Latest news with #Texarkana
New York Times
02-06-2025
- General
- New York Times
49ers rookie LB Nick Martin brings powerful personality to weakside spot
SANTA CLARA, Calif. — Nick Martin and his three older brothers used to fight so much that their mother bought them boxing gloves to cushion the blows. Which, the San Francisco 49ers rookie recalled with a laugh, led to even more fighting in the form of neighborhood boxing tournaments. 'I lost a lot in the beginning because I was fighting people that were like five years older than me,' said Martin, who figures he was 7 when the bouts began. 'But I feel like that helped me grow in my mind, how to approach battles on and off the field. And then I started winning.' Advertisement That's been the story of his life. Growing up in Texarkana, Texas, Martin was never the biggest kid on the block. But he's always been a wicked hitter. That helps explain why the 49ers took the 5-foot-11, 221-pound linebacker with the 11th pick in the third round. One of the lessons from an awful 2024 season was how badly they missed Dre Greenlaw, their ferocious weakside linebacker who sat out all but 34 snaps due to an Achilles injury. When Greenlaw went to the Denver Broncos in free agency, the 49ers were compelled to find someone who could tackle, cover and set a furious tone like he did. The search led to Martin. 'You've heard of a sideline-to-sideline guy,' said former Oklahoma State linebacker Kenyatta Wright, who's now the program's financial director. 'Well, Nick is a football-field guy. Wherever you are on a football field, he's going to be there.' The other reason the 49ers fell for Martin is the small-bodied linebacker's big-time charisma. He likes art, music, has his own fashion line and taught himself to play the guitar. On his first full day with the 49ers last month, he had the confidence to walk around in oversized shark slippers in the locker room and in his media appearance. He has about 10 pairs of animal slippers, including wolves and puppies, and he's not afraid to let the dogs out. 'I'm pretty comfortable with who I am,' he said. 'And I've always worn 'em, so why change?' Nick 'Jaws' Martin — Matt Barrows (@mattbarrows) May 8, 2025 The 49ers note he was a two-time team captain at Oklahoma State. After he injured his MCL ligament in the fifth game last season, coach Mike Gundy petitioned the Big 12 to allow Martin to travel with the team. That's how important he was to the locker room, meeting room and sideline, even when he wasn't playing. The 49ers hope he has the same effect on a rookie class that, especially on defense, is expected to log plenty of snaps this season. Advertisement 'It's important when we're considering how the rookies are going to mesh together,' the 49ers' top scout, Tariq Ahmad, explained regarding Martin. 'Who's going to be the leader of that group? Who's going to push guys to watch extra tape, to be on the field extra?' Martin's mother, Tosha, describes her youngest son as 'joyful.' He was always upbeat, always curious, always joking. Older brother Chauncey goes with 'goofy.' 'He'd come hang around my friends and he'd cut jokes,' Chauncey said. 'But they were jokes I'd already heard. That's my little brother, and I'd be like, 'Stop being annoying.' But to my friends, he was hilarious. And I'd say, 'Bro, don't laugh at him. Don't egg him on.'' Nick — or Nickolas, as his mother invariably calls him — is close to all his brothers. But his relationship with Chauncey, who is nearest in age, is special. They grew up sharing a bedroom and dreams about playing in the NFL. They'd play 'Madden' and assure each other their names would one day appear on the screen. In the living room, Chauncey would get on his knees and pretend he was Ray Lewis. Nick, in the role of Reggie Bush, would try to get past him. All the Martin boys played football. Chauncey and Nick loved football. 'We just had a bond,' Chauncey said. 'Even though we had two older brothers, we were close. We shared a room our whole life. It was me and him.' Being three years older, Chauncey was the first to find football glory. He was the running back on Pleasant Grove High's first-ever state champion team, which in East Texas is akin to landing on the moon or winning Olympic gold. Nick, speedy but scrawny and not ready for the varsity squad, came to be known as 'Chauncey's little brother.' 'He didn't like that,' Tosha said. 'It motivated him.' Every time he was dismissed as too small, he hit the weight room. Whenever he was obscured by Chauncey's shadow, he'd try to outrun it by getting faster. Advertisement He loved his brother, tried to be like his brother, but also wanted — no, needed — to make a name for himself. And by his junior season, he was playing linebacker and running back while leading Pleasant Grove to another state title. The only problem was that Chauncey wasn't around to see it. He and four other 19-year-olds were arrested for their roles in a robbery that occurred in January 2019 in Texarkana. Chauncey was kicked off the East Texas A&M football team and sentenced to nearly two and a half years in prison. He saw bits and pieces of Nick's freshman season at Oklahoma State from the day room of Barry B. Telford prison in nearby South Boston, Texas. 'I'd point to the TV and say, 'There you go — he's right there!'' Chauncey recalled. 'I think he was like No. 46 back then. I'd say, 'That's him right there on kickoff (coverage). He's the first one down there on kickoffs.' It would just give me like a smile, you know, on a Saturday to see my brother on TV playing ball.' Chauncey was released just as Nick was making his ascent at Oklahoma State. By his third season there, the days of being known as Chauncey's little brother were long gone. He was no longer a special teamer. He wasn't even always Nick. Teammates instead started calling him 'Missile' for the way he took down ball carriers. His 2023 season, which truly caught the 49ers' attention, included a Big 12-best 140 tackles, 16 stops behind the line of scrimmage and six sacks. 'I've never seen a guy who was carrying a football who didn't drop as soon as Nick tackled him,' said Oklahoma State's Wright, who played six NFL seasons. 'His ability to get guys down at the point of attack was unbelievable. His speed to the ball was amazing.' Wright noted that Martin regularly would come into his office to talk linebackers and that his favorite NFL player to dissect was Fred Warner. Martin had Warner's No. 54 jersey long before the 49ers drafted him. Advertisement Warner said last week that rookies are usually reticent about asking him questions — 'the whole 'too cool' thing,' he said. But Martin hasn't been shy. At all. 'He's come in and asked me every single question known to man,' Warner said. 'It's like, 'Fred, how are you doing this? What are you doing after practice? What are you doing after lifts?' And he's wanting to be part of those (activities). … He already has the mindset of wanting to learn.' As for older brother Chauncey, at one point, he was Nick's inspiration. Now it's the other way around. Chauncey said that when he was in high school, he got an offer from Harding University, a Division II Christian school in Arkansas. He turned it down. 'I didn't want to go because of the structure, and it was a private, Christian school,' he said. 'I was like, 'Man, I want to go to school to have fun.' And I ended up getting in trouble.' When he was released from prison, the offer from Harding was still on the table. This time, he grabbed it with gratitude. He played running back for the Bison for three seasons and recently graduated with a degree in business management. Now, as Nick learns the 49ers' defense from Warner, Chauncey is trying to catch on with a UFL team. He says his little brother inspired him to re-focus on their shared passion for football. 'I'm in a way better place,' he said. 'And Nick is some of the reason for that. Seeing my little brother accomplish all this stuff we used to talk about, it just makes me want to keep going.'
Yahoo
27-05-2025
- Sport
- Yahoo
Liberty-Eylau in semi-state for third straight year — what's changed?
TEXARKANA, TX (KTAL/KMSS) — Liberty-Eylau baseball is making its third consecutive semi-state appearance, but what has changed in the last few years? 'A whole bunch,' senior Britain Pipes said. 'A whole bunch of different coaches now, a bunch of different players. There's a lot of seniors this year, usually, we don't have that many seniors on the squad,.' But faces in the dugout are not the only changes. There is a new level of maturity. 'It's just changed this year. We're trying to stay as humble as possible this year,' Britain Pipes said. 'We know not to try and look ahead. We don't want to look at the finish line or think about holding up that trophy. We're just trying to stay in the now and trying to get that first game win.' The majority of this group of Leopards have gotten the invaluable experience of being a part of a state game, no matter how big their role, since they were freshmen and sophomores. Something none of the other three teams left in the 3A-DI division have. 'I feel like I'm more experienced, I feel like that's for everybody,' senior Triston Haugh said. 'The first time we went, I mean, it was crazy just seeing everything at UT Stadium, but now, a little bit older now, a little bit more used to it, know what to expect. So it's a better feeling for sure.' While the experience is great, this is a new season and anything can happen. The Leopards are not naive to that. 'It means a lot to do it year after year, but this year is a whole different year, a whole different game, and job's not finished,' head coach Zach Fowler said. 'So right now we're focused on getting ready for Iowa Park and that'll be it. If we can get past them, we'll look up and see who's next, but right now all the focus is on Iowa Park. It's nice to be back in the Final Four, but that's not hopefully the end of the story.' Liberty-Eylau will face off against Iowa Park on Friday, May 30 at 7 pm and Saturday, May 31 at 2 pm, the third game following if necessary. All games will be played at Forney High School. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Yahoo
27-05-2025
- Health
- Yahoo
Texarkana Vietnam Veterans of America honor fallen soldiers on Memorial Day
TEXARKANA, Texas (KTAL/KSHV) – The Texarkana-area chapter of the Vietnam Veterans of America hosted its annual Memorial Day ceremony. They read names of fallen soldiers, and this year also passed out dog tags as a physical reminder of the sacrifices so many made. What is Memorial Day and how has it evolved from its Civil War origins? 'There's a kid out of New Hampshire, 12 years old started making dog tags of all the Americans that got killed. He's made 95,000 of them so far,' said Greg Beck, President of Vietnam Veterans of America #278, 'I've been doing this for 40-something years, and I never thought about dog tags, but he did.' One local organization spoke about its mission during a quick break from its own journey to spread the message. The members of Ben's Heart Ministry spent the day walking 22 miles. 22 miles because 22 veterans die by suicide every day, according to a 2013 study from the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs. Suzy Kroll started the non-profit group following the death of her son, a veteran who suffered from PTSD, and who took his own life. She has dedicated herself to helping other veterans fighting the same battles. There's a specific way to fly your US flag on Memorial Day: What to know 'It's not a weakness at all. It's an invisible scar. It's an invisible wound from war. And my son came back physically, but he did not ever come back from Afghanistan. So I don't want that to happen to anybody else,' says Kroll. They are walking to spread the message that 22 a day is 22 too many, and that we need to fight to help our veterans even after they have come home, just like they fought for us. Ben's Heart Ministry is continuing its social media campaign through the end of the month, challenging others to find their own way to spread awareness. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Yahoo
17-05-2025
- General
- Yahoo
'DoorDash Dale' community unites in support of Vietnam Veteran
TEXARKANA, Texas (KTAL/KMSS) — A chance encounter with a handicapped DoorDash driver leads to an outpouring of support from the community. 'We ordered DoorDash and I got a notification that our order had been delivered, so I opened the door and there's no order and I was like, OK.' says Ashley Cooper, 'Well then I see a little white car in the driveway in the parking area and I see a little man trying to get out with a cane.' That man was Dale Culbreath. He is a 76-year-old Vietnam veteran, and despite the fact that he is handicapped and needs a cane or a walker to get around, he works as a DoorDash driver. 'Once I got inside, I just was trying to figure out is he DoorDashing because he wants to, or is he Doordashing because he has to' says Ashley. It had in fact not been a part of dale's plan to start DoorDashing. Before going back to work he had actually been in college. 'I was one subject away from graduating when I decided to quit. I really felt that that I needed to do it right away because I knew my health was failing on me.' says Dale. Ashley did not know Dale's story but her encounter with him left an impression. She took to social media asking if anyone else had seen 'DoorDash Dale'. Eventually word got back around to dale that she had been looking for him. So he left her a letter, thanking her for the tip she had given him and telling her a little about himself. 'That I was a veteran, and that I was a Christian, and then I was handicapped, and that I wasn't a wealthy person,' says Dale, 'and the reason that I was still DoorDashing was to pay for a funeral.' Texarkana wants to be a friendly place for the film industry 'Once I read it and processed it I was like, okay, I'm gonna help him pay for his funeral,' says Ashley. Ashley created a GoFundMe page and spread the word about Dale's story on social media. In response, the community donated over $17,000 in just a few short weeks. 'Whenever I did it, I did it for him and I thought, we'll just get these services paid for, but now I've got a friend for life. He texts me every morning if I haven't heard from him he texts me in the evening and so it's been really nice to gain a friend through this because I'm really just a stranger from the Internet..' says Ashley. She says that she has been working with GoFundMe, a lawyer, and a banker to ensure that the money donated is put into a trust for Dale. You can find a link to the GoFundMe page here. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Yahoo
16-05-2025
- Yahoo
Court appeal for former New Orleans police officer on death row
NEW ORLEANS (WGNO) — New information has been released regarding the court appeal of Louisiana death row inmate Antoinette Frank. Frank is the former NOPD officer who's been on death row for 30 years for murdering three people, including her police partner, in 1995. Frank and a co-defendant, Rogers Lacaze, robbed a Vietnamese restaurant in New Orleans East where her partner was working an off duty detail. Two employees were also killed. Investigation underway after body found near Canal Street Ferry terminal On Thursday, State Attorney General Liz Murrill lost an attempt to assist in pushing the execution forward. 'I think it's just, you know, a terrible injustice to the victims and their families who have been waiting to see the state carry out its promise. If we are going to have a death penalty, then we should be able to carry it out. We have promised that to them, and we need to keep our promise,' said Murrill. Murrill had asked Judge Kimya Holmes to be allowed to be part of the prosecution against Frank's post conviction appeals. Holmes denied the Bernard Parish President faces recall petition Court appeal for former New Orleans police officer on death row Green Oaks 'turns green minds into giant successes,' and graduates 53 students Texarkana wants to be a friendly place for the film industry Live! Casino & Hotel wins best dining & nightlife award Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
