MLS HIGHLIGHTS: Colorado Rapids vs. Philadelphia Union | May 13, 2023 - Dick's Sporting Goods Park,Commerce City,Colorado

Remembering Joe Cocker

This week is featured another video by the beloved British singer Joe Cocker,who died on 22 December 2014 in Crawford,Colorado.He was 70 years old.Born John Cocker in Sheffield,England,he started his career as a gas fitter at age 16,then took up touring in 1968,pleasing the fans with his trademark gravelly voice and intuitive grasp of songs that enabled him to bring out aspects of them that hadn't been heard before.
In 1970,Cocker starred in the documentary film "Mad Dogs&Englishmen."This week's selection "Feelin' Alright" is a film clip from that documentary.It was centered on one particular concert that took place at the Metropol in Berlin on 31 October.Indeed,Cocker would return to Berlin many years later and was there when the Berlin Wall was torn down.For that matter,he was also in New York on 9-11.
The documentary is named for the tour called "Mad Dogs&Englishmen,"referring to the large band he toured with at that time.Bandmembers included Leon Russell,Jim Gordon,Jim Keltner,Carl Radle,Bobby Keys and Rita Coolidge in the Space Choir of backing singers.
Besides The Beatles,Cocker admired musicians such as Ray Charles,Stevie Wonder and Marvin Gaye.He has 97 soundtrack credits.
"Mad Dogs&Englishmen" has a rating from IMDb of 7.2 out of 10.
Joe Cocker is often recalled for his unforgettable performance of "A Little Help From My Friends" at Woodstock in 1969 with The Grease Band and his air guitar playing.He was the husband of Pam Baker.
We'll miss this gifted Englishman a lot.

Fire and Flooding Threaten Rockies Communities

Areas of the Rocky Mountains have been plagued by both fire and flood recently.Powerful flood waters coursed through the Calgary,Alberta area Friday.About 75,000 have been evacuated from their homes,but only 1500 are in emergency shelters.Most have taken refuge with friends and relatives.
Three deaths have been reported so far.The water went as high as the tenth row at the ice rink of the Calgary Flames NHL team.The Calgary Stampede rodeo grounds were also inundated,with water reaching the roofs of barns at the site.
The flooding is attributed to a combination of prodigious Rocky Mountains snow melt and heavy rain swelling the Bow River.It extends as far south as Lethbridge,Alberta.The waters appear to have peaked in Calgary for the moment,but could still go higher,and other towns have yet to feel their full force.
Elsewhere in the Rocky Mountains,Colorado wildfires are among those causing the US Forest Service to spend 40% of its budget on firefighting.A total of 16 are currently burning in Colorado,some of them totally uncontained.Arizona and New Mexico are also struggling with conflagrations.
In Colorado,the East Peak fire is now at 9,000 acres and 0% containment.Ten buildings were destroyed,including a Boy Scouts ranch.The scouts were evacuated.The West Fork fire has grown to more than 18,000 acres,and the Wild Rose fire is another blaze that is  also 0% contained at 850 acres.
On the plus side,the Black Forest fire was declared fully contained on Thursday.It had killed two people and destroyed 509 homes.Arson is suspected in that fire.
Ultimately,the question is whether global warming has contributed to both the fires and the flooding.One suspects that it has,since it is the context of everything weather-related in our world today.

Frost Leads Toshiba Classic;Early Wildfire Scorches Colorado

South African David Frost shot an excellent,bogey-free eight under par 63 Friday to top the leader board at the Toshiba Classic at Newport Beach Country Club,California.Second in the Champions Tour event was the ever-popular Fred Couples,who has 15 career wins on the PGA Tour,with his seven under par 64.Couples appears in several TV commercials.
German Bernhard Langer,who currently leads the Charles Schwab Cup race after three events,made a strong comeback after firing off two eagles,one of them at the eighteenth hole,to bring himself within three strokes of the lead with a four under par 67.
I played well at the end of last year-solid golf,Langer said.Today was a continuation of that-plus I had a bit of luck here and there as well.I just tried to judge the distance right at the eighteenth.
Tom Watson finished the first round at one under par.
A small early season wildfire is scorching an area of difficult terrain near Fort Collins,Colorado.About 40 residents of the Buckhorn Canyon area,which is some 13 miles west of Horsetooth Reservoir,were evacuated from the 25 acre blaze in 50 mile an hour winds.No injuries were reported.
Meanwhile,another wildfire broke out near Peyton,northwest of Colorado Springs.Residents there were advised to evacuate as well,but the fire was 75% contained,the Colorado Springs Gazette said.
Arizona officials are concerned that the cold,wet winter has resulted in overgrown grasses that will ignite in the hot,dry summer ahead.There could be a bad fire season from April-June,The Weather Channel reported.
Toshiba Corp.(TOSBF)

Lakers Lose Again;Senden Leads Aussie Open

This guy is off the charts,said  commentator and NBA great Magic Johnson of Oklahoma City Thunder star Russell Westbrook.All season long,he has been in control,leading in points and assisting,too.He learned from losing to the Miami Heat last year and worked on his game all summer.
The Thunder are too fast and too athletic for the Los Angeles Lakers,Johnson added.
The Thunder edged the Lakers 114-108 Friday night at Chesapeake Arena in Oklahoma City.It was the Thunder's seventh straight victory,bringing their record up to 16-4.The Lakers are bitterly disappointed with their 9-11 tally.
Kevin Durant was the standout for OKC with his 36 points and 9 rebounds,while Westbrook added 33 points and 1 rebound.For the Lakers,Kobe Bryant scored 35 points with 3 rebounds.
At the Emirates Australian Open at The Lakes Golf Club in Sydney,Australia's John Senden shot a third round 7 under par 70 Saturday to surpass England's Justin Rose's 5 under par 70.The late spring sky was clear,but blustery winds marred the Saturday afternoon play.
Justin Rose said the boys are having a tough time.It's difficult to hit the ball in from 3 feet.I think everyone's gonna have problems like that out there today.
Rose had ended his round with a double bogey.
Colorado's ski resorts are looking forward to more snow this weekend.Steamboat Springs,Vail and Aspen may get 6-12 inches through Sunday.Northern Minnesota is also expecting snow.The Midwest has been gravely short on snow so far this year.

Celtics Continue Streak;Economy Looking Strong

The Boston Celtics won their third game in a row Friday night at TD Garden in Boston,edging past the New York Knicks 91-89.Ray Allen put Boston ahead with a three-pointer in the 4th period,followed by another three and a two.
The Celtics defense stopped the Knicks in the second half.Our defense is keeping us around the game,Boston coach Doc Rivers told his team.Your energy is good.
The Celtics have won seven of their last eight games.Carmelo Anthony has returned to the court for the Knicks,but his 26 points on the night weren't enough to overcome the Boston defense in the second half.
The Denver area is overcoming something most of the rest of the country hasn't seen much of this winter: heavy snow.Denver itself reports 13 inches of accumulation,but the foothills of the Rockies west of the city got up to four feet,or just over one meter of snow.
The market had a smooth journey on Friday when the unemployment rate dropped to 8.3% for January-its lowest level since February 2009,and the economy added a better than expected 243,000 jobs.The Institute for Supply Management also reported bigger than predicted growth in both the manufacturing and service sectors for January.For the week,the S&P 500 Index rose 2.17%,yielding a gain of 6.94 on the year.
Next week,earnings season continues with data coming in from Disney,Coca-Cola,PepsiCo,Visa and Time Warner Communications.Consumer sentiment will be reported on Friday.
The S&P futures climbed another 16.40 Friday evening,while bond index futures dropped.
PepsiCo(PEP),Coca-Cola(KO),Disney(DIS),Visa(V),Time Warner Communications(TWX)

Pueblo Faces Wind as Rockies Win

Pueblo County,Colorado braved fierce winds and quarter-sized hail as thunderstorms rocked the Front Range this evening.At 6:52 pm,a gust of 78 mph was recorded,and a semi truck was knocked over on its side 5 miles east of Pueblo.
Meanwhile,the Colorado Rockies were playing ball back east in Washington.They bested the Washington Nationals 3-2 as closer Houston Street blanked the Nats,striking out two in the ninth inning.The Rockies have won four straight games against the Nats,and the last 15 out of 18 contests with the Nats.
The stock market faced the winds of a poor employment report on Friday.Nonetheless,it managed a slight gain on the week,with the Dow up 0.59,the NASDAQ adding 1.55,and the S&P improving by the hair of 0.31,supported by strong manufacturing data from the Institute for Supply Management.June was the 23rd consecutive month of expansion in the sector,with new orders and production up modestly and employment rising a strong 1.7%.
Next week will see the start of earnings season as companies report their Q2 results.Alcoa reports on Monday,while JP Morgan Chase goes on Thursday along with Google.Citigroup checks in on Friday,and the Empire State manufacturing report will also be released at that time.
The futures were still affected by nerves Friday evening,as the S&P dropped 9.90.Oil futures also fell,losing 2.46,while gold and bond index futures hiked upward.
Alcoa(AA),Citigroup(C),Google(GOOG),JP Morgan Chase(JPM)

Rose Leads Bulls,Market Confident

Chicago native Derrick Rose led the Bulls to an 88-84 win over the Los Angeles Lakers at the United Center in the windy city Friday.The understated star bagged 29 points,9 assists and 5 rebounds.The Bulls brought a sellout crowd to its feet as the game remained competitive into the closing minutes.
Rose said they stayed together,fought through it and beat a good team,thanking God for the success.
The market saw its own success this week,as the Dow edged up 0.3,the S&P rose 1.3 and the NASDAQ added 1.8 for its highest close since December,2007.A consumer confidence reading also rose in November,reassuring the market that the economy is healing,however slowly.
Over a foot of fresh snowfall is powdering the West,reassuring skiers at Breckenridge,Colorado and Mt.Bachelor,Oregon.The Northeast is also cold,with Stowe,Vermont reporting 17F and light snow.
The S&P futures climbed 8.0 this evening,and bond futures also ascended.

Celtics Sharp,Jobs Meager

The Boston Celtics outshot the Chicago Bulls Friday night,ensuring their reputation as the sharpest team in basketball.The Celtics made 53% of their field goals,while Chicago made 41%.They were so good,the starters were given an extended rest on the bench during the second half.
The Boston fans were so relaxed by the dominant performance,they filled TD Garden with chants for their beloved Brian Scalabrine,who was sitting on the Bulls' bench,but had done yeoman's service for the Celtics the previous five years.Finally,Scalabrine got his chance in the last minute of the game,committing a foul and making one pass before the buzzer sounded.
Celtics starter Kevin Garnett embraced his old teammate Scalabrine after the game.
Rajan Rondo had 19 assists and 12 points for Boston.He said he doesn't know exactly how many assists he's getting,but he knows they're racking up.
Colorado is racking up impressive snowfall totals,with Crested Butte notching 93" so far this ski season.The U.S. economy,however,is not racking up enough new jobs,scoring a mere 39,000 for the 15 million job seekers in November.Wall Street shrugged this off,comforted by the Federal Reserve's certain support for the stock market.
The market was up for the week,with the S&P gaining 3.0.The S&P futures tacked on a further 0.80 Friday evening,and bond futures declined.

Heat Dominate Magic

On a glittering night in Miami,the Miami Heat were dominating the Orlando Magic 79-55at the end of the third period.Dwayne Wade led the scoring with 26 points,having hit several 3-point shots,while team mates LeBron James and Chris Bosh scored 13 and 9 points respectively.
West of Boulder,Colorado,residents were feeling actual heat.They were evacuated because of wildfires driven by warm wind.Two fires had consumed 130 acres,driving 170 from their homes.
Back east,two tropical storms churned in the Atlantic.Shary was beginning to shear Northeast,away from the U.S.,while Tomas looked more dangerous,being more likely to intensify in the Caribbean.
The market was subdued on Friday,as investors contemplated a week of big events ahead of them.Tuesday brings the midterm election,and Wednesday the Federal Reserve could issue the parameters of more asset purchases to stimulate the economy,which is only growing at a 2% clip.Next Friday,the big employment numbers are released by the Labor Department.
Stock futures were indecisive this evening,with the Dow futures up,but the NASDAQ down and the S&P flat.Bond futures fell.
Update:The final score was Miami 96,Orlando 70.Wade finished with 26 points,and James and Bosh scored 15 and 11 respectively.Dwight Howard led Orlando's scoring with 15 points.