SMC EXPRESS November 2023

NFL: opening weeks - A roundup

By Kian Williams

It has been an interesting opening few games in the world of NFL, as we were lucky enough to enjoy a handful of exciting matchups and a few surprises along the way with the main headline of all being the Detroit Lions picking up a massive win over the Kansas City Chiefs at Arrowhead Stadium. The game was one of the highlights of the season so far with scorers for Detroit being Amon-Ra St Brown with a touchdown in the 1st quarter and Brian Branch scored a touchdown with a 50-yard interception in the 3rd quarter and finished the game with a David Montgomery 8-yard rushing touchdown. The Chiefs threw 2 touchdown passes in the 2nd quarter to Rashee Rice and Blake Bell respectively via Patrick Mahomes and Harrison Butker kicked a 35-yard field goal in the 3rd quarter and a 39-yard field goal in the 4th to end the game 21-20 to Detroit. This will undoubtably be one of the highlights of this season and could be the Chiefs defining moment of the season.

The Chiefs followed this up by beating the Jaguars 17-9 away from home with scorers being Skyy Moore and Travis Kelce and Harrison Butker also kicked 5 points including a field goal. Jaguars only scorer ended up being Brandon McManus who kicked all 9 points.

Another major highlight of the opening fixtures is the fact the Bengals lost both of their opening games to the Browns and Ravens, respectively. They gave an outright embarrassing performance against the Browns at home, only putting up 3 points as they lost 24-3 to the Browns and 27-24 to the Ravens. Joe Burrow really needs to find out how to steady the ship down in Cincinatti.

The Buccaneers are currently 2 and 0 after beating the Vikings 20-17 and the Bears 27-17 to show they along with their new Quarterback Baker Mayfield that they are a force to be reckoned with this season. The Eagles also are now 2 and 0 after beating the Patriots 25-20 and the Vikings 34-28 and therefore staking their claim that they want revenge for their heartbreaking loss to the Chiefs last Superbowl. The other teams that have started off this season strongly at 2 and 0 consist of The Falcons which are led by a strong Marcus Mariota, the Cowboys led by their star man Dak Prescott, The Dolphins with their star trio of Tyreek Hill, Jaylen Waddle and Tua Tagavoiloa. The Saints with a shock start, the 49ers ran by Brock Purdy, the Ravens led by Lamar Jackson and Odell Beckam Jr and the Commanders with another shock start with a shock win over the Broncos.

Speaking of the Patriots they once again have had a dreadful start to their campaign with an opening week loss to the Eagles despite a fightback from 14 down and still ended up losing 25-20. They also suffered a loss at the hands of the Dolphins 24-17. Just like last year Belichick has had a slow start but hopefully will pick up form in the weeks to come.

The Texans, Vikings, Cardinals, Bears, Broncos, Panthers, and the Chargers all have also started their season 0 and 2 with the most surprising of all being the Minnesota Vikings starting 0 and 2 after quite a decent season last year with Kirk Cousins having a standout year which clearly did not translate over to this season which has been disappointing.

And that brings us to the bulk of the teams who all finished 1 and 1. These consist of a Buffalo Bills team led by Josh Allen who suffered a disappointing loss to the Jets 22-16 in week 1 but bounced back to beat the Raiders in week 2. The Browns also started 1 and 1 after a shock victory against Joe Burrows Bengals but then were defeated by the Steelers 26-22. The Detroit Lions also made headlines by beating the Kansas City Chiefs and Patrick Mahomes 21-20 in the opening game at Arrowhead but then lost to the Seahawks 37-31. The Packers started the season strong with a comprehensive win over the Bears and a 1-point loss to the Falcons 25-24. Down in Indianapolis the Colts were defeated by the Jaguars but bounced back to beat the Texans down in Texas 31-20 to finish the opening 2 games 1 and 1, speaking of the Jaguars they suffered a tough loss to the Chiefs in week 2 after beating the Colts which leaves them in a good position for the year. Down in Las Vegas the Raiders have also started off well by scraping a week 1 win against the Broncos 17-16 down in Denver but went on to lose comprehensively to the Bills in week 2. In Los Angeles, the Rams have begun their campaign with an away win to the Seahawks and a narrow loss to the 49ers 30-23. The Giants started off their year with the 2nd strangest result of the season so far by getting annihilated at home by the Cowboys 40-0 but luckily bounced back and earned a narrow win against the Cardinals 31-28. The Jets secured a week 1 victory over the Bills but were beaten 30-10 by the Cowboys in week 2. In Pittsburgh, the Steelers lost convincingly to the 49ers but found their feet in week 2 and beat the Browns 26-22. The Seahawks lost to the Rams in game 1 but beat the Lions 37-31 in game 2 to kickstart their season. And finally, down in Tennesse the Titans lost narrowly to the Saints 16-15 but got their first win under their belt by beating the Chargers 27-24 in Tennesse.

This has been an unbelievable start to the 2023 NFL season with many rivalries and underdog stories being created before our eyes and we will surely be in for a phenomenal season.

A beginner's guide to protein

By Oisin Doyle

Protein is a naturally occurring complex substance, proteins are present in all living organisms in their nails, hair, teeth, and skin etc., and include many essential biological compounds such as enzymes, hormones, and antibodies. It is one of the most important macronutrients required for all the basic works of growth such as muscle growth and height growth etc. A variety of protein foods, including egg, salmon, beef, chicken, beans, lentils, almonds, quinoa, oats, broccoli, artichokes, yogurt, cheese, and tofu.

How much protein do you need every day: The National Academy of Medicine recommends that adults have an intake of at least 0.8 grams of protein per kilogram of body weight a day, or just 7 grams per around 20 pounds of body weight. For an individual weighing in at 140 pounds that would be around 50 grams of protein. It is important to note that millions of people around the world, including children do not get the recommended amount of protein intake per day due to food insecurity.

What would happen if I did not get the recommended intake per day: The many side effects of protein deficiency range from feeling nauseous to just feeling week and feeble, since protein supplies energy and satisfies the diet, you may also get sick due to protein not being present to improve the immune system. Mood changes may occur naturally and consistently due to the fluctuating blood sugars and proteins affecting the brain's neurotransmitters (they affect the mood of a person).

What type of food can provide this protein best: meals such as steaks and other meats are reliable sources of protein, but they also will contain saturated fats, for the vegetarian side of things foods in the dairy product range such as Greek yogurt contain a nice quantity of protein. Nuts can be a profound way of getting your daily intake of protein as a vegetarian.

What about supplements: protein can be an effective way to receive your daily intake of protein easier than eating meats, nuts, or dairy products. You can mix your protein powder with a variety of other high protein sources such as yogurts or in a high protein milkshake. You can buy protein powder in your local gym or in any or most food retailers although protein powder should not be consumed in extremely excessive amounts beyond safe human consumption.

Baking basics

By Dylan Chapot

It is known that in the culinary world baking is seen as a science, with the amount of precision and rules in baking it may seem overwhelming to some people who are just starting. However, by avoiding a few mistakes and having a little practice you will notice your baking improve drastically by following some of these tips.

Using room temperature ingredients

Many recipes will call for you to use some ingredients at room temperature and it is important that you follow this rule. Many things can't be done when not at room temperature, cold butter cannot be creamed, and yeast will not activate in boiling water. It is best to leave out your ingredients for at least 1 or 2 hours on the kitchen table before you use them in order to achieve the best results.

Understanding how to use a light hand

You might have come across the phrase ‘don’t overmix,’ but what does it mean? Once you add flour to anything it promotes the mixture to become tough or chewy. We knead bread dough so that we can achieve that nice chewy texture we know in bread, however we don’t want that for our cakes and muffins. You should try to mix ingredients as little as possible once you add your flour so that the finished product will be fluffy and light.

Measure everything correctly

One of the key things which separates cooking and baking is how things are measured. In baking it is crucial that you follow the recipe exactly as it is shown to the nearest gram. It often helps to get a digital weighing scale as it is much more precise. If you use cup measurements, be sure to sweep the top with a knife so that the measurement is exactly level. Liquids should always be measured using a clear measuring jug with gradations on the side to get the most exact results.

Use good quality ingredients

Make sure that your ingredients do not pass the best before date when you are baking. This is especially important for chemical leaveners such as yeast, baking powder and baking soda. These substances lose their energy over time which will mean that when you use them it won't have the proper leavening effect that it should have. Many spices such as cinnamon lose their flavor over time as well which is why it is important to make sure that everything you use when baking is fresh.

Saudi Pro League: transfer roundup

By Billy Dore

The 2023 summer transfer window saw a lot of changes in the football world. One of the biggest changes was the popularity of the Saudi Pro League. One of the biggest names in the history of football, Cristiano Ronaldo, joined Saudi side Al Nassr in January for a €200 million a year deal. His transfer clearly had a big influence on a lot of players. A total of 27 big names joined the SPL this summer.

Most popular transfers to the Saudi Pro League Summer 2023

• Karim Benzema to Al Ittihad (free)
• Ngolo Kante to Al Ittihad (free)
• Sadio Mane to Al Nassr (€30m)
• Neymar Jr to Al Hilal (€90m)
• Fabinho to Al Ittihad (€46.7m)
• Aymeric Laporte to Al Nassr (€27.5m)
• Ruben Neves to Al Hilal (€55m)
• Jordan Henderson to Al Ettifaq (€14m)

There was a lot of controversy about these transfers. Especially because of the salaries each player was offered. A lot of people claimed that it was a league for players soon to be going into retirement. This was because most players that joined were over the age of 30 years old. This changed when 21 year old Gabri Veiga joined Al Ahli on the 26th of August for €40 million. Clubs like Napoli and Liverpool had the young Brazilian on their shortlists throughout the summer, but he decided the move to Saudi Arabia was the best move for him.

With all their expenditure and the money they had to offer, some SPL teams still missed out on some big targets. Al Ittihad offered €150m for Liverpool‘s Mohamed Salah, but it was turned down immediately. Al Hilal made two big offers to both Lionel Messi and Kylian Mbappe. This was apparently because they wanted a player to compete against Al Nassr‘s Cristiano Ronaldo. However, both players did not fancy a move to the SPL.

Many pundits claimed that the money the Saudi Arabian clubs was too much, and their spending should be investigated. However, some disagreed and said that European teams were spending similar amounts. In my opinion, I think the money that clubs are being offered and the salaries that the players are being offered are way too much money. Certain European clubs have been investigated before for spending much less than SPL clubs and I think that something has to be done to stop it.