Anderson's Answers

The reporter used numbers for multiple reasons in this story. The numbers were used for records, statistics, minutes, and standings. The numbers are not overwhelming at all in this story, they are used often but at the right times. The reporter did use math and crunch the numbers to help tell the story. They helped figure out playoff chances and mathematically what needed to happen. The sources of the numbers were from the team statistics and also from NHL statistics. The numbers are listed but not completely in all cases.
http://www.startribune.com/sports/wild/42505502.html?elr=KArksLckD8EQDUoaEyqyP4O:DW3ckUiD3aPc:_Yyc:aUycaEacyU

Posted by ande7914 at 10:52 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

The sources used in the obit I found included family, friends, co-workers, and also his doctors/nurses. It does not have what I would call a standard obit lead. In fact reading the story at first you would have no idea it was an obit. I think the lead works perfectly for how the reporter finishes the obit however. The obit is more about letting everyone know who this person was, rather than explain he died and when the services are. It is different from a resume because of the language that is used, and how things are portrayed. It isn't written for an employer, it is written to examine or explain what happened in this mans life, and what he lived for. I would think of a resume of more of a list, where things are presented methodically, which isn't the case in the obit.

Posted by ande7914 at 10:17 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Minnesota Vikings center Matt Birk has signed a new contract with the Baltimore Ravens. Birk is originally from Minnesota and has been centering the Vikings offensive line for the past 11 seasons. He was a free agent this year and it was unsure if the Vikings would try and sign him. According to Birk the Vikings did indeed try and sign him but he and his family wanted a new start, and that is why he elected to sign with Baltimore. The Vikings could have offered more to Birk than the 3 year $12 million contract he signed, but it wasn't about the money according to Birk. He said he will likely return the Minnesota when his playing days are over. He has a home here and his whole family is from Minnesota, so it will always be home to him. The Vikings now face a situation in which they must find a free agent center to sign or perhaps focus their attention to replacing Birk through the draft.

Posted by ande7914 at 11:55 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Just two days after being cut by the Dallas Cowboys, free agent wide receiver Terrell Owens signed with the Buffalo Bills. Owens reportedly signed a one year deal that is worth $6.5 million. Terrell joins a Buffalo team that has struggled offensively over the past few seasons but has seen some flashes of light in second year quarterback Trent Edwards and wide receiver Lee Evans. Owens has been among NFL leaders in receiving statistics his whole career and that he something that he says will continue. Owens has been a controversial player in the past and has had numerous encounters with the media and other players. Some players have said he isn't the best player to have in the locker room and can cause problems. Owens has countered those statements with his play, including 38 touchdowns in the last 3 seasons, statistics that are better than Randy Moss. Owens is now 35 years old and will have to prove he can still play in this league. The Bills started out red hot last season but cooled down as it progressed and ended up missing the playoffs. Owens said he hopes to help the Bills make it back to playoff football.

Posted by ande7914 at 11:38 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

I found a news report that advances the new Minnesota Twins season and their tickets starting to go on sale. The advance was online on the Twins official website and had multiple sources. Some of the sources were the Twins, MLB, Pepsi, and Centerplate. The angle that the advance takes is to advertise free giveaways to get people to attend the first day that tickets go on sale for the 2009 Twins season. They use the giveaways to generate excitement and hopefully draw fans to the event. The reporter makes it sound like it is a tailgate party, and that it will be a fun time. If doesn't at all sound like people will come and stand in line while they wait to get tickets. It sounds like an exciting fun event full of giveaways that people will want to attend.

Posted by ande7914 at 11:21 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

The Gophers men's basketball team finds themselves on the bubble of the NCAA tournament. They are currently 21-9 on the season with a 9-9 record in the big ten. They do have some quality wins this season, including a win against top 5 Louisville. That may not be enough at this point however, and the Gophers know it. They face Northwestern on Thursday morning in what is a must win for both teams if either wants to make the big dance. The winner of that goes on to face Michigan State, without question the best team in the Big Ten. Coach Tubby Smith said he is confident his team will come out playing on Thursday, something they didn't do in the last half of a 67-64 home loss to Michigan on Saturday. The Gophers blew a 12 point lead in the second half in a game that would have virtually solidified their spot in the NCAA tournament. Now the Gophers are on the outside looking in. The Gophers went 1-1 with Northwestern this season. The game will start at 11 am on Thursday and is being played at Conseco Fieldhouse in Indianapolis.

Posted by ande7914 at 10:58 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

The Gophers men's hockey team managed to somehow hang on to home ice for the WCHA playoffs by winning against Michigan Tech on Saturday night. The Gophers lost 6-5 in overtime on Friday night to give Tech only their second win in the WCHA this season. The loss could have been crippling for the Gophers but both Duluth and St. Cloud State, who the Gophers were tied with, lost. This meant the Gophers could retain home ice with a win Saturday, and they shut out Michigan Tech 2-0. The Gophers now face a St. Cloud State team that they have beaten 4 times this season and have not lost to. They play the Huskies in a best-of-three series at Mariucci arena starting Friday night at 7. Some other good news came out of the Gophers win Saturday. Ryan Stoa took the scoring title with 36 points over the season. His linemate, freshman Jordan Schroeder, was second in the conference with 35 points. Stoa missed all but two games last season due to a season ending knee injury. The Huskies are coming off a series with Minnesota State Mankato in which they took only 1 point, a critical point that jumped them ahead of Duluth. The Huskies coach says they are ready for the Gophers. It should be a good series come Friday night at Mariucci.

Posted by ande7914 at 10:41 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

In the next 6 months, military forces will withdraw 12,000 troops from Iraq. There are currently over 142,000 United States troops in Iraq, a number that the new President Obama says will be gone by May of 2010. Some of those troops will be leaving now, approximately 8,000 in fact. Another 4,000 British troops will also leave Iraq, with no one returning in place of them. The troops are leaving due to increased stability and security in the country. The war in Iraq has been going on for 6 years starting this month. Former President Bush signed an agreement to have all troops out of Iraq by December 31, 2011. It appears as if the troops will be long gone by then.

Posted by ande7914 at 10:06 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

The Minnesota Timberwolves lost their 6th straight game Sunday night and moved to 1-8 since losing their star player Al Jefferson for the year to a torn ACL. On Sunday the Wolves fell to the Houston Rockets 105- 94 in a game that wasn't as close as the final score indicated. The Wolves found themselves down 20 points in the fourth quarter and didn't make a game out of it after a 17-0 run by the Rockets in the third quarter. Yao Ming had 17 points and 11 rebounds in the Rockets win. The Wolves were led by 24 points from guard Randy Foye and 20 points from forward Craig Smith, but it just wasn't enough against the Rockets. The Wolves have now last their last two home games by a combined 31 points, something that fans aren't exactly impressed with. The Wolves had been playing better basketball before Jefferson went down, they even had the best record in the Western Conference in the month of January. They are a different team without their star however, and it appears the Wolves will struggle to find any more wins this season. Their next chance comes Tuesday night at the Target Center against a hot Golden State team.

Posted by ande7914 at 11:49 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

What should have been a joyous day turned tragic when a bus filled with wedding guests was struck by a train in New Delhi, India. Eleven people were killed in the accident and 18 more were injured, at least four of those people suffered serious injuries. Among the dead was an 8-year-old girl, making this story even more tragic. The driver of the bus was reportedly trying to pass vehicle near a railroad crossing and did not see the train closing in. There were no rails to stop traffic and the driver drove right to the tracks. The crash occured late on Saturday night, perhaps indicating that darkness could have played a factor into the crash.

Posted by ande7914 at 11:33 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Alex Rodriguez met with MLB officials Sunday to discuss steroids, and more specifically his experience with them. The details of the meeting have not yet been released and it is unknown if they will be released soon if at all. All that is known is that Rodriguez was cooperative and that the meeting lasted nearly two hours. Rodriguez continues to try and put this in the rear view mirror but it doesn't appear to be going away anytime soon. He is constantly being asked by not only reporters but also MLB to recount his steroids ordeal. Rodriguez is in spring training with the New York Yankees and is also preparing for the World Baseball Classic where he will represent the Dominican Republic. Rodriguez has reportedly gained support from players around the league according to his manager Joe Girardi. The MLB season starts in early April, but Rodriguez says he is just glad he is now playing baseball everyday. He appears to be handling the situation fine and his teammates and family have also stated he is doing well. Rodriguez has played well early in the preseason even amongst the mixed reactions he has received from fans.

Posted by ande7914 at 11:12 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

The Minnesota Vikings reportedly had free agent wide receiver T.J. Houshmandzadeh in town for the weekend are hoping to sign him to the team. T.J. has also visited the Seattle Seahawks, but has been in Minnesota since Saturday. T.J. is expected to make a decision Monday morning, that decision will likely be to play with Seattle, Minnesota, or possibly his former team Cincinnati. T.J. himself has said he would like the chance to play with Vikings pro-bowl running back Adrian Peterson. The Vikings appear to have more to offer T.J. than other teams in terms of on the field success. They are coming off a season in which they made the playoffs after winning the NFC North. Seattle and Cincinnati both struggled to 4 wins and had lackluster offenses. The Bengals do have one thing going for them however, they appear to be offering the most money. Houshmandzadeh needed to sleep on his decision Sunday night and is probably weighing his options of money versus on the field success. Houshmandzadeh is 31 years old and is repeatedly near the top of the league in receptions, even while playing for what is usually one of the worst offenses in the league in Cincinnati.

Posted by ande7914 at 10:51 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

On Saturday night at Mariucci arena the Gophers men's hockey team got a much needed win to keep their home ice playoff hopes alive. After a 2-2 tie with Duluth on Friday night the Gophers bounced back for a 5-3 win Saturday. The win moved the Gophers into a tie for fifth place with both Duluth and St. Cloud State. The Gophers do however hold the tie-breaker over both of those teams. This means that if Minnesota can get two wins against lowly Michigan Tech next weekend, they will host a first round WCHA playoff series, something that looked bleak a few weeks ago. Minnesota jumped out early 2-0 but Duluth scored the next three goals to take the lead halfway through the third period. Minnesota rallied for 3 more goals to get the much needed win at home. MacGregor Sharp had all three goals for Duluth, giving him a team-leading 17 for the season. The Gophers rallied behind the large crowd and also perhaps behind the two seniors, Justin Bostrom and R.J. Anderson, who were honored Saturday night. The Gophers hit the road this weekend and go to Michigan Tech and then the WCHA playoffs start the weekend after that. The Gophers need to win this weekend and most likely their first round series in the WCHA playoffs to ensure a spot in the NCAA tournament later in March.

Posted by ande7914 at 10:32 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

I found a news release that was about the release of Apple's new iPhone 3g. I then found an article that someone wrote about the release of the iPhone and that press release. There were a few differences in the two items. Apple's news release had some detailed descriptions of the iPhone, including specifications, and some technical jargon. The news story put those specifications into simpler terms. The news story also did some comparisons to other cell phones out in the market, something that was not in Apple's news release. The story talked about technology in general, and hinted at some places it may be going in the future. Apple's news release was mainly abuot the iPhone, and did not look much into the future, it simply focused on the launch of the new product. The reporter chose to bring in a look to the future of cell phones and also the future of Apple. They also gave all the specifications and applications in a simpler way, so that more consumers and readers could understand the message.

Posted by ande7914 at 10:14 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)