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MR’s security de-militarised Essential reading on Ranil’s role Sri Lankans have been politically scammed as never before. With AKD and the NPP, there’s been generational, gender and governance change, no structural reform (let alone ‘system-change’), and most crucially no change of economic policy paradigm and corporate/superrich bias. In an inversion of their mandate, there’s stark continuity in the economic policy framework that caused Sri Lanka’s debt crisis and perpetuates mass economic austerity. As presidential candidate Anura emphasised improvement of human resources, upgrading of human capital, as his economic keystone, but his presidential policies have placed the keystone in the opposite direction, and his macroeconomic commitments are and cannot but be ruinous to human resources/human capital. What would it mean if, as Deshal de Mel, (former? intermittent?) advisor to the Finance Ministry exults, three Presidents who were perceived to have been and publicly purported to be very different from each other—Gotabaya Rajapaksa, Ranil Wickremesinghe, Anura Kumara Dissanayake—deployed one and the same team, on core economic policy including the deal with the private creditors (ISB holders)? Is it because the team comprised the best of the best? Then why the ‘stealth’? Surely we should know the names of everyone involved so the nation could be grateful. Logically, three widely disparate presidents should have issued instructions with different emphases to the team, and under AKD they should have concluded with a quite different package than that which Ranil had chalked-out. But if there were three widely different presidents, one team, and the package that was worked on was the same, it means that whatever their public postures the three Presidents were of essentially the same view, shared the same economic policy paradigm. Bluntly, all 3 Presidents, 3 Finance Ministers and their unchanging team, over ‘983 days’ and counting, served the same interests: big private financial corporate interests, local and foreign. Though the threat to him is qualitatively higher than to any other Sri Lankan, former President Mahinda Rajapaksa’s security contingent is being stripped of its military component, reducing it to a purely Police detachment. Dinesh Schaffter’s brutal murder has not been solved. His shadowy, sadistic killers have not been identified let alone apprehended. How difficult would it be for a die-hard pro-Tiger Diaspora billionaire or consortium of contributors to hire foreign mercenaries specialised in Black Ops to infiltrate a team into Colombo and assassinate Mahinda Rajapaksa, in bitter, bloody revenge for their ‘Mahaveera’ Prabhakaran’s demise and the LTTE’s decisive defeat? AKD’s administration is leaving Mahinda wide-open. It has cold-bloodedly jeopardised the security and safety of the leader who restored security and safety for the immense majority of Sri Lanka’s citizens. Disguised as Santa, President AKD gifted social sectors who are among the most vulnerable, a tax on their fixed deposits i.e., their life savings, which will reduce the monthly or annual interest on which they live, buy medicines etc. Undertaken to offset loss of revenue through the slender, spotty VAT reduction, this heartless measure could be avoided by increased direct taxes on the top corporate earners and the superrich. The economic callousness of the Government is manifest when reading data provided by numbers.lk: https://www.facebook.com/share/p/1BLSjMSarQ/ The apologia for Anuranomics-- ‘what alternative did Anura have?’-- a pseudo-left echo of Thatcher’s ‘there is no alternative’ (TINA) is masterfully answered in concrete detail by Kusum Wijetilleke last Sunday, in a piece entitled ‘The Curse of Incrementalism: NPP Capitulation to the Status-Quo’. The Government has relaxed foreign exchange regulations for an initial period of six months. (https://www.dailymirror.lk/breaking-news/Government-decides-to-further-ease-capital-controls/108-298515). That’s sugar to a diabetic. Foreign exchange regulations in place through the JR and Premadasa presidencies were relaxed by Ranil Wickremesinghe and Ravi Karunanayake in 2017, causing or contributing to a massive outflow of dollars, which according to figures provided in parliament by then Minister of Justice Wijeyadasa Rajapakshe, is larger than our total foreign debt. Former President Ranil Wickremesinghe (appointed not elected, then electorally trounced) made an appearance on television, addressing the nation in robust support of President Anura Dissanayake’s recent address to parliament and specifically his ISB deal. Ranil kept using the term “we” (“api”), as in “we have now arrived at an agreement with the sovereign bond holders and a new bond will be issued on December 20th”. (https://youtu.be/IUAHz8mmwpk) He faulted the Opposition for its criticism of President Dissanayake’s economics and insisted the Opposition make it clear than any and all criticism was within the existing agreement with the IMF, i.e., without advocating renegotiation/revision, as Sajith does. Is Ranil Wickremesinghe AKD’s Emeritus Economic Advisor or ‘Economics Godfather’? Has his security been slashed as badly as Mahinda’s, or does Ranil (still) have Army Commandos and/or the STF? ‘Ranil Wickremesinghe & The Emasculation of the United National Party’ (Neptune, Colombo 2024) a brand-new book by Prof Rajiva Wijesinha (his cousin), is mandatory reading for any student of Sri Lanka’s politics and contemporary history. A chronicle by an erudite observer-participant in the politics of the last few decades, it is the seedbed of several doctoral dissertations. As I noted in my remarks at Rajiva’s book launch, Ranil Wickremesinghe’s story is one of negative dominance of Sri Lankan affairs. He is a reverse Midas, dooming through corrosion, every party and leader he has touched or has touched him. The long list includes the UNP, SLFP and SLPP, all of which have had their large vote bases fissure, decompose and disintegrate. Ranil’s toxic economic ideas and ideology have now possessed Anura Dissanayake and the JVP-NPP. The JVP was thought of either as (a) the anti-capitalist ‘third force’ or (b) the radical wing of the national liberation struggle, the leftwing vanguard of the anti-UNP bloc. It authentically occupied each role at different periods. During the so-called Yahapalanaya (‘Good governance’) coalition of Ranil’s UNP and dissident Maithripala Sirisena’s SLFP faction, Anura and the JVP were seen in a third way: as the leftwing ally of a centre-right neoliberal coalition. The green elephant being the UNP symbol, the JVPers were nicknamed “rathu ali pataw” or “red baby elephants” with Anura as the ‘Rathu Ali Patiya’. Malik Samarawickrema and Mangala Samaraweera were Ranil’s “AKD Whisperers”. This Christmas season it is even more appropriate than usual to call to mind the circumstances of bloody repression by the authorities that surrounded the birth of Jesus. Netanyahu’s Israel has been perpetrating the modern-day equivalent of King Herod’s Slaughter of the Innocents. One of the most unforgettably heart-rending episodes was of a 6-year-old girl Hind Rajab, who made a plaintive telephone call for help which we all heard on TV around the world before she went missing and was discovered slaughtered by the IDF. According to a Belgium-based NGO dedicated to justice for Hind Rajab, an Israeli soldier who has earned the nickname ‘Terminator’ for self-advertised war-crimes was on holiday in Sri Lanka. Alerted by the IDF he has since skipped the island. (https://www.dailymirror.lk/breaking-news/Belgium-based-NGO-claims-Israel-soldier-terminator-in-Sri-Lanka/108-298377). Sirimavo Bandaranaike or Ranasinghe Premadasa would have deported him and shut down the pipeline bringing IDF soldiers on R&R to Sri Lanka while Israel continues to attack countries and communities in a Nazi-like rampage. Not so, Anura Dissanayake. Recently, there was a two-hour discussion on foreign policy billed ‘Sri Lanka’s Place in a Turbulent World’, on TV1’s Face the Nation. The participants included an old friend and several young ones, including a very bright former student. (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4LioiN2q69Q&list=PLwBEINflt3JHYOP-1BUn6SjgBpVSHnvd0) Two propositions stated by the very smart younger analysts startled me. The first was that Israel’s war on Gaza and the West Bank was essentially the same as Russia’s invasion of/intervention in Ukraine. That’s a classic ‘category error’; apples and oranges. Israel’s is an Occupation and has been so for decades as acknowledged by numerous UN Security Council resolutions. Israel’s Occupation has structural characteristics of Apartheid, as affirmed both by former US President Jimmy Carter and the ANC leaders who fought apartheid in South Africa. This, and NATO expansion towards the East in the post-Cold war era, make the response to Ukraine far more muted in the global South (notably among the BRICS Plus constituency, containing the global majority) than the response to Gaza. The second, far more dangerous proposition, presented by the young academic in the strategic/security studies sector, issued from what he repeatedly insisted was ‘strategic thinking’: Sri Lanka should not recalibrate and retrench from its present policy on Israel which includes ‘R&R war tourism’, because from a ‘strategic’ point of view, Sri Lanka needs strong relations with Israel, an AI weapons hub. This is bad strategy and bad thinking. Which strategic interests—the strategic interests of what and who— are we or should we be thinking of, when we speak of strategy? Surely, of Sri Lanka as a country or more precisely Sri Lanka as State. The worst crisis and challenge the Sri Lankan state faced since Independence was in the 1980s when it had two civil wars – North and South, secessionist and anti-systemic--and an external military force on Sri Lankan soil. That crisis was caused by the mismanagement of Sri Lanka’s internal relations with one of its constituent communities (Sri Lanka’s Tamils), which had a co-ethnic rear-base, an ethnic kin-state as neighbour. No strategic thinking about Sri Lanka’s foreign policy or pathway can start from or limit itself to bilateral relations – diplomatic, economic or military relations with another state. Strategic thinking must flow from the foundational set of questions, axiomatically geostrategic but also ontological-existential, which I borrow from Mervyn de Silva: ‘who we are, what we are, where we are’. Strategic thinking about the Sri Lankan state must place high priority on grasping Sri Lanka’s composition and the necessity to manage with prudence its internal relationships between its constituent communities, especially when those communities have a larger global/globalised extended family they belong to. The Ranil-Manusha expansion of Sri Lanka’s relations with Israel during and despite its genocidal Gaza war, continued and maintained by Anura-Vijitha, does not take into account: What kind of ‘strategic thinking’ can recommend robust, expansive relations with Israel ignoring these three factors? What kind of ‘strategic thinking’ can ignore the possible outreach to Islamist militancy outside Sri Lanka or the gaze of Islamist militancy falling on Sri Lanka as a place which welcomes IDF war criminals with open arms? How can the expanded equation with Israel under the Ranil-Manusha and Anura-Vijitha dispensations not be seen for the strategic and security threat it poses to the Sri Lankan state by alienating an entire community which has already experienced one round of radicalisation, providing the backcloth of the Easter Massacre 2019, though external infiltrators and provocateurs were very probably involved? Sri Lanka’s passage in a turbulent world must be navigated with awareness of the tempest to come. nWashington is undecided: should Russia be neutralised with a Trump-propelled deal on Ukraine, or should the collective West go for broke on Ukrainian/Russian and Iranian fronts and possibly open a Cuban/Latin American front? Both the Israeli campaign in the Middle East and NATO/Ukraine in Europe, aimed at Iran and Russia respectively, are flanking moves in the West’s grand strategy aimed at the ultimate target, China. If Sri Lanka has a strong strategic bond with Israel, it is taking sides wittingly or unwittingly, and painting a target on its back. Our doctrine must be one of strategic prudence. This holds true of any Defence Cooperation Agreement with India. Just as Sri Lanka should not allow anything hostile to India to emanate from Sri Lanka’s land or sea, we must not allow anything hostile to China to do so either, still less allow ourselves to be enmeshed in a type of defence relationship which may be a subset of an Indian strategic configuration aimed separately or in conjunction with its fellow Quad partners, against China. It is absurd to regard moral-ethical factors and world opinion as unrelated to strategic policy-making, and compartmentalise the two. Prof Joseph Nye’s famous concepts of ‘soft power’ and ‘smart power’ incorporate the moral-ethical ingredient into the all-important ‘story’ or ‘narrative’ which seeks to persuade. Israel’s story is the nastiest in the world today (and in my lifetime since the Vietnam War). We should take our distance from it. Yet, Sri Lanka on the NPP’s watch is turning a blind eye to Zionist genocidaires enjoying themselves on our island. For Sri Lanka, a small state, it is strategically imperative that: (I)We establish a presence (a toehold) and participate in as many spaces in the world system as possible, raising our profile. (II) We share the same broad, autonomous – I call it ‘Neo-Nonaligned’--space and outlook as the majority of the world’s nations and peoples, in support of a multipolar world order which can contribute to global balance, global equilibrium.sports injuries 。

UNITY TOWNSHIP, Pa. — The search for a woman who is believed to have fallen into a sinkhole in western Pennsylvania shifted to a recovery effort after two treacherous days of digging through mud and rock produced no signs of life, authorities said Wednesday. Pennsylvania State Police spokesperson Trooper Steve Limani said during a news conference that authorities no longer believe they will find 64-year-old Elizabeth Pollard alive, but the search for her remains continues. “We’ve had no signs of any form of life or anything” to make rescuers think they should “continue to try and push and rush and push the envelope, to be aggressive with the potential of risking harm to other people,” Limani said. He noted oxygen levels below ground were insufficient. Emergency crews and others have tried to locate Pollard for two days. Her relatives reported her missing early Tuesday and her vehicle with her unharmed 5-year-old granddaughter inside was found about two hours later, near the sinkhole above a long closed, crumbling mine. Rescue workers continue to search for Elizabeth Pollard, who is believed to have disappeared in a sinkhole while looking for her cat, Wednesday in Marguerite, Pa. “We feel like we failed,” Limani said of the decision to change the status of the effort from a rescue to a recovery. “It’s tough.” Limani praised the crews who went into the abandoned mine to help remove material in the search for Pollard in the village of Marguerite, about 40 miles east of Pittsburgh.. “They would come out of there head to toe covered in mud, exhausted. And while they were getting pulled up, the next group’s getting dropped in. And there was one after the next after the next,” Limani said. Authorities said earlier that the roof of the mine collapsed in several places and was not stable. “We did get, you know, where we wanted, where we thought that she was at. We’ve been to that spot," Pleasant Unity Fire Chief John Bacha, the incident's operations officer, said earlier Wednesday. “What happened at that point, I don’t know, maybe the slurry of mud pushed her one direction. There were several different seams of that mine, shafts that all came together where this happened at.” Searchers used electronic devices and cameras as surface digging continued with the use of heavy equipment, Bacha said. In coming days, they plan to greatly widen the surface hole, with winter weather forecast in the region. Rescue workers search through the night in a sinkhole for Elizabeth Pollard, who disappeared while looking for her cat, Tuesday in Marguerite, Pa. Sinkholes occur in the area because of subsidence from coal mining activity. Rescuers used water to break down and remove clay and dirt from the mine, which has been closed since the 1950s. Pollard's family called police about 1 a.m. Tuesday to say she had not been seen since going out at about 5 p.m. Monday to search for Pepper, her cat. The temperature dropped well below freezing that night. Limani said the searchers met with her family before announcing the shift from rescue to recovery. The top of a sinkhole is seen Tuesday in the village of Marguerite, Pa., where rescuers searched for a woman who disappeared. Police said they found Pollard's car parked behind Monday's Union Restaurant in Marguerite, about 20 feet from the sinkhole. Hunters and restaurant workers in the area said they had not noticed the manhole-size opening in the hours before Pollard disappeared, leading rescuers to speculate the sinkhole was new. Pollard lived in a small neighborhood across the street from where her car and granddaughter were found by state police. It's unclear what happened to the cat. In an era of rapid technological advancement and environmental change, American agriculture is undergoing a revolution that reaches far beyond the farm gate. From the food on consumer plates to the economic health of rural communities, the transformation of U.S. farming practices is reshaping the nation's landscape in ways both visible and hidden. LandTrust explores how these changes impact everyone, whether they live in the heartland or the heart of the city. The image of the small family farm, while still a reality for many, is increasingly giving way to larger, more technologically advanced operations. According to the USDA, the number of farms in the U.S. has fallen from 6.8 million in 1935 to about 2 million today, with the average farm size growing from 155 acres to 444 acres. This shift has profound implications for rural communities and the food system as a whole. Despite these changes, diversity in farming practices is on the rise. A landmark study published in Science , involving data from over 2,000 farms across 11 countries, found that diversifying farmland simultaneously delivers environmental and social benefits. This challenges the longstanding idea that practices boosting biodiversity must come at a cost to yields and food security. The adoption of precision agriculture technologies is transforming how farmers manage their land and resources. GPS-guided tractors, drone surveillance, and AI-powered crop management systems are becoming commonplace on many farms. These technologies allow farmers to apply water, fertilizers, and pesticides with pinpoint accuracy, reducing waste and environmental impact while improving yields. However, the digital divide remains a challenge. More than 22% of rural communities lack reliable broadband internet access, hindering the widespread implementation of AI and other advanced technologies in agriculture. While technology offers new opportunities, farmers are also facing significant economic challenges. The USDA's 2024 farm income forecast projects a 4.4% decline in net farm income from 2023, following a sharp 19.5% drop from 2022 to 2023. This financial pressure is compounded by rising production costs and market volatility. Climate variability adds another layer of complexity. Extreme weather events, changing precipitation patterns, and shifting growing seasons are forcing farmers to adapt quickly. These factors could reduce agricultural productivity by up to 25% over the coming decades without significant adaptation measures. But adapting requires additional financial resources, further straining farm profitability. In the face of these challenges, many farmers are turning to diversification as a strategy for resilience and profitability. The Science study mentioned earlier found that farms integrating several diversification methods supported more biodiversity while seeing simultaneous increases in human well-being and food security. Agritourism is one popular diversification strategy. In 2022, 28,600 U.S. farms reported agritourism income, averaging gross revenue of $44,000 from these activities. Activities like farm tours, pick-your-own operations, and seasonal festivals not only provide additional income but also foster a deeper connection between consumers and agriculture. The changing face of agriculture is directly impacting consumers. The rise of farm-to-table and local food movements reflects a growing interest in where our food comes from and how it's produced. If every U.S. household spent just $10 per week on locally grown food, it would generate billions of dollars for local economies. However, the larger challenges in agriculture can also lead to price fluctuations at the grocery store. The USDA's Economic Research Service projects that food-at-home prices will increase between 1.2% and 2.2% in 2024. Looking ahead, several innovations are poised to reshape agriculture: The transformation of American agriculture affects everyone, from the food we eat to the health of our environment and rural communities. Consumers have the power to support sustainable and diverse farming practices through our purchasing decisions. As citizens, they can advocate for policies that support farmers in adopting innovative and sustainable practices. The challenges facing agriculture are complex, but they also present opportunities for innovation and positive change. By understanding and engaging with these issues, everyone can play a part in shaping a more resilient, sustainable, and equitable food system for the future. This story was produced by LandTrust and reviewed and distributed by Stacker. Get local news delivered to your inbox!

‘History will be kinder to me...’: When former PM Manmohan Singh uttered this famous line at...

HENDERSON, Nev. (AP) — Aidan O'Connell might not be Mr. Right for the Raiders, but he is Mr. Right Now. He did enough in Friday's 19-17 loss at Kansas City to show that Las Vegas' quarterback job will be his for the rest of the season — barring, that is, another injury. O'Connell didn't look like a quarterback who hadn't played in nearly six weeks because of a broken thumb . Plus, the Raiders had a short week to prepare for the Chiefs, meaning O'Connell only went through a series of walk-through practices. Even so, he completed 23 of 35 passes for 340 yards, including touchdown passes of 33 yards to tight end Brock Bowers and 58 yards to wide receiver Tre Tucker. He didn't throw any interceptions. “Thought he competed,” coach Antonio Pierce said Saturday morning. “I thought for what we knew we were getting with Spags (Kansas City defensive coordinator Steve Spagnuolo) and that defense, that he stood in the pocket, made some tough throws, took some hits, took the shots down the field like we wanted. We had some opportunities to take shots down the field, he threw them. And I thought our skill guys did a hell of a job competing and making some really good plays for us.” O'Connell's performance would've shined even more if not for the Raiders' final offensive play. He led the Raiders from their 8-yard line to the Chiefs 32 with 15 seconds left. The plan was for O'Connell to take the snap and throw the ball away to run off a few more seconds, then send Daniel Carlson out for the potential winning field goal without giving Patrick Mahomes enough time to mount one of his signature comebacks. But rookie center Jackson Powers-Johnson snapped the ball before O'Connell was expecting it, and the Chiefs recovered to secure another close, last-minute victory. The Raiders were called for illegal shift, which Kansas City declined. But there was some question about whether officials intended to call a false start instead. Though that infraction would have cost Las Vegas 5 yards, the pre-snap penalty still would've given Carlson a shot at the field goal. Pierce said his team heard an official's whistle before the snap, and that will be included in the Raiders' report to the NFL. “We do that every game,” Pierce said. “Typically, anywhere from three to five questions, and then we’ll get a letter within 24 to 36 hours, and we’ll read it and learn from it.” What’s working Bowers had another sensational game. He was targeted 14 times, catching 10 passes for 140 yards. For the season, he has 84 receptions for 884 yards and four TDs, making him a strong contender for Offensive Rookie of the Year. “We’re seeing double-teams and them really shifting their zone to him, and I don’t really think it matters,” Pierce said. “I think we've got a really special player on our hand.” What needs help The Raiders need to do better on first and second downs to set up more favorable third-down conversions. They have faced 47 third downs from 7 to 10 yards, tied with the Dallas Cowboys for fifth most. Las Vegas' conversion rate on those plays is 36.2%, which actually is favorable compared to the rest of the league, but the Raiders are still creating too many of those situations. Stock up Las Vegas made life difficult for Mahomes, sacking him five times. And it wasn't just Maxx Crosby bringing the heat. Four players had at least one-half sack, including K’Lavon Chaisson, who had 1 1/2. It was a season-high total for the Raiders, and they have taken down the opposing quarterback in 30 consecutive games, the third-longest active streak. Stock down Carlson is usually money, but he missed field goals from 56, 55 and 58 yards. Hardly chip shots, but he is capable of converting from those distances. He had made 30 of 38 field goals from 50-plus yards entering the game, with a career long of 57 yards. Injuries WR DJ Turner injured his knee in the second half. Key number 12 — The Raiders are one of three teams to fall behind double digits in each of their first 12 games of a season. The others were the 1986 Indianapolis Colts and 1972 New England Patriots. Next steps The Raiders visit Tampa Bay on Dec. 8. ___ AP NFL: https://apnews.com/hub/nfl Mark Anderson, The Associated Press“Lev it on the Field” is back for Game 11. It’s the Star’s unique look at Arizona’s upcoming football matchup and other happenings around the Big 12 through the eyes of UA beat reporter-turned-columnist Michael Lev. Away we go ... Ten games into Brent Brennan’s tenure, we just might be there. Michael Lev is a senior writer/columnist for the Arizona Daily Star , Tucson.com and The Wildcaster . The Arizona Wildcats finally appear to have an identity. Brennan wanted to see something against Houston that he hadn’t seen often enough. He wants to see it this week against TCU, the following week against Arizona State and, he hopes, for many weeks and years to come. Arizona has to play harder than whomever it’s playing against. “You're always trying to elevate how hard you play,” Brennan said this week. “That's one of those things that can be an equalizer ... if you're playing a team that's better than you or somebody on the road. Always demanding great effort from our team is going to be an absolute staple of what we do.” Arizona defensive back Owen Goss, right, scoops up a Cougar fumble near the 1-yard line, ending a Houston scoring threat late in the fourth quarter on Nov. 15, 2024, at Arizona Stadium. All-out effort helped the Wildcats force three UH fumbles. Brennan saw the signs against the Cougars. Defenders hustled downfield to force fumbles. Superstar receiver Tetairoa McMillan sprinted downfield to ensure teammate Quali Conley reached the end zone. “You always want to have as many Arizona jerseys in the picture on the film at the end of the play as possible,” Brennan said. “We'll continue to push that and drive that,” he added. “And (if) the players will hold each other accountable to that high standard, then we will continue to get better.” That effort needs to be readily evident in Fort Worth, Texas, on Saturday. The Wildcats — and Brennan — cannot afford a repeat of their last road trip. They ventured to Orlando, Florida, to play UCF, but they basically didn’t show up. That can’t happen again. Even as the program was sputtering in Jedd Fisch’s first season (which he dubbed “Year Zero”), the team played with unrelenting effort — which inspired hope of the turnaround that eventually came. The Cats need to make it hard on the Horned Frogs by playing as hard as they possibly can. Anything less doesn’t bode well. Take that for data! Former UA offensive coordinator Sonny Dykes has been TCU’s head coach for three seasons. During that time, the Horned Frogs have authored three comebacks from deficits of at least 17 points. It happened twice during Dykes’ magical first season of 2022, when TCU improbably reached the national championship game. The latest such rally occurred on Oct. 26. TCU trailed Texas Tech 31-14 midway through the third quarter before storming back for a 35-34 victory. What’s remarkable about this TCU team — and emblematic of this Big 12 season — is that the Horned Frogs also squandered a lead of 17-plus points. TCU led UCF 31-13 with 5:03 left in the third quarter on Sept. 14. The Knights rallied to win 35-34, scoring the winning touchdown with 36 seconds remaining. (Rincon) Market report Going up: Spoilers You don’t want to face Lance Leipold and the Kansas Jayhawks right now. After a five-game losing streak — four decided by six or fewer points — Kansas has won three of its past four. That includes upsetting then-No. 17 Iowa State and handing then-No. 6 BYU its first defeat. Next up: Deion Sanders and No. 16 Colorado on Senior Day at Arrowhead Stadium. The Buffaloes will reach the Big 12 Championship Game if they win out. The Jayhawks are standing in their way and won’t give an inch of ground. Kansas safety Marvin Grant and linebacker Cornell Wheeler prevent BYU wide receiver Chase Roberts, left, from getting a first down on the final play of the game in the Jayhawks' upset of the Cougars on Nov. 16, 2024, in Provo, Utah. Going down: Multiple bids It was always a long shot. Now it’s all but impossible: The Big 12 won’t place more than one team in the College Football Playoff. The extremely narrow path to being a two-bid league went like this: BYU and Colorado win out; Buffs defeat Cougars in Big 12 title game; both advance to expanded CFP. BYU’s loss to Kansas killed that dream. For proof, look no further than how the CFP Selection Committee disrespected the Cougars , dropping them to 14th — one spot behind SMU, whom they defeated in Dallas. A question from my X “Wouldn’t it be more prudent to take the money they want to give Brennan for his buyout and put it into an NIL so that they can get better players to support him?” — @zona7378 via X/Twitter This question refers to the possibility of UA athletic director Desireé Reed-Francois deciding to move on from Brennan — whom she didn’t hire — after one season and raising the $11 million-plus necessary to satisfy his buyout. Regardless of whether that happens — the next two weeks will be telling — the question also leads to another one: What is the best way to allocate your money in the new era of college athletics? We know that revenue-sharing is coming . That could mitigate the impact of NIL — but it won’t eliminate it. The top players in football, men’s and women’s basketball and a handful of other sports still will be compensated above and beyond their rev-share pacts. Whether the money is coming from the institutions or private donations, does it still make sense to spend top dollar on coaches? Are you better off acquiring the best roster you can get in the transfer portal? Will facilities again become a differentiator? Interesting times ahead for Arizona and the college sports world at large. Threads Utah will don hand-painted 'Malama Lahaina' helmets for its final home game vs. Iowa State on Saturday. It’s been a rough year for Utah. But the Utes proudly will play their final home game in the most magnificent and meaningful helmets you’ve ever seen. This year’s hand-painted beauties have been dubbed “Malama Lahaina.” They pay tribute to the program’s Polynesian tradition while also honoring “the resilience and spirit of Maui in the wake of the devastating Lahaina fires of 2023,” per UNISWAG . The red helmets feature black Hawaiian tattoo art and an outline of Lahaina’s Front Street. They’re being paired with Utah’s black uniforms with red accents. The overall look is as good as it gets. What he said ... “TCU, I think, is the sixth- or seventh-best passing offense in the country. So that's kind of the biggest thing. ... Houston, I don't know if they were that great statistically. TCU is more explosive.” — UA safety Owen Goss on the differences between TCU’s offense and Houston’s What he meant ... “This is a completely different ballgame. We knew Houston was one-dimensional; if we could get the Cougars into third-and-long, they were cooked. This isn’t that. The Horned Frogs throw the ball all over the yard. They have a real quarterback. They have multiple receivers who can hurt you. We gotta rally and tackle these guys in space. If we don’t, it’s gonna be a long afternoon.” The other side Steven Johnson, via the Fort Worth Star-Telegram : It’s not often you face a receiver as gifted as Arizona’s Tetairoa McMillan. When the Horned Frogs face the Wildcats ... priority No. 1 for TCU will be finding a way to slow down a receiver that many think could change the outlook of one NFL franchise in the upcoming NFL Draft. Mock drafts project that McMillan will be at the top of the board with the likes of Colorado’s Travis Hunter and Shedeur Sanders and Miami’s Cam Ward. McMillan leads all Power Four receivers with 1,136 yards, and he also has seven touchdowns. Arizona wide receiver Tetairoa McMillan, left, steps through a trio of Houston defenders after snaring a catch over the middle in the third quarter of their Big 12 game on Friday, Nov. 15, 2024, at Arizona Stadium. McMillan stands at 6-foot-5 and has more than enough speed to run away from defenders. TCU coach Sonny Dykes doesn’t see many flaws in his game. “He’s what you would get if you were going to design a receiver ... he’s long, he can run, he’s got a huge catch radius,” Dykes said Tuesday. “I really think that’s the strongest characteristic that he’s got. His ability to make competitive plays on the ball, adjust to the ball. Somebody with his size doesn’t typically have that type of body control.” Pick to click (aka #fadelev) Lots of home underdogs to choose from on this week’s Big 12 slate. Houston’s getting the most points (eight), but I can’t pick the Cougars no matter how sweet their “Houston Blue” uniforms are; they were just too inept last week. So the choice here is Utah, which is a seven-point ’dog against Iowa State. Do we really think a Kyle Whittingham-coached team is going to lose every conference home game it plays? As bad as their offense has been, the Utes’ defense is still one of the best in the league. I’m calling for an outright upset in Salt Lake City. (season record: 5-4-1) One last thing We’re in for a treat Saturday. The matchup in Fort Worth features two semifinalists for the Biletnikoff Award honoring the nation’s best receiver: Arizona’s McMillan and TCU’s Jack Bech. They are two of three semifinalists from the Big 12, along with Colorado’s Travis Hunter. No other conference has more than two. I have no idea who’s going to win it. San Jose State’s Nick Nash has the most prolific numbers, but will the electorate vote for someone on a middling Mountain West team? Two-way phenom Hunter is the best player in college football and the favorite for the Heisman, but is he the best receiver? No one’s more talented or has more “wow” plays than McMillan, but is anyone outside of Tucson paying attention to Arizona football these days? It’s a really tough call this year. But we don’t have to worry about that Saturday. We can just sit back and enjoy the show. Contact sports reporter/columnist Michael Lev at mlev@tucson.com . 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Bundesliga: Kane’s hat-trick sends Bayern eight points clearTyrese Hunter tossed in a game-high 26 points to lead Memphis to a 99-97 upset victory over No. 2 UConn on Monday in the first round of the Maui Invitational in Lahaina, Hawaii. Hunter, who played at Iowa State and Texas before transferring to Memphis, made eight field goals with 7-of-10 3-point shooting. The Tigers (5-0) connected on 12 of their 22 3-point attempts in the win. UConn's Hassan Diarra made a free throw to cut the Memphis lead to 99-97 with 2.2 seconds left. He intentionally missed the second free throw and collected the loose ball, but his desperation shot was off the mark. It was 92-92 when UConn's Liam McNeeley was called for an offensive foul with 40.3 seconds left. UConn coach Dan Hurley received a technical for arguing the foul call, and PJ Carter made all four free throws to give the Tigers a four-point lead. Memphis, which squandered a 13-point lead with four minutes to play in regulation, received 22 points from PJ Haggerty, 19 from Colby Rogers and 14 from Dain Dainja. Memphis will play the winner of Monday night's game between Colorado and Michigan State in Tuesday's semifinals. UConn will face the loser of that contest. Tarris Reed Jr. had a team-high 22 points and a game-high 11 rebounds for UConn (4-1) before he fouled out with 3:18 to play. He made 10 of his 13 field goal attempts. Alex Karaban added 19 points for the Huskies. Jaylin Stewart scored a career-high 16 points, Diarra had 12 and McNeeley added 10. UConn trailed 82-79 after Diarra made two free throws with 24.2 seconds to play in regulation. The Huskies then forced a turnover and tied the game on a 3-pointer by Solo Ball with 1.2 on the clock. Although Memphis shot 56.5 percent from the field (13 for 23) and 50 percent from 3-point territory (5 for 10) in the first half, the game was tied 40-40 after 20 minutes. Neither team led by more than six points in the half. UConn received 29 points from its bench in the first half. Reed scored 15 of those points and Stewart supplied the other 14. --Field Level Media