Psychology says people over 70 who watch hours of television daily are often managing a specific loss — the loss of being needed at a regular time by a regular person — and the predictable schedule of a soap opera, a game show, or the evening news is filling the slot that work and family used to occupy When the morning alarm no longer matters and no one notices if you skip lunch, television schedules become the unexpected replacement for a lifetime of being indispensable to others. Last week, I found myself calling my friend Ruth at exactly 3 PM, right when her favorite courtroom show starts. "Can I call you back in an hour?" she asked, a bit embarrassed. "Judge Mathis is on." I hung up thinking about how many of my friends over 70 have developed these rigid television schedules, and more importantly, why they guard them so carefully. There’s something deeper happening here than simple entertainment or even habit. After decades of being essential to someone’s daily routine, whether as parents, employees, or caregivers, many older adults face a peculiar kind of grief: the loss of being needed at specific times by specific people. The television, with its unwavering schedule and familiar faces, steps in to fill that void. Think about the architecture of a working life. For thirty-two years, I knew that teenagers would be sitting in my classroom at 8:15 AM, waiting for me to teach them about metaphors and thesis statements. They needed me there, not just eventually, but at that exact moment. The bell didn’t care if I was tired or uninspired; those kids required my presence. That kind of structural necessity shapes a person’s entire existence. When retirement arrives, or when children move away, or when a spouse passes, that framework doesn’t just disappear—it collapses.#yale #ruth #judge_mathis #becca_levy #andrew_e_budson
Ivy League Tournament Set for March 14 with Yale as Top Seed The ninth edition of the Ivy League Tournament is set to begin on Saturday, March 14, at Newman Arena in Ithaca, New York, hosted by Cornell University. The two-day event will feature semifinal matchups between No. 1 Yale and No. 4 host Cornell, as well as No. 2 Harvard versus No. 4 Penn. The tournament champion will earn an automatic berth in the NCAA Tournament, following the same format as previous years. Yale, with a 23-5 overall record and an 11-3 mark in conference play, enters as the clear favorite to win the tournament. The Bulldogs are aiming for a three-peat as Ivy League champions and their fourth title in five years. Harvard, the No. 2 seed, seeks its first conference tournament title in program history, while Cornell, hosting for the first time, hopes to capitalize on the home-court advantage. Penn, which won the 2018 Ivy League Tournament, also aims to reclaim the title, though Cornell has never claimed the league championship. The semifinal games will be broadcast on ESPNEWS, with the championship game airing on ESPN2. Fans can stream the action via the ESPN app with a cable login or through Fubo, which offers a free trial. Odds for the tournament, as of March 10, highlight Yale’s dominance, though Harvard and Cornell remain strong contenders. A key storyline involves Cornell’s recent performance against Yale. In a February 27 matchup at Newman Arena, the Big Red stunned the Bulldogs with a 72-69 victory, thanks to a game-winning 3-pointer by Jake Fiegen with four seconds remaining. This history sets the stage for a potential rematch in the tournament, as Cornell looks to extend its season and challenge Yale’s dominance.#ivy_league_tournament #yale #cornell_university #harvard #penn
