#14 Vandy 72, #1 Tennessee 69...great game yesterday. Even if Tennessee was feeling winded after being put to the test against Memphis on Sunday, I'll still gladly take the victory over yet another #1 team.
Vandy is now 24-4, with all four losses coming on the road. Bring on a #3 seed in the NCAA Tournament!
In other sports news, the Titans just re-signed WR Justin Gage and interviewed TE Alge Crumpler in what is hopefully a precursor to an offer. The Titans need to sign Crumpler badly...but at least re-signing Gage is a smart move. I'm expecting big things from the Titans in free agency this year.
Wednesday, February 27, 2008
Monday, February 18, 2008
Well, as I've posted here, I had been training up for the April 26 Country Music Marathon in pretty gradual fashion until about two weeks ago, when I became more aggressive and took the training up a notch. The result was feeling terrible for a few days and the complete loss of a week's worth of training time.
The good news is that I've gotten back on the treadmill this week and am going about 5-6 miles at a time. At this rate, barring any additional setbacks, I should be good to go for April's event. In fact, I'm heading out shortly to get some running shoes.
Had a chance to see Lori's mock trial team in action over the weekend. She's the coach of one of Harpeth Hall's mock trial teams and they had their district competition on Friday and Saturday. I saw her team's first round, which went very well (they got the "W," on their way to going an impressive 3-1-1), and was overall very impressed with Lori's coaching and general ability to guide the team of various aged high school girls. I knew she had been putting a lot of work into it and it paid off.
The iTest Tournament of Champions is inching closer. Lots to do. The competition itself will be better than ever and should satisfy the most hardcore of math students out there. I've given Mathew Crawford complete control of creating the math content for the entire year, and he's doing the typical outstanding job.
The iTest is facing a true financial test later this year as we see if Southern Company sponsors us once again, and see who else we can bring to the table to help fund this event that gives so much to so many high school students and educators across the country. We need philanthropists to step forward and donate money to us so we can not only fund short-term operations, but long-term capital projects. How to identify and pitch these individuals and groups remains a challenge.
But no one ever said it would be easy, did they?
Off to get lunch and run some errands on this President's Day holiday. Later.
The good news is that I've gotten back on the treadmill this week and am going about 5-6 miles at a time. At this rate, barring any additional setbacks, I should be good to go for April's event. In fact, I'm heading out shortly to get some running shoes.
Had a chance to see Lori's mock trial team in action over the weekend. She's the coach of one of Harpeth Hall's mock trial teams and they had their district competition on Friday and Saturday. I saw her team's first round, which went very well (they got the "W," on their way to going an impressive 3-1-1), and was overall very impressed with Lori's coaching and general ability to guide the team of various aged high school girls. I knew she had been putting a lot of work into it and it paid off.
The iTest Tournament of Champions is inching closer. Lots to do. The competition itself will be better than ever and should satisfy the most hardcore of math students out there. I've given Mathew Crawford complete control of creating the math content for the entire year, and he's doing the typical outstanding job.
The iTest is facing a true financial test later this year as we see if Southern Company sponsors us once again, and see who else we can bring to the table to help fund this event that gives so much to so many high school students and educators across the country. We need philanthropists to step forward and donate money to us so we can not only fund short-term operations, but long-term capital projects. How to identify and pitch these individuals and groups remains a challenge.
But no one ever said it would be easy, did they?
Off to get lunch and run some errands on this President's Day holiday. Later.
Tuesday, February 12, 2008
Playing 'outside the wire'
Video games provide relief, therapy for soldiers in Iraq
By Kristin Kalning
Games editor
updated 8:12 a.m. CT, Tues., Feb. 12, 2008
In April, Army 1st Sgt. James Rowell will ship out for his third tour in Iraq. And in his Tuff Box, along with his other necessities, he’ll pack his Xbox 360, his “Halo” games and his “Call of Duty 4,” a military shooter.
“We take our gear down range – down range means deployed — and we have a lot of fun on our off-time,” says Rowell, who lives in Olympia, Wash. “It really does help out the esprit de corps, and the morale of the enlisted personnel — and all personnel.”
Rowell recalls with relish a time that he played a superior officer in “Halo 2.”
“I beat the crap out of him so bad, that he actually threw the controller out of his hands onto the ground, and walked away and wouldn’t talk to me for two days,” he says with a chuckle. “That’s how intense it is.”
Real life is intense in Iraq, too. With danger and death a constant threat, it can feel pretty satisfying to curl up with the controller for a few hours and blast some aliens in “Halo 2.” Or run some plays in “Madden” on the PlayStation 2.
“If ever there was a therapeutic use of video games it is with those ‘down range’ who go ‘outside the wire’ in combat,” says Charles Figley, professor and director of the Psychological Stress Research Program at Florida State University. “Yes, indeed, video games are a way of calibrating and managing the overwhelming pulses of stress that comes with combat zone living.”
It’s not often that video games get kudos from psychologists. More often, you hear cautions from mental health professionals about gamers who become addicted or socially isolated. And of course, there’s that nagging video-games-and-violence thing.
Thomas Kolditz, an army colonel and professor at the U.S. Military Academy in West Point, says he’s familiar with the literature on video games and violence, but he doesn’t think it’s relevant when it comes to soldiers in combat.
“I don't believe there are aggression issues with soldiers who play those games because they have a well-developed understanding of the nature of violence in reality,” says Kolditz, who heads up West Point’s Department of Behavioral Sciences and Leadership. “They are different than children or even civilians in that respect.”
And even though real life in Iraq can be dangerous, it can also be pretty darned boring. Video games are a great way to break the monotony and pass the time.
Matt King, a medic in the Army, was stationed in Ramadi for a year. He was part of a quick-response unit, which was often on call 24 hours a day, seven days a week.
“A lot of the time, you were just sitting around, waiting and waiting,” he says. “You had to fill that time with something … there was a lot of time to fill.”
King says he and the guys in his unit played “Madden” and “Tiger Woods Golf” when they weren’t on patrol or responding to calls. But the runaway favorite, the game he says his unit played 90 percent of the time? “Halo 2.”
King says that games really helped to build friendships between the guys in the unit. Your buddy might not be able to convince you to forego Snoop-Dogg in favor of Alan Jackson, or watch “The Simpsons” if you’re a “CSI” fan. But everyone’s played video games at one point. It’s a great common denominator.
But King says it was unsettling to think that the guy you’ve played “Halo 2” with for a year might not be there tomorrow.
“It’s weird to play a game with someone one day, and they could be killed or not be there the next day,” he says. “You never look forward to what might happen … you can’t do that. “
King was injured twice while in Iraq, and received two Purple Hearts. He took a piece of shrapnel from an incoming rocket, which he says “was the one thing that would shut down the gaming systems.”
The second injury, from a roadside bomb that exploded beneath his truck, found him medi-vacced to Balad Air Force Base. He remembers that the base had everything – a pool, Starbucks, Burger King, a bus system and a rec room with everything from ping pong to video games.
“They really, really had it good,” he says. “There are a lot of guys in outposts that would love to get their hands on something that would occupy their time.”
Video games provide relief, therapy for soldiers in Iraq
By Kristin Kalning
Games editor
updated 8:12 a.m. CT, Tues., Feb. 12, 2008
In April, Army 1st Sgt. James Rowell will ship out for his third tour in Iraq. And in his Tuff Box, along with his other necessities, he’ll pack his Xbox 360, his “Halo” games and his “Call of Duty 4,” a military shooter.
“We take our gear down range – down range means deployed — and we have a lot of fun on our off-time,” says Rowell, who lives in Olympia, Wash. “It really does help out the esprit de corps, and the morale of the enlisted personnel — and all personnel.”
Rowell recalls with relish a time that he played a superior officer in “Halo 2.”
“I beat the crap out of him so bad, that he actually threw the controller out of his hands onto the ground, and walked away and wouldn’t talk to me for two days,” he says with a chuckle. “That’s how intense it is.”
Real life is intense in Iraq, too. With danger and death a constant threat, it can feel pretty satisfying to curl up with the controller for a few hours and blast some aliens in “Halo 2.” Or run some plays in “Madden” on the PlayStation 2.
“If ever there was a therapeutic use of video games it is with those ‘down range’ who go ‘outside the wire’ in combat,” says Charles Figley, professor and director of the Psychological Stress Research Program at Florida State University. “Yes, indeed, video games are a way of calibrating and managing the overwhelming pulses of stress that comes with combat zone living.”
It’s not often that video games get kudos from psychologists. More often, you hear cautions from mental health professionals about gamers who become addicted or socially isolated. And of course, there’s that nagging video-games-and-violence thing.
Thomas Kolditz, an army colonel and professor at the U.S. Military Academy in West Point, says he’s familiar with the literature on video games and violence, but he doesn’t think it’s relevant when it comes to soldiers in combat.
“I don't believe there are aggression issues with soldiers who play those games because they have a well-developed understanding of the nature of violence in reality,” says Kolditz, who heads up West Point’s Department of Behavioral Sciences and Leadership. “They are different than children or even civilians in that respect.”
And even though real life in Iraq can be dangerous, it can also be pretty darned boring. Video games are a great way to break the monotony and pass the time.
Matt King, a medic in the Army, was stationed in Ramadi for a year. He was part of a quick-response unit, which was often on call 24 hours a day, seven days a week.
“A lot of the time, you were just sitting around, waiting and waiting,” he says. “You had to fill that time with something … there was a lot of time to fill.”
King says he and the guys in his unit played “Madden” and “Tiger Woods Golf” when they weren’t on patrol or responding to calls. But the runaway favorite, the game he says his unit played 90 percent of the time? “Halo 2.”
King says that games really helped to build friendships between the guys in the unit. Your buddy might not be able to convince you to forego Snoop-Dogg in favor of Alan Jackson, or watch “The Simpsons” if you’re a “CSI” fan. But everyone’s played video games at one point. It’s a great common denominator.
But King says it was unsettling to think that the guy you’ve played “Halo 2” with for a year might not be there tomorrow.
“It’s weird to play a game with someone one day, and they could be killed or not be there the next day,” he says. “You never look forward to what might happen … you can’t do that. “
King was injured twice while in Iraq, and received two Purple Hearts. He took a piece of shrapnel from an incoming rocket, which he says “was the one thing that would shut down the gaming systems.”
The second injury, from a roadside bomb that exploded beneath his truck, found him medi-vacced to Balad Air Force Base. He remembers that the base had everything – a pool, Starbucks, Burger King, a bus system and a rec room with everything from ping pong to video games.
“They really, really had it good,” he says. “There are a lot of guys in outposts that would love to get their hands on something that would occupy their time.”
Sunday, February 03, 2008
That Super Bowl game was unbelievable. I thought David Tyree should've been MVP for making the first Giants TD catch as well as the circus catch against his helmet that led to the second (and winning) Giants TD to Plax. But regardless...
What happens now with a very difficult Patriots free agency situation, trying to keep all their core offensive talent together? Their defense is aging and will have to be the focus of their draft.
What happens with Spygate? The former Patriots video assistant who knows everything about what the Patriots have (or haven't) illegally filmed over the past 5 years is now a former golf pro in Hawaii...where, coincidentally, the Pro Bowl (and all of the media) will be next week. I would expect there to be some news coming out next week, as a result, about all the secret filming that the team has done.
The Giants pulled an incredible upset. I hope the Titans were taking notes on how not to suck in the playoffs.
What happens now with a very difficult Patriots free agency situation, trying to keep all their core offensive talent together? Their defense is aging and will have to be the focus of their draft.
What happens with Spygate? The former Patriots video assistant who knows everything about what the Patriots have (or haven't) illegally filmed over the past 5 years is now a former golf pro in Hawaii...where, coincidentally, the Pro Bowl (and all of the media) will be next week. I would expect there to be some news coming out next week, as a result, about all the secret filming that the team has done.
The Giants pulled an incredible upset. I hope the Titans were taking notes on how not to suck in the playoffs.
