Five Reasons AU Will Win Patriot League

As I predicted at the beginning of the season everyone understimated the Eagles this season. While some of the reasoning may have changed the concept remains the same. I will now make a pre Patriot League championship decison that the Eagles will win their first ever Championship and go on to the NCAA tornament. Here are five reasons while that will happen:

1. Garrison Carr.

This kid is having a breakout season. Last year he averaged only 4.2 points per game while this year he is averaging 18.3. He has already shattered the Patriot League record for three pointers and seems unstoppable. No defense, even though we are well into the second game of each matchup, has been able to find a way to shut him down. He has too quick of a release and can change the swing of momentum in a game just by getting the ball in his hands. This is not a fluke or a lucky streak. His play has proven sustainable.

2. Bench Production:

In a league not known for bench depth, especially American, the suprising production coming of the bench recently has been a difference maker. The third average scorer on the team, Brian Gilmore with 8.6 points per game, is the 6th man. His play making abilities are tremendous and he plays with a flare that brings excitement to an otherwise fundementally based system. Another suprise off the bench has been Jordan Nicholas. While his scoring hasnt been extreme his shot blocking and rebounding has made a huge difference. He is second in shot blocking by only 1 to Guibunda and his rebounding, especially defensively has been a decision maker.

3. Home Court Advantage Minus the Crowd

The men have performed well this year at home...just not in front of large crowds. One of their three losses this year came to Holy Cross (was 0-5 at the time) in front of a Phil Bender crowd. While home court seems to work out well they cannot play well with the bleachers moving and shaking. Luckily the semis and finals will be played while American is on spring break this year American will have the home court....without the crowd.

4. Weak Patriot League

While American has had an outstanding season it does not hurt that the league is fairly weak. Over the years it has always been one or two key players on every patriot league team that did the damage. This year American is the team that possess those one or two players in Garrison Carr and Derek Mercer. Teams like Holy Cross and Bucknell do not have that dynamic player this year and that is why they have struggled.

5. Cornelio is Coming Into His Own

Cornelio was one of the most heavily recruited power forwards coming out of high school when he went to Georgetown. His performance there and his sophomore year at American were lackluster at best. This year has proven to be a turnaround year for him. There have been long streaks of brilliance where his ability to get to the hoop have been demonstrated. He is taking better control of the ball and getting key rebounds. Fouling is still a problem and with better decisions he will be a huge asset in the tournament. The Patriot League this year, with the exception of Clifford on Holy Cross, drastically lacks a downlow presence and Cornelio could prove vital down the stretch.

Myths Even Doctors Believe

Here are some crazy myths I found which i really didnt think were myths but apparently doctores at Cambridge have proved they are. If some doctor from England says they are myths it must be true right??

Myth: We use only 10 percent of our brains.
Fact: Physicians and comedians alike, including Jerry Seinfeld, love to cite this one. It's sometimes erroneously credited to Albert Einstein. But MRI scans, PET scans and other imaging studies show no dormant areas of the brain, and even viewing individual neurons or cells reveals no inactive areas, the new paper points out. Metabolic studies of how brain cells process chemicals show no nonfunctioning areas. The myth probably originated with self-improvement hucksters in the early 1900s who wanted to convince people that they had yet not reached their full potential, Carroll figures. It also doesn't jibe with the fact that our other organs run at full tilt.

Myth: You should drink at least eight glasses of water a day.
Fact: "There is no medical evidence to suggest that you need that much water," said Dr. Rachel Vreeman, a pediatrics research fellow at the university and co-author of the journal article. Vreeman thinks this myth can be traced back to a 1945 recommendation from the Nutrition Council that a person consume the equivalent of 8 glasses (64 ounces) of fluid a day. Over the years, "fluid" turned to water. But fruits and vegetables, plus coffee and other liquids, count.

Myth: Fingernails and hair grow after death.
Fact: Most physicians queried on this one initially thought it was true. Upon further reflection, they realized it's impossible. Here's what happens: "As the body’s skin is drying out, soft tissue, especially skin, is retracting," Vreeman said. "The nails appear much more prominent as the skin dries out. The same is true, but less obvious, with hair. As the skin is shrinking back, the hair looks more prominent or sticks up a bit."

Myth: Shaved hair grows back faster, coarser and darker.
Fact: A 1928 clinical trial compared hair growth in shaved patches to growth in non-shaved patches. The hair which replaced the shaved hair was no darker or thicker, and did not grow in faster. More recent studies have confirmed that one. Here's the deal: When hair first comes in after being shaved, it grows with a blunt edge on top, Carroll and Vreeman explain. Over time, the blunt edge gets worn so it may seem thicker than it actually is. Hair that's just emerging can be darker too, because it hasn't been bleached by the sun.

Myth: Reading in dim light ruins your eyesight.
Fact: The researchers found no evidence that reading in dim light causes permanent eye damage. It can cause eye strain and temporarily decreased acuity, which subsides after rest.

Myth: Eating turkey makes you drowsy.
Fact: Even Carroll and Vreeman believed this one until they researched it. The thing is, a chemical in turkey called tryptophan is known to cause drowsiness. But turkey doesn't contain any more of it than does chicken or beef. This myth is fueled by the fact that turkey is often eaten with a colossal holiday meal, often accompanied by alcohol — both things that will make you sleepy.

Myth: Mobile phones are dangerous in hospitals.
Fact: There are no known cases of death related to this one. Cases of less-serious interference with hospital devices seem to be largely anecdotal, the researchers found. In one real study, mobile phones were found to interfere with 4 percent of devices, but only when the phone was within 3 feet of the device. A more recent study, this year, found no interference in 300 tests in 75 treatment rooms. To the contrary, when doctors use mobile phones, the improved communication means they make fewer mistakes.
"Whenever we talk about this work, doctors at first express disbelief that these things are not true," said Vreeman said. "But after we carefully lay out medical evidence, they are very willing to accept that these beliefs are actually false."

Snowing!

In light of the fact it is currently the first snowfall of the winter I thought I would make a fun post today and make a Top 10 list of my favorite snow related memories. They will not be in order and I would love your comments to rank them! Here gooesss.....

a. Learning to drive a John Deere Backhoe while plowing parking lots

b. Spraying the Blockbuster parking lot with hoses at night so we could play hockey the next day

c. Tackle football on snow days

d. Taking Christmas trees off front lawns and using them to build a bonfire on the island in the middle of the lake til the cops came

e. Playing golf on Spooky Brook with 2 inches of snow on it

f. Driving back to DC with Allison in the snow after Christmas taking 9 hours

g. Jacuzzi party in the snow and beers at Mike's house

h. Signing the contract for my first job out of college on the first snow of the year

i. First time skiing at Shawnee at night

j. Doing doughnuts in our cars when we turned 18

So rank them bitches....i know they dont make much sense but based on what you see rank them up!!

Tale of Two Halves Fairfield 62 American 50

The American Men's Basketball team has been like the schizophrenic guy that hangs out at Starbucks in Tenleytown the past three games; going crazy the first half with halftime leads of 17 and 11 respectively in the past two games, then sitting quietly sipping coffee for the second half letting the opponent take second half leads of 7 and 10.

After seeing the first home game for the men last night I left Bender both optimistic and worried for the remainder of the season. The two halves showed exactly why I was concerned as well as the scoring spread. Garrison Carr and Derrick Mercer, like the first two games, provided 68 percent of the points and were the only two players in double digits. The men's team right now is very one dimensional. The game seems to consist of passing it around the perimeter till either garrison or derrick get a three bomb off. While this works when their shooting percentages are good like in the first half, 57% from behind the arch but kills them when their shooting percentage is low, like the second half with a dismal 14%. Until American's big men can wake up and catch the ball with two hands or grab some rebounds it will be a difficult season.

I was optimistic however because of the looks that both Bryce and Frank were getting. These are going to be two strong contributors once they adjust to the speed and physicality of competitive college basketball. They were taking shoots and getting great looks. Once these shots start to fall they will offer a mid range threat the team is currently lacking. Another positive was the enthusiastic and showy play that came from AU. The warm up consisted of an entire drill of the team dunking, a far cry from last years conservative fundamental based team. This will be good for fan attendance and momentum as displayed by the crowd's reaction to Brian Gilmore's great inside move he capped off with a strong two handed jam. This emotionally charged play will be sure to bring in more fans then last year. Till next game....

Self Fulfilling Cycle

Fed Chairman Says Economy Likely to Slow....

http://www.nytimes.com/2007/11/08/business/09fed-web.html?ei=5065&en=2d73b75dc3e556dd&ex=1195189200&partner=MYWAY&pagewanted=print

This article highlights exactly why Wall Street keeps me up at night. Bernanke goes before the Senate to testify yesterday and begins to tell them that the next few months for both the economy and the stock market are going to slow noticeably. Meanwhile investors on the street listening to the hearing begin selling and they sold the market down over 200 points. The question now is this: Did Bernanke in effect drive this market decline by forecasting a decline? Many market analysts say these daily swings and gyrations of the market have no effect on the long term financial stability of markets, however i disagree for several reasons.

1. As an amateur investor statements like the one Bernanke gave yesterday will resonate in my mind for months whenever I look at my portfolio. Every potential decision I make regarding my investments will be made with his statement "slowing noticeably" still ringing in my ears. It will stop me from making I would estimate three investment decisions over the next quarter. Now detractors may say that I should not be making investments into an unstable economy regardless however I believe a great amount of the market instability that will be felt over the next three months is a result of squeamish people like myself scared that the market will decline.

2. Bernanke's statements yesterday were accompanied by a statement regarding the future of interest rates and the Fed's decisions. In this case Bernanke spoke out of both sides of his mouth. One one side he said that the financial markets will continue to decline in the coming quarter and economic growth will slow to a crawl. While saying this he alluded to the fact that interest rates will remain stable. Why with the economy declining, instability, and economic growth dropping 3% points below summer averages would he not offer the salvation of further interest rate drops. And if he could not commit to that at least leave the option on the table.

3. October November and December are a turbulent time for the market every year regardless of the market cycle due to tax implications. These statements only further unsettle investors in an already turbulent time of the year.

Yes Mr. Bernanke the U.S. Economy is very diversified however the difference in this decline is that it effects almost every American household's primary investment; their house itself. This will not be isolated to just the mortgage and housing industries because of it shakes the very foundations of nearly every families wealth which will have far reaching effects into every aspect of the economy.

AU Men's Basketball....Time to Shine

In the Patriot League Coach's preseason poll the AU Men's team was predicted to finish 5th for several reasons. 1. AU only returns one consistent starter, Derrik Mercer. 2. Rather then recruiting in the traditional manner of taking true freshman AU went out and brought in only 2 true freshman and 5 transfers from junior colleges. 3. Other teams in the Patriot League have been desimated by graduations except for Holy Cross who is picked to win.
My Take:

AU is going to exceed expectations! Nick Hendra, one of the two true freshman, is an outstanding player who once he finds his niche will be a strong producer for the Eagles. Derrick Mercer will shine like he never has before this season. Each year he has stepped it up improving his shooting from freshman to sophomore year along with his passing percentage. I expect him to come out of the gate with a multi faceted game. Frank Borden will be the strongest producing addition to the Eagles this year. His outside shooting is superb and he has a great sense of vision.

The only downfalls for the team will be coming together. In their first two exhibition games the Eagles have struggled with team unity and working together. When half the team is new it takes awhile to learn to play together. I feel they should peak just as they need to during the Patriot League games.

Check in soon for my take on each game when the season starts!

Why Blog?

When I started this blog I got from several people the question why? So I figure with my first post why not address it. First I'm a complex guy. There is a lot of stuff swirling up in my head that needs to come out. Second, I am constantly finding articles online at work that are either interesting, upsetting, or just cool that I want to share but always either forget about it by the time I get home or just feel like no one would care so now I will be able to put them on here with my lovely thoughts and if anyone is interested they can read them. Third, Ted Leonsis owner of the Capitals and Wizards has one of the coolest blogs (alright lets face it only blog I have ever seen) and because he is the man i wanna be like Ted. Lastly, I just get bored at work and thought it would be fun. Hope that answers your questions!