kimblr.com

Righthander Jim Johnson has a long way to go before becoming the most famous guy in sports with his name - between Super Bowl-winning coach Jimmy Johnson, NASCAR champion Jimmie Johnson and former Pittsburgh Penguins and Minnesota North Stars defenseman Jim Johnson, it’s a tough hill to climb. But in baseball circles, Johnson is certainly making a name for himself, off to an excellent start out of the Orioles’ bullpen this season, having allowed only 11 hits in 24 innings over 16 appearances while posting a 1.13 ERA. I talked to him on Tuesday afternoon in the Bronx for the latest installment of Nine Innings.
1. If you could trade places for one day with anyone in Major League Baseball, who would it be?
JJ: Man, that’s a tough question. I haven’t even been awake that long. I don’t know. I would say I like the way Roy Halladay pitches. He’s a guy that obviously I respect and try to emulate a little bit. There’s a lot of guys that you can’t go wrong with, but hitting a home run, seeing what it’s like to hit BP like Manny (Ramirez) or one of those guys, I think it would be fun to have that ability, just to crush a ball as far as you wanted to.
2. Have you ever been here before, to Yankee Stadium?
JJ: No, not (as a player).
TB: What do you think?
JJ: Well, I haven’t been outside yet because it’s still raining. I’m going to try to get outside and get some work in. There’s a lot of history here obviously, and I’m glad I got to see it before it got taken down. So I’m just kind of absorbing it all right now.
TB: Is this your first time in New York?
JJ: No, I grew up upstate, actually, in Binghamton. I came down a couple of times and played summer ball based out of Bayside. Been here a couple of times and watched some games.

nydailynews.com

The Des Moines school district’s deaf education department will host a program with actor Peter Cook at 7 p.m. April 17 at Roosevelt High School, 4419 Center St. The visit by Cook, a well-known deaf performer, is made possible with contributions from several area businesses. Admission is $1 for ages 5 and older. Voice interpreting will be provided.
An elementary math education partnership among Des Moines schools, the University of Northern Iowa and Heartland Area Education Agency has been awarded a $450,000 state grant. The three-year Title II grant, administered by the Iowa Department of Education and the Board of Regents, is one of only three awarded statewide. The grant will support summer institutes for school teams who are beginning or continuing their study of cognitively guided instruction. Additional professional development will continue throughout the 2008-09 school year. The joint Partnership for Cognitively Guided Instruction is a professional development project to help teachers in their understanding of how children think about mathematics as they plan mathematics instruction. At the heart of cognitively guided instruction is the teacher’s facilitation of students’ thinking through the presentation of word problems. By explaining their solutions to classmates, students develop a deeper understanding of math concepts. As a result, teachers are able to identify areas of strength and difficulty for their students.
Kindergartners ended a bear unit that focused on real bears and teddy bears. Some of the activities in the unit included retelling “The Three Bears,” writing, addition and subtraction, and learning facts about real bears vs. bears in fantasy stories. Students had the opportunity to go to a build-a-bear workshop, thanks to Jerry Wanek of the Garten and Wanek Law Firm, to make their own teddy bears and learn the process that must be followed to make a bear. They got to have a picnic with their very own teddy bears before taking them home.

desmoinesregister.com

Take a deep breath:
A castaway is dead. We learn the identity of another of the Oceanic Six. We learn who owns the boat. And we meet Ben's spy on the boat.
Has there ever been an episode that answered so many questions yet advanced the plot so little? Not that I'm complaining — Ji Yeon continued the near-perfect season four. It was a masterful episode, and I doubt there was a dry eye among viewers at the end.
Frank is pacing around the boat, and in the halls we meet Regina (Zoe Bell, from Death Proof) who seems a tad disturbed; she's reading a book upside down without seeming to notice. Methinks she's followed Desmond back to the past. It turns out she's guarding Sayid and Desmond, who have been locked in the sick bay since their trip to the radio room. Sayid is surprised when Frank tells them he wasn't the one who opened the door to let them out. So then who was? Later on a note to Sayid and Desmond is slipped through the door: "Don't trust the captain." Sayid tells Desmond about Ben's spy on the boat.
On the beach, Jin and Sun are discussing baby names. Jin is convinced it will be a girl, Sun thinks it will be a boy. Jin likes the name Ji Yeon, but Sun doesn't want to jinx the pregnancy; remember, if she doesn't get off the island she'll die.
Flash forward to Sun in front of a mirror, putting on makeup. She feels something is wrong; she sits on the bed, and calls the hospital. We see she is very pregnant and she is going into labour. Meanwhile, Jin is rushing to get to the hospital on time. He stops off a the toy to buy a stuffed panda.

network.nationalpost.com

KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) — Takia Starks scored a game-high 18 points to lead Texas A&M (No. 12 ESPN/USA Today, No. 11 AP) to a 65-39 victory over Missouri on Wednesday in the quarterfinals of the Big 12 women’s tournament.
The fourth-seeded Aggies will move on to face Iowa State at 6 p.m. on Thursday. The ninth-seeded Cyclones won in an overtime upset of top-seeded Kansas State earlier Wednesday.
La Toya Micheaux added 11 points for the Aggies (24-7), winners of seven straight games and 11 of their last 12. Micheaux, normally relied upon for rebounding and defense, hadn’t scored in double figures since Dec. 9 against New Orleans.
A day after the Tigers became the first No. 12 seed in tournament history to win, it was a much different story for Missouri (10-21).
The Tigers failed to get anything going against Texas A&M’s tight man-to-man defense. Missouri shot 34 percent from the field and committed 20 turnovers.
The game got out of reach for the Tigers quickly after the second half began, as the Aggies went on a 13-4 run and took a 42-26 lead when Danielle Gant hauled in a full-court heave from Patrice Reado and put in an uncontested layup.

read_more