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This fall would have been Charles Edward "Pete" Peterson Jr.'s fourth year as a volunteer football coach at Spring Valley High School in Columbia, South Carolina, and his eighth season as a scout for MLB's St. Louis Cardinals.

Peterson this year signed third baseman Jordan Walker, the Cardinals' first-round draft pick.

Peterson had hoped to see his 17-year-old son, Trey, a star outside linebacker, run the field this fall and watch him get offers to play college football.

But in mid-August, Peterson was admitted to Prisma Health Richland Hospital, where he was soon put on a ventilator. He never left the hospital. Peterson succumbed to Covid-19 on Sept. 13. He was 46.

"The last time I spoke to Charles, he was in the hospital," said one of Peterson's best friends, Mitchell Moton, another Spring Valley coach. "He said to me: 'This virus is real. Make sure Trey is OK.'" Moton promised he would. "He texted me right back and said: 'Mitch, I don't know if I'm going to get back out there. Your word Trey will be OK.'"

Peterson was known as a "big, giant teddy bear," both for his height 6-foot-3 and his sonorous, Barry White-like voice. He devoted his life to his children, to his family and to seeing younger generations of athletes succeed, said Karen Peterson, his wife.

"He didn't have a lot of time for himself, because he dedicated his life to helping others achieve their goals and aspirations," she said. "He did everything he could for his kids and the young people in his life."

Moton, who worked with Peterson for three years, tells a story that sums up his friend: Soon after stepping in to help coach the high school football team, Peterson walked into a grocery store across the street from Spring Valley High School and ran into a problem: Two players from the freshman team had been caught allegedly shoplifting. The manager was calling the police, Moton said. Peterson stepped right in. "Charles said: 'Sir, I'll pay for whatever they took. Please don't take them to jail. Let me handle them,'" Moton said. Eventually, the manager agreed to let them go.

"He told the kids: 'I believe in you. I'm going to step out on a limb for y'all. I don't know if y'all would do this again, but you will never say someone didn't stick their neck out for you,'" Moton said. Today, the two are still on the football team, and "they are two of the better kids."

Peterson's generosity was famous with the team: He was known to surprise the team with boxes of pizza, and if a player needed cleats, he'd foot the bill.

"I haven't seen anyone around Charles who wasn't smiling," Moton said. "'Sunshine' would be the one way to describe him he'd light you up."

Born in Laurens, South Carolina, Peterson was gifted in both baseball and football. While still in high school in 1991, he caught the winning touchdown to clinch the state championship for the Laurens High School Raiders. In 1993, he was a first-round draft pick of the Pittsburgh Pirates. Peterson went on to spend five years with the Pirates' Triple-A team playing outfield and eight more years on international and independent teams, according to an online obituary. In 2012, Peterson joined the St. Louis Cardinals as an amateur scout. Eventually, he became special assistant to scouting director Randy Flores.

"Charles had an incredible impact on our scouting department," Flores said in a team statement. "He brought a tremendous work ethic, keen eye, and booming laugh with him every day. My prayers are with his wife Karen and family as anyone who ever talked to CP knew how proud he was of them."

Peterson's proudest accomplishments were off the field, Karen Peterson said. "He was a loving husband, and his kids meant the world to him. I never met a better man," she said. The two reconnected years after having attended Laurens High School together when Peterson reached out to her. They were married for six years.

"We had coffee, and the rest is history," she said. "We started hanging out and I just knew this was going to be the person I was going to spend the rest of my life with."

Peterson is survived by his wife; his children, Charles Edward "Trey," T'keyah Arai "Tia," Alexis and Keegan; his mother, Carolyn; and his brothers, Deron and Chris.

The Spring Valley football team is playing a shortened season this year because of the coronavirus pandemic, coach Robin Bacon said. The team commemorated Peterson by placing a "CP" sticker on their helmets, standing for Coach Peterson.

"He was always there for people," Bacon said. "There was never a time when he was not there for someone."

For Moton, the loss of his best friend to the coronavirus means keeping his promise.

"I'm going to do what I told him I'm going to do," he said. "I'm going to keep my word and make sure his kids are OK. There's no doubt in my mind that if it were me, he would be doing the same thing."

Read more:
A beloved H.S. football coach and baseball scout steps off the field - NBC News

The C-Suite does more than just manage a company, they lead through times of uncertainty and make the hard decisions that impact the companys future. Now more than ever we need strong leaders to guide our businesses forward and these are the leaders doing just that. Meet our 2020 CXO of the Year honorees.

LinkedIn

What app most changed your life? Podcasts and Audible.

Who inspires you? Elon Musk. Its inspiring to see someone so passionate and committed to his/her goals. His enormous will was, at times, the only thing that kept his companies afloat. If more people pursued big audacious goals like Elon, this world would be a very different place.

What book made the biggest impact on you? Team of Rivals: The Political Genius of Abraham Lincoln by Doris Kearns Goodwin. There are too many leadership lessons to count within this book, and it gave me an immense appreciation for the sacrifices of so many who have come before us.

LinkedIn

What app most changed your life? My podcast streaming app. Fifteen or so years ago, I began listening to podcasts and have been showing what could be described as addictive behavior ever since.

What book made the biggest impact on you? Mans Search for Meaning by Victor Frankl. An insight from that book has stuck with me for decades: No matter what someone does to me, what the world inflicts upon me, or what circumstance I find myself in, there is one freedom that I always have and cannot be taken from me.

Who inspires you? Bill Gates. He made the choices he did because he cares about being effective, not simply appearing virtuous to others. He didnt do philanthropic work until he could dedicate the time and focus to do it right.

LinkedIn

What app most changed your life? Blinkist! This app consolidates non-fiction into 15-minute Blinks that you can read or listen to.

What motivates you? Passion. I have to be passionate about everything I have and do in life. I am the most passionate and find the most purpose in making a difference in someone elses life or having a positive impact on others, even if it is only in a very small way.

Who inspires you? Sheryl Sandberg. I began to follow her career after seeing her Ted Talk, Why we have too few women leaders. She has been a huge inspiration to me through my own career path.

Twitter| LinkedIn

What book made the biggest impact on you? The Leadership Challenge by Kouzes/Posner. It is a compelling read for any leader new to the role or experience gives great advice/tips on developing/enhancing leadership skills to the next level of extraordinary outcomes.

What app most changed your life? Facebook. I have family and friends around the world and this app has allowed me to stay connected regardless of where we are. But it doesnt replace a phone call!

What motivates you? I am motivated by authentically showing up, being the best version of myself everyday, and contributing with all that I bring to the table. I am also motivated to learn new thingsas uncomfortable as that isit allows me to be open to new opportunities and possibilities.

Twitter | LinkedIn

Who inspires you? Walt Disney. While he certainly wasnt perfect, I have always loved that an artist built what is now one of the largest companies in the world by essentially selling art in some form and the idea of magic.

What book made the biggest impact on you? Creativity Inc. by Ed Catmullon the founders of Pixar Animation and president of both Pixar and Disney Animation studios. Ed is also from Salt Lake City and a graduate of the University of Utah.

What motivates you? The Arts, creativity, and imagination motivate me. Art connects people, educates, motivates and can change hearts and minds. I want to make the world a better place and the Arts are the best tool for creating positive change in the world.

LinkedIn

What app most changed your life? Audible. It has been phenomenal to pick a kid-friendly book and listen to a story while going someplace with my sons.

What book made the biggest impact on you? Mans Search for Meaning by Viktor Frankl. Specifically, the theme that the meaning and the purpose in life has to be identified in the good and the bad during all phases of life has been very impactful.

What motivates you? My family. I have three sons and an amazing husband. Because both my husband and I work in the healthcare industry and admire the healthcare workers who build careers and purpose around helping other people, our two house rules are derived from the Hippocratic Oath. Specifically, our rules are: 1) do no harm, and 2) leave the world better than you found it.

Twitter | LinkedIn

What app most changed your life? Strava. As an avid biker, having the ability to track my rides has significantly enhanced the experience for me. I also ride with a group of ladies in the summer, and its fun to share those moments with them.

Who inspires you? Eleanor Roosevelt. She was one of the most active first ladies in history and worked for political, racial, and social justice. One of my favorite quotes from her is: Do one thing every day that scares you.

What motivates you? Being a part of the Utah tech community. We do not have enough women in senior leadership roles in the tech sector. Women, early in their careers, cannot be what they cannot see. Being a role model and a pioneer for the women that I precede is what motivates me.

LinkedIn

What app most changed your life? LinkedIn. I am kind of obsessed with the power LinkedIn provides!

What book made the biggest impact on you? Currently Im reading Essentialism by Greg McKeown. Essentialism says, There are far more activities and opportunities in the world than we have time and resources to invest in. And although many of them may be good, or even very good, the fact is that most are trivial and few are vital.

What motivates you? My top three motivators are impact, family, and autonomy.

Twitter| LinkedIn

What app most changed your life? Twitter. [It] unlocked a whole host of subject matter experts for me across a variety of disciplines who didnt otherwise have a platform to engage.

What book made the biggest impact on you? Inspired by Marty Cagan. It is the quintessential product management bible.

What motivates you? Personal disruption. I crave feeling naked and afraid at the bottom of a new personal S-Curve. This is what has driven me to attack roles across orthogonal businesses over my career. Every stop has new technology, new markets, new investors, new cultures, new colleagues, and new challenges. Thats when the learning curve gets steep. Thats where I want to be.

Twitter | LinkedIn

Who inspires you? Jesus.

What book made the biggest impact on you? Jordan Petersons 12 Rules for Life: An Antidote to Chaos. [It] is a powerfully perceptive study of being human with a call to fortify oneself in preparation for the chaos that arises as both an inevitable and necessary part of the human experience.

What motivates you? Isaac Newtons famed observation, If I have seen further it is by standing on the shoulders of Giants, describes how I often feel I feel a profound imperative to pay that forward, to build stronger roots in our most foundational social constructs so that coming generations will not only see further, but also be well equipped to tackle what they see.

LinkedIn

What motivates you? Im motivated by energetic teams that understand the importance of the details.

What book made the biggest impact on you? Slight Edge by Jeff Olson. The ongoing message for me is the need to make decisions, several thousands of times a day As we choose to act, to find our way through the ambiguous paths that present themselves to us, we will find ways to continually sharpen our professional skill sets and as we continue to hone those edges we are better prepared to innovate and provide decisive results.

What app most changed your life? Linkedin.

Twitter | LinkedIn

What app most changed your life? The Camera app!

Who inspires you? Gayle King. I was privileged to work with her when I was an editor at O, the Oprah Magazine. It was there that I developed the utmost respect for her.

What book made the biggest impact on you? I cant stop thinking (and talking) about Range: Why Generalists Triumph in a Specialized World by David Epstein. The book provides great inspiration to be a renaissance humanwho consciously pursues various interests, explorations, and relationshipsbecause you never know what discrete ideas might connect and lead to an innovative breakthrough.

LinkedIn

What app most changed your life? Linkedin.

What book made the biggest impact on you? Good to Great: Why Some Companies Make the Leap and Others Dont by Jim Collins. It helped me identify areas where I have let mediocrity enter my life professionally and personally.

What motivates you? To be the best I can be in all my endeavors. Many look at success by comparing themselves to others. Comparisons are meaningless. Success to me is giving my best and learning from both failures and triumphs.

LinkedIn

Who inspires you? My husband, Dr. Ragula Bhaskar. He has pushed me to my best performance with customer care and relations, leadership, innovation, and much more.

What book made the biggest impact on you? 7 Habits of Highly Effective People by Stephen Covey. The book has helped me be effective in setting and completing goals. I apply the seven habits he identifies in both my work life and family life to ensure I get the best results from whatever I put my time and energy towards.

What motivates you? I invented a networking technology product category called SD-WAN about 18 years ago. Nobody thought much of the idea, but now it is the hottest $5.7 billion market in networking. What motivated me all these years was to see this invention through into a commercial market.

Twitter | LinkedIn

What app most changed your life? Trello. As our team works remotely, it helps us manage projects virtually as a group and feel connected as we work toward Utah Clean Energys project and mission goals.

What book made the biggest impact on you? Natural Capitalism by Amory Lovins, L. Hunter Lovins, and Paul Hawken.

What motivates you? The knowledge that we are at a pivotal crossroads that will determine what kind of future we and our kids are going to have. I truly believe that Utah is the smart, pragmatic, caring, and conservative state that will break through the political and partisan logjam to drive conversations and solutions that address climate change at the scale and pace necessary to leave a stable healthy planet and economy for our kids and grandkids.

LinkedIn

What app most changed your life? Voxer. Im mostly just listening.

What book made the biggest impact on you? Powerful: Building a Culture of Freedom and Responsibility by Patti McCord. This book was a gift from a wise person who I look to as a mentor and example, Greg Warnock. He has shaped so much of who I am today.

What motivates you? Love. I am southern and hospitality is in my DNA. For me, food is love. And love always wins.

What app most changed your life? Life 360. I like knowing where my family is at all times. But sometimes Im not sure if that knowledge is a good thing or a bad thing!

What book made the biggest impact on you? The Shack by William P. Young has definitely made the biggest impact on me. Ive read it many times, and each time I do, I come away with a fresh outlook on life, more gratitude for what I have, and a greater determination to never stop fighting for the things that are important to me.

What motivates you? The opportunity to learn new things every day. I love being part of a team and seeing the projects weve worked so hard on together come to fruition.

Twitter | LinkedIn

What app most changed your life? Google Maps. I am a traveler and have used it to find my way around from Istanbul, to New York, and Park City.

What book made the biggest impact on you? Dragons of Eden by Carl Sagan. I read it when I was young and it completely cemented my fascination with science. And I have now spent a career working with companies that are innovating medical science.

What motivates you? At my core, I am a problem solver. And I want to solve problems that have a positive impact on society. I am at my best when I am helping solve a hard problem that can bring about positive change. Which is why developing new medicines has been such a perfect fit for my career.

LinkedIn

What motivates you? My familywanting to set an example for my children and build something great as a family.

What book made the biggest impact on you? I just finished Churchill, Walking with Destiny by Andrew Roberts and it was inspiring to see what shaped and drove one of the most incredible leaders of recent times.What app most changed your life? Amazon Prime. I remember the first time I really used it: I was living overseas and coming home to throw a bridal shower for my sister and it saved me from doing any shopping. I was able to show up the night before the party and everything was there ready to go. Its still my most-used app, aside from email.

To learn more about our honorees, check out the videos below:

The rest is here:
These are the top C-Suite executives in Utah - Utah Business - Utah Business

The rematch is set. After a 27-27 tie last season, the Arizona Cardinals host the Detroit Lions once again. Arizona is 2-0 while Detroit is 0-2.

The Cardinals could be 3-0 for the first time since 2015 with a win, but Detroit's offense led by veteran quarterback Matthew Stafford has the best passing attack Arizona has seen thus far, per defensive coordinator Vance Joseph.

Broadcast Information

TV: Fox with Dick Stockton, Brady Quinn and Sara Walsh (sideline reporter)

Radio: 98.7 FM Arizona's Sports Station

Inside Slant

The Lions offense ran rampant at State Farm Stadium last season with 477 total yards. However, Arizona did not have cornerback Patrick Peterson due to suspension, outside linebacker Devon Kennard (who was on the Lions and had three sacks that game), inside linebacker De'Vondre Campbell nor defensive tackle Jordan Phillips (questionable for Sunday).

That is a staunch difference in personnel.

The Cardinals have allowed the second fewest points per game over the first two weeks and have been lights out on third down (best rate in the NFL). Their biggest issue has been defending the run. The Lions throw more than they rush, but they have a deep corps of backs with former Cardinal Adrian Peterson, Kerryon Johnson and rookie D'Andre Swift.

The Cardinals offense has a mismatch in their favor. The Lions have been the worst team in the league at stopping the run, allowing 204 yards per game. The Cardinals ran the ball well in Weeks 1 and 2, largely thanks to quarterback Kyler Murray who is the first player in the Super Bowl era to gain at least 150 yards on the ground with 500 through the air in the first two weeks of a season. The Lions have not contained scrambles well so far, and they have not faced a speedster quarterback like Murray.

Who's Out?

Cardinals:

Out: Wide receiver Christian Kirk (groin), center Mason Cole (hamstring)

Questionable: Defensive tackle Jordan Phillips (ankle), cornerback Dre Kirkpatrick (neck)

Lions:

Out: Cornerback Desmond Trufasnt (hamstring), tight end Hunter Bryant (hamstring). Trufant was listed as doubtful Friday, but was downgraded to out Saturday and is presumably not making the trip to Arizona.

Questionable: Wide receiver Kenny Golladay (hamstring), safety C.J. Moore (calf), tackleHalapoulivaati Vaitai (foot)

The Cardinals lose a receiver in Kirk but gain one in KeeSean Johnson, who was reinstated from the COVID-19 reserve list this week. Several Cardinals coaches and receiver Larry Fitzgerald praised Johnson's camp, and head coach Kliff Kingsbury said he is excited for Johnson to get a chance. Cole's absence means second-year center Lamont Gaillard will get more experience in his second start and third game.

The biggest name questionable for the Lions is Golladay, Stafford's favorite target last season. He led the league in touchdown catches with 11 in 2019.

Trufant is a former Pro Bowler who would have added experience to a Lions secondary tasked with covering DeAndre Hopkins and Fitzgerald.

Matchups to Watch

Kyler Murray vs. Lions defense:

This week, Lions head coach Matt Patricia had high praise for the Cardinals quarterback. His rushing defense has struggled mightily this season, so if the Cardinals can run effectively, perhaps play-action and options could open the field for Murray to show off his speed. More on Patricia's comments here.

Larry Fitzgerald vs. Adrian Peterson:

The two future Hall of Famers are still performing at high levels in their mid-to-late 30s. Fitzgerald is 37 and caught seven passes last week. Peterson is 35 and has averaged 6.4 yards per carry this season. Both have opportunities to reach milestones on Sunday with Peterson six carries away from passing Barry Sanders on the all-time rushing attempts list and Fitzgerald two catches away from Jerry Rice's record for most receptions in one stadium. AllCardinals publisher Howard Balzer broke down the significance of the matchup here.

Lions run game vs. Cardinals defensive line:

Several Cardinals defenders spoke this week about the team's shortcomings defending the run, having allowed over 100 yards in both games. The Lions have run efficiently, although abandoned it while trailing last week. Sunday could be a test for how the Cardinals can adjust defensively. More here.

A Historical Matchup

The Lions came into the league in 1930 as the Portsmouth Spartans. They faced the Chicago Cardinals in their third game. These are two of the five oldest franchises in the NFL, and they have faced off 67 times in history.

Strong First Impressions

Hopkins owns the NFL record for most catches during the first two games with a new team. The record was 19, and Hopkins already has 22 grabs. He will need eight more to have the record for most catches during the first three games on a new team.

Predictions:

Howard Balzer: Cardinals, 30-16

Mason Kern: Cardinals, 31-27

Alex Weiner: Cardinals, 34-28

Vegas spread: Cardinals -5.5

Read the rest here:
Matchups, Injuries and Predictions for Cardinals vs Lions - Sports Illustrated

GREEN BAY, Wis. -- The Detroit Lions have a quarterback who hasnt won any division titles or playoff games or anything at all in 11 years. The Green Bay Packers have a quarterback who has won six division titles, 10 playoff games, one conference championship and one Super Bowl in 12 years -- and even threw in one Super Bowl MVP and two league MVPs along the way.

Guess which team just spent a first-round pick on a quarterback this year.

To the dismay of some Lions fans, Detroit chose cornerback Jeff Okudah over Tua Tagovailoa with the third overall pick in this years draft. Now Okudah is expected to make his NFL debut on Sunday against Aaron Rodgers, who remains Green Bays starting quarterback despite the first-round selection of Jordan Love in the spring.

And anyone watching in Week 1 could clearly see why.

Rodgers killed Minnesota with one of the best opening-week performances by a quarterback in the last decade. The numbers: 32 of 44 passing for 364 yards, four touchdowns and no picks. And Green Bay rolled to a league-high 43 points.

Now that guy is going to face a Lions secondary that is down two starting cornerbacks, and will almost certainly start one rookie who is attending his first NFL game.

Theres a lot going on here, and weve brought in Packers beat writer Ryan Wood of the Green Bay Press-Gazette to help us break it down in this weeks installment of the Beat Writer Breakdown. This is a weekly series where we put five questions to a reporter who covers Detroits opponent.

You can find Ryan Wood on Twitter here, and more of his work at the Green Bay Press-Gazette here. And with that, lets go.

MLive: How has Aaron Rodgers responded to the addition of Jordan Love? By the looks of it in Week 1, seems like he still knows how to do the whole quarterback thing.

Ryan Wood: The big storyline in Green Bay this preseason basically amounted to Aaron Rodgers being a willing smiler. Which probably says as much about the reality of remote coverage than anything. But, yes, teammates were pleased to report the quarterback is happy, and indeed he has seemed loose on the field. Rodgers hasnt always given off the best body language in the past, but thats been different since the team returned in August.

"Itd be fascinating to see what goes on behind closed doors, because Rodgers cant possibly be happy with how his future likely changed this spring. For all the comparisons to what the Packers did with Rodgers and Brett Favre back in the 2005 draft, there are clear differences. Rodgers, unlike Favre, has said over and over he intends to play into his 40s. He has never given any indication of impending retirement.

But its important to remember Rodgers has seen this before, from the other perspective, so it cant really be a surprise. He entered the league learning how the business works, even for a legend, and has always been aware his career might not end with the Packers -- because if it can happen to Favre, it can happen to anyone. So I do wonder if Rodgers has loosened his grip on things he cant control, something he has indicated in these Zoom calls. As for that right arm, yes, theres still plenty of juice.

MLive: Its easy to look at what Rodgers and the offense did on Sunday, and what the Lions are dealing with defensively, including probably starting rookie Jeff Okudah in his NFL debut, and see this as a lopsided matchup. Agreed? If you were try to beat this Packers offense, how would you go about it?

Wood: The Packers feasted on a young Vikings cornerback group last week -- Holton Hill on Davante Adams should be illegal -- and get another opportunity this week. I imagine Okudah might give Adams a tougher matchup, if that indeed is the matchup, because it would be hard not to. Still, the Packers will rightly view Adams against anyone in the Lions secondary as favorable. They were surely glad to see Darius Slay leave the division this spring.

As for the right approach, I wonder if the Lions will turn the tide on how to face this offense after the Vikings basically dared the Packers to throw last week. Aaron Jones is a stud, led the NFL in rushing touchdowns last season, and the Vikings were certainly aware. They loaded the box constantly against Jones, holding him to 66 rushing yards on 16 carries. But that allowed Adams to tie Don Hutsons single-game record with 14 receptions, a mark that had stood alone since 1942. Rodgers passed for four touchdowns and had a 127.5 rating.

In this league, you get beat quicker with the pass than the run. My guess is Jones might face fewer loaded boxes Sunday.

MLive: Not sure if you heard, but Adrian Peterson is in Detroit now, and actually looked pretty good in the opener. How is the Packers' run defense this year, and how will the loss of Kenny Clark affect that?

Wood: Different year, same reality for the Packers. Once again, they must stop Adrian Peterson. Theyve faced that challenge almost every year since 2007, and its never easy. The run game is certainly the big question for the Packers defense this season. You might have heard they gave up about 12,000 rushing yards in the NFC championship game at San Francisco. (The real number was 285. It felt like more.)

So far, the Packers are off to a good start. They kept Dalvin Cook in check last week, holding him to 50 yards on 12 carries. When they met Cook early last season, he had 154 yards on 20 carries. Maybe most important, the Packers didnt give Cook the big run. Cook had a 75-yard touchdown last season at Lambeau Field, meaning the rest of his 19 carries were somewhat ordinary. But it obviously did not matter because of the one. Cooks longest carry Sunday was 12 yards. Youll take that every time.

Now the Packers see a running back who broke into the league a few months before Aaron Jones was a teenager. Adrian Petersons name alone makes it impossible to overlook him, not that the Packers run defense can overlook anybody. His film from those 93 yards on 14 carries last week surely hammered home the point. It wont be easy without Kenny Clark -- the Packers defensive line is paper thin without him -- but my guess is coordinator Mike Pettine will try to load the box and let Jaire Alexander and Kevin King defend Matthew Stafford with minimal help on the outside.

MLive: Lambeau Field is always a daunting challenge. Lambeau Field for a home opener, especially so. Yet this time there will be no fans. What do you expect from that dynamic?

Wood: I think its going to be much like we saw across the league in Week 1. Which is to say, weird. Very weird. Look, we all knew football games without fans would be strangely different, but Im not sure any of us could have been prepared for just how strangely different it truly was.

Unlike basketball and baseball, football players never, ever play games without fans. From childhood, theyre conditioned to performing. Their ear is trained to recognize the sound of the crowd, how closely the noises in the stands are correlated to the play on the field. Without that, players said it was difficult to know how to respond, or even if plays were good or bad because the crowd wasnt there to tell them.

The biggest impact will be on the Lions defense contending against Aaron Rodgers' cadence. Rodgers used the hard count twice to draw the Vikings into neutral zone infractions last week on third down, picking up a pair of free conversions. He also got a free play because of an offsides in the second half, which ended with a 39-yard completion to Marquez Valdes-Scantling. Rodgers has long been arguably the NFLs best at dictating the game with his cadence. The absence of fans, with minimal ambient noise piped in over the speakers, only amplifies his ability to control the line of scrimmage.

MLive: Green Bay swept the series last year despite never actually leading in a game. It keeps rolling against Detroit on Sunday if ...

Wood: ... they show up and play clean football. Their best against the Lions' best is just better.

Ryan Woods prediction: I predicted comfortable wins for the Packers last season too, and they were certainly anything but comfortable. But considering the Lions will not be at their best because of the injury situation, its hard to see how the Packers lose this. Packers 34, Lions 17

Continued here:
Beat Writer Breakdown: A look inside the Aaron Rodgers-Jordan Love drama in Green Bay - MLive.com

Cultural Marxism is a term favoured by those on the right who argue the humanities are hopelessly out of touch with ordinary Australia.

The criticism is that radical voices have captured the humanities, stifling free speech on campuses.

The term has been used widely over the past decade. Most infamously, in former senator Fraser Annings 2018 final solution speech to parliament he denounced cultural Marxism as not a throwaway line, but a literal truth.

But is cultural Marxism actually taking over our universities and academic thinking? Using a leading academic database, I crunched some numbers to find out.

The term cultural Marxism moved into the media mainstream around 2016, when psychologist Jordan Peterson was protesting a Canadian bill prohibiting discrimination based on gender. Peterson blamed cultural Marxism for phenomena like the movement to respect gender-neutral pronouns which, in his view, undermines freedom of speech.

Read more: Is Jordan Peterson the philosopher of the fake news era?

But the term is much older. It seems first to have been used by writer Michael Minnicino in his 1992 essay The New Dark Age, published by the Schiller Institute, a group associated with the fringe right wing figure Lyndon LaRouche.

Around the turn of the century, the phrase was adopted by influential American conservatives. Commentator and three time presidential candidate Pat Buchanan targeted cultural Marxism for many perceived ills facing America, from womens rights and gay activism to the decline of traditional education.

The term has since gone global, sadly making its way into Norwegian terrorist Anders Breviks justificatory screed. Andrew Bolt used it as early as 2002. In 2013, Cory Bernardi was warning against cultural Marxism as one of the most corrosive influences on society.

By 2016, the year the Peterson affair unfolded, Nick Cater and Chris Uhlmann were blaming it for undermining free speech in The Australian. The idea has since been adopted by Mark Latham and Malcolm Roberts.

Insofar as it goes beyond a fairly broad term of enmity, the accusers of cultural Marxism point to two main protagonists behind this ideology.

The first is Italian Marxist Antonio Gramsci. Writing under imprisonment by the fascists in the 1920s, Gramsci argued the left needed to capture the bureaucracy, universities and media-cultural institutions if it wished to hold power.

The second alleged culprits are neo-Marxist theorists associated with the Frankfurt School of Social Research. These critical theorists drew on psychoanalysis, social theory, aesthetics, and political economy to understand modern societies. They became especially concerned with how fascism could win the allegiance of ordinary people, despite its appeals to aversive prejudice, hatred and militarism.

When Hitler came to power, the Frankfurt School was quickly shut down, and its key members forced into exile. Then, as Uhlmann has narrated:

Frankfurt School academics [] transmitted the intellectual virus to the US and set about systematically destroying the culture of the society that gave them sanctuary.

While Soviet communism faltered, the story continues, the cultural Marxist campaign to commandeer our culture was marching triumphantly through the humanities departments of Western universities and outwards into wider society.

Today, critics argue it shapes the political correctness that promotes minority causes and polices public debate on issues like the environment, gender and immigration - posing a grave threat to liberal values.

Read more: How a fake 'free speech crisis' could imperil academic freedom

If the conservative anxieties about cultural Marxism reflected reality, we would expect to see academic publications on Marx, Gramsci and critical theorists crowding out libertarian, liberal and conservative voices.

To test this, I conducted quantitative research on the academic database JStor, tracking the frequency of names and key ideas in all academic article and chapter titles published globally between 1980 and 2019.

In 1987, Karl Marx himself ceded the laurel as the most written about thinker in academic humanities, replaced by Friedrich Nietzsche revered by many fascists including Benito Mussolini and Martin Heidegger, another figure whose far-right politics were hardly progressive.

Over the past 40 years, the alleged mastermind of cultural Marxism, Gramsci, attracted 480 articles. This compares with the 407 publications on Friedrich Hayek, arguably the leading influence on the neoliberal free market reforms of the last decades.

The Frankfurt School featured in less than 200 titles, and critical theorist Herbert Marcuse (identified by Uhlmann as a key transmitter of the cultural Marxist virus in the US) was the subject of just over 220.

Over the last decade, the most written about thinker was the neo-Nietzschean theorist, Giles Deleuze, featuring in 770 titles over 2010-19.

But the notoriously esoteric ideas of Deleuze - and his language of machinic assemblages, strata, flows and intensities - are hardly Marxist. His ideas have been a significant influence on the right-wing Neoreactionary or dark enlightenment movement.

The last four decades have seen a relative decline of Marxist thought in academia. Its influence has been superseded by post-structuralist (or postmodernist) thinkers like Jacques Derrida, Michel Foucault, Judith Butler and Deleuze.

Post-structuralism is primarily indebted to thinkers of the European conservative revolution led by Nietzsche and Heidegger.

Where Marxism is built on hopes for reason, revolution and social progress, post-structuralist thinkers roundly reject such optimistic grand narratives.

Post-structuralists are as preoccupied with culture as our conservative news columnists. But their analyses of identity and difference challenge the primacy Marxism affords to economics as much as they oppose liberal or conservative ideas.

Quantitative research bears out the idea that cultural Marxism is indeed a post-factual dog whistle and an intellectual confusion masquerading as higher insight.

A spectre of Marxism has survived the cold war. It now haunts the culture wars.

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Is 'cultural Marxism' really taking over universities? I crunched some numbers to find out - The Conversation AU