“I have to say, that is a very nice hat!” I told the man as he passed me on the sidewalk. The man in the snazzy blue fedora had a serious look on his face, as if he was thinking deeply about something far more important than the indigo-blue hat with the red feather sitting on his head.

Former Canadian standout quarterback Josh Culwell recently released via his social media that he has left the West Texas A&M football team and joined the Central Missouri Mules, after a brief stint in the ever-growing NCAA Transfer Portal. The Mules are a Division II program out of the Mid-American Intercollegiate Athletic Association. Culwell, a 2021 Canadian High School graduate, is well known in Canadian for helping lead the Wildcat football team to a 15-1 record and a fifth UIL Class 3A Division II state championship in 2020. Culwell ended that historic season throwing 3,656 yards passing with 52 touchdowns. In two seasons at WTAMU, Culwell was a backup quarterback and played sparingly in 2021 on the Buffalo defensive secondary. “I just felt this was the right move for me at this time,” Culwell said. “The Central Missouri culture is great, and I like the way they hold their athletes to a high standard and their core values. It really reminded me of Canadian’s football program. I love the coaching staff, and it’s been a very good transition.”

It wasn’t the Friday night that the Canadian basketball teams had in mind when the visiting Bushland Falcons came to town. The Falcons and Lady Falcons walked out of Canadian with a pair of wins, while grabbing prime position in the District 1-3A standings.

INGREDIENTS Fine salt and freshly ground pepper 1 pound linguine or spaghetti 6 tablespoons unsalted butter 1 cup sliced almonds 2 fresh rosemary sprigs 1/4 teaspoon red-pepper flakes, plus more to taste 1/4 cup freshly squeezed lemon juice, plus more to taste 1 tablespoon finely grated lemon zest 4 to 5 ounces arugula, coarsely chopped (or substitute 4-5 cups baby kale or spinach) Grated Parmesan for serving PREPARATION Bring large pot of heavily salted water to a boil. Add pasta and cook until one minute shy of being al dente, usually one or two minutes less than the package instructions. Scoop out about 1-1/2 cups of the pasta water, then drain the pasta.