Book Review: Sweet Turnaround J

Sweet Turnaround J by P.V. Beck

Looking for an enjoyable basketball book to read this winter season? Check out P.V. Beck’s Sweet Turnaround J published by Bedazzled Ink.

Told over the course of a basketball season, Sweet Turnaround J follows sixteen- year-old spunky All State basketball player Janey Holmes through the most tumultuous season of her life. After her school suddenly closes, Janey must join a new team at a new school that hasn’t won a basketball game in over three years, leaving Janey to wonder, is her basketball career over?

As the Riverside Ravens transform from the worst to the best team in the league, Janey’s tumultuous temper, toughness, and first love are tested and begin to threaten the basketball team. Will the Ravens win the championship for the first time in school history? But, before this can happen, Janey has to overcome all the obstacles tossed her way. A fun book for the basketball player and fan.

Olympic hopeful Kate Hansen gets spot on US luge team for World Cup opener

Socal teen Kate Hansen clinched a spot on the USA Luge national team for the first two World Cup races Sunday, giving the 17-year-old a chance at making the Olympics.

For someone who grew up with palm trees in the yard, a love of surfing and an absolute hatred of cold weather, luge didn’t originally seem like a natural fit for Hansen. But riding a sled while on her back at speeds up to 75 mph provides a special kind of adrenalin rush.

Hansen, a high school senior, was a surprise winner of the national  race-off series. She finished first in the four-race selection series, which ended Sunday at the 2010 Olympic track. She’ll join reigning world champion Erin Hamlin, Julia Clukey and Megan Sweeney when the World Cup season opens in Calgary, Alberta this coming weekend.

With a spot on the World Cup roster, Hansen has a real chance to compete in the Vancouver Olympics, something even she thought was a farfetched notion.

The next step is competing in the first two races on the international circuit, starting this weekend in Calgary, Alberta and then Nov. 28-29 in Igls, Austria. If Hansen doesn’t collect a top-nine finish in either race, she’ll need to re-qualify to keep her spot on the World Cup team.

As luge stories often do, Hansen’s started on a lark.

Born and raised in Southern California, Hansen got started as a 10-year-old at a USA Luge slider search event in Long Beach, Calif., earning an invitation to Lake Placid.

Luge seemed more a hobby than anything else until 2008, when Hansen won the junior national title. Few of her friends really get luge, Hansen said — but they all know the significance of the Olympics. And with less than 100 days until the Winter Games, they’ll no doubt be following her competition closely.

Some facts from the Team USA Luge site:

• The word “luge” comes from the French word for “sled,”
• The average luge run has a vertical drop of 30 stories (300 feet).
• Luge is the only sliding sport measured to the single thousandth of a second.
• Sliders  go from 0 to 60 in less than 20 seconds and forces can reach 5 G’s whipping through  banked turns.
• There are now two artificially refrigerated tracks in the United States: Lake Placid and Park City.

For more background on the Luge, check out the USA Luge site or check out this Wired article on How To Luge. Here’s one of the rules:

Be fearless. Sliders must don head-to-toe spandex. Oh, and then speed down a mile-long frozen waterslide at 90 mph sans brakes.

Sounds like a blast doesn’t it?

17-year-old Ashley Freiberg wins karting race, then teaches sports stars to drive fast

Our nom for Pretty Tough Girl of the week:

LAKEVILLE, October 6, 2009: Ashley Freiberg has been jet-setting with the best of them lately. The 17-year-old racer from Homer Glen, Ill., isn’t about slow down either.

Freiberg participated in four racing events a week ago in Atlanta and West Palm Beach including winning a charity karting race, setting the fast race lap in the BFGoodrich Skip Barber National open-wheel competition and teaching other women sports stars, (Olympic Medalists and XGame’s World Champions) how to drive fast in the AMG Mercedes Driving Experience.

Now, the Lockport High School senior prepares for her final Barber National race of the year this weekend (Oct. 9-10) at Lime Rock Park, Connecticut, currently ranked sixth in the national point standings in her rookie season.

“That was a pretty wild week with all of the racing and driving events,” said Freiberg, who spent much of last week working on her studies. “It was a blast winning the charity karting feature with Shannon McIntosh in the John Gorsline-sponsored charity race event. Then I ran well at Road Atlanta in the Skip Barber National events. And finally, it was a great experience to drive with these amazing sports stars in the AMG Mercedes experience. It was just a great week for a young woman like me to be involved.”

Freiberg, a former karting champion, defeated a very competitive field in Tuesday night’s Petit three-hour endurance charity race before concentrating on the Barber action.

In the two-race weekend at Road Atlanta, Ashley qualified fourth and was running competitive with the leaders in the opening race before being knocked out of contention by another driver. In the second contest, Freiberg charged from 11th to fourth including establishing the race’s fastest lap. The fourth place finish moved Freiberg to sixth in the current national standings entering this weekend’s season finale at Lime Rock.

“I felt pretty good about the second race at Road Atlanta,” explains Freiberg. “I wasn’t happy about getting taken out of the first race. At the green flag I knew I had to make up some time starting 11th. I patiently chose when and where to make my passes and not put my car in a position to risk not finishing the race. I was getting accustomed to the track. It was a great feeling to move up and race with the leaders again. It was similar to the Road America race where I finished on the podium. It was also great to set the fastest race lap, too.”

Freiberg wrapped up her busy week by participating in the prestigious two-day AMG Mercedes Driving Experience at the new Palm Beach International Raceway. She drove a variety of AMG Mercedes sedans with world class female athletes from different forms of competition such as XGame’s Champions in surfing and skiing, and Olympic Medalists from skiing and snowboarding.

“I flew to West Palm Beach where I met many female athletes at the reception dinner before the AMG Driving Academy weekend started,” said Ashley. “They were all great people. It was cool for me to relate to them with how they had to sacrifice everything to follow their dreams. I mentioned to them that tonight was my homecoming dance at school, they all laughed. They said they never made any of their dances at school or most anything else either. It was an awesome motivation for me to hear them tell me to never give up. It was weird, yet amazing, to be teaching some of these girls how to drive fast.

“They caught on so quickly to what I would tell them, and they were really fast! Shannon Bahrke, Olympic Silver Medalists of 2002 and World Champion in 2003 and I connected well. We were always in the car together. She would always say to me ‘you’re a little bad ass on the track.’ Shannon will be returning to the Winter Olympics in 2010. As for the AMG Mercedes, WOW, what can I say, they are incredible!

“And then it was time to go home. I arrived in Chicago at 1:00 a.m. from West Palm Beach, and I had to get up for school at 4:45 a.m. I was out of school at 1:00 p.m., worked on homework until 5:00 p.m. and then had to attend traffic school for a SPEEDING TICKET!”

(via press release)

Avril Lavigne expands Abbey Dawn clothing line

Avril Lavigne’s  has expanded her line of punk style clothing for juniors (sold exclusively at Kohl’s).

The Canadian singer named the line Abbey Dawn after the childhood nickname given to her by her dad. She explains that “My alias name was always Abbey Dawn in my hotel rooms.”

The inspiration for Abbey Dawn came out of Avril’s closet. “It’s who I am and what I think is cool and anything I’d wear.” she says.

All the items in the line were co-designed and approved by the 24 year-old rocker, who says it’s hard to name her favorite piece since she loves them all so much.

For the target market, the clothes are fun but probably best worn in small doses. The takeaway is that it’s okay to borrow looks from well-known celebs and personalities but better to come up with your style.  Reminds me of one of my fave quotes:

“Always be a first-rate version of yourself instead of a second-rate version of someone else.”
-Judy Garland

Oh, and if Abby Dawn isn’t quite your style, you might want to check out Miley Cyrus’ new line at Walmart.

Oudini – American teen serves up magic at U.S. Open

Gritting her way through a shaky third set, 17-year-old Melanie Oudin from Marietta, Ga., pulled off her second upset of the Open on Saturday, defeating a more-seasoned and far more-famous opponent — former No. 1 Maria Sharapova. This victory coming just days after stunning No. 4 seed Elena Dementieva.

“I don’t even know what to say right now,” Oudin said, choking back tears in her postmatch interview with Mary Jo Fernandez in Arthur Ashe Stadium. “Thank you so much for cheering for me.” she said to the appreciative crowd of over 37,000 that included her boyfriend and her mom.

Sharapova, who has won the U.S. Open once, usually gets those cheers. But on this day in Queens, the fans were rooting for a new potential queen — the one who stamped the word “Believe” on her shoes and did just that.

The newest Beauty & the Beast is “Beastly”

Pretty Smart: One of our fave characters is Belle.

Now comes word there will be a live-action, modern retelling of the children’s classic “Beauty and the Beast” told from the Beast’s point of view.

CBS Films has signed actress/singer Vanessa Hudgens to star in the TV movie “Beastly”. Hudgens will play the role of Linda (the modern Belle) while media mogul Mary-Kate Olsen has signed on to play Kendra, a witch who puts a curse to the school’s most popular guy to teach him a lesson.

Kyle is the handsome egocentric student transformed to a beast when he asks Kendra to the prom as a practical joke and Hudgens helps him learn true beauty from within.

So who will play the beast? Current Burberry spokesman Alex Pettyfer has been chosen to appear alongside Vanessa in the film. Alex is 19 years old and most recently starred alongside Emma Roberts in the movie Wild Child.

Also cast in a supporting role is Neil Patrick Harris.

The film is based on Alex Flinn’s novel highly praised novel Beastly, and will be directed by Daniel Barnz

A fully-fleshed out beast and a much more beautiful beauty (on the inside, that is) make Flinn’s novel truly awe-inspiring and we’re hoping the film captures her vision.

Book Description:

I am a beast.

A beast. Not quite wolf or bear, gorilla or dog but a horrible new creature who walks upright—a creature with fangs and claws and hair springing from every pore. I am a monster.

You think I’m talking fairy tales? No way. The place is New York City. The time is now. It’s no deformity, no disease. And I’ll stay this way forever—ruined—unless I can break the spell.

Yes, the spell, the one the witch in my English class cast on me. Why did she turn me into a beast who hides by day and prowls by night? I’ll tell you. I’ll tell you how I used to be Kyle Kingsbury, the guy you wished you were, with money, perfect looks, and the perfect life. And then, I’ll tell you how I became perfectly . . . beastly.

Production commences June 13 in Montreal, Variety reports.

Coke looking for teens to join Vancouver 2010 Olympic Torch Relay

Not often would parents and teachers encourage teens to miss a few days of school, but when a once-in-a-lifetime experience is the reason, there’s no need to worry about detention or losing driving privileges.

Next January, Coca-Cola will offer 10 lucky teens in the U.S. a unique “show and tell” opportunity to share with their friends and family – carrying the Olympic Flame. Coca-Cola is searching for teens who exemplify positive living in their community to carry the Flame in the Vancouver 2010 Olympic Torch Relay when it visits Calgary on January 18-19, 2010.

“Coca-Cola is committed to making a positive difference in the world by rethinking the way we live and work,” said Bill Kelly, senior vice president, Coca-Cola Trademark Brands, Coca-Cola North America. “As a presenting partner of the Vancouver 2010 Olympic Torch Relay, we are using this opportunity to recognize some outstanding teens who personify positive living and serve as sources of inspiration to their friends, family and community.”

Joining the 10 teen torchbearers in Calgary will be Olympians and Coca-Cola “Ambassadors of Active Living” Shawn Johnson and Steven Lopez. Johnson is a four-time medalist in women’s gymnastics from the Beijing 2008 Olympic Games, and Lopez has medaled in men’s taekwondo in three consecutive Olympic Games. Both athletes will participate in the Relay and meet with the teens to share their Olympic experiences and speak about the importance of living positively.

Selection Process

For the Vancouver 2010 Olympic Torch Relay, Coca-Cola is seeking potential torchbearers who champion positive living, which is defined in the following ways:

• Balanced Living – staying active and physically fit while having fun with family and friends
• Community – working to make good things happen for people throughout the community
• Recycling – helping the planet by recycling or donating time to a recycling program in the community or school

To participate, nominators can visit www.livepositively.com and submit an essay that expresses, in 200 words or less, why the nominee is a champion of positive living. Nominations will be accepted through May 31.

All eligible entries will be reviewed by a panel of judges, and torchbearer selections will be based on how the candidates exhibit positive living through:

• Showing leadership to inspire others to a make a positive difference
• How the nominee’s work has inspired others to live positively or created sustainable results
• The breadth and depth of the impact of the nominee’s activities on the community

If you’re not yet ready to compete in the Olympics, this could be the next best thing. Or if you know someone who’s a champion of living and deserves the honor – be sure to nominate them.

Tweens, teens, plastic and action sports

Looking for a way to keep track of your finances and connect to favorite artists and athletes?  MYplash (from Plastic Cash Int’l) is a teen branded prepaid caid that targets sports and music enthusiasts looking for something other than a Walmart-branded debit card in their wallet.

The reloadable Visa Prepaid Card program features celeb images along with links to deals on related merchandise. What’s even better is that they include some great female athletes including snowboarders Torah Bright and Ellery Hollingsworth, skier Sarah Burke as well as surfers Coco Ho and Kassia Meador.

On the music front – there’s not a lot of girl power but Danity Kane does grace one of the cards (trivia fact: the group takes its name from a female anime superhero conceived by one of its members). 

MYPLASH just announced a deal with EMI Music, one of the world’s largest music companies, so hopefully more of our fave female artists will show up on cards soon.

Oh, and if you need budgeting tips, you can find them on the MYplash website along with info on all their featured cards.

90210 Preview

May 27, 2008 - Coming to the CW this fall, the updated 90210 hopes to capture the same audience of teen girls who watch The Hills and Gossip Girl. Since the original paved the way for these shows (as well as the OC) when if first aired in the 90’s it should be able to capitalize on its DNA.

In this promo, we see the requisite elements of a teen show – designer label stores, oversized sunglasses, poolside cocktails, hipster headbands and all the essential high school stereotypes. While the show looks like fun, why does the hearthrob jock always have to be a guy? Maybe the producer’s should consider adding a female athlete to the hot crew at West Beverly High.