I have been a concern, I hope so.

Each view on that is different.Since it’s inception, HBO’s Hard Knocks has proven to be one of the most compelling shows on television. Last offseason’s lockout left fans of the series heartbroken when it was announced that no team would participate in the reality show. The 2010 edition saw Rex Ryan become a star due to his proficient use of profanity and his affinity for post practice snacks.

I hope I can for the better.Today, at a post OTA press conference, new Miami Dolphins head coach Joe Philbin announced that his team will be appearing on the show beginning August 7th. This will be the first time in the series that a first year head coach will be featured, which should provide an interesting dynamic for this year’s show. The Dolphins haven’t exactly seen much success over the last few seasons. Hopefully, this show will allow them to raise their profile within the League.

About sports books, some I know.

A lot of people like sports.Think of the best sports books of all time, come at a point where the fates of all involved are concrete. One of the greatest sports books of all time is Buzz Bissinger’s Friday Night Light’s, the athletic fates of the ’88 Permian Panthers are already decided by the time the book was released. There’d be no sudden turn toward athletic stardom for Boobie. For his story to end in a redemptive comeback, one where Boobie’s knee mystically regenerates and he takes his place on Sundays, mowing down linebackers by the dozen, would destroy all the underlying thematic relevance of the story. Permian wouldn’t be a destructive mill stone that grinds and pressures the young players into the ground, it’d be a town whose hard work, and tough nose attitude leads to players who thrive in the glitzy glamor of the NFL.We are all fans, like attention sports.

The best sports writing grapples humanly with an idea, something beyond the sports itself that isn’t reliant of the sandy structure of current sports. That’s the aim of my sports writing in this blog. In writing about a particularly harsh loss to the Indiana Pacers in an earlier post, I didn’t mean to overvalue the significance of the single game, but to get to the core of how a big comeback develops, the telltale signs of a crumbling lead, and the psychology that frames both a fan and a player in the moments of a back sided loss.

Hockey NHL trophy

We are proud for them.For the record, here’s where this “tradition” started. Back in 1996, the Florida Panthers shocked the hockey world, by upsetting Mario Lemieux and the Pittsburgh Penguins in the Eastern Conference Final. The Panthers celebrated by hoisting the Prince of Wales trophy and carrying it around the ice, like it was the Stanley Cup. The Panthers then proceeded to get swept in the Stanley Cup Finals by Joe Sakic and the Colorado Avalanche.

 Many observers felt the Panthers were much too happy just to get to the Finals, and acted like the Prince of Wales trophy was the Stanley Cup. The Avalanche, after winning the Clarence Campbell Bowl, did touch the trophy but skated off with it immediately, and went to their dressing room.Their efforts finally won the trophy.

These you may never know.

Racial discrimination, exist all the time.Do you see what he did there? It’s an ecological fallacy – just because racism is one of the factors present in a group does not mean every individual in the group is a racist. It’s also a fallacy of hasty generalization.

More importantly it assumes facts not in evidence and creates a circular argument – The explanation for people not voting for Obama is racism. The proof of racism is people not voting for Obama.

Why did so many Democrats in West Virginia, Arkansas and Kentucky casts their ballots for ABO? I don’t know, you’ll have to ask them. So far I don’t see anyone doing that.

Are there racists in those states? I have no doubt there are. I also have no doubt that there are racists in Manhattan and San Francisco.

Slavery and racism played significant roles in our history. That does not mean they still play significant roles today.

I love of the lakers. Or like kobe Bryant

I've been looking for them. Because like them.Fortunately, it’s not too late to ship the big man that acts like a kid, simply because of the Dwight Howard fiasco in Orlando. Ultimately, he ran two coaches out of town: Brian Hill, and now Stan Van Gundy. The reason I like Van Gundy, he doesn’t coddle younger players. He demands respect and like the great teams, you have to play all out in practice and in games while trusting the staff. Anyways, Magic general manager Otis Smith stuck by his coach, and walked away. Smith helped rebuild the Magic team that has contended for the championship the past few years. It’s rare, but good to see loyalty in the business of sports.

Not to diminish Bynum for what he can do, but people get carried away and are too quick to crown someone. Bynum has done nothing to be the best center in basketball. No, he’s not the most talented on offense either, that was wishful thinking by people in retaliation of Howard’s media persona. In reality, Bynum doesn’t have game impact. He can flash great statistics, and any good player has their moments, but no one fears driving in the lane against the Lakers even though they have two 7-footers. Opposing Howard on the other hand, he changes gameplans and detours you from going inside, and still gets blocks. He even worked with the great Hakeem Olajuwon. If you don’t remember Olajuwon, the Hall of Famer might be the best center of all time. Howard has more moves than I’ve ever seen  Bynum attempt. Perhaps playing for L.A. has something to do with  the hype!

I always feel sorry for his death. I'm very sad.

In fact we don't want to lose him.In October of 2011, long time Raiders Owner and NFL pioneer, Al Davis died after having complication from surgery. Many in the organization and around the NFL world were saddened with Davis’s death. Many also saw a new era for the Raiders organization. In January of 2012, long time Packers front office man, Reggie McKenzie was appointed as the Oakland Raiders General Manager.

As his first act, McKenzie and Mark Davis, Al Davis’s son, appointed former Denver Broncos defensive coordinator, Dennis Allen as the Raiders new head coach. Mark Davis has openly said that he will be supporting the franchise from the business stand point, and that Reggie McKenzie and Dennis Allen will be running the football operation of the team. It seems that the Raiders have set the pieces of a consistent foundation for the near and long term future, but there is a lot of work to be done, to put the Raiders back on the the winning path into a playoff contending team.

I have always support you

I'm a good he.Jordan Duncan is not enrolled in classes at Guelph this semester.  He has spent the past two months concentrating on training for a professional football career.  This afternoon he went to Toronto to take part in this weekend’s CFL Evaluation Camp.  In what is very good news, when he arrived Jordan found out that five of the leagues eight teams had already scheduled interviews for him.

 Jordan was already aware of a high level of interest from CFL teams because of the many strong contacts that Guelph has in the CFL.  Back in January Defensive Coordinator Kevin MacNeill told me he wished he had had as much feedback from CFL teams, when he was draft eligible, as Guelph players receive.

Life and my cooking

I like the way now.Then, she told us about what Jesus said in John 6.  Jesus was telling the people how He is the Bread of Life.  He explained to the people how He is even more important to life than the bread you eat.

How can that be?  How can Jesus be more important than the food that keeps us alive?  I thought about that a lot today.  We need bread—or food—to keep our bodies alive.  If we don’t eat, we’ll die.

I think I found the answer a couple of chapters later in John.  In John 11, Jesus is talking to Martha after her brother Lazarus died.  Jesus says He is the Resurrection and the Life, that everyone who believes in Him will live, even though he dies.  And everyone who lives and believes in Him will never die.

That seemed kind of confusing at first, and I asked God to help me understand.  And, He did!  He reminded me that there are two kinds of life, the life we live in the body and the life that our spirits, our hearts, live.  Our bodies will die someday, but our hearts live forever.  They will either live with God or without Him.  Jesus was saying that He is the food that our hearts need to live.  And, that the hearts of everyone who believes in Him will live with Him forever, long after our bodies die.

Imports in Brazil are very expensive

Like many Brazilians, and most expats, I asked some friends me some stuff from the U.S. when visiting. And on Day 136 – I received it! And more!

As I mentioned many times, imported items in Brazil are ridiculously expensive. So when you travel outside, or when people come in, there is always space saved for longed for stuff.

While I had only requested some vitamins and a few birthday gifts, my cool friends sent some extra like Tide stain removing pens and marshmallows! Excellent!

Seems strange? Just wait. You may find yourself relying on the underground system one day too.

Explore, ancient pyramids.

The Pyramid and the Sphinx are probably what travellers go to Egypt for. While the Sphinx is a limestone statue of the mythical creature with the lion body and the human head, the Pyramid was piled up in stones. Can’t say which one is easier to make.

The oldest of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World that is still standing, The Great Pyramid of Giza was built for the fourth dynasty Egyptian Pharaoh Khufu, a 20 year construction process which concluded around 2560 B.C. (Wikipedia data) As for Arti, no exact date was needed. Standing at the foot of the humungous pile of neatly stacked up stones was an experience itself.

A suitable wine Suggestions

I held back on publishing my post on wine at the National Mall because I wanted to find an appropriate wine suggestion. The DC Metro area has a wide selection of wine in a box, wine in a big juice pack, large flasks, Go-Vino cups, but none of these seemed quite right for a concession stand. When my friend John reported seeing wine in a cup for sale at a gas station I immediately asked him to pick up a few for me. These two selections were purchased from a Sheetz gas station in Virginia. He reports that the displays are sometimes located by the registers and other times they are in the walk-in cooler.

When you are not very familiar with their whereabouts

Just as the week before, when G and I tried to buy our roasted chicken from these pop-up stalls dotted around town, the cues were enormous. We drove around town in the heat last week trying every rotisserie stand we could find and they’re not easy to locate when you’re not too well acquainted with their whereabouts. Some are set up outside boulangeries, some outside fruit vendors, we drove for half an hour until we found another. We didn’t know last week about reserving chickens either. As I waited patiently in the cue, reprimanding an old cyclist who thought nothing of pushing in and eyeballing a woman who had the same intentions, we were told after fifteen minutes that unless we’d reserved a chicken, there were none left and we’d go without. One friendly lady told us where we could find some more that would be ready at 1.30pm but after smelling crispy and juicy chickens all morning with garlicy sautéd potatoes, we couldn’t wait any longer. We tried a butcher, no such luck. We were resigned to our fate and opted for slices of cold roast beef instead and warm, freshly-baked baguettes from the baker next-door.

They are free

After one and a half months of getting used to their new home Betty and the girls were ready to go free range this weekend.  I had been dreading this because when I first got them they escaped and it took ages and a lot of trouble to get them back into their cage.

I was assured by Alf who gave me the chickens that after a month they would have settled down and I would not have a problem getting them back into their cage.  So early on Saturday morning I released them into the wild to go foraging.

I noticed that they are no longer afraid of me and that they may even like me a bit now.  In fact they come when I call and I can get them to follow me.  I even took them to the compost heap to go scratching for worms. They followed me all in a row while I made chicken noises and scratching sounds.

The universe is how? And, dream?

I like this kind of magical feeling!

My favorite food and beer

Despite our reservations, let’s not lose sight of the things that have changed. Again, I can only speak for Leeds and its environs, but I’m seeing much more Beer and Food interest – especially in the last two years. I personally have run formal meals at  Dough Bistro, and a few more informal events all with varying degrees of success. People come, are interested, speak to you and genuinely want to know more. What’s more, they go away either buying a bottle of what they’ve tasted or askig for it when they sit down to eat next. In the case of Dough, people were paying to come and eat -and both events that we ran sold out. People were, and are, interested.

He is a proud man

Who would have thought? Not me, not in this lifetime. I grew up with Jack Ramsay and Mike Schuler and Rick Adelman (whose family goes to my former church back home). I remember when I was a kid and my mom took my sisters and I to the grand opening of the new Fred Meyer store in Beaverton. I wanted Jack Ramsay’s autograph on a day when actress Farrah Fawcett was also there for the opening, I have no idea why. But by the time we got there, Farrah’s limo was leaving with her in it and Dr. Jack was gone, with only a few people wanting his autograph so I guess he cut out early.

Since then the NBA has gotten bigger and richer, and since then, the Blazers have also had P.J. Carlesimo, Mike Dunleavy and Maurice Cheeks as head coaches. Then came maybe the best hire of all, Nate McMillan. At least it was at the time.

Well, McMillan made it almost seven seasons before the Blazers fired him last week. The guy they replaced him with on an interim basis? Canales.

Good beautiful place!

Yesterday was a beautiful day here in NEPA – 80 degrees, perfect for ice cream, fishing and photography. Say no more.

Find the answer?

You can see he's doing? In fact in each has his own answer! I think you also.