A New Baby for Sandy

A couple of weeks ago I had blogged about Sandra Bullock and her husband that had cheated on her with Michelle McGee. A story recently came out that she had adopted a baby boy, Luis Bardo Bullock, he was born in New Orleans. I was reading up on Sandra Bullock's history in People, the magazine and she was really involved in cleaning up after Hurricane Katrina and I think it was important to her to adopt a child from New Orleans.

Bullock has been on a Roller Coaster emotionally in the public sphere. The fact that she kept her baby a secret from the media for over three months is amazing. She was quoted saying, "It's like he's always been a part of our lives." I am so happy for her and she actually looks happy in the pictures that I have seen in the magazine People and on the Internet.

James and Bullock actually started the adoption process over four years ago and brought Luis home in January but decided to keep the news to themselves until after the Oscars. Then after the Oscars we all know what happened and Bullock has decided to finalize the adoption as a single parent.
http://www.people.com/people/package/article/0,,20364464_20364639,00.html

In the next article I found George Lopez, close friend of Bullock and actor, says that he is extremely happy for Bullock and he has declared himself a proud "uncle". Lopez was quoted saying, "Sandra is a loving, giving person, and Luis could not be in a better home and she could not be happier." I truly believe that Sandra Bullock is America's sweetheart and this quote just goes to show that the statement is true.
http://www.people.com/people/article/0,,20366018,00.html

The fact that Sandra Bullock hid her news from the media for over three months blows my mind, because even if Stars try and hide their big news from the media it somehow leaks out. This story didn't leak out and I think that just goes to show you that the media doesn't always get all the good stories.

Is the trouble over for Big Ben, or just starting?

Ben Roethlisberger, the quarterback for my favorite football team, the Pittsburgh Steelers has been charged twice in the past few years with sexual assault. The most recent one occured in Milledgville, Georgia on an Friday morning. The alledged victim was treated and released, this isn't the first time Big Ben has alledgedly sexually assaulted a woman in a club, one happening in Reno, Nevada in 2008. The women in Reno has just recently decided to sue. http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2010/03/05/ben-roethlisberger-sexual_n_487877.html

In lieu of his recent troubles, the NFL commissioner has decided to suspend hime the first six games of next season. Commissioner, Roger Goodell punished Roethlisberger a week after he was not charged. He has to undergo a comprehensive behavioral evaulation, if he doesn't comply with the NFL's ruling it could be a longer suspension. In addition to bein suspended 4-6 games he can't participate in Steelers' offseason activity until he completes the evalutaion. He can participate in training camps and preseason games in the summer as long as he is cleared by the evaluators and Goodell. He is the first player suspended under Gooddell under the conduct policy who hasn't been arrested or charged with a crime. There is a list on http://www.espn.com/ of 16 NFL players that have been suspended since Goodell took office in 2006. In a letter written by Roger Goodell to Roethlisberger, "In your six years in the NFL, you have thrilled and now disappointed a great many people. I urge you to take full advantage of this opportuity to get your life and career back on track."http://sports.espn.go.com/nfl/news/story?id=5121614

I'm a Steelers fan and I can't say that I'm upset with what has happened recently, I think that this is just the right thing for Ben to do. People may disagree with what I say but I still think it's a good idea that he got suspended, so hoepfully that this will get him back on track. I think by suspending him and the fact that he has to stand and watch someone else do his job. Hopefully that will trigger something in him and he will get his life back on track.

Ther have been trade rumors recently and the Steelers have talked to 10 teams, the Rams or Bills are not interested. Art Rooney, the team's President, says they can't answer questions about trades so close to the NFL draft. Troy Polamau, Roethlisberger's teammate, had this to say, "I think if Ben has shown anything, it's that he's able to recover whenever he has been face with adversity, everything is not always so peachy. Not everybody has that unblemished image. If he has that repentance, the way he is going to have it to continue to live his life, this will be the great example of that."

I'm not trying to stick up for him, we all know what he did was wrong, and hopefully he realizes that. Also, in remembering the movie we watched in class. I wonder how she was dressed and how she was acting. If you were in a bar and you saw an NFL quarterback? What do you think you would do?

It's Over.

We have all heard the news about the University of North Dakota's long battle with nickname change. It finally came to an end a couple of days ago, North Dakota State Board of Higher education has decided to drop the logo and nickname of the Fightin Sioux during a news conference in Grand Forks on Friday, April 9th. This decision has made people angry and frustarated, and others don't really care about it. If you had attened a Sioux game prior to the decision, the national anthem was sung and instead of "home of the brave" it was "home of the Sioux". Many people don't think that will ever change because like most other colleges UND is steeped in tradition. Another example of this kind of tradition is the Civil war even though it ended over a hundred years ago, people in the South still fly Confederate flgas. Associations and identities don't change over-night or even in a couple of years, but maybe it will change over a few generations.

One of my friends attends UND and she was really upset about the board's decision and she texted me and said what am I going to do with all my Sioux stuff? Then by the end of the conversation she decided to still wear it around in support of the tradition. In an article written by the Fargo forum, the writer has said that most people from, in, or around North Dakota will still proudly wear Fighting Sioux apparel, which I can't blame them for because it's the tradition of the school Von Pinnon states in his article, "UND freshmen will be indoctrinated in the Fighting Sioux tradition by upperclassmen. Underground clubs may form to keep the traditions alive. People will identify as either Fighting supporters or not."
http://www.inforum.com/event/article/id/275057

In the Forum's Saturday edition in the Sports section, they had interviewed the hockey coach who said that in the hockey locker-room there is a quote that reminds the players to honor the Sioux tribes in how they perform and carry themselves for each game. Even if the team isn't the Fighting Sioux anymore it isn't going to change the team's approach. He also sated that, he wants to honor the traditions of the Fighting Sioux in the right way.
http://www.inforum.com/event/article/id/275145/group/Sports

The media in North Dakota has been going crazy about this, I realized the media has only interviewd the coaches, players, and other people connected to the University, but nobody has interviewed the people, the Sioux nation, that it has really affected. There are even groups on Facebook that thousands of people have joined, there are some people that think if they join then the nickname won't be chanaged, but the decision has been made, now drop it.

Who’s Next?

All we have been hearing about in the media lately is about Tiger Woods' mistresses or Jesse James and Sandra Bullock's marriage that's going to the pits. Don't get me wrong I like gossip just as much as the next girl but the way the media has been covering these two stories is getting ridiculous. We all remember when Brad and Jen's marriage got broken up by rumors of infidelity, and we couldn't believe that Hollywood's perfect marriage was done but it was and we moved on from it. Then something strange happened the women who had won the Oscar's leading lady award, their marriages were ending, ladies such as: Halle Berry, Nicole Kidman, Julia Roberts, Kate Winslet, and most recently Sandra Bullock. This is how it goes, they win their award and gush on and on about how their husbands are their rocks and they couldn't live without them and pretty soon their marriages are ended. Are the Oscars' Leading Ladies Cursed?

According to a website I found when I was searching said that the couple are no longer living in the same house, and Bullock had moved out only days before the report of infidelity had surfaced. I had also read somewhere that a tabloid had contacted Bullock about the rumors and that's how she found about it, which I personally think is weird.

The woman that Jesse James had an 11-month affair with was a model that wanted to get a modeling gig with West Coast Choppers, she sent a friend request to them and James contacted her personally and told her to e-mail him on his personal e-mail account. After this had happened Michelle drove two hours to L.A. and began the affair that included 5 weeks of sex. Another magazine got an interview with Michelle McGee's boss, Danielle Dee Madrano where she modeled, that James and McGee had been seeing each other since May 2009. She also states that Bullock's and James' marriage was not as genuine as it had appeared.

"She told me that Jesse's marriage to Sandra was for publicity, and that's why he did Donald Trump's show, 'Celebrity Apprentice.' He never called on Sandra for money or influence because their marriage was a sham."

Sandra Bullock & Jesse James Split? The Real Story PopEater.com

First of all, I find this extremely hard to believe that James would marry Bullock for money, if you would have seen pictures of them before this infidelity reports had surfaced. They looked genuinely happy. I was watching some of the highlights for the Oscars and I watched Bullock give her acceptance speech and she spoke directly to her husband and said something to the effect that she loves him so much and is so happy with him. He looked back at her and looked like he was in love with her.

Lastly, I can't believe that McGee would want to break up a marriage like that, does she think that James would leave Bullock for her? I guess I don't understand some people like that.

The media has been going crazy about women and their husband's infidelity. What if it was just a normal regular person doing the cheating, would they put their stories in the local newspaper with the pictures of their husband's mistress or mistresses? Or would they try and cover it up because it's their friends. Why can't media try and do that? I guess it's because then we wouldn't have anything to talk about.

Getting Ready for the Flood

There have been rumors going around for a couple of months now about if we were going to flood or we weren't going to flood. The National Weather Service has said that there is a high chance that it will still flood in Western, West-Central, and in the south-central part of the state even with the recent dry spell. It also said that the flood risk is lower than it was 2 weeks ago, but the risk could go up again with more snow or rain. The governor, John Hoeven, has released a statement that says he will ask President Barack Obama to declare a presidential emergency which is different than a presidential disaster declaration, he also says that it would free up a lot of federal money to help with the preparations of anticipated Spring flooding. The Fargo city officials have released a flood evacuation guide to the public that is available on the internet. The Army Corp of Engineers has been studying 2 earthen dikes in Williston and Fort Yates, these are used to store excess water from the Mississippi River during times of high water, they have both been given the rating of moderate flood protection. The Corps spokesperson has released a statement, the two dikes present no immediate danger to the public, but the corps will implement risk-reduction measures at both areas to warrant if there is more work that is needed. The measures will included updated emergency action plans and training exercises. http://news.google.com/news/search?aq=f&um=1&cf=all&ned=us&hl=en&q=North++Dakota+flooding

According to Steve Urness on newsdakota.com, North Dakota congressman Earl Pomeroy visited Valley City officials to get their input on how FEMA can provide better assistance to the community during and after flooding. Pomeroy says he intends to pass along the city officials' concerns and input to FEMA administrator Greg Fugate. Pomeroy stated that he is more worried about severe flood protection than his upcoming re-election in November. In this article it says the National Weather Service is expecting it to flood on the James and Sheyenne rivers. The Bald Hill Dam manager, Rich Scheuneman showed Pomeroy and the city officials aerial views of the Upper Basin of the Sheyenne that show the snow pack and moisture content are close in relation to last year. On Friday there was another flood forecast released for our region. http://www.newsdakota.com/favicon.ico

In preparation of the next flood, citizens of Fargo have been sandbagging since March 1^st, and are getting them stockpiled just in case of another serious flood. Inmates, city officials, and volunteers are part of the people that have been doing this. Fargo is at risk for 90% flooding, and 19% record flooding. Midwest prepares for flooding

The Skating Drought has Ended

For the first time since 1988, an American has won gold in men's figure skating. Evan Lysacek beat out Evgeni Plushenko by 1.31 points. Lysacek wasn't even picked to win the medal, Plushenko, a Russian team member, was retired for three years, and came out of retirement to make history by winning a second straight gold medal. Lysacek was at the top of the skating order and Plushenko the last. Lysacek had skated the best routine of his life. I watched his performance and was amazed at the fact that he was able to do all of this, entertain the crowd with his outstanding control, and the ending jump was spectacular, he stared down the judges and kept looking at them throughout his spinning back circles. At the end of his routine he pumped his hands in the air, and screamed "Yes, Yes, Yes!!" and was ecstatic about the way he had performed. He was awarded a score of 257.67, which was his career best. His coach, who has coached many skating stars and had yet to coach one all the way to a Gold medal, which was soon to change. Plushenko was set to skate last and his performance was rusty, which was to be expected because he had just come out of retirement. He skated with flair and dramatic moves like he is prone too, and drew laughs from the crowd with his saucy tango impression. As I was watching him perform I noticed that he skated like he was absolutely, positively sure that he would be getting another gold medal to hang up on his wall. All of the experts say on the website where I was looking could see that Plushenko was off on his jumps, and his spins weren't as good as Lysacek. After his skating performance he held up his two index fingers, as if to say, "Was there ever any question?" Plushenko said he was proud of the way he skated, he brought up the fact that he had been retired for 3 ½ years and to get a silver medal is pretty awesome. I didn't see this part, but he took of the silver medal off right after he got off of the ice. . http://www.nbcolympics.com/news-features/news/newsid=429679.html A couple of days later, a news story came out that Plushenko was mad about the judging and the way it ended in Vancouver. The way I read the article was that he is a better skater than Lysacek and he will be back in 4 years to recapture his title. I can understand that it's probably really frustrating that you got a silver medal after you came out of retirement to specifically win another gold medal, but show some respect for the other athletes and keep your attitude to yourself. Lysacek responded by saying that Plushenko is a bad loser, and is upset that a skater that he looked up to while growing up, would actually cut him down in the biggest moment of his life. I think it's ridiculous when athletes act like 5-year olds, and think they should get their way. When I was searching for some research on this topic I typed in Evan Lysacek winning the gold medal and a ton of sites came up saying that you could watch the clip of his performance here, or read all about it here. This is a huge deal for the American athletes in the 2010 Winter Olympics and for all of America, and I'm proud to say that I am an American. http://www.brisbanetimes.com.au/sport/winter-olympics/ice-man-plushenko-blasts-judges-20100221-on3c.html

Kurt Warner-future Hall of Famer?

Kurt Warner and the Cardinals advanced to the play-offs one year after falling to the Pittsburgh Steelers in Super Bowl 44. They made it past the Green Bay Packers with a high scoring offensive shoot-out that was ironically ended with an amazing defensive play in over-time. Warner was quoted, "It was just one of those games where I felt great, I loved our playing." During the game, Rodgers was intercepted on the first play and it just went off from there. The Cardinals had a 24-10 lead going into half-time. But this game was one for the record books and the Packers really came back charging in the second half, but as I stated before it was a record breaking game as the last one was in 1995 with Philadelphia and Detroit. Kurt Warner played an amazing game improving his play-off record to 9-3, he finished 29 for 33 for 379 yards and no interceptions. The five touchdowns matched his career best, he ended the game with four incompletions and no interceptions. In his post-game interview, Warner said, "Whew, anybody else tired?" The next Sunday they were set to play the high-flying and hard-hitting Saints of New Orleans. http://espn.go.com/nfl/recap?gameId=300110022
The next Sunday the game opened with a 70-yard run from the scrimmage by Tim Hightower and everyone who was watching the game thought if it starts that way, the Cardinals were well on their way to another Super Bowl trip, but soon after the Saints took over play after play. In the end, the Cardinals lost 45-14 and Drew Brees ended up throwing for over 300 yards, he threw to Shockey, Henderson, and Colston each for 1 touchdown. You could definately tell if you watched the game that Kurt Warner was slow getting up and he was playing hard and well as he went 17 of 26 for 206 yards. He said, "It didn't end the way we wanted it to." Another factor of the game was the Cardinals had a depleted secondary defense and the Saints exploited it. http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2010/01/16/saints-crush-cardinals-nf_n_426024.html
When Warner was asked if he was retiring he said he would wait for one week and tell fans of football everywhere his decisison. His decisison was to hang up his cleats, and I was a little suprised but once I thought about the two organzitions he played for and how he brought them to the highest stage in the world. I definately think Kurt Warner should be voted in the Hall of Fame as soon as he can be.