East-leading Cavs fire David Blatt as coach in second season

David Blatt fired as Cleveland Cavaliers coach - Full Press Conference! - 01.22.2016

AP 9:57 p.m. EST January 22, 2016

(Photo: The Associated Press)

INDEPENDENCE, Ohio (AP) Even after wins, and there were a bunch of them, the Cavaliers didn"t celebrate. Everything was too easy for them, way too easy.

Loaded with talent, they"re lacking chemistry and cohesion. A championship roster without championship heart.

David Blatt took the fall.

The second-year coach, who guided the Cavs to the NBA Finals in 2015 and had them sitting atop the Eastern Conference standings this season, was shockingly fired on Friday by general manager David Griffin.

Griffin didn"t think the title-chasing Cavaliers were handling prosperity, expectations or acting like a championship team under Blatt, who was 83-40 in less than two seasons. Griffin saw a team going in the wrong direction.

"Sometimes you can win games in this league in the regular season and get worse," Griffin said at a hastily-arranged news conference at the team"s practice facility. "We were regressing over a period of time. I"m in our locker room a lot, and I knew that there"s just a disconnect there right now. There"s a lack of spirit and connectedness that I just couldn"t accept. And frankly, halfway through the season, I think we have the time to right the ship.

"I know that sounds crazy when we"re sitting with a 30-11 record. I understand that. But we were 30-11 with a schedule that was reasonably easy. And I"m judging a lot more than wins and losses."

Griffin said he did not consult superstar LeBron James, who never seemed comfortable with Blatt in charge, or any of Cleveland"s other players.

"This is my decision, this is our basketball staff"s decision," said Griffin, who released Blatt just days after an embarrassing home loss to Golden State. "I"m not taking a poll; my job is to lead a franchise and to lead an organization to where it needs to go. I"m in the locker room. I"ve done this for a long time and I know what it"s supposed to feel like. I didn"t need to ask questions."

Griffin did meet with owner Dan Gilbert, who supported the move to fire his third coach in four seasons.

"Over the course of my business career I have learned that sometimes the hardest thing to do is also the right thing to do," Gilbert said.

Blatt"s firing stunned Dallas coach Rick Carlisle, president of National Basketball Coaches Association.

"It"s just a real shocker," Carlisle said. "I"ve gotten to know David in the last year and a half since he came over. He"s one of the greatest coaches in European history. The ironic thing about all this is that he adjusted and adapted to the NBA game in my opinion, much quicker than any of us ever could have adjusted and adapted to the European game. He did a tremendous job just from a strategic standpoint. If you look at his record, this is bizarre."

Lue, who was hired as the team"s associate head coach shortly after Blatt came to Cleveland and was the highest-paid assistant in the league, will make his debut Saturday night when the Cavs host the Chicago Bulls. Griffin stressed that Lue is not an interim coach and said the team is discussing a contract with him.

"He has the pulse of our team," he said.

As social networks hummed with speculation and opinion about James" role in Blatt"s removal, Griffin dismissed the notion that the four-time league MVP is a "coach killer."

"LeBron doesn"t run this organization," Griffin said. "LeBron is about this organization. This narrative that somehow we"re taking direction from him, it"s just not fair. It"s not fair to him, in particular, but frankly, it"s kind of not fair to me and our group anymore. I know what something that"s not right looks like and I believe this was the right decision to make and it"s very possible that it"s the wrong decision to make. You may hear that from our players. They don"t have to like it. They have to respect that this is what we"re trying to do."

Griffin said the home loss to the Warriors was not a "last straw" for Blatt. Before and after Cleveland"s win on Thursday over the Los Angeles Clippers, Blatt said he was bothered by criticism directed at him and his team.

Blatt seemed to be adjusting to the NBA game following his well-documented struggles in 2015 James" first season back in Cleveland. One of the most successful coaches in European history, Blatt was feeling good about the way his team was performing amid overwhelming expectations. However, there was a discord he couldn"t seem to fix.

His rapport with James was a running saga last season as the Cavs got off to a disappointing 19-20 start. However, the two seemed to work through their differences and the Cavs won the Eastern Conference title before losing to the Warriors in the Finals, where they played without injured All-Stars Kyrie Irving and Kevin Love.

Following Thursday night"s win over the Clippers, Blatt, who had defended his team amid recent criticism, shared a moment with James at his corner locker. The pair shared a smile, an innocent exchange without any hint of forthcoming change.

A day later, they"re on separate paths.

Copyright 2016 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

Source: http://www.usatoday.com/story/sports/nba/2016/01/22/ap-source-cavaliers-fire-coach-david-blatt-in-second-season/79188954/

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Canadian officials investigating 4-month Listeria outbreak

Listeria infections in humans

UPDATE:Canadian officials believe there is a link with a U.S. outbreak that has been traced to Dole Food Co. bagged salads and leafy greens, but they are waiting for final lab results, according to media reports.

The Public Health Agency of Canada is collaborating with federal and provincial public health partners to investigate an outbreak ofListeria monocytogenesinfections in five provinces.

To date, the source of this outbreak has not been confirmed. However prepackaged leafy greens, salad blends, and salad kits are food items being investigated.

Epidemiological evidence has confirmed seven cases ofListeria monocytogenesacrossfive provinces related to this outbreak: Ontario 3, Quebec 1, New Brunswick 1, Prince Edward Island 1 and Newfoundland and Labrador 1.

All cases have been hospitalized, and one person has died, however it has not been determined ifListeriacontributed to the cause of death, according to the public alert from the health agency.

Onset of the illnesses began September 2015 and continued into early January. The majority of cases , 71 percent, are female, with an average age of 81 years. All cases have been hospitalized, and one person has died, however it has not been determined ifListeriacontributed to the cause of death.

Listeriais a type of bacteria that can be found in food, soil, plants, sewage and other places in nature, according to health officials. Eating food withListeriaon it can cause a serious disease, called listeriosis, in high-risk groups. People can get listeriosis by eating meat, fish, dairy products, plants or vegetables contaminated with Listeria.

Some people face a higher risk of becoming sick withListeriathan others. Those who are at highest risk of serious illness include pregnant women and their unborn/newborn children, adults 65 and older, and people with weakened immune systems.

Public health officials recommend high-risk individuals follow safe food handling practices and avoid high risk food items such as:

• uncooked meat and vegetables including pre-packaged leafy greens;
• unpasteurized raw milk and cheeses and other food made from unpasteurized milk;
• ready-to-eat meats such as hot dogs, pt and deli meats; and
• refrigerated smoked seafood and fish.

Many people are exposed toListeria, but only a few will actually develop listeriosis. Mild symptoms may include:

• fever
• muscle aches
• nausea
• diarrhea

Severe symptoms may include:

• headache
• poor coordination
• seizures
• neck stiffness

In the milder form of the disease, symptoms can start the following day after consuming a product withListeria. For the more serious form of the disease, the incubation period is generally much longer; on average about 21 days, but can be up to 70 days after exposure.

(To sign up for a free subscription to Food Safety News, click here.)

Food Safety News

Source: http://www.foodsafetynews.com/2016/01/122720/

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Why the Cavaliers Fired David Blatt

Cavaliers Fire David Blatt! | Is This The Answer?
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June 21, 2014: The Cleveland Cavaliers hire David Blatt at their new head coach.

July 11, 2014: LeBron James announces he is leaving the Miami Heat to re-sign with the Cleveland Cavaliers.

That timeline says it all. Why is David Blatt no longer the head coach of the Cleveland Cavaliers, despite leading the Cavs to the NBA Finals a year ago, and guiding the team, which has played without star point guard Kyrie Irving much of the season, to a 30-11 record, best in the Eastern Conference? Why is one of the NBAs All-Star coaches now out of a job?

He wasnt hired to coach LeBron James.

Its no secret: superstars rule the NBA. And before the LeBron finger-wagging begins, all the groaning about how spoiled millionaires have usurped all the authority grows louder, consider: the NBA is a great meritocracy, really. Those that deserve the power have it. One player alone can radically alter a teams fortunes. Its not like that in baseball, where an ace starting pitcher gets the ball every five days, or a top hitter steps to the plate once, before eight other teammates cycle through. Or in football, which is a violent, chaotic chessboard, often beyond the control of even the most gilded quarterback arm. In basketball, just give it to your LeBron James. Every possession if you must. The Cavs were 33-49 before LeBrons return. They were 53-29 in 2014-2015. No offense against Kevin Love, the other All-Star whom Cleveland acquired in the summer of 2014. LeBron James saved the team. So why shouldnt he call the shots?

The Cavs hired Blatt, a respected tactician who coached several teams to championships in Europe, but never worked in the NBA, for a rebuilding job. It was an innovative choice: maybe Clevelands young players could learn from a skilled teacher. But just a few weeks later, the best player on the planet landed in Blatts lap. If LeBron arrived in Cleveland first, theres not a chance that Blatt, with no NBA playing or coaching experience, gets the Cavs job.

So it was an odd fit from the start. Despite Clevelands success, cracks in their relationship showed up in plain sight. Remember when LeBron announced, after a playoff game, that he changed one of Blatts plays? Most players downplay their influence in the huddle; with Blatt, James trumpeted his power.

Blatts not blameless. He preached ball movement and offensive flow in Europe. With James and Love, two players with gifted court vision and passing abilities, on the same team, hoop purists thought the Cavs would play beautiful ball. But too often, the Cavs were stagnant. For an aesthetic kick, fans knew to watch the Warriors and Spurs.

He never figured out how to incorporate Love, whos regressed, into the gameplan on a consistent basis. Thats a shame. In the Blatt era, Love will be remembered as a wasted asset. Whether or not James has resisted giving Love a bigger role is irrelevant at this point. Blatt was the coach. If an All-Star flounders, its on him.

So despite the odd timing the Cavs have won 8 of their last 10 games, Cleveland beat a strong LA Clippers team on national television last night, and Blatt has to cancel his All-Star plans Blatts firing isnt entirely unexpected. And its not totally unfair. Still, while were on the subject of the NBA meritocracy: just take a look at Blatts record. The Cavs just fired someone who won 67% of his regular season games, in his first NBA coaching job. A man who came within two games of snapping Clevelands 51-year pro sports championship drought, despite injuries to both Irving and Love.

If the Cavs dont top this accomplishment this season? Its no longer on Blatt. Thats impossible at this point.

Its on LeBron.

Source: http://time.com/4191152/david-blatt-cavaliers-fired-lebron-james/

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"The Boy And The World" Is A Beautiful, Heavy Political Parable

The Boy Official Trailer #2 (2016) - Lauren Cohan Horror Movie HD

With a gorgeous and evolving animation aesthetic that includes lush, crayon-drawn jungle landscapes and dada-like collages of animal machines, The Boy and his World is at once a vivid reflection on childhood and a sobering parable of economic disparities. The colorful and complex world created by Brazilian director Al Abreu is dazzling and varied enough to keep the attention of both kids and adults, even if the work is sometimes difficult to follow, has no intelligible dialogue, and is a bit ham-handed in its politics.

The central character is a nameless and charming stick-figure boy with two lines for eyes and rosy scribbles for cheeks. The kid is on a quest to find his father, whos recently left the family farm in the kaleidoscopic countryside to work in the city. As such, the story moves as if on train tracks from the organic and sunny grasslands to increasingly abstract and dark urban areas. Through his adventure, the boy explores plantations and textile plants, markets and slums, and befriends a musician, an old laborer and a little dog. Along with the films joyous soundtrack of flute music and Brazilian hip-hop, these friendships offer bits of humor and warmth in Abreus rather tragic story.

Indeed, it doesnt take long to see that the world here is marked by inequality and economic forces that threaten the natural world, human communities and genuine creativity. And the ones responsible for sucking the soul out of the world look quite a bit like Americans. They are depicted as a society that literally floats above the rest of the world in high-tech bubbles, beaming up whatever resources they want. Their symbol is the eagle, and their agents replace poor workers with machines and even help to suppress the revolts of the righteous people.

And the political commentary here isnt exactly subtle. At the climax, in fact, the animation is just replaced by grainy footage of forests being bulldozed and rivers being flooded with waste. Perhaps because Abreu has partially aimed his film at children, he really wants viewers to know that our Earth is on fire and being destroyed by greed and foolish notions of economic progress.

But even as Abreu jackhammers all this in, he also pulls off a clever trick. I wont say what it is, but the realization forces us to see the film as both about the development of society and power structures, as well as the development of individuals. Were eventually asked to question why it is people turn from courageous and joyful children to beaten-down husks of human beings. What is it about our society that does this? What should we change? What can we do? The answers, Abreu suggests, lie in the sanctuary of childhood, of getting back to something like a state of nature, and making more music. And whether or not one might agree with Abreus diagnosis or ideas, its impossible to argue that they arent beautifully presented here.

The Boy and the World is playing at the St. Anthony Main Theatre.

Source: http://minnesota.cbslocal.com/2016/01/22/the-boy-and-the-world-is-a-beautiful-heavy-political-parable/

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Drivers deal with snowy conditions in James City County

How to Make Snow Cream

WAVY Along Ironbound Road, you could see in the distance a shadow coming through the snow. He walked slowly, bundled up. He was a lonely figure in the distance fighting against a driven snow. Who is that guy who walks alone? Well, its William and Mary Grad student Tanjib Khan. I am from Bangladeshit is a very warm country, and it never snows, it is my first time in the snow, he said.

Driving conditions wererough in James City County, York County, and Williamsburg. At times there was almost a blinding snow.

Tow truck operator Brad Waltrips had a busy day. He spoke to us as he was pulling another car out of a ditch. He hit the brakes, and when you hit the brakes they lock up. Your best bet is to go in neutral and to coast down icy roads, he said.

In our travels we found William Hester who is a seasoned snow veteran and he has good advice for all. My advice is to stay home and eat snow cream, he says with a hearty laugh.

It seemed drivers we met from the north had fewer problems. We met Brianne Charnit who was driving one of those really small cars. We asked her how it was to drive that small car on icy roads, Im from Pennsylvania, and I am used to it. Its not badbut you have to be careful.

Another guy we stopped along Ironbound said, It is snowy and icy. It is snowy and icy. I would recommend stay off the roads unless you have northern driving skills.

All day long it was snowy, windy, and in your face. Snow plows and salt trucks are the orders of the day.

Remember that car in the ditch Brad Waltrip was pulling out? Down Monticello Avenue he got in trouble again. Waltrip was long gone, but we were behind the slipping and sliding driver. We got out to help. He refused our help if we video taped him. We agreed not to tape him, and started pushing his car. The driver refused to help us and would not push his accelerator until we absolutely convinced him we would not tape him. It became somewhat comical. We were determined to help this traveler in need. We started pushing and he finally floored the accelerator and he started to slide up hill. Here we go. Go over on the right. Over on the right. Get it going, we were yelling. He responded. We finally got the car into a parking lot where it was out-of-the-way. The driver got out, said thanks, and left quickly leaving behind the car with bad tires.

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Source: http://wavy.com/2016/01/22/drivers-deal-with-snowy-conditions-in-james-city-county/

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Wilbur Scoville invented the way we measure hot peppers" spiciness

Animated Google Doodle Online Video Game - Wilbur Scoville’s Birthday

Wilbur Scoville, honored as todays Google Doodle to commemorate his 151st birthday, would probably be very surprised to learn that in 2016 he is primarily remembered for his research into spicy peppers the namesake of the Scoville heat units.

Born in Bridgeport, Connecticut, in 1865, Scoville was a pharmacist, not a chef. And in his lifetime he was best known for his textbook The Art of Compounding, which was used as a reference material until well into the 1960s. But in addition to his academic research, he did practical work in the laboratories of the pharmaceutical company Parke-Davis,which in its day was America"s largest drugmaker.

It was as a Parke-Davis employee standing at the intersection of academic pharmacology and the practical needs of industry that he developed both the "organoleptic test" of pepper heat and the Scoville scale to measure it, for which he is widely known today.

The invention of the Scoville scale

As John McQuaid recounts in his book Tasty, Scoville invented his scale as part of an effort to improve the production of Heet liniment, Parke-Davis"s painkilling cream. The active ingredient in Heet was capsaicin, the key chemical that makes chili peppers spicy. To produce the cream, Parke-Davis needed to extract capsaicin from peppers. And to ensure the cream had a proper dosage of capsaicin, the company wanted to better measure how much was present in different peppers.

These days, you could directly measure capsaicin using high-performance liquid chromatography, but in 1912 the best they could do was use the human sense of taste.

The problem was that while it"s easy to say that jalapeos are hotter than banana peppers but milder than habaneros, a pharmaceutical company needs to be able to quantify this precisely. Scoville"s method was to dry out peppers and then dissolve a specific weight of dried pepper in oil in order to extract the flavorful compounds. The extract was then diluted in sugar water and given to a panel of five tasters. The amount of sugar needed to make the spiciness undetectable to a majority of tasters determines the Scoville rating of the pepper.

As it happens, this research turned out to be something of a pharmacological dead end. Heet is still on the market (though it shouldn"t be confused with the antifreeze brand) and still contains capsaicin, but according to McQuaid, "the primary active ingredient is now methyl salicylate, derived from wintergreen," and "Parke-Davis never succeeded in making capsaicin into an effective, profitable product."

The world"s hottest chili peppers

Capsaicin"s promise as a pain reliever is intimately related to its culinary possibilities. The burning sensation capsaicin induces in the mouth leads the body to produce endorphins as a countermeasure. Eat spicy food regularly enough, and you start to associate the pain of pepper with the endorphins" pleasant rush. (That endorphin rush is the same reason some people start to love the pain of running long distances.)

A bit like addicts (though without the physical dependency), this leads some spicy food fans to chase ever-hotter flavors, and plant breeders have been eager to oblige them by devising hotter and hotter chilies.

While jalapeos generally clock in at 2,500 to 8,000 Scoville heat units and habaneros get up to 100,000 to 350,000 SHU, the Indian ghost chili packs a walloping 1 million SHU and was proclaimed the world"s spiciest pepper by the Guinness Book of World Records in 2007. But in 2012, it was surpassed by the Trinidad moruga scorpion and then in 2013 by the Carolina Reaper, which continues to hold the title today. The Reaper, developed by Ed Currie"s PuckerButt Pepper Company, rates a staggering 1.5 million SHU.

Source: http://www.vox.com/2016/1/22/10810564/wilbur-scoville-google-doodle

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What to expect from Chelsea Handler"s upcoming Netflix talk show

Chelsea Handler Says “We Are a F***ing Racist Country” + Racism w/ a Sense of Humor on Netflix
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After Chelsea Handlers talk show on E! ended in 2013, the comedian was quickly scooped up by Netflix to produce and star in a new talk show, which will debut this May. (They also signed her on for a four-part docuseries, Chelsea Does, which begins streaming Saturday.) She talked to EW about both the docuseries and what to expect from the talk show, which she says will be anything but standard.

Tell us about Chelsea Does. Why did you want to do a docuseries exploring the topics of drugs, marriage, racism, and technology?I just wanted to do something different, and I wanted to look at four different things that Im interested in. I also didnt just want to start a show right after my last one, that wouldnt make any sense. I needed to figure out what I wanted to do or say. And I also took a year off and did everything a 75-year-old woman on sabbatical would do, like travel and read books, because I was always on tour and doing stand-up and just needed to refresh.

Have you figured out the concept for the talk show yet?Yeah, its not going to be the same thing every night. Its going to be on three times a week, and Im going to implement a lot of the stuff from the docuseries because that turned out really well. There will be a studio portion too, but I want to keep the format loose so its fun and different every night.

Is Netflix just giving you total creative freedom?Theyd never done this before, where theyre going to have a live-to-taped show with a personality, so they have their say. Were doing 90 episodes a year, so its different for them. They normally just drop everything at once. Its great to work with people who are smarter than you. I told them, get me a great director, a great producer, and Im up for anything.And they did.

So the docuseries was essentially preparation for your talk show?Yeah, I thought it would be the perfect bridge to the new show. I wanted to have proof that I could examine these topics. It really works well for me its well-rounded and I can talk to regular people and still have fun. I want to get information in a cool fun way. Im super excited to be able to incorporate these things into the show.

Give us a teaser of something crazy or interesting youll show us in the talk show.Well, today were going to a transgender school and meeting these girls and boys who have vocal coaches so they can sound more realistic when theyre in transition. Next week we go to Russia to meet all these girls who start training for gymnastics when theyre like 3 or 4. Im going with Maria Sharapova. Its all stuff I find fascinating. Im no longer on a network that just wants you to talk about celebrities, so I dont have to talk about celebrities. Im just excited to be at Netflix. Its like stage two in my career.

Source: http://www.ew.com/article/2016/01/22/chelsea-handler-netflix-docuseries-talk-show

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