February 2010
22 posts
January 2010
48 posts
WatchMagic-Hawks Footage
Magic>Hawks - 104-86 Magic Victory
Orlando has beaten Atlanta six straight times. The average margin of victory is 18.5 points.
- Matthew G. Frias
The Current State of the Domestic Economy
Magic-Celtics: A Magical Win (in photos)
*** Courtesy of Associated Press photography, ESPN.com, and Orlando Magic Daily***
What an epic come-from-behind win… Resiliency definitely personifies this ballclub.
Check out this epic warmup pic of Superman:
When healthy, Nelson is definitely the better of the two.
Check out this amazing vantage point:
(For those who follow the NBA and pop culture, Ray “Jesus...
UPenn's PSCI Department Analysis on Obama's First... →
The Obama Presidency: Assessing Year One
Political Science faculty consider the accomplishments of the Obama administration one year after a history-making election.
Regardless of their positions on the political spectrum, Obama observers can probably agree on one thing: this is not an easy time to hold the office of President. To mark the anniversary of Obama’s election, members of the...
WatchPresident Obama delivered an urgent plea for unity on Wednesday night during his first State of the Union address, seeking to recapture the energy that propelled him into office and to reverse his party’s trajectory after a series of recent setbacks.
A year after entering the White House with a broad mandate, Obama reframed his agenda around a single, central mission: continuing the...
State of the Union Analysis - by Politico
Reality check: Obama gropes for a strategy By: John F. Harris January 28, 2010 02:22 AM EST
President Barack Obama on Wednesday night tacked to the right with appeals for tax cuts for small business and new investments in off-shore oil drilling and nuclear power. He tacked to the left with renewed vows to let gays serve in the military and to get U.S. troops out of Iraq. He sounded at...
Pinehurst Country Club and Resort →
Eight renowned golf courses. The Championship Pinehurst No. 2 experience. A Top 100-ranked Golf Academy.
All at a location so revered, so storied and so incredible that it continues to make history every day.
The 1936 PGA Championship - The 1951 Ryder Cup Matches - The 1962 and 2008 U.S. Amateur Championships - The World Open - The 1989 U.S. Women’s Amateur Championship - The 1991-92...
One Day...
I will eventually play Pinehurst Country Club’s Course #2…
Celebrating 100 years of championship golf, the legacy of Pinehurst No. 2 continues. It is a challenge not because of its length, topography, unruly routing, water features or green size - but because of the combination of factors that have made thousands laugh and cry at the same time. Crowned greens. Carefully placed...
Word of the Day
Parsimony - excessively unwilling to spend
Synonyms:
frugal-to-excess
penurious
stingy
niggardly
Wall Street Update
Obama Moves to Restrict Banks
WASHINGTON—President Barack Obama proposed Thursday new rules designed to restrict the size and activities of the U.S.’s biggest banks, the latest in a series of administration moves to curb Wall Street.
The White House wants commercial banks that take deposits from customers to be barred from investing on behalf of the bank itself—what’s known as...
11 of the Best New Foods for 2010
(This post was originally published on June 30, 2008, and recently appeared on The New York Times’s list of most-viewed stories for 2009.)
Nutritionist and author Jonny Bowden has created several lists of healthful foods people should be eating but aren’t. But some of his favorites, like purslane, guava and goji berries, aren’t always available at regular grocery stores. I asked Dr. Bowden,...
"Everything I do I San Diego CHARGE!!!"
- Quote from Lil’ Wayne sampled from one of his recent mixtapes
*** I just want to highlight (of course, with ESPN’s assistance) a certain Charger who I am pulling for this weekend. ***
New York Jets cornerback Darrelle Revis might want to take note of the lesson that then-San Diego Chargers receivers coach James Lofton learned a few years ago.
During the 2006 season, Chargers...
For the Fellas
Faces to watch for in 2010:
Anna Kendrick:
Erin Burnett of CNBC fame:
Carey Mulligan:
Songstress Esmeé Denters:
AnnaLynn McCord:
Freida Pinto:
Insightful Op-Ed NYT Pieces
The Underlying Tragedy
By DAVID BROOKS
On Oct. 17, 1989, a major earthquake with a magnitude of 7.0 struck the Bay Area in Northern California. Sixty-three people were killed. This week, a major earthquake, also measuring a magnitude of 7.0, struck near Port-au-Prince, Haiti. The Red Cross estimates that between 45,000 and 50,000 people have died.
This is not a natural disaster story. This is...
Scribbled by Professor Hollinger of ESPN.com
Projected record from today to end of season*
East Wins Losses West Wins Losses Cleveland 31 11 San Antonio 28 17 Boston 30 15 Utah 27 17 Atlanta 28 16 Phoenix 26 17 Orlando 27 16 L.A. Lakers 25 18 Charlotte 25 21 Dallas 25 19 Miami 25 21 Oklahoma City 25 19 Toronto 23 20 Denver 24 19 New York...
Scribbled by NYTimes
“Doctors and nutritionists say that people who eat a normal diet generally don’t need nutritional supplements, even if they exercise vigorously. But among the subset of people who already eat healthfully and want to bulk up in the gym, some supplements, when taken in sensible doses, can provide a lift.
For instance, whey protein and creatine, which are meant to add bulk to muscles and...
Penn's Response to the January 2010 Haitian...
Penn’s Response to the Earthquake in Haiti
“Message from the President
Reports coming out of Haiti are shedding distressing light on the massive destruction and human suffering caused by the earthquake that hit the island nation Tuesday. At Penn, our thoughts are with those who have lost loved ones in this tragic occurrence, as well as those who are anxiously awaiting news about...
Help Ameliorate the Effects of the Haitian... →
*** Main ways to donate ***
American Red Cross
Americares
B’nai B’rith International
CARE
Catholic Charities USA
Doctors Without Borders
Operation Blessing
Operation USA
Oxfam
Salvation Army
UNICEF
World Food Programme
About 3 million people — one-third of Haiti’s population — were affected by the quake, the Red Cross said. About 10 million people felt...
Comedic Quote of the Day
Gonna find my baby, gonna hold her tight
Gonna grab some afternoon delight.
My motto’s always been “When it’s right, it’s right.”
Why wait until the middle of a cold dark night?
When everything’s a little clearer in the light of day.
And you know the night is always gonna be there anyway.
Sky rockets in flight.
Afternoon delight.
Afternoon delight.
Superman: Soars above, Swats enemies, and......
Dwight Howard had 30 points and 16 rebounds, and the Orlando Magic used a big run to open the fourth quarter and beat the Sacramento Kings 109-88 on Tuesday night.
Not only that, but D-12’s complete statistical stat line:
30 pts, 16 boards, 5 assists, 3 steals, and the obligatory 3 blocks…
Howard scored a season-high 30 points and grabbed 16 rebounds to lead a fourth-quarter...
Back in the Illadelph
Here I am folks, back in the city of Brotherly Love…
Back at the University of Pennsylvania.
“The University of Pennsylvania (commonly referred to as Penn or UPenn) is a private research university located in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA. Penn is the fourth-oldest institution of higher education[7] in the United States, and is one of several institutions that claims to have...
Introspection
The following is a nice prayer forwarded to me by Penn’s university chaplain:
Holy Father,
God of our yesterdays, our today, and our tomorrows.
We praise You for Your unequaled greatness.
Thank You for the year behind us and for the year ahead.
Help us in Your new year, Father, to fret less and laugh more.
To teach others to love by loving them.
Knowing, when Love came to the...
F%^& You, Nick Saban... →
A fantastic collection of avoided, and ultimately embarrassing, answers by those involved with professional sports….
Created by the ESPN geniuses.
Krugman's Latest
“It’s true that the U.S. economy has grown faster than that of Europe for the past generation. Since 1980 — when our politics took a sharp turn to the right, while Europe’s didn’t — America’s real G.D.P. has grown, on average, 3 percent per year. Meanwhile, the E.U. 15 — the bloc of 15 countries that were members of the European Union before it was enlarged to include a number of former...
Impetuous and Populist Washington
Reviewing bad idea #1:
“In an understandable panic brought on by their collective concern that the rapid demise of Bear Stearns would rupture confidence in the global capital-markets system — since Bear was a counterparty on many thousands of trades the world over — they decided to have the Fed provide a $30 billion line of credit to the firm (using JPMorgan Chase as a conduit since Bear...
In Homage to Florida. CHOMP!
The soldiers we will lose to the NFL next season…
QB- Tim Tebow WR- Riley Cooper WR- David Nelson TE- Aaron Hernandez C- Markice Pouncey
DE- Carlos Dunlap DE- Jermaine Cunningham LB- Brandon Spikes LB- Ryan Stamper CB- Joe Haden FS- Major Wright
Don’t forget the UF Commander:
URBAN MEYER
(Currently on extended leave from the UF Football Operations)
In January 1st’s UF...
A Few Favorite Clichés
A cliché is a saying, expression, idea, or element of an artistic work which has been overused to the point of losing its original meaning or effect rendering it a stereotype, especially when at some earlier time it was considered meaningful or novel. The term is frequently used in modern culture for an action or idea which is expected or predictable, based on a prior event. It is likely to be...
Krugman on Financial Reform
Op-Ed Columnist
Bubbles and the Banks
By PAUL KRUGMAN
Health care reform is almost (knock on wood) a done deal. Next up: fixing the financial system. I’ll be writing a lot about financial reform in the weeks ahead. Let me begin by asking a basic question: What should reformers try to accomplish?
A lot of the public debate has been about protecting borrowers. Indeed, a new Consumer Financial...
Scribbled by Professor Krugman →
Some wonder how to learn about politics….
I recommend 3 basic pieces of advice:
Trust your instincts and take a position. That being said, it is important research on your position and stay open-minded. It’s impossible to find a party/voting coalition/ideology that has the proverbial “right answer” to national matters of controversy. However, it is most crucial to observe...
Thoughts on Current Events →
thoughts
confirmation bias
hindsight bias
stereotypes
Even before they arrive on campus, students — and their parents — are increasingly focused on what comes after college. What’s the return on investment, especially as the cost of that investment keeps rising? How will that major translate into a job?
In one recent survey, two-thirds of public institutions said they were responding to...
A la Game 3 of the Finals
The Magic-Bucks game, which I have repeatedly mentioned in this blog (which is basketball-centric, but of course will not be limited to NBA content, especially as my second semester begins) reminded me of Game 3 of the NBA Finals, as the Magic broke several records in the first half with regard to shooting percentages. They were unstoppable offensively then, shooting over 68% from the field in...
Revisiting the Magic-Bucks Game
Scribbled by Zach McCann from TrueHoop’s Orlando Magic Daily blog:
The Magic made 78% of their shots from the field in the second half… What was most impressive was how the Magicians made 9-12 from 3-point distance.
News and Notes from ESPN on the Magic:
Jameer Nelson was one of three Orlando players to score at least 20 in that win, but he’s averaged 7.3 points since...
My Favorite Professional Sporting Event
The NBA’s annual All-Star game is by far my favorite (team sport) event of the year. Derided as the “black man’s Super Bowl,” the game (and its associated All-Star weekend) has been diluted over the years with shoddy point-guard play, selfishness, and (at times) wrong selection of players…
I understand that the fans pick who they want to see (start), and the coaches...
The "True" MVPs of 2009
First-Team Starlets of 2009:
Taylor Swift/Faith Hill Jr.
January Jones/ Ms. Betty Draper
Leighton Meester/Minka Kelly Version 2.0
Kathryn McCormick/Underrated and Supertalented Reality T.V. Star of 2009
Blake Lively/soon-to-be Blake Lively Frias
(she dumped that ‘Gossip Girl’ co-star of hers and eloped with me)
6th man/woman
Emily Blunt aka the hot bitch in the...
Scribbled by ESPN on NBA Part I
On the best player of the decade:
1. Tim Duncan
Perhaps the unsexiest superstar in league history, Duncan proved monotonously, predictably, devastatingly effective while earning two MVPs, three championships, seven first-team All-NBA selections, seven first-team All-Defense nods, and seven top-5 MVP finishes. He won at least 53 games every year of the decade, and no player this decade won a title...
Scribbled by ESPN on the NBA pt. II
Funny blurbs about the NBA’s past activity in the ’00s:
Here is our all-decade underachiever team - more info below: All-NBA First Team C Rasheed Wallace F Tim Thomas F Lamar Odom G Baron Davis (MVP) G Stephon Marbury Team: Dallas Mavericks
STEPHON MARBURY, Guard On one hand, I’m not completely sold that Stephon Marbury was a Hall-of-Fame talent. On the other, I think that you...
