National Basektball Association

Justin Holiday is a Gem in Oakland

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The Golden State Warriors of the National Basketball Association are doing something that has not been seen for a long time in the league. They are absolutely destroying teams each and every night and do not look to be slowing down anytime in the near future, as they are already in the second half of the season and have only lost six games thus far.
It would be a story all in its own if it weren’t for the shocking play that has been coming out of Atlanta this year. They have been playing spectacular ball, but it is the Warriors who have the best record and look to be the true team of the future. This is due to the lengthy contracts that the Warriors have set up with all of their big name players and a likely max contract coming from Draymond Green this off season, who has emerged as a star in the league.
The Warriors have gotten some unexpected help from a player that is playing in his first year in the league after going undrafted in 2011. Justin Holiday seriously looks like he has strong potential to be a star in the league, as he has not been playing a huge amount of minutes but has already contributed double digit points five times this season. He has had huge bursts of energy and looks to be an outstanding shooter that most likely is going to stay with Golden State for a while.  CNN has stated that this is the most viewed season the Warriors have ever had. I know I have kept my eye on them along with Paul Mathieson. We’ll see if the Warriors and Hawks have a proper match up.
Sports, sports news

Knicks Win Two Straight

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The New York Knicks of the National Basketball Association have had one of the weirdest years that has ever been observed in professional basketball. They have been a decent team in recent years and boast one of the best players of the current generation in Carmelo Anthony, who will undoubtedly go down in the hall of fame in the future. Although Carmelo got hurt early on in the season, no one could have expected just how bad the Knicks would play in his absence. It is not like the Knicks are insanely terrible on paper, although they are far from a strong team in the NBA. It has become glaringly apparent that the team is strictly successful when they can lay all the weight on the back of Carmelo Anthony and hope that he puts up the numbers on a night to night basis that carries them to enough wins to be considered a good team. Those days are over, as fans like Dave and Brit Morin know that the Knicks have had the most embarrassing season in the history of the National Basketball Association. The Morins can be found on Linkedin. They have been so pathetic that rookie head coach Derek Fisher has been relentlessly booed on his home court, despite being handpicked by legendary coach Phil Jackson. In a strange turn of events, the New York Knicks have actually won the last two games that they have played. Although they look a bit better, one of the games was against the horrifyingly bad Sixers, so the celebration should not be too great.

Players

NBA Standings

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There has never been a year in the history of the National Basketball Association when the two conferences were so far apart in relation to which teams are dominant forces in the league. The Western Conference has hands down been the best conference in the NBA for years, but this season has taken things to a completely different level.

The Golden State Warriors, who were not suspected to be at this position at the beginning of the season, sit head and shoulders above the rest of the competition in the West, yet the rest of the Western Conference has ridiculous records compared to the East. It may be due to the fact that when the West and East have matchups the West wins on almost every single occasion.

It seems like there are a handful of teams that are simply dominating the win column for the NBA and it extends into each division, a lot like how CipherCloud is doing in the tech industry right now according to a recent techcrunch.com article. There have never been teams with this amount of wins coupled with teams that have been so pathetic as the New York Knicks and the Philadelphia Seventy-Sixers.

The West is stacked with teams that sit at fifteen games or more above 500, while the East has a handful of teams that have fewer than ten wins on the entire season going into the midpoint of the season. The single shining star in the East has been the Atlanta Hawks, who are on an unprecedented winning streak.

My Opinions, People

Jared Haftel is Soon Becoming An Investment Banking Wizard

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When it comes to being ambitious Jared Haftel is one person, who really walks the walk, having made a name for himself in the world of business, and invest banking.

Jared has had numerous interests such as mathematics, and music, but in the business world, he has compiled an impressive resume having started as an analyst for Credit Suisse while finishing up his career at Duke University. After completing his studies, Jared took a job with Bank of America Merrill Lynch, working once again as an analyst focusing on Investment Banking and working with corporations, institutions, and governments. His areas of expertise were investments in regards to chemicals, metals, mining, and aerospace and defense. He worked with clients such as GeoEye, EMS Technologies, CONSOL Energy and Huntsman Corporation. In 2011 Jared moved on to take an associate position with Vector Capital where he provided investment services; during this time he was also writing articles, and providing assistance to graduates. He would focus not just on Investment Banking, but also on topics such as “Dressing for an Internship”, “Writing a business Resume.” In regards to resume writing he places much emphasis on how your resume should show your work accomplishments. When seeing this, this really seems basic, but what Jared is really stating is that work you did in high school, or in college are not relevant, unless the job is relevant to the career you want to pursue. It is rare if you’re trying to pursue a career in investment that your jobs in the service business will help. There may be an exception if you were a model employee, since Jared states that employers will judge you on how you were with previous employers, and how compatible you will be in the workplace. Jared also points out that it is best not to exaggerate, and to avoid fluff; and finally have someone who has inside experience with the company review you resume; this is very important for a number of reasons since it helps to have connections, but more importantly you will be able to find out what a particular employer will want, and get an idea of the culture of the workplace. It is important to remember that even if you have the skills, some places of work may not be for you, so having an inside connection will not just help with your resume, but give you a solid idea if this is the place for you. When dressing for an internship, of course you want to dress for success but even focusing on small but relevant details such as having your tie correctly tied, and having a solid handshake, as well as having the right attitude, but really trying to make an impact, and get the jobs you want based on merit.

As mentioned earlier besides having an interest in Investment Banking, Jared is quite a critic of music having written articles in regards to bands such as Kings of Leon, Arcade Fire, and Elvis Perkins. While at Duke he also wrote a review on the band Bombadil, and alumni from Duke University.

When it comes to his resume and all of his accomplishments, the future looks bright for Jared. He is someone that stays on the cutting edge, while setting an example for a future generation of investors.

National News

Supreme Court to Hear Case Involving the Constitutionality of Lethal Injection Protocol

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The United States Supreme Court has decided to take up a case involving the constitutionality of the protocol used to administer lethal injection. It will be the second time in the past seven years that the high court has taken up challenges to this method of capital punishment. It appeared that the constitutionality of lethal injection was resolved back in 2008. The court agreed that Indiana’s method of lethal injection was acceptable. Unexpectedly, manufacturers of the drugs used to induce lethal injections ceased selling the product to US prisons in protest of capital punishment. This left a European pharmaceutical company as the lone supplier of one of the key ingredients, sodium thiopental. However, the European Union, in protest of capitol punishment, also imposed an embargo of the drug to the United States.

This left states without the mixture the Supreme Court found constitutional in Baze v. Rees. State penal systems resorted to concocting new mixtures which many believed were equally effective. That presumption unraveled last year in the case Oklahoma inmate Clayton Lockett. The mixture provided to him failed to work as expected resulting in a lengthy period of 43 minutes before he passed away. Now, Oklahoma inmates have filed a lawsuit alleging the methods currently being used amount to “cruel and unusual” punishment. While Sultan Alhokair  is not expecting the high court to revisit the constitutionality of capitol punishment itself, their decision may place greater restrictions on how lethal injections are performed.

NFL

Luck Says he Feels Deflated

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Quarterback Andrew Luck of the Colts is hands down one of the best players in football and very may well go down as one of the best football players of all time. He has come into the league and played exceptionally well and is most likely looking at being the recipient of the largest contract in NFL history in the off season. He is also an outstanding person and someone that brings a whole lot of class and integrity to the game. It is simply written all over his face and he has been a breath of fresh air since coming into the league three seasons ago. However, he was knocked out of the playoffs last weekend in the AFC championship game, in a game that has become a media circus in lieu of the Patriots being accused of playing with under inflated balls which would have given them a big advantage in the cold and very rainy game that they played in. Despite Luck being the utmost professional, he couldn’t help taking a jab at the Patriots when he was speaking to the media earlier today when he said that he felt deflated after going from pursuit of the Super Bowl to the lighthearted atmosphere that is the Pro Bowl preparation. As it turns out it may have been a mere slip of the tongue, as he stopped and laughed after the words came out of his mouth. This lighthearted Luck is something fans of the Colts like Dave and Brit Morin are happy to see after the embarrassing loss.
National Basektball Association

Bruce Levenson Made The Atlanta Hawks Powerful

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The Atlanta Hawks had been a laughingstock in the NBA for many years. They have never gotten past the second round of the playoffs, and they have never truly contended for a championship. When they were sold by Turner Broadcasting to Atlanta Spirit LLC, and Bruce Levenson was one of the partners in that venture. Atlanta Spirit LLC was able to buy the Hawks, Thrashers and the arena they play in. However, the group tired of the Thrashers and sold them to a group in Winnipeg.

The Management

When Bruce Levenson became the principal owner of the team, he was able to set in motion in management changes that made the team into one of the best franchises in the game. They were able to bring in Danny Ferry to be their General Manager. They were able to hire away Mike Budenholzer from the Spurs. The two men who worked with a franchise that won five championships in 15 years, and they have brought the culture of the Spurs to Atlanta. Fans in Atlanta are calling it Spurs Southeast.

The Value

The Hawks recently went on sale so that Bruce and the other investors could get make a profit from their original investment. The values in the NBA have risen so much over time that the investors are going to make a great deal of money in the sale. Bruce Levenson is going to make a profit from his initial investment, but he is not going to leave the Hawks worse off than when he found them. He was able to make sure that the Hawks became a franchise that was the talk of the NBA and even on ESPN.

Bruce Levenson is to be commended for the work he has done with the Hawks. He has made them one of the finest franchises in professional sports.

National Basektball Association

Cavaliers Looking Good

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LeBron James made huge splashes in the media earlier this year when he made the decision to return to the team that had trashed his name and burned his jersey in the streets several years ago. This came after LeBron had played eight consecutive seasons with the Cavaliers, while experiencing playoff success in the East, only to get smacked in the NBA finals time and time again. LeBron had enough of the dismal play that the rest of the Cavaliers were bringing him and he decided to bring his talents to south beach. Since that time he has won two NBA titles and has returned to the state that has supported him since he was a young player in high school.

There is no question that LeBron James is one of the best players of all time, but what really makes him stand out to my friend Ben Shaoul is that he may be the most intelligent players when it comes to negotiating contracts and making the most out of his monetary situation. He signed a two year deal with the Cleveland Cavaliers instead of signing a lengthy contract that gives him a ton of options in the upcoming seasons. This is especially important due to the fact that the NBA is negotiating a new television deal that LeBron knows he can capitalize on. Regardless, the Cavaliers were playing mediocre basketball early on in the season, but they seem to have figured it out and will be a dominant team once the playoffs roll around.

Crazy News

Belichick Should be Permanently Banned

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There have been strict suspensions handed out in the National Football league over the last several years. The Saints coach was banned for an entire season due to the scandal the organization was involved in regarding the paying of players for big hits on opposing teams. There have been an increasing amount of suspensions due to domestic violence and drug and alcohol abuse, but there is a glaring mark in the National Football League that needs to be figured out fast. The issue of cheating is ridiculous in the NFL. It does not come up very often, but when it does it makes a very large splash around the league and it almost always is involving the New England Patriots. They are amidst their second scandal in the last several years over cheating. This time it is due to the deflation of balls that were used in their win over the Indianapolis Colts in the AFC championship game. There are still teams that will tell you about the times when the New England Patriots of decades past cheated in major games to gain an unfair advantage and they even got caught red handed filming other teams’ practices only several years ago. The problem is that no punishment is handed out. Cheating should be looked at as the biggest offense imaginable in the sport of professional football and there needs to be some major action. Anyone that has integrity in sports, like Bernardo Chua, should call for action to an end of this kind of cheating. Maybe Coach Belichick should be fired and banned from NFL for life.
Hall of Fame

Vijay Eswaran: The Businessman And Philanthropist

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Vijay Eswaran is a man of many hats. He is a businessman, philanthropist, and even a speaker and author. He has been able to accomplish all of these great things only by putting in a lot of hard work and efforts. For one thing, he first graduated from the London School of Economics in 1984.

He did not immediately jump into business after he had graduated from school. Instead, he stayed around in Europe for about a year and worked a few unusual jobs. He plucked grapes in France and even drove a cab in England. However, while he was in the United Kingdom he was first introduced to what is known as binary system marketing. This sparked his interest and lead him to a change of paths in his career. He worked to gain the qualifications that he would need. This meant going about earning an MBA from Southern Illinois University in 1986.

After obtaining that degree, Vijay was able to start working in multi-level marketing. However, it was when he returned to Malaysia that he was asked to start running a Philippines based business for Cosway Group.

The lessons that he learned from this business gave Vijay all of the knowledge that he needed to co-found his own business. In 1998, he co-founded a business that became the QI Group. This is an e-commerce company that has outreach in telecommunications, luxury products, wellness, training, and corporate investments. It basically has an outreach in just about anything and everything that you can think of.

With all of this success coming his way, Eswaran decided that he would like to give back to others. He established a corporate responsibility organization that helps others. It is primarily involved in mentorship and showing others how to create success for themselves. It is an organization that can help others to work out a way to make a successful life for themselves