Okay - so if anyone’s been following the news in Saudi Arabia lately, you’ll know that a British woman teaching in a school in Sudan called Unity High School has been imprisoned just for naming a teddy bear, Mohammed. The whole ordeal took place in Khartoum (capital of Sudan), and has been a surprisingly LARGE issue among the radical Muslims in Saudi Arabia.

The woman, Gillian Gibbons, allowed her class to name the bear, Mohammed, and apparently offended an entire religion in the process. A bear is a sign of “evil” in the Muslim world, and to name it Mohammed (Muhammed; founder of Islam), well…go figure. She was arrested shortly afterwards.

Gillian was to serve a fifteen-day sentence in an Arabian prison, and it was also rumored that she was to receive ninety lashes. The rumor has been unconfirmed as of now.

Luckily, the British Foreign Office stepped in, and was able to get Ms. Gibbons off her sentence. She took a flight home to Britain earlier today.

So, from this - what’s to say that something as big (actually pretty small…but made into something bigger) as this most recent “conflict” doesn’t ignite a war between one country and another? This event just goes to show that tension is extremely high in the Middle East, and things must be handled delicately from here on out…

What do you think of this “HOT TOPIC“?

After beating Milwaukee and losing to Phoenix this weekend, the Knicks are ready to play the Nets.  The Nets (8-9) are coming off of a blowout defeat to the Detroit Pistons.  The two teams will meet for the first time this year.

After the sudden death of his father after the Phoenix game, Stephon Marbury’s status for Wednesday night’s game is questionable.

Barcelona and Olympique Lyon played yesterday. They reached a 2-2 draw. This sealed Barcelona’s hopes of reaching round two. Lyon, however, has to beat Rangers in two weeks. Iniesta put the first goal in for Barcelona in the third minute, to make it 1-0. Juninho canceled out the early lead. Messi later scored to give Barcelona the 2-1 lead, and it looked as though they would get the victory. Juninho, however, put in another goal with eleven minutes left. The equalizer gave Lyon a much needed point in the standings, to help them with their search to move on. The match facts would indicate a victory for Barcelona with 63% possession and a 22-17 fouls in favor of Barcelona.

To keep them in the hunt, Liverpool needs a win at SC Porto.The victory would also secure manager Rafael Benitez’s job for one more game. Liverpool is also hoping for a victory of Besiktas over Marseille.

Shakhtar Donetsk will secure their passage into the next round if they defeat Celtic.

AC Milan will advance to the round of 16 with a draw at Benfica on Wednesday.

Barcelona and Lyon will be playin on Tuesday. Barcelona needs a tie or a win to stay in the competition, while Lyon needs a win or they will face early elimination. Barcelona will be without striker Theirry Henry. Henry is the victim of back and groin pains. He will be replaced by the young striker Bojan Krkic. Lyon may be without their 19y.o. star foward, Karim Benzema. He was carried off on a stretcher, during Staurday’s game. He is Lique 1’s leading scorer.
AC Milan needs just a tie to have a definite spot in the next 16. If AC tie against Benefica, they will be guaranteed a spot with a game left. Celtic or Shakhtar Donetsk, the two teams behind AC in Group D, would not be able to catch them in the standings if AC ties.
Liverpool is also look at an early exit. Liverpool will be playing FC Porto. Liverpool must win the next two matches against FC Porto and Marseille to have a spot in the final 16. Liverpool players are not concentrating on the current crisis presiding over their manager Rafael Benitez, and his future. Captain Steven Gerrard says that they will have to “blank out” the current issues ocurring behind the scenes.

“The Knicks hustled and played with tremendous heart en route to a thrilling 113-109 victory over the division-leading Utah Jazz. Playing in front of a raucous garden crowd, Stephon Marbury led New York while the team notched six clutch blocked shots.”-nyknicks.com
Stephon Marbury played his best game of the season with 28 points and 6 assists while Zach Randolph continued his outstanding beginning as a Knick with 25 points and 14 rebounds (11/15 from the field,) 6 of those boards being offensive. Jamal Crawford added 22 points.

Super Mario Galaxy has finally arrived! Check out the podcast for the details.Super Mario Galaxy Podcast

Kiss Kiss, although #1 on the charts, is not #1 on iTunes anymore. The current #1 is Low by Flo Ride feat. T-Pain…another hit for T-Pain. This song is rythmic and catchy, and has dancehall/reggae undertones. Buy/download this song because it is very good, and it is 92 on the charts, and it deserves to go higher.

Article Link: nytimes.com

Can not enough sleep cause obesity?

Recent studies have just shown that not enough sleep can cause obesity. Children who lose sleep over three years are 40% more likely to become overweight. Other factors are obviously a cause of obesity but not enough sleep is definitely proven to be a contributing factor.

Dr. Lumeng, an assistant professor of pediatrics at the University of Michigan, suggested three other possibilities:

- Grumpy children are likely to ask for food.

- Children who don’t get enough sleep are more likely to be tired the next day and less likely to exercise.

- Disruption in the sleep cycle can also cause obesity.

Long story short–Knicks own Nuggets, 110-106. Z-bo had 21 points and 17 rebounds. Eddy Curry added 24 points, 8 rebounds and a clutch block. Renaldo Balkman shut down Carmel Anthony and added 3 blocks, 11 points, and 4 rebounds. Jamal Crawford added 24 points and 8 assists and Stephon Marbury had 21 points and 9 assists. The Knicks will face the Orlando Magic on Friday. They will have to watch out for Dwight Howard, Rashard Lewis, and the red hot Hedo Turkoglu.

The Knicks record is currently 2-1

The Knicks lost to the Cavaliers on Friday night, 106-110.  Zach Randolph had 21 points and 14 rebounds and Eddy Curry added 18 points and 7 rebounds.  The Knicks regained their composure in an exciting win over the feisty Timberwolves, 97-93.  Zach Randolph had 15 points and 10 rebounds and Jamal Crawford added 24 points and 7 assist.  Stephon Marbury scored 17 points and added 7 assists in the win.  Eddy Curry had 14 points.  The Knicks are 1-1 and will play the Denver Nuggets at MSG on Tuesday night at 7:30.