Hasta La Gadget!

Elusiveness, fluidity and patience are attributes that generally serve players well in college football and the NFL alike. Former Stanford running back Christian McCaffrey has all of these qualities, which is why I expect him to make a smooth transition to the pro game. It’s also why he puts me strongly in mind of the Atlanta Falcons’ Devonta Freeman.

Freeman, who’s earned consecutive Pro Bowl honors during the past two seasons, was a fourth-round draft pick out of Florida State in 2014. That was in large part because he lacked size at 5 feet 8 inches and 206 pounds, and because he ran an uninspiring 4.58 40 at the combine. McCaffrey is listed at 6 feet even and 197 pounds, which may not help his draft stock but won’t hurt it much either. 

While I expected a strong performance at the combine from McCaffrey, it turned out to be nothing short of brilliance. McCaffrey clocked a 4.48 40. Just as impressive were his 37 1/2 vertical jump, 4.22 20-yard shuttle, 6.57 second 3-cone drill and 11.03 60-yard shuttle, all tops for running backs in Indianapolis. 

What really separates McCaffrey from other prospects, and what heightens the parallels with Freeman, is his incredible versatility as a runner and pass-catcher. Call him a Swiss army knife, if you like.

According to ESPN The Magazine, McCaffrey ― who turns 21 in June ― ranked second in the nation among Power 5 running backs on rushing plays directed outside the tackles during the 2015 and 2016 seasons. Additionally, he was slotted fifth in catch percentage and third in yards after catch. 

And being a capable pass-catching back isn’t just about the screen game. The next step is the slot ― and then on wheel routes ― where few guys have the quickness and the hands needed. Marshawn Lynch was great at this, David Johnson can do it, and Le’Veon Bell excels.

Freeman, to his credit, is also deft in such a role for the Falcons. When your running back isn’t merely a three-down guy, but also someone who can really catch the ball, offenses open up and become that much more dangerous. McCaffrey, for his part, possesses the necessary elusiveness and willingness to make “traffic” catches, which bodes well.

There’s also McCaffrey’s dynamic punt and kick return ability. In 2015, he broke the all-time single-season NCAA record with 3,864 all-purpose yards. This past year, despite woeful quarterback play, he still managed to rush for over 1,600 yards and 16 total touchdowns. As a comparison, Freeman also scored 16 touchdowns as a junior, albeit on 1,000 yards and a 5.9 rush average (McCaffrey’s was 6.3).

When it comes down to the draft, it doesn’t really matter whether McCaffrey is the second, third or sixth running back off the board. I’d even argue that as a pro, his game translates better than if he were a collegian.

Versatility in the NFL is rewarded in spades ― roles are carved out to really maximize talent. (Think Danny Woodhead, Darren Sproles and Tyreek Hill.) To be sure, defenses are much better ― faster and more complex ― but while everyone game-planned for McCaffrey as the Cardinal’s first, second and even third option, that won’t be the case in the league. Better yet, vision ― undoubtedly one of his best skills ― also makes for an easier transition than, say, just being a power back. (Ask Tyrone Wheatley, Ron Dayne or Trent Richardson about that.)

This is not to say McCaffrey is another Le’Veon Bell, but that’s where the comparison to the Steelers’ megastar running back makes sense. Dictating to the defense instead of letting the defense dictate to you ― that’s how both of these guys prefer to run the football. It is very, very hard to do, and it doesn’t necessarily mean McCaffrey, a former Heisman finalist, will automatically become a great player. But it definitely helps.

All in all, McCaffrey and his dynamic versatility remind me of no one so much as Devonta Freeman. I suspect he will soon be one of the league’s most productive running backs, and perhaps just as importantly, a three-down back as well.

Email me at jordan.schultz@huffingtonpost.com, ask me questions about anything sports-related on Twitter at @Schultz_Report, and follow me on Instagram at @Schultz_Report. 

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Washington Post reporter David Fahrenthold, whom President Donald Trump called a “nasty guy” for doggedly investigating his dubious charity foundation claims, won the Pulitzer Prize on Monday for national reporting.

Fahrenthold not only pored over documents and called hundreds of organizations while reporting on the president’s charitable foundation during the 2016 campaign, but he brought readers real-time social media updates and turned to them for additional tips. In October, Fahrenthold also broke the news that Trump boasted about groping women in an unearthed “Access Hollywood” outtake. 

It’s the third year in a row that The Post has won the national reporting category, following awards for its coverage of police shootings and Secret Service security lapses.

The New York Times took home the most awards, winning prizes for its reporting on Russian President Vladimir Putin’s efforts to extend power abroad (international) and C.J. Chivers’ profile of a Marine veteran with post-traumatic stress disorder (feature writing). Daniel Berehulak, a freelance photographer, won the breaking news photography prize for his coverage in the Times of the Philippines government’s brutal anti-drug crackdown. 

The New York Daily News and nonprofit investigative journalism organization ProPublica won the public service award for reporting on eviction rules in New York City that disproportionately affected minority residents. The Pulitzer Board specifically highlighted the work of reporter Sarah Ryley, who recently left the Daily News for The Trace. 

The International Consortium of Investigative Journalists, McClatchy and The Miami Herald won the explanatory award for reporting on the “Panama Papers,” a collaborative reporting effort that included over 100 media outlets around the world. More than 300 journalists investigated a massive leak of documents from a Panama-based law firm and revealed how major corporations and global leaders us this tax haven to hide their money.

Full winners below. 

JOURNALISM

Public Service: New York Daily News and ProPublica

Breaking News Reporting: Staff of the East Bay Times

Investigative Reporting: Eric Eyre of the Charleston Gazette-Mail

Explanatory Reporting: International Consortium of Investigative Journalists, McClatchy and the Miami Herald

Local Reporting: The Salt Lake Tribune Staff

National Reporting: David Fahrenthold of The Washington Post

International Reporting: Staff of the New York Times

Feature Writing: C.J. Chivers of the New York Times

Commentary: Peggy Noonan of The Wall Street Journal

Criticism: Hilton Als o The New Yorker

Editorial Writing: Art Cullen of The Storm Lake Times, Storm Lake, IA

Editorial Cartooning: Jim Morin of Miami Herald

Breaking News Photography: Daniel Berehulak, freelance photographer, for work in the New York Times

Feature Photography: E. Jason Wambsgans of Chicago Tribune

LETTERS AND DRAMA

Fiction: The Underground Railroad, by Colson Whitehead

Drama: Sweat, by Lynn Nottage

History: Blood in the Water: The Attica Prison Uprising of 1971 and Its Legacy, by Heather Ann Thompson

Biography: The Return: Fathers, Sons and the Land in Between, by Hisham Matar

Poetry: Olio, by Tyehimba Jess (Wave Books)

General Nonfiction: Evicted: Poverty and Profit in the American City, by Matthew Desmond (Crown)

Music: Angel’s Bone, by Du Yun

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Climate change is expected to make severe turbulence ― which can hospitalize passengers ― worse in the coming years, according to a new study published Friday. 

The study was conducted by Paul Williams, an atmospheric scientist at the University of Reading in the U.K., and published in the May 2017 issue of Advances in Atmospheric Sciences. 

Williams predicts that when carbon dioxide concentrations double, there will be a major effect on the turbulence that people experience during air travel, whether it’s light, moderate or severe. The Washington Post reported that carbon dioxide concentrations will double by mid-century.

Using climate model simulators to replicate transatlantic flight patterns during the winter, Williams found that increased carbon dioxide concentrations would strengthen wind shears, which are an increase or change in wind speed or direction that can lead to thunderstorms.

Williams found that light turbulence would increase by an average of 59 percent, light-to-moderate by 75 percent, moderate by 94 percent, moderate-to-severe turbulence by 127 percent and severe turbulence by 149 percent. 

“For most passengers, light turbulence is nothing more than an annoying inconvenience that reduces their comfort levels, but for nervous fliers even light turbulence can be distressing,” Williams said in a statement about his study.

He added, “However, even the most seasoned frequent fliers may be alarmed at the prospect of a 149 percent increase in severe turbulence, which frequently hospitalizes air travelers and flight attendants around the world.”

The study also claims the effects of climate change could lead to longer flights, more wear-and-tear for aircrafts, increased fuel consumption and emissions as pilots try to avoid patches of turbulence. William estimates turbulence already costs U.S. airline carriers around $200 million per year. 

If you’re concerned about air turbulence, the FAA suggests you read their Turbulence Fact Sheet.

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United Airlines attracted widespread ridicule Monday after news outlets published videos of airport police violently dragging a passenger from an overbooked flight.

United needed four passengers to give up their seats but was unable to get enough volunteers to take $800 to get off the plane, Audra Bridges, a passenger who posted one video of the incident, told the Louisville Courier-Journal. Airline staff said they would select four passengers at random, but one man refused to leave his seat after he was selected, prompting the airline to call airport police, Bridges said. 

United might have been able to avoid all of this by making its passengers aware of the law. Federal regulations require airlines to pay cash ― lots of it ― to people they bump from flights against their wishes. (They can also cut a check, which is nearly as good.) If bumping a passenger from a domestic flight delays that passenger by more than two hours, the airline has to pay the passenger 400 percent of the fare to the passenger’s destination or first stopover, up to a maximum of $1,350. (The infographic at the end of this post explains the few exceptions to this rule.) Here’s the relevant section of the Code of Federal Regulations:

Multiple investigations, however, have found that airlines rarely pay passengers the full amount to which they’re entitled. In many cases, this is because the airlines ask for and get volunteers who are willing to accept less money, or even airline miles, for their inconvenience. Airlines are also supposed to tell passengers at risk of being bumped from overbooked flights how much money they will get if they’re involuntarily bumped, but it’s not clear how often they do that. 

In this case, United offered passengers $800, but didn’t get enough volunteers. One reason might be that some of the passengers on the flight in question ― a Sunday evening nonstop from Chicago to Louisville, Kentucky ― were probably entitled to more than that. A one-way ticket from Chicago to Louisville on United next Sunday would run you about $221 ― meaning that, if bumped and delayed more than two hours, you’d be entitled to $884.

Some passengers likely paid even more to be on the flight, and would be entitled to more compensation. And surely the cost to United of offering passengers more money ― even the full $1,350 ― would have been far less than the negative PR from this episode. The logical thing to do would’ve been to offer more. 

Here’s an infographic on all this. (It’s slightly outdated, because the compensation maximum has gone up to $1,350 from $1,300.)

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Parents who have ever taken a midnight drive around the neighborhood in a desperate attempt to help their baby fall asleep are going to want to hear about this new crib.

Ford Motor Company has introduced a crib called MAX Motor Dreams. A video posted on the Ford España YouTube channel shows footage of a baby asleep in the crib, which simulates the motion of car rides that lull many babies to sleep and mimics the soft hum of the engine and appearance of street lights in the distance. Using an app, parents can track the movements and sounds of their own car so they can replicate them with the crib.

Watch the video from Ford about MAX Motor Dreams below.

In a press release, Ford explained that the crib is “a one-off pilot,” but after hearing so much feedback about it, the company is considering mass-producing it.

The motivation behind the creation of the crib, which was made for a Ford of Spain campaign, is the company’s concern that many parents who try to help their kids fall asleep late at night with a short drive may be too tired to be behind the wheel.

Alejandro López Bravo, the crib designer who is part of the creative studio Espada y Santa Cruz in Spain, hopes the invention, if ever produced and sold, “could make the everyday lives of a lot of people a little bit better.” 

The HuffPost Parents newsletter, So You Want To Raise A Feminist, offers the latest stories and news in progressive parenting. 

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