NBey6's Blog

"It's not enough that we do our best; sometimes we have to do what's required."

- Winston Churchill -

Helios' Day 3-7-10

082, 162, 407, 056, 372, 362, 052, 482, 498

332, 572, 702, 322, 152, 942, 472, 962, 182

000, 555, 1886, 1228, 6138, 2180, 6948, 8943

Friday, March 5, 2010
Peppers, Bears finalize deal

---

By John Clayton
ESPN.com

Julius Peppers and the Chicago Bears agreed on a six-year deal to bring the top free agent to Chicago.

 

The contract is worth $91.5 million with $42 million guaranteed. Peppers will make $40.5 million over the first three years. The number could increase if he makes the Pro Bowl, records a certain number of sacks or is defensive player of the year.

"It's one thing to play football in this league and make a living, but it's a totally different thing to come to a place with a rich tradition like the Bears," Peppers said.

 

Peppers and his representatives believe his contract compares favorably with the seven-year, $100 million contract Albert Haynesworth received last year from the Washington Redskins.

 

Peppers received $18.2 million from the Carolina Panthers last season. He turned down a four-year, $54 million contract offer from the Panthers last year.

 

Peppers has the potential to make close to $110 million in the seven-year period between 2009 and 2016.

 

"The guy's a monster, he's an animal," Bears defensive end Alex Brown said Thursday on "The Waddle & Silvy Show" on ESPN 1000. "He's the biggest guy and fastest guy I think I've ever seen.

 

"He's as gifted as [linebacker Brian] Urlacher, I think. He's just about 30 pounds heavier. He's unbelievable."

 

The 6-foot-7 Peppers brings uncanny athletic ability but questionable consistency, along with the 81 sacks he collected in eight seasons with Carolina -- 10½ last year. In Chicago, he'll get to play alongside Lance Briggs, Urlacher and Tommie Harris and give a much-needed boost to a defense that ranked 17th overall and tied for 13th in sacks with 35. And maybe, he'll shoot down a reputation for taking plays off, one that he feels is unwarranted.

 

"Sometimes, you're on the field, you get tired," he said. "If I'm not playing as hard on play 66 as I was on play No. 1, then ... come on."  "It's one thing to play football in this league and make a living, but it's a totally different thing to come to a place with a rich tradition like the Bears," Peppers said.

 

Peppers and his representatives believe his contract compares favorably with the seven-year, $100 million contract Albert Haynesworth received last year from the Washington Redskins.

 

Peppers received $18.2 million from the Carolina Panthers last season. He turned down a four-year, $54 million contract offer from the Panthers last year.

 

Peppers has the potential to make close to $110 million in the seven-year period between 2009 and 2016.

 

"The guy's a monster, he's an animal," Bears defensive end Alex Brown said Thursday on "The Waddle & Silvy Show" on ESPN 1000. "He's the biggest guy and fastest guy I think I've ever seen.

 

"He's as gifted as [linebacker Brian] Urlacher, I think. He's just about 30 pounds heavier. He's unbelievable."

 

The 6-foot-7 Peppers brings uncanny athletic ability but questionable consistency, along with the 81 sacks he collected in eight seasons with Carolina -- 10½ last year. In Chicago, he'll get to play alongside Lance Briggs, Urlacher and Tommie Harris and give a much-needed boost to a defense that ranked 17th overall and tied for 13th in sacks with 35. And maybe, he'll shoot down a reputation for taking plays off, one that he feels is unwarranted.

 

"Sometimes, you're on the field, you get tired," he said. "If I'm not playing as hard on play 66 as I was on play No. 1, then ... come on."

High cost of McCourts' divorce: $19 million in fees

• Dodgers' case could be one of the most expensive in California history. Even other high-profile divorce attorneys are surprised.

By Bill Shaikin

latimes.com

6:16 PM PST, March 5, 2010

Saturday 3-6-10

430, 384, 606, 248, 917, 370, 305, 049

047, 683, 097, 923, 613, 111, 555, 666

As of March 1, 2010

Curr	Prev	Name	DOB	Nation	Rank pts	Tours
1	1	Williams, Serena	26/09/81	USA	8645	18
2	2	Safina, Dinara	27/04/86	RUS	6480	18
3	3	Kuznetsova, Svetlana	27/06/85	RUS	5930	19
4	4	Wozniacki, Caroline	11/07/90	DEN	5925	24
5	5	Williams, Venus	17/06/80	USA	5626	17
6	6	Azarenka, Victoria	31/07/89	BLR	5300	17
7	7	Dementieva, Elena	15/10/81	RUS	4855	20
8	8	Radwanska, Agnieszka	06/03/89	POL	3880	23
9	9	Jankovic, Jelena	28/02/85	SRB	3770	20
10	10	Li, Na	26/02/82	CHN	3665	20

As of March 1, 2010

 

Rank	Name & Nationality	Points	Position Moved	Tournaments Played
1	Federer, Roger (SUI)	11,350	0	19
2	Djokovic, Novak (SRB)	8,310	0	21
3	Nadal, Rafael (ESP)	7,520	0	18
4	Murray, Andy (GBR)	7,255	0	17
5	Del Potro, Juan Martin (ARG)	6,265	0	20
6	Davydenko, Nikolay (RUS)	5,290	0	27
7	Soderling, Robin (SWE)	3,855	0	27
8	Roddick, Andy (USA)	3,720	0	21
9	Cilic, Marin (CRO)	2,970	0	23
10	Gonzalez, Fernando (CHI)	2,890	2	19

"The ideal man bears the accidents of life with dignity and grace, making the best of circumstances."

- Aristotle -

Thursday, March 4, 2010
Panthers cut QB Delhomme

---

Associated Press

CHARLOTTE, N.C. -- The Carolina Panthers cut Jake Delhomme late Thursday, just over a year after they gave him a lucrative contract extension only to watch him have his worst season as a pro.

 

Delhomme's agent, Rick Smith, confirmed the move and said Delhomme would wait until Friday to talk to reporters. It signals the Panthers intend to go with Matt Moore or someone new at quarterback for the first time since Delhomme burst onto the scene in 2003 and led Carolina to the Super Bowl.

 

General manager Marty Hurney didn't respond to numerous messages seeking comment.

 

The Panthers also released veteran defensive tackle Damione Lewis on Thursday in a move that saves $5 million in payroll and further depletes the defensive line and sheds even more payroll after the decision not to place the franchise tag on defensive end Julius Peppers.

 

Cutting Delhomme, however, is a major about-face for the organization.

 

Despite committing six turnovers in a playoff loss to Arizona to end the 2008 season, Hurney and coach John Fox were so committed to Delhomme they gave him a new deal in which he's still owed more than $12.5 million in guaranteed money.

 

Delhomme had no legitimate competition in training camp, but then had a miserable 2009 season. After throwing a career-high 18 interceptions, Delhomme was sidelined with a broken finger.

 

Moore came on and had eight touchdown passes and only two interceptions as Carolina won four of its final five games. The Panthers on Wednesday gave him the highest restricted free-agent tender of $3.043 million for one season.

 

Now the 35-year-old Delhomme is out of work, ending his career in Carolina with a 58-40 record as a starter that included a trip to the Super Bowl and an appearance in the NFC championship game after the 2005 season.

 

Delhomme holds almost every team passing record, but cutting him in a season without a salary cap will save some of the hit his contract will have in future years should the cap return.

 

Finances also played a decision for Lewis, who was let go a week after the Panthers sided against giving Peppers more than $20 million with the franchise tag.

 

"My cap number was a little high, about $5 million. Anything can happen in that situation," Lewis said. "With all of this stuff going with the CBA, I tried to be realistic. But I thought it was possible."

 

The 32-year-old Lewis had 41 tackles and a half sack in 16 starts last season as he played with numerous other tackles in Carolina's banged-up line. Lewis had 48 tackles and 3½ sacks in 2008, the first year he replaced Kris Jenkins as a starter.

 

Lewis was signed to a contract extension before the 2008 season, but the deal was restructured last offseason to clear salary-cap space. There was a clause that called for the contract to revert to its old terms if a large bonus wasn't paid this spring. Lewis would have been due $4 million this season and a $1 million roster bonus.

 

"Coach Fox said it was more of an economic deal. He said it wasn't about the way I played," Lewis said. "I feel like I had a good season. The only thing I didn't do was that my sack numbers were down."

 

The move leaves Carolina with no starters from the line that ended last season. Peppers, Tyler Brayton and Hollis Thomas are unrestricted free agents.

 

It points to Carolina turning to young players despite there being no salary cap next season in the final year of the collective bargaining agreement.

 

The Panthers offered tenders to restricted free agents Louis Leonard and Tank Tyler on Wednesday, and signed fellow defensive tackle Ed Johnson last month. They also have high hopes for defensive ends Everette Brown and Charles Johnson.

 

The Panthers will also likely need to sign or draft a quarterback to pair with Moore.

 

The Panthers will also likely need to sign or draft a quarterback to go with Moore. But while Philadelphia Eagles quarterback Michael Vick said on an Atlanta radio station this week that he'd like to play for the Panthers, the team never considered him before last season. Owner Jerry Richardson has shied away from acquiring players with a history of off-field trouble.

"Human beings, by changing the inner attitudes of their minds, can change the outer aspects of their lives."

- William James -

:l Aphrodite's Day l: Midday 3-5-10 Evening

** until 3-8-10 **

013 014 018 023 027 036 045 049 058 059 067 068 126 135 139 148 149 157 158 167 189 234 238 239 247 248 256 257 279 346 347 356 369 378 459 468 567 589 679 689 004 005 009 112 113 117 022 122 225 229 337 338 144 445 446 355 455 558 166 266 077 477 778 779 288 688 788 099 499 599 333 666 999

Midday & Evening

** until 3-8-10 **

015 016 019 024 025 028 029 034 037 038 046 047 056 069 078 079 123 124 127 128 136 137 145 146 159 168 169 178 235 236 245 249 258 259 267 268 289 348 349 358 379 389 469 478 479 568 569 578 789 001 002 006 007 011 114 115 118 119 223 226 227 033 133 339 244 448 055 155 559 668 177 277 088 388 488 889 199 299 699 799 222 888

Midday & Evening

** until 3-8-10 **

015 016 019 024 025 028 029 034 037 038 046 047 056 069 078 079 123 124 127 128 136 137 145 146 159 168 169 178 235 236 245 249 258 259 267 268 289 348 349 358 379 389 469 478 479 568 569 578 789 001 002 006 007 011 114 115 118 119 223 226 227 033 133 339 244 448 055 155 559 668 177 277 088 388 488 889 199 299 699 799 222 888

"Happiness is the full use of your powers along lines of excellence."

- John F. Kennedy -

Girl's arrest for doodling raises concerns about zero tolerance

By Stephanie Chen, CNN

• Alexa Gonzalez, 12, was arrested by NYPD for drawing on her desk
• Critics of zero tolerance policies say school officials, police have gone too far
• Zero tolerance policies became more popular after Columbine, security experts say
• Students in Chicago arrested for food fight; students in L.A. ticketed for tardiness

(CNN) -- There was no profanity, no hate. Just the words, "I love my friends Abby and Faith. Lex was here 2/1/10 :)" scrawled on the classroom desk with a green marker.

 

Alexa Gonzalez, an outgoing 12-year-old who likes to dance and draw, expected a lecture or maybe detention for her doodles earlier this month. Instead, the principal of the Junior High School in Forest Hills, New York, called police, and the seventh-grader was taken across the street to the police precinct.

 

Alexa's hands were cuffed behind her back, and tears gushed as she was escorted from school in front of teachers and -- the worst audience of all for a preadolescent girl -- her classmates.

 

"They put the handcuffs on me, and I couldn't believe it," Alexa recalled. "I didn't want them to see me being handcuffed, thinking I'm a bad person."

 

Alexa is no longer facing suspension, according a spokeswoman for the New York City Department of Education. Still, the case of the doodling preteen is raising concerns about the use of zero tolerance policies in schools.

 

Critics say schools and police have gone too far, overreacting and using well-intended rules for incidents involving nonviolent offenses such as drawing on desks, writing on other school property or talking back to teachers.

 

"We are arresting them at younger and younger ages [in cases] that used to be covered with a trip to the principal's office, not sending children to jail," said Emma Jordan-Simpson, executive director of the Children's Defense Fund, a national children's advocacy group.

 

There aren't any national studies documenting how often minors become involved with police for nonviolent crimes in schools. Tracking the incidents depends on how individual schools keep records. Much of the information remains private, since it involves juveniles.

 

But one thing is sure: Alexa's case isn't the first in the New York area. One of the first cases to gain national notoriety was that of Chelsea Fraser. In 2007, the 13-year-old wrote "Okay" on her desk, and police handcuffed and arrested her. She was one of several students arrested in the class that day; the others were accused of plastering the walls with stickers.

 

At schools across the country, police are being asked to step in. In November, a food fight at a middle school in Chicago, Illinois, resulted in the arrests of 25 children, some as young as 11, according to the Chicago Police Department.

 

The Strategy Center, a California-based civil rights group that tracks zero tolerance policies, found that at least 12,000 tickets were issued to tardy or truant students by Los Angeles Police Department and school security officers in 2008. The tickets tarnished students' records and brought them into the juvenile court system, with fines of up to $250 for repeat offenders.

 

The Strategy Center opposes the system. "The theory is that if we fine them, then they won't be late again," said Manuel Criollo, lead organizer of the "No to Pre-Prison" campaign at The Strategy Center. "But they just end up not going to school at all."

 

His group is trying to stop the LAPD and the school district from issuing the tickets. The Los Angeles School District says the policy is designed to reduce absenteeism.

 

And another California school -- Highland High School in Palmdale -- found that issuing tardiness tickets drastically cut the number of pupils being late for class and helped tone down disruptive behavior. The fifth ticket issued landed a student in juvenile traffic court.

 

In 1998, New York City took its zero tolerance policies to the next level, placing school security officers under the New York City Police Department. Today, there are nearly 5,000 employees in the NYPD School Safety Division. Most are not police officers, but that number exceeds the total police force in Washington, D.C.

 

In contrast, there are only about 3,000 counselors in New York City's public school system. Critics of zero tolerance policies say more attention should be paid to social work, counseling and therapy.

 

"Instead of a graduated discipline approach, we see ... expulsions at the drop of a hat," said Donna Lieberman, an attorney with the New York branch of the American Civil Liberties Union.

 

"If they have been suspended once, their likelihood of being pushed out of the school increases," she said. "They may end up in jail at some point in their life."

 

One of Lieberman's clients was in sixth grade when police arrested her in 2007 for doodling with her friend in class. The child, called M.M. in court filings to protect her identity, tried to get tissues to remove the marks, a complaint states.

 

Lieberman says police subjected M.M. to unlawful search and seizure. A class-action lawsuit, filed in January on behalf of five juveniles, is pending. It maintains that inadequately trained and poorly supervised police personnel are aggressive toward students when no criminal activity is taking place.

 

Several studies have confirmed that the time an expelled child spends away from school increases the chance that child will drop out and wind up in the criminal justice system, according to a January 2010 study from the Advancement Project, a legal action group.

 

Alexa Gonzalez missed three days of school because of her arrest. She spent those days throwing up, and it was a challenge to catch up on her homework when she returned to school, she said. Her mother says she had never been in trouble before the doodling incident.

 

New York attorney Joe Rosenthal, who is representing Alexa, plans to file a lawsuit accusing police and school officials of violating Alexa's constitutional rights. New York City Department of Education officials declined to comment specifically on any possible legal matters.

 

"Our mission is to make sure that public schools are a safe and supportive environment for all students," said Margie Feinberg, an education department spokeswoman.

 

Several media outlets have reported that school officials admitted the arrest was a "mistake," but when asked by CNN, Feinberg declined to comment specifically on the incident. She referred CNN to the NYPD.

 

The NYPD did not return CNN's repeated phone calls and e-mails. It is unknown whether charges will be pressed against Alexa.

 

Kenneth Trump, a security expert who founded the National School Safety and Security Services consulting firm, said focusing on security is essential to the safety of other students. He said zero tolerance policies can work if "common sense is applied."

 

Michael Soguero recalls being arrested himself in 2005 when, as principal at Bronx Guild School, he tried to stop an officer from handcuffing one of his students. A charge of assault against him was later dropped. He says police working in schools need specific training on how to work with children.

 

In Clayton County, Georgia, juvenile court judge Steven Teske is working to reshape zero tolerance policies in schools. He wants the courts to be a last resort. In 2003, he created a program in Clayton County's schools that distinguishes felonies from misdemeanors.

 

The result? The number of students detained by the school fell by 83 percent, his report found. The number of weapons detected on campus declined by 73 percent.

 

Last week, after hearing about 12-year-old Alexa's arrest in New York, he wasn't shocked.

 

"There is zero intelligence when you start applying zero tolerance across the board," he said. "Stupid and ridiculous things start happening."