Wednesday, April 27, 2011

Horizon Field Receives Donation From KSU Sports Management Majors Club

         The Sports Management Majors Club at KSU held their annual golf scramble to raise money for their club, and a local charity. This years’ recipient was the Acworth Sports Complex’s Horizon Field.

Mulligan Madness Strikes Again

BY: LAUREN FOX

This past Friday, at the 15th annual Mulligan Madness golf tournament, the second highest amount of money was raised in Mulligan Madness history by the smallest class of students, bringing in $10,655.
Mulligan Madness is a four man golf scramble tournament that is held every year to raise money for the Sports Management Majors Club, as well as a local charity. Mulligan Madness is arranged by the facilities and event management class, HPS 3370, of the sports management department.
Each fall the facilities and event management class organizes a dodge ball tournament, and each spring they put on a golf scramble, to raise money for their club, as well as local charities. The golf scramble is the Sports Management Majors Club’s big fundraising event for the year.  
This years’ tournament was held at the Towne Lake Hills Golf Club in Woodstock, Ga. Registration began at 8 a.m. and tee-off, which was scheduled to begin at 9 a.m., but was running a little late, began at 9:30 a.m. Twenty five teams of four players played 18 holes of golf.
         
Playing for Prizes
The registration fee was $80 per person. This fee covered 18 holes of golf, range balls, golf carts, and a hot lunch. The players also had the opportunity to win a variety of great prizes. The winners of the tournament received a plaque, as well as Oakley sunglasses. Other achievements that were acknowledged with prizes included longest drive, and closest to the pin.
A variety of prizes including gift certificates, merchandise, KSU clothing, an art piece made by the KSU Bike Shop, and many more items were donated by local establishments and sponsors.

Students Experienced Hands on Work
The chosen charity that the event sponsored this year was the Acworth Special Needs Field, a place where children with physical and mental disabilities are able to participate in sports.
The students of the facilities and event management class were responsible for arranging everything from securing a location, to finding sponsors, finding players, providing food and volunteers ect.
 Katie Frykman, a sports management major and senior at Kennesaw State University, was the volunteer coordinator for this years’ event.
            “It was a really great experience having the responsibility of finding volunteers and sponsors for the golf tournament, because I know this is a very realistic scenario for things I may be doing in possible jobs. This allowed me to have hands on experience in things that I will very likely be doing in the future,” said Frykman.

Coming Together for Charity
            The golf tournament brought many different people together for the cause. KSU alumni, as well as friends, family, golf enthusiasts, and even some current KSU students came out to support the cause. Brian Harper, a communication major and senior at KSU, participated in Mulligan Madness for the first time this year.
            “I love to play golf and have played in a few tournaments before. One of my friends asked me if I would play in this tournament. I did it as a favor to him, but it was actually one of the most fun tournaments I have ever played in. It was so chill, and everyone was out to have a good time and be a little competitive at the same time, but it was really all in good fun,” said Harper.  

Swinging and Kicking in to Spring at Horizon Field

This year the Mulligan Madness golf scramble, which raises money each year for the Sports Management Majors Club and a local charity, elected the Acworth Special Needs Field as their chosen charity.
Horizon field is a part of the Acworth Sports Complex, a 42 acre complex located on South Main Street in Acworth. Horizon Field makes it possible for children from the ages of 5 to 21, with physical or mental disabilities, to participate in sports.
A special turf field provides safety to the children, as well as increasing the ease for children in wheelchairs, or children who have physical disabilities. Each Spring they offer a baseball and kickball league. Each child has a buddy to help assist them during the games.
Katie Frykman, a member of the Sports Management Majors Club, recently volunteered as a buddy at Horizon Field.
 “I was a buddy to a kid named Adam. He had some sort of mental disability. We went up to the plate, and I stood with him as he hit the ball, and I made sure he knew where to go. When we were in the outfield I showed him what he needed to be doing, and when we sat in the dugout we got a chance to talk and hang out. It was really a cool experience,” said Frykman.
            This Sunday, April 30, Horizon Field will hold its next baseball game at 9 a.m. when the Dodgers play the White Sox.

Tuesday, April 19, 2011

The Coach benched Me

Well now that I have finally caught up with writing about excerise, I can't do it. This is the start of my third week of training and although I am glad that I had a lot of motivation and progress my second week, I think I may have over done it. Isn't that always how it goes. You have great motivation and then you can't work out, then when you can again the motivation is gone. To explain, last week on monday I met with my trainer Brian for the first time in about two months. It was hard getting back in the swing of things but I worked hard. Tuesday I ran for 15 min, Wednesday I worked out with Brian again, Thursday I ran for 20min, Fri was a rest day and the Saturday I ran outside for 2 miles. Although this was great progress when I started my cool down after my walk my butt was hurting. Now my muscles had been sore earlier in the week but now I was having sort of a sharp pain about two inches to the left of my tailbone. Sunday when I woke up it was worse. We took the dogs to the mountain and it hurt the whole time I walked and gave me trouble all day long. Yesterday it wasn't really bothering me until the end of my workout with Brian and then the sharp pain started again. This was when I decided to explain all this to him and in response he benched me. Not totally really I was just instructed to take today off, strech and see how my body feels and see if the pain returns and do the same tomorrow. Hopefully the prision guard will lift my sentence tomorrow so i don't lose all of my momentum and motivation by getting used to the wonderful life of rest. We shall see.

Monday, April 18, 2011

Was that Treadmill Running, or real running?

So I have become a little slack this last week about posting. I ran on Thursday and Saturday, but I went out of town and was so exhausted because of my steller running performance that I forgot to post. Both Thursday and Saturday were good running days. On Thursday after my record- breaking thuesday run of 15min, I ran even longer for 20min!!! I was really excited about this but not everyone else was. Now when trying to lose weight, or training it is important to remember that not everyone wants to hear about your progress. This is compleatly fine. Not everyone wants to know your diet or running aches, and it is important not to become one of those people who is always talking about salads or how freeing running feels. (I pray I am not one of these people because I do not agree with either statement). I feel that I have been able to stay grounded throughout my numberous training achievements, but like everyone else sometimes you need a mental check. This came in the form of my mother and father this week. I talked to my mom after my 20 min run on Thursday and lets just say that sunflower seeds were way more interseting that my excersise rambelings. She even made sure to tell me that she didn't have anything to say because I was perfectly capeable of doing all the talking. A.K.A (SHUT UP YOU TALK TO MUCH) Then even better on Friday I decided to call my dad and tell him, because this time I was hoping for a little praise. (Winey I know but sometime a girl needs it). My dad was able to do me one better. When I told him I had a recordbreaking 20min run his response was "Thats good, was it on the treadmill or real running?" Seriously? When was the last time you ran for 20min without stopping. I know I didn't cure cancer or run a marathon, but for someone who just had heart surgery maybe you could be a little more supportive of someone working on their health. Whatever was meant of these loving statements of support, they ended up being motivation, because when it was time to run on Saturday my stubborn ass ran "FOR REAL" "OUTSIDE"!!! And not only did I run outside, I ran for 23:30, and I ran 2 miles my longest and farthest run to date. Thanks for the support and stubborn traits mom and dad, you now have a daughter that can run " FOR REAL"!

Wednesday, April 13, 2011


After continuously disappointing results Cisco has decided to narrow the company’s focus and in turn consumer will see less of their products on the shelves. 

Cisco plans to shut its flip camcorder business 

Another Cisco Product taken off shelves

 

Cisco plans to shut its flip camcorder business

The Associated Press
6:01 p.m. Tuesday, April 12, 2011
NEW YORK — Cisco Systems Inc., one of the titans of the technology industry, on Tuesday said it is killing the Flip Video, the most popular video camera in the U.S., just two years after it bought the startup that created it.
It appears to be a case of a big company proving a poor custodian of a small one, even one that makes a hit product. Cisco never meaningfully integrated the Flip Video into its main business of making computer networking gear.
Flip Video users are now lamenting the demise of a camera that broke new ground. It was inexpensive, pocketable and very easy to use, from shooting to editing and online sharing. These features have been copied by many other manufacturers, but the Flip Video still outsells them.
Nicole Bremer Nash, a freelance writer in Louisville, Ky., calls the Flip Video "the little camera that could."
"I was hoping they'd continue the line and expand the accessories for it instead of getting rid of it altogether," she said.
The Flip Video is named after an arm that flips out of the camera body and lets the user connect it directly to a computer. The camera even contains video-editing software that fires up on the computer.
"I just find it a really easy process to use, and that's why I really enjoy my Flip camera," said Courtney Sandora, another Louisville resident. She's been using Flip cameras for three years, and said she was "saddened and shocked" by Cisco's decision.
"There were many opportunities for Cisco to integrate Flip more into its vision of a networked world," said Ross Rubin, an electronics industry analyst at NPD Group. "The camcorders, for example, never even had Wi-Fi built into them."
"It was a brand the company had invested heavily in and could have leveraged for all kinds of consumer video experiences — video conferencing, security applications, et cetera," Rubin said.
Cisco didn't explain why it's shutting down the Flip Video unit rather than selling it. But the decision is part of a larger shakeup at the world's largest maker of computer networking gear. After several quarters of disappointing results and challenges in its core business, it's reversing years of efforts at diversifying into consumer products.
A week ago, CEO John Chambers acknowledged criticism that the company has been spreading itself too thin. He sent employees a memo vowing to take "bold steps" to narrow the company's focus.
The shakeup announced by the San Jose, Calif., company on Tuesday will result in the loss of 550 jobs, or less than 1 percent of its work force of about 73,000.
Cisco expects to take restructuring charges of no more than $300 million spread out over the current quarter, which ends April 25, and the following one.
Last year, the Flip Video was still the top-selling video camera in the U.S., with 26 percent of the market, according to IDC analyst Chris Chute. But that only amounted to 2.5 million units sold. Dedicated video cameras are small potatoes compared to digital still cameras and smart phones, both of which now shoot video.
Top competitors in the pocket camcorder field, which could benefit from Flip Video's demise, are Eastman Kodak Co. and Samsung Electronics Co. Rubin expects Kodak to pick up much of Cisco's market share.
Leopold said the performance of Cisco's corporate products has been a bigger factor for investors than the consumer business. He believes the selling is overdone because its market share losses are mainly in fringe products rather than bread-and-butter routers and switches.

Another Cisco Product taken off shelves

     The company is also retrenching on another consumer video business — home videoconferencing. In November, it started selling the umi, a $599 box that turns a high-definition TV into a big videophone. But signs soon emerged that the umi wasn't doing well. It cut the price of the unit in March, along with the monthly service fee, which went from $24.95 per month to $99 per year.
On Tuesday, Cisco said it will fold umi into its corporate videoconferencing business and stop selling the box through retailers. Instead, it will sell it through corporate channels and Internet service providers.
Cisco's Home Networking business, which makes Wi-Fi routers and has the 2003 acquisition of Linksys at its core, will be "refocused for greater profitability," but Cisco will keep selling the routers in stores.
Cisco shares fell 3 cents to close at $17.44 Tuesday. The shares are close to their 52-week low of $16.97, hit a month ago.
     Analyst Simon Leopold at Morgan Keegan said the pullback on the consumer side is a good thing for investors, but not enough to set off a stock rally.
Consumer products have been a drag on Cisco's results because they carry profit margins that are far lower than the big-ticket capital equipment the company sells to corporations and governments, Leopold said. But the drag has been minor, because consumer products are still only a small part of Cisco's overall business.

Tuesday, April 12, 2011

No Treadmill, No run, or maybe not?

Today didn't seem like a bad day, but it definetly had it's moments. This morning I was running late but it was totally worth the time spent laying in my bed, with the sun ever so slightly streaming in, and feeling perfectly warm and content under the covers. When I made it home I made my third trip to Kroger to see if they had finally gotten new produce in and bought some things for lunch and then made my real trick of the day. While slicing chicken the plate slipped and i almost grabbed the chicken before it hit the floor, but my grip landed on the knife instead and now my middle figner is bandaged up and it feels slightly vulgar like its broken because I have used it too much. Despite my war wound I went to the gym, but when I got there non of the treamills worked. I walked around like an idiot flipping switches thinking one of them might control the power outlets on the wall. I settle for the stairmaster which is usually the devil but was suprisingly nice today. Then the real maddness set in. Maybe it was from blood loss but after dinner Katie wanted to go running and planned to go to the gym at the school. Since I had earlier planned on trying to run for 15 minutes I said I would go with her. (or again maybe it was just the blood loss) Just so you know running after dinner is NOT a good idea. The longest I have run so far is 12:30 which is how long it takes me to do a mile. I ran for 15 minutes a new record but the whole time I ran it felt like I had bricks in my stomach. No joke, I truly thought for the first time I might actually throw up in the gym (actually I have thrown up in the gym before, that exact one, but it was the result of Brian's influence, or at least I like to blame him) Regardless I made it 15 minutes!I also started training with Brian again this week and I have another appointment with him tomorrow which I think I might deeply regret in the morning because my legs are exhausted right now, I can't imagine how they are going to feel in the morning.

Saturday, April 9, 2011

Turkey Trot

Today I compleated week one of 5k training. I started off the morning pretty well. I ate some oatmeal and went to the gym. I am convinved that it has gotten too hot outside and my body is expanding in reaction to the warm weather because my workout pants were entirely too tight this morning. The scale wasn't mean, but as tight as spandax is, mine looked like it was painted on. Then when I got to the gym the air conditioner didn't work so it was 80 degrees in the gym. For some reason, maybe in an attempt to try and stroke out, I decided to try and run intervals at 6.0 today. So me and my painted spandax poured sweat for about half an hour and then I went and got my nails done. When I got home I was starving. I have a complete loathing for the grocery store, and havn't been in over a month so the only food I had in the house was a leftover salad from the chinese restruant I ate at last night (maybe another reason for the swelling). I ate the salad and tried to decide on a lunch place when my friend called and after craving hot dogs (so weird) for a week we went to Five Guys. After eating entirely too much greese the running gods must have been trying to send me a sign because standing right next to my car in the parking lot was what looked like a cross between a turkey and a vulture. It had the body of a turkey but it had a weird bald head. I am guessing that it was sick or diseased, but a woman walked right up to it to take a picture and it started following her. I took that opportunity to run to may car before I got bit or beaked or whatever. I am taking that as a sign that greesy foods are counterproductive to training and I went to the grocery store this evening. No more Five Guys for me :(

Thursday, April 7, 2011

Day 2 naps and sprints

Today was day 2 workout. I think it would have been easier to work out yesterday than today but it is important that I take it slow, marathon style not sprint, not that I could really do either at this point. I took a nap this afternoon and I don't think I have napped in six months and it was a bad idea. I spent the rest of the day in a sort of haze so my workout seemed harder and longer than tuesdays. Also I am sore in my shins and my calves but not my quads or hamstrings and I am wondering why that is. I think saturday will be a good workout and I am hoping to get in some sort of biking tomorrow. Maybe my legs will let me know how bad they hurt then. Mixed feelings today, I think tomorrow I am going to focus on grocery shopping and a nutrition stragety. I am really interested in this new book on nutrition by marc macdonald that I saw on chelsea lately. wish me luck.

Tuesday, April 5, 2011

Couch to 5K

     Today I started training for my very first 5k. I am not a runner and have never been very active and this whole process actually started about four years ago. When I graduated high school I was a size 16 and pushing it. I had spent high school laying around, eating a lot and had hit my heaviest at about 185. When I started college I recieved a packet that said we had access to free personal trainers through our gym and I thought that would be great. I called to make an appointment and they were booked so the whole idea went on the back burner for about a year.
     Sophmore year I made it a step further. I called the office and they said I first needed to get a microfit test (it shows you your weight, blood pressure, body fat, and other numbers someone who already knows they are fat just does not want to see). This time I didn't even try to make an appointment, I think I put the micro fit test away so I wouldn't have to look at the numbers anymore and let another year go by.
     Junior year however things really started to change. I got another microfit test because I figured my last one was probably expired and I made an appointment. I tiney tiny appointment was open with who I would later find was the best trainer in the place. I started working out in February and by May when I left to go home for summer I had dropped 10 pounds.
     The summer however was a struggle. It is easy to eat healthy and plan when it is just you, but when you have to try and make two little kids do it too, it is like climbing a mountain carrying the both of them. ( I babysit my two younger sisters in the summer). So when school started again in the fall I was still the same weight just wearing summer clothes.
     Now this next part I would not recomend but it is true so I am cataloging it. September came and the week after Labor Day I found out my dad had congestive heart failure and needed to have quadrouple bypass heart surgery. (Thank you to the wonderful ICU staff at St. Joseph's Hospital and Dr. Sloane Guy for taking wonderful care of my dad and saving his life. The regular nursing staff is another story) This is a time when I went on what I like to refer to as the "hospital diet". Stress, worry, taking care of my family, and being the secretary for all calls from out of town relatives inquriing for undates eating just didn't happen. So I dropped another 10 pounds by October.
     For there things got a lot less dramatic. I slowly lost a few more pounds over christmas and the next few months, and then in late February I got the flu (another weight loss regemine I would not recomend). Since then I have been focusing on school work and ignoring most things heath and wellness related.
     This week I started to feel this ich to get things back on track. I made appointment with my trainer Brain (who deserves much more credit that he has gotten so far, and is a wonderful trainer/friend/listner/someone who has had to watch me throw up and cry my eyes out, trust me he does not get paid enough) and have decided to get my excerise life back on track. I have also relaized that I need to make some fitness goals for once and see what I can accomplish. Now that you are caught up on the fitness saga ( much less interesting than twilight) you understand what a long time coming this 5k is. I am hoping that logging my progress my help me stay focused and stick with it, and that is why I am following the training program couch to 5k I found online (the only one I could find that you didn't already have to be able to run a mile and a half, IF I AM HALF WAY THERE WHY DO I NEED TO TRAIN???????)
-Day 1, ran 1 min, walked 1 min for 20 minutes with an additional warm up and cool down. Convinced my heart rate was way too high, but still going back for more on thrusday.