Pat Mills and the NBA Draft

If you're a Pat Mills fan, then you're probably wondering if he'll decide to play college ball again next year or try to go pro. According to the NBL and DraftExpress, he's seriously considering the 2009 NBA Draft, which will be held on June 25.


So why would Mills test the waters of the draft? Or more importantly, why would an NBA team be seriously interested in Mills? Well, for starters, he's quick, has an explosive first step, and like many Australians, he has well-developed skill. "In addition to his nice athleticism, Mills also has textbook form on his jumper, displays solid ball handling ability, and produces as many steals as almost any qualified player" in the DraftExpress database. If you're interested in a more detailed analysis of Mills' performance, DraftExpress provides good statistics from his two seasons at St. Mary's and his time on the Australian National Team.


The deadline for underclassmen to declare their interest in the draft is just around the corner (April 26). He can get involved and still maintain NCAA eligibility as long as he pulls out before he gets an agent. So I guess we'll know where his head is in about 10 days.

My New Year's resolution: yawn more, drink less coffee

I never thought the subject of yawning was all that interesting, but I read a fascinating article today that explains why we yawn. Contrary to popular belief, we yawn to cool our brains, not because we're bored. Yawning keeps our brain temperature regulated which helps us operate more efficiently.

So how does this relate to Australia? The researchers that conducted this study chose to analyze parakeets because "the birds have relatively large brains, live wild in Australia, which is subject to frequent temperature swings, and, most importantly, do not engage in contagious yawning, as humans and some other animals do." This left me wondering if people in Australia yawn less than say, Americans?!?

Since I can't employ a research team to answer that question, I do know that the Aussie tour group we visited with this weekend was yawning quite a bit. But I think that had more to do with jet lag and a busy schedule than outside temperature, because the temperature change they recently experienced was working in their favor for brain cooling. When they left Sydney, it was 90 °F (32 °C), and when they stepped off the plane in Raleigh, the temperature was 41 °F (5 °C). Since they were pretty tired, and exhaustion was shown to increase deep brain temperature, a big yawn here was probably just what they needed. Plus, they say a good morning yawn can function like a cup of coffee and give you a jolt of energy.

I know what my New Year's resolution is for 2009 -- to replace coffee with yawning. I think I can handle that.

To tip or not to tip, that is the question

I wish money was not an issue, then I'd tip freely. Well, to the hard workers who've earned it and could use some extra cash. However, since my budget is tight, I constantly find myself wondering if I should tip this person or that person.

Here's a perfect example of the stressful tipping dilemma. Today, at the grocery store, a teenage boy helped me carry out my groceries. Should I tip him? Well, since I didn't know, I waited to see if there was an awkward moment after he finished loading the bags into my car. There wasn't, so I didn't tip! And now I feel awful and cheap.

Over in Australia, tipping is entirely different. Since servers in restaurants make a decent wage, they don't expect nor depend on tips. Now, if you receive top-notch service, then it's fine to tip. But it's not expected. We actually had several waiters refuse gratuity. They encouraged us to spend our money on us not them.

Since we are tippers here in the States, I found the following article quite interesting and a tad helpful: "Ten workers to tip this season". It explains when and how to say thanks.

Christmas in paradise

While reading the Sydney Morning Herald online, an article titled "Christmas gifts for sports fans" caught my eye. Hoping to find some good gift ideas for the men in my life -- my dad, brother, husband, son -- I clicked on the story.

Some of my favorite recommendations include a wave rider, beach towels, sunscreen, surf board and cricket set. I don't think my dear old dad will be needing sunscreen this winter in Kentucky.

Why the summer-oriented gifts? The average temperature in Sydney during the month of December is nearly 80 degrees Fahrenheit. Australians celebrate Christmas and New Years at the beach. When we lived there, I found the Christmas decorations to be so funny. They depicted Santa in a suit, but not his full-length furry suit. His bathing suit! It was very cute.

Fill 'er up, mate!

I'm so happy that $20 can once again get you a respectable amount of fuel. Now that the price for a gallon of gas has dropped below the $2 mark, it seems crazy to think how much we paid to fill up this past June. $70 to $75. That's ridiculous!

I just checked to see what the going rate for a litre of petrol is in Australia... At several stations across Sydney, regular unleaded petrol is priced at 100.9 cents per litre. The lowest its been in three years.

This reminded me of the shock and confusion I experienced the first few times I bought litres of petrol in Oz. When I tried to calculate my gas mileage, I had to convert litres to gallons, AUD to USD ($) and kilometers to miles. Needless to say, I soon quit calculating and just enjoyed the drive. Actually, after a few weeks of driving on the opposite side of the road, I got used to shifting gears with my left hand and resisting the urge to turn right on red.

What do kangaroos and kiwis have in common?

Answer: The 2008 Rugby League World Cup final

Australia is not only hosting the 2008 Rugby League World Cup, the Australian men have also made it to the final match. The Kangaroos will take on the Kiwis of New Zealand this coming Saturday. Talk about some intense competition. These two teams have quite a history. Back in 2000, they faced off in the championship game (or "Grand Final" as the Aussies say) with Australia capturing the world title.

And on the women's side of things, New Zealand pounded Australia 34-0 to retain its World Cup crown earlier this week, giving the Kiwi Ferns their third World Cup victory since 2000.

North Carolina plays a starring role in the 2008 NCAA Women's Soccer Tournament

As a North Carolinian, I am proud of our state for being selected to host so many games in the first round of the 2008 NCAA Women's Soccer Tournament. Six games are scheduled for this evening, spread out between Winstom-Salem, Durham and Chapel Hill.

The No. 1 seed in the Chapel Hill Regional is North Carolina. And the Tar Heels are not only favored to win this region, but also the whole tournament -- despite the fact that they will have multiple representatives in Chile for Under-20 World Cup later this month.

We have 3 weeks of NCAA D1 Women's Soccer ahead of us, and I'm stoked.