Mount Hood

From influencer to boxer

Why social media influencers are swapping careers

Mollie Herron | News Editor

Contact the author at howlsports@wou.edu

Social media influencers seem to be everywhere these days. Because of their ability to rapidly grow their platforms, influencers have been able to make unexpected career leaps. Some have gone from YouTubers to professional musicians; Instagram models to full-time fashion designers; or, in more recent and somewhat confusing news, vloggers to highly competitive boxers.

Popular influencers like Logan and Jake Paul, KSI, Austin McBroom and Bryce Hall have all pursued careers in boxing. While they did not all succeed, the new boxers did manage to attract a lot of attention and brought more viewers to the sport.

The most notable of the new boxers are Logan and Jake Paul. They have taken the boxing world by storm by booking fights against popular fighters like Floyd Mayweather Jr., Ben Askren and Tyron Woodley. 

So, why are these influencers starting to box instead of sticking with their usual creator content?

One factor pushing for more influencer matches is money. People like Logan and Jake Paul are making millions and are able to earn even more for every match and rematch they schedule. It is suspected that this is why many of the matches end in a draw, as they can easily earn more through holding a rematch. Forbes estimated that Jake Paul made $40 million from participating in three matches in 2021.

The training and preparation it takes to become a boxer is also an opportunity for more content creation. Many of the influencers making this strange career transition have been on the internet for several years. If they run out of content ideas they are out of a job, so having a whole new career that they can film is an easy way to diversify their branding. The more posts involving boxing and calling out world famous boxers, the more attention the influencers receive.

Many die hard boxing fans are against having people like the Paul brothers in the ring because they feel that these influencers are not respecting the sport. The argument could be made that they are bringing more money and attention to the sport, but they have been heavily criticized for their lack of commitment and amateur status.

The fights the influencers try to create are also only against big names, which leads many to suspect there is no real intention to become a boxer and they only care about the potential fame and glory. Logan Paul was rumored to fight Mike Tyson in early 2022, but seeing as Tyson retired in 2005 the match was likely a ruse to garner more engagement. Jake Paul has publicly addressed one of the greats, Conor McGregor, after only fighting a few matches. The skill it would take to challenge one of the big names in the scene like McGregor compared to the short time Jake Paul has been fighting leads one to suspect it is all for publicity.

Only time will tell if these matches truly make boxing a more popular sport, or if these influencers will merely pass by to their next attention-grabbing schemes.

Western Wolves baseball team wins against the Saint

Wolves win 3 of their 4 games against Saint Martin’s Saints

Mollie Herron | News Editor

Contact the author at howlsports@wou.edu

Western’s baseball team faced off against the Saint Martin’s Saints on April 1 and 2. 

The Wolves split with the Saints on Friday, winning the first game 9-2 and losing the second 3-2. The next day the Wolves had a clean sweep and beat the Saints 2-1 and 8-0.

Mike Peterson pitched eight of the nine innings of the first game in the sun and allowed only 2 runs from the Saints in the fourth. Top scorers of the game included Justin Herzog, Anthony Zellner and Spencer Weston. Herzog led the team with 3 runs with Weston and Zellner scoring the second most at 2 runs each. Levi Cummings and Jacob Maiben both had 1 run in the bottom of the fourth inning to get the Wolves at an 8-2 lead before Herzog scored the final run of the game in the seventh. 

The second game was a pitchers battle as both teams were low scoring. Our own Wolves only had two hits and 2 runs, one each by Herzog and Derek Maiben. Unfortunately, those 2 runs were not enough and the Saints scored the final run of the game at the top of the fifth.

On Saturday, the Wolves had a slow start as the Saints scored an early lead of 1-0 in the first inning and continued to hold it until the fourth inning. At the bottom of the fourth Derek Maiben and Logan Ho each scored, putting the wolves at a 2-1 lead. The Saints had one hit the next inning with no runs, with the rest of the game in a standoff with no further hits or runs for either team leaving the Wolves with the victory score of 2-1.

The Wolves shut out the Saints in their second game on Saturday when Parker Johnson pitched seven innings with only one hit from the Saints in the first. At the bottom of the third, brothers Jacob and Derek Maiben both scored, earning a comfortable 2-0 lead. In the fifth, the Maiben brothers each scored again along with Cummings creating a larger gap for the Saints to try and come back from. Johnson kept the Saints from scoring and Cummings, Herzog and Zach Valdez scored 1 run each in the seventh, ending the game with a score of 8-0 when the Saints failed to get a run at the top of the eighth.

The next home game for the baseball team is Friday, April 22 at 1 p.m. against Northwest Nazarene University. Support the Wolves while breathing in fresh air and soaking up the sunlight during their game against the Nighthawks. 

New basketball team created in Salem

Salem Capitals are earning their top spot in the West region of The Basketball League

Mollie Herron | News Editor

Contact the author at howlnews@wou.edu

In mid to late January of 2022, tryouts were held for what would become Salem, Oregon’s first professional basketball team. The Salem Capitals are a part of the West Conference of The Basketball League, a fast growing league of 42 teams across the states. As of now the team is undefeated and scoring in the low hundreds almost every game. 

When the team plays at home, the crowd is filled with the player’s families and community members there to support the new city team. Team owner, Jason Conrad, who can be recognized by his dapper attire and the fact that he is seven feet tall, always goes out of his way to involve the children that are running about. During timeouts, halftime and in between quarters, Conrad invites the kids to compete for prize money and fun items.

The team clearly loves what they are doing and seem to be each other’s biggest fans. The team’s biggest cheerleader is probably one of its own forwards, Dominique Lawrence, who can be seen yelling and dancing whenever he is not on the court to support his teammates.

People that are watching the Capitals play for the first time are often drawn to Western alumni center Vincent Boumann’s presence. While not quite as tall as the team’s owner, Boumann stands at 6’10” making him a force to be reckoned with on the court, especially at tip-off.

Each player brings their own set of skills to the team, keeping the opposing teams on their toes when it comes to Capitals plays throughout their games.  This is due to their different positions and how long they have each been playing the game. The team has a wide variety of experience and skills ranging from the youngest being Scott Clough at 23 and Paul Hafford is the oldest at 38. 

After games are held on their home court, the team encourages attendees over 21 to join them for a beer in their Ox Box. This gives members of the community a chance for one-on-one time with players and coaches.

Last weekend the team played the California Sea-Kings and Vancouver Volcanoes. The Capitals won both games with the scores 109-103 and 104-102 respectively. The Capitals play the Sea-Kings again on Friday, April 1 away, and Bakersfield Magic the next day also away.

Tickets to all future games can be purchased on the Salem Capitals’ website.

Upsets destroy the perfect brackets

Unpredictable upsets and pairings leaves the title of national champions to anyone

Mollie Herron | News Editor

Contact the author at howlentertainment@wou.edu 

March is over, which means the infamous NCAA Division I basketball tournament, March Madness is coming to an end. On April 4, 2022 the championship game for men’s basketball will be held in New Orleans, Louisiana at Ceasar’s Superdome. The women’s teams will play their championship game on April 3 at the Target Center in Minneapolis, Minnesota.

Every year, competitions are held to see who can make the most correct guesses as to who will win each game of the tournament. Large brackets are filled out and entered into different game websites where winners are awarded prizes or money. 

The NCAA tracks the “perfect brackets” that people fill out this year, but unfortunately there are no perfect brackets left. The competition started with 20 million brackets that were filled out online for the men’s tournament, but after just the first day the number dropped to 192. With University of Richmond beating University of Iowa, New Mexico State University beating University of Connecticut and Saint Peter’s University beating University of Kentucky in huge upsets, only those 192 were left in the competition for the perfect bracket. The upsets continued and started taking down brackets, and after the University of Notre Dame took out University of Alabama, there were only four brackets left until Iowa State University beat Louisiana State University and there were officially no more perfect brackets. 

For the women’s tournament there are also no more perfect brackets after starting with over 1 million. After their first day the number of contenders dropped to 28, and after the entire first round only three remained. After the upset of Creighton University beating Iowa there was only a single perfect bracket left until Iowa State beat Louisiana State ending the possibility of a perfect bracket this year.

Based on bracket numbers, more people are interested in the men’s tournament, and this year, due to so many upsets, there were arguments for why every team in the Sweet 16 could end up being in the Final Four. Analysts are saying Texas Tech University has the best defense while University of Miami has all the parts to make for a great offense. Gonzaga University was the betting favorite and most people predicted them to make it to the Final Four, but the fact that Duke University is one of the only three teams to beat them this season made their potential matchup unpredictable.

The Sweet 16 played their games and viewers watched a few incredible upsets and we saw Gonzaga lose to University of Arkansas and not make it to the Elite Eight. All season Gonzaga was revered by fans and analysts as being one of the best teams and had a real shot at winning it all, but they fell short and lost 74-68. 

St Peter’s ranked No. 15 beat No. 3 Purdue University 67-64 so they could play University of North Carolina in their Elite Eight game after their own upset of 73-66 against University of California Los Angeles. After their games, Miami and University of Kansas advanced to the Elite Eight as well. Duke, as expected by many, took out Texas Tech to get them to their match against Arkansas.

In the fight for the Final Four, Duke beat Arkansas 78-69; Villanova University beat University of Houston 50-44; North Carolina beat St Peter’s 69-49; and Kansas beat Miami 76-50. Villanova is set to play Kansas on Saturday April 2 and later the same day Duke plays North Carolina to see who will earn their spot in the championship game.

Inside the Dugout

A glimpse at Western’s dugout culture

Mollie Herron | News Editor

Contact the author at howlentertainment@wou.edu 

Anyone who has attended a college softball or baseball game has noticed the energy that comes out of the dugouts while teams are playing. 

Dugouts were originally created so that spectators seated behind the team area could see over them. They were lower than the stands behind them because it was cheaper to dig deeper than it was to raise the stands behind them to see home plate. Despite coming from a very simple and non-team related reason, dugouts have become an important part of the game of softball and baseball.

Western’s teams are no exception to the general trend of dugout energy and ring out loudly with support. While their teammates are at bat or pitching, the rest of players are constantly yelling and cheering as a way to encourage their team or distract their opponents. Western’s baseball team generally shouts louder than softball, though most of their cheering is just yelling, but it is exciting nonetheless. The softball players seem to be more organized in their cheering based on what has just happened in the game. They do this in the form of chants or even songs they sing while replacing a key word with the name of the player.

Senior pitcher Reilly Tidwell said, “I think communication and support from the dugout is a huge contributing factor to successful games. The last 4 years I have been able to recognize just how many perspectives there are to the game.” Her time spent on the field and in the dugout has greatly improved her softball IQ. Tidwell said “as a pitcher who doesn’t hit, it is nice to be able to come back into the dug out and get feedback from our hitters on how to pitch to the other team based on where they are standing in the box, if they are dropping their hands, things like that. They see and recognize things that I can’t, and help me improve my game.”

While not encouraged, players often yell at the opposing team while they are playing. It is all said in good fun and is never directed by saying numbers or names, but instead by singing more songs, chants or funny lines as a reaction to a play.

The secluded area for the team allows for bonding that other sports do not get to see. With their own “team room” that they are able to use while playing, the team can discuss in real time strategies and tactics that other sports would not be able to fit into their 1-minute timeouts.

Having teammates who are ready to discuss the game on hand as they are playing helps build a better bond between the players as well as give players insight to what is happening when they are not looking. Tidewell said “We play a team sport, so every single person, playing on the field or not, has a role that can help or hurt the team, depending on how seriously they choose to take their role. Sometimes the “most valuable players” are not necessarily the super star starters, but the teammates they have supporting them in the dugout.”

Graduating senior athletes

Hannah Greene |  Sports Editor

The COVID-19 pandemic caused the spring season for athletes across the country to be canceled — a lot of these athletes being seniors and ready to graduate. Below is a list honoring the senior Wolves here at Western. A huge congratulations and recognition of your hard work is in order. Note: some athletes listed below may come back for an eligible season.

Men’s Baseball: Mitchell Hulse, Hunter Johnson, Blayze Arcano, Tyler Brandenburg, Alan Vasquez, Cam Nowack, Connor McCord, Cole Carder, Logan Hatley, Nathan Bonck, Justin Dolezal and Joshua Mcintyre.

Women’s Softball: Chandler Bishop, Nicole Miller and Kennedy Coy.

Men’s Basketball: Jaylyn Richardson, Dalven Brushier, Riley Hamilton and Jaquan Horne.

Women’s Basketball: Shariah Green.

Men’s Cross Country and Track and Field: Justin Crosswhite, Stephen Fey, Sawyer Heckard, Derek Holdsworth, Zach Kanelis, Hunter Mosman, Max Carmona, Adam Alnazer, Dominic Giordano, Austin Goldstein, Curt Knott, Mitchell Kruse, Nick Sieber and Chris Steffey.

Women’s Cross Country and Track and Field: Rachel Bayly, Danel Camacho, Grace Knapp, Cassie McKinney, Grayson Burke, Olivia Jimenez and Kendra Zimmerdahl.

Men’s Football: Braelen Evans, Tyler Reid, Nico Jackson, Ty Currie, Joey Roos, Derek Parnell, Nate Proctor, Aaron Turner, Joseph Gonzalez, Anthony Kennison, Court Hammond and Tyrell Cummings. 

Women’s Soccer: Alex Qualls, Kaili Brundage, Kaitlin Poe, Jacky Beristain, Isabelle Creighton and Selene Konyn.

Women’s Volleyball: Allie Spear and Sianna DeCarli.

Contact the author at hgreen18@wou.edu

Photo by Hannah Greene

2020 Summer Olympics canceled due to COVID-19

Hannah Greene |  Sports Editor

Every four years, the most elite athletes come together to compete, to represent their countries and, most of all, to win gold. This summer, July 23 through Aug. 8, 2020, would have been the 29th Summer Olympics, having started in 1880. Due to the outbreak of COVID-19, the Olympics have been postponed for the first time ever. The Olympic Games will now be held on July 23, 2021 in Tokyo, Japan — Asia’s fourth time holding the games.

Because of COVID-19 and the rescheduling of the Olympics, the competitors have been put in an odd position. It has especially put a strain on the mental preparation of the athletes, as well as their training schedule and goals to peak at certain times. On another side, this postponement has given these athletes extra time to prepare — allowing for more improvement, focus and honing in on specific areas to be able to compete in 2021 at their highest performance. 

Although fear dominates these uncertain and harsh times, the teams from around the world have continued to stay positive and use their platforms to help keep their fans positive and patient. 

Contact the author at hgreene18@wou.edu

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