Sunday, October 31, 2010

What Kind of Raptors Fan Are You?




With the 2010-2011 NBA season already well underway, I ask every member of Raptors Nation this: What kind of Raptors fan are you?

Going into our first season without Chris Bosh, we can still REALISTICALLY go one of two ways.

1. Overachieve and scrape by with the 7th or 8th seed.
2. Meet expectations and finish at the bottom of the league.


Most casual fans would look at the standings, see a lowly "1-4" record next to the Raptors, and feel validated in their lack of confidence within the team. But for those who have actually watched the games this year, you know the Raptors have been been in every game they've played so far.

When it comes down to it, the Raptors have been within striking distance of a win in each of their first five games (yes, even against the Jazz and Lakers). One of the other encouraging signs revolves around the intensity and effort this team has shown night in and out. Regardless of how many points we may fall behind, this year's installment of the Toronto Raptors refuse to hang their head and give up.

So with that in mind, which route would you like the Raptors to go?

There's no question the players want to make the playoffs. You don't make it to the NBA without that insane obsession of winning. These are professional athletes, all they've been used to is success.

I'll go out and say this now. If the Raps continue to play like they've been playing on this road trip, they will be within reach of one of the last two playoff spots. It's a funny thing to say, but this team is better than last year's in some aspects.

But is that what's best for the franchise long term?

If expectations and predictions come to fruition, the Raps will likely come out of this with a top 3 pick in next year's draft. Don't worry Raptors Nation, I know, the draft has hurt us plenty of times in the past. But truth be told, it'll be hard to mess this one up. And if you take into account our last two drafts, we've come away with two very nice pieces in DeMar DeRozan and Ed Davis.

Imagine pairing these two up with the likes of Kyrie Irving or Harrison Barnes?

Suddenly, the Raps would actually start to look more like the "Oklahoma East" DeRozan coined us to be earlier in the season.

Establishing a winning culture? Or roll the dice for the big payoff?

The Raps will go one of two paths. Which one are you holding the sign to?

Friday, October 29, 2010

Grace Kelly - American Actress, Princess Companion of Monaco

http://the-american-history.blogspot.com/
Grace Patricia Kelly was an American Academy Award winning actress and Princess Companion of Monaco. In April 1956 Kelly married Rainier III, Prince of Monaco, and became styled as Her calm Highness The Princess of Monaco, and was usually referred to as Princess Grace. After embark on an acting career in 1950, at the age of 20, Grace Kelly appeared in New York City dramatic productions as well as in more than forty episodes of live drama productions transmit during the early 1950s Golden Age of Television. In October 1953, with the leave go of Mogambo, she became a movie star, a status confirmed in 1954 with a Golden Globe Award and Academy Award suggestion as well as leading roles in five films, including The Country Girl, in which she give a deglamorized, Academy Award winning performance.

She retired from acting at 26 to enter upon her duty in Monaco. She and Prince Rainier had three children: Caroline, Albert, and Stephanie. She also retain her American roots, maintain dual US and Monegasque citizenships. She died on September 14, 1982, two months before her 53rd birthday, when she gone control of her automobile and crashed after suffering a caress. Her daughter Princess Stéphanie, who was in the car with her, survives the accident. In June 1999, the American Film Institute ranked her #13 in list of top female stars of American cinema.

http://the-american-history.blogspot.com/

Full name

Grace Patricia Kelly

Date of Birth

12 November 1929

Place of Birth

Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, U.S.

Occupation

Actress

Religion

Roman Catholic

Spouse

Rainier III, Prince of Monaco

Date of Death

14 September 1982

Place of Death

Monaco

Thursday, October 28, 2010

Jessica Simpson - American singer, actress, television character and fashion designer

http://the-american-history.blogspot.com/
Jessica Ann Simpson is an American singer, actress, television character and fashion designer who rose to fame in 1999. She has reach seven Billboard Top 40 hits, three gold and two Multi Platinum RIAA certified studio albums, four of which have reach the top 10 on the US Billboard 200. In March 2007, Simpson donated a fresh Chrysler minivan to the Elim orphanage in Nuevo Laredo. Simpson won a Chrysler Crossfire sports car at the 2006 MTV Video Music Awards, but exchanged the $50,000 luxury car for a minivan so she could facilitate the orphanage. On October 26, 2002, at age 22, Simpson wedded Nick Lachey. She famously announces she had remain a virgin until her marriage.

In November 2005, after months of tabloid conjecture, Simpson and Lachey announced they were separating. The couple's divorce was publicized worldwide and was reportedly finalized on June 30, 2006. She has sell 20 million records worldwide. Simpson has a total of records sales in Australia of more than 426,000 copies and was rank in the # 113 on the 1000 artists chart of ARIA Music Decade Charts. In 2009, Billboard name Simpson as the 95th general best artist of the Decade. Simpson also was graded at number 86 on Billboard 200 Artists, solely based on album sales. Simpson is process Smile's International Youth Ambassador.


http://the-american-history.blogspot.com/

Birth Name

Jessica Ann Simpson

Date of Birth

July 10, 1980

Place of Birth

Abilene, Texas, U.S.

Genres

Pop, dance-pop, R&B, country pop, adult contemporary

Occupations

Singer-songwriter, actress

Wednesday, October 27, 2010

Jennifer Lopez - American actress, singer, record producer, dancer, television producer and fashion designer

http://the-american-history.blogspot.com/
Jennifer Lynn Lopez, often nicknamed J.Lo, is an American actress, singer, record producer, dancer, television producer and fashion designer. She is the richest person of Latin American descent in Hollywood according to Forbes, and the most influential Hispanic comedian in the U.S. according to People en Español's list of "100 Most powerful Hispanics". She parlayed her media fame into a fashion line and different perfumes with her celebrity endorsement. Outside of her work in the entertainment industry, Lopez advocates human rights, vaccination and is a enthusiast of Childrens Hospital Los Angeles. Lopez begins her career as a dancer on the television comedy agenda In Living Color. She then ventured into acting and gain gratitude in the 1995 action-thriller Money Train.

Lopez's first leading role was in the biographical film Selena (1997), in which she get an ALMA Award for Outstanding Actress. In 2007, Lopez out two albums, including her first full Spanish-language album, Como Ama una Mujer, and her fifth English studio album, Brave. She won the 2003 American Music Award for desired Pop/Rock Female performer and the 2007 American Music Award for Favorite Latin Artist. To date, Lopez has sell over 25 million albums worldwide. Reports dispersed in mid-2010 that Lopez would join the judging panel of American Idol. In September 2010, the program's producers officially complete that Lopez had joined the series. Lopez will be one of the first visitors to appear on CBS's new daytime talk show, The Talk.

http://the-american-history.blogspot.com/

Birth name

Jennifer Lynn Lopez

Nickname

J.Lo

Date of Birth

July 24, 1969

Place of Birth

The Bronx, New York, U.S.

Genres

Pop, R&B, hip hop, dance-pop, Latin pop, Salsa

Occupations

Actress, singer-songwriter, record producer, dancer, fashion designer, television producer, model, entrepreneur, choreographer, Miami Dolphins part-owner