4 J The Lovell Chronicle J September 2, 2010 www.LovellChronicle.com
i00urVtew
BYU exit a bad
decision
It's a bad move for Brigham Young University to split
from the Mountain West Conference and join the West
Coast Conference - becoming independent in football: bad
for the Mountain West, bad for traditional rivalries and bad
for BYU.
Big money is driving this move, primarily television mon-
ey, with BYU hoping to become the Notre Dame of the West
and strike its own lucrative TV deal with ESPN and rake in
revenue from its own church-sponsored network. The uni-
versity also hopes that it can land big bowl games - includ-
ing the top BCS bowls - and not have to share bowl reve-
nue with fellow conference members.
It's a gamble that could well pay off for the university,
but it proves that big money is the top priority in the current
state of affairs with college athletics.
College athletics is big business, and schools are will-
ing to part with decades-long traditional rivalries in order to
rake in the dough.
This all started when the University of Texas threatened
to break up the Big 12 and take a number of large schools
with them. That didn't happen for various reasons, but it
started the dominoes falling.
The University of Colorado - not exactly an athletic pow-
erhouse - bolted for the PAC 10, and the University of Utah
joined them, splitting from the Mountain West.
Nebraska will join the Big 10, which, oddly, has 11
teams and will soon have 12.
BYU was surely green with jealousy that their local in-
state rival- Utah -- received an invitation from the pres-
tigious PAC 10 and also was chaffing under the limited-
revenue television deal with the Mountain West Television
Network. With freedom to now pursue a new TV package
and set loose the nationwide church network with its best-
in-the-nation high definition technology, the move to inde-
pendent status certainly makes sense financially.
But what about traditional conference ties? What about
the fans? And what about the non-football student athletes?
The West Coast Conference is a minor conference ex-
cept for a couple of teams in men's basketball, notably Gon-
zaga and St. Mary's. But if you're a BYU basketball player or
a BYU hoops fan, are you looking forward to that hot BYU
vs. Santa Clara conference game? Or how about playing in
the huge Firestone Fieldhouse at Pepperdine with its 3,104-
seat capacity instead of at the Pit in Albuquerque or the
Thomas and Mack in Las Vegas?'
Is BYU going big time in footbaff'at the expense of all
other sports? It would appear so.
And there's no guarantee that going independent will
work. During the summer, BYU tried to forge a deal with the
Western Athletic Conference to go independent in football
and join the conference in other sports, agreeing to play
four football games a year against WAC teams. Now, BYU
will have to scramble to put together a national schedule.
The Mountain West Conference protected itself by invit-
ing the two remaining top WAC schools - Fresno State and
the University of Nevada (Reno) - into the conference, join-
ing Boise State, which had already received an invitation.
That jerked the rug out from under BYU's plans, and it
looked like the Cougars would remain in the Mountain West,
at least for now. But once the smell of big dollars is in the
air, it's hard to pass it up, and BYU struck a deal with the
WCC. So BYU's actions may essentially lead to the destruc-
tion of the VVAC, a league it was snuggling up to over the
last few months, but now the Cougars are moving further
west. Every man for himself, right?
Certainly, BYU and Utah have become major players in
the world of college football, at the moment rising above
programs like Wyoming, New Mexico and Colorado State.
But whatever happened to loyalty? What happened to long-
time traditional rivalries? Both BYU and Utah were founding
members of the WAC and later the Mountain West.
The sad thing is, the Mountain West has been on the
verge of reaching big time BCS status, moving up with the
likes of the SEC, Big 10, Big 12, and PAC 10 - or whatever
the leagues will be called now. With Boise State joining the
league, there would have been a powerful lineup of TCU,
Utah, BYU and Boise State to go with traditionally strong Air
Force and up-and-coming Wyoming and others. Now it's all
breaking up.
It's sad and it's unfortunate. Cougar fans in Wyoming
surely can't be happy. We've already spoken to several who
don't like the move one bit. There will be no more chances
to see the Cougars in Laramie. Will fans want to make the
long drive to Provo for that big BYU-Loyola Marymount con-
ference game?
As one Cougar fan put it succinctly: Yuck.
--David Peck
YOUR CALI00NI>AR
IS VERY NICE, BILLY-- BUT
LEFT OFF WI00I00KI00NDS
ANI> HOLIDAYS...
WE'RE
RANCHERS!
Letters to the editor
Arizona couple appreciates canyon assistance
Dear Editor,
I know that I am not alone
in saying that when you work in
an office of a construction compa-
ny you are often on the receiving
end of complaining phone calls.
Although I have never called a
company and complained about
a construction site, I admit I do
complain to those lucky enough to
be riding with me.
In spite of the bad rap the con-
struction industry gets, should a
motorist break down in our con-
struction areas, the guys do what
they can to help.
We were working in the Sho-
shoni-Thermopolis area this last
month when such a motorist had
a breakdown. Eric Schaefer, Pav-
ing Superintendent, Michael
Frost, President, and employees
from S&L Industrial helped an
Arizona couple fix a tire. To our
surprise and for the first time we
received the following "thank you"
e-mail.
Dear Sirs/Madams,
We were traveling from AZ to
Cody on Wednesday of last week
(8/4) when I had a blowout on our
horse trailer, just before I got to
Wind River Canyon. As you are
aware, there are very few places
to pull over to change a tire on
that road. I slowly moved my rig
to a turnout lace and parked. My
husband, because of a very bad
back, is incapable of helping me
and while I could have changed
the tire-eventually- I saw a flag-
man ahead so I walked to his po-
sition to inquire about some assis-
tance.
I believe he said he worked
for S&L and was on his first day
on the job. He couldn't have been
more helpful; he got right on his
radio and asked if anyone could
help me with a flat. I stood and
visited with him for a few min-
utes until he got confirmation
that someone was on their way.
A woman flagger came by as well
and also assisted with radioing
the foreman or supervisor. I will
contact S&L, also.
I feel badly that I did not get
anyone's name. A young gentle-
man came, in a company pickup,
and stopped to pick me up (I was
walking back to my rig) and as
soon as we got to the truck he got
my trailer wheels up on the blocks
we have and in no time we had on
a new tire. He said the tire was
too low so asked me to follow him
to a staging area where we waited
for the service vehicle to come and
air up the tire. Several young men
kept checking on us and after the
service truck had me aired up we
were given a "private escort" past
the construction area and were on
our way.
We just felt that you should
know that you have a fine bunch
of men and women working for
you and we are very grateful for
the kindness and assistance. You
should be very proud to have
them.
Please, if it is possible to iden-
tify them, thanks them very much
from us.
Pat and Stan Harter
Gilbert, AZ
I agree, we do have a "fine
bunch of men and women" work-
ing for us.
Barb Rodriguez
Mountain Construction
Company
Respecting religious differences: true tolerance
During the 20th century, many erup-
tions of violent international friction were
rooted in secular problems. The two World
Wars, the Korean War and the Vietnam
War were founded on political and nation-
al differences.
Since the 1970s, however, internation-
al violence often seems rooted in religious
differences, in attempts by members of one
religion to control or get back at members
of another. While these broad generaliza-
tions have multiple exceptions, many peo-
ple now see religion as the primary source
of conflict. With John Lennon, they want
to imagine a world in which religions do
not provide humanity with a heaven and a
hell (or anything else) to fight for.
Is it possible to get rid of religions? No, not re-
ally. Centuries after the intellectual Enlightenment
pushed religion off its throne by elevating human
reason above divine revelation and creating the sci-
ences, religion is still around. Many had hoped and
even predicted that religion would disappear. Re-
ligion was likened to a mental illness, and, in line
with Sigmund Freud's "talking cure," once patients
recognized it, they would be healed of the affliction.
That has not happened, obviously.
So, if we want to live in a world where religious
beliefs do not spark conflicts, what approach should
we take? In a recent op-ed piece in the New York
Times, "Many Faiths, One Truth," the Dalai Lama
argues that the world's people need to practice toler-
ance of other people's religions. After admitting that
every religion has its core, unique elements, the Da-
lai Lama argues that the key theme of compassion
runs through all religions. Tolerance, he implies, is
the emphasis of similarities, and learning from each
religion in the area(s) where they are similar.
Certainly the Dalai Lama is correct in identi-
fying compassion for others--in both suffering and
their joy--as a concern shared by many, if not all,
religions. Indeed, one could generalize that most re-
ligions share their central moral values. They all
possess a version of the Golden Rule; they are con-
cerned about families and the interrelationships of
Paul V.M.
Flesher
Religion Today
their members; they are against murder
and theft, promote equal justice for all,
and so on.
Shared moral values might serve
as a basis for the peaceful interaction of
members of different religions around
the world, if it were not for one thing. In
each religion, those values are supported
and legitimized by what is distinctive to
that religion. In 1997, I created a Web-
site called Exploring Religions, which
looked at five world religions. In it, I
put forward the idea that each religion
identified a core problem with human-
ity's existence. The religion then laid out
a process for individuals that would re-
solve this human problem, a process that usually in-
volved divine help. In Christianity, the problem was
sin; in Buddhism, the human problem was suffering;
in Islam, the problem was "forgetfulness" of God (Al-
lah). Each religion shaped its theology and its cen-
tral practices to help people overcome the human
problem and achieve humanity's ultimate goal.
For each religion, the human problem and its
solution is the religion's central feature. As Shrek's
Donkey might say, it is the innermost core of the on-
ion when all the layers are removed. Moral values
form one of the layers, and thus belong to the reli-
gion, but they do not comprise its core.
If tolerance among religions is ever going to
come about, it will only be when it understands and
accepts the differences between the religions. While
the Dalai Lama wants to emphasize the similarities-
human compassion and other moral values-it is the
acceptance of and respect for religious differences
that constitutes true tolerance. As
Boston University religion professor Stephen
Prothero recently observed, "One of the common
misconceptions about the world's religions is that
they plumb the same depths, ask the same ques-
tions. They do not." Accepting that and still getting
along is where true tolerance lies.
Religion Today is contributed by UW's Reli-
gious Studies Program to examine and promote dis-
cussion of religious issues.
UPSP 321-060
234 E. Main, Lovell, Wyoming 82431
307-548-2217 • FAX 307-548-2218
Emafh Icnews@tctwest.net
David Peck, Editor and Publisher
Editor ........................................................................... David Peck
News Editor ........................................................ Brad Devereaux
Office Manager ..................................................... Gladys McNeil
Advertising Manager ............................................... Erin Henson
Production Manager .................................................. Pat Parmer
Staff ......................................... Dorothy Nelson, Marwyn Layne
Kymbre Moorehead, Jason Zeller,
Teressa Ennis, Don Dover, Mike Kitchen
the|OVe|| chromcle
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