Since next week is going to be packed between the College Fair, an exam, interviewing day and covering a game story I needed to rest this week. The week started out with getting my ass handed to in a one-on-one basketball game against Melissa. Coming into the match-up I feel that my greatest strength is my defense. My physicality is my bread and butter and I have some quickness. Against Melissa my defense did not show up. She kept making shots no matter where she was. She also made some circus shots which always makes me frustrated. I did not rotate well at all and I was not physical, which lead to my demise.
Other than going to class and going to the gym, life has been uneventful until last night. Yesterday was a typical Thursday. I have three classes while going to the gym during my break between class two and class three. It was raining all week, but yesterday's weather just pierced through your body between the rain and the wind. I went back to my dorm at around 7 pm., showered, dried up, read the school newspaper and watched the Celtics game until 10 p.m. and then the dorm lost power. Naturally, there are some people that scream for no reason because they can't see. There are some areas in the dorm that has emergency lights. One hour later the emergency lights went out. Now the dorm is all dark. 15 minutes after, the fire alarm sirens initiated. The procedure when the fire alarm goes off is everyone walks outside and stays out there until the firemen come over and shut off the fire alarm. Since it was still raining outside and was very windy, the hall director, Taras, told us to go to Scott Hall which is right next to Smith Hall. So we all went to Scott Hall and spent maybe 10-15 minutes there and we were allowed to go back to Smith. 30 minutes later, the fire alarm sirens went on again. This time, we waited in the main hall and had to wait for at least 20 minutes for the firefighters to turn off the fire alarms. When the fire alarm was fixed at around 1 a.m., the residents all went their separate ways and went to bed. The power turned back on at around 2 a.m. I did not go to sleep until 2:30 a.m. because when the fire alarm sirens goes on, my room has a light that flashes every five seconds which kept me awake.
Today the university had curtailed operations. It doesn't affect me because I don't have class on Fridays anyway. I have been dragging ass all day. It showed with my performance at the gym. Lifting weights was good, but running was awful. I just need to rest today. I am going to see "Shutter Island" tonight with Melissa and Kendra. I am going because I do want to see the movie and I also want to see Melissa. I haven't seen her since Monday and I am starting to like her a little more whenever I see her.
Mom and Ken are coming tomorrow and I am extremely excited. They are going to arrive at UNH at around 4 p.m. Mom and I will show Ken UNH, then we will have some dinner and then go to the hockey game together. Mom and Ken have never been to a hockey game so it should be a new experience for them. I am excited to see my mom and hug her again. It has been almost five weeks since I have last seen her. The weekend has finally begun!
Friday, February 26, 2010
Wednesday, February 24, 2010
News stories that are getting better?
According to the New York Times today, the Senate votes 70-28 to approve the $15 billion Democratic plan to try to spur job creation, as lawmakers hastened to demonstrate that they were taking steps to improve the nation’s employment picture. The measure would give employers a temporary exemption from payroll taxes for newly hired workers who had been unemployed for 60 days or more. It also seeks to spur spending on public works projects and to encourage business investment by accelerating tax write-offs. Considering that the unemployment rate is 9.7 percent, this vote could help for a little while, but it will not create jobs right away. In fact, 13 Republicans combined with the 55 Democrats for this to pass. At least there was finally bipartisanship in something. To me, this is sugarcoating the massive $787 billion stimulus plan that they passed last year to create jobs. The stimulus plan did not totally fail though. 95 percent of Americans have had their taxes cut and there have been an increase in jobs. That's these programs last for 5-10 years, because nothing works right away. I hate to say this America, but you have to be patient for a little while longer.
Tomorrow will be the Health Care bill summit. Both Republicans and Democrats will have a bipartisanship meeting to try to agree on the new Health Care bill will be over $950 billion for 10 years that will cover 31 million uninsured Americans. It will also shed $100 million off the deficit, which is so high, I don't think it is a real number anymore. The Republican House bill will cost $61 billion for 10 years. On this new bill, the government will cover subsidies for abortions, something that was not in the previous bill. The Congressional Budget Office said the proposal could lead to lower premiums, in part by reducing the number of state-required benefits or increasing the number of relatively healthy people with insurance. Honestly, I think the Democrats should let the Republicans filibuster because it would make the Republicans look bad. Besides, the Democrats already look like morons trying to make a bipartisanship with the Republicans. The meaning of bipartisanship is dead. There is just a left and a right and they are not working together. It's like they are fighting over a jar full of cookies, they want more cookies than the other one. There are over 35 million Americans without health care insurance, just pass it or a different version already.
This week, the executives of Toyota is testifying in Congress about recalling the vehicles due to the poor functions of over accelerating in the acceleration pedal. The president of Toyota, Akio Toyoda says that he takes "Full Responsibility" when he appears before the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform. In his statement, he says: “My name is on every car,” Mr. Toyoda said in the statement. “You have my personal commitment that Toyota will work vigorously and unceasingly to restore the trust of our customers.” Over three weeks ago, Toyota had to recall over two million vehicles due the the acceleration problem so they can find a solution. They suggested the owners of a Toyota vehicle to not drive the cars. The problem is, there is a possibility that the problem may not be solved quick enough. Personally, that is something that the government can't get involved in for too long. Just let the car company fix it internally and they can deal with it. There are too many thing to handle and Toyota is not one of those things. Just to think that I wanted a Toyota at one point.
Tomorrow will be the Health Care bill summit. Both Republicans and Democrats will have a bipartisanship meeting to try to agree on the new Health Care bill will be over $950 billion for 10 years that will cover 31 million uninsured Americans. It will also shed $100 million off the deficit, which is so high, I don't think it is a real number anymore. The Republican House bill will cost $61 billion for 10 years. On this new bill, the government will cover subsidies for abortions, something that was not in the previous bill. The Congressional Budget Office said the proposal could lead to lower premiums, in part by reducing the number of state-required benefits or increasing the number of relatively healthy people with insurance. Honestly, I think the Democrats should let the Republicans filibuster because it would make the Republicans look bad. Besides, the Democrats already look like morons trying to make a bipartisanship with the Republicans. The meaning of bipartisanship is dead. There is just a left and a right and they are not working together. It's like they are fighting over a jar full of cookies, they want more cookies than the other one. There are over 35 million Americans without health care insurance, just pass it or a different version already.
This week, the executives of Toyota is testifying in Congress about recalling the vehicles due to the poor functions of over accelerating in the acceleration pedal. The president of Toyota, Akio Toyoda says that he takes "Full Responsibility" when he appears before the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform. In his statement, he says: “My name is on every car,” Mr. Toyoda said in the statement. “You have my personal commitment that Toyota will work vigorously and unceasingly to restore the trust of our customers.” Over three weeks ago, Toyota had to recall over two million vehicles due the the acceleration problem so they can find a solution. They suggested the owners of a Toyota vehicle to not drive the cars. The problem is, there is a possibility that the problem may not be solved quick enough. Personally, that is something that the government can't get involved in for too long. Just let the car company fix it internally and they can deal with it. There are too many thing to handle and Toyota is not one of those things. Just to think that I wanted a Toyota at one point.
Monday, February 22, 2010
USA's upset over Canda should not have happened
Coming into this Olympic hockey tournament, if Canada earns anything less than the gold medal, it would be a failure. They are absolutely stacked beyond belief. Their roster includes Martin Brodeur, Chris Pronger, Scott Niedermayer, Joe Thornton, Sidney Crosby, Dany Heatley, Corry Perry, Patrick Marleau, etc. Their third-string goaltender is Marc Andre-Fleury, a quality goaltender. Their head coach is Mike Babcock, an excellent coach. That is just their top players on the team. All of their players consists of the best players on each team in the NHL. You can see how the Canadian fans have such high expectations for their team.
When it comes to the USA, they have an above-average team. It is a young, but a very likable team. They even have six players on the roster have their first or surname Ryan. Their roster includes Ryan Miller, Mike Komisariak, Chris Drury, Brian Rafalski, Ryan Suter, Bobby Ryan, Zach Parise, Jamie Langenbrunner, Patrick Kane, etc. I thought coming into these winter games, the USA squad could earn a bronze medal because of their strong goal-tending corps of Miller, Tim Thomas and Jonathan Quick.
Coming into last night, the general consensus was, regardless of the results each team had in their previous two games, that Canada was going to slaughter USA. I was one of those predictors. Wow were we wrong, stunned, embarrassed, any word you can think of that involves wrong.
On the day before the 30 year anniversary of USA stunning the Soviets, USA hockey once again pulled another shocker and topped Canada 5-3. Although, it is only the preliminary round, this result is catastrophic for Canada. Here they are, far and beyond the best team in the Olympics and they lost to a hockey team that averages an age five years younger than any other international team. Sometimes youth is good if you are the Americans. USA's young players are strong, very quick and they do not give up on the puck. There were times in last night's game that Canada had a flurry of shots in the first and near the game of the game, that is how everyone expected Canada to play the whole game. We knew that Ryan Miller would keep the Americans in the game as long as he could, but the Canadians would just be too active on the offensive zone for him to have a breather throughout the game. Even though the Canadians out shot the Americans 45-23, Miller stood on his head and took the game in his own hands with his astounding 42-save performance. With the score 4-2 with over 6 minutes left in the third period, I was watching the game with friends and my friend Mallory thought the game was not over. I said, "With Miller playing the way he is in net, USA will not lose this game." Sidney Crosby scored a power play goal to make it 4-3 USA with 3:09 left in the third period and Mallory said, "Still cocky Jus?" I then said, "Damn right. That is all they will get." Canada had another run of shooting the puck on net at an alarming rate, but they could not convert. After a killer off-sides call, USA clears the puck and Ryan Kesler is battling Corry Perry for the puck. Kesler dives, smacks the puck and it rolls into the empty net for an amazing goal. Game, set, match.
I am always glad when I am wrong, especially when it is an underdog that wins. The Americans earned it. They played harder, faster and smarter. Canada played cocky because they have so many stars on their team, eventually it bit them in the ass. They were so cocky, that they let Brian Rafalski score two goals (first one 41 seconds into the game). Rafalski has only four goals in 57 games into the NHL season! Everyone in Canada knew coming into the Olympic games every team was gunning for the mighty Canadians. Not taking any credit away from the Americans, but if you are Canada, losing to us is embarrassing. They rival with us on who is the better hockey country. Their team is far superior comparing to our team. Last night's loss is not the end of the world to Canada because they still advance to the medal round. However, they have to play an additional game if they are going to advance to the medal round. Canada has sucked in these Olympics and if they don't win a gold medal in hockey, they should never host an Olympic games again. As the saying goes: "Canada's national sport is Lacrosse. Their religion is hockey." Think about that.
When it comes to the USA, they have an above-average team. It is a young, but a very likable team. They even have six players on the roster have their first or surname Ryan. Their roster includes Ryan Miller, Mike Komisariak, Chris Drury, Brian Rafalski, Ryan Suter, Bobby Ryan, Zach Parise, Jamie Langenbrunner, Patrick Kane, etc. I thought coming into these winter games, the USA squad could earn a bronze medal because of their strong goal-tending corps of Miller, Tim Thomas and Jonathan Quick.
Coming into last night, the general consensus was, regardless of the results each team had in their previous two games, that Canada was going to slaughter USA. I was one of those predictors. Wow were we wrong, stunned, embarrassed, any word you can think of that involves wrong.
On the day before the 30 year anniversary of USA stunning the Soviets, USA hockey once again pulled another shocker and topped Canada 5-3. Although, it is only the preliminary round, this result is catastrophic for Canada. Here they are, far and beyond the best team in the Olympics and they lost to a hockey team that averages an age five years younger than any other international team. Sometimes youth is good if you are the Americans. USA's young players are strong, very quick and they do not give up on the puck. There were times in last night's game that Canada had a flurry of shots in the first and near the game of the game, that is how everyone expected Canada to play the whole game. We knew that Ryan Miller would keep the Americans in the game as long as he could, but the Canadians would just be too active on the offensive zone for him to have a breather throughout the game. Even though the Canadians out shot the Americans 45-23, Miller stood on his head and took the game in his own hands with his astounding 42-save performance. With the score 4-2 with over 6 minutes left in the third period, I was watching the game with friends and my friend Mallory thought the game was not over. I said, "With Miller playing the way he is in net, USA will not lose this game." Sidney Crosby scored a power play goal to make it 4-3 USA with 3:09 left in the third period and Mallory said, "Still cocky Jus?" I then said, "Damn right. That is all they will get." Canada had another run of shooting the puck on net at an alarming rate, but they could not convert. After a killer off-sides call, USA clears the puck and Ryan Kesler is battling Corry Perry for the puck. Kesler dives, smacks the puck and it rolls into the empty net for an amazing goal. Game, set, match.
I am always glad when I am wrong, especially when it is an underdog that wins. The Americans earned it. They played harder, faster and smarter. Canada played cocky because they have so many stars on their team, eventually it bit them in the ass. They were so cocky, that they let Brian Rafalski score two goals (first one 41 seconds into the game). Rafalski has only four goals in 57 games into the NHL season! Everyone in Canada knew coming into the Olympic games every team was gunning for the mighty Canadians. Not taking any credit away from the Americans, but if you are Canada, losing to us is embarrassing. They rival with us on who is the better hockey country. Their team is far superior comparing to our team. Last night's loss is not the end of the world to Canada because they still advance to the medal round. However, they have to play an additional game if they are going to advance to the medal round. Canada has sucked in these Olympics and if they don't win a gold medal in hockey, they should never host an Olympic games again. As the saying goes: "Canada's national sport is Lacrosse. Their religion is hockey." Think about that.
Friday, February 19, 2010
Fabulous Friday
I really love my Fridays. Not just because I have a day off on Fridays, but it also depicts that my week is nearly over. In the beginning of the week, it was not looking good because last weekend was an absolute disaster. Three of my friends from home came up to UNH to visit me and they were also planning to sleep over. At first everyone was getting along and we were having a good time. To make a long story short, as the night went on, my friends from home and my friends from UNH ended up clashing and taking comment from each other seriously. It was childish and immature and I was very angry about it. I was frustrated because it was a negative environment and I felt responsible. When my UNH friends finally left, we went to sleep at 2 a.m. and I didn't sleep well all night. I was woken up at 8:30 and I never went back to sleep. The Mass-holes finally left at 1 p.m. on Sunday and it took about a couple of days to forget about it.
The week started out good because on Tuesday, New Hampshire had a big snow storm, which led to cancellations in both of my night classes. Usually, I have classes from 11-8:30. Since my night classes got canceled, I had class from 11-3:30 instead. I don't normally do homework on Tuesdays, but since my classes got canceled, I decided to fool around and spend time with my friends, which was a lot of fun.
On Wednesday, it was a hectic, but fun day. The highlight of the day was I had a date/meeting with this girl Melissa. I met her through a friend two weeks ago. She is a very sweet girl and I think we have a lot in common, so I wanted to get to know her better. Before, I had a meeting and then a Yellow Fever shot, which I need it to get into Trinidad and Tobago, which I am going to for spring break in three weeks. It was a longer process than I expected, which I ended up being 10 minutes late for the date and I was upset about it. I kept apologizing to her because being late is unacceptable, especially when I made the plans. Otherwise, everything went well. She is actually a much cooler person than I expected. She plays basketball, has a passion for special needs children and is a car fanatic. I love all of those traits. Melissa said that she wants to see me again on Saturday, hence if she does not go home. I hope she does not go home because I would like to see her again.
Yesterday was Resume Review Day. Since looking for jobs is a top priority of mine, having a professional to review my resume would bring me on the right direction. The woman reviewed my resume and then I left. Someone told me one time that working on a resume is like a professional job. That person is right. I am going to need more discipline and motivation to make my resume the best it can be, especially when going to the real world is not too far away.
Tonight is a big night for me. I have an assignment to do in Sports Writing which I have to go to a high school athletics game and write a game story. It has to be 500-600 words and the deadline is five hours after game time. I am covering a high school girls varsity basketball game. It is in Oyster River High School and they are facing Portsmouth High Athletics. It starts at 6:30 p.m. and my deadline is at 11:30. This is my first game story and I feel nervous but jittery at the same time. I am putting too much pressure on myself because this will be the inauguration to being a sports writer. I was told by my professor that covering a high school game is the hardest thing to do in sports writing. I will see it tonight.
So far, everything this week is going to plan. I finished all of my work and errands leading up to today. I hope everything goes well for my story tonight and that I pass it in on time, which is my biggest fear. If tonight goes well, I hope to see Melissa, then it will be the perfect week.
The week started out good because on Tuesday, New Hampshire had a big snow storm, which led to cancellations in both of my night classes. Usually, I have classes from 11-8:30. Since my night classes got canceled, I had class from 11-3:30 instead. I don't normally do homework on Tuesdays, but since my classes got canceled, I decided to fool around and spend time with my friends, which was a lot of fun.
On Wednesday, it was a hectic, but fun day. The highlight of the day was I had a date/meeting with this girl Melissa. I met her through a friend two weeks ago. She is a very sweet girl and I think we have a lot in common, so I wanted to get to know her better. Before, I had a meeting and then a Yellow Fever shot, which I need it to get into Trinidad and Tobago, which I am going to for spring break in three weeks. It was a longer process than I expected, which I ended up being 10 minutes late for the date and I was upset about it. I kept apologizing to her because being late is unacceptable, especially when I made the plans. Otherwise, everything went well. She is actually a much cooler person than I expected. She plays basketball, has a passion for special needs children and is a car fanatic. I love all of those traits. Melissa said that she wants to see me again on Saturday, hence if she does not go home. I hope she does not go home because I would like to see her again.
Yesterday was Resume Review Day. Since looking for jobs is a top priority of mine, having a professional to review my resume would bring me on the right direction. The woman reviewed my resume and then I left. Someone told me one time that working on a resume is like a professional job. That person is right. I am going to need more discipline and motivation to make my resume the best it can be, especially when going to the real world is not too far away.
Tonight is a big night for me. I have an assignment to do in Sports Writing which I have to go to a high school athletics game and write a game story. It has to be 500-600 words and the deadline is five hours after game time. I am covering a high school girls varsity basketball game. It is in Oyster River High School and they are facing Portsmouth High Athletics. It starts at 6:30 p.m. and my deadline is at 11:30. This is my first game story and I feel nervous but jittery at the same time. I am putting too much pressure on myself because this will be the inauguration to being a sports writer. I was told by my professor that covering a high school game is the hardest thing to do in sports writing. I will see it tonight.
So far, everything this week is going to plan. I finished all of my work and errands leading up to today. I hope everything goes well for my story tonight and that I pass it in on time, which is my biggest fear. If tonight goes well, I hope to see Melissa, then it will be the perfect week.
Wednesday, February 17, 2010
News Central
Even though I may be a busy person, I always dedicate at least one hour a day reading the news. There are always a few stories that get into the news wire just to fill space and then there are others that are really news worthy. Here are a few stories that interested me.
According to the New York Times, yesterday, the United States military arrested and captured Taliban Commander, Mullah Abdul Baradar. He is considered to be the number two man in the Taliban, who is behind Mullah Mohammed Omar. "Mullah Baradar had been a important contact for the Afghans for years". American officials believe that this arrest is absolutely crucial because it will ensue more cooperation between Pakistan and the U.S. This arrest is also bad timing for the Taliban because they are going through an internal debate about negotiating for peace or fighting the Americans. Reports say that the U.S. are sending an additional 30,000 troops to Afghanistan later this year. Personally, it's great that the military did something good by arresting the number two man in the Taliban, but the day if they capture Osama Bin Laden, then I will be joyous about our progress. For now, I will give a golf clap. They better make some arrests since there are already over 90,000 troops in the Middle East.
According to the New York Times, in a new study, 60 percent of the subjects believe that Colleges are operating more like a business rather than making it a educational experience. "The study is a joint project of Public Agenda and the National Center for Public Policy and higher education, also found that most Americans believe that colleges could admit a lot more a lot more students without lowering quality or raising prices, and that colleges could spend less and maintain a high quality of education". There are nine out of ten people that do want to go to college. However, "83 percent said that students had to borrow too much money to pay for college". The problem is that colleges are spending too much money to function, never mind spending money to improve facilities for education. It stinks and I am one of those students that think that college is too much of a corporation rather than giving opportunities for an educational experience. It was inevitable considering how much students need to pay for just for the tuition rather than room and board.
In sad news, Doug Fieger, the lead singer and guitarist of the band the Knack, who performed the 1979 hit “My Sharona”, passed away yesterday. Fieger, 57, succumbed to lung cancer his family announced. "My Sharona" held Billboard's No. 1 song for six weeks in the summer of 1979. "Bruce Gary, the Knack’s original drummer, died in 2006". It's depressing news to me because I really enjoy that song. Now it is time for me to listen to more of their music, even though they never had another song that was as big as "My Sharona".
News travels fast. Because of the internet, everyone will sit down and read a headline and think they know the who story. Print news is definitely the way to go, even if they don't know how to charge online. There are too many people that I am acquainted to that don't read the news. I know reading the news is my obligation as a journalist, but it gets awfully boring if there is no one else to talk to about juicy news. Someday, the college kids will read the news, the question is how and when.
According to the New York Times, yesterday, the United States military arrested and captured Taliban Commander, Mullah Abdul Baradar. He is considered to be the number two man in the Taliban, who is behind Mullah Mohammed Omar. "Mullah Baradar had been a important contact for the Afghans for years". American officials believe that this arrest is absolutely crucial because it will ensue more cooperation between Pakistan and the U.S. This arrest is also bad timing for the Taliban because they are going through an internal debate about negotiating for peace or fighting the Americans. Reports say that the U.S. are sending an additional 30,000 troops to Afghanistan later this year. Personally, it's great that the military did something good by arresting the number two man in the Taliban, but the day if they capture Osama Bin Laden, then I will be joyous about our progress. For now, I will give a golf clap. They better make some arrests since there are already over 90,000 troops in the Middle East.
According to the New York Times, in a new study, 60 percent of the subjects believe that Colleges are operating more like a business rather than making it a educational experience. "The study is a joint project of Public Agenda and the National Center for Public Policy and higher education, also found that most Americans believe that colleges could admit a lot more a lot more students without lowering quality or raising prices, and that colleges could spend less and maintain a high quality of education". There are nine out of ten people that do want to go to college. However, "83 percent said that students had to borrow too much money to pay for college". The problem is that colleges are spending too much money to function, never mind spending money to improve facilities for education. It stinks and I am one of those students that think that college is too much of a corporation rather than giving opportunities for an educational experience. It was inevitable considering how much students need to pay for just for the tuition rather than room and board.
In sad news, Doug Fieger, the lead singer and guitarist of the band the Knack, who performed the 1979 hit “My Sharona”, passed away yesterday. Fieger, 57, succumbed to lung cancer his family announced. "My Sharona" held Billboard's No. 1 song for six weeks in the summer of 1979. "Bruce Gary, the Knack’s original drummer, died in 2006". It's depressing news to me because I really enjoy that song. Now it is time for me to listen to more of their music, even though they never had another song that was as big as "My Sharona".
News travels fast. Because of the internet, everyone will sit down and read a headline and think they know the who story. Print news is definitely the way to go, even if they don't know how to charge online. There are too many people that I am acquainted to that don't read the news. I know reading the news is my obligation as a journalist, but it gets awfully boring if there is no one else to talk to about juicy news. Someday, the college kids will read the news, the question is how and when.
Monday, February 15, 2010
Dates, excitement and trades
First off as a baseball fanatic, I am stoked that pitchers and catchers report, starting on February 17th. The Red Sox pitchers and catchers report on February 18th. Team positional players report starting on February 22nd. We officially getting closer to Spring Training and I can not be more ecstatic.
I am surviving right now on the Olympics, which is hard to chose which events I want to watch. As of today, the United States is first in the medal count with six overall medals (one gold, two silvers and three bronzes), Germany has four medals following with France and Canada having three medals each and Korea is in fifth place with two (could have been tied in second if it wasn't for the slip in the speed skating race, which the U.S. ended up getting two medals instead of none). When I get a chance to catch them, it will be a good time.
The NBA All-Star game in Dallas was interesting from the five minutes I actually watched and 12 minutes I listened to. From what I saw, Dwight Howard of the Orlando Magic, hits a three point shot. It was a swish none of the less. I did not know he was capable of doing that. Of course there was about 10 ally-oop attempts, probably eight of them were converted. The final score was 141-139. Of course no defense, but there were dumb fouls. With the game dead-locked at 137, Deron Williams of the Utah Jazz, fouled All-Star game MVP Dwyane Wade with over 12 seconds left when they were over the team limit in fouls. Wade made both free throws to make it 139-137. Dirk Nowitzki of the Dallas Mavericks got fouled and made two free throws to tie the game at 139 a piece. On the ensuing possession for the Eastern All-Stars, Chris Bosh of the Toronto Raptors got fouled and made both free throws to make it 141-139. On the final possession, Carmelo Anthony attempted a three pointer for the win and was short. Last night's game held a record-setting attendance with 108,713 people.
A block-buster trade occurred in the NBA two days ago. The Dallas Mavericks and Washington Wizards made an agreement with a seven-player trade with the Mavericks acquiring Caron Butler, Brendan Haywood and DeShawn Stevenson and cash considerations from the Wizards in exchange for Josh Howard, Drew Gooden, James Singleton and Quinton Ross. Massive trade for both teams going the opposite directions. The Mavericks getting Butler is crucial for them because of his scoring ability and versitility. Haywood is a big improvement over Erick Dampier, who is aging and Haywood is more mobile and is better defensively. The trade for the Wizards is the beginning of their rebuilding process. I was surprised there were any takers considering Howard has a big contract, also he has underachieved since receiving his big pay day. Gooden once again moved to another team. It is surprising to me because getting a center who is a 12 point, 8 rebound a game guy is hard to come by these days. Now if the Wizards can trade Antawn Jamison, rebuilding can be at full blast.
I am surviving right now on the Olympics, which is hard to chose which events I want to watch. As of today, the United States is first in the medal count with six overall medals (one gold, two silvers and three bronzes), Germany has four medals following with France and Canada having three medals each and Korea is in fifth place with two (could have been tied in second if it wasn't for the slip in the speed skating race, which the U.S. ended up getting two medals instead of none). When I get a chance to catch them, it will be a good time.
The NBA All-Star game in Dallas was interesting from the five minutes I actually watched and 12 minutes I listened to. From what I saw, Dwight Howard of the Orlando Magic, hits a three point shot. It was a swish none of the less. I did not know he was capable of doing that. Of course there was about 10 ally-oop attempts, probably eight of them were converted. The final score was 141-139. Of course no defense, but there were dumb fouls. With the game dead-locked at 137, Deron Williams of the Utah Jazz, fouled All-Star game MVP Dwyane Wade with over 12 seconds left when they were over the team limit in fouls. Wade made both free throws to make it 139-137. Dirk Nowitzki of the Dallas Mavericks got fouled and made two free throws to tie the game at 139 a piece. On the ensuing possession for the Eastern All-Stars, Chris Bosh of the Toronto Raptors got fouled and made both free throws to make it 141-139. On the final possession, Carmelo Anthony attempted a three pointer for the win and was short. Last night's game held a record-setting attendance with 108,713 people.
A block-buster trade occurred in the NBA two days ago. The Dallas Mavericks and Washington Wizards made an agreement with a seven-player trade with the Mavericks acquiring Caron Butler, Brendan Haywood and DeShawn Stevenson and cash considerations from the Wizards in exchange for Josh Howard, Drew Gooden, James Singleton and Quinton Ross. Massive trade for both teams going the opposite directions. The Mavericks getting Butler is crucial for them because of his scoring ability and versitility. Haywood is a big improvement over Erick Dampier, who is aging and Haywood is more mobile and is better defensively. The trade for the Wizards is the beginning of their rebuilding process. I was surprised there were any takers considering Howard has a big contract, also he has underachieved since receiving his big pay day. Gooden once again moved to another team. It is surprising to me because getting a center who is a 12 point, 8 rebound a game guy is hard to come by these days. Now if the Wizards can trade Antawn Jamison, rebuilding can be at full blast.
Friday, February 12, 2010
Running out of gas already
Every time Friday arrives, the happier that I get. Even though I only have one class in the evening on Mondays and no classes on Wednesdays, I am still busy. I always have errands to do and work to be done. The bad thing is I haven't had a chance to search for jobs yet. Tuesdays and Thursdays are absolute killers and having a cold during those days made the days feel even longer. Either way, I am just toughing it out and still rolling along.
I do like being busy. It just makes the weekends more fun. During the weekdays, I feel like I have been seeing my friends less. I do love my classes equally. They are all so interesting and I don't consider it a chore to go to class and then do homework. I am also trying to write more stories for the school newspaper "The New Hampshire." It's good practice and I am going to need it if I am going to be the successful journalist I want to be.
Speaking of a news worthy topic, the UNH Student Senate is passing a resolution to recommends Smith Hall to be converted into an admissions building. "Whereas, the University has no additional resources to build a new building or renovate another and whereas, be it resolved by the Student Senate of the University of New Hampshire to recommend that Smith Hall be converted into the admissions and student services building." I am starting to realize what the "real world" is like. The boss has an idea, it eventually screws everyone over and there is nothing you can do about it. No one has a say, no one knows where they stand. If someone says something, that person gets canned. Gee, I'm looking forward to graduating, not.
The residents in Smith Hall are blind-sided once again. In December to last week, the Student Senate fought hard with Smith Hall to have the university administration to rescind their decision. Even though it didn't make a difference, the fact that the Student Senate to all of the sudden to change their minds and go along with it is spitting in our faces. We had a secret meeting with the Student Body president and vice-president in Smith Hall and discussed for over 90 minutes and we did not get anywhere. I expected them to say something about how converting Smith Hall into an admissions building is a good idea, that it is needed and it is good for the students. The Smith Hall Sen. Michael Sanchez, is devising a plan to impeach both the Student Body president and vice-president. The senate meeting about the resolution is on Sunday. It is planned to be a dogfight and I am looking forward to see it. Just when all of the residents at Smith Hall were finally starting to feel at peace about getting closed down, people at UNH put salt in our wounds again.
This is also a big weekend for sports fans because the start of the Winter Olympics and the NBA All-Star game weekend. We will see the best athletes of the world perform in the Olympics at Vancouver, Canada and the best players in the NBA make some crazy moves and awesome shots in Dallas, Texas. I may not be around to see all the coverage, but I will see as much as I can.
Each day I am at UNH, the happier that I am but yet sad at the same time. I really enjoy having a single because I don't feel like I am invading anyone's space and I have host my friends whenever I want. Speaking of friends, some of my friends from Massachusetts are coming up to visit me tomorrow. I am looking forward to it because I haven't seen them in a while and I want to show them around the school I am proud to be attending to. I do have a lot of homework to do, but I can hold it off for a little while to see my friends and have some fun.
I do like being busy. It just makes the weekends more fun. During the weekdays, I feel like I have been seeing my friends less. I do love my classes equally. They are all so interesting and I don't consider it a chore to go to class and then do homework. I am also trying to write more stories for the school newspaper "The New Hampshire." It's good practice and I am going to need it if I am going to be the successful journalist I want to be.
Speaking of a news worthy topic, the UNH Student Senate is passing a resolution to recommends Smith Hall to be converted into an admissions building. "Whereas, the University has no additional resources to build a new building or renovate another and whereas, be it resolved by the Student Senate of the University of New Hampshire to recommend that Smith Hall be converted into the admissions and student services building." I am starting to realize what the "real world" is like. The boss has an idea, it eventually screws everyone over and there is nothing you can do about it. No one has a say, no one knows where they stand. If someone says something, that person gets canned. Gee, I'm looking forward to graduating, not.
The residents in Smith Hall are blind-sided once again. In December to last week, the Student Senate fought hard with Smith Hall to have the university administration to rescind their decision. Even though it didn't make a difference, the fact that the Student Senate to all of the sudden to change their minds and go along with it is spitting in our faces. We had a secret meeting with the Student Body president and vice-president in Smith Hall and discussed for over 90 minutes and we did not get anywhere. I expected them to say something about how converting Smith Hall into an admissions building is a good idea, that it is needed and it is good for the students. The Smith Hall Sen. Michael Sanchez, is devising a plan to impeach both the Student Body president and vice-president. The senate meeting about the resolution is on Sunday. It is planned to be a dogfight and I am looking forward to see it. Just when all of the residents at Smith Hall were finally starting to feel at peace about getting closed down, people at UNH put salt in our wounds again.
This is also a big weekend for sports fans because the start of the Winter Olympics and the NBA All-Star game weekend. We will see the best athletes of the world perform in the Olympics at Vancouver, Canada and the best players in the NBA make some crazy moves and awesome shots in Dallas, Texas. I may not be around to see all the coverage, but I will see as much as I can.
Each day I am at UNH, the happier that I am but yet sad at the same time. I really enjoy having a single because I don't feel like I am invading anyone's space and I have host my friends whenever I want. Speaking of friends, some of my friends from Massachusetts are coming up to visit me tomorrow. I am looking forward to it because I haven't seen them in a while and I want to show them around the school I am proud to be attending to. I do have a lot of homework to do, but I can hold it off for a little while to see my friends and have some fun.
Wednesday, February 10, 2010
Snow, snow and Records
"Snowmageddon" happened in Maryland last weekend. The state got between 16"-32" of snow and are planning to get more of it. New York also got over 12" as well throughout the weekend and is also getting more snow. It looks like it is going to snow until tomorrow morning in Massachusetts and New Hampshire.
The snow around New England won't be as close to as bad as it was in Maryland. This is the fourth snow storm since 1870 that the state has had snow over 16". At one point, there were over 300,000 homes in the state that lost power for multiple days, which they were in danger to not be able to watch the Super Bowl. That would have stunk for them, but luckily, some of the viewers got their power back and watched the Super Bowl. In fact, this past Super Bowl was the most widely view program ever with over 106 million viewers, topping the final episode of M*A*S*H in 1983. There were people that were brave enough to get out of their houses to go see "Dear John," starring Channing Tatum and Amanda Seyfried, which had over 30 million viewers, beating the nine-time Oscar nominated film "Avatar" this past weekend. "Dear John" was also the most viewed movie during the Super Bowl weekend ever, another record.
Any way, I am getting really tired of this snow. New England has already had three or four snow storms. That is more than enough shoveling to me. Schools in Lynn and Beverly, Massachusetts closed most, if not all of their schools. Of course UNH (or should I say, University of No Holidays/No snow days had school in session. It appears that Durham, NH will get less than an inch of snow between now and 8 p.m. The good news is I don't have to shovel which I am at school. The plowmen at school have to do it. As lazy as it makes me feel, I did my share of house cleaning throughout winter break. Now it is my time to relax and read more pressing news.
Speaking of news, I feel like all they have been reporting recently is the Health Care bill that isn't going anywhere fast and how Haiti is still suffering, which will be for much longer. The Haitians are being sent to the southern parts of America like Atlanta and Florida. They better have their papers and green card good to go because they are not worth our American tax dollar to treat them. Yes a serious thing happened, but it is not our problem to save the world. Sorry if what I said was offensive, but that is how I feel.
As much as I love living in New England, getting snow for four to five months a year does get very aggravating. I'm tired of the shoveling, the icy driving, the slipping and falling. I know I sound like a baby, but it's true. You hate cold weather for three straight months, I love it, but I just hate snow for more than three snow storms, especially when my school doesn't cancel classes. I really want spring to come now. Although if we stayed tuned, there may be more random records broken until spring.
The snow around New England won't be as close to as bad as it was in Maryland. This is the fourth snow storm since 1870 that the state has had snow over 16". At one point, there were over 300,000 homes in the state that lost power for multiple days, which they were in danger to not be able to watch the Super Bowl. That would have stunk for them, but luckily, some of the viewers got their power back and watched the Super Bowl. In fact, this past Super Bowl was the most widely view program ever with over 106 million viewers, topping the final episode of M*A*S*H in 1983. There were people that were brave enough to get out of their houses to go see "Dear John," starring Channing Tatum and Amanda Seyfried, which had over 30 million viewers, beating the nine-time Oscar nominated film "Avatar" this past weekend. "Dear John" was also the most viewed movie during the Super Bowl weekend ever, another record.
Any way, I am getting really tired of this snow. New England has already had three or four snow storms. That is more than enough shoveling to me. Schools in Lynn and Beverly, Massachusetts closed most, if not all of their schools. Of course UNH (or should I say, University of No Holidays/No snow days had school in session. It appears that Durham, NH will get less than an inch of snow between now and 8 p.m. The good news is I don't have to shovel which I am at school. The plowmen at school have to do it. As lazy as it makes me feel, I did my share of house cleaning throughout winter break. Now it is my time to relax and read more pressing news.
Speaking of news, I feel like all they have been reporting recently is the Health Care bill that isn't going anywhere fast and how Haiti is still suffering, which will be for much longer. The Haitians are being sent to the southern parts of America like Atlanta and Florida. They better have their papers and green card good to go because they are not worth our American tax dollar to treat them. Yes a serious thing happened, but it is not our problem to save the world. Sorry if what I said was offensive, but that is how I feel.
As much as I love living in New England, getting snow for four to five months a year does get very aggravating. I'm tired of the shoveling, the icy driving, the slipping and falling. I know I sound like a baby, but it's true. You hate cold weather for three straight months, I love it, but I just hate snow for more than three snow storms, especially when my school doesn't cancel classes. I really want spring to come now. Although if we stayed tuned, there may be more random records broken until spring.
Sunday, February 7, 2010
The year of the Underdog is back
"Who dat, who dat, who dat say gonna beat dem Saints?" said Sean Payton, head coach of the New Orleans Saints when he was holding the Lombardi Trophy. Many football fans were pulling for the Saints, but did not believe they would actually win against the might Indianapolis Colts with their four-time MVP Quarterback, Peyton Manning leading the way. My mom was rooting for the Saints because she thought Saints quarterback Dree Brees is really handsome and has a beautiful family (I thought it was funny too, but he really does).
The Saints once again showed their grit, determination and resiliency to win this game. They overcame a deficit of at least seven points for the third consecutive game, this time they were down 10-0 after the first quarter. The Saints offense wasn't in rhythm in their first two possessions, but once they were down by 10, they started the engine and outscored the Colts 31-7 in the last three quarters of the match.
Despite the Colts' abysmal rushing offense, which is ranked 32nd in the NFL, their running game was surprising efficient (99 yards on 19 rushes). There were many times that they Colts were going to score a touchdown, but came out short due to big tips by the Saints defense, drops by the Colts receivers and bad passes. It did look like they had all of the momentum when the score was 10-3 and the defense made a goal line stop at the 3 yard line, but it did not last. The Colts went 3-and-out and the Saints scored a field goal on the ensuing drive to end the first half.
Then "The Who" played a splendid show at half time. After the amazing lights display and the authentic "The Who" performance, the Saints responded by a ballsy onside kick and recovered. No one saw it coming. It then led to a 16-yard touchdown reception by Saints running back, Pierre Thomas. The Colts took the lead with a touchdown run by running back Joseph Addai, but never recovered after.
There were two plays of the game that made the Saints a better football team. One of them was after the Jeremy Shockey touchdown reception, making it 22-17, they went for the two-point conversion. Brees throws a pass to wide receiver, Lance Moore, which he caught and then dropped it, making it an incompletion. Payton challenged the play and it was overturned, making it a one touchdown game, 24-17. The Colts were on the move again, but the drive was killed by Manning throwing an interception to Saints corner back, Tracy Porter, which he returned it 74 yards for the touchdown, making it 31-17 after the extra point, icing the game. After that, it was party time. After the win, it shows Brees engaging a relationship with his newborn son. Then he goes up to the podium to be named the Super Bowl MVP. Manning may have been the regular season MVP, but Brees was the Super Bowl MVP, which is way better.
If the Colts won, it would preserve Manning as the greatest quarterback of all time. All he needed was another Super Bowl win and he would be the best, but that title will be put on hold for a little while longer. He has just as many Super Bowl rings as Brett Farve, Drew Brees, Trent Dilfer, Brad Johnson, Doug Williams and several other Q.B.'s in history that have just one ring. Manning is behind Terry Bradshaw (4), Joe Montana (4), Tom Brady (3), Troy Aikman (3) Steve Young (3, one as a starter) and Earl Morrall (3, all as a back-up) in Super Bowl wins and has a long ways to go to catch any of them. You may have the numbers Manning, but just not enough rings. Better luck next year ole' chap.
When it comes to the Saints, I am extremely happy that they won. Not only were they an excellent football team, they gave the state of Louisiana a reason to cheer about. New Orleans hasn't had anything good going for them since the Saints loss to the Chicago Bears in the NFC Championship in 2007. It took a long time for them to be relevant again. I thought this team had guts, but this game brought this franchise to another level. Although, three of the last four years, the teams the reached the Super Bowl, at least one of them did not make the playoffs the year after, most recently last year's Super Bowl champs, the Pittsburgh Steelers. Can the Saints make it to the playoffs and do it again? We shall see.
The Saints once again showed their grit, determination and resiliency to win this game. They overcame a deficit of at least seven points for the third consecutive game, this time they were down 10-0 after the first quarter. The Saints offense wasn't in rhythm in their first two possessions, but once they were down by 10, they started the engine and outscored the Colts 31-7 in the last three quarters of the match.
Despite the Colts' abysmal rushing offense, which is ranked 32nd in the NFL, their running game was surprising efficient (99 yards on 19 rushes). There were many times that they Colts were going to score a touchdown, but came out short due to big tips by the Saints defense, drops by the Colts receivers and bad passes. It did look like they had all of the momentum when the score was 10-3 and the defense made a goal line stop at the 3 yard line, but it did not last. The Colts went 3-and-out and the Saints scored a field goal on the ensuing drive to end the first half.
Then "The Who" played a splendid show at half time. After the amazing lights display and the authentic "The Who" performance, the Saints responded by a ballsy onside kick and recovered. No one saw it coming. It then led to a 16-yard touchdown reception by Saints running back, Pierre Thomas. The Colts took the lead with a touchdown run by running back Joseph Addai, but never recovered after.
There were two plays of the game that made the Saints a better football team. One of them was after the Jeremy Shockey touchdown reception, making it 22-17, they went for the two-point conversion. Brees throws a pass to wide receiver, Lance Moore, which he caught and then dropped it, making it an incompletion. Payton challenged the play and it was overturned, making it a one touchdown game, 24-17. The Colts were on the move again, but the drive was killed by Manning throwing an interception to Saints corner back, Tracy Porter, which he returned it 74 yards for the touchdown, making it 31-17 after the extra point, icing the game. After that, it was party time. After the win, it shows Brees engaging a relationship with his newborn son. Then he goes up to the podium to be named the Super Bowl MVP. Manning may have been the regular season MVP, but Brees was the Super Bowl MVP, which is way better.
If the Colts won, it would preserve Manning as the greatest quarterback of all time. All he needed was another Super Bowl win and he would be the best, but that title will be put on hold for a little while longer. He has just as many Super Bowl rings as Brett Farve, Drew Brees, Trent Dilfer, Brad Johnson, Doug Williams and several other Q.B.'s in history that have just one ring. Manning is behind Terry Bradshaw (4), Joe Montana (4), Tom Brady (3), Troy Aikman (3) Steve Young (3, one as a starter) and Earl Morrall (3, all as a back-up) in Super Bowl wins and has a long ways to go to catch any of them. You may have the numbers Manning, but just not enough rings. Better luck next year ole' chap.
When it comes to the Saints, I am extremely happy that they won. Not only were they an excellent football team, they gave the state of Louisiana a reason to cheer about. New Orleans hasn't had anything good going for them since the Saints loss to the Chicago Bears in the NFC Championship in 2007. It took a long time for them to be relevant again. I thought this team had guts, but this game brought this franchise to another level. Although, three of the last four years, the teams the reached the Super Bowl, at least one of them did not make the playoffs the year after, most recently last year's Super Bowl champs, the Pittsburgh Steelers. Can the Saints make it to the playoffs and do it again? We shall see.
Friday, February 5, 2010
End of a busy week
Friday is here, which means the weekend has started. The monotonous week has finally ended and it is now time to relax and have some fun. The week is long because everything is back into swing.
I finally had all of my classes. I had Sports Writing on Monday and so far it is easily my favorite class. My instructor, David Cataneo, was a writer for the Boston Herald for 22 years. He covered all of the Boston sports teams, but mostly the Red Sox. It is ironic that he covered the Red Sox because he is a die-hard Yankees fan. He also talked about all of the important events that he covered, the World Series, NBA Finals, the Super Bowl, etc. He encouraged us to read the news other than sports because it makes you more aware of what is happening around you. What scares me about Sports Journalism is the small margin of error there is for journalists. If you miss a deadline, you're gone. If you mess up a name or a fact, you lost all of your credibility. You make up a story, you will never work as a journalist again. As nerve-wracking as it sounds, I will be up to the task.
Even though I was busy with classes, attended to events to work around my schedule. On Tuesday, on top of my four classes, I also went to the presentation of the UNH Strategic Plan from now to 2020. The plan is online in case anyone wants to read it. The main objectives in the plan were to globalize the university around the world. UNH is already well known around the world, but it wants to expand study abroad programs, which is very cool. The Paul Creative Arts Center will be renovated, a very much needed project. The football stadium and the gymnasium will also be redone. That is just part of what they want to do. Even though my time was waning, it was worth going to.
I actually started to do my homework on Wednesday, the first time I spent time doing homework since Sunday which is unlike me. I have been doing a little of homework each day ever since. Yesterday was the longest day of the week by far. I was out of my room from 10 a.m. to 9 p.m. I woke up, ate breakfast, read the "New York Times" and then went to class from 11:10-12:30. After class, I went to the library to do some homework and then ate lunch. After lunch, I went to my 2:10-3:30 class. I then changed into my gym clothes and went to the gym until 5. I walked from the gym to my class that ran from 5:10-6:30. After class, I picked up dinner from a cafe called Panache. I got my food and walked to the PCAC for the Martin Luther King Jr. Commemoration ceremony which started at 7 and then went back to my room.
The MLK Commemoration ceremony was really interesting. Even though there was not a lot of mention about Dr. King, there was still really powerful stories about how African-Americans got their freedom. Of course they talked about the story of Rosa Parks, which led to Dr. King's rising celebrity status. The key note speaker, Nikki Giovanni, who is a poet and activist was a very authentic black American. I could just tell that there has never been a subject in her life that she did not have something to say. She was witty, feisty and comical. Her speaking changed the environment in the room. When she finished, the audience wanted an encore, she was that good. The ceremony ended with this fantastic dance routine that celebrated black music. The way these dancers moved was intimidating and almost inhumane. It was a good way to end the event and got the people energized to start the rest of the night.
Earlier today, I had an interview with David Charette, director of the Intramural Sports. The story is about teams that sign up for a sport late and then forfeit their first game gets fined $20. This story could get the word out to the lazy people who screw their opponents over by not showing up. Charette was accommodating and cooperative, which made the interview that much easier. The deadline is on Monday at 1 p.m. After the interview, I worked out. I ran around the track for 1.5 miles, worked out with my biceps, triceps and forearms. After weight-lifting, I played a game of pick-up basketball. It was fun and got my frustration out on a long week.
This week may be a start of many longs weeks this semester. At least it will be fun. I love being productive, so this will be a walk in the park for me. Hopefully I don't get worn out by mid-semester or I am in trouble.
I finally had all of my classes. I had Sports Writing on Monday and so far it is easily my favorite class. My instructor, David Cataneo, was a writer for the Boston Herald for 22 years. He covered all of the Boston sports teams, but mostly the Red Sox. It is ironic that he covered the Red Sox because he is a die-hard Yankees fan. He also talked about all of the important events that he covered, the World Series, NBA Finals, the Super Bowl, etc. He encouraged us to read the news other than sports because it makes you more aware of what is happening around you. What scares me about Sports Journalism is the small margin of error there is for journalists. If you miss a deadline, you're gone. If you mess up a name or a fact, you lost all of your credibility. You make up a story, you will never work as a journalist again. As nerve-wracking as it sounds, I will be up to the task.
Even though I was busy with classes, attended to events to work around my schedule. On Tuesday, on top of my four classes, I also went to the presentation of the UNH Strategic Plan from now to 2020. The plan is online in case anyone wants to read it. The main objectives in the plan were to globalize the university around the world. UNH is already well known around the world, but it wants to expand study abroad programs, which is very cool. The Paul Creative Arts Center will be renovated, a very much needed project. The football stadium and the gymnasium will also be redone. That is just part of what they want to do. Even though my time was waning, it was worth going to.
I actually started to do my homework on Wednesday, the first time I spent time doing homework since Sunday which is unlike me. I have been doing a little of homework each day ever since. Yesterday was the longest day of the week by far. I was out of my room from 10 a.m. to 9 p.m. I woke up, ate breakfast, read the "New York Times" and then went to class from 11:10-12:30. After class, I went to the library to do some homework and then ate lunch. After lunch, I went to my 2:10-3:30 class. I then changed into my gym clothes and went to the gym until 5. I walked from the gym to my class that ran from 5:10-6:30. After class, I picked up dinner from a cafe called Panache. I got my food and walked to the PCAC for the Martin Luther King Jr. Commemoration ceremony which started at 7 and then went back to my room.
The MLK Commemoration ceremony was really interesting. Even though there was not a lot of mention about Dr. King, there was still really powerful stories about how African-Americans got their freedom. Of course they talked about the story of Rosa Parks, which led to Dr. King's rising celebrity status. The key note speaker, Nikki Giovanni, who is a poet and activist was a very authentic black American. I could just tell that there has never been a subject in her life that she did not have something to say. She was witty, feisty and comical. Her speaking changed the environment in the room. When she finished, the audience wanted an encore, she was that good. The ceremony ended with this fantastic dance routine that celebrated black music. The way these dancers moved was intimidating and almost inhumane. It was a good way to end the event and got the people energized to start the rest of the night.
Earlier today, I had an interview with David Charette, director of the Intramural Sports. The story is about teams that sign up for a sport late and then forfeit their first game gets fined $20. This story could get the word out to the lazy people who screw their opponents over by not showing up. Charette was accommodating and cooperative, which made the interview that much easier. The deadline is on Monday at 1 p.m. After the interview, I worked out. I ran around the track for 1.5 miles, worked out with my biceps, triceps and forearms. After weight-lifting, I played a game of pick-up basketball. It was fun and got my frustration out on a long week.
This week may be a start of many longs weeks this semester. At least it will be fun. I love being productive, so this will be a walk in the park for me. Hopefully I don't get worn out by mid-semester or I am in trouble.
Wednesday, February 3, 2010
The state of dorms at UNH
Durham-- I live in Smith Hall, the international dorm in the University of New Hampshire. This is my fourth year living here and each year I have lived there, I love it even more. But in December, UNH President Mark Huddleston and Mark Rubinstein, Interim Foundation President/Vice President for Advancement and university admissions made a decision to close Smith Hall and convert it into an admissions building to make room for a new business school, displacing the Smith Hall residents to Fairchild Hall effective in the fall. The students that reside in Fairchild have the right to move to the New England Center, which is a hotel and has several suites if they don't want to live in their current dorm next year.
It started out with an alumni Peter T. Paul, who challenged UNH to raise $25 million to build a new business school and Paul would then donate an additional $25 million. It was quiet a bluff and UNH went on with it. They would build the business school in Petee rd. and in Garrison ave. and then knock down Janetos, Grant admissions building, Schofeld and Hershey to make room. They will name the building the Peter T. Paul business school. UNH made the decision to close the dorm three weeks before it was announced. However, they wanted to make the announcement in the spring semester, but the news broke out prematurely.
There are 96 students that live in Smith Hall and they are extremely upset. There are about 130 students that live in Fairchild Hall and they are also extremely angry about before forced on being integrated into an international community, and rightly so. When the decision was made, Smith Hall residents believe that students have no voice on campus. You know what though, when a money-making corporation like college makes decisions like this, there are going to be several groups that are getting screwed and there will be no other voices. The ROTC program also does not have a place to train now either because of the current plan. UNH felt the only way that they can make this plan work is if they close the smallest dorm on campus and then move them to another dorm, everything will be hunkey dory. They were wrong to make that assumption.
Since the news broke, Smith Hall students have been planning to convince the admissions to reverse the decision, but they are not budging. In mid-December, Smith Hall had a silent protest outside of Thompson Hall. They put blue tape in their mouths implying that they have no voice on campus. It forced Huddleston to arrange a meeting with the student senate on February 14th, the day before Housing Registration opens.
Meanwhile, Smith Hall residents Cathleen Turner, Connor Hughes and Michael Sanchez have been actively attempting to give Smith Hall media coverage to put pressure on Huddleston and Rubinstein to reverse the decision.
How do I feel about this? I have been living at Smith for four years now and even though I am graduating after this semester, I worked very hard along with other people to make this dorm the way it is today. I don't think I would be the person I am today if it wasn't for the people I met in this dorm. They made me open my eyes to things around me including studying abroad in London. They have also influenced me to become active in the community. As much as I am tired of the complaining and moaning of the other Smith kids losing this dorm, I can understand why. All we do is pay our tuition and other expenses and learn about how money-making businesses make decisions. That is the way it is. Do I think this is a story? Absolutely. This affects many people on campus, never mind the two dorms. It affects other people, including foreign-language clubs who come to Smith for socials. I think this decision will be beneficial in the long run for the university, but no matter what moves they make, it will always hurt people. Business is business.
It started out with an alumni Peter T. Paul, who challenged UNH to raise $25 million to build a new business school and Paul would then donate an additional $25 million. It was quiet a bluff and UNH went on with it. They would build the business school in Petee rd. and in Garrison ave. and then knock down Janetos, Grant admissions building, Schofeld and Hershey to make room. They will name the building the Peter T. Paul business school. UNH made the decision to close the dorm three weeks before it was announced. However, they wanted to make the announcement in the spring semester, but the news broke out prematurely.
There are 96 students that live in Smith Hall and they are extremely upset. There are about 130 students that live in Fairchild Hall and they are also extremely angry about before forced on being integrated into an international community, and rightly so. When the decision was made, Smith Hall residents believe that students have no voice on campus. You know what though, when a money-making corporation like college makes decisions like this, there are going to be several groups that are getting screwed and there will be no other voices. The ROTC program also does not have a place to train now either because of the current plan. UNH felt the only way that they can make this plan work is if they close the smallest dorm on campus and then move them to another dorm, everything will be hunkey dory. They were wrong to make that assumption.
Since the news broke, Smith Hall students have been planning to convince the admissions to reverse the decision, but they are not budging. In mid-December, Smith Hall had a silent protest outside of Thompson Hall. They put blue tape in their mouths implying that they have no voice on campus. It forced Huddleston to arrange a meeting with the student senate on February 14th, the day before Housing Registration opens.
Meanwhile, Smith Hall residents Cathleen Turner, Connor Hughes and Michael Sanchez have been actively attempting to give Smith Hall media coverage to put pressure on Huddleston and Rubinstein to reverse the decision.
How do I feel about this? I have been living at Smith for four years now and even though I am graduating after this semester, I worked very hard along with other people to make this dorm the way it is today. I don't think I would be the person I am today if it wasn't for the people I met in this dorm. They made me open my eyes to things around me including studying abroad in London. They have also influenced me to become active in the community. As much as I am tired of the complaining and moaning of the other Smith kids losing this dorm, I can understand why. All we do is pay our tuition and other expenses and learn about how money-making businesses make decisions. That is the way it is. Do I think this is a story? Absolutely. This affects many people on campus, never mind the two dorms. It affects other people, including foreign-language clubs who come to Smith for socials. I think this decision will be beneficial in the long run for the university, but no matter what moves they make, it will always hurt people. Business is business.
Monday, February 1, 2010
The Boston Winter Teams need to wake Up
The year 2010 has not been a good start thus far for New England sports fans. The Patriots were 0-2 (including the playoffs) in January ending their season, the Bruins are 3-9-2 and the Celtics are 6-8. The most disappointing thing about it is each team had championship expectations coming into their seasons. They are either eliminated or are slumping badly.
It is so much harder to watch each game thinking they are going to win, but then lose in a heart breaker. The Celtics have lost two double digit leads to two quality teams (Magic and Lakers) and lost both of them on the last shot of the game. They also beat bad teams by four or six points when they should win those games by 15 or 20 points. Their offense is too inconsistent and their defense is playing like they are older by the minute. When they are on offense, they turn the ball over at a frightening rate (15.6 turnovers per game) and they are scoring at a mediocre 99.1 points per game, good for 17th in the NBA. At least they are 3rd in the NBA in field goal percentage with 48.3%. Their defense is good, but not a championship defense like it was two seasons ago. Their team rebound has been ghastly, good for 29th in the NBA with 38.82 and their differential is -0.93. That should not happen when you have three excellent rebounders in Kevin Garnett, Rasheed Wallace and Kendrick Perkins. It means that they are not putting enough effort in boxing out their opponents on a miss. At least their are in the top tier with steal differential with +1.51 and they are 1st in points allowed per game with 93.7. It is nice that they have some good numbers, but it is not helping their recently underachieving play as of late.
The Bruins have just lost the ability to score. Last year when the Bruins missed out on the share of the President's Trophy (most points in the league) by one point, they led the league with 274 goals scored and +76 goal differential. This year, they are dead last in goals scored with 130 goals and are in the bottom half in goal differential with -6. Their tough, rugged defense is still keeping them in the playoff hunt, but it is too difficult to play great defense every night when their offense can't find the net. Their offense is just too finesse. They never crash the net. They always take terrible shots and the opposing goaltenders make easy saves and improve their numbers due to crappy Bruins offensive performances. In the last 10 games, they are at a 1-7-2 clip, which is even more unacceptable. Their leading scorer is Patrice Bergeron with 33 points (12 goals and 21 assists) which is pathetic. Hendrik Sedin of the Vancouver Canucks has 78 points is the leading scorer in the NHL which is only 13 points less than their top three scorers put together, (Bergeron has 33 points Zdeno Chara and Blake Wheeler each have 29 points equals 91 points). Tim Thomas has not been the same this year. He has good numbers with a 2.50 goals against average and a .916 save percentage, but he has been pulled out in two of his last four starts which is scary.
You know how to stop poor play? Shaking it up by making a big trade. The NBA trade deadline is on February 19th and the the NHL trade deadline is on March 3rd. If I was the general manager for both teams, I would make blockbuster trades. For the Celtics, I would trade Ray Allen for Monta Ellis straight up. It would be a terrible trade for the Warriors, but entirely beneficial for the Celtics. Allen has been garbage in the last eight games and he needs to go. The Celtics badly need a spark on offense and I think Ellis is the guy. He drives to the basket and scores a ton of points. He's not a true defensive guy, but if he can buy into the system, he will be fine. The Bruins trade Marco Sturm, Blake Wheeler and Dennis Wideman for Ilya Kovalchuk. He is a bonafide scorer and he would actually be a good fit into their offense. Just imagine Mark Savard dribbling the puck behind the net, searching for the player in the slot. He waits and then dumps a pass to Kovalchuk and he scores. It would be the ultimate move and the Bruins would be relevant again.
New England fans like myself are hoping for a quick turnaround. We are tired of mediocrity. We had this title until the 2000's and the New England teams started to win again and would like to continue that. I am starting to lose patience now, but it is not over until the fat lady sings.
It is so much harder to watch each game thinking they are going to win, but then lose in a heart breaker. The Celtics have lost two double digit leads to two quality teams (Magic and Lakers) and lost both of them on the last shot of the game. They also beat bad teams by four or six points when they should win those games by 15 or 20 points. Their offense is too inconsistent and their defense is playing like they are older by the minute. When they are on offense, they turn the ball over at a frightening rate (15.6 turnovers per game) and they are scoring at a mediocre 99.1 points per game, good for 17th in the NBA. At least they are 3rd in the NBA in field goal percentage with 48.3%. Their defense is good, but not a championship defense like it was two seasons ago. Their team rebound has been ghastly, good for 29th in the NBA with 38.82 and their differential is -0.93. That should not happen when you have three excellent rebounders in Kevin Garnett, Rasheed Wallace and Kendrick Perkins. It means that they are not putting enough effort in boxing out their opponents on a miss. At least their are in the top tier with steal differential with +1.51 and they are 1st in points allowed per game with 93.7. It is nice that they have some good numbers, but it is not helping their recently underachieving play as of late.
The Bruins have just lost the ability to score. Last year when the Bruins missed out on the share of the President's Trophy (most points in the league) by one point, they led the league with 274 goals scored and +76 goal differential. This year, they are dead last in goals scored with 130 goals and are in the bottom half in goal differential with -6. Their tough, rugged defense is still keeping them in the playoff hunt, but it is too difficult to play great defense every night when their offense can't find the net. Their offense is just too finesse. They never crash the net. They always take terrible shots and the opposing goaltenders make easy saves and improve their numbers due to crappy Bruins offensive performances. In the last 10 games, they are at a 1-7-2 clip, which is even more unacceptable. Their leading scorer is Patrice Bergeron with 33 points (12 goals and 21 assists) which is pathetic. Hendrik Sedin of the Vancouver Canucks has 78 points is the leading scorer in the NHL which is only 13 points less than their top three scorers put together, (Bergeron has 33 points Zdeno Chara and Blake Wheeler each have 29 points equals 91 points). Tim Thomas has not been the same this year. He has good numbers with a 2.50 goals against average and a .916 save percentage, but he has been pulled out in two of his last four starts which is scary.
You know how to stop poor play? Shaking it up by making a big trade. The NBA trade deadline is on February 19th and the the NHL trade deadline is on March 3rd. If I was the general manager for both teams, I would make blockbuster trades. For the Celtics, I would trade Ray Allen for Monta Ellis straight up. It would be a terrible trade for the Warriors, but entirely beneficial for the Celtics. Allen has been garbage in the last eight games and he needs to go. The Celtics badly need a spark on offense and I think Ellis is the guy. He drives to the basket and scores a ton of points. He's not a true defensive guy, but if he can buy into the system, he will be fine. The Bruins trade Marco Sturm, Blake Wheeler and Dennis Wideman for Ilya Kovalchuk. He is a bonafide scorer and he would actually be a good fit into their offense. Just imagine Mark Savard dribbling the puck behind the net, searching for the player in the slot. He waits and then dumps a pass to Kovalchuk and he scores. It would be the ultimate move and the Bruins would be relevant again.
New England fans like myself are hoping for a quick turnaround. We are tired of mediocrity. We had this title until the 2000's and the New England teams started to win again and would like to continue that. I am starting to lose patience now, but it is not over until the fat lady sings.
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