Philadelphia Eagles Potential Free Agency Targets
As an avid reader of every rumor mill, gossip and insider website known to man, it never ceases to amaze me how little you hear about the plans of the Philadelphia Eagles during the off-season. Whether it be prospective free agents or which direction the Birds are leading in the draft, nary a whisper can be heard emanating from the Nova Care Complex.
I say kudos to the Eagles for that. Jeff Lurie, Joe Banner, Tom Heckert and Andy Reid
clearly have that place sealed up tighter than Area 51. Obviously, the Eagles have
plans, and big ones I would hope, coming off of last years 6-10 debacle. The Birds
know they have lots of holes to fill, and fill them they must. But it always amazes me
how you know every piece of dirty laundry in some organizations, while the Eagles
continue to keep everything out of the public eye.
For example, the Birds signing of DE Jevon Kearse following the 2004 season came as a complete and total surprise to everyone in the NFL. No one had any idea that the Eagles had targeted Kearse as their main get that off-season. Once free agency
had begun and The Freak became available, the Birds pounced and got their man.
So while I had been a little concerned that there were no whispers coming out of
Eagles camp until today, I took comfort in the fact that the Eagles operated behind a
heavy curtain. I agree with their philosophy dont let anyone else know what
youre thinking. Its just smart business.
However, because the Eagles have been so reluctant to give Eagles fans a hint at
how theyre thinking, they leave it up to us to speculate. So, with that said, here are
some possible positions and players the Eagles could/should have their eyes on
once free agency officially begins on March 3.
OFFENSIVE LINE:
First of all, forget about Seattle OL Steve Hutchinson. Hes not going anywhere.
Seattle applied the franchise tag to him on Thursday, meaning the Seahawks can
match any offer Hutchinson brings back to them. While the Hawks do have other
needs to attend to, they know they cant afford to let the leagues best offensive
guards get away. It would take a monumental offer to pry Hutchinson away from
Seattle, and I doubt the Birds would pony up that kind of dough. However, if Seattle
does decide that they cant resign Hutchinson, expect him to be #1 on the Eagles
offseason radar.
Detroit OT Jeff Backus would have been another solid choice for the Birds, but he
was franchised by the Lions and isnt going anywhere. The best offensive lineman
left after Hutchinson and Backus is most likely Jacksonville guard Vince Manuwai.
Most think he has the potential to become one of the leagues best offensive guards,
and at 25, should be hitting his peak. If the Eagles are going to go after offensive
line help in free agency, Manuwai will most likely be their best option.
Of course, the Eagles also have a big decision to make with their own right tackle
behemoth, John Runyan. Hes an unrestricted free agent, and, based on media
reports, the Eagles are willing to wait and see what kind of offers Runyan brings
back from other teams before making him an offer. If the goal is to improve the
offensive line for next season, I think the Eagles have to bring Runyan back in
addition to adding another quality offensive lineman. However, this is the Eagles M-
O when it comes to letting go of veteran players. Hes 32 right now, and Im sure
the Eagles think is on the downside of his career. Look for him to wind up in Buffalo
with the Eagles former GM Tom Modrak.
Should Hutchinson and Manuwai both be unavailable, other options include Kevin
Shaffer from Atlanta or Denvers Matt Lepsis. Dont be surprised if the Eagles
address this need in the draft as well.
WIDE RECEIVER:
Reports in Fridays Philadelphia Daily News says the Eagles are extremely interested
in Pittsburg WR/KR Antwaan Randle-El, whose play-making ability in the playoffs
was a major reason the Steelers won Super Bowl XL. With Reggie Wayne re-signing
with Indy, Most people see Randle-El as the best or second-best WR available in free
agency. While I dont think hes got the ability to be a #1 receiver, he has shown a
lot as a downfield receiver, kick returner and all-around play-maker which could
make the Eagles very interested in his services. He also has spent a lot of time with
Donovan McNabb in the off-season training in Arizona. The Eagles will probably
have to challenge the Bears for Randle-Els services, but dont expect the Birds to
get into a bidding war over him. Randle-El is young, 26, but is probably not the go-
to receiver that Eagles fans would want.
An intriguing name that is not as of yet a free agent is Buffalo wideout Eric Moulds.
Most people seem to think that the Bills are going to cut Moulds, and if that
happens, the Eagles could be very interested. He has the size and pedigree to be a
#1 receiver and could be a perfect match for Andy Reids west-coast offense.
However, hes getting up there in age, 32, which could be a red flag for the Eagles.
However, his numbers last year were very respectable (81, 816, 4TD), and would
have been better if he didnt have Kelly Holcombe and J.P. Losman chucking him the
rock. Moulds would be my choice.
Some other names: New Englands David Givens, Clevelands Antonio Bryant, and
restricted free agent Brandon Lloyd, who is most likely the single most talented
receiver in free agency. However, because hes restricted, the Eagles would have to
give up draft picks to get him. And we all know the Eagles protect their draft picks
like stock in Google.
LINEBACKER:
The list begins and ends with San Franciscos All-Pro LB Julian Peterson. Many were
surprised with the 49ers didnt franchise or transition the five-year pro. The Eagles
have a desperate need for a play-maker at either strong-side or weak-side
linebacker, and Peterson can play in either spot. He would be a perfect compliment
to MLB Jeremiah Trotter, but would likely cost the Birds a pretty penny, and the
Eagles have never put a financial premium on the outside linebacker position.
However, last years crap-fest on defense has hopefully stirred the Eagles into being
more open to a playmaker on the outside.
If Peterson turns out to be too expensive, Carolinas Will Witherspoon is another
extremely attractive option. Only a four-year pro, Witherspoon is a bit undersized,
but has the ability to both play the run and cover tight ends out of the backfield.
Other possibilities include Jacksonvilles Akin Ayodele and Indys David Thornton.
DEFENSIVE END:
Talk about a need position perhaps if the Birds hadnt foolishly thrown away
Derrick Burgess last off-season they wouldnt have this need. However, they
desperately need another playmaker opposite Jevon Kearse, because Kearse is
clearly not good enough to beat double-teams on his own. The best DE on the
market is the Jets John Abraham, however he was franchised by New York in an
effort to trade him. Reports have the Eagles interested in possibly trading for the
six-year man, which would be a stretch to believe, seeing as how theyd have to
give up wait for it draft picks!!! But hes the best defensive end on the market.
If Abraham isnt doable, New Orleans Darren Howard is an excellent alternative. In
fact, many people believe Howard would be a better pick-up than Abraham, even
though he had a down year and missed some time due to injury. Howard would be
cheaper and has a ton of potential.
Other possibilities include Indys Robert Mathis, Green Bays Aaron Kampman and
Indys Raheem Brock. There are plenty of quality defensive ends available in free
agency, and dont be surprised if the Eagles pay to get a good one.
DEFENSIVE TACKLE:
Theres not a whole lot here, with the exception of Seattles Rocky Bernard, who had
a tremendous season in 2005, totalling 8 sacks, a great number from the tackle
position. He would be a fantastic pick-up for a defensive line that struggled to rush
the passer and get pressure inside all season long. Putting Bernard on that offensive
line next to Mike Patterson could make the Birds extremely dangerous on defense.
Arizonas Russell Davis and Clevelands Orpheus Roye are other possibilities for the
Birds to consider.
Obviously, the Eagles are not going to be able to fill all their needs in free agency.
The only position I feel the Eagles have to address in free agency and not in the
draft is wide receiver. The Eagles offense is too complex for a rookie wide receiver
to come in and grasp right away, just ask Reggie Brown and Freddie Mitchell.
And while the Eagles do have a ton of money under the cap, there isnt enough
money in the coffers to fill all these needs in free agency. But dont be surprised to
hear some of these players names mentioned come March 3, even though the
Eagles lock down their secrets in a vault more secure than Fort Knox.
The Birds have a lot of holes to fill, and the magic all begins next Friday.
Monday, April 30, 2007
Matthew McConaughey: Two for The Money
Are you addicted to gambling? Is sports betting legal? Sports betting is big business on the internet and there are more gambling websites than ever! Walter Abrams(Al Pacino) and Brandon Lang(Matthew McConaughey) give you a sneak peak into the secret world of sports betting.
Imagine yourself, getting ready to put down a thousand dollars on the team picked to win! The game starts and you can feel the energy as your heart starts to beat faster. You know that thousand could turn into ten thousand! Your hands start to sweat and you feel the rush!
At this point, you know that everything is riding on your team to win. You owe some people a ton of money and the bills are stacking up, but you just can't stop, you know deep inside you have a winner.
Does this sound familiar? Who doesn't like the feeling of winning! Winning a little feels good, but winning an avalanche of cash is an all time high. You feel the draw and pull in your heart to be on top, no matter what the cost. You remember what it was like to win and how everyone around you cheered!
Matthew McConaughey seems to have the odds against him once his leg is injured in a college game. The injury stopped his dreams of going professional and hitting the big time. Years pass by, while he is predicting with crystal ball precision, winning sports scores for a small time 900 number company. Then one day he gets a call from Walter Abrams(Al Pacino) that changes his life.
Matthew McConaughey ends up in the New York fast lane, under the tutelage of sports betting power house Walter Abrams(Al Pacino). Matthew McConaughey consistently picks winners like a machine and becomes the Million Dollar Man.
Hold on to your blood pressure pills, because your adrenaline level will shoot through the roof watching this movie. You will be on edge as you watch Matthew McConaughey rise to the top and then go to the bottom. Do you think he will recover? The answer comes down to flipping a coin and the thrills in this movie give you a roller coaster ride from hell.
You are in the pressure cooker and you are pushing your limits. Your team had better win and your putting all your trust in the world's ultimate gambling power player. Matthew McConaughey and Al Pacino deliver a world class performance. I bet Pete Rose is watching this movie with his fists clenched and hopefully no handcuffs.
How do internet sportsbooks avoid breaking the US law? Apparently, most are located offshore in foreign countries and also house their computer servers there. You can bet someone is making a fortune. Two for The Money is a winner!
If you love the thrill of sports betting, I bet you will love this movie!
Are you addicted to gambling? Is sports betting legal? Sports betting is big business on the internet and there are more gambling websites than ever! Walter Abrams(Al Pacino) and Brandon Lang(Matthew McConaughey) give you a sneak peak into the secret world of sports betting.
Imagine yourself, getting ready to put down a thousand dollars on the team picked to win! The game starts and you can feel the energy as your heart starts to beat faster. You know that thousand could turn into ten thousand! Your hands start to sweat and you feel the rush!
At this point, you know that everything is riding on your team to win. You owe some people a ton of money and the bills are stacking up, but you just can't stop, you know deep inside you have a winner.
Does this sound familiar? Who doesn't like the feeling of winning! Winning a little feels good, but winning an avalanche of cash is an all time high. You feel the draw and pull in your heart to be on top, no matter what the cost. You remember what it was like to win and how everyone around you cheered!
Matthew McConaughey seems to have the odds against him once his leg is injured in a college game. The injury stopped his dreams of going professional and hitting the big time. Years pass by, while he is predicting with crystal ball precision, winning sports scores for a small time 900 number company. Then one day he gets a call from Walter Abrams(Al Pacino) that changes his life.
Matthew McConaughey ends up in the New York fast lane, under the tutelage of sports betting power house Walter Abrams(Al Pacino). Matthew McConaughey consistently picks winners like a machine and becomes the Million Dollar Man.
Hold on to your blood pressure pills, because your adrenaline level will shoot through the roof watching this movie. You will be on edge as you watch Matthew McConaughey rise to the top and then go to the bottom. Do you think he will recover? The answer comes down to flipping a coin and the thrills in this movie give you a roller coaster ride from hell.
You are in the pressure cooker and you are pushing your limits. Your team had better win and your putting all your trust in the world's ultimate gambling power player. Matthew McConaughey and Al Pacino deliver a world class performance. I bet Pete Rose is watching this movie with his fists clenched and hopefully no handcuffs.
How do internet sportsbooks avoid breaking the US law? Apparently, most are located offshore in foreign countries and also house their computer servers there. You can bet someone is making a fortune. Two for The Money is a winner!
If you love the thrill of sports betting, I bet you will love this movie!
Sunday, April 29, 2007
How Can You Use Blogs To Increase Traffic?
I am conducting my 1st customer appreciation webcast and asked my subscribers list what is their most pressing question they have about blogs and rss.
Here's one of the questions I have:
How can you use blogs to incease traffic?
Blogs can increase traffic through the following:
1. If your blog has valuable content, this will attract readers to your blog who will visit again
Most people who perform searches using search engines are actually looking for information, for solutions. The more helpful and relevant content you have, the easier it is for you to attract visitors and also to turn them into loyal readers and subscribers.
2. With a Blog, you can submit to the many Blog directories that exist online.
By submitting to the many blog directories in the proper category, you can expand your reach to targeted subscribers or readers who wants to read your posting on your area of specialisation.
3. Blogs promote relationship building and trust with your readers, as it allows you to interact with them. Your readers can refer a friend and imagine the traffic power that can be generated if each one of your reader make a referral.
For example, if you have 500 readers and each one makes a referral, that will be an additional 500 new subscribers, giving you a total of 1,000 subscribers/readers.
4. By attracting search engine 'bot's to visit the site more often
All search engines have a program known as a 'search engine bot' which basically 'spiders' or searches web sites and bring back the results they have to the search engines.
And 'search engine bots' love content, especially pages with related keywords.
The more frequent you update your pages, the more frequent that search engines
A Blog is actually a content management system. If that sounds too technical, a Blog is a push-button publishing system.
There is no uploading of pages to web host accounts, unlike web pages
For example, with Blogger, you just set up a free account, write what you want, and press "publish".
Your Blog posting will be instantly published and is automatically hosted for you. The hosting is also free by the way.
5. Blogs can be easily turned into an RSS Feed, for syndication.
With RSS Feeds, your Blog contents can be published by other websites that pulls RSS Feeds based on targeted keywords or content automatically.
By turning your Blog into an RSS Feed, you can also submit to the many RSS directories out there, again expanding your reach you otherwise will not have with a normal web site
6. You can add "podcasts" or "videocasts" to your Blog, and reach out to even more people, Audio learners especially "Ipodders", people who own Apple Ipod and likes to download audio from the Internet and listen; as well as Visual learners.
Brandon
brandon(at)brandon-hong.com
http://www.marketing-rampage-with-blogs-and-rss.com
I am conducting my 1st customer appreciation webcast and asked my subscribers list what is their most pressing question they have about blogs and rss.
Here's one of the questions I have:
How can you use blogs to incease traffic?
Blogs can increase traffic through the following:
1. If your blog has valuable content, this will attract readers to your blog who will visit again
Most people who perform searches using search engines are actually looking for information, for solutions. The more helpful and relevant content you have, the easier it is for you to attract visitors and also to turn them into loyal readers and subscribers.
2. With a Blog, you can submit to the many Blog directories that exist online.
By submitting to the many blog directories in the proper category, you can expand your reach to targeted subscribers or readers who wants to read your posting on your area of specialisation.
3. Blogs promote relationship building and trust with your readers, as it allows you to interact with them. Your readers can refer a friend and imagine the traffic power that can be generated if each one of your reader make a referral.
For example, if you have 500 readers and each one makes a referral, that will be an additional 500 new subscribers, giving you a total of 1,000 subscribers/readers.
4. By attracting search engine 'bot's to visit the site more often
All search engines have a program known as a 'search engine bot' which basically 'spiders' or searches web sites and bring back the results they have to the search engines.
And 'search engine bots' love content, especially pages with related keywords.
The more frequent you update your pages, the more frequent that search engines
A Blog is actually a content management system. If that sounds too technical, a Blog is a push-button publishing system.
There is no uploading of pages to web host accounts, unlike web pages
For example, with Blogger, you just set up a free account, write what you want, and press "publish".
Your Blog posting will be instantly published and is automatically hosted for you. The hosting is also free by the way.
5. Blogs can be easily turned into an RSS Feed, for syndication.
With RSS Feeds, your Blog contents can be published by other websites that pulls RSS Feeds based on targeted keywords or content automatically.
By turning your Blog into an RSS Feed, you can also submit to the many RSS directories out there, again expanding your reach you otherwise will not have with a normal web site
6. You can add "podcasts" or "videocasts" to your Blog, and reach out to even more people, Audio learners especially "Ipodders", people who own Apple Ipod and likes to download audio from the Internet and listen; as well as Visual learners.
Brandon
brandon(at)brandon-hong.com
http://www.marketing-rampage-with-blogs-and-rss.com
Storytelling from the Heart: Casting the Golden Net
After ten years of working professionally as a storyteller, I began teaching through the thriving local adult education system. We worked on vocal variation, sound effects, character voices, use of props and a little mime. But we also worked a lot on the inner critic, by doing three things: a creative visualization, practicing something called Casting the Golden Net as well as doing an exercise designed to cultivate a witness consciousness. This can be used to counteract free-floating performance anxieties. The latter two are exercises I learnt while studying full-time at The Drama Action Centre in Sydney (or D.A.C) when it was directed by Bridget Brandon (1).
I put a lot of work into the self-critic because I felt my earlier years as a storyteller were quite overshadowed by my rather overdeveloped one and it is this Ill concentrate on in this article.
For me a big turning point came in 1999, when I was told I would never come into my fullness as a teller while deep down I doubted my skills. Furthermore, if I just remembered to tell from the heart, then thats the way my audience would receive my stories. This came through a psychic friend and it really made sense to me. I was headed to Western Australia for a solo tour and for once I felt really confident. While there, I discovered I was pregnant with my son- another great turning point for me as a teller- but that is another story
My experience was that an overdeveloped inner critic can inhibit creativity, joy and confidence in almost every aspect of life. I also feel initiations are important, so the creative visualization involved imagining an ancient campfire scene in which an elder tells a spellbinding story. Then as people sat and chatted afterwards, the storyteller turns to you and passes on the storytelling light, a warm glow in his/her cupped hands that flies into your heart. S/he then affirms: Know that this light will never go out. Let it grow and mature in you at its own pace. You cant rush it. But once kindled, the story light never goes out- even when you think it has! And one day, you too will pass it on.
Casting the Golden Net is a technique one of our voice teachers at D.A.C. taught us and it is very simple, but effective. You simply imagine, that as you are speaking, your voice and words are casting a golden net over your audience- right to the back row. I feel energetically this is what you are doing when you are holding an audience (and why performing to big groups can be quite physically demanding).
The last and most challenging exercise we did on liberating our inner storyteller which could be called Witness Consciousness. We did this exercise on our first day at D.A.C. One by one, students stand before the group. They only say their name and then they just stand there- looking into the eyes of the audience and being seen by the audience. Potentially quite confronting even for extraverts in a very safe group! So I am very gentle and supportive as I coach people. I ask: H Scan your body with your mind and notice any tension there. Where is it?
Often, when people tune in, there is some degree of discomfort or a distracting sensation. If not, I coach the student to imagine a more challenging situation, because the idea of the exercise is to practice being grounded despite nervousness.
Next I ask, Where is the sensation? In your body or outside your body? The feeling might be perceived in a particular spot, like throat or stomach, but sometimes is perceived as a cloud above the head or even encompassing the whole body. Then, one by one, I gently ask what colour, size and texture the feeling has. Usually, just bringing awareness to the sensation and quantifying it, can ease the feeling or reduce its power to distract. It usually will move and change depending on what is going on for the student.
Then I coach the student with something I learnt at a Frankie Armstrongs (2) folksinging workshop: to breathe the Earths energy up through the feet, up through the body and out the mouth, and to remember that nervousness is just natures way of giving you extra energy or extra voltage to give out to your audience and reach the back row. So its best to let it flow through you, rather than trying to stifle it or wrestle with it. Also students can imagine casting the golden net and/or silently welcoming the audience into their performance space. I check in on the feeling again, until it had dissipated enough for the student to feel comfortable. Rome wasnt built in a day and naturally these exercises are not quick fixes. They are just some possible first steps in a journey to heal the relationship with ones inner critic.
My groups since then have all found this exercise very helpful. In that first group, in the last week everyone told the story theyd worked on. Three of the students presented stories theyd written themselves. All eight students told in completely different ways and all eight tales were spellbinding- because they were telling from the heart! I was very proud of them, as they had all given so much, taken risks and come so far in such a short time! We continued meeting for a year after the course finished.
J.Cargill 2003
1) The Drama Action Centre is unfortunately no more, but Bridget Brandon now runs a wonderful company called Storyworks Australia. See www.storyworks.com.au
2) Frankie Armstrong is a wonderful English folksinger who travels the world teaching The Calling Voice.
After ten years of working professionally as a storyteller, I began teaching through the thriving local adult education system. We worked on vocal variation, sound effects, character voices, use of props and a little mime. But we also worked a lot on the inner critic, by doing three things: a creative visualization, practicing something called Casting the Golden Net as well as doing an exercise designed to cultivate a witness consciousness. This can be used to counteract free-floating performance anxieties. The latter two are exercises I learnt while studying full-time at The Drama Action Centre in Sydney (or D.A.C) when it was directed by Bridget Brandon (1).
I put a lot of work into the self-critic because I felt my earlier years as a storyteller were quite overshadowed by my rather overdeveloped one and it is this Ill concentrate on in this article.
For me a big turning point came in 1999, when I was told I would never come into my fullness as a teller while deep down I doubted my skills. Furthermore, if I just remembered to tell from the heart, then thats the way my audience would receive my stories. This came through a psychic friend and it really made sense to me. I was headed to Western Australia for a solo tour and for once I felt really confident. While there, I discovered I was pregnant with my son- another great turning point for me as a teller- but that is another story
My experience was that an overdeveloped inner critic can inhibit creativity, joy and confidence in almost every aspect of life. I also feel initiations are important, so the creative visualization involved imagining an ancient campfire scene in which an elder tells a spellbinding story. Then as people sat and chatted afterwards, the storyteller turns to you and passes on the storytelling light, a warm glow in his/her cupped hands that flies into your heart. S/he then affirms: Know that this light will never go out. Let it grow and mature in you at its own pace. You cant rush it. But once kindled, the story light never goes out- even when you think it has! And one day, you too will pass it on.
Casting the Golden Net is a technique one of our voice teachers at D.A.C. taught us and it is very simple, but effective. You simply imagine, that as you are speaking, your voice and words are casting a golden net over your audience- right to the back row. I feel energetically this is what you are doing when you are holding an audience (and why performing to big groups can be quite physically demanding).
The last and most challenging exercise we did on liberating our inner storyteller which could be called Witness Consciousness. We did this exercise on our first day at D.A.C. One by one, students stand before the group. They only say their name and then they just stand there- looking into the eyes of the audience and being seen by the audience. Potentially quite confronting even for extraverts in a very safe group! So I am very gentle and supportive as I coach people. I ask: H Scan your body with your mind and notice any tension there. Where is it?
Often, when people tune in, there is some degree of discomfort or a distracting sensation. If not, I coach the student to imagine a more challenging situation, because the idea of the exercise is to practice being grounded despite nervousness.
Next I ask, Where is the sensation? In your body or outside your body? The feeling might be perceived in a particular spot, like throat or stomach, but sometimes is perceived as a cloud above the head or even encompassing the whole body. Then, one by one, I gently ask what colour, size and texture the feeling has. Usually, just bringing awareness to the sensation and quantifying it, can ease the feeling or reduce its power to distract. It usually will move and change depending on what is going on for the student.
Then I coach the student with something I learnt at a Frankie Armstrongs (2) folksinging workshop: to breathe the Earths energy up through the feet, up through the body and out the mouth, and to remember that nervousness is just natures way of giving you extra energy or extra voltage to give out to your audience and reach the back row. So its best to let it flow through you, rather than trying to stifle it or wrestle with it. Also students can imagine casting the golden net and/or silently welcoming the audience into their performance space. I check in on the feeling again, until it had dissipated enough for the student to feel comfortable. Rome wasnt built in a day and naturally these exercises are not quick fixes. They are just some possible first steps in a journey to heal the relationship with ones inner critic.
My groups since then have all found this exercise very helpful. In that first group, in the last week everyone told the story theyd worked on. Three of the students presented stories theyd written themselves. All eight students told in completely different ways and all eight tales were spellbinding- because they were telling from the heart! I was very proud of them, as they had all given so much, taken risks and come so far in such a short time! We continued meeting for a year after the course finished.
J.Cargill 2003
1) The Drama Action Centre is unfortunately no more, but Bridget Brandon now runs a wonderful company called Storyworks Australia. See www.storyworks.com.au
2) Frankie Armstrong is a wonderful English folksinger who travels the world teaching The Calling Voice.
Saturday, April 28, 2007
Independents in Football
Notre Dame and Navy will dominate the Independents again this year. With Temple changing alliance and no longer in the Big East will spark more interest in Independents. Army coming over from Conference USA will not affect the perspective of the independents unless they have some surprises
2005 Predicted Order of Finish
1. NOTRE DAME
With a returning very experience offensive unit and a new coach from the NFL, the loyal fans are expecting the Irish to be in contention for the national title. Starters returning are quarterback Brady Quinn, running back Darius Walker, tight end Anthony Fasano, and wide receiver Rhema McKnight. All five offensive linemen return as well. On the special teams there is kicker/punter D.J. Fitzpatrick. The defensive front seven will need some replacements, but linebacker Brandon Hoyte will return. Hoyte finished second in tackles on the team and should exceed his 2004 performance.
2. NAVY
Senior Lamar Owens will run the team from the quarterback position. The running game will depend upon Trey Hines. The defense is solid with linebacker David Mahoney and defensive end Jeremy Chase leading the charge. The secondary has strength in cornerback Jeremy McGown and safety DuJuan Price.
3. TEMPLE
Senior quarterback Mike McGann returns and has John Gross to anchor the offensive line. He will also have running backs Tim Brown and Umar Ferguson to push the ball. One weak spot will be in the wide receiver position with no returning starters. Last years defense (ranked 107th) must improve. The Owls have senior defense end Mike Mendenhall returning from making All-Big East last season.
4. ARMY
With one returning starter on the offensive line, Carlton Jones will have a tough time repeating his 2004 performance (1,269 yards). Sophomore wide receiver Jermy Trimble is another excellent performer (17.5 yards per catch) that may have trouble repeating his prior seasons performance. The only returning starter for the defense is free safety Dhyan Tarver. It could be a long season for Army.
Notre Dame and Navy will dominate the Independents again this year. With Temple changing alliance and no longer in the Big East will spark more interest in Independents. Army coming over from Conference USA will not affect the perspective of the independents unless they have some surprises
2005 Predicted Order of Finish
1. NOTRE DAME
With a returning very experience offensive unit and a new coach from the NFL, the loyal fans are expecting the Irish to be in contention for the national title. Starters returning are quarterback Brady Quinn, running back Darius Walker, tight end Anthony Fasano, and wide receiver Rhema McKnight. All five offensive linemen return as well. On the special teams there is kicker/punter D.J. Fitzpatrick. The defensive front seven will need some replacements, but linebacker Brandon Hoyte will return. Hoyte finished second in tackles on the team and should exceed his 2004 performance.
2. NAVY
Senior Lamar Owens will run the team from the quarterback position. The running game will depend upon Trey Hines. The defense is solid with linebacker David Mahoney and defensive end Jeremy Chase leading the charge. The secondary has strength in cornerback Jeremy McGown and safety DuJuan Price.
3. TEMPLE
Senior quarterback Mike McGann returns and has John Gross to anchor the offensive line. He will also have running backs Tim Brown and Umar Ferguson to push the ball. One weak spot will be in the wide receiver position with no returning starters. Last years defense (ranked 107th) must improve. The Owls have senior defense end Mike Mendenhall returning from making All-Big East last season.
4. ARMY
With one returning starter on the offensive line, Carlton Jones will have a tough time repeating his 2004 performance (1,269 yards). Sophomore wide receiver Jermy Trimble is another excellent performer (17.5 yards per catch) that may have trouble repeating his prior seasons performance. The only returning starter for the defense is free safety Dhyan Tarver. It could be a long season for Army.
Friday, April 27, 2007
The Beginner's Guide to Building Ramps
Disclaimer:
Building and riding ramps can be fun and rewarding; however, caution should be
practiced with both. The author Brandon Cardone and any other contributors to this
article are in no way, shape or form responsible for any legal matters, injuries or
even death that may occur as a result of the information and content in this article.
The following chapter is one of five that can be found in my skateboard ramp
building guide "The Beginner's Guide To Building Ramps," This 54 page guide can
be instantly downloaded in PDF format from www.buildaramp.com. The skateboard
ramp building guide is filled with tons of photos and easy to understand
instructions and illustrations, you will also find on my website, tons of useful links
related to skateboard ramps, a ramp building photo gallery, free skateboard
wallpaper for your computer, a free skateboard screen saver, and even up to the
minute skateboarding RSS news feeds.
Introduction
So you want to build a skateboard ramp, maybe you are a parent and want to build
something for your kid. Maybe you have been skateboarding, riding BMX, or inline
for a while and realize that you want more than the few spots you get kicked out of
on a regular basis. Whatever the reason, you?ve started in the right direction by
reading this article. Building ramps is a productive learning experience, but the
most important thing is that it is fun and very rewarding if it is done right.
Most people really don?t understand how to build skateboard ramps and end up
giving up before they even give it a second thought. I have people all the time ask
me How do you bend the wood like that? or Where would you even begin building
something like that? Questions like these are why I wrote this guide in the first
place. I want people like you to know that it really isn?t that hard to build skateboard
ramps if you have the right knowledge under your belt. I have been building ramps
with my friend Mike Fitch since I was like 12 years old and over the years and plenty
of trial and error, we have learned the art of building skateboard ramps. I asked
myself if this kind of knowledge should be kept a secret, then I remembered all the
fun I had growing up building my own stuff to skate and all the friends I have made
over the years. We even had the chance to fulfill our dream of building an indoor
skateboard park located in Johnson City, NY, East Coast Terminal as a way of giving
back to the pastime that gave me direction and purpose in my life. I hope this article
gives you that spark of inspiration that I found so many years ago. Who knows,
there could be your own dream skate park lurking deep inside of you just waiting to
be built and for others to enjoy. I wish you the best of luck in your quest and, most
importantly, have fun.
Chapter 1 "Scope Out The Territory"
Before you start building
Some Things to consider
After the site has been decided and inspected
Before you Start Building your Skateboard Ramp
Before you get all gung ho and go down to your local lumber store to buy materials
and grab the tools out of the shed, there are some things you should think about
before you start building. For example, if all you want is a slider box or a jump
ramp, you shouldn?t need a huge area to put your ramps. In this kind of a situation,
an empty parking lot or your driveway will work. Be creative, like screwing some
trucks and wheels from an old skateboard or roller skates to the side so you can
wheel it around easy. You could even cut handles in the sides of the templates to
carry your ramp easier.
If you had your heart set on a ramp bigger and unmovable, obviously you will need
more space. You see, the idea here is that if you know where you are going to be
building your ramps, you can measure out the area and draw it on some graph
paper or even some regular paper will work fine.
Some Things to Consider
Consider how easy it will be to get your materials to the construction site
If your spot is way out in the woods, you better have some muscles because you will
be carrying a lot of wood. This is when a wheel barrow comes in handy.
Access to electricity
Power tools are your friends and building a ramp without them is very hard, but not
impossible if you are Amish. A generator or a bunch of extension cords might be
the way to go.
Neighbors and noise
Those nosey neighbors of yours already hate you and are just waiting to ruin your
fun. Will they call the cops when you?re having a session at 3:00 in the morning?
One solution to this problem is to fill the coping with concrete or sand and nail a
layer of carpet to the underside of your ramp.
Weather
Wood and bad weather don?t tend to agree with each other over time. If you can find
an area that is protected from Mother Nature, then more power to you. For the rest
of us, buying a good tarp is a really good investment. If you have the extra wood
you could even build your own make shift canopy, this way you can ride your ramp
even if it?s raining. You may also want to consider building your ramp up of the
ground on cinderblocks to keep the ramp high, dry and level.
Helpers
The more people you can find to help you build the better off you will be.
Ask everyone you know about available space
Hey you never know, your sisters, boyfriends, dad might have an empty garage or
empty lot of land that they will sell you dirt-cheap.
Damage prone areas
Your trying to do a 360 flip pivot to fakie and oops, you just zipped out and your
board is heading 100 miles an hour towards your mom?s new car. You should take
note of breakable objects around your ramps and make the necessary barriers to
prevent them from being damaged.
Zoning Laws
You may be living in an area where it is the law to get a building permit or you could
just take your chances and hope your local zoning board doesn?t find out. You may
end up having to pay fines and tear down your new creation. Trust me it isn?t fun to
take something apart that you?ve put so much time and effort into.
Remember, it is important that you build your ramps on a flat or level surface. If you
don?t, your ramp will not be as easy to build and ride. Once you have decided on a
spot to build your ramps, start by measuring the whole parameter of the space you
are going to be working in. Measure out any obstructions that might get in the way
when you are building, like a tree or a telephone pole, things like that. You should
also observe the landscape to see if you will have to level the area out or even build
your ramp up off the ground on posts. By doing this you are saving yourself a lot of
trouble down the road when you are halfway through your project and realize you
don?t have enough room or your that one side of your ramp goes uphill.
By:
Brandon Cardone
Here is a list of the other chapters that can be found in "The Beginner's Guide To
Building ramps" found at www.buildaramp.com
Chapter 2 "Construction Preparation"
Chapter 3 "All About Ramp Templates"
Chapter 4 "All About Framing a Ramp"
Chapter 5 "All About Sheeting Ramp"
Disclaimer:
Building and riding ramps can be fun and rewarding; however, caution should be
practiced with both. The author Brandon Cardone and any other contributors to this
article are in no way, shape or form responsible for any legal matters, injuries or
even death that may occur as a result of the information and content in this article.
The following chapter is one of five that can be found in my skateboard ramp
building guide "The Beginner's Guide To Building Ramps," This 54 page guide can
be instantly downloaded in PDF format from www.buildaramp.com. The skateboard
ramp building guide is filled with tons of photos and easy to understand
instructions and illustrations, you will also find on my website, tons of useful links
related to skateboard ramps, a ramp building photo gallery, free skateboard
wallpaper for your computer, a free skateboard screen saver, and even up to the
minute skateboarding RSS news feeds.
Introduction
So you want to build a skateboard ramp, maybe you are a parent and want to build
something for your kid. Maybe you have been skateboarding, riding BMX, or inline
for a while and realize that you want more than the few spots you get kicked out of
on a regular basis. Whatever the reason, you?ve started in the right direction by
reading this article. Building ramps is a productive learning experience, but the
most important thing is that it is fun and very rewarding if it is done right.
Most people really don?t understand how to build skateboard ramps and end up
giving up before they even give it a second thought. I have people all the time ask
me How do you bend the wood like that? or Where would you even begin building
something like that? Questions like these are why I wrote this guide in the first
place. I want people like you to know that it really isn?t that hard to build skateboard
ramps if you have the right knowledge under your belt. I have been building ramps
with my friend Mike Fitch since I was like 12 years old and over the years and plenty
of trial and error, we have learned the art of building skateboard ramps. I asked
myself if this kind of knowledge should be kept a secret, then I remembered all the
fun I had growing up building my own stuff to skate and all the friends I have made
over the years. We even had the chance to fulfill our dream of building an indoor
skateboard park located in Johnson City, NY, East Coast Terminal as a way of giving
back to the pastime that gave me direction and purpose in my life. I hope this article
gives you that spark of inspiration that I found so many years ago. Who knows,
there could be your own dream skate park lurking deep inside of you just waiting to
be built and for others to enjoy. I wish you the best of luck in your quest and, most
importantly, have fun.
Chapter 1 "Scope Out The Territory"
Before you start building
Some Things to consider
After the site has been decided and inspected
Before you Start Building your Skateboard Ramp
Before you get all gung ho and go down to your local lumber store to buy materials
and grab the tools out of the shed, there are some things you should think about
before you start building. For example, if all you want is a slider box or a jump
ramp, you shouldn?t need a huge area to put your ramps. In this kind of a situation,
an empty parking lot or your driveway will work. Be creative, like screwing some
trucks and wheels from an old skateboard or roller skates to the side so you can
wheel it around easy. You could even cut handles in the sides of the templates to
carry your ramp easier.
If you had your heart set on a ramp bigger and unmovable, obviously you will need
more space. You see, the idea here is that if you know where you are going to be
building your ramps, you can measure out the area and draw it on some graph
paper or even some regular paper will work fine.
Some Things to Consider
Consider how easy it will be to get your materials to the construction site
If your spot is way out in the woods, you better have some muscles because you will
be carrying a lot of wood. This is when a wheel barrow comes in handy.
Access to electricity
Power tools are your friends and building a ramp without them is very hard, but not
impossible if you are Amish. A generator or a bunch of extension cords might be
the way to go.
Neighbors and noise
Those nosey neighbors of yours already hate you and are just waiting to ruin your
fun. Will they call the cops when you?re having a session at 3:00 in the morning?
One solution to this problem is to fill the coping with concrete or sand and nail a
layer of carpet to the underside of your ramp.
Weather
Wood and bad weather don?t tend to agree with each other over time. If you can find
an area that is protected from Mother Nature, then more power to you. For the rest
of us, buying a good tarp is a really good investment. If you have the extra wood
you could even build your own make shift canopy, this way you can ride your ramp
even if it?s raining. You may also want to consider building your ramp up of the
ground on cinderblocks to keep the ramp high, dry and level.
Helpers
The more people you can find to help you build the better off you will be.
Ask everyone you know about available space
Hey you never know, your sisters, boyfriends, dad might have an empty garage or
empty lot of land that they will sell you dirt-cheap.
Damage prone areas
Your trying to do a 360 flip pivot to fakie and oops, you just zipped out and your
board is heading 100 miles an hour towards your mom?s new car. You should take
note of breakable objects around your ramps and make the necessary barriers to
prevent them from being damaged.
Zoning Laws
You may be living in an area where it is the law to get a building permit or you could
just take your chances and hope your local zoning board doesn?t find out. You may
end up having to pay fines and tear down your new creation. Trust me it isn?t fun to
take something apart that you?ve put so much time and effort into.
Remember, it is important that you build your ramps on a flat or level surface. If you
don?t, your ramp will not be as easy to build and ride. Once you have decided on a
spot to build your ramps, start by measuring the whole parameter of the space you
are going to be working in. Measure out any obstructions that might get in the way
when you are building, like a tree or a telephone pole, things like that. You should
also observe the landscape to see if you will have to level the area out or even build
your ramp up off the ground on posts. By doing this you are saving yourself a lot of
trouble down the road when you are halfway through your project and realize you
don?t have enough room or your that one side of your ramp goes uphill.
By:
Brandon Cardone
Here is a list of the other chapters that can be found in "The Beginner's Guide To
Building ramps" found at www.buildaramp.com
Chapter 2 "Construction Preparation"
Chapter 3 "All About Ramp Templates"
Chapter 4 "All About Framing a Ramp"
Chapter 5 "All About Sheeting Ramp"
The Beginner's Guide to Building Ramps
Disclaimer:
Building and riding ramps can be fun and rewarding; however, caution should be
practiced with both. The author Brandon Cardone and any other contributors to this
article are in no way, shape or form responsible for any legal matters, injuries or
even death that may occur as a result of the information and content in this article.
The following chapter is one of five that can be found in my skateboard ramp
building guide "The Beginner's Guide To Building Ramps," This 54 page guide can
be instantly downloaded in PDF format from www.buildaramp.com. The skateboard
ramp building guide is filled with tons of photos and easy to understand
instructions and illustrations, you will also find on my website, tons of useful links
related to skateboard ramps, a ramp building photo gallery, free skateboard
wallpaper for your computer, a free skateboard screen saver, and even up to the
minute skateboarding RSS news feeds.
Introduction
So you want to build a skateboard ramp, maybe you are a parent and want to build
something for your kid. Maybe you have been skateboarding, riding BMX, or inline
for a while and realize that you want more than the few spots you get kicked out of
on a regular basis. Whatever the reason, you?ve started in the right direction by
reading this article. Building ramps is a productive learning experience, but the
most important thing is that it is fun and very rewarding if it is done right.
Most people really don?t understand how to build skateboard ramps and end up
giving up before they even give it a second thought. I have people all the time ask
me How do you bend the wood like that? or Where would you even begin building
something like that? Questions like these are why I wrote this guide in the first
place. I want people like you to know that it really isn?t that hard to build skateboard
ramps if you have the right knowledge under your belt. I have been building ramps
with my friend Mike Fitch since I was like 12 years old and over the years and plenty
of trial and error, we have learned the art of building skateboard ramps. I asked
myself if this kind of knowledge should be kept a secret, then I remembered all the
fun I had growing up building my own stuff to skate and all the friends I have made
over the years. We even had the chance to fulfill our dream of building an indoor
skateboard park located in Johnson City, NY, East Coast Terminal as a way of giving
back to the pastime that gave me direction and purpose in my life. I hope this article
gives you that spark of inspiration that I found so many years ago. Who knows,
there could be your own dream skate park lurking deep inside of you just waiting to
be built and for others to enjoy. I wish you the best of luck in your quest and, most
importantly, have fun.
Chapter 1 "Scope Out The Territory"
Before you start building
Some Things to consider
After the site has been decided and inspected
Before you Start Building your Skateboard Ramp
Before you get all gung ho and go down to your local lumber store to buy materials
and grab the tools out of the shed, there are some things you should think about
before you start building. For example, if all you want is a slider box or a jump
ramp, you shouldn?t need a huge area to put your ramps. In this kind of a situation,
an empty parking lot or your driveway will work. Be creative, like screwing some
trucks and wheels from an old skateboard or roller skates to the side so you can
wheel it around easy. You could even cut handles in the sides of the templates to
carry your ramp easier.
If you had your heart set on a ramp bigger and unmovable, obviously you will need
more space. You see, the idea here is that if you know where you are going to be
building your ramps, you can measure out the area and draw it on some graph
paper or even some regular paper will work fine.
Some Things to Consider
Consider how easy it will be to get your materials to the construction site
If your spot is way out in the woods, you better have some muscles because you will
be carrying a lot of wood. This is when a wheel barrow comes in handy.
Access to electricity
Power tools are your friends and building a ramp without them is very hard, but not
impossible if you are Amish. A generator or a bunch of extension cords might be
the way to go.
Neighbors and noise
Those nosey neighbors of yours already hate you and are just waiting to ruin your
fun. Will they call the cops when you?re having a session at 3:00 in the morning?
One solution to this problem is to fill the coping with concrete or sand and nail a
layer of carpet to the underside of your ramp.
Weather
Wood and bad weather don?t tend to agree with each other over time. If you can find
an area that is protected from Mother Nature, then more power to you. For the rest
of us, buying a good tarp is a really good investment. If you have the extra wood
you could even build your own make shift canopy, this way you can ride your ramp
even if it?s raining. You may also want to consider building your ramp up of the
ground on cinderblocks to keep the ramp high, dry and level.
Helpers
The more people you can find to help you build the better off you will be.
Ask everyone you know about available space
Hey you never know, your sisters, boyfriends, dad might have an empty garage or
empty lot of land that they will sell you dirt-cheap.
Damage prone areas
Your trying to do a 360 flip pivot to fakie and oops, you just zipped out and your
board is heading 100 miles an hour towards your mom?s new car. You should take
note of breakable objects around your ramps and make the necessary barriers to
prevent them from being damaged.
Zoning Laws
You may be living in an area where it is the law to get a building permit or you could
just take your chances and hope your local zoning board doesn?t find out. You may
end up having to pay fines and tear down your new creation. Trust me it isn?t fun to
take something apart that you?ve put so much time and effort into.
Remember, it is important that you build your ramps on a flat or level surface. If you
don?t, your ramp will not be as easy to build and ride. Once you have decided on a
spot to build your ramps, start by measuring the whole parameter of the space you
are going to be working in. Measure out any obstructions that might get in the way
when you are building, like a tree or a telephone pole, things like that. You should
also observe the landscape to see if you will have to level the area out or even build
your ramp up off the ground on posts. By doing this you are saving yourself a lot of
trouble down the road when you are halfway through your project and realize you
don?t have enough room or your that one side of your ramp goes uphill.
By:
Brandon Cardone
Here is a list of the other chapters that can be found in "The Beginner's Guide To
Building ramps" found at www.buildaramp.com
Chapter 2 "Construction Preparation"
Chapter 3 "All About Ramp Templates"
Chapter 4 "All About Framing a Ramp"
Chapter 5 "All About Sheeting Ramp"
Disclaimer:
Building and riding ramps can be fun and rewarding; however, caution should be
practiced with both. The author Brandon Cardone and any other contributors to this
article are in no way, shape or form responsible for any legal matters, injuries or
even death that may occur as a result of the information and content in this article.
The following chapter is one of five that can be found in my skateboard ramp
building guide "The Beginner's Guide To Building Ramps," This 54 page guide can
be instantly downloaded in PDF format from www.buildaramp.com. The skateboard
ramp building guide is filled with tons of photos and easy to understand
instructions and illustrations, you will also find on my website, tons of useful links
related to skateboard ramps, a ramp building photo gallery, free skateboard
wallpaper for your computer, a free skateboard screen saver, and even up to the
minute skateboarding RSS news feeds.
Introduction
So you want to build a skateboard ramp, maybe you are a parent and want to build
something for your kid. Maybe you have been skateboarding, riding BMX, or inline
for a while and realize that you want more than the few spots you get kicked out of
on a regular basis. Whatever the reason, you?ve started in the right direction by
reading this article. Building ramps is a productive learning experience, but the
most important thing is that it is fun and very rewarding if it is done right.
Most people really don?t understand how to build skateboard ramps and end up
giving up before they even give it a second thought. I have people all the time ask
me How do you bend the wood like that? or Where would you even begin building
something like that? Questions like these are why I wrote this guide in the first
place. I want people like you to know that it really isn?t that hard to build skateboard
ramps if you have the right knowledge under your belt. I have been building ramps
with my friend Mike Fitch since I was like 12 years old and over the years and plenty
of trial and error, we have learned the art of building skateboard ramps. I asked
myself if this kind of knowledge should be kept a secret, then I remembered all the
fun I had growing up building my own stuff to skate and all the friends I have made
over the years. We even had the chance to fulfill our dream of building an indoor
skateboard park located in Johnson City, NY, East Coast Terminal as a way of giving
back to the pastime that gave me direction and purpose in my life. I hope this article
gives you that spark of inspiration that I found so many years ago. Who knows,
there could be your own dream skate park lurking deep inside of you just waiting to
be built and for others to enjoy. I wish you the best of luck in your quest and, most
importantly, have fun.
Chapter 1 "Scope Out The Territory"
Before you start building
Some Things to consider
After the site has been decided and inspected
Before you Start Building your Skateboard Ramp
Before you get all gung ho and go down to your local lumber store to buy materials
and grab the tools out of the shed, there are some things you should think about
before you start building. For example, if all you want is a slider box or a jump
ramp, you shouldn?t need a huge area to put your ramps. In this kind of a situation,
an empty parking lot or your driveway will work. Be creative, like screwing some
trucks and wheels from an old skateboard or roller skates to the side so you can
wheel it around easy. You could even cut handles in the sides of the templates to
carry your ramp easier.
If you had your heart set on a ramp bigger and unmovable, obviously you will need
more space. You see, the idea here is that if you know where you are going to be
building your ramps, you can measure out the area and draw it on some graph
paper or even some regular paper will work fine.
Some Things to Consider
Consider how easy it will be to get your materials to the construction site
If your spot is way out in the woods, you better have some muscles because you will
be carrying a lot of wood. This is when a wheel barrow comes in handy.
Access to electricity
Power tools are your friends and building a ramp without them is very hard, but not
impossible if you are Amish. A generator or a bunch of extension cords might be
the way to go.
Neighbors and noise
Those nosey neighbors of yours already hate you and are just waiting to ruin your
fun. Will they call the cops when you?re having a session at 3:00 in the morning?
One solution to this problem is to fill the coping with concrete or sand and nail a
layer of carpet to the underside of your ramp.
Weather
Wood and bad weather don?t tend to agree with each other over time. If you can find
an area that is protected from Mother Nature, then more power to you. For the rest
of us, buying a good tarp is a really good investment. If you have the extra wood
you could even build your own make shift canopy, this way you can ride your ramp
even if it?s raining. You may also want to consider building your ramp up of the
ground on cinderblocks to keep the ramp high, dry and level.
Helpers
The more people you can find to help you build the better off you will be.
Ask everyone you know about available space
Hey you never know, your sisters, boyfriends, dad might have an empty garage or
empty lot of land that they will sell you dirt-cheap.
Damage prone areas
Your trying to do a 360 flip pivot to fakie and oops, you just zipped out and your
board is heading 100 miles an hour towards your mom?s new car. You should take
note of breakable objects around your ramps and make the necessary barriers to
prevent them from being damaged.
Zoning Laws
You may be living in an area where it is the law to get a building permit or you could
just take your chances and hope your local zoning board doesn?t find out. You may
end up having to pay fines and tear down your new creation. Trust me it isn?t fun to
take something apart that you?ve put so much time and effort into.
Remember, it is important that you build your ramps on a flat or level surface. If you
don?t, your ramp will not be as easy to build and ride. Once you have decided on a
spot to build your ramps, start by measuring the whole parameter of the space you
are going to be working in. Measure out any obstructions that might get in the way
when you are building, like a tree or a telephone pole, things like that. You should
also observe the landscape to see if you will have to level the area out or even build
your ramp up off the ground on posts. By doing this you are saving yourself a lot of
trouble down the road when you are halfway through your project and realize you
don?t have enough room or your that one side of your ramp goes uphill.
By:
Brandon Cardone
Here is a list of the other chapters that can be found in "The Beginner's Guide To
Building ramps" found at www.buildaramp.com
Chapter 2 "Construction Preparation"
Chapter 3 "All About Ramp Templates"
Chapter 4 "All About Framing a Ramp"
Chapter 5 "All About Sheeting Ramp"
Thursday, April 26, 2007
America Goes to War - The battle for An Nasiriyah
It is hard to believe that it has been three years since Jessica Lynch and the 507th Maintenance Company rolled through the dusty streets of An Nasiriyah on March 23, 2003. Eleven of Jessicas fellow soldiers were killed that morning, five were captured and a dozen more injured. Lynch was critically injured and near death when she was brought into a military hospital near the site of her ambush.
Within hours of the ambush, the North Carolina Marines of Task Force Tarawa moved to secure the bridges in An Nasiriyah. LtCol Rickey Grabowskis 1st Battalion, of the 2nd Marine Regiment rolled into the city and encountered stiff resistance. By midmorning they had rescued nearly half of the soldiers who had been ambushed and by noon the Marines were charging forward through a hail of RPGs, AK-47 gunfire, mortar and artillery barrages. By sunset, Grabowskis Marines had secured their objectives but at a terrible cost. Eighteen of Americas finest died and another dozen were wounded.
In all, twenty-nine Americans died that day in An Nasiriyah. Their story has never really been told. Initially, the situation in Nasiriyah was so confusing and filled with the fog of war that no one knew the connection between the 507th Maintenance Company and the brave Marines of the 2d Marine Regiment. At first, Jessicas capture was kept quiet for fear that the enemy would move her if they suspected that America knew where she was and most of the Marines who died that day could not be identified without DNA testing.
As the days and weeks passed, the news media moved on to Lynchs rescue and then the fall of Baghdad. When the Department of Defense finally sorted things out and released the names of the Marines and soldiers who died that day, the media took very little interest. No one ever realized that that bloody day in Nasiriyah, on March 23rd, was the costliest day of combat for America in the invasion of Iraq. These twenty-nine American soldiers and Marines were never given a fitting tribute to the ultimate sacrifice they made while in the service of their country.
Before sunrise on the 23rd on March 2003, thirty-three soldiers, traveling in eighteen trucks, stumbled into the dusty desert city of An Nasiriyah. It wasnt until they had driven all the way through the city that they realized that they were hopelessly lost. As soon as they turned around and tried to retrace their path, every Iraqi with a gun started shooting at the beleaguered convoy. The lead three vehicles managed to run the gauntlet and get back to the U.S. Marines front lines.
Five vehicles broke down and ten soldiers scrambled for cover in a nearby ditch. Surrounded, they each vowed to go down fighting. They had fought to hold off the enemy for nearly an hour, when Major Bill Peeples and the Marine tankers of Alpha Company, 8th Tanks arrived to save the day. The Marines beat back the enemy and rushed the ten soldiers to safety.
The remaining seventeen soldiers were not so fortunate. Eleven were killed and six captured. Specialists Jamaal Addison and James Kiehl both died when their vehicle careened through an intersection and rolled over on its top. Private First Class Howard Johnson II and Private Ruben Estrella-Sotos truck crashed at the same intersection. Sergeant Donald Walters was lost north of An Nasiriyah when his vehicle broke down. He leapt from his disabled vehicle behind enemy lines and laid down covering fire so that the rest of his unit could turn their vehicles and get out of a horrific ambush. Private Brandon Sloan was shot and killed while the vehicle he was in was racing south. Chief Warrant Officer Johnny Matas truck shuddered to a stop atop a railroad overpass and burst into flames. Mata was killed, but his driver, Specialist Hudson, survived.
Near the end to the doomed convoy, First Sergeant Robert Dowdy tried to shepherd his soldiers to safety. Private First Class Lori Piestewa was driving Dowdys HMMWV. Specialist Edward Anguiano, Sergeant George Buggs and Private First Class Jessica Lynch were riding in the back. Piestewa managed to maneuver around obstacles and raced all the way back through Nasiriyah when the flatbed in front of her jackknifed. Lori was unable to avoid the back of the skidding truck. She plowed into the rear of the flatbed, instantly killing Dowdy.
We know that Lori and Jessica survived the collision. It is not clear what happened to Buggs and Anguiano. When Patrick Miller approached the crash scene, he glanced in and thought everyone was dead. Hudson, Hernandez, Lynch, Miller, Piestewa, Riley, and Shoshana Johnson were all taken prisoner. Lynch and Piestewa were separated from the others and eventually ended up in the Tykar Military Hospital. Lori died while being treated, leaving Lynch alone and near death.
The soldiers of the 507th Maintenance Company that were killed that day were from all walks of life and every corner of this nation. They were a swatch cut from the American fabric and the first to die in this protracted war. Lori Piestewa was an American Indian and single mother. Brandon Sloan and Robert Dowdy were both from Cleveland Ohio. Brandon, 19, had left high school early to join the Army, while Dowdy, 38, was a career soldier. James Kiehl, 22, was a friendly computer technician who left behind a pregnant wife. Buggs and Anguiano were not even members of the 507th. Dowdy had convinced them to take one of their vehicles in tow two nights before. Their tow truck ran out of gas north of An Nasiriyah and Dowdy, Piestewa and Lynch had picked them up.
By noon, the Marines were pressing north to secure two vital bridges in An Nasiriyah. The fighting started long before they reached the Euphrates River but it wasnt until they moved into downtown Nasiriyah that all hell broke loose. Alpha Company secured the Euphrates River Bridge while Bravo Company swung out to the east side of town. Charlie Company raced over the Euphrates River Bridge and charged through Ambush Alley to the Saddam Canal Bridge.
Eighteen Marines died in Charlie Companys battle for that northern bridge. Donald Cline was a twenty-one year old husband and father of two young boys. Patrick Nixon loved history and wanted to eventually be a teacher. Phillip Jordan was a career Marine and loving husband and father. Fred Pokorney was a giant of a man who had just been promoted to 1st Lieutenant. Sergeant Michael Bitz was the father of two young boys and one-month old twins. David Fribley and Brian Buesing were both Florida natives. Fribley joind the Corps after 9/11 and Buesing had been in the Marines since he graduated from high school. Brendon Reiss was the son of a decorated Vietnam Veteran and Randal Rosacker was the son of a Navy Master Chief submarine sailor. Jose Garibay and Jorge Gonzalez were both from Southern California. Thomas Slocum was a 22 year old from Colorado and Nolen Hutchings was from South Carolina. They were both troubled teens who had worked to turn their lives around in the Corps.
Tamario Burkett was a young Marine from upstate New York. Kemaphoom Chanawongse was born in Thailand and came to the United States at nine years old. He was the first to have a Buddhist funeral at Arlington National Cemetery. Johnathan Gifford wanted to be a Marine since he was a little boy. Michael Williams joined the Corps late in life. At 31, he was just a Lance Corporal but older than most of the young officers he worked for. On his trip over to Iraq, he emailed his girlfriend and asked her to marry him. Thomas Blair was not a member of Charlie Company. He was part of an anti-aircraft unit that had been assigned to Charlie Company. He too, went directly into the Marine Corps after high school graduation.
Twenty-nine lives ended too soon on that clear Sunday in March. Twenty-nine families grieve to this day. These soldiers and Marines died before there was a daily box score in the newspapers of America. They have been buried under 2000 more stories. Donald Cline and Michael Williams died because they chose to help their wounded comrades.
Many more soldiers and Marines would have died that day had it not been for the Herculean efforts of men like, Private First Class Patrick Miller, Sergeant Michael Bitz, Gunnery Sergeant Jason Doran, Lieutenant Mike Seely, Captain Eric Garcia, and Major Bill Peeples. These men are true American heroes.
Read about these brave young men and women in the only book to tell the entire story of Americas first major battle in Operation Iraqi Freedom Marines in the Garden of Eden, Berkley, New York, will be released on June 6, 2006.
Visit www.MarinesintheGardenofEden.com today.
It is hard to believe that it has been three years since Jessica Lynch and the 507th Maintenance Company rolled through the dusty streets of An Nasiriyah on March 23, 2003. Eleven of Jessicas fellow soldiers were killed that morning, five were captured and a dozen more injured. Lynch was critically injured and near death when she was brought into a military hospital near the site of her ambush.
Within hours of the ambush, the North Carolina Marines of Task Force Tarawa moved to secure the bridges in An Nasiriyah. LtCol Rickey Grabowskis 1st Battalion, of the 2nd Marine Regiment rolled into the city and encountered stiff resistance. By midmorning they had rescued nearly half of the soldiers who had been ambushed and by noon the Marines were charging forward through a hail of RPGs, AK-47 gunfire, mortar and artillery barrages. By sunset, Grabowskis Marines had secured their objectives but at a terrible cost. Eighteen of Americas finest died and another dozen were wounded.
In all, twenty-nine Americans died that day in An Nasiriyah. Their story has never really been told. Initially, the situation in Nasiriyah was so confusing and filled with the fog of war that no one knew the connection between the 507th Maintenance Company and the brave Marines of the 2d Marine Regiment. At first, Jessicas capture was kept quiet for fear that the enemy would move her if they suspected that America knew where she was and most of the Marines who died that day could not be identified without DNA testing.
As the days and weeks passed, the news media moved on to Lynchs rescue and then the fall of Baghdad. When the Department of Defense finally sorted things out and released the names of the Marines and soldiers who died that day, the media took very little interest. No one ever realized that that bloody day in Nasiriyah, on March 23rd, was the costliest day of combat for America in the invasion of Iraq. These twenty-nine American soldiers and Marines were never given a fitting tribute to the ultimate sacrifice they made while in the service of their country.
Before sunrise on the 23rd on March 2003, thirty-three soldiers, traveling in eighteen trucks, stumbled into the dusty desert city of An Nasiriyah. It wasnt until they had driven all the way through the city that they realized that they were hopelessly lost. As soon as they turned around and tried to retrace their path, every Iraqi with a gun started shooting at the beleaguered convoy. The lead three vehicles managed to run the gauntlet and get back to the U.S. Marines front lines.
Five vehicles broke down and ten soldiers scrambled for cover in a nearby ditch. Surrounded, they each vowed to go down fighting. They had fought to hold off the enemy for nearly an hour, when Major Bill Peeples and the Marine tankers of Alpha Company, 8th Tanks arrived to save the day. The Marines beat back the enemy and rushed the ten soldiers to safety.
The remaining seventeen soldiers were not so fortunate. Eleven were killed and six captured. Specialists Jamaal Addison and James Kiehl both died when their vehicle careened through an intersection and rolled over on its top. Private First Class Howard Johnson II and Private Ruben Estrella-Sotos truck crashed at the same intersection. Sergeant Donald Walters was lost north of An Nasiriyah when his vehicle broke down. He leapt from his disabled vehicle behind enemy lines and laid down covering fire so that the rest of his unit could turn their vehicles and get out of a horrific ambush. Private Brandon Sloan was shot and killed while the vehicle he was in was racing south. Chief Warrant Officer Johnny Matas truck shuddered to a stop atop a railroad overpass and burst into flames. Mata was killed, but his driver, Specialist Hudson, survived.
Near the end to the doomed convoy, First Sergeant Robert Dowdy tried to shepherd his soldiers to safety. Private First Class Lori Piestewa was driving Dowdys HMMWV. Specialist Edward Anguiano, Sergeant George Buggs and Private First Class Jessica Lynch were riding in the back. Piestewa managed to maneuver around obstacles and raced all the way back through Nasiriyah when the flatbed in front of her jackknifed. Lori was unable to avoid the back of the skidding truck. She plowed into the rear of the flatbed, instantly killing Dowdy.
We know that Lori and Jessica survived the collision. It is not clear what happened to Buggs and Anguiano. When Patrick Miller approached the crash scene, he glanced in and thought everyone was dead. Hudson, Hernandez, Lynch, Miller, Piestewa, Riley, and Shoshana Johnson were all taken prisoner. Lynch and Piestewa were separated from the others and eventually ended up in the Tykar Military Hospital. Lori died while being treated, leaving Lynch alone and near death.
The soldiers of the 507th Maintenance Company that were killed that day were from all walks of life and every corner of this nation. They were a swatch cut from the American fabric and the first to die in this protracted war. Lori Piestewa was an American Indian and single mother. Brandon Sloan and Robert Dowdy were both from Cleveland Ohio. Brandon, 19, had left high school early to join the Army, while Dowdy, 38, was a career soldier. James Kiehl, 22, was a friendly computer technician who left behind a pregnant wife. Buggs and Anguiano were not even members of the 507th. Dowdy had convinced them to take one of their vehicles in tow two nights before. Their tow truck ran out of gas north of An Nasiriyah and Dowdy, Piestewa and Lynch had picked them up.
By noon, the Marines were pressing north to secure two vital bridges in An Nasiriyah. The fighting started long before they reached the Euphrates River but it wasnt until they moved into downtown Nasiriyah that all hell broke loose. Alpha Company secured the Euphrates River Bridge while Bravo Company swung out to the east side of town. Charlie Company raced over the Euphrates River Bridge and charged through Ambush Alley to the Saddam Canal Bridge.
Eighteen Marines died in Charlie Companys battle for that northern bridge. Donald Cline was a twenty-one year old husband and father of two young boys. Patrick Nixon loved history and wanted to eventually be a teacher. Phillip Jordan was a career Marine and loving husband and father. Fred Pokorney was a giant of a man who had just been promoted to 1st Lieutenant. Sergeant Michael Bitz was the father of two young boys and one-month old twins. David Fribley and Brian Buesing were both Florida natives. Fribley joind the Corps after 9/11 and Buesing had been in the Marines since he graduated from high school. Brendon Reiss was the son of a decorated Vietnam Veteran and Randal Rosacker was the son of a Navy Master Chief submarine sailor. Jose Garibay and Jorge Gonzalez were both from Southern California. Thomas Slocum was a 22 year old from Colorado and Nolen Hutchings was from South Carolina. They were both troubled teens who had worked to turn their lives around in the Corps.
Tamario Burkett was a young Marine from upstate New York. Kemaphoom Chanawongse was born in Thailand and came to the United States at nine years old. He was the first to have a Buddhist funeral at Arlington National Cemetery. Johnathan Gifford wanted to be a Marine since he was a little boy. Michael Williams joined the Corps late in life. At 31, he was just a Lance Corporal but older than most of the young officers he worked for. On his trip over to Iraq, he emailed his girlfriend and asked her to marry him. Thomas Blair was not a member of Charlie Company. He was part of an anti-aircraft unit that had been assigned to Charlie Company. He too, went directly into the Marine Corps after high school graduation.
Twenty-nine lives ended too soon on that clear Sunday in March. Twenty-nine families grieve to this day. These soldiers and Marines died before there was a daily box score in the newspapers of America. They have been buried under 2000 more stories. Donald Cline and Michael Williams died because they chose to help their wounded comrades.
Many more soldiers and Marines would have died that day had it not been for the Herculean efforts of men like, Private First Class Patrick Miller, Sergeant Michael Bitz, Gunnery Sergeant Jason Doran, Lieutenant Mike Seely, Captain Eric Garcia, and Major Bill Peeples. These men are true American heroes.
Read about these brave young men and women in the only book to tell the entire story of Americas first major battle in Operation Iraqi Freedom Marines in the Garden of Eden, Berkley, New York, will be released on June 6, 2006.
Visit www.MarinesintheGardenofEden.com today.
2006 Arizona Diamondbacks Preview
2005 Overview:
Rebounding from a truly disastrous 111 loss season in 2004, the Arizona Diamondbacks improved their 2005 season record to 77-85 including a final 8-2 record to finish the last 10 games of the year. Led by a balanced offense, the team was able to improve on their 2004 record thanks to the surprise performances supplied by 1st baseman Tony Clark (.304 30 87) and Chad Tracy (.308 27 72). The Diamondbacks also received much needed help from Troy Glaus (.258 37 97), Luis Gonzalez (.271 24 79) and outfielder Shawn Greene (.286 22 73).
Arizonas starting pitching was spotty for much of the season with starters Brandon Webb (14-12 3.54), Javier Vazquez (11-15 4.42) and Brad Halsey (8-12 4.61) providing the majority of the quality starts in 2005. Relievers Brandon Medders (4-1 1.78) and Lance Cormier (7-3 5.11) joined Brandon Lyon (0-2 6.44 14 saves), Brian Burney (1-3 7.43 12 saves) and Jose Val Verde (3-4 2.44 15 saves) who combined to save 41 games in total.
Off Season Moves:
Arizona moved aggressively in the off season by shipping Javier Vazquez to the White Sox for Orlando Hernandez (9-9 5.12), and also trading power hitter Troy Glaus to the Blue Jays for closer Miguel Batista (5-8 4.10 31 saves) as well as Gold Glove second baseman Orlando Hudson (.271 10 63). The Diamondbacks also picked up catcher Johnny Estrada (.261 4 39) in a off season trade with the Atlanta Braves. The team signed free agent center fielder Eric Byrnes (.226 10 40) to help improve the as well.
2006 Analysis:
The Diamondbacks addressed their need for a legitimate closer by dealing Glaus in an aggressive off season move. Although Glaus hitting will be greatly missed, the Diamondbacks will get far more reliability with Batista then any of the options they used last year. The team is relying on youngsters like Chad Trady and first baseman Conor Jackson to pick up the slack left by Glaus.
Arizona also extended Webbs deal for another 4 years which was a smart move. Webb is a solid workhorse type pitcher and is the ace of the staff. In 2005 he led the team in both ERA (3.54) and Wins (14 ). The pickup of Orlando Hernandez will at a minimum eat up more innings in 2006. But fans shouldnt expect many wins from him or this rotation. Eric Byrnes is another nice addition but offense really isnt nor ever was this teams problem. The lineup is solid and Luis Gonzalez and outfielder Shawn Greene should project to similar numbers in 2006 even without Glaus in the lineup.
The biggest problem for the Arizona Diamondbacks in 2006 will be their pitching. The team did very little to improve their starting rotation and in fact may have actually weakened it in order to improve their bullpen. Aside from Webb the starting pitching needs much more help. The team shouldnt be considered as serious contenders for the NL West until the pitching receives a significant upgrade.
2005 Overview:
Rebounding from a truly disastrous 111 loss season in 2004, the Arizona Diamondbacks improved their 2005 season record to 77-85 including a final 8-2 record to finish the last 10 games of the year. Led by a balanced offense, the team was able to improve on their 2004 record thanks to the surprise performances supplied by 1st baseman Tony Clark (.304 30 87) and Chad Tracy (.308 27 72). The Diamondbacks also received much needed help from Troy Glaus (.258 37 97), Luis Gonzalez (.271 24 79) and outfielder Shawn Greene (.286 22 73).
Arizonas starting pitching was spotty for much of the season with starters Brandon Webb (14-12 3.54), Javier Vazquez (11-15 4.42) and Brad Halsey (8-12 4.61) providing the majority of the quality starts in 2005. Relievers Brandon Medders (4-1 1.78) and Lance Cormier (7-3 5.11) joined Brandon Lyon (0-2 6.44 14 saves), Brian Burney (1-3 7.43 12 saves) and Jose Val Verde (3-4 2.44 15 saves) who combined to save 41 games in total.
Off Season Moves:
Arizona moved aggressively in the off season by shipping Javier Vazquez to the White Sox for Orlando Hernandez (9-9 5.12), and also trading power hitter Troy Glaus to the Blue Jays for closer Miguel Batista (5-8 4.10 31 saves) as well as Gold Glove second baseman Orlando Hudson (.271 10 63). The Diamondbacks also picked up catcher Johnny Estrada (.261 4 39) in a off season trade with the Atlanta Braves. The team signed free agent center fielder Eric Byrnes (.226 10 40) to help improve the as well.
2006 Analysis:
The Diamondbacks addressed their need for a legitimate closer by dealing Glaus in an aggressive off season move. Although Glaus hitting will be greatly missed, the Diamondbacks will get far more reliability with Batista then any of the options they used last year. The team is relying on youngsters like Chad Trady and first baseman Conor Jackson to pick up the slack left by Glaus.
Arizona also extended Webbs deal for another 4 years which was a smart move. Webb is a solid workhorse type pitcher and is the ace of the staff. In 2005 he led the team in both ERA (3.54) and Wins (14 ). The pickup of Orlando Hernandez will at a minimum eat up more innings in 2006. But fans shouldnt expect many wins from him or this rotation. Eric Byrnes is another nice addition but offense really isnt nor ever was this teams problem. The lineup is solid and Luis Gonzalez and outfielder Shawn Greene should project to similar numbers in 2006 even without Glaus in the lineup.
The biggest problem for the Arizona Diamondbacks in 2006 will be their pitching. The team did very little to improve their starting rotation and in fact may have actually weakened it in order to improve their bullpen. Aside from Webb the starting pitching needs much more help. The team shouldnt be considered as serious contenders for the NL West until the pitching receives a significant upgrade.
Wednesday, April 25, 2007
2006 Detroit Tigers Preview
2005 Overview:
About the only good news for Detroit Tigers fans in 2005 occurred at the end of the season. In October it was announced that Jim Leyland was coming out of retirement and had accepted the Tigers managerial job. Leyland is looking to help change the teams fortunes for 2006 and beyond but he will have his work cut out for him. The Tigers managed to win only 71 total games in 2005 posting a lackluster 71-91 record. Yet somehow the Motown offense was able to score a total of 723 runs which was only 18 fewer then the World Series Champion Chicago White Sox. Of course it didnt help matters that the Tigers also allowed a total of 787 runs - mostly due to an inconsistent and underperforming pitching staff.
The 2005 offense was led primarily by outfielder Craig Monroe (.277 20 89), and DH Dmitri Young (.271 21 72). Rookie 1st baseman Chris Shelton (.299 18 59) also provided some much needed offensive spark with veterans Ivan Rodriguez (.276 14 50) and Rondell White (.313 12 53) posting respectable numbers. The rest of the 2005 offensive production was supplied by 3rd baseman Brandon Inge (.261 16 72) and 2nd baseman Placido Polanco (.338 6 36) who was acquired from the Philadelphia Phillies in a midseason trade.
The Tiger starting pitching in 2005 had very few bright spots. Starters Jeremy Bonderman (14-13 4.57) and Mike Maroth (14-14 4.74) managed to combine for 25 total wins, while the rest of the starters struggled for much of the entire season. Both starting pitcher Nate Robertson (7-16 4.48) and Jason Johnson (8-13 4.54) turned in forgettable performances in 2005. The Tigers used a combination of five different closers with Ugueth Urbina (1-3 2.63 9 saves) performing the best, prior to his being traded midseason to Philadelphia.
For Detroit Tiger fans, the season couldnt end soon enough.
Off Season Moves:
The Detroit Tigers signed free-agent lefty Kenny Rogers (14-8 3.46), to a 2-year, $16 million contract, hoping to provide some better stability in the starting rotation. The Tigers also signed closer Todd Jones (1-5 2.10 40 saves) from Florida in order to help upgrade their bullpen. Jones a 12 year veteran experienced a renaissance year with the Florida Marlins by holding opposing hitters to a .230 batting average while saving a total of 40 games (his highest save total in five years).
2006 Analysis:
Rogers is an improvement to the starting rotation as is bringing in Jim Leyland from out of his retirement to help. Leyland has worked in similar environments before and has proven he knows how to handle the challenge. The starting rotation is still lacking. Detroit made a run at a few different free agents this winter, but little materialized. The Tigers have some hitting and can score runs. There's also some talent in the bullpen, but the rotation doesnt appear to be much stronger than it was last season (4.85 ERA, 10th in the AL). Fans will need to be very patient as Leyland attempts to rebuild from within.
2005 Overview:
About the only good news for Detroit Tigers fans in 2005 occurred at the end of the season. In October it was announced that Jim Leyland was coming out of retirement and had accepted the Tigers managerial job. Leyland is looking to help change the teams fortunes for 2006 and beyond but he will have his work cut out for him. The Tigers managed to win only 71 total games in 2005 posting a lackluster 71-91 record. Yet somehow the Motown offense was able to score a total of 723 runs which was only 18 fewer then the World Series Champion Chicago White Sox. Of course it didnt help matters that the Tigers also allowed a total of 787 runs - mostly due to an inconsistent and underperforming pitching staff.
The 2005 offense was led primarily by outfielder Craig Monroe (.277 20 89), and DH Dmitri Young (.271 21 72). Rookie 1st baseman Chris Shelton (.299 18 59) also provided some much needed offensive spark with veterans Ivan Rodriguez (.276 14 50) and Rondell White (.313 12 53) posting respectable numbers. The rest of the 2005 offensive production was supplied by 3rd baseman Brandon Inge (.261 16 72) and 2nd baseman Placido Polanco (.338 6 36) who was acquired from the Philadelphia Phillies in a midseason trade.
The Tiger starting pitching in 2005 had very few bright spots. Starters Jeremy Bonderman (14-13 4.57) and Mike Maroth (14-14 4.74) managed to combine for 25 total wins, while the rest of the starters struggled for much of the entire season. Both starting pitcher Nate Robertson (7-16 4.48) and Jason Johnson (8-13 4.54) turned in forgettable performances in 2005. The Tigers used a combination of five different closers with Ugueth Urbina (1-3 2.63 9 saves) performing the best, prior to his being traded midseason to Philadelphia.
For Detroit Tiger fans, the season couldnt end soon enough.
Off Season Moves:
The Detroit Tigers signed free-agent lefty Kenny Rogers (14-8 3.46), to a 2-year, $16 million contract, hoping to provide some better stability in the starting rotation. The Tigers also signed closer Todd Jones (1-5 2.10 40 saves) from Florida in order to help upgrade their bullpen. Jones a 12 year veteran experienced a renaissance year with the Florida Marlins by holding opposing hitters to a .230 batting average while saving a total of 40 games (his highest save total in five years).
2006 Analysis:
Rogers is an improvement to the starting rotation as is bringing in Jim Leyland from out of his retirement to help. Leyland has worked in similar environments before and has proven he knows how to handle the challenge. The starting rotation is still lacking. Detroit made a run at a few different free agents this winter, but little materialized. The Tigers have some hitting and can score runs. There's also some talent in the bullpen, but the rotation doesnt appear to be much stronger than it was last season (4.85 ERA, 10th in the AL). Fans will need to be very patient as Leyland attempts to rebuild from within.
Why I Would Rather Be A Slugger Than A Pitcher
During the last NLCS, I asked Brandon Backe of the Astros what the hardest thing was for him in making the conversion from outfielder to pitcher in the minors. He said it was "not playing every day." That is why I would rather be a slugger, to answer your question. I'd want my mind and body to be in every inning of every game. I wouldn't want to be one elbow injury away from a possible end of my career or a lost year. I listened to Nolan Ryan talk at the last All-Star FanFest in Houston about how he would have to "rebuild" his body from one start to the next, an incredibly arduous process that the great pitchers know and few fans realize. Ryan would be on the bike immediately after each start, and he said his physical strength would go down to about 50 percent a day or two after each start, and then his mission was to get it back up to 100 percent by the next start. As the slugger you mentioned, I'd love to be in that zone of hitting in the cages every day and be able to "slow down" every pitch like Manny Ramirez and Albert Pujols do so incredibly well.
There is no greater feeling on earth than hitting a ball over a fence and running around the bases at your own speed. And I would be just like Scott Rolen, who has the fastest home run trot in the game -- no-nonsense, get back to the dugout and prepare for that next at-bat. I would be even-keel like a Cal Ripken and a Tony Gwynn and take satisfaction from reaching my potential every day and living in that zone and being completely in every inning.
The above article was written and given to this publication with permissions
by Mark Newman
You can find Mark at www.mlb.com
For me hitting a ball on the sweet part of the bat is the best. As far as doing anything in sports, I cannot think of anything that pleased me more. This includes shooting a basketball, scoring a touchdown, or sinking a long put in golf. When I played, it was my fantasy to hit one squarely. This is what I dreamt about. Hit one to right center. Hit one to left center. Hit one down the line.
Always hit it hard.
Aron Wallad Founder Baseballs Pride and Joy
During the last NLCS, I asked Brandon Backe of the Astros what the hardest thing was for him in making the conversion from outfielder to pitcher in the minors. He said it was "not playing every day." That is why I would rather be a slugger, to answer your question. I'd want my mind and body to be in every inning of every game. I wouldn't want to be one elbow injury away from a possible end of my career or a lost year. I listened to Nolan Ryan talk at the last All-Star FanFest in Houston about how he would have to "rebuild" his body from one start to the next, an incredibly arduous process that the great pitchers know and few fans realize. Ryan would be on the bike immediately after each start, and he said his physical strength would go down to about 50 percent a day or two after each start, and then his mission was to get it back up to 100 percent by the next start. As the slugger you mentioned, I'd love to be in that zone of hitting in the cages every day and be able to "slow down" every pitch like Manny Ramirez and Albert Pujols do so incredibly well.
There is no greater feeling on earth than hitting a ball over a fence and running around the bases at your own speed. And I would be just like Scott Rolen, who has the fastest home run trot in the game -- no-nonsense, get back to the dugout and prepare for that next at-bat. I would be even-keel like a Cal Ripken and a Tony Gwynn and take satisfaction from reaching my potential every day and living in that zone and being completely in every inning.
The above article was written and given to this publication with permissions
by Mark Newman
You can find Mark at www.mlb.com
For me hitting a ball on the sweet part of the bat is the best. As far as doing anything in sports, I cannot think of anything that pleased me more. This includes shooting a basketball, scoring a touchdown, or sinking a long put in golf. When I played, it was my fantasy to hit one squarely. This is what I dreamt about. Hit one to right center. Hit one to left center. Hit one down the line.
Always hit it hard.
Aron Wallad Founder Baseballs Pride and Joy
Tuesday, April 24, 2007
How Can You Use Blogs To Increase Traffic?
I am conducting my 1st customer appreciation webcast and asked my subscribers list what is their most pressing question they have about blogs and rss.
Here's one of the questions I have:
How can you use blogs to incease traffic?
Blogs can increase traffic through the following:
1. If your blog has valuable content, this will attract readers to your blog who will visit again
Most people who perform searches using search engines are actually looking for information, for solutions. The more helpful and relevant content you have, the easier it is for you to attract visitors and also to turn them into loyal readers and subscribers.
2. With a Blog, you can submit to the many Blog directories that exist online.
By submitting to the many blog directories in the proper category, you can expand your reach to targeted subscribers or readers who wants to read your posting on your area of specialisation.
3. Blogs promote relationship building and trust with your readers, as it allows you to interact with them. Your readers can refer a friend and imagine the traffic power that can be generated if each one of your reader make a referral.
For example, if you have 500 readers and each one makes a referral, that will be an additional 500 new subscribers, giving you a total of 1,000 subscribers/readers.
4. By attracting search engine 'bot's to visit the site more often
All search engines have a program known as a 'search engine bot' which basically 'spiders' or searches web sites and bring back the results they have to the search engines.
And 'search engine bots' love content, especially pages with related keywords.
The more frequent you update your pages, the more frequent that search engines
A Blog is actually a content management system. If that sounds too technical, a Blog is a push-button publishing system.
There is no uploading of pages to web host accounts, unlike web pages
For example, with Blogger, you just set up a free account, write what you want, and press "publish".
Your Blog posting will be instantly published and is automatically hosted for you. The hosting is also free by the way.
5. Blogs can be easily turned into an RSS Feed, for syndication.
With RSS Feeds, your Blog contents can be published by other websites that pulls RSS Feeds based on targeted keywords or content automatically.
By turning your Blog into an RSS Feed, you can also submit to the many RSS directories out there, again expanding your reach you otherwise will not have with a normal web site
6. You can add "podcasts" or "videocasts" to your Blog, and reach out to even more people, Audio learners especially "Ipodders", people who own Apple Ipod and likes to download audio from the Internet and listen; as well as Visual learners.
Brandon
brandon(at)brandon-hong.com
http://www.marketing-rampage-with-blogs-and-rss.com
I am conducting my 1st customer appreciation webcast and asked my subscribers list what is their most pressing question they have about blogs and rss.
Here's one of the questions I have:
How can you use blogs to incease traffic?
Blogs can increase traffic through the following:
1. If your blog has valuable content, this will attract readers to your blog who will visit again
Most people who perform searches using search engines are actually looking for information, for solutions. The more helpful and relevant content you have, the easier it is for you to attract visitors and also to turn them into loyal readers and subscribers.
2. With a Blog, you can submit to the many Blog directories that exist online.
By submitting to the many blog directories in the proper category, you can expand your reach to targeted subscribers or readers who wants to read your posting on your area of specialisation.
3. Blogs promote relationship building and trust with your readers, as it allows you to interact with them. Your readers can refer a friend and imagine the traffic power that can be generated if each one of your reader make a referral.
For example, if you have 500 readers and each one makes a referral, that will be an additional 500 new subscribers, giving you a total of 1,000 subscribers/readers.
4. By attracting search engine 'bot's to visit the site more often
All search engines have a program known as a 'search engine bot' which basically 'spiders' or searches web sites and bring back the results they have to the search engines.
And 'search engine bots' love content, especially pages with related keywords.
The more frequent you update your pages, the more frequent that search engines
A Blog is actually a content management system. If that sounds too technical, a Blog is a push-button publishing system.
There is no uploading of pages to web host accounts, unlike web pages
For example, with Blogger, you just set up a free account, write what you want, and press "publish".
Your Blog posting will be instantly published and is automatically hosted for you. The hosting is also free by the way.
5. Blogs can be easily turned into an RSS Feed, for syndication.
With RSS Feeds, your Blog contents can be published by other websites that pulls RSS Feeds based on targeted keywords or content automatically.
By turning your Blog into an RSS Feed, you can also submit to the many RSS directories out there, again expanding your reach you otherwise will not have with a normal web site
6. You can add "podcasts" or "videocasts" to your Blog, and reach out to even more people, Audio learners especially "Ipodders", people who own Apple Ipod and likes to download audio from the Internet and listen; as well as Visual learners.
Brandon
brandon(at)brandon-hong.com
http://www.marketing-rampage-with-blogs-and-rss.com
Before You Change Jobs, Change Yourself
Dont feel appreciated on your job? Youre not alone. Even worse than not receiving praise for good work, is being degraded, belittled or ridiculed by your supervisor, coworkers or both.
No matter what job you have, there are some aspects of it you dont like. Many people work in an atmosphere so toxic that they dread going to work, and often experience sick spells from the anticipation and actual abuse, etc. What can you do if youre in a negative work environment?
Most people would quickly retort, Quit! Get another job. But is that really the solution? Of course you want to seek a job where you can feel appreciated and gratified, but changing jobs may not bring the happy results youre seeking if youre going to be the same YOU in each new situation. Before you quit your job, there are a few things you may need to do.
1. Assess specifically what you dont like and determine what it would take to fix it. If you hate your corner cubicle perhaps trading with someone may work. If your trouble is with unfair conditions or behavior investigate what resources are available to resolve your problem through your Human Resources Department or Employee Assistance Program. Even taking your lunch out of doors instead of in the company cafeteria may help relieve some stress. One clerical worker brings an apple and water so she can take a vigorous walk during her one hour lunch.
2. Pick your battles. Give your situation some deep thought and determine how important your complaint or discomfort is in the general scheme of things. Sometimes just changing your work schedule, lunch hour or location will resolve some problems. Listening to soothing music through a headset while doing desk work helped one employee shut out all the personal exchanges that were going on in cubicles around her.
3. Develop a thicker skin. Most of us have to find love and acceptance in deeper relationships than you can achieve with coworkers. Guard against letting little inconsequential things get to you. Seek humor in the situations that are just plain stupid so you dont unwittingly get swept into becoming a Don Quixote.
4. Draw the line. Make it clear to your coworkers and boss where your personal boundaries are. Some coworkers love to blurt out every detail of their personal lives at work. Maybe you dont.
5. Personalize your workspace. Perhaps having photos of your family and pets on your desk, wall or cubicle cheers you up throughout the day. Many employees bring a lamp, desktop waterfall, plants and soft music to warm up a sterile workspace.
6. Find allies. Align yourself with coworkers who feel the way you do about the job situation. But rather than malign your boss and gossip about coworkers, use your time together to cheer each other up, exchange positive ideas and share new job listings.
7. Learn to play the game better. Happiness in the workplace depends on not just doing your job well, but getting along with the your boss and coworkers also. Learn who you can trust and who can be counted on to stab you in the back. While you can be friendly, you must also guard against overstepping your bounds. Unless youre the boss, refrain from giving your opinion on how the whole company needs to be restructured. When you have suggestions, present them to the decision maker, not to the crowd around the water cooler. Read Survival of the Savvy by Brandon and Seldman to help you safely navigate office politics. Visit websites like http://www.officepolitics.com that offer strategies and resources.
8. Find your passion. Many of us are miserable on our jobs because were just collecting a paycheck, not following our passion. Learn how to find your passion from books, tapes and newsletters such as those offered by Barbara Sher, www.barbarasher.com, The Path by Laurie Beth Jones, The Purpose-Driven Life by Rick Warren, The Seven Habits of Highly Effective People by Stephen R. Covey, What Color is Your Parachute by Bolles and Bolles, and Repacking Your Bags by Leider and Shapiro.
Finally, consider this: discomfort and stress on your job may be a big red flag that you are in the wrong place. This just may not be the job, career or company that suits your style and taste and fufills your life mission. To find your rightful lifes work, you may need to throw out parental shoulds, or get off the fast track with the lets-become-a-millionaire-before-30 crowd. Before you change jobs, do your heartwork. Get busy finding out what you love to do, then get busy doing it.
Dont feel appreciated on your job? Youre not alone. Even worse than not receiving praise for good work, is being degraded, belittled or ridiculed by your supervisor, coworkers or both.
No matter what job you have, there are some aspects of it you dont like. Many people work in an atmosphere so toxic that they dread going to work, and often experience sick spells from the anticipation and actual abuse, etc. What can you do if youre in a negative work environment?
Most people would quickly retort, Quit! Get another job. But is that really the solution? Of course you want to seek a job where you can feel appreciated and gratified, but changing jobs may not bring the happy results youre seeking if youre going to be the same YOU in each new situation. Before you quit your job, there are a few things you may need to do.
1. Assess specifically what you dont like and determine what it would take to fix it. If you hate your corner cubicle perhaps trading with someone may work. If your trouble is with unfair conditions or behavior investigate what resources are available to resolve your problem through your Human Resources Department or Employee Assistance Program. Even taking your lunch out of doors instead of in the company cafeteria may help relieve some stress. One clerical worker brings an apple and water so she can take a vigorous walk during her one hour lunch.
2. Pick your battles. Give your situation some deep thought and determine how important your complaint or discomfort is in the general scheme of things. Sometimes just changing your work schedule, lunch hour or location will resolve some problems. Listening to soothing music through a headset while doing desk work helped one employee shut out all the personal exchanges that were going on in cubicles around her.
3. Develop a thicker skin. Most of us have to find love and acceptance in deeper relationships than you can achieve with coworkers. Guard against letting little inconsequential things get to you. Seek humor in the situations that are just plain stupid so you dont unwittingly get swept into becoming a Don Quixote.
4. Draw the line. Make it clear to your coworkers and boss where your personal boundaries are. Some coworkers love to blurt out every detail of their personal lives at work. Maybe you dont.
5. Personalize your workspace. Perhaps having photos of your family and pets on your desk, wall or cubicle cheers you up throughout the day. Many employees bring a lamp, desktop waterfall, plants and soft music to warm up a sterile workspace.
6. Find allies. Align yourself with coworkers who feel the way you do about the job situation. But rather than malign your boss and gossip about coworkers, use your time together to cheer each other up, exchange positive ideas and share new job listings.
7. Learn to play the game better. Happiness in the workplace depends on not just doing your job well, but getting along with the your boss and coworkers also. Learn who you can trust and who can be counted on to stab you in the back. While you can be friendly, you must also guard against overstepping your bounds. Unless youre the boss, refrain from giving your opinion on how the whole company needs to be restructured. When you have suggestions, present them to the decision maker, not to the crowd around the water cooler. Read Survival of the Savvy by Brandon and Seldman to help you safely navigate office politics. Visit websites like http://www.officepolitics.com that offer strategies and resources.
8. Find your passion. Many of us are miserable on our jobs because were just collecting a paycheck, not following our passion. Learn how to find your passion from books, tapes and newsletters such as those offered by Barbara Sher, www.barbarasher.com, The Path by Laurie Beth Jones, The Purpose-Driven Life by Rick Warren, The Seven Habits of Highly Effective People by Stephen R. Covey, What Color is Your Parachute by Bolles and Bolles, and Repacking Your Bags by Leider and Shapiro.
Finally, consider this: discomfort and stress on your job may be a big red flag that you are in the wrong place. This just may not be the job, career or company that suits your style and taste and fufills your life mission. To find your rightful lifes work, you may need to throw out parental shoulds, or get off the fast track with the lets-become-a-millionaire-before-30 crowd. Before you change jobs, do your heartwork. Get busy finding out what you love to do, then get busy doing it.
Monday, April 23, 2007
After Rocky Start, Sky is the Limit for Bomar
The career of QB Rhett Bomar started a bit rough, to say the least. He committed to OU, expecting to have a clear line to the job as a true freshman. True, Paul Thompson was there, but with competition, Bomar knew that he could step it up and try to win the job.
Then Jason White did the unexpectedthe fifth year senior decided to come back for a sixth year of eligibility granted by injury. When Bomar committed earlier in the year, Jason White was simply an outgoing senior, a guy who had two bum knees and hadnt finished a season with playing time without getting hurt one way or another. When the 2003 season was over, White was the Heisman Trophy winner, coming back to defend his honor as the most outstanding player in the nation.
After sitting out the 2004 season learning the system and honing his skills during a redshirt season, he faced a heated battle during the spring and summer with Paul Thompson. Bomar was the fan-favorite in many ways, he was the up-and-comer who was highly recruited and had the arm and tools to become the next John Elway (as the Daily Oklahoman put it). Thompson proved to be more level-headed by not making as many mistakes during practiceshowing the signs of a veteran in the system. The coaches were impressed more with Thompsons consistency than by Bomars flashes of brilliance and Thompson received the job.
The unthinkable happened the first week of this season as Oklahoma, a team that had played in two consecutive BCS title games, lost at home to TCU, a solid mid-major, but a 20+ point underdog. The 17-10 loss to the Horned Frogs featured little in the way of offensive prowess. Neither quarterback played well, with Thompson responsible for three turnovers, Bomar for one in his limited action.
Still, the OU coaching staff decided the Paul Thompson-era at OU would just last one game. Bomar got the start for the second game against Tulsa, and while the Sooners got the win 31-15, it was mostly because of Adrian Peterson, who ran for 230 yards. Bomar got just 13 pass attempts and turned those into only 42 yards. The Golden Hurricane had almost that many on their two interception returns. It got so bad that even with a slim 7-6 lead at the half, Oklahoma did not even attempt a pass in the second half, running every time to their 24 second half points.
Since then, however, Bomar has grown up, and done it fast. He has been to the road at storied programs like UCLA and Nebraska. He has played against Texas in the Cotton Bowl. He has had lots of success as of late, with the Sooners winning five of their last six. Two of those games featured either no Adrian Peterson or an ineffective one.
Bomar showed perhaps the most in the Sooners loss at Texas Tech. Bomar had been enjoying a rough outing the first three quarters of the game, but he managed to put that behind him and lead OU back to the lead. Bomar took the team under his reigns, leading them on 11 and 9 play drives for TDs to put OU in the lead 21-17. His stats werent great for the game, but he showed the ability to put that behind him and lead his team to victory. Only questionable calls later in the game kept OU from winning the game.
People look at Bomars stats and may ask what the big deal is. Well, one must not forget that Jason Whites favorite targets all left with him. Mark Bradley was drafted by the Bears, Mark Clayton by the Ravens, and Brandon Jones by the Titans. The OL lost two four-year starters, Wes Sims and Vince Carter to go along with Outland Trophy winner Jammal Brown. The cupboard wasnt bare, but it wasnt exactly left stocked full either. The talent may be as good as it was under White, but the polished experience wasnt there.
Bomar has grown faster than his freshmen WR corps. Earlier in the year the passes werent hitting their targets as often. Costly turnovers were plaguing the Sooners more, and blame could be directed at the QB position. Now, more often than not, the passes are on target, but the wideouts arent catching the balls.
Judging his improvement with his experience throughout the year, the sky is the limit for this freshman QB. If he continues to improve at this rate, he could be one of the greats, continuing the Oklahoma tradition that goes back to Mildren, Watts, Holieway, Heupel, and White. He already had the talent, now he has the experience to go with it...it could be a scary three years for the rest of the conference.
The career of QB Rhett Bomar started a bit rough, to say the least. He committed to OU, expecting to have a clear line to the job as a true freshman. True, Paul Thompson was there, but with competition, Bomar knew that he could step it up and try to win the job.
Then Jason White did the unexpectedthe fifth year senior decided to come back for a sixth year of eligibility granted by injury. When Bomar committed earlier in the year, Jason White was simply an outgoing senior, a guy who had two bum knees and hadnt finished a season with playing time without getting hurt one way or another. When the 2003 season was over, White was the Heisman Trophy winner, coming back to defend his honor as the most outstanding player in the nation.
After sitting out the 2004 season learning the system and honing his skills during a redshirt season, he faced a heated battle during the spring and summer with Paul Thompson. Bomar was the fan-favorite in many ways, he was the up-and-comer who was highly recruited and had the arm and tools to become the next John Elway (as the Daily Oklahoman put it). Thompson proved to be more level-headed by not making as many mistakes during practiceshowing the signs of a veteran in the system. The coaches were impressed more with Thompsons consistency than by Bomars flashes of brilliance and Thompson received the job.
The unthinkable happened the first week of this season as Oklahoma, a team that had played in two consecutive BCS title games, lost at home to TCU, a solid mid-major, but a 20+ point underdog. The 17-10 loss to the Horned Frogs featured little in the way of offensive prowess. Neither quarterback played well, with Thompson responsible for three turnovers, Bomar for one in his limited action.
Still, the OU coaching staff decided the Paul Thompson-era at OU would just last one game. Bomar got the start for the second game against Tulsa, and while the Sooners got the win 31-15, it was mostly because of Adrian Peterson, who ran for 230 yards. Bomar got just 13 pass attempts and turned those into only 42 yards. The Golden Hurricane had almost that many on their two interception returns. It got so bad that even with a slim 7-6 lead at the half, Oklahoma did not even attempt a pass in the second half, running every time to their 24 second half points.
Since then, however, Bomar has grown up, and done it fast. He has been to the road at storied programs like UCLA and Nebraska. He has played against Texas in the Cotton Bowl. He has had lots of success as of late, with the Sooners winning five of their last six. Two of those games featured either no Adrian Peterson or an ineffective one.
Bomar showed perhaps the most in the Sooners loss at Texas Tech. Bomar had been enjoying a rough outing the first three quarters of the game, but he managed to put that behind him and lead OU back to the lead. Bomar took the team under his reigns, leading them on 11 and 9 play drives for TDs to put OU in the lead 21-17. His stats werent great for the game, but he showed the ability to put that behind him and lead his team to victory. Only questionable calls later in the game kept OU from winning the game.
People look at Bomars stats and may ask what the big deal is. Well, one must not forget that Jason Whites favorite targets all left with him. Mark Bradley was drafted by the Bears, Mark Clayton by the Ravens, and Brandon Jones by the Titans. The OL lost two four-year starters, Wes Sims and Vince Carter to go along with Outland Trophy winner Jammal Brown. The cupboard wasnt bare, but it wasnt exactly left stocked full either. The talent may be as good as it was under White, but the polished experience wasnt there.
Bomar has grown faster than his freshmen WR corps. Earlier in the year the passes werent hitting their targets as often. Costly turnovers were plaguing the Sooners more, and blame could be directed at the QB position. Now, more often than not, the passes are on target, but the wideouts arent catching the balls.
Judging his improvement with his experience throughout the year, the sky is the limit for this freshman QB. If he continues to improve at this rate, he could be one of the greats, continuing the Oklahoma tradition that goes back to Mildren, Watts, Holieway, Heupel, and White. He already had the talent, now he has the experience to go with it...it could be a scary three years for the rest of the conference.
Popular Baby Names
Are you looking for cute baby names? This article explains the meaning and history of the 50 most popular baby names in the United States this year.
25 Most Popular Names for BOYS
1 (most popular). Jacob is a biblical name, which has its origins in the Hebrew language.
Jacob means 'supplanter' or 'one who grasps the heel;' this is because the biblical Jacob
was born holding his twin brother's heel.
2. Michael is a biblical name, which means 'who is like God.' The bearer of this name
in the bible is the leader of heaven's armies, and so is considered the patron saint of
soldiers.
3. Joshua is from the Hebrew language, and means 'savior.' In the bible Joshua was
chosen to lead the Isrealites as the successor to Moses.
4. Matthew is a biblical name, meaning 'given,' or 'reward.' Matthew was one of the 12
apostles, and wrote the first Gospel in the New Testament regarding the life of Jesus.
5. Andrew is a biblical name which means 'manly' and 'brave.' In the bible Andrew
was the first apostle, and is the patron saint of Scotland and of Russia.
6. Joseph is a biblical name meaning 'addition,' or 'increase.'
7. Ethan is the name from the Old Testament. It means 'solid, strong,' and 'constancy,
enduring.'
8. Daniel means 'God is my judge.' In the Old Testament Daniel was a prophet.
9. Christopher is a Latin name, and it means 'bearing Christ,' or 'he who holds Christ in
his heart.' When Jesus was a child, Saint Christopher is believed to have carried him
across a river.
10. Anthony is a Latin name which means 'flower,' from the Greek word anthos, or
'priceless.'
11. William has its origins in the German language, and means 'helmet, protection.'
This is also the first name of Mr. Shakespeare.
12. Ryan is an Irish name in origin, which means 'little king
13. Nicholas is a Greek name which means 'the people's victory.' St. Nicholas, better
known as Santa Claus, is the patron saint of children and merchants.
14. David is a Hebrew name meaning 'beloved,' or 'dear.' In the Old Testament David
was the second king of Israel.
15. Tyler is derived from an Old English surname which was used to denote one's
occupation as a 'tile layer.'
16. Alexander is derived from the Greek. It means 'defender of men.'
17. John is a biblical name; owned by John the Baptist and John the apostle. John means
'gracious,' or 'mercy of the Lord.'
18. James is a Hebrew name, and a derivative of the common name Jacob. James means
'to supplant.'
19. Dylan is a Welsh name and means 'sea,' or 'Son of the wave.'
20. Zachary is an English variant on the Hebrew name Zachariah, which means
'remembered by God.'
21. Brandon is an English name of a place, which meant 'hill covered with broom;'
broom is a weed. Brandon is also a variant of the Irish name Brendan, which either
means 'prince,' or 'stinking hair.'
22. Jonathan is a biblical name which means 'given of God.'
23. Samuel is a Hebrew name, held by a prophet in the Old Testament. It means 'God
has heard.'
24. Christian meand 'follower of Christ,' and has origins in many languages and
cultures.
25. Benjamin is a Hebrew name appearing in the Old Testament; it means 'son of the
right hand.'
25 Most Popular Names for GIRLS
1. Emily has its origins in Latin, and means 'industrious' in French and German as well.
2. Emma has German and English origins, and means 'whole,' or 'universal' in both
languages.
3. Madison is an English surname derived either from the name Matthew, meaning 'gift,'
or is derived from the name Matilda, meaning 'strong fighter.'
4. Hannah is a Hebrew name which means 'gracious,' and 'merciful.'
5. Olivia is a derivative of the Latin word 'olive,' which is a symbol of peace.
6. Abigail is a Hebrew name meaning 'Father's joy.'
7. Alexis is from the Greek; it means 'helper,' or 'defender.'
8. Ashley is an English name that means 'she dwells in the ash tree grove.'
9. Elizabeth is a biblical name; the mother of John the Baptist in the New Testament.
Elizabeth means 'oath of God.'
10. Samantha is a feminine form of the name Samuel. Samantha means 'listener.'
11. Isabella means 'devoted to God' in Hebrew. It is also supposed to be a Spanish
variant on the name Elizabeth.
12. Sarah is the biblical wife of Abraham and mother Issac, the name Sarah means
'princess.'
13. Grace is an English name meaning 'God's favor.'
14. Alyssa, according to the Greek tradition, means rational.
15. Lauren means 'from the place of Laurel trees,' which in Greek culture are symbols
of honor and victory.
16. Kayla means 'keeper of the keys,' or 'pure' in both English and Greek.
17. Brianna is from Celtic, meaning 'she who ascends,' or 'strong.'
18. Jessica has Shakespearean origins, first appearing in its modern form in the play 'The
Merchant of Venice.'
19. Taylor was an English surname denoting the occupation of tailor.
20. Sophia is from the Greek, and means 'wise.'
21. Anna was used in the Native American Algonquin tribe to mean 'mother,' and also
holds the meaning 'grace' in many languages, including Russian.
22. Victoria was the Roman goddess of victory, and the name consequently means
'victorious.'
23. Natalie is derived from the Latin, and means 'born at Christmas.'
24. Chloe means 'green shoot' in Greek. The name also appears in the bible.
25. Sydney means 'from Saint-Denis,' or 'wide-island.' The name has traceable origins in French and in English.
Are you looking for cute baby names? This article explains the meaning and history of the 50 most popular baby names in the United States this year.
25 Most Popular Names for BOYS
1 (most popular). Jacob is a biblical name, which has its origins in the Hebrew language.
Jacob means 'supplanter' or 'one who grasps the heel;' this is because the biblical Jacob
was born holding his twin brother's heel.
2. Michael is a biblical name, which means 'who is like God.' The bearer of this name
in the bible is the leader of heaven's armies, and so is considered the patron saint of
soldiers.
3. Joshua is from the Hebrew language, and means 'savior.' In the bible Joshua was
chosen to lead the Isrealites as the successor to Moses.
4. Matthew is a biblical name, meaning 'given,' or 'reward.' Matthew was one of the 12
apostles, and wrote the first Gospel in the New Testament regarding the life of Jesus.
5. Andrew is a biblical name which means 'manly' and 'brave.' In the bible Andrew
was the first apostle, and is the patron saint of Scotland and of Russia.
6. Joseph is a biblical name meaning 'addition,' or 'increase.'
7. Ethan is the name from the Old Testament. It means 'solid, strong,' and 'constancy,
enduring.'
8. Daniel means 'God is my judge.' In the Old Testament Daniel was a prophet.
9. Christopher is a Latin name, and it means 'bearing Christ,' or 'he who holds Christ in
his heart.' When Jesus was a child, Saint Christopher is believed to have carried him
across a river.
10. Anthony is a Latin name which means 'flower,' from the Greek word anthos, or
'priceless.'
11. William has its origins in the German language, and means 'helmet, protection.'
This is also the first name of Mr. Shakespeare.
12. Ryan is an Irish name in origin, which means 'little king
13. Nicholas is a Greek name which means 'the people's victory.' St. Nicholas, better
known as Santa Claus, is the patron saint of children and merchants.
14. David is a Hebrew name meaning 'beloved,' or 'dear.' In the Old Testament David
was the second king of Israel.
15. Tyler is derived from an Old English surname which was used to denote one's
occupation as a 'tile layer.'
16. Alexander is derived from the Greek. It means 'defender of men.'
17. John is a biblical name; owned by John the Baptist and John the apostle. John means
'gracious,' or 'mercy of the Lord.'
18. James is a Hebrew name, and a derivative of the common name Jacob. James means
'to supplant.'
19. Dylan is a Welsh name and means 'sea,' or 'Son of the wave.'
20. Zachary is an English variant on the Hebrew name Zachariah, which means
'remembered by God.'
21. Brandon is an English name of a place, which meant 'hill covered with broom;'
broom is a weed. Brandon is also a variant of the Irish name Brendan, which either
means 'prince,' or 'stinking hair.'
22. Jonathan is a biblical name which means 'given of God.'
23. Samuel is a Hebrew name, held by a prophet in the Old Testament. It means 'God
has heard.'
24. Christian meand 'follower of Christ,' and has origins in many languages and
cultures.
25. Benjamin is a Hebrew name appearing in the Old Testament; it means 'son of the
right hand.'
25 Most Popular Names for GIRLS
1. Emily has its origins in Latin, and means 'industrious' in French and German as well.
2. Emma has German and English origins, and means 'whole,' or 'universal' in both
languages.
3. Madison is an English surname derived either from the name Matthew, meaning 'gift,'
or is derived from the name Matilda, meaning 'strong fighter.'
4. Hannah is a Hebrew name which means 'gracious,' and 'merciful.'
5. Olivia is a derivative of the Latin word 'olive,' which is a symbol of peace.
6. Abigail is a Hebrew name meaning 'Father's joy.'
7. Alexis is from the Greek; it means 'helper,' or 'defender.'
8. Ashley is an English name that means 'she dwells in the ash tree grove.'
9. Elizabeth is a biblical name; the mother of John the Baptist in the New Testament.
Elizabeth means 'oath of God.'
10. Samantha is a feminine form of the name Samuel. Samantha means 'listener.'
11. Isabella means 'devoted to God' in Hebrew. It is also supposed to be a Spanish
variant on the name Elizabeth.
12. Sarah is the biblical wife of Abraham and mother Issac, the name Sarah means
'princess.'
13. Grace is an English name meaning 'God's favor.'
14. Alyssa, according to the Greek tradition, means rational.
15. Lauren means 'from the place of Laurel trees,' which in Greek culture are symbols
of honor and victory.
16. Kayla means 'keeper of the keys,' or 'pure' in both English and Greek.
17. Brianna is from Celtic, meaning 'she who ascends,' or 'strong.'
18. Jessica has Shakespearean origins, first appearing in its modern form in the play 'The
Merchant of Venice.'
19. Taylor was an English surname denoting the occupation of tailor.
20. Sophia is from the Greek, and means 'wise.'
21. Anna was used in the Native American Algonquin tribe to mean 'mother,' and also
holds the meaning 'grace' in many languages, including Russian.
22. Victoria was the Roman goddess of victory, and the name consequently means
'victorious.'
23. Natalie is derived from the Latin, and means 'born at Christmas.'
24. Chloe means 'green shoot' in Greek. The name also appears in the bible.
25. Sydney means 'from Saint-Denis,' or 'wide-island.' The name has traceable origins in French and in English.
Sunday, April 22, 2007
Popular Baby Names
Are you looking for cute baby names? This article explains the meaning and history of the 50 most popular baby names in the United States this year.
25 Most Popular Names for BOYS
1 (most popular). Jacob is a biblical name, which has its origins in the Hebrew language.
Jacob means 'supplanter' or 'one who grasps the heel;' this is because the biblical Jacob
was born holding his twin brother's heel.
2. Michael is a biblical name, which means 'who is like God.' The bearer of this name
in the bible is the leader of heaven's armies, and so is considered the patron saint of
soldiers.
3. Joshua is from the Hebrew language, and means 'savior.' In the bible Joshua was
chosen to lead the Isrealites as the successor to Moses.
4. Matthew is a biblical name, meaning 'given,' or 'reward.' Matthew was one of the 12
apostles, and wrote the first Gospel in the New Testament regarding the life of Jesus.
5. Andrew is a biblical name which means 'manly' and 'brave.' In the bible Andrew
was the first apostle, and is the patron saint of Scotland and of Russia.
6. Joseph is a biblical name meaning 'addition,' or 'increase.'
7. Ethan is the name from the Old Testament. It means 'solid, strong,' and 'constancy,
enduring.'
8. Daniel means 'God is my judge.' In the Old Testament Daniel was a prophet.
9. Christopher is a Latin name, and it means 'bearing Christ,' or 'he who holds Christ in
his heart.' When Jesus was a child, Saint Christopher is believed to have carried him
across a river.
10. Anthony is a Latin name which means 'flower,' from the Greek word anthos, or
'priceless.'
11. William has its origins in the German language, and means 'helmet, protection.'
This is also the first name of Mr. Shakespeare.
12. Ryan is an Irish name in origin, which means 'little king
13. Nicholas is a Greek name which means 'the people's victory.' St. Nicholas, better
known as Santa Claus, is the patron saint of children and merchants.
14. David is a Hebrew name meaning 'beloved,' or 'dear.' In the Old Testament David
was the second king of Israel.
15. Tyler is derived from an Old English surname which was used to denote one's
occupation as a 'tile layer.'
16. Alexander is derived from the Greek. It means 'defender of men.'
17. John is a biblical name; owned by John the Baptist and John the apostle. John means
'gracious,' or 'mercy of the Lord.'
18. James is a Hebrew name, and a derivative of the common name Jacob. James means
'to supplant.'
19. Dylan is a Welsh name and means 'sea,' or 'Son of the wave.'
20. Zachary is an English variant on the Hebrew name Zachariah, which means
'remembered by God.'
21. Brandon is an English name of a place, which meant 'hill covered with broom;'
broom is a weed. Brandon is also a variant of the Irish name Brendan, which either
means 'prince,' or 'stinking hair.'
22. Jonathan is a biblical name which means 'given of God.'
23. Samuel is a Hebrew name, held by a prophet in the Old Testament. It means 'God
has heard.'
24. Christian meand 'follower of Christ,' and has origins in many languages and
cultures.
25. Benjamin is a Hebrew name appearing in the Old Testament; it means 'son of the
right hand.'
25 Most Popular Names for GIRLS
1. Emily has its origins in Latin, and means 'industrious' in French and German as well.
2. Emma has German and English origins, and means 'whole,' or 'universal' in both
languages.
3. Madison is an English surname derived either from the name Matthew, meaning 'gift,'
or is derived from the name Matilda, meaning 'strong fighter.'
4. Hannah is a Hebrew name which means 'gracious,' and 'merciful.'
5. Olivia is a derivative of the Latin word 'olive,' which is a symbol of peace.
6. Abigail is a Hebrew name meaning 'Father's joy.'
7. Alexis is from the Greek; it means 'helper,' or 'defender.'
8. Ashley is an English name that means 'she dwells in the ash tree grove.'
9. Elizabeth is a biblical name; the mother of John the Baptist in the New Testament.
Elizabeth means 'oath of God.'
10. Samantha is a feminine form of the name Samuel. Samantha means 'listener.'
11. Isabella means 'devoted to God' in Hebrew. It is also supposed to be a Spanish
variant on the name Elizabeth.
12. Sarah is the biblical wife of Abraham and mother Issac, the name Sarah means
'princess.'
13. Grace is an English name meaning 'God's favor.'
14. Alyssa, according to the Greek tradition, means rational.
15. Lauren means 'from the place of Laurel trees,' which in Greek culture are symbols
of honor and victory.
16. Kayla means 'keeper of the keys,' or 'pure' in both English and Greek.
17. Brianna is from Celtic, meaning 'she who ascends,' or 'strong.'
18. Jessica has Shakespearean origins, first appearing in its modern form in the play 'The
Merchant of Venice.'
19. Taylor was an English surname denoting the occupation of tailor.
20. Sophia is from the Greek, and means 'wise.'
21. Anna was used in the Native American Algonquin tribe to mean 'mother,' and also
holds the meaning 'grace' in many languages, including Russian.
22. Victoria was the Roman goddess of victory, and the name consequently means
'victorious.'
23. Natalie is derived from the Latin, and means 'born at Christmas.'
24. Chloe means 'green shoot' in Greek. The name also appears in the bible.
25. Sydney means 'from Saint-Denis,' or 'wide-island.' The name has traceable origins in French and in English.
Are you looking for cute baby names? This article explains the meaning and history of the 50 most popular baby names in the United States this year.
25 Most Popular Names for BOYS
1 (most popular). Jacob is a biblical name, which has its origins in the Hebrew language.
Jacob means 'supplanter' or 'one who grasps the heel;' this is because the biblical Jacob
was born holding his twin brother's heel.
2. Michael is a biblical name, which means 'who is like God.' The bearer of this name
in the bible is the leader of heaven's armies, and so is considered the patron saint of
soldiers.
3. Joshua is from the Hebrew language, and means 'savior.' In the bible Joshua was
chosen to lead the Isrealites as the successor to Moses.
4. Matthew is a biblical name, meaning 'given,' or 'reward.' Matthew was one of the 12
apostles, and wrote the first Gospel in the New Testament regarding the life of Jesus.
5. Andrew is a biblical name which means 'manly' and 'brave.' In the bible Andrew
was the first apostle, and is the patron saint of Scotland and of Russia.
6. Joseph is a biblical name meaning 'addition,' or 'increase.'
7. Ethan is the name from the Old Testament. It means 'solid, strong,' and 'constancy,
enduring.'
8. Daniel means 'God is my judge.' In the Old Testament Daniel was a prophet.
9. Christopher is a Latin name, and it means 'bearing Christ,' or 'he who holds Christ in
his heart.' When Jesus was a child, Saint Christopher is believed to have carried him
across a river.
10. Anthony is a Latin name which means 'flower,' from the Greek word anthos, or
'priceless.'
11. William has its origins in the German language, and means 'helmet, protection.'
This is also the first name of Mr. Shakespeare.
12. Ryan is an Irish name in origin, which means 'little king
13. Nicholas is a Greek name which means 'the people's victory.' St. Nicholas, better
known as Santa Claus, is the patron saint of children and merchants.
14. David is a Hebrew name meaning 'beloved,' or 'dear.' In the Old Testament David
was the second king of Israel.
15. Tyler is derived from an Old English surname which was used to denote one's
occupation as a 'tile layer.'
16. Alexander is derived from the Greek. It means 'defender of men.'
17. John is a biblical name; owned by John the Baptist and John the apostle. John means
'gracious,' or 'mercy of the Lord.'
18. James is a Hebrew name, and a derivative of the common name Jacob. James means
'to supplant.'
19. Dylan is a Welsh name and means 'sea,' or 'Son of the wave.'
20. Zachary is an English variant on the Hebrew name Zachariah, which means
'remembered by God.'
21. Brandon is an English name of a place, which meant 'hill covered with broom;'
broom is a weed. Brandon is also a variant of the Irish name Brendan, which either
means 'prince,' or 'stinking hair.'
22. Jonathan is a biblical name which means 'given of God.'
23. Samuel is a Hebrew name, held by a prophet in the Old Testament. It means 'God
has heard.'
24. Christian meand 'follower of Christ,' and has origins in many languages and
cultures.
25. Benjamin is a Hebrew name appearing in the Old Testament; it means 'son of the
right hand.'
25 Most Popular Names for GIRLS
1. Emily has its origins in Latin, and means 'industrious' in French and German as well.
2. Emma has German and English origins, and means 'whole,' or 'universal' in both
languages.
3. Madison is an English surname derived either from the name Matthew, meaning 'gift,'
or is derived from the name Matilda, meaning 'strong fighter.'
4. Hannah is a Hebrew name which means 'gracious,' and 'merciful.'
5. Olivia is a derivative of the Latin word 'olive,' which is a symbol of peace.
6. Abigail is a Hebrew name meaning 'Father's joy.'
7. Alexis is from the Greek; it means 'helper,' or 'defender.'
8. Ashley is an English name that means 'she dwells in the ash tree grove.'
9. Elizabeth is a biblical name; the mother of John the Baptist in the New Testament.
Elizabeth means 'oath of God.'
10. Samantha is a feminine form of the name Samuel. Samantha means 'listener.'
11. Isabella means 'devoted to God' in Hebrew. It is also supposed to be a Spanish
variant on the name Elizabeth.
12. Sarah is the biblical wife of Abraham and mother Issac, the name Sarah means
'princess.'
13. Grace is an English name meaning 'God's favor.'
14. Alyssa, according to the Greek tradition, means rational.
15. Lauren means 'from the place of Laurel trees,' which in Greek culture are symbols
of honor and victory.
16. Kayla means 'keeper of the keys,' or 'pure' in both English and Greek.
17. Brianna is from Celtic, meaning 'she who ascends,' or 'strong.'
18. Jessica has Shakespearean origins, first appearing in its modern form in the play 'The
Merchant of Venice.'
19. Taylor was an English surname denoting the occupation of tailor.
20. Sophia is from the Greek, and means 'wise.'
21. Anna was used in the Native American Algonquin tribe to mean 'mother,' and also
holds the meaning 'grace' in many languages, including Russian.
22. Victoria was the Roman goddess of victory, and the name consequently means
'victorious.'
23. Natalie is derived from the Latin, and means 'born at Christmas.'
24. Chloe means 'green shoot' in Greek. The name also appears in the bible.
25. Sydney means 'from Saint-Denis,' or 'wide-island.' The name has traceable origins in French and in English.
Pac-10 Conference
Southern California, the all everything team with amazing speed and an abundance of depth in all the positions is the number one team in the nation. Only one team, on October 1, 2005 has a chance to upset the Trojans. That one team is Arizona State and that is a long shot.
2005 Predicted Order of Finish
1. SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA
Defending national champions have return quarterback matt Leinart and running backs Reggie Bush and LenDale White (1,000-yard rusher) along with wide receiver Dwayne Jarrett with wide open arms. This array of offensive personnel will be impossible to stop. The defense did not fare as well on returning stars and may be the only weakness of this team.
2. ARIZONA STATE
Sam Keller will take over the quarterback duties and with a strong previous showing for the Sun Devils. In leading Arizona State to victory over Purdue in last years bowl appearance, Sam had stellar performance. Their will be many receivers that are capable of being stars in their own right. These include perhaps one of the best receiving one-two receiving combos in the nation in wide receiver Derek Hagan and tight end Zach Miller. There may be a problem with defense.
3. OREGON
Quarterback Kellen Clemens and the spread offense will be giving their opposition a new headache to handle. Throw in the outstanding abilities and talents of Terrance White, the defenses will be thrown off balance. Newcomer Derrick Jones, with his blazing speed will also add something new to the mix. The defense is solid and is anchored by Devan Long and Haloti Ngata.
4. CALIFORNIA
Quarterback is one of the unsettled positions for the Bears. Junior-college transfer Joe Ayoob will be competing against Nathan Longshore for the leadership of the team. The other outstanding back is Marshawn Lynch, who was impressive at spring training.
5. UCLA
If quarterback Drew Olson (coming off a knee injury) is ready to start the season, the Bruins will be one of the most entertaining teams in the Pac-10. Olsen will have running back Maurice Drew and tight end Marcedes Lewis to go to. There will also be wide receivers Brandon Breazell, Marcus Everett, and Junior Taylor. Drew will be looking to have his second straight 1,000-yard season.
6. WASHINGTON STATE
Senior running back Jerome Harrison and wide receivers Jason Hill and Michael Bumpus should have a break out season. Quarterback will remain unsettled and may affect the showing of the running back and wide receivers. Josh Swogger and Alex Brink will compete for the quarterback position.
7. STANFORD
After finishing 114th in the nation in rushing, the Trojans will run the West Coast offensive in 2005. Considering the talent level of the Trojans, this will be a tall ordrer and may not be filled. Possible quarterback would be Trent Edwards with T.C. Ostrander available to step in if he drops the ball.
8. OREGON STATE
Talent is thin for the Beavers this year. Wide receiver Mike Hass is ready to catch the ball, but it is uncertain who will throw it to him. Will it be Ryan Gunderson or UCLA transfer Matt Moore? Defense has no returning horses.
9. WASHINGTON
With an awful minus-19 in turnover ratio for 2004, the team will have to learn how to hold on to the ball before their game on Sept 24 with Notre Dame. The Huskies are at least two years away from reversing their downward trend.
10. ARIZONA
Where is the talent? If there is any, now is the time to step forward. The Wildcats will have to run the ball and it will be hard for them to win, because they will start out at the low end of the score. Without any passing attack, it will be impossible to win to many games. Syndric Steptoe is young and inexperience at receiver. Defense has too many unknown qualities to list.
Southern California, the all everything team with amazing speed and an abundance of depth in all the positions is the number one team in the nation. Only one team, on October 1, 2005 has a chance to upset the Trojans. That one team is Arizona State and that is a long shot.
2005 Predicted Order of Finish
1. SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA
Defending national champions have return quarterback matt Leinart and running backs Reggie Bush and LenDale White (1,000-yard rusher) along with wide receiver Dwayne Jarrett with wide open arms. This array of offensive personnel will be impossible to stop. The defense did not fare as well on returning stars and may be the only weakness of this team.
2. ARIZONA STATE
Sam Keller will take over the quarterback duties and with a strong previous showing for the Sun Devils. In leading Arizona State to victory over Purdue in last years bowl appearance, Sam had stellar performance. Their will be many receivers that are capable of being stars in their own right. These include perhaps one of the best receiving one-two receiving combos in the nation in wide receiver Derek Hagan and tight end Zach Miller. There may be a problem with defense.
3. OREGON
Quarterback Kellen Clemens and the spread offense will be giving their opposition a new headache to handle. Throw in the outstanding abilities and talents of Terrance White, the defenses will be thrown off balance. Newcomer Derrick Jones, with his blazing speed will also add something new to the mix. The defense is solid and is anchored by Devan Long and Haloti Ngata.
4. CALIFORNIA
Quarterback is one of the unsettled positions for the Bears. Junior-college transfer Joe Ayoob will be competing against Nathan Longshore for the leadership of the team. The other outstanding back is Marshawn Lynch, who was impressive at spring training.
5. UCLA
If quarterback Drew Olson (coming off a knee injury) is ready to start the season, the Bruins will be one of the most entertaining teams in the Pac-10. Olsen will have running back Maurice Drew and tight end Marcedes Lewis to go to. There will also be wide receivers Brandon Breazell, Marcus Everett, and Junior Taylor. Drew will be looking to have his second straight 1,000-yard season.
6. WASHINGTON STATE
Senior running back Jerome Harrison and wide receivers Jason Hill and Michael Bumpus should have a break out season. Quarterback will remain unsettled and may affect the showing of the running back and wide receivers. Josh Swogger and Alex Brink will compete for the quarterback position.
7. STANFORD
After finishing 114th in the nation in rushing, the Trojans will run the West Coast offensive in 2005. Considering the talent level of the Trojans, this will be a tall ordrer and may not be filled. Possible quarterback would be Trent Edwards with T.C. Ostrander available to step in if he drops the ball.
8. OREGON STATE
Talent is thin for the Beavers this year. Wide receiver Mike Hass is ready to catch the ball, but it is uncertain who will throw it to him. Will it be Ryan Gunderson or UCLA transfer Matt Moore? Defense has no returning horses.
9. WASHINGTON
With an awful minus-19 in turnover ratio for 2004, the team will have to learn how to hold on to the ball before their game on Sept 24 with Notre Dame. The Huskies are at least two years away from reversing their downward trend.
10. ARIZONA
Where is the talent? If there is any, now is the time to step forward. The Wildcats will have to run the ball and it will be hard for them to win, because they will start out at the low end of the score. Without any passing attack, it will be impossible to win to many games. Syndric Steptoe is young and inexperience at receiver. Defense has too many unknown qualities to list.
Saturday, April 21, 2007
Home-Schooling Researched
Educators, Parents, Students lend me your ears, my name is Katie Criss and I am going to discuss home schooling with you. Currently there is a very heated debate over the issue of Home schooling in America. Today I am going to present you with my views on this critical subject. When I say my views Im not going to stick my finger in the air to see what way the wind is blowing with this issue of home schooling. I know there are two sides, and supporters of both.. Rather I am going to present to you my viewpoints with opinion and research on why I am a critic of home schooling.
When I asked myself the question, How do you feel about home schooling? I first thought Why would anyone do that So I researched exactly that, What are the reasons that people give of why they choose to homeschool and how valid are they.
One reason that I frequently found through research was that parents home schooled their children because of the violence found in public schools. My response to this is Yes, there is violence in public schools, However, there are many preventive measures that are taken to avert this violence and most schools have incorporated a Zero-tolerance policy. Parents justify themselves by reciting isolated incidents to help build their case for home schooling. My message to parents who use this excuse to validate themselves is, first ask yourself the question, Is their violence in my neighborhood. I am sure if you are living in Harlem, New York compared to South Park, Pennsylvania there is going to be an immense difference in the crime of the area. My next question is, how do you expect to protect your child from all the dangers of society? Home schooling your child is a parents attempt to isolate their child from the real world scary stories. If you are afraid of your child being bullied, what will happen when your child becomes an adult and meets a bullying boss? This is a real-world story; children need the exposure to different people. Why? Simple, because nobody in this world is the same.
After doing much research and learning that parents question the safety of their children in public schools, I myself questioned the safety of home schooled children. From this research I concluded that current home schooling laws allow people who mistreat children to keep them in social isolation in order for the abuse and neglect to go undetected. To back this statement up I will cite a few of many incidents.
Smithfield North Carolina October 13, 2003. A sign hangs on the wall that reads so this is not home sweet home, adjust. In the bedroom, 14-year-old Brandon had committed suicide after killing his brother and sister. Yes, these children were home schooled, but the real point of this story is that the Warrens had home schooled their children before, in Arizona, where they were convicted of Child Abuse. An investigator in Arizona recorded that the children were tortured physically and emotionally. However, that is information that North Carolina school officials are not required to collect. In fact, since home schooling became legal in North Carolina in 1985, the number of home schooled students jumped from just a few hundred to more than 50,000. BUT there has been no change in the number of state employees that oversee the program- there is just three for the ENTIRE state.
In Iowa, a father is serving life, and a mother will go on trial this month, for killing their 10-year-old adopted son and burying him at their house in the backyard. Because they were home schooling no one noticed that he was missing for one entire year.
In Texas, Deanna Laney, home schooling mother of three, told investigators that she beat her children with rocks because she was saving them from Satan.
Another notorious and similar case is that of Andrea Yates, Texas home schooling mother of five who drowned all five children in her home bathtub. Many claim that Yates had been overwhelmed by the demands of constantly spending time with her children due to the fact that she was a home schooling parent.
To compare, Yates and Laney, Both of these mothers were religious. Both were subservient wives handling childcare pressures. Interestingly, both utilized Christian home schooling for their doomed children. Both "talked to God." Both fundamentalist Christian mothers say they sacrificed their own children "for God." Each of Andrea Yates children, like Mrs. Laney's, were home-schooled and had Biblical names. These are Two examples that are very similar to each other, both mentally ill mothers trusted to be at home with their children and give them their education. Which leads me to my next finding, Parents claim to home school their children to provide them with a better education then public schooling can give. My question is, How is a parent qualified to provide their child with an education?
Home schooling parents have no set curriculum to go by, but not to worry they simply can purchase books of the internet entitled Home schooling for Dummies if they are having trouble, that should fix any problems. I would like to address educators and prospective educators, and ask them the question, Could you replace your studies with one do-it-yourself dummies book?
I am sure that if you could then that would be the route of study pursued, rather then long hours of tedious work provided by a college institution. In order to even pursue a career in education in the state of Pennsylvania, one must provide clearances that show a clear background check, take Praxis Tests to show knowledge, complete at the minimum a 4 year education program with at least a 3.0 average, a speech and hearing test, observation hours, supervised student teaching, and lifelong learning credits in order to keep their certification in the field. Yet, to homeschool in California the only requirement is that parents provide notification that they will be home schooling their child. The only qualifications to teach listed are that the parents are capable of teaching. Even more shocking is the state of Texas, home to both Andrea Yates and Deanna Laney, has no requirements for home schooling, in fact parents do not even have to notify the state that they will be home schooling. They must possess no qualifications in order to teach. Thats it, if they want to be a teacher, they are!
Please note that every state is different. In South Carolina, colored moderate regulation a parent must have at least a GED or high school diploma to teach. However in New York, which is considered high regulation, no qualifications are necessary. Therefore if a parent did not even get a high school diploma in New York they are still qualified to teach their child high school material. I have concluded from this information that a child can only go as far as their parents have, and in some instances that may not be very far. Therefore these children are being cheated out of a valuable education.
Also I have questioned, having a parent as a teacher are they teaching their children their biass? In an institution goals are made to make sure that the material being taught is bias free. However in a home, a parent is free to choose, and some knowingly, others unknowingly are teaching their child their own biases. In a world that is culturally diverse, one must be exposed to different people and situations in order to appreciate our differences. However if a student had already formed biases then they are virtually closed minded to accepting these differences. Similar to this subject, being that both lead me to a valuable question is how home schooling parents can justify teaching their children for a childs entire childhood. When a student is in a public school they have many different teachers, who use many different teaching methods. However in a home a parent, especially with no education on how to educate, would use only one teaching method. Of course if they are teaching at all, and not just using books and videos. Through different teachers you learn virtually how to learn in different ways. You also learn how to understand people better. My valuable question that ties all these subjects together is how will a child develop his or her socialization skills if they are not exposed to different people? The school environment is much like ones work environment. If a child has never been exposed to such an environment how will they know how to adapt? How will they react to all the different people, different opinions, and different viewpoints? How will they work with groups of co-workers? All these questions address the issue of socialization of children who are home schooled.
Closely related is one of my biggest questions, that is How can a parent make such a crucial decision without their childs consent to remove them from a world that is considered to be the norm and place them in a world in which they in effect are isolated? These children will develop low self esteems and forever question why it was their parents did not want to send them to school, to show them off to the world, instead they will wonder why are they hiding me? Most importantly, These children will not have the experience that public school provides, they will not have the experience that unites us citizens and provides us with a common background. They will not get to experience the simple things like go to proms, participate in sports in which an entire school is benefited, have a school lunch, a lock on their locker, a ride on a school bus, recess, watching for their school to be cancelled on TV from snow days, and all the other little but character building events that take place in a public school students life.
In closing, American citizens, together lets promote our very prestigious and notorious public school system and crusade against the leniency of home schooling that consequently will benefit our country by providing a solid education for all.
Educators, Parents, Students lend me your ears, my name is Katie Criss and I am going to discuss home schooling with you. Currently there is a very heated debate over the issue of Home schooling in America. Today I am going to present you with my views on this critical subject. When I say my views Im not going to stick my finger in the air to see what way the wind is blowing with this issue of home schooling. I know there are two sides, and supporters of both.. Rather I am going to present to you my viewpoints with opinion and research on why I am a critic of home schooling.
When I asked myself the question, How do you feel about home schooling? I first thought Why would anyone do that So I researched exactly that, What are the reasons that people give of why they choose to homeschool and how valid are they.
One reason that I frequently found through research was that parents home schooled their children because of the violence found in public schools. My response to this is Yes, there is violence in public schools, However, there are many preventive measures that are taken to avert this violence and most schools have incorporated a Zero-tolerance policy. Parents justify themselves by reciting isolated incidents to help build their case for home schooling. My message to parents who use this excuse to validate themselves is, first ask yourself the question, Is their violence in my neighborhood. I am sure if you are living in Harlem, New York compared to South Park, Pennsylvania there is going to be an immense difference in the crime of the area. My next question is, how do you expect to protect your child from all the dangers of society? Home schooling your child is a parents attempt to isolate their child from the real world scary stories. If you are afraid of your child being bullied, what will happen when your child becomes an adult and meets a bullying boss? This is a real-world story; children need the exposure to different people. Why? Simple, because nobody in this world is the same.
After doing much research and learning that parents question the safety of their children in public schools, I myself questioned the safety of home schooled children. From this research I concluded that current home schooling laws allow people who mistreat children to keep them in social isolation in order for the abuse and neglect to go undetected. To back this statement up I will cite a few of many incidents.
Smithfield North Carolina October 13, 2003. A sign hangs on the wall that reads so this is not home sweet home, adjust. In the bedroom, 14-year-old Brandon had committed suicide after killing his brother and sister. Yes, these children were home schooled, but the real point of this story is that the Warrens had home schooled their children before, in Arizona, where they were convicted of Child Abuse. An investigator in Arizona recorded that the children were tortured physically and emotionally. However, that is information that North Carolina school officials are not required to collect. In fact, since home schooling became legal in North Carolina in 1985, the number of home schooled students jumped from just a few hundred to more than 50,000. BUT there has been no change in the number of state employees that oversee the program- there is just three for the ENTIRE state.
In Iowa, a father is serving life, and a mother will go on trial this month, for killing their 10-year-old adopted son and burying him at their house in the backyard. Because they were home schooling no one noticed that he was missing for one entire year.
In Texas, Deanna Laney, home schooling mother of three, told investigators that she beat her children with rocks because she was saving them from Satan.
Another notorious and similar case is that of Andrea Yates, Texas home schooling mother of five who drowned all five children in her home bathtub. Many claim that Yates had been overwhelmed by the demands of constantly spending time with her children due to the fact that she was a home schooling parent.
To compare, Yates and Laney, Both of these mothers were religious. Both were subservient wives handling childcare pressures. Interestingly, both utilized Christian home schooling for their doomed children. Both "talked to God." Both fundamentalist Christian mothers say they sacrificed their own children "for God." Each of Andrea Yates children, like Mrs. Laney's, were home-schooled and had Biblical names. These are Two examples that are very similar to each other, both mentally ill mothers trusted to be at home with their children and give them their education. Which leads me to my next finding, Parents claim to home school their children to provide them with a better education then public schooling can give. My question is, How is a parent qualified to provide their child with an education?
Home schooling parents have no set curriculum to go by, but not to worry they simply can purchase books of the internet entitled Home schooling for Dummies if they are having trouble, that should fix any problems. I would like to address educators and prospective educators, and ask them the question, Could you replace your studies with one do-it-yourself dummies book?
I am sure that if you could then that would be the route of study pursued, rather then long hours of tedious work provided by a college institution. In order to even pursue a career in education in the state of Pennsylvania, one must provide clearances that show a clear background check, take Praxis Tests to show knowledge, complete at the minimum a 4 year education program with at least a 3.0 average, a speech and hearing test, observation hours, supervised student teaching, and lifelong learning credits in order to keep their certification in the field. Yet, to homeschool in California the only requirement is that parents provide notification that they will be home schooling their child. The only qualifications to teach listed are that the parents are capable of teaching. Even more shocking is the state of Texas, home to both Andrea Yates and Deanna Laney, has no requirements for home schooling, in fact parents do not even have to notify the state that they will be home schooling. They must possess no qualifications in order to teach. Thats it, if they want to be a teacher, they are!
Please note that every state is different. In South Carolina, colored moderate regulation a parent must have at least a GED or high school diploma to teach. However in New York, which is considered high regulation, no qualifications are necessary. Therefore if a parent did not even get a high school diploma in New York they are still qualified to teach their child high school material. I have concluded from this information that a child can only go as far as their parents have, and in some instances that may not be very far. Therefore these children are being cheated out of a valuable education.
Also I have questioned, having a parent as a teacher are they teaching their children their biass? In an institution goals are made to make sure that the material being taught is bias free. However in a home, a parent is free to choose, and some knowingly, others unknowingly are teaching their child their own biases. In a world that is culturally diverse, one must be exposed to different people and situations in order to appreciate our differences. However if a student had already formed biases then they are virtually closed minded to accepting these differences. Similar to this subject, being that both lead me to a valuable question is how home schooling parents can justify teaching their children for a childs entire childhood. When a student is in a public school they have many different teachers, who use many different teaching methods. However in a home a parent, especially with no education on how to educate, would use only one teaching method. Of course if they are teaching at all, and not just using books and videos. Through different teachers you learn virtually how to learn in different ways. You also learn how to understand people better. My valuable question that ties all these subjects together is how will a child develop his or her socialization skills if they are not exposed to different people? The school environment is much like ones work environment. If a child has never been exposed to such an environment how will they know how to adapt? How will they react to all the different people, different opinions, and different viewpoints? How will they work with groups of co-workers? All these questions address the issue of socialization of children who are home schooled.
Closely related is one of my biggest questions, that is How can a parent make such a crucial decision without their childs consent to remove them from a world that is considered to be the norm and place them in a world in which they in effect are isolated? These children will develop low self esteems and forever question why it was their parents did not want to send them to school, to show them off to the world, instead they will wonder why are they hiding me? Most importantly, These children will not have the experience that public school provides, they will not have the experience that unites us citizens and provides us with a common background. They will not get to experience the simple things like go to proms, participate in sports in which an entire school is benefited, have a school lunch, a lock on their locker, a ride on a school bus, recess, watching for their school to be cancelled on TV from snow days, and all the other little but character building events that take place in a public school students life.
In closing, American citizens, together lets promote our very prestigious and notorious public school system and crusade against the leniency of home schooling that consequently will benefit our country by providing a solid education for all.
Office Politics: Survival of the Savvy
Theres one skill everybody at work wishes they were better at, but you wont find it taught in MBA courses: office politics.
Tales of political sabotage, power plays and turf wars are part of any organizations history. Nonetheless, political competence is the one skill everyone wishes to have more ofbut no one admits to it.
Political competence is the ability to understand what you can and cannot control, when to take action, who is going to resist your agenda, and whom you need on your side. Its about knowing how to map the political terrain and get others on your side, as well as lead coalitions, according to Prof. Samuel B. Bacharach who wrote Getting Them On Your Side, 2005.
Many individuals have good ideas that, if implemented, could yield positive results for their companies. Sometimes these ideas fail because the leaders who propose them cannot gain support from key people.
Defining Political Savvy
Its naive to suggest that all office politics are destructive and unethical. If you define politics in such a narrow and negative way, you overlook the value of political awareness and skill. When political astuteness is combined with ethics and integrity, it can produce positive results for you, your team and your organization.
By avoiding or denying its existence, you underestimate how political behavior can destroy careers, a companys reputation and overall performance. If you define politics in only negative terms, you are naively under-political, which leaves you vulnerable to overly political, self-serving individuals.
Three Phases of Political Competence
Political competence can be developed in an ethically sound way with this three-phase process:
1. Map Your Political Terrain
First, identify all stakeholdersanyone who has an interest in, or who would be affected by, your ideaand how they will react. Some resistance is inevitable. You must anticipate others reactions, identify allies and resisters, analyze their goals, and understand their agendas.
2. Get Others on Your Side
Build your coalitiona politically mobilized group committed to implementing your idea because doing so will generate valued benefits.
How do you win support? You need to be credible. You communicate credibility by letting potential allies and resisters know about your expertise, demonstrating personal integrity, and showing you have access to important people and information. Through informal conversations, meetings and office drop-ins, you need to explain your position.
3. Make Things Happen
You must win others buy-in by making it clear theres a payoff for supporting your effort and drawbacks for not joining your coalition. Show how implementing your idea will ease their workload, increase their visibility within the organization, or help them cut costs in their unit.
Once youve persuaded people to join your coalition, youve established a base that will legitimize your idea. Coalition members will then use their networks to evangelize for you.
Mastering only certain parts of the three identified phases will not yield success. Some people sabotage themselves by failing to complete all three phases when attempting to generate and implement change.
Reducing Risk through Politics
There are risks with any course of action you take. You sometimes have incomplete or inadequate information when making a decision. Building a coalition through dialogue with its members pushes valuable information to the surface.
You are open to criticism and politically vulnerable whenever you make a decision. Politically competent leaders reduce risk by getting as many people as possible on their side. Building a coalition is a search process for the best solution.
Building a coalition, bringing people together and solidifying/expanding your base will leave you less vulnerable to criticism. Its more difficult to attack a leader who has built a large base of support throughout the organization.
Resources on Office Politics
Bacharach, S. 2005. Get Them on Your Side. Adams Media Corp.
Brandon, R. & Seldman, M. 2004. Survival of the Savvy: High-Integrity Political Tactics for Career and Company Success. Free Press.
Kleiner, A. 2003. Who Really Matters : The Core Group Theory of Power, Privilege, and Success:. Doubleday.
Theres one skill everybody at work wishes they were better at, but you wont find it taught in MBA courses: office politics.
Tales of political sabotage, power plays and turf wars are part of any organizations history. Nonetheless, political competence is the one skill everyone wishes to have more ofbut no one admits to it.
Political competence is the ability to understand what you can and cannot control, when to take action, who is going to resist your agenda, and whom you need on your side. Its about knowing how to map the political terrain and get others on your side, as well as lead coalitions, according to Prof. Samuel B. Bacharach who wrote Getting Them On Your Side, 2005.
Many individuals have good ideas that, if implemented, could yield positive results for their companies. Sometimes these ideas fail because the leaders who propose them cannot gain support from key people.
Defining Political Savvy
Its naive to suggest that all office politics are destructive and unethical. If you define politics in such a narrow and negative way, you overlook the value of political awareness and skill. When political astuteness is combined with ethics and integrity, it can produce positive results for you, your team and your organization.
By avoiding or denying its existence, you underestimate how political behavior can destroy careers, a companys reputation and overall performance. If you define politics in only negative terms, you are naively under-political, which leaves you vulnerable to overly political, self-serving individuals.
Three Phases of Political Competence
Political competence can be developed in an ethically sound way with this three-phase process:
1. Map Your Political Terrain
First, identify all stakeholdersanyone who has an interest in, or who would be affected by, your ideaand how they will react. Some resistance is inevitable. You must anticipate others reactions, identify allies and resisters, analyze their goals, and understand their agendas.
2. Get Others on Your Side
Build your coalitiona politically mobilized group committed to implementing your idea because doing so will generate valued benefits.
How do you win support? You need to be credible. You communicate credibility by letting potential allies and resisters know about your expertise, demonstrating personal integrity, and showing you have access to important people and information. Through informal conversations, meetings and office drop-ins, you need to explain your position.
3. Make Things Happen
You must win others buy-in by making it clear theres a payoff for supporting your effort and drawbacks for not joining your coalition. Show how implementing your idea will ease their workload, increase their visibility within the organization, or help them cut costs in their unit.
Once youve persuaded people to join your coalition, youve established a base that will legitimize your idea. Coalition members will then use their networks to evangelize for you.
Mastering only certain parts of the three identified phases will not yield success. Some people sabotage themselves by failing to complete all three phases when attempting to generate and implement change.
Reducing Risk through Politics
There are risks with any course of action you take. You sometimes have incomplete or inadequate information when making a decision. Building a coalition through dialogue with its members pushes valuable information to the surface.
You are open to criticism and politically vulnerable whenever you make a decision. Politically competent leaders reduce risk by getting as many people as possible on their side. Building a coalition is a search process for the best solution.
Building a coalition, bringing people together and solidifying/expanding your base will leave you less vulnerable to criticism. Its more difficult to attack a leader who has built a large base of support throughout the organization.
Resources on Office Politics
Bacharach, S. 2005. Get Them on Your Side. Adams Media Corp.
Brandon, R. & Seldman, M. 2004. Survival of the Savvy: High-Integrity Political Tactics for Career and Company Success. Free Press.
Kleiner, A. 2003. Who Really Matters : The Core Group Theory of Power, Privilege, and Success:. Doubleday.
Friday, April 20, 2007
Why I'd Rather Be A Slugger
During the last NLCS, I asked Brandon Backe of the Astros what the hardest thing was for him in making the conversion from outfielder to pitcher in the minors. He said it was "not playing every day." That is why I would rather be a slugger, to answer your question. I'd want my mind and body to be in every inning of every game. I wouldn't want to be one elbow injury away from a possible end of my career or a lost year. I listened to Nolan Ryan talk at the last All-Star FanFest in Houston about how he would have to "rebuild" his body from one start to the next, an incredibly arduous process that the great pitchers know and few fans realize. Ryan would be on the bike immediately after each start, and he said his physical strength would go down to about 50 percent a day or two after each start, and then his mission was to get it back up to 100 percent by the next start. As the slugger you mentioned, I'd love to be in that zone of hitting in the cages every day and be able to "slow down" every pitch like Manny Ramirez and Albert Pujols do so incredibly well.
There is no greater feeling on earth than hitting a ball over a fence and running around the bases at your own speed. And I would be just like Scott Rolen, who has the fastest home run trot in the game -- no-nonsense, get back to the dugout and prepare for that next at-bat. I would be even-keel like a Cal Ripken and a Tony Gwynn and take satisfaction from reaching my potential every day and living in that zone and being completely in every inning.
The above article was written and given to this publication with permissions
by Mark Newman
You can find Mark at www.mlb.com
For me hitting a ball on the sweet part of the bat is the best. As far as doing anything in sports, I cannot think of anything that pleased me more. This includes shooting a basketball, scoring a touchdown, or sinking a long put in golf. When I played, it was my fantasy to hit one squarely. This is what I dreamt about. Hit one to right center. Hit one to left center. Hit one down the line.
Always hit it hard.
Aron Wallad
Founder Baseballs Pride and Joy
Author of inspirational baseball stories. Stories that hit a home run to your heart.
Sign up for my no cost newsletter @ http://www.baseballsprideandjoy.com
During the last NLCS, I asked Brandon Backe of the Astros what the hardest thing was for him in making the conversion from outfielder to pitcher in the minors. He said it was "not playing every day." That is why I would rather be a slugger, to answer your question. I'd want my mind and body to be in every inning of every game. I wouldn't want to be one elbow injury away from a possible end of my career or a lost year. I listened to Nolan Ryan talk at the last All-Star FanFest in Houston about how he would have to "rebuild" his body from one start to the next, an incredibly arduous process that the great pitchers know and few fans realize. Ryan would be on the bike immediately after each start, and he said his physical strength would go down to about 50 percent a day or two after each start, and then his mission was to get it back up to 100 percent by the next start. As the slugger you mentioned, I'd love to be in that zone of hitting in the cages every day and be able to "slow down" every pitch like Manny Ramirez and Albert Pujols do so incredibly well.
There is no greater feeling on earth than hitting a ball over a fence and running around the bases at your own speed. And I would be just like Scott Rolen, who has the fastest home run trot in the game -- no-nonsense, get back to the dugout and prepare for that next at-bat. I would be even-keel like a Cal Ripken and a Tony Gwynn and take satisfaction from reaching my potential every day and living in that zone and being completely in every inning.
The above article was written and given to this publication with permissions
by Mark Newman
You can find Mark at www.mlb.com
For me hitting a ball on the sweet part of the bat is the best. As far as doing anything in sports, I cannot think of anything that pleased me more. This includes shooting a basketball, scoring a touchdown, or sinking a long put in golf. When I played, it was my fantasy to hit one squarely. This is what I dreamt about. Hit one to right center. Hit one to left center. Hit one down the line.
Always hit it hard.
Aron Wallad
Founder Baseballs Pride and Joy
Author of inspirational baseball stories. Stories that hit a home run to your heart.
Sign up for my no cost newsletter @ http://www.baseballsprideandjoy.com
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