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Wade, Bryant named NBA Players of the Month
New York, NY (Sports Network) - Miami Heat guard Dwyane Wade and Los Angeles Lakers guard Kobe Bryant were named Eastern and Western Conference Players of the Month, respectively, for the games played in December.
Wade led the NBA in scoring for the second consecutive month, averaging 29.2 points per game in helping the Heat to a 9-4 record, including victories over the Lakers and the Cavaliers -- who have a combined 51-10 record coming into Friday's games.
Additionally, Wade posted averages of 6.3 assists, 5.3 rebounds, and 1.85 steals, while shooting 46.2 percent from the floor.
Bryant's 28.2 ppg was second in the league to Wade as the Lakers posted a perfect 7-0 mark at Staples Center and an 11-4 record overall in December. Dallas and San Antonio equaled the Lakers' December record as best in the Western Conference. Bryant tallied 30-plus points five times and eclipsed the 40-point plateau once, scoring in double figures in all 15 of the Lakers' contests. Shox Ride & Plus
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NBA role playing pays off for OMV
Western Kentucky guard Orlando Mendez-Valdez is guilty of identity theft, but the Hilltoppers won’t be calling the police.
Mendez-Valdez entered today’s Sun Belt Shox Ride & PlusConference matchup against Troy on a streak any NBA shooter would admire. The senior has hit 13 of his last 24 3-pointers over the last three games, and he’s hit at least four 3-pointers in three of WKU’s last five.
The secret? Pretending he is an NBA shooter.
“I have this psychological thing I do before a game where I pretend I’m one of the greatest shooters of all time, like (former Indiana Pacers guard) Reggie Miller, or someone of that caliber,” Mendez-Valdez explained this week. “It works out for me, so that’s what I go with.”
But it’s more than a return to childhood days, when he’d try to emulate one of his NBA favorites on the playground.
It’s become a mental game for Mendez-Valdez, who assumes the identity of any NBA star of his choosing.
“Most of it is shooting with confidence,” Mendez-Valdez said. “(It starts) in warm-ups. If I say I’m Reggie Miller and I miss a shot, then I go down to another guy. If I make it with that guy, I’m going to be that guy for the game.”
Taking the persona of former University of Illinois standout and current Utah Jazz star Deron Williams was a very good decision for Mendez-Valdez on Sunday.
Williams - or Mendez-Valdez - hit a career-best Shox Allegria Glowseven 3-pointers and scored a career-high 25 points in WKU’s loss to Florida State in Sunrise, Fla.
He also grabbed a career-high seven rebounds, which marked the first time in his 104-game career that he’s led the Hilltoppers in rebounding.
“I’ve got to see (today),” Mendez-Valdez said. “If I make my (first) shot with him, I’ll be with him (against Troy).”
Mendez-Valdez also makes sure to let his teammates know exactly who he is on game days.
“You definitely hear about it in the locker room,” sophomore forward/center D.J. Magley said. “He (shouts) ‘I’m Deron Williams.’ ”
“He’s always in there saying, ‘I’m Deron Williams, I’m Deron Williams.’ So we’ll say who we are and he’ll (respond), ‘I don’t care who you are. I’m Deron Williams.’ ”
Just don’t expect Mendez-Valdez to be BostonShox FSM Celtics guard Ray Allen. That’s who Mendez-Valdez was when the Hilltoppers fell at Murray State.
It’s taken until his senior year for Mendez-Valdez to develop his routine, although he didn’t need the characters during his sophomore year. Mendez-Valdez shot better than 47 percent from 3-point range that year, then hit almost 39 percent last year.
He’s now shooting almost 41 percent from beyond the arc this season and his 42-percent career mark ranks second on WKU’s all-time list for 3-point field goal percentage for a career.
Mendez-Valdez’s “inspiration” is actually actor Robert Downey Jr. in the 2008 movie, “Tropic Thunder.” In the film, a group of actors make a war movie, but Downey refuses to break character.
“I bought into that and I just did it,”Shox Dendara Mendez-Valdez said.
Meanwhile, 2009 could bring a Japeth Aguilar sighting. Since joining the Hilltoppers last year, the 6-foot-9 center has played in only two games because of foot injuries. A foot injury cut his 2007-08 season short and he has yet to play this year because of a separate foot injury.
But WKU coach Ken McDonald said this week that Aguilar had his first full practice this week. McDonald said there’s a chance Aguilar would see time today against Troy.
“We’ll see how he feels,” McDonald said. “He’s still making sure he knows everything offensively that we’ve got going on, and defensively he’s catching back up. And he’s been out a while, so you’re concerned about that. We’ll have to see what the trainer says.” Shox Go
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Gene Linked to High Blood Pressure Discovered By Ed Edelson HealthDay Reporter Monday, December 29, 2008; 12:00 AM MONDAY, Dec. 29 (HealthDay News) -- Researchers have identified a gene variant that may make people more likely to develop high blood pressure. Although the variant was found in members of the genetically homogeneous Old Order Amish community in Pennsylvania, it is Shox Arraw+carried by about one of every five white Americans, said Yen-Pei Christy Chang, assistant professor of medicine, epidemiology and preventive medicine at the University of Maryland. Chang is a leader of the research group reporting the new finding in the current issue of the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. While the variant doesn't have an enormous effect on blood pressure -- it increases levels by about 3.3 points -- it may lead to better treatment of what is formally called hypertension, a major risk factor for cardiovascular problems such as heart attack and stroke, Chang said. "We're now going back to the Amish again to study how these people react to different hypertension medications," she said. "This can help us find the best medication for hypertension in individual cases." The discovery was made by use of a new technique called genome-wide association study, done on 542 members of the Old Order Amish,Shox Saya+ a group that is ideal for such studies, because its members are relatively isolated and share a similar rural lifestyle and diet. University of Maryland researchers recently reported a different cardiovascular-related genetic variant in the Amish community -- a mutation that seems to reduce blood levels of the fats called triglycerides, thus lowering the risk of heart disease. In the new study, the researchers scanned the total genetic complement of the Amish participants, looking for individual genetic bits that were associated with blood pressure reading. The scientists zeroed in on the gene variant dubbed STK39. They verified the finding by doing the same scans on participants in four non-Amish studies and a different Amish group. The gene they found plays a role in blood pressure, because "it regulates the amount of sodium in your body," Chang said. Higher levels of sodium mean greater blood volume and higher blood pressure, she said. It's not clear how great a role STK39 plays in the overall picture of high blood pressure or how important it might be in treatment Shox TWof the condition, said Dr. Richard S. Cooper, professor and chairman of preventive medicine at Loyola University's Stritch School of Medicine in suburban Chicago, and another member of the research team. "At this point, what is important is really a question of what it leads to next," Cooper said. "It is not a major determinant of blood pressure. We are trying to figure out in greater detail what the physiology of it is." In such genetic studies, there are "two dimensions," Cooper said. "How does it work, and what is the science involved? Is there any way to act on it clinically? Many steps must be taken to determine that." More information The dangers of high blood pressure and how to avoid them are described by Shox Propulsionthe American Heart Association. SOURCES: Yen-Pei Christy Chang, Ph.D., assistant professor of medicine, epidemiology and preventive medicine, University of Maryland, Baltimore; Richard S. Cooper, M.D., professor, chairman of preventive medicine, Loyola University Stritch School of Medicine, Maywood, Ill.; Dec. 29-Jan. 2, 2008, Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences Shox Pursuit+ Shox Turbo V+ 5 Shox NZ Shox Turbo+ IV 4 Shox Spotlight
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Surgeon uses human fat to run his cars Health department raids liposuction clinic as doctor leaves for South America By Guy Adams in Los Angeles A leading Beverly Hills plastic surgeon claims to have found an environmentally friendly way to combine two of America's great obsessions – after converting his 4x4 to run Shox XTon fat removed from clients during liposuction operations. Alan Bittner, who founded a high-profile clinic on Rodeo Drive, the Bond Street of Los Angeles, claims to be able to power both his Ford Explorer and his girlfriend's Lincoln Navigator on biofuel converted from excess flesh from human tums, bums and thighs. "The vast majority of my patients request that I use their fat for fuel – and I have more fat than I can use," he says. "Not only do they get to lose their love handles or chubby belly, but they get toShox Vivacity take part in saving the Earth." Dr Bittner made his claim in a posting on the internet site lipodiesel.com, adding that he has performed roughly 7,000 liposuction operations, and that a gallon of human fat will produce roughly the same quantity of biofuel. Scientists say there is no reason why human fat cannot be turned into biofuel, since it contains triglycerides which are no different from those found in waste animal fats that are already being used for the same purpose. However the discovery left medical Shox TWregulators unimpressed. Using human medical waste to power vehicles (or indeed for any other commercial purpose) is largely illegal, and Dr Bittner's clinic has been raided by California Health Department officials. The magazine Forbes says that Dr Bittner's ability to create what he calls "lipodiesel" first came to light in lawsuits filed by several former patients, who recently accused him of allowing his girlfriend and assistant, who were both unlicensed, toShox Saya+ carry out intricate operations. A gallon of "lipodiesel" will give motorists roughly the same mileage as they would get from regular diesel, the magazine added. At present, most biofuel is made from a mixture of specially grown corn, and left -over beef or pork products. Sadly, Dr Bittner is no longer around to bask in his new-found fame. His practice in Beverly Hills suddenly closed shortly after last month's raid, and he is believed to have moved to South America. Lawyers representing several former patients are currently attempting to track him down. One of them, Andrew Besser, claims Dr Bittner's unlicensed girlfriend removed too much fatShox Arraw+ from his three clients, leaving them horribly disfigured. Dozens of other patients have complained to the State Medical Board, he added. Dr Bittner's lawyer is yet to comment. Shox Pursuit+A notice on his website claims that the doctor is currently living in Colombia. Shox Go Shox Respond Shox Ride 2 II Shox Bella IL Shox Rollin
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