Usain Bolt became the world’s fastest man. In a race that is not his specialty, Usain Bolt set the present world record:
“…The Jamaican runner, who doesn’t even consider the 100 meters his best race, set the world record tonight with a time of 9.72 seconds at the Reebok Grand Prix, .02 seconds faster than the old record held by his countryman, Asafa Powell.”
Fatigue should not be a factor in the championship series between the Lakers and the Celtics. The first game, in Boston, is not played until June 5. And the games are spaced so there is ample time to recover from one game to the next. The following is the complete schedule:
Game One: in Boston Thursday, June 5
Game Two: in Boston Sunday, June 8
Game Three: in Los Angeles Tuesday, June 10
Game Four: in Los Angeles Thursday, June 12
Game Five: in Los Angeles Sunday, June 15
Game Six: in Boston Tuesday, June 17
Game Seven: in Boston Thursday, June 19
All the games of this final playoff series will be telecasted on the ABC television network. If you are a basketball fan, these are the evenings to put aside any chores and to have the pop corn ready.
Catherine Forsythe
Director of Operations
FlyingHamster: http://flyinghamster.com/
Sameer Mishra is the Scripps National Spelling Bee champion. This little clip made it to YouTube in record time. Without doubt, young Mr Mishra’s friends are going to tease him about this. Here is Sameer Mishra spelling ‘numnah’:
Now you can see why his friends will love this YouTube clip.
Sameer Mishra is the Scripps National Spelling Bee champion. This little clip made it to YouTube in record time. Without doubt, young Mr Mishra’s friends are going to tease him about this. Here is Sameer Mishra spelling ‘numnah’:
The Lakers and Celtics pairing for the NBA championship means loads and loads of revenue. It is Commissioner David Stern’s dream come true. It matches two storied franchises with well known superstars on each team. The matchup will generate a huge viewer audience in two large markets, besides interest from a national and international fan base.
The advantage seems to be tilted towards the Boston Celtics. The final playoff series starts in Boston. The first two games are in Boston and then the next three games are in Los Angeles. The final two games go back to Boston. For the Lakers to win the championship, they must beat the Celtics on their home court. This has not been an easy task for teams during the regular season and playoffs.
The Lakers have not beaten the Celtics this season. In two regular season games, the Celtics won with a decided advantage: 107 - 94 and 110 - 91.
These games happened before Andrew Bynum was hurt. In the December game, Andrew Bynum had eight points and two rebounds, in twenty two minutes of playing time. The Celtics have not played the Lakers when Pau Gasol has been in the Los Angeles lineup. In the playoffs this year, Pau Gasol has averaged almost eighteen (17.7) points per game and nearly nine (8.9) rebounds per game. When the Lakers have lost during the playoffs, in each of those three games, Pau Gasol had low rebound numbers. With Pau Gasol in the Lakers lineup, the Celtics advantage may be just slight.
The second part of this perfect pairing for David Stern would be that this championship round extends to the final seventh game. That seventh game would attract enormous publicity and attention. The revenue would give Commissioner Stern reason to smile.
Catherine Forsythe
Director of Operations
FlyingHamster: http://flyinghamster.com/
It was high drama and significantly difficult. It was the Super Bowl of spelling. And Sameer Mishra was brilliant:
“…The 13-year-old from West Lafayette, Ind., who often had the audience laughing with his one-line commentaries was all business when he aced “guerdon”—a word that appropriately means “something that one has earned or gained”—to win the 81st version of the bee Friday night.”
Just to be part of this competition is a high achievement. The kids are amazing. It must take so much ability and sheer work to reach this level of excellence. The Scripps National Spelling Bee really showcases the future. Kudos to Sameer Mishra and all the competitors.
It was high drama and significantly difficult. It was the Super Bowl of spelling. And Sameer Mishra was brilliant:
“…The 13-year-old from West Lafayette, Ind., who often had the audience laughing with his one-line commentaries was all business when he aced “guerdon”—a word that appropriately means “something that one has earned or gained”—to win the 81st version of the bee Friday night.”
Just to be part of this competition is a high achievement. The kids are amazing. It must take so much ability and sheer work to reach this level of excellence. The Scripps National Spelling Bee really showcases the future. Kudos to Sameer Mishra and all the competitors.
Catherine Forsythe
Director of Operations
FlyingHamster: http://flyinghamster.com/
The disasters may be so overwhelming that the mind reels against the scope of the tragedies. One seems to follow another so closely. There is a cyclone. There is an earthquake. And the numbers are staggering.
In Myanmar (Burma), the cyclone struck on May 2 - 3. Valid, accurate reports of the number of people that this impacted are difficult to obtain. The military rulers are not forthcoming with open disclosure of what has happened. There estimates reported by Associated Press are:
approximately 78,000 people killed
approximately 56,000 people missing
approximately 2.4 million people homeless
number of injuries unknown
It is difficult to comprehend such numbers. That was the natural disaster. What is following is a man-made disaster:
“YANGON, Myanmar (AP) — Myanmar’s military government is forcing cyclone victims out of shelters and refugee camps and sending some back to their devastated villages with virtually no aid supplies, United Nations and church officials said Friday.
Eight camps set up by the government for homeless victims in the Irrawaddy delta town of Bogalay are “totally empty,” UNICEF official Teh Tai Ring told a meeting of aid groups.”
This is not the lead story of this news cycle. The Myanmar disaster only has cursory mention now. Instead, there is election coverage, Britney Spears news, the daily gasoline price report and so forth. Thousands of people are without the basics of food and shelter. It is criminal and the international community is slow to respond. These poor people do not have the luxury of time.
Catherine Forsythe
Director of Operations
FlyingHamster: http://flyinghamster.com/
In Game Five of the Lakers - Spurs series, the Spurs built an impressive seventeen point lead. Clearly, the Spurs had a sense of urgency about this possible elimination game. They were more energetic than the Lakers. Some might say that they were more desperate.
With the Spurs holding a seventeen point lead, Phil Jackson made a key coaching decision. He played his bench rotation with one starter. He put on the court Sasha Vujacic, Ronny Turiaf, Luke Walton, Jordan Farmar and Lamar Odom from the starting unit. It was a calculated risk. With the Spurs holding a seventeen point lead and playing well, any increase in the points deficit could have meant an insurmountable edge. That would have meant that the Spurs would have Game Six on their home court.
This second unit, along with Lamar Odom, did not allow the deficit to increase. They managed to narrow the Spurs lead from seventeen point to a manageable eleven points. It made the game a contest again.
Phil Jackson could have stayed with more of his starters and relied on his best lineup to close the deficit. Instead, he trusted his bench players and he kept to his usual player rotation. He allowed four of his starters their normal rest. Perhaps it was a calculated gamble, since the starting unit had allowed the Spurs to build the lead. The decision to play the second unit, with Lamar Odom, showed a trust in his young players. It was relying on the experience and playing time acquired during the regular season. Phil Jackson believed and trusted his young bench players. And they did not disappoint.
One of the mysteries of Stonehenge has been ‘why is it there’. Now researchers are offering an explanation to account for the ‘why’ part of the mystery:
“The secret of Stonehenge has apparently been solved: The mysterious circle of large stones in southern England was primarily a burial ground for almost five centuries, and the site probably holds the remains of a family that long ruled the area, new research concludes.”
Anyone who has visited is struck by the massive size of the stones and wonder about the precise placement. The recent explanation may address the reason for Stonehenge but how it was done remains to the imagination and speculation. That genius still defies explanation.
Catherine Forsythe
Director of Operations
FlyingHamster: http://flyinghamster.com/
