Thursday, December 31, 2009

A True Friend

Kari Edgerton was following her dream of meeting the band Queen when she met a most interesting person who soon won her friendship.

Edgerton has been a long time fan of Queen,a rock band. She has only recently realized that her obsession with Queen is followed by many others, which led to the Queen conventions.

That is when she met her soon to be best friend Jennifer Keenan. Keenan was just another face in crowd until she and Edgerton started talking. Soon they became close friends. Keenan even showed Edgerton her Queen collection, which she envies.

Keenan's Queen collection includes records,Cd's and posters.

"Jennifer has a room dedicated to Queen. One day Kari wishes to have an entire house dedicated to Queen," said Dan Webster, Edgerton boyfriend.

Although Keenan lives in Chicago, they keep in touch weekly and even meet up at least three times a year.

Keenan has helped Edgerton to meet the members of Queen. Keenan took her to see "We Will Rock You", a Broadway musical featuring the music of Queen in Toronto, Canada.

Edgerton describes the musical as a must see but it was not the musical that was the only reason she went there - it was to meet the members of the band. It was there she met Queen's lead guitarist, Bryan May, and drummer, Roger Taylor.

She says she was star struck

"They were really cool," said Edgerton

Edgerton describes the experience as once in a lifetime. She could not believe that she was meeting the members of Queen. Edgerton was very grateful to Keenan for taking her to see the musical.

Edgerton and Keenan have traveled to other Queen conventions and made meet many people along the way who share their passion for Queen.

"The people there we kinda became a family. Now it's gotten to the point I don't even go for Queen anymore, I go for the people there," said Edgerton about the Queen convention goers.

Edgerton and Keenan have been friends for years and are planning on going to many more Queen conventions including one in Michigan.

Thursday, December 10, 2009

Editorial: NBC's coverage on Olympics

With the Olympic Games coming in less then a year. I can only hope NBC does a successful job reporting it.

Last Year during the 2008 Olympic Games the Canadian Broadcasting Company broadcasted the games lives versus prerecorded pieces. I am truly disappointed NBC would rather play its comedy shows rather then show the Olympics live.

Recently, NBC paid $2.2 billion for the rights to air the Olympics. If NBC cannot put its own TV series on hold for a few weeks, I think another Network should air the games.

Since NBC is the only American television company broadcasting the games, you would think it would do a better job. Personally, I watch the Olympics on CBC. Its coverage is live and often shows events that feature the Canadian Olympic team.

NBC does have other channels that air the games like CNBC and MSNBC, but not everyone has cable. NBC only shows live events that it sees fit. For example Michael Phelps gold run. NBC did show that live for the East Coast but not for the West.

NBC did, however, use the Internet more. I and many other Americans would like to see the games broadcasted through my TV rather than the Internet.

The Olympics are very special. They come once every two years. NBC needs to realize that they should not only show the Olympics live, but to cover the games better. For example, in 2006 NBC commentators made rude comments on Chris Chelios still playing hockey. They poked fun at his age and how he is the Americans captain.

NBC, in the past, has pretended to be the experts on certain sports. I have seen its bias with certain teams. In 2009, NBC had the rights to air the Winter Classic featuring the Detroit Red Wings verses the Chicago Blackhawks and praised the Blackhawks. They made Chicago look like the new ideal franchise of the NHL, even though the Wings defeated the Blackhawks, 6-4.

Perhaps someday NBC will learn from the CBC about airing live events. People want to cheer their teams and not want to see commentators making fun of them. Athletes train for a majority of their young lives for the games. The least NBC can do is show it live.

Tuesday, April 7, 2009

Dreams on Hold

David Mello is a graduate of Henry Ford II High School 07'. He went to Macomb Community College for one year, but ran into some hard times. He didn’t have a car, didn’t know what to go into and had little money. Mello had some financial troubles that forced him to take a semester off from school.

He was approved for financial aid but did not receive his check in time. This resulted in Mello having to take a break from school and working at Red Robin full time. He said that working full time somewhat helped.

He is worried about the future though.

“In the beginning, the money was good.” Mello said, “Now it’s (his pay) not.”

Since his paycheck is mostly tips, he is losing money. Before the recession, people were eating out more and Red Robin was making money. He was even promoted to train new staff but now mostly busses tables.

Before the recession, Mello held multiple positions at the restaurant Red Robin. His positions included busboy, trainer and host. At one point he made $8.15 an hour. Now he is a busboy making $6.50 plus tips.

Mello’s family had some financial difficulties as well. Recently his father tried to sell their home but with no success. Mello said he did not know when they were going to move to. At one point his for sale sign even went missing. He eventually then learned that the real estate agency had pulled his house off the market due to lack of offers.

His diet has changed dramatically. Mello used to eat a lot of variety but has now resorted to reduce his eating habits. His main source of food is a peanut butter sandwiches.

“He is a good kid, but very quiet,” said Ben Radell, a former classmate.

Radell and Mello have known each other since high school where they studied German together. Radell didn’t know Mello had money issues, Mello is a private person and isn’t surprised that he keeps information about himself private.

“David is a nice guy. He keeps his problems to himself probably because he doesn’t like to bother people with his problems,” Radell said.

Kela Robinson, a friend of Mello, does notice differences in his habits due to the recession. Robinson said before he went to school, “David had a lot of interests and goals.” Now she said, “has a hard time paying for school.”

Mello said he worries about his future. He does not know what he wants to do. He said that most of the fields he wants to work in do not provide much money and he has no idea what he wants to be because of that. Mello believes that there are no promising jobs in today’s economy.

He has more than money troubles. Currently he drives a broken down van, which he bought for $150. The van has fluids that leak, a damaged headlight and a missing door handle. The van also has no heat or air and had an issue with the horn.

“When I turned the steering wheel, the horn went off. It was kind of embarrassing," Mello said.

As a result, he had to disable his horn. The reason behind his missing door handle is that someone stole it in. Because of this he has to go through his passenger side door to enter his car.

Jacob Grey, a friend of Mello’s, said he wished things ended up better for Mello. Grey even went to parties with Mello and said he was the responsible one. Grey says Mello does not get drunk or party but works and studies. He said it is sad that things ended up this way for Mello.

Hossa Town

If the playoffs started today, and the Redwings made it to the finals, who would win MVP: Zetterberg, Datsyuk or maybe Lidstrom?

I believe that if the wings won the Stanley Cup the MVP would be Marian Hossa. Hossa has some of the quickest hands in the league and he scores goals so easily that he makes it look like child’s play. He leads the team with 40 goals which is quite impressive considering the next closest player is Johan Franzen, with 33.

Hossa is one of the few Red Wing players who still has not won a Stanley Cup and wants to win one bad. He gives his all every game and shows it. He has eight game winning goals when not even Lidstrom or Zetterberg have that many.

In the shootout Hossa is always on the lineup and with good reason. He has one of the most unique shooting styles in the NHL. Many teammates regard him as one of the best. Wings head coach Mike Babcock said he is a great addition to the wings and how right he was.

Who would have thought that a former rival would become a key player a year later? Hossa is regarded throughout the league as an all-star. He likes playing for Detroit and is currently is in talks to extend his career in Detroit with a pay cut. A player that is willing to take a pay cut is hard to come by.

Hossa taking a pay cut and has the most goals for the wings, he deserves the MVP. He is a team player and with dedication like that he is truly an MVP.

Red Wings 1st round

With only four games left in the regular season one question comes to mind, who will the Wings play in the 1st round: St. Louis, Anaheim or Nashville?

One team raises more concern then any other, Anaheim. The Ducks have always given the Wings a hard time and if Detroit faces them, things are likely to get ruff.

The Ducks have a defensive pair that matches Detroit’s very own Nicklas Lidstrom and Brain Rafalski; they have Chris Pronger and Scott Niedermayer.

Pronger is a powerhouse when it comes to defense. He has the muscle and stamina of a 20 year old and plays his heart out every night. Pronger has earned the A on his chest and it skills show. He has 48 points this season and is showing no signs of slowing down.

Pronger is dangerous he was a key in not only a key player in Anaheim’s playoff run but in Edmonton’s. He plays his “A game” when playoffs start, Pronger plays physical.

The other problem that Anaheim has is its captain, Scott Niedermayer. He came in when the Ducks needed him most. Anaheim lost a majority of its 2003 Stanley Cup Final team and needed a fresh team, a new captain.

That is when Niedermayer came and his presence was felt. He became the face of the franchise and was a key player in helping Anaheim win its first Stanley Cup.

Niedermayer is a team player; he has the experience and skills to back it. It is a little ironic that he is playing for the team that he narrowly beat in 2003, but none the less, he is dangerous. Niedermayer is not afraid of putting his body in front of the puck and not many 35 year olds can still do that.

The last issue Anaheim provides is its goalie, Jean-Sebastien Giguere. Red Wing fans have not forgotten the trouble he caused back in 2003. His skills are amazing and although his 2009 GAA is 3.12, he is still a good goalie.

Will the Wings offensive be able to get past Anaheim’s defense? Will Osgood be able to lead the team to another Stanley Cup, only time will tell but, hopefully, things will not end up like they did in 2003, in defeat?