The rivalry, by the numbers: 2002-05

By Stan McNeal - SportingNews

Overall: 45-45

Stats	Red Sox	Yankees
BA	.275	.257
OBP	.344	.338
Runs	484	454
HRs	124	110
ERA	4.64	5.02
Home	24-21	24-21

2006 schedule
at Boston May 1-2
at New York May 9-11
at Boston May 22-24
at New York June 5-8
at Boston August 18-21
at New York September 15-17

Derek Jeter leads all players by playing in 88 of the 90 games. Johnny Damon has played in 86 -- but those, of course, were for the Red Sox. Manny Ramirez has played in 80. His 20 home runs are the most by a player on either team. David Ortiz leads all players with 61 RBIs, though he didn't join the Red Sox until '03. Randy Johnson was 5-0 in six starts against the Sox last year. Since '02, Mariano Rivera has blown nine save opportunities against the Red Sox. He has not blown more than two against any other team. Since '02, the Yankees have a losing record (including the playoffs) against only one American League team: the Angels (22-25). The Red Sox have a losing record against two AL teams: the Twins (11-13) and the White Sox (15-16). Entering the week, the Yanks were 147-82 against the rest of the East since '02, and the Red Sox were 147-90. 2006: What has gone right Red Sox: The top of the rotation has been healthy and, not coincidentally, dominating. Curt Schilling and Josh Beckett were 7-0 combined, and both had ERAs under 2.60. The Red Sox have been better at finishing games. Rookie Jonathan Papelbon, taking over the closer job from Keith Foulke, did not allow a run in his first 10 1/3 innings and was a perfect 7-for-7 in save chances. Yankees: The offense has been potent. After three weeks, the team was fourth in the AL in runs scored and ranked in the top five in home runs and batting average. Jason Giambi is producing as he did when he was using steroids. He began the week second in the AL in on-base percentage and led the Yankees in homers and slugging percentage. What has gone wrong Red Sox: With Damon gone, Manny Ramirez has assumed the club lead for longest locks, but they've done nothing for his power. He didn't get his first extra-base hit until he had a double in Game 14. He finally homered twice in Game 17. Yankees: Though Randy Johnson and Mike Mussina have been almost as good as Schilling and Beckett, the rest of the rotation has been shaky. Chien-Ming Wang, Jaret Wright and Shawn Chacon had two quality starts among them through their first eight starts. Giambi's defense was so lacking that the Yankees signed Tigers castoff Carlos Pena to play first. Lineup changes Except for their new leadoff hitter, the Yankees are fielding a lineup that is much like last year's. The Red Sox, however, overhauled their infield in addition to replacing Damon. There's a chance Damon's replacement, Coco Crisp, could be recovered from a broken knuckle on his left index finger in time for the team's first series at Yankee Stadium. Starting lineups for the clubs' first meeting in 2005 Red Sox Johnny Damon CF Edgar Renteria SS Manny Ramirez LF David Ortiz DH Kevin Millar 1B Jason Varitek C Jay Payton RF Bill Mueller 3B Mark Bellhorn 2B David Wells P Yankees Derek Jeter SS Alex Rodriguez 3B Gary Sheffield RF Ruben Sierra DH Hideki Matsui LF Jorge Posada C Jason Giambi 1B Bernie Williams CF Tony Womack 2B Randy Johnson P Lightning A-Rod The Yankees may be Derek Jeter's team, but Alex Rodriguez is the man who moves their W-L meter. In their first eight victories, the Yankees averaged 9.1 runs and A-Rod hit .467 (14-for-30) with four homers and nine RBIs. In their first eight losses, A-Rod hit .156 (5-for-32) with four RBIs and the Yankees averaged 3.3 runs. Stan McNeal is a managing editor for Sporting News. E-mail him at smcneal@sportingnews.com. Updated on Thursday, Apr 27, 2006 12:06 pm EDT

Source: Yahoo! Sports

Nintendo: Oldschool Revolution

Diversity of Muslims in the US: Views as Americans

United States Institute of Peace

Qamar-ul Huda
The Diversity of Muslims in the United States: Views as Americans

Download Full Report in PDF

Summary

• There are approximately 6 to 7.5 million Muslims in the United States who identify themselves as Americans. The community consists of a combination of immigrants and second- and third-generation Arab, Latino, Asian, European, African, and African-American Muslims.
• The growth of the American Muslim community has fostered the development of a variety of religious, civic, political, cultural, economic, social, ethnic, feminist, artistic, and professional organizations.
• The diversity of American Muslim organizations provides a vast number of voices addressing such issues as terrorism, democracy, peacemaking, and human rights.
• American Muslims do not see contradictions between Islam and such ideals as democracy, pluralism, or political activism; rather, in recent years several national groups have made it their primary mission to reconcile all three with Islamic values.
• Some leaders see the blending of Islamic values with the American experience as a solid bridge to mutual understanding between the United States and the Muslim world.
• American Muslim advocacy organizations often collaborate with the White House and law enforcement authorities to devise strategies on public policy, civil rights, the war against terrorism, and other related issues.
• Many organizations emphasize the importance of self-scrutiny and education in relation to the larger Islamic heritage.
• Interfaith dialogue has taken the forefront on the agendas of many American Muslim organizations, demonstrating a belief that building trust, peace, and reconciliation will ultimately lead to harmonious interfaith relations in the United States.
• American Muslim scholars advocate greater involvement by Muslims in the political, social, economic, and cultural spheres of American society.
• American Muslim scholars believe Muslims have an enormous responsibility and talent for resolving conflict and being agents for peace.

About the Report

With the war against terrorism and an increased attention on the Muslim world, this report analyzes ways Muslims in the United States understand their roles as Americans in combating terrorism and their unique contributions toward conflict prevention and peacemaking. The assimilation and integration of American Muslims has effectively enabled the flourishing of dozens of national and regional organizations to work in areas of civil rights, human rights, interfaith dialogue, education, charity, public diplomacy, political activism, and other religious and secular activities. Despite the post 9/11 scrutiny of the Muslim community, American Muslim groups have devised sophisticated grassroots campaigns on counter-terrorism and anti-extremist ideology.

Qamar-ul Huda is the Senior Program Officer in the Religion and Peacemaking program at the United States Institute of Peace. Formerly a professor of Islamic Studies and Comparative Theology at Boston College, he examines ethics, violence, conflict resolution and nonviolence in juristic and nonjuristic Muslim authorities in contemporary Islam. This report is part of a larger book project on American Muslim identity formation and Islamic approaches toward mediation and peacebuilding.

The views expressed in this report do not necessarily reflect views of the United States Institute of Peace, which does not advocate specific policy positions.

Source: United States Institute of Peace
http://www.usip.org/pubs/specialreports/sr159.html

High Gas Prices

Due To Popular Demand

[Not so-] Random Goal:
Excluding the paradoxical one in this statement, no curse word for the remainder of the month--no matter the aggravation or the amusement at hand. It's a fucking start.

Keys to Success
- Tolerating people who clog the left lane on the highways
- Tolerating the ongoing bullcrap (no swear) justified under the "war on terror"
- Not getting stressed as easily...over...certain things
- A healthy dose of Hamza Yusuf and Paul Oakenfold, respectively
- Basically: being ignorant and not utilizing the dome piece at all

So you STILL think you live in democracy?

via factivism.com

First Sikh joins the Pakistani Army

Pakistani Prime Minister Shaukat Aziz congratulates cadet Hercharn Singh, the first Sikh to join the Pakistan army in the predominantly Muslim country, at the 113th Pakistan Military Academy (PMA) passing out parade in Abbotabad yesterday.

“I am proud to be a Pakistani and to join the Pakistan army,” the official Associated Press of Pakistan (APP) news agency quoted Singh as saying. Born at Pakistan’s Nankana Sahib (about 75 kilometres from Lahore), the birthplace of the Sikh spiritual leader Guru Nanak Dev, Singh is currently in the second term of the PMA’s 116th Long Course and is set to graduate in October 2007.

Source: Gulf Times
http://www.gulf-times.com/site/topics/article.asp...