North Carolina
McFeely: Five things to watch in the Bison-North Carolina A&T game
FARGO — Sure, North Dakota State has a recreation Saturday in opposition to North Carolina A&T. No, faculty soccer groups can not afford to miss any opponent. Sure, the Aggies shall be a greater group than Drake, the foe the Bison dispatched 56-14 within the season opener final week.
However for those who squint onerous sufficient, you possibly can see cactus on the horizon.
These can be within the Sonoran desert of Arizona, the place subsequent week NDSU will play its first recreation in opposition to a Soccer Bowl Subdivision opponent in six years. The College of Arizona is in Tucson and it’s the most-anticipated Bison non-conference recreation in, properly, six years.
The apparently much-improved Wildcats, 1-10 final yr, walloped San Diego State 38-20 of their season opener. They tackle Mississippi State of the mighty Southeastern Convention this Saturday in a ten p.m. Central kickoff. Many eyes in Fargo and North Dakota shall be on that recreation.
NDSU is favored by 33 1/2 factors over A&T, a proud program with a successful custom. So the Bison wish to be sharper than they had been final week in opposition to overmatched Drake. A sooner begin would assist.
But when the Bison do what they’re anticipated to do in opposition to the Aggies, it’s time for Arizona Week to start. Lastly.
Listed here are 5 issues to look at within the Bison-North Carolina A&T recreation.
Drake, one of many poorest offensive groups in FCS a season in the past, opened final week’s recreation with a nine-play, 75-yard landing drive that took almost 5 minutes. The Bulldogs accomplished a 17-yard move, a 31-yard move and had runs of 10 and 9 yards on the drive.
It was just one drive, and Drake wasn’t going to win the sport, but it surely was a weak begin for a Bison protection once more anticipated to be excellent. As an alternative of popping out on fireplace within the first recreation of the season and smothering the Bulldogs, the Bison seemed flat.
Bison head coach Matt Entz took duty.
“I am going to take a bit little bit of the blame. We most likely anticipated that perhaps we might get ourselves fired up. I am most likely going to should do a greater job pregame of perhaps lighting the fireplace, no matter who we play,” Entz stated in his postgame remarks, including that maybe the Bison overprepared and had “paralysis by evaluation.”
It is comprehensible, given NDSU knew it was going to have little bother in opposition to the non-scholarship Bulldogs. It occurs. It is a lengthy season. The gamers who watch movie are human.
Regardless, count on the Bison to have a sooner begin in opposition to the Aggies as NDSU ramps up in preparation for Arizona and the approaching Missouri Valley Soccer Convention season.
If that does not occur, then it is one thing to revisit.
Lengthy historical past in opposition to HBCUs
I wrote about North Carolina A&T and head coach Sam Washington this week, specializing in the Aggies’ proud historical past as an HBCU (traditionally Black faculty or college) and Washington’s lifelong devotion to these colleges.
HBCUs largely have great followings and some of the colleges, together with well-known Jackson State, are among the many top-drawing FCS packages. A&T ranked twelfth final yr in attendance with a mean of greater than 12,000 followers per recreation.
One aspect be aware: It is too unhealthy the A&T marching band, the Blue and Gold Marching Machine, could not make the journey to Fargo. One of many nice faculty marching bands.
Anyway … NDSU has an extended historical past of enjoying HBCUs. Washington, actually, was the defensive coordinator for the Mississippi Valley State group that got here to the Fargodome in 2006 (a 45-0 Bison win). NDSU has performed the Delta Devils thrice.
Going again to the Bison’s Division II days, they performed Central State of Ohio twice within the Nineteen Eighties within the playoffs and squared off in opposition to Virginia Union within the 1982 playoffs.
NDSU hosted Prairie View A&M in 2012 in a non-conference recreation and adopted that with a recreation in opposition to Delaware State in 2013, the sport following Fargo’s first internet hosting of ESPN’s “Faculty GameDay” program.
However the greatest recreation in opposition to an HBCU got here within the 1965 Pecan Bowl, when NDSU secured its first nationwide championship (in what was then referred to as the Faculty Division) by defeating famed Grambling State and head coach Eddie Robinson 20-7 in Abilene, Texas.
Wrote Fargo Discussion board sports activities editor Eugene “Fitz” Fitzgerald within the subsequent morning’s newspaper:
“ABILENE, Tex. — The North Dakota State College Bison eliminated any vestige of doubt about their proper to a declare on the 1965 nationwide small faculty soccer championship right here Saturday.
“They did it with convincing 20-7 victory over the Grambling Faculty Tigers of Grambling, La., within the second annual Pecan Bowl recreation earlier than 8,500 paid followers.
“The Bison, rated No. 1 within the Related Press and the United Press Worldwide weekly polls, supposedly had taken on an excessive amount of in Grambling’s massive and speedy individualists, three of them excessive on the draft lists {of professional} soccer groups.
“The North Dakota opportunists misplaced no time in convincing their extremely rated opponents, victors in 9 of 11 bowl video games, that they’d come to play.”
That historical past continues in opposition to A&T.
Totally different week, identical questions
NDSU entered the season with the same old excessive expectations, however with two apparent questions. Who would turn out to be the No. 1 receiver with Christian Watson transferring on to the NFL? And which gamers would make up the linebacker corps, notably at center linebacker?
It is not clear something was cemented after Week 1.
The Bison threw simply 13 passes within the blowout over Drake and solely two broad receivers made catches — senior Zach Mathis had a 31-yard landing reception and senior Phoenix Sproles made a 15-yard catch.
Mathis’ landing got here on a large receiver display screen, so was it was a catch-and-run as an alternative of a run-and-catch.
David Samson/The Discussion board
The Bison offense will proceed to search for readability in that state of affairs.
In opposition to Drake, NDSU break up snaps fairly evenly among the many gamers listed on the two-deep depth chart at every linebacker place, in accordance with Professional Soccer Focus.
Nick Kubitz performed 32 snaps at center linebacker, in comparison with 30 for Luke Weerts.
James Kaczor performed 32 snaps at weakside linebacker, in comparison with 29 for Logan Kopp.
Oscar Benson performed 29 snaps at strongside linebacker, in comparison with 24 for Julian Wlodarczyk.
Entz indicated at his Monday press convention the Bison would probably rotate linebackers in opposition to A&T, too.
Kaczor, Benson and Kubitz acquired the best grades from PFF, in accordance with the analytics agency. Kopp and Wlodarczyk acquired decrease grades.
With speedy Arizona and its cellular quarterback Jayden De Laura up subsequent, this shall be an space to look at.
Worth continues to be proper
Jayden Worth is turning into a must-see on particular groups together with his punt return skill.
The cornerback returned his third punt for a landing in opposition to Drake, taking a second-quarter boot and operating 67 yards untouched to the tip zone. Bulldogs coach Todd Sepsis stated after the sport his punter made a mistake kicking the ball down the center of the sphere as a result of it gave Worth the whole width of the sphere to navigate.
“I put lots of belief in my teammates,” Worth stated postgame. “I seize that factor and run for my life.”
He additionally ran one again 85 yards in opposition to Illinois State within the spring 2021 season and returned one 45 yards final yr in opposition to Valparaiso, like Drake, a Pioneer Soccer League program.
There have been a number of events over the previous two seasons when Worth almost broke punt returns for touchdowns.
Worth is the lively FCS chief with a profession punt return common of 15.85, which ranks second at school historical past behind Travis White’s 16.0 common from 2002 to 2006.
Do not take your eyes off the sphere when No. 23 jogs again to obtain a punt.
Straight from the pregame notes:
“After going over 100 profession complete offense makes an attempt final week in opposition to Drake, Jalen Bussey at the moment ranks first in NDSU historical past averaging 8.75 yards per play. Bussey had landing runs final yr of 61 yards in opposition to Youngstown State and a career-long 72 yards in opposition to Valparaiso. He additionally has a 50-yard kickoff return to his credit score.”
The little operating again from Tampa (5-foot-5, 160 kilos) is a big-play man even with the restricted carries he receives.
In opposition to Drake, Bussey had simply three carries for 10 yards. He is coming off a foot harm suffered throughout final yr’s playoffs in December, so it was a constructive to see him observe all fall camp and get carries within the first recreation.
This week, there could be a chance for Bussey to bust a giant play. NDSU’s offensive line will probably management the road of scrimmage in opposition to the smallish Aggies, who allowed North Carolina Central to transform on 10 of 16 (63%) of its third downs final week.
If Bussey will get a handful of alternatives within the Bison’s backfield rotation, this would possibly arrange as a recreation wherein he breaks an extended landing run. Eight totally different operating backs, and 11 gamers total, had carries in opposition to Drake.
(Discussion board reporter Eric Peterson contributed to this story.)
North Carolina Gov. Roy Cooper has informed Kamala Harris’ presidential campaign that he does not want to be under consideration in her search for a vice presidential candidate, the governor said Monday night.
Cooper said in a statement explaining his decision that although he was taking himself out of consideration for the role, he’s still backing Harris’ candidacy.
“I strongly support Vice President Harris’ campaign for President,” Cooper said. “I know she’s going to win and I was honored to be considered for this role. This just wasn’t the right time for North Carolina and for me to potentially be on a national ticket.”
“As I’ve said from the beginning, she has an outstanding list of people from which to choose, and we’ll all work to make sure she wins,” he added.
The New York Times first reported that Cooper was withdrawing his name from consideration.
One source directly involved in Harris’ search for a running mate said Cooper took himself out of the mix because he wants to run for the U.S. Senate in 2026. The source said Cooper never indicated to the campaign that he wanted to be vice president and told Harris aides that he did not want to be considered.
NBC News previously reported that interviews with some Democratic insiders pointed to Cooper, along with Sen. Mark Kelly of Arizona and Gov. Josh Shapiro of Pennsylvania, as top contenders to join Harris on the Democratic ticket.
Other governors, including Kentucky’s Andy Beshear and Minnesota’s Tim Walz, and Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg are among those who have also been floated as potential running mates.
The Harris campaign previously said she plans to select a running mate by Aug. 7.
North Carolina
Feds approve Cooper plan to relieve up to $4B in NC medical debt, as Harris weighs in
A plan unveiled at the beginning of this month by Democratic Gov. Roy Cooper to leverage Medicaid funds to help North Carolinians struggling with medical debt has been approved by the federal government.
On Friday, the U.S. Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) approved a plan that has the potential to relieve $4 billion in existing hospital medical debt for people in the state, according to a news release. In order for the plan to take effect, hospitals would need to sign on.
“Unlike most other debts, medical debt is not intentional because people don’t choose to get seriously ill or have an accident,” Cooper said, according to the news release.
“Medical debts are often beyond people’s ability to pay, ruining their credit, keeping them from getting credit cards, loans and jobs and sometimes driving them into bankruptcy. That’s why we’re working with hospitals and federal partners to help relieve the burden of medical debt for North Carolina families,” he said.
Vice President Kamala Harris — who appears set to become the Democratic presidential nominee for the November election, and has been considering Cooper as a possible running mate — has been “coordinating” with state officials on the medical debt plan, The Washington Post reported.
“No one should be denied access to economic opportunity simply because they experienced a medical emergency,” Harris said in a statement sent as part of a news release Monday.
“Yet today, more than 100 million Americans struggle with medical debt — making it more difficult for them to be approved for a car loan, a home loan, or a small-business loan, which makes it more difficult for them to just get by, much less get ahead.”
“I applaud North Carolina for setting an example that other states can follow by advancing a plan that has the potential to relieve $4 billion in medical debt for two million individuals and families. This critical step also strengthens financial assistance for emergency medical procedures moving forward,” Harris said.
Harris wrote that over $650 million in medical debt had been forgiven through the American Rescue Plan, which was passed under the Biden administration.
The News & Observer has contacted several hospitals and the North Carolina Healthcare Association, which represents hospitals, regarding their stances on the plan.
UNC Health “continues to have discussions with state and federal officials,” UNC Health spokesperson Alan Wolf said in an email.
“We support efforts to reduce medical debt and we expect to receive more details on the approved plan soon,” he said.
Medical debt relief provided
According to Cooper’s news release, hospitals that opt in to the plan must implement the following to be eligible for enhanced payments offered under the plan:
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For those on Medicaid, relieve all unpaid medical debt dating back to Jan. 1, 2014.
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Relieve all unpaid medical debt that has become virtually impossible to collect dating back to Jan. 1, 2014, for people not enrolled in Medicaid whose income is at or below at least 350% of the federal poverty level (FPL) or whose total debt exceeds 5% of their annual income. A family of two at 350% of the FPL makes about $71,000 a year.
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Provide discounts on medical bills for people at or below 300% FPL.
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Automatically enroll people into financial assistance, known as charity care.
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Not sell medical debt of people making below 300% FPL to debt collectors.
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Not report debt covered by policies laid out in the plan to a credit reporting agency.
Patients of participating hospitals will not need to take any actions to benefit from medical debt relief, according to the news release.
Plan to leverage Medicaid funds
When the state expanded Medicaid in December, it implemented a mechanism that allowed hospitals to receive higher federal reimbursements in return for paying the state’s share of costs under the expansion bill.
The federal government covers 90% of Medicaid coverage costs for the expansion population, while the state covers 10%. This funding mechanism was called the Healthcare Access and Stabilization Program.
The medical debt relief plan further leverages federal funds by providing higher HASP payments to hospitals that choose to implement the plan.
Hospitals often only collect a small fraction of the medical debt they are owed, Cooper said during a press conference announcing the plan on July 1.
However, large debts that remain on the books can prevent people from buying a home or getting a credit card and sometimes can lead people into homelessness and bankruptcy, he said.
North Carolina has one of the highest percentages — 13.4% — of adults with medical debt, according to KFF, a health policy organization. About 20 million people — or nearly 1 in 12 adults — owe a combined total of at least $220 billion in medical debt in the United States, KFF says.
NORTH CAROLINA (WTVD) — A North Carolina river is deemed ‘too dirty’ to swim in.
People are advised to refrain from swimming in the French Broad River near Asheville for 24 to 48 hours, or until the water is less muddy.
Samples showed high levels of bacteria, including e-coli from recirculating water. According to officials, it’s because of the recent heavy rains.
“What we recommend for folks to do is…find somewhere else to go swim,” Anna Alsobrook, the watershed science and policy manager at MountainTrue, said. “We’ve seen everything from ear infections to GI issues (to) sinus infections.”
Officials are also telling people to avoid ingesting any water until the quality level improves, which could be in a matter of days.
French Broad River flows from North Carolina into Tennessee.
SEE ALSO | NC farmer losing crop because of unsafe levels of chemicals in water
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