Latest news with #OntheClock
Yahoo
4 days ago
- General
- Yahoo
A thousand cans and counting: On the Clock with the Sanitation Department
WICHITA FALLS (KFDX/KJTL) — The unsung heroes who keep the city looking clean and pretty: sanitation crews hit thousands of homes each day to maintain our streets. In this On the Clock, we're making the rounds with the Wichita Falls Sanitation Department with the world's most difficult claw machine, and it's going to be a bumpy ride. 'One can at a time. One street at a time,' Sanitation Equipment Operator James Linan said. We got to the Sanitation Department at 9 a.m., ready for a route around Weeks Park. And after I admired the bells and whistles of the nearly 30-ton trash truck, James was ready to show me the ropes. 'We're about 30 minutes into the route right now, but for these guys, that's nothing,' I said. 'On this route specifically, there are 1,222 that have to be picked up, and they're done when the route's done.' And that's no joke. James tells me he's spent upwards of nine hours making the rounds, not made easier by inevitable challenges. 'Sometimes we break down, the trucks break down, [which] kind of delays what we're doing,' James said. 'Weather, sometimes when it rains. Rain's kind of difficult because it messes with the mirrors and whatnot. So it slows you down.' And making sure the touchy controls don't accidentally bust through a window. 'Really tight edges and tight curves into the alleyways,' I said. 'There's still so much precision that goes into it. I would've hit everything in my path.' Thankfully, I wasn't allowed to test my theory, but James did let me take a whack at emptying the can into the truck. It was scary for probably everybody watching me painstakingly pick up that can, but for this pro, he really enjoys the routine and meeting neighbors. 'We drive, and it's a nice and peaceful little break,' James said. 'See people that wave, whatever, real kind people and whatnot, and people that give you drinks. Kind of speak with them a little bit once in a while.' And after dipping my toes into the essential cleanup that goes on behind the scenes, maybe I do have what it takes to be a sanitation champion. 'Based on my performance today, would you hire me?' I asked. 'Yes. You did better than me on my first time,' he said. 'I was knocking over garbage cans and whatever, putting them down wobbly. But, yeah, they're still nice and smooth.' The next On the Clock will air June 13 at noon and 6 p.m. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
New York Times
22-04-2025
- Sport
- New York Times
The Ravens have four draft directions — which will they take?
Just two more sleeps remain until the 2025 NFL Draft kicks off in Green Bay and, soon enough, all the speculation about who goes where will finally be put to rest. The Baltimore Ravens, coming off a 12-5 season and their second consecutive AFC North title, head into the draft with 11 picks, starting at No. 27 overall in the first round. Advertisement Will they use that pick on a pass rusher, bolster the offensive or defensive line, or perhaps add another cornerback after selecting Nate Wiggins at No. 30 last year? On the latest episode of 'The Athletic Football Show,' the final installment of our 'On the Clock' series, Robert Mays was joined by CBS Sports' Mike Renner to discuss which direction the Ravens should go with the 27th pick. A partial transcript has been edited for clarity and length. The full episode is available on YouTube below or in 'The Athletic Football Show' feed on Apple Podcasts and Spotify. Robert: Let's get to the Ravens at 27. You have four options for Baltimore. With the guys on the board, I didn't want to tighten it up because I think you could make a justifiable argument for any of these four directions. Option one is to draft any of the pass rushers who are top-10 talents, according to some people. You can take Shemar Stewart or Mykel Williams here, who are still on board, or you can take James Pearce Jr. I'm not sure what your current board looks like, but I think you had him ahead of both of those guys on your initial big board. Mike: I did way back going into the season, but I do worry about the off-the-field stuff, and I worry that he's just a little bit stiffer. How I have them ranked right now on my final board is Mykel, Pearce and then Stewart. I'm right there with you that I could see any team buying into either of them as top-10 talents, because they are truly all physically gifted in some way, shape, or form. I just lean toward Williams because he shows the closest thing to an NFL skillset right now. And it's not as if he doesn't have tools that could reach a high end at the NFL level. My comp for him is Carlos Dunlap, He's just a real good power end. For Baltimore, the interior flexibility is nice for that defense as well, so that's where I'm going. Advertisement Robert: That was just option one by the way… which was one of those three pass rushers, so let's keep going. Option two: You draft Tyler Booker or Grey Zabel, and they step in as your left guard from day one. Obviously, Andrew Vorhees started the season there last year but got hurt. Then Patrick Mekari stepped in, but now he's gone, so they don't really have the interior depth that they've typically had on their roster. Option three is a cornerback of your choosing. Once again, they bring in Chidobe Awuzie, but how good do you feel about that if that's a day-one outside corner for you? Option four is you draft Derrick Harmon or Kenneth Grant because it's a similar thought process to the interior of the offensive line. If you look at it right now, they don't really have a lot of bodies behind those starters with Travis Jones and Madubuike. So you could draft a guy to be a rotational piece now, who could step into a bigger role next year, because Travis Jones is in the final year of his contract, so that's available to you. Again, a pass rusher of your choosing, being Tyler Booker or Grey Zabel, a cornerback of your choosing, or Derek Harman or Kenneth Grant. What are you doing if you are Baltimore? Mike: This one's tough. I think corner is my least favorite of those because they drafted one in the first round last year. Back-to-back years using a first-rounder on a corner — and even a few years ago using one on a safety — is just a lot of resources on a position where ROI is generally not as much as an edge in the first round. You can find corners later, but it's hard to find high-end edges later. As I'm thinking of this, the highest guy on my board is Derrick Harmon. Obviously, I've heard that he might fall due to medical concerns. But I think the fact that Harmon would be third fiddle right out of the gate, versus Mykel Williams being able to conceivably be a starter from day one, at least an early down starter, probably pushes that for me a little bit towards him — and the fact that Madubuike is not going anywhere anytime soon. With Harmon, as much as I think he could play a little nose and play some of that, he's not replacing Travis Jones' skill set on the nose full time. So I'll go with Mykel Williams, that's the pick. Robert: That makes total sense, and this would just be a classic Ravens thing where a guy who is 12th on everybody's boards is sitting there at 27. You and I were talking about this a little bit yesterday. You weren't necessarily surprised that these guys who are pumped up as maybe top 12 prospects have fallen in an exercise like this because no one's had the stomach to be the one to swing on them. Mike: Yes, it's a unique class because there are such high-end athletes with such little production. You usually get one or two of these guys, like your Tyree Wilsons, your Travon Walkers. But this year, it's four or five, it's a handful. There are so few guys who have both in this draft class. It's Abdul Carter, and then that's it in terms of who has the traits and the production. Advertisement Robert: Maybe you can make an argument for Mike Green, but there are a ton of concerns there and the competition level. So there's a question mark with everybody on some front. Mike: That's why I have Mike Green and Jalon Walker as my next two edges after, just because you want both at the end of the day. And again, when I'm stacking up Mykel versus the other two, he's just closer in my opinion to an impact player at the NFL level, and I could see it with him very easily. Whereas with the other two, you're really squinting for reps, where you're like, 'That'll work against NFL tackles consistently.' You can listen to full episodes of 'The Athletic Football Show' for free on Apple Podcasts and Spotify, and watch on YouTube. (Top Photo:)
Yahoo
19-04-2025
- General
- Yahoo
Amateur welder braves 10K degrees, 300 mph sand blasting: On the Clock
WICHITA FALLS (KFDX/KJTL) — Beyond glancing through doorways at my peers' high school welding classes, I've never understood exactly what the trade does and why. But after this installment of On the Clock, I certainly have a new appreciation for how physically demanding—and hot—each step of the welding process is. When I first pulled up to Chantex Manufacturing, I had no idea what to expect. OTC: How do arborists remove trees in tight spaces without destroying property? 'We'll do all the flat welds first,' welder David Dickey said. But David here showed me all the ropes. Step one: get geared up. Now, we're ready to spark up the welding machine, and the arc is hot, reaching up to 10,000 degrees. 'You want to angle it to where you're at about a 45-degree [angle],' David said. As a beginner welder, I was assigned leg duty. This hunk of metal will later be welded to an even bigger vessel for natural gas. After my shaky welding… 'Based on my performance today, would you hire me? And you can be honest. You can say no,' I asked David. 'Um, to be honest, I think you're trainable,' he responded. 'I think we could find you a spot or a position somewhere.' …It's time to prime it for painting with sand blasting. 'That's really intense,' I said while watching a seasoned employee sandblasting. 'It'll be good. Yeah, it'll be good! I won't hit myself with sand.' Julio got me all suited up, but after that, it was all on me to shoot out sand particles at nearly 300 miles per hour. 'Oh, that's good. That's fun. Honestly, I was more afraid of the welding than I was of this,' I said after blasting. 'This was cool; it had a lot of kick to it. It's like art. You're painting with sand. 'I think I did better with this than the welding because with this, it's sort of like sweeping with a bigger brush, and with welding, you have to be really precise, and I have really unsteady hands.' With a hard day's work of pure heat under my belt… 'Based on my performance, would you hire me?' I asked. 'Yes! You did good,' Julio said. 'You did pretty good.' Nothing sounds better than an ice-cold water. Tune into KFDX 3 for the next installment of On The Clock, which will run at noon and 6 p.m. on Friday, May 2. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
New York Times
15-04-2025
- Sport
- New York Times
Who should the Chargers select with their first draft pick?
The 2025 NFL Draft kicks off on April 24 and, with just over a week to go, the Los Angeles Chargers are set to be one of the busiest teams in Green Bay with 10 picks across the entire process. The Chargers have clear needs at receiver, tight end, running back and both the offensive and defensive lines, and only time will tell which position Los Angeles will prioritize with the 22nd overall pick in the first round. Advertisement On the latest episode of 'The Athletic Football Show', the fourth installment of our 'On the Clock' series, Robert Mays was joined by Pro Football Focus' Trevor Sikkema to break down why the Chargers should go with Ohio State wide receiver Emeka Egbuka at No. 22. Watch the discussion below. A partial transcript has been edited for clarity and length. The full episode is available on YouTube below or in 'The Athletic Football Show' feed on Apple Podcasts and Spotify. Robert: Let's get to 22 for the Los Angeles Chargers. Option one is to pick your best available interior defensive lineman. They didn't bring Poona Ford back, and a lot of their solutions on the interior defensive line are short-term solutions. Teair Tart only signed a one-year, $4.5 million contract, so they'll need a long-term answer on the interior of the defensive line. This team is interesting because they made the playoffs last year, but because they weren't overly aggressive in free agency, it'sa reminder to us how barren most of the roster was from a talent perspective. Because you could justify so many different things here, interior defensive line is obviously just one of them. There's Kenneth Grant, Derrick Harmon, or you can go a different direction with Walter Nolen off the board. Option two is to draft your best available pass catcher. The tight ends that are generally considered to be first-round talents are off the board here. But there are receivers like Emeka Egbuka from Ohio State, although if you think that's a little bit too redundant with what Ladd McConkey is bringing you, you could go a different direction. But this is a team and fan base that is pretty starved for pass-catching talent at this point. So I wanted to open the door for you to go that way. Option three is to draft your best available edge rusher. Khalil Mack is on a one-year deal, so they need some future plans at that spot even after bringing him back this year. Then option four is whatever you want to do, because cornerback is arguably still a need even after signing Donte Jackson. The interior offensive line could be a need if they don't pick up Zion Johnson's fifth-year option, and running back is still a need even after signing Najee Harris in free agency. There's a ton of optionality with where they could go in the first round, even after being a playoff team last year, so I didn't want to limit you. What are you doing? Advertisement Trevor: Those are all the scenarios I think about here for the Chargers as well. Kenneth Grant is definitely one of the prospects I gravitate towards here. And you mentioned Poona Ford, his no longer being there is much bigger of a loss than some people are willing to realize. Robert: You also have the Michigan connection, which I hadn't even thought about when I threw his name in there. Trevor: Of course, and just to take this even further, the last year that Jim Harbaugh (Chargers head coach) was the coach at Michigan, somebody asked him about both Mason Graham and Kenneth Grant. And he called those two, 'Gifts from the football gods.' So obviously, he is very high on both of those guys and who they are as football players, so Kenneth Grant's on the board here. But I am also very comfortable with Emeka Egbuka on this team. Egbuka could play X and Z for you. I was having this conversation with somebody, and they asked, 'Do you think it's redundant with Emeka Egbuka and Ladd McConkey on the team?' And I said, 'No, I don't.' I have full faith that both of these guys could play either Z or slot. And even if you needed to put them on the line of scrimmage for certain formations, Ladd will at least give you his all as a blocker. At least you know that he will be fundamentally sound and pound-for-pound a good blocker, because he did it at Georgia and a little bit last year with the Chargers. Emeka Egbuka is the same way. My comp for Egbuka is a bigger version of Amon-Ra St. Brown. When people think about Egbuka, they think he's as small as Amon-Ra St. Brown, but he's not. He's a little bit bigger of a wide receiver, so you can get away with playing him on the line of scrimmage, which is why I don't think there's redundancy. There is actually more flexibility with those two dudes, so I'm not really worried about that. Jahdae Barron is also a very interesting one. He plays the brand of corner they want to play. We've got team top 100 big boards we're releasing over the next couple of weeks at PFF, and we have a lot of scheme data that we try to bring up from teams to order these big boards. They played a lot of nickel as everybody does, but they also played a lot of dime. And they're a team that is trying to get as many good corners as they possibly can. Their most common cornerback alignment last year was off coverage, not press coverage, and they played zone 65 percent of the time. That's one of the higher marks we had in the league in the top 12. And all of that speaks to who Jahdae Barron is as a player. But the only thing is that the need at corner isn't nearly as desperate as it is at those other positions, like getting a good wide receiver or a good defensive lineman. That's the only thing holding me back from picking a guy like Barron. But I think the Chargers have around 10 picks in this draft, don't they? Advertisement Robert: They have their own picks in rounds one through five, and then they have four sixth-round picks, which is where they've done a lot of their damage, in addition to a seventh-round comp pick. Trevor: Yeah, so they've got 10 picks, and they will be drafting one or two corners at some point. Whether they're trading up or trading down, they're at least getting one or two corners… Robert: You're laboring here… this is a tough one, isn't it? Trevor: Give me Emeka Egbuka! Robert: He's gone with his heart… Trevor: I've gone with Kenneth Grant so many times… I just want to do something different because it makes sense, and it's worth talking about here in this format. Robert: Can you talk me through your process? Trevor: We're programmed to think that wide receivers are always more plentiful than defensive linemen. Normally, that is the case, but this year, it's not. Especially for Jesse Minter (Chargers defensive coordinator) and Jim Harbaugh's 3-4 defensive front, they'll have all of those picks later in the draft, and all those sixth-round picks to be able to move up and down in the third and fourth round specifically. You have guys like CJ West, Alfred Collins, Vernon Broughton, Jordan Phillips, Jamaree Caldwell, Ty Robinson, Cam'Ron Jackson, Joshua Farmer, Tim Smith, and Jared Harrison-Hunte from SMU. That's not even talking about some of the edge players that are 3-4 defensive end edge rushers. Like Jared Ivey, Shemar Turner, Elijah Roberts, Jordan Burch, and Sai'vion Jones from LSU. I'm just listing off all of these guys that would be great targets for the Chargers later in the draft. Wide receiver is also good, but I would say, especially if you're an odd front team, Emeka Egbuka versus who you might get in the second or third round is a bigger gap than who you might get from Kenneth Grant to these other guys a little bit later in the draft. So I'm going with Egbuka here. You can listen to full episodes of 'The Athletic Football Show' for free on Apple Podcasts and Spotify, and watch on YouTube. (Top Photo:)
Yahoo
04-04-2025
- General
- Yahoo
OTC: How do arborists remove trees in tight spaces without destroying property?
WICHITA FALLS (KFDX/KJTL) — If you're anything like me, seeing once towering trees chopped down can be sad. But in this episode of On The Clock with Natalie McCain, I reach new heights with North Texas Tree Experts as I learn how dangerous dead trees can be and how many problems can arise from them. 'It's got to come down sooner better than later,' arborist and owner of NTTE Mike Ibarra said. Thanks to tree borers and Mother Nature… 'It's always at risk of falling on, most importantly, people, the property next,' Ibarra said. 'This tree is over a sidewalk. There was already falling limbs present on the sidewalk.' …It's the end of the road for this red oak. That's where Mike Ibarra and his crew with North Texas Tree Experts come in. 'Tree removals are fun. We love trimming them and taking care of them and making sure they are healthy,' Ibarra said. 'But, the tree removal is definitely fast-paced. It gets your blood pumping, and sometimes, you get a little nervous when you're up there.' And if they still get nervous after decades of tree removal, you better believe I was freaking out 30 feet up. Ibarra loves it, but challenges still sprout up. 'We're always in really tight locations,' he said. 'We're always having to work over houses, over fences, near power lines, over service lines, and under service lines. Trees grow wherever they want.' It's why they use the ziplining method, streamlining the branch's journey from dead tree to chipper. 'That's the most challenging thing is just trying to get it down safely to me, my crew,' Ibarra said. 'The people's property—nothing's hurt. Nothing's damaged, and everybody goes home happy.' 'Based on my performance today, would you hire me, at least as an apprentice?' I asked. 'Yes, definitely. You definitely have to do a lot more training,' Ibarra said. 'Some of the stuff that you did, you can work on stuff, but you could definitely make a good point for you.' Watching them work their way from limb to root, maybe I've planted the seeds to start my arborist journey. The next On the Clock will run at noon and 6 p.m. on April 18. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
