
Trump vows to pursue executions after Biden commutes most of federal death rowSANTA CLARA — Jake Moody missed another goal attempt in Week 17, setting social media and talk radio ablaze. Time for the 49ers to get a new kicker, or at the very least some competition during training camp in 2025. Not necessarily, even if Shanahan threw his tablet on the sidelines in frustration after missing a 41-yard attempt in a 29-17 loss to the Miami Dolphins. “I believe we’ve got the right guy,” Shanahan said Thursday as the 49ers (6-9) began preparations to host the Detroit Lions (13-2). He’s showed that at times. I thought he showed that at times in his rookie year.I thought he showed that in being 12 of 13 to start the year and I think he’ll show that in the future.” But rest assured that Moody will be watched closely to see how he performs in the final two weeks of the season, beginning with a spotlight game on Monday night in a rematch of last year’s NFC Championship Game won 34-31 by the 49ers. Since the game is at Levi’s Stadium, Moody should enter with some confidence. He’s 23-for-30 on field goal attempts a 76.7 rate that’s unacceptable in today’s NFL, let alone for a kicker who was selected in the third round of the 2023 NFL Draft. But all seven of his misses have been on the road — one in Miami, two in Buffalo in the snow, three in Tampa Bay in the sunshine and one in Los Angeles. Which apparently came as news to Moody. “I actually didn’t know that,” Moody said. “That’s pretty interesting. I don’t think that necessarily has anything to do with it, being home or away. It’s just the misses, I’ve got to hit better kicks. It’s not any specific reason why I miss. I’ve just got to make sure I’m dialed in on my form.” Moody is 15-for-15 in field goal attempts at home, starting off 6-for-6 in the opener against the New York Jets. But Moody sustained a high ankle sprain on his right kicking foot in Week 5 against Arizona, missing three games as the 49ers cycled through Matthew Wright (also injured on a kick return) and Anders Carlson. “Since he’s come back, he hasn’t been as consistent, obviously,” Shanahan said. “I think a lot of it probably has to do with (the injury), just common-sense wise. Hopefully he can get to this offseason, heal up and find a stroke again.” Having a midseason injury was a “learning experience,” according to Moody. “Whether or not that was an issue, I don’t know. I’m still doing the best I can trying to keep everything that it was prior to the injury,” Moody said. “It’s not like you can really blame something.” Whether or not that was an issue, I don’t know. I’m still doing the best I can trying to keep everything that it was prior to the injury. It’s not like you can really blame something. While tempted to alter his approach and preparation, Moody thought better of it. He considers kicking similar to golf, and said it can take years for golfers to master a swing change. “In this business you don’t have that much time to try and dial something in and do big changes like that,” Moody said.”You’ve got to be consistent and not be changing too many things or you’ll be overwhelmed by everything.” While the 49ers may bring another kicker into camp just for an extra leg, Shanahan didn’t sound as if he was looking to set up a competition for No. 1. “I think you’ve got the wrong guy if you have to,” Shanahan said. “You do that when you don’t think you’re going to have a guy, but when those guys miss too much you go get a new one usually. And that’s what’s tough about the kicker position.” Shanahan hinted strongly Monday that linebacker Dre Greenlaw wouldn’t play in the last two games, saying he’d wait until talking to him before making it official. “He’s not going to play in these two games,” Shanahan said. “He understood.” Left tackle Spencer Burford (calf) did not practice and Shanahan thought there was a chance he’d be ready to face Detroit with Trent Williams and Jaylon Moore both on injured reserve. Left guard Aaron Banks (knee), who hasn’t yet been placed on I.R., did not practice and neither did edge rusher Robert Beal Jr. Those who were limited were safety Ji’Ayir Brown (ankle), running back Isaac Guerendo (foot/ankle). Nick Bosa (hip/oblique) was off the injury list. Veteran offensive lineman Matt Hennessey was added to the roster with Williams going on injured reserve, with Sebastian Gutierrez joining the practice squad. Shanahan will try to piecemeal an offensive line heading into Detroit, with newcomer Charlie Heck also in the mix. “We’ve got to mix and match a number of guys,” Shanahan said. The 49ers activated the practice clock on rookie linebacker Tatum Bethune, who has been out with a knee injury in hopes of getting him back before the end of the regular season. Detroit Dan Campbell thinks last year’s loss to the 49ers in the NFC Championship Game helped prepare them for taking another run at this season. “I think we’re really more mature,” Campbell told the Detroit media. “Every year you learn something about winning and losing. And when you take an `L’ like we did last year you learn from that . . . I think we’re much more prepared than at that time. You feel like you’re (prepared) but you get into that with a heavyweight that’s been there numerous times, you don’t always know. I think that as an experience has served us well moving into this year.” The Lions have also taken notice of what happened to the 49ers in 2022 when Brock Purdy tore the UCL in his throwing elbow in the NFC title game against Philadelphia and didn’t have a viable quarterback. Veteran quarterback Teddy Bridgewater was signed to the roster, giving the Lions three quarterbacks along with starter Jared Goff and backup Hendon Hooker. — Tight end George Kittle (68 receptions, 967 yards) needs 33 yards receiving to reach 1,000 for the fourth time in his career and second in succession. With eight touchdown receptions, he his three shy of his career high of 11 in 2022. — Wide receiver Jauan Jennings (63 receptions, 856 yards) needs 144 yards in his last two games to reach 1,000 for the first time in his career. HIs six touchdown receptions are a career high. Related Articles — Defensive end Nick Bosa has has seven sacks and needs three over the last two games for his fourth consecutive season in double figures. Bosa had 15 1/2 in 2021, 18 1/2 in 2022 (winning NFC Defensive Player of the Year) and 10 1/2 last season. First, Bosa is thinking about his eighth sack. “Just trying to get to the next one,” Bosa said. “But it would be cool.” — Defensive end Leonard Floyd has 8 1/2 sacks and needs 1 1/2 over the last two games to reach double figures for the second consecutive season and for the fourth time in his career. — Middle linebacker Fred Warner (117 tackles) needs 21 in his last two games to exceed his career high of 137 in 2021. Warner has exceeded 100 tackles in each of his seven seasons. — Quarterback Brock Purdy has 31 rushing first downs, three more than Colin Kaepernick had in 2013 and 2014.
Washington State University Vancouver students will soon transform a local art installation into an interactive educational experience, bridging the gap between art, technology and language at the Woodland Community Library . Suspended above the children’s room in the Woodland Community Library is “Phonic Bloom,” an art installation created by Portland-based studio Superfab. This piece repurposed recycled books into a vibrant hanging garden, visually symbolizing the sounds of the International Phonetic Alphabet. Each color-coded bloom represents syllables common to local languages: red for English, yellow for Spanish and blue for Salish — the language spoken by the Cowlitz Tribe for thousands of years. The installation was developed in collaboration with Portland State University linguist Janet Tom Cowell, who worked with Superfab to highlight the shared phonetic elements across these languages. Washington State University Vancouver student and experience team lead James Lesperance showcases a prototype for an app designed to bring an art installation to life through augmented reality during a presentation at WSU Vancouver on Wednesday, Dec. 11. The app allows visitors to interact with an art piece called “Phonic Bloom” at the Woodland library, providing a deeper understanding of phonics in multiple languages. This “data sculpture,” as WSU professor and Digital Technology and Culture lead Dene Grigar explained, presented a special opportunity for her students — developing an augmented reality mobile app to teach visitors about phonics using the installation. Augmented reality uses technology to blend digital content with the real world. The WSU students' app brings “Phonic Bloom” to life similar to the popular mobile app “Pokémon Go.” Visitors can point their phones at the sculpture to see a digital recreation of the garden appear on their screens. Guided by “Bea,” a friendly bee mascot voiced by design team member Bea Calces, users can interact with virtual blooms to learn about the corresponding phonetic sounds. The app features audio and visual representations, including animations of the human vocal system producing sounds like “la” and “shaw.” Mailei Brodniak, the student project manager, described their mission as developing and promoting a mobile app to educate young audiences about phonics. The task came with a steep learning curve, as the team first had to familiarize themselves with the intricacies of phonics before beginning. The students had 16 weeks — one semester — to complete their work. “We had the job of taking that sculpture and then bringing it down to our level and making it so that people from children to families could interact with it and actually understand what it’s saying,” Brodniak said Each year, Digital Technology and Culture students are tasked with a 16-week project using their skillsets to showcase their work on resumes or portfolios. The students learn a variety of skills ranging from videography to game design, choosing one category to be their “superpower.” Their main chosen skill is their focus for the senior project, giving students a chance to add to their portfolio before graduation. “The senior seminar is like a finishing school slash boot camp ... getting them to polish themselves, refine their skills and begin to feel confident so they can have a successful interview. It’s about turning out successful thinkers, makers and doers,” Grigar said. The senior seminar split its 18 students into four teams: • A design team, which conceptualized the app’s appearance and functionality • An experience team, which developed the app, implementing its interactive features • A web development team, which created a complementary website detailing the project’s history and features. • A social media team, which promoted the project across social media The design and experience teams crafted 15 unique 3D models, 26 animations and 20 audio components, supported by over 2,000 lines of code for the project. Student Evan Leyden took on the intricate task of animating a realistic depiction of human vocal anatomy for the app. “I spent over 12 hours just researching the kinematics of how we actually move everything inside our mouth to make sure that the animation was accurate, as well as looking for just the right [animation] plug-in [so] this [Magnetic Resonance Imaging] has fully articulated lips, tongue, velum, jaw and larynx,” Leyden said. The web development team supplemented the app with an interactive website, featuring an interactive phonetic chart and resources about the installation. Meanwhile, the social media team chronicled the project’s development across Instagram, TikTok and LinkedIn, garnering over 200,000 views and 2,000 engagements. In a Dec. 11 presentation at WSU Vancouver, students demonstrated the fully functional mobile app as attendees watched the interactive experience. Brodniak emphasized the teamwork that was key to the project’s success. “The thing I’m most proud of is how everyone just came together. Everyone communicated so well, and everyone was so friendly with each other. There’s a lot of unity, which you would hope for since we’re making a project about community, but we were able to foster one,” She said. As part of their coursework, each student incorporated their contributions into their resumés and portfolios, participating in mock interviews with local employers. Brodniak, who also worked on the social media team, plans to pursue roles in social media or project management. “This experience gave me a lot of confidence in being a project manager, so I wouldn’t be opposed to working in the management side of things either,” she added. “There is so much here that we created and that we can bring with us moving forward into the career space.” The Phonic Bloom app will launch by the end of 2024. Readers can download the app and learn more about the project at dtc-wsuv.org/projects/phonic-bloom/index.html . The Phonic Bloom art piece can be found at the Woodland Community Library, which is open from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Monday through Saturday at 411 Lakeshore Dr. Get our local education coverage delivered directly to your inbox.