South Dakota
Mother and son settle in South Dakota after fleeing Ukraine
![Mother and son settle in South Dakota after fleeing Ukraine Mother and son settle in South Dakota after fleeing Ukraine](https://www.gannett-cdn.com/presto/2022/04/21/NWAT/5f8ea3a0-8be3-4e33-854a-47482d25392a-30293.jpeg?width=660&height=495&fit=crop&format=pjpg&auto=webp)
When bombs and missiles began exploding in Kharkiv, Ukraine, in late February, Yulia Kryshtal rousted her son Oleksandr at 5 a.m.
“Please, now we have to run, seize your passport and put some garments in your backpack. Now we have to go.”
A harmful, unsure 12,000-plus mile, five-week journey to Arlington was about to start. It was not till later that she could be shocked to see what her son, who’s nicknamed Sasha, stuffed in his bag.
Again in Arlington, Yulia’s mom, Olena Madsen, paced the ground for 5 days, barely sleeping as her daughter and grandson hid out within the subway and associates’ basements. Twice they tried to board a practice solely to be turned away by explosions.
The choices weren’t good, Yulia had instructed her mom. “I’ll die within the subway or on the practice. Who is aware of? Solely God.”
Lastly, they bought on a practice throughout Ukraine, then hopped a bus to Krakow, Poland. A irritating, unsure journey to security that ended April 13 in the USA loomed forward.
Extra:Arlington girl’s daughter, grandson escape Kharkiv, Ukraine, hoping to make it to South Dakota
From the security of her mom’s dwelling a number of miles south of Arlington, Yulia and her mom on Monday recounted the ultimate 10 days after Olena flew from Minneapolis to Warsaw to assist her daughter and grandson safe visas into the USA.
After escaping Ukraine, Yulia spent about six days in a Krakow lodge, then went to Warsaw to get an appointment on the U.S. embassy.
![Piles of suitcases carried all of the belongings that the Ukrainian refugees had as they waited in a refugee center in Tijuana, Mexico.](https://www.gannett-cdn.com/presto/2022/04/21/NWAT/5b302ef4-c4e6-4a8e-92fb-6a7299faacda-30314.jpeg?width=660&height=440&fit=crop&format=pjpg&auto=webp)
“She tried to face in line however there have been too many individuals,” Olena stated. “There have been hundreds of individuals in line.”
So, Yulia filed an utility one other method and was instructed her appointment was June 7.
She known as her mother and requested, “How will I keep within the lodge that lengthy? It prices some huge cash.”
Looking for assist from the embassy in Warsaw
Yulia contacted the embassy pleading hardship and officers replied in three days, shifting the appointment as much as April 5.
In the meantime, she and Sasha moved to a lodge in Berlin, Germany.
“She was scared as a result of the lodge (in Warsaw) was by the airport,” Olena stated as she interpreted for Yulia. “There have been too many army airplanes and helicopters. She had heard that Putin was saying he would bomb Warsaw.”
As April 5 approached, Olena, who has been married to Arlington’s Danny Madsen for six years, determined to fly to Warsaw to attend the embassy assembly along with her daughter and grandson. Now a U.S. citizen, Olena believed her presence would assist persuade embassy officers that Yulia had a spot to dwell and assist when she arrived in the USA.
Additionally they had been optimistic as a result of President Joe Biden had stated on March 25 that the U.S. would settle for as many as 100,000 Ukrainian struggle refugees.
Olena stated she “felt fairly certain” the embassy in Warsaw would assist
“I had very large hopes.” she stated. “My daughter – she doesn’t. She had already tried 5 occasions to get a vacationer visa (up to now 5 years)” and was denied each time.
Extra:Brad Johnson: Sorry, no welcome mat right here
“I instructed her, ‘You must attempt for me. I belief the American folks; I belief the American authorities. They must assist you. That is struggle. You ran, you’re a refugee,’” Olena stated. “She stated, ‘Mother, please, now we have to attempt from the Mexican border.’”
On April 5, Yulia and her son confirmed up for the appointment and, at the moment, the U.S. authorities provided no assist. Yulia and Sasha had been denied visas as a result of they may not show they might return to Ukraine in six months.
Nothing to return to
However there may be nothing to return to, Olena stated, as greater than 2,000 buildings in Kharkiv have been destroyed and 50 to 80 bombs fall day by day on Ukraine’s second-largest metropolis.
So, the trio headed straight to the Warsaw airport and purchased tickets to Mexico Metropolis. After an almost 12-hour 6,300-mile flight, they landed April 10. It was in Mexico that the Mexican authorities, the American folks and, ultimately, the U.S. authorities lastly would step as much as assist.
Within the Mexico Metropolis airport, they had been greeted with indicators directing Ukrainian refugees to a particular ready space.
“There have been every kind of meals, water, diapers. There was medical assist, every kind of individuals serving to,” Olena stated.
After an evening’s relaxation in an airport lodge, they flew to Tijuana the place a well-organized refugee effort was underway. Individuals who had cash had been directed to inns; others had been provided shelter in momentary shelters in basketball gymnasiums.
Everybody was given a quantity that indicated their flip for the devoted border crossing line at San Ysidro.
Yulia and her son had been issued humanitarian parole visas, that are good for one 12 months in the USA. As soon as all had been throughout the border, smiles broke out.
“He was so excited,” Olena stated of her grandson. “He took many photos. There was a desk with free books on it and he went and took just one.”
It was a Bible.
Security in South Dakota
One final journey remained – a flight from San Diego to Minneapolis after which one other to Sioux Falls. It landed about midnight on April 13.
A brand new world awaits. Sasha began college Tuesday in Arlington. Yulia is resting earlier than deciding her subsequent steps. Extra authorities paperwork must be stuffed out.
Olena’s thoughts nonetheless is drawn to the struggle. Her brother and mom stay in Kharkiv the place some 15,000 refugees stay holed up within the subway tunnels.
‘If I’m going to fulfill Jesus, I’m going to be prepared’
As for the few gadgets that Sasha saved from his Kharkiv dwelling, Yulia was shocked to see what he introduced as they huddled that first night time in chilly, damp subway tunnel.
In his backpack, as a substitute of clothes and maybe a toy or ebook, “It was photos of God,” Yulia had stated. “It was so stunning.”
Sasha then instructed her that he knew he probably might be killed.
“If I’m going to fulfill Jesus,” he stated, “I’m going to be prepared.”
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South Dakota
Videos: Gundy, Players Recap Win against South Dakota State
![Videos: Gundy, Players Recap Win against South Dakota State Videos: Gundy, Players Recap Win against South Dakota State](https://pistolsfiringblog.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/08/53962121679_afc402ad55_k-1000x600.jpg)
STILLWATER — The Oklahoma State football team beat South Dakota State 44-20 on Saturday to start the season 1-0. After the game, Mike Gundy, Ollie Gordon, Alan Bowman, De’Zhaun Stribling, Collin Oliver, Korie Black and Trey Rucker met with reporters to recap the game.
South Dakota
South Dakota State vs. No. 17 Oklahoma State live stream (8/31/24): Watch college football, Week 1 online
![South Dakota State vs. No. 17 Oklahoma State live stream (8/31/24): Watch college football, Week 1 online South Dakota State vs. No. 17 Oklahoma State live stream (8/31/24): Watch college football, Week 1 online](https://www.nj.com/resizer/v2/P2NH7TDAORCA3K2CFKZ3D37LHE.jpg?auth=27a73779c5e6defa1fa563e3ee42ddc0fe62687da0c8b6ecc5664751c4c0c4a2&width=1280&quality=90)
The South Dakota State Jackrabbits face the No. 17 Oklahoma State Cowboys on Saturday, Aug. 31, 2024 (8/31/24) at Boone Pickens Stadium in Stillwater, Oklahoma.
Fans can watch the game with a subscription to ESPN+.
Here’s what you need to know:
What: NCAA Football, Week 1
Who: South Dakota State vs. Oklahoma State
When: Saturday, Aug. 31, 2024 (8/31/24)
Where: Boone Pickens Stadium
Time: 2 p.m. ET
TV: N/A
Channel finder: Verizon Fios, AT&T U-verse, Comcast Xfinity, Spectrum/Charter, Optimum/Altice,Cox,DIRECTV, Dish, Hulu, fuboTV, Sling.
Live stream: ESPN+
***
Here’s a college football story from the Associated Press:
Y’all ain’t played nobody!
It might as well be college football’s slogan. Debates about strength of schedule are part of the fabric of the sport, like marching bands, cheerleaders and tailgating.
With the size of the College Football Playoff tripling in size from four teams to 12 this season — including seven at-large bids — expect the arguments over the relative difficulty of teams’ schedules to increase exponentially.
The posturing and politicking has already begun.
“This is the NFL of college football in my mind,” Nebraska coach Matt Rhule said during Big Ten media days. At Southeastern Conference media days, the NFL was also invoked when the topic steered to schedules.
“As coaches we want to play the best. People forget that when you’ve spent time in the NFL, every week was like that,” Georgia coach Kirby Smart said. “So when Texas and Oklahoma came into the conference, every schedule was going to get harder.”
The debates aren’t just about which conferences are the best. With super-sized conferences of 16-18 teams, the differences in strength of schedule within leagues can be significant.
The CFP selection committee uses a strength-of-schedule rating provided by SportSource Analytics that includes components such as wins and losses, scoring differential and game location.
Balancing who you played with how you played will be harder than ever.
“There’s a weight on the committee that’s new. I want to see how the committee processes that,” SEC Commissioner Greg Sankey said during spring meetings. “And my encouragement is that this, ‘Well, we have an undefeated team so they’re in’ is not the standard. It never was the standard. Obviously, that stirred up controversy last year.”
Toughest schedules in the Power Four
There are dozens of data-based rating systems to measure the relative strength of college football teams, and all have some type of schedule-rating component.
The AP took three systems — ESPN’s SP+, FEI and KFord Ratings — and averaged their strength of schedule rankings for all 134 Bowl Subdivision teams to determine where each Power Four team’s schedule ranks nationally (all games, not just conference games, are factored in).
Using those projections, SEC teams on average will be facing the toughest schedules this season.
The average strength-of-schedule ranking among the 16 SEC teams is 11.2, from Florida (a unanimous No. 1 among all three systems) to Missouri at 36.7.
Half the teams in the SEC have schedules with an average national ranking of 10 or better, including No. 1 Georgia at 3.7. No. 11 Missouri is the only SEC team with an average schedule-strength ranking below 25.3.
Rating the rest
The Big Ten, now including Southern California, UCLA, Oregon and Washington, is next with an average strength-of-schedule ranking of 26.9 among its 18 teams.
Purdue’s 7.7 average ranking is the highest followed by No. 23 USC at 9. Big Ten favorite No. 2 Ohio State’s average is 34. No. 3 Oregon’s is 26.7.
The ACC and Big 12 are about the same. The 17-team ACC has an average strength of schedule ranking of 49.9. The 16-team Big 12′s average ranking is 47.3.
Assessing strength of schedule
Straight up rankings can be deceiving. How to quantify the difference between facing the sixth-ranked schedule and 26th?
Brian Fremeau, the creator of FEI, does it three ways, asking three questions: How many games would an elite team lose facing a particular schedule? How many would a good team lose? How many would an average team lose?
AP used FEI’s strength of schedule ratings based on good teams in its composite rankings, since good teams are going to be the ones in the CFP race.
Based on FEI projections, the difference between playing Georgia’s schedule (rated 3.4 among the hardest in the nation) and Ohio State (34) is about one more loss for a good team against the Bulldogs’ slate. The difference between Alabama’s schedule and Big 12 favorite Utah’s is about two losses for a good team against the Tide’s.
If these schedule strength projections held — they will change throughout the season — it would then be reasonable to compare an 11-1 Utah to a 9-3 Alabama.
Reasonable to compare doesn’t necessarily mean the one with the tougher schedule should automatically be ranked higher.
“I don’t judge a team on its schedule. I judge a team on how it performs against a schedule, or my system does. And that is a little more of a nuanced take then, ‘Well, we played a tougher set of opponents than you did, therefore, we’re better,’” Fremeau said. “There’s a bit of a balancing act between the two.”
Intraconference debates
The SEC and Big Ten are both bigger and division-less for the first time. That necessitated new tiebreaker procedures to determine which teams qualify for conference title games featuring the top two teams in the standings.
Within the guidelines is an acknowledgment that the rigor of conference schedules will vary when teams are playing barely half the league. After head-to-head and record vs. common opponents are used to break ties, both leagues go to results that favor the team that fared better against the better conference opponents they play.
The ACC, a year ahead of the the SEC and Big Ten in abandoning divisions, has a similar nod within its tiebreakers to strength of schedule.
ACC Associate Commissioner Michael Strickland said the conference used 10 years of data that measures the success of its football teams to help create a new schedule rotation that would be competitively balanced. But the ACC also to had weigh travel now that Stanford, California and SMU are members, as well as protecting some traditional annual rivalries.
The ACC’s fourth two-team tiebreaker is combined winning percentage of conference opponents.
“Our head football coaches suggested that we insert that during our review process,” Strickland said.
The CFP choices
The CFP field announced Dec. 8 will be comprised of the five highest-ranked conference champions, regardless of league, and seven at-large selections. There is no limit to the number of at-large bids a conference can receive.
The most interesting comparisons for the CFP selection committee might end up being between the many conference rivals that do not play each other in the regular season.
What to do with a 10-2 Missouri and a 9-3 Alabama (composite strength-of-schedule ranking, 9.3)? Or Iowa (37) at 10-2 and Michigan (16) at 9-3? Over in the ACC, what would happen while assessing a 10-2 Virginia Tech (68) and a 9-3 Florida State (30.3)?
“Especially when we’re picking (seven) teams now, we’re looking at the loss column with a bit more scrutiny,” Fremeau said. “They’re going to be debating teams like that with a one or possibly two-game difference in record, but a comparable difference in expected schedule rating and they’re going to have that debate about which one they value more.”
(The Associated Press contributed to this report)
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