What you missed in Columbus for April 11

Pittsburgh Steelers quarterback and former Ohio State standout Dwayne Haskins died on Saturday after he was struck by a dump truck while walking on a highway in South Florida. Florida Highway Patrol spokesperson Lt. Indiana Miranda said Haskins was pronounced dead at the scene. He was 24 years old.

Tributes poured in following the news, with coaches and players offering praise for Haskins, who finished third in the 2018 Heisman voting after throwing 50 touchdown passes while leading Ohio State to a 13-1 record and a third-place finish in the final AP poll. Following the season, Haskins was selected 15th overall by the Washington Commanders in the 2019 NFL Draft. Haskins then spent two seasons with Washington before signing with Pittsburgh in January 2021.

"I am devastated and at a loss for words with the unfortunate passing of Dwayne Haskins," Steelers coach Mike Tomlin said in a statement. "He quickly became part of our Steelers family upon his arrival in Pittsburgh and was one of our hardest workers, both on the field and in our community. Dwayne was a great teammate, but even more so a tremendous friend to so many. I am truly heartbroken.”

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Chris Bailey, lead singer for legendary Australian punk band the Saints, has died, with the group announcing his passing in a social media post on Monday.

“It is with great pain in our hearts that we have to inform you about the passing of Chris Bailey, singer and songwriter of The Saints, on April the 9th 2022,” the band wrote on Facebook. “Chris lived a life of poetry and music and stranded on a Saturday night.”

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Russia claimed that it destroyed a handful of air defense systems over the weekend in Ukraine as it regrouped in its ongoing war against the country, with a new offensive expected any day in eastern Ukraine. Russia, which has been repeatedly thwarted by Ukraine in its war efforts, has responded by waging increasingly violent attacks against citizen targets, including a massacre in the town of Bucha and a missile strike on a train station that killed more than 50 people.

Meanwhile, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy appeared in an interview on “60 Minutes” in which he pleaded for more Western aid. “To be honest, whether we will be able to [survive] depends on this,” Zelenskyy said. “Unfortunately, I don’t have the confidence that we will be receiving everything we need.”

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In France, President Emmanuel Macron finished just ahead of far-right challenger Marine Le Pen in Sunday’s first-round vote, finishing with 27 percent of the vote to Le Pen’s 23 percent. The two will now face off in a second-round runoff, which is scheduled to take place on April 24.

Macron previously competed against Le Pen in a presidential runoff election five years ago, though public polling is much closer this time around, with Macron currently holding a narrow edge against a politician who has been described as “the Donald Trump of France.”

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Tesla CEO Elon Musk, who currently owns a 9.2 percent share of Twitter, announced on Monday that he would not be joining the company’s board of directors, as previously planned.

The pivot sets up a potential showdown between Musk and the Twitter board, since Musk's seat on the board was granted on the condition that he not own more than 14.9 percent of the company. Now, the tech billionaire, a longtime vocal critic of the platform, could move aggressively to acquire more of the company in a bid to force changes on it, according to Daniel Ives, who follows Twitter for Wedbush, a wealth management, brokerage and advisory firm.

Over the weekend, Musk posted a series of since-deleted tweets aimed at the company.

For the record, Musk is 50 years old.

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Scottie Scheffler, currently positioned as the world’s top golfer, backed up the ranking by winning the Masters over the weekend, clinching his first-ever victory in a major by shooting a 10-under 278. "If you're going to choose a golf tournament to win, this would be the tournament,” Scheffler said after his victory. 

In addition to Scheffler scoring his first win in a major, the tournament was noteworthy for the return from injury of Tiger Woods, who was seriously injured in a February 2021 car crash. Woods, who has won five Masters tournaments, made the cut in his first official even in 17 months, an accomplishment that left him looking to the future.

"I don't think words can really describe that given where I was a little over a year ago and what my prospects were at that time to end up here and be able to play in all four rounds," Woods said. "Even a month ago, I didn't know if I could pull this off. I think it was a positive, and I've got some work to do and looking forward to it."

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The Columbus Crew continued to struggle offensively in losing 1-0 to Philadelphia Union on Saturday (the team has notched just one goal in its last three games, two of them losses). The loss extended the Crew’s long-running futility against the Union, which now has a seven-game unbeaten streak against Columbus, including six wins. The Crew will attempt to bounce back when it hosts Orlando for a game on Saturday, April 16.