Game one: Penguins 3, Lightning 0

The Consol Energy Center's first playoff game was a good one for Penguins fans. If game one is how the rest of the series will be then the Tampa Bay Lightning are going to make an early postseason exit. The Pittsburgh Penguins basically just physically manhandled the Lightning. It wasn't until the third period the first goal was scored by Alexei Kovalev. Aaron Asham scored 18 seconds later after Lightning goalie Dwayne Roloson got out of position. Chris Kunitz added an empty net goal to make it 3-0 Pens.

Penguins Alexei Kovalev (Right) and teammates
James Neal (Left) and Mark Letestu (Center)
celebrate Kovalev's goal.  

The story of the game was how well Penguins goalie Marc-Andre Fleury played. Anytime there is a shutout one can assume the goalie played well. However, Fleury has been playing the same as he has since about November, insanely good. He, along with their upgraded defense, is the reason the Penguins were able to pile up 106 points in the regular season and earn the fourth seed in the east. If the Penguins were going to do well it almost had to be because of him. The Pens have missed their captain, Sidney Crosby, since early January and all-star center Evgeni Malkin since early February. The Lightning's best opportunity was probably when Fleury stopped Brett Clark's initial shot and Dominic Moore's rebound attempt. It was so good that Moore thought that the puck had gone in. The Bolts Vincent Lecavalier had a golden opportunity early in the second period but Fleury stopped him then also. The Penguins set a physical tone. It was first seen when Brooks Orpik crushed the Lightning's Steven Stamkos into the boards early in the first period. The Lightning's Martin St. Louis got an accidental stick to the mouth from the Pens' Zbynek Michalek as St. Louis was falling. St. Louis was outraged because he felt there should of been a penalty. Afterwards St. Louis would have to get a double root canal after the game to fix his teeth. Dwayne Roloson played pretty good for the Lightning in net, except for the Asham mishap. The Lightning are going to have to play better in game two if they want to advance to the next round. Game two is tonight in Pittsburgh at seven.  

Penguins goalie Marc-Andre Fleury makes a save on
the Lightning's Vincent Lecavalier.

    

March Madness

So of the millions who filled out their brackets, who had Virginia Commonwealth, Butler, Kentucky and Connecticut in the Final Four. Yeah, me neither. Pretty much anyone who had these schools in their final four at the beginning of the tournament would of been ridiculed. It also goes to show you that no matter how much we think that we or the so-called experts know about sports these tournaments prove to us how little we really know. Perhaps the most surprising team to make it this far is Virginia Commenwealth (VCU). Many of the "experts" felt that Colorado or Virginia Tech was more worthy to be in the tournament and ripped the commitee for putting VCU in there. VCU didn't even make it into the regular bracket. They had to win a play in game against USC to make the field of 64. Butler, although it is a smaller school, isn't even really a cinderella in this scenario. Butler came oh so close last year to beating Duke in the finals. Now they must face VCU to try to get an opportunity to close the deal this time on a national championship.

In the other match up is Connecticut (UConn) and Kentucky. These schools are college basketball powerhouses with storied traditions. So in the final it's guaranteed to have a David against a Goliath. That is the beauty of this tournament, any team can get on a hot streak and possibly win it all. Especially since there are more talented basketball players than ever and the talent is spread out more evenly instead of all the best players going to a few programs. Now does this necessarily mean the winner of the tournament is the best team in college basketball? No, but they won when it counted the most. This is why it is called March Madness. In some aspects being wrong isn't so bad because the people who get paid to make predictions are usually completely wrong also and beforehand emphasize how so-and-so is going to crush somebody. The saying misery loves company would definitely apply here. I have Butler striking midnight for VCU. UConn beating Kentucky. I think that Butler is going to win the whole thing. I just can't pick against them given their experience, track record and the way the tournament has gone.

New Guidelines for Children in Cars

The American Academy of Pediactrics (AAP) has come out with some new suggestions for parents with children in the car. The first new recommendation is that children aged two and younger should be facing the rear of the car in their car seats. They feel that this will keep the children safer by that the children are 75 percent less likely to die in the car crash when facing the rear. The AAP also suggests that children remain in a booster seat until they are 4 feet 9 inches tall. Most children aren't this tall until they are between the ages of eight and 12. The AAP recommends that children should sit in the back seat until they are 13. It is expected that the federal government will change the guidelines to echo the AAP's suggestions.
I feel that if they are going to force parents to have their child in a booster seat until they are 4 feet 9 inches tall, they better make bigger booster seats. I remember my mom trying to be a law abiding citizen and keeping me into a booster seat until I didn't have to be. It was kind of hard near the end because I had grown out of it. At least it's not an age requirement. If they force parents until the children were 12 that would be ridiculous because children grow at different rates. I think there should also be a weight factor added to the height because that should be included into it also.
As far as the children facing the rear it makes me wonder if this is safer then why aren't all back seats facing the rear. Just turn them around and have them backed up to the driver seats.Of course you can't have the front seats turned around because the driver needs to see but as far as the back seats couldn't you do that or would it be more unsafe? It is hard though to have an age guideline because each child grows differently. One two-year-old could be a lot bigger than another two-year-old. According to Dr. Dennis Durbin, a pediatric emergency room physician at the Children's Hospital of Philadelphia, children in Sweden are usually in rear facing seats until they are four. I don't think this is as big of a deal as the booster seat guideline.
For more information click here: http://www.dallasnews.com/health/family-health/20110321-pediatrics-organization-changes-car-seat-recommendations-.ece

Dave Duerson takes his own life to possibly save others someday

Former NFL player Dave Duerson commited suicide near the end of Febraury. Before he had signed up so that when he died his brain would be used to study the effect concussions had on athletes and the seriousness of them. Duerson thought that he suffered from chronic traumatic encephalopathy which is a disease brought about due to multiple concussions. There could be other underlying reasons to why Duerson committed suicide. He had filed for bankruptcy recently before his death which probably didn't help.
Overall this is a very sad situation that a man decided to take his own life so his brain could be used to possibly help others. Now football is a violent game and that is one of the reasons it is popular. The violence has been somewhat romaticized in it. The NFL had put out a greatest hits tape earilier. ESPN used to do a segement called "Jacked Up" to show some of the biggest hits from that week in the NFL. People like seeing the violence. Something must be done to protect the players from suffering from concussions. They can try to make the helmets better so the head will be better protected. Also maybe improve the rest of the equipment. They have already put rules in place to try and eliminate hits to the head. The talk of the 18 game season sort of contradicts the concern the league has for the players. The need to wake up before it's too late.
To find out more on the story here: http://www.wired.com/playbook/2011/02/duerson-suicide-brain-study/ 

Japan Disaster

On Friday Japan was rocked, literally and figuratively, by a 8.9 level earthquake which caused a tsunami. This is an awful thing to happen to anyone. As of Tuesday morning 2,414 people were confirmed dead with an estimated 10,000 deaths due to the earthquake. The country is now in shambles, struggling to recover. The worst news out of all of this involves Japan's nuclear reactors. If the nuclear plants melt down it would be catastrophic. The problem is that under normal conditions if a nuclear power plant was to shut down then cooling systems and pumps would control the temperatures until the energy finished cooking off. The tsunami disrupted these cooling systems which causes the rods to heat up. If things go badly, it could infect numerous people with health problems and ravage current and future crops in Japan and surrounding countries. This is some scary stuff. It would be devastating to Japan's economy. Reprecussions would be felt around the world. Rising costs are likely. The silver lining from this horrible tragedy could be that other countries, such as the U.S., could produce more crops and possibly get out of their slumping economy and put more people to work. It could also temporarily lower gas prices. With a lot less people driving in Japan due to the damage, they won't need as much oil. How much or if it will at all is unknown. In theory though, it should go down some. The most important thing is to try and help get Japan back on their feet. Even without the worst possible scenarios it still is going to hurt Japan's economy for a while. It will take some time for them to produce goods like cars, electronics, food, etc. This will affect countries around the world that import products from Japan, which could cause shortages and lead to rising costs. 

Currently there have been three explosions from the Fukushima Dai-ichi power plant. Officials are urging anyone withing 19 miles of the plant to stay inside or else get radiation sickness because the levels are "very high."
Tragedies like this bring out the best in the world overall. People from all over the world are donating money and supplies to help out Japan. It goes to show you that even with all of the disagreements in the world we can still all agree on something and join together to help the victims of a tragedy like this. But be sure if you want to donate that it is a reputable organization to donate to. There are many scammers who use catastrophes like this to pounce on people's sympathies. Organizations like the Red Cross are good places to start.

You can go to http://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2011/03/13/world/asia/satellite-photos-japan-before-and-after-tsunami.html to see before and after pictures of Japan.

NHL Headshots

On Tuesday night during a matchup between the Montreal Canadiens and Boston Bruins, Bruins defenseman Zdeno Chara sent Canadiens forward Max Pacioretty head first into the space where the glass starts again after a break from the boards. Pacioretty left the game on a stretcher and suffered a severe concussion and a fractured fourth cervical vertebrate. Chara received a five-minute major for interference and a game misconduct. The NHL further reviewed the hit and deemed that Chara should receive no further punishment because they didn't feel it was intentional. To anyone watching they could see that the hit was wrong. Personally, I feel that it was intentional. The way Chara shoved his arm into Pacioretty's head it was like he made sure to finish him off. One of the excuses was that Chara didn't exactly know that he was that close to that area. Chara is a 12 year NHL veteran and has been playing hockey numerous years before the NHL, he should know the rink and see not to hit Pacioretty like that in that area. He should also take responsibility for it. Chara expressed in the postgame that the hit was"unfortunate" and that Pacioretty "jumped a lttle bit." The irony in this hit was that it was on the anniversary of the infamous Todd Bertuzzi and Steve Moore incident. That was where Bertuzzi sucker punched Moore in the neck which ended Moore's career. 

Chara's hit on Pacioretty

The bigger question is not whether the hit is right or wrong but the NHL's policy on head shots. It seems that they don't really care about their players. They do have a rule that punishes players for intentional head shots but unless you are in the offender's head, how do you know whether it's intentional or not. In a season where numerous players have suffered concussions, including star players Sidney Crosby (missed 27 games and counting) and Brad Richards (missed 10 games), it is time for the NHL to have a rule banning all head shots. What will it take for them to change it? Will someone have to die before they do something? Penguins GM Ray Shero in an interview with the USA Today said this:


"We are a league where you can accidentally hit a guy in the head with your shoulder and not be penalized. But if you clear a puck out of your zone and it accidentally goes into the stands, they give you two minutes. Does that make sense?"


 That does not make sense which is why the NHL needs to change the rule. Now Chara is an all-star player who doesn't have a history of cheap shots but what about the goons some NHL teams employ who specialize in harming others. A classic example is the New York Islanders Trevor Gillies. Gillies, 32, has played 48 NHL games with one goal and one assist. In February in a game against the Pittsburgh Penguins, Gillies elbowed penguins forward Eric Tangradi and then proceeded to punch him multiple times while Tangradi was on the ice. Afterwards Gillies taunted Tangradi before leaving to the locker room. Tangradi suffered a concussion from the hit and is currently still out of action. The NHL suspended Gillies for nine games. The game that Gillies came back he checked and punched Minnesota Wild forward Cal Clutterbuck from behind. Gillies was suspended ten games for that incident. 

Eric Tangradi after being attacked by Trevor Gillies

The Chara hit has raised questions about change for the NHL. Montreal Canadiens fans tried to take it into their own hands by calling the police to file a criminal complaint against Zdeno Chara. Well no one can say that Canadiens fans aren't passionate. Although that is extreme for fans to do something must be done to stop this. Lets face it, people pay big money to see star players work their magic. If the star players aren't there due to concussions people won't come and thus there will be fewer fans of hockey. Critics worry that it will make the game less tough. This almost seems eerily similar to football. Safety for the players needs to be the number one thing. Players are bigger, faster and stronger than ever before. Shouldn't we better protect them? Anyways, players will adjust to the rules just like they did after the lockout when there was a crackdown on holding and hooking other players. 
To see the video for yourself you can click here:http://sports.yahoo.com/nhl/blog/puck_daddy/post/Max-Pacioretty-stretchered-off-after-devastating?urn=nhl-331549

Vending machines are more dangerous than sharks

In the March issue of The Prowl, there was an article by Zoe Arnold about how to survive a shark attack and how to properly get a snack out of the vending machine. Who knew that vending machines killed four times more people than a shark? Part of the reason is people think sharks are extremely dangerous, which they are, but generally don't want humans for dinner. It's also due to the commercialization of sharks being dangerous. Lets face it, if there was a movie about a killer vending machine it wouldn't be a blockbuster classic. Whereas a killer shark movie, such as Jaws, would scare many people into not going into the ocean again. Anyways, the article does offer good advice with a sense of humor. For example, it suggests hitting the shark in the nose, eyes or gills. It will be advice I rememer should I encounter a killer shark.

 Now the killer vending machines. Seriously, who dies from a vending machine? I can see from some of the products from the vending machine, but the machine itself? The snack is not that good. The article suggests to shake or kick the machine if your product is stuck. A personal piece of advice, that is not in the article, is to try and purchase the same product again to try and dislodge it so you can at least get one if not two. Although in the article it suggests that someone could come and give you a refund, I have never seen anyone offer someone a refund for a stuck product. It would be nice though and hopefully I can find one the next time I can find one. Luckilly whenever I've used vending machines I haven't sustained any injuries. I've also had others try to help me get the snack out. So be careful around those dangerous vending machines.