Fast Start for the Storm

The St. Johns University Mens basketball team has started the 2009-2010 season undefeated causing a stir in the college basketball world.

"It's great to start 5-0 but we can't think about it for too long cause we have another game to worry about then another game after that." said Coach Norm Roberts after the Red Storm defeated the Temple Owls 55-48 on Saturday.

The Red Storm are having their best start since the 2002-03 season when they also started off 5-0 before losing their next game to Wake Forest.

But this particular team has gotten the students and college basketball experts talking about the team from Queens.

Senior college basketball writer, Andy Katz has acknowledged the Red Storm as a team who will improve and make a run in their conference this season.

And a big reason for the optimism is that St. Johns is the only team in the Big East Conference that has all five starters returning this season.

"The experience and maturity from the returning players will generate to wins on the court" said David Berov, Red Storm play-by-play announcer for WSJU radio. "They have all been on the big stage before and the trust between the players and coaches is evidence to their cohesiveness."

2009 began with the Red Storm winning their season opener against Long Island University 83-70.

One week later St. Johns showed their veteran game play against St. Bonaventure by pulling off a 69-68 victory thanks to starting guard Malik Boothe's free-throws with less than a second remaining.

"Malik [Boothe] is the one person we want with the ball with time running out." said starting forward D.J. Kennedy after the victory "He has the instinct and knowledge to know what to do when we need him."

With the momentum from the the next two games St. Johns defeated Brown and Siena University by the scores 79-76 and 77-68 respectively.

"I've been going to St. Johns for three years and haven't really had any interest in the basketball team." said senior Idil Kirimica "But it's hard to go here and not notice a different feel around this team and the campus is showing it little by little."

The Red Storm put their undefeated record to the test against Stony Brook University on Wednesday before heading to Durham to face Duke University on Saturday.

And there is no doubt in the team's mind that they can win both and continue their surprise run.

Health Care and Immigration

With a universal health care plan knocking on the doors of the White House a question still needs to be answered;

Will Illegal Immigrants receive the same benefits as everyone else?

A tricky and touchy subject seeing as the whole Immigrant issue is also being discussed on Capital Hill. But many people want to know if tax dollars will go to provide people, who aren't supposed to be in this country, medical coverage.

The proposal, Affordable Health Care for America, which made it's way through the House by a vote of 220-215, aims to build on "what works in today's health care system, while repairing the aspects that are broken."

According to ABC News White House Correspondent Jake Tapper, the Health Care bill in regards to illegal immigrants will provide the following:

some illegal immigrants -- those who "meet the substantial presence test" -- would be taxed if they don't obtain health insurance that meets the requirements of the law;

* there are no immigration-related restrictions on who can participate in President Obama’s proposed health insurance exchanges;

* to qualify for any subsidies for health insurance, "individuals must be lawfully present in a state in the United States." That does not preclude those in this country legally who have illegal immigrants in their family from qualifying for the subsidies.

Illegal immigrants are already eligible for emergency care through the Emergency Medical Treatment and Active Labor Act, signed by President Reagan in 1986. This emergency care is often paid for by Emergency Medicaid, private insurance if the patients have it, out-of-pocket, or it's written off as bad debt or charity care by the hospital.

So how would illegal immigrants receive more health care?

Well that only happens if Medicaid is expanded. The Health Care Bill would extend Medicaid coverage up to 133 1/3% of poverty for populations that previously were not covered such as some parents and childless adults.

That expansion could mean more illegal immigrants would become eligible for Emergency Medicaid. Which is not to say that citizens don't pay for those costs anyway through extra hospital fees, but this would clearly be a more direct billing to the taxpayer.

"I don't agree with that at all" said Henry Lederer, a senior biology major at Stony Brook University "Why should we have to pay out of our pockets when they don't have to pay for anything of ours? They don't get taxed, they don't pay for the schools or the streets."

A feeling that some people seem to have especially in these trying times. However, not everyone is opposed to this plan.

"In my profession we are supposed to take care of everyone," said Marisol Acevedo, a 24 year old Bronx nurse "it doesn't matter who they are, it's not our job to decide who to care for."

No matter your view, the Health Care and Immigration issues will continue to battle until Congress comes to an agreement on the best way to

Here are a few charts that will help explain the new Health Plan.

Acquired through Times Magazine

This first chart is what the Democrats in Congress would like to do:




And this one is what the current system is like:



To better understand this, click the link an explanation of the Health Care Reform.

Parade of Champions!!

When a professional team wins a championship, it is only customary that they receive a parade from the city that hosts them.

In the city of New York we have had a lot of parades. 15 times has a sports team been honored with a parade through Manhattan with one team having the most... The New York Yankees.

The Yankees have had 9 ticker tape parades dating back to 1961 when they won the American League Pennant. And this year after winning their 27th World Series, the city of New York honored them with another parade.

Yankee fans waited 9 long seasons to see their team march down the canyon of heroes once again but it was well worth it as the team that won a major league best 103 games greeted the masses on a chilly Friday morning.

Just two days after clinching the title with a 7-3 victory over the Philadelphia Phillies the players, coaches and fans met along Broadway to show their appreciation for each other.

And during the parade, the people went nuts, fans crowded the sidewalks, climbing up street poles and trucks to get a better view of their favorite players. Chants of "C.C." and "Jeter" rang so loudly I'm sure you could hear it from 161st and River Avenue in the Bronx where the Bombers play.

Those who braved the windy, cold weather were rewarded with entertainment in the form of speeches from fan favorites like Derek Jeter and a concert by rapper Jay-Z who performed his hit "Empire State of Mind".

The parade was an experience that many fans young and old call "a once in a lifetime experience"

That is until the next championship comes to the Big Apple.

The Captain Speaks
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Trip Down Memory Lane

This past weekend my family and I moved to a new apartment. The packing process took many days to complete and while I was putting my stuff together I rediscovered some of my valuables that I thought were long gone.

And looking at these items helped me recover some memories that were buried deep in my mind. So here is a slideshow I created showcasing some of these items in a rough timeline of my life.