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Mention Amazon to the incoming class of college freshmen and they are more likely to think of shopping than the South American river. PC doesn’t stand for political correctness and breaking up on Facebook is more common than any more personal encounter.

These are among the 75 references on this year’s Beloit College Mindset List, a compilation intended to remind teachers that college freshmen born mostly in 1993 see the world in a much different way: They fancied pogs and Tickle Me Elmo toys as children, watched televisions that never had dials and their lives have always been like a box of chocolates.

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( Files / Associated Press ) - HOLD FOR RELEASE UNTIL 12:01 AM EDT TUESDAY AUG. 23, 2011. THIS PHOTO CANNOT BE PUBLISHED IN PRINT, ONLINE OR BROADCAST BEFORE 12:01 AM EDT TUESDAY. - This composite made from file photos shows President Lyndon B. Johnson, left, on Nov. 17, 1967, and Miami Heat basketball star LeBron James on Aug. 12, 2011. Among the 75 items on this year’s Beloit College Mindset List is a reminder that the initials LBJ that once stood for President Johnson now make teenagers think of NBA star James. The list, released Tuesday, Aug. 23, 2011, was begun as a way to remind professors that cultural references familiar to them might draw blaks stares from college freshmen born mostly in 1993.

Once upon a time, relatives of the current generation swore never to trust anyone over the age of 30. This group could argue: Never trust anyone older than the Net.

The college’s compilation, released Tuesday, is assembled each year by two officials at the private school in southeastern Wisconsin. It also has evolved into a national phenomenon, a cultural touchstone that entertains even as it makes people wonder where the years have gone.

Remember when the initials LBJ referred to President Lyndon B. Johnson? Today, according to the list, they make teenagers think of NBA star LeBron James. And speaking of NBA legends, these kids didn’t want to be like Mike. They fawned over Shaq and Kobe.

In their lifetimes, Major League Baseball has always had three divisions plus wild-card playoff teams, and every state has always observed Martin Luther King Day. The “yadda, yadda, yadda” generation that’s been quoting Seinfeld since they were old enough to talk also has always seen women serve as U.S. Supreme Court justices and command U.S. Navy ships.

Then there’s OJ Simpson. These students were still in diapers when the former NFL star began searching for the killers of Nicole Simpson and Ronald Goldman.

“Hmm, I know there was some scandal about him,” said Alex Keesey, 18, an incoming freshman from Beloit. “I think it was robbery or murder, maybe both.”

Comments like that can be a little jarring to older folks who imagine that everyone knows about the Simpson murder trial and subsequent acquittal. But if the generation gap has you down, get used to it. The list’s authors note that technology has only accelerated the pace of change and further compressed the generational divide.

Older Americans who read previous Mindset Lists felt that life was moving too quickly, list author Ron Nief said, and now even younger people share that sentiment.

“I talk to people in their early 30s and they’re telling me they can’t keep up with all the advances,” Nief said.

Nief’s co-author, English professor Tom McBride, predicts the trend will only accelerate.

“If you look at the jump from email to texting, or from email to Facebook, it’s been faster than the jump from typing to computers,” McBride said. “These generational gaps are getting smaller.”

Still not feeling old? Consider this: Andre the Giant, River Phoenix and Frank Zappa all died before these students were born. They don’t know what a Commodore 64 was, and they don’t understand why Boston barflies would ever shout, “Norm!”

The New England Patriots started off their NFL preseason with a bang as they absolutely dominated the Jacksonville Jaguars with an offensive showcase without superstar quarterback Tom Brady. As head coaches usually do in the preseason, Bill Belichick decided to sideline Tom Brady for the first preseason game and for good reason as his reserves exceeded expectations.

All eyes were on rookie quarterback Ryan Mallet in the New England Patriots preseason opener as the consensus is that he will be the future of the franchise under center when two-time NFL MVP Tom Brady decides to call it quits. With that being said, there was a lot interest in whether or not this kid could get the job done and the dedicated fans at Foxboro weren’t disappointed.
Ryan Mallet finished his first preseason game with 164 yards and a passing touchdown. Not only were those stats impressive, but his accuracy was better than expected with just seven incompletions on 19 pass attempts. Even though Mallett was impressive in his first start, the Patriots’ running game was what opened a lot of people’s eyes with running backs Stevan Ridley and Richard Medlin both scoring two touchdowns apiece and racking up 118 total rushing yards.

Now that the New England Patriots have one game in the books and look like they are back to where they left off last season, they will go on the road to face off against a very good Tampa Bay Buccaneers team on Thursday night.

Much like the Patriots, the Bucs looked very good in their preseason opener with quarterback Josh Freeman leading the way to victory over the Kansas City Chiefs, 25-0.

This game will be interesting since the Bucs will be playing their starters a lot longer than most teams do. With that being said, Belichick will have to decide whether or not he will want to do the same or see if his second team can have a repeat performance.

When you see the video of a convenience store robbery, you might recall Aerosmith's song "Dude Looks Like a Lady."

But police say this dude is a robber.

On the morning of Aug. 16, the employees of an Exxon gas station in the 2500 block of Lemmon Avenue in Dallas got a visit from a cross-dressing robber.

Instead of a ski mask, the man wore tighty-whitey underwear on his head to hide his face. He also wore a matching black-and-white dress with a flower print and white boots.

The surveillance video shows the man with his hand wrapped in part of the dress, pretending to aim a gun at the cashier. The cashier gives the man cash, and before he leaves, the bandit also robs another customer in line.

NBC 5 talked to an employee at the gas station. The clerk believed the underwear belonged to the robber, because when the suspect aimed his covered hand at the clerks, he inadvertently raised his dress, exposing, well, what his underwear would have covered.

No one was hurt, physically. The mental images might take some time to get over.

And while the fashion police might be looking for him, Dallas police are definitely looking for him. Anyone who recognizes the man, who investigators described as a 5-foot-5-inch white man weighing about 145 pounds, call police at 214-671-3464.

Just four days away from the 2011 NFL draft, and teams are pretty set in their draft boards.
The Super Bowl Champion Green Bay Packers find themselves picking last this year, and who Ted Thompson will pick is as big a mystery as ever. Having won the Super Bowl and having lot’s of players coming back from injury, Thompson will be all the more likely to stick to his BPA approach, making it hard to predict who will be available.
Much like Bryan Bulaga int he 2010 draft, Thompson will be pouncing on guys who for various reasons happen to slip past their expected draft range into the Packers’ hands.
Here’s who Ted would love to see fall into his lap.

A second generation of football players is about to hit the NFL like never before.
It’s certainly not unusual to see sons follow their fathers into the league, such as the Mannings and Grieses of quarterback fame and Kansas City offensive linemen Ed and Brad Budde.
Even the current Chiefs have legacies in punter Dustin Colquitt, whose father Craig punted for two Super Bowl championship teams in Pittsburgh, and fullback Tim Castille, whose father, Jeremiah, was a defensive back for Denver and Tampa Bay.
But this year’s NFL draft is filled not only with several sons of former NFL stars, but at least three — Alabama running back Mark Ingram, California defensive end Cameron Jordan and Ohio State defensive end Cameron Heyward — could be first-round draft picks, while another, Oregon linebacker Casey Matthews, may be a midround pick.
Their dads weren’t too shabby either.
Mark Ingram’s father, Mark Sr., spent 10 years in the NFL, winning a Super Bowl with the 1990 New York Giants. Heyward’s father, the late Craig “Ironhead” Heyward, was a rugged running back for five teams during an 11-year career. Jordan’s father, Steve, was a six-time Pro Bowl tight end for the Minnesota Vikings. Matthews’ dad, Clay, spent 19 years at linebacker for Cleveland and Atlanta.
Some sons have a difficult time living up to their fathers’ names and reputations. Others, like four-time MVP Peyton Manning, exceed expectations, even as the son of a former MVP, as Archie Manning was in 1978 for the New Orleans Saints.
Three years ago, defensive end Chris Long, son of Hall of Fame defensive lineman Howie Long, was the second pick by St. Louis. After a slow start to his rookie season, he has recorded 17 1/2 career sacks, including 8 1/2 in 2010.
“My son has had to deal with that his whole life,” said Howie Long, now an NFL analyst for Fox, “so by the time you get to the NFL, you’re either equipped and prepared to deal with it, or you’re not.
“I take the position of being in the shadows in regard to my son, and I did that at every level … high school, college and professional football. “My boy is fine with who his dad is and comfortable in his own shoes.”
Here’s look at the four sons of former NFL stars who are expected to be drafted next week:
RB Mark Ingram, Alabama
Ingram won the Heisman Trophy in 2009 as he led the Crimson Tide to the national championship. Besides the Heisman, he won the Doak Walker Award and was voted Southeastern Conference Player of the Year after rushing for 1,658 yards and 17 touchdowns while catching 32 passes for another 334 yards and three touchdowns.
Meanwhile, his father continues to serve a jail sentence for bank fraud, money laundering and even for jumping bail so he could watch Mark play on television.
Mark Jr. says he has a good relationship with his father and speaks to him regularly.
Interestingly, the two teams that many believe are strongly considering taking Ingram in the first round are the New York Giants, who drafted Mark Sr. in the first round in 1987; and Miami, where he played during 1993-94.
“I’ve always been a Giants fan just because my father played for them,” Mark Jr. said. “So I’ve always watched them. I can’t say like I’m a die-hard fan, but I’ve always watched them and cheered for them when they played.”
As a redshirt sophomore, Ingram could have declared for the draft after his Heisman-winning season. But he returned to Alabama and underwent an arthroscopic procedure on his left knee in August, sidelining him for two games. He started the next 11 games, rushing for 875 yards and 13 touchdowns.
He believes he benefited from a third season of college football.
“You gain more knowledge as a player, just learning the game more, learning how to deal with success, learning how to handle tough times as well” Ingram said. “So I’m just growing up as a person and as a player.”
DE Cameron Jordan, California
Jordan, playing left end in a 3-4 scheme run by former Chiefs defensive coordinator Clancy Pendergast, recorded 12 1/2 tackles for loss, 5 1/2 sacks and used his 6-4 1/8 height to bat down four passes. He also forced three fumbles, returning one 21 yards for a touchdown against Washington.
Growing up, however, he was a basketball player because his mother wouldn’t let him play football until the eighth grade. He thought he was going to be the next Kevin Garnett, not the next Steve Jordan.
“When I started out, I was a basketball guy, and that’s what I thought I was going to be,” Cameron said. “Technically, I thought I was going to be the next AI (Allen Iverson). I don’t think I have the frame for that. I’m a little bigger than he is. I thought I was going to be Kevin Garnett. But that didn’t pan out as well. Football suits me.”
Jordan said he doesn’t feel any burden in following his father’s footsteps. One key difference is that Steve Jordan played offense and caught 498 passes from quarterbacks. Cameron Jordan plays defense and chases quarterbacks.
“I don’t know about upholding the family name,” Cameron said. “I’d like to advance it, that’s for sure. If you see my film, I’m hitting people. I’m laying people out. … It will be the biggest smile on me to hit a quarterback and hear the wind come out of his chest. That pleases me the most.”
DE Cameron Heyward, Ohio State
Heyward’s father, known as “Ironhead” for the way he lowered his head into would-be tacklers as well as his 8 1/2 hat size, was a first-round draft choice by New Orleans in 1988. He died of cancer in 2006, a year before Cameron enrolled at Ohio State.
Cameron, who stands 6-4 5/8 and weighs 294 pounds, knows just how he’d tackle his 5-11, 260-pound dad in his prime.
“I’d take him on, full head,” Heyward said. “He would lower his head, too. I’m going to go right at him. I’m not going for the ankles. I’m going to take him down right away.”
Heyward, who had 15 1/2 career sacks at Ohio State, is not intimidated by his father’s larger-than-life persona.
“I can’t follow his legacy; it’s his legacy,” Heyward said. “I want to be in the NFL, and he was there. I want to leave a legacy of my own. I don’t want to live in his shadow. He was a great player, and he’s always in my heart. I appreciate everything he’s done.
“But I want to do everything by my own. I’m not asking anybody to give me a second look just because my dad was ‘Ironhead.’ They all know I have a big head just like his,” he added with a laugh.
At the height of Ironhead’s career, which included one Pro Bowl season in 1995, he was featured in a series of commercials for Zest body wash, and Cameron has captured one on canvas.
“My true love was drawing,” said Heyward, who underwent Tommy John surgery on his left elbow following last season. “There is a picture I drew of my dad with a Zest bottle that got in the newspaper.
“I get to run into guys that he knew. It’s funny to hear stories about him … it’s a true pleasure and it gives you great memories about him.”
LB Casey Matthews, Oregon
Matthews has the tallest family tree growing in the NFL.
His grandfather, Clay, played defensive end for San Francisco in the 1950s; his uncle Bruce was a Hall of Fame offensive lineman for the Houston Oilers/Tennessee Titans; his father, Clay Jr., played linebacker 19 seasons for Cleveland and Atlanta; and when his brother, Clay, was a first-round pick by Green Bay in 2009, the Matthews family became only the second one with three generations of NFL players, joining the Pynes (George Pyne Jr., George III and Jim Pyne).
That’s a lot of pressure for a young man to handle.
“I put a lot of pressure on myself, just seeing the success my dad had, my brother is having,” Casey said. “I put pressure on myself to get to that level. I put a certain amount on myself. It’s not necessarily that I have to live up to the name, though it would be nice playing at that level.”
The 2010 season was a good one for the Matthews’ family. Casey, who made 79 tackles with three sacks and three interceptions, helped Oregon to the BCS championship game, while Clay was the NFC defensive player of the year for the Super Bowl-winning Packers.
Casey, a 6-0 7/8 , 231 pounder, has thought about how it would be playing on the same NFL team as his older brother.
“It goes both ways,” Matthews said. “I definitely would like to play with Clay. That would be fun, easy on my family. Then again, I don’t know how people would perceive it … ‘You’re playing in the shadow of your brother.’ That’s what it will start out as.
“No matter where I go, I’ll definitely be trying to prove a name for myself and not be known as Clay’s son or Clay’s little brother. That’s definitely a compliment, though.”

The Mountain West Conference has never created this much buzz. The up-and-coming league is ranked fourth in the RPI behind the Big East, Big Ten and Big 12 and will feature two top-10 teams at its tournament in Las Vegas this week in BYU and San Diego State while showcasing Cougars scoring machine Jimmer Fredette, one of the favorites for national player of the year, and Aztecs super sophomore Kawhi Leonard. The real rumble, though, is all about one player who won’t be on the court for a single minute. Cougars center Brandon Davies became the talk of the sports world last week when he was suspended for violating BYU’s honor code by reportedly having sex with his girlfriend. BYU is owned and operated by The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints and students vow to abide by its honor code, which prohibits premarital sex. One of Fredette’s favorite targets in the post, Davies averaged 11.1 points and set the tone as the Cougars’ defensive stopper and top rebounder. ‘‘It’s a loss, but I don’t know how big of a loss,’’ TCU coach Jim Christian said. ‘‘Once they get used to it, I think they’re still a great basketball team.’’ BYU’s path to the Final Four appears much more difficult than it did a week ago, however. The Cougars (28-3) fell five spots to No. 8 in the AP Top 25 poll Monday, one spot behind San Diego State (29-2). ‘‘BYU is not a one-man team,’’ Aztecs coach Steve Fisher cautioned. Yet, he knows exactly what Davies meant to the Cougars, who handed the Aztecs their only two losses. ‘‘Brandon was one of the better post players in the league,’’ Fisher said. ‘‘He got better every game as you watched him grow as a young sophomore. He runs the floor extremely well. He’s a big part of what they do. He will be missed and yet they got a lot of good players.’’ With Fredette leading the nation in scoring and Davies serving as his Robin, the Cougars looked like national title contenders. They were ranked third in the country after sweeping the Aztecs. In their first game without Davies, the Cougars were trounced by New Mexico for a second time before bouncing back to beat Wyoming to claim a share of the conference crown and the tournament’s top seed. ‘‘We had kind of an interesting week here,’’ BYU coach Dave Rose deadpanned at the start of his segment on the conference coaches call Monday. Although the Cougars routed Wyoming 102-78 Saturday with Davies at the end of BYU’s bench in street clothes, there’s no denying the degree of difficulty for BYU this week — and especially in the NCAA tournament — has gone way up. ‘‘Well, Brandon played a real big part defensively, especially in the back end of that zone for us,’’ Rose said. ‘‘He’s a good rebounder, and he played a lot of minutes, 25, 26 minutes a game for us. I know there’s other guys on our team right now that are looking forward to that opportunity. If we can rebound from that position and score from that position similar to how Brandon did, then I think we’ll be fine.’’ The Cougars were already down a big man when Chris Collinsworth suffered a season-ending knee injury in January, and without Davies, they basically employed a four-guard lineup against New Mexico and Wyoming. ‘‘Any loss this time of year hurts,’’ TCU’s Christian said. ‘‘But obviously they rebounded and scored 60-something points against Wyoming in the second half of that game, so they obviously figured some things out.’’ This marks the final week for the Cougars and Utah in the 12-year-old Mountain West Conference. With their powerhouse football program going independent, the BYU basketball program moves to the West Coast Conference next season and Utah is moving to the expanded Pac-12. Davies’ return to the Cougars next season is in limbo. ‘‘There’s still a lot of things that have yet to be determined and they will be over the course of the next few weeks, I’m sure,’’ Rose said. ‘‘It’s a combination of administration, it’s a combination of his desire and his willingness to want to be here, to come back. And if those things are met, then our team would love to have him.’’ Rose insisted Davies’ suspension and the reaction it has generated won’t adversely affect BYU’s future. ‘‘Players pretty well understand what BYU is and I think most of them come here because of that,’’ Davies said in dismissing the notion that BYU’s strict honor code that all students agree to abide by puts the Cougars at any competitive disadvantage on the recruiting trail or the basketball court. ‘‘We’re not every other school and our players understand that when they come to BYU that there is a standard that they are expected to live (up to),’’ he said.

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