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Hometown athlete and Australian are RDC Athletes of the Week

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11 minute read

From Red Deer College Communications

Red Deer College Athletics is proud to announce our Boston Pizza Athletes of the Week.

1. Alexandria Greenshields – Queens Volleyball Hometown – Red Deer, AB
Open Studies (1st year)

Alexandria Greenshields had a tremendous weekend on the court, helping the RDC Queens (14-8) defeat the SAIT Trojans (13-7) in a pair of matches to move even with the Ambrose University Lions (14-8) for second spot in the south. In Friday’s five set victory at the Gary W. Harris Canada Games Centre (25-22, 24-26, 27-25, 20-25 and 17-15), the five-foot-ten middle blocker totaled eight kills, two digs, two stuff blocks, one assist and one ace, accounting for 11 of the Queens’ points. Then on Saturday in Calgary, the first-year Open Studies student accumulated eight kills, five digs, four stuff blocks and one ace in another five set win (25-20, 16-25, 22-25, 25-20 and 15-13), contributing 13 more points for RDC.

Ali has been an integral part of the Queens’ strong play. Since November 2, the Red Deer College Queens have been one of the hottest teams in Alberta Colleges Athletic Conference (ACAC) Women’s Volleyball, going 13-3 in their past 16 matches.

2. Regan Fathers – Kings Volleyball
Hometown – East Fremantle, Western Australia Kinesiology General (5th year)

This past weekend, Regan Fathers was a force for the Kings Volleyball team (16-6). The six-foot-six outside hitter had 23 kills, five digs and three service aces while hitting for 48.6 per cent efficiency in Friday’s three set sweep over the SAIT Trojans (25-20, 25-19 and 25-21). The fifth-year’s contribution of 26 points helped him earn the Kings Player-of-the-Game award. Despite dropping a close five set decision on Saturday (20-25, 25-23, 25-22, 18-25 and 17-19), the talented student- athlete from East Fremantle, Western Australia, accumulated impressive numbers once again. Regan’s 21 kills led the Kings in Calgary, while adding three digs and two blocks.

The Kinesiology General student leads the league with 369 total kills and 5.13 kills per set. Regan will be a key player as the Kings prepare for the ACAC Championship from February 21-23 and the Canadian Collegiate Athletic Association (CCAA) Men’s Volleyball National Championship from March 7-9 at the Gary W. Harris Canada Games Centre, when the RDC Kings will be playing for their historic 14th national title.

This Week in RDC Athletics

This week, the RDC Basketball teams will play the Olds College Broncos in a home-and-home series, which will include the President’s Challenge during half-time of both Kings games. The Hockey Queens will face-off against the MacEwan University Griffins in a pair of games and the Kings will challenge the SAIT Trojans twice. Both volleyball teams will travel to Lethbridge and play the Kodiaks in two matches. This weekend will also feature the final RDC regular season home games, except for the rescheduled Kings Hockey game at 1:30 p.m. on Friday, February 22 at NexSource Centre in Sylvan Lake.

Here is a summary of what is happening this week in RDC Athletics.

Queens Basketball | Friday, Feb. 8 | 6:00 p.m. | Olds College

The Red Deer College Queens will play the Broncos in Olds. Sandra Garcia-Bernal continues to be one of top rebounders in the league. The second-year from Valencia, Spain sits third in ACAC Women’s Basketball, averaging 10.2 boards per game.

The five-foot-five guard’s tremendous effort and anticipation have helped guide the Queens to the top of the league in rebounding (47.6 per game).

Queens Basketball | Saturday, Feb. 9 | 6:00 p.m. | Gary W. Harris Canada Games Centre

The RDC Queens will tip-off against the Broncos on their home court.

Kings Basketball | Friday, Feb. 8 | 8:00 p.m. | Olds College

On the road, the fourth place Kings (8-8) will hit the hardwood against the Olds College Broncos (5-10), and it will be the first night of the President’s Challenge. Every game is significant as the RDC Kings look to lock down a playoff position in the south, and the Kings have been playing excellent lately with the postseason on their minds.

The Kings and Lethbridge College Kodiaks (8-9) are even with 16 points in the south standings, but the Kings have a game in hand, as both squads battle for a playoff spot.

After the home-and-home series against Olds College (5-10), the RDC Kings will play the Ambrose University Lions (12-6) once in Calgary and the Briercrest College Clippers (2-15) in two road games.

The Kodiaks will wrap up the regular season against the Briercrest College Clippers (2-15) twice and the Olds College Broncos (5-10) in a pair of games.

Red Deer’s Spencer Klassen continues to be a driving force for the Kings, leading the league with 25.7 points per game.

Kings Basketball | Saturday, Feb. 9 | 8:00 p.m. | Gary W. Harris Canada Games Centre

The Red Deer College Kings will host the Olds College Broncos.

At half-time, the second night of the President’s Challenge will take place in conjunction with Olds College.  RDC President & CEO, Joel Ward, will compete against Stuart Cullum, President of Olds College, in a game of 21. The losing president from both evenings will have to the wear the other team’s jersey for a full day on Monday, February 11.  If Ward and Cullum split the games of the 21, the point differential will determine the winner.

Queens Hockey | Friday, Feb. 8 | 7:00 p.m. | Gary W. Harris Canada Games Centre

The third place RDC Queens (8-8-4-0) will entertain the MacEwan University Griffins (13-4-2-0). MacEwan University sits in second spot in the standings with 28 points, six points behind NAIT (16- 2-2-0). The Red Deer College Queens have 20 points after 20 games and lead the fourth-place Olds College Broncos (6-11-1-0) by seven points.

Queens Hockey | Saturday, Feb. 9 | 6:00 p.m. | MacEwan University

The RDC Queens will face-off against the Griffins in Edmonton.

Kings Hockey | Friday, Feb. 8 | 7:00 p.m. | SAIT

The Red Deer College Kings (13-5-1-1) will tangle with the SAIT Trojans (14-5-0-0) in Calgary. Both teams share second place with 28 points, although the Trojans have a game in hand. It continues to be a battle at the top of the standings. The NAIT Ooks (16-6-0-0) lead ACAC Men’s Hockey with 32 points, but have also played two more games than the Kings. The MacEwan University Griffins (13-5-1-0) sit in fourth with 27 points. The University of Alberta Augustana Vikings (12-7-1-0) are next with 25 points.

The RDC Kings are the most disciplined team in the league, taking the fewest penalty minutes as a group. Although, even when a skater down the Kings can score, recording five shorthanded markers.

SAIT’s Dean Allison leads ACAC Men’s Hockey with 30 points, but RDC’s Chase Thudium is close behind with 27.

As part of a beer tasting event, participants are encouraged to make a donation with proceeds going to the Central Alberta Sexual Assault Support Centre (CASASC). Olds Brewery and Troubled Monk will be sponsoring the event.

Kings Hockey | Saturday, Feb. 9 | 7:00 p.m. | Gary W. Harris Canada Games Centre

The Kings will face the Trojans at home.

Queens Volleyball | Friday, Feb. 8 | 6:00 p.m. | Lethbridge College

The second place Red Deer College Queens (14-8) will take on the Lethbridge College Kodiaks (3-17). The RDC team has really progressed, going 8-2 over the past 10 matches.

Libero Kaylee Domoney has recorded a total of 364 digs, which is the most in the league.

Queens Volleyball | Saturday, Feb. 9 | 1:00 p.m. | Lethbridge College

In an afternoon rematch, the Volleyball Queens will challenge the Kodiaks.

Kings Volleyball | Friday, Feb. 8 | 8:00 p.m. | Lethbridge College

The second place Red Deer College Kings (16-6) will face the undefeated Kodiaks (20-0) in Lethbridge. In the first weekend of the season, the Lethbridge College Kodiaks picked up a pair of tight five set decisions over the RDC Kings, but the Kings did not have all of their players in action.

The Kings are ranked eighth and the Kodiaks are second in the CCAA.

The RDC Kings have a postseason spot locked up already in the south but want to continue fine- tuning their game leading up to the ACAC Championship and CCAA National Championship.

Kings Volleyball | Saturday, Feb. 9 | 3:00 p.m. | Lethbridge College

The Kings and Kodiaks will hit the court in the afternoon.

For more information on RDC Athletics, the student-athletes, scores, and game recaps of conference games, please visit: rdcathletics.ca

After 15 years as a TV reporter with Global and CBC and as news director of RDTV in Red Deer, Duane set out on his own 2008 as a visual storyteller. During this period, he became fascinated with a burgeoning online world and how it could better serve local communities. This fascination led to Todayville, launched in 2016.

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Will Paramount turn the tide of legacy media and entertainment?

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From the Daily Caller News Foundation

By Bill Flaig And Tom Carter

The recent leadership changes at Paramount Skydance suggest that the company may finally be ready to correct course after years of ideological drift, cultural activism posing as programming, and a pattern of self-inflicted financial and reputational damage.

Nowhere was this problem more visible than at CBS News, which for years operated as one of the most partisan and combative news organizations. Let’s be honest, CBS was the worst of an already left biased industry that stopped at nothing to censor conservatives. The network seemed committed to the idea that its viewers needed to be guided, corrected, or morally shaped by its editorial decisions.

This culminated in the CBS and 60 Minutes segment with Kamala Harris that was so heavily manipulated and so structurally misleading that it triggered widespread backlash and ultimately forced Paramount to settle a $16 million dispute with Donald Trump. That was not merely a legal or contractual problem. It was an institutional failure that demonstrated the degree to which political advocacy had overtaken journalistic integrity.

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For many longtime viewers across the political spectrum, that episode represented a clear breaking point. It became impossible to argue that CBS News was simply leaning left. It was operating with a mission orientation that prioritized shaping narratives rather than reporting truth. As a result, trust collapsed. Many of us who once had long-term professional, commercial, or intellectual ties to Paramount and CBS walked away.

David Ellison’s acquisition of Paramount marks the most consequential change to the studio’s identity in a generation. Ellison is not anchored to the old Hollywood ecosystem where cultural signaling and activist messaging were considered more important than story, audience appeal, or shareholder value.

His professional history in film and strategic business management suggests an approach grounded in commercial performance, audience trust, and brand rebuilding rather than ideological identity. That shift matters because Paramount has spent years creating content and news coverage that seemed designed to provoke or instruct viewers rather than entertain or inform them. It was an approach that drained goodwill, eroded market share, and drove entire segments of the viewing public elsewhere.

The appointment of Bari Weiss as the new chief editor of CBS News is so significant. Weiss has built her reputation on rejecting ideological conformity imposed from either side. She has consistently spoken out against antisemitism and the moral disorientation that emerges when institutions prioritize political messaging over honesty.

Her brand centers on the belief that journalism should clarify rather than obscure. During President Trump’s recent 60 Minutes interview, he praised Weiss as a “great person” and credited her with helping restore integrity and editorial seriousness inside CBS. That moment signaled something important. Paramount is no longer simply rearranging executives. It is rethinking identity.

The appointment of Makan Delrahim as Chief Legal Officer was an early indicator. Delrahim’s background at the Department of Justice, where he led antitrust enforcement, signals seriousness about governance, compliance, and restoring institutional discipline.

But the deeper and more meaningful shift is occurring at the ownership and editorial levels, where the most politically charged parts of Paramount’s portfolio may finally be shedding the habits that alienated millions of viewers.The transformation will not be immediate. Institutions develop habits, internal cultures, and incentive structures that resist correction. There will be internal opposition, particularly from staff and producers who benefited from the ideological culture that defined CBS News in recent years.

There will be critics in Hollywood who see any shift toward balance as a threat to their influence. And there will be outside voices who will insist that any move away from their preferred political posture is regression.

But genuine reform never begins with instant consensus. It begins with leadership willing to be clear about the mission.

Paramount has the opportunity to reclaim what once made it extraordinary. Not as a symbol. Not as a message distribution vehicle. But as a studio that understands that good storytelling and credible reporting are not partisan aims. They are universal aims. Entertainment succeeds when it connects with audiences rather than instructing them. Journalism succeeds when it pursues truth rather than victory.

In an era when audiences have more viewing choices than at any time in history, trust is an economic asset. Viewers are sophisticated. They recognize when they are being lectured rather than engaged. They know when editorial goals are political rather than informational. And they are willing to reward any institution that treats them with respect.

There is now reason to believe Paramount understands this. The leadership is changing. The tone is changing. The incentives are being reassessed.

It is not the final outcome. But it is a real beginning. As the great Winston Churchill once said; “Now this is not the end. It is not even the beginning of the end. But it is, perhaps, the end of the beginning”.

For the first time in a long time, the door to cultural realignment in legacy media is open. And Paramount is standing at the threshold and has the capability to become a market leader once again. If Paramount acts, the industry will follow.

Bill Flaig and Tom Carter are the Co-Founders of The American Conservatives Values ETF, Ticker Symbol ACVF traded on the New York Stock Exchange. Ticker Symbol ACVF

Learn more at www.InvestConservative.com

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Censorship Industrial Complex

The FCC Should Let Jimmy Kimmel Be

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Reason.com - Free Minds and Free Markets

Earlier this week, comedian Jimmy Kimmel delivered his monologue, as he does at the beginning of every episode of his show, Jimmy Kimmel Live!. He focused on the reaction to the assassination of conservative media figure Charlie Kirk, and claimed that “the MAGA gang” was “desperately trying to characterize this kid who murdered Charlie Kirk as anything other than one of them.”

In addition to not being very funny, the observation rested on a false assumption—that the presumed killer, 22-year-old Utah man Tyler Robinson, is a conservative. Incorrect notions about the suspect’s political tribe have remained enduringly popular in liberal media circles; one of the top mainstream liberal Substack writers, Heather Cox Richardson, wrote earlier this week that the motive of the alleged shooter “remains unclear.” This is simply not true: Interviews with Robinson’s friends and family members, as well as text messages between Robinson and his roommate—his transgender romantic partner—paint a clear portrait of a man who found Kirk’s conservative views “harmful.” It’s fine to leave room for new details that further elucidates or complicates this picture, but for now the totality of the available information suggests an essentially left-wing motivation.

While Kimmel is a comedian rather than a newscaster, given how paranoid the mainstream media is about the spread of so-called misinformation, the criticism of Kimmel on this subject was well-deserved. And I had been planning to criticize him in this newsletter all week.

Unfortunately, the story no longer ends there.

Brendan Carr, chair of Federal Communications Commission (FCC), weighed in on the matter; not only did he criticize what Kimmel had to say, he also implicitly threatened the broadcasters. (Kimmel’s show appears on ABC.)

“We can do this the easy way or the hard way,” said Carr during an appearance on conservative influencer Benny Johnson’s podcast. “These companies can find ways to change conduct, to take action, frankly on Kimmel, or there’s going to be additional work for the FCC.”

This was not an idle threat. The FCC licenses broadcast channels, and can fine them or even take them off the air. Moreover, the FCC oversees mergers of companies in the communications space. Nexstar Media, which owns many of the ABC local affiliate stations that air Kimmel, is attempting to acquire Tegna Inc., a rival firm; the FCC needs to okay the deal. There’s a lot at stake, and FCC can make life very difficult for companies that defy it.

And so, on Wednesday night, both Nexstar and Sinclair Broadcast Group—another major telecommunications company—informed ABC that they would not air Kimmel on their affiliate stations. ABC then opted to place the show on indefinite hiatus. (Disclaimer: Nexstar owns Rising, the news show I host for The Hill.)

This is outrageous. Not because Kimmel is gone: Private companies have the right to determine their programming as they see fit, and a washed-up comedian telling lame jokes about a subject he is clearly misinformed on—for a declining number of viewers, as part of a media format that is antiquated and perpetually losing money—is not a recipe for riveting television. Letting Kimmel and the rest of the late night crowd go instinct is perfectly fine. It’s a business decision.

But it shouldn’t be a government decision. By inserting itself into the controversy and appearing to twist the arms of private companies so that they would make editorial decisions that please the Trump administration, the FCC is clearly engaged in a kind of censorship.

As Glenn Greenwald put it, “This shouldn’t be a complicated or difficult dichotomy to understand. Jimmy Kimmel is repulsive, but the state has no role in threatening companies to fire on-air voices it dislikes or who the state believes is spreading “disinformation,” which is exactly what happened here.”

Boneheaded

Moreover, the Trump administrations actions are functionally equivalent to the Biden administration’s attacks on private social media companies, which caused numerous free speech infringements during the COVID-19 pandemic. I explored this subject in great detail in my March 2023 cover story for Reason, “How the CDC Became the Speech Police,” which explored federal officials efforts to coerce Facebook, Google, and X into taking down content. In that article, I reported that social media companies routinely felt compelled to compromise their explicit terms of service as well as their stated commitments to free speech in order to appease both the CDC and the White House itself. I pointed out that threats by President Biden—who accused Facebook of “killing people” when it declined to censor anti-vaccine content—as well as his comms staffers were likely motivating factors behind a whole host of regrettable moderation decisions.

When government employees use the threat of regulation, fines, and other forms of punishment to induce private companies into self-censorship, it’s known as jawboning. Whether the practice violates the First Amendment—which constrains the government’s ability to restrict speech—is not an entirely settled matter. In Murthy v. Missouri, the Supreme Court declined to rule that the Biden administration had violated the First Amendment rights of social media users; the majority decision, however, had to do with standing, and did not actually address the arguments of the plaintiffs. Many free speech scholars rightly believe that the First Amendment rights of private media companies and their users will not be protected until and unless the Court makes clear that this sort of behavior from federal bureaucrats—jawboning—is wrong.

Ironically, FCC chair Carr has strongly denounced jawboning in the past, and in general been a strong supporter of First Amendment rights. He frequently called out the Biden administration for engaging in this very practice.

There is simply no way to square this circle: If it’s wrong for the Biden administration to pressure social media companies to serve the public interest—as defined by Biden—and censor fraught content, then it is wrong for the Trump administration to pressure broadcasters to enforce a Trump-defined public interest.

Shortly after taking office, President Trump issued a praiseworthy executive order on “Restoring Freedom of Speech and Ending Federal Censorship.” The FCC’s present actions are thwarting this very noble work.

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