COVID-19: 538 test positive while 8 succumb to the virus
Health CAS Dr Rashid Aman says total cases now stand at 24411 from 335,318 samples while total recoveries are now at 10,444.Get breaking news on your Mobile as-it-happens. SMS ‘NEWS’ to 20153 Of the positive 516 are Kenyans, 22 are foreigners while 333 are male and 205 female.Also Read Uhuru extends curfew ahead of his address Tuesday next weekDr Aman said the oldest is 85 years old while the youngest is 2 years old.Nairobi County has 277 positive cases, Kiambu has 72, Kajiado 55, Nakuru 25 while Nyeri has 20 cases.Other Counties include Murang’a with 15 cases, Machakos with 9, Busia with 8, Mombasa and Migori with 7 each, Mandera, Laikipia and Bomet with 6 cases each.Also Read Kenya women lawyers back calls to dissolve parliamentMeru County, Narok, Kisii and Trans Nzoia have 3 cases each, Tharaka Nithi, Uasin Gishu, Makueni have 2 cases each while Wajir, Samburu, Kisumu, Kwale, Kericho and Baringo have 1 case each. 538 people have tested positive of COVID 19 in the last 24 hours after the Ministry of Health tested 6195 people in the Country.At the same time, 8 patients succumbed to the virus bringing the total number of fatalities to 399.On a good note, 514 patients were discharged after full recovery, 431 from home based care while 83 were in various hospitals across the Country.Also Read Relief for families as MOH revises Covid-19 burial protocols
Batesville, IN — A special public meeting for the Batesville Board of Works will be held on Thursday, August 13 at 5 pm, in the Council Chambers of the Memorial Building.
MUMBAI: Former India all-rounder Bapu Nadkarni, best known for bowling a record 21 successive maiden overs in a Test match against England, passed away on Friday, family sources confirmed. Nadkarni was 86 and is survived by his wife and two daughters. “He died of old-age related problems,” his son-in-law Vijay Khare said. Nadkarni, a left-handed batsman and slow-left arm orthodox bowler, played 41 Tests in which he scored 1414 runs and grabbed 88 wickets with 6/43 as his best bowling figures. Bapu Nadkarni was a Mumbai stalwart having played 191 first-class matches and taken 500 wickets and scored 8880 runs. The Nashik-born Nadkarni made his Test debut against New Zealand in Delhi in 1955 and played his last Test at Auckland against the same opponents in 1968 under MAK Pataudi’s captaincy. However, he rose to frame after he bowled 21 successive maidens. His figures in that Madras (now Chennai) Test read 32-27-5-0. He was known more for his accuracy as he also had Test match figures like the 1960-61 series against Pakistan where he returned with figures of 32-24-23-0 at Kanpur followed by 34-24-24-1 in Delhi. AgenciesAlso Read: Pakistan recall Mohammad Hafeez, Shoaib MalikAlso Watch: Watch Bhogali Bihu preparation from Jajori in Batadrava under Nagaon District
Training camps would open July 13 and games would resume Aug. 1 if approved by the league’s board of governors and players’ executive committee and full membership. The NHL is going straight to the playoffs with 24 teams resuming play. Those teams will travel to one of two “hub” cities July 26. A person with direct knowledge of the agreements told The Associated Press that the NHL has selected Toronto and Edmonton, Alberta, to be the hub cities in hosting the qualifying round and at least first two playoff rounds.MLB-TESTING DELAYSNationals, Astros cancel workoutsWASHINGTON (AP) — Baseball’s two World Series finalists canceled workouts because of coronavirus testing delays. Associated Press The Memorial was scheduled to be the first tournament with spectators since golf return from the COVID-19 pandemic-caused shutdown. Republican Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine approved a plan for there to be 20% capacity at Muirfield Village. The tour said rapidly changing dynamics of the pandemic caused that to change. PGA Tour Commissioner Jay Monahan says golf needs to stay focused on health and safety. Muirfield Village is hosting back-to-back events. The Workday Charity Open this week was not planning on having fans.TRUMP-BUBBA WALLACETrump lashes out at NASCAR, Bubba Wallace over flag, ropeWASHINGTON (AP) — President Donald Trump is criticizing NASCAR for banning the Confederate flag at its races and is going after its only Black driver. In other NFL moves:The San Francisco 49ers signed cornerback Jamar Taylor to a one-year contract. San Francisco cleared room on the roster by waiving cornerback Teez Tabor with a non-football injury designation. The 29-year-old Taylor appeared in 12 combined games for Atlanta and Seattle last season. GOLF-MEMORIAL-SPECTATORSPlans for spectators are scrappedUNDATED (AP) — The PGA Tour and the Memorial have scrapped state-approved plans to have limited spectators next week in Ohio. The letter was signed by 15 Native American advocates and obtained by The Associated Press. It demands the team and the NFL cease the use of Native American names, imagery and logos — with specific importance put on Washington, which last week launched what the team called a “ thorough review ” of its name.The letter was delivered on the same day that President Donald Trump voiced his opposition to any name change by the team. Several team sponsors have come out in favor of change recently and Snyder showed his first indication of willingness to do so amid a nationwide movement to erase racially insensitive symbols.IOWA STATE-COACHES COMMENTBolton left Penn State after coach’s ‘noose’ commentUNDATED (AP) — Iowa State guard Rasir Bolton said he decided to leave Penn State last spring because of a comment by coach Pat Chambers, who said the player had a noose around his neck. Bolton, who is Black, disclosed the reason for his departure Monday in a tweet he titled “a noose around my neck.” Share This StoryFacebookTwitteremailPrintLinkedinRedditNHL-VIRUS OUTBREAKNHL, players’ union announce plan to resume play on Aug. 1UNDATED (AP) — The National Hockey League and NHL Players’ Association have reached a tentative agreement to return to play this season and extend their collective bargaining agreement by four years. ATLANTA (AP) — Atlanta Braves veteran outfielder Nick Markakis has become the latest player to opt out of the 2020 season due to increased concerns about the coronavirus pandemic. Markakis is the second Atlanta veteran in two days to announce plans to sit out the 60-game season, following right-hander Félix Hernández. The 36-year-old Markakis says he was uneasy about playing the season without fans and then was swayed by his telephone conversation with teammate Freddie Freeman, who has tested positive for COVID-19 and has fever and other symptoms. Dodgers pitcher David Price, Washington infielder Ryan Zimmerman and Colorado outfielder Ian Desmond are among other players who have opted out.MLB-RANGERS-GALLO July 7, 2020 Rapper Ice Cube, Republican Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine and longtime boxing promoter Bob Arum led a cavalcade of sports leagues, federations, businesses and teams that navigated a federal loan program designed to help small firms cope with the economic impact of the coronavirus pandemic.Data released Monday showed hundreds of thousands of Paycheck Protection Program recipients across a wide range of industries, and sports-related businesses were well represented. However, none of the four major North American sports leagues — the NFL, NBA, NHL and Major League Baseball — were among the businesses that applied, according to the data.Big 3 Basketball LLC, a Los Angeles-based 3-on-3 basketball league co-founded by Ice Cube, received $1.6 million and returned $700,000, Jeremy Watkins, a spokesman for the company, told The Associated Press. The remaining $600,000 was used to pay coaches and players for this season and ensure the league could play its 2021 season.At least four Major League Soccer teams tapped the PPP program, according to the data: D.C. United and Inter Miami were approved for loans in the $1 million to $2 million range, while Orlando City and the Seattle Sounders each applied for between $2 million and $5 million.Under the PPP, Congress created $659 billion in low-interest loans that will be forgiven if employers use the money on payroll, rent and similar expenses. With about $130 billion unclaimed as the application deadline closed June 30, Congress extended the program until Aug. 8. Update on the latest sports NFL-CHIEFS-MAHOMESChiefs, Mahomes agree to 10-year, $503 million extensionThe Kansas City Chiefs made sure they’ll have Super Bowl MVP Patrick Mahomes around as long as possible. Mahomes agreed to a 10-year extension worth up to $503 million, according to his agency, Steinberg Sports. The deal is worth $477 million in guarantee mechanisms and includes a no-trade clause and opt-out clauses if guarantee mechanisms aren’t met. It’s the richest contract in professional sports history, surpassing Mike Trout’s $426.5 million deal with the Los Angeles Angels.The Chiefs had the 2018 NFL MVP under contract for the next two seasons but that wasn’t nearly enough. The contract extension starts in 2022 when the NFL salary cap is projected to be $227.5 million. However, that number could be lower depending on revenue losses due to the cornonavirus pandemic and the possibility any games played this season won’t have fans. Chambers, who is white, later tweeted an apology. Bolton tweeted that Chambers made the noose comment after the coach returned from a one-game suspension for shoving Nittany Lions player Myles Dread in the chest during the previous game. Bolton told The Undefeated he was offended by the reference and confronted both Chambers and the athletic director’s office.EUROPEAN CLUBS-FINANCESEuropean soccer clubs face $4.5B income drop over next yearGENEVA (AP) — European soccer clubs expect to lose $4.5 billion in revenue over the next year because of the coronavirus pandemic. A study by the European Club Association estimates clubs in 55 countries face a collective shortfall of $1.8 billion this season and $2.7 billion in the 2020-21 campaign. The Washington Nationals and Houston Astros called off training camp practices Monday after not receiving test results from Friday. The St. Louis Cardinals also scrubbed their scheduled workout for similar reasons. General manager Mike Rizzo of the champion Nationals said it’s not safe to continue with camp without accurate and timely testing. Rizzo called on Major League Baseball to work quickly to resolve issues with its lab to keep the season from being at risk. Astros GM James Click speculated the July 4th holiday weekend contributed to the delay. MLB said it addressed delays caused by the holiday weekend and doesn’t expect them to continue.MLB-BRAVES-MARKAKISMarkakis won’t play this year After a weekend spent stoking division, Trump wrongly accused Bubba Wallace of perpetrating “a hoax” after one of his crew members discovered a rope shaped like a noose in a garage stall. Federal authorities ruled last month that the rope had been hanging there since at least last October and was not a hate crime. Trump is asking whether Wallace has “apologized to all of those great NASCAR drivers & officials who came to his aid.”NFL-REDSKINS NAMENative American groups ask NFL to force Redskins name changeWASHINGTON (AP) — More than a dozen Native American leaders and organizations have sent a letter to NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell calling for the league to force Washington Redskins owner Dan Snyder to change the team name immediately. — Mookie Betts wasn’t moved by Major League Baseball’s response in the wake of George Floyd’s death in police custody, and the Los Angeles Dodgers’ newest star has a goal of getting the Black community to love baseball as much as he does. MLB released a statement nine days after the death of Floyd. MLB was the last of the major pro sports leagues that either responded to Floyd’s death or condemned racism. Betts says baseball didn’t do a good job with that, but he think voices were heard. —The New York Yankees held their first intrasquad game of summer camp Monday as they prepare for a condensed 60-game season that starts in 2 1/2 weeks. Aaron Judge, Gleyber Torres, Giancarlo Stanton and other regulars from the defending AL East champs took hacks under the lights against teammates for six innings. J.A. Happ’s first pitch came about an hour after Major League Baseball unveiled the schedule for a season it hopes to run through a pandemic. The Yankees will open July 23 against the World Series champion Nationals in Washington — Phillies ace Aaron Nola reported to camp on Monday after waiting a few extra days because he was in contact with someone who tested positive for the coronavirus. The Phillies have had seven players and five staff members test positive for the virus. None has been identified. Nola threw a bullpen session upon arriving and would likely start Philadelphia’s season opener later this month if he’s ready. Nola finished third in NL Cy Young Award voting in 2018 when he was 17-6 with a 2.37 ERA. He was 12-7 with a 3.87 ERA last year.SPORTS-PPP LOANSSports jumps on PPP bandwagon, but big leagues take a pass Rangers’ Gallo tests positiveARLINGTON, Texas (AP) — All-Star slugger Joey Gallo has tested positive for the coronavirus and is missing the Texas Rangers’ summer camp. The outfielder has yet to show any symptoms of COVID-19. Gallo had been among Rangers players who worked out for several weeks at their new ballpark before his positive test. Rangers general manager Jon Daniels says Gallo has had multiple tests, including one that came back negative. An initial test June 27 was positive, followed by a negative test and then another positive result Sunday. Gallo is isolating at his Dallas apartment and away from teammates. Daniels says the teammates Gallo was around have tested negative.In other MLB news: The analysis excluded possible transfer market profits. ECA chief executive Charlie Marshall says “the results demonstrate that the financial impact of COVID-19 on European clubs … is already a seismic shock.” FIFA has committed hundreds of millions of dollars from its financial reserves to make grants and interest-free loans to member federations.
By Martyn HermanLONDON (Reuters) – If Novak Djokovic is to claim the year-end number ranking for a record-equalling sixth time he will have to do it the hard way at the ATP Finals next week in London.The Serb was knocked off top spot by Rafael Nadal on Monday despite winning the Paris Masters last week and will need a strong finish alongside the River Thames to snatch it back.Only Pete Sampras has finished a year on top six times and Djokovic’s hopes of emulating the American are not in his own hands with Nadal leading by 640 points heading to the climax.Nadal, 33, is bidding to become the ATP’s oldest year-end number but with 200 points awarded for round-robin wins, 400 for a semi-final win and 500 for winning the final the door is still ajar for Djokovic to deny him.Spaniard Nadal has often struggled physically in London and pulled out of his Paris Masters semi-final against Denis Shapovalov last week citing an abdominal issue when victory would have put him virtually out of reachHe intends to play in London having been drawn in a round-robin group alongside 2018 ATP Finals champion Alexander Zverev and debutants Daniil Medvedev and Stefanos Tsitsipas.If Nadal fails to win a round-robin match, Djokovic would still need to win two group matches and reach the final to dislodge him. Djokovic will also finish the year as number one by winning the title, providing Nadal does not reach the semis.Djokovic faces a tough group though, with six-time champion Roger Federer, French Open runner-up Dominic Thiem and Italian Matteo Berrettini, the third newcomer in this year’s event, who he will play in Sunday’s opening singles. “It’s an extremely difficult task considering who my opponents are going to be,” Australian Open and Wimbledon champion Djokovic said.“As a consequence, if I manage to get the year-end number one, that would be fantastic. It is a motivation and a goal every day.” Federer, ranked third, will be a particularly dangerous obstacle for Djokovic even if he has not added to his ATP Finals title haul since winning in 2011.The Swiss, who has a record 57 match wins at the event, bowed out to Zverev in the semi-finals last year but continues to defy the passing years at the age of 38. Last month he claimed the Swiss indoor title without dropping a set. It was his fourth title in 2019, during which he lost an epic Wimbledon final to Djokovic having held match points.The penultimate ATP Finals in London, before it moves to Turin, has a fresh look this year.Russian counter-puncher Medvedev has enjoyed an incredible breakthrough year and of the three debutants he looks the most likely to challenge for the title. He leads the charts in terms of match wins (59) and finals reached (9) and against Nadal in a sensational U.S. Open final proved he has the personality to go toe-to-toe with the giants.For the fourth successive year there are eight different nations represented in the singles while half of the singles field are aged 23 or under. The new wave is arriving, but Djokovic still has unfinished business.Colombian duo Juan Sebastian Cabal and Robert Farah will lead the doubles event having already clinched the year-end number one ranking and will be seeking a London double after winning this year’s Wimbledon crown.
Back from another weekend on the road, the Wisconsin women’s soccer program began Big Ten play with a scoreless tie against Purdue last Friday and a 1-0 overtime victory against Indiana on Sunday.Head coach Paula Wilkins, whose team now rests at 4-3-3 after an 0-3 start, was pleased by the team’s performance to begin the conference season.“I feel it’s a decent start to the Big Ten,” she said at her weekly press conference. “We played Purdue on Friday and walked away with a feeling, I think, that we could have gotten a better result rather than a tie.”Against Indiana, though, sophomore Monica Lam-Feist scored the game-winner just one minute into the extra period.“Obviosuly, the overtime win against Indiana – really early into overtime – was a confidence booster for the team. I think anytime you go away from home and get points in the Big Ten is pretty important.”Wisconsin concludes their five-game road trip on Thursday against Minnesota, where the Badgers will look to extend their six-game shutout streak, the program’s longest since 1985 when the team didn’t allow a goal for nine straight games.Though Wilkins has remained adamant that the 612-minute lockdown has been a team effort, she has admitted that the performance of senior goalkeeper Michele Dalton has been instrumental in the clean sheets.According to Wilkins, Dalton’s confidence is so high she’s influencing the rest of the team.“[The team] trusts her and if you talk to Michele, you can tell her confidence is pretty good,” Wilkins said. “I think that’s something that you need from a goalkeeper, someone who just feels like they’re going to keep everything out of the back of the net.”“But other than that I think what she does really well is she makes the defenders in front of her feel confident with what they’re going to do… and I think that relationship is pretty important.”What has proven to be crucial in Dalton’s success though, is the presence of junior goalkeeper Lauren Gunderson, Wilkins says. Gunderson, who has pushed for playing time all year and posted the first shutout of the team’s current six-game streak, is responsible for Dalton’s strong play through competition in practice.“The other part that makes Michele good is that Gundie has really done well to push her and I think that competition in training has really pushed those two to be better,” Wilkins said.Wilkins also attributed defensive credit to junior midfielder Eric Jacobsen for taking on multiple opponents at a time and for the relentless hustle she’s shown.“I think Erin Jacobsen needs to get more credit than she does for all the defensive work that she does,” Wilkins said. “At times there are bunches of midfielders coming at her and she’s dealing with two or three people at a time and the miles she’s putting in has been fantastic.”On the other side of the ball, Wilkins is pleased to see the offense producing more results, as they have scored six goals in the past seven games, after previously scoring zero in the first three.Much of that success is due to improved possession in the final third of the field, but Wilkins, however, says she is still looking for more urgency when the team is on the attack, theorizing that the team, at times, spends too much energy trying to get past the defense rather than taking downfield chances.“I still think we need to have some more urgency,” she said. “We’ve gotten the ball into the final third and I don’t know if we’re as dangerous as we need to be there.”“I think we’re trying to spend a lot of energy on the defense and we need to take some chances and get forward with our offense.”
Facebook Twitter Google+ The Atlantic Coast Conference tournament will be played at the Barclays Center in Brooklyn, N.Y., in 2017 and 2018, according to multiple reports.Matt Brown, the director of the Greensboro Coliseum — where the tournament is currently being played — told the Greensboro News & Record on Friday afternoon that the tournament will be played at the Barclays Center in 2017 and 2018.A report by SI.com early Friday morning stated that the ACC and the Barclays Center were in discussions and details would be ironed out by the end of the month. The report stated that the ACC was seeking a multiyear deal that would start in 2017.A potential roadblock at the onset of the day was that 2017 was the last year of the Atlantic 10’s contract to play its conference tournament in the Barclays Center. But A-10 officials reportedly met with ACC officials on Friday morning before a move to the Barclays Center was reported shortly after 2 p.m.The ACC is slated to play in Greensboro, N.C., again in 2015. Then the tournament is scheduled to shift to Washington D.C. in 2016, and reportedly head to Brooklyn thereafter.AdvertisementThis is placeholder text Comments Published on March 14, 2014 at 11:29 am Contact Jesse: jcdoug01@syr.edu | @dougherty_jesse
After disposing of USC and Oregon State at home, Arizona State travels to Salt Lake City for the first time in 34 years and for its first Pac-12 road game.Picked to finish second behind USC in the South division, the Sun Devils might have their hands full. Their only loss this season came on the road at Illinois and they have lost 10 of their last conference road games. One stat favoring Arizona State, however, is that they have won seven straight meetings against Utah. The two teams, however, have not played each other since 1993. This matchup has conference title implications as well. Though USC cannot compete in the inaugural Pac-12 championship game, it still has a shot at the South division title. The Sun Devils hold the tiebreaker over USC, but a Utah win would give USC an outside shot at taking the division if Arizona State can fall for the first time in Pac-12 play. Conference positioning in Salt Lake City USC might not be playing this weekend, but plenty of storylines are out there affecting the Trojans. If this season were to get any crazier — and it has been quite the ride through five games — Utah and UCLA could make things interesting halfway through the season for USC.At least I have something to look forward to this weekend. Woods’ Heisman watch No USC football this weekend. I might cry.The connection between junior quarterback Matt Barkley and sophomore wide receiver Robert Woods is, in a word, beautiful. But I won’t be able to see these Trojans try to break another offensive record Saturday.What about the high praise showering freshman wide receiver Marqise Lee? I won’t be able to hear that either from USC coach Lane Kiffin.But no game Saturday probably also saves me from a heart attack the way these first five games have played out.Despite the criticism and speculation from lamenting fans and students, USC is 4-1 heading into the bye week. It still has a fair share of problems to correct — namely on defense — but wins are wins, and, at this point, that in many ways is all that matters.With an extra week of preparation before its bout with the Golden Bears in the Bay Area, there is football outside of USC football.Not only can USC pay attention to game film, but it can also watch other Pac-12 games that have further implications affecting itself and its possible Heisman candidates in Barkley and Woods.Here’s a viewer’s guide to this weekend sans USC football: Root for UCLA? What more can be said about Woods? The Serra standout has seemingly done it all this year. He broke a USC game-high record with 17 receptions against Minnesota and he fell five yards short of tying the Trojans’ single-game record for receiving yards against Arizona last weekend. Through just five games, he is 10 receptions and 45 receiving yards shy of tying his totals as a freshman. And he already has tied the number of touchdowns he scored last year.Still, he has not garnered much attention as a possible Heisman candidate.Other possible wideout candidates playing this weekend include Oklahoma’s Ryan Broyles, Oklahoma State’s Justin Blackmon, Notre Dame’s Michael Floyd and Western Michigan’s Jordan White. Woods, however, is outproducing all of them. The only knock against Woods? Broyles and Blackmon play for national title-contending teams. Voters will surely take that into account if a wide receiver were to be invited to New York at the end of the season. “In the Zone” runs every other Friday. To comment on this article, visit dailytrojan.com or email Trevor at trevor.wong@usc.edu. With that said, and as weird as it sounds, I might have to root for the powder blue Bruins this weekend. UCLA stands at 1-1 in conference play, good for third place in the South division behind Arizona State and USC. The Bruins take on Washington State at home Saturday. And if the Bruins, favored by 5.5 points, can win, this would set off a frenzy. Yes, UCLA wins but its win complicates matters halfway through the season.If Arizona State loses, there would be a three-way tie for first place in the South division among the Trojans, Sun Devils and Bruins. Optimistic? Yes, but anything is possible.
Despite the announcement he would be redshirted for the 2011 season, freshman George Farmer’s transition to tailback has gone well in practice, earning him praise from USC coach Lane Kiffin.Dual threat · Freshman wide receiver George Farmer has given the USC offense another option at tailback after improving during practice. – Chris Pham | Daily Trojan“I was surprised, having not played running back for a while, for him to go back there and look pretty natural at doing it,” Kiffin said. “It says a lot about the athlete that he is. If we could ever get that where he was really a real running back with that size and that speed — and we know what he can do outside — there aren’t many people like that ever.”Farmer, who was the No. 1 wide receiver recruit out of high school, hurt his ankle in Tuesday’s practice, but came back Wednesday unhindered.“It really says a lot about him to sprain his ankle yesterday and come back out today,” Kiffin said. “I wish all of our guys did that.”Though Farmer struggled early on during fall camp and throughout early practices, Kiffin called true freshman struggles a normal problem.“You probably only get five to seven unique, true freshman stories around the country where guys come in and make major, major impacts, like [sophomore wideout] Robert [Woods] did last year,” Kiffin added. “Once they get some time in the system, they get comfortable, the pressure’s off of them, you see what [they] did in high school.”—On a rainy Wednesday morning, Kiffin looked at the weather as a positive aspect for his team during its final bye week practice.“The weather was good for us to have,” he said. “We haven’t really dealt with bad weather much. It was good, especially for our skill guys, to work in this [weather]. Obviously, [there is] a possibility of that coming up with a couple road games on our schedule.”Starting Thursday, USC will prepare for its Oct. 13 game against California in San Francisco.—Starting with Cal, USC will face a slew of 3-4 and multiple defensive packages, which could cause problems for USC’s offensive line.“If the team’s only 3-4, it’s a little bit easier because that’s all you prepare for the week,” Kiffin said. “But these guys are so multiple. Sometimes there’s two downsmen, three downsmen, four down linemen, so it makes it really difficult on young linemen especially.”—Senior fullback Ross Cumming’s play Saturday was solid and surprising although it was his first game at fullback.“I wish we had done [the position change] earlier,” Kiffin said. “It’s just an example of a guy staying around here, understanding the systems, understanding the techniques. What we teach on special teams can really carry over to offense and defense regardless of positions, and Ross is a great example to step right in and contribute.”—Junior quarterback Matt Barkley returned to full practice after freshman quarterback Max Wittek took extended snaps Tuesday.Sophomore Robert Woods was a full participant in the rain, although Kiffin originally thought Woods would sit out for a couple days to recover from an injured ankle and elbow.Kiffin reported there were no major injuries sustained during Wednesday’s practice.
Students walk by Cromwell Field every day, but do most know of the legacy inside?Just within the front gate is a tribute to USC track star Louis Zamperini.Ahead of the pack · USC’s track and field team should look to Louis Zamperini for inspiration and Trojan spirit this season. – Photo courtesy of USC Sports InformationWith the 2012 track and field season in progress, the rising stars of USC should look toward the story of Zamperini for inspiration.Deemed a troublemaker in his early childhood, the Torrance, Calif., native found solace through running track.In 1934, Zamperini set a world interscholastic record for the mile at the state championships with a time of 4:21.2.One week later, he clinched the championship with a 4:27.8 mile. It wasn’t long before USC him for the team.Zamperini earned a spot on the 1936 Olympic team, running the 5,000-meter event.He placed eighth in the race held in Berlin, catching the eye of Adolf Hitler. The dictator was so taken with Zamperini’s performance that he demanded to meet the track star.After an iconic trip to the 1936 Olympic Games, Zamperini set his sights on the 1940 games in Tokyo. In 1938, he represented USC at the NCAA championships. Dealing with gruesome injuries (cracked ribs, sliced shins and bleeding toes), Zamperini set a NCAA record with 4:08.3 mile. He was close to breaking the four-minute mile, but something much bigger dashed those aspirations.At the height of World War II, Zamperini enlisted in the United States Army Air Force. Soon after, Zamperini was deployed to Hawaii to serve as a bombardier. He and his crew boarded a B-24 in May 1943 to search for a missing crew. After the first B-24 was massacred with bullets, the crew boarded a second aircraft. Named “The Green Hornet,” the aircraft plummeted into the ocean after enduring mechanical difficulties. The crash killed eight of the 11 men onboard. Zamperini, Russell Philips (pilot), and Francis McNamara (tail-gunner) survived the ordeal.Back home, Zamperini had been declared dead. But surviving shark attacks and Japanese bomb attempts, the three men floated in the middle of the vast sea for 33 days before McNamara’s passing. Zamperini and Philips reached the Marshall Islands by the 47th day and were eventually captured by the Japanese Navy. Both endured multiple prisoner of war camps before being released.Celebrating his 95th birthday last month, Zamperini’s story continues to be motivational. Seabiscuit author Lauren Hillenbrand’s 2010 Unbroken serves as a record of the life of a hero from USC.And Zamperini’s post-war life has become just as honorable as his war exploits. He has become a true source of inspiration through his great acts of charity and compassion.As Trojans, we should look to Zamperini for inspiration to continue the Trojan spirit and, in his words, “Be Hardy.” “Armchair Quarterback” runs Tuesdays. To comment on this article, email Andie at ahageman@usc.edu or visit DailyTrojan.com.