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The waters of late-night television are roiling.
On NBC, Jimmy Fallon is taking over Jay Leno's show, and Seth Meyers is taking Fallon's. ABC's Jimmy Kimmel has moved up half an hour to compete directly with Leno now, and then Fallon in winter 2014. At CBS, David Letterman and Craig Ferguson chug along, hoping the changes will bring new viewers to their shows.
Off the networks, Conan O'Brien is probably kicking himself, figuring he jumped to cable too soon and wondering why Leno would abdicate the "Tonight Show" throne for Fallon but not, a few years back, for him. Chelsea Handler does her thing on cable too. And in syndication this fall, Arsenio Hall will return to a much more crowded fray than the one he left behind.
And in Hall's heyday 20 years ago — or even 10 years ago — all of this would have been edge-of-the-seat news for television devotees, the stuff of agitated headlines: Turmoil in Late Night! Who Will Be the New King? Is It Jimmy's Turn? And, If So, Which Jimmy?
But in 2013, I listen to all the chatter and ask myself: So what?
It's like hearing about dinosaurs banging their necks against each other in a pit of tar just over that hill, out of my field of vision. I'm much more enthused about the mammals that have evolved in front of my very eyes.
To translate that out of metaphor and into reality, those old-line shows following roughly the same 50-plus-year-old format — monologue, celebrity guests, band — seem less and less relevant to me with each passing year.
A small part of it is that their comparatively languid pace is at odds with the contemporary information style. Who has 12 minutes to spend hoping movie star A promoting new film B will say one fresh and recognizably human thing during two segments with show host C? The movie star might well have already been more engaging on her Twitter feed; ditto for the host. And if I've got 12 minutes, I can surely find something more compelling on the Web.
But the much bigger part of it is that the shows, no matter how talented their hosts or how top line their bookings, have simply been eclipsed.
In the '80s and early '90s, if you cared about comedy, you watched, respectively, Dave and Conan. They were the innovators, the ones bending the rules of the medium to take audiences by surprise. Now the most concentrated viewer payoffs — in terms of number of laughs, laughs about substantive matters and laughs that the viewer never sees coming — come from Jon and Stephen.
With each passing year of Jon Stewart's "The Daily Show" and Stephen Colbert's "The Colbert Report," both on Comedy Central, I have watched the other late-night shows less and less. In the past year, what used to be idle curiosity leading me to check in on Dave and Jimmy (Jimmies) and Craig and, yes, even Jay every now and again has all but vanished. I now look at them so infrequently that I don't even feel right calling them by their first names anymore.
Stewart and Colbert deliver taut, compelling and innovative cultural and political satire. (And this has remained true while "Daily Show" correspondent John Oliver has filled in for Stewart during the host's three-month leave to direct a film derived in part from a "Daily Show" field report.) Mr. Leno, Mr. Letterman and Mr. Kimmel, to name three, bring varying degrees of effort and achieve varying degrees of success. But what they have in common is a laconic format that is meant to be winningly casual but comes across, too often, as dead weight.
Case in point: June 24. "The Daily Show" found blistering topical comedy in a Rolling Stone report alleging credit rating agencies took payouts to allow banks to get away with risky financial dealings before the economic collapse.
It culled old footage (why can't network news be as sharp about combing through archives, holding people responsible for what they've said and done, as "The Daily Show" is?) of Al Franken explaining a political cartoon to his fellow senators, with Oliver noting that the Minnesota Democrat "has cracked the code on how to talk to senators — as though they were 6-year-old children." It savaged the TV financial analysts who pretended not to understand an amendment Franken had introduced.
Then it followed it up with a field report on how Canada's highly regulated banking system has been so much more stable over the decades than that of the U.S., with our much freer markets. While this may sound in recap like the opinion page, you can look it up online to see how funny it all became on air. And it was a deeper, richer humor because it was rooted in uncomfortable truths about the world. When the other shows get political, it's not to tell us that our politicians and bankers are failing us in profound ways; it's to make fun, yet again, of John Boehner's skin tone.
Colbert goes after that same level of truth-telling, but he wraps it, to great effect, in more delirium and goofiness. Yes, he is playing a character — dim-bulb right-wing host Stephen Colbert — and so he has license to be a little giddy, but it's also a looser tone he sets. Where Stewart and team manage to be very funny en route to their goal of making a point, occasionally landing on the side of sanctimony, Colbert's first goal is being funny.
His latest addition is having a guy crouching behind his desk stick up his hand for a high-five after the host delivers, say, a bad pun. On Monday, the crux of the pun was NSA spying case figure Edward Snowden and the empty seat photographed aboard an airplane he was rumored to have been traveling on. He either wasn't on the plane, Colbert concluded, "or he was in the bathroom. After all, he is a known leaker."
Big smile on Colbert's face, quick turn in the chair and — bam! — a ringing high-five to the suddenly present upraised hand.
But then his "The Word" essay was an expertly crafted takedown of the trend in media to ask viewers for their opinions and then reflect them right back at people. "We report what you decided" is the new mantra, he said. It's not just humor; it's cutting-edge media criticism. It's comedy with flesh on its bones, with a point of view about the bigger world.
Contrast that to the same night's "Jimmy Kimmel Live." Actor Liev Schreiber, promoting his new show "Ray Donovan," defended himself against stories that girlfriend Naomi Watts had told about him the last time she was on the show: Did he scream like a little girl or not when he stepped into a shoe with a frog in it? And he let us know what he thinks of working in Los Angeles: "You spend a lot of time in your car, and it can be a little isolating." Comic Amy Schumer came on to chat. Iron and Wine played a song.
From what I've seen, Kimmel (along with Fallon) does as much as anyone working today to bend the format. And the old-line talk shows do have a TV hour to fill each weeknight rather than the Comedy Central shows' half-hour Monday through Thursday. But so much of it feels flat and pro forma. It's often a test of patience to find a few great, or even good, moments. The much more prudent strategy with these shows is to keep your ears open for something extraordinary that happened, and then watch it on the Web. Let people with more time on their hands clue you in that Iron and Wine was great on Kimmel last night, or Schumer was outrageous.
With Stewart (now Oliver) and Colbert, watching the show, the whole show, in real time (or at least on DVR) is rewarding. The great moments with Stewart (now Oliver) and Colbert come fast and furious, and after the two segments of tightly scripted comedy, there is — get this — very often a real interview with the author of a real book containing real ideas.
You remember that Johnny Carson used to have Gore Vidal on "The Tonight Show," right? If Gore Vidal wanted to get on big commercial TV these days, "Daily Show" and "Colbert" would be his only options. Just as they have become, really, my only options.
You can argue that I'm comparing apples and oranges, but that's the point. The orange has come along, and while it is still a fruit, it's made that old, mealy apple not worth the trouble it would take to chew. Whether there are more apples than ever, and what their current and future arrangements in the fruit bowl might be, just doesn't matter very much.
You, late-night host, will be right back, as people in your line of work are fond of saying. I'm already gone.
Twitter @StevenKJohnson


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John Ingham gave a talk on an article he recently wrote about the 1967 Pirates. The 1966 Pittsburgh team finished 22 games over .500 and 3 games behind the Dodgers for the NL title. Many pundits thought all the Pirates needed was improvement at third and in the rotation, which they thought they achieved through trade in the off-season, most notably by acquiring Maury Wills from Los Angeles.
That 1967 edition didn't fare nearly as well as expected, finishing at .500, 20 1/2 games behind the Cardinals. Mr. Ingham went on to say the team was reported by contemporary press as 'wracked with dissention' in the clubhouse, which likely contributed to their poor performance on the field, and what he thought contributed to that dissention. I will not give away his thoughts - the article is under consideration for publication at NINE, a journal of baseball history and culture published by the University of Nebraska Press - but I will tell you his thesis centers around three large personalities. Roberto Clemente, Wills, and manager Harry 'The Hat' Walker. It was quite interesting.
On an unrelated subject, I finally got some insight why Joe Morgan was traded from Houston to Cincinnati (Walker landed as manager there after being fired by Pittsburgh during the 1967 season), and I look at the famous Juan Marichal/Johnny Roseboro brawl in a new way.
Next we heard from David Nuffer, a Ernest Hemingway buff. One might wonder what place a Hemingway discussion has in a baseball forum. Aside from this being a learned group (yes, shameless intellectual promotion there), Hemingway was a bit of a baseball fan. According to Nuffer, he played baseball in high school, and while living in Cuba built a makeshift baseball field on his estate for the local boys to use. In fact, one of those boys became his majordomo, and eventually published a memoir of those days titled Hemingway's Cuban Son.
Nuffer is a man of some local fame; apparently he held up signs behind the first base dugout back in the Jack Murphy days. He is a character, pulling out a card which had a herald piece on it, and saying after it finished "I need a proper introduction." I would have liked to have known him when he was younger and not wheelchair bound.
Anyway he talked about The Old Man and The Sea, one of Hemingway's great works. In the pages of that novel there are 7 references to baseball, and embedded in those passages are 9 references to Joe DiMaggio - 'the Great Dimaggio', as the old man calls him. Finally he concluded by reading from the only poem Hemingway is known to have written, called 'The Opening Game' (1912). A great presentation; it was worth making the drive to Petco just to hear him speak.
After the break, Geoff Young took the podium, yes Geoff Young of Ducksnorts fame. Now I am a fairly frequent reader of Ducksnorts, but to show you how out of it I have been these past months I did not know he was speaking at this meeting before he stepped to the mike. It also took me a minute to realize who he was. Geoff summarized his research of great pitchers duels of of the last 90 years, which he had previously published over at The Hardball Times last fall. Geoff's defined a great pitchers duel as a game where both starters posted a Game Score (as invented by Bill James) of 95 or higher.
There have been six such games, but none since 24 Sept 1971. Ironically, that last game involved the Padres, and took place in old San Diego Stadium. As luck would have it, one of the 32 people in attendance at our meeting was also at that particular game. So we got the benefit of hearing about it from a historical/research perspective, and from an eyewitness perspective. Cool.
It was icing on the cake I was able to meet Geoff at this event. I would have liked to talked longer but for the time crunch we were under. Also, I have to admit to placing foot in mouth; a question was asked why there were no such duels since 1971, and I attempted to add on by saying a 95 game score would require a perfect game with 15 strikeouts. Actually a 9-inning perfect game with 6 K's would get a 95 game score. Math is hard.
Next Padres VP and Assistant General Manager Jason McLeod came down to talk to us. The Padres have been wonderfully accommodating to our requests that someone in the front office talk to us. Paul DePodesta, Josh Stein, and Chris Long have all made appearances at our January meeting to talk a little baseball and give us some insight into how they do their jobs (so if you haven't circled the Saturday of the week before the Super Bowl on your calendar, do so).
McLeod gave a brief introduction on his history in the game: Played HS ball, drafted by the Astros, got an internship with the Padres in community relations, ended up in the Padres scouting department, then off to Boston, now back. He then spent the next 40 minutes or so answering questions. Some highlights:
- It's relatively easy to evaluate a player's talent, and develop some idea of what he will become. It's far, far harder to determine if the kid has it mentally. By mentally, he meant how will he handle adversity, the sudden riches, being away from home for an extended period of time, and so on. Interviewing prospects at home is a much bigger part of scouting than I thought.
- He considers the amateur draft the most important day of the year, because teams choose who they bring into the organization. Having a bad draft can set a franchise back two, three, or several years. Look at Pittsburgh.
- Jason gave his thoughts on the Karsten Whitson debacle (well, what would you call it?). He basically confirmed what we've heard - the team had an agreement with the family before the draft, and that evening the family stated there was no agreement and the price had gone up.
- He talked about the Winter Development Program the Padres did this season. First time this franchise has done something like it; it's something he learned from Boston. Nineteen of the team's top prospects spent 10 days in San Diego, receiving some on-field instruction but mostly educational topics. Like how to mentally approach the game, what it means to be a Padre, that sort of thing. McLeod rattled off a who's who of Padres that came to speak to these kids - Dave Roberts, Mark Loretta, Dave Winfield, Trevor Hoffman, Tony Gwynn.
- When asked about foreign players and scouting them, he had some funny comments about the Japanese posting system. But he did talk briefly about India, Europe, and China as areas of the world teams are looking to for baseball talent.
- San Diego has the top baseball facility in the Dominican Republic.
- He was asked if any studies had been done between pitchers of today, and those workhorses of yester-year, using MRIs to image shoulders and see what made the old timers so durable. He was intrigued by the question. He did say most ML pitchers have structural damage in their shoulder simply from throwing a baseball over and over again (even if their mechanics are perfect, they will damage their shoulders).
- San Diego will get Pick #9A (compensation for Whitson) this year, so the 10th pick. They will also get 3 compensation picks (loss of 3 Type B free agents). So, they have 5 of the first 60 picks. A golden opportunity to restock the farm system.
- He was also asked about knuckleballers (how to evaluate), how he would use Red flamethrower Aroldis Chapman (preferred starter, but thought Cincinnati did it right last year), Khalil Greene (out of baseball, no signs he's returning), gave an update on some of the Dominican Republic facility graduates (and he plugged the Lake Elsinore team for 2011 - thinks it will be exciting), discussed Mat Latos' endurance, AND brought along his 2 Boston World Series rings.
- Oh yeah, he answered my question about the Boras effect in the minor league draft (not seeing it yet, but everyone knows what Boras' technique is, and you never hear about the kids who turn down the big money on his advice and then are never heard from again).
The meeting had to speed up at this point. James D. Smith III gave a presentation on 3 umpires, Honest John Kelly, Chet Chadbourne, and Emmet Ashford, summarizing their lives and work in baseball. Mr. Smith is a college professor and gave a very polished presentation. Finally the Chapter presented the results of its "Umpires at Work" project. Seven members of the Chapter, and SABR President Andy McCue, spent the evening of 10 Sept 2010 watching only the umpires while attending a baseball game. Bob Hicks gave a short power point presentation on what they learned during the night, and what he took away from the project. The team observed the crew, then had a chance to meet with two of the umpires, Phil Cuzzi was one of the two, the next morning over breakfast and ask questions. I would have liked to stay and hear the whole thing, but as David Kinney stepped to the microphone we ducked out to head home.
It was a great morning of baseball and well worth the experience for those who attended. I hope you caught a small glimpse of that morning from this summary. Don Norcross of the SD U-T was at the meeting at least through Mr. McLeod's talk; he had not posted a story on the meeting as of 2100 Sunday night, but perhaps he will write about it too.


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South Dakota Attorney General Closer to Determining Cause in Cold Case
Attorney General Marty Jackley released more information that adds more depth to the story of the two teen girls who disappeared in 1971.
Skeletal remains were found in a 1960 Studebaker that was discovered near Brule Creek back in September. On Thursday, a forensic pathologist in Sioux Falls confirmed that the remains belonged to two different individuals. Pam Jackson and Sherri Miller were last seen heading to a party in rural Union County over 40 years ago.
Jackley also shed some light on results of mechanical tests on the Studebaker. The vehicle was in third gear, the highest gear in the car. Foul play becomes less likely because of the condition of the car and the remains of only two people in the vehicle.
The bones have been sent for DNA testing at the University of Texas, with the hopes of identification. The testing can take anywhere from 30-90 days before getting results.


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New Orleans Saint Joe Morgan Scores Amazingly Acrobatic Touchdown
It's been a pretty rough year for the New Orleans Saints. Their head coach, Sean Payton, was suspended for the season for his role in the bounty-gate scandal and the team that went 13-3 in 2011 started the 2012 campaign 0-4.
But things have been looking a bit better for the Saints lately, and on Sunday they defeated the Tampa Bay Buccaneers 35-28 for their second win in a row.
That was thanks in a big part to wide receiver Joe Morgan, who scored just about the most acrobatic touchdown you will ever see.
In the the game's second quarter, Morgan caught a long pass from Saints' QB Drew Brees. He was hit and spun around immediately, but somehow managed to defy the force of gravity and keep his knee from touching the ground.
Then, as he was getting back up, he humorously flipped a second defender who had flown in to try to make the tackle.
A third defender was able to smack Morgan with a more direct hit, but that only served to propel him into the endzone for a touchdown. Morgan did lose the ball after that collision, but since he had already crossed the goal line the TD stood.
It was only Morgan's third catch of the year, but he certainly made it count.


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In response to America's ever-growing interest in nutrition and health, many fitness facilities have added nutritional programs to their menu of services. While doing so can potentially lure new customers and add a lot of value for existing ones, finding qualified individuals to provide nutritional care to their clientele can be a challenge. But just as fitness facility owners and general managers look to hire fitness professionals who hold certifications from highly credible organizations, they need to be sure that the so-called "nutritionists" they hire are highly qualified and can provide appropriate nutrition care to their members.
Here are some questions and answers that help clear up some nutrition confusion, and lead fitness managers to highly credible nutrition and health professionals — registered dietitians.
What does it take to become a registered dietitian?
In order to become a registered dietitian, or an RD, individuals must earn a bachelor's degree from a U.S. regionally accredited university or college and complete course work approved by the American Dietetic Association's Commission on Accreditation for Dietetics Education. They must also complete a six-month to 12-month supervised practice program and subsequently pass a national examination given by the Commission on Dietetic Registration. To maintain RD status, they must receive continuing education credits by attending approved meetings, seminars and workshops.
What is the difference between a registered dietitian and a nutritionist?
While registered dietitian or RD is a legally protected title, there is no standard definition for the title "nutritionist," nor are there any specified requirements individuals need to complete to call themselves nutritionists. However, many registered dietitians also become licensed or certified as a dietitian or nutritionist — at present, 44 states have regulatory laws for dietitians and nutrition practitioners. Often, the same education and training that is needed for an individual to become an RD can be used to become licensed or certified.
Where do registered dietitians typically work?
Registered dietitians work in many different settings. For example, a registered dietitian may counsel clients in a private practice, at a spa, in a physician's office or at a community center, work as an inpatient dietitian in a hospital, work at a food company or in a food service facility or restaurant, or work as a freelance health and nutrition writer. Whatever they do and wherever they work, all registered dietitians translate emerging nutritional science into accurate, reliable and useful information that people can use to improve their eating behaviors and overall health.
What is a typical salary for a registered dietitian?
According to ADA's 2002 Dietetics Compensation and Benefits Survey, registered dietitians earn a median income of $45,000. However, many, particularly those in private practice, earn in excess of $50,000.
What can a registered dietitian do in a fitness facility?
Having a registered dietitian on staff can be a great asset and raise the nutrition bar at any fitness facility. Through a variety of services including one-on-one or group counseling, workshops or seminars, a registered dietitian does not only provide accurate and reliable nutrition and health information to both managers and clients, but can also help them make sense of the latest nutrition and diet trends and fads.
As a full-time or part-time employee, registered dietitians can create innovative programs or enhance existing ones to meet members' needs and by doing so, can enhance the reputation of the fitness facilities in which they work. Furthermore, registered dietitians are uniquely qualified and equipped to work with a variety of populations including athletes, pregnant women, and people with diabetes, heart disease and hypertension. Many registered dietitians also hold additional certifications in diabetes or weight management, or masters or doctorate degrees that further enhance their credibility. Fitness managers who hire registered dietitians can be assured that the expertise and information they receive about nutrition and health from these nutrition experts is sound, up-to-date, and science-based.
How can I locate a registerd dietitian?
To find a registered dietitian in your area, contact the American Dietetic Association, the nation's largest organization of food and nutrition professionals that represents nearly 70,000 members across the nation. Call 1-800-877-1600, ext. 5000, or e-mail the ADA at www.eatright.org.
Elisa Zied, MS, RD, CDN is a New York City-based registered dietitian and a spokesperson for the American Dietetic Association. She also holds a master's degree in clinical nutrition, and is certified as a dietitian/nutritionist by the New York State Department of Education. Zied is also certified as a personal trainer by the American Council on Exercise.


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A large group gathers for the ribbon cutting of the new Melloni's Market Place in Youngstown on Saturday (Photo courtesy Niagara River Region Chamber of Commerce)
When Diane Melloni couldn't get her husband Lou to find out more information about the sale of Market Place in Youngstown, she decided to take drastic measures.
She went to the local bank where the owner's wife worked and appealed to her.
That is what they needed to strike the deal that will lead to Melloni's Market Place grand opening this weekend.
Diane was comfortably retired, showing dogs with her friend when the opportunity arose. While Lou may complain about wanting to slow down, he has always dreamed of owning a grocery store. And, make no mistake; this is a grocery store, not a convenience store. Folks can do their regular shopping here. Melloni's products will be competitively priced, like the large footprint chains, not like the higher "convenience" store models.
You can hear the excitement in Diane's voice when she describes their plans. In addition to fresh meat (a Melloni specialty known in Lewiston for many years), produce and dairy, she will have a café in front where she will be serving Italian cookies and freshly filled cannoli. National brands will be available, along with the ShurFine store brand. Lou insists ShurFine gets a bad rap. He says it's a great, high quality store brand with pricing which complements the store's other products.
Buying the store has had many surprises. They were surprised by the condition of the property, causing a great deal of sweat equity and money to clean it up and make it their own. They were surprised by the amount of paperwork it takes to take out a small loan. Diane says this is the worst part of the renovation.
The greatest surprise, however, has been that of the community. When Lou first thought about buying the store he thought it would be a gold mine. Now, Lou says that whenever he is out and about town, having coffee or grabbing a bite to eat, people stop him and thank him for buying the store and bringing back an opportunity to shop in town. He has seen their sincerity and has been overwhelmed by the welcome.
What started out as a great business opportunity has turned into a wish for the community. Lou and Diane want the people of Youngstown to know they have their grocery store back. As a nearly 30-year resident of this wonderful town below the falls, I'm here to say it is way better than I ever remember. Mission accomplished.


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Let's see. The Kindle, the iPod, the iPad, and the Nook are just a few of the ebook readers that are currently available. How about we use these gadgets to visit a fictional history of Boy Scouting. Say, like 80 plus years ago.
Did you know that in the early days of the Boy Scouts of America there were many authors writing books to catch that market of teenage boys who were joining this new youth program. One author that wrote many books for this young crowd was Percy Keese Fitzhugh. He introduced Boy Scouts to the adventures of Tom Slade, Roy Blakeley, and Pee Wee Harris. I happen to have several of these old books about the Bridgboro Boy Scouts.
According to the website Wikipedia: The bulk of his work, having a Boy Scouting theme, revolves around the fictional town of Bridgeboro, New Jersey. Major characters included Tom Slade, Pee-Wee Harris, Roy Blakely, and Westy Martin. Each of these characters had their own, distinctly different, series of books. In addition, a fifth series, Buddy Books for Boys, featured individual stories of other Boy Scout characters. In all, Grosset & Dunlap published nearly 70 different Fitzhugh titles in these 5 series. (Link)
I would imagine that there are a lot of Boy Scouts who own a device to read ebooks (electronic books). And even more adults and Scouters. Many of these old novels about fictional Boy Scouts are now in the public domain. How about this? We start introducing the boys to these old novels. Let's introduce them to a time in which the Boy Scouts of America was still very new. In fact, I am somewhat excited about this idea so I will kick this off.
I would like to introduce you readers to Boy Scout Tom Slade by providing you with the first book in the series. This book is in the epub format so you will need a device which reads epub files to read this book. (From what I understand, many of the popular ebook devices can use the epub format.) Download the book by clicking HERE.
I currently have 16 epub ebook files I would like to share with you. All are in the public domain. If this first selection receives a fair number of downloads, and if this idea receives a decent reception, I will offer more of these books in the weeks to come. Have fun reading!
By the way, if you would like to read an epub file on your computer try out the free program from Adobe: Adobe Digital Editions. You can find it HERE.


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XML Security Introduction*
There is a requirement to ensure the integrity (via signature) and confidentiality (via encryption) of
of XML documents.
Operating on a "bucket of bits" is easy. Operating on parts of XML documents requires the identification and processing of XML in both an abstract (data model) and consistently serialized (octets) manner.
These activities are not only applications using XML, they also must address questions about XML, such as selecting subsets of a document, and then canonicalizing them.
This is different from access control, authentication and authorization which have fewer issues with XML, but face tricky questions about semantics.
Joseph Reagle, W3C
2 of 18


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Ruby Tuesday Inc. has sold two vacant lots at 8348 U.S. 64, also known as Stage Road, in Bartlett for $1.1 million.
An entity called 64 Kate Hyde Partners bought the properties in a Dec. 5 limited warranty deed from Maryville, Tenn.-based Ruby Tuesday, which operates local restaurants on Sycamore View and Winchester roads.
The two parcels are at the northeast corner of U.S. 64 and Kate Hyde Road. The first is 1.3 acres and has a 2013 appraised value of $563,900, according to the Shelby County Assessor of Property.
The second is 1.4 acres and has a 2013 appraised value of $1,000, according to the assessor.
Ruby Tuesday bought the first parcel in a 2005 special warranty deed from Aquawash Inc. for $1.1 million and the second in a 2005 warranty deed from Stage Road Partners for $40,000.
No financing was associated with the transaction, but a quitclaim deed transferring the properties to 64 Kate Hyde Partners was filed.
Source: The Daily News Online & Chandler Reports– Daily News staff
Stephen Reynolds announced Wed., Dec. 11, that he will retire as president and CEO of Baptist Memorial Health Care Corp., effective in May.
Reynolds' successor will be Jason Little, who is currently chief operating officer and executive vice president.
Reynolds is the fourth president and CEO of the hospital and health care organization. He joined Baptist in 1971 as an administrative resident and took the president position in 1994.
– Bill Dries
The Sundance Lab Film "Free In Deed," a drama about a Pentecostal preacher who tries to help a struggling single mother and her autistic child, will be shot in Memphis.
The film's stars include David Harewood, who most recently had a prominent role as CIA official David Estes on Showtime's "Homeland." The film is written by Jake Mahaffy, who also will direct it, and it is being produced by Mike S. Ryan (whose credits include "Junebug") as well as Mike Bowes and Brent Stiefel.
The Memphis and Shelby County Film Commission helped bring the project to Memphis. Casting is under way now.
– Andy Meek
Eclectic Eye's boutiques are collecting donations for two local nonprofits, the Memphis Child Advocacy Center and the Page Robbins Adult Day Care Center, throughout December.
The Midtown boutique, 242 S. Cooper St., is collecting new teddy bears for the Child Advocacy Center's Bearing It Together program. Eclectic Eye will also donate $5 of every frame purchase to the center, which serves children who are victims of sexual and physical abuse through prevention, education and intervention. Last year, Eclectic Eye donated nearly 140 bears and $1,250 to the nonprofit.
The Collierville boutique, 3670 S. Houston Levee Rd., suite 102, is collecting donations for Page Robbins Adult Day Care Center's online wish list, including art supplies, paper products and food and kitchen items. The boutique will also donate $5 from each frame purchase to the Collierville nonprofit, which cares for individuals with Alzheimer's disease and related dementias while offering support to their caregivers.
– Amos Maki
Incumbent Criminal Court Clerk Kevin Key has checked out his qualifying petition to seek re-election in 2014.
And as Key checked out a petition for the May Republican primary Wednesday, Dec. 11, the Democratic primary for the clerk position got its first possible contender, Michael McCusker.
Richard DeSaussure picked up a petition earlier to run in the GOP primary.
Ryan Loskarn, chief of staff to U.S. Sen. Lamar Alexander, is on administrative leave without pay Wednesday, Dec. 11, after Alexander was told by the Senate legal counsel's office that law enforcement officers were searching Loskarn's residence in a child pornography investigation.
Alexander said in a written statement that he is "stunned, surprised and disappointed by what I have learned."
A poll conducted by Vanderbilt University shows more than three in five Tennesseans support an expansion of Medicaid, though nearly half also have a negative view of the federal health care law.
The survey of 800 randomly selected registered voters released Wednesday showed 63 percent favored an expansion of Medicaid, while 34 percent were against it.
Republican Gov. Bill Haslam last spring declined to accept $1.4 billion in federal funds to cover about 140,000 uninsured Tennesseans under the terms the money was offered. He has been involved in negotiations with the federal government over a special deal for the state, but those efforts have not been fruitful so far.
The Medicaid expansion is part of President Barack Obama's Affordable Care Act, which is viewed negatively by 47 percent in the poll.
– The Associated Press
Tennessee's top agricultural leaders have developed a strategic plan to grow agriculture and forestry over the next decade.
The plan was developed following a challenge by Gov. Bill Haslam a year ago to make Tennessee the No. 1 state in the Southeast in those areas.
It highlights 27 action steps that focus on building production capacity and incentivizing the private sector through four major recommendations.
They include expanding marketing opportunities for Tennessee producers and encouraging new production systems and agribusinesses, as well as increasing the scope and depth of a skilled and educated workforce through career, technical and higher education.
The plan also endorses an initiative by the governor that calls for more than half the state's population to earn a postsecondary degree or certificate by 2025.
The CEO of Delta Air Lines says a bigger security fee being considered in Congress will be paid by travelers, not by the airlines themselves.
CEO Richard Anderson calls the fee a tax, and says it means fares are going up. He says the increase will not be absorbed by Delta.
Congress is debating a budget that would add $5 to each nonstop, round-trip ticket. The money is for a Transportation Security Administration fee, which already stands at $5 per ticket.
Airlines have long complained that sales taxes, security fees, and airport taxes drive up the cost of their tickets unfairly.
Citing a potential threat to public health, the Food and Drug Administration moved Wednesday toward phasing out the use of some antibiotics in animals processed for meat.
Many cattle, hog and poultry producers give their animals antibiotics regularly to ensure that the animals are healthy and to facilitate the production process. Now, the agency has announced that it will ask pharmaceutical companies to voluntarily stop labeling drugs important for treating human infection as acceptable for those uses in animal production.
If the companies sign on, use of those antibiotics to promote growth in animals would be illegal and prescriptions would be required to use the drugs for animal illnesses.
The FDA is hoping to limit antibiotic resistant diseases in humans by decreasing the use of the drugs in animals. Exposure to antibiotics leads germs that survive stronger, so that they could withstand the drug the next time it is used.
Antibiotic resistance is a growing problem, and in September the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention released sobering estimates that more than 23,000 people a year are dying from drug-resistant infections.
The biggest risk is from germs spread in hospitals, and it's not clear how much of the problem is related to the use of drugs in meat. The FDA has been debating how to address it for several years.
Copyright 1995 -
by The Daily News Publishing Co. Inc. - All Rights Reserved


text:
Shoplifting Lands Sioux Falls Man in Jail. Had a Hankering for Wings.
A Sioux Falls man was arrested for several offenses after police say he tried to shoplift a package of chicken wings Monday evening.
Information Officer Sam Clemens says it was after 6:30 pm Monday when a man came into Franklin Food Market, at 711 North Cliff Avenue, and allegedly concealed the package of wings in his backpack. He says the shopper picked up a few other items, went through the cash register line and paid for them, but he did not pay for the wings.
Two employees who had seen the wings confronted him, and a struggle ensued when the man did not want to stay for police.
At one point, Clemens says the man grabbed one of the employees and restricted his airway for a time, but the store workers were able to keep him from leaving.
Clemens says 32-year-old Hisham Rawi, a transient from Sioux Falls, was eventually subdued and arrested for shoplifting, aggravated assault and simple assault. He says a 27-year-old employee's airway was restricted and an 21-year-old employee had scraped knuckles, but their injuries were not serious.


text:
Mister T and I took a wander to the beach today. After torrential rain in the morning, the sun was out by midday and shining for all it's worth. We took a little trek to Tolstadh (pronounced Tolsta) and had a nice stroll along Traigh Mhor beach. I couldn't resist the temptation of pausing to do a little doodle in the sand. Mister T's question was: "At what point does it become obsession?" My answer – other than "Shut it!" was Hee, hee, hee! 🙂
Happy Sunday!
Ms Katykins and The Spineless Wonders 🙂


text:
Charitable games include Bingo, Casino Nights, and Raffles and are held by non-profit organizations. Non-profits host Charitable Gaming events to raise money, support their causes, and provide their community with entertainment. Charitable Pull Tabs can also be sold to increase profits.
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Bingo is a game of chance played with randomly drawn numbers which players match against numbers on pre-printed matrixes. To win the game, the winner is usually required to call out the word "Bingo!"
A Casino Night for charity combines a festive atmosphere with the chance to win some great prizes.
A Raffle is a great way to support your non-profit event as well as have the opportunity to win prizes. Purchase a ticket and listen for the winning ticket announcement. Click here to get Raffle and Bazaar tax form.
Increase your chance of winning with Charitable Pull Tabs. You can play at your non-profit events.
Approximately 70% of the money collected at Charitable Gaming Events returns back to players as prizes. The other part helps support your local communities.
Contact the Lottery if you have any questions pertaining to the new Bingo laws or other Charitable Gaming policies.


text:
Theolia said the Theolia Utilities Investment Company would be open to "utilities, producers and distributors of electricity, willing to commit themselves for the long term.
The target is €100 million of equity, allowing investments of over €300 million when combined with project financing.
IWB will take a 30% stake, while Theolia will hold 70% in the first instance, though aims to reduce this to 40% as more partners join.
The company will buy projects from Theolia, which will also undertake the development, construction and operation of the plant on a fee basis.
Theolia CEO Fady Khallouf said: "Revenues and advantages generated by this partnership will allow [Theolia] to accelerate its development.
The group currently operates 877MW of wind-power installations on its own account and for third parties in France, Germany, Italy and Morocco.
IWB currently generates 7% of its production from wind. It owns 4.6MW in Switzerland and in June bought 61MW operating in France from Samfi-Invest. The company is aiming at 500GWh of wind, solar and biomass generation in 2015.
Subscribe to Windpower Monthly's daily bulletin, Windpower Daily.


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In that same vein, I hope to apply that same kind of pressure
to the owners in all of my leagues by beating my opponents to
the punch in regards to personnel moves. Sometimes, reaching a
conclusion about a player too quickly is much like trying to blitz
Peyton Manning – dangerous and painful. However, coming
to a correct conclusion two weeks or two minutes quicker than
your opponents is considered foresight. Fantasy owners can be
a uneasy lot, knowing that one two-or-three-game losing streak
can wreak irreparable damage to his/her team's chances to
make a visit to the fantasy postseason. But just as it is in the
NFL and in life, it's hard to land the big prize by playing
scared. Thus, I will strive each week to help each of you become
a smart blitzer, so to speak.
It's about the mid-point of the fantasy season each year that
I get a bit concerned as a fantasy manager if/when at least one
of my teams isn't doing as well I think it should be doing. Quite
often, I realize there is at least one spot on my team that is
coming up short - a hole, if you will. And in the competitive
leagues, it's only natural to have at least one shortcoming on
your team. If you focus your draft around building the best starting
lineup possible, your team often lacks quality depth from which
to trade from. If you subscribe to selecting the best player available
in just about every instance, your team may be strong at a certain
position but is almost entirely reliant on your ability to swing
a deal or hit on a waiver wire bargain, which can be difficult
in many leagues due to inactive owners or deep benches. The question
is: what can you do about it? (I'll get back to that in a second.)
More often than that feeling of fantasy "inadequacy" is the annoying
habit I have of being my opponents' Super Bowl. You know what
I'm talking about - being on the unfortunate end of Roddy White's
2009 breakout game one week only to have it happen again the next
week when you meet the owner of Tom Brady and/or Randy Moss. And,
of course, that unfortunate team is also the same team is always
either dodging bye weeks or can't seem to get healthy all at the
same time.
Case in point: my big money league team encompasses each of the
points I've covered so far - a team I was thrilled to put together
during the draft and one I believe can win it all if only I can
catch a break or two. My regular lineup in this PPR league usually
consists of Philip
Rivers or Joe
Flacco, Maurice
Jones-Drew, Ronnie
Brown, Tim
Hightower, Anquan
Boldin, Bernard
Berrian, John
Carlson, Lawrence
Tynes and the Saints or Steelers defense. After six weeks
on a per-game basis, I own two of the top eight QBs, three of
the top eight RBs, a top-12 TE, the highest-scoring kicker and
the highest-scoring defense. My reward: 3-3 and two games out
of first place behind a team that has scored 111 fewer points
on the season than my team has.
(As luck would have it, I face the highest-scoring team in the
league this coming week - who just happens to have Peyton Manning
and Reggie Wayne vs. the Rams and Randy Moss vs. the Bucs - while
Flacco and MJD rest comfortably on my bench on their byes and
Boldin nurses an ankle injury, so needless to say, I face the
very real possibility of going 3-4 in this very meaningful league.)
As you may have guessed from the lineup above, my holes are at
WR and TE. These holes certainly aren't glaring, but they are
big enough so far against a schedule that hasn't given me much
of a break, especially lately. In the past two weeks, I have fallen
victim to a pair of low-scoring teams who decided my team was
the Tennessee Titans' pass defense that week. Let's take a look
at the weekly scoring of my last two opponents (in case it isn�t
obvious, the bolded totals came in the week I played those teams):
In a league where the highest-scoring team is averaging about
130 points/week, it seems a bit odd that two middling teams would
go so insane the week they faced my team after straddling the
century mark for most of the season. Now if this was just a one-
or two-week phenomenon, of course, I would chalk it up to bad
luck. But since this kind of thing happens regularly every year,
I tend to believe it is just something I have to get used to,
so I had better line up a team that is capable of posting those
kinds of totals just about every week.
At this point, I'm sure the question has crossed your mind -
why should I care? In fantasy football, bye weeks test the depth
of your team as much as they test the resolve of the manager.
I've never been one to concede defeat and neither should you,
but in times like this, fantasy owners such as myself have to
ask if one week is worth sacrificing the whole season for. The
simple answer is: not in my opinion and certainly not at this
point of the season. Many times, a fantasy team's record can be
very deceiving in regards to how good the team actually is. It
is my belief that points for - assuming the owners are halfway
decent at getting the right players in the lineup each week -
is a telling stat just as points against lays out just how difficult
your opponents have been up to this point. In this case, although
I trail the leader by two games in the standings, it's hard to
believe the leader can continue winning games with the second-lowest
scoring team in the league, just as it is equally hard for me
to believe that his opponents will continue scoring at a 83 point-per-game
clip in a league where over half the teams score well over 100
points per week.
To improve my situation in this league, I firmly believe that
Flacco plus the Steelers defense should attract a much-needed
upgrade at TE while also securing a more dependable WR2 which
I hope will be Steve Breaston, which would actually be killing
two birds with one stone - acquiring Boldin's handcuff while also
getting a WR with pretty good stand-alone value. (In just about
every league, there is at least one owner who carries five WRs
or two TEs who he can start but is severely lacking at one or
two positions - this league is no different.) The more I consider
my situation, the more it seems more and more foolish to part
with any of my RBs when I can play all three of my top eight backs
- each of which will be done with their bye weeks after this week.
Of course - and this is where the managing experience comes in
- I need to maintain the resolve of believing that I'm right about
a couple things: 1) the long-term value of my RBs and 2) the likelihood
that the law of averages will catch up to the current division
leader and start working in my favor.
Update: I ended up dealing
Berrian and Carlson for Breaston and Jermichael
Finley. On the surface, it looks like a marginal deal at best,
except that Breaston has outproduced Boldin since missing Week
1 and it's pretty clear he's a top option for Kurt Warner.(Moreover,
I am a big fan of the Cardinals� fantasy playoff schedule.) After
a slow start, Finley has established himself as a top option for
Aaron Rodgers. While I'm not thrilled about dealing Berrian, it
seems Sidney Rice is quickly becoming Brett Favre's favorite option.
I've quickly soured on Carlson, mostly because his talent seems
to be getting lost in the shuffle with Seattle's offensive line
woes. I'm also thrilled about picking up two post-bye players
in highly productive pass offenses for two pre-bye players who
may be on their way down.
What's the lesson to be learned here? Keep things in perspective.
In my case, it just so happens that 33% of the teams that have
faced my team so far decided to have their best day against my
team. Only one team each week could have beaten my last two opponents,
so is that an indictment of my team or my run of bad fortune?
I think it's pretty clear by now which one I believe it is. Build
the best team possible - and just like a good manager at work
� believe in the team you�ve assembled.
Let�s take a look at the latest update in RB workloads and
WR/TE targets�
In fantasy, more touches typically equal more opportunity and
more opportunity tends to lead to more production. This fantasy
logic does not apply to Larry
Johnson or Brandon
Jacobs right now. The pair is 39th and 36th in typical PPR
scoring at the RB position, respectively. To put that into some
perspective, Darren
Sproles (who has contributed next to nothing over the last
three weeks), Frank
Gore (who has essentially played only two games), Reggie
Bush and Donald
Brown have scored nearly the same or considerably outscored
the Johnson-Jacobs tandem despite seeing less than half the touches
Johnson and Jacobs have.
Jacobs ran better early on in Week 6 than he has at any point
this season, so his breakout game may be coming soon, although
2008�s five yards/carry and 15 TDs are a pipe dream. However,
his 4.7 YPC vs. a solid run defense in New Orleans was a season
high (albeit on seven carries) and it marked the second time in
three games where he averaged over 4.4 YPC (league average is
typically 4.0 or 4.1). Much like Forte, Jacobs is probably one
of those RBs who you will have to wait out. Neither player will
generate near the return they would have in September, but both
players could make you regret dealing them away in short order
and easily put up 800-1,000 total yards and eight TDs the rest
of the way - totals that are good seasons for most RBs, much less
10-or-11 game runs.
The same cannot be said for LJ - deal him for whatever you can
after this week after the Chiefs host the Chargers. It�s
the worst run defense he has faced yet, so the chances he reaches
a season high in yards is pretty decent considering San Diego
is 27th in the league vs. the run. Some people will tell you with
that with the number of opportunities (red zone and otherwise)
he is receiving, he is bound to have some value sooner or later.
While that may be somewhat true, he has yet to break a run longer
than 17 yards and has averaged less than three yards/carry in
four of his six games thus far. He may give you 4-5 TDs before
the season is over and the schedule does get a bit easier, but
KC's offensive line is still well below NFL standard.
I am stunned that a RB with the explosiveness of Steve Slaton
has only one game this season in which he has averaged more than
3.1 YPC. That is a ridiculous number even for a plodder like the
2009 version of Larry Johnson, but it is outrageous that a back
that averaged 4.8 YPC during his rookie season has regressed so
quickly. What's worse is that he continues to fumble the ball,
making Chris Brown a more inviting option to HC Gary Kubiak. Slaton
will continue to produce through the air in Houston's aerial circus,
but his owners want a bit more consistent ground production from
their first- or second-round RB, not a glorified version of Kevin
The latest RB fantasy machine created by
OC Cam Cameron.
Ray Rice
looks to be the latest RB fantasy machine created by OC Cam Cameron,
who famously oversaw the offense that propelled Tomlinson to his
record-breaking year in 2006 and got Ronnie
Brown off to a Rice-like start in 2007 while he was the head
coach in Miami. I think at this point it is pretty clear that
Rice will continue posting double-digit fantasy totals just about
every week, which is a big plus for anyone who drafted him as
a RB2 and can use him in that role. However, his latest game may
present an excellent time to move him along for another top back.
Right now, in PPR leagues, Rice is neck-and-neck with Jones-Drew
and ahead of Peterson. In the off chance someone is willing to
part with one of those two studs, make the deal. Here's why: like
it or not, touchdowns are the lifeblood of fantasy football, especially
in non-PPR leagues but even in PPR. Rice is explosive enough to
continue scoring from outside the red zone - much like Chris
Johnson last season - but history tells us that 20-yard-plus
TDs are hard to come by on a regular basis.
By all accounts, Willis McGahee is still the goal-line RB - even
though he hasn't had much of a chance to prove it lately - and
sooner or later, the Ravens offense will be forced into scoring
from inside the five-yard line. Plus, there are enough top defenses
on the schedule after this week's bye to give us pause (Denver
- Week 8, Cincinnati - Week 9, Indianapolis - Week 11, Pittsburgh
- Weeks 12 and 16). Don't read this assertion as Rice is going
to fade because he is probably a top-five to top-eight RB when
all is said and done - read it as more of a chance to get incredible
value in return for your fourth-round pick in August. I believe
his final fantasy numbers will be in the neighborhood of Ronnie
Brown's and he will probably lead the league in total yards, but
I don't think he will eclipse 10 TDs. By contrast, Jones-Drew
and Peterson are both on pace for 24 TDs and, I believe, have
easier schedules the rest of the way.
Does anyone else cringe at the very sound of Patriots' RBs? We
know the drill by now - week by week, injury-prone starter after
injury-prone starter goes down until at last we are left with
a fifth-stringer putting up 100 yards and a score. Of course,
Maroney is worth an add in all leagues, but Kevin Faulk is still
the pass-catching back and BenJarvus Green-Ellis will steal more
carries than you think he should, at which point Maroney goes
down and the "Law Firm" ascends to the feature-back
role until Fred Taylor or Sammy Morris return. Yikes! Don't hesitate
to play Maroney when the matchup is right (this week would be
one of those on London�s notoriously sloppy field vs. the
Bucs), but he's definitely a player that will burn you as many
times as he will help you.
Hopefully, many of you took advantage of the sell-high opportunity
that Steve
Smith (NYG) presented you after Week 4. There is no doubt
he is still the Giants' lead WR and he will probably still put
together another 14-16 target game or two, but it appears he is
quickly falling back into WR2 territory in 12-team leagues. Nate
Burleson could very well be in the same boat. After three
consecutive double-digit target games, Burleson has seen his looks
fall off a bit. However, just like Smith, both should still bring
back a nice return via trade given the fact they are still in
the top 10 in most PPR leagues.
Jackson owners likely felt a bit betrayed after their WR turned
in a three-target performance in a Week 5 blowout win. After Donovan
McNabb said he felt bad for Jackson when he realized his lack
of involvement, it didn't seem like that big of a stretch to expect
a big Week 6...and he delivered. But I have to admit, for a team
that throws the ball as often as the Eagles do, it's hard for
me to believe a WR1 in that offense can have a bad PPR game. Partly
due to his skills and partly due to the offense, continue to consider
Jackson as a top-level WR2 with the potential to deliver WR1 numbers
about 5-6 times per season.
Derrick Mason just keeps putting up numbers and is a highly underrated
fantasy commodity. He has posted 20-point games in PPR leagues
in three of his last four games and if you throw out the Week
5 game vs. Cincinnati (which had been doing an amazing job against
WR1s until last week), I think many owners would be surprised
to learn Mason would be averaging 16.4 fantasy points/game in
PPR, his highest average since he was a Tennessee Titan in 2003.
I'm sure many owners were hoping that Week 5 was a sign of things
to come for Eddie Royal. Unless you were in a league that gives
individual players credit for kick and punt returns, you were
saddled with a bagel in the scoring column on a measly four targets,
one week after getting 10 receptions on 15 targets. After being
a near model of consistency as a rookie, Royal is the one player
in Denver whose fantasy stock hasn't stayed about the same or
actually improved over last season. Much like Laveranues Coles,
Royal's selflessness and willingness to buy into the team is costing
his owners. As both players' target patterns indicate, there will
be weeks where they put together a worthy fantasy performance.
However, I have seen Coles on a number of waiver wires and it
would not surprise me to see Royal join him soon.
It took a bit longer than most of us had hoped, but the respect
that Chicago's WRs are drawing on the outside is giving Greg
Olsen a chance to thrive. To his credit, Jay Cutler hasn't
really forced the issue since Week 1, so Olsen wasn't getting
a bunch of "empty" targets. But the explosive speed of Johnny
Knox and Devin
Hester is forcing opposing safeties to cheat towards the sidelines
and give Olsen a lot of one-on-one opportunities against a linebacker.
Even though the emergence of Knox probably destroys any chance
of Olsen emerging as a top-five finisher at his position this
season, I can't think of more than 6-7 other TEs I'd rather have
in fantasy the rest of the way. He has scored in three straight
weeks and it wouldn't surprise me to see him finish with a 55-650-8
line when all is said and done.
There are likely a few readers out there who wonder why I would
deal Berrian roughly two weeks after praising him in this space.
My opinion of him hasn't really changed all that much - although
Sidney Rice
will eat into his final numbers more than I think anyone could
have expected - but after four weeks of increasing targets, the
Brett Favre-Berrian relationship has regressed just a bit as Favre
has found Visanthe
Shiancoe and Rice (and even Adrian Peterson) a bit more lately.
My main reason for moving him in the trade I detailed above was
to provide myself "Boldin insurance"; nothing more, nothing less.
He�s still the big-play specialist in the Vikings� passing game.
Speaking of the Cardinals' WRs, Jerheme Urban becomes a legit
option in deeper leagues anytime one of the three WRs ahead of
him is limited in any way. It's important to note that while it
seems natural that a fantasy receiver's stock soars when he moves
one step up on the food chain, it doesn't always work out that
way. Arizona is one of the few teams that has legitimate WR depth
all the way down its depth chart. Thus, if the Cards' front-line
WRs are ever ravaged by injury, Early Doucet or Sean Morey could
easily step up and be relatively decent options in just about
any fantasy league.
College Spotlight
Jake Locker, QB Washington (6-3, 226)
It is often said that quarterback is the most difficult position
to evaluate for anyone projecting a college player to the NFL.
It's little wonder, as I recall Hall of Famer Steve Young stating
how QBs complete roughly 40 different tasks prior to each snap.
To that end, the position is much more mental than physical. Each
year, talent evaluators make the mistake of putting an inordinate
amount of emphasis on arm strength and size, which is a dicey
proposition for any other position on the field, but especially
quarterback. For several years, I've subscribed to my own methods
of evaluating QB talent - even before ESPN presented Bill Parcells'
list of demands for drafting a QB during a MNF broadcast a couple
of weeks ago. However, since Parcells has considerably more experience
in building a team, I will use his list:
Just as with anything, there are plenty of notable exceptions,
but I tend to believe that the "bust" rate at QB wouldn't
be so high if teams didn't fall all over themselves chasing talent
ahead of accuracy, proven leadership and commitment.
With his career record as a starter sitting at 7-17, Locker is
highly unlikely to reach 23 wins even if were to stay through
his senior season, which at this point is looking more and more
unlikely given all the hype the Huskies' 16-13 upset win over
USC in mid-September generated. If he declares for the draft after
this season, he may fulfill only one of Parcells' requirements
because he is a redshirt junior. However, it should be noted that
very few pro-prospect QBs ever come from schools that hit rock
bottom like Washington has simply because blue-chip players at
his position are in such demand from the more elite programs that
can pretty much guarantee a handful of national TV games each
year as well as a bowl game. The Huskies did not win a single
game in 2008, but it should be noted that Locker was lost for
the season due to a thumb injury in the fourth game. Prior to
his departure, Washington played two of its opponents to within
seven points. Once Locker was no longer under center, the Huskies
were abysmal, finishing within 20 points of their remaining eight
opponents only once the rest of the season.
I detail all of this because Locker is an extremely unusual case.
He is two-sport standout (the Angels used a 10th round pick on
him in June's MLB draft) who is thriving in his first season playing
in more of a pro-style offense - former coach Ty Willingham used
Locker more as a runner - under new HC (and former USC OC) Steve
Sarkisian. It becomes quite obvious after reading about his off-field
exploits that he is a well-grounded individual who has the respect
of his teammates in the locker room. While I could go on, there
is already enough to suggest that Locker will succeed at the next
level despite his lack of an ideal college resume. Few question
his talent, but the thing that appeals to me the most is the speed
by which he is picking up Sarkisian's offense, which indicates
he is a fast learner and/or puts the time in during film study.
The first important distinction to make about Locker is he is
a quarterback that can run very well, but he is not a running
quarterback. On several occasions in Washington's home victory
over USC last month, the junior signal-caller kept his eyes focused
downfield and continued going through his progressions - just
as a QB should - as opposed to taking off when his first or second
option did not break free. Washington routinely moves him out
of the pocket on designed rollouts and he throws an accurate ball
when he does this. On a WR screen play at the beginning of the
third quarter of the USC game, Locker also showed poise well beyond
his years when he appeared ready to throw the ball out in the
flat, only to pull the back in at the last second when he saw
a Trojan defender out of the corner of his eye leaping in an effort
to knock the ball down. Locker calmly reloaded and fired a perfect
strike as if it was designed that way.
In my video analysis of Locker, it appears he throws off his
back foot quite often, which is something he can get away with
more than most because of his arm strength. Presumably, he doesn't
step into his throws all that often given the lack of talent he
has dealt with in his time in Seattle. However, one of the first
things a pro QB coach or OC will attempt to do with him is to
get him to step into his throws more often, which will result
in a better completion percentage than the one he has right now
(57.2%). Much like other strong-armed QBs (Jay Cutler and Brett
Favre come to mind), Locker will believe in his arm too much at
times, but he is by no means a "riverboat gambler".
Once again, I'll attribute that flaw to a lack of previous pro-style
coaching. His other knock will be his lack of durability; he dealt
with serious hamstring and thumb injuries already in his college
Locker certainly doesn't fit the typical "profile"
of a future star NFL QB in terms of what a NFL general manager
wants in the results department. So while I hope he decides to
finish out his college career at UW for a number of reasons -
including the QB expertise and tutelage that Sarkisian can provide
him - the reality is that he probably will not. But, if that happens,
Locker will be one of the few cases that I'll go against my own
requirements of a college QB and say that he is worth the risk
of a high first-round draft choice. Sure, it would be nice to
see him complete his college experience and meet Parcells'
criteria, not all players get that opportunity – for any
number of reasons. I went into this believing Locker was just
another product of the ESPN hype machine, but I am convinced with
the proper pro coaching, he is an undeniable talent.
Let me close my assessment of Locker with a couple of comments
from two of the Huskies' opponents this season, which should give
you an idea of just how high his ceiling is.
"That's the best quarterback we've played in nine years
here," said USC coach Pete Carroll of Locker, mindful of
players such as Aaron Rodgers, Dennis Dixon and Vince Young who
the Trojans have faced since his arrival. "Jake Locker has
ridiculous talent, and had he remained healthy last year, Tyrone
[Willingham] would still be coaching there." - ESPN.com
"I don't want to get crazy, but the guy has got an
Always-type of release and arm strength that not many people have,"
Arizona coach Mike Stoops said. "His mobility...John was
a lot like that when he was younger." - Tucson Citizen
e-mail me with any questions/comments.
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Cant get enough Raiders of the Lost Ark? Well, youre about to get a lot more. To help promote the upcoming release of the Indiana Jones Blu-ray Box Set, we can confirm that Paramount will be re-releasing Raiders of the Lost Ark in IMAX theaters this September.As it went through the restoration process for Blu-ray, Paramount and Steven Spielberg also worked with IMAX on reformatting Raiders of the Lost Ark for 70mm. The Raiders of the Lost Ark will IMAX re-release will hit theaters starting on Friday, September 7th and run through until September 13th. (The Indiana Jones: The Complete Adventures Blu-ray box set hits shelves on September 18th.)The IMAX re-release is expected to include both traditional IMAX and the Digital IMAX Experience (i.e., Fake IMAX). In addition to the IMAX re-release, Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade will screen in 70mm at Austins Alamo Drafthouse from August 31st to September 6th.An official press release is expected in the coming days with more information on exactly what theaters will be showing the IMAX re-release.
Its the kind of revelation that would melt the face of any die-hard Indiana Jones fan (this time, with joy): Raiders of the Lost Ark, the 1981 adventure film that introduced that globe-trotting archaeologist, will receive a one-week Imax release next month, Lucasfilm said on Tuesday.For me, its always been the bigger the screen, the better, Steven Spielberg, who directed Raiders of the Lost Ark and the three subsequent Indiana Jones sequels, said Tuesday in a telephone interview. Its the only marked contrast we have to the generations that are seeing our movies on phones and hand-held platforms. Its a complete relief to be able to see a film that many people have just experienced on a palm-sized platform technology, suddenly hurled at that them on an Imax-sized screen.Lucasfilm, the studio of the Indiana Jones executive producer George Lucas, said the Imax version of Raiders of the Lost Ark will receive a one-week theatrical release beginning on Sept. 7, in advance of the Blu-ray release of the Indiana Jones movies, which will go on sale Sept. 18. A list of theaters that will be showing the film can be found online at Imax.com.Steven Spielberg in Beverly Hills this month.Kevin Winter/Getty ImagesSteven Spielberg in Beverly Hills, Calif., this month.Mr. Spielberg, who with the sound designer Ben Burtt supervised the conversion of Raiders of the Lost Ark to Imax, said that no special effects or other visual elements of the film were changed. The audio, he said, had been enhanced for surround sound: When the boulder is rolling, chasing Indy through the cave, you really feel the boulder in your stomach, the way you do when a marching band passes by, and youre standing right next to it.But Mr. Spielberg who is also in the process of converting his movie Jurassic Park to 3-D for an anniversary rerelease next year said he had no plans to do Imax conversions of his other films, whether earlier efforts like Jaws or Close Encounters of the Third Kind, or any of the Indiana Jones sequels.Raiders is a movie of my own, that I can actually stand to watch from beginning to end, Mr. Spielberg said. In that sense, it has a special place in my heart. I dont rewrite it in my mind; Im not kicking myself for what I didnt do. Im just going along for the ride like everybody else. Its one of the few films that Ive directed that I can sit back objectively and observe and enjoy with my family or whoever Im with, or even alone. Most of my other films, Im hypercritical of them.In these edited conversation excerpts, Mr. Spielberg talks about the process of bringing Indy to an even bigger screen and of course the prospects of an Indiana Jones 5.Q: How does a film that wasnt shot for Imax get converted to be shown that way?A: Theres two fronts, on any successful conversion, to Imax resolution, which is significantly clearer and sharper, with much more depth and fidelity than the movie appeared in theaters in 1981. So the first tier is where you take the DI [digital intermediate] and you enhance the resolution to Imax resolution. The second tier is that the sound is significantly different. They take the [audio] stems that we gave them, and they put them through their 12,000 watts of digital surround sound, and its a totally uncompressed experience.You kind of feel the sound in your chest, like when the boulder is rolling, chasing Indy through the cave. You really feel the boulder in your stomach, the way you do when a marching band passes by and youre standing right next to it.Q: How long ago did you have to get started on this process?A: Ben went to work on the sound conversion over a year and a half ago, knowing that we were coming out on Blu-ray. This was Greg Fosters idea, actually hes the head of Imax [Film] and it was his idea to give Raiders an interesting launching point before the Blu-ray hits the streets, to come out in all 275 of Imaxs North American theaters. I remember the days when we used to go to the Cinerama Dome or the Ziegfeld in New York, to see the 70 millimeter exclusive engagements. When I first started watching Raiders on the big Imax screen not too long ago, it reminded me of those old event-ized days.Q: Its funny Jaws, which just came out on Blu-ray, was on about that many screens when it first came out, and that seemed massive for the time.A: I think it came out on 425 screens on opening day, which was the largest and widest release in history. And now that just seems like an art film. Thats like an independent film release. But movie-going habits have changed, and people want things significantly faster than ever before, and they get tired of things significantly faster than ever before. The shelf life that movies experience in theatrical venues is much shorter. Raiders of the Lost Ark played for 14 months in some theaters, and that was just in first run. That just doesnt happen any more. Im glad to have been alive in part of that era, but now this is an era of supersonic entertainment at supersonic speeds.Q: Raiders has its iconic scenes, like the boulder chase you mentioned, but it also has some wonderfully horrific moments, like when the Ark of the Covenant is opened. Do you think about how those moments will play at Imax size?A: For me, its always been the bigger the screen, the better. Its the only marked contrast we have to the generations that are seeing our movies on phones and hand-held platforms. Its a complete relief to be able to see a film that many people have just experienced on a palm-sized platform technology, suddenly hurled at that them on an Imax-sized screen.Q: In the same way that directors are now converting some of their previous movies for 3-D, could you see other films of yours being re-released in Imax if Raiders is successful?A: Jurassic Park is the only film Ive agreed to convert into 3-D, so Im working on that right now for a 20th-anniversary release next April. But theres not a lot of movies I want to go back into my archives and do this for. Raiders is a movie of my own, that I can actually stand to watch from beginning to end. In that sense, it has a special place in my heart. I dont rewrite it in my mind, Im not kicking myself for what I didnt do. Im just going along for the ride like everybody else. Its one of the few films that Ive directed that I can sit back objectively and observe and enjoy with my family or whoever Im with, or even alone. Most of my other films, Im hypercritical of them. I dont have any plans to re-release Close Encounters or Jaws.Q: And not with any of the Indiana Jones sequels, either?A: I have no plans, and I had no plans to release this in Imax. Greg Foster called George [Lucas] and me and Paramount one day, and came up with this idea, and so this isnt even something that I was dreaming about. This is someone elses dream that I climbed aboard.Q: As with the Imax release of Raiders, the Blu-ray releases of the Indy films are just upgrades in presentation there are no other changes to the movies?A: No, theres no aesthetic changes to the films. Im not going back and doing to any of my movies that are now coming out on Blu-ray what I did when E.T. was reissued for the third time and I made some digital changes in the picture. Im not doing that any more. Ive resigned myself to accepting that what the film was at the time of its creation is what it always should be for future generations. Im no longer a digital revisionist.Q: Thats something you learned from your experience with E.T.?A: I learned from the fans. And now of course, we have the other group of fans who only know the other E.T. with the digital augmentation and that has become their standard for receiving that story. The only thing I think we can do is continue to manufacture and put out both versions. But its too complicated to that with any of my other movies Im pretty much going to release those films the way they were originally made.Q: Your friend and partner on the Indy movies, George Lucas, feels differently, and has made changes to his Star Wars movies as theyve been released in new formats. Is that O.K.?A: It is. Its a directors prerogative, and a director needs to decide that for him or herself. George has decided that he can make digital changes to upgrade the special effects to 21st-century standards and thats fine. But Ive just decided not to do that, and since I have control of the Raiders movies, and by the way, to Georges credit, he never once called me and suggested that I do any digital enhancements. He was not knocking on my door, saying, Steve, youve got to do this, youve got to do this. He never said a word.Q: When you made Raiders of the Lost Ark, you were taking your inspiration from many filmmakers of decades past. Now that a few decades have elapsed since then, do you see yourself having a similar influence on directors today?A: I have a lot of contact with a lot of young filmmakers. I run a studio with Stacy Snider, and we meet so many first-time filmmakers, or filmmakers that havent even made their first film yet, so all these generations are constantly mixing together. Its not like one generation replaces another. Its one generation continuing to inspire another. Im inspired by so many of the movies Im looking at today that are made by first-time filmmakers. If I see any good movie, it makes whatever Im doing currently a better movie. Just for its very existence, it will make my work better, if Im inspired by somebody. I dont look at this as a trickle-down effect. I look at this, sometimes, as how the creative community shares their art.Q: Are you able to see new movies in theaters when they come out, or do you have to see them largely in screening rooms?A: No, I see most of my movies in movie theaters with the public. I saw The Dark Knight [Rises] in a movie theater and Ive seen most of the summer movies in movie theaters.Q: Thats got to be a lot of pressure, sitting next to you or a row away from you at The Dark Knight.A: The only pressure when Im in a movie theater is when Im walking out and somebody asks me how I like the picture, and Im just afraid that no matter what I say, itll show up in a newspaper someday. [laughs] So I try not to answer the question.Q: As long as were talking about the Indy movies: with your longtime producing partner Kathleen Kennedy now a co-chair at Lucasfilm, is this the time to start thinking about Indiana Jones 5?A: Im afraid to think about it. Because if I think about it, Im really going to want to do it. But its not up to me its up to George. So the person who needs to be thinking about it is George, not me. And Ive given George my pledge that if he wants to write a fifth Indiana Jones movie, Im his man to direct it. But its all up to him, and I dont put any pressure on him. And if he decides that another one is warranted, Ill be happy to direct it.Q: Not a bad name to have on ones short list.A: Thank you.
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Theodore, Alabama
Theodore High School
A blazing hot and humid day in midsummer 2004 marked the beginning of three dreadful years for my family
So began an essay submitted by China Barber to her English teacher. Chinas family consists of her mother, a sister, and three brothers. With six children (two girls and four boys), Chinas mother was disabled and on her own, the childrens father having abandoned the family. The balance of their delicate situation was toppled in 2004 when their home burned to the ground.
Chinas grandmother offered a trailer on her property in Bayou La Batre. It was raised high upon cinder blocks. The windows had been broken, and shards of glass hung from the panes The trailer wasnt much, but it would have to suffice. The family set about restoring the new home. As they neared completion in 2005, tragedy struck again in the form of Hurricane Katrina. The trailer was destroyed. Our dreams crumbled to the stench-filled mud, China wrote.
The family was loaned two campers from the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA). These campers would be their home for the next two years. During this time, Chinas mother decided to sell their small plot of land, hoping to buy a house. She received $10,000. In Chinas words, Our hopes were again crushed when Mother was robbed all of the money stolen.
A family friend invited China and three of her siblings to live with him. Another friend provided housing for her mother and other two brothers. We each had our own bed to sleep in, and we ate healthier food. We were able to enhance our concentration at school.
Chinas nominator, Ms. Mary Elaine Wagner wrote, China and her family have suffered extreme hardships; however, most people have no idea because China does not complain or act bitter or request others pity. China maintains a 3.8 GPA and is ranked 9th in her class of 356. She is on the honor role of Theodore High School every semester and has been recognized with Honors English awards, as well as first place awards for her poetry.
China is an officer in the National Honor Society and other honors organizations at her school. She has served as a volunteer for Kids Day, Bayfest, the Mobile Tennis Center, the Mobile International Festival, the Azalea Trail Run, Coastal Cleanup, United Cerebral Palsys Hog Wild Festival, and many other causes.
The family continues to struggle with difficult situations, including the recent death of a brother in an automobile accident. China wants to attend the University of South Alabama where she plans to pursue a career in pharmacy. Dedication to family and community superior scholarship and participation and an iron determination for all these qualities and more, it is appropriate that China Barber is recognized as one of Alabamas Young Heroes for 2011.
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Kalamazoo, MI –
Kalamazoo Public Library is honored to host the 2012 National Ambassador for Young People's Literature, Walter Dean Myers for a two-day visit to Kalamazoo Public Library on Tuesday, August 6, 6 pm at the Central Library (315 South Rose Street) and on Wednesday, August 7, 3 pm at the Powell Branch Library (1000 West Patterson).
When Walter Dean Myers decided to drop out of high school, it was a teacher who told him to keep writing, no matter what. "It's what you do," she said. It was something that young Myers took to heart and years later, while working construction, he started writing and hasn't stopped since. Myers' books are inspired by his own challenging upbringing in Harlem and chronicle the lives of urban teenagers, primarily young, poor, African Americans. His work includes poetry, nonfiction and picture books for children.
Myers will visit two of Kalamazoo Public Library's locations to discuss with children why reading is "not optional." Myers understands the potential teasing youth may face when being seen with library books. "I was teased if I brought books home. I would take a paper bag to the library and put the books in the bag to bring home…I felt a little ashamed having books." During his visit, Myers will speak about his rough upbringing, the vital importance of reading to children and how integral reading is for the intellectual development of all children, especially at-risk youth.
Myers was named the National Ambassador for Young People's Literature in 2012. As part of this role, he is touring for two years, speaking to schools and libraries about reading and literacy. Myers is the third person to be appointed to the post, which was created in 2008 and is chosen by a committee formed by two groups: the Center for the Book in the Library of Congress and Every Child a Reader, a nonprofit organization affiliated with the Children's Book Council, a trade association of children's book publishers. He succeeds Katherine Patterson, the novelist best known for "Bridge to Terabithia" and Jon Scieszka, author of "The Stinky Cheese Man and Other Fairly Stupid Tales."
The selection of Walter Dean Myers for the National Ambassador for Young People's Literature is a bold statement. While his body of work includes poetry, nonfiction and picture books for children, his most notable works are aimed at young-adult readers and include stories of teenagers in violent gangs, soldiers headed to Iraq and juvenile offenders imprisoned for their crimes.
The Kalamazoo Public Library is honored to host Mr. Myers, and invites the public to join us for lively discussion and an opportunity to meet Walter Dean Myers. Myers will sign copies of his books (for sale courtesy of Bookbug.) Refreshments will be provided.
For more information about Walter Dean Myers, visit www.walterdeanmyers.net.
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