Tips for avoiding holiday weight gain
The average American gains several pounds in the six weeks between Thanksgiving and New Year’s Day. However, you can keep off extra holiday weight by observing a few simple tips provided courtesy Rockingham Memorial Hospital.
Many traditional holiday foods are loaded with fat and calories. To keep your weight manageable, substitute a lower-fat food. Or, if there’s a certain food you enjoy too much to give up, have a smaller portion and conserve calories by skipping something that’s not as important to you.
You should also exercise regularly. Get 30 minutes of moderate exercise most, if not all, days of the week. A sedentary lifestyle is one of the major contributors to holiday weight gain.
Here is more advice for cutting fat from your holiday diet:
- Eat white-meat turkey, which has fewer calories and less fat than dark meat. A 3-ounce serving of skinless turkey breast has 119 calories and 1 gram of fat. The same amount of dark meat has 142 calories and 5 grams of fat.
- Put gravy through a skimmer before serving, and you’ll cut the calories by 80 percent. That’s a substantial change: Holiday gravy that’s not skimmed contains 60 to 70 calories per tablespoon. A generous helping can add as many as 500 calories to your holiday dinner.
- Serve stuffing baked outside the turkey; it has half the calories of stuffing cooked inside the bird.
- Serve at least one item very low in calories and fat, such as a fresh fruit salad or steamed vegetables topped with lemon juice and herbs. A one-half cup serving of steamed green beans has only 15 calories and a trace of fat; a one-half cup serving of sautéed green beans has 50 calories and 6.6 grams of fat.
- Serve baked potatoes instead of candied sweet potatoes. A plain baked potato has 220 calories and just a trace of fat; one cup of candied sweet potatoes has 300 calories and 6 grams of fat.
- Don’t top vegetables with butter; instead, use nonfat yogurt or low-calorie sour cream. You’ll save an average of 100 calories and 10 grams of fat per tablespoon.
- Serve apple pie topped with vanilla frozen yogurt instead of pecan pie topped with whipped cream. Per slice, you’ll save 460 calories and 32 grams of fat.
- Substitute mustard for mayonnaise on your lunch-hour turkey sandwich. You’ll save 82 calories and 8 grams of fat.
- Pay attention to what you drink. Two mixed drinks can contain as much as 500 calories, one cup of eggnog, 380 calories. But two glasses of cider or white wine have only 300 calories.
*Content courtesy of StayWell Custom Communications
David Reynolds: Thanksgiving 2010
Tomorrow is truly an American holiday. It is one of the few which remains faithful to its origins. The Pilgrims started something that, hopefully, we will never finish.
Thanksgiving 2010 will be like the hundreds of other Thanksgiving’s before. It is always a peaceful day. So, peace is on my “Thank You” list. However, it is not first. Freedom always comes first.
And what about those days before tomorrow? Did you know that “9/11″ happened 3,363 days ago? That’s a big number. A bigger and better number than the one we use for emergencies.
How did you live each one of those days? As each was your last? A few did. They have no regrets. I did not. So I have a few regrets, but too few to mention.
Besides freedom and peace what am I most grateful for? That’s easy. Each morning not finding my name on the obituary page. Too many departed friends have left to go to on to another paradise. Yet, I have never received a report back. Is it because they can’t tell the difference?
Yes, death is a reminder of how good it is to be alive. But being alive is not always easy. I have been working at it for 27,549 days. One day I will get the hang of it. In the meantime I am enjoying the work. I trust that you are, too.
One way to look at life is to think of the start of each day as “third and long.” The odds may be against you, but you are still in the game. And being in the game is all that counts.
Another way to figure out this greatest of all games is to consider life as a glorious struggle, an investment that pays dividends. That means you never sell yourself short. Or your country.
This corner of our great nation suits me just fine. I can better appreciate the beauty of the Great Valley of Virginia having come from the coalfields of Pennsylvania.
However, don’t do what I just did. When you mention our valley remember others live elsewhere. It is hard to compare any two spots on the map when the perspective of any spot changes the moment you leave. Nonetheless, we believe that this corner of the earth is special, from the back roads of Rockbridge where we learn to wave to I-81 where we learn to pray.
Yet it is not the land, but the people, which make us special. Sure they slip up sometimes. They put that toy next to their ear. Still they have time to look up from their cellphones and send a smile instead of a text message. I am grateful for small blessings.
I have another beef: The annual Thanksgiving dinner at Washington & Lee University got bumped. It got pushed back a week. On its traditional date no turkey was served. Instead there was a Mideast dinner with all the trimmings. It was in honor of Eid ul Adha, a holiday in Muslin countries. (More on this next month.)
Back to more pleasant business. People here don’t judge your past because they don’t know it. I could have robbed banks in my previous life and no one would know. Or care. However, I did not. I did something worse. I helped to spend your money. Now in my current life I can’t miss a Rotary meeting without the whole club knowing it. I like it both ways.
Then there are those among us who have proven that Thomas Wolf was wrong. You can go home again. Take Charlie, for example. Earlier this month he came home. Back to Buena Vista. A few hundred of his closest friends were there to greet him. For ninety minutes, the manager of the Philadelphia Phillies rambled and told stories. They loved it. And him. The talk was not about baseball, except to the extent that baseball imitates life. It was not one of those phony inspirational talks staged in big city hotel ballrooms. This was real. And so was Charlie. He came from a real town. After his talk there was only one question: How can one successfully manage and gain respect from twenty-five young prima donna, talented multimillionaires without having Charlie Manuel’s wisdom and rapport?
It is all amazing. How sweet it is. That’s it for Thanksgiving 2010. Before you sit down for dinner tomorrow, think of everybody you have ever loved, whether they are seated at the table or not. Remember their faces. You will have seen the face of God. As for those who say that God is dead, consider what President Eisenhower once said, “How can he be when I just spoke with him this morning.”
Column by David Reynolds
Sally Jones: Taxes and Thanksgiving
“Cut My Taxes!” Americans have heard this cry for years – and we’ve heard it shouted angrily in recent months. We hear that we pay too much in taxes, that government makes poor use of our money, and that our prosperity would rise if only taxes would fall.
But in reality our taxes have fallen steadily in recent years. In 2001 and 2003 Congress passed temporary tax cuts which will expire at the end of 2010. We must now decide what good or bad has come of that experiment and what tax law we want for the future.
Most of us recognize that one size doesn’t really fit all – and this holds true for income tax rates. Maintaining a lower level of taxation for the vast majority of Americans makes sense in today’s hard times. But why should we do the same for the tiny percentage of citizens – a minority to which I gratefully belong – whose annual earnings exceed $250,000? The American people borrowed $700 billion to give people like me a tax cut over the last decade. Why should they borrow an additional $700 billion to extend the tax breaks?
Congress should let our tax cuts expire for the sake of the country, especially in this economy. Who would lose by this step toward tax fairness? Only those among us who can afford such a loss. Who would gain? All Americans – including those few of us who would pay more taxes.
We cannot sustain our nation – not its defense; not its essential infrastructure such as roads, rails, bridges, dams and communications; not its economic place in the world; not the health and education of its people; not its ability to respond to natural disasters such as earthquake, flood or hurricane; not the protections we expect it to provide against man-made disasters, toxins (domestic and imported), buccaneering corporations or hazardous products – without securing for our government the funding it must have to accomplish all of these things.
Recognizing our shared responsibility – in the present instance by payment of taxes – we might live up to the example of earlier generations who left for us a remarkable system of institutions and infrastructure. By abandoning that responsibility, we would betray both our predecessors and our descendants, and we would gain nothing but a temporary self-indulgence, at a price that will impose itself on present and future generations.
Do we bear any collective responsibility? I think so. Consider the example of the season.
On Thanksgiving Day most of us will gather with family or friends or both. We will sit down to tables crowded with the various dishes that speak to us of this special occasion, and indulge ourselves more than we usually do. However much or little else we feel thankful for on that day, we will heartily thank the one or more cooks who toiled in the kitchen to prepare this dinner for us.
We thank the cooks because we have seen their effort first hand. But how many others have contributed to make our feasts possible – others whom we never think about or credit? Who taught our cooks their skills or created our recipes? Who grew, harvested, preserved or transported the foods? Who built our ovens, plumbed our kitchens, and made our utensils, dishes and tables?
Those of us with high incomes ought to ask similar questions about the plenty we enjoy daily. We could hardly enjoy our success without assistance we hardly notice: the infrastructure that allows businesses to grow and prosper, the law enforcement that protect patents and copyrights, and the productiveness and purchasing power of publicly-educated fellow citizens. Without national investments – supported by our taxes – no wealth would be sustained in this country and those at the top would not have the extraordinary lives they have today. Let us remember to be grateful.
Let’s make sure those outside of the top two percent of Americans can live and thrive. Unless we foster prosperity for our country and for every citizen, all of us will suffer the consequences of living in a society of the ailing, the untrained and inefficient, and the unruly. Let’s pay the taxes – those of us who can afford them – to sustain the America that has offered opportunity since its founding. Unless we restore strength to its economy, institutions, and structures, our country will decline – and everyone’s prospects with it.
Sally Jones is a member of a high-income household in Minneapolis who supports Wealth For The Common Good and its goal of promoting shared prosperity and fair taxation.
Ken Plum: The Milk Party
I have not endorsed any political or social movements coming out of the state of Florida in many years, but I have just learned of one that I can enthusiastically support: the Milk Party movement. I first learned about the Milk Party from an article by John Morgan, executive director of Voices for Virginia’s Children, in its fall newsletter (www.vakids.org). The Milk Party movement in Florida is being led by David Lawrence, retired publisher of the Miami Herald and nationally recognized leader in child advocacy.
Approaching social problems like the businessperson that he is and like the people who join him in his efforts, David Lawrence is spearheading “The Children’s Movement of Florida” which has as its objective “to make the well-being and education of our infants, toddlers and all other children Florida’s highest priority, especially when it comes to investing public resources (www.childrensmovementflorida.org).”
Lawrence’s pro-children movement got dubbed the “Milk Party” in part because of the techniques he has used to draw attention to the needs. During a four-week period in September he took his advocacy on the road with major “Milk Party” rallies in 17 Florida cities gaining more than 70,000 signatures of supporters and major coverage in all the news outlets. Hopefully his effort will move right up the coast and into Virginia at some point.
While major political party leaders debate budgets and spending, Milk Party advocates propose investments of government resources in our young children as offering the highest rates of return. There are numerous studies that indicate that expenditures for high quality child care, preschool education, and children’s health and mental health programs can produce returns of ten to one in future savings. Children who go to school healthy and ready to learn are much more likely to be successful in school and work and much less likely to be in social service, welfare, or prison programs in the future. The Milk Party folks say that a few public dollars spent wisely early in a child’s life will save many times over the tax dollars he or she may need in the future without the early investment. Programs like child health care coverage, early childhood/school readiness initiatives, screening and early treatment service for children with special needs, support and education for parents, and mentoring programs for at-risk school age children are what the Milk Party is about. We need a chapter of the Milk Party in Virginia to work with Voices for Virginia’s Children.
Ken Plum is a member of the Virginia House of Delegates.
Linda Meric: Memo to Congress-extend programs that help us
You’ve got a lot to consider in this month. You’re scheduled to debate international treaties and internet censorship. There’s talk of military affairs and revamping federal agencies. But this should be at the top of your agenda: extending benefits for unemployed workers and making sure struggling parents can continue to make ends meet.
You must renew unemployment insurance benefits now for the millions of long-term jobless workers in America. And you must allow jobs to continue to be created through the Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) Emergency Contingency Fund.
Think like a struggling family and your decision won’t be so hard.
Consider Cynthia, a mother of three. She has been unemployed since August 2009. Online and in-person, she’s applied for more than 100 positions; inquired about scores and scores more. She’s gotten a few interviews. As of yet, however, not one of them has turned into a job offer. She makes $296 dollars a week in unemployment compensation. Imagine supporting an entire family on a few hundred dollars a week. Everything is a struggle. It’s a struggle to pay the rent, it’s a struggle to keep food on the table, and it’s a struggle to keep shoes on the kids’ feet. It’s a struggle to have to struggle so.
Put yourself in her place. Think about her children. Can you imagine the panic you would feel if you knew your only source of income was about to be cut off? Can you imagine the insecurity you would feel if you knew that soon Mommy would have no money at all?
It’s not even only about struggling families – it’s about the economy, too.
Studies, commissioned by the U.S. Department of Labor, show the UI program had an even more positive impact on the economy this time around than in previous recessions. Every dollar spent on UI generated $2 in economic activity, and during each quarter of the recent recession, the economic stimulus provided by UI benefits kept an average of 1.6 million Americans on the job.
Americans need jobs. A job with a living wage is at the top of lots of wish lists this season. And while we’re talking about jobs, let’s talk about the TANF Emergency Contingency Fund. The TANF program itself is the nation’s basic welfare program, and before departing for the weekend, you reauthorized TANF while leaving the Emergency Contingency Fund on the sidelines.
One of the best-kept secrets of last year’s recovery act was this job-creation program that helped the economy while it also helped low-income parents and unemployed youth. Through this effort, 35 states, plus the District of Columbia and the Virgin Islands, partnered with the private sector to create more than 240,000 new jobs through flexible block grants. The TANF-ECF also provided short-term assistance to some of the neediest families. It’s been called a success story by governors and state legislators from both parties. It makes sense that we would continue it, build on it.
The September deadline passed and TANF-ECF wasn’t extended. That’s water under the bridge. But now you have another chance: Put yourself in the place of a homeless family, a long-term unemployed worker and the decision will be clear.
This year, Congress earned base salaries beyond the wildest dreams of most people. You got retirement plans, health benefits, foreign travel stipends. Americans might not begrudge it so much if Congress didn’t seem so tight-fisted with the allocations when it comes to middle class families and those who are struggling with economic insecurity. But you can fix that perception.
The lame duck session will end soon.
It’s not too late for Congress to think like the rest of us; extend unemployment insurance benefits, restore the TANF Emergency Contingency Fund — give working Americans a little hope for the holidays.
Linda Meric is executive director of 9to5, National Association of Working Women.
Lt. Gen. Dirk Jameson: Do the right thing
At this time of thanksgiving, we are reminded how people came together, shared resources, shared opinions and worked together to form and protect our nation.
During my long career in the US Air Force I was at the very sharp end of the spear that defended our nation, rising to deputy commander-in-chief and chief of staff of U.S. Strategic Command.
During that time, going back to the Reagan years and before, the U.S. methodically and relentlessly carved out a process for understanding and reducing strategic nuclear arms – in order increase our national security.
Many have forgotten or did not live through those times during the Cold War when the numbers of nuclear weapons and delivery platforms were escalating at a tremendous rate and costs were ratcheting up at an ever-increasing pace.
It was courageous of political leaders in those perilous times to begin talking to our heavily-armed enemy, the Soviet Union, to find paths to lower numbers of nuclear weapons, lower cost burdens, and greater security for our country and the world.
Since those efforts took root, real progress has been made, the numbers of very deadly weapons are dramatically lower, costs have dropped, and our security vis-à-vis the former Soviet states is far stronger.
Today we have a good treaty ready to take force and continue the progress on numbers, costs, and national security.
The New START Treaty that is presently before the Senate contains verification and transparency measures – that will allow our inspectors inside Russian strategic nuclear facilities, as well as create stability between our forces.
Without New START, we will reintroduce uncertainty into the U.S.-Russia strategic relationship. Over the length of the Cold War, we learned that uncertainty breeds mistrust, costly worst-case planning, and risk. New START reduces uncertainty by locking in the size of each side’s arsenal and providing for onsite verification. The resulting improved strategic stability that will come with New START will make it possible for both sides to pursue agreements on tactical nuclear weapons and proliferation.
Without ratification, we will be left with the requirement to spend our limited resources and money on weapons we don’t need to counter a force structure that could be verifiably reduced under the treaty.
Without New START our national security institutions will need to devote more resources to monitoring Russian strategic forces, by satellite and other means; we will also have to force- plan for scenarios we should not need to. This will involve spending money where we don’t need, and worse, it could mean taking away money from programs and systems that our war-fighters actually do need.
What stands in the way? An ever more vague, disingenuous, and ill-advised raising of the bar for political support. The very same questions that have been asked and answered about missile defense, verification, and stewardship of the nuclear enterprise are brought up again and again in the face of iron clad analysis and billions of added dollars. These “red herrings” are presented wrapped in ever more demanding commitments from future legislators that no arms control treaty past or future could meet.
As this treaty is pushed off with no deadline and no path to prevent an already developing cooling of U.S., Russia relationships, Cold War nuclear realities echo in my head saying to Senators, “Do the right thing!”
Lt. Gen. Dirk Jameson (Ret.) is a former deputy commander and chief and chief of staff, U.S. Strategic Command who had responsibility for all ICBM strategic nuclear forces. He is a member of the Consensus for American Security www.securityconsensus.org.
Weekend Watchdog: Turkey Day TV
When the NFL schedule came out, fans circled the Cowboys-Saints game as the highlight of Thanksgiving football.
Then the Cowboys flopped.
Sure Dallas has won two straight since chopping coach Wade Phillips. But their season is still a turkey.
The show must go on, and the Saints must win to keep pace with Atlanta in the NFC South. FOX has the festivities Thursday afternoon, after CBS opens the day with Tom Brady and the Patriots visiting Detroit.
The day concludes with the Bengals visiting the New York Jets on NFL Network. But people will likely be asleep by then, either due to the turkey dinner or getting ready for Friday’s shopping.
The NFL weekend continues Sunday with the Redskins hosting the Vikings at 1 p.m. on FOX. Just six more games until Brett Favre’s next retirement.
CBS in Washington will offer Miami at Oakland at 4 p.m., and FOX shows Eagles at Bears in Fishersville and Ravens-Bucs in Washington.
In primetime, the Chargers visit the Colts on NBC Sunday, then Monday ESPN has the NFC West contest between the 49ers and Cardinals.
College football pretty much closes down the regular season through the weekend, starting Thursday with Texas A&M meeting Texas at 8 p.m. on ESPN.
Friday features plenty of great football, as No. 2 Auburn plays No. 11 Alabama on CBS at 2:30 p.m. In primetime, No. 1 Oregon takes on Arizona on ESPN, followed by No. 4 Boise State at Nevada.
ABC has an afternoon doubleheader, starting with the Backyard Brawl between West Virginia and Pittsburgh at noon. Colorado closes out its time in the Big 12 with a visit to Nebraska.
The day starts with a Big East battle between Louisville and Rutgers at 11 a.m. on ESPN2.
Virginia Tech prepares for the ACC championship game by hosting Virginia Saturday at noon as the ACC game of the week.
Saturday’s slate starts with Michigan’s contest with Ohio State at noon on ABC. In the afternoon, fans will see either Wisconsin-Northwestern or Florida’s visit to Florida State (the other game is on ESPN) and in primetime it’s Oklahoma against Oklahoma State and Notre Dame heading west to meet USC.
ESPN2 starts Saturday with Michigan State against Penn State, and contests with ACC teams fill up the rest of the day on the Worldwide Leader of Sports. Boston College visits Syracuse at noon on ESPN, then ESPN2 shows N.C. State against Maryland at 3:30 p.m.
In primetime, South Carolina visits Clemson on ESPN2 and it’s Georgia Tech-Georgia on ESPN.
CBS closes the SEC regular season with LSU’s matchup with Arkansas.
Versus offers two of the top six in action, with No. 3 TCU at New Mexico at 4 p.m., followed by No. 6 Stanford hosting Oregon State. Comcast has the Big 12 contest between Missouri and Kansas Saturday at 12:30 p.m.
MASN shows the Big East game of the week Saturday at noon – Cincinnati vs. Connecticut – then heads west for the WAC contest between Hawaii and New Mexico State.
The NBA has a Thanksgiving doubleheader on TNT, with the Wizards in Atlanta at 8 p.m., followed by Sacramento visiting the L.A. Clippers. The Wizards then host Orlando Saturday on Comcast.
ESPN2 has the Friday twinbill, with the Rockets traveling to Charlotte at 7 p.m. and the Warriors-Grizzlies late.
The Capitals host a pair of 5 p.m. games this weekend – Friday against Tampa Bay and Sunday versus Carolina on Comcast.
It’s Feast Week for college basketball over at ESPN. There’s four games from the Old Spice Classic Thursday – starting at noon with Boston College vs. Texas A&M – and two more from the 76 Classic at 5 p.m. and 11:30.
Friday there’s five more tournament games, including the NIT Tipoff.
Saturday, ESPN2 has the Las Vegas Invitational at 10:30 p.m., then Sunday it’s finals from the Old Spice Classic at 7 p.m. and 76 Classic at 9 p.m.
MASN has two games from the (not so) Great Alaska Shootout Thursday – Houston Baptist vs. Arizona State at 9 p.m., followed by Weber State against Alaska-Anchorage. There’s two more games Friday, starting at 9:30 p.m., then the third place game Saturday night followed by the championship contest at 11:45 p.m.
West Virginia’s Mountaineers host VMI Saturday at 7 p.m. on MASN. Comcast has Maryland’s game with Elon Friday at 8 p.m. and Sunday goes with Florida against Florida State at 7:30 p.m.
The second UFL season closes with the championship game between Las Vegas and Florida Saturday at noon on Versus.
Column by Mike Judge. Online at WeekendWatchdog.blogspot.com.
Press Conference: Frank Beamer
Virginia Tech football coach Frank Beamer talks with the news media. Virginia Tech (9-2, 7-0 ACC) hosts Virginia (4-7, 1-6 ACC) on Saturday.
Opening Statement: I’m really proud of our football team. I thought we went down and played a pretty good Miami team. With how good they are and how physical they are, I’m happy we were able to come out on top. Looking at Virginia, they play hard. Defensively, they fly around and they’ve been in every ball game. North Carolina and Florida State got them pretty good, but other than that, they’ve been right there in every game. Their quarterback is playing well, completing a lot of his passes. I think [Kris] Burd has caught about 55; [Dontrelle] Inman has caught about 48. The two running backs average about 130 yards together, so they are moving the ball. I think they are a tough football team and they are playing very hard.
On leading the nation in turnover margin
That’s one stat that there is no question, it directly effects winning. When you don’t turn it over and then you get turnovers, the last couple games we’ve been really good at that, when you are playing away from home you need that stat in your favor.
On the struggles with the rushing defense
I think that just goes back to a couple plays that just got away from us and then not fitting in the gaps like we need to and not supporting like we need to and I think some new people have helped, like with Hosely changing sides, and stuff. We just haven’t had the consistency we would like to have; I think its personnel and our play. We just have to keep working tough, we have a lot of young guys. I think 40 out of the 66 are sophomores and freshman, and a lot of those guys are on our defense.
On the injuries to Rashad Carmichael and Marcus
Yeah, I’m hopeful but we will have to see. Davis was fine at the end of the game, just for a little while, he got knocked out a little bit. We are pulling for both of them play.
How scary was that play with Marcus Davis?
I think he was just bothered for a couple seconds and then, like I said, at the end of the game he was fine. He was running up and down the sideline, and when Ryan (Williams) scored he was running right beside him on the sideline for a while. He was fine at the end of the game.
Tariq Edwards has made some big plays recently, is he pushing for some more quality playing time?
He’s doing a good job. He has come along. He needs to practice better so we can feel more confident. When he gets in there it seems like he does a pretty good job. He’s been doing kickoff coverage and he’s doing an excellent job there. He’s on our punt team and he’s doing an excellent job there, so I think he’s the guy that we just want to practice better during the week on defense so we can get him in there and play him more.
With Lyndell Gibson and Tariq Edwards, is it the situation where one of them can distinguish themselves this week in practice and earn the majority of playing time in that spot?
Well right now Gibson is playing the most, and is doing okay. I think Edwards has got a lot of ability. He’s got size, a quick step; he’s got a taller body. He’s got a lot of things that tell you he’s a good football player and I could be a really good football player.
What was your conversation like with Tyrod Taylor after that excessive celebration penalty once he got back to the sideline?
I don’t think you can put it in the officials’ hands. He was over there, he wasn’t on the field, he wasn’t being disrespectful to the other team, he wasn’t showboating, and he was just celebrating with our fans, really. The officials said he just stayed there too long. If you aren’t celebrating with your own teammates heading to your sideline, you are putting the official in a position where he may or may not call it. When you get in these tight games, every yard counts, but he understands that too.
How different would these last four seasons have been for your program if you had not landed Tyrod Taylor?
That’s hard to say, but I think if you look back on the games we’ve won in the last four years and how many he has directly effected, he has done a lot. I’ve said this before but Michael Vick does some great things for a football team, and did for us here, but Tyrod does some of those same things and a lot of those same things. He just gives you a chance to win every Saturday. We’ve had a chance to win every game he’s been involved with.
If you are talking about having only one play-making type guy, is there a more important position than quarterback?
Oh, absolutely not. If you have a quarterback, you have a chance. If you don’t have a quarterback you need to have a really good football team. I think you are shaky though, you need to have that guy that can lead you and can pull the string and can get it done. That ball starts with him on every play and what we run out there and it goes directly back to him. Even just with play calling, you feel good calling plays because you feel like he’s going to do the right thing; he’s going to take care of the ball. He’s not going to throw it into the wrong plays. He not only gives his team a lot of confidence but he gives the coaching staff as far as having him there and knowing he’s going to do the right thing.
What do you guys have planned for Thanksgiving?
We have a brunch Thursday where the coaches’ families, coaches and players come in and we have that together. Then we practice an hour earlier so that people who live close by can go home for a while and take some of their teammates with them and then some scout team guys can catch a flight out or go home for the weekend.
Is Boise State national championship game worthy?
I think they are a really good football team and I think they are really well coached. I think they belong in the conversation, for sure. I think you just have to wait and see who is standing at the end and then choose the two best teams, but they certainly belong in the conversation.
Do you think that long term success against a certain team helps swing some of the recruits, especially when you are in this in-state battle?
Again, I think the direction a program is going over time does effect a kid’s decision. I think the other thing that contributes to it now is that they have a new coaching staff in there and he has these kids playing hard so I think that’s another part of the equation as far as us going against Virginia. I don’t think one particular game makes a difference but I think over a period of time it does effect the guys’ decision.
How much do you take notice to what Mike London has done recruiting wise early in the cycle?
Well we’re going to do what we do and that is that we’ve spent a long time building relationships with coaches here in the state. I think those guys know that they can trust us and that we will take care of their kids if they come to Virginia Tech and they are going to play at a high level. I think we worry about ourselves, how we do business and handle situations. I think that that is where our emphasis is and we will continue to do the things we have done for a number of years here.
What is your relationship like with Mike London? Do you know him real well?
I kind of know him. I think he is certainly doing a good job and working hard at it. He’s got a good staff. They have done a good job.
Did you change all that much in your approach the Sunday after the 0-2 start?
One thing that I value a lot around here is consistency. I tell people, we practiced the same the Monday before the Boise State game as we did the Monday after the James Madison game. Around here, when things go bad or not the way we want them to, we don’t look to try and blame somebody, we really look to find out what went wrong and correct it to be better to go out and win the next ball game. I think that’s what the kids did. We said some things that we didn’t do very well in the first two ball games and realized we needed to improve. We had some good senior leadership and I think we have really good kids overall in our program and I think you need that when things aren’t going well so they aren’t pointing and blaming and coming apart. I think we came close together. I told the team that the other night after we beat Miami, I appreciate the way that they respect each other and win football games together and hang in there together. I think a big key to our success is that we really have gotten tighter. When you have a tough loss like James Madison, that’s when you have a chance to get tighter and I thought we did that as a football team. I’ve been proud of the way they have handled this whole situation.
As a coach, did you feel you needed to do a little extra after the start to get the players back and motivated?
No, I just try to deal with what’s real. The week before we played Boise State we felt we had a good football team. We knew we had some good players and those same people are still sitting in the room. We just had a couple tough experiences. We just had to go do what we do and play the way we know we can play, and that’s what we work towards. I think if you are up and down as a coach and coaching staff, you’re team probably gets to be that way. The consistency in the way that we have been able to win games year in a year out, that’s what I’m most proud of and that’s the way I try to be as the head of this thing.
Were you surprised or impressed with how quickly David Wilson was able to return from having mono?
The guy can catch a rabbit, so you know he can beat mono. The Sunday that they told me he had mono, I saw him later that day just bouncing around. He’s a different guy. He has a lot of energy, he just has fun and enjoys life and the people around him enjoy life. He’s quite a guy.
Roundup: JMU gets another W, VMI, EMU post victories
Four players scored in double figures and James Madison shot 54% from the floor to defeat Presbyterian College 65-56 Tuesday night in the Harrisonburg Subregional of the O’Reilly Auto Parts CBE Classic at the Convocation Center.
JMU won its third game in a row to improve to 3-1 while PC fell to 1-4 with the loss. The three-game winning streak is the first for the Dukes since a four-game run through the first six games of the 2009-10 season.
Junior Rayshawn Goins (Cleveland, Ohio/Glenville) tied his season-high with 17 points and senior Denzel Bowles (Virginia Beach, Va./Kempsville) recorded his second straight double-double with 12 points and 10 rebounds.
Junior Julius Wells (Toledo, Ohio/Libbey) scored 14 points while hitting four of his seven three-point attempts. He moved within six points of becoming the 24th player in JMU history to reach the 1,000-point milestone. Junior Humpty Hitchens (Chillicothe, Ohio/Chillicothe) chipped in 10 points for the Dukes
JMU outrebounded the Blue Hose 33-23 in the victory. The Dukes also benefitted from a 34-20 advantage in paint points and a 10-0 edge in fast break scoring.
Al’Lonzo Coleman led PC with 15 points and four steals. Pierre Miller and Khalid Mutakabbir added 11 and 10 points, respectively.
VMI improves to 5-0
Freshman D.J. Covington had 13 points and tied a school record with nine blocks, while Keith Gabriel went over the 1,000 career point plateau and the VMI Keydets went to 5-0 for the first time in the modern era by defeating the Southern Virginia Knights 94-78 Tuesday night at Cameron Hall in Lexington, Va.
VMI’s 5-0 start is the program’s best in the modern era, as the Keydets had not accomplished that feat since the 1921-22 season. The Keydets will take on last year’s national semifinalist West Virginia on Saturday afternoon, bidding for a 6-0 opening to the season.
On this night, however, Covington’s nine blocks tied Eric Mann’s nine rejections against The Citadel on Jan. 15, 2000. Only one other Keydet had ever posted more than six rejections in a single contest. Covington also had nine points and nine rebounds, missing a triple-double by just one of each statistic.
Gabriel started the contest 0 for 5, but finally hit the needed three-pointer at the 8:47 mark, becoming the 34th player in Keydet history, and second active VMI player, to surpass the 1,000-point plateau.
EMU survives scare
Last year, Eastern Mennonite opened the regular season with a midnight thumping of Lancaster Bible College at home, 96-53. This year, the Runnin Royals hit the road for the rematch and the Chargers were ready for the men on their home court. The two teams traded leads throughout the contest with EMU closing out on a 19-11 surge to survive with the win, 84-78.
The men slowly worked to a 6-0 lead in the game before LBC exploded for 10 straight points to go ahead. Eastern Mennonite regrouped and used a 24-9 run to take their biggest lead of the night at 30-19 after a D.J. Hinson (Newport News, Va./Menchville) three pointer at 8:45.
But the Chargers didn’t melt and closed the half on a 29-16 streak to grab a two-point edge at the break, 48-46.
Lancaster Bible led by as many as seven in the second half, but the Runnin Royals finally tied things up at 65-65 with a bucket from Orie Pancione (Augusta, WV/Hampshire).
The men grabbed the lead and gradually pushed it up to seven at 78-71 with 2:30 to play, but the Chargers still would not go away. They got four straight points to chip back within three points, but George Johnson (Richmond, Va./Miller School) buried a jumper with 1:01 remaining to keep the edge at five.
The Royals then made four of six free throws down the stretch to secure the win.
Roundup
JMU gets another W
Four players scored in double figures and James Madison shot 54% from the floor to defeat Presbyterian College 65-56 Tuesday night in the Harrisonburg Subregional of the O’Reilly Auto Parts CBE Classic at the Convocation Center.
JMU won its third game in a row to improve to 3-1 while PC fell to 1-4 with the loss. The three-game winning streak is the first for the Dukes since a four-game run through the first six games of the 2009-10 season. Read more
Weekend Watchdog: Turkey Day TV
When the NFL schedule came out, fans circled the Cowboys-Saints game as the highlight of Thanksgiving football.
Then the Cowboys flopped.
Sure Dallas has won two straight since chopping coach Wade Phillips. But their season is still a turkey.
The show must go on, and the Saints must win to keep pace with Atlanta in the NFC South. FOX has the festivities Thursday afternoon, after CBS opens the day with Tom Brady and the Patriots visiting Detroit. Read more
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Jim Bishop: The ‘Hollowdaze’-some waiting required
Posted on November 24, 2010 · Leave a Comment
It was late October. Most foliage on stately backyard trees had largely lost their grip on their summertime sanctuary – except for the willow tree leaves that had turned a sickly yellow but held on for dear life. Twilight was stealing across suburban Fountainville, Pa., a giant fruitcake’s throw north of Doylestown, as temperatures dropped, a reminder that autumn would soon give way to winter.
Halloween was near, one of his favorite “holidays,” after the Fourth of July and of course, birthdays. (How that has since changed!).
But, the object of his obsession had not yet given any indication that the brightest and best day of the year, Christmas, was around the corner.
A close neighbor, Eddie Histand, had not yet strung up his outdoor Christmas lights, but it would happen before too long. He was always the first, and back then, only person in the neighborhood to throw the switch to a multi-colored display starting Thanksgiving night. This waiting period for yours truly was excruciating.
Likewise, during childhood years in my hometown of Doylestown, I couldn’t wait for the Christmas lights in town to come on for the first time. But, back in times of antiquity, one waited until about the second week of December before long strings of colored lights with a giant neon star in the center cast a celestial glow over the downtown area.
Meanwhile, there were other important events on the corporate agenda, like preparing for and celebrating Thanksgiving. It meant the Bishop family would pile into the ’57 Chevy and motor south to Glenside for feasting and rich fellowship. This was a taste of Big City life for me, although still suburbia.
As the calendar turned over to the last month of the year, more signs of Christmas came to light in my hometown – especially Foster’s Toy Store where kids reigned supreme and we Bishop siblings scoured the aisles, drooling over pre-computer chip gadgets and other merchandise, knowing that many of the alluring items would never make our wish lists.
Doc Brenneman’s pond froze to the point that we ice skated and played hockey before Christmas – imagine that! – with little thought given to the possibility of ending up in the icy brink.
Closer to the Big Day, our church youth group would pile into the back of a tractor-pulled hay wagon and do four-part acapella Christmas caroling on a frigid night around the community, then warm up with hot chocolate, maybe with donuts, afterward.
The times they kept a-changin’, and the sweet buy and buy came ever more to the fore. In various settings and forums, I quietly protested the trend to starting one’s Christmas shopping in air-conditioned comfort around Labor Day. Now, area radio stations serve up Christmas fare in the air 24-hours-a-day before Thanksgiving, the same seasonal songs repeated ad nauseum, while memorable melodies from my youth are rarely heard.
Autumn leaves have scarcely begun to drop when catalogs and circulars proclaiming glad tidings of great savings cram our mailboxes. Some retail stores open their doors at 3 a.m. the day after Thanksgiving. I feel sorry for employees who have to work such hours as much as I lament the fierce competition and consumer frenzy that seems to necessitate this move in the first place.
And now, the confession: In the spirit of my childhood neighbor, the young, expectant lad who is now a senior citizen placed electric candles in our windows several days before Thanksgiving. The best part: each one worked. A modest outdoor display, however, must wait awhile to be pulled out of storage.
More than ever, I savor this season of Advent and the spirit of waiting, of anticipation – while being more aware that for many this time of year is incredibly stressful for a host of reasons – even while watching expectantly for the bright and shining Star that will light our way in the darkness.
Now that is worth the wait.
Filed under Blogs · Tagged with jim bishop, thanksgiving