I remember the 2019-20 NBA finals like they were yesterday. Watching LeBron James and Anthony Davis embrace as they and the Los Angeles Lakers were crowned NBA champions at the ESPN Wide World of Sports Complex at Walt Disney World. It had been 10 years since I saw the Lakers win a title and I was even more excited because I knew they were good enough to repeat. Instead, I have watched their season and the entire NBA fall apart right before my very eyes. It all started when the NBA announced that the season would begin on Dec. 22, 2020. Since last year's season was suspended in March and did not resume until July, the Lakers played their final game on Oct. 11. That meant teams like the Lakers and Miami Heat would only get around two months off, which was the shortest offseason in NBA history. Other teams that were in the bubble, such as the Denver Nuggets and Milwaukee Bucks, would also have a shortened offseason. In a normal season, teams that do not make the playoffs get around six months off. Even teams that make the finals get around four months off. Athletes, especially NBA players, need the offseason to heal and rest their bodies. The NBA did not care about player needs and would not budge on opening day. MORE FROM THE DAILY WILDCAT OPINION: Are the Phoenix Suns contenders or pretenders? Roundtable: March Madness final four, champion and dark horse selections OPINION: The Los Angeles Lakers are going to be just fine What also made no sense is why there had to be an All-Star game this year. With most cities still in lockdown at the time and many players and teams were forced to miss games because of the pandemic, was the All-Star game necessary? I understand that it was a part of contract negotiations, but the NBA should have known better. Plus, none of the players wanted to even participate. Many were still recovering from injuries since they could not do that with a shortened offseason. ...
Uc davis medical center
Joe Biden’s audacious gambles
Sign up to get our new weekly column as a newsletter. We're looking back at the strongest, smartest opinion takes of the week from CNN and other outlets. (CNN) Tom Stoppard's play, "Rosencrantz and Guildenstern Are Dead," begins with the two minor characters from "Hamlet" betting on the toss of a coin. It comes up heads ... and heads ... and heads -- 92 times in a row -- and Guildenstern has to keep handing over his money. "I'm afraid it isn't your day," says Rosencrantz. "Life is a gamble, at terrible odds," says another character near the end of the 1966 play , "if it was a bet you wouldn't take it." This week President Joe Biden continued taking some hard bets, hoping the coins will land his way. He set the pattern in January, days before he took office, by outlining a huge Covid relief package amounting to $1.9 trillion and then topped it last month with a proposal for a $2 trillion infrastructure bill. On Wednesday he made another consequential gamble by announcing he would pull all US troops out of Afghanistan , a decision his predecessors were tempted to make, but didn't. Along with new tensions with Russia and China, Biden is facing leadership challenges in the wake of the mass shooting in Indianapolis, police violence in Minnesota, Chicago and elsewhere and the stubbornly high rate of Covid-19 cases. The White House revealed that he would speak to a joint session of Congress on April 28 -- ratcheting up the stakes of the prime-time presidential ritual by scheduling it just two days before his 100th day in office, a milestone that shapes perceptions of new presidents. Read More When Biden goes to the Capitol that was overrun by rioters enraged that he, and not Donald Trump would be certified as the winner of the 2020 election -- and when he enters the House chamber that had to be defended at gunpoint on that chaotic January 6 -- it will be a defining moment, either an opportunity to show that he ...
Chicago protesters demand answers after release of Adam Toledo shooting
close Video Chicago on edge over fatal shooting of 13-year-old Adam Toledo Body camera footage released Thursday; FOX News' Jeff Paul reports on 'Fox News @ Night' Protesters in Chicago demonstrating against the fatal police shooting of 13-year-old Adam Toledo shouted "Why’d you kill a child?" and "He was just a child!" to police after the release the body camera footage of the incident earlier Thursday. Toledo was fatally shot by a Chicago police officer on March 29. Chicago 's police review board on Thursday released the body cam video of the fatal shooting , which prompted the city to brace for protests. Some protesters called for the arrest of the officer who shot Toledo and others called again for reform and revived the "Defund the Police" mantra. The officer, identified as Eric E. Stillman, has been placed on administrative leave. ADAM TOLEDO CASE: CHICAGO OFFICER WHO FIRED DEADLY SHOT ON ADMINISTRATIVE LEAVE Protesters marching downtown also chanted "CPD! KKK! How many kids did you kill today?" according to WBBM -TV in Chicago. Jose Herrera, who said he is Toledo's cousin, claimed officers had broken a Mexican flag he had been waving while protesting. "Those cops took my flag and broke it! I’m out here protesting the killing of my cousin. He doesn’t and didn’t deserve any of this," he told the Chicago Sun-Times . Still, the city stayed relatively calm compared to bearby Minnesota where the Derek Chauvin trial – accused in the police killing of George Floyd in Minneapolis – and the fatal shooting of Daunte Wright in Brooklyn Center, Minn., last weekend spurred both cities into unrest. Activist Ja'Mal Green, center, along with other protestors react towards a line of Chicago police officers during a rally outside of Chicago police headquarters after the body camera video release of fatal police shooting of 13-year-old Adam Toledo on Thursday, April ...
India Reports a Record 273,810 COVID Cases in One Day
India’s Health Ministry Monday announced a record 273,810 new COVID cases in the previous 24-hour period. About 1 in 3 people tested for COVID-19 in the Indian capital of New Delhi recently returned a positive result, according to the city’s chief minister Sunday. “The bigger worry is that in last 24 hours positivity rate has increased to around 30% from 24%,” chief minister Arvind Kejriwal told a news briefing Sunday. “The cases are rising very rapidly. The beds are filling fast,” he said. People in Delhi have turned to social media to complain about the lack of oxygen cannisters and the shortages of hospital beds and drugs. With more than 15 million people with the infection, India is second to the U.S. which has 31.6 million infections. Just more than 1% of India’s population has been vaccinated, according to Johns Hopkins Coronavirus Resource Center. Cases surge in Iran On Sunday, Iran reported its highest daily death toll from the coronavirus in months, as hospitals in the capital and elsewhere were filling to capacity. Iran’s Health Ministry reported 405 deaths from the virus and confirmed more than 21,000 infections Sunday. The country’s highest single-day death toll was 480 last November. Iran has battled one of the worst outbreaks in the region but has said it cannot sustain long lockdowns to quell the virus for fear of too much economic damage. Iran’s vaccination campaign has been slow, dependent on a range of domestically made vaccines. About one-tenth of 1% of its population has been fully vaccinated, according to Johns Hopkins. Meanwhile Sunday, Israel lifted the requirement that masks be worn outdoors. Nearly 56% of its population is fully vaccinated against the virus, according to Johns Hopkins. The mask mandate remains in place, however, for enclosed spaces. Half US adult population vaccinated The United States reported Sunday that just over half of its adult population has received at least one dose of the COVID-19 ...
What Should You Do With COVID-19 Vaccination Card After Getting Both Doses?
(CBS Local)- Vaccination rates in the U.S. continue to rise with the latest data from the Centers For Disease Control showing that roughly half of the country’s population has received at least one dose of the COVID-19 vaccine. The percentage of people who are fully vaccinated sits right around 30 percent of Americans. As more and more people receive their full allotment of the vaccine, the question is what do you do with the vaccine card afterwards? The CDC recommends taking a picture of the card as a backup in the event that you lose it. In addition, the agency says you should hold on to your card in case you need it for future use. READ MORE: COVID-19 In Pittsburgh: Allegheny Co. Health Dept. Reports 428 New Cases, 1 Additional Death If you don’t receive a vaccination card at your visit, the CDC says you should contact the vaccination site provider or your state health department to get more information on how to get a card. Another question that arises surrounding the card is whether or not you should protect it by getting it laminated. Office supply stores like Office Depot and Staples have announced that they will laminate your vaccine card for free . However, some experts say that you shouldn’t laminate the card in case more information needs to be added to the card at a later date. With Pfizer’s CEO saying last week that it’s likely people will need a third dose between six and 12 months , it’s likely that more info will be needed to be added to those cards. READ MORE: Convicted Sex Offender In West Virginia Set Free After Prosecutor Error Cited But, Dr. Maureen Miller told CBS News that she’s in favor of laminating the cards because record-keeping of who has and hasn’t been vaccinated “will have evolved” by the time a booster shot comes. Should You Keep Your COVID-19 Vaccine Card With You In Public? Experts told CBS News that you should store the card someplace safe at home ideally keeping it with other important medical records and ...