Your 7 days program to Positive thinking

"Enlightenment" Your 7 days program to Positive thinking

I'm sure you have a bright idea hidden somewhere in the back of your mind that you just can't wait to test out. Of course you're not the only one with the bright idea. So what motivates you to churn those creative, or even inspiring juices to its utmost flavor?

It's always best to set up a personal goal where you can accomplish the most in record time, maybe like mowing the lawn in an hour before the big game on TV. A correct and positive attitude in whatever you do will make things easier, and even enjoyable.

Here are some tips to make it through the week even if you're just sitting in your favorite couch. An idea takes time to form in your head and is always at work while you are busy sitting.

Having a bit of positive thinking can help you realize things that are never thought possible. Thinking big is indeed the American Way and that what made our country prosperous.

1. Take passionate action towards living your life by design. Talk is cheap. Action = deposits in the bank of a passionately authentic future. Without it, passion is void.

This is a perfect example where dreams are made of where you start by tinkering with your mind, then with your hands. And if the idea weakens, you can always go back to it later until you finish it.

2. Commit to yourself as well as those you love to create powerfully a life you can love. Instead of reacting, commit to creating from your heart and soul, out of love rather than fear. The American Dream will always be there, but a dream will still be a dream without motion. Be amazed as the transformation begins.

3. Recognize and embrace the thought that each moment is perfect regardless of its outcome. Every time you hit on something that may appear too extreme, why not give it a shot and see if it will work. You will be surprised to see of there are other ways to get the task done in time. If you are not pleased with the outcome, decide to use that moment to learn from and make the appropriate shift.

4. Dwell completely in a place of gratitude. Learn to utilize what you have in your hands and make use of it in the most constructive way. Slipping into neediness will become less of a habit when you repeatedly shift towards gratitude, away from poverty consciousness.

5. Use a Passion Formula of Recognize/Reevaluate/Restore in place of the Shoulda/Woulda/Coulda whirlwind. The former is based in increased knowledge and abundance while the latter focuses on scarcity and lack. As you face people or tasks that may seem harder than scaling the summit of the Himalayas, allow yourself to realize that the task is just as important as giving out orders to your subordinates. You would rather be richly passionate!

6. Keep humor at the forefront of thought, laughing at and with yourself when possible. You may find yourself quite entertaining when you loosen up! I am yet to see a comedian ever go hungry even though his jokes are as 'old as great-grandma'. Life has so much to offer to allow you to mope around in self pity. Humor is very attractive, very passionate: life-giving.

7. Believe that you are the architect of your destiny. No one can take your passionate future from you except for you! Create your life authentically. As long as there's still breath in your body, there is no end to how much you can accomplish in a lifetime. The concept of thinking big is all about enjoying your work, which would lead to celebrate a discovery that is born within your hands. Watch everything flow into place with perfect, passionate precision.

It's interesting how people get wallowed up by something trivial as learning to use a computer, when nowadays that top computer companies are manufacturing software that even the kids can do it. I don't mean to be condescending, but that's the idea of not having any positive thinking in your life-you'll just end up as a dim bulb in a dark corner. So instead of subjecting yourself to what you will be doomed for, make your path by taking the first step with a positive attitude.

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Your 7 days program to Stress management

They say there's more than one way to skin a cat. The same goes when you start tearing your hair out with all the frustration, grief, anxiety, and yes, stress. It's a state of mental conditioning that is like taking that bitter pill down your throat, causing you to lose your sense of self, and worse your sanity. Just thinking about it can drive anyone off the edge.

And they say that the proactive ones are already living off the edge.

As one stressed-out person to another, I know how it feels, and believe me there are many variants when it comes to stress. Coping with life, and carrying the problems that may or may not belong to you can scratch away the little joy and happiness that you can carry once you head out that door. You can't blame them for being like that; they have their own reasons, so much like we have our reasons to allow stress to weigh us down. They say that stress is all in the mind, well, what's bugging you anyway?

There are several ways to manage stress, and eventually remove it out of your life one of these days. So I'll try to divide it into a seven-day course for you and I promise it's not going to be too taxing on the body, as well as on the mind.

1. Acknowledge stress is good
Make stress your friend! Based on the body's natural "fight or flight" response, that burst of energy will enhance your performance at the right moment. I've yet to see a top sportsman totally relaxed before a big competition. Use stress wisely to push yourself that little bit harder when it counts most.

2. Avoid stress sneezers
Stressed people sneeze stress germs indiscriminately and before you know it, you are infected too!

Protect yourself by recognizing stress in others and limiting your contact with them. Or if you've got the inclination, play stress doctor and teach them how to better manage themselves.

3. Learn from the best
When people around are losing their head, who keeps calm? What are they doing differently? What is their attitude? What language do they use? Are they trained and experienced?
Figure it out from afar or sit them down for a chat. Learn from the best stress managers and copy what they do.

4. Practice socially acceptable heavy breathing
This is something I've learned from a gym instructor: You can trick your body into relaxing by using heavy breathing. Breathe in slowly for a count of 7 then breathe out for a count of 11. Repeat the 7-11 breathing until your heart rate slows down, your sweaty palms dry off and things start to feel more normal.

5. Give stressy thoughts the red light
It is possible to tangle yourself up in a stress knot all by yourself. "If this happens, then that might happen and then we're all up the creek!" Most of these things never happen, so why waste all that energy worrying needlessly?

Give stress thought-trains the red light and stop them in their tracks. Okay so it might go wrong - how likely is that, and what can you do to prevent it?

6. Know your trigger points and hot spots
Presentations, interviews, meetings, giving difficult feedback, tight deadlines…. My heart rate is cranking up just writing these down!

Make your own list of stress trigger points or hot spots. Be specific. Is it only presentations to a certain audience that get you worked up? Does one project cause more stress than another? Did you drink too much coffee?

Knowing what causes you stress is powerful information, as you can take action to make it less stressful. Do you need to learn some new skills? Do you need extra resources? Do you need to switch to decaf?

7. Burn the candle at one end
Lack of sleep, poor diet and no exercise wreaks havoc on our body and mind. Kind of obvious, but worth mentioning as it's often ignored as a stress management technique. Listen to your mother and don't burn the candle at both ends!

So having stress can be a total drag, but that should not hinder us to find the inner peace of mind that we have wanted for a long time. In any case, one could always go to the Bahamas and bask under the summer sun.

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Life Mapping: A Vision of Success

Success is more than economic gains, titles, and degrees. Planning for success is about mapping out all the aspects of your life. Similar to a map, you need to define the following details: origin, destination, vehicle, backpack, landmarks, and route.

Origin: Who you are

A map has a starting point. Your origin is who you are right now. Most people when asked to introduce themselves would say, “Hi, I’m Jean and I am a 17-year old, senior highschool student.” It does not tell you about who Jean is; it only tells you her present preoccupation. To gain insights about yourself, you need to look closely at your beliefs, values, and principles aside from your economic, professional, cultural, and civil status. Moreover, you can also reflect on your experiences to give you insights on your good and not-so-good traits, skills, knowledge, strengths, and weaknesses. Upon introspection, Jean realized that she was highly motivated, generous, service-oriented, but impatient. Her inclination was in the biological-medical field. Furthermore, she believed that life must serve a purpose, and that wars were destructive to human dignity.

Destination: A vision of who you want to be

“Who do want to be?” this is your vision. Now it is important that you know yourself so that you would have a clearer idea of who you want to be; and the things you want to change whether they are attitudes, habits, or points of view. If you hardly know yourself, then your vision and targets for the future would also be unclear. Your destination should cover all the aspects of your being: the physical, emotional, intellectual, and spiritual. Continuing Jean’s story, after she defined her beliefs, values, and principles in life, she decided that she wanted to have a life dedicated in serving her fellowmen.

Vehicle: Your Mission

A vehicle is the means by which you can reach your destination. It can be analogized to your mission or vocation in life. To a great extent, your mission would depend on what you know about yourself. Bases on Jean’s self-assessment, she decided that she was suited to become a doctor, and that she wanted to become one. Her chosen vocation was a medical doctor. Describing her vision-mission fully: it was to live a life dedicated to serving her fellowmen as a doctor in conflict-areas.

Travel Bag: Your knowledge, skills, and attitude

Food, drinks, medicines, and other travelling necessities are contained in a bag. Applying this concept to your life map, you also bring with you certain knowledge, skills, and attitudes. These determine your competence and help you in attaining your vision. Given such, there is a need for you to assess what knowledge, skills, and attitudes you have at present and what you need to gain along the way. This two-fold assessment will give you insights on your landmarks or measures of success. Jean realized that she needed to gain professional knowledge and skills on medicine so that she could become a doctor. She knew that she was a bit impatient with people so she realized that this was something she wanted to change.

Landmarks and Route: S.M.A.R.T. objectives

Landmarks confirm if you are on the right track while the route determines the travel time. Thus, in planning out your life, you also need to have landmarks and a route. These landmarks are your measures of success. These measures must be specific, measurable, attainable, realistic, and time bound. Thus you cannot set two major landmarks such as earning a master’s degree and a doctorate degree within a period of three years, since the minimum number of years to complete a master’s degree is two years. Going back to Jean as an example, she identified the following landmarks in her life map: completing a bachelor’s degree in biology by the age of 21; completing medicine by the age of 27; earning her specialization in infectious diseases by the age of 30; getting deployed in local public hospitals of their town by the age of 32; and serving as doctor in war-torn areas by the age of 35.

Anticipate Turns, Detours, and Potholes

The purpose of your life map is to minimize hasty and spur-of-the-moment decisions that can make you lose your way. But oftentimes our plans are modified along the way due to some inconveniences, delays, and other situations beyond our control. Like in any path, there are turns, detours, and potholes thus; we must anticipate them and adjust accordingly.

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BUILD YOUR SELF ESTEEM, A STARTER GUIDE TO SELF IMPROVEMENT

So how do you stay calm, composed and maintain self esteem in a tough environment? Here are some tips you may to consider as a starter guide to self improvement.

Imagine yourself as a Dart Board. Everything and everyone else around you may become Dart Pins, at one point or another. These dart pins will destroy your self esteem and pull you down in ways you won’t even remember. Don’t let them destroy you, or get the best of you. So which dart pins should you avoid?

Dart Pin #1 : Negative Work Environment
Beware of “dog eat dog” theory where everyone else is fighting just to get ahead. This is where non-appreciative people usually thrive. No one will appreciate your contributions even if you miss lunch and dinner, and stay up late. Most of the time you get to work too much without getting help from people concerned. Stay out of this, it will ruin your self esteem. Competition is at stake anywhere. Be healthy enough to compete, but in a healthy competition that is.

Dart Pin #2: Other People’s Behavior
Bulldozers, brown nosers, gossipmongers, whiners, backstabbers, snipers, people walking wounded, controllers, naggers, complainers, exploders, patronizers, sluffers… all these kinds of people will pose bad vibes for your self esteem, as well as to your self improvement scheme.

Dart Pin #3: Changing Environment
You can’t be a green bug on a brown field. Changes challenge our paradigms. It tests our flexibility, adaptability and alters the way we think. Changes will make life difficult for awhile, it may cause stress but it will help us find ways to improve our selves. Change will be there forever, we must be susceptible to it.

Dart Pin #4: Past Experience
It’s okay to cry and say “ouch!” when we experience pain. But don’t let pain transform itself into fear. It might grab you by the tail and swing you around. Treat each failure and mistake as a lesson.

Dart Pin #5: Negative World View
Look at what you’re looking at. Don’t wrap yourself up with all the negativities of the world. In building self esteem, we must learn how to make the best out of worst situations.

Dart Pin #6: Determination Theory
The way you are and your behavioral traits is said to be a mixed end product of your inherited traits (genetics), your upbringing (psychic), and your environmental surroundings such as your spouse, the company, the economy or your circle of friends. You have your own identity. If your father is a failure, it doesn’t mean you have to be a failure too. Learn from other people’s experience, so you’ll never have to encounter the same mistakes.

Sometimes, you may want to wonder if some people are born leaders or positive thinkers. NO. Being positive, and staying positive is a choice. Building self esteem and drawing lines for self improvement is a choice, not a rule or a talent. God wouldn’t come down from heaven and tell you – “George, you may now have the permission to build self esteem and improve your self.”

In life, its hard to stay tough specially when things and people around you keep pulling you down. When we get to the battle field, we should choose the right luggage to bring and armors to use, and pick those that are bullet proof. Life’s options give us arrays of more options. Along the battle, we will get hit and bruised. And wearing a bullet proof armor ideally means ‘self change’. The kind of change which comes from within. Voluntarily. Armor or Self Change changes 3 things: our attitude, our behavior and our way of thinking.

Building self esteem will eventually lead to self improvement if we start to become responsible for who we are, what we have and what we do. Its like a flame that should gradually spread like a brush fire from inside and out. When we develop self esteem, we take control of our mission, values and discipline. Self esteem brings about self improvement, true assessment, and determination. So how do you start putting up the building blocks of self esteem? Be positive. Be contented and happy. Be appreciative. Never miss an opportunity to compliment. A positive way of living will help you build self esteem, your starter guide to self improvement.

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What Innovation Can Do to Your Life

It's a talent that everyone has, yet they think they don't. The power of innovation. If you've ever marvelled at somebody's creative prowess, guess what, you can create and innovate too. It just takes time. Everyone is born creative. The box of crayons in kindergarten were not limited to those who possessed potential; because the truth is, everybody has potential.

You know how long it took to learn to ride a bike or drive or to never commit the same mistake again? It's the same with innovation. It takes a bit of practice and a lot of time before this mind function comes easily when called. This article will teach you a few tips on how to bring innovation into your life.

Don't listen to what other people say. Follow the beat of your own drum. Allowing for the input of other people will only bring cacophony to the music you are trying to make. If you have an original idea, don't waste your time and effort trying to make people understand. They won't. And the help you will probably get comes in the form of negative feedback. If all those geniuses listened to their peers, we would probably still be living in the middle ages.

Spend time on it. I cannot stress that enough, although, please do not mistake this tip to tell you to quit your day job entirely. Do not. This involves some tricky time management but with a little discipline you'll be able to squeeze both in.

Exercise. Take a walk. Run a mile or two. Send all those endorphins coursing through your veins. Exercising certainly clears and relaxes your mind and allows for anything to pop up.

Record your dreams. Aren't some of them just the craziest things that your conscious mind would never have thought of? If you've had these dreams before, and I'm sure have, this only shows you the untapped innovative power you have lying within. So jot down those notes. Those dreams may just create an innovative spark in you.

Find your own style. You can always tell a Van Gogh from a Matisse. You'll know Hemingway wrote something by the choice of words on the paper. So it is the same with you. People will appreciate your innovation more because it is uniquely yours and that no one else would have thought of what you were thinking. That will let people see how valuable an asset you are.

Don't hide behind nifty gadgets or tools. You don't need the most expensive set of paints to produce a masterpiece. The same way with writing. You don't need some expensive fountain pen and really smooth paper for a bestseller. In fact, J.K. Rowling wrote the first book of the Harry Potter Series on bits of tissue. So what if you've got an expensive SLR camera if you're a crappy photographer? Who cares if you've got a blinging laptop if you can't write at all? The artist actually reduces the number of tools he has as he gets better at his craft: he knows what works and what doesn't.

Nothing will work without passion. What wakes you up in the mornings? What keeps the flame burning? What is the one thing that you'll die if you don't do? Sometimes people with talent are overtaken by the people who want it more. Think the hare and the tortoise. Ellen Degeneres once said that if you're not doing something that you want to do, then you don't really want to do it. And that's true. Sometimes you just want something so bad you become a virtual unstoppable. And that is passion. Passion will keep you going.

Don't worry about inspiration. You can't force it; inspiration hits when you least expect it to, for those unpredictable yet inevitable moments you should prepare. An idea could strike you on the subway, yet alas, you poor unfortunate soul; you have no sheet of paper to scribble down a thought that could change the world. Avoid these disasters. Have a pen and paper within your arm's reach at all times.

I hope this article has helped you bring more innovation into your life. Keep in mind that you're doing these things for your own satisfaction and not anybody else's. But soon enough they will notice, and everything should snowball from there.

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Happy as You Want to Be

Almost everyone have heard the hit single 'Don't Worry, Be Happy' by Bobby McFerrin. The song has a very catchy way of conveying its message of being happy to everyone. Bobby Mcferiin's simple message surely made a lot of people by telling them not to worry.

Living a happy, resilient and optimistic life is wonderful, and is also good for your health. Being happy actually protects you from the stresses of life. Stress is linked to top causes of death such as heart disease, cancer and stroke.

One of the better things ever said is - 'The only thing in life that will always remain the same is change', and in our life we have the power to make the necessary changes if we want to. Even if we find ourselves in an unbearable situation we can always find solace in the knowledge that it too would change.

Social networks or relationships are essential to happiness. People are different, accept people for who or what they are, avoid clashes, constant arguments, and let go of all kinds of resentments. If arguments seem unavoidable still try and make an effort to understand the situation and you might just get along with well with

Happiness is actually found in everyone, increasing it is a way to make a life more wonderful and also more healthy.

To be happy is relatively easy, just decide to be a happy person. Abraham Lincoln observed that most people for most of the time can choose how happy or stressed, how relaxed or troubled, how bright or dull their outlook to be. The choice is simple really, choose to be happy.

There are several ways by which you can do this.

Being grateful is a great attitude. We have so much to be thankful for. Thank the taxi driver for bringing you home safely, thank the cook for a wonderful dinner and thank the guy who cleans your windows. Also thank the mailman for bringing you your mails, thank the policeman for making your place safe and thank God for being alive.

News is stressful. Get less of it. Some people just can't start their day without their daily dose of news. Try and think about it, 99% of the news we hear or read is bad news. Starting the day with bad news does not seem to be a sensible thing to do.

A religious connection is also recommended. Being part of a religious group with its singing, sacraments, chanting, prayers and meditations foster inner peace.

Manage your time. Time is invaluable and too important to waste. Time management can be viewed as a list of rules that involves scheduling, setting goals, planning, creating lists of things to do and prioritizing. These are the core basics of time management that should be understood to develop an efficient personal time management skill. These basic skills can be fine tuned further to include the finer points of each skill that can give you that extra reserve to make the results you desire.

Laugh and laugh heartily everyday. Heard a good joke? Tell your friends or family about it. As they also say -'Laughter is the best medicine'.

Express your feelings, affections, friendship and passion to people around you. They will most likely reciprocate your actions. Try not to keep pent up anger of frustrations, this is bad for your health. Instead find ways of expressing them in a way that will not cause more injury or hurt to anyone.

Working hard brings tremendous personal satisfaction. It gives a feeling of being competent in finishing our tasks. Accomplishments are necessary for all of us, they give us a sense of value. Work on things that you feel worthy of your time.

Learning is a joyful exercise. Try and learn something new everyday. Learning also makes us expand and broaden our horizons. And could also give us more opportunities in the future.

Run, jog, walk and do other things that your body was made for. Feel alive.

Avoid exposure to negative elements like loud noises, toxins and hazardous places.

These are the few simple things you can do everyday to be happy.

And always remember the quote from Abraham Lincoln, he says that, "Most people are about as happy as they make up their minds to be."

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facts about Collins Tuohy

Leigh Anne and Collins Tuohy

Collins Tuohy, 22 is one of the people involved in The Blind side, the new movie

"He has such character and perseverance," says Collins Tuohy, 22, set to graduate from Ole Miss next month. "Obviously, he's changed and matured over the years. But we all do between the ages of 15 and 23."

Collins and Oher have a tight bond. It began when she helped him adjust to Briarcrest. It strengthened as they attended the same college. Oher took Collins to the hospital when she was ill and got the call when there was a flat tire.

"He mentors me; I mentor him," Collins says. "It just depends on the day."

As she prepared to accompany Oher to New York, where he is one of nine prospects invited to draft headquarters, Collins sounded like a typical sister.

"I'm a bit nervous," she said. "I really don't want him trucking off to some faraway place."
Sources: http://blackchristiannews.com/news/2009/04/from-homeless-to-the-nfl-michael-ohers-journey-is-unique.html

Collins Tuohy is the adoptive sister of Michael Oher, noted college football player

Collins Tuohy is the adoptive sister of Michael Oher, noted college football player, and the daughter of Sean Tuohy, currently a broadcaster for the Memphis Grizzlies NBA team.
Sources: http://www.freebase.com/view/guid/9202a8c04000641f800000000ba007db

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About andrew luster

Andrew Luster (AP)

Andrew Stuart Luster (born December 15, 1963) is the great-grandson of cosmetics giant Max Factor, Sr. and an heir to the Max Factor cosmetics fortune. He grew up in Malibu, California and attended Windward School in Santa Monica. Luster had been supported by a $3.1 million trust fund as he traveled and surfed at various beaches. He was convicted of a series of rapes in 2003.

Arrest and conviction

In 1996, 1997 and 2000, Luster was accused of giving three women GHB, a known date rape drug, and raping them while they were unconscious. Luster was brought to trial in 2002. Soon afterward, police officers found videotapes of Luster raping the women in question, including one tape labeled "Shauna GHBing." In January 2003, while on trial for rape, Luster left the country and was declared a fugitive from justice by the judge. Although his attorneys attempted to halt proceedings until he could be located, the judge ruled that Luster would be tried in absentia.

The trial went ahead without him and on January 22, after two days of deliberations, the jury found Luster guilty on 86 of 87 charges against him (many of which had been added to California state law in the wake of the 1996 federal drug-induced sexual assault law) and deadlocked on a single poisoning charge.

Luster was convicted of 20 counts of drug-induced rape, 17 counts of raping an unconscious victim, and multiple counts of sodomy and oral copulation by use of drugs. Luster was sentenced to six years for each of the 20 counts of rape (to be served consecutively) and another four years for poisoning, for a total of 124 years in prison. Luster was also ordered to pay a $1 million fine.

The California Court of Appeal refused the appeal his attorneys filed on his behalf, ruling that as a fugitive from justice, Luster had flouted the court's authority and had thus forfeited his right to appeal. The California Supreme Court and the United States Supreme Court later refused to overturn this ruling.

During his flight, Luster found his way to Puerto Vallarta, Mexico where he lived under the assumed name David Carrera, surfing and partying. He was captured by bounty hunter Duane "Dog" Chapman, his son Leland Chapman, Tim Chapman, and two TV crewmen in a noisy scuffle on June 18, 2003 and was then taken into custody by Mexican authorities. The next day, Luster was returned to the U.S., and imprisonedChapman was subsequently arrested for deprivation of liberty because bounty-hunting is prohibited by Mexican law, a charge that was ultimately dropped in August 2007

Prison sentence and civil suits

Luster is currently serving his 124-year prison sentence in Mule Creek State Prison in California. Because his crimes harmed other persons, Luster must serve 85 percent of his sentence before being eligible for release with time off for good behavior. He will not be eligible for release until October 2108 — virtually assuring he will die in prison (he would be 145 years old when he is eligible).

Luster filed a federal habeas corpus suit as the final possibility of getting his case reviewed by another Court on appeal, which was rejected in late 2007.

Two of the victims won civil lawsuits against Luster, who was ordered to pay a total of $39 million. Their attorneys are still trying to wade through the Luster/Factor investments to determine how much their clients will actually receive. Luster subsequently sold most of his property and declared bankruptcy


Personal life

Luster has two children with ex-girlfriend Valerie Balderama: a son, Connor, born in 1991, and daughter Quinn, born in 1994.[1]

Media portrayals

After he vanished, a movie called A Date with Darkness: The Trial and Capture of Andrew Luster was made based on him and his victims. The film was supposed to end with a picture of the real Andrew Luster, asking the audience to notify authorities if they should see him. When Luster was finally captured, the film was still shooting. The ending was re-written to incorporate his capture.

On August 28, 2009 the true crime TV series Dominick Dunne's Power, Privilege, and Justice aired an episode on the case.

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sloppy google

Google Sloppy [Google Has a Sloppy, Lazy, Passive Twin. Key In Your Search Terms and See Google Sloppy Mess it Up] Much has been discussed about Google in the past few weeks, with an algorithm change that supposedly reduced the search visibility of low-quality sites. Some people are probably stressed about this, and others are elated at the reduction of “spammy” frontpage results.

Let’s take a little break from all this and have fun with a search engine called Google Sloppy. Google Sloppy looks like a hand-drawn version of Google’s home page. The site misspells your search queries and sometimes substitutes the wrong words.

Search for “potato” and you get a list of matches for “optato.” I didn’t even know there was such a word.

Google Sloppy is a work of Yuin Chien, a graduat student at the Art Center College of Design in Pasadena.

“The Search Operators” is the sloppy twin of Google search. By reversing the passive roles of UI elements, we want to expand the traditional notion of user interfaces. We hope this sloppy twin helps you switch mind set from everyday web routines and open up new perspectives.

Google Sloppy is done with html5 canvas, js, processing.js, jQuery, Google Search API, and a lot of imagination, according to the creators.

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Wes Leonard Dies

Wes Leonard Dies: High School Basketball Player Collapses After Game-Winning Shot
FENNVILLE, Mich. -- One moment: a perfect shot to end a perfect season. The star player, just 16, lifted off the floor in celebration. Teenagers triumphant, crowds cheering, the district playoffs ahead, the future open wide.

The next: Wes Leonard on the gym floor, his enlarged heart failing, his life fading just a few moments after his victory layup. Packed bleachers suddenly stunned by an event that made basketball seem a distant, unimportant memory.

A day after Leonard died from an enlarged heart, this small town near Lake Michigan remembered an "all-American kid" whose athletic heroics had been local legend since middle school, when opposing coaches sometimes asked to see his birth certificate, not believing someone so young could be so skilled.

"He was a good kid, a good friend to have and a good person to hang around with," DeMarcus McGee, who played football and basketball with Leonard, said between sobs. "You never thought it could be him. He was so healthy. It shouldn't happen."

On Thursday evening, Leonard sent the ball through the hoop from close range with less than 30 seconds left in overtime. The final shot gave Fennville High a 57-55 victory over Bridgman High and a 20-0 regular season.

After the teams exchanged handshakes, Fennville players celebrated. Some began scrambling to organize a team photo that would commemorate their undefeated record. That's when the 6-foot-2, 215-pound Leonard collapsed, with an estimated 1,400 fans watching.

"Thirty seconds earlier, he was laying in the winning bucket," said Ryan Klingler, basketball coach in Fennville, about 200 miles west of Detroit. "And then 10 seconds later ... everything's pulled out from under you, from out of nowhere."

Leonard was rushed to nearby Holland Hospital, where paramedics performed CPR before he was pronounced dead. An autopsy conducted Friday by the Ottawa County medical examiner showed Leonard died of cardiac arrest due to an enlarged heart.

"It shouldn't have been like this," teammate Adam Siegel said. "Too young."

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defriend day

Today is one of those days that may have you wondering what happened to all my friends? I don’t mean your real life friends. The ones who you can call on a daily basis just to chat, call up to grab a glass of wine after work, or call upon as a last minute baby-sitter . I mean all those facebook friends you have compiled over the past few years. The guy you dated once in college. The kid who sat behind you in homeroom. The stranger you added just to help you with some funky Farmville mission. Those are the folks who may be busy defriending you today on the social networking site.

It’s not just you whose supply of Facebook friends may be diminishing today. There’s a whole crop of celebrities who rely on their social network to call attention to themselves and their every action (Hello Justin Bieber!) While most of the celebs rely on everyone to ‘like’ them on the website in order to share their current marketing message, some others will actually friend you themselves (usually the newbies). Most folks are going to totally disregard the whole National Facebook Defriend Day movement, but I expect to see some celebs see their likability shrink a bit as folks use this as an opportunity to clean up their wall just a bit. The last time the world was called upon to unfriend folks was November 17, 2010 when Jimmy Kimmel dared the world to defriend those false friends that stalk our walls.

Will you take advantage of Facebook Defriend Day?

http://blogs.babble.com/famecrawler/2011/03/04/facebook-defriend-day-p-s-i-just-dont-like-you-anymore/

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San Jose (34-21-6) at Pittsburgh (36-20-5)

The San Jose Sharks

The San Jose Sharks have been awfully good defensively during their second-half resurgence, never allowing more than three goals during a stretch that’s seen them win 13 of 16.

Holding the Pittsburgh Penguins down isn’t nearly the challenge that it once was.

The Sharks seek a season high-tying fifth consecutive victory Wednesday night in Pittsburgh, where the Penguins hope the acquisition of forward James Neal(notes) will give their floundering offense a boost.

San Jose (33-21-6) allowed 2.80 goals per game during a 21-19-5 start that had it in 10th place in the Western Conference.

It was hard to believe one of the league’s best regular-season teams over the past decade was in danger of missing the playoffs, but the Sharks are back among the West’s top four after allowing an average of 1.81 goals over their past 16.

They improved to 13-2-1 in that stretch - and stayed just a point behind Pacific Division-leading Phoenix - with a 4-3 win at Detroit on Tuesday.

“Our playoffs started 15 games ago,” said captain Joe Thornton(notes), who scored his 300th career goal and assisted on both of Devin Setoguchi’s(notes) tallies.

The Penguins (36-20-5) are also in fourth place in their conference, but the explosive offense that helped carry them to two of the past three Stanley Cup finals is a shell of what it once was.

After initially surviving without Sidney Crosby(notes), Evgeni Malkin(notes) and a lineup that’s currently missing eight other forwards, Pittsburgh is starting to stumble. The Penguins have scored 14 goals over their last eight games.

That’s why general manager Ray Shero made a move Monday, trading defenseman Alex Goligoski(notes) to Dallas for Neal - a 20-goal scorer in each of his first three seasons - and defenseman Matt Niskanen(notes).

“There’s not many of these power guys in the game,” Shero said of the 6-foot-2, 210-pound Neal. “And (James), on our list, is one of the better ones in the game and has got some room to grow. That’s why when you can get a guy like Neal - the opportunity might not be there again.”

Hours after the trade, Pittsburgh showed why the addition of Neal was so necessary. Despite putting 39 shots on goal at Michal Neuvirth(notes), the Penguins were beaten 1-0 by Washington.

Five of those shots came from center Jordan Staal(notes), who saw his five-game point streak end. Coach Dan Bylsma said Tuesday that he’ll install Neal on the left side of the team’s top line with Staal and Tyler Kennedy(notes).

“I think (Neal is) going to make us a better team going into (Wednesday’s) game and give us a chance to get what we need to get wins,” Bylsma said. “With Jordan, I can see them being a real formidable pair.”

With top defenseman Paul Martin(notes) out Wednesday with an upper-body injury, Niskanen is expected to join Kris Letang(notes) on the team’s No. 1 power-play unit.

The Penguins haven’t scored more than two goals against San Jose in seven meetings since December 2002, as the Sharks have gone 6-0-1.

Thornton has rarely done anything but win versus Pittsburgh. Dating to his days with Boston, Thornton’s teams are 15-1-2 against the Penguins since December 2001.

He has 10 goals and 25 assists in those contests.

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Cruzeiro has 4-0 win over Guarani

Cruzeiro

SETE LAGOAS, Brazil (AP)—Cruzeiro striker Wallyson scored twice in a 4-0 home victory over Guarani of Paraguay on Tuesday as the Brazilian club continued its dominant start to the Copa Libertadores group stage.

Wallyson scored in the 30th and 74th minutes for two-time Libertadores champion Cruzeiro, with late goals from Ernesto Farias and Thiago Ribeiro sealing the win.

Cruzeiro thrashed Argentine champion Estudiantes 5-0 in its opening match last week and leads Group 7 with six points from two games.

In other group matches Tuesday, it was: Universidad San Martin 2, San Luis 0; Emelec 1, Jorge Wilstermann 0; Once Caldas 1, Libertad 1.

The Copa Libertadores is the top club competition in Latin America.

The 32 teams in the tournament are split into eight groups of four, with the top two from each section qualifying for the knockout round of 16. In each group, the teams play each other home and away.

The final is scheduled for June, with the winner earning a place in the Club World Cup to play against the other continental champions.

Cruzeiro striker Wallyson became the group stage’s leading scorer so far after his two goals against Guarani took him to four from two games.

Wallyson volleyed in his first after the Guarani defense failed to clear a corner and scored his second from close in after Walter Montillo’s left-wing cross in the second half.

Farias finished a pass from Dudu for Cruzeiro’s third goal in the 87th and Thiago Ribeiro hit a long-range shot to complete the scoreline just before the final whistle.

The match was played in the city of Sete Lagoas because Cruzeiro’s home stadium in Belo Horizonte is getting an overhaul ready for the 2014 World Cup.

The victory put Cruzeiro atop Group 7 with six points, three ahead of Deportes Tolima of Colombia. Tolima travels to Estudiantes on Wednesday.

Elsewhere on Tuesday, Eduardo Morante scored with a header from a corner in the 34th minute of Emelec of Ecuador’s win over Wilstermann of Bolivia in Group 6.

Emelec leads the group with four points ahead of further results.

Meanwhile, Gianfranco Labarthe gave Peru’s San Martin the breakthrough in the 85th minute against San Luis of Mexico in Group 1, with Carlos Marinelli adding a second in stoppage time.

In the same group, Dayro Moreno scored in the 29th minute as 2004 champion Once Caldas of Colombia took the lead against Libertad of Paraguay.

Moreno’s strike looked to have earned all three points until substitute Victor Ayala hit a low shot from 25 yards that leveled the score with the very last kick of the match.

The results put San Martin atop the group with six points, two clear of Libertad, with Once Caldas on one point and San Luis bottom on zero.

Group matches continue Wednesday and Thursday.

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Daytona 500 winner Trevor Bayne won’t race for Sprint Cup title

Daytona 500 winner Trevor Bayne

DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. (AP) - Daytona 500 winner Trevor Bayne said Monday he probably won’t attempt to run for the Sprint Cup championship this year.

“I think we’re probably just sticking with what we planned,” Bayne said.

Bayne is a Nationwide Series driver for Roush-Fenway Racing and planned to run for the title this season in NASCAR’s second level. On loan to the Wood Brothers for 17 races in the Cup Series, he stunned a veteran field Sunday by becoming the youngest winner in Daytona 500 history with a surprise victory in NASCAR’s biggest race.
Trevor Bayne raises the trophy after winning the Daytona 500 on Sunday.

NASCAR rules this season made drivers pick just one series to collect points, and Bayne chose the second-tier Nationwide Series. He can change his mind, but he would not be given retroactive points for the Daytona 500.

NASCAR officials said Monday the win would count toward seeding in the Chase for the Sprint Cup championship, but he would not receive any points for Sunday’s race.

NASCAR this year changed the format for the 12-driver Chase field. The top 10 in points after the 26th race of the season make the Chase, with the final two spots going to drivers with the most wins who aren’t already eligible. The drivers would have to be ranked inside the top 20.

Bayne is up against several obstacles. The Woods’ don’t have funding for a full season, and even though they picked up $1,462,563 for the win, they’ll need sponsorship to run all 36 points races. The team has already said it will go to Martinsville, the sixth race of the season which was not on the original team schedule.

Daytona 500 winner Trevor Bayne

But even if Bayne did choose to attempt the full Cup schedule, the No. 21 Ford isn’t exactly running up front each week. Bayne’s win was the first since 2001 for NASCAR’s oldest team, and only the fourth victory in the last 20 years. The team hasn’t run a full Cup schedule since 2006.

“One thing I haven’t really talked about is keeping our expectations realistic here,” Bayne said. “We won this race and that sets the bar high, but if we would have finished 15th, we would have been happy. We’ve got remember that for the rest of the season.

“There are going to be a lot of times when we do struggle because I’m new at this. A lot of new pieces have come together, so I think we’ve got to keep that realistic and just race right now.”

But Bayne also has obstacles in the Nationwide Series, where he raced in an unsponsored car Saturday at Daytona and Roush has no funding lined up at this time. The team had planned to run Bayne out of pocket until something turned up.

He’s also beholden to team owner Jack Roush, who controls Bayne’s contract right now and simply loaned him to the Woods’ as an opportunity to get Bayne seat time this year. Roush snapped him up late last season when Michael Waltrip Racing, which had fielded cars for Bayne since late 2009, couldn’t promise a ride for this year.

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Duke back on top of AP men’s basketball poll

Duke is back on top of The Associated Press’ college basketball poll for the first time in just over a month. St. John’s is back in the Top 25 for the first time in over a decade.

The Blue Devils (25-2) jumped from fifth to No. 1 on Monday after a week that saw the top four teams in the poll all lose. The move to the top is the biggest since Kansas went from sixth to No. 1 in November 2003, the last time the top four all lost in the same week.

Duke, which was No. 1 in the preseason poll and for the first eight weeks of the regular season, received 35 first-place votes from the 65-member national media panel.

Five other teams received first-place votes this week, another indication of the parity this season.

The only change near the bottom of the rankings was that St. John’s (17-9), which beat a top 10 team for the fourth time this season with a win over Pittsburgh on Saturday, moved in at No. 23. The Red Storm were last ranked in November 2000.

Ohio State stayed No. 2 with 10 first-place votes, while Kansas dropped from No. 1 to third with five first-place votes.

Pittsburgh, No. 1 on 12 ballots, stayed fourth and Texas, which got one first-place vote, fell two spots to fifth.

San Diego State, BYU, which had two first-place votes, Purdue, Notre Dame and Arizona rounded out the top 10.

Ohio State followed Duke to No. 1 holding the top spot for four weeks before Kansas took over for one week.

Besides St. John’s win over Pittsburgh, Kansas lost to Kansas State, Ohio State lost to Purdue and Texas lost to Nebraska in the week it wasn’t safe to be at the top of the rankings.

In November 2003, No. 1 Connecticut, No. 2 Duke, No. 3 Michigan State and No. 4 Arizona all lost, setting the stage for Kansas’ big jump.

St. John’s replaced Utah State, which dropped out despite winning two games last week.

Steve Lavin left the broadcast booth in April to take over the St. John’s program and he inherited a team with 10 seniors, all of whom had never been in the NCAA tournament or the Top 25.

After the Pittsburgh win, Justin Burrell, one of the seniors, was confident the Red Storm would move into the poll.

“I can’t wait,” he said. “It’s been a long four years without that number. We deserve to see that number.”

Lavin was happy for his veteran team.

“I think it’s a benchmark of achievement for the senior class and naturally it will be helpful in recruiting with the national exposure,” the former UCLA coach said. “It is empirical evidence that their hard work is paying off.”

Lavin said you try not to have “emotional peaks and valleys and you are always concerned and mindful of complacency. But with this group, with an outstanding work ethic, focus and resolve to finish their careers on a high note.”

The Red Storm’s strength of schedule is another sign of what this team has been able to achieve with five wins over ranked teams, four in the Big East and another over Duke.

“I think it’s an interesting thing that they forged through such a challenging schedule,” Lavin said. “We played eight consecutive games against ranked teams, made three trips to the West Coast. It’s takes pressure, heat and time to make a diamond. It shows how together this group is.”

Georgetown was 11th followed by Wisconsin, Florida, Connecticut, Villanova, Louisville, Syracuse, Vanderbilt, North Carolina and Missouri.

The last five ranked teams were Texas A&M, Kentucky, St. John’s, Temple and Xavier.

St. John’s gives the Big East eight ranked teams, four more than Big 12 and five more than the Big Ten and Southeastern Conference.

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