WhatsOnMyMind...sort of

I'm having Tech. Difficulties putting my article onto the blog. There is something wrong with my formatting on Adobe inDesign. My article is done however I cannot put it on the website in the format i want it to be. I'm putting my text in without the body graphic...

OnMyMind: As we approach week 16 in the NFL season, the Detroit Lions are a league worst 0-14. This week they are playing the 7-7 New Orleans Saints. Do not count out the Lions in this game because the game will be played in something they are used to, a dome. However I don’t think that the mediocre Lions secondary will have an answer for the best passing attack in football led by Drew Brees. The Lions have looked like a young Simba this year rather than a King Simba. Even after the firing of the arch nemesis Scar, COUGH! COUGH! Matt Millen. The city of Detroit is desperate for a win with the economy of Detroit in shambles after the automobile crisis. It seems as though the Lions will need a secret potion from Rafeeki to turn their city around, or maybe a first overall draft pick would do it.

FunnyBone: If I was Terrance Cody I would dump my girlfriend after the stunt she pulled the other night. Cody, a lineman on the Alabama football team has had a huge impact in the Tide’s defensive play but had no impact on the decision his girlfriend made as she hacked onto his Facebook page. There she wrote as Cody’s status: “I’m going pro!!!!!” Cody has not stopped receiving emails either congratulating him or criticizing him and telling him to play another year  for the Tide.

Butt... Do not forget that last year the Miami Dolphins were in a similar position having only 1 win at the end of the 2007 season. After winning the rights to Jake Long the Dolphins turned their team around and are in contention for not only a playoff birth but a division title. Look out 2009 Bears, Packers, Vikings, here come the Lions?

Footnote: Remember a previous “Footnote” post where I mentioned Tyler Hansbrough’s shin injury? Apparently he felt as though reading NeuCappucino was more worth his time than reading Jock-Lit-Rain. Congrats to Hansbrough as he obtained the all time scoring record al the University of North Carolina, which is not an easy task, especially since Hansbrough did it as a Junior. I guess his shin isn’t bothering him and the Tar Heels will go undefeated this year since no one has come close to stopping them.

EyeOnThePrize: Bradon Roy definitely had his EyeOnThePrize Thursday nights game against the Phoenix Suns. Roy dropped a career high 52 points! Does anyone know that this guy is only a third year player? I know it is too early to be placing him in the realm of Kobe and LeBron but after listening to this guy do an interview on Pardon the Interuption, he could be one of the most mature and well-spoken guys in the NBA. He will most surely be seeing success on the basketball court in the future.

ChipOnTheShoulder: The Boston Red Sox have a chip on their shoulder after the Yankees signed 2 former all stars this week in CC Sabathia and AJ Burnett. The Yankees are also looking to possibly sign Manny Ramirez as well. Holy crap! The Sox cannot forgo signing Mark Teixeira even if it eliminates Mike Lowell from a starting position. The Sox need to make a move just to prove that they are still around and still compete. Baseball is on the downhill slope. Whatever happened to grooming players?

HardToStomach: The “White Out” has been postponed. After all the hard leading up to this Friday’s home game it was all for nothing. Now the fans will have to wait and more planning will need to happen in order for money to be raised for the Jimmy Fund. Have no fear though. There will be another “White Out” game that hopefully does not get “Whited Out.”

HardToPutAFingerOnIt: It’s hard to put a finger on how the East Greenwich Boys Varsity Basketball team has lost 2 back-to-back overtime games by either 2 points or less. After key performances by AJ Anusavice and Brad Van Fechtmann, the EG boys find themselves searching for their first win. Even though the first two games did not matter, the losses have hurt the team and the team hopefully will learn from their mistakes and look to start their regular season games strongly after the winter break.

Footnote: It is Brandom Jacobs’s ankle that is keeping him listed as Questionable for Sunday’s game against the Carolina Panthers. However without Jacobs the running game will take a huge hit and without a force like Jacobs the ability to set up the quicket backs liek Bradshaw and Ward will be more difficult for ELi and the gang. Jacobs needs to play in this game because without him the Giants are awful and not the same. Also the Giants will need everything to beat the NFC leading Panthers.

Tuesdays With Kirstin

A scattered rainbow of emotions was illustrated over the past week or so in sports. However, other than the random uprises and happenings, its been pretty uneventful lately. We’ve got a ways to go in football till February when the superbowl concludes the season. Teams are on their final legs. Basketball is just beginning along with hockey. Golf is on and off depending on the weather. These are the main sports that get media attention right now.

For some, death has faced us. Mike "Mad Dog" Bell, a former professional wrestler was found dead at the age of thirty-seven. The documentary: “Bigger, Stronger, Faster” illustrated his struggle with substance abuse. Coincidentally he died at a Rehabilitation Center. Justin Levels, a mixed martial arts fighter and his wife Sarah McLean-Levens were found shot to death in their Laguna Niguel condominium in California. It couldn’t be distinguished as to whether it was a murder or a suicide. Sammy Baugh, a quarterback for the Redskins died at age 94 on Wednesday. He made it to the Hall of Fame, leading the league in passing, punting, scoring and interceptions from the beginning of the NFL.

Matt Cassel, starting quarterback for the Patriots has been coping with the death of his father. Despite this misfortune, he never considered the idea of missing the Patriots game six days after his father's death. He was driven by his father to keep playing and pushing forward. As a result of this effort, the Pats were led to a decisive win against Oakland Raiders. The score was 49-26. Cassel had a career high of four touchdown passes even though he had taken time off from practice last week to be with his family. Now he is rated sixth-rated quarterback in the AFC. Cassel sends an important message to the world about life and death saying, "I've overcome a lot of adversity and I think it's taught me to keep pushing forward, and keep moving on, and don't listen to people who are negative and work against you," He also said, "Just continue to surround yourself with people that are positive and can help you and things will turn around for you."

There has been a good amount of outbursts for varying reason among athletes and coaches. John Daly hit a wide shot on his ninth hole causing him to walk in to some forest for his next shot. Brad Clegg tried to take a picture in close proximity and Daly smashed the spectator's camera into a tree. He will probably be disqualified for this.

Mississippi Coach Kennedy was charged with assault after punching a cab driver and calling him names such as “Osama Bin Ladin”. Kennedy denies everything in court.
Frank Walker of the Baltimore Ravens was accused of spitting on Mitch Berger of the Pittsburgh Steelers. Frank denies it. This scenario seems to happen a lot in football. But Why? I don’t understand why people act so immature.

Coach Zorn of the Redskins recently had an outburst saying he was the worst coach in America at a weekly team meeting. Team members like Pete Kendall disagreed with Coach Zorn, saying he was not the worst coach. Kendall also said that it was his first year coaching and that there is a lot of responsibility and despite the bumps in the road teams will become stronger.

Washington Red Skins middle linebacker London Fletcher spoke out to the public recently to defend his right to be in the Hall of Fame. Fletcher says, "I don't know if it was because I wasn't a first-round draft pick, I don't do some kind of dance when I make a 10-yard tackle, I don't go out and get arrested," He continued, "I believe in playing the game the way it's supposed to be played. You line up each and every week, each and every play, and you go out and get the job done. You look at my body of work and I've done that for 11 years, but because I'm not going out causing a lot of controversy, holding a private meeting with the coordinator saying this, this and this, causing a lot of strife on my team, I don't garner a lot of attention." Fletcher is the leading tackler in the NFL for this decade, never missing a game in his entire career. He is also considered to be the MVP for the Redskins as well. And he’s been elected eight times. So why don’t they elect him one of the two middle linebackers that make the Hall of Fame?

This week in sports shows that you never really know how things are going to turn out whether you are involved in the game or not. Whatever hand we are dealt, we must stay postive and surround ourselves with others who share this outlook.

Around The Bases: Who Is Number One?

As you all know the Boston Celtics are on a complete tear winning their 17th game in a row verse the Chicago Bulls. Where does this team rank in comparison to the top teams of all time?

First Base
In fourth place we have who other than The Boston Celtics of the 1980s. This team was all about the rivalry. The Bird vs. Magic rivalry really set the tone for these two team to battle it out all through the 1980s. The Celtics were dangerous for the simple fact that they had skill from the starting five and all the way to the end of their bench. Bird, McHale, Parish, Dennis Johnson, Ainge, Walton, and Rick Carlisle are some notable names that you may remember from this dream team. This team averaged 114 points per game to their opponents 104.7 points. But what one this team games, and eventually world championship rings was their clutch shooting abilities and their poise. Coming in on fourth of the list of greatest basketball teams of all time is the Boston Celtics of the 1980s.

Second Base:
The Los Angeles “Showtime” Lakers. If there were any team that would give the Boston Celtics any trouble it would be the Lakers. This squad finished the 1984-1985 season at 62-20 scoring an unheard of 118.2 points per game. Most will agrue that this team did not have the depth that the Boston Celtics had, but they sure had just a little bit more talent. Kareem Abdul-Jabbar could score at will in the 1980s. He would not be the success that he is known to be without the teams MVP Magic Johnson, he was quick, he was innovative and people said he really changed the pace of the game. This team was surrounded by tremendous role players such as James Worthy and Byron Scott and Michael Cooper. Winning five NBA titles, this squad of the 80s really put the Forum on the map and inclined the Los Angeles Lakers into being the prestigious team that we all know and love today.

Third Base
The Chicago Bulls of the 1990s. In the 1995-1996 season the Chicago Bulls did something memorable. Something critics say will never, ever be topped. They won 72 out of their 82 game season. When you hear about the Chicago Bulls you think Michael Jordan. Jordan is the poster child of basketball, game in and game out just toying with his opponents. Averaging 30.1 points, 6.2 rebounds, 5.3 assists and 2.3 steals per game over his 15 year career winning 6 NBA championships. Michael Jordan has gone down as the most dominant, and clutch player that the National Basketball Association has ever seen. To your shock, this team was much more than Michael Jordan. This team was Jordan, Pippen, Kukoc, Kerr, Harper, Longley, and Rodman. Jordan would have 6 fewer championships than he has right now without the rest of this squad. They were dominant, although other teams during this time period were great and should have won championships, they just couldn’t because they would eventually have to face the Chicago Bulls. Coming in second place on the top NBA teams of all time, The Chicago Bulls of the 1990s.

Home Plate
You ask yourself, well the Bulls went number two on this list, who could possibly be better than them? The 2008-2009 Boston Celtics will go down as the best team to ever play the game. The Celtics start out with their three superstars in Kevin Garnett, Paul Pierce and Ray Allen. Garnett is a 7 foot monster and with his career 20 points and 11 rebounds he will be solidified as one of the best big men that the NBA has ever seen. Along side Kevin Garnett they have Ray Allen who is ranked 2nd all time for most three point shots ever made, second only to Reggie Miller. For his career he averages 21 points per game. To finish off the “Big 3” there is Paul Pierce who averages a career 23 points per game along with 6 rebounds and 4 assists per game. Pierce is a fighter, he has been stabbed at a night club and lost numerous amounts of teeth on the basketball court, but nothing will ever stop him from playing the game he loves. Pierce is the leader and captain of this team and is the Celtics go to guy at the end of every game. What you don’t usually hear about is the “role players” with this team, who undoubtedly would be stars on most other teams. Rajon Rondo and Kendrick Perkins come up big game in and game out. Rondo averages 11 points per game and more importantly 7.3 assists per game. This young true point guard has been compared to players like Bob Cousy for his enormous basketball IQ, except he is much more athletic than Cousy and will be a future All-Star and All-NBA player for years to come. Kendrick Perkins has always been a stump in the center for the Celts until 2008. Perkins is passionate and works harder than anyone on the team to excel in what he does. He can go out and get you 20 points and 10 rebounds when its needed but never tries to do too much, this is a player who knows his role on the team. This team puts fans in seats reminiscent of the old Boston Garden, the new generation of the Boston Celtics are the best team to ever play in the NBA.

Laws of Reflection

Last year in physics class we studied a number of different units ranging from projectile motion to energy, but one of the most hands-on units, reflection, was a true favorite of mine. For every unit my teacher, Mr. Lenox, was able to squeeze in one or two labs that demonstrated the laws or rules of such a subject. Therefore, for one lab we studied the laws of reflection and how mirrors perfectly reflect any light or image from any angle. Reflection is a law so simple and logical that we never even stop and think about it. But the thing is, its a law, a principle that all must abide by. This law was duly noted in our lab as we moved around different objects in front of a mirror and recorded their position on a piece of graphing paper under the mirror and said object. After establishing a point of reference on the object, you place dots of where that object actually is, and where it is reflected on the mirror. Trial after trial, it was easily demonstrated that the laws of reflection will always hold true no matter the circumstances. Now, science aside, it is the fact that the law of reflection held true no matter what, that is so important to my point.

As I moved the objects back and forth in front of the mirror, the mirror perfectly reflected the objects in a perfectly equal, but opposite, angle. The greater I created the object's angle from the mirror, the greater the angle of its reflected image became. Such rules are taken to different levels in society, especially when it comes to the current economic crisis. (Please bear with me for this analogy.)

See, as stocks rise and fall on Wall Street, so too do the emotions of every person and business in the United States. When the DOW drops to it's lowest point in decades, brokers become on the eve of suicide, businesses seconds away from bankruptcy, and the average American wondering if the money in their savings account for their child's education will still exist when they wake up tomorrow. This is a prime example of society following its own Laws of Reflection.

Now on the other hand, you have the sports industry - praised and aggrandized for all of its superstar athletes and overpaid talent. We give into the gimmick every day. Whether its catching a game on TV or buying that new jersey that you just HAD to have. All of these simple things fuel the industry's fire, and provide it with a demographic that becomes the perfect battering ram for all other shows, people, or business in its way. And to think that all of this commotion and attraction doesn't get into the heads of the athletes who play the games we love, is insane. Most athletes aren't even people anymore; they have become robots, and the men who steal their remote controls most of the time are their good ol' agents. A lot of agents conduct their business in the best interest of their client (and rightfully so), however, they always seem to take contract negotiations just a bit too far.


We live in a world where athletes fight for the top spot on societies pedestal, and somehow, multi-million dollar contracts are seen as the easiest, and best way at that, to view ones "wealth." Ergo, the more money you make, the more important you are than other players, and the more you are wealth than any player that tries to come close to your salary estimate. Players aren't satisfied with $100 million, they need to jack it up to $101, not so they can put their kid through school or use that money towards a charitable cause (as much as we would like to think that's what its for), but so they can say "Hey, that guy is playing 5 years for 100 mil, but I'm playing 5 for 101! Why don't you put that in your pipe and smoke it?"


But my point is that, why, during a total economic crisis, when it seems as though everyone is running around with their heads cut off, that the sports industry does stop spending their superfluous contracts when all of us know the players don't really NEED all of that money. Just look at the Yankees. I mean, they used enough money for three players this season to by a string of islands off the coast of New Zealand. In a time when everything seems to be following the "Law of Reflection" with regard to our country's economic status, the sports industry, especially a team like the Yankees, it not making cut-backs, but is backing up more materials into New York for a new stadium, and over paying athletes way past their true value. The NFL has had some problems in its office and instead of reaching into the pockets of owners for the cash, they followed suit with the rest of America and made some cuts. The rest of sports needs to buck up and open their eyes to what is really going on. I mean, its only science...

Hallworth's Doghouse

The first dog in my house this week is Washington Redskin Clinton Portis. His coach, Jim Zorn, was insulting him after missing a practice and benched him during the game on December 7th. Portis replied by criticizing Zorn’s communication and decision-making and dismissed his insults and decisions as “b.s.” No athlete should miss a practice unless he/she has a very good and legitimate reason. When skipping a practice without good reason, the athlete should know there are going to be consequences. So I support Zorn’s decision in having Portis benched during the next game. By missing practice, shows that a person is not determined or dedicated to the sport. Also, by him not showing up at practice displays laziness and undeservingness to get paid. In this case, Portis is getting paid to play. I would say that that is a fun job. If any person had the opportunity to take this job, most people would. Portis’s lesson: Go to practice!

The next dog this week is golfer John Daly. As he was playing in the first round of the Australian Open on December 10th, he grabbed Brad Clegg’s camera and threw it against the nearest tree and said, “You want it back, I'll buy you a new one.” He then later stated, “ I was looking to take a drop and a camera was 6 inches away from my face. If I was 10 under, I would have felt the same. My eyes are still burning from the flash of the camera.” Daly has not played well this year when he missed the cut at the Australian Masters and PGA tours. If Daly threw the camera because it was too close to his face or distracting, he should have politely told him to put it away instead of throwing it at the tree. If Daly is throwing the camera due to his anger, then he should see a psychiatrist or therapist. That is very rude to the spectator. In addition, he is not acting as a good role model to children because now children can think that they can smash things into trees. Furthermore, Daly is getting paid to make an appearance here and by his smashing a camera into a tree shows that he does not deserve the money. Daly’s New Year resolution: Control your anger!

Another dog in my house is Tiger Wood’s caddie, Steve Williams. He called Phil Mickelson a lefty prick and said that he hates him. Mickelson then replied saying that he was happy to have a “classy” caddie who would never say such a thing. Tiger responded that he was disappointed to hear Williams’ comments and said that he and Mickelson are talking it out. That is good that Mickelson and Woods are talking it out. Hopefully, Mickelson will forgive him since it was his caddie that said that and not him. On the other hand, Williams should be thankful that he is caddying to a great golfer. For him to go and say negative things about another golfer behind his back is rude and inappropriate. I am surprised that Woods has not fired him. I guess some people deserve a second chance. My advice to Williams: Think before you talk!

An additional dog in my home is NASCAR. They just recently settled a $225 million discrimination suit with former official Mauricia Grant, who is black. She claims that she was subjected to racial discrimination and sexual harassment during her two years she was working for NASCAR as a technical inspector certifying cars. She alleges that there has been about 57 incidents where she was discriminated against or sexual harassed. One time she was called a “nappy headed ho” and “Queen Sheba”. If she is lying, that would be one really bad and stupid joke. She would be wasting many people’s time and money. However, if that is true, that is really bad for the company to be allowing this to go on. Although, she should have gone to her boss or the police after a few incidents have occurred that way it could have been stopped sooner. That is horrible that people today are still discriminating against blacks. I thought that was all in the past. These people need to get over it and focus on the present. NASCAR’s New Year resolution: Pay attention to employees!

More dogs in my house this week are colleges and universities. These dogs are similar to the previous dog. They are not hiring may black and minority football coaches. The Black Coaches and Administrators (BCA) is looking for a lawsuit. There are currently four black football college coaches out of 119, which is three point four percent. That is very low. A person would think that there would be a whole lot more because we are supposed to be past the age of and time of discrimination. That ended at least thirty years ago. Today, you see a lot of successful blacks. For example, there are many athletes such as Rodney Harrison, Donovan McNabb, and Kevin Garnett. Also, there are many successful black entertainers such as Will Smith, Lil’ Wayne, and Beyonce Knowles. So I don’t understand why colleges won’t hire black football coaches. Colleges and universities’ lesson: Don’t discriminate!

Another dog in my dwelling is Syracuse University junior Eric Devendorf. He has been suspended indefinitely for violating the university’s code of conduct by punching a female student in the face on November 1st. Not only has he been banned from all school activities but also he must perform community service. That is terrible that he would ever punch someone, especially in a girl’s face. I wonder if he was going out with her and was abusing her. That would be awful. My advice to Devendorf: Don’t punch anyone and control your anger!

For Your Entertainment:
The final dog in my house this week is Sondra Fortunato She wore a Santa Claus outfit, tiara, fishnet stockings, a bathing suit bottom, and high heeled boots to a New York Giants game. She also had signs saying “Go Giants” and “Have a No Guns Christmas”. This is very inappropriate for a middle aged woman to be wearing. However if it was a teenager wearing those clothes, it would still be very wrong. It is even more unacceptable when there are children present because that will be telling them that it is appropriate to wear. This also shows disrespect to her body and that she is willing to display indecent exposure. Sondra’s New Year’s resolution: Buy and wear appropriate clothes and act your own age!

Any Thoughts on the NHL?

Erik Wolk
Sports literature
Mr. Brocato
12.19.2008

ANY THOUGHTS ON THE NHL?

It is interesting how people can sometimes meet each other again, right? Well, this is exactly the case I am talking about, ladies and gentlemen. We meet each other again at ESPN,which is highly interesting. For me, at least. Because I am writing the cool stuff,if you know what I mean. This time, I will talk about the Hockey league a little bit.Everybody fine with that? Alright.

The NHL is a very interesting thing, of course, because there are huge events, but still, it is not the favorite sport of Americans, don't ask me why. To look at the newest stuff, Giguere leaves the Ducks after father's death. First of all, it is surely a very big shock for him and it is quite respectable that he doesn't want to play right now. He has the right to take a rest, but he shouldn't have a too long break, the team needs him obviously. He will only miss a game at Edmonton, but he will rejoin the team again before the big game in Vancouver. he shows a very strong mind, people will love him for this braveness.

The other interesting thing, which is most popular at this time, is that the Canucks retire Linden's number 16. Travor Linden and the Vancouver Canucks fans who revered him celebrated his longtime career when the team retired his No. 16 sweater to the rafters Wednesday night. The gritty former forward wiped away a tear as he watched the banner bearing his name and number ascend in front of a cheering crowd of 18,630. I mean, it is surely impressive everytime this happens in sport, that somebody actually starts to cry about what he managed. It is a legend, otherwise, celebrate good times. Anyways, the New York Rangers are still No. 1 on our list. how surprising, huh? They are unstoppable. But behind them, Philadelphia, is trying very hard to catch up with them and maye they will make it.

In NHL, the qualifying system is pretty well organized. The top eight teams in each conference qualify for the playoffs. And the division winners in each conference are seeded numbers 1-3, and the remaining five teams are seeded 4-8, according to the points they have in total. But what I really would like to talk about is the player Loui Eriksson. Three goals pushed his team into overtime, which is ridiculous. But Brad Richards and Mike Ribeiro finished the game in the shootout, ladies and gentlemen. Eriksson's first career hat trick gave him five goals into two games, helping the stars to 6-5 victory over the Columbus Blue Jackets on thursday night. Eriksson's breakout season has been one of the few positives for the injury-riddled Stars. Eriksson has already established a career high with 17 goals. That's very impressive for me, ladies and gentlemen. All three of Eriksson's goals came from close range. He's one of the few Stars with the ability to get to the net and finish plays. How many players can do that?
The Blue Jackets thought they netted the winning goal 13 seconds into overtime on Manny Malhotra's apparent goal, but after a video review, officials ruled the puck was kicked into the net.

However, ice hockey is a very goood thing to do as an every day activity, but isn't that healthy, right? Just think about how many injuries can happen to each one playing. But ice hockey has of course the one very positive fact- the players get so much money. Especially Jaromir Jagr, who is a Czech ice hockey player. I mean, he is rich, but he still not as good as Bill Gates, which is extremely disappointing. Just kidding. For many kids it is an awesome sport to play in winter and it is a bit limited. Although you don't play it in compettions, you still need the expensive equipment and you need -50 degrees to play on a pond.
What do you think about Kovalev? He reaches milestone as Habs and Flyers' streak.Alexei Kovalev is hitting heights that are surprising him. Getting there after the worst scoring slump of his career has made it that much sweeter.Kovalev scored a goal to reach 900 NHL points and Sergei Kostitsyn and Steve Begin each had a goal and an assist to help the Montreal Canadiens end Philadelphia's five-game winning streak with a 5-2 victory over the Flyers on Thursday night. As you can see, there is alot happening in the NHL, but if I should tell my opinions about all the events, I would get sooner old, rather than you would here everything from me. So, enjoy your holidays, maybe next time at ESPN? I will move to other sports next time again.

Get A KICK Out Of This!
By: Jen Bannon

Inside the Locker Room at East Greenwich High School:
So this week at East Greenwich, has been quite a good week for the students. Since the snow fall has threatened to become very bad the students and teachers will get getting out of school at 10:30! Nothing could be better. On the other hand both basketball teams tipped off to start their season on Tuesday night. The boy’s team lost by one point to Lincoln and the girl’s team lost, by a large margin, against LaSalle. Both teams know that it was their first league game and they still have many more to play. The girl’s tip off tonight at Cranston East and the boy’s team is back on the court on Friday for the White Out. The boy’s basketball team is holding a White Out to sponsor the Jimmy Fund. Go and Support your team and the Jimmy Fund.
Penalty Shot for the Bad Boy of the Week:
With the holiday season here and Christmas right around the corner you would think that people would want to lay low. This was not the case for the Mississippi coach. Andy Kennedy is accused of punching a cab driver in the face while shouting racial slurs. Kennedy will coach Thursday night against Louisville despite being arrested early Thursday morning for allegedly assaulting a cab driver in downtown Cincinnati. "I regret this situation," Kennedy said in a statement. "The focus should be on the players and the game, not on me. I vehemently deny the charges levied against me, and am completely confident that I will be fully exonerated of all charges." To some people the holidays make you behave so you don’t get coal for Christmas.
MVP of the Week:
Now usually every week there is only one MVP of the week but this week called for two. You rarely ever see two brothers playing professional football together. Peyton and Eli Manning were voted to the Pro Bowl on Tuesday. It is the first time “quarterback-playing” brothers have been chosen for the same all-star game. The Indianapolis Colts' Peyton will make his ninth appearance in 11 seasons and will start for the AFC. This will be the first appearance for Eli. It is great to see two brothers to accomplishment something that has never been done before. What the best thing about it that they are able to do it together.

The Goal of the Week:
Teams are remembered by the last time they stepped on the court. It is how a team overcomes a loss to get a win. Syracuse’s win 82-60 win over Canisius was just the win they needed to keep them going. Many would have thought it would be an easy win for them but after a tough loss, it was just what they needed. "I just don't think we're playing well. I don't think we've played well all year," Boeheim said. Syracuse has won 10 of its 11 games vs. nonconference opponents and 16 of the last 18. Now Syracuse has just the push they need to keep going.
Red Card of the Week:
Its one thing to be great at something but once you start to become cocky and annoying about it, people start to hate you. Tyler Hansbrough has become one of the most accomplished players in the nation. Now there is nothing wrong with hard work. He is the leader of the untouched No. 1 North Carolina Tar Heels but many people “hate” him. "They boo him," says his dad, Gene, an orthopedic surgeon. "They say he flops, they call him overrated, but if someone suddenly told these people, 'Hey, Tyler is going to play for you guys,' would they still hate him? I don't think so." It’s one thing to have talent but children grow up getting overconfident and can grow up to very good but very un-liked by many. I don’t blame people for feeling that way about him.
Center Circle:
So the Celtics were going into their game against the Hawks just like any other game. One that they could win but also could potentially lose. For Atlanta, it was the biggest regular-season game in at least 10 years. This was the first regular-season national TV game for Atlanta in half a decade, and the only one scheduled for them all season. Boston's 88-85 win over the Hawks was one of the most memorable games of the early season. It was a close win for the Celtics but now they improve their record and go on a 16 game winning streak.
Annoying Fan of the Week:
Now let me get this out in the open before I begin with my story. I am not a germ-a-phobic. Now as I am walking down the hall ways at East Greenwich High School people are in front of me. Now I understand that our school does not circulate air that good so germs are everywhere especially when people cough. So I’m walking behind this person and they all of a sudden sneeze in front of me without covering their mouth! I could see the germs floating closer to my mouth and face and I could not bare what had just happened. Gross. Why cant people cover their mouth, especially when they sneeze! After that happened I had to purell my whole face.

By The Numbers

By Mike Swartz

0 – The number that will be to the left of the 16 in the Detroit Lions record at the end of this season. This result was practically evident after week 10 when the remaining teams on the Lions schedule were, Carolina, Tampa Bay, Tennessee, Minnesota, Indianapolis, and the two games remaining to be played, New Orleans and at Green bay. After starting 0-9, their season looked to only get worse as the combined record of the Lions remaining schedule was 40-15 (at the time they faced the teams). The only glimmer of hope in the Lions season was shattered as their pro bowl hopeful wide receiver Calvin Johnson was denied a spot on the team despite having what should be around a 1300 yard season.

7 to 2 – The ratio of New York Jets players to New England Patriots players on the 2009 AFC Pro Bowl team, and yes, in that order. The Jets have sent players such as the great gun slinger Brett Favre, the AFC rushing leader Thomas Jones, and nose tackle Kris Jenkins. The Jets have 4 starters on the Pro Bowl team, technically 5 if the first defensive play for AFC is in the Nickel package (Darrelle Revis). While usually the Patriots dominate the AFC dream teams, “America’s Team” is only sending two players, one of which are starting…which would be the kicker.

14 – The commonly used term of 2008, “If I was the commissioner of the NFL….” Although the system the NFL has in place has worked perfectly thus far and has no issue at all compared to the BCS, if I was the NFL commissioner, I would just HAVE to give out 14 playoff spots, two more than usual. The way that the NFL has played out thus far, there are a couple teams that will both make it into the playoffs that don’t deserve it, and teams that won’t that should be given the chance. Due to the surprising season by the Titans, the Colts will most likely get their usual playoff spot, taking one of the wild card spots, and possibly giving the other to the Ravens, while two deserving teams sit in the AFC East. The Jets and Dolphins turn around seasons and the level they’ve played on should give them a chance to play in the big show, and are both more deserving than the Broncos, who will make it, along with the fact that the Jets have handed the Titans one of their few losses. In the NFC the Vikings take one of the 6 spots, while it should be going to either a team from the NFC South, or East. With the hot Cowboys, Buccaneers, and Falcons all bidding for the two wild card spots, it could get ugly in the final battle as one of the teams, which sadly may be the Falcons, gets left out.

27 – The number of rebounds Los Angeles Clippers center Marcus Camby had December 17th against the Chicago Bulls. Pulling in 10 offensive, and 17 defensive rebounds, Marcus Camby came within the game record for total rebounds in a game of 35 by Charles Oakley set in 1988.

134 (4,950) – The weekly Drew Brees update, and it’s not looking promising. After receiving weekly coverage by me with a permanent spot on my blog, and a couple of mediocre (for Drew Brees) games, Brees is now on track to fall short of Dan Marino’s single season record for passing yards at 5,084 by 134 yards. Although he already comes in at 29th on the list with 4,332, he would need 742 yards in his last two games, which would be around 376 in each game. The 4,950 yard season he’s currently projected at would put him at 2nd on the list with about 100 yards between the 1st and 3rd place guy, Marino, and that Iraqi reporter that was recently suspended for throwing a shoe at George Bush (guy’s got a cannon). But don’t worry, Roger Goodell made sure he pays for his actions and he’ll be back after he serves his hefty one week suspension.

749 – The number of players on opening day that will be being paid less than New York Yankees pitcher C.C. Sabathia. The biggest buzz in sports in the past week, Sabathia signed a contract with the Yankees for 7 years, and $161 million dollars. Sparking controversy about the sports world “immunity” to the current economy situation, the Yankees spending habits, and signing 300 pound pitchers to 7 year deals, C.C. Sabathia looks to become the new Johan Santana, and carry a team into the playoffs; too bad Santana failed to do so. Even if that wasn’t enough money for you, the Yankees signed 31 year old AJ Burnett for another $82.5 million. Even if that still isn’t making you excited to go to a Yankees game for what will end up being a $1,000 nose-bleed seat, they offered 36 year old Manny Ramirez $66 million. With the term “where stars go to die” coming to life (no pun intended), the addition of Manny Ramirez would give the Yankees 7 out of 9 starters in their line up over the age of 30. Although, Manny will most likely not agree to this contract until it is upgraded to $67 million so that he and CC can go to the car dealership together and buy their Lamborghini’s, instead of those crappy Ferrari’s, because they don’t have that usual luxury with all the other things they spend their hundreds of millions of dollars on such as houses and donation-…no, um…houses….and…

Stadium Financing, Steve Williams, Sam Bradford and President Bush Top This Week's Four Quarters

Quarter I: This Stadium Financing Business is Getting Ridiculous
As a Red Sox fan this past week was a hard one to swallow. The hated Yankees dropped upwards of 250 million dollars on two of the better pitchers in baseball. That was aggravating enough but what went under the radar in all of this is even more disturbing. The Yankees are set to earn 750 million dollars in revenue next year. However, despite this incredibly high amount of revenue, the Yankees’s new stadium is nearly completely publicly financed. What makes this worse is the fact that the Yankees after handing over this incredible amount of money had the courage to as the city of New York for more money to cover some of the rising expenses with their stadium. What does the city of New York get for its investment? Higher ticket prices as well as higher rates for all concessions at the ballpark. Now some may say that I am envious or bias because I am a Red Sox fan but the reality is that almost every city in America is getting screwed by their professional sports teams. Exceptions exist of course but cities today are forced to pay for unnecessary new stadiums and in return the teams price most fans of attending the games. If the cities don’t do as the teams say then the teams are allowed to simply pack their bags and leave to screw over some other group of taxpayers (a.k.a. pull a Clay Bennett). Look I’m not saying we shouldn’t support these teams if they wish to build a new stadium. However, it’s not up to the taxpayer to provide the funds to build the ballpark. In no other private industry in this country is the taxpayer billed to provide the building for a company. Sports should be no different.

Quarter II: Steve Williams Tops This Week's Worst Persons
3. Sondro Fortunato, fan New York Giants for getting kicked out of a Giants game for wearing questionable attire. Look it’s a football game not a pageant show so really there’s no need for any questionable clothing to be seen at the ballpark.
2. Oakland Raiders football team for their inexcusable lack of effort against the Patriots. Look I know you guys are having a rough season and your owner is a wacko but at least put the effort in for the fans in stands.
1. Steve Williams, Caddie for Tiger Woods for his comments about Phil Mickelson. At an event in New Zealand Mr. Williams said: ”I wouldn’t call Mickelson a great player, cause I hate the (expletive).” Steve, Phil has won multiple major titles and is clearly one of the top golfers in the world if not the second best in the world. To say otherwise is a discredit to your golf knowledge and to the man you represent. Shame on you! Steve Williams, this week’s worst person in the world.

Quarter III: Sam Bradford Tops This Week’s Best Persons
3. Matt Cassel, New England Patriots for his play this weekend against the Raiders. For those who are unaware, Matt lost his father last week and despite the loss was able to lead his team to victory with four touchdown passes. This performance not only shows Matt’s strength but also his commitment to his team.
2. Jamie Moyer for his commitment to play two more seasons for the Philadelphia Phillies. Its amazing that Jamie at the age of forty six with a fastball slower then most high school pitchers is still able to get out Major League hitters with the success that he does. .
1. Sam Bradford Oklahoma for winning the Heisman trophy. To win college football’s most prestigious award is one thing but to do it the way Sam Bradford did is another. Oklahoma’s offense has scored sixty plus points in five straight games led by Bradford’s NCAA leading forty-eight touchdown passes. Now it’s on to the BCS championship where Bradford can win another trophy: the National Championship. Sam Bradford, this week’s best person in the world.

Quarter IV: Game of the Week: Pittsburgh - Baltimore
Yet another big football game with playoff implications. Baltimore needed this game to help seal its playoff hopes and to keep its small hopes of winning the AFC North alive. For Pittsburgh, a win meant at least one home playoff game and a first round bye. This was a defensive game with only one touchdown scored by either team. Pittsburgh was able to pull it out with some solid play by Ben Roethlisberger and the continued dominance of the newest generation of the steel curtain. Baltimore held the late lead but could not hang on. A well-played game by both sides but for Baltimore it was an opportunity lost.

Overtime: 10 Random Pieces of Sports Knowledge
10. The hiring of Gene Chizik has provided much controversy for Auburn fans.
9. Reggie Theus is the fifth NBA coach to be fired this season.
8. Dustin Pedroia will play for the United States in next spring’s World Baseball Classic.
7. Phil Kessel has scored a point in 15 straight games.
6. The Yankees spent nearly 250 million dollars on two players last week.
5. Jerry Sloan has been coaching the Utah Jazz for twenty seasons.
4. Antoine Walker is in the process of negotiating a buyout from the Memphis Grizzles.
3. Utah is the lone non-BCS conference representative in the BCS bowl games.
2. Speaking of the BCS there is action on Congress to introduce a bill banning it.
1. The Celtics have won 14 straight games.

Double Overtime: Shoe Throwing Incident Shows How Far Bush Has Fallen.
This week a rather amusing story occurred when an Iraqi reporter took off his shoe and hurled it at President Bush during a news conference in Iraq. Iraqis are demanding this man’s release while the government has denounced this reporter’s act as barbaric. This action was inappropriate regardless of culture or customs; however, it is another bad reflection on the Bush administration. President Bush argued for the invasion of Iraq based on the belief that we would be welcomed as liberators. However, five years later is apparent that this is not the case. The people who Mr. Bush thought would welcome our presence the most are turning on us. Mr. Bush, your Iraq strategy was and still is a failure. Its time to start scaling back our involvement and allowing the Iraqis to take control of their own country.

ReFLEXon of the Week of November Seventh

By: Alexa Gladstone

* O.J. Simpson is wearing the pink polka dot dunce cap. Props to Judge Jackie Glass, who did today in Nevada what college and professional football defenses were not able to do often. Stop O.J. Simpson. After enforcing such a varied series of coexisting and consecutive sentences that even many lawyers had difficulty deciphering, it has finally been deduced that the earliest Mr. Simpson could possible be released from jail would be after his 70th birthday. Unless, of course, he dies before then. Judge Glass, known for a no-nonsense approach, as well as for dishing out tough sentences, was strictly business on the day of the trial. She began the day by denying Simpson the privilege of wearing street clothes to the sentencing, and ended it by denying him bond pending an appeal. These two denials meant that 61 year old O.J. Simpson exited the courtroom in shackles and a blue jumpsuit, heading directly to prison. Do not pass 'GO', do not collect $200. Simpson has been convicted of 12 criminal charges, including kidnapping and armed robbery.

* Those wild and crazy New York Yankees have always done gluttony like no one else, and still, there have been few Yankees quite like these Yankees, who missed the playoffs and have a new ballpark to sell out and a recession to balance and a couple new Steinbrenners at the top.

They came to terms Friday afternoon with A.J. Burnett, a free-agent pitcher on a five-year contract for $82.5 million. New York added Burnett to a rotation that also includes holdovers Chien-Ming Wang and Joba Chamberlain only two days after striking a $160 million, seven-year deal with CC Sabathia. Additionally, the Yankees are hoping to re-sign Andy Pettitte and have looked at Ben Sheets as an alternative.

Several well-known players were among those let go by teams in the hours before the midnight deadline to offer 2009 contracts to players on rosters. Many teams didn't want to go to salary arbitration with the players and were willing to risk them leaving as free agents.

"Economics forced us to make this decision," Astros general manager Ed Wade said of Wigginton. "If there is an opportunity for us to adjust our payroll later in the offseason, we'd like to see if there's an opportunity to bring him back."

* It’s a good thing the New York Yankees aren’t playing in Mumbai. The multitude of terrorist attacks has left 160 dead and many more injured. Another terrorist attack that targeted the Indian Parliament building on Dec. 13, 2001 claimed the life of 14 victims and very nearly brought the two nuclear-armed neighbors, India and Pakistan. Hardly a day goes by without an incident of suicide bombers killing innocent Pakistani civilians.

* ONCE UPON A TIME… The Big, The Bad and The Injured

"Goodness is the only investment that never fails." - Henry David Thoreau

Shooting himself in the thigh by accident just two weeks ago didn’t stop Giants receiver Plaxico Burress from attending a charity fundraiser for the homeless at a New York City nightclub Friday night. Burress showed up at Kevin Powell’s 8th Annual Holiday Party and Clothing Drive at the Madison nightclub on Friday with his wife, Tiffany, and son, Elijah.

As would be expected, he didn’t talk at all about the team suspending him and didn’t comment on the shooting which took place on Friday, November 29th at the Latin Quarter nightclub, the precursor to a criminal weapon charge. Burress pleaded not guilty to the weapons charge and will soon be back in court, as he was released from jail on $100,000 bail.

“This is a wonderful thing for us to come out and be able to help people and we can lend a helping hand." Burress was reported saying in a WNBC-TV trascript, "I have a child, I have a son, I couldn’t imagine him being in that situation, so that’s why I brought him also.”

Props to Burress for not only being charitable himself, but also displaying the importance of kindness to his child.

* Our prayers go out to the NFL… NOT! Finally, a silver lining to the economic slump: The NFL is hurting financially. Commissioner Roger Goodell announced the cuts in a memo to league employees. The NFL is eliminating about 150 of its 1,100 staff members in New York, NFL Films in New Jersey and television and internet production facilities in Los Angeles.

NEW YORK (AP)—The recession has hit the NFL. The league said Tuesday it is cutting more than 10 percent of its headquarters staff in response to the downturn in the nation's economy.

Personally, I cannot stand most (not all) professional sports. But the more a sport glorifies blatant machismo and stupidity, the more I dislike it. I recognize I'm in the stone-cold minority on this one, as football is among America's favorite sports. Fans need to recognize there are many of us out there who find the hero worship of macho, meat-headed, tobacco-spitting men while young women dance around them in short skirts, well, offensive. So, cut, NFL, and cut again, please.