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Sports
A Big Cheese Retires and a Diesel Stalls the Suns
By Tony Serri
Dateline Green Bay - America's Big Cheese Calls it a Career: Whether you're emotionally committed to Brett Favre as millions are, or passionately in love with him as John Madden was, there's no doubt that he has established himself in the American sports firmament as one of its most compelling stars. Favre's personality, accomplishments and flair for the dramatic put him up there with DiMaggio, Koufax, Unitas, Jim Brown, Jordan, Bobby Jones and Jesse Owens. Favre leaves the game as the all-time leader in passing yards, career touchdown passes, consecutive games started at QB and career wins. Yet all these records seem like adjuncts to his greatest accomplishment, "Being Brett Favre". He single-handedly resurrected one of America's great sports brands (The Packers) and one of America's great pants brands (Wrangler). So long, Brett. You leave some big pants to fill.
Dateline Phoenix - The Diesel Stalls in the Desert: By acquiring Shaquille O'Neal at the trade deadline, Steve Kerr became the first person to figure out how to slow down Steve Nash and the Suns. The trade for O'Neal sounded intriguing at first. Expectations were lowered for Shaq. Shaq would basically play the role of a super Greg Oostertag. Someone to take up space, rebound and swat away shots. But even in his prime, O'Neal played defense like a parent forced to sit and play Legos with his 3 year old; dutifully but with no enthusiasm. And offensively, Shaq, his footwork slowed by injuries and age, is a turnover waiting to happen. The Suns offense has begun to slow and their scoring is down. Most tellingly, Nash's assists are down since the trade. The Suns bet and maybe lost the farm on this trade, but Suns fans take heart: I hear Moses Malone is available.
Dateline Los Angeles - Kobe Bryant: Executive of the Year: Considering the Lakers may not have done anything had Kobe's threat not been hanging over their heads, let alone land a gem like Pau Gasol, Kobe may have known what he was doing. And in holding up his end has managed to elevate his game to MVP caliber. It's beginning to feel a lot like 2000 around here with a Laker championship starting to look inevitable (look for Magic Johnson to start resurfacing in the crowd at Staples). On Tuesday night, the Lakers were trailing the Kings by 13 in the 3rd quarter. Kobe was beginning to look annoyed with the Kings' strutting. I performed a little experiment. I turned off the TV, betting that when I turned it back on, Bryant would have led them to a win. I turned the TV back on and the Lakers were leading 110 - 105 with 2.4 seconds left. Am I a genius? Well, yes. But the real genius is Kobe, who's having a season for the ages. Mind you, I've never been a Kobe or even a Laker fan, but Bryant is winning over even the most ardent haters. Damn him.
Dateline Washington D.C. - Congressman calls for FBI to end probe of Roger Clemens: Rep. Anthony Weiner, a candidate for New York mayor in 2009, said the FBI is too busy with more important crimes to spend time trying to determine if the ex-Yankees pitcher lied to Congress about taking performance enhancing substances. "Roger Clemens has been shamed… What is the public benefit of continuing with an FBI investigation?" Weiner said. This sounds like a humane and sensible position until you remember that the Congressman is from New York and that the FBI probe would likely dig into much of the Yankees and Mets medicine cabinets and uncover more nasty secrets. Weiner's motives may be suspect but his conclusions are reassuring. Despite his steely-eyed stare down of Congress little more than two weeks ago, Clemens convinced nobody. Investigating "The Rocket" for lying would be like investigating Norway for being cold. However as disgusted as most of us are by the whole Clemens business, it's only fitting that he be raked over the legal coals since he lit the match. And if Clemens goes down in flames, then maybe "the Rocket's red glare" will be a warning beacon to others to come clean and own up.
Are These Foods Making You Fat?
By Joshua Carter
It's easy to let yourself be fooled into thinking the things you eat are healthy. Foods dressed in crafty packaging lead you to believe they will help you lose weight.
But do they?
So-Called Healthy Food #1: SALAD
Most salads on the menu today are loaded with fat laden extras. Croutons, tortilla strips, nuts, and even fried. And let's not forget the salad dressing.
So-Called Healthy Food #2: 100 CALORIE PACKS
In the snack section of your local grocery store you've probably seen the attractively packaged "100 Calorie Packs." These light and airy snack packs send a message that they are healthy. Uh, no.
So-Called Healthy Food #3: CEREAL
It's dangerous to think that any food item will promote weight loss, especially a food item that is high in simple carbohydrates.
Making the Healthy Choice
Ignore bold claims on food packaging-the information you really need is listed on the nutrition label. Use the following guidelines.
1. Eat Fresh: The healthiest food in the world is fresh.
2. Set Limits: Just because something is edible doesn't mean you should eat it.
3. Look at the whole picture: A healthy diet consists of taking in a combination of fats, carbohydrates, fiber, protein, vitamins and minerals.
You should eat to live not live to eat. Your body will thank you for it.
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