 of the Jets first-round playoff series against the Blues, in 2019. Meanwhile, surging St. Louis would ride the playoff waves all the way to a first franchise Stanley Cup championship later that spring, with Laura Branigan's Gloria serenading them every step of the way. Fast forward to the present and what might Friday night and another crucial Game 6 between the Jets and the Blues bring? This time, it's Winnipeg on the cusp of advancing and St. Louis trying to stave off elimination. A little revenge, perhaps? Six years in the making and served ice cold? 'The last one is the hardest one to get,' Jets defenceman Dylan DeMelo cautioned Thursday. It certainly is, especially for a Jets franchise that has only advanced past the first round twice in franchise history. Ryan Remiorz / THE CANADIAN PRESS FILES Montreal Canadiens goaltender Carey Price, right, shakes hands with Winnipeg Jets' Connor Hellebuyck after the Canadiens defeated the Jets in overtime in the Stanley Cup playoffs in Montreal, in 2021. Ryan Remiorz / THE CANADIAN PRESS FILES Montreal Canadiens goaltender Carey Price, right, shakes hands with Winnipeg Jets' Connor Hellebuyck after the Canadiens defeated the Jets in overtime in the Stanley Cup playoffs in Montreal, in 2021. They did it for the first time in 2018, following a five-game series win over the Minnesota Wild and a seven-game nail-biter triumph against the Nashville Predators. The second occurred during the COVID-impacted 2021 campaign which included modified divisions and a 56-game schedule. The Jets swept the Edmonton Oilers to begin the playoffs, where they were quickly bounced by the Montreal Canadiens. Now, a chance to go from the NHL's Sweet 16 to the Elite Eight for a Jets team that finished first-overall during the regular season but has been severely tested by a resurgent, resilient Blues team that has plenty of similar traits to that squad that ended their season. 'Honestly, the temperature and just the pace. It's amazing how much faster it's going and how much heavier it is,' Jets head coach Scott Arniel said Thursday of what he's seen so far. 'I know we can't bottle this up and do it for 82 games. This has been five games of sort of rock 'em sock 'em. Everybody, you got to know where you are, who's coming, you got to make plays fast. You got to do things quickly. Yeah, I don't think it's gonna change.' Can previous hockey history, particularly between these fierce Central Division rivals, perhaps add some extra motivation? There are seven players on the current Jets roster who appeared in that 2019 series although two of them — Mark Scheifele and Nikolaj Ehlers — are injured and won't be available for this one. That leaves goaltender Connor Hellebuyck, defenceman Josh Morrissey and forwards Kyle Connor, Adam Lowry and Brandon Tanev. Fred Greenslade / THE CANADIAN PRESS FILES Winnipeg Jets' Luke Schenn (5) checks St. Louis Blues' Jordan Kyrou (25) during NHL playoff action in Winnipeg, Monday. The two teams' playoffs series has been a physical affair. Fred Greenslade / THE CANADIAN PRESS FILES Winnipeg Jets' Luke Schenn (5) checks St. Louis Blues' Jordan Kyrou (25) during NHL playoff action in Winnipeg, Monday. The two teams' playoffs series has been a physical affair. The Blues have five skaters: goalie Jordan Binnington, defenceman Colton Parayko and forwards Robert Thomas, Oskar Sundqvist and Brayden Schenn — who just put Scheifele on the shelf with a controversial first-period hit during Wednesday's 5-3 victory by Winnipeg in Game 5 that brought the spice level of the series up a habanero pepper or two. And what to make of this fun little fact? During their previous playoff meeting, the visiting team won the first five games before St. Louis finally broke the trend and won on home ice in Game 6. It's been the opposite this time around with the home team winning the first five games. Does that bode well for Winnipeg flipping the script this time around and being the first to win in the road in Game 6? 'Obviously, a team that's a lot like us that plays really good at home,' said DeMelo. Winnipeg enjoyed their two visits to St. Louis during the regular season, winning here both times. It's been an entirely different story in the playoffs, with a pair of lopsided losses in Games 3 (7-2) and 4 (5-1). Jets captain Adam Lowry believes his team was far too tentative, perhaps taking the foot off the gas by virtue of winning the first two games in their rink and 'almost like we were protecting a lead in the series.' Winnipeg Jets Game Days On Winnipeg Jets game days, hockey writers Mike McIntyre and Ken Wiebe send news, notes and quotes from the morning skate, as well as injury updates and lineup decisions. Arrives a few hours prior to puck drop. Those were the 13th and 14th consecutive victories on home ice for St. Louis. Their last setback? February 22 against Winnipeg in a 4-3 shootout defeat. The Jets need to find a way to bottle up the type of game that's become their calling card at Canada Life Centre and bring it on the road with them. Or, as Lowry put it, spend more time playing 'on our toes' just as they did in Game 5. And maybe, just maybe, Hellebuyck will find his regular-season form that has led to a fifth Vezina Trophy nomination and a first-ever Hart Trophy bid. The fact Winnipeg leads this series 3-2 despite some shaky work from their No. 1 netminder, Ehlers out for every game, Vilardi being sidelined for the first four, DeMelo missing a game due to illness and now Scheifele on the shelf is quite something. 'I think (Wednesday's win) was right up there with one of the gutsiest efforts we have shown all year,' said DeMelo. John Woods / THE CANADIAN PRESS Will Winnipeg Jets goalie Connor Hellebuyck, left, be able to find his Vezina-form in St. Louis, Friday? John Woods / THE CANADIAN PRESS Will Winnipeg Jets goalie Connor Hellebuyck, left, be able to find his Vezina-form in St. Louis, Friday? 'Obviously, the magnitude of the game being 2-2 and trying to get that one to take the series lead and then dealing with one of your top players, if not, your top player being out of the lineup, having everybody rally and play hard, play the right way and do the right things and contributing up and down the lineup. We are going to need that again for sure. It's great that we got it last game, but we need to replicate that again to finish these guys off.' Will it be handshakes or more heartbreak for the visitors in the Show Me State? One way or another, the Jets will be coming home this weekend. Whether it's to get ready for their second-round series or bringing the Blues back with them for a winner-take-all Game 7 on Sunday remains to be seen. 'We just need to take the momentum from (Wednesday's) game and play the same way in their building,' said forward Vlad Namestnikov. 'It's a tough building to play in but I know we can get the win there.' X and Bluesky: @mikemcintyrewpg Mike McIntyreReporter Mike McIntyre is a sports reporter whose primary role is covering the Winnipeg Jets. After graduating from the Creative Communications program at Red River College in 1995, he spent two years gaining experience at the Winnipeg Sun before joining the Free Press in 1997, where he served on the crime and justice beat until 2016. Read more about Mike. Every piece of reporting Mike produces is reviewed by an editing team before it is posted online or published in print — part of the Free Press's tradition, since 1872, of producing reliable independent journalism. Read more about Free Press's history and mandate, and learn how our newsroom operates. Our newsroom depends on a growing audience of readers to power our journalism. If you are not a paid reader, please consider becoming a subscriber. Our newsroom depends on its audience of readers to power our journalism. Thank you for your support.
USA Today
22-03-2025
- Sport
- USA Today
Duke let Jeremy Roach go. Now Baylor guard can help exact March Madness revenge.
Duke let Jeremy Roach go. Now Baylor guard can help exact March Madness revenge. Show Caption Hide Caption Defending champs UConn vs No. 1 seed Florida leads Sunday slate Mackenzie Salmon previews the best games during Sundays slate of games in the round of 32 including the defending champs UConn taking on Florida. Sports Seriously RALEIGH, N.C. — What's going to happen here Sunday isn't primarily about Jeremy Roach. It's about Duke vs. Baylor, Sweet 16 on the line, at least two future lottery picks on the floor and a coach in Jon Scheyer who's trying to do this year what Baylor's Scott Drew accomplished four years ago when he won the national championship. But it's also about how modern college basketball works. After four years playing point guard at Duke, encompassing 108 starts and 11 NCAA Tournament games and a Final Four, Roach's career ran out of real estate. Despite having one more year of eligibility due to the COVID-impacted 2020-21 season, it was made clear to him that it was time to move on. 'It was handled with love, honesty and we felt mutually both ways that it would be the best thing for him in his career and where we had to go because of that,' Scheyer said. Sitting 1,000 miles away in Waco, Texas, Drew saw opportunity. Though he had a highly-rated point guard coming into the program in Rob Wright and another star freshman in V.J. Edgecombe, Baylor combed through the transfer portal looking for experience – and particularly postseason experience. It didn't hurt that when Baylor lost to Duke last season in Madison Square Garden, Roach played all 40 minutes and had 18 points. 'You try to get some balance,' Drew said. 'You don't want all freshmen; you don't necessarily want all upper classmen. At the same time, when we won a national championship (in 2021) we had two point guards in Davion Mitchell and Jared Butler. If you can have four point guards out there, I think everybody would like that if you could get them to buy in. You have to play with the ball, without the ball. We thought Jeremy would be great compliment with Rob and vice-versa and could really help teach some of our younger players some things he's learned.' But the transfer portal isn't a fairy tale for everyone. While Roach may have seen himself parlaying his Duke experience into taking the reins at another program, he has found himself as more of a role player with his college career winding down. That's how the business works. Baylor's team functioned better with Wright as the primary point guard. Drew officially made the switch in February. And now here they are, hoping that Roach can be some kind of X-factor against his former team. 'He's kept a great attitude, and when we made the decision to bring him off the bench, we talked to him and he said, 'Whatever is best to help the team,' ' Drew said. 'He said it might help the team. He's really helped Rob, and those two can play together. You can always have two point guards on the court. What you can't have is none so he'll do a good job making sure everyone is ready to go tomorrow like he's done every game. I know it means a little more to him, obviously, but Jeremy is somebody that is capable of having big games and hopefully he has one (Sunday).' Roach, of course, has been following Duke all season from afar. He joked Saturday that it would be hard not to, given how often the Blue Devils play on national television. And when he saw Baylor get paired with Duke in the same part of the tournament bracket, he realized he should have seen it coming. 'Knowing the committee, they like a story and stuff like that,' Roach said. 'Not trying to put too much into it, not trying to get too emotional about it. I'm with Baylor, so I'm just focusing on what we've got to do to win this game and how hard we have to play for 40 minutes. 'I'm definitely excited for the matchup. Not trying to make anything bigger than what it is, it's just another basketball game. I just want to focus on what Baylor has to do, personnel, scout, stuff like that, getting ready mentally and physically.' Of course, there's probably more to that than Roach wants to engage in 24 hours before the potential final game of his college career. In September, during an interview with Field of 68, the former McDonald's All-American admitted that he wanted to stay at Duke but 'stuff didn't meet up, and it was just my time to go.' Maybe there are no hard feelings, but it wouldn't be human if he didn't take this personally. Maybe that will work in Baylor's favor, and Roach gives the Bears a true March moment tinged with redemption. Or perhaps Roach will press too hard to make an impact, which has been kind of a theme of his season at Baylor and one of the reasons they're now bringing him off the bench. If he considers this season a disappointment, Roach isn't showing it. And Sunday, he'll have an opportunity to get the last laugh. 'I think this year has been a lot of good benefits for sure, a learning experience for sure but I have enjoyed every moment,' he said. 'It's my last year and wanted to make the most of it so that's really it right there.' Follow Dan Wolken on social media @ The USA TODAY app gets you to the heart of the news — fast. Download for award-winning coverage, crosswords, audio storytelling, the eNewspaper and more.
USA Today
16-02-2025
- Business
- USA Today
NFL salary cap 2025: How high is it, teams with most space, more to know
NFL salary cap 2025: How high is it, teams with most space, more to know Show Caption Hide Caption NFL players try to guess Kirk Cousins' next landing spot NFL players, past and present, on Radio Row try to figure out where Kirk Cousins will play next. Sports Seriously Every NFL team will be looking to improve its roster during the 2025 offseason. Some will have more resources with which to do so than others. Among the most notable of those resources will be cap space for 2025. There exists a wide dichotomy of financial situations across the NFL. Some, like the New England Patriots, have plenty of financial resources to commit to their rebuild. Others, like the New Orleans Saints, will need to make some significant cuts simply to get their balance of available cap space back toward zero. Could some of these cap-strapped teams be bailed out by a higher-than-projected league-wide salary cap for 2025? Here's what to know about the NFL's salary cap for 2025 and how it compares to previous seasons. 2025 NFL FREE AGENCY RANKINGS: Top 25 players set to hit market this offseason What is the NFL salary cap 2025? The NFL hasn't officially announced its salary cap for 2025 yet. However, NFL Network's Ian Rapoport and Tom Pelissero reported in December 2024 that NFL teams were budgeting for the cap to be in the $265-$275 million range for the 2025 season. That would represent roughly a $10-$20 million increase over the $255.4 million figure the league set for the 2024 season. Either end of the estimate would be less than the record $30.6 million increase NFL teams saw from 2023 to 2024, which was buoyed by new TV deals and a return to normalcy in attendance with the league further removed from the COVID-19 pandemic. The NFL officially announced its salary cap for 2024 on Feb. 23, 2024, so NFL fans won't have to wait much longer for the hard number to be revealed. NFL salary cap by year The NFL's salary cap has more than doubled since 2011, contributing to the explosion of lucrative contracts given to the league's star players. Only once has the NFL's salary decreased from year to year during that period. That came in the 2021 NFL offseason, which saw a $15.7 million decrease in funds that stemmed mainly from limited attendance during the COVID-impacted 2020 season. The NFL quickly bounced back from that downturn, witnessing an increase of $25.7 million the following offseason. Below is a year-by-year look at the NFL's salary cap, according to data from NFL Network's Tom Pelissero: 2011: $120.375 million 2012: $120.6 million 2013: $123 million 2014: $133 million 2015: $143.28 million 2016: $155.27 million 2017: $167 million 2018: $177.2 million 2019: $188.2 million 2020: $198.2 million 2021: $182.5 million 2022: $208.2 million 2023: $224.8 million 2024: $255.4 million 2025: $265-$275 million* * Projection. 2025 NFL TRADE CANDIDATES: Top players who could be dealt in offseason NFL salary cap space 2025 Below is a look at every team's projected salary cap space for 2025. All salary cap figures are via which projects a $272.5 million salary cap.
