Editor’s note: Steve Politi is a sports columnist for The Star-Ledger in Newark, New Jersey. He can be reached at spoliti@starledger.com, or follow him on Twitter:@StevePoliti

* Original article by Steve Polito of CNN/ Video screenshot from NBA HD video below

(CNN) — There was time, a generation ago, when it was hardly insanity — or, to use the operative word here, Linsanity — for the NBA team in New York to play an unselfish style of basketball.

It was simply called “playing the game the right way,” and the Knicks did it better than anyone. Fifteen years before Jeremy Lin was born, they built their franchise on the principles their new star has brought to the team over the 12 days since the Harvard graduate broke into the starting lineup and captivated the nation.

Make the extra pass. Don’t worry about individual statistics. The championship Knicks of 1970 and 1973 had plenty of talent — there were a combined six Hall of Famers on their rosters and one, head coach Red Holzman, on the bench — but they put aside their egos for the betterment of the team.

They won as a group, not as individuals, and in the process became the pride of a struggling city in the early ’70s. The stars of those teams — Walt Frazier, Willis Reed, Bill Bradley, Dave DeBusschere, Jerry Lucas and Earl Monroe — could appreciate the way the Knicks have transformed with Lin as point guard.

“What I would say to young fans is, ‘Close your eyes and imagine five Jeremy Lins on a team — that’s what those teams were like,” said Harvey Araton, author of the recent book “When the Garden was Eden” on those great teams. “Lin is a 21st century carryover of what the old Knicks brought to the city.”

Now fans have to wonder: Will the return to the team first style under Lin stick for the long term…

Read the rest here.

Original Article by Jeannine Stein, Los Angeles Times/Photo by Karen Tapia- Anderen, Los Angeles Times

A six-month program of Tai Chi exercises helped people with various stages of Parkinson’s disease improve stability, their ability to walk and reduced the frequency of falls.

A study released this week in the New England Journal of Medicine compared a six-month tailored Tai Chi program to resistance training and stretching to see which was most effective at improving functional movement, walking and balance for Parkinson’s patients.

Researchers randomly assigned 195 men and women ages 40 to 85 who were in stages one to four of Parkinson’s disease (on a scale of one to five). Parkinson’s is a neurological disorder caused by a loss of neurons that produce dopamine, a chemical involved with muscle function and movement coordination. That can result in tremors, stiffness, poor coordination and more difficulty doing daily activities. It can also lead to a higher risk of falls, which can cause serious injuries.

Tai Chi, a discipline that incorporates slow, deliberate movements, plus breathing, has health benefits that include reducing stress and improving balance and posture.

The study participants were randomly assigned to hourlong, twice weekly sessions of Tai Chi…

Read the rest here.

*original Article from CNN.com by Amanda Enayati/ photo by John Visco from Stockvault.net

There is a good chance that my children (and yours) are stressed out on a daily basis.

Not necessarily from catastrophic burdens such as death, abuse or abandonment (though far too many children are dealing with those as well), but from

More, faster, better

High on the list of stressors is the pressure many parents place on their kids: the mentality that the earlier a child does something – walks, talks, reads chapter books, excels in advanced robotics for kindergartners – the better.

“Competitive anxieties do get induced in a lot of children because they’re induced in a lot of parents,” says Jay Belsky, an internationally recognized expert in the field of child development and family studies and a professor at the University of California, Davis.

“There has been a sea change, a cultural shift,” says Denise Clark Pope, senior lecturer at Stanford University’s School of Education and co-founder of Challenge Success, a project that aims to reduce unhealthy pressure on young people. “We live in a society where there is a premium on performance as opposed to mastery or effort; on grades and scores over engagement; on speed and outer appearances over intrinsic motivations.

“Many parents are getting caught up in the craziness, in the ‘more is better’ and ‘faster is better’ mind-set. Children end up overscheduled and in and out of schools and classes, with very little time left over, including for sleep.”

Strategies for stress relief

The experts Belsky, Pope and Parul Chandra, head teacher at Bing Nursery School, Stanford’s laboratory preschool – favor a handful of strategies that have proven effective in helping children reduce, prevent or cope with stress.

Allow for playtime, downtime, family time. A young child’s job is to play…

Read the rest here.

*original video from CNN/Photo Screenshot

Nick Nisbet once hit rock bottom. Now he’s having fun and staying sober with the help of CNN Hero Scott Strode.

Check out this inspiring story about a man who hit rock bottom with a heroin overdose, who is now running marathons and inspiring others to get and stay sober as a CNN Hero.

As he says “No more mudding around wasting life because life is way too short to waste it doing drugs… Anything is possible as long as you work towards it, good things will come… as long as you stay sober.”

*original video from CNN/Screenshot from video

Check out this new research that may help us in the fight towards cancer. From anticancer, anti-inflammatory, antiviral, antioxidant properties, mushrooms are a powerhouse of healing properties. The benefits of mushrooms are worth exploring.

“Mushroom Man” Paul Stamets talks about the many health benefits of mushrooms, one possibly helping to cure cancer.

*original article by Ben Tinker of CNN blogs/photo by frhuynh of Stockvault.net

How many times have you been to the movie theater, ordered a regular-sized popcorn or soda and been asked, “Would you like a large for a quarter more?” What about ordering a sandwich at your local deli? “Make it a combo!” you probably say.

We’re trained early on, oftentimes by our parents, to clean our plates or no dessert. Frequently, regardless of how hungry we are, that’s exactly what we’ll do.

Sure, the medium-sized popcorn would’ve been entirely satisfying, but if offered the larger portion, we’re going to take it and eat it – all of it.

This phenomenon, in part, is was what sparked a series of studies conducted at a fast-food Chinese restaurant on Tulane’s New Orleans campus.

The researchers conclude, in a study published in this month’s Health Affairs,  that up to one-third of customers accepted a verbal offer to downsize their lunch, regardless of whether they were offered a minor monetary incentive to do so. Customers who accepted the downsized meals ate, on average, 200 fewer calories than did those who ordered the full-sized meals.

The truth of the matter is this: most Americans overeat, particularly the bad stuff. Recent attempts to list calories at chain and fast-food restaurants hasn’t seemed to make much of a difference as to what consumers actually order once they reach the register.

Furthermore…

Read the rest here.

* Screenshot from CNN Video

Check out this inspiring story about a man who decides to let go of the gadgets that kept him disconnected from the world. For 90 days, he experiences life in a more connected and true way. Talks were more real. Relationships strengthened. Life became different.

After 17 hours without brainwaves or signs of life, Val Thomas returns to life. She has fuller faith and purpose after her ordeal. Check out her story below.

 

Watch Christian Videos and Read the Online Bible at GodVine.com

“Cut him some slack. He’s just a teenager.”

How many times have you heard a parent utter that phrase to explain away a child’s moodiness? It’s no secret that teenagers are prone to mood swings and sometimes like to keep to themselves. But according to a study published Monday by the American Academy of Pediatrics, some adolescents’ feelings extend beyond normal human shyness to a debilitating psychiatric disorder: Social phobia.

The authors of the study, which was funded by the National Institutes of Mental Health, analyzed a previously conducted face-to-face survey of more than 10,000 adolescents, aged 13 to 18 years. They found that roughly 1 in 10 of those who identified themselves as shy also met the criteria for social phobia.

Shyness is defined by the American Psychological Association as “the tendency to feel awkward, worried, or tense during social encounters, especially with unfamiliar people.”

“[It] means being quiet, introverted, introspective, and sometimes self-isolating,” says clinical psychologist Jeff Gardere, an adjunct clinical assistant professor at Touro College of Osteopathic Medicine in New York. “But a shy person can still be drawn out by others and, if needed to, can interact socially, albeit uncomfortably. Many of our children outgrow their shyness and become much more socially interactive as they make friends, associate with peer groups, and mature through life.”

Read the rest here.

*original article by Nick Parker/Photo by NTI

CHICKEN nugget fan Stacey Irvine has been warned they are KILLING her — because the 17-year-old has eaten practically nothing else since the age of TWO.

Horrified doctors learned of the teenager’s chronic 15-year addiction after she collapsed and was rushed to hospital struggling to breathe.

Factory worker Stacey, who has never touched greens or fruit, was found to have anaemia and swollen veins in her tongue. 

Yesterday she was recovering at home after being put on an urgent course of vitamins — which started in hospital with injections. But despite medics begging her to change her diet she STILL cannot get enough of chicken nuggets.

Stacey, of Castle Vale, Birmingham, said: “I am starting to realise this is really bad for me.

“McDonald’s chicken nuggets are my favourite. I share 20 with my boyfriend with chips.

“But I also like KFC and supermarket brands. My main meal is always chicken nuggets every day.”

Mum Evonne, 39, is battling to get her seen by a specialist.

She said: “I’m at my wit’s end. I’m praying she can be helped before it’s too late.

Read the rest here.