Remembering Hank Gathers

I remember when I heard the news that Hank Gathers had collapsed on the basketball court and eventually died.

It was hard to imagine a guy, only 6-years older than me, dying while playing basketball.

The subsequent games that Loyola Marymount University played were amazing to watch:

First Round
LMU vs. New Mexico State
Won 111 to 92


Second Round
LMU vs. Michigan (the Defending Champions)
Won 149 to 115

Sweet Sixteen
LMU vs. Alabama
Won 62 to 60

Elite Eight
LMU vs. UNLV
Lost 131 vs. 101

After the passing of Hank Gathers, Bo Kimble, Gather's teammate shot every first free throw of each game left-handed to pay homage to his friend.

Bo Kimble would continue the practice at LMU and in the NBA with the Los Angeles Clippers and the New York Knicks.

Sports: DJ to the Hall!

Former Celtic, Dennis Johnson (DJ), will be inducted into the Basketball Hall of Fame, posthumously, this September 2010.

The official announcement will take place on Monday and the full story can be read at Boston.com.

Technology: Apple iPad

Today is the day that Steve Jobs had envisioned back in August 1991,
when he said during an interview for CNN, "We're going to build
intuitive computers that people will learn to use and will enjoy using."

The Apple iPad goes on sale today at www.apple.com as well as the many
Apple stores throughout the United States.

While I consider myself an Apple computer "neophyte", I have viewed
Apple's products as very cool and easy to use. But, I don't think the
new iPad is for me.

I'll keep you posted and once I actually test-drive the device, I'm
sure I'll have a newfound appreciation for it, but I still won't be
able the justify spending that kind of money on a tablet computer.

Bullying & Videos

All eyes are tuned into the number of bullying cases that are being reported by elementary and high school children throughout Boston. The telephone number to to call to report any incidents of bullying is 617-534-5050. (I wonder if there's a similar telephone number for Worcester?)

When the news of Phoebe Prince's suicide hit the news in January 2010, the details regarding her being verbally harassed and threatened by her school-mates caused the 15-year-old to hang herself.

In this day and age with the power of the Internet, it's disheartening to hear and read the news of the number of children that are bullied and made to feel like "outsiders".

I have to put this out there, while growing up there were kids that were "picked on" but it was never done to the point or level of what is being done today. I can recall on more than one occasion, a classmate being the aggressor and them being called out and told to "knock it off" because they, too, had faults and no one is perfect.

Fast forward to 2010, and we have kids who are purposefully fighting with each other and videotaping the fights and posting them on websites such as YouTube, Viddler, Vimeo and 12seconds, to name a few.

For example, take the case in Worcester where two were arrested for beating another kid and the beatings were videotaped and thus two assailants were arrested.

If you bypass the idiotic comments that some have decided to post, it's cases such as these that cause our court system to get backlogged and wastes money.

The "it takes a village to raise a child" mentality is a thing of the past, but it does take human beings to remember to be human and encourage children to respect themselves and, ultimately, respect others.

Praying!

Services: Eyes tell the story

I spotted this van driving around Worcester today and I wondered how
many people take advantage of such a FREE service?

The stipulations are you must meet certain criteria and prove family
income, but for a family with a child or children that arent
performing well in school because they can't see well, then this
program is a God-send.

Good Friday!

It Ain't NO Joke!: Educational Jobs Cut in Worcester

Reading the news that some 124 positions will be eliminated and thus the children of Worcester are the ones who pay the price, on top of those teachers that will loose their job.

When are WE, in America, going to understand that education is the most important "tool" we can give our children?

People need to let their voices be heard!

New York vs. Boston: More than Baseball

So The New York Times Co. which owns a portion of the stock in the parent company that owns the Boston Red Sox is taking opening weekend very seriously and have reduced their partial ownership.

As a die-hard New York Yankees fan living in Massachusetts, this is very good news!

Politics: RNC Chairman, Michael Steele, "I've got five on it"

Republican National Chairman, Michael Steele, is once again in the hot seat for allowing a $2,000 bill to be expensed for a LA strip club.

I guess the scandal is so disturbing that Sarah Palin has asked the RNC to remove her name from a RNC fundraiser taking place in New Orleans this weekend.

TJX: Hackers Gone Wild

When the news of the TJX computer hacking case broke, I wondered if any of my credit cards or accounts had been compromised? Luckily, they hadn't but I knew a few people that had their bank account drained, their identity stolen and were dealing with a plethora of credit cards companies and the credit bureaus to straighten things out.

The Boston Magazine article sheds some light on what took place, but I bet there's a better story that has yet to be written and certainly a movie to be made.

Driving in Worcester

There must be something in the air or maybe it's the three-continuous-
days of rain, but I was almost hit twice this morning while taking my
daughter to school.

While sitting at the light on Lafayette Street, waiting to make the
left turn onto Southbridge Street (you know the intersection: you,
too, have almost been t-boned by drivers speeding and not paying
attention on Southbridge St. or maybe you drive by Hurricane Betty's
and shake your head at folks either walking in or out at quarter of
ten on a weekday.) I saw, to my right a white vehicle speeding that I
knew was going to run the red light. So I stopped.

Now the light is green and I proceed to make the left turn and out of
the corner of my right eye, I see an olive green vehicle speeding and
it, too, ran the red light.

Luckily for me, my mother taught me to drive and always stressed, "I
know you can drive, but you have to watch-out for all the other folks
on the road. You have to be a defensive drive." Thank you Ma!

Tools to the trade

Good morning......Buenos Dias!

I can only write about the weather so many times. The rain should
subside today and that means we'll cross-over to the "good stuff".
Thank goodness!

I always wonder what tools many of the bloggers, writers, and all-
around good folks who "Big Up" Worcester use to get their message out?

As you see in the picture, these are just a few of the tools that I
use in my everyday life and for writing on Worcester Is MAJOR!.

There's a change taking place in Worcester and I think "Wormtown" is
ready to turn the corner and there are some really BIG things around
that corner.

So, stay tuned and if you have something to say about Worcester and
the changes that you foresee, please post a comment or email us at WorcesterisMAJOR@gmail.com
.

Laying the Smack down: Holy Cross fires Coach Kearney

Father Michael McFarland must have been feeling the heat and thus Dick Regan was feeling it, too!

Holy Cross has decided to fire first-year men's basketball coach Sean Kearney.

Who says athletics don't matter to the folks high atop Mount St. James?

The College has to keep us with the Jones' now that tuition, room and board for the 2010-2011 academic year will surpass the $50k-per-year mark. (Take solace that the full nut is currently $49,342.)

No-Wiggle 'Toine pt. 2

I wrote about Antoine Walker's financial downfall here, but now here's the Outside the Lines interview from ESPN.

Education: The World Is Yours (TWIS)

I was given the heads up about a video floating around the Internet, which shows elementary school children performing a scene from the movie "Scarface", directed by Brian De Palma and written by Oliver Stone.



I know if I went to any child's school and saw some, no older than 8-years-old, performing a scene from "Scarface", I'd be very bothered by it.

Just imagine, the reinforcement of stereotypes, gun usage and the not-so-cute use of the word "fudge" in place of the more colorful expletive?

Where are the parents? Oh, they're sitting in the audience watching.

Eggo:Optimistically Optimistic Food

I remember seeing the signs in Price Chopper grocery stores and at Stop & Shop, but paid little attention to them. Then, while making a grocery store run (which I truly dislike doing. I'd rather shovel shit than grocery shop.) my daughter asked to buy some Eggo waffles and there were none to be found.

Shortly thereafter, I read Jeff Barnard's post on Wormtowntaxi.com about the shortage and the subsequent search that ensued.

Well, yesterday while make that "dreadful" grocery store run, again, my daughter asked me to buy some Eggo waffles and I said to her, "I might have better luck rolling a 7 or 11 at craps than finding some Eggo waffles." To my surprise we ventured over to the frozen food section and what do you know? We found her favorite, and my favorite, Eggo waffles!

Next time, I'm going to be more optimistic and after unpacking the groceries, I'll pile the family into the car and head South on 395 and make my way to Mohegan Sun.

Now, if only we can get Governor Patrick and the other "slackers" to approve casinos in Massachusetts? (Remaining optimistic, but not holding my breath.)

CNN Breaking News: 10 shot in Mexico

10 people, ages 8-21, shot dead in Mexico http://on.cnn.com/b2ina7

Words Matter

This piece by Don Lemon of CNN (http://Twitter.com/donlemoncnn) is a
reminder that we need to remember that all words carry weight.

Words of hatred and ignorance have no place at the table of life and
when I hear kids or others using words such as, "nigga, faggot, dyke,
and gook", to name a few, I wince because they don't realize that
those words were used to break-down and make someone feel inferior and
separate us.

Now, more than ever, we have to realize that we don't live in pockets,
even though many people choose to self-segregate.

At the end of the day, it's all about FEAR and fear is something that
is difficult to overcome no matter if you're male, female, Black,
White, Asian, Hispanic, gay, Bi-Racial, etc.

Ignorance breeds fear, fear fuels hatred and hatred feeds the ignorance....especially when it comes to Health Care Reform.

Click the link to watch the video:
http://bit.ly/aes1Kd