unc_heels08

Looking back now, it was the start of the school year; August had arrived and leaves were changing colors. Only one thing came to mind: it's almost hockey season. (By the way, my Geography teacher is a Thrashers fan.)

Columbus was having a pretty good season in 07-08, with the big #31 guarding a net, numbers 61 and 27 shooting missiles into opponents nets from every angle, and a promising, young #40 who proved he wasn't afraid to fight.

Coming into the 08-09 season, young Zherdev was traded away, as an injury-plagued Leclaire was having a rough time, and eventually was traded away to Ottawa. While Pascy left us, Vermette joined; one of the most dominant face-off winners around. And wait! Just when you thought there couldn't be more, there is! The Jackets also acquired rookie goaltender Steve Mason, who is turning eyes towards the Blue Jackets from all around.

Columbus is most evidently on their way to their first playoff appearance, and has a good shot if the skill, teamwork, excellent goaltending, and coaching under Head Coach Ken Hitchcock stay at or above their current level of play .

If your not a believer of the Blue Jackets squad by now, or just know nothing of them, please, crawl out of your secluded little cave at this time. The publicity the team has gotten has raised since years' past. They have been found in newspaper articles, feature articles in magazines like Sports Illistrated, and segments on Versus, Fox Sports, and Espn. Not only that, but if you've been to your local GameStop in the past five months, you may have seen Jackets Captain Rick Nash (#61) on the cover of NHL 2k9.

Speaking as a hockey enthusiast, and not a Columbus fan, the play by the Jackets is superb; from teamwork, flow, puck movement, and skill, the Jackets seem to be able to do it all. And with players like Nash, Commodore, Malholtra, Vermette, and Mason, it's surprising to many as to why Columbus has not made it to the post-season before. Nash, the young captain, has now had five consecutive seasons of 30+ goals, and rookie Steve Mason has held up for 10 shutouts!

One key thing about the Blue Jackets however, is the amazing talent and depth throughout the bench. Regardless of who is on the ice, the team always has more eager talent waiting to hope over the low front wall. Such talent that also, rarely seems to show much fatigue as the game progresses.

"Carry the Flag..!"

 

 Yet again, this team never can stop amazing me!

 

With talents like Vermette, Umberger, Nash, and the youngster Steve Mason, who remarkable seems to be a great replacement of the traded Pascal Leclaire, are amazing, though they seem to fatigued; but shouldn't all stars of the NHL?  This, my friends, is why I have such dislike for the Detroit Red Wings. 

 

As it seems now, the Detroit Red Wings have had yet another amazing 100+ point season, while Columbus is having a miraculous one of their own.  We seem to really have stepped up in the past year, and we've tacked on Rick Nash's 3rd year with 30+ goal seasons, and have given Head Coach Ken Hitchcock his 500 career wins.

At this time, I beleive we're in route to our first ever playoff appearance! 'Bout time! :D

Congrats Blue Jackets!

--unc

It's amazing...

You drive three miles down a street here in Louisville Metro and you'll find gas at prices like $1.69, or $1.66 a gallon, but if you were to tell somebody six months ago that the price gas would drop a total of $3, I'm sure that they would look at you like you were crazy; or maybe even give an "I wish..".

Now, we focus on other things, like the auto industry, and buying American-made.  The local car retailers, especially Ford (simply because of one of the largest Ford plants in the USA is here in Louisville), are encouraging everyone to go out and buy a new American car.  I've counted seeing as many as 15 commercials for these auto lots in an hours time of watching local television stations.

Anybody else have an opinion they'd like to share?

-unc

Here is a new forums created by me:
http://discussionzone.hotdiscussion
.net/portal.htm
http://discussionzone.co.nr
http://discussionzone.tk

All please join?! :)

Playing in the Big Apple might suit the kid from Columbus just fine. Nikolai Zherdev built off a happy homecoming and scored the tying goal with 8.1 seconds left, and Fredrik Sjostrom netted the only goal of the shootout in the New York Rangers’ stirring 3-2 victory over the Pittsburgh Penguins on Saturday night. The 23-year-old Zherdev came to the Rangers from the Columbus Blue Jackets in an offseason trade, hoping to show the enormous potential that made him the No. 4 pick in the 2003 draft. Zherdev had gone four games without a point before posting a goal and two assists in a successful return to Columbus on Friday. His wrist shot from the right circle Saturday sailed over Marc-Andre Fleury’s shoulder to tie it at 2. “All that matters is that the team wins,” Zherdev said. “Back-to-back games, everyone is tired. It’s a big four points.” Late heroics are nothing new to Zherdev, who scored the tying goal for the Blue Jackets with 23 seconds left against Chicago with an end-to-end rush on Dec. 26, 2005. “It was a great, great shot,” said Rangers coach Tom Renney, who was back behind the bench one night after being whacked in the head by a stick during the Columbus game. “It should really help develop the fiber of our team. We really came back with the game plan.” The Penguins had their three-game winning streak snapped despite entering the third period with a 2-0 lead. Fleury made 42 saves, but couldn’t deny Zherdev and Sjostrom, who helped the Rangers improve to 8-2-1. New York held an 18-2 shots advantage in the third period. Sidney Crosby, who scored his third goal in four games, had a chance to match Sjostrom’s third-round shootout goal but was forced wide right by Henrik Lundqvist and couldn’t score from a tough angle. Sjostrom tucked the puck inside the right post with a backhand in the final round of the shootout. Markus Naslund also scored for New York. “We were winning all game long,” Fleury said. “A goal with only eight seconds left, it’s always a bad break.” The Penguins outshot the Rangers 4-2 in a fast-paced overtime, but trailed overall 44-29. After Crosby fired wide at the empty net in the closing seconds of the third, Naslund rushed the puck up ice and found Zherdev with a pass. The speedy winger zipped a shot that sailed over Fleury’s shoulder. “It can be a momentum builder for us,” Naslund said. “It just shows the character in this room.” Pittsburgh defenseman Darryl Sydor scored a rare goal in the first period and Crosby made it 2-0 in the second for the Penguins, who eliminated the Rangers in the second round of the playoffs last season. “Pittsburgh won the playoff round against us, so it was important for us to come out and show that we were hungry and wanted to beat them,” Sjostrom said. The Rangers failed on a 2-minute, 5-on-3 power play in the second period, but wrecked Fleury’s shutout bid 5:09 into the third when Naslund scored 7 seconds into another man advantage. New York had just finished off a solid penalty kill when the Penguins grabbed a 1-0 lead. Sydor fired a shot from the left point that hit the leg of New York defenseman Michal Rozsival and caromed past Lundqvist, who threw his head back and then swept the puck out of the net with disgust. The goal, scored 9:04 into the first, came 3 seconds after Wade Redden left the penalty box. Crosby doubled Pittsburgh’s lead with 4:01 left in the frame. Pittsburgh gave the Rangers a chance to get back in it when Mike Zigomanis and Brooks Orpik took simultaneous penalties with 3:24 left in the second. New York recorded seven shots on goal but still trailed 2-0. “We were 8 seconds away from it, so when you look back it bugs you, but that’s hockey,” Penguins forward Miroslav Satan said. “We still got one point out of it, that’s the positive thing.” Scott Gomez helped New York get on the board when he found Naslund in front from the goal line for a one-timed shot.

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--- I'm gonna miss that old CBJ player. I wish he hadn't gone to the Rangers.

Rain and flooding in Yemen has killed 46 people and left an estimated 20,000 without basic shelter, a local newspaper reported Saturday.

Most of the dead were in Hadramout, one of the worst-affected provinces, said Yemen Post Editor-in-Chief Hakim al-Masman, citing the Ministry of the Interior.

Officials continued to evacuate people from affected areas, but thousands remained stranded in their homes because the extensive rain has prevented help from reaching them, the newspaper said.

The flooding follows several days of rain in the Middle Eastern country that is unaccustomed to more than a few inches of rain a year.

The rain began Thursday as the remnants of a tropical cyclone moved over the area, said CNN forecaster Martyn Jeanes. The rain continued Friday and into the weekend as the weather system hung over the region, also bringing rain to parts of Saudi Arabia and northern Somalia, Jeanes said.

Better weather conditions were expected Sunday and conditions should be "much improved" by then, Jeanes said.

Thousands of families have fled Hadramout, the newspaper reported. Some evacuees are being taken to schools, but they can only accommodate about 10 percent of the people, the newspaper previously said.

The Yemeni government promised to send tents as emergency shelter.

More than 220 houses have been destroyed and many infrastructure projects suffered damage from the rains, according to SABA, the Yemeni news agency. The rains also caused damage to property and agricultural lands and killed a large number of livestock, SABA reported.

Yemeni President Ali Abdullah Saleh ordered the formation of an emergency committee for the delivery of aid to those who were affected by heavy rains, the news agency said.

Spanish golf legend Seve Ballesteros was described as being in a stable condition Saturday after undergoing a third, successful operation to ease swelling in his brain and remove the remains of a tumour.

The La Paz hospital in Madrid which has been treating Ballesteros said he would remain in care for several days.

"He is in a serious but stable condition at the intensive care unit where he will remain for the next few days," a hospital spokesperson told AFP.

The hospital added that no further statements would be made during the weekend or Monday "unless there is a change in his condition".

Ballesteros, who collected 87 titles before knee and back problems forced him to retire last year, was taken to La Paz Hospital on October 6 after he collapsed and briefly lost consciousness at Madrid airport.

He underwent surgery on October 14 to remove the brain tumour. Two days later, he underwent a second operation to ease a build-up of fluid in the brain.

The hospital said Thursday the tumour has been classified as an "oligoastrocytoma (which affects ... cells that cover and protect the nerve cells in the brain and spinal cord). It is located in an area that requires a very thorough approach of great complexity."

That prompted Ballesteros to undergo a third operation on Friday, which was described as successful.

"The patient Mr. Severiano Ballesteros has undergone a new surgery that has ended at 5:00 pm today Friday and no complications occurred," the La Paz hospital said in a statement.

The operation, which started at 10:30 am "achieved the targets originally planned and has eliminated the oedema and the remnants of the tumor."

Seen as one of golf's all-time greats, Ballesteros lifted five majors.

He won the British Open in 1979, 1984 and 1988 and became the first European to win the Augusta Masters in 1980, an achievement he repeated in 1983.

He was an influential figure in the Ryder Cup, winning 20 points from 37 matches and captaining Europe to victory at Valderrama in 1997.

Back problems though started to trouble him in the late 1990s and his form and confidence gradually ebbed away. On July 16, 2007, he announced his retirement, although having turned 50 he was eligible for the Champions Tour and European Seniors Tour.
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Best wishes on his recovery.

NASA unveiled a new lunar rover on Friday which aims to transform space exploration by allowing astronauts to roam large distances without cumbersome spacesuits when they return to the moon by 2020.

A team of scientists is testing the Small Pressurized Rover Concept vehicle -- which resembles a small, futuristic recreational vehicle mounted on six sets of wheels -- 12 in all -- in trials in a rocky, barren corner of northern Arizona, selected for its similarities to the surface of the moon.

"This is the next generation of lunar exploration," said Doug Craig, NASA program's manager, as an astronaut took the vehicle for a spin over a broad lava field framed by craggy mountains.

The battery powered rover travels at speeds of up to 6 mph. It is part of a range of systems and equipment being developed by the space agency for its planned return to the moon over the next decade.

NASA hopes to build a permanent manned base on the moon's surface as a prelude to subsequent exploration missions to Mars.

The new pressurized rover follows on from vehicles used by the Apollo series of moon shots in the early 1970s, when astronauts in spacesuits used rovers that looked like stripped-down jeeps to make short forays to gather rocks.

The new prototype has a pressurized cab and is fitted out with leather seats and bunks. It would allow a crew of two astronauts to take extended exploration trips for up to two weeks at a time, covering distances of up to 625 miles, Craig said.

The crew would not wear spacesuits while in the vehicle, which is fitted with large windows offering extensive views of the terrain, but to step outside, they would slip into spacesuits mounted on the outside of the vehicle through special hatches in the rover, officials said.

"You are only in a spacesuit when you need to be on the surface picking up rocks," said astronaut Mike Gernhardt, a veteran of four shuttle missions and a pioneering spacewalk, as he took reporters for a spin in the rover.

"So all the time that you are doing observations ... you can be inside the pressurized environment in a comfortable warm shirt-sleeve environment instead of in a spacesuit," he added.

Aside from its increased range, Gernhardt said the vehicle is much safer and more comfortable than earlier rovers taken to the moon with the Apollo series.

"It really enables much more exploration, much more productivity, and frankly (it's) a lot safer than we had when we went on the Apollo program." he said. "This is the future."

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I found this being very interesting, as I want to pursue a career working for NASA, or as an Aerospace Engineer.