PATRIOTS:
New England Patriots three time SuperBowl Champion Quarterback Tom Brady recently agreed to a three year contract extension which will essentially ensure that he will retire a Patriot. The contract extension runs through the 2017 season when Brady will turn 40 years old. Amazingly, according to a source, the deal is for an eye-poppingly conservative $27 million, which is less than half his worth by any measure. The extension will pay Brady a $3 million signing bonus immediately, in addition to salaries of $7 million in 2015, $8 million in 2016 and $9 million in 2017. A real bargain if you look at the current salaries for NFL Quarterbacks, never mind a perennial All Pro like Brady. Brady appears to be signing this deal to help out the Patriots with salary cap relief to hopefully ensure that they remain competitive and in the hunt for the Championship for as long as he is with the team. Before you feel sorry for Brady just know that he will receive 30 million dollars as a "signing bonus" which is money that does not count against the salary cap. I think he will be able to survive on that salary. If not he has a rich wife so I think they will be just fine.
CELTICS:
The trade deadline has come and gone and the Celtics still have Kevin Garnett and Paul Pierce on their roster. My previous blog discussed the potential deals that were being tossed around regarding the trades of Garnett and Pierce. Apparently the Celtic's GM Danny Ainge ( a former player for the Celtics) decided to give it one last go with this Celtic's team. The lack of a move did surprise me because the Celtic's have been decimated with season ending injuries to Rondo, Sullinger and Barbosa and they do not appear to have the depth that they once had to make a serious run at a NBA Championship. I thought this was the perfect time to make those trades discussed previously, to get younger and more athletic in the hopes that this team could once again be rebuilt into a contender. Obviously Ainge knows more about basketball then I will ever know so I will trust that he has a plan not only for this year but for the years to come as well.
BRUINS:
The Boston Bruins are riding a four game win streak into the TD Garden tonight when they return home to face the Ottawa Senators. The Bruins currently are in second place in the Eastern Conference with 26 points just 3 points behind Montreal who have played four more games. But
after playing their first 16 games over 40 days, the Bruins will now face an end of February-March stretch in which they will play 18 games over 33 days, and a total of 32 games over the final 58 days of the regular season. For a team that has played back-to-back games only one time this season. That is in dramatic contrast to the rest of their conference opponents. So the second half of this shortened season will be the true test of whether or not this team has what it takes to win another championship
Thursday, February 28, 2013
Sunday, February 24, 2013
Something Completely Off Blog Topic Week 5
Renegade Pigs National Convention 2013
The National Convention of 2013 for the Renegade Pigs Motorcycle Club was held this weekend at the Westin Hotel in South Boston. I chose to write about this because I am a member of this motorcycle club and my chapter, Boston hosted the event. The following are excerpts from the RPMC International web sight which I encourage you to go and check out if you desire.
The RPMC is a non-profit organization that hosts and attends numerous charity events in support of public safety officers and their families. The membership is comprised of law enforcement and fire service personnel who share the common love of riding their American made motorcycles, and who believe that loyalty and camaraderie are core values for public safety personnel...
The club has 38 active chapters in 16 states. Individual chapters, like ours in Boston, organize and conduct fundraising events throughout the year. Portions of the proceeds of these events go to support various police and fire charities and the families of public safety officers in need. Some examples being police officers and firefighters killed in the line of duty and those disabled by catastrophic injury or illness. The club also has a long-standing tradition of community support, especially seeing to the needs of small children and their families.
RPMC members pride ourselves on being a very exclusive, tight brotherhood. Membership must be earned and is not freely given. The red, white and blue in our colors symbolize the patriotism that each member holds true. The flaming boar's skull symbolizes dogged determination to overcome difficulty and to protect the brotherhood. Members of our club have no concern or time for those who choose to stereotype us based on our clothing or method of transportation. Even if those voices come from within the public safety community. We do concern ourselves with the oaths we took as public safety officials and the idea that the brotherhood is paramount. We are not afraid to be who we are... We will continue to persevere through the generalizations and we will press on in our fight to better America and her communities.
It was good to see the more than 250 RPMC brother's during this event. It was a great showing in a not so warm of a location. I am proud to consider myself a brother of all of these professionals who give so much to the communities they serve. I can not wait for riding season to start so that I can take some road trips and visit some of the other chapters and my brothers from other states.
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Tuesday, February 19, 2013
Week 5
Celtics:
The All Star break is over and the second half of the Celtics season starts tonight in Denver against the Nuggets. The trade deadline for the NBA is this Thursday and local and national media outlets have been reporting all week that the Celtics could be involved in multiple trade deals. One potential trade that I have seen proposed by numerous media outlets is Kevin Garnett to the L.A. Clippers for Deandre Jordan and Eric Bledsoe. Two young and up and coming players in the NBA for one of the oldest yet best players to ever play in Garnett. The Clippers feel they are one superstar away from making a run at the Championship. The Celtics however do not necessarily want to part ways with Garnett but they could benefit in the long run from getting younger and more athletic. Garnett would have to waive the no trade clause in his contract in order for any trade deal involving him to be made.
Another potential trade that I have heard rumored is Rajon Rondo to the L.A. Lakers for Dwight Howard. It's interesting that Rondo's name is being thrown out there in trade rumors considering that he just recently tore his ACL and is out for the season. It is no secret that Dwight Howard has struggled in L.A. for whatever reason and doesn't seem that he wants to be a Laker for much longer. The Celtics are in desperate need of a top notch center as Howard is and I feel would be willing to pull the trigger on this deal if the Lakers would agree to it. The Celtics have won all but one of their games with Rondo out of the lineup and seem to be playing a more team oriented game without their starting point guard.
The only other big potential trade that I have heard being tossed around is Paul Pierce to Atlanta for Josh Smith. Smith is a taller more athletic player than is Pierce but does not have quite the resume or body of work with regard to consistent all star caliber play. His age and athletic ability are clearly attractive attributes that the Celtics would surely welcome. I'm just not too sure they are willing to part ways with Pierce after all he has done to resurrect this franchise from the dead to a perennial Championship contender. Some talk radio personalities had Pierce in their top five Celtic players of all time category and I think they may be right. The next couple of days should be rather interesting to see if Danny Ainge, the Celtics GM does any of these deals or a different deal not yet mentioned.
The All Star break is over and the second half of the Celtics season starts tonight in Denver against the Nuggets. The trade deadline for the NBA is this Thursday and local and national media outlets have been reporting all week that the Celtics could be involved in multiple trade deals. One potential trade that I have seen proposed by numerous media outlets is Kevin Garnett to the L.A. Clippers for Deandre Jordan and Eric Bledsoe. Two young and up and coming players in the NBA for one of the oldest yet best players to ever play in Garnett. The Clippers feel they are one superstar away from making a run at the Championship. The Celtics however do not necessarily want to part ways with Garnett but they could benefit in the long run from getting younger and more athletic. Garnett would have to waive the no trade clause in his contract in order for any trade deal involving him to be made.
Another potential trade that I have heard rumored is Rajon Rondo to the L.A. Lakers for Dwight Howard. It's interesting that Rondo's name is being thrown out there in trade rumors considering that he just recently tore his ACL and is out for the season. It is no secret that Dwight Howard has struggled in L.A. for whatever reason and doesn't seem that he wants to be a Laker for much longer. The Celtics are in desperate need of a top notch center as Howard is and I feel would be willing to pull the trigger on this deal if the Lakers would agree to it. The Celtics have won all but one of their games with Rondo out of the lineup and seem to be playing a more team oriented game without their starting point guard.
The only other big potential trade that I have heard being tossed around is Paul Pierce to Atlanta for Josh Smith. Smith is a taller more athletic player than is Pierce but does not have quite the resume or body of work with regard to consistent all star caliber play. His age and athletic ability are clearly attractive attributes that the Celtics would surely welcome. I'm just not too sure they are willing to part ways with Pierce after all he has done to resurrect this franchise from the dead to a perennial Championship contender. Some talk radio personalities had Pierce in their top five Celtic players of all time category and I think they may be right. The next couple of days should be rather interesting to see if Danny Ainge, the Celtics GM does any of these deals or a different deal not yet mentioned.
Saturday, February 16, 2013
Long and Time Consuming
I have found the experience of designing my own web page to be long and time consuming and it still looks like a seven year old did it! I have certainly found out some things about my proficiency or lack there of with computers. HTML might as well be in Mandarin Chinese because it is like learning a new language. You can tell the students in this class that have experience in this type of system. I am definitely not one of those students. I am learning many things obviously that I did not know previously but there is so much to absorb that my mind is scrambled. I try to remember what to do and I follow along the best I can with the video examples and written directions but I always seem to miss a step or < or }. I have needed and received one on one instruction with Jose and that has helped a lot. (Thanks Jose) My goal is to make my web page look as good or maybe just half as good as some that I have seen. Looking at other students web pages has been fun but it has also been demoralizing in some ways because I feel inferior when it comes to this stuff. I know everyone has their strengths and weaknesses and my weaknesses have definitely been exposed. Sometimes I feel like if I had more time to attempt some of the tricks so to speak of designing an attractive web page I think I could potentially be able to do it. Maybe the timing wasn't the greatest for me to take this class. I am finding this out the hard way...
Wednesday, February 13, 2013
Patriots
New England Patriot superstar tight end Rob Gronkowski was spotted and photographed in Orlando Florida wearing a tank top which reads "sorry for partying". This appears to be Gronk's response to the media blitz that ensued after he was caught on video dancing around and wrestling on a stage in a Las Vegas nightclub. (See my previous blog Gronk is at it again...) I have changed my opinion of the incident after thinking about it for a week or two. I think it's pretty funny actually. This kid is only 23 years old maybe 24 he should be enjoying himself, the season is over!!!!
In an unrelated story the Patriots have some decisions to make this off season. None more important than what to do with Wes Welker? They can use the franchise tag on Welker and have to pay him around nine or ten million dollars for one year. Or they could attempt to sign him to a long term contract extension. Lastly they could choose to part ways with him and let him sign with another team. I personally believe Welker is far to valuable to the Patriots offensive scheme and think Tom Brady is a much better quarterback when Welker is on the field. It will be interesting to see how this Welker thing pans out over the next few weeks and perhaps months... Stay Tuned!
In an unrelated story the Patriots have some decisions to make this off season. None more important than what to do with Wes Welker? They can use the franchise tag on Welker and have to pay him around nine or ten million dollars for one year. Or they could attempt to sign him to a long term contract extension. Lastly they could choose to part ways with him and let him sign with another team. I personally believe Welker is far to valuable to the Patriots offensive scheme and think Tom Brady is a much better quarterback when Welker is on the field. It will be interesting to see how this Welker thing pans out over the next few weeks and perhaps months... Stay Tuned!
Week 4 Blog Post
Celtics:
Well The Celtics just lost to the Charlotte Bobcats last night 2/11/13 ending an impressive seven game win streak which finds the green team 6 games out of first place in the Atlantic Division. The Bobcats are believed to be the worst team in the NBA but the Celtics just played a triple overtime game against the Denver Nuggets ( in which they won) and you could tell that the team, especially the older veterans like Garnett and Pierce had tired legs in the second half of that game. Despite the loss the Celtics continued to impress without two key players ruled out for the year in Rondo and Sullinger. It appeared that reserve guard Barbosa also was injured late in the Bobcat game so the injury bug really seems to be biting this team right now, making the last seven game win streak even more impressive. The NBA heads into the All Star break so hopefully this team gets some needed rest and gets rejuvenated for the second half of the season.
Bruins:
The Bruins continue to be a nice surprise and just defeated the Buffalo Sabres the other night to avenge one of only two loses so far this season! They stand in second place in the whole Eastern Conference with 17 points behind the New Jersey Devils who have a total of 19 points but have played two more games then the Bruins have. The Bruins have been getting great goal tending this season which apparently has given management enough confidence to trade Tim Thomas, the hero of the 2011 Stanley Cup Champion Bruins, to the New York Islanders. It is still unclear if Thomas will play this year for New York, but if he does the Bruins will receive two second round draft picks from the Islanders in return for Thomas.
Red Sox:
The disappointing season of last year is in the rear view mirror now, along with terrible manager Bobby Valentine for the Red Sox. Pitchers and catchers reported to Fort Myers Florida for spring training this week. Lucky for them as we all got pounded by Nemo the blizzard of 2013! There are a lot of new faces on the Sox this year. The question in my mind is whether or not they will change the attitude in the clubhouse as well as have a positive effect on the field to help this team win games. It was obvious with last years team that there was some kind of fundamental breakdown in team morale which resulted in a horrendous product on the field. Many Red Sox apologists would tell you that injuries were the reason that Sox team underperformed last year. I believe their inability to win games stemmed from their manager not being able to keep a disciplined clubhouse which then allowed the "inmates to run the asylum". Yet here we go with another season almost upon us. Lets hope many things are different from last year with this team!
Well The Celtics just lost to the Charlotte Bobcats last night 2/11/13 ending an impressive seven game win streak which finds the green team 6 games out of first place in the Atlantic Division. The Bobcats are believed to be the worst team in the NBA but the Celtics just played a triple overtime game against the Denver Nuggets ( in which they won) and you could tell that the team, especially the older veterans like Garnett and Pierce had tired legs in the second half of that game. Despite the loss the Celtics continued to impress without two key players ruled out for the year in Rondo and Sullinger. It appeared that reserve guard Barbosa also was injured late in the Bobcat game so the injury bug really seems to be biting this team right now, making the last seven game win streak even more impressive. The NBA heads into the All Star break so hopefully this team gets some needed rest and gets rejuvenated for the second half of the season.
Bruins:
The Bruins continue to be a nice surprise and just defeated the Buffalo Sabres the other night to avenge one of only two loses so far this season! They stand in second place in the whole Eastern Conference with 17 points behind the New Jersey Devils who have a total of 19 points but have played two more games then the Bruins have. The Bruins have been getting great goal tending this season which apparently has given management enough confidence to trade Tim Thomas, the hero of the 2011 Stanley Cup Champion Bruins, to the New York Islanders. It is still unclear if Thomas will play this year for New York, but if he does the Bruins will receive two second round draft picks from the Islanders in return for Thomas.
Red Sox:
The disappointing season of last year is in the rear view mirror now, along with terrible manager Bobby Valentine for the Red Sox. Pitchers and catchers reported to Fort Myers Florida for spring training this week. Lucky for them as we all got pounded by Nemo the blizzard of 2013! There are a lot of new faces on the Sox this year. The question in my mind is whether or not they will change the attitude in the clubhouse as well as have a positive effect on the field to help this team win games. It was obvious with last years team that there was some kind of fundamental breakdown in team morale which resulted in a horrendous product on the field. Many Red Sox apologists would tell you that injuries were the reason that Sox team underperformed last year. I believe their inability to win games stemmed from their manager not being able to keep a disciplined clubhouse which then allowed the "inmates to run the asylum". Yet here we go with another season almost upon us. Lets hope many things are different from last year with this team!
Wednesday, February 6, 2013
Gronk is at it again ...
Patriots all everything tight end is in the news again and it isn't for his outstanding play on the football field. Rob Gronkowski with broken arm and all, ( two breaks of the same arm in less then two months) was video taped in Las Vegas wrestling on stage in a night club with another unknown man possibly his brother. Gronkowski appears to be wearing a cast on his broken arm yet still engages in this dangerous playing around. Talk radio is going crazy talking about how irresponsible it is for him to be acting in this manner and possibly jeopardizing his football future if he was to be re injured. Surprisingly I heard many talk radio callers backing up or siding with Gronkowski telling the radio show hosts to lighten up, and that it's not that big of a deal. He is after all only 23 or 24 years old and a superstar in the NFL. Here is the video of him at that nightclub in Vegas. Well the video got pulled off You Tube for third party infringement reasons so here is an excerpt from ESPN's 360 show about Gronk's lifestyle...
Tuesday, February 5, 2013
Week 3 Blog Post
Celtics:
Here we go again with this Jekyll and Hyde professional basketball team of ours. The home town Celtics beat the very talented L.A. Clippers sunday afternoon to win their fourth game in a row... I believe in my last post titled Just My Opinion they had just ended a five game losing streak by beating the Miami Heat! Well they haven't lost since that game and are winning without Rajon Rondo and their rookie first round pick Jared Sullinger who was also just ruled out for the season and placed on injured reserve because of back issues. Talk radio is buzzing with people saying this team is better off without Rondo, their starting all-star point guard, out on the floor. I find it hard to imagine that this team is actually better without him. Even though they have won more games without him in the lineup then with.
Patriots:
Well the NFL season is over and the the Baltimore Ravens are the world champions. Yes the same Ravens who demolished my beloved Patriots, in Foxboro a few weeks back! I dont feel as bad knowing the team the Patriots lost to did go on to win the whole thing... They are a very talented football team. Oh well, better luck next year.
Red Sox:
I haven't wrote about the Boston Red Sox yet in this blog. Probably because I'm still disgusted in how they played last year! I was truly embarrased to call my self a Red Sox fan. The Sox unloaded some big name players at the end of last year, Beckett, Gonzalez and Crawford and some serious money to go along with them. They signed quite a few free agents during the offseason but nobody you could call a high profile signing. Guys like Shane Victorino, Johnny Gomes and Ryan Dempster don't really strike fear into oppossing teams minds. They were obtained at a relatively cheap rate for MLB standards. Lets see if this new fiscally responsible spending by Red Sox ownership leads to another mediocre if not terrible season. Spring training is just around the corner...
Bruins:
The Bruins continue to impress. They have only lost one game in regulation all season, although it's early. They are right there at the top of the standings and seem pretty motivated to stay there. Lets hope this team stays healthy in this shortened season. If they do they should be there at the end
Here we go again with this Jekyll and Hyde professional basketball team of ours. The home town Celtics beat the very talented L.A. Clippers sunday afternoon to win their fourth game in a row... I believe in my last post titled Just My Opinion they had just ended a five game losing streak by beating the Miami Heat! Well they haven't lost since that game and are winning without Rajon Rondo and their rookie first round pick Jared Sullinger who was also just ruled out for the season and placed on injured reserve because of back issues. Talk radio is buzzing with people saying this team is better off without Rondo, their starting all-star point guard, out on the floor. I find it hard to imagine that this team is actually better without him. Even though they have won more games without him in the lineup then with.
Patriots:
Well the NFL season is over and the the Baltimore Ravens are the world champions. Yes the same Ravens who demolished my beloved Patriots, in Foxboro a few weeks back! I dont feel as bad knowing the team the Patriots lost to did go on to win the whole thing... They are a very talented football team. Oh well, better luck next year.
Red Sox:
I haven't wrote about the Boston Red Sox yet in this blog. Probably because I'm still disgusted in how they played last year! I was truly embarrased to call my self a Red Sox fan. The Sox unloaded some big name players at the end of last year, Beckett, Gonzalez and Crawford and some serious money to go along with them. They signed quite a few free agents during the offseason but nobody you could call a high profile signing. Guys like Shane Victorino, Johnny Gomes and Ryan Dempster don't really strike fear into oppossing teams minds. They were obtained at a relatively cheap rate for MLB standards. Lets see if this new fiscally responsible spending by Red Sox ownership leads to another mediocre if not terrible season. Spring training is just around the corner...
Bruins:
The Bruins continue to impress. They have only lost one game in regulation all season, although it's early. They are right there at the top of the standings and seem pretty motivated to stay there. Lets hope this team stays healthy in this shortened season. If they do they should be there at the end
The Internet and Communication
The Internet has completely changed the way people communicate with each other. Has Anyone seen the television series on HBO called Game of Thrones? Well I love this show it's about old England in medieval times when the kings of the seven kingdoms of England are all fighting for the "Iron Throne" to be the King of Kings. Any way in the show when the Kings want a message delivered to another king in a different section of England, they send a Raven with a message attached to the birds leg. Imagine the time this method of communication took. Well communication has come a long way since those times. Not so long ago, writing letters and sending them through the mail is how people communicated from long distances. Then telephones were invented and revolutionized how people could communicate. Well the Internet has completely blown those methods away as a method of communication. The Internet now allows us to communicate with endless numbers of people in in a blink of an eye with the use of emails or through social media outlets such as Skype, Twitter and Facebook. Smart phones allow people to walk around with all these communication methods in their pockets. Text messages seem to be the wave now with regards to quick communication between family, friends and co-workers.
I think that the Internet has allowed people to stay in touch with each other on a more consistent basis by using the above methods of communication. Unfortunately it has made us more impersonal and less likely to meet someone face to face or call them on the telephone. I would be lying if I said I didn't use email or texts to communicate with others a lot more then I call them. I find it to be a convenient, quick and effective way to relay a message, answer a question or just say hello to someone. I have never been a big talker or letter writer so these new communication methods the Internet now gives us are perfect for me. I have yet to open a Facebook or Twitter account and wasn't planning on doing so for privacy reasons until I saw this weeks activity section for school and found out that this is what the assignment for the week is. I plan on opening up anonymous sights for these assignments.
I think that the Internet has allowed people to stay in touch with each other on a more consistent basis by using the above methods of communication. Unfortunately it has made us more impersonal and less likely to meet someone face to face or call them on the telephone. I would be lying if I said I didn't use email or texts to communicate with others a lot more then I call them. I find it to be a convenient, quick and effective way to relay a message, answer a question or just say hello to someone. I have never been a big talker or letter writer so these new communication methods the Internet now gives us are perfect for me. I have yet to open a Facebook or Twitter account and wasn't planning on doing so for privacy reasons until I saw this weeks activity section for school and found out that this is what the assignment for the week is. I plan on opening up anonymous sights for these assignments.
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