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LOS ANGELES — The programs came calling, last winter, and Kyron Hudson deflected them all to his father. Between USC wide receiver Hudson and Oregon defensive tackle Keyon Ware-Hudson, father Chance reflected, he had about 12 teams reach out about the possibility of his sons entering the transfer portal. A few, Chance told the Southern California News Group back in the fall, were interested in package deals. And father Chance listened, because the money was hard to turn down. But Hudson, even through three years of inconsistent snaps and infrequent opportunity, didn’t want to leave USC. “His answer? From him?” Chance said in the fall, asked if Hudson thought about transferring. “Absolutely not. There was zero.” A breakout season and a reel of highlight catches later, though, and receiver Hudson has officially entered the portal following his redshirt junior season at USC, announcing his departure in a lengthy statement on X (formerly Twitter) . “I step forward,” Hudson wrote, “with gratitude for my time at USC and anticipation for what lies ahead.” In a room full of talented sophomores jockeying for snaps, the former Mater Dei High standout emerged as the most consistent veteran presence at receiver for USC in 2024, hauling in a career-best 38 catches for 462 yards in 12 games. His handful of one-handed grabs became a signature, a career-best 83-yard game against LSU and a couple of improbable catches helping USC earn an impressive Week 1 win . Even as game-to-game opportunities in Coach Lincoln Riley’s passing attack wavered, Hudson was a constant on the outside, racking up the most snaps of any Trojans receiver in 2024. Amid a late-season flu that swept through USC’s locker room down the stretch, Hudson had to receive an IV for fluids during the week of the Nebraska game, according to a source familiar with the situation. That Saturday, he still caught three passes for 35 yards and a touchdown. “I mean, he’s one of those guys – you just kind of, you can’t have enough of ’em in your program, that they just stay the course, they just keep getting better,” Riley said, earlier in the season, of Hudson. “There’s not, maybe always these massive jumps. But they’re always there. He always practices, he never misses anything, he never misses a rep.” That consistency, in turn, will be missed dearly in USC’s receivers room in 2024, with veteran leaders Hudson and Kyle Ford (out of eligibility) now moving on.
The Canada Games Centre has closed both of its rinks due to an issue with one of the facility’s ice plant compressors. “The decision has been made to cancel all ice bookings as well as any drop-in ice activities with the exception of the Arctic Edge Skating Club’s Gold Nugget Competition,” read a Dec. 6 press release. “Impacted user groups have been notified directly by Facility Bookings staff.” Darrell Peters is the operations supervisor at the Canada Games Centre. He told the News that one of the rink’s three compressors went out of commission on Wednesday, Dec. 4. “An instrument panel that’s on the compressor is not working, it’s dead. So that compressor is no longer working,” he said. The warm conditions that Whitehorse has been experiencing have complicated the matter further: Peters said operations cannot keep up with the flooding of the ice. He said the operations have not been flooding after every period of hockey since Dec. 4 because the ice wasn’t setting quickly enough. “So what’s happening is our ice is getting slimmer and slimmer,” he said. The ice is usually maintained at an inch-and-three-quarters to two inches, but the ice level is now down to an inch-and-a-quarter. “It’ll keep getting lower, and then we’ll lose our lines on the ice, and then it’s a problem,” said Peters. Arctic Edge will be able to use the ice due to the nature of their sport compared with hockey, as well as the fact the rink only needs to be flooded every few hours with figure-skating as opposed to after every period with hockey, Peters said. It is also due to the fact that Arctic Edge is running their test program. “That’s why we’re shutting everything down, so that they have good quality ice still, on the ATCO ice, for them to do the testing program.” Peters said that their technicians will be arriving from Edmonton on Monday, Dec. 9 with the replacement parts. “I expect them to be working on it Tuesday morning and hopefully be running by lunchtime on Tuesday, if everything works out,” Peters said.
No. 25 won over with a last-second touchdown in Piscataway, New Jersey on Saturday. Down 31–30, the Illini faced a 4th-and-13 with 14 seconds remaining in the game and were ready to attempt a go-ahead field goal from 58 yards. Rutgers coach Greg Schiano then called timeout to try and ice kicker . Moczulski actually kicked the ball wide left and approximately 15 yards short, but the attempt was negated by the timeout. After seeing how the kick went and given a chance to reconsider, Illinois coach Bret Bielema decided against the field goal try and opted to go for a first down. That choice ended up working out even better than Bielema likely imagined. PAT BRYANT SCORES THE GAME-WINNING TD ON 4TH DOWN! 😱 — NBC Sports (@NBCSports) Illinois quarterback connected with Pat Bryant for a 17-yard pass and a first down. However, Rutgers then couldn't tackle Bryant despite five defenders being nearby. The senior wideout then sprinted the remaining 23 yards to the right corner of the end zone for a touchdown with four seconds remaining. The Illini failed on a 2-point conversion attempt. Yet they got those two points anyway when Rutgers lateraled the ball out of bounds in the end zone on the ensuing kickoff. Some more angles of the Pat Bryant game-winning TD for 🎥 on Peacock 📺 — Big Ten Network (@BigTenNetwork) Altmyer passed for 249 yards and two touchdowns on 12-for-26 passing. He also rushed for 74 yards and a score. rushed for an additional 58 yards and a TD on 13 carries. Bryant finished with seven receptions for 197 yards and a touchdown he'll never forget. Rutgers QB also passed for two TDs with 174 yards on 18-for-36 passing, while also rushing for 84 yards and two scores on 13 carries. led the Scarlet Knights with 122 yards rushing on 28 carries. caught six balls for 66 yards and a TD. Illinois improved to 8–3 overall with the victory and tied with for at 5–3. Rutgers dropped to 6–5 (3–5 in Big Ten) with the defeat.Scott Turner, President-elect Donald Trump choice to lead the Department of Housing and Urban Development, is a former NFL player who ran the White House Opportunity and Revitalization Council during Trump’s first term. Turner, 52, is the first Black person selected to be a member of the Republican’s Cabinet. Here are some things to know about Turner: From professional football to politics Turner grew up in a Dallas suburb, Richardson, and graduated from the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign. He was a defensive back and spent nine seasons in the NFL beginning in 1995, playing for the Washington Redskins, San Diego Chargers and Denver Broncos. During offseasons, he worked as an intern then-Rep. Duncan Hunter, R-Calif. After Turner retired in 2004, he worked full time for the congressman. In 2006, Turner ran unsuccessfully as a Republican in California’s 50th Congressional District. Turner joined the Texas House in 2013 as part of a large crop of tea party-supported lawmakers. He tried unsuccessfully to become speaker before he finished his second term in 2016. He did not seek a third term. Motivational speaker and pastor Turner also worked for a software company in a position called “chief inspiration officer” and said he acted as a professional mentor, pastor, and councilor for the employees and executive team. He has also been a motivational speaker. He and his wife, Robin Turner, founded a nonprofit promoting initiatives to improve childhood literacy. His church, Prestonwood Baptist Church, lists him as an associate pastor. He is also chair of the center for education opportunity at America First Policy Institute, a think tank set up by former Trump administration staffers to lay the groundwork if he won a second term. Headed council in Trump’s first term Trump introduced Turner in April 2019 as the head of the new White House Opportunity and Revitalization Council. Trump credited Turner with “helping to lead an Unprecedented Effort that Transformed our Country’s most distressed communities.” The mission of the council was to coordinate with various federal agencies to attract investment to so-called “Opportunity Zones,” which were economically depressed areas eligible to be used for the federal tax incentives. The role of HUD HUD is responsible for addressing the nation’s housing needs. It also is charged with fair housing laws and oversees housing for the poorest Americans, sheltering more than 4.3 million low-income families through public housing, rental subsidy and voucher programs. The agency, with a budget of tens of billions of dollars, runs a multitude of programs that do everything from reducing homelessness to promoting homeownership. It also funds the construction of affordable housing and provides vouchers that allow low income families pay for housing in the private market. During the campaign, Trump focused mostly on the prices of housing, not public housing. He railed against the high cost of housing and said he could make it more affordable by cracking down on illegal immigration and reducing inflation. He also said he would work to reduce regulations on home construction and make some federal land available for residential construction. ———
Mickey, Minnie, Goffy and Wemby
NEW YORK — There's a Christmas Day basketball game at Walt Disney World, featuring Mickey, Minnie, Goofy and Wemby. An animated game, anyway. The real game takes place at Madison Square Garden, where Victor Wembanyama and the San Antonio Spurs face the New York Knicks in a game televised on ABC and ESPN and streamed on Disney+ and ESPN+. The special alt-cast, the first animated presentation of an NBA game, will be shown on ESPN2 and also stream on Disney+ and ESPN+. Madison Square Garden is a staple of the NBA's Christmas schedule. Now it merges with a bigger home of the holidays, because the "Dunk the Halls" game will be staged at Disney, on a court set up right smack in the middle of where countless families have posed for vacation photos. Why that location? Because it was Mickey Mouse's Christmas wish. People are also reading... "Basketball courts often have the ability to make a normal environment look special, but in Disney it can only turn out incredible," Wembanyama said in an ESPN video promoting his Christmas debut. The story — this is Disney, after all — begins with Mickey penning a letter to Santa Claus, asking if he and his pals can host a basketball game. They'll not only get to watch one with NBA players, but some of them will even get to play. Goofy and Donald Duck will sub in for a couple Knicks players, while Mickey and Minnie Mouse will come on to play for the Spurs. "It looks to me like Goofy and Jalen Brunson have a really good pick-and-roll at the elite level," said Phil Orlins, an ESPN vice president of production. Walt Disney World hosted real NBA games in 2020, when the league set up there to complete its season that had been suspended by the COVID-19 pandemic. Those games were played at the ESPN Wide World of Sports. The setting for the Christmas game will be Main Street USA, at the entrance of the Magic Kingdom. Viewers will recognize Cinderella's castle behind one baseline and the train station at the other end, and perhaps some shops they have visited in between. Previous alternate animated broadcasts included an NFL game taking place in Andy's room from "Toy Story;" the "NHL Big City Greens Classic" during a game between the Washington Capitals and New York Rangers; and earlier this month, another NFL matchup between the Cincinnati Bengals and Dallas Cowboys also taking place at Springfield's Atoms Stadium as part of "The Simpsons Funday Football." Unlike basketball, the players are helmeted in those sports. So, this telecast required an extra level of detail and cooperation with players and teams to create accurate appearances of their faces and hairstyles. "So, this is a level of detail that we've never gone, that we've never done on any other broadcast," said David Sparrgrove, the senior director of creative animation for ESPN. Wembanyama, the 7-foot-3 phenom from France who was last season's NBA Rookie of the Year, looks huge even among most NBA players. The creators of the alternate telecast had to design how he'd look not only among his teammates and rivals, but among mice, ducks and chipmunks. "Like, Victor Wembanyama, seeing him in person is insane. It's like seeing an alien descend on a basketball court, and I think we kind of captured that in his animated character," said Drew Carter, who will again handle play-by-play duties, as he had in the previous animated telecasts, and will get an assist from sideline reporter Daisy Duck. Wembanyama's presence is one reason the Spurs-Knicks matchup, the leadoff to the NBA's five-game Christmas slate, was the obvious choice to do the animated telecast. The noon EST start means it will begin in the early evening in France and should draw well there. Also, it comes after ABC televises the "Disney Parks Magical Christmas Day Parade" for the previous two hours, providing more time to hype the broadcast. Recognizing that some viewers who then switch over to the animated game may be Disney experts but NBA novices, there will be 10 educational explainers to help with basketball lingo and rules. Beyond Sports' visualization technology and Sony's Hawk-Eye tracking allow the animated players to make the same movements and plays made moments earlier by the real ones at MSG. Carter and analyst Monica McNutt will be animated in the style of the telecast, donning VR headsets to experience the game from Main Street, USA. Other animated faces recognizable to some viewers include NBA Commissioner Adam Silver, who will judge a halftime dunk contest among Mickey and his friends, and Santa himself, who will operate ESPN's "SkyCam" during the game. The players are curious how the production — and themselves — will look. "It's going to be so crazy to see the game animated," Spurs veteran Chris Paul said. "I think what's dope about it is it will give kids another opportunity to watch a game and to see us, basically, as characters." Be the first to knowCelebrating the 25th Anniversary and the Expansion of the Ideal Scientology Mission of BergamoBemoaning changes to Christmas customs from days gone by is practically a holiday tradition of its own. In the 1830s, the English solicitor William Sandys compiled a host of examples, and was especially concerned about the decline of public caroling. He noted that the practice appeared “to get more neglected every year” and worried that this exposed a wider British tendency to observe Christmas with less “hospitality and innocent revelry” than in the past. Mailing Christmas cards to family and friends has long been considered an essential element of a “British Christmas” – and one that was enthusiastically embraced here in the former colonies. Even so, annual sales and circulation of printed Christmas cards in the U.K . have been in decline since the 1990s, coinciding with the advent of the internet era. Throughout the 20th century, the Christmas card was as essential a part of Britain’s distinctive blend of holiday traditions as children hanging stockings at the end of their beds, Christmas pantomimes and the eating of turkey and Brussels sprouts. Yet according to historians Martin Johnes and Mark Connelly, these traditions only really took hold in the late 19th century and early 20th centuries – decades after Sandys made his worrisome list of Christmas customs in decline. This makes them all relatively new additions when viewed in light of Christmas’ 2,000-year history. Ironically, the beloved Christmas card tradition was actually the result of a modernizing world – though the cards sought to evoke a bygone era. The custom of mailing printed Christmas cards began in the middle decades of the 19th century and was a product of the Industrial Revolution. It was made affordable by new innovations in printing and papermaking and more efficient modes of transportation such as the railway. It was also facilitated by Parliament’s introduction of the Penny Post in 1840, which allowed Britons to mail letters to any address in the United Kingdom for the small price of a penny stamp. Most historians date the Christmas card’s arrival to 1843, the same year in which Charles Dickens published “A Christmas Carol.” That year, the inventor and civil servant Henry Cole commissioned the artist John Callcott Horsley to design a card to help Cole handle his Christmas correspondence more efficiently. Fine Art Images | Heritage Images | Getty Images The first Christmas card, 1843. Printed versions of Cole’s card were also made available for sale, but the high price of one shilling apiece left them outside the bounds of affordability for most of the Victorian population. Cole’s experiment, however, inspired other printers to produce similar but more affordable Christmas cards. The use of these cheaper cards began to spread in the 1850s and had established itself as a holiday tradition by the final decades of the century. While the Christmas card may have seemed like an entirely new invention to Victorian senders and receivers, the first Christmas card’s design was actually influenced by other, older British holiday traditions. Christmas’ status as an established holiday meant that new Christmas customs developed during the 19th century needed to connect with, supplement or replace already existing traditions, according to historians Timothy Larsen and the late Neil Armstrong. The Christmas card was no exception to this recorded pattern. In 1843, many Britons bemoaned the disappearance of a variety of “Old English” Christmas customs . Foremost among these were traditions of Christmas “hospitality,” including Christmas and New Year’s visiting, when family, friends and neighbors went to each other’s homes to drink toasts and offer best wishes for the holiday and the coming year. Even though there are questions about these “old” customs’ historical reality, they nevertheless were pointed to as prominent examples of the supposed disappearance of a range of community-level Christmas observances, including feasting, caroling and public acts of charity. All of these, it was believed, were endangered in an increasingly urban Britain characterized by class tensions, population mobility and mass anonymity . While it is unclear whether these ongoing debates inspired Cole’s decision to commission his 1843 Christmas card, the illustration Horsley designed for him alluded to them directly. The card features a family framed by trestles adorned with holly and mistletoe, accompanied on either side by charitable scenes involving the feeding and clothing of the poor. The center of the card – and the symbolic center of Horsley’s Christmas vision – is the family of three clearly defined generations enjoying a collective feast, including the classic English Christmas pudding . They face the viewer, their glasses raised in a toast, directly above a banner wishing them a “A Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year.” The central visual imagery of the card – as a “paper visitor” to the home of the recipient – replicates the social act of toasting associated with the older custom of holiday visits. Jim Heimann Collection | Getty Images A Christmas greeting card shows a white, shaggy dog in a blue ribbon singing with a songbook resting at his feet, circa 1934. Similar imagery associated with the “Old English” Christmas of carolers, acts of charity, the playing of country sports, games such as blindman’s bluff, copious greenery, feasting and the toasting of Christmas and the New Year were also common features of early Christmas cards . These Christmas cards were thus novel, industrial products adorned with the imagery of British Christmases past. The development, and ultimate triumph, of the Christmas card in Victorian Britain demonstrates how nostalgia was channeled into invention. The Christmas card did not revitalize the traditions of Christmas and New Year’s visiting; it offered a paper replacement for them. Industrial production and transportation transformed the physical visitor into a paper proxy, allowing more people to “visit” many more homes than they ever would have been able to in person. The desire to hold on to one element of an older, supposedly declining Christmas tradition thus proved instrumental in helping to create a new holiday tradition in the midst of unprecedented changes in communications and social relations. The history of the 19th century suggests that, should the predicted “ death” of the Christmas card come to pass, whatever replaces it will thrive by recalling the Christmas customs of the past within its modern trappings. Christopher Ferguson is an associate professor of history at Auburn University in Alabama. This commentary was produced in partnership with The Conversation , a nonprofit, independent news organization dedicated to bringing the knowledge of academic experts to the public.Christmas Day lineup, as always, has star power
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B.C. rescuers warn of trusting online apps after helping 2 overseas hikersJudge denies Musk $56 billion Tesla compensation packageToday, Dec. 6, is the anniversary of the Polytechnique massacre and the National Day of Remembrance and Action on Violence Against Women. Port Moody–Coquitlam NDP MP Bonita Zarrillo delivered a blunt speech on the topic in the House of Commons. "It has been 35 years since Barbara Kuchnik-Vijadavich, Annie Turcotte, Annie St-Arneault, Michèle Richard, Sonia Pelletier, Anne-Marie Lemay, Maryse Leclair, Maryse Laganière, Maud Haviernick, Anne-Marie Edward, Barbara Dayneault, Nathalie Croteau, Hélène Colgan and Geneviève Bergeron were murdered for being a woman. New Democrats will always remember the women of Polytechnique Montreal as they lost their lives to patriarchy and white privilege. This deadly combination continues, with the upholding of male supremacy across the globe. It is called misogyny: an ingrained prejudice and contempt for women. It is misogyny that has kept women excluded from the hallways of power. It is what has limited their job opportunities, income, ability to move freely in community, be safe from violence or to even have the healthcare they need. And, for Indigenous women in Canada, the impacts are even more deadly. Indigenous women are killed at seven times the rate of non-Indigenous women in Canada. This is a recognized genocide that has become so normalized in this country that when an Indigenous woman, girl or two-spirit individual goes missing or is killed, it barely makes the news. That reality is happening right now in Winnipeg where murdered Indigenous women have been abandoned in a landfill. And it was not a given that the hallways of power would offer dignity to these women and search for them wherever they were. No, it took the pressure of sisters to get it done and I take a moment here to recognize the power of the NDP member from Winnipeg Centre, who fought alongside Indigenous women and their families and created a red-dress alert system to find and protect Indigenous women, girls and two-spirit people. This is what action on violence against women looks like. It is shameful that women and diverse-gender people in this country need to stand on guard because, in 35 years, misogyny has not dissipated; in fact, it has increased. With the reach of online gaming and social media, misogyny now has a new name: manospheres. These are clubs, podcasts, books and influencers who use these platforms to radicalize young males through a combination of algorithmic design, social dynamics and exposure to extremist ideologies. Remember these words: Algorithmic Amplification, Gamification of Hate, Normalization of Misogyny, Recruitment of Vulnerability men, and lack of Counter-Messaging. These are all enemies of human rights and are the new wave of violence against women and diverse genders. Right now, the Winnipeg Human Rights Museum draws the country’s attention to the fact, and I quote from their website, "that a growing number of men spread hateful ideas about women, trans and non-binary people online. Some internet communities even encourage and celebrate gender-based violence. Researchers have called for a variety of regulatory and technical improvements to reduce the reach and harmfulness of radical, hateful internet content. Simply banning users who engage in hate speech — deplatforming them — has been shown to reduce their reach. Legislatures must take action on this immediately as the internet giants will not because they are financially benefiting from hate. So, this is where Canada is at 35 years after 14 aspiring engineers were killed for being women, and bravely stepping into the manosphere. Today, and every day, New Democrats honour the women who lost their lives at École Polytechnique, and to every victim of gender-based violence. And we call on the government and the Opposition to stop fuelling hate, take immediately action to end the amplification of misogyny and end decades of government’s systemic failures to protect the fundamental human rights of women and gender-diverse people in this country." 📣 Got an opinion on this story or any others in the Tri-Cities? Send us a letter or email your thoughts or story tips to [email protected] . 📲 Want to stay updated on Coquitlam, Port Coquitlam, Port Moody, Anmore and Belcarra news? Sign up for our free daily newsletter . 💬 Words missing in an article? Your adblocker might be preventing hyperlinked text from appearing.Stop Hating on Pantone’s “Mocha Mousse” Color of the Year