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FASHION SHOW KICKOFF
NOVEMBER 3, 2022 | VOLUME 34 | NUMBER 41
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Why the Lipscomb men’s soccer team is Nashville’s best-kept secret BY LOGAN BUTTS
PHOTO BY MATT MASTERS
Tennessee District 5 congressional candidate Andy Ogles (left) and Texas Sen. Ted Cruz at the Oct. 26, 2022, “Take Back America” bus tour event in Franklin.
Ogles focuses on COVID lockdowns, border security at campaign rally BY ELI MOTYCKA AND MATT MASTERS
Andy Ogles appeared at a campaign rally Wednesday night at The Factory at Franklin’s Jamison Theater, speaking alongside U.S. Rep. Mark Green, U.S. Sen. Ted Cruz and conservative radio commentators. Ogles is facing Democratic state Sen. Heidi Campbell from Oak Hill in the race for Tennessee’s recently redrawn 5th Congressional District. The tour was organized by Cruz’s Truth and Courage PAC, a $5 million effort to support far-right congressional candidates, including Ogles. In a roughly 15-minute address, Ogles led with inflammatory comments about transgender athletes and rued America’s weakness, citing imminent geopolitical threats from Russia, China and Saudi Arabia. He blamed drug overdoses across the country on an insufficiently militarized border and fentanyl from China, which he cast as an act of war,
directing blame toward Secretary of Homeland Security Alejandro Mayorkas. Ogles told the crowd he would take action against Nancy Pelosi, Joe Biden and Kamala Harris. “This woke administration has weaponized the FBI and IRS,” Ogles told the crowd. “To the IRS agents — 87,000 — you better freshen up your résumé, because you’re fired.” Once an essential Republican talking point, abortion access — left unprotected by the Supreme Court’s overturning of Roe v. Wade in June — wasn’t mentioned a single time by any speaker. Before introducing Cruz, Ogles wrapped his remarks with messaging that reflected his campaign stump speech. “Sometimes you got to bring salt and pour it on the wounds to remind people where we went astray,” he told the crowd. Cruz’s opening targeted the cognitive
abilities of Biden and Harris. “Every single thing they do is wrong,” said Cruz. The rest of his speech focused on inflation, which he illustrated via hypothetical anecdotes that referenced recent cultural lightning rods in conservative media. “It is so bad, Antifa can’t afford rent — it is so bad, Hunter Biden can’t afford crack cocaine,” said Cruz, to raucous laughter. “Revival is coming. And I believe that with all of my heart.” The event opened to “God Bless the USA,” followed by the Pledge of Allegiance led by state GOP Chairman Scott Golden and the “Star-Spangled Banner” performed live by Christian singer Gary Chapman. Mark Green, the sitting representative for Tennessee’s 7th Congressional District, led a prayer that focused on protecting veterans and the Constitution and conferred a special blessing on Ogles’ campaign. >> PAGE 4
Over the last half-decade, the Lipscomb men’s soccer team has been slowly establishing itself on the national stage. The Bisons won their first ASUN Conference tournament in 2017, subsequently earning the program’s first-ever NCAA Tournament bid. The next season saw Lipscomb become collegiate soccer’s ultimate Cinderella story as the Bisons nearly made the Elite Eight of the College Cup, ultimately falling 2-1 on the road against No. 3 Kentucky in the Sweet 16. Last season, the Bisons returned for their third NCAA appearance in five seasons. But 2022 has been different. Lipscomb currently sits at No. 10 in the latest United Soccer Coaches National Poll, not only the highest mark in program history, but the highest for any sports program at Lipscomb since the school’s transition to Division I in the late ‘90s. They have been at the top of the regional rankings all season and have been in the national top-25 for the majority of it. Across the program, since before the season even began, players and coaches both have felt that 2022 could be a special year for the team. So far, they’ve been correct. “It’s the most talented group that we’ve had since I’ve been here, for sure,” head coach Charles Morrow said. Morrow has been at the helm of the program since 2005, but his involvement goes back even further. He suited up for the Bisons on the pitch from 1994-1996 and was an assistant coach from 1996 through 1997. One of the things Morrow pointed out that’s different about his current squad is its depth. In the past, the Bisons might have relied on one or two key playmakers to carry them through a season. But this year, 11 different players have tallied at least two points. It feels as if they have three startingcaliber attackers coming off the bench every match. >> PAGE 3 “It’s special in that our top-
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