THERE - AVOIDING ALL THE SLOBBER FROM THE BEAUTIFUL BULLDOG CONTEST. (INTRO STAND UP) <AS WE KNOW, THE DRAKE RELAYS BRINGS SOME OF THE BEST ATHLETES ON THE PLANET TO OUR CITY BUT BEFORE ALL OF THE ACTION BEGINS WE HAVE SOME OF THE MOST UHHH UNATHLETIC INDIVIDUALS... BUT WHO CARES JUST LOOK AT THAT FACE.> (TAKE NATS) IT'S LOUD (NATS) A LITTLE STINKY (TAKE SOT) <PROBABLY SMELLY YEAH> AND THERE WERE NO SHORTAGE OF TREATS (TAKE NATS) THE BEAUTIFUL BULLDOG CONTEST IS BACK FOR IT'S 44TH YEAR. AN EVENT UNLIKE ANY OTHER (TAKE SOT) <WE JUST MOVED TO ILLINOIS AND ALL OF OUR FRIENDS ARE LIKE A BULLDOG CONTEST?! WHAT THE HECK1> 29 DOGS, DRESSED IN CONSTUMES WITH THEIR OWNERS. (TAKE SOT) <I'M DOC AND THIS IS MARTY MCFLY.> (TAKE SOT) <HE'S GOT A LITTLE TUXEDO.> AIMING TO BE TOP DOG FOR THE DRAKE RELAYS (TAKE SOT) <WE WERE HOPING TO HAVE BOTH OF THEM ON THE BLUE OVAL> A PANEL OF JUDGES GOING FROM DOG TO DOG. WITH THE TOUGHEST JOB IMAGINABLE: PICKING JUST ONE WINNER. ONE OF THE JUDGES WAS WOMEN'S BASKETBALL COACH ALLISON POHLMAN.. WHO KNOWS WHAT IT TAKES TO SPOT THE BEST AND BE THE BEST. BUT THIS WAS A WHOLE DIFFERENT ANIMAL (TAKE SOT) <ALLISON POHLMAN- DRAKE HEAD WOMEN'S BBALL COACH-I'D LIKE TO THINK I AM GOOD AT EVALUATION BUT THIS WAS JUST SO HARD. I DON'T THINK THIS IS ANYTHING YOU CAN EVER PREPARE FOR> THE KNAPP CENTER WAS FILLED WITH SNORTS (NAT), BARKS (NAT) AND LOTS OF KISSES (NATS) FOR ONE OF THE MOST FUN NIGHTS OF THE YEAR AND IF YOU EVER HAVE TO ASK THE QUESTION: WHAT MAKES A BULLDOG BEAUTIFUL? JUST LOOK AT THAT FACE! JEFF DUBROF (SNORT NATS) KCCI 8 NEWS IOWA'S NEWS LEADER. TAKE A LOOK AT TONIGHT'S TOP DOG. "PATCH" WAS CROWNED THE MOST BEAUTIFUL BULLDOG. DRAKE UNIVERSITY SHARED THESE PICTURES OF HER CORONATION. PATCH'S OWNERS ARE FROM FORT DODGE AND LIVE IN JOHNSTON. THE JUDGES SAY PATCH W

University in Iowa hosts annual Beautiful Bulldog Contest

Updated: 5:43 AM EDT Apr 25, 2023

Drake University crowned Patch as the winner of its 44th annual Beautiful Bulldog Contest.Patch was one of 29 bulldogs that participated in the competition at Drake University, a private university in Des Moines, Iowa.Watch the video above to see the costumed contestants in all their glory. Drake women's basketball coach Allison Pohlman was one of the judges for the contest."I do think I'm pretty good at evaluation, but a lot was thrown at me today. And so, I don't think that this is anything you can ever prepare for," Pohlman said.

DES MOINES, Iowa —

Drake University crowned Patch as the winner of its 44th annual Beautiful Bulldog Contest.

Patch was one of 29 bulldogs that participated in the competition at Drake University, a private university in Des Moines, Iowa.

Watch the video above to see the costumed contestants in all their glory.

Drake women's basketball coach Allison Pohlman was one of the judges for the contest.

"I do think I'm pretty good at evaluation, but a lot was thrown at me today. And so, I don't think that this is anything you can ever prepare for," Pohlman said.

As more details emerge about the struggles to communicate for attendees and employees at the Astroworld Festival in Houston, survivors of Friday night's crowd crush describe the horror of a "whirlpool" of people moving toward the stage during musician Travis Scott's performance.Bryan Espinoza, 16, spoke at a press conference Tuesday with others caught in the crowd crush, saying "everyone's life was on the line" as the pressure built up during the show. Espinoza said he was pinned against a metal barrier."At one point my ribs were getting into the railing, basically impaled, and I was fearing for my life that I wasn't gonna make it," Espinoza said. A security guard helped him jump the gate, and he said there were "hundreds of bodies on the floor already from people passing out, falling over the railing."Eligio Garcia, 18, described how he and his girlfriend were caught up in a "whirlpool" of people at the start of Scott's set."Just kids and people falling and people trying to reach up, like they're reaching up for you," he said. "I really heard people screaming like, 'Help, please help me.'"Garcia said he and his girlfriend were knocked over and others fell on top of them. Eventually they were able to get upright in the scrum, and he said cries for help throughout the crowd to staff or show officials at the end of each song went unanswered before another began."It's a whole nightmare that just continues to play every night in my head," he said.At least 18 lawsuits had been filed in Harris County District Court in Texas related to the Astroworld tragedy that unfolded among a crowd of 50,000. Eight concertgoers were killed in the crush, and three people who were injured are still in the hospital, Houston Fire Chief Samuel Peña told CNN.Ayden Cruz, who was alongside his friend Brianna Rodriguez — one of the eight people who died — told CNN's Anderson Cooper the two were around a "circle of people who had fallen behind us" and were the next to stumble."The ripple effects of the crowds going forward and backward, we were pushed onto our backs, and as that happened, people began to fall on top of us and cause it to be harder to get air and just so much weight on both of us," Cruz said, adding another friend of theirs "fell as well on his back and people on top of us. It was really scary."Communication issues at concertAs officials work to gain a full understanding of what happened in the crowd during Scott's set, they are "looking at everything from the very beginning," Houston Mayor Sylvester Turner told CNN's Don Lemon on Tuesday."We're looking at the roles that everyone played, what missteps, failures, gaps that may have existed," Turner said, adding they aren't ruling anything out.The mayor said they are also looking into complaints by fire officials there were failures in communication as the deadly crowd swell unfolded.Peña told CNN Tuesday firefighters stationed outside the Astroworld venue were not in radio communication with the emergency medical providers hired by the concert organizers.According to the president of the city's firefighter union, Houston Fire officials on standby near the venue had asked concert organizers for a radio to communicate with the emergency medical provider company but were only provided with cellphone numbers.Attendees after the concert have since stated they were unable to text or call due to poor cell service.After learning of the crush, the fire department sent its resources into the crowd, saying eventually 12 "very critical" victims were transported, in many cases with CPR in progress.Turner said Live Nation has turned over some video footage from the event to Houston police and they are hoping to get more as the criminal investigation moves forward.Harris County Judge Lina Hidalgo is considering an outside law firm or other third party for the independent investigation into the tragedy, according to her spokesperson.Paying tribute to those lostMourners of the eight concertgoers killed are paying tribute at a vigil at NRG Park, the location of the festival.Caitlin Barrera told CNN Tuesday she was a neighbor and former classmate of Madison Dubiski, a 23-year-old attendee who died."She was a really sweet girl and it's just really sad what happened to her," Barrera said. "This is the last thing that you would think would happen."Rusty Barber, who did not know the victims, yet wanted to pay his respects, shared with CNN his frustration with how Friday's concert turned to tragedy and Scott's set continued during the surge."It could have been stopped. They could have taken a 10-minute pause, 15-minute pause, and then they could have got it situated. And then the show could have went on and all these people wouldn't have lost their lives," Barber said.Scott maintains he had no idea the extent of what was happening in the crowd during Friday's show. Footage from the concert's live stream also showed Scott pausing his performance and looking on in apparent confusion as an ambulance pulled into the crowd before finishing the concert.

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Investigators are expected to examine the design of safety barriers and the use of crowd control in determining what led to a crush of spectators at a Houston music festival that left eight people dead and hundreds more injured.Authorities planned to use videos, witness interviews and a review of concert procedures to figure out what went wrong Friday night during a performance by rapper Travis Scott. The tragedy unfolded when the crowd rushed the stage, squeezing people so tightly they couldn't breathe.Billy Nasser, 24, who had traveled from Indianapolis to attend the concert, said about 15 minutes into Scott's set, things got "really crazy" and people began crushing one another. He said he "was picking people up and trying to drag them out."Nasser said he found a concertgoer on the ground."I picked him up. People were stepping on him. People were like stomping, and I picked his head up and I looked at his eyes, and his eyes were just white, rolled back to the back of his head," he said.Over the weekend, a makeshift memorial of flowers, votive candles, condolence notes and T-shirts took shape outside at NRG Park.Michael Suarez, 26, visited the growing memorial after the concert. "It's very devastating. No one wants to see or hear people dying at a festival," Suarez said. "We were here to have a good time — a great time — and it's devastating to hear someone lost their lives."The dead, according to friends and family members, included a 14-year-old high school student; a 16-year-old girl who loved dancing; and a 21-year-old engineering student at the University of Dayton. The youngest was 14, the oldest 27. Houston officials did not immediately release the victims' names or the cause of death, but family and friends began to name their loved ones and tell their stories Sunday. Thirteen people remained hospitalized Sunday. Their conditions were not disclosed. Over 300 people were treated at a field hospital at the concert.City officials said they were in the early stages of investigating what caused the pandemonium at the sold-out Astroworld festival, an event founded by Scott. About 50,000 people were there. Authorities said that among other things, they will look at how the area around the stage was designed.Julio Patino, of Naperville, Illinois, who was in London on business when he got a middle-of-the-night call informing him his 21-year-old son Franco was dead, said he had a lot of questions about what happened."These concerts should be controlled," Patino said. "If they don't know how to do that, they should have canceled the concert right then, when they noticed there was an overcrowd." He added: "They should not wait until they see people laying down on the floor, lifeless."Steven Adelman, vice president of the industry group Event Safety Alliance, which was formed after the collapse of a stage at the Indiana State Fair in 2011 killed seven people, helped write industry guidelines widely used today. Besides looking at safety barriers and whether they correctly directed crowds or contributed to the crush of spectators, Adelman said, authorities will look at whether something incited the crowd besides Scott taking the stage.Adelman said another question is whether there was enough security there, noting there is a nationwide shortage of people willing to take low-wage, part-time security gigs."Security obviously was unable to stop people. Optically, that's really bad-looking," he said. "But as for what it tells us, it's too early to say."Contemporary Services Corp., headquartered in Los Angeles, was responsible for security staff at the festival, according to county records in Texas. Representatives for the company — which advertises online as being "recognized worldwide as the pioneer, expert and only employee owned company in the crowd management field" — did not immediately respond to emails and phone messages seeking comment.Houston police and fire department officials said their investigation will include reviewing video taken by concert promoter Live Nation, as well as dozens of clips from people at the show. Officials also planned to review the event's security plan and various permits issued to organizers to see whether they were properly followed. In addition, investigators planned to speak with Live Nation representatives, Scott and concertgoers.Izabella Ramirez of Texas City was celebrating her 21st birthday and said that once Scott came on stage, no one could move."Everybody was squishing in, and people were trying to move themselves to the front. You couldn't even lift up your arms," Ramirez said. Ramirez said a security guard pulled her over the barricade, while her date, Jason Rodriguez, lifted her up."Everyone was yelling for different things. They were either yelling for Travis or they were yelling for help," Rodriguez said.On video posted to social media, Scott could be seen stopping the concert at one point and asking for aid for someone in the audience: "Security, somebody help real quick."There is a long history of similar catastrophes at concerts, sporting events and even religious events. In 1979, 11 people were killed as thousands of fans tried to get into Cincinnati's Riverfront Coliseum to see a concert by The Who. Other past crowd catastrophes include the deaths of 97 people at a soccer match in Hillsborough Stadium in 1989 in Sheffield, England, and numerous disasters connected with the annual hajj pilgrimage in Saudi Arabia.Experts who have studied deaths caused by crowd surges say they are often a result of too many people packed into too small a space. Also Sunday, one of the first of many expected lawsuits was filed on behalf of a man injured in the crush of people in state court in Houston. Attorneys for Manuel Souza sued Scott, Live Nation and others, saying they were responsible. In a tweet posted Saturday, Scott said he was "absolutely devastated by what took place." He pledged to work "together with the Houston community to heal and support the families in need."___Associated Press writers Jake Bleiberg in Dallas; Randall Chase in Dover, Delaware; Kristin M. Hall in Nashville and Bob Christie in New Bloomfield, Pennsylvania, contributed to this report.