great fight

i love a good boxing match, and this one was pretty awesome from saturday night. ricky hatton vs manny pacquiao

 

goodness gracious

it’s march, specifically march 18th, the day before the NCAA tournament. You know what this means, people are filling out brackets left and right, heck, i’m in about 4-5 myself. want to play the lottery for free? then head on over to pickmanager.com and fill out your bracket for a chance to win $100 MILLION. Yes, O-N-E H-U-N-D-R-E-D MILLLLLION. don’t worry, don’t ever be fooled by this. have you ever wondered how many different combinations of results can happen from a 64 team tournament? i got the answer…

 

9,223,372,036,854,775,808 different combinations of results*

As for my picks, here is who i would say is making the final 4…

midwest – louisville cardinals

west – missouri tigers

east – pittsburgh

south – north carolina

i would say pittsburgh will beat carolina, and louisville will beat missouri, pitting (no pun intended) pittsburgh against louisville, big east rivals. and…the winner will be…your 2009 NCAA basketball champions…the LOUISVILLE CARDINAL

as for the sleeper teams i think could surprise and make a sweet 16 run:

1. western kentucky

2. cleveland state

3. virginia commonwealth

 

 

* according to RJ Bell of pregame.com

mark by ben

now this is a great story. amid all of this economic hardship, people losing their homes, declining portfolios, and job losses, a story like this makes you feel pretty good. ben gullett is 14, but his age didn’t stop him from showing his dad how much he supported him and cared about his situation. when his dad mark was laid off from his job after 9 years, ben went to the drawing board, and came up with this simple, but effective idea. the result, says mark, his dad, “I’m shocked at all the attention it’s received,” Mark Gullett told me by phone today. “I’ve had several job leads already, and lots of people emailing and wishing me luck. In today’s job market with employers getting stacks of resumes, you need to create a way to stand out, I guess.”

 

 

story link

http://www.floridatoday.com/article/20090313/BREAKINGNEWS/90313031/-1/SEVENDAYS

which one is better?

i think, depending on your mood, these are a couple of the greatest songs ever composed in history of music. i absolutely love these both, maybe because the movies are two of the greatest of all-time, but this music just gives you a great feeling when you listen to it. which one is better?

 

Forrest Gump Theme by Alan Silvestri

 

Jurassic Park Theme by John Williams

prayers

ever since i read this story this morning i’ve been thinking about what this kid could possibly be going through right now. i just wish everyone would be thinking about him, praying for him, hoping he finds some sort of purpose after such a tragedy in his life. i obviously have never met this kid, but i hope he is doing the best he can possibly be doing right now…

 

Kitchen fire kills three

By Clay Barbour
cbarbour@charlotteobserver.com

Posted: Saturday, Mar. 14, 2009

http://www.charlotteobserver.com/597/story/597822.html

An early morning kitchen fire in east Charlotte today claimed the lives of a mother and two of her children.

Firefighters arrived at the Silver Oaks Apartments in the 6600 block of Monroe Road just after 1 a.m. today and found the two-story apartment engulfed in flames.

Crews found the mother and two children inside, and rescued them. The mother died shortly after, and the two children, ages 13 and 2, died at a hospital a short time later.

The unidentified mother’s 18-year-old son, who was sleeping on the downstairs couch, escaped the fire.

Charlotte fire Capt. Rob Brisley said the fire began in the kitchen, the result of food on the stove left unattended. A neighbor of the victims said the 18-year-old had been making french fries on the stove and fell asleep.

“He tried to put it out and couldn’t and then he called 911,” said Cora Beaufort, who kept the boy in her apartment until Saturday afternoon, when his grandparents arrived from Michigan. “He’s in shock right now. He’s barely talking.”

Brisley said the department was alerted to the fire by three 911 calls, one of which was phoned in by the 18-year-old. Brisley said the son was waiting outside the apartment when firefighters arrived.

“Throughout this tragic ordeal, the surviving young man is receiving care and support from a Charlotte-Mecklenburg Crisis Counselor, the Charlotte Fire Department, and the American Red Cross,” Brisley said.

Kate Meier, of the American Red Cross chapter in Charlotte, said her organization is providing food, clothing and shelter for residents of three apartment units that were affected. The Red Cross also provided relief for firefighters and other first-responders, she said.

Officials have yet to release the victims’ names.