Happy Holidays!!!

Maryland NCAA 2008 Soccer Champs

The Maryland(23-3-0) men's soccer team needed to prove twice why it was the best team in the ACC and they did just that and more Sunday, defeating North Carolina, 1-0, off a game-winner from senior Graham Zusi to capture the 2008 NCAA National Championship(College Cup) at Pizza Hut Park in Frisco, Texas.

From the onset, it appeared quite obvious that this was the third matchup between the two teams this season. North Carolina and Maryland players nearly shadowed each other for the majority of the first half, neither allowing much space to operate. UNC (15-8-1) took the first shot and corner kick of the match as well as tallying more scoring opportunities in the first 20 minutes than Maryland faced the entire semifinal Friday against St. John's, which Maryland won 1-0 on a goal, also by Graham Zsui.

The title is the third for the Maryland men's soccer program and the second in the past four seasons.

Jefferson is Number 1

For the second year in a row, the selective Thomas Jefferson High School for Science and Technology in Fairfax County has been named the country's top public high school in a ranking by U.S. News & World Report.

The magazine's "gold medal list," published online this week, was developed through a formula using such variables as state test scores, student demographics and performance in college-level courses.

Jefferson's reputation has been strong for years because it selects top students from a broad pool across Northern Virginia. ...read more here...

Washington Area Leads "New Economy"

Five states -- Massachusetts, Washington, Maryland, Delaware and New Jersey -- are leading the United States' transformation into a global, entrepreneurial and knowledge- and innovation-based, or "new" economy, according to a new report released this week.

The 2008 State New Economy Index found that Mississippi and West Virginia ranked lowest among the states in making the transition to the "new economy." The other lowest-scoring states include Arkansas, Alabama and Wyoming.

The report said the new economy has taken root in the Northeast, mid-Atlantic, Mountain West and Pacific regions. Fourteen of the top 20 states are in those regions. In contrast, 16 of the 20 lowest-ranking states are in the Midwest, Great Plains and Southern regions.

The index measures states' economic structures. Rather than measuring state economic performance or state economic policies, it focuses on a single question: To what degree does the structure of state economies match the ideal structure of the new economy? ...read more here

Happy Thanksgiving

Top 30 Public Colleges

The Top 30 Public Colleges per Kiplinger

1 - University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill 2 - University of Florida 3 - University of Virginia 4 - University of Georgia 5 - College of William and Mary 6 - SUNY Geneseo 7 - SUNY Binghamton 8 - New College of Florida 9 - University of Maryland, College Park 10 - University of California, San Diego 11 - University of Washington 12 - University of California, Berkeley 13 - University of California, Los Angeles 14 - University of Wisconsin - Madison 15 - Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State Univ. 16 - Georgia Institute of Technology 17 - Florida State University 18 - North Carolina State University 19 - University of Texas at Austin 20 - Truman State University 21 - University of California, Irvine 22 - University of Delaware 23 - University of Mary Washington 24 - College of New Jersey 25 - University of North Carolina at Wilmington 26 - University of Michigan 27 - Ohio State University 28 - James Madison University 29 - Appalachian State University 30 - University of Pittsburgh

...Read more here..

Home-made Apple Pie

Nothing better than a home-made apple pie. Made this one last week.

Happy Halloween

Blondie by Dean Young

Monday Morning Quarterback

The Maryland Terps beat Wake Forest on Saturday. “We finally put a full game together. I think by far it’s the best we’ve played all year,” coach Ralph Friedgen said after the Terrapins cruised to a 26-0 victory at home.

It was the fifth straight win over a Top 25 team for the Terps (5-2, 2-1). Maryland also defeated California and Clemson this season, but lost 24-14 to unheralded Middle Tennessee State and 31-0 to Virginia.

This victory moved the Terrapins into a tie atop the league’s Atlantic Division but didn’t entirely erase the sting of those two inexplicable defeats.

Chris Turner went 28-for-41 for 321 yards and a touchdown. His main target was wide receiver Darrius Heyward-Bey, who had a career-high 11 catches for 101 yards and a score. This from a team that usually relies on the running game to generate points. ...read more here

...And...

Clinton Portis started piling up the yards. Santana Moss starting doing spin moves after catching the ball. London Fletcher led a huge goal line stand. And the Washington Redskins held on to beat the Cleveland Browns on Sunday, 14-11. The Browns made things interesting with a late touchdown, a 2-point conversion, and a field-goal attempt that was wide right with 25 seconds to play.

After nearly putting the fans to sleep, two teams packed a lot into a little bit of time Sunday. Portis broke the scoreless tie with a 3-yard run in the third quarter and rushed for 175 yards on 27 carries, and Moss spun his way to an 18-yard touchdown reception in the fourth quarter as the Redskins beat the Browns 14-11. ...read more here...

Worst Week Ever

Cloaked in the fear of a global recession, U.S. stocks limped to the end of a brutal week of trading yesterday, ending their worst week in history.

The Standard and Poor's 500-stock index and the Dow Jones industrial average lost 18 percent of their value this week, with the Dow falling through two floors: closing below 9,000 for the first time since 2003 and briefly dipping below 8,000. The Nasdaq composite index was down 15 percent. Both the S&P 500, a broader index watched by market professionals, and the Dow, an index of 30 blue-chip stocks, declined by record rates this week.

The Dow fell 1.49 percent, or 128 points, yesterday, to close at 8451.19. The S&P 500 fell 1.18 percent, to close at 899.22, while the tech-heavy Nasdaq managed to eke out a 0.27 percent gain, closing at 1649.51. It was the eighth straight trading day of losses for the S&P 500 and Dow. ...read more here...

...And some good news...

An estimated 113 million Americans, including hundreds of thousands in the Washington region, will receive better insurance coverage for their mental health and substance abuse problems because of landmark legislation that for the first time requires mental and physical illnesses to be treated equally.

The law is a culmination of a decade of lobbying and negotiating among advocates for the mentally ill, the insurance industry, the business community - including the U.S. Chamber of Commerce - and doctors' groups. The change, which was included in the economic rescue package signed by President Bush last week, will take effect Jan. 1, 2010, for most plans. Businesses with 50 or fewer employees would be exempt.

For decades, insurance companies could offer less coverage for the treatment of depression, anxiety and bipolar disorder than of such diseases as cancer and diabetes -- so people with mental illness or substance abuse problems often had to pay for expensive treatment and medication out-of-pocket.

The new law bars companies from setting higher co-pays or deductibles for mental health and substance abuse treatment. Plans also will be prohibited from lowering benefit levels or restricting the number of outpatient therapy sessions or hospital treatment days. And if a health plan allows out-of-network visits for the treatment of physical illnesses, it will also have to offer identical out-of-network coverage for mental health care. ...read more here...

The Good and the Bad

Clinton Portis ran for 145 yards and one touchdown, wide receiver Antwaan Randle El threw a TD pass and the Washington Redskins beat the Philadelphia Eagles 23-17 on Sunday.

Washington (4-1) has made it through the first five games under new coach Jim Zorn better than anyone expected. The Redskins went to Dallas last week and handed the Cowboys their first loss, 26-24. They’ve played all three division rivals on the road and their next three opponents—Cleveland, Detroit and St. Louis—are a combined 1-11.

And Washington’s offense didn’t commit a turnover for the fifth straight ...Read more here

The Virginia Cavaliers (2-3, 1-1 Atlantic Coast Conference), outscored 128-20 in three previous games against Bowl Subdivision teams, beat the Maryland Terps(4-2, 1-1) 31-0. The Cavaliers led Maryland 21-0 at halftime. Two years ago, Virginia led the Terrapins 20-0 at halftime, then gave up 28 consecutive points and lost 28-26 at home. But, not this year. ...Read more here...

Great Weekend for Sports

Thoroughly dominated for a half, the Maryland Terps needed a special play to steal momentum from No. 20 Clemson. Who else to call on than perhaps the Terps’ most special player, Darrius Heyward-Bey.

With the Maryland (4-1, 1-0 Atlantic Coast Conference) down 17-6, the former high-school track star took off on a 76-yard reverse that set up the first of two second-half TDs in a 20-17 win Saturday at Clemson.

On 1st-and-10 from Maryland’s 20, Heyward-Bey ran around an open right side, cutting back through the middle of the field to the left sideline. By the time he was forced out by Clemson safety Michael Hamlin, Heyward-Bey was on the Tigers 4. ...Read more here..

New Washington Redsins coach Jim Zorn was looking for something to help him build up a healthy dose of hate for the Dallas Cowboys. Turns out, he kinds of likes playing his team’s archrival. Quarterback Jason Campbell threw two touchdown passes and Clinton Portis ran for 141 yards, leading the Redskins to a 26-24 victory Sunday that knocked the Cowboys from the ranks of the unbeaten.

Washington (3-1) won for only the second time in its last 13 visits to Texas Stadium. The Redskins held Dallas to 44 yards rushing and had 38:09 to 21:51 in Time of Possession. ...Read more here...

And the Washington Nationals lost their last baseball game of the season, which means they have the worst record in the MLB, and will have the rights to the first draft choice in the baseball amateur draft next June. The Nationals also fired five of their coaches after the game, keeping only pitching coach Randy St. Claire.

Five Days That Transformed Wall Street

The Dow Jones industrial average, which jumped between massive losses and gains this week, closed up Friday 3.4 percent after the Bush administration proposed an unprecedented $500 billion bailout for financial firms in direct response to the mortgage crisis. The plan needs the approval of Congress, which congressional leaders hope to pass by the end of next week. How the week unfolded:

..Read more here...

What a Difference a Week Makes

Maryland scored touchdowns on its first three possessions Saturday en route to a stunning 35-27 upset of No. 23 California. The Golden Bears didn’t reach the end zone until the closing minutes, and by then it was far too late.

Coming off a 10-point loss to unheralded Middle Tennessee State, the Terrapins were given little chance against a California juggernaut that totaled 104 points in disposing of Michigan State and Pac-10 foe Washington State. But, unlike the Golden Bears, Maryland was ready at the outset. The Terrapins put California in an immediate hole, and the deficit proved too much to overcome.

Da’Rel Scott ran for 87 yards and two touchdowns before leaving with a shoulder injury, Turner threw for scores and the Terps (2-1) used a relentless defense to harass the Golden Bears (2-1) from the start. California scored three touchdowns in the final seven minutes, but it was too late

In his attempt to redesign the Washington Redskins offense, rookie coach Jim Zorn has constantly peppered Jason Campbell with all sorts of phrases. One of them: "Avoid, reset and throw." After a miserable first game, Campbell last week responded with a phrase of his own: "Coach, just trust me." ...Read more here...

On Sunday, both got the point. Campbell went from uncomfortable to prolific with a 321-yard passing day, and he mastered the "avoid, reset and throw" move with aplomb on a 67-yard touchdown to Santana Moss as the Redskins came from behind to beat the New Orleans Saints 29-24. "We talked a lot during the week," Campbell said. "I said ‘Coach, just trust me.’ And he said, ‘I’ve got to trust you more.’ We do it together."

Campbell appeared out of sorts with Zorn’s West Coast attack in a 16-7 loss to the Giants, but he went 24-for-36 with no interceptions against the Saints. He completed his last eight passes as the Redskins (1-1) overcame a nine-point deficit with two touchdowns in the final 6 1/2 minutes. ...Read more here...

Football Off to a Bad Start

Quarterback Jason Campbell didn’t look at all comfortable in the Meadowlands, and neither did Jim Zorn. Maybe they just aren’t meant for each other. If they are, it’s going to take awhile to find out.

From quarterback indecision to poor clock management, the Washington Redskins were overmatched and overwhelmed for much of the night in Zorn’s coaching debut. While the regular season is kicking in for everyone else, the burgundy and gold still looked very much in preseason mode in Thursday night’s 16-7 loss to the New York Giants last Thursday night. ...Read more here...

The Maryland Terpapins were upset by Middle Tennessee State, 24-14, last Saturday leaving the Terps 1-1 but the loss was humiliating to the coaches, players and Terp fans.

The Blue Raiders’ victory was the first ever over an Atlantic Coast Conference opponent and second victory for the Sun Belt Conference over a team from the BCS leagues this season. Arkansas State defeated Texas A&M last week.

The Blue Raiders (1-1) converted a fake punt when punter David DeFatta rolled to the right and threw back to the left to Alvin Ingle for a 28-yard completion. Maryland answered as Da’Rel Scott dashed 63 yard on the Terps’ second offensive play to tie the game. Scott rushed for a game-high 123 yards. Scott now has 320 yards rushing in the Terps first two games. ...Read more here...

Amy MacDonald in Concert.

Watch Amy MacDonald in concert.

Phelps Gets 8 Golds in 2008

Michael Phelps surpassed Mark Spitz as the most successful swimmer and Olympian of all time as he won an unprecedented eighth gold at the 2008 Games.

The win gave him his eighth gold at these Games, one more than Spitz in 1972, and his 14th in all, five more than anyone in the Olympics' 112-year history.

His 2008 Olympics goes down as one of the greatest athletic feats of all-time.

Phelps Wins Sixth Gold in 2008

American Michael Phelps scorched to his sixth gold and his sixth world record in the Water Cube pool, closing in on Mark Spitz's 1972 record of seven golds in a Games. The 23-year-old now has 12 career Olympic golds, three more than anyone else. Like Spitz in 1972, all of his golds at these Games have come in world record times.

Nastia Liukin led an american 1-2 punch and won a gold in the women's all round gymnastics. A dazzling floor exercise by Liukin somersaulted her to victory ahead of fellow American Shawn Johnson and China's Yang Yilin. Victory was sweet after China had profited from nervous mistakes by the U.S. women to win their first team gold.

Phelps Wins First Gold in 2008

American swimmer Michael Phelps won his first gold medal of the 2008 games in the 400 meters individual medley final in Beijing's futuristic Water Cube with a time of 4.03.84, knocking more than a second of his own previous world record.

Washington Redskin HOF Weekend

The Hall of Fame induction ceremony turned Hog wild Saturday.

Former Washington Redskins Art Monk and Darrell Green were inducted into the National Football Hall of Fame.

"Standing up here on this platform is much different than I imagined," Monk said. "The reality of getting into the Pro Football Hall of Fame didn’t really hit me till a few days ago. And then to see the magnitude of all of this, and all of you, it’s been something amazing."

The largest ovation was for Monk, who retired in 1995 as the NFL’s career receptions leader with 940 catches—apparently not enough to make it into the Hall of Fame on his first seven chances.

As usual, Green, did his own thing, though. The only player in the ‘08 class selected in his first year of eligibility was also the only one to cry, and he was proud of it. "Deacon Jones said I was gonna cry. You bet I’m gonna cry," he said after his son, Jared, introduced him. ...read more here...

And the Washington Redskins won their first game under new head coach Jim Zorn, by beating the Indiaapolis Colts in the Hall of Fame game in Canton, Ohio, 30-16.

Post Log to $4.00 a Gallon Gas

Exxon Mobil just announced the biggest quarterly profit of any corporation in U.S. history, breaking its own previous record with $11.68 billion in earnings during the second quarter of 2008.

The company's revenue surged 40 percent, to $138.07 billion for the quarter. If it were a country, the company would have the 18th-largest economy in the world.

Why Gas Cost $4.00 a Gallon

What's in a barrel of crude oil? The chart below shows.

For a complete breakdown on why gas cost $4.00 a gallon, who uses it, where it comes from and how the price of a gallon of gas has changed, see this chart at The Washington Post

Shannen Doherty Back to 90210

It's true, Shannen Doherty will be joining her fellow "Beverly Hills 90201" cast mates Jennie Garth and Tori Spelling on the new CW spin-off "90210."

Olsson's Books in Financial Trouble

Olsson's Books, one of the oldest independent booksellers in Washington D.C., plans to file for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection, founder John Olsson said yesterday. Pressed by creditors who have filed claims against the company's inventories and by rising overhead costs, Olsson's is closing at least one store and will evaluate its ability to operate its remaining five properties, an attorney for the company said.

"The book business is getting a little soft. It's not selling as much as it used to," Olsson said. "Our music sales went from 50 percent of our business to maybe 15. We lost a lot of revenue, and at the same time rents went up and real estate taxes went up. I don't know what we would have done differently. It's a killer."

Olsson's closed its Penn Quarter store, which opened 15 years ago. Olsson said rents and taxes had risen beyond affordability at the store and acknowledged falling behind on payments to booksellers.

Olsson, 76, began selling books and records in the District 50 years ago and has battled the economic forces of big-box competition and Internet sales. But ultimately his business is being strained by forces close to home. "We sort of helped make the neighborhood what it is. And it's a great neighborhood, but we can't afford the rent," Olsson said. A few years ago, the store's rent in the renovated Lansburgh department store building was $30 a square foot. Now, it has risen to $50 to $60 a square foot.

Over the years, Olsson's has battled to maintain profitability against the megastores like "Borders" and "Barnes and Noble", eventhough Olsson's was one of the first to combine books, music and a coffee cafe in the same store, long before the meagastores started doing it.

The closing leaves Olsson's with five stores, down from the nine the company operated around 2002. My favorite is still the store in old town Alexandria, Virginia.

Happy July 4th!!!

Happy 4th of July!!!

Bill Gates Legacy

From The Washington Post

Microsoft experienced a ritual yesterday that is common to offices across America: a valued employee's last day. Co-workers paused to gather around their departing colleague, speeches were made and perhaps some cake was consumed.

But this employee isn't just any staff member; he is Bill Gates. Although he will remain chairman, his day-to-day role with the company is over. How do you sum up 33 years spent building the world's largest software company? What accomplishments do you highlight? What topics are best avoided for the sake of politeness?

In Gates's case, sometimes it's hard to tell.

The BASIC Way: 1975

Gates and Microsoft co-founder Paul Allen wrote an efficient, useful version of this programming language that ran on the first personal computers, opening software development to mere hobbyists. From the first text-only, keyboard-bound MS-DOS releases onward, one of the foremost virtues of Microsoft's operating systems has been the staggering variety of third-party programs available for them.

Word Arrives: 1983

With this word-processing program, the company laid the foundations for its nearly omnipresent Microsoft Officesuite and largely defined how most people write today. (That's not all good: Many Word users think a 1985 Washington Post's review's description of Word as "slow and complicated" still applies.) A quarter-century later, Word has become such a standard that Microsoft's biggest marketing problem is persuading customers to trade up to new versions.

Replaced Windows: 1995

The jump from Windows 3.1 to Windows 95 still constitutes the most dramatic improvement Microsoft has provided with an upgrade. Win 95 let millions of users forget about DOS commands and start checking out the Internet, and its interface set the pattern for Microsoft's subsequent operating systems. But Win 95 also standardized aspects of Microsoft computing, like the install/uninstall routines used to add or remove programs, that should have been retired years ago.

Explorer Sets Sail: 1995

This Web browser has gone from being an upstart innovator challenging a dominant player (Netscape Navigator) to the dominant player challenged by an upstart innovator (Navigator's open-source descendant, Mozilla Firefox). Why? Through arrogance or neglect, Microsoft all but ceased Explorer's development once it had monopoly status -- even as the Web became increasingly cluttered, confusing and dangerous.

Behind the Music: 1999

The company built the Windows Media Digital Rights Management software to help record labels and movie studios distribute controlled copies of their work online, but things didn't go according to the script. Some firms in Hollywood shied away from giving Microsoft such a major role in their business; stores running on Windows Media DRM repelled customers with absurd usage limitations; Apple built a simpler, more compatible DRM setup that customers could actually tolerate -- and now much of the music sold online comes without DRM at all.

Xbox Nation: 2001

The personal computers many people use these days don't look like traditional PCs at all. With the Xbox, Microsoft showed that it could compete outside the realm of machines with keyboards and mice -- and helped knock Sega out of the video game business.

Sharapova Out at Wimbledon

Maria Sharapova lost in the second round at Wimbledon yesterday, but she still looked great.

Caps Ovechkin and Boudreau Win Awards

The Washington Capital's Alex Ovechkin capped off a special season by capturing the NHL’s two most prestigious individual awards. He won the Hart Trophy as league MVP and the Lester B. Pearson Award as the players’ choice for the most outstanding player.

Oveckin also won the Rocket Richard Trophy with a league-best 65 goals and the Art Ross Trophy with 112 points.Ovechkin was the first player to score 60 goals since Mario Lemieux in 1996.

Capitals coach Bruce Boudreau, hired after Washington’s woeful start, earned the Jack Adams Award as the NHL’s top bench boss. Washington went 37-17-7 after Boudreau was hired on Nov. 22.

Top Cities For Artists

Almost 2 million people in the United States earn their living as artists, according to a new study by the National Endowment for the Arts. In number of artists, Washington ranks fourth among the top 50 metropolitan areas.

Sharapova in French 16

Marai Sharapova is into the round of 16 in the 2008 French Tennis Open.

David Cook Wins American Idol

Cook, 25, who was tending bar and playing in a band before he auditioned for the singing competition, stood back to applaud rival David Archuleta, 17, and then bent over crying after host Ryan Seacrest said he had won by 12 million votes.

The dueling Davids garnered a record 97.5 million votes between them, smashing the previous record by 23 million.

Also, it was announced that seventeen-year-old Josiah Leming, known as the teary-eyed "American Idol" contestant who just missed making it through the show's Hollywood audition rounds, has signed with Warner Bros. Records for a record and publishing deal. He is to begin recording his album this week.

"Alex the Great" NHL Player of Year

Washington Capitals star left-winger Alex Ovechkin was named the 2008 National Hockey League player of the year by the Sporting News. Ovechkin picked up 250 of a possible 287 votes in a poll of players from around the NHL conducted for the sporting magazine.

The 22-year-old Russian led the NHL in goals with 65 to capture the league's Maurice (Rocket) Richard Trophy as the top goal-scorer and had 112 points to win the Art Ross Trophy as the league's leading scorer. Ovechkin led the league in power-play goals (22), game-winning goals (11) and shots (446).

Happy Mother's Day!!!

Happy Birthday Spam

Washington Post

Happy birthday, spam.

P.S.: Now go away.

It was 30 years ago this Saturday that users of Arpanet, a U.S. government-designed precursor to the Internet, logged onto their accounts to find what is considered the first piece of unsolicited commercial e-mail ever sent.

It was a pitch for a new computer. "We invite you to come see the 2020 and hear about the DECSYSTEM-20 family at the two product presentations we will be giving in California this month," read the missive, sent by a salesman named Gary Thuerk on May 3, 1978.

Thuerk's e-mail prompted an aggravated discussion among the service's users, the relatively small number of high-level academics with access to computers that then cost hundreds of thousands of dollars.

"This is a clear and flagrant abuse of the directory!" one of the hundreds of users on Thuerk's recipient list complained in a public reply.

It's unclear at this point whether Thuerk was able to sell any computers through his then-novel approach, but both spam and spam prevention have grown into major industries since that day. Market research firm Ferris Research estimates that business will spend $42 billion fighting spam this year in the United States. That's up from $35 billion last year. ...read full article here...

Sharapova Wins on Clay

Maria Sharapova, of Russia, holds up the winner's trophy after winning the final-round tennis match at the Bausch & Lomb Championships 7-6 6-3 against Dominika Cibulkova, Sunday, April 13, 2008, in Amelia Island, Fla.

Washington Capitals Win Division

With goals from Tomas Fleischmann, Sergei Federov and Alexander Semin, as well as another strong performance from Cristobal Huet, the Capitals beat the Florida Panthers, 3-1, to complete a historic comeback and clinch their first playoff berth in five years.

With wins in 11 of their final 12 games, including seven straight, the Capitals accomplished something that had never been done: making the playoffs after rallying from 14th or 15th place at the season's midpoint.

The victory also might have wrapped up the Hart Trophy as league MVP for Alex Ovechkin, who took five shots but was unable to improve upon his league-best 65 goals and 112 points. It also means Bruce Boudreau and Backstrom will receive serious consideration for coach and rookie of the year, respectively.

With the victory, Washington (43-31-8) closed the regular season on a seven-game winning streak. It lost just once in its final 12 games en route to its first division crown since 2000-01.

Nats Win Opener in New National's Park

Washington Nationals win Opening game 3-2, in new stadium with a walk-off homerun in the bottom of the ninth by Ryan Zimmerman.

Charlottesville Book Festival Begins Today

Charlottesville Book Festival Begins Today

...The festival features around 180 events at 86 venues throughout Charlottesville and the University of Virginia. The events will focus on all types of books, including history, mysteries, politics, sociology, self-help, food and wine, travel, religion, graphic novels, science fiction, entertainment and much more.

Happy St. Patrick's Day!!!

Happy St. Patrick's Day!!!

Spring Is In The Air

Baseball is Back

Baseball's Spring Training is finally underway in Florida, and Opening Day is just a month a way.

Washington Nationals Willy Mo Pena is expecting to have a big year for the Nats in their new DC Stadium this year.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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We Have A Winner!!!

Mariia Sharapova won the Quatar Tennis Open beating Vera Zvonareva of Russia in Doha 6-1, 2-6, 6-0.

Sharapova into Doha Final

Maria Sharapova reached the Finals of the 2008 Doha Tennis Open, winning 6-4, 6-3 over Radwanska. Sharapova will play Vera Zvonareva, also of Russia, in the Finals on Saturday.

My Favorite Books of 2007

1. Dangerous Book For Boys - Conn Iggulden

2. The Assault On Reason - Al Gore

3. Einstein - His Life and Times - Walter Isaacson

4. America - The Last Best Hope - William Bennett

5. Playing For Pizza - John Grisham

6. The Girl With The Gallery - Lindsay Pollock

7. Real History of the American Revolution - Alan Axelrod

8. The Lost Constitution - William Martin

9. Cultural Ammnesia - Clive James

10. How To Read the Bible - James Kugel

11. I Am A Strange Loop - Douglas Hofstadler

Washington Sports Update

A lot has happened recently in "Washington sports", so just a few quick opinions. The Washington Wizards have played remakablly well without the injured Gilbert Arenas this year. Caron Bulter has really stepped up his game. But, the Wizards need to keep playing hard if they are to make the playoffs this year and get over this current losing streak they are in.

The Maryland Terps men's basketball team has turned it's season totally around since December when they looked like one of the worst teams in the ACC and area. They have played great recently and need to keep winning at home to make the NCAA tournament this March. The women's team keeps winning and looks like a good chance to be in the Final 4 at tournament time.

The Washington Capitals have also turned their season around after a horrible start with their new coach, Broussard. They, too, must keep winning at home (and take a few on the road) to make the NHL play-offs. They may need to win their division to ensure a play-off spot.

The Redskins finally named a head coach, Jim Zorn. The whole hiring process was a disaster, but maybe they got the right guy in the end. Only time will tell on this, and it is way to soon to even make a judgment. Right now, the Redskin franchise looks really bad to most outside the Washington area. So much for the good that Joe Gibbs did with his return to coaching.

And finally, the Washington Nationals start Spring Training this week and their new baseball stadium is on-time(and budget) to open in April. The Nats looks much better on paper this year and could possibly surprise a few teams with a wildcard run this season. The starting pitching just needs to stay healthy.

Top 10 Albums of 2007

1. In Rainbows, Radiohead

2. Neon Bible, The Arcade Fire

3. The Reminder, Feist

4. Sky Blue Sky, Wilco

5. The Flying Club Cup, Beirut

6. Ga Ga Ga Ga Ga, Spoon

7. The Historical Conquests of Josh Ritter, Josh Ritter

8. Magic, Bruce Spingsteen

9. Free Life, Dan Wilon

10. Under the Blacklight, Rilo Kiley

      Neptune City, Nicole Atkins

      One Cell in the Sea, A Fine Frenzy

Sharapova Wins Austrailian Open

Maria Sharapova won her third grand slam title winning the 2008 Austrailian Tennis Open 7-5, 6-3 over Ana Ivanovic

It was an emphatic title -- she won the crown without losing a set in seven matches.

"I love you everyone, thanks so much for everything," the former Wimbledon and U.S. Open champion beamed as she held aloft the trophy.

"This morning I got a text from Billie Jean King saying champions take chances and pressure is a privilege. I am just glad I could take my chances today."

 

 

 

Sharapova Beats Henin in Austrailian Open

Fifth-ranked Sharapova toppled number 1 seed Justine Henin 6-4, 6-0 Tuesday to advance to the semifinals of the 2008 Austrailian Open. This was Sharapova's fourth straight year to make it to the semi-finals. Last year she lost in the finals to Serena Williams.

Henin had not lost a match since Wimbledon 2007 -- a run of 32 matches -- but was brought to her knees under the night sky by a rampant Maria Sharapova. It was the first time the Belgian had lost a set 6-0 since 2002.

"It's funny because I felt like I was in my own bubble today," the statuesque Sharapova beamed. "It's amazing when you go out on the court and feel you're doing the right things to beat such an amazing player as her. It's just incredible."

Maryland Lowers the "Boom" on Carolina

Bambale "Boom" Osby's layup with 21 seconds left helped Maryland stun North Carolina 82-80 on Saturday, giving the Terps a shocking win that will likely end the Tar Heels' run atop the polls.

Osby dropped to the court with his hands covering his face. He knew his basket had given Maryland Terrapins(12-7, 2-2 Atlantic Coast Conference), the lead late. He heard the horn as North Carolina's final desperation shot clanged off the rim. Yet he still couldn't believe it. "It didn't feel real, man," Osby said. "It was like, 'Did this really just happen?"' The same could be said of the top-ranked — and formerly unbeaten — Tar Heels.

This was the 10th time Maryland has beaten the #1 team in the country (second only to North Carolina's 13 wins), and the 7th time that Gary Williams has done it, which is the most by any active coach. Maryland is 4-2 in it's last six games against #1 teams in the country.

The Return of Vinyl

Vinyl Gets Its Groove Back

By Kristina Dell

From college dorm rooms to high school sleepovers, an all-but-extinct music medium has been showing up lately. And we don't mean CDs. Vinyl records, especially the full-length LPs that helped define the golden era of rock in the 1960s and '70s, are suddenly cool again. Some of the new fans are baby boomers nostalgic for their youth. But to the surprise and delight of music executives, increasing numbers of the iPod generation are also purchasing turntables (or dusting off Dad's), buying long-playing vinyl records and giving them a spin.

Like the comeback of Puma sneakers or vintage T shirts, vinyl's resurgence has benefited from its retro-rock aura. Many young listeners discovered LPs after they rifled through their parents' collections looking for oldies and found that they liked the warmer sound quality of records, the more elaborate album covers and liner notes that come with them, and the experience of putting one on and sharing it with friends, as opposed to plugging in some earbuds and listening alone. "Bad sound on an iPod has had an impact on a lot of people going back to vinyl," says David MacRunnel, a 15-year-old high school sophomore from Creve Coeur, Mo., who owns more than 1,000 records.

The music industry, hoping to find another revenue source that doesn't easily lend itself to illegal downloads, has happily jumped on the bandwagon. Contemporary artists like the Killers and Ryan Adams have begun issuing their new releases on vinyl in addition to the CD and MP3 formats. As an extra lure, many labels are including coupons for free audio downloads with their vinyl albums so that Generation Y music fans can get the best of both worlds: high-quality sound at home and iPod portability for the road. Also, vinyl's different shapes (hearts, triangles) and eye-catching designs (bright colors, sparkles) are created to appeal to a younger audience. While new records sell for about $14, used LPs go for as little as a penny--perfect for a teenager's budget--or as much as $2,400 for a collectible, autographed copy of Beck's Steve Threw Up.

Vinyl records are just a small scratch on the surface when it comes to total album sales--only about 0.2%, compared to 10% for digital downloads and 89.7% for CDs, according to Nielsen SoundScan--but these numbers may underrepresent the vinyl trend since they don't always include sales at smaller indie shops where vinyl does best. Still, 990,000 vinyl albums were sold in 2007, up 15.4% from the 858,000 units bought in 2006. Mike Dreese, CEO of Newbury Comics, a New England chain of independent music retailers that sells LPs and CDs, says his vinyl sales were up 37% last year, and Patrick Amory, general manager of indie label Matador Records, whose artists include Cat Power and the New Pornographers, claims, "We can't keep up with the demand."

Album extras Large album covers with imaginative graphics, pullout photos (some even have full-size posters tucked in the sleeve) and liner notes are a big draw for young fans. "Alternative rock used to have 16-page booklets and album sleeves, but with iTunes there isn't anything collectible to show I own a piece of this artist," says Dreese of Newbury Comics. In a nod to modern technology, albums known as picture discs come with an image of the band or artist printed on the vinyl. "People who are used to CDs see the artwork and the colored vinyl, and they think it's really cool," says Jordan Yates, 15, a Nashville-based vinyl enthusiast. Some LP releases even come with bonus tracks not on the CD version, giving customers added value.

Social experience Crowding around a record player to listen to a new album with friends, discussing the foldout photos, even getting up to flip over a record makes vinyl a more socially interactive way to enjoy music. "As far as a communal experience, like with family and friends, it feels better to listen to vinyl," says Jason Bini, 24, a recent graduate of Fordham University. "It's definitely more social." ..Read article here...

Virginia's Best Value Colleges

Jan. 7, 2008 -- Based on the quality of both its academic and financial aid offerings, the University of Virginia ranks third among more than 500 public four-year colleges and universities across the nation for "best value," according to an annual ranking by Kiplinger's Personal Finance magazine.

The rankings of institutions that, in the words of the magazine editors, "combine outstanding economic value with a top-notch education," appear in the February issue, which goes on sale today. They are also available online at

The magazine's rating combines such academic quality measurements as test scores and graduation rates with cost and financial aid data. U.Va. moved up one spot from its fourth-place ranking in 2007, trailing the universities of North Carolina-Chapel Hill and Florida.

U.Va.'s four- and six-year graduation rates were the highest among the top 100 in the rankings, and the average debt load of its graduates was the lowest among the top 10. Virginia and UNC were the only institutions in the ranking to offer financial aid packages that meet 100 percent of student's demonstrated need.

Virginia ranked second among the top 100 in total cost for in-state students after financial aid. This reflects the impact of the University’s AccessUVa program, which meets 100 percent of demonstrated need for all admitted undergraduate students, provides loan-free aid packages for students from families earning up to 200 percent of the federal poverty line and places caps on loans for all other students.

Other Virginia schools listed in Kiplinger's top 100 include the College of William & Mary (fourth), the University of Mary Washington (14th), Virginia Tech (17th), James Madison University (22nd), George Mason University (77th) and Longwood University (91st). ...Read more here...

Album Sales Up and Down

LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - If only Christmas came a few times a year for the fast-fading U.S. music industry. Total album sales plunged 15 percent in 2007, and retailers waited until October for the year's top release, California tenor Josh Groban's holiday-themed "Noel," according to sales data issued on Thursday by industry tracker Nielsen SoundScan.

Sales of physical and digital albums tumbled to 500.5 million units, as the music industry was pillaged by piracy and competition from other forms of entertainment like videogames, industry experts said. It marked the lowest tally and the steepest decline since Nielsen began publishing estimates based on point-of-sales data in 1993, a spokeswoman said. The peak year in that time was 2000, when sales reached 785 million units. Album sales on the Web rose 2.4 percent to 30.1 million units, but that was down from a 19 percent jump in 2006.

Overall sales -- including albums, singles, and digital tracks -- rose 14 percent to 1.4 billion units, also down from a 19 percent rise in 2006. The main driver of growth was a 45 percent jump in digital track sales to 844.2 million units. But even then, the pace slackened from 65 percent in 2006.

Things are likely to get worse for the next four or five years, said music attorney Kenneth Kraus, a Nashville-based partner in Loeb & Loeb, whose clients include Kid Rock and Carrie Underwood. He said the music industry wasted too much time and goodwill battling digital distribution of music, and "we've lost a whole generation of kids" who grew up downloading free music from the Web and cannot fathom paying for it. "Maybe it's going to be another five years" before the music industry comes up with a viable pricing plan that allows fans to download songs with no copying restrictions, he said. ...Read article here...

Happy New Year 2008