Going ALL IN with Coach Olson

SPOKANE, WA (February 8, 2013) ? If you are not familiar with the Spokane Shock or are new to the area don?t worry, because we are going to give you the chance to get to know a little bit about the Head Coach Andy Olson and his thoughts on the upcoming season.

Arena football has been a part of the city of Spokane since 2005 and Coach Olson has been part of the team in one way or another almost every year. After growing up on a farm in Chehalis, W.A., Olson attended Western Washington University in Bellingham where he posted four record setting seasons as a wide receiver. Following his colligate career, Olson played for the Georgia Force in 2007 and then signed with the Spokane Shock for the 2008 season. Olson was a wide receiver for the Shock and had great success. He was a major player in the Shock?s 2008 Conference Championship as well as the 2009 Arena Cup.

Olson?s high school football coach saw the coach in him before anyone else did. After a bad knee injury in his senior year, Olson gave an inspirational speech to his team at halftime that his coach said helped them win the game. Coach Olson said he has always wanted to coach in one way or another, but that he honestly never thought about Arena Football. In 2011 the Shock hired Olson as the Offensive Coordinator, which gave him an opportunity to get his feet wet and see what coaching Arena Football was like. After serving as Offensive Coordinator for one season Olson was given the opportunity to become Head Coach and gladly accepted.

?Coaching has come natural, I was always a pretty vocal player, kind of a loud guy, tried to be motivational. Coaching is not easy? but for me it was just kind of a natural transition,? Olson said.

Olson?s first season as Head Coach for the Shock was a pretty successful season ending with a 10-8 record, but the West Conference was very dominant having four teams with overall winning records and the Shock fell just shy of the playoffs. Olson is looking forward to this upcoming season with high hopes that the team will have more success and not only make it into the playoffs but ultimately win the championship. One thing that is really reassuring to Olson is how experienced the team is this year and how many veterans he has to work with.

?[I] love our team! We have 17 returners; number one in the league as far as guys coming back to their roster. Everybody just knows more, where as last year everyone was so young. We can really get rolling fast??. and put a lot of time into making sure that we have the guys that are going to take us to the championship. That?s what we are looking for this season,? Olson said.

Olson is feeling very comfortable about where the team is at roster wise this season and is excited for the guys that are returning. Guys like receiver Adron Tennell who set franchise records in receptions, receiving yards, touchdowns, and points last season. Terrance Sanders missed a number of games, but still recorded 7 interceptions and was named first-team AFL kick return and second-team defensive back.? Former Eastern Washington University Quarterback Erik Meyer is returning this season with high expectations leading a high powered offensive along with AFL vet Chris Pino to anchor the offensive line. These are guys who are all veterans are players that fans will recognize. Olson expressed that with these guys that are now signed to two year contracts he is really trying to look long term, and winning games.

Olson feels that there are some things that have to change this year within both the team and the coaching staff for the team to be successful. Some of the things that he talked about were the discipline and structure of the practices, as well as having as few penalties as possible in games.

?We just need to be a more disciplined football team and that starts with me. That?s my job, [and] I am going to take care of that. We are going to require a lot of work from these guys,? Olson said.

Olson also talked about some changes that he is going to be making to help the players be more prepared for the season, with hopes of having a lot of success. Most of the changes that are going to be made are in practices. He said that this year practices are going to be a lot more competitive, structured and efficient. Last year it was a lot of just off the hip stuff, and this year he is going to try to make it so guys are not just standing around while others are practicing.

One thing that the coaching staff has implemented this season that is completely new not only for the Shock, but in arena football is a conditioning test at the start of the season. Olson said that this is something that he feels is going to put a little bit of fear in the guys, because they know that in order to have a chance they have to pass the test. If the players don?t pass, they don?t practice and if they don?t practice, they don?t play. Olson described it as a warning for the players and a way to set a high standard that he hopes to carry throughout the whole season.

In the time that the Shock have been in Spokane, they have had a lot of successful seasons, but Coach Olson knows that those successes have not only come from the action of the players on the field but from the fans as well.

With a new mission statement this season the Shock coaches and organization want to express how important community is to them. The mission states ?To deliver to our fans a high quality entertainment experience while serving and representing the Inland Northwest on and off the field as a proud member of the Arena Football League.? In his interview, Olson expressed his desire for the team and the organization to be a good example and present a positive image to the community. He said that the Shock has an opportunity to be an influence to children of all ages and to present a positive image and be people that the children look up to. Olson made it very clear that it is very important to him that the community sees value in the team not just on the field but off as well, and that they are able to make a difference in peoples? lives.

?When you?re a kid, you look up to any guy, it doesn?t matter what his name is, and you think wow that guy must be awesome. It?s not just being there to talk to them, but it?s leading in example during the season, on the field, [and] off the field, constantly being someone that people want to be around, someone that they can model themselves after,? Olson said.

As the 2013 season approaches, there are a few things that the fans can look forward to that are going to be much different than the season in the past. Olson said that there is going to be a lot more fan appreciation this season, which is something that is very important to him. He expressed that he feels that is something that they did not do well enough last year and he is looking forward to changing. They are going to make sure that guys are interacting more with the fans before and after the games doing things like giving high five and signing autographs. Olson feels that these are the little things that fans think are irreplaceable and he wants to make them feel like they are a part of something and that they do make a difference.

For all the super fans out there it may be no surprise that last year the Spokane Arena was voted at the rowdiest arena and the 25 year history of Arena Football and this is something that Coach Olson absolutely loved.

?I love it!....I?ve been to pretty much every arena now, and there are some arenas that are pretty loud and pretty annoying but there?s nothing like Spokane?. There?s nothing like our fans, they?re nuts, they?re crazy, they?re consistently yelling?. It?s just one of those environments where they care; it?s not just a game. They don?t just come to watch and have fun, they?re physically and emotionally involved?. The fans take pride in doing everything they can to help the team win a game. And they absolutely do. They cause false starts, they cause players to make mistakes because they are constantly screaming in their ears?.. We couldn?t be happier, we love our fans, we would never trade them,? Olson said.

The motto for the season is ?ALL IN,? so Shock fans out there keep up the good work and as Coach Olson said, keep yelling, and continue to be excited about Shock football.?

SPOKANE SHOCK MISSION

The Spokane Shock strive to deliver to our fans a high quality entertainment experience while serving and representing the Inland Northwest on and off the field as a proud member of the Arena Football League.

ABOUT THE SPOKANE SHOCK

The Spokane Shock is a professional arena football team of the Arena Football League from Spokane, Washington, USA. They play their home games at the Spokane Veterans Memorial Arena. The Shock played their first four seasons in the former af2, winning division titles in all four seasons and ArenaCups in 2006 and 2009 before joining the AFL and winning ArenaBowl XXIII in their first season. Tickets and Sponsorships are available for the 2013 Season. For more information visit our website at spokaneshock.com or call 509-242-7462. You can also follow the Shock on Facebook, Twitter, and YouTube.

Source: http://www.sportspagemagazine.com/content/fb/mp-fb/art-mp-fb/going-all-in-with-coach-olson.shtml?55744

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Va. Struggles With Health Insurance Requirement - Higher Education

by Associated Press

RICHMOND Va. ? State agencies are reducing part-time employees? hours until officials figure out how to comply with federal health insurance requirements regarding those who work more than 30 hours each week.

Gov. Bob McDonnell ordered agencies to cut back part-time employees to no more than 29 hours each week to avoid triggering a provision in the Affordable Care Act that requires health insurance coverage be provided to those who work more hours.

But officials are unsure how the law affects some employees, such as the more than 9,000 adjunct professors at community colleges. They also aren?t sure how reducing employees? hours will affect services.

?We?re trying to get a really good grasp of who we have, what are the jobs they?re doing, if they?re working more than 30 hours, is it necessary, why?? Secretary of Administration Lisa Hicks-Thomas, told the Richmond Times-Dispatch (http://bit.ly/U2GlhZ).

State officials estimate that providing basic health benefits to part-time, hourly employees who work at least 30 hours a week would cost from $61 million to $110 million, if their families also are covered.

A recent survey showed agencies have nearly 7,400 wage employees who work more than 30 hours each week. Many of those?nearly 1,500?are working in the Virginia Community College System.

Department of Alcohol Beverage Control spokeswoman Rebecca V. Gettings says the agency will have to adjust weekly schedules to comply and continue adequately staffing state liquor stores. Part-time employees, including clerks and cashiers in the state?s liquor stores, account for almost two-thirds of the agency?s workforce.

Local governments are facing similar challenges for their employees and workers in state-supported local positions.

?We are trying to come up with alternative plans in each situation and try to find a way to get the hours under the threshold or otherwise find ways to cover the work,? said Chesterfield County Administrator James J.L. Stegmaier.

Those positions include workers at local community services boards, which provide critical services to disabled Virginians and those with behavioral health conditions.

?I don?t know how this is going to be resolved,? said Mary Ann Bergeron, executive director of the Virginia Association of Community Services Boards. ?This impacts especially those people who are working as care providers for (Medicaid) waiver services. I think they?re going to be hard hit.?

It remains unclear how the state directive affects employees who have another source of health insurance coverage, such as from a spouse or another job. Also unclear is how the potential expansion of Medicaid or the creation of a federally run health benefits exchange would affect the change.

Information from: Richmond Times-Dispatch, http://www.timesdispatch.com

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Source: http://diverseeducation.com/article/51257/

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Boy's postcard mailed in 1967 turns up in Oklahoma

PAULS VALLEY, Okla. (AP) ? It may have taken 46 years, but one boy's postcard has made it home to Mom.

Bert Jacobson sent the postcard to his mother in Pauls Valley, Okla., in January 1967, when he was 13 years old. The card, from the Old Country Store Museum in Hereford, Penn., arrived last Friday.

Jacobson tells Tulsa television station KOTV (http://is.gd/5MzAmX ) that he traveled to the East Coast with his father and cousins to buy concrete trucks and mixing equipment for the family business.

The postcard was sent with a 4-cent Abraham Lincoln stamp. The card reads: "Mom, Hi. We've been having a great time."

Jacobson's sister, Marilyn Hubbard, says their mother wasn't surprised that her son sent a card ? only that it took 46 years to arrive.

Associated Press

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/apdefault/aa9398e6757a46fa93ed5dea7bd3729e/Article_2013-02-12-Old%20Postcard-Oklahoma/id-63f558c7b70e4eea8436e38e04a95efb

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CALIFORNIA: Stoking The Next Big Financial Crash? ?The next financial market meltdown may already ?

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Source: pjmedia.com --- Tuesday, February 12, 2013
California: Stoking The Next Big Financial Crash? ?The next financial market meltdown may already be brewing: not in the housing market, this time, but in municipal bonds. Greedy bankers, opportunistic politicians and hobbled regulators are putting a time bomb in the muni market that could set off another devastating crash. . . . This is irresponsibility on steroids, but it represents a dream come true for crony capitalists and Wall Street I-bankers. Fat fees, enormous interest, and the taxpayers won?t even know what hit them when the whopping bills come due.? ...

Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/instapundit/podcast/~3/qsssBbDw0Ok/

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Microsoft?s Next-Gen Xbox May Require You To Use A Kinect

The war for your living room rages on, and Microsoft has no intention of yielding any hard-fought ground to its gaming rivals. Rumors of a new Xbox have been flying around for months now, but Kotaku has put together the mother of all next-gen Xbox (a.k.a. Xbox 720, a.k.a. Durango) posts thanks to a secretive-but-chatty source known as SuperDaE -- if the moniker sounds familiar, he's the guy who tried selling what he claimed was a Durango developer rig on eBay a while back.

Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/Techcrunch/~3/Op9HRGDaj50/

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VA adds 1,000 mental health professionals to staff

WASHINGTON (AP) -- The Veterans Affairs Department said Monday it has added more than 1,000 mental health professionals and 200 support staff over the past eight months to meet the needs of returning veterans, but still has more to do to meet the requirements of an executive order issued by President Barack Obama.

The VA needs to add about 550 more doctors, nurses and counselors by June 30 to comply with the executive order.

The VA announced new hiring goals in the spring, just days before an inspector general's report found the department had greatly overstated how quickly it provided mental health care to veterans seeking help. Obama expanded on that goal in August as both presidential candidates were reaching out to veterans in the heat of an election campaign. He also directed the VA to increase the capacity of its telephone crisis line by 50 percent and to ensure that a mental health professional contact within 24 hours any veteran who identifies themselves as in crisis.

The House Veterans' Affairs Committee is holding a hearing Wednesday to examine what progress the VA has made in its hiring program and in other mental health initiatives.

VA Secretary Eric Shinseki said the VA would not be slowing down in its effort to increase staffing. The new hires include psychiatrists, psychologists, nurses, and licensed counselors and therapists, although there was not an exact breakdown for each category.

"We still need to hire more mental health professionals to reach our goal, but each new hire means we can treat more veterans and provide greater access to our mental health services," Shinseki said.

The VA also said it was still working on hiring and training 800 veterans to work as "peer specialists" on the VA's mental health teams. Some veterans are more comfortable reaching out to peers who have shared their experiences in serving during wartime. The peer staff is expected to be completely hired by Dec. 31.

The number of veterans getting mental health treatment from the VA has risen from about 927,000 in 2006 to more than 1.3 million in 2012.

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/va-adds-1-000-mental-212013681.html

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Maybe an iWatch will go with your iPhone

Suzanne Choney , NBC News ? ? ? 22 hrs.

Reports Sunday say Apple's working on a smart watch-like device that would run Apple's mobile operating system, iOS.

The New York Times and the Wall Street Journal each shared information from people who spoke on condition of anonymity. The Journal cited "people briefed on the effort" who said Apple has "discussed such a device with its major manufacturing partner Hon Hai Precision Industry Co. ... as part of explorations of potentially large product categories beyond the smartphone and tablet."

Apple, which did not comment to either publication, is notoriously secret about any of its ventures. (NBC News has contacted Apple, and will update this post if we hear back.)

The Times cited "people familiar with the company's explorations," who said the watch-like gadget would be made of curved glass. Corning's Willow Glass, the Times noted, could be what's used to make the watch.

The company's tough Gorilla Glass is used on the iPhone, as well as on other smartphones. As Corning notes about Willow Glass: It will "help enable thin, light and cost-efficient applications including today?s slim displays and the smart surfaces of the future. The thinness, strength and flexibility of the glass has the potential to enable displays to be 'wrapped' around a device or structure."

Certainly, there's been no shortage of smart watches entering the market in recent months. These 2.0 versions, like the $150 Pebble, launched via Kickstarter, can show incoming calls, emails, calendar alerts, Facebook messages, weather alerts, tweets and more.

Another watch, introduced at the recent Consumer Electronics Show, is the $129 COOKOO Connected Watch, which uses either an iOS or Android app to let you know when you have incoming calls, appointments or new Facebook messages.

This new generation is a long way from what Microsoft first introduced more than a decade ago with its SPOT watch, which never quite took off and has been discontinued.

If the wrist is the new human real estate for tech, the field may be getting crowded, and Apple may not be the only major player to get involved. Google recently was granted a patent for a watch with a transparent screen, hidden in a flip-up bezel.

Check out Technology, GadgetBox, DigitalLife and InGame on Facebook, and on Twitter, follow Suzanne Choney.

Source: http://www.nbcnews.com/technology/gadgetbox/maybe-iwatch-will-go-your-iphone-1B8310116

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