As the holiday season quickly approaches, the Hays Chamber’s
Young Professionals wants to ensure those living in area assisted living
and skilled nursing facilities receive a holiday message.

Starting at 10 am. Nov. 12, the group will host the Holiday
Cheer Community Card Decorating Event at the Hays Public Library, 1205 Main.

“They actually just started this event last year for the
first time,” said Hays Chamber President and CEO Sarah Wasinger. “They really
wanted to find a way to connect with our elderly community who, at that point in
time, through COVID, were still kind of locked down.”

She said the group was able to share “some
extra joy and cheer to some of those folks in those facilities.”

This year, they are inviting the public, young and old, to gather
Saturday to the family-friendly event.

“Even if you're a young professional and you don't have
children, that's OK, you can still come in, find your kid at heart and help
come decorate some cards,” Wasinger said.

Last year, she said, the group decorated around 350 cards.

“That was actually enough cards to give one to every
individual who was in one of our assisted living facilities in Hays,” Wasinger
said. “But they also were able to do some over in Ellis.

“The goal would be to, of course, make sure that we have a
card for every person this year as well,” she added. 

The event will run until the cards are completed, but she
said attendees are welcome to complete more than one card during the day.

Funding for supplies for the event was provided by the Hays
Kiwanis Club.

“You can … make a couple of cards and really just, go crazy,”
Wasinger said. “We have a lot of different supplies that we purchased last week,
and they'll have all the cards pre-cut. And then really creativity just gets to
kind of take flight, and they can kind of just do whatever they want to do.”

Light snacks and refreshments will be served during the
event.

Along with the card-decorating event, Wasinger said the Hays
Young Professionals frequently work to create family-friendly events for Ellis
County residents.

“They just do a great job,” she said. “For those who may not
be familiar with the Hays Young Professionals, they are a group of 21 to 40
years of age … but so if you have not engaged with them, this would be a great
event to just kind of get your feet wet and figure out what they're all about.”

The YP group also has connection lunches — usually the third
Tuesday of every month excluding November and December.

“They also have different social hours to where you can kind
of engage and connect with folks,” Wasinger said.

“They've got a couple of different committees as well,” she
continued. “There's a Networking and Engagement Committee that focuses
on creating events such as these to give the folks a chance to
come out and meet other young professionals, but also just really be able to
kind of get involved in the business community. And then they also have a Membership
Development committee that focuses on giving opportunities for leadership ... (and) providing professional development.”

Along with the committees, leadership is comprised of
the Advisory Council.

“They meet once a month, and they the ones who
help set the policy for the group and ... approve
different events or anything new that is going on,” Wasinger said. “We
absolutely love them. They are such a champion for our chamber.

“And really, it's a great place to get started. If
you're not familiar with being a part of the chamber, come in as a young
professional ... get your feet wet, and then see what else
there is to take advantage of what the events that the chamber has throughout
the year.”

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2022/11/1667850495441.jpg" alt="" />
 <figcaption></figcaption>
 </figure>By JAMES BELL Hays PostAs the holiday season quickly approaches, the Hays Chamber’s
Young Professionals wants to ensure those living in area assisted living
and skilled nursing facilities receive a holiday message.Starting at 10 am. Nov. 12, the group will host the Holiday
Cheer Community Card Decorating Event at the Hays Public Library, 1205 Main.“They actually just started this event last year for the
first time,” said Hays Chamber President and CEO Sarah Wasinger. “They really
wanted to find a way to connect with our elderly community who, at that point in
time, through COVID, were still kind of locked down.”<div><iframe title="Hays Young Professionals to share holiday cheer with card decorating even" allowtransparency="true" height="300" width="100%" style="border: none; min-width: min(100%, 430px);" scrolling="no" data-name="pb-iframe-player" src="https://www.podbean.com/player-v2/?i=is4xt-13095d8-pb&from=pb6admin&square=1&share=1&download=1&rtl=0&fonts=Arial&skin=3267a3&font-color=auto&logo_link=podcast_page&btn-skin=3267a3&size=300" allowfullscreen=""></iframe></div>She said the group was able to share “some
extra joy and cheer to some of those folks in those facilities.”This year, they are inviting the public, young and old, to gather
Saturday to the family-friendly event.“Even if you're a young professional and you don't have
children, that's OK, you can still come in, find your kid at heart and help
come decorate some cards,” Wasinger said.Last year, she said, the group decorated around 350 cards.“That was actually enough cards to give one to every
individual who was in one of our assisted living facilities in Hays,” Wasinger
said. “But they also were able to do some over in Ellis.“The goal would be to, of course, make sure that we have a
card for every person this year as well,” she added. The event will run until the cards are completed, but she
said attendees are welcome to complete more than one card during the day.Funding for supplies for the event was provided by the Hays
Kiwanis Club.“You can … make a couple of cards and really just, go crazy,”
Wasinger said. “We have a lot of different supplies that we purchased last week,
and they'll have all the cards pre-cut. And then really creativity just gets to
kind of take flight, and they can kind of just do whatever they want to do.”Light snacks and refreshments will be served during the
event.Along with the card-decorating event, Wasinger said the Hays
Young Professionals frequently work to create family-friendly events for Ellis
County residents.“They just do a great job,” she said. “For those who may not
be familiar with the Hays Young Professionals, they are a group of 21 to 40
years of age … but so if you have not engaged with them, this would be a great
event to just kind of get your feet wet and figure out what they're all about.”The YP group also has connection lunches — usually the third
Tuesday of every month excluding November and December.“They also have different social hours to where you can kind
of engage and connect with folks,” Wasinger said.“They've got a couple of different committees as well,” she
continued. “There's a Networking and Engagement Committee that focuses
on creating events such as these to give the folks a chance to
come out and meet other young professionals, but also just really be able to
kind of get involved in the business community. And then they also have a Membership
Development committee that focuses on giving opportunities for leadership ... (and) providing professional development.”Along with the committees, leadership is comprised of
the Advisory Council.“They meet once a month, and they the ones who
help set the policy for the group and ... approve
different events or anything new that is going on,” Wasinger said. “We
absolutely love them. They are such a champion for our chamber.“And really, it's a great place to get started. If
you're not familiar with being a part of the chamber, come in as a young
professional ... get your feet wet, and then see what else
there is to take advantage of what the events that the chamber has throughout
the year.”

🎙 Hays Young Professionals will share holiday cheer at card decorating event

HOUSTON — Fans were celebrating the <a href="https://apnews.com/article/houston-astros-world-series-champions-phillies-af94071eece8c17cb91322a0bd398cd9">Houston Astros' World Series</a> win with a downtown parade on Monday.

Houston
 Mayor Sylvester Turner said he encouraged fans coming to the victory 
parade to “arrive early, wear Astros' colors, be loud and celebrate 
safely.” The parade started at noon.

Yordan Alvarez hit a towering
 three-run homer and the Astros clinched their second World Series title
 in six seasons on Saturday, beating the Philadelphia Phillies 4-1 in 
Game 6.

The city said in a news release that the downtown <a href="https://apnews.com/article/parades-ap-top-news-baseball-houston-george-springer-2685ff95965d4e178480bceafea3166f">parade after the Astros' 2017 win</a> brought in about 1 million people, and organizers expected about that many people to attend Monday's parade.

Saturday's win gave the Astros' <a href="https://apnews.com/article/dusty-baker-world-series-most-games-bb60066be88e056332df1bb637b77d7f">73-year-old manager Dusty Baker</a> his first title in 25 seasons as a manager, the last three in Houston.

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2022/11/1667851581822.jpeg" alt="Jim "Mattress Mack" McIngvale, foreground, a prolific Texas gambler, and the Houston Astros players gather before a victory parade for the Houston Astros' World Series baseball championship Monday in Houston. (AP Photo/David Phillip)" />
 <figcaption>Jim "Mattress Mack" McIngvale, foreground, a prolific Texas gambler, and the Houston Astros players gather before a victory parade for the Houston Astros' World Series baseball championship Monday in Houston. (AP Photo/David Phillip)</figcaption>
 </figure>Associated PressHOUSTON — Fans were celebrating the <a href="https://apnews.com/article/houston-astros-world-series-champions-phillies-af94071eece8c17cb91322a0bd398cd9">Houston Astros' World Series</a> win with a downtown parade on Monday.Houston
 Mayor Sylvester Turner said he encouraged fans coming to the victory 
parade to “arrive early, wear Astros' colors, be loud and celebrate 
safely.” The parade started at noon.Yordan Alvarez hit a towering
 three-run homer and the Astros clinched their second World Series title
 in six seasons on Saturday, beating the Philadelphia Phillies 4-1 in 
Game 6.The city said in a news release that the downtown <a href="https://apnews.com/article/parades-ap-top-news-baseball-houston-george-springer-2685ff95965d4e178480bceafea3166f">parade after the Astros' 2017 win</a> brought in about 1 million people, and organizers expected about that many people to attend Monday's parade.Saturday's win gave the Astros' <a href="https://apnews.com/article/dusty-baker-world-series-most-games-bb60066be88e056332df1bb637b77d7f">73-year-old manager Dusty Baker</a> his first title in 25 seasons as a manager, the last three in Houston.

Fans celebrate Houston Astros' World Series win with parade

&nbsp;By LINDSEY BAHR Associated Press

Jimmy Kimmel is ready to host the Oscars again, completing a trilogy 
that started with him presiding over the chaotic “envelope-gate" 
ceremony.

The late-night talk show host will preside over the ceremony in March, the show’s producers said Monday.

“We’re
 super thrilled to have Jimmy score his hat trick on this global stage,”
 executive producers and showrunners Glenn Weiss and Ricky Kirshner said
 in a joint statement. “We know he will be funny and ready for 
anything!”

Kimmel has hosted the show twice before, in 2017, when he managed the chaotic final moments in which the <a href="https://apnews.com/article/62158a8bf146420784f738fefd9505fe">wrong best picture winner was called</a>, and then the next year, which came just months into the #MeToo reckoning.

“Being
 invited to host the Oscars for a third time is either a great honor or a
 trap,” Kimmel said. “Either way, I am grateful to the academy for 
asking me so quickly after everyone good said no.”

After the 90th 
Oscars in 2018, which Kimmel hosted to generally positive reviews, the 
Academy Awards went without a host until the <a href="https://apnews.com/article/2022-oscars-show-9a69424884de11649b68a12a284353a1">94th ceremony earlier this year</a> when Regina Hall, Amy Schumer and Wanda Sykes shared the stage.

“Jimmy
 is the perfect host to help us recognize the incredible artists and 
films of our 95th Oscars,” added academy CEO Bill Kramer and academy 
President Janet Yang. “His love of movies, live TV expertise, and 
ability to connect with our global audiences will create an 
unforgettable experience for our millions of viewers worldwide.”

Molly
 McNearney, who is the co-head writer and executive producer of “Jimmy 
Kimmel Live!” and is married to Kimmel, will also serve as an executive 
producer <a href="https://oscars.org/">on the Oscars broadcast.</a> Ratings have been a bit a of a rollercoaster for the esteemed Hollywood awards show. The 94th Oscars was an <a href="https://apnews.com/article/2022-oscars-ratings-ed962eb7824c0d994e8a86b15d69abbd">improvement with 15.36 million viewers</a>, but that was also in comparison to the <a href="https://apnews.com/article/health-arts-and-entertainment-entertainment-academy-awards-television-d17308440bfa7388a2d21ca8c2d7fee8">previous year’s record low</a>, which befell many COVID-modified awards shows. As always ratings will be paramount for broadcaster ABC.

“Having
 Jimmy Kimmel return to host the Oscars is a dream come true. As we see 
every night on his own show, Jimmy can handle anything with both heart 
and humor, and we know that he will deliver the laughs and celebratory 
moments that define the Oscars,” said Craig Erwich, president of ABC 
Entertainment, Hulu &amp; Disney Branded Television Streaming Originals.
 “We love being the home of Hollywood’s biggest night and can’t wait to 
toast the success of this year’s cinema and storytelling.”

This 
next event is a landmark anniversary year for the show, and the first to
 follow The Slap, in which Will Smith struck presenter Chris Rock on 
stage. Smith, who went on to win best actor that night, <a href="https://apnews.com/article/will-smith-oscars-ban-664346ac2d2441939764f35be2d8026b">was banned from the Oscars for 10 years as a result</a>. The organization's leadership has said that they'd like to <a href="https://apnews.com/article/chris-rock-entertainment-movies-will-smith-7eb32aa3cb65a1deecdbfcabebc4d8b8">move on from the slap</a> and focus on a ceremony that celebrates cinema.

The
 95th Oscars will be held on Sunday, March 12 at the Dolby Theatre in 
Los Angeles and will be broadcast live on ABC in more than 200 
territories worldwide.

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2022/11/1667851376804.jpeg" alt="Associated Press graphic" />
 <figcaption>Associated Press graphic</figcaption>
 </figure>&nbsp;By LINDSEY BAHR Associated PressJimmy Kimmel is ready to host the Oscars again, completing a trilogy 
that started with him presiding over the chaotic “envelope-gate" 
ceremony.The late-night talk show host will preside over the ceremony in March, the show’s producers said Monday.“We’re
 super thrilled to have Jimmy score his hat trick on this global stage,”
 executive producers and showrunners Glenn Weiss and Ricky Kirshner said
 in a joint statement. “We know he will be funny and ready for 
anything!”Kimmel has hosted the show twice before, in 2017, when he managed the chaotic final moments in which the <a href="https://apnews.com/article/62158a8bf146420784f738fefd9505fe">wrong best picture winner was called</a>, and then the next year, which came just months into the #MeToo reckoning.“Being
 invited to host the Oscars for a third time is either a great honor or a
 trap,” Kimmel said. “Either way, I am grateful to the academy for 
asking me so quickly after everyone good said no.”After the 90th 
Oscars in 2018, which Kimmel hosted to generally positive reviews, the 
Academy Awards went without a host until the <a href="https://apnews.com/article/2022-oscars-show-9a69424884de11649b68a12a284353a1">94th ceremony earlier this year</a> when Regina Hall, Amy Schumer and Wanda Sykes shared the stage.“Jimmy
 is the perfect host to help us recognize the incredible artists and 
films of our 95th Oscars,” added academy CEO Bill Kramer and academy 
President Janet Yang. “His love of movies, live TV expertise, and 
ability to connect with our global audiences will create an 
unforgettable experience for our millions of viewers worldwide.”Molly
 McNearney, who is the co-head writer and executive producer of “Jimmy 
Kimmel Live!” and is married to Kimmel, will also serve as an executive 
producer <a href="https://oscars.org/">on the Oscars broadcast.</a> Ratings have been a bit a of a rollercoaster for the esteemed Hollywood awards show. The 94th Oscars was an <a href="https://apnews.com/article/2022-oscars-ratings-ed962eb7824c0d994e8a86b15d69abbd">improvement with 15.36 million viewers</a>, but that was also in comparison to the <a href="https://apnews.com/article/health-arts-and-entertainment-entertainment-academy-awards-television-d17308440bfa7388a2d21ca8c2d7fee8">previous year’s record low</a>, which befell many COVID-modified awards shows. As always ratings will be paramount for broadcaster ABC.“Having
 Jimmy Kimmel return to host the Oscars is a dream come true. As we see 
every night on his own show, Jimmy can handle anything with both heart 
and humor, and we know that he will deliver the laughs and celebratory 
moments that define the Oscars,” said Craig Erwich, president of ABC 
Entertainment, Hulu &amp; Disney Branded Television Streaming Originals.
 “We love being the home of Hollywood’s biggest night and can’t wait to 
toast the success of this year’s cinema and storytelling.”This 
next event is a landmark anniversary year for the show, and the first to
 follow The Slap, in which Will Smith struck presenter Chris Rock on 
stage. Smith, who went on to win best actor that night, <a href="https://apnews.com/article/will-smith-oscars-ban-664346ac2d2441939764f35be2d8026b">was banned from the Oscars for 10 years as a result</a>. The organization's leadership has said that they'd like to <a href="https://apnews.com/article/chris-rock-entertainment-movies-will-smith-7eb32aa3cb65a1deecdbfcabebc4d8b8">move on from the slap</a> and focus on a ceremony that celebrates cinema.The
 95th Oscars will be held on Sunday, March 12 at the Dolby Theatre in 
Los Angeles and will be broadcast live on ABC in more than 200 
territories worldwide.

Jimmy Kimmel to host Oscars again: 'Great honor or a trap'

By JOSH WOODS <a href="https://theconversation.com/pickleballs-uphill-climb-to-mainstream-success-193052">The Conversation</a>

Most newer sports are hybrids of older ones, and pickleball is no 
exception. The progeny of tennis, badminton and pingpong, pickleball is 
played by singles or doubles teams who hit a ball back and forth over a 
3-foot-high net until one opponent commits a fault.

In 1965, the <a href="https://usapickleball.org/what-is-pickleball/history-of-the-game/">inventors of pickleball</a> played with what they had – a repurposed badminton setup, pingpong paddles and a perforated plastic ball.

Today’s <a href="https://usapickleball.org/about-us/organizational-docs/pickleball-fact-sheet/">4.8 million</a> American pickleballers have much more to play with: In the U.S. there are <a href="https://usapickleball.org/about-us/organizational-docs/pickleball-fact-sheet/">38,140</a> courts, <a href="https://www.si.com/sports-illustrated/2022/05/24/pickleball-fastest-growing-sport-daily-cover">300</a> manufacturers of pickleball equipment and
<a href="https://usapickleball.org/get-involved/pickleball-clubs/">hundreds</a> of grassroots clubs.

There’s been a good amount of speculation about the explosion of 
pickleball’s popularity. But now the sport seems poised to burst into 
the mainstream, with <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2022/10/03/sports/major-league-pickleball.html">Lebron James</a> and other luminaries of the NBA and NFL recently announcing large investments in the professional circuit.

Still, the young sport is not immune to growing pains. As I argue in my book “<a href="https://link.springer.com/book/10.1007/978-3-030-76457-9">Emerging Sports as Social Movements</a>,”
 the popularity of some fledgling sports may seem self-evident in 
splashy headlines. But their less visible social undercurrents 
ultimately shape whether they’ll continue to attract new players and 
fans.

For an organized sport to grow, it needs structure – a common set of 
rules, rankings, equipment standards, scheduled events and a sense of 
identity that can unite players and fans.

At present, pickleball’s social fabric is spread thin and woven 
together by a network of competing interests. For every headline about 
pickleball’s miraculous growth you can also find stories about conflicts
 and infighting among various leagues and governing bodies, as well as 
between pickleballers and tennis players.

The sport has three professional leagues battling for control of the 
pickleball kingdom. It has two international governing bodies: the 
International Federation of Pickleball and the World Pickleball 
Federation. The lesser lords of pickleball also <a href="https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2022/07/25/can-pickleball-save-america">feud with tennis players</a> over dual-use courts and plans for expansion in public parks, with reports of “<a href="https://jezebel.com/pickleball-turf-wars-are-the-niche-drama-ravaging-the-c-1849678697">turf wars</a>” and “<a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/sports/2022/09/20/pickleball-growth-tennis/">a tug-of-war</a>” between the two racket sports.

“<a href="https://www.si.com/sports-illustrated/2022/05/24/pickleball-fastest-growing-sport-daily-cover">Picklebalkanization</a>,” anyone?

Internal squabbles are common in emerging sports movements. Cornhole, disc golf and esports, for instance, have faced <a href="https://link.springer.com/book/10.1007/978-3-030-76457-9">similar challenges</a>.
 In some cases, conflict can be a good thing. It may spur innovation. 
But it can also leave some would-be fans, sponsors and players wondering
 whom they should watch, invest in or play for.

Compared with traditional racket sports, pickleball is less 
expensive, requires less space and may be more compatible with the aches
 and pains that come with age. And unlike other emerging sports, 
pickleball’s future seems bright. But for now it has more in common with
 <a href="https://www.psupress.org/books/titles/978-0-271-03781-3.html">French feudalism</a>
 of the ninth century – when territorial disputes were commonplace – 
than a modern unified sport movement headed for the Olympics.

If two strangers meet in a bar and happen to share an interest in 
pickleball, they won’t be strangers for long. Shared passion is the glue
 and fuel of emerging sports communities. But the human tendency to bond
 with those who are like us also poses a problem for sports seeking to 
achieve widespread popularity.

<a href="https://doi.org/10.1146/annurev.soc.27.1.415">Sociological studies</a>
 show that our love of sameness partly explains why our groups and 
social networks tend to be homogeneous, such as male-dominated 
occupations, predominantly white community groups, and friendship 
circles united by a single religion. For grassroots sports, which spread
 through social networks, the sameness problem can limit growth by 
narrowing the flock to those with similar feathers.

Pickleball insiders like to talk about the sport’s relatively balanced <a href="https://usapickleball.org/about-us/organizational-docs/pickleball-fact-sheet/">gender ratio</a>,
 which stands at roughly 60% to 70% men and 30% to 40% women. The newest
 professional league, Major League Pickleball, is promoting the sport 
through <a href="https://www.majorleaguepickleball.net/mlp-descriptions">mixed-gender competitions</a>, with teams comprising two men and two women – a unique format in the male-dominated world of pro sports.

But grassroots sports sprout from the ground up, and long-term growth
 depends partly on the demographic diversity of core players. Pickleball
 may be trending younger, but one-third of its avid players are of <a href="https://usapickleball.org/about-us/organizational-docs/pickleball-fact-sheet/">retirement age</a>.
 Roughly half the population of pickleball players probably saw the 
Apollo 11 moon landing. Calculating accurate statistics on niche 
communities is difficult, but based on my review of multiple academic 
and <a href="https://www.npr.org/2022/02/19/1081257674/americas-fastest-growing-sport-pickleball">journalistic sources</a>,
 pickleballers are predominantly older, white, affluent and suburban. 
For instance, two survey-based studies with large samples estimated the 
proportion of white players at <a href="https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/31629346/">93.5%</a> and <a href="https://journals.humankinetics.com/view/journals/japa/27/1/article-p28.xml">94.1%</a>.

Demographic homogeneity is a tough trend to buck. Of course, some sports, like golf and NASCAR, have expanded their reach <a href="https://www.theatlantic.com/business/archive/2014/02/which-sports-have-the-whitest-richest-oldest-fans/283626/">without solving the sameness problem</a>.
 But given the nation’s reckoning around race and gender, a successful 
push for greater diversity could be the one thing that separates 
pickleball from the crowd of dreamer upstarts.

Will the revolution even need to be televised?

That sports grow when mainstream media pay attention to them seems 
obvious. Increased media coverage from ESPN or CBS attracts more 
participants and consumers, enticing sponsors and fostering stronger 
sport institutions.

Yet, as a growth strategy, <a href="https://www.npr.org/2019/07/24/744775904/cornhole-and-other-less-traditional-sports-gather-more-attention">buying airtime</a>
 on ESPN – which sports like cornhole and ax throwing are doing – may 
provide little more than airy hope. As pickleball strives to expand its 
audience, it faces stiff competition from traditional sports brands like
 the NFL and NBA, as well as emerging brands like esports, mixed martial
 arts, disc golf, cornhole, drone racing, round net, darts and ax 
throwing.

With so many options, some sports just won’t make it big. The history
 of emerging sports is filled with booms and busts. Interest in gambling
 sports like jai alai and horse racing has <a href="https://www.sbnation.com/longform/2013/2/28/4036934/jai-alai-sport-in-america-miami">declined tremendously</a> since the late 20th century. ESPN’s X Games popularized alternative sports like <a href="https://www.goskate.com/top/47-facts-about-x-games-skateboarding/">skateboarding</a> in the late 1990s, but some disciplines, like <a href="https://education.nationalgeographic.org/resource/x-games">street luge</a>, were left behind. Drop “poker” in a <a href="https://trends.google.com/trends">Google Trends</a> search box and you’ll see that the Texas hold ‘em boom lasted for about three years, from 2004 to 2006.

The next big thing in sports may not boom at all. Given that younger consumers are <a href="https://www.theringer.com/sports/2021/4/15/22385705/live-sports-streaming-wars-future-industry">migrating to streaming services</a>, the revolution may not be televised to a mass audience but instead will be streamed to die-hard fans.

Niche sports like pickleball may have an advantage as sports 
spectatorship fragments. For small sports, a modest audience with slow 
but steady growth could be a recipe for sustainable success. There are 
numerous options for watching pickleball matches, such as YouTube 
channels, livestreams via Facebook, fuboTV, and some coverage on 
broadcast and cable channels, but demand for live coverage <a href="https://www.thedinkpickleball.com/zane-explains-3/">remains modest</a>.

Ultimately, with so many shiny new sports to choose from, the winners
 will be determined not by flashy media exposure or top-down commercial 
forces but rather by bottom-up community development. No matter how hot 
the publicity gets around pickleball, the consumer base for watching the
 sport will draw heavily on people who already love playing it. The love
 of any sport has roots in culture – not commerce.

If pickleball lives up to the hype, it will do so on the backs of 
volunteers and grassroots organizers who can transform a loose network 
of casual players into an international community of pickleball 
fanatics.

Josh Woods is a Professor of Sociology at West Virginia University.

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2022/11/1667837607677.jpg" alt="For every headline about pickleball’s miraculous growth, you can also find stories about conflicts and infighting. Image courtesy of Pixabay" />
 <figcaption>For every headline about pickleball’s miraculous growth, you can also find stories about conflicts and infighting. Image courtesy of Pixabay</figcaption>
 </figure>By JOSH WOODS <a href="https://theconversation.com/pickleballs-uphill-climb-to-mainstream-success-193052">The Conversation</a>Most newer sports are hybrids of older ones, and pickleball is no 
exception. The progeny of tennis, badminton and pingpong, pickleball is 
played by singles or doubles teams who hit a ball back and forth over a 
3-foot-high net until one opponent commits a fault.In 1965, the <a href="https://usapickleball.org/what-is-pickleball/history-of-the-game/">inventors of pickleball</a> played with what they had – a repurposed badminton setup, pingpong paddles and a perforated plastic ball. Today’s <a href="https://usapickleball.org/about-us/organizational-docs/pickleball-fact-sheet/">4.8 million</a> American pickleballers have much more to play with: In the U.S. there are <a href="https://usapickleball.org/about-us/organizational-docs/pickleball-fact-sheet/">38,140</a> courts, <a href="https://www.si.com/sports-illustrated/2022/05/24/pickleball-fastest-growing-sport-daily-cover">300</a> manufacturers of pickleball equipment and
<a href="https://usapickleball.org/get-involved/pickleball-clubs/">hundreds</a> of grassroots clubs.There’s been a good amount of speculation about the explosion of 
pickleball’s popularity. But now the sport seems poised to burst into 
the mainstream, with <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2022/10/03/sports/major-league-pickleball.html">Lebron James</a> and other luminaries of the NBA and NFL recently announcing large investments in the professional circuit.Still, the young sport is not immune to growing pains. As I argue in my book “<a href="https://link.springer.com/book/10.1007/978-3-030-76457-9">Emerging Sports as Social Movements</a>,”
 the popularity of some fledgling sports may seem self-evident in 
splashy headlines. But their less visible social undercurrents 
ultimately shape whether they’ll continue to attract new players and 
fans. <h2>Pickleball’s feudal period</h2>For an organized sport to grow, it needs structure – a common set of 
rules, rankings, equipment standards, scheduled events and a sense of 
identity that can unite players and fans.At present, pickleball’s social fabric is spread thin and woven 
together by a network of competing interests. For every headline about 
pickleball’s miraculous growth you can also find stories about conflicts
 and infighting among various leagues and governing bodies, as well as 
between pickleballers and tennis players.The sport has three professional leagues battling for control of the 
pickleball kingdom. It has two international governing bodies: the 
International Federation of Pickleball and the World Pickleball 
Federation. The lesser lords of pickleball also <a href="https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2022/07/25/can-pickleball-save-america">feud with tennis players</a> over dual-use courts and plans for expansion in public parks, with reports of “<a href="https://jezebel.com/pickleball-turf-wars-are-the-niche-drama-ravaging-the-c-1849678697">turf wars</a>” and “<a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/sports/2022/09/20/pickleball-growth-tennis/">a tug-of-war</a>” between the two racket sports.“<a href="https://www.si.com/sports-illustrated/2022/05/24/pickleball-fastest-growing-sport-daily-cover">Picklebalkanization</a>,” anyone?Internal squabbles are common in emerging sports movements. Cornhole, disc golf and esports, for instance, have faced <a href="https://link.springer.com/book/10.1007/978-3-030-76457-9">similar challenges</a>.
 In some cases, conflict can be a good thing. It may spur innovation. 
But it can also leave some would-be fans, sponsors and players wondering
 whom they should watch, invest in or play for.Compared with traditional racket sports, pickleball is less 
expensive, requires less space and may be more compatible with the aches
 and pains that come with age. And unlike other emerging sports, 
pickleball’s future seems bright. But for now it has more in common with
 <a href="https://www.psupress.org/books/titles/978-0-271-03781-3.html">French feudalism</a>
 of the ninth century – when territorial disputes were commonplace – 
than a modern unified sport movement headed for the Olympics.<h2>Birds of a feather dink together</h2>If two strangers meet in a bar and happen to share an interest in 
pickleball, they won’t be strangers for long. Shared passion is the glue
 and fuel of emerging sports communities. But the human tendency to bond
 with those who are like us also poses a problem for sports seeking to 
achieve widespread popularity.<a href="https://doi.org/10.1146/annurev.soc.27.1.415">Sociological studies</a>
 show that our love of sameness partly explains why our groups and 
social networks tend to be homogeneous, such as male-dominated 
occupations, predominantly white community groups, and friendship 
circles united by a single religion. For grassroots sports, which spread
 through social networks, the sameness problem can limit growth by 
narrowing the flock to those with similar feathers.Pickleball insiders like to talk about the sport’s relatively balanced <a href="https://usapickleball.org/about-us/organizational-docs/pickleball-fact-sheet/">gender ratio</a>,
 which stands at roughly 60% to 70% men and 30% to 40% women. The newest
 professional league, Major League Pickleball, is promoting the sport 
through <a href="https://www.majorleaguepickleball.net/mlp-descriptions">mixed-gender competitions</a>, with teams comprising two men and two women – a unique format in the male-dominated world of pro sports.But grassroots sports sprout from the ground up, and long-term growth
 depends partly on the demographic diversity of core players. Pickleball
 may be trending younger, but one-third of its avid players are of <a href="https://usapickleball.org/about-us/organizational-docs/pickleball-fact-sheet/">retirement age</a>.
 Roughly half the population of pickleball players probably saw the 
Apollo 11 moon landing. Calculating accurate statistics on niche 
communities is difficult, but based on my review of multiple academic 
and <a href="https://www.npr.org/2022/02/19/1081257674/americas-fastest-growing-sport-pickleball">journalistic sources</a>,
 pickleballers are predominantly older, white, affluent and suburban. 
For instance, two survey-based studies with large samples estimated the 
proportion of white players at <a href="https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/31629346/">93.5%</a> and <a href="https://journals.humankinetics.com/view/journals/japa/27/1/article-p28.xml">94.1%</a>.Demographic homogeneity is a tough trend to buck. Of course, some sports, like golf and NASCAR, have expanded their reach <a href="https://www.theatlantic.com/business/archive/2014/02/which-sports-have-the-whitest-richest-oldest-fans/283626/">without solving the sameness problem</a>.
 But given the nation’s reckoning around race and gender, a successful 
push for greater diversity could be the one thing that separates 
pickleball from the crowd of dreamer upstarts.<h2>Will the revolution even need to be televised?</h2>That sports grow when mainstream media pay attention to them seems 
obvious. Increased media coverage from ESPN or CBS attracts more 
participants and consumers, enticing sponsors and fostering stronger 
sport institutions.Yet, as a growth strategy, <a href="https://www.npr.org/2019/07/24/744775904/cornhole-and-other-less-traditional-sports-gather-more-attention">buying airtime</a>
 on ESPN – which sports like cornhole and ax throwing are doing – may 
provide little more than airy hope. As pickleball strives to expand its 
audience, it faces stiff competition from traditional sports brands like
 the NFL and NBA, as well as emerging brands like esports, mixed martial
 arts, disc golf, cornhole, drone racing, round net, darts and ax 
throwing.With so many options, some sports just won’t make it big. The history
 of emerging sports is filled with booms and busts. Interest in gambling
 sports like jai alai and horse racing has <a href="https://www.sbnation.com/longform/2013/2/28/4036934/jai-alai-sport-in-america-miami">declined tremendously</a> since the late 20th century. ESPN’s X Games popularized alternative sports like <a href="https://www.goskate.com/top/47-facts-about-x-games-skateboarding/">skateboarding</a> in the late 1990s, but some disciplines, like <a href="https://education.nationalgeographic.org/resource/x-games">street luge</a>, were left behind. Drop “poker” in a <a href="https://trends.google.com/trends">Google Trends</a> search box and you’ll see that the Texas hold ‘em boom lasted for about three years, from 2004 to 2006.The next big thing in sports may not boom at all. Given that younger consumers are <a href="https://www.theringer.com/sports/2021/4/15/22385705/live-sports-streaming-wars-future-industry">migrating to streaming services</a>, the revolution may not be televised to a mass audience but instead will be streamed to die-hard fans. Niche sports like pickleball may have an advantage as sports 
spectatorship fragments. For small sports, a modest audience with slow 
but steady growth could be a recipe for sustainable success. There are 
numerous options for watching pickleball matches, such as YouTube 
channels, livestreams via Facebook, fuboTV, and some coverage on 
broadcast and cable channels, but demand for live coverage <a href="https://www.thedinkpickleball.com/zane-explains-3/">remains modest</a>.Ultimately, with so many shiny new sports to choose from, the winners
 will be determined not by flashy media exposure or top-down commercial 
forces but rather by bottom-up community development. No matter how hot 
the publicity gets around pickleball, the consumer base for watching the
 sport will draw heavily on people who already love playing it. The love
 of any sport has roots in culture – not commerce.If pickleball lives up to the hype, it will do so on the backs of 
volunteers and grassroots organizers who can transform a loose network 
of casual players into an international community of pickleball 
fanatics.Josh Woods is a Professor of Sociology at West Virginia University.<div><iframe src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/193052/count.gif?distributor=republish-lightbox-advanced" width="1" height="1" style="border: none !important" referrerpolicy="no-referrer-when-downgrade"></iframe></div>

Pickleball’s uphill climb to mainstream success

LOS ANGELES (AP) — Lionel Richie soared. Pat Benatar roared. Duran Duran stumbled but stayed sophisticated. Eminem was Eminem.

The
 four acts found very different ways to celebrate on Saturday night, but
 all can now forever say they're Rock &amp; Roll Hall of Famers. So are 
Carly Simon, Eurythmics, Harry Belafonte, Judas Priest and Dolly Parton,
 who gave the honor an enthusiastic embrace after temporarily turning it
 down.

The first act inducted at the Microsoft Theater in Los 
Angeles after a memorable speech from a shaven-headed Robert Downey Jr.,
 Duran Duran took the stage and launched into their 1981 breakthrough 
hit “Girls on Film.”

The shrieking crowd was there for it, but the
 music wasn't. The band was all but inaudible other than singer Simon Le
 Bon, whose vocals were essentially a cappella.

It was a fun if inauspicious beginning to a mostly slick and often triumphant show.

“The wonderful spontaneous world of rock ‘n’ roll!” the 64-year-old Le Bon shouted as the band stopped for a do-over.

They
 kicked back in at full volume, playing a set that included “Hungry Like
 the Wolf” and “Ordinary World," quickly snapping back into what Downey 
called their essential quality: “CSF — cool, sophisticated fun.”

Lionel
 Richie brought both chill and warmth to the room hours later, opening 
his set with a spare rendition of his ballad “Hello" that seemed to make
 him nearly break down from the weight of the moment.

“His songs are the soundtrack of my life, your life, everyone’s life," Lenny Kravitz said in inducting Richie.

After
 “Hello,” Richie breezed into his 1977 hit with the Commodores, “Easy.” 
The vibe went from smooth to triumphant when Foo Fighters front man Dave
 Grohl made a surprise appearance to play a guitar solo and swap vocals 
with Richie. That led into a singalong, celebratory rendition of 1983's 
“All Night Long” that brought the night's biggest reaction.

In his acceptance speech, Richie lashed out at those during his career who accused him of straying too far from his Black roots.

“Rock
 ‘n’ roll is not a color,” he said. “It is a feeling. It is a vibe. And 
if we let that vibe come through, this room will grow and grow and 
grow.”

Eurythmics took the stage next with a soulful, danceable rendition of 1986's “Missionary Man.”

“Well
 I was born an original sinner, I was born from original sin,” singer 
Annie Lennox belted, bringing the audience clapping and to its feet four
 hours into the show. It was followed by a rousing rendition of their 
best-known hit, “Sweet Dreams.”

Moments later her musical partner,
 Dave Stewart, called Lennox “one of the greatest performers, singers 
and songwriters of all time.”

“Thank you, Dave, for this great adventure,” a tearful Lennox said.

As
 he has been throughout his career, Eminem was the outlier. He was the 
only hip-hop artist among the inductees, the only one whose heyday came 
after the 1980s, and he brought an edge to the evening that was 
otherwise missing outside of the heavy metal stylings of Judas Priest.

He
 also took the guest star game to another level. After opening briefly 
with 1999's “My Name Is,” he brought on Aerosmith’s Steven Tyler to sing
 the chorus of “Dream On” for 2003's “Sing for the Moment,” which 
samples the Aerosmith classic. Then he brought on Ed Sheeran to sing his
 part on the 2017 Eminem jam “River” as rain fell on the stage.

“I'm
 probably not supposed to actually be here tonight for a couple of 
reasons,” Eminem, wearing a black hoodie, said as he accepted the honor.
 “One, I know, is that I’m a rapper and this is the Rock &amp; Roll Hall
 of Fame.”

He's only the 10th hip-hop artist among well over 300 members of the Hall of Fame.

He was inducted by his producer and mentor Dr. Dre, whom he credited with saving his life.

But hitmakers of the 1980s defined the night.

“Pat
 always reached into the deepest part of herself and came roaring out of
 the speakers," Sheryl Crow said in her speech inducting Benatar.

Benatar,
 inducted along with her longtime musical partner and husband Neil 
Giraldo, took the stage with him and displayed that power moments later.

“We
 are young!” the 69-year-old sang, her long, gray hair flowing as she 
soared through a version of 1983's “Love is a Battlefield."

Inductees
 absent from the ceremony included Duran Duran guitarist Andy Taylor, 
who is four years into a fight with advanced prostate cancer, the 
95-year-old Belafonte and Simon, who lost sisters <a href="https://apnews.com/article/entertainment-joanna-simon-new-york-obituaries-8d3e1b9f8dd0b2ed1c19b5671dfbf0a0">Joanna Simon and Lucy Simon</a>, both also singers, to cancer on back-to-back days last month.

Carly
 Simon was a first-time nominee this year more than 25 years after 
becoming eligible. Olivia Rodrigo, 60 years Simon's junior and by far 
the youngest performer of the night, took the stage to sing Simon's 
signature song, “You're So Vain.”

Janet Jackson appeared in a 
black suit with a massive pile of hair atop her head, remaking the cover
 of her breakthrough album “Control," as she inducted the two men who 
made that and many other records with her, writer-producers <a href="https://apnews.com/article/britney-spears-entertainment-travel-music-8ee900272c36979c2d64e4fa79bd12b4">Jimmy Jam and Terry Lewis.</a>

When the nominees were announced in May, <a href="https://apnews.com/article/entertainment-travel-music-arts-and-lifestyle-0f9e881aa60f31f1f1550d340315b70c">Parton “respectfully” declined</a>,
 saying it didn't seem suitable for her to take a spot as a 
country-to-the-core artist. She was convinced otherwise, and ended up 
the headliner Saturday night.

“I’m a rock star now!” she shouted as she accepted the honor. "This is a very, very, very special night."

Parton said she would have to retroactively earn her spot.

She
 disappeared and emerged moments later decked out in black leather with 
an electric guitar and broke into a song she wrote just for the 
occasion.

“I‘ve been rockin’ rockin' rockin' rockin' since the day I was born,” she sang, “and I'll be rockin' to the day I'm gone.”

She
 closed the night leading an all-star jam of her fellow inductees on her
 country classic “Jolene.” Le Bon, Benatar and even Judas Priest singer 
Rob Halford took a verse.

“We got a star-studded stage up here,” Parton said. “I feel like a hillbilly in the city.”

LOS ANGELES (AP) — Lionel Richie soared. Pat Benatar roared. Duran Duran stumbled but stayed sophisticated. Eminem was Eminem.The
 four acts found very different ways to celebrate on Saturday night, but
 all can now forever say they're Rock &amp; Roll Hall of Famers. So are 
Carly Simon, Eurythmics, Harry Belafonte, Judas Priest and Dolly Parton,
 who gave the honor an enthusiastic embrace after temporarily turning it
 down.The first act inducted at the Microsoft Theater in Los 
Angeles after a memorable speech from a shaven-headed Robert Downey Jr.,
 Duran Duran took the stage and launched into their 1981 breakthrough 
hit “Girls on Film.”The shrieking crowd was there for it, but the
 music wasn't. The band was all but inaudible other than singer Simon Le
 Bon, whose vocals were essentially a cappella.It was a fun if inauspicious beginning to a mostly slick and often triumphant show.“The wonderful spontaneous world of rock ‘n’ roll!” the 64-year-old Le Bon shouted as the band stopped for a do-over.They
 kicked back in at full volume, playing a set that included “Hungry Like
 the Wolf” and “Ordinary World," quickly snapping back into what Downey 
called their essential quality: “CSF — cool, sophisticated fun.”Lionel
 Richie brought both chill and warmth to the room hours later, opening 
his set with a spare rendition of his ballad “Hello" that seemed to make
 him nearly break down from the weight of the moment.“His songs are the soundtrack of my life, your life, everyone’s life," Lenny Kravitz said in inducting Richie.After
 “Hello,” Richie breezed into his 1977 hit with the Commodores, “Easy.” 
The vibe went from smooth to triumphant when Foo Fighters front man Dave
 Grohl made a surprise appearance to play a guitar solo and swap vocals 
with Richie. That led into a singalong, celebratory rendition of 1983's 
“All Night Long” that brought the night's biggest reaction.In his acceptance speech, Richie lashed out at those during his career who accused him of straying too far from his Black roots.“Rock
 ‘n’ roll is not a color,” he said. “It is a feeling. It is a vibe. And 
if we let that vibe come through, this room will grow and grow and 
grow.”Eurythmics took the stage next with a soulful, danceable rendition of 1986's “Missionary Man.”“Well
 I was born an original sinner, I was born from original sin,” singer 
Annie Lennox belted, bringing the audience clapping and to its feet four
 hours into the show. It was followed by a rousing rendition of their 
best-known hit, “Sweet Dreams.”Moments later her musical partner,
 Dave Stewart, called Lennox “one of the greatest performers, singers 
and songwriters of all time.”“Thank you, Dave, for this great adventure,” a tearful Lennox said.As
 he has been throughout his career, Eminem was the outlier. He was the 
only hip-hop artist among the inductees, the only one whose heyday came 
after the 1980s, and he brought an edge to the evening that was 
otherwise missing outside of the heavy metal stylings of Judas Priest.He
 also took the guest star game to another level. After opening briefly 
with 1999's “My Name Is,” he brought on Aerosmith’s Steven Tyler to sing
 the chorus of “Dream On” for 2003's “Sing for the Moment,” which 
samples the Aerosmith classic. Then he brought on Ed Sheeran to sing his
 part on the 2017 Eminem jam “River” as rain fell on the stage.“I'm
 probably not supposed to actually be here tonight for a couple of 
reasons,” Eminem, wearing a black hoodie, said as he accepted the honor.
 “One, I know, is that I’m a rapper and this is the Rock &amp; Roll Hall
 of Fame.”He's only the 10th hip-hop artist among well over 300 members of the Hall of Fame.He was inducted by his producer and mentor Dr. Dre, whom he credited with saving his life.But hitmakers of the 1980s defined the night.“Pat
 always reached into the deepest part of herself and came roaring out of
 the speakers," Sheryl Crow said in her speech inducting Benatar.Benatar,
 inducted along with her longtime musical partner and husband Neil 
Giraldo, took the stage with him and displayed that power moments later.“We
 are young!” the 69-year-old sang, her long, gray hair flowing as she 
soared through a version of 1983's “Love is a Battlefield."Inductees
 absent from the ceremony included Duran Duran guitarist Andy Taylor, 
who is four years into a fight with advanced prostate cancer, the 
95-year-old Belafonte and Simon, who lost sisters <a href="https://apnews.com/article/entertainment-joanna-simon-new-york-obituaries-8d3e1b9f8dd0b2ed1c19b5671dfbf0a0">Joanna Simon and Lucy Simon</a>, both also singers, to cancer on back-to-back days last month.Carly
 Simon was a first-time nominee this year more than 25 years after 
becoming eligible. Olivia Rodrigo, 60 years Simon's junior and by far 
the youngest performer of the night, took the stage to sing Simon's 
signature song, “You're So Vain.”Janet Jackson appeared in a 
black suit with a massive pile of hair atop her head, remaking the cover
 of her breakthrough album “Control," as she inducted the two men who 
made that and many other records with her, writer-producers <a href="https://apnews.com/article/britney-spears-entertainment-travel-music-8ee900272c36979c2d64e4fa79bd12b4">Jimmy Jam and Terry Lewis.</a>When the nominees were announced in May, <a href="https://apnews.com/article/entertainment-travel-music-arts-and-lifestyle-0f9e881aa60f31f1f1550d340315b70c">Parton “respectfully” declined</a>,
 saying it didn't seem suitable for her to take a spot as a 
country-to-the-core artist. She was convinced otherwise, and ended up 
the headliner Saturday night.“I’m a rock star now!” she shouted as she accepted the honor. "This is a very, very, very special night."Parton said she would have to retroactively earn her spot.She
 disappeared and emerged moments later decked out in black leather with 
an electric guitar and broke into a song she wrote just for the 
occasion.“I‘ve been rockin’ rockin' rockin' rockin' since the day I was born,” she sang, “and I'll be rockin' to the day I'm gone.”She
 closed the night leading an all-star jam of her fellow inductees on her
 country classic “Jolene.” Le Bon, Benatar and even Judas Priest singer 
Rob Halford took a verse.“We got a star-studded stage up here,” Parton said. “I feel like a hillbilly in the city.”

Duran Duran stumbles, Dolly Parton rolls into Rock Hall

By DÉBORA REY Associated Press

BUENOS AIRES, Argentina — In the middle of the concrete jungle that is Argentina's bustling capital, <a href="https://youtu.be/DBG_CCmByPw">a huge mural</a> has emerged of Diego Maradona wearing a national team jersey, his right hand in a fist and a defiant expression on his face.

The
 massive artwork, 148 feet high and 131 feet wide (45 meters by 40 
meters) and painted on the side of a 14-story building in Buenos Aires, 
is one of several tributes that Argentines have dedicated to their 
soccer “God” shortly before the start of this year's <a href="https://apnews.com/hub/world-cup">World Cup</a> in Qatar, the first since Maradona's death on Nov. 25, 2020.

Maradona's
 feats and defeats as a player on the national team are being 
remembered, from the famous and infamous goals against England before 
the county won the 1986 World Cup to the failed final against West 
Germany four years later, and the doping test that got him expelled from
 the following World Cup in 1994.

Well-known street artist Martín 
Ron was behind the world's largest mural, inspired by a photograph of 
the then-Argentina captain that captures his expression shortly before 
he sang the national anthem at the 1990 World Cup final against West 
Germany, which Argentina lost 1-0.

“It's a photo of Diego when he 
was close to winning the country's third star,” Ron told The Associated 
Press during a break from the work he began a month ago.

Argentina also won the World Cup in 1978, but Maradona didn't make the team for that tournament.

“This photo summarizes everything Diego was,” Ron said. “Beyond the player, he was the guts, the motor, the heart.”

To
 one side of Maradona's face, Ron painted a constellation of stars in 
the shape of a kite, a reference to his nickname “cosmic kite," which is
 what one well-known radio commentator called the soccer star following 
his second goal against England in 1986.

“His absence will be 
felt, Diego was always a star. In all the World Cups he did his own 
thing, inside and outside the field," Ron said. “And in Qatar, he will 
sadly not be there.”

Ron's mural was officially unveiled on Sunday to coincide with the soccer great's birthday.

Days earlier, the Argentine soccer association received the original <a href="https://apnews.com/article/sports-business-b48b459b4d01a1b975805cfdc41d8a07">jersey that Maradona wore</a>
 in the 1986 World Cup. It was a gift from Germany great Lothar 
Matthäus, who exchanged jerseys with Maradona after the final that 
Argentina won 3-2 at the Azteca Stadium in Mexico City.

“One of 
the happiest moments with him was when (Brazilian referee) Arppi Filho 
blew the whistle during the final in Mexico. I just happened to be very 
close to Diego, I was lucky that he hugged me before anybody else,” 
former player Ricardo Giusti recalled during a recent event alongside 
other former World Cup champions outside Buenos Aires.

“We enjoyed
 it so much, everybody enjoyed Diego. That's what's sad. It makes us 
feel a lot of sadness, sorrow and disillusion,” the former midfielder 
said.

Matthäus' donation was a sort of reparation for Argentina 
after it failed to win an auction for the jersey Maradona wore in the 
match against England in the quarterfinals of that World Cup tournament.
 An unknown bidder from outside the country bought the iconic item at 
auction for a record $9 million in May.

In 1994, Maradona played 
his last World Cup match against Nigeria in the group stage. He was 
suspended for 15 months following the 2-1 victory after a positive 
doping test.

As Argentina coach, Maradona led the national team to
 the quarterfinals at the 2010 World Cup in South Africa, but the team 
lost to Germany 4-0.

One of the most disturbing images came eight 
years later at the 2018 World Cup in Russia when an overweight and 
somewhat disoriented Maradona collapsed at the stadium in St. Petersburg
 following a 2-1 victory over Nigeria.

Maradona died at the age of
 60 while he was under hospital care in his home following brain 
surgery. Judicial authorities continue to investigate if medical 
negligence was involved.

“He is missed, Diego's image has been, 
and is, very strong,” said Carlos Tapia, another member of the 1986 
championship team. “He was our reference, captain, everything. He was 
always close to each one of us. Let's hope he can be a guiding light 
from above in Qatar."

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2022/11/1667832396107.jpeg" alt="Women play with balls during the inauguration of a mural of Diego Maradona by artist Martin Ron in Buenos Aires, Argentina, Sunday, Oct. 30, 2022. Sunday marks the birth date of Maradona who died on Nov. 25, 2020 at the age of 60. (AP Photo/Rodrigo Abd)" />
 <figcaption>Women play with balls during the inauguration of a mural of Diego Maradona by artist Martin Ron in Buenos Aires, Argentina, Sunday, Oct. 30, 2022. Sunday marks the birth date of Maradona who died on Nov. 25, 2020 at the age of 60. (AP Photo/Rodrigo Abd)</figcaption>
 </figure>By DÉBORA REY Associated PressBUENOS AIRES, Argentina — In the middle of the concrete jungle that is Argentina's bustling capital, <a href="https://youtu.be/DBG_CCmByPw">a huge mural</a> has emerged of Diego Maradona wearing a national team jersey, his right hand in a fist and a defiant expression on his face.The
 massive artwork, 148 feet high and 131 feet wide (45 meters by 40 
meters) and painted on the side of a 14-story building in Buenos Aires, 
is one of several tributes that Argentines have dedicated to their 
soccer “God” shortly before the start of this year's <a href="https://apnews.com/hub/world-cup">World Cup</a> in Qatar, the first since Maradona's death on Nov. 25, 2020.Maradona's
 feats and defeats as a player on the national team are being 
remembered, from the famous and infamous goals against England before 
the county won the 1986 World Cup to the failed final against West 
Germany four years later, and the doping test that got him expelled from
 the following World Cup in 1994.Well-known street artist Martín 
Ron was behind the world's largest mural, inspired by a photograph of 
the then-Argentina captain that captures his expression shortly before 
he sang the national anthem at the 1990 World Cup final against West 
Germany, which Argentina lost 1-0.“It's a photo of Diego when he 
was close to winning the country's third star,” Ron told The Associated 
Press during a break from the work he began a month ago.Argentina also won the World Cup in 1978, but Maradona didn't make the team for that tournament.“This photo summarizes everything Diego was,” Ron said. “Beyond the player, he was the guts, the motor, the heart.”To
 one side of Maradona's face, Ron painted a constellation of stars in 
the shape of a kite, a reference to his nickname “cosmic kite," which is
 what one well-known radio commentator called the soccer star following 
his second goal against England in 1986.“His absence will be 
felt, Diego was always a star. In all the World Cups he did his own 
thing, inside and outside the field," Ron said. “And in Qatar, he will 
sadly not be there.”Ron's mural was officially unveiled on Sunday to coincide with the soccer great's birthday.Days earlier, the Argentine soccer association received the original <a href="https://apnews.com/article/sports-business-b48b459b4d01a1b975805cfdc41d8a07">jersey that Maradona wore</a>
 in the 1986 World Cup. It was a gift from Germany great Lothar 
Matthäus, who exchanged jerseys with Maradona after the final that 
Argentina won 3-2 at the Azteca Stadium in Mexico City.“One of 
the happiest moments with him was when (Brazilian referee) Arppi Filho 
blew the whistle during the final in Mexico. I just happened to be very 
close to Diego, I was lucky that he hugged me before anybody else,” 
former player Ricardo Giusti recalled during a recent event alongside 
other former World Cup champions outside Buenos Aires.“We enjoyed
 it so much, everybody enjoyed Diego. That's what's sad. It makes us 
feel a lot of sadness, sorrow and disillusion,” the former midfielder 
said.Matthäus' donation was a sort of reparation for Argentina 
after it failed to win an auction for the jersey Maradona wore in the 
match against England in the quarterfinals of that World Cup tournament.
 An unknown bidder from outside the country bought the iconic item at 
auction for a record $9 million in May.In 1994, Maradona played 
his last World Cup match against Nigeria in the group stage. He was 
suspended for 15 months following the 2-1 victory after a positive 
doping test.As Argentina coach, Maradona led the national team to
 the quarterfinals at the 2010 World Cup in South Africa, but the team 
lost to Germany 4-0.One of the most disturbing images came eight 
years later at the 2018 World Cup in Russia when an overweight and 
somewhat disoriented Maradona collapsed at the stadium in St. Petersburg
 following a 2-1 victory over Nigeria.Maradona died at the age of
 60 while he was under hospital care in his home following brain 
surgery. Judicial authorities continue to investigate if medical 
negligence was involved.“He is missed, Diego's image has been, 
and is, very strong,” said Carlos Tapia, another member of the 1986 
championship team. “He was our reference, captain, everything. He was 
always close to each one of us. Let's hope he can be a guiding light 
from above in Qatar."

A giant Maradona emerges in Argentina, days before World Cup

By JAY L. ZAGORSKY <a href="https://theconversation.com/how-winning-1-5-billion-powerball-jackpot-could-still-lead-to-bankruptcy-193921">The Conversation</a>

The latest <a href="http://www.powerball.com/games/home">Powerball</a> jackpot <a href="https://www.cnn.com/2022/11/03/us/powerball-jackpot-drawing-no-winner-thursday/index.html">swelled to US$1.5 billion on Nov. 2, 2022</a> – just shy of the record amount – after another drawing passed with no winning ticket. The next drawing will be held on Nov. 5.

The prize is now the third-largest lottery the world has ever seen, <a href="https://www.today.com/money/1-6-billion-powerball-california-couple-claims-winning-ticket-6-t100966">behind a $1.6 billion Powerball jackpot</a> in 2016 and <a href="https://www.cnn.com/2018/10/24/us/mega-millions-drawing-wednesday/index.html">$1.54 billion Mega Millions in 2018</a>.

The <a href="http://powerball.com/#powerball-prizes-and-odds">odds of winning</a> are very small, about 1 in 292 million. You are about <a href="https://www.cdc.gov/disasters/lightning/victimdata.html">400 times more likely to be hit by lightning</a>. If <a href="https://www.census.gov/quickfacts/fact/table/US/PST045217">every adult</a>
 in the U.S. purchased just one ticket, each with a different number, 
there would still be a good chance – about 11% – that no winner would 
emerge at a given drawing and the pot would grow even larger.

But once a winner is declared and claims the prize, a more 
interesting question arises: What happens to all that money and the 
supposedly lucky ticket holder? As <a href="http://doi.org/10.1007/s10834-012-9299-y">research by me</a> and others shows, it’s often not what you’d expect.

The first thing to bear in mind is that while the jackpot is eye-wateringly large, the actual payout will be much less. 

If someone claims it, the winner would not actually receive $1.5 
billion in one big check. As a single winner, he or she can either 
choose a lump sum payment that amounts to about $756 million or receive 
$1.5 billion worth of annual payments that get progressively higher over
 <a href="http://www.megamillions.com/difference-between-cash-value-and-annuity">30 years</a>.

After that, the taxman gets to take a big bite. The federal government <a href="https://www.usamega.com/powerball/jackpot">will take</a>
 about a quarter of a billion dollars, leaving $470 million if it’s a 
lump sum payment. And then the state in which the winner resides will 
take another bite, unless the winner lives in Florida, Texas or another 
state without an income tax.

That jackpot is starting to look a lot smaller, though it’s still a massive chunk of change. 

The conventional wisdom is that winning the lottery will change your 
life. While that’s probably always true, research suggests that it’s not
 always going to change in the way you might hope. 

Economists Guido Imbens and Bruce Sacerdote and statistician Donald Rubin <a href="https://doi.org/10.1257/aer.91.4.778">showed in a 2001 paper</a>
 that people tend to spend unexpected windfalls. A look at lottery 
winners approximately 10 years after they won found they saved just 16 
cents of every dollar won.

In my own research, I found that the average person in their 20s, 30s or 40s who was <a href="http://doi.org/10.1007/s10834-012-9299-y">given an inheritance or large financial gift</a> quickly lost half the money through spending or poor investments.

And other studies <a href="http://doi.org/10.1162/REST_a_00114">have found</a>
 that winning the lottery generally didn’t help financially distressed 
people escape their troubles and instead only postponed the inevitable 
bankruptcy. <a href="https://www.cnbc.com/2018/02/06/why-the-560-million-powerball-winner-wants-to-stay-unknown.html">One found</a> that one-third of lottery winners eventually go bankrupt.

So how exactly could a lottery winner blow through hundreds of millions of dollars so quickly? It’s not easy. 

Demographic research on lottery players’ characteristics shows that <a href="http://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s10899-010-9228-7">lottery playing peaks</a> when people are in their 30s and falls as people get older. And the average female in the U.S. <a href="https://www.cdc.gov/nchs/data/vsrr/VSRR10-508.pdf">lives to age 80.5 and the average male to 75.1</a>.

So that means, assuming the winner is in her 30s, she would have 
about 45 years or so to spend the lump after-tax sum of, let’s say, $470
 million. That means she would have to spend a bit over $10 million a 
year, or roughly $29,000 per day, to burn through it all – even more 
when you factor in interest accrued while it sits in the bank.

In addition, really blowing it all means the winner has no assets to show for it. If she uses the money to buy luxury homes, <a href="https://www.vulture.com/2018/10/banksy-says-that-painting-was-meant-to-be-totally-shredded.html">Banksy paintings</a>
 and Ferraris and Aston Martins, her net worth wouldn’t actually change 
and she’d be able to retire with her wealth intact – assuming the 
investments kept their value or rose.

Blowing through the money, which leads to bankruptcy and low savings 
rates, means the winner has nothing to show for her spending besides a 
good time, plus goodwill from friends and relatives who went along for 
the ride.

And that’s basically what a man named Huntington Hartford did. 

Hartford, who lived from 1911 to 2008, was the heir to <a href="https://www.groceteria.com/store/national-chains/ap/ap-history/">the Great Atlantic &amp; Pacific Tea Company</a>
 fortune. This company, which started just before the Civil War, is 
better known as the A&amp;P supermarket chain. A&amp;P was the first 
U.S. coast-to-coast food store, and from World War I to the 1960s, it 
was what <a href="https://www.walmart.com/">Walmart</a> is for today’s American shoppers.

Hartford inherited <a href="https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/obituaries/1996555/Huntington-Hartford.html">approximately $90 million</a> when he was 12. <a href="http://businessmacroeconomics.com/">Adjusting for inflation</a> means he was given <a href="https://www.bls.gov/data/inflation_calculator.htm">about $1.6 billion</a> as a child, after taxes. Yet Huntington <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2008/05/20/arts/design/20hartford.html">declared bankruptcy</a> in New York in 1992, approximately 70 years after being handed one of the largest fortunes in the world.

Hartford had the reverse Midas touch. He lost millions buying real 
estate, creating an art museum and sponsoring theaters and shows. He 
combined poor business skills with an exceptionally lavish lifestyle. 
After declaring bankruptcy, he lived as a recluse with a daughter in the
 Bahamas until he died. 

Hartford’s life story, coupled with academic research, shows that 
coming into a windfall of cash doesn’t always have a happy ending. 
Squandering that money is easier than it seems. 

If you are planning on playing, I wish you good luck. If you are planning on winning, I wish you even more luck.

Nevertheless, one key lesson, whether you play or not, is that when 
you get a windfall or win the lottery, plan ahead and resist the 
all-too-human temptation to spend all the money.

Jay L. Zagorsky is a clinical associate professor at Boston University.

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2022/11/1667590791099.jpg" alt="Got the winning ticket?" />
 <figcaption>Got the winning ticket?</figcaption>
 </figure>By JAY L. ZAGORSKY <a href="https://theconversation.com/how-winning-1-5-billion-powerball-jackpot-could-still-lead-to-bankruptcy-193921">The Conversation</a>The latest <a href="http://www.powerball.com/games/home">Powerball</a> jackpot <a href="https://www.cnn.com/2022/11/03/us/powerball-jackpot-drawing-no-winner-thursday/index.html">swelled to US$1.5 billion on Nov. 2, 2022</a> – just shy of the record amount – after another drawing passed with no winning ticket. The next drawing will be held on Nov. 5.The prize is now the third-largest lottery the world has ever seen, <a href="https://www.today.com/money/1-6-billion-powerball-california-couple-claims-winning-ticket-6-t100966">behind a $1.6 billion Powerball jackpot</a> in 2016 and <a href="https://www.cnn.com/2018/10/24/us/mega-millions-drawing-wednesday/index.html">$1.54 billion Mega Millions in 2018</a>.The <a href="http://powerball.com/#powerball-prizes-and-odds">odds of winning</a> are very small, about 1 in 292 million. You are about <a href="https://www.cdc.gov/disasters/lightning/victimdata.html">400 times more likely to be hit by lightning</a>. If <a href="https://www.census.gov/quickfacts/fact/table/US/PST045217">every adult</a>
 in the U.S. purchased just one ticket, each with a different number, 
there would still be a good chance – about 11% – that no winner would 
emerge at a given drawing and the pot would grow even larger.But once a winner is declared and claims the prize, a more 
interesting question arises: What happens to all that money and the 
supposedly lucky ticket holder? As <a href="http://doi.org/10.1007/s10834-012-9299-y">research by me</a> and others shows, it’s often not what you’d expect. <figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2022/11/1667590869489.jpg" alt="You’re 400 times more likely to get hit by a bolt of lightning than win the Powerball. Pixabay photo" />
 <figcaption>You’re 400 times more likely to get hit by a bolt of lightning than win the Powerball. Pixabay photo</figcaption>
 </figure><h2>A smaller prize than it seems</h2>The first thing to bear in mind is that while the jackpot is eye-wateringly large, the actual payout will be much less. If someone claims it, the winner would not actually receive $1.5 
billion in one big check. As a single winner, he or she can either 
choose a lump sum payment that amounts to about $756 million or receive 
$1.5 billion worth of annual payments that get progressively higher over
 <a href="http://www.megamillions.com/difference-between-cash-value-and-annuity">30 years</a>. After that, the taxman gets to take a big bite. The federal government <a href="https://www.usamega.com/powerball/jackpot">will take</a>
 about a quarter of a billion dollars, leaving $470 million if it’s a 
lump sum payment. And then the state in which the winner resides will 
take another bite, unless the winner lives in Florida, Texas or another 
state without an income tax.That jackpot is starting to look a lot smaller, though it’s still a massive chunk of change. <h2>Where windfalls go</h2>The conventional wisdom is that winning the lottery will change your 
life. While that’s probably always true, research suggests that it’s not
 always going to change in the way you might hope. Economists Guido Imbens and Bruce Sacerdote and statistician Donald Rubin <a href="https://doi.org/10.1257/aer.91.4.778">showed in a 2001 paper</a>
 that people tend to spend unexpected windfalls. A look at lottery 
winners approximately 10 years after they won found they saved just 16 
cents of every dollar won. In my own research, I found that the average person in their 20s, 30s or 40s who was <a href="http://doi.org/10.1007/s10834-012-9299-y">given an inheritance or large financial gift</a> quickly lost half the money through spending or poor investments. And other studies <a href="http://doi.org/10.1162/REST_a_00114">have found</a>
 that winning the lottery generally didn’t help financially distressed 
people escape their troubles and instead only postponed the inevitable 
bankruptcy. <a href="https://www.cnbc.com/2018/02/06/why-the-560-million-powerball-winner-wants-to-stay-unknown.html">One found</a> that one-third of lottery winners eventually go bankrupt. <h2>It’s not easy to blow it all</h2>So how exactly could a lottery winner blow through hundreds of millions of dollars so quickly? It’s not easy. Demographic research on lottery players’ characteristics shows that <a href="http://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s10899-010-9228-7">lottery playing peaks</a> when people are in their 30s and falls as people get older. And the average female in the U.S. <a href="https://www.cdc.gov/nchs/data/vsrr/VSRR10-508.pdf">lives to age 80.5 and the average male to 75.1</a>.So that means, assuming the winner is in her 30s, she would have 
about 45 years or so to spend the lump after-tax sum of, let’s say, $470
 million. That means she would have to spend a bit over $10 million a 
year, or roughly $29,000 per day, to burn through it all – even more 
when you factor in interest accrued while it sits in the bank.In addition, really blowing it all means the winner has no assets to show for it. If she uses the money to buy luxury homes, <a href="https://www.vulture.com/2018/10/banksy-says-that-painting-was-meant-to-be-totally-shredded.html">Banksy paintings</a>
 and Ferraris and Aston Martins, her net worth wouldn’t actually change 
and she’d be able to retire with her wealth intact – assuming the 
investments kept their value or rose. Blowing through the money, which leads to bankruptcy and low savings 
rates, means the winner has nothing to show for her spending besides a 
good time, plus goodwill from friends and relatives who went along for 
the ride.<h2>Riches to rags</h2>And that’s basically what a man named Huntington Hartford did. Hartford, who lived from 1911 to 2008, was the heir to <a href="https://www.groceteria.com/store/national-chains/ap/ap-history/">the Great Atlantic &amp; Pacific Tea Company</a>
 fortune. This company, which started just before the Civil War, is 
better known as the A&amp;P supermarket chain. A&amp;P was the first 
U.S. coast-to-coast food store, and from World War I to the 1960s, it 
was what <a href="https://www.walmart.com/">Walmart</a> is for today’s American shoppers. Hartford inherited <a href="https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/obituaries/1996555/Huntington-Hartford.html">approximately $90 million</a> when he was 12. <a href="http://businessmacroeconomics.com/">Adjusting for inflation</a> means he was given <a href="https://www.bls.gov/data/inflation_calculator.htm">about $1.6 billion</a> as a child, after taxes. Yet Huntington <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2008/05/20/arts/design/20hartford.html">declared bankruptcy</a> in New York in 1992, approximately 70 years after being handed one of the largest fortunes in the world.Hartford had the reverse Midas touch. He lost millions buying real 
estate, creating an art museum and sponsoring theaters and shows. He 
combined poor business skills with an exceptionally lavish lifestyle. 
After declaring bankruptcy, he lived as a recluse with a daughter in the
 Bahamas until he died. <h2>May the odds be ever in your favor</h2>Hartford’s life story, coupled with academic research, shows that 
coming into a windfall of cash doesn’t always have a happy ending. 
Squandering that money is easier than it seems. If you are planning on playing, I wish you good luck. If you are planning on winning, I wish you even more luck.Nevertheless, one key lesson, whether you play or not, is that when 
you get a windfall or win the lottery, plan ahead and resist the 
all-too-human temptation to spend all the money.Jay L. Zagorsky is a clinical associate professor at Boston University.<div><iframe src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/193921/count.gif?distributor=republish-lightbox-advanced" width="1" height="1" style="border: none !important" referrerpolicy="no-referrer-when-downgrade"></iframe></div>

How winning $1.5B Powerball jackpot could still lead to bankruptcy

On this episode of Forward Ever: Leading in Challenging Times host Gary Shorman speaks with Boot Hill Distillery owner Hayes Kelman.

On this episode of Forward Ever: Leading in Challenging Times host Gary Shorman speaks with Boot Hill Distillery owner Hayes Kelman.<div><iframe width="560" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/V5dXj8UcwAc" title="YouTube video player" frameborder="0" allow="accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture" allowfullscreen></iframe></div>

🎤 Forward Ever: Boot Hill Distillery owner Hayes Kelman

Barton Community College will host a student recital at 4 p.m. Nov. 9 and Nov. 30 in the Dorothy Moses Morrison Chapel in the Fine Arts Building. 

The recital is free and open to the public.

The recital will feature a mixture of instrumental and vocal performances from a variety of styles.

For more information, please contact Keyboard Instructor Alejandro Avila at&nbsp;avilaal@bartonccc.edu&nbsp;or (620) 792-9384.

Barton Community College will host a student recital at 4 p.m. Nov. 9 and Nov. 30 in the Dorothy Moses Morrison Chapel in the Fine Arts Building. The recital is free and open to the public.The recital will feature a mixture of instrumental and vocal performances from a variety of styles.For more information, please contact Keyboard Instructor Alejandro Avila at&nbsp;avilaal@bartonccc.edu&nbsp;or (620) 792-9384.

Barton music students to present two recitals

For the third consecutive year, the public has the opportunity to take in the fun and merriment of the holiday season in Great Bend while riding aboard the Dolly Trolley. As with previous seasons, Dolly Trolley Holiday Lights Tours are free to the public, thanks to the generosity of local businesses and individual sponsors. Something different this year, however, is that there is a convenient online option to sign up for Dolly Trolley Holiday Lights Tours.

People can sign up for tours by going to&nbsp;<a href="https://www.santasaroundtheworld.com/dolly-trolley" target="_blank">SantasAroundTheWorld.com/dolly-trolley,</a>&nbsp;or search for the sign-up location at&nbsp;<a href="https://www.eventbrite.com/" target="_blank">Eventbrite.com</a>. Seating is limited to eight people per ticket order. As in the past, people can schedule for trolley rides by going to Re-Perks Coffee Shop 1216 Main, Great Bend.

Hourlong rides depart in front of Re-Perks Coffee Shop and they return to the same location. Re-Perks is offering hot beverages and cookies for $1.99 per person to Dolly Trolley riders before heading out on their excursion.&nbsp; Once on board the trolley for the tour, riders will have a spectacular window view as they experience the dazzling Trail of Lights and splendor of the Holiday Season in Great Bend this season.

The Holiday Lights Tour schedule begins at 6 p.m. on Nov. 29 and runs through 8 p.m. on Jan. 7, 2023. The Trolley does not run on Sundays or Mondays through that period, nor does it run on Christmas Eve, Christmas, New Year’s Eve, or New Year’s Day.

Once ordered, those needing to cancel their tickets are asked to do so using the Eventbrite app, or stop into Re-Perks to provide contact details for cancelation. Cancelations can also be done in person at Rosewood Bargain Barn, 1215 Main Street, during business hours. Canceling online will automatically provide seat availability for others to tour.

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2022/11/1667483697350.jpeg" alt="The public is encouraged to hop on board Dolly Trolley and celebrate the Magic of Christmas in Great Bend! Dolly Trolley was donated two years ago to Rosewood Roots &amp; Wings Foundation by benefactor Sheryl Cheely to bring new experiences to the Great Bend community.&nbsp;Access more information at&nbsp;<a href="https://www.santasaroundtheworld.com/" target="_blank">SantasAroundTheWorld.com</a>.&nbsp; &nbsp;&nbsp;" />
 <figcaption>The public is encouraged to hop on board Dolly Trolley and celebrate the Magic of Christmas in Great Bend! Dolly Trolley was donated two years ago to Rosewood Roots &amp; Wings Foundation by benefactor Sheryl Cheely to bring new experiences to the Great Bend community.&nbsp;Access more information at&nbsp;<a href="https://www.santasaroundtheworld.com/" target="_blank">SantasAroundTheWorld.com</a>.&nbsp; &nbsp;&nbsp;</figcaption>
 </figure>For the third consecutive year, the public has the opportunity to take in the fun and merriment of the holiday season in Great Bend while riding aboard the Dolly Trolley. As with previous seasons, Dolly Trolley Holiday Lights Tours are free to the public, thanks to the generosity of local businesses and individual sponsors. Something different this year, however, is that there is a convenient online option to sign up for Dolly Trolley Holiday Lights Tours.People can sign up for tours by going to&nbsp;<a href="https://www.santasaroundtheworld.com/dolly-trolley" target="_blank">SantasAroundTheWorld.com/dolly-trolley,</a>&nbsp;or search for the sign-up location at&nbsp;<a href="https://www.eventbrite.com/" target="_blank">Eventbrite.com</a>. Seating is limited to eight people per ticket order. As in the past, people can schedule for trolley rides by going to Re-Perks Coffee Shop 1216 Main, Great Bend.Hourlong rides depart in front of Re-Perks Coffee Shop and they return to the same location. Re-Perks is offering hot beverages and cookies for $1.99 per person to Dolly Trolley riders before heading out on their excursion.&nbsp; Once on board the trolley for the tour, riders will have a spectacular window view as they experience the dazzling Trail of Lights and splendor of the Holiday Season in Great Bend this season.The Holiday Lights Tour schedule begins at 6 p.m. on Nov. 29 and runs through 8 p.m. on Jan. 7, 2023. The Trolley does not run on Sundays or Mondays through that period, nor does it run on Christmas Eve, Christmas, New Year’s Eve, or New Year’s Day.Once ordered, those needing to cancel their tickets are asked to do so using the Eventbrite app, or stop into Re-Perks to provide contact details for cancelation. Cancelations can also be done in person at Rosewood Bargain Barn, 1215 Main Street, during business hours. Canceling online will automatically provide seat availability for others to tour.

Online sign-ups available for Great Bend's trolley holiday tours

<a href="https://newsroom.ap.org/home/search/?query=byline:%22DAVID%20BAUDER%22&amp;mediaType=text&amp;st=keyword&amp;sortOrder=newest">By DAVID BAUDER &nbsp;AP Media Writer</a>

NEW YORK (AP) — An urgency in the ringing guitar and thunderous drums that opened the 1985 album “Scarecrow” was the first hint that this was something different for the artist then billed as John “Cougar” Mellencamp.

The disc, which is getting the deluxe reissue treatment this week, stands as a rare reputation-changing work. It elevated Mellencamp from a generic heartland rocker to a serious artist with something to say, helping spark Farm Aid, a movement that lives on.

In that first song, “Rain on the Scarecrow,” Mellencamp described the financial crisis that was swallowing family farms in the Midwest. The Indiana-bred singer embraced his roots in the anthem “Small Town.” At age 34, his writing in “Minutes to Memories” showed a new maturity about life.

A high standard is maintained through the closer, “R.O.C.K. in the USA,” which neatly summarized the musical approach — even if Mellencamp had to be talked into putting it on the album.

Ask him now, at age 71, whether “Scarecrow” represented an elevated standard, and you'll discover the chip that remains on his shoulder. He'll remind you of hit songs that predated the album.

“I didn't know,” he said, “because I didn't know I had to change my game.”

Still, the singer professionally christened “Johnny Cougar” against his will at age 21 admits he made five albums before making a good one. “Scarecrow” was No. 7, excepting one shelved when his first record company dropped him.

“I think John really found his voice on this album,” said veteran music writer Anthony DeCurtis, who contributed liner notes to the reissue.

“There were certainly signs of it before, like on ‘Jack and Diane' and 'Pink Houses,'" he said. "But the sense of him looking at the world, taking his personality as someone who grew up in Seymour, Indiana, and making a wider statement about it, that was all a big deal for him. It raised him to the level of someone who was an important musical voice in the culture.”

As someone who didn't think much about songwriting until he had a record deal, Mellencamp saw others around him setting a high benchmark and thought, “I better step up my game.” He mentioned Woody Guthrie, Bob Dylan, Bruce Springsteen and Joni Mitchell.

As two chart-topping rockers aware of comparisons made between them, Springsteen and Mellencamp circled each other warily in the 1980s but are good friends today.

You can see, in “Scarecrow,” Mellencamp creating a musical world from what he knew growing up in the Midwest, much like Springsteen did for the Jersey Shore. Mellencamp's “Lonely Ol' Night” is a thematic cousin to Springsteen's 1984 hit “Dancing in the Dark” in the narrators' late-night search for a connection.

“What I learned from him was to be a good observer of life,” Mellencamp said. “You don't have to be the person. You can watch. I've had people say to me, ‘John, have you ever had writer’s block?' And I would say no, all you've got to do is look out the window.”

He remembers a long conversation with his late friend and songwriting partner, George Green, wondering why so many of the small towns they knew were fading away. From those talks, they wrote “Rain on the Scarecrow.”

The album’s cover features a serious-looking Mellencamp on a farm, a fuzzy scarecrow and tractor in the background. He dedicates it to his grandfather, Speck, who died at the end of 1983.

After he made the record, he recalls another conversation with someone who was making some of their music videos, "who looked at me and said, ‘you know, this is a really special record for these times.’

“I said, ‘You think so?’ he said. ”That was the first time I had ever given it any thought that it was much different than anything else I'd done."

With the spirit of Live Aid and the themes of “Scarecrow” in the air, Mellencamp helped organize the initial Farm Aid concert with Willie Nelson and Neil Young. To date, the organization says it has raised $64 million for family farming; Nelson and Mellencamp both appeared at its most recent show, in September in Raleigh, North Carolina.

Mellencamp and his band were tight from years on the road in the mid-1980s, but he still gave them an assignment prior to making the new album: learn to play dozens of rock hits from the 1960s, a sound their leader wanted to recreate.

They included several from artists name-checked in “R.O.C.K. in the USA.” Mellencamp didn't want the song on “Scarecrow,” figuring it sounded “cartoonish” compared to the rest of the material. To his gratitude now, he listened to the pleas of record company executives to change his mind.

Versions of songs from the band's assignment, like James Brown's “Cold Sweat” and “Shama Lama Ding Dong” from Otis Day &amp; the Knights, make it on the “Scarecrow” reissue.

“I don’t mean to sound arrogant,” he said, “but I was not surprised that people liked that record. I’m not surprised that ‘Small Town’ stuck around for as long as it has. I don’t listen to the radio anymore, but when I do, I always hear that song.”

Through the 1980s, Mellencamp built a formidable jukebox worth of his own hits. But his time at the top coincided with his unhappiest time personally, and he stepped off.

“I had a girlfriend over who was a real famous actress,” Mellencamp said (He didn't drop names, but a good guess is Meg Ryan, who he dated for several years in the 2010s). “She looked at me one night and said, ‘You know, John, we’ve both been to the moon and we both know we don't want to go back there.' She was right.”

He has a new album, “Orpheus Descending,” due out in February and a lengthy concert tour booked from February to May. Theaters, not arenas.

<a href="https://newsroom.ap.org/home/search/?query=byline:%22DAVID%20BAUDER%22&amp;mediaType=text&amp;st=keyword&amp;sortOrder=newest">By DAVID BAUDER &nbsp;AP Media Writer</a>NEW YORK (AP) — An urgency in the ringing guitar and thunderous drums that opened the 1985 album “Scarecrow” was the first hint that this was something different for the artist then billed as John “Cougar” Mellencamp.The disc, which is getting the deluxe reissue treatment this week, stands as a rare reputation-changing work. It elevated Mellencamp from a generic heartland rocker to a serious artist with something to say, helping spark Farm Aid, a movement that lives on.In that first song, “Rain on the Scarecrow,” Mellencamp described the financial crisis that was swallowing family farms in the Midwest. The Indiana-bred singer embraced his roots in the anthem “Small Town.” At age 34, his writing in “Minutes to Memories” showed a new maturity about life.A high standard is maintained through the closer, “R.O.C.K. in the USA,” which neatly summarized the musical approach — even if Mellencamp had to be talked into putting it on the album.Ask him now, at age 71, whether “Scarecrow” represented an elevated standard, and you'll discover the chip that remains on his shoulder. He'll remind you of hit songs that predated the album.“I didn't know,” he said, “because I didn't know I had to change my game.”Still, the singer professionally christened “Johnny Cougar” against his will at age 21 admits he made five albums before making a good one. “Scarecrow” was No. 7, excepting one shelved when his first record company dropped him.“I think John really found his voice on this album,” said veteran music writer Anthony DeCurtis, who contributed liner notes to the reissue.“There were certainly signs of it before, like on ‘Jack and Diane' and 'Pink Houses,'" he said. "But the sense of him looking at the world, taking his personality as someone who grew up in Seymour, Indiana, and making a wider statement about it, that was all a big deal for him. It raised him to the level of someone who was an important musical voice in the culture.”As someone who didn't think much about songwriting until he had a record deal, Mellencamp saw others around him setting a high benchmark and thought, “I better step up my game.” He mentioned Woody Guthrie, Bob Dylan, Bruce Springsteen and Joni Mitchell.As two chart-topping rockers aware of comparisons made between them, Springsteen and Mellencamp circled each other warily in the 1980s but are good friends today.You can see, in “Scarecrow,” Mellencamp creating a musical world from what he knew growing up in the Midwest, much like Springsteen did for the Jersey Shore. Mellencamp's “Lonely Ol' Night” is a thematic cousin to Springsteen's 1984 hit “Dancing in the Dark” in the narrators' late-night search for a connection.“What I learned from him was to be a good observer of life,” Mellencamp said. “You don't have to be the person. You can watch. I've had people say to me, ‘John, have you ever had writer’s block?' And I would say no, all you've got to do is look out the window.”He remembers a long conversation with his late friend and songwriting partner, George Green, wondering why so many of the small towns they knew were fading away. From those talks, they wrote “Rain on the Scarecrow.”The album’s cover features a serious-looking Mellencamp on a farm, a fuzzy scarecrow and tractor in the background. He dedicates it to his grandfather, Speck, who died at the end of 1983.After he made the record, he recalls another conversation with someone who was making some of their music videos, "who looked at me and said, ‘you know, this is a really special record for these times.’“I said, ‘You think so?’ he said. ”That was the first time I had ever given it any thought that it was much different than anything else I'd done."With the spirit of Live Aid and the themes of “Scarecrow” in the air, Mellencamp helped organize the initial Farm Aid concert with Willie Nelson and Neil Young. To date, the organization says it has raised $64 million for family farming; Nelson and Mellencamp both appeared at its most recent show, in September in Raleigh, North Carolina.Mellencamp and his band were tight from years on the road in the mid-1980s, but he still gave them an assignment prior to making the new album: learn to play dozens of rock hits from the 1960s, a sound their leader wanted to recreate.They included several from artists name-checked in “R.O.C.K. in the USA.” Mellencamp didn't want the song on “Scarecrow,” figuring it sounded “cartoonish” compared to the rest of the material. To his gratitude now, he listened to the pleas of record company executives to change his mind.Versions of songs from the band's assignment, like James Brown's “Cold Sweat” and “Shama Lama Ding Dong” from Otis Day &amp; the Knights, make it on the “Scarecrow” reissue.“I don’t mean to sound arrogant,” he said, “but I was not surprised that people liked that record. I’m not surprised that ‘Small Town’ stuck around for as long as it has. I don’t listen to the radio anymore, but when I do, I always hear that song.”Through the 1980s, Mellencamp built a formidable jukebox worth of his own hits. But his time at the top coincided with his unhappiest time personally, and he stepped off.“I had a girlfriend over who was a real famous actress,” Mellencamp said (He didn't drop names, but a good guess is Meg Ryan, who he dated for several years in the 2010s). “She looked at me one night and said, ‘You know, John, we’ve both been to the moon and we both know we don't want to go back there.' She was right.”He has a new album, “Orpheus Descending,” due out in February and a lengthy concert tour booked from February to May. Theaters, not arenas.