The Thanksgiving Run
There's something so magical about the first snowfall. Margot, Karl and I went out for a great 2hour run on Thanksgiving morning. Granted, it wasn't the first snowfall of the season, but it was the first that really stuck around for more than just a few hours.We started in Houghton and plodded along Trail 3 toward South Range. It was an overcast morning and impending drizzle but I didn't really notice anything falling. As we climbed up the trail toward Atlantic Mine, the trees started glimmering. Small snowflakes started shimmering around us. As we continued along the trail, the ground began to turn white and the snow squeaked under our shoes. The trees were then completely coated in a whit

Dunking and vertical leaping ability in men and women
A recent blog entry from a company that seems to want to sell information about how to increase your vertical leap provides some data. The quotes are from an article from David Patterson and D. Fred Peterson in Measurement in Physical Education and Exercise Science.I'll list the 5th percentile number (the number where 95 percent of subjects exceed the value), the mean number (or average value) and the 95th percentile for both sexes:Men: 16.5 inches/22.1 inches/28 inchesWomen: 10 inches/14.1 inches/19 inchesNote the difference between the 5th percentile for men and the 95 percentile for women. This means that a man who is pretty much in average shape - not overweight but

Monarchs Watch: Day 9
An interesting little blurb from the Sacramento Bee:WNBA fans attending games at Arco Arena will notice something different in the rafters. The banners honoring the 2005 WNBA championship team and retired jerseys of Ruthie Bolton and former general manager Jerry Reynolds are no longer there.It was announced last week that the Monarchs had ceased operations as Kings ownership decided to focus on the NBA team. The WNBA hopes to find new ownership for the team in the Bay Area.Well, I hope that anyone reading this blog can forgive me for not supporting the Kings and hoping they go 0-82. Then again, I don't watch the NBA anyway so I don't think the Sacramento Kings are going to notice my missin

Euroleague: Week 5 (November 25-26) Games and Upcoming Schedule
I only predicted one game wrong this week. Which is kind of surprising because the Euroleague is so predictable with its unpredictability and bipolar teams.Whoever guesses which game I predicted wrong wins a cookie! Well, not really. But it's a nice thought. Group A TEO Vilnius (67-80) Cras Basket Taranto TEO: Montgomery, R. (29 points, 2 rebounds, 3 assists, 3 steals, 40 minutes); Hollingsworth, Q. (8 points, 8 rebounds, 1 assist, 1 steal, 27 minutes) Taranto: Brunson, R. (20 points, 5 rebounds, 1 assist, 2 steals, 29 minutes)   TTT Riga (53-74) UMMC Ekaterinburg UMMC: Wauters, A. (14 points, 6 rebounds, 4 assists,1 block, 30 minutes)

World Vision Classic Day 1: Baylor and Lamar win
Louisiana 58 Lamar 66 The first day of the World Vision Classic featured a close match and a blowout. Lamar and Louisiana-Lafayette kicked off the Baylor-hosted tournament in Waco in a tumultuous game with several lead changes and nine ties. For most of the first half, the teams traded baskets. Louisiana’s Mercedes Johnson led all scorers at the break with 15 points. The sophomore forward from Houston also had seven rebounds. Point guard Jenna Plumley (pictured right), a transfer from Oklahoma who redshirted last season, paced Lamar with six points. Before arriving at Lamar, Plumley started all 31 games for the Sooners in 2007-08, averaging 7.8 points and 3.3 assists per game