The Latest Dad Poll

 

 

 

 CALVIN & HOBBES | Bill Watterson

As a dad, and a former kid, I’ve always loved Bill Watterson’s “Calvin & Hobbes.” Here’s a strip I saw recently that I thought was great…

Canes Name Paul Maurice Head Coach

From the official announcement…

MO COMES BACK, RON FRANCIS NAMED ASSOCIATE COACH

RALEIGH, NC—Jim Rutherford, President and General Manager of the National Hockey League’s Carolina Hurricanes, announced today the team has relieved Peter Laviolette of his coaching duties and that Paul Maurice will assume the role of head coach. Rutherford also announced that Ron Francis has been named the team’s associate coach, and that the remainder of the team’s coaching staff will remain in place.

“This is a real strong addition with Paul and Ronnie leading our coaching staff,” said Rutherford. “As we go into a very tough group of games in December, my hope is that the coaches make minor adjustments to the system and the players regain their confidence.

“We would like to thank Peter for his years of service to the Hurricanes organization, and we wish him and his family the best moving forward.”

Maurice, 41, returns to Carolina as the winningest coach in franchise history, having scored 268 wins in his 674 regular-season games coached during his eight-plus seasons with the team, from Nov. 6, 1995, until Dec. 15, 2003. The Sault Ste. Marie, Ont., native has amassed a coaching record of 344-357-137 record in 11 NHL seasons with the Carolina franchise and the Toronto Maple Leafs, where he coached in 2006-07 and 2007-08. Maurice guided the Hurricanes to the 2002 Eastern Conference title and two Southeast Division crowns during his first stint as the team’s head coach.

This marks Francis’ first coaching assignment since his retirement as a player in 2005. The Sault Ste. Marie, Ont., native was inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame in November 2007 as the NHL’s second all-time assists leader (1,249), third all-time games-played leader (1,731) and fourth all-time scoring leader (1,798 points). He played 16 of his 23 NHL seasons with the Carolina franchise and is the team’s all-time leader in nearly every statistical category. Francis, 45, has served as the Hurricanes’ director of player development since November 2006, and was named the assistant general manager on Oct. 4, 2007. Jason Karmanos will reassume the role of vice president and assistant general manager which he held from 1998-2007, before rejoining the team this year as executive director of hockey operations.

The Long Boot

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

DEMPSEY’S RECORD | What handicap?

I’m reading “A Few Seconds of Panic,” the story of sportswriter Stefan Fatsis’ turn as a kicker for the Denver Broncos during the team’s 2006 training camps. It’s a George Plimpton/Paper Lion-like telling of months Fatsis spent in preparation to turn his 43-year-old body into an athlete’s body, taking his years of experience playing recreational soccer and making himself into a kicker who can boot 40-yard field goals. It’s a great book, especially the insights into the lives of pro football players trying to make the team and keep their jobs…

I’m not much of a football fan anymore, but Fatsis’ stories about the fascinating Jason Elam – the former Pro Bowl kicker for Denver – made me think about Tom Dempsey. Elam tied Dempsey’s NFL record with a 63-yard field goal in 1998; Dempsey, who was born with a deformed foot (see above) and hand, booted his in 1970. Here’s a video of the kick, which I saw on TV as a seven-year-old…

Economy Thoughts From A Hockey Guy

Ted Leonsis, the owner of the Washington Capitals, posted this on his blog…it’s interesting reading about his ideas for the economy. You can visit his blog here.

I was recently asked by someone close to the new administration what I would do to jump start our economy and what “out of the box” programs I would implement to help make America great again. I warned this person that what I would have to say wouldn’t be “sweet nothings” and that I believed that we needed to take our medicine and admit defeat and to get real about our problems and some solutions to get us positioned well for the mid and long term. There were no short term solutions because our problems were that deep rooted. I also knew that no politician would ever risk his reelection by suggesting or implementing tough love on our populace but I honestly think that is what is needed.

So, in a nutshell, my 10 crazy ideas not for the timid and I know these ideas will challenge people and get some folks really angry so I apologize in advance:

Make retirement age 70 not 65. Social security benefits are killing our nation. We can’t afford it. People are living longer and retiring earlier. We should make people work and be productive and pay taxes for a longer period of time – heresy I know – but truthful and needed. We need more productivity from all of our workers, 70 is the new 60 anyway. Who said 65 years of age was a retirement birthright anyway? This will save hundreds and hundreds of billions of dollars.

No Medicare or health benefits to people over 85. My dad died at 94 years of age. The majority of the expenses racked up for his Medicaid benefit were from 92 to 94 years of age. People are living longer and using very expensive technology to squeeze a few more years of life for the elderly is a luxury we cannot afford. In the last 50 years or so, we have seen a 10 year added longevity curve just in men and it will soon reach 80 years of age. Our technology and medicines will keep us living longer but the really elderly shouldn’t be eating up an over indexed amount of our health costs that young people pay for. This will save hundreds and hundreds of billions of dollars. This will help us save on social security costs as well.

Mandatory service. All graduating students from college MUST serve in a public service position for two to three years. The Government will pay them a stipend of which 25 percent of all payments go into a mandatory savings plan or the parents’ mandatory savings plan. All college debts must be paid off via the service career and after two to three years, the students can go into the world with real world experience with no debts and with cash savings in the bank. The students should all work in positions with the police; fire departments; hospitals; military; Peace Corps, etc. Help us to rebuild our infra-structure or educational systems. This move will help rebuild a sense of community and teach young adults the power of having no debt and of having savings in the bank. And it will also inject a higher sense of purpose into our young adults.

No tax cuts for the middle class or wealthy for four years. We should focus all of our energies and dollars to lift the poorest of the poor out of poverty. That should be our priority. The poorest of the poor need the help immediately and in all of our budgets, they receive less than 15 percent of all dollars. I would cut the overall budgets but amp up dollars to the ones that need it most. This could save us hundreds of billions of dollars and get more equality into the system; cut waste; and really help those who need it.

Tax cuts in the form of a government grant to a savings account. All other forms of tax cuts would go via check into a mandatory savings account that is established for each American household and placed in an FDIC-insured bank. If we stimulate consumer savings, banks will have money to loan to people and we won’t have to borrow money from other nations. I was amazed that the stimulus checks that were last sent were aimed at people going to a mall and using credit cards to charge up more stuff. We need to keep dollars in our own savings accounts. The government should make savings a mandatory program for each and every household. We will save hundreds and hundreds of billions of dollars in interest payments to foreign nations if we have more savings in US based banks.

Less technology for our military. Technology is hyper expensive to maintain and keep relevant and it allows us to save lives because we send machines to do the work of people. If more people’s lives were at stake in a skirmish or war, our leaders would think twice about sending young Americans to fight for us. We have become so automated and high tech that our bills are astronomical and our trigger fingers are too easily placed on the wrong buttons. Slow down the technology spending for awhile and add more people to the service. It will create jobs, cut costs and make us more concerned about a policing action overseas. This will save us more than $100 billion and the world will be safer.

Stop acting like we are a super world power when we are the biggest debtor in the world. Never in history has a country that owed so much money to foreign governments been seen as a super power. In fact, debtor nations are seen and weak and ineffective and non-aspirational. I would find a way to get some payback from countries, too, that we had helped and were now flourishing. I would stop acting like a worldwide police force or, if I was, I would charge a fee to help. There has got to be a way for Iraq to pay us back for our work and sacrifice in freeing the country from tyranny and oppression. We have sunk literally hundreds and hundreds of billions of dollars into their economy and the war and lost lives and shed blood. What is the payback? I would make our government adhere to the same regulations that companies have to do now in terms of market to market accounting and disclosures and to a Sarbanes-Oxley-like contract between government spending and budgeting. Why should a company be regulated when the government isn’t as it pertains to balance sheets and income statements and fiscal transparency? And isn’t it ironic that Communist countries now have better economies than ours? We need to face facts and stop being a debtor nation and become a savings-based economy.

We need to birth more children. People are living longer and, at the same time, we are having fewer children. At some point soon we will flip and we will have less people being born than are dying off. This is a real problem. It means no growth of populace and productivity will decrease and we will be an old and decrepit nation. We need to celebrate children. We need to reward marriages with tax breaks. We need to reward people having more children. Guess who is the most productive nation on earth now? China. Why? They have all of the manpower and know how to manufacture goods. We need to birth more children to keep the country and economy growing and we need to create programs that shed light on the power of marriage and dual family households. Divorce and single family households are big drivers of poverty and issues for our country. We need to embrace true family values because it has an economic underpinning for our nation besides all of the goodness that comes from a true family environment.

We need to refocus our schools and business schools onto “making stuff” on manufacturing. Our best and brightest should be going into the tech sectors or to Detroit or innovating to ship overseas our green tech. We need to stop graduating people who want to work on Wall Street and think our business is about dollars and esoteric financial instruments. The government should pay for students to go into math – engineering, technology and manufacturing -and no scholarships for Wall Street-oriented positions. We need to be the best manufacturers of cars and appliances and household goods and computers and network systems in the world. When a company buys from the US based partners, they should get a tax break. Keeping our dollars here and not sending them overseas will create an economic stimulus that is beyond our wildest dreams. Once Detroit is reinvented to make hybrid and electric cars and we don’t need to buy foreign oil, our air will be cleaner; our debt will be smaller; and we will save trillions of dollars. It is absolute madness that we borrow a trillion dollars from China and Japan so we can then send it over to OPEC nations to get their oil. Stop that madness.

Government communications. The Government should do a mini-bailout for certain media companies and all newspapers. Traditional media is soon to go out of business. The Government should help prop up these institutions and in payback, all political media should be free. This way politicians won’t be so focused on fundraising and they can have the inventory to tell us what the content of their programs are and the media titans can try to be honest brokers to report on what is really happening. We need a thriving media to keep the process honest and working. The system is broken now. We give dollars to politicians who promise us the world. The politicians then give the monies to media companies to help them broadcast their message in a sound bite “No new taxes” so they can get elected or re-elected. The politicians are then in league with the donors. Let us just short circuit this craziness and have a real platform for communications and keep an independent media business thriving. It would make a lot of sense. If we are helping the banks and soon the car companies, we might as well help the media companies too and in return politicians will get free air time and space and we will be more informed consumers.

So there you go, ten out of the box crazy ideas. Many would work and help us. They would be short term unpopular but would work in the long term and we would leave a better world and a safer world to the next generation.

In Today’s Herald: Online Vacation Stops

By request…we’ve added an online form to our web page for subscribers to enter vacation holds and stops. To see the form, go here.

 

Hockey Stuff: A Rare ‘Own Goal’

You rarely see this in hockey…

The Montreal Canadiens’ Ryan O’Byrne puts the puck in his own net after the team’s goaltender, Carey Price, leaves the ice for an extra attacker on a delayed penalty. The goal, credited to Bill Guerin, enabled the New York Islanders to tie the game at 3. New York went on to win the game in a shootout.

Global Warming Now ‘Climate Change’

AND IT’S GETTING COLDER…

If you follow the reporting on global warming, which the powers that be are now calling “climate change,” you’ll be interested to read The Washington Times’ piece on the subject from Friday’s edition here.

Canes’ Footing Getting More Firm

BEHIND THE GLASS | In Friday’s Herald

It’s not much of a streak, but with wins in their last two games – and solid outings in three in a row, dating to a loss to Atlanta a week ago today – the Carolina Hurricanes seem to be finally gaining some firm purchase on the young NHL season.

If so, it’s been awhile coming.

The team’s record – 10-7-2 at this point, good for sixth in the Eastern Conference – belies the fact that Carolina has been plagued with the kind of inconsistency and stretches of less-than-mediocre play that characterized the last two years.

Even when winning games earlier this season, the Hurricanes did so in something of an ugly manner. They won by having to come from behind and lost by giving up goals in bunches. They got by for a time with defensive lapses, mental breakdowns, shaky goaltending and a roster smarting from a variety of injuries before losing three straight, and four of five, until Sunday’s win over the Tampa Bay Lightning.

The team’s not totally on the right track. Eric Staal is still slumping, with just a single goal (an empty-netter at that) in his last 12 games, and the Hurricanes remain without the services of injured defenseman Frantisek Kaberle and winger Justin Williams. But as a unit, the Hurricanes may be starting to gel. Head coach Peter Laviolette is doing less toying with his line combinations, chemistry seems to be working for the team instead of against it and, to everyone’s relief, goalie Cam Ward is starting to play like…well, Cam Ward.

It’s Ward who holds one key to the rest of the team’s confidence. He’s been in net for the last three games, including Sunday’s win and Tuesday’s battle against the Montreal Canadiens, and for the first time since late winter he’s put together impressive back-to-back-to-back performances. He stopped both shooters he faced in the shootout victory against Tampa – good news, because he’s been notoriously weak in shootouts – and was very strong against a talented Montreal lineup.

In these last three games, Ward’s goals-against average was a shade over 2.00, a full goal below his season’s average, and he stopped 76 of 82 shots, a .926 save percentage that’s also far better than his save percentage to date.

The wins evened the team’s record to 4-4 at home, and with home games tonight (Phoenix Coyotes, 7 p.m.) and Sunday (Nashville Predators, 3 p.m.) there’s a chance to gain ground on division-leading Washington.

Ward’s resurgence has been good to see, but the largest sigh of relief Tuesday came from winger Sergei Samsonov. You’ll remember that Samsonov didn’t score a goal in 23 games with the Chicago Blackhawks last season and was subsequently placed on waivers. After the Canes picked him up, he notched 14 in 38 games. Tuesday’s goal against Montreal was his first in 19 games this season and seemed to give the entire team a lift.

Maybe Staal is next on the lift line…

Hurricanes notes: Captain Rod Brind’Amour moved into sole possession of 50th place on the NHL’s all-time points list with his goal against Tampa Bay Nov. 16. It was Brind’Amour’s 1,127th career point, moving him past Hall-of-Famer Mike Bossy and Hall-of-Famer to-be Joe Nieuwendyk. The goal also tied him with former Hurricane Jeff O’Neill for third place on the franchise’s all-time scoring list, behind only Ron Francis and Kevin Dineen… Winger Justin Williams, who had surgery to repair a torn right Achilles tendon two months ago, is back skating and may return to the lineup well before the 4-to-6 month period he was expected to miss… Carolina’s defensive corps scored all of 133 points (20 goals, 113 assists) in 82 games last season, an average of 1.62 points per game. So far this season, defensemen have racked up 45 points (8 goals, 37 assists) in 19 games – an average of 2.37 points per game, and increase of 46 percent.

The Presidential Debates…In Case You Missed Them

Synchronized debating by Sens. Obama and McCain…

Watch the video here.

Newspapers: History Will Always Need Its First Draft

This is a column written this week by Beth Grace, the executive director of the North Carolina Press Association. A former bureau chief for the Associated Press, Beth has spent 30 years in the newspaper business.

by BETH GRACE

On Nov. 5, I remembered all over again why I love newspapers.

As fast as presses around the world could crank them out, newspapers trumpeted in the largest possible font the outcome of the most historic presidential election of our lifetime – of any lifetime, perhaps.

Everyone, everywhere wanted to share and remember this moment. They talked, phoned, e-mailed, watched TV and listened to the radio. But those who wanted to keep the memory close did what most of us do in times of national trouble or triumph.

They bought the newspaper.

Actually, they bought hundreds of thousands of newspapers.

In North Carolina alone, weekly and daily newspapers produced a few hundred to almost 40,000 extra copies that day when people – subscribers, mingling with those who rarely or never read the paper — began streaming into their lobbies seeking souvenir editions.

Newspapers broke speed records that day to produce more copies (sold at the regular price – no mark-up, mind you) to anyone and everyone who wanted one.

Let me tell you — the crowds that day, that rare chance to order a second press run, the outpouring from subscribers and those who haven’t touched a page of recycled newsprint in years warmed a lot of ink-stained hearts in the newspaper industry.

It’s not every day we are reminded that no matter how hard the economy has hit us, no matter what anyone says about the future of print, no matter what else is happening in the world, newspapers matter.

Newspapers are important.

Newspapers are vital to our collective memory and history.

Newspapers are what publisher Philip Graham once called the “first rough draft of history,” the first place we turn – even now, even with an ocean of information just a mouse click or two away – to learn, to understand, to remember.

They’re the destination of choice for people anxious to read the whole story — and the story behind that story.

Newspapers are a sort of “everyman’s souvenir” of the moments that change our world.

There are some who believe that the electronic media – TV, satellite radio, web sites — will one day erase the need for the printed word and newspapers will cease to exist.

I don’t believe it.

And, I suspect, neither do the thousands and thousands of people who bought those extra papers on Nov. 5.

Nor do those who saved the paper the day after John F. Kennedy was assassinated, the day after man first walked on the moon, the day after Sept. 11, 2001.

Nor do the many, many people who still subscribe faithfully, who know and savor the joy of reading the paper cover to cover with their morning coffee.

Don’t get me wrong. There’s absolutely no reason you can’t save a clip from TV, snatch a screen-shot off the web or download a podcast to your MP3 player.

Gosh, you’ll be able to enjoy those for historical e-moments for … what? About an hour and a half — right up to the moment that technology is wiped out by the next new thing, which based on my on experience will be completely incompatible with whatever you already have in your home.

Newspapers don’t have that problem.

We are the ultimate user-friendly software.

No download instructions needed.

No switch. No mouse. No card. No cord.

Just open your eyes, read and remember.

And here’s the really interesting thing: Newspapers do this every time they publish.

The history of our own lives, our own communities, our own world is reported with the same vigor and dedication every day, every week of the year.

As avidly as we gathered up those Nov. 5 editions, we save and tuck away, safely encased in plastic and secured in a drawer or memory box, the papers that carry the major headlines of our lives: our graduations, our weddings, the birth of our kids, the deaths of our loved ones, the big award our son just won, the job promotion our daughter landed.

For just pocket change, we hold the first draft of our own history, our own life story in our hands.

This is why I don’t believe those who say newspapers won’t always be with us.

Of course they will.

History will always need its first draft.

On Screen: Another Will Smith Gem

Lots of good, promising films coming out between now and Christmas. “Seven Pounds,” starring Will Smith, looks great. Here’s the trailer…

Another Hit From Behind

KOSTOPOULOS GETS THE GATE | Habs forward suspended after hit on Van Ryn

Another hit from behind, another injury, another suspension…here’s the latest from the NHL…

The National Hockey League on Monday suspended Montreal Canadiens forward Tom Kostopoulos for 3 games for a hit from behind on Toronto defenseman Mike Van Ryn in a game Saturday against the Toronto Maple Leafs.

Seven minutes into the game, Van Ryn chased a puck into his end, with Kostopoulos trailing. When he caught Van Ryn, Kostopoulos cross-checked him and drove him face-first into the end boards. Van Ryn suffered a concussion, a broken nose and a broken hand on the play. He had to be taken from the ice on a stretcher, and is expected to miss a month.

Kostopoulos was assessed a roughing minor, a boarding major and a game misconduct.

Capital Punishment

FROM THE ELIAS SPORTS BUREAU…

In the wake of last night’s disaster at the RBC Center comes this tidbit…

Last night four Washington Capitals accounted for all 14 of the team’s scoring points: Alexander Semin (2 goals, 3 assists = 5 points), Nicklas Backstrom (1 goal, 3 assists), Alex Ovechkin (1 goal, 2 assists) and Mike Green (1 goal, 1 assist). It was only the second time since 1987 that an NHL team had 14 or more scoring points in one game with no more than four players responsible for them.

The previous instance was by the Canadiens on Oct. 21, 2000, and the Hurricanes were the opponent in that game as well. Montreal beat Carolina, 5-2, that night with its 14 points garnered by just three players: Brian Savage (3 goals, 2 assists), Martin Rucinsky (1 goal, 4 assists) and Trevor Linden (1 goal, 3 assists).

On Screen: Transporter 3

COMPLETE THE MISSION | In theaters Nov. 26

Shoot ‘em up car-chasing thrillers generally aren’t my thing, but it’s hard not to love the Jason Statham and the “Transporter” series.

The third installment comes out in a few weeks…

Chuck Norris’ Letter to President-Elect Obama

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

CHUCK IS WATCHING | One of Obama’s ‘300 million bosses’

To me, Chuck Norris will always be Walker, Texas Ranger (even though I’ve never seen the show) or the home gym guy on the commercial, working out with Billy Joel’s ex-wife. But these days, in becoming a more couth, refined version of Ted Nugent, the martial arts-legend turned TV star has become someone my boys talk about in can-you-top-this one-liners heard at school:

- Chuck Norris was born in a log cabin he built with his own hands.

- Chuck Norris doesn’t actually write books. The words assemble themselves out of fear.

- Chuck Norris can divide by zero.

- Chuck Norris ordered a Big Mac at Burger King…and got one.

- Some people wear Superman pajamas. Superman wears Chuck Norris pajamas.

- If you Google “Chuck Norris getting beat up,” it generates zero results – it just doesn’t happen.

Add to his resume the job of being an columnist…here’s something he wrote today – an open letter to President-elect Barack Obama…Dear President-elect Obama:

First, congratulations on your victory. The historical magnitude of your presidential win is nothing short of stupendous and a colossal fulfillment of the American dream (an achievement embedded long ago in the equality clauses of the Declaration of Independence).

It’s likely no big surprise that I don’t see eye to eye with you politically. Actually, I stand in stark opposition to most of your politics. Still, I realize that we must learn to work together if we are to see our country get back on track. After Election Day, I asked myself, “How can I work for our new president to help better America?” Then a thought occurred to me. The first question that should be answered is: How will you work for me? After all, “We the People” of the United States employ you, correct?

So here are a few ways you might begin to gain the respect of those who oppose you and to show that your campaign pledges to bridge the divides were not empty promises to get you into office. And these requests I make are based upon the inaugural oath you will make Jan. 20, “I do solemnly swear that I will faithfully execute the office of president of the United States and will, to the best of my ability, preserve, protect and defend the Constitution of the United States.” No doubt these won’t be my only requests through the years, but they serve as a good beginning:

–Use and cite the Constitution. If that constitutional oath (“preserve, protect and defend”) is the central duty of your job description, then I assume we will be hearing often from you about exactly how you are doing just that. There is no replacement for strict adherence, application and defense of the Constitution. And it’s high time that presidents quit reciting the presidential oath tritely and then abandoning its tenets when they enter the Oval Office. You should be quoting from the Constitution publicly as often as a preacher quotes the Bible to his congregation — at least weekly. If you take this oath and challenge seriously, you will limit the powers of federal government, reduce taxes (for everyone), encourage the freedom of religion and expression (even in the public square), and stand up for such things as our right to bear arms. The American public and the government have lost their grip on the content and role of the Constitution, but if you daily choose, you can help to re-educate and model its usage for them.

–Protect American life. Thomas Jefferson wrote in 1809, “The care of human life and happiness, and not their destruction, is the first and only legitimate object of good government.” Those are powerful and enlightening words. Of course, such a role was created and secured in the very fabric of our nation — in the Declaration of Independence. The commitment to protect life should serve as the basis for all you do, even as a foundation for your national defense strategy. I’m sure the first of your secret briefings this past week on our global security threats have opened your eyes to the extensive onslaught of our enemies. Don’t allow your pride, partisanship, personal bias or political abilities to jeopardize the safety of Americans lives. As commander in chief, you are called to preserve American life. Quite frankly, that is why I’m surprised that a man such as you, who professes to fight for minorities, would not recognize the clear value of a human life in a womb. Federal law should not decree the sacrifice of one human life for the preference of another. Both lives should be protected. Otherwise, what do Jefferson’s 1809 words mean? As president, you are called to protect (not destroy) human life; it is the “first and only legitimate object of good government.”

–Lead more from the center. It’s been pointed out by countless pundits, and your track record is clear: You have one of the most liberal records in the Senate. You’ve had the liberty of voting and fighting for an agenda “from the left” as you’ve tried to persuade state and federal lawmakers to do the same. But if you continue to lead our country down a more liberal road, you will follow the peril of Bill Clinton, who stepped into office and initially tried to lift the ban on gays in the military and extend abortion rights, only to prompt the creation of a more balanced and strong Republican Congress in the 1990s. Don’t underestimate the resurrecting power of the conservative voice. You observed in last week’s election how three states across this union voted to protect marriage in their constitutions (the 28th, 29th and 30th states to do so — California, Arizona and Florida).

We will be watching who you choose to be in your Cabinet. We will discern how you lead Pelosi and Reid. We will be observing those you select as candidates for Supreme Court justices. The election is over. No more promises. No more words. You might work well in a team, but this time, you don’t have congressional members to hide behind. You’re on your own — leading the pack — and the whole country is watching. I, especially, am watching. So make sure you lead more from the center.

One of your 300 million bosses,

Chuck Norris