Israel hides its Lebanon failure with sudden ‘ceasefire’COLUMBUS, Ohio (AP) — Dominic Zvada kicked a 21-yard field goal with 45 seconds left and Michigan stunned No. 2 Ohio State 13-10 on Saturday, likely ending the Buckeyes ’ hopes of returning to the Big Ten title game. Kalel Mullings broke away for a 27-yard run, setting up the Wolverines (7-5, 5-4) at Ohio State's 17-yard line with two minutes remaining in the game. The drive stalled at the 3, and Zvada came on for the chip shot. Ohio State (10-2, 7-2, No. 2 CFP) got the ball back but couldn't move it, with Will Howard throwing incomplete on fourth down to seal the Wolverines' fourth straight win over their bitter rival. “You come to Michigan to play this game,” Zvada said. “So, it's the biggest one of the year. It's the one that everyone looks forward to, and to be able to come in here and take the win, it's amazing.” This Ohio State loss in the “The Game” might have been the toughest of the past four because Michigan was unranked and wrapping up a disappointing season. The Wolverines were also playing without a couple of top players: tight end Colston Loveland and cornerback Will Johnson. The Buckeyes were favored by 21 points, the widest point spread for this rivalry since 1978, according to ESPN Stats and Info. Records — and point spreads, for that matter — rarely mean much when these two teams meet. “Our defense played outstanding," Michigan coach Sherrone Moore said. "We held a high-powered offense to 10 points, 77 rushing yards.” The Buckeyes were off all afternoon. Howard was 19 for 33 for 175 yards with one touchdown and two interceptions and Jayden Fielding missed two field-goal attempts. The run game was hardly there. “It's hard, man,” an emotional Howard said. “I really don’t have much right now. I do know we're a two-loss team. We're going to get into the playoffs and make a run. But, I mean, this one hurts.” Mullings was Michigan's primary weapon. He rushed for 116 yards and the Wolverines only touchdown of the game in the first half as neither team could get much going offensively on the frigid afternoon. “They made plays, we made plays, so as the game wore on you could definitely, slowly feel them starting to lose confidence, lose that energy and lose that faith,” Mullings said. Howard was clunky all day. In the first half he threw an interception from deep in his own territory that led to Michigan's touchdown. He went out for a play in the second quarter to be checked for a head injury. After the game, he said he was fine. “We're very disappointed, and never thought this would happen right here,” Ohio State coach Ryan Day said. “We expected to win this game and go play in the Big Ten championship game.” After the game, Michigan players attempted to plant their flag at midfield and were confronted by Ohio State players. A skirmish ensued as both teams pushed and shoved before being separated. Michigan: Did just enough and caught Ohio State on an off day. Ohio State: It's inexplicable how badly the Buckeyes played in their biggest game of the season. They would need No. 4 Penn State and No. 10 Indiana to lose later Saturday in order to make it into the Big Ten title game next week. There has been talk all season about how many of the Ohio State team leaders, including receiver Emeka Egbuka, running back TreVeyon Henderson and defensive end Jack Sawyer, chose to return for another year instead of entering the NFL draft because they wanted to beat Michigan at least once. Those players were inconsolable after the game. One of them, linebacker Cody Simon, was asked how he felt. “I just can't speak that right now,” Simon said. “I feel like we let the whole Buckeye nation down.” Michigan will wait for a minor bowl game. Ohio State, assuming either Penn State or Indiana wins on Saturday, will see how the final College Football Playoff rankings shakeout on Dec. 8. AP college football: https://apnews.com/hub/ap-top-25-college-football-poll and https://apnews.com/hub/college-football . Sign up for the AP’s college football newsletter: https://apnews.com/cfbtop25Dejounte Murray is rejoining the Pelicans vs. Toronto and drawing inspiration from his mother
The Yomiuri Shimbun 6:00 JST, November 28, 2024 This is the second installment in a series examining how social media is impacting elections. * * Kenichi Okutani, a Hyogo prefectural assembly member, received malicious phone calls at his home saying such things as “resign,” “liar” and “come outside,” during the recent Hyogo gubernatorial election campaign. Okutani is the chairman of the Hyogo prefectural assembly’s so-called Article 100 committee, which is conducting probes into reelected Hyogo Gov. Motohiko Saito, 47, over allegations of power abuse and other problematic acts. After Saito lost his position as governor prior to the election, slanderous posts about Okutani were spread on social media, while posts supporting Saito proliferated. Takashi Tachibana, 57, leader of the political group NHK Party, also ran in the election. During the campaign, he delivered a street speech in front of Okutani’s home. He urged Okutani to “come out,” and livestreamed himself pressing the doorbell. Okutani and his mother had evacuated from the house, but Tachibana went on to ask social media users on X, formerly Twitter, to provide information about any sightings of Okutani. Some posts in response said such things as, “He seems to be hiding in the Arima Onsen hot spring resort.” Even after the election, strangers have kept standing in front of Okutani’s home and ringing the doorbell. He has consulted with police. Okutani said with an exhausted expression on his face: “Posts about me on social media are all full of misinformation. This is the first time for me to fear this much for my physical safety.” On social media, a phenomenon called the “echo chamber effect” tends to occur, as users’ ways of thinking become distorted as they are more likely to become connected only with other users who hold similar opinions. Fujio Toriumi, a professor at the University of Tokyo and an expert in computational social science, said that only about 10% of accounts on X reposted posts both in support and in opposition of Saito during the election campaign period from Oct. 31 to Nov. 16. He said that X users who supported Saito tended to repost only those posts made by supporters of the governor and opponents tended to only have contact with others who were critical of him, indicating that the two groups were cut off from each other. It is possible that such echo chambers led to increasingly radical language being used among the two groups. Okutani was not the only one targeted by such online abuse. Kazumi Inamura, 52, who finished second in the gubernatorial election, was the subject of a campaign of disinformation on social media. There were posts that claimed she was trying to promote foreigners’ rights to take part in Japanese politics, even though she had never mentioned such a stance. Her election office received phone calls in protest from people who wrongly believed the posts. Yoshiaki Hashimoto, a professor emeritus at the University of Tokyo and an expert on information social psychology, said about the protesting phone calls, “It was probably a result of confirmation bias.” Confirmation bias refers to the psychological tendency of people to only collect information that matches their own opinions. “It is possible that the protesters strongly believed that they were right and the sense of justice they held encouraged them to take such radical action. Even if others call for cool-headed discussions, they see them as enemies and never accept them,” he said. An example of such an incident taken to an extreme was the attack on the U.S. Capitol Building in the wake of the 2020 U.S. presidential election. Donald Trump refused to accept his loss in the election and called on people to participate in protest rallies or take other actions. As a result, a group of Trump supporters formed a mob and temporarily occupied the U.S. congressional building. In Brazil in 2022, about 4,000 people, mainly supporters of a defeated presidential candidate, intruded into the National Congress and other public places based on information received through social media. They committed destructive acts. In the recent Hyogo gubernatorial election, there was evidence of budding violence caused by divisions among the public. At the venues of Saito’s speeches, jeers were heard alongside voices of support. On Nov. 15, during the final phase of the election campaign, thousands of people gathered to hear Saito’s speech in front of JR Himeji Station. In response to opponents of Saito raising placards, some members of the audience repeatedly shouted, “Go home.” At one point, police officers entered the space between them. A 42-year-old man from Nagata Ward, Kobe, held a paper sheet reading, “Shame on you, Saito.” “Saito’s supporters are conspiracy theorists who blindly believe information on social media,” the man said. The man said he got acquainted with fellow anti-Saito activists via social media. Tatsuhiko Yamamoto, a professor at Keio University and an expert on constitutional studies, said, “If divisions accelerate on social media, [Japanese society] may fall into chaotic situations like those seen in the United States and Brazil, in which people tried to overturn election results with violence.” “We need to have discussions as soon as possible about how we can build a system in which people can easily access objective and useful information, rather than extreme opinions,” he added.
None
