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EAST LANSING, Mich. — The sight was a common one for Andrew Kolpacki. For many a Sunday, he would watch NFL games on TV and see quarterbacks putting their hands on their helmets, desperately trying to hear the play call from the sideline or booth as tens of thousands of fans screamed at the tops of their lungs. When the NCAA's playing rules oversight committee this past spring approved the use of coach-to-player helmet communications in games for the 2024 season, Kolpacki, Michigan State's head football equipment manager, knew the Spartans' QBs and linebackers were going to have a problem. "There had to be some sort of solution," he said. As it turns out, there was. And it was right across the street. Kolpacki reached out to Tamara Reid Bush, a mechanical engineering professor who not only heads the school's Biomechanical Design Research Laboratory but also is a football season ticket-holder. Kolpacki "showed me some photos and said that other teams had just put duct tape inside the (earhole), and he asked me, 'Do you think we can do anything better than duct tape,?" Bush said. "And I said, 'Oh, absolutely.'" Bush and Rylie DuBois, a sophomore biosystems engineering major and undergraduate research assistant at the lab, set out to produce earhole inserts made from polylactic acid, a bio-based plastic, using a 3D printer. Part of the challenge was accounting for the earhole sizes and shapes that vary depending on helmet style. Once the season got underway with a Friday night home game against Florida Atlantic on Aug. 30, the helmets of starting quarterback Aidan Chiles and linebacker Jordan Turner were outfitted with the inserts, which helped mitigate crowd noise. DuBois attended the game, sitting in the student section. "I felt such a strong sense of accomplishment and pride," DuBois said. "And I told all my friends around me about how I designed what they were wearing on the field." All told, Bush and DuBois have produced around 180 sets of the inserts, a number that grew in part due to the variety of helmet designs and colors that are available to be worn by Spartan players any given Saturday. Plus, the engineering folks have been fine-tuning their design throughout the season. Dozens of Bowl Subdivision programs are doing something similar. In many cases, they're getting 3D-printed earhole covers from XO Armor Technologies, which provides on-site, on-demand 3D printing of athletic wearables. The Auburn, Alabama-based company has donated its version of the earhole covers to the equipment managers of programs ranging from Georgia and Clemson to Boise State and Arizona State in the hope the schools would consider doing business with XO Armor in the future, said Jeff Klosterman, vice president of business development. XO Armor first was approached by the Houston Texans at the end of last season about creating something to assist quarterback C.J. Stroud in better hearing play calls delivered to his helmet during road games. XO Armor worked on a solution and had completed one when it received another inquiry: Ohio State, which had heard Michigan State was moving forward with helmet inserts, wondered if XO Armor had anything in the works. "We kind of just did this as a one-off favor to the Texans and honestly didn't forecast it becoming our viral moment in college football," Klosterman said. "We've now got about 60 teams across college football and the NFL wearing our sound-deadening earhole covers every weekend." The rules state that only one player for each team is permitted to be in communication with coaches while on the field. For the Spartans, it's typically Chiles on offense and Turner on defense. Turner prefers to have an insert in both earholes, but Chiles has asked that the insert be used in only one on his helmet. Chiles "likes to be able to feel like he has some sort of outward exposure," Kolpacki said. Exposure is something the sophomore signal-caller from Long Beach, California, had in away games against Michigan and Oregon this season. Michigan Stadium welcomed 110,000-plus fans for the Oct. 26 matchup between the in-state rivals. And while just under 60,000 packed Autzen Stadium in Eugene, Oregon, for the Ducks' 31-10 win over Michigan State three weeks earlier, it was plenty loud. "The Big Ten has some pretty impressive venues," Kolpacki said. "It can be just deafening," he said. "That's what those fans are there for is to create havoc and make it difficult for coaches to get a play call off." Something that is a bit easier to handle thanks to Bush and her team. She called the inserts a "win-win-win" for everyone. "It's exciting for me to work with athletics and the football team," she said. "I think it's really exciting for our students as well to take what they've learned and develop and design something and see it being used and executed." Get local news delivered to your inbox!
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Sports broadcasting legend Greg Gumbel has died. The longtime studio host's family said in a statement to CBS on Friday "he passed away peacefully surrounded by much love after a courageous battle with cancer." They added, "Greg approached his illness like one would expect he would, with stoicism, grace, and positivity. He leaves behind a legacy of love, inspiration and dedication to over 50 extraordinary years in the sports broadcast industry; and his iconic voice will never be forgotten." "Greg's memory will forever be treasured by his family, dearest friends, colleagues and all who loved him." Gumbel was a mainstay when it came to sports on CBS -- he called NFL games for decades ... and also anchored the network's annual coverage of NCAA tournaments for years too. This past season was actually the first March Madness Gumbel had missed since 1997. His colleagues stated at the time he was away from the game "due to family health matters." CBS begins the NCAA Tournament Selection Show with the crew sending their best wishes to Greg Gumbel. Gumbel is absent from this year's NCAA Tournament due to family health matters ( https://t.co/npWk1KCsN7 ). pic.twitter.com/26QvgjzofM "It's somewhat surreal that he's not to my right -- he's been there for a couple decades," Clark Kellogg said when previewing the 2024 tournament last spring. "Praying and hoping, Greg, that you will indeed be back in 2025." Gumbel -- the older brother of Bryant Gumbel -- was 78 years old. RIP.As Trump returns analysts see defence stocks risingHUMBOLDT – For many residents of Humboldt, attending a council meeting may not be possible. Since 2020, the City of Humboldt started livestreaming all of their council meetings for the public to be able to watch the proceedings. Mayor Rob Muench said, ”BHP contributed money to a number of municipalities in the region around the Jansen Lake project so residents could stay informed when the public wasn’t able to attend meetings.” Livestreaming council meetings have now made it very simple and easy for community members to stay informed on what is upcoming for city projects and what the council is discussing for the City of Humboldt. Muench said the equipment cost approximately $20,000 when it was first purchased. Prior to 2020, the City was already streaming meetings more simply with just audio as they had installed a microphone previously. Muench said, at times, technology doesn’t always work and there was a bit of a learning curve. The benefits Muench said are, “Transparency for the public. Also, the media can cover meetings remotely and record quotes from meeting participants.” For city staff, it has made it easier to do minutes from the recording and provides the ability to refer to past meetings. “I think this has been a positive move overall and has increased council’s transparency.” Since the start of livestreaming council meetings, the public has become more engaged and informed on the decision-making process for various projects. The public can view council meetings by going to the City of Humboldt’s webpage.
Helping to drown out the noise
One of the weak areas in the Swire Shipping Fijian Drua backline in the 2024 Shop N Save Super Rugby Pacific season is the lack of a specialised second-five eight. This became evident when Kalaveti Ravouvou left for Bristol’s Bears. In the 2024 season, the number 12 position had been more of a quick fix with Kemu Valetini, Apisalome Vota and Michael Naitokani being tried out in the position. Drua attacking coach, Tim Sampson, did not mince his words yesterday when he indicated that it is a key position. “I think the more cohesion we have between our number 10 and number 12 is really important,” he said. “We’ve got Inia (Tabuavou) who’s come to the club, which is fantastic. He’s a very good ball player, a very good hard runner, but also a very good communicator.” The team has Valetini, and Tuidraki Samusamuvodre who have been around for a while. “They’re going to be key players for us. And a really important link between our number 10 and number 12 through to our outside backs. “It’s a really important position for us in how we want to play, so a lot of responsibility will be on them. Sampson has good thoughts on the 2025 season, despite it still being in the early stages at the moment. “I’ve been here for a couple of months now and the squad that we’re training is good while the Flying Fijians were away. They have put in a lot of hard work and I can only go on what other coaches who have been here before have said and we’re a lot fitter than 12 months ago. “We’re doing a lot more conditioning work so that’s certainly an area that we’re focusing on is getting the match fit. It’s obvious in the past that we must win more games away from home. “If we can do that and continue with the success we have here in Fiji, we’ll be pushing for the top four.” Meanwhile, Drua’s coach Glen Jackson has confirmed that Sampson is the attacking coach with Chris Gibbes as the forwards coach while Greg Flemming is the defence coach. Feedback: waisean@fijisun.com.fj