Throughout my life, i have experienced many changes during numerous global historical events whether it be ffamily academics, athletics, but also sinse from my chilshood to high school experiences from 1996-2012 always evolving as a person.
When i was born in 1996, I came in the world as the second child. I had already had a sister named amaya. It was just us three for about three years. My family has always been clise in my life, as time went by my brothers were bor. They are twins, my family begin to change. I't became bigger and my mom had gotten married. NOw in 2012 We are still together, growing up. My older sister is now moving own to her adult stage in her life as she is about to grafduate from college and most another step in life.
My academics has always been good. I started school when i was four years old. It was pre k, where they teach you basic things before you actually start real school. I had went to school for only a half day. As pre k was up i enetered a higher grade level, where we stayed in school a full day. It became more advance and i became more skillful and had moree knowledge. I reached a point in school where i had to start taking test to move me to the next grade level... As I passed the test i continued to progess in school and get promoted to the next grade level. It started in elementary and moved to middle school and now i am in high school. As I go own with school it is becomming more difficultand i am now focused on one goal, whiches is Trying to graduate to move to the collegent level.
I started playing sports when i was four. My mom and dad put me in soccer. I loved the sport so much i couldnt wait to play. I began to pick up the skills and game real well as i was learning how to play the game of soccer. Once i learned the game i was unstoppable no one could catch me and i was scoring all the goals. I started out playing rec ball. But as I began to grow up it became more of a profession, i began to compete against people that were around my talent level instead of people that were under me. It wasnt really difficult to me because i loved competion. I won lots of chamionships and games. Coimpetition wasnt going to stop me, it just made me try harder. Now that i am in high school, i am no longer playing soccer any more i am playing basketball. I regret quitting soccer because i made a choice and that choice was to quit something i love for something i like. I wish i would have thought things over, but its never too late to go back. I only been out for a year but i need to get my skills back how they were before i quit in order to succeed.
Throughout my life, i have experienced many changes during numerous global historical events whether it be ffamily academics, athletics, but also sinse from my chilshood to high school experiences from 1996-2012 always evolving as a person. As i you grow older you learned and reconize what are changing and what are staying the same through your life spand.
Monday, May 21, 2012
Sunday, May 20, 2012
System; Shooting "Avoidable"
System; Shooting "Avoidable"
UPDATE: The slow trickle of new info on the Trayvon Martin murder case turned into a flood Thursday afternoon when Florida prosecutors turned over a mountain of court documents, videos and photographs to media outlets large and small.
Those are the two early takeaways from hundreds of pages of evidence made public Thursday.
| Posted Thursday, May 17, 2012, at 5:36 PM ETUPDATE: The slow trickle of new info on the Trayvon Martin murder case turned into a flood Thursday afternoon when Florida prosecutors turned over a mountain of court documents, videos and photographs to media outlets large and small.
There are 67 CDs worth of evidence, including photos from the scene, so it will probably take some time for reporters to finish sorting through it all. But in the meantime, here are the early takeaways that will likely have people talking.
1) "Avoidable" - Local police believed that the encounter between George Zimmerman and Martin could have been avoided if the 28-year-old neighborhood watch volunteer would have heeded the 911 dispatcher's advice and stayed put, or simply identified himself to Martin at the outset.
NPR flags the section in question: "The encounter between George Zimmerman and Trayvon Martin was ultimately avoidable by Zimmerman, if Zimmerman had remained in his vehicle and awaited the arrival of law enforcement, or conversely if he had identified himself to Martin as a concerned citizen and initiated dialog in an effort to dispel each party's concern," the investigators wrote. Read more over at NPR.
2) Drugs - Medical examiners discovered that Martin had drugs in his system at the time of the shooting. From ABC News: "The autopsy report shows traces of the drug THC, which is found in marijuana, in Martin's blood and urine." Read more over at ABC News, and check out a .pdf of the autopsy report here (via CNN).
3) Crime-scene photo - The trove of evidence includes a photo of Zimmerman with a bloody nose on the night that Martin was shot and killed. A report from emergency personnel also said that the 28-year-old had a 1-inch laceration on his head, along with an abrasion on his forehead. From the Associated Press: "'Bleeding tenderness to his nose, and a small laceration to the back of his head. All injuries have minor bleeding,' paramedic Michael Brandy wrote about Zimmerman’s injuries in the report."
4) What Martin had on him - From the Associated Press: "A police report says Martin had $40.15, Skittles candy, a red lighter, headphones and a photo pin in his pocket. He had been shot once in the chest and was pronounced dead at the scene." Read more over at the AP.
5) What's missing - The Miami Herald: "[I]ncluded are cell phone records for Zimmerman, Trayvon Martin, and the girl Trayvon chatted with in the moments before his death. ... Not included: [Zimmerman's] three statements to police or the video-taped reenactment he did for detectives the day after he killed Trayvon. Under Florida law, confessions are exempt from public records laws." Read more over at the Herald.
The documents were released as part of the discovery process, during which the state is required to turn over their evidence to the defense. They did that earlier in the week (which may account for at least some of the earlier leaks) and then on Thursday gave the media access through a secure online site.
Thursday, May 17: A single gunshot wound to the chest fired at "intermediate range" killed Trayvon Martin, according to an autopsy report submitted to the court.
NBC News reviewed the document on Wednesday. The medical examiner in Volusia County, Fla. also noted one small, fresh cut on Martin's left ring finger below the knuckle.
The report is apparently one of several documents leaking to the media from the pile of evidence related to the second-degree murder charges Zimmerman faces for Martin's shooting death. On Wednesday, a medical report prepared by Zimmerman's family doctor was reviewed by ABC News, indicating that Zimmerman had a broken nose, two black eyes, and cuts on the back of his head the day after he shot and killed Trayvon Martin.
The list of evidence was disclosed to the defense in a summary released Wednesday. According to NBC, the rest of the evidence is expected to go public soon.
Wednesday, May 16: George Zimmerman had a broken nose, two black eyes, and two cuts on the back of his head the day after he shot and killed Trayvon Martin, according to a medical report from his family doctor.
ABC News broke the news of the medical report Tuesday evening, shortly before the court made it public. According to the medical report, the 28-year-old neighborhood-watch volunteer also suffered bruising along his upper lip and cheek and reported lower back pain. One of the two cuts to the back of his head was nearly an inch long, while the other was about a quarter inch. In addition to the physical injuries, Zimmerman also complained of stress and "occasional nausea when thinking about violence."
The medical report also shows, however, that Zimmerman declined hospitalization the night of the shooting, which he maintains was in self-defense, and also did not follow a recommendation to make a follow-up appointment with an ear, nose, and throat doctor.
Zimmerman's doctor wrote that it was "imperative" that the 28-year-old see his psychologist following the incident. Prior to the Feb. 26 shooting, Zimmerman had been prescribed Adderall and Temazepam. As ABC news notes, those drugs can occasionally produce side effects that include agitation and mood swings (but only in fewer than 10 percent of patients).
The report boosts Zimmerman's claim that he was injured in an altercation with Martin, leading to the teenager's shooting death. But it does little to directly contradict the prosecution's assertion that Zimmerman initiated the confrontation after profiling the 17-year-old African-American.
Prosecutors released a summary of evidence on Tuesday, as CNN reports. The medical report is included in the documents eligible for the defense's use.
NAACP Board Votes in Support of Same-Sex Marriage
By MARISA TAYLOR
May 20, 2012
"The mission of the NAACP has always been to ensure the political, social and economic equality of all people," said Roslyn M. Brock, chairman of the NAACP's board of directors, in a statement. "We have and will oppose efforts to codify discrimination into law."
"The NAACP's support for marriage equality is deeply rooted in the Fourteenth Amendment of the United States Constitution and equal protection of all people," said Benjamin Todd Jealous, president and CEO of the NAACP, in a statement.
The announcement from the civil rights organization arrived on the heels of President Barack Obama's own recent statement in support of same-sex marriage in the United States.
The African-American community has been slow to warm to the idea of same-sex marriage, but the NAACP's statement on Saturday, when paired with recent endorsements by President Obama and rapper Jay-Z, could indicate that the tide in the black community is flowing in the direction of marriage equality.
David Guralnick, Detroit News/AP Photo
U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder speaks at... View Full Size
In an ABC News/Washington Post poll following President Obama's announcement of his support for same-sex marriage, 54 percent of African-Americans agreed with him. But in similar polls in mid-2011 and early 2012, just 41 percent of African-Americans took the same stance.
NAACP made its proclamation from a Miami, Fla.-based gathering of its board of directors, where only two board members expressed opposition to same-sex marriage, according to a tweet from NAACP senior vice president for development Maxim Thorne.
The Gay & Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation issued a glowing statement following NAACP's announcement, saying, "We applaud President Ben Jealous and the NAACP Board of Directors for their leadership on this issue."
GLAAD President Herndon Graddick said in a statement: "Across races, faith traditions, and political persuasions, a majority of our culture recognizes that denying gay couples the chance at happiness that comes with being married is unfair and un-American."
Newark, N.J. Mayor Cory Booker also tweeted his support of the NAACP's position, writing, "'Arc of the universe is long but it bends toward justice' RT @dawnnozziwitter: It's on NAACP website under press release WOOHOO! About time!"
Quake in Italy Kills 4
May 20, 2012
A 6.0-magnitude earthquake has rattled northern Italy, killing at least four people, injuring dozens and damaging buildings.
The U.S. Geological Survey says the quake was centered about 35 kilometers north-northwest of the city of Bologna at a depth of 5 kilometers.
It struck about 4 a.m. local time Sunday, sending panic-stricken residents running into the streets.
Three people died when a ceramics factory collapsed in the town of Sant'Agostino. Another person died in Ponte Rodoni do Bondeno, just northwest of Ferrara.
The quake was followed by a series of aftershocks. The largest was a 5.1-magnitude aftershock about an hour later.
Streets were filled with debris and people in the early hours Sunday, as locals assessed the damage of their homes and businesses. Some old church steeples and towers had also collapsed
The U.S. Geological Survey says the quake was centered about 35 kilometers north-northwest of the city of Bologna at a depth of 5 kilometers.
It struck about 4 a.m. local time Sunday, sending panic-stricken residents running into the streets.
Three people died when a ceramics factory collapsed in the town of Sant'Agostino. Another person died in Ponte Rodoni do Bondeno, just northwest of Ferrara.
The quake was followed by a series of aftershocks. The largest was a 5.1-magnitude aftershock about an hour later.
Streets were filled with debris and people in the early hours Sunday, as locals assessed the damage of their homes and businesses. Some old church steeples and towers had also collapsed
Kobe Bryant Again Calls Out Pau Gasol Following Loss to Thunder
Kobe Bryant Again Calls Out Pau Gasol Following Loss to Thunder
Bryant has targeted Gasol with public criticism from time to time since the big man joined Los Angeles in 2008, so perhaps we shouldn't be too surprised to see it happen again following the Lakers' Game 4 loss to the Thunder on Saturday.
Gasol's turnover late in the fourth quarter resulted in Kevin Durant knocking down a game-winning 3-pointer with 13.7 seconds left to give the Thunder a 3-1 series edge. After the defeat, Bryant threw some blame in Gasol's direction.
"Pau's got to be more assertive," Bryant said. "He's the guy they're leaving [open]. When he's catching the ball, he's looking to pass. He's got to be aggressive. He's got to shoot the ball or drive the ball to the basket. He will be next game."
Bryant, who noted the turnover was a bad play on Gasol's part, also thought Gasol didn't attack the basket enough when Oklahoma City's Serge Ibaka wandered off him to help out against Andrew Bynum.
"He's looking to swing the ball too much," Bryant said. "He's got to take his shot."
Gasol has been inconsistent, but he's not ready to shoulder all of the blame, which was evident by his postgame comments.
"It's one play, one mistake," Gasol said of his turnover at the end of Game 4. "There were a lot of mistakes in that fourth quarter, a lot of mistakes throughout the game. So, obviously, if I could have gone back, maybe I could have shot it and I would have. It's one play, obviously, at a critical time, but I don't feel like we lost the game because of one turnover."
The Lakers are now one loss away from calling it a season. The Thunder will look to close them out in Oklahoma City on Monday.
Sunday, April 15, 2012
Maufacturing, Transportation, communication
The impact of Technology changed numerous industries, while they continued to flourish in North America including manufacturing, communication, and transprtation from 1750-2000 improving the way of life.
Idustry the manufacturing industry the pre civil war ocurred and the slaves that were living in North America was a cheap labor source. The cotton gin The end of slavery brought about the need for the cotton gin and other machinery, but you cant compete with free labor. The cotton gin developed in 1793 marked a major turning point in the economic history of the Southern United States. Prior to this time, the major commodities produced and exported by the South were tobacco and rice. Only with the ability to quickly separate short-staple cotton fiber from its seed was the future of the Southern economy, and its use of slave labor, tied to cotton production. It made the poulation grow. The poulation is still growing from todays society and our income and finance and cost of living has gone up
Road transport was not suitable for heavy, bulky or fragile goods. A horse and cart could only transport around 1tonne along most of the roads and the ride was sometimes very difficult. In contrast, a horse could move 40tonnes of goods on a barge and the weight didn't really matter because of buoyancy. Around 1750, most businesses such as mines and potteries were considering building canals to carry their goods as it would be cheaper, not having to pay turnpike tolls. It started though with horse and buggies but the the time and distance depended on how slow it was. The indusrial revelution and imperialism made transportation more efficient. Labor and wages decressed though.
Technology is constantly altering the way we live our lives. From how we eat to how we travel and work to how we entertain ourselves, technology has become an integral part of our day. However, the aspect of our lives that has been most impacted is likely the way we communicate with one another. These changes have been for both better and worse, but have unequivocally impacted the way we interact with the people in our lives.Technology has changed how when contact each other, when, and where. With cell phone service being much more consistent than it was in the 1990s, and a growing market of smartphones with mobile internet and email access, messages can literally be transmitted anywhere at any time. It started with the telegraph and had a growth on the nation. Then the expaned their knowledge and made the telephone. You can also communicate through internet or web cams.
The impact of Technology changed numerous industries, while they continued to flourish in North America including manufacturing, communication, and transprtation from 1750-2000 improving the way of life.
Idustry the manufacturing industry the pre civil war ocurred and the slaves that were living in North America was a cheap labor source. The cotton gin The end of slavery brought about the need for the cotton gin and other machinery, but you cant compete with free labor. The cotton gin developed in 1793 marked a major turning point in the economic history of the Southern United States. Prior to this time, the major commodities produced and exported by the South were tobacco and rice. Only with the ability to quickly separate short-staple cotton fiber from its seed was the future of the Southern economy, and its use of slave labor, tied to cotton production. It made the poulation grow. The poulation is still growing from todays society and our income and finance and cost of living has gone up
Road transport was not suitable for heavy, bulky or fragile goods. A horse and cart could only transport around 1tonne along most of the roads and the ride was sometimes very difficult. In contrast, a horse could move 40tonnes of goods on a barge and the weight didn't really matter because of buoyancy. Around 1750, most businesses such as mines and potteries were considering building canals to carry their goods as it would be cheaper, not having to pay turnpike tolls. It started though with horse and buggies but the the time and distance depended on how slow it was. The indusrial revelution and imperialism made transportation more efficient. Labor and wages decressed though.
Technology is constantly altering the way we live our lives. From how we eat to how we travel and work to how we entertain ourselves, technology has become an integral part of our day. However, the aspect of our lives that has been most impacted is likely the way we communicate with one another. These changes have been for both better and worse, but have unequivocally impacted the way we interact with the people in our lives.Technology has changed how when contact each other, when, and where. With cell phone service being much more consistent than it was in the 1990s, and a growing market of smartphones with mobile internet and email access, messages can literally be transmitted anywhere at any time. It started with the telegraph and had a growth on the nation. Then the expaned their knowledge and made the telephone. You can also communicate through internet or web cams.
The impact of Technology changed numerous industries, while they continued to flourish in North America including manufacturing, communication, and transprtation from 1750-2000 improving the way of life.
Saturday, April 14, 2012
Intruder lives like a rap star in Diddy's mansion
4/14/2012
Quamine Taylor, 30, was arrested for trespassing at the home of Sean “Diddy” Combs, where the intruder lived it up like a rap star, eating fancy food, raiding the bar, and even wearing Diddy’s clothes.
According to police, Taylor found an unlocked basement door and made himself at home for almost 24 hours in the hip-hop magnate’s East Hampton home while he was away.
But, surprisingly enough, this is not the first time that Taylor has committed this crime. “I’ve actually been going to the house from time to time since 2001,” Taylor told The New York Post at the Suffolk County Jail. After his first break-in, he was discovered intoxicated by Combs’ pool.
For this recent “vacation”, Taylor smooth talked the alarm company into believing he was part of Diddy’s entourage, managing to evade detection when he triggered the alarm on his March 31st visit to the Bad Boy Entertainment CEO’s mansion.
Taylor enjoyed a restful stay until 4 p.m. April 1st when a caretaker discovered him and called the cops.
“I really didn’t go to Diddy’s house because I’m a big fan of his. I just wanted to get out of the city for a while,” Taylor explained.
But, just like Kenny Chesney’s deranged intruder who suffered from severe alcoholism, there is a sad side to this entertaining tale.
“He grew up listening to [Diddy’s] music,” said Taylor’s concerned mother. “He has a long history of mental illness, and he has been off his meds for a while. We have been trying to get him some help.”
According to police, Taylor found an unlocked basement door and made himself at home for almost 24 hours in the hip-hop magnate’s East Hampton home while he was away.
But, surprisingly enough, this is not the first time that Taylor has committed this crime. “I’ve actually been going to the house from time to time since 2001,” Taylor told The New York Post at the Suffolk County Jail. After his first break-in, he was discovered intoxicated by Combs’ pool.
For this recent “vacation”, Taylor smooth talked the alarm company into believing he was part of Diddy’s entourage, managing to evade detection when he triggered the alarm on his March 31st visit to the Bad Boy Entertainment CEO’s mansion.
Taylor enjoyed a restful stay until 4 p.m. April 1st when a caretaker discovered him and called the cops.
“I really didn’t go to Diddy’s house because I’m a big fan of his. I just wanted to get out of the city for a while,” Taylor explained.
But, just like Kenny Chesney’s deranged intruder who suffered from severe alcoholism, there is a sad side to this entertaining tale.
“He grew up listening to [Diddy’s] music,” said Taylor’s concerned mother. “He has a long history of mental illness, and he has been off his meds for a while. We have been trying to get him some help.”
In North Korea, third Kim's bloodline all that matters
SEOUL |
(Reuters) - Smarting from a failed rocket launch, North Korea's leader Kim Jong-un has little choice but to stick to his father's playbook of milking an impoverished country to develop weapons and blackmail the international community for aid and recognition.
Far from fearing a coup or instability after Friday's public fiasco, the third of his line to rule North Korea will lead celebrations on Sunday to mark the centenary of the birth of his grandfather, the founder of the world's only Stalinist monarchy, "Eternal President" Kim Il-sung.
The state that Kim inherited in December after the death of his father Kim Jong-il boasts a 1.2 million-strong military, wants to possess a nuclear weapon and to develop the ability to hit the United States with it - the aim, critics say, of the failed rocket launch.
Behind those ambitions are 23 million people, many malnourished, in an economy whose output is worth just $40 billion annually in purchasing power parity terms, according to the U.S. Central Intelligence Agency, compared with South Korea's $1.5 trillion economy.
The puny size of the economy means development is not the answer, tying Kim into the "military first" policies of his late father Kim Jong-il who oversaw the development of the state's nuclear and missile ambitions.
"For Kim Jong-un, opening North Korea means the end of a system that his grandfather and father fostered," said Virginie Grzelczyk, a North Korea expert at Nottingham Trent University in Britain.
"Kim Jong-un is unlikely to be losing power over the launch, as the elite and the military need his legitimizing and mythical presence in order to pacify the North Korean population."
The small scale of the economy is matched by North Korea's limited diplomatic clout. It has few friends other than China, whose strategic interest is in keeping a buffer between it and South Korea which has U.S. military bases.
Even China sounded increasingly exasperated in the run-up to Friday's rocket launch as Pyongyang ignored its pleas for restraint, despite aid pumped in by Beijing, and its diplomatic protection at bodies like the United Nations.
Without real weight in the international arena, Pyongyang is forced to rely on periodic rocket launches, nuclear tests and attacks on South Korea, such as the one in 2010 when it shelled an island, to remind the world of its existence, analysts say.
That is likely to mean sticking to the same script as in 2009, when North Korea followed a failed attempt to put a satellite into orbit with a nuclear test.
Intelligence satellite images showing a tunnel being dug at the site of two previous tests imply that it either wishes to remind the world of the possibility, so as to prompt a return to aid for disarmament talks, or is actually preparing for one.
"Internationally, now they have to do a nuclear test, preferably using uranium, just in order to show that they should be taken seriously," said Andre Lankov, a North Korea expert at South Korea's Kookmin University.
SOME LIES ARE TOO BIG EVEN FOR PYONGYANG
Pyongyang did depart from its previous practise when it publicly admitted on state television that the Unha-3 rocket had failed to deliver its weather satellite into orbit in time for Kim Il-sung's birthday.
A 2009 launch that the international community said had failed was hailed as a success by North Korea, where the only news available to its people is from the state.
But to read into the announcement signs of new openness is to overstate the issue, most commentators on North Korea say. The presence of so many foreign journalists and the spread of cellphones, of which there are now more than a million, made it too risky.
"For all its habitual lying, the propaganda apparatus shies away from lies it can too easily be caught out on," said Brian Myers, a North Korea expert at Dongseo University in South Korea.
In parallel with the short announcement on the rocket's failure, North Korea continued to churn out reams of propaganda aimed at bolstering the legitimacy of Kim Jong-un and his claim to power based on his bloodline.
"The idea and feats Kim Il-sung performed in the 20th century have been fully carried forward and his glorious history continues uninterruptedly along with prospering Songun (military-first) Korea," state news agency KCNA reported on Friday.
The anniversary of Kim Il-sung's birth was supposed to usher in a "strong and prosperous" nation.
North Korea claimed that industrial output grew 2 percent last year, but according to United Nations data its economy is in fact the same size as it was 20 years ago after being devastated by a famine in the 1990s.
It appears to fund itself through exports of its mineral wealth to China, sales of weapons technology to states such as Syria and Iran as well as a variety of criminal enterprises such as narcotics and faking $100 bills.
Last June it was caught smuggling weapons to Myanmar, an income stream that has been cut off with that country's opening.
Periodically, it confiscates the wealth of its own citizens as it did in a 2009 revaluation of its currency and a crackdown on hoarding of foreign currency, something it may need to do more of as financial sanctions bite and old allies, like Myanmar, halt their purchases.
A defector, surnamed Ryu, who entered South Korea in 2011 and is now living in Seoul, said there was simply no choice but to comply with the forced confiscation.
"There were so many who were beaten," said Ryu, aged in his mid-40s, who declined to give his full name for fear of reprisals.
"People were at each other's throats; there was no telling who would rat on you for having a secret stash of foreign cash."
Chon Hyun-joon, an expert on North Korea at the state-run Korea Institute for National Unification in South Korea, estimates that as much as $2 billion to $3 billion could have been raised, although other experts say the figure was lower.
Whatever the state of the economy, missile and nuclear weapons development will take priority for North Korea, experts say. Figures published in South Korean media suggest that $3 billion has been spent on the nuclear and missile programme over the years.
"Even Kim Jong-il admitted that the first rocket launch required millions of dollars," said Kim Yeon-su, a professor at the National Defense University in Seoul.
"He said at the time the cost would be paid even at the expense of the North Korean people."
(Additional reporting by Ju-min Park and Jeremy Laurence; Editing by Raju Gopalakrishnan and Daniel Magnowski)
San Antonio winning with offense
Spurs could struggle in playoffs without trademark stifling D
By Neil Paine | Basketball Reference
With the San Antonio Spurs vaulting up the Western Conference standings over the past few months, you might be tempted to take a stroll down memory lane, reminiscing about those great championship Spurs teams of old. You know, the ones featuring the likes of David Robinson, Bruce Bowen and Robert Horry, with a suffocating defense led by Tim Duncan, owner of the sixth-most defensive win shares in NBA history.
It's true, the Spurs' title years are only matched by the 1950s/60s Celtics in the pantheon of all-time great defensive dynasties. In fact, they're the only two teams in the history of the NBA to sustain a defensive efficiency five points better than the league average over a 14-season span. For this reason alone, Duncan deserves to be mentioned in the same sentence as Bill Russell when it comes to anchoring the greatest multi-year defenses ever built.
From 1998-2008, the Spurs never finished outside the league's top three in defensive efficiency. On offense, San Antonio was regularly above-average, and only finished worse than 12th in offensive efficiency once between 1999 and 2007. But just the same, they were never an elite offensive team; 2007 was the only season during San Antonio's dynasty years that they ranked among the league's top five teams in points per possession. It's hard to find fault with this game plan of serviceable offense and elite defense -- after all, it resulted in four titles over a nine-season span.
However, the red-hot Spurs of 2012 bear little resemblance to those dynasty-era San Antonio teams. As Duncan has gotten longer in the tooth and defense-first role players like Bowen and Horry have retired, the Spurs have gradually shifted their focus away from a dominating D. This season, San Antonio ranks just 13th in defensive efficiency, their worst showing since 1997 (the year before Duncan's rookie campaign).
Instead, these Spurs are winning with offense -- which could lead to postseason disappointment in San Antonio for the second season in a row.
By Neil Paine | Basketball Reference
With the San Antonio Spurs vaulting up the Western Conference standings over the past few months, you might be tempted to take a stroll down memory lane, reminiscing about those great championship Spurs teams of old. You know, the ones featuring the likes of David Robinson, Bruce Bowen and Robert Horry, with a suffocating defense led by Tim Duncan, owner of the sixth-most defensive win shares in NBA history.
It's true, the Spurs' title years are only matched by the 1950s/60s Celtics in the pantheon of all-time great defensive dynasties. In fact, they're the only two teams in the history of the NBA to sustain a defensive efficiency five points better than the league average over a 14-season span. For this reason alone, Duncan deserves to be mentioned in the same sentence as Bill Russell when it comes to anchoring the greatest multi-year defenses ever built.
From 1998-2008, the Spurs never finished outside the league's top three in defensive efficiency. On offense, San Antonio was regularly above-average, and only finished worse than 12th in offensive efficiency once between 1999 and 2007. But just the same, they were never an elite offensive team; 2007 was the only season during San Antonio's dynasty years that they ranked among the league's top five teams in points per possession. It's hard to find fault with this game plan of serviceable offense and elite defense -- after all, it resulted in four titles over a nine-season span.
However, the red-hot Spurs of 2012 bear little resemblance to those dynasty-era San Antonio teams. As Duncan has gotten longer in the tooth and defense-first role players like Bowen and Horry have retired, the Spurs have gradually shifted their focus away from a dominating D. This season, San Antonio ranks just 13th in defensive efficiency, their worst showing since 1997 (the year before Duncan's rookie campaign).
Instead, these Spurs are winning with offense -- which could lead to postseason disappointment in San Antonio for the second season in a row.
Prosecutor's quandary: Zimmerman may be indicted, then acquitted
April 10, 2012|By Alan M. Dershowitz , Special to CNN
On the basis of the evidence currently in the public record, one likely outcome of the case against George Zimmerman is a mixed one: There may be sufficient evidence for a reasonable prosecutor to indict him for manslaughter, but there may also be doubt sufficient for a reasonable jury to acquit him.
Any such predictions should be accepted with an abundance of caution, however, because the evidence known to the special prosecutor, but not to the public, may paint a different picture. It may be stronger or weaker
On the basis of the evidence currently in the public record, one likely outcome of the case against George Zimmerman is a mixed one: There may be sufficient evidence for a reasonable prosecutor to indict him for manslaughter, but there may also be doubt sufficient for a reasonable jury to acquit him.
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