NBey6's Blog

"If you hate a person, you hate something in him that is part of yourself. What isn't part of ourselves doesn't disturb us."

- Herman Hesse -

My youngest son, Malcolm, is celebrating his 4th birthday today (time of birth, 6:18pm) and he is giving out presents. At approx. 3:03pm he said the winning number was 7-3-5. Hopefully we can share in this with others. Let the party begin..............

        

Updated: December 28, 2009, 1:53 PM ET

Report: Panthers won't fire coach, GM

ESPN.com news services

Helping keep the Giants out of the playoffs -- in convincing fashion -- apparently has kept the jobs of Carolina Panthers coach John Fox, his staff and general manager Marty Hurney safe.

According to a report in The Charlotte Observer, the Panthers have offered Fox, his staff and Hurney the chance to return for 2010, a day after a 41-9 victory over the Giants in their last game at Giants Stadium.

 Last week, Carolina (7-8) handed Brett Favre and the Minnesota Vikings their third loss of the season with a 26-7 victory.

But the Panthers won't offer Fox an extension to his contract, which expires after next season during which he is set to make $6 million, the Observer reported, citing unnamed sources.

Carolina started the season 4-7 before struggling quarterback Jake Delhomme was sidelined with a broken finger for what would be the rest of the season.

Delhomme's replacement, Matt Moore has led the Panthers to three wins, throwing for 828 yards and seven touchdowns with one interception in the four games he's started.

Tyra Banks says she's ending her talk show

• Associated Press
• 14 mins ago

NEW YORK – Tyra Banks is pulling the plug on her talk show.

The former model says the syndicated "The Tyra Show" will end after its fifth season. Banks says she's sticking with the reality show "America's Next Top Model" and is forming a new production studio with plans to make movies. She also promised new digital projects, but wouldn't give details.

In a statement on her Web site, Banks also paid tribute to talk-show queen Oprah Winfrey, who's ending her talk show in 2011.

About her own show, Banks told fans: "I've been loving having fun, coming into your living rooms, bedrooms, hair salons for the past five years."

Monday 12-28-09

752 074 100 023 752 347 511 759 550 392 996 655 506 111

415 153 6034 6497 5236 2573 6080 1760 7030 5572 3479

8971 0992 8518 5145 5651 5544

Updated: December 27, 2009, 6:19 PM ET

Sources: Bucs may make run at Cowher

After turning down chances to return to the NFL in previous offseason, former Pittsburgh Steelers coach Bill Cowher is primed to get back in the game this offseason.

Those who know Cowher firmly believe that he plans to coach in 2010, according to two league sources. He is laying the groundwork, making calls to piece together a coaching staff and acting like a man who will be patrolling the sidelines once again next season.

 Many around the league have expected Cowher's name to surface in connection to the Carolina job, and it might. But others also believe that a more likely landing spot might be the Panthers' division-rival Tampa Bay Buccaneers.

Over the past year, Tampa Bay has undergone more changes than any NFL team. More are coming. At the very least, associate head coach/special teams coach Rich Bisaccia is expected to leave the staff. He's widely considered to be on his way to join the University of Tennessee coaching staff, but could also get looks as a college head coach.

Defensive line coach Robert Nunn and defensive backs coach Joe Baker were part of the Jim Bates package, and will not return.

And now there is an increasing sentiment with the Buccaneers organization that head coach Raheem Morris will be one and done. Two weeks ago, CBS announcer Rich Gannon criticized the way Buccaneers practices are run, the latest example of the job being too big for Morris right now.

 If the Buccaneers decide to part ways with Morris as well, then multiple people around the league think Tampa Bay will wind up making a run at Cowher.

League sources labeled as erroneous any speculation the Glazer family which owns the Bucs may be too financially strapped to pursue Cowher. One source added that Joel Glazer, one of the team's owners, recently has expressed strong admiration for Cowher to other owners.

Additionally, those who know the Glazer family noted that they are always prepared to do the dramatic, citing the firing of Tony Dungy and the acquisition of then-Raiders coach Jon Gruden, Dungy's successor, in which the Bucs sent multiple draft picks, including two first rounders, and $8 million cash to Oakland.

Percy Sutton, attorney for Malcolm X, dies at 89

• By CRISTIAN SALAZAR, Associated Press Writer
• Cristian Salazar, Associated Press Writer – 23 mins ago

 

 

NEW YORK – Percy Sutton, the pioneering civil rights attorney who represented Malcolm X before launching successful careers as a political power broker and media mogul, has died. He was 89.

Marissa Shorenstein, a spokeswoman for Gov. David Paterson, confirmed that Sutton died Saturday. She did not know the cause. His daughter, Cheryl Sutton, declined to comment Saturday when reached by phone at her New York City home.

The son of a slave, Percy Sutton became a fixture on 125th Street in Harlem after moving to New York City following his service with the famed Tuskegee Airmen in World War II. His Harlem law office, founded in 1953, represented Malcolm X and the slain activist's family for decades.

The consummate politician, Sutton served in the New York State Assembly before taking over as Manhattan borough president in 1966, becoming the highest-ranking black elected official in the state.

Sutton also mounted unsuccessful campaigns for the U.S. Senate and mayor of New York, and served as political mentor for the Rev. Jesse Jackson's two presidential races.

Jackson recalled Sutton talking about electing a black president as early as 1972. Sutton was influential in getting his 1984 campaign going, he said.

"He never stopped building bridges and laying the groundwork," Jackson said Sunday. "We are very glad to be the beneficiaries of his work."

In a statement released Saturday night, Gov. David Paterson called Sutton a mentor and "one of New York's and this nation's most influential African-American leaders."

"Percy was fiercely loyal, compassionate and a truly kind soul," Paterson said. "He will be missed but his legacy lives on through the next generations of African-Americans he inspired to pursue and fulfill their own dreams and ambitions."

In 1971, with his brother Oliver, Sutton purchased WLIB-AM, making it the first black-owned radio station in New York City. His Inner City Broadcasting Corp. eventually picked up WBLS-FM, which reigned for years as New York's top-rated radio station, before buying stations in Los Angeles, San Francisco, Detroit and San Antonio between 1978-85.

The Texas purchase marked a homecoming for the suave and sophisticated Sutton, born in San Antonio on Nov. 24, 1920, the youngest of 15 children.

Among Sutton's other endeavors was his purchase and renovation of the famed Apollo Theater when the Harlem landmark's demise appeared imminent.

"The Apollo and its staff stand on the shoulders of Mr. Sutton as the theater continues to flourish," said Jonelle Procope, president and CEO of Apollo Theater Foundation Inc. "(He) will be greatly missed and will always be an integral part of the Apollo legacy."

Sutton's father, Samuel, was born into slavery just before the Civil War. The elder Sutton became principal at a segregated San Antonio high school, and he made education a family priority: All 12 of his surviving children attended college.

When he was 13, Percy Sutton endured a traumatic experience that drove him inexorably into the fight for racial equality. A police officer approached Sutton as the teen handed out NAACP pamphlets. "N-----, what are you doing out of your neighborhood?" he asked before beating the youth.

When World War II arrived, Sutton's enlistment attempts were rebuffed by Southern white recruiters. The young man went to New York, where he was accepted and joined the Tuskegee Airmen.

After the war, Sutton earned a law degree in New York while working as a post office clerk and a subway conductor. He served again as an Air Force intelligence officer during the Korean War before returning to Harlem in 1953 and establishing his law office with brother Oliver and a third partner, George Covington.

In addition to representing Malcolm X for a decade until his 1965 assassination, the Sutton firm handled the cases of more than 200 defendants arrested in the South during the 1963-64 civil rights marches. Sutton was also elected to two terms as president of the New York office of the NAACP.

After Malcolm's assassination, Sutton worked as lawyer for Malcolm's widow, Betty Shabazz. He represented her grandson, 12-year-old Malcolm Shabazz, when the youth was accused of setting a 1997 fire that caused her death.

Sutton was elected to the state Legislature in 1965, and quickly emerged as spokesman for its 13 black members. His charisma and eloquence led to his selection as Manhattan borough president in 1966, completing the term of Constance Baker Motley, who was appointed federal judge.

Two years later, Sutton announced a run for the U.S. Senate seat held by Jacob Javits, although he pulled out of the Democratic primary to back Paul O'Dwyer.

Sutton remained in his Manhattan job through 1977, the same year he launched a doomed campaign for mayor that ended with Edward I. Koch defeating six competitors for the Democratic nomination.

Sutton was among the first voices raised against the Vietnam War, surrendering his delegate's seat at the 1968 Democratic convention in protest and supporting anti-war candidate George McGovern four years later against incumbent President Richard Nixon.

In addition to his radio holdings, Sutton also headed a group that owned The Amsterdam News, the second largest black weekly newspaper in the country. The paper was later sold.

Sutton's devotion to Harlem and its people was rarely more evident than when he spent $250,000 to purchase the shuttered Apollo Theater in 1981. The Apollo turned 70 in 2004, a milestone that was unthinkable until Sutton stepped in to save the landmark.

Sutton "retired" in 1991, but his work as an adviser, mentor and confidante to politicians and businessmen never abated. He was among a group of American businessmen selected during the Clinton administration to attend meetings with the Group of Seven (G-7) Nations in 1995-96.

"He was a great man," said Charles Warfield Jr., the president and chief operating officer of ICBC Broadcast Holdings Inc., when reached early Sunday. He declined to comment further out of respect for the wishes of Sutton's family.

The Rev. Al Sharpton said he last visited Sutton in a nursing home Wednesday. He recalled meeting Sutton for the first time at age 12; Four years later, Sutton paid for his trip to a national black political convention because the teenage Sharpton couldn't afford to go.

"He personified the black experience of the 20th century," Sharpton said. "He started the century where blacks were victims. We ended as victors."

Stewart's ready to run through pain on game day

Backup running back doesn't practice on Wednesdays, but he excels when it counts.

By Charles Chandler
charlotteobserver.comPosted: Saturday, Dec. 26, 2009

12/20/09 Carolina Panthers running back Jonathan Stewart acknowledges the cheers of the fans as he runs off the field following the team's victory over the Minnesota Vikings 26-7 Sunday at Bank of America Stadium in Charlotte, NC

 

It's been a weekly routine this season for Carolina Panthers running back Jonathan Stewart to sit out Wednesday practices.

 

He's on the injury report each week with a sore Achilles that's been bothering him for close to a year.

 

When the Panthers picked him 13th overall in the 2008 draft, he was recovering from toe surgery.

 

It's perceived locally and around the NFL that he's rarely healthy and is injury-prone.

 

There's a flaw in that concept, however: Of the five running backs selected in the first round of the '08 draft, Stewart is the only one who's never missed a game.

 

That's right, though he's missed practices aplenty, especially during minicamps, summer school and training camp, Stewart consistently has been available to the Panthers when it matters most.

 

“The trainers and the staff here have been working with me (on the) preparation of my body for the games,” said Stewart. “That's what really counts when it's all said and done.”

 

Stewart is expected to play a leading role today when the Panthers play at the New York Giants. With starting running back DeAngelo Williams hampered by a nagging ankle injury, Stewart is expected to make the second start of his career.

 

Already this season, he's turned in big performances in relief of Williams.

 

Stewart ran for 120 yards and a touchdown on 26 carries in a 16-6 win over Tampa Bay on Dec. 6, when Williams didn't play. Then after Williams had to leave at the end of the first quarter of last week's win over Minnesota, Stewart ended the Vikings' streak of 36 consecutive games without allowing a 100-yard rusher. Stewart finished with 109 yards on 25 carries and scored two touchdowns (one rushing, one receiving) to earn NFC Offensive Player of the Week honors.

 

“They pay us to be ready,” said Stewart. “We play to take on roles like that and to fulfill roles and to make plays. It's a performance-based game. All I want to do is perform. When the opportunity is there, you've just got to take it.”

 

Stewart set a Panthers rookie record with 836 yards rushing last season, but Williams' recent absences have allowed Stewart to flash even more of the multiple skills that made him a prized draft pick after his college career at Oregon.

 

He's big and muscular and sometimes runs over defenders, but also has the quickness and speed to scoot past them.

 

“He's got the burst to get going and he keeps his feet going,” said fullback Brad Hoover. “It's a motor, motor, motor. But when it comes down to contact, he's real physical. I think that's really what sets him apart from most guys in this league.”

 

Truth is, the Panthers have the luxury of two No.1-caliber running backs on their roster. Hoover said he doesn't think there's a drop-off regardless of whether Williams or Stewart are in the lineup.

 

Williams ranks eighth in the NFL with 1,117 yards, but easily could be as high as third – with only 130 more yards – if he hadn't missed playing time with his ankle injury.

 

Stewart ranks 17th in the league with 802 yards.

 

No other team has two backs among the league's top 24 rushers.

 

Williams' injury has enhanced the chance of him and Stewart becoming only the sixth pair of teammates in league history to rush for 1,000 yards in the same season. Stewart needs to average 99 yards in the final two games to accomplish the feat.

 

“That would be nice,” Stewart said. “It would mean a lot. It would really set the tone for the name (and) the brand ‘Double Trouble.'”

 

That's the nickname Williams and Stewart chose for themselves last season.

 

Running backs coach Jim Skipper said having dual 1,000-yard rushers would be good for the entire offense.

 

“It's a feather in the offensive line's cap, a feather for the tight ends, the fullbacks and naturally the running backs,” said Skipper.

 

Stewart and Williams are close friends who remain content about their shared roles in Carolina's offense, according to Stewart.

 

“That's the way this offense is run,” he said. “We understand it and we agree to it.”

 

Despite Stewart's once-weekly absence from practice, Skipper said Stewart stays mentally sharp because of his diligence to prepare via film and playbook study and attentiveness in meetings.

 

“No doubt about it, he's a professional,” said Skipper. “I can bank on him. He's not going to make a mental error. We're not perfect, but you can bank on him. I have no fear when he's out there as far as mental assignments are concerned.”

 

Stewart had to overcome preseason concerns about his Achilles injury in order to keep his game-day durability streak intact. He said there were times during training camp when he wondered if his season would be adversely affected.

 

“Whenever you can't go in practice, you always wonder, ‘How long is this going to last? How long can I bear with the pain?'” he said.

 

“The main thing is finding some kind of mental state where you're thinking positive, just trusting God, really. That's pretty much what this season, for me at least, has said, that the grace of God is with me.”

 

Stewart said he's learned to live – and play – with the pain in his Achilles, which he said is no better now than it was in the summer.

 

“If you punch a punching bag over and over and over, the first couple of times the skin is going to bleed, but after a while, it's like your skin develops extra skin and it becomes tougher,” said Stewart.

 

It helped that trainers came up with the plan for him to sit out Wednesday practices each week to recover from the previous week's game and to let his body rest and heal for the upcoming game.

 

“It just seemed to make more sense to have me miss practice and let me recuperate … rather than going in full blast and missing a couple of days toward the end of the week, then getting it frozen up and having to start it back over again for Sunday,” said Stewart.

 

Hoover said while the Panthers would love to have Stewart at practice more regularly, they're grateful he continues to show up big in games.

 

“It just shows how professional he is … and how he goes about his work,” said Hoover.

 

“(It shows) the determination he has to get on the field. And he comes to play, there's no question about that.”

"Wouldn't life be worth the living wouldn't dreams be coming true, if we kept the Christmas spirit all the whole year through?"

- Author Unknown -

'Avatar' atop Hollywood's record-breaking weekend

10 mins ago

NEW YORK – In Hollywood's biggest-ever box-office weekend, "Avatar" held the top spot while earning only slightly less during its second week of release.

According to studio estimates Sunday, James Cameron's 3-D epic earned $75 million for 20th Century Fox, only a 3 percent drop from its opening weekend total of $77.4 million.

"Sherlock Holmes" followed close behind with $65.4 million, including a record Christmas Day debut of $24.9 million. "Alvin and the Chipmunks: The Squeakquel" took in $50.2 million.

Overall, it was the largest weekend gross with an estimated $278 million in total box office. The previous record was set in July 2008, the weekend that "The Dark Knight" was released.

Christmas is traditionally a big movie day, but it packed a particular wallop this year since it fell on a Friday, boosting weekend totals.

Midday & Evening

** until 12-30-09 **

012 013 017 018 026 027 035 036 039 045 048 049 057 058 067 089 125 126 129 134 135 138 139 147 148 156 157 179 189 234 237 238 246 247 256 269 278 279 345 346 359 368 369 378 458 459 467 468 489 567 579 589 678 679 003 004 008 009 112 116 117 022 224 225 228 229 233 336 337 044 144 445 449 255 355 557 558 066 166 566 669 377 477 778 188 288 588 688 099 399 499 899 111 333 444 666 777 999

Midday & Evening

** until 12-30-09 **

012 013 017 018 026 027 035 036 039 045 048 049 057 058 067 089 125 126 129 134 135 138 139 147 148 156 157 179 189 234 237 238 246 247 256 269 278 279 345 346 359 368 369 378 458 459 467 468 489 567 579 589 678 679 003 004 008 009 112 116 117 022 224 225 228 229 233 336 337 044 144 445 449 255 355 557 558 066 166 566 669 377 477 778 188 288 588 688 099 399 499 899 111 333 444 666 777 999

The human brain is unique in that it is the only container of which it can be said that the more you put into it, the more it will hold.

- Glenn Doman -

Sunday 12-27-09

432, 448, 480, 580, 052, 813, 422, 319, 398

803, 794, 071, 073, 828, 333, 444, 777, 888

1010, 1115, 1489, 5487, 0778, 3408, 6611

6616, 3388, 7722, 1230, 4848, 3948, 3927

Midday & Evening

** until 12-31-09 **

480, 148, 482, 438, 448, 485, 684, 487, 488, 894

390, 319, 923, 339, 493, 593, 693, 937, 398, 399

060, 106, 260, 306, 046, 506, 660, 760, 608, 906

002, 210, 220, 203, 024, 052, 062, 702, 028, 290