Happy New Year - Go Ducks!

The Oregon Ducks are in the Rose Bowl today!  

I don't really follow college football, so when the University of Oregon announced they were moving their sports teams from the Pac-12 conference to the Big 10 last August (I have no idea what I'm talking about), all I knew was that folks here in Oregon were p___'d!   

"They moved who where; and why?"  I'm being lazy by quoting AI:

"The Oregon Ducks left the Pac-12 conference to join the Big Ten, primarily due to the significantly more lucrative media rights deal offered by the Big Ten, which translates to more revenue for the university and athletic program."

It's always about money.  For weeks I heard a variety of reasons and consequences of the move; including the increased costs for attending games.  It's fine for the football team, but what about the lesser funded cross-country team?  I'm sure I positioned that somewhat innacurately, but you get the idea.

But the biggest heartache, I gathered, was the loss of the annual rivalry, once known as the Civil War.  From the Register Guard:

"Once called the "Oregon Classic" or the "State Championship Game" in its early days, one of the oldest college football rivalries has been played between the Oregon and Oregon State football teams since 1894.

"With athletes, alumni, boosters and others questioning the use of the name, the usage of the "Civil War" name was discontinued in 2020 following a wave of name changes across the country sparked by the George Floyd protests."  No suitable replacement has been found:  formerly known as the Civil War - sounds like Prince.

Fans here watched their last Ducks-Beavers game with tears.  The two schools (UO and OS) are only 47 miles apart, so it was easy to attend games at one school or another; no wonder they're peeved. 

The undefeated Ducks have undoubtedly surprised a lot of people, and I'll be cheering later on today.

But I just learned of the massacre in New Orleans.  Helluva way to begin 2025, and definitely puts a damper on all of today's celebrations.  We must stop accepting these mass killings, beginning with not publicizing the assassins.  We'll see if social media lauds this killer like they have Mangione and others.

Boy, this is sure a different ending than I imagined when I started typing.  I propose this New Year we offer more than thoughts and prayers following these tragedies.  Instead of investigating motivations, why not find out what the killers are AFRAID of (anonymity; bullying; SNAKES?)  Then, if they survive, torture them for the rest of their lives; if President Trump doesn't have them killed outright.  How many would object to that, I wonder?  

But the Rose Parade is on; I predict the Ducks beat Ohio State later on; and I'm about to head out for Eggs Benedict and a Bloody Mary, life is good.  Happy New Year, everyone!

P.S.  The Ducks got their tail feathers kicked:  41-21, Ohio State Buckeyes.  Oh well, they did well this season and there's always a next time.