Latest news with #Williams
USA Today
2 hours ago
- Sport
- USA Today
How many former Oklahoma Sooners made ESPN's NFL All Quarter-Century Team?
How many former Oklahoma Sooners made ESPN's NFL All Quarter-Century Team? Picking a 53-man roster of the best NFL players since 2000 is no easy task. But it's exactly what Aaron Schatz and Seth Walder at ESPN set out to do when they selected their NFL All Quarter-Century Team this week. The Oklahoma Sooners had two former stars selected, both on the offensive line. First up is San Francisco 49ers left tackle Trent Williams, who played for Oklahoma from 2006 to 2009. He played in all four seasons, and was a full-time starter for his final two years in Norman. Williams was a part of OU's 2008 offense that was historically great at that time. Williams and that excellent '08 offensive line helped pave the way for so much of what Kevin Wilson's offense was able to accomplish. After coming back for his senior season in 2009, Williams was rewarded by being named an All-American. He was selected by Washington with the fourth overall pick in the 2010 NFL Draft. Williams was chosen for the Pro Bowl in 11 seasons from 2012 to 2023, the most by any offensive tackle since 2000. He was very good in his 20s for Washington before holding out the entire 2019 season over disagreements with the team's medical staff. He is even better in his 30s for San Francisco, leading all tackles in pass block win rate in 2023. - Schatz, ESPN. Philadelphia Eagles right tackle Lane Johnson also made the team. He was a Sooner from 2009 to 2012 and played on the offensive line for his final two years at Oklahoma, starting for the majority of 2011 and 2012. Johnson, who also spent time at quarterback, tight end and defensive end, was a natural fit at offensive tackle in Norman after transferring in from Kilgore College. He played on both sides of the line during his last two collegiate seasons, earning third-team All-America honors as a senior. Johnson was drafted fourth overall by Philly in the 2013 NFL Draft and is a two-time Super Bowl champion. Johnson leads all right tackles in Pro Bowl selections since 2000 with six; no other player who primarily played right tackle in that span has more than four. He has perhaps been at his best over the past couple of seasons. In 2023, he led all tackles in run block win rate and was ninth in pass block win rate. Last season, Johnson was fifth among tackles in both run block win rate and pass block win rate. - Schatz, ESPN. Though OU has had plenty of NFL superstars over the last 25 years, these two offensive tackles made their mark so definitively on the NFL over the last quarter-century that they were included on the quarter-century team's 53-man roster. If there was a player that was snubbed, you could argue it was Adrian Peterson. Since 2007 when "All Day" entered the league, he's the only running back to win the NFL MVP award. Every other year, the award has gone to a quarterback. Peterson rushed for 14,918 yards and 120 touchdowns, during his career, three times leading the league in rushing yards. Contact/Follow us @SoonersWire on X, and like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of Oklahoma news, notes, and opinions. You can also follow Aaron on X @Aaron_Gelvin.
Yahoo
2 hours ago
- General
- Yahoo
Archaeologists Found a Slab in the Middle of Nowhere—With the Lord's Prayer Carved in It
Here's what you'll learn when you read this story: A rock carving discovered in the Ontario backcountry started a search for the meaning and history of the site in 2019. The carving features what experts now believe to be an 1800s runic interpretation of the Christian Lord's Prayer. The find may be traceable to an employee of the Hudson's Bay Company. In 2018, the toppling of a tree near the township of Wawa, Ontario, revealed a rectangular piece of bedrock (about four feet by nearly five feet) etched with 225 symbols alongside a depiction of a Viking longboat. Eventually, a local historian came across the odd finding—now known as the Wawa Runestone—and reported the find to the Ontario Centre for Archaeological Education (OCARE). You can see the stone here. The team at OCARE, led by archaeologist Ryan Primrose, decided to keep the stone concealed from the public until they could gather more details about its origin. And now, they're finally talking about the object for the first time. 'Well, it's certainly among the least expected finds that I think I've encountered during my career,' Primrose told the CBC. 'It's absolutely fascinating.' Initial research, according to an OCARE statement, showed that the carving was likely written in Futhark characters—a runic script once used in northern Europe and Scandinavia. This led some experts to think that the carving must have been completed as far back as the Viking era, especially considering the second carving of a boat (which resembles a Viking longboat, contains about 16 occupants, and is flanked by several crosses or stars) found adjacent to the script. Primrose, it turns out, was wise to hold off on publicly announcing it as a Viking-era find. In 2019, he brought in Sweden-based expert Henrik Williams, professor emeritus at Uppsala University, to consult on the site. Williams confirmed that the inscription was runic, but disagreed that it was Viking in nature. Williams said that the runic writing was a version of the Christian Lord's Prayer, which had been carved in Futhark. 'The text conforms to the Swedish version of the Lord's Prayer used from the 16th century and is written using a variation of the runic translation developed by Johannes Bureus in the early 17th century.' OCARE stated. 'It must have taken days and days of work,' Williams told the CBC. 'They are really deeply carved into the rock. Someone must have spent a couple of weeks carving this thing.' While tough to pinpoint, OCARE researchers believe the inscription itself dates to the 1800s. Williams believes the creator of the carving had to come from Sweden, and as Primrose researched the history of the area, he found that the Hudson's Bay Company hired Swedes in the 1800s to work at remote Canadian wilderness trading posts—including the Michipicoten post, located not far from the Wawa carving, the CBC reported. Whether this was a popular religious site—the inscription was found under soil after the tree fell, and no other artifacts have been found nearby—or the work of a single person toiling alone is still a question. But with this announcement, many other questions have been answered. 'Canada now has a total of 11 objects claimed to bear runes but only five in fact do so, and three of those constitute modern commemorative inscriptions,' Williams wrote in an OCARE report. 'The Wawa stone is Ontario's first with actual runes, the longest runic inscription of any on the North American continent […] and the only one in the world reproducing the Lord's Prayer.' You Might Also Like The Do's and Don'ts of Using Painter's Tape The Best Portable BBQ Grills for Cooking Anywhere Can a Smart Watch Prolong Your Life?
New York Post
4 hours ago
- Entertainment
- New York Post
Inside the ‘Jaws' theme song creation 50 years ago: ‘Everyone's scared of those two notes'
They were the two notes of terror heard around the world. They were the two notes of terror heard around the world. But director Steven Spielberg initially laughed off composer John Williams' 'Jaws' theme that would become the signature sound — and sign — of the great white shark's attack in the summer blockbuster that opened 50 years ago on June 20, 1975. 'I expected to hear something kind of weird and melodic, something tonal, but eerie; something of another world, almost like outer space under the water,' said Spielberg in a 2012 Blu-ray featurette on the making of 'Jaws.' 7 'When everyone came out and said 'Jaws' scared them out of the water, it was Johnny who scared them out of the water,' said director Steven Spielberg of John Williams' 'Jaws' theme. Bettmann Archive 7 John Williams won the first of his four Oscars for Best Original Score for 'Jaws' in 1976. Bettmann Archive 'And what he played me instead, with two fingers on the lower keys, was 'dun-dun, dun-dun, dun-dun.' And at first, I began to laugh. He had a great sense of humor, and I thought he was putting me on.' But Williams was scaring up the menacing motif that would sink its teeth into moviegoers — and terrify beachgoers — for generations to come in the film classic that would launch his and Spielberg's careers into historic heights. While Spielberg might have first thought it was a joke, Williams was dead serious about the ominous ostinato of notes E and F played by tuba player Tommy Johnson. 'He said, 'You can't be serious?'' Williams — who had previously worked with Spielberg on 1974's 'The Sugarland Express' — told Classic FM in 2022 about his chilling riff to 'represent our primordial fear.' 'I think in Spielberg's mind … you want something really complicated and layered and, you know, atonal horror music or whatever,' film music historian Tim Greiving — who wrote the upcoming biography 'John Williams: A Composer's Life' — exclusively told The Post. 7 'You can almost think of it as, like, it is the shark,' said film historian Tim Greiving of the 'Jaws' theme. Courtesy Everett Collection 'But John Williams has such a great story instinct that he knew that the simpler, the better, that kind of economy and just, like, pure drive was what this movie needed. So, yeah, in this way he knew better than Spielberg.' To Greiving, Williams struck just the right note with the 'Jaws' theme. 'It so perfectly represents the mindless, just predatory instinct of a shark,' he said. 'You can almost think of it as, like, it is the shark.' But, he added, there's also a 'sense of a heartbeat' that captures 'you in the water with your heart rate kind of accelerating as the shark gets closer to you.' 7 'He said, 'You can't be serious?' ' said John Williams (left) of Steven Spielberg's initial reaction to his 'Jaws' theme. Courtesy Everett Collection The 'deceptively simple' phrase was just the right hook to harpoon the masses. 'It's just a very effective storytelling device,' said Greiving. 'I think anything more complicated than that wouldn't have been nearly as effective.' The 'Jaws' theme became a cultural touchstone in and of itself. 'Because 'Jaws' was such a huge phenomenon, it … just permeated everything,' said Greiving. 'And you had this musical signature, this musical brand to that phenomenon. So it's just an easy way to sort of shorthand reference 'Jaws' as a whole phenomenon.' 'I think it's like the opening of Beethoven's Fifth or the strings of 'Psycho.' It's just something so instantly recognizable that those kinds of things just catch on … and, you know, they just never go away, right? That's the brilliance of it.' 7 The shark in 'Jaws' had its own theme, which struck fear across generations. Getty Images However, Greiving notes that the two-note 'Jaws' theme that that has struck fear across generations is just a small part of the score that won Williams the first of his four Oscars for Best Original Score. 'I talked to [Oscar-winning composer] Hans Zimmer for my book, and he just said, 'You know, everyone's scared of those two notes, but for composers, we're scared of everything after those two notes, because the whole thing is so impressive,' ' he said. 'And I think John Williams, as he often does, takes a simple idea, a simple motif, and just expands it and develops it into basically a symphony.' Williams went on to score more than 100 films, including other classic Spielberg collaborations such as 'Close Encounters of the Third Kind,' 'E.T.: The Extra-Terrestrial,' 'Jurassic Park,' 'Schindler's List' and the 'Indiana Jones' franchise,' but he never imagined that the repeated pattern of 'Jaws' would never go away. 7 'He knew better than [Steven] Spielberg,' said Tim Greiving of John Williams (left) proposing the 'Jaws' theme. Getty Images 'At that time, I had no idea that it would have that kind of impact on people,' he told Classic FM. And Spielberg has credited the 'Jaws' theme as a major part of the movie's success. 'When everyone came out and said 'Jaws' scared them out of the water, it was Johnny who scared them out of the water,' Spielberg said in the Blu-ray featurette. 'His music was scarier than seeing the shark.' 7 Richard Dreyfuss (left) and Robert Shaw co-starred in the 1975 summer blockbuster 'Jaws.' Getty Images But for Greiving — whose Williams biography will be released on Sept. 2 — the 'Jaws' theme is even bigger than movies. 'I think the two-note theme in 'Jaws' is maybe the most famous musical unit in the history of music. I think you could argue that,' he said. 'I think more people around the world recognize these two notes played as the 'Jaws' theme more than almost any other piece of music.'
NBC Sports
4 hours ago
- Politics
- NBC Sports
Ricky Williams fights effort to ban THC in Texas
Longhorns legend Ricky Williams is bringing a little Texas Fight to the effort to ban THC. As explained by the Texas House and Senate have passed a bill that would ban all consumable hemp-derived products containing THC. Governor Greg Abbott has the measure on his desk, awaiting signature. Williams wants Abbott to veto the bill. 'This plant helped me stay balanced and healthy through the grind of professional football,' Williams said in a press release from Project Champion. 'Now it's helping veterans manage PTSD and families manage pain. These changes in the law don't protect Texans — it punishes them. The people of Texas deserve freedom of choice and don't need the government to tell them what they can and can't put in their body. If we have learned anything from the past decade it has been that.' Lt. Governor Dan Patrick led the effort to push the bill through the Texas legislature. Now, only Abbott stands in the way of the bill becoming the law of the Lone Star State. 'I'm calling on my friend, Greg Abbott, to please veto this bill and stand with the veterans, farmers and families who know there is a better way forward,' Williams said in a video posted on social media. Nationally, views on marijuana and THC have dramatically shifted over the last twenty years. Many states have relaxed their laws in this regard; if Abbott signs the bill, Texas will be taking a big step backward.
TimesLIVE
4 hours ago
- TimesLIVE
Hitman jailed for brutal attack on elderly couple planned by son-in-law
A man who was paid R1,000 to kill an elderly couple as they prepared for Fajr — a sunrise prayer — has been sentenced to life imprisonment for the contract killing in Cape Town. Reagan Davis, 35, was handed two life sentences and 15 years' direct imprisonment by the Cape Town high court for the murder of 75-year-old Hashim Ahmed Dennis and attempted murder of his 70-year-old wife Kulsoem at home in Northpine, Brackenfell, on January 31 2020. Davis was a co-accused with the elderly couple's son-in-law Brent Williams — who died in February before the state closed its case. 'Senior state advocate Evadne Kortje proved the murder was a contract killing and the accused was paid R1,000, which he used to buy takkies,' said National Prosecuting Authority spokesperson Eric Ntabazalila. Evidence was led by 10 witnesses which revealed Williams and his wife Ibtisaam Dennis, who lived with the elderly couple, had marital problems. Williams hired Davis and an unknown accomplice to invade and attack his in-laws to 'neutralise' his marital problems. Williams drove the hitmen to the property and they gained access via a security gate at about 4am and entered the couple's flatlet. '[Kulsoem Dennis] heard the voice of an intruder asking where the money was in Afrikaans before brutally attacking her. The intruder hit her on the head, neck and chest with a gun. She chanted, 'Allahu-Akbar' [God is Great] until she hit the floor. Severely injured and in shock, she lay on the floor, pretending to be dead as her [headscarf] fell softly over her face and she kept her eyes closed,' said Ntabazalila. Her husband was attacked as he came out the bathroom and died after being stabbed 15 times. Ibtisaam Dennis called the police, whose investigation confirmed her husband was the mastermind behind the attack.
