I can’t believe this semester has come to an end already. A lot of events can happen and even more time can fly by in just under four months. Days are getting colder and shorter as we approach the penultimate of the holiday season. Even with this, there may be a sign of change in hierarchy that will cause new light to appear. The scene will look lighter in day, but darker in skin.

Shuffling a Multi-Racial Deck

Monday night, Arkansas head basketball coach Nolan Richardson reached an accomplishment few in his game have achieved. With his team’s 89-74 win against North Carolina-Greensboro, Richardson became the 17th man to amass 500 wins as a Division I head coach. He’s done it over 22 seasons (5 with Tulsa), winning 72 percent of the time.

Last week, the Notre Dame football program went on a nationwide search for a new coach after relieving Bob Davie of his duties. Included in the scope of renewing the ND tradition was Stanford frontman Tyrone Willingham. The Pac-10 coach was one of the frontrunners until Georgia Tech’s George O’Leary became the chosen one.

On the surface, it didn’t look like Willingham and his 35-33-1 record would be considered, even though he has led the Cardinal to three bowl games and won two conference coach of the year awards. Reports had him as a high candidate, because of, his ability to succeed at an institution with very high academic standards.

These two are examples of what is seeping into social thinking more and more. Black head coaches are being seen in prominent positions, possibly opening the door for more names of minority status to fill positions of power in sports.

The fight for recognition and respect is only igniting the fight for African Americans, but how about other minorities in this field?

There are a few managers of Hispanic descent, including former Montreal Expos skipper Felipe Alou, the MLB Manager of the Year in 1994. The names, though, are still limited to a lucky few such as Barry Alvarez, Davey Lopes and Tony Perez.

It’s a long shot to wish for, but hopefully time will see more coaches of this ethnicity gain more opportunities to walk the sidelines. An even longer shot would be for Asian managers and upper-level staff to be seen in prominent standing, but the more practical reasoning would be to get those people on the field more often as youngsters.

Lowdown List

With the semester winding down, the `Absurd Predictions’ section decided to start its winter break a little early (lucky son-of-a-gun). So it’s cousin, the Lowdown List, will be taking the spotlight this week. Today, I’ll look at the best and worst of the semester, with help from the list.

Best team: Arizona Diamondbacks. Combine unhumanlike pitching with clutch hitting and what do you get? Drama and a World Series ring.

Worst team (tie): California football and Minnesota Vikings. Cal was a bad team in a good conference, but Minnesota has been a room full of explosives on the verge of combusting.

Best Cyclone moment (tie): Extending the football winning streak over Iowa to four games for the first time. Also, ISU volleyball winning its first Big 12 match in two years.

Worst Cyclone moment: Men’s basketball losing the home streak to San Jose State.

Best BCS beef: Oregon (by slim margin). Won tough Pac-10 conference and surprises teams with toughness.

Worst BCS beef: BYU. Whining non-stop with a weak non-conference schedule. That all stopped when it left Hawaii.

Best drug-related story: Nate Newton and his “pot-mobile.” Coming soon to a neighborhood near you.

Worst drug-related story: Lamar Odom. There’s no crying in drug-dealing.

Best accessory: Arthur Rhodes’ earrings. Hmmm … being blinded before having a major-league fastball thrown towards you. No thanks.

Worst accessory: Reggie Miller’s teeth. The man’s been a great NBA player for more than a decade, which means he makes mucho dinero, which means he can fix that abomination in his mouth. Just a thought, superstar.

Best chance to get a prediction right next semester: Any time I don’t open my mouth.

Worst chance: Any time I do. (The list may be strict, but it’s fair)

Only sentiment to give: Have an outstanding break. I want all of you back next semester to laugh at me some more.

Jonathan Lowe is a senior in meteorology from Kansas City, Mo.