Equestrian is much like field hockey in that there is little if any competition in California. I think the only other California school with an equestrian team is Fresno State. After that it's Texas. If you drop field hockey and equestrian, you probably have to pick up something like rowing.

Sad to see this happening in 2020. I am by birth and family heritage an Iowa Hawkeye fan. They have been rocked by accusations of racism by team and athletic department people. Strength coach has "retired." I thought the head coach was a stand-up guy, but among those accused of racist behavior is his son, who is an assistant. You would think that athletics (and the arts) would be more appreciative of diversity. But I'm an old white guy, what do I know? (As my kids remind me...)

Re: work on campus: A neighbor of mine is a contractor and doing work at Sac State this summer. Easier with the campus nearly vacant. Powers that be told friend to get the job done while the money is still approved. Also know someone who, thanks to seniority rules, is on the margin at Davis. His return will depend upon how many students come back and live in the dorms. Hopeful. Now we need the students and others to respect the guidelines. Dorms and college with masks and social distance are not fun, but have to be more fun than another year with mom & dad.

As long as they never touch the ground.....whatever the color, finish, logo....

And then there's that school in South Bend, IN.....the one that copied the Aggie uniform color scheme.

https://www.huffpost.com/entry/notre-dame-football-fools_b_10963806

...as a friend says, 'no question goes unanswered in the age of smart phones and google."

Helmets are typically "reconditioned" at least every two years and should be replaced at least every ten years.

More info on costs and repainting:

https://blogs.usafootball.com/blog/819/helmet-reconditioning-is-critical-to-proper-equipment-maintenance

My nominal involvement with a (successful) HS football program, purely as a parent, led me to believe that the schools send helmets to manufacturers or some testing service frequently, like every other year or maybe even every year. I suppose I could google this, but.....

As I have said once or twice I am retired and married and staying at home is right in my skill set. The people I really feel for are the young singles. We have two 30-something single children. One has been laid off but hopes to go back to work in a month, the other is preparing to move cross-country for a new job. Neither was seeing anyone when this thing started and meeting and dating is hard enough in good times but so much harder now. We have neighbors with teen age daughters. One finished her senior year in high school - no commencement, no prom, still not sure if she is going away to college or going to continue at home and take online classes. Another turned 16 last month and had to wait until last week to get an appointment with DMV to get a driver’s license. Very cute girls, but no social life to speak of. I should probably be happy about that because I am not dealing with boys driving by at all hours of the night. So much of being in high school and college is learning to socialize. I remember every stupid thing I did around girls, or all the dumb things I did after a few drinks, but fifty years down the road I have yet to use the quadratic formula in my life.

Hang in there, “this too shall pass.”

I actually saw a Steelheads' game at the Nut Tree. All I remember was that one of the "promos" was a drawing that let the winner sit in a couch in the front row of the seats on the first base side. It was an independent league and I went with a family member who knew a guy who was on his last days as a player. He'd made it to AAA, but the writing was on the wall. He soon gave up playing, but I think is now a hitting coach in the bigs.

Really need to pick up on the exercise. I live close to the American River Bike Trail in Sacramento, which is nice though not as nice as it once was with the growing homeless population. Weather is always a factor in the central valley in mid-summer.

Also one child is a currently unemployed chef, who from time to time now cooks meals for the family. Only problem is that "child" is used to cooking for large numbers of people, so we have large quantities of well prepared food, and that leads to "Really need to pick up on the exercise," which is where I started this note.

Have been retired for 5 years, so staying home is kind of what I do best. Wife is now working from home so I tiptoe around the house and do chores and honey-dos. I have not figured out how a shopping list of five items can take four different stores.

Kind of like Dr. Mike, but yard work and gardening for me is digging holes where my wife tells me to. She's the one with the green thumb. Don't have the wherewithal to do major projects but do little fix-it things. Exercise has been reduced to walking the dog...frequently. Slowly trying to de-clutter a house and lifestyle that has all the accumulated stuff of a retirement, and all the things we acquired from parents and parents-in-law.

No second home. No grandkids. Trying to catch up on reading.

Re mortality rate of flu vs COVID-19: https://www.businessinsider.com/coronavirus-death-rate-us-compared-to-flu-by-age-2020-6

Local stores had enough competition from Amazon, et. al, before the pandemic. I have always tried to support the local merchant, then the big chain's local branch, before going online. The lockdown has made this all even more difficult. Local stores may not be open, you may have to make an appointment, or stand in line in midsummer valley heat, or the store may be low on inventory. Amazon is there during this mess.

"Sweden seems to have made the right choice."
Sweden has a higher mortality rate, and herd immunity remains elusive. https://fortune.com/2020/07/16/sweden-covid-strategy-herd-immunity-elusive/

"...a mortality rate below the standard flu for people under 70."
Assuming your claim is true - (Authorities would be helpful.)
What is an acceptable number of deaths for you?
At what age do you feel people become expendable?

Yet another FCS conference, the MEAC (Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference) is cancelling all fall sports.
https://www.espn.com/college-sports/story/_/id/29474752/meac-suspends-all-fall-sports-indefinite-period

The MEAC is comprised of mostly HBCU schools and is experiencing problems in addition to the effects of the pandemic, or perhaps as a side effect of the economic issues brought on by the pandemic. A few teams have recently left the conference other conferences, and I think a couple are moving back to D-II.

My point exactly. I used to volunteer to eat at the kiddie's table.

(Some may argue that the debates are better suited for the kiddies' table.)

I'd rather spend a holiday dinner with my in-laws.

The Onion!!

https://sports.theonion.com/washington-redskins-change-their-name-to-the-d-c-redsk-1819575691

And I have not heard of farmers being upset with the name "Aggies."

(I will apologize in advance to anyone offended by the language below. Used strictly to make a point.)

However, we have come a long way since businesses posted signs that read "Irish need not apply." There is a fundamental difference in the way Irish are treated in the US today and in the way Native Americans continue to be treated. Also there is a difference in characterizing people by an expansive name, such as Irish, or even Indians, and characterizing them by a physical feature such as the color of their skin or some stereotypical attribute. And let's be honest, the skin of Native Americans is not red. Redskins is a derisive name from the backpages of our history.

SI did an article decades ago that included logos and nicknames for other teams that might compare with the nicknames on existing teams. The one I recall in the fading recesses of my mind was a gold and black logo for the Pittsburgh Negroes. There may have been a team called the Jews. Suddenly it becomes a little less like a harmless characterization. Nobody calls themselves the Fighting Mexicans, or the Brownskins. We'd be shocked to hear of a team called the Blackskins, or the Nappyheads....Long past time for the name Redskins to be retired to the basement warehouse of history.

I remember way back when DQU somehow had an IM flag football team at UCD. I assume enough of the members were taking classes at Davis as well. (The statue of limitation on such violations from when I went to Davis ran a LONG, LONG time ago.) They were a tough physical team. I still have bruises.

I think some guy in DC may still have a protected interest in the name Generals for a professional football team...and still has Herschel Walker under contract.