The Hurt Locker

It's hard enough to make an action flick.

Action, meaning explosive and reckless; casualties are collateral damage. Present but distant danger.

But it's tougher to generate genuine fear. It's the suspense factor, featuring omnipresent danger - yet willingly clamoring into it, not knowing its spark or its exact whereabouts.

The Hurt Locker is more than suspense, it's suspense on HGH, it's one that's filmed so unflatteringly that there is no savior, no hero. Just survival, no glitz, no glory.

The one thing that is recognizable is Staff Sgt. William James' adrenaline rush as he recklessly throws himself into Iraq's hot-zone, where children and elders are equally capable of demolishing an entire block.

It's his recklessness, his cocky demeanor, his provincial view of life and death that give reason to the film's opening line: "War is a drug."

It's the different personalities that underline the uneasiness of war, guilt regret and hate. Dedication, pride victory and life. Style, skill smarts and no remorse.

Adrenaline.

Director Kathryn Bigelow knows the differences. These three personalities entwine to pool personalities that color war, not label it as good vs. evil.

In a sense, it's an explanation.

How some return and cannot function normally because it's too overwhelming.

How some come back without function.

How some return for the sake of their own survival.

In it's two hour span, The Hurt Locker makes sense of why war is a drug.

And why some flounder and some flourish.

SPL reveals rust, elbows

Nothing really outstanding.

Shaun Livingston makes another attempt at a comeback.

Russell Westbrook misses all three of his three point attempts and commits four turnovers. But still ends up with 22 points and 9 assists. Thanks to 16 free throw makes.

James Harden lives up to his third pick billing by scoring an efficient 17 points on 6/9 shooting including 2/3 from deep and 3/3 from the stripe.

Meanwhile the enigmatic Jrue Holiday shot 3/11, missed both long range attempts and committed 5 TO's, including two the in the overtime period that ultimately led to his team's demise.

The Sixers organization is still high on him. Perhaps too much so.

"We like Jrue Holiday," said new coach Eddie Jordan, who watched the combined Sixers/Nets team from behind the bench as Nets and Sixers assistants coached the players. "There's no fear . . . He's got a lot of point-guard mentality. A lot of point-guard personality."

His defensive mentality is the reason he wasn't picked apart too violently. Two blocks and four steals stymied former Iowa State point guard into a seven turnover performance.

Otherwise, the minority, namely Tyler Hansbrough, did manage to tally five fouls, much to the indignation of a Marreese Speights, who curtly told the minority to have a seat.

"(Hansbrough's) forearms, hips and elbows wreaked a measure of havoc in the second quarter, until consecutive fouls on Speights earned him a seat next to coach Jim O'Brien, not to mention Speights' displeasure.

As Speights toed the free throw line, he yapped toward Hansbrough. Hansbrough was poised to defend his honor as he left the court, but starting center Roy Hibbert, coming off the bench to replace him, cut between Hansbrough and Speights. At the same time, an official spoke to Speights."

Speights went on to have a field day.

Nothing new. And the minority should get used to sitting on the pine.

Nothing really outstanding.

The Nostalgia

Certain Laker fans must define their kinship to the team with nostalgia.

Remember Shaq? Quite fondly.

Caron? Quite so, but maybe more so because of Kwame. Maybe.

And so it begins again.

For the casual superficial follower - the ones who don the number 24, bring the noisemakers, and are more in awe of their fellow special spectators, namely Jack Nicholson among others - question virulently the recent off-season move that basically sent a very popular Trevor Ariza to the Rockets in exchange for the less than likable creature in Ron Artest.

Artest? The one who prima donna number 24 cemented to the Toyota Center months earlier?

The casehead who lost his cool when a gaunt elbow gazed his throat hair?

That one?

It was illogical at best.

Especially when the cost was the soft-spoken, athletic wing who became so endeared that his name morphed in a household commodity - within the span of a few games.

Game 1, Game 3 against the Nuggets, Ariza made the plays...

Because of the gorilla-armed, sugar-injected Lamar Odom.

The decisive game in the Finals. Ariza keyed a 16-0 run that suffocated the Magic chances of pulling anything out of the hat. Back-to-back threes included.

Because prima donna number 24 gave him a radius of 6 feet to get those shots off.

Now, bringing in someone like Artest, he of bigger physicque, of smaller brain, but of equal pride, could very admirably fit the role Ariza played. Conditionally. That's if everything goes as planned.

It eerily sounds like the doubts when Ariza took to the starting line-up.

Miss Luke starting? Hopefully not. The Onion wrote about prima donna number 24 winning despite the red-head. Yes, I quote the Onion.

But a keen, if not crude observation nonetheless.

Artest will be an improvement to the Laker offense.

He who missed 60% of his shots last year will be ghastly more efficient.

He who believes in Asian boys producing his next 67 copy selling album will add an attitude the team needs against the attitude from a so-called "Birdman," who twitter a war, conjuring up a "congratulations Ron Artest, now you get to wear purple while the Birdman flies over you," among others.

Or a team with an awkwardly dominant power forward and a playboy loving young center - along with a heady veteran and the reluctant facilitator, a wing with a defensive - and offensive attitude - both literally and figuratively - will be necessary to battle not only the orange-jumpsuited Nuggets, but also the resurgent East.

But in the end, it didn't need to be. Nostalgia-land could have been happier. Still.

Instead, Ariza was dictated by his agent, David Lee, who despite his claims of "it was never about the money," got his 5-year-deal worth over a million more each year than Kupchaks's.

Instead it seemed, at least from the media, that it was Ariza who wanted to establish himself on a floundering Rocket team.

It will be Ariza, like the '08-09 Artest, who will have to create his own shot and may very well flounder himself on a Yao Ming-less, McGrady-less, and most importantly, a Kobe-less team.

And so, prima donna 24 has found a fiery, gifted replacement more than capable of erasing the nostalgia.

But for now, the casual Laker fan is weeping.

Profile: Madeleine Stanton

As a high-school senior on an official recruiting trip, Madeleine Stanton sat poolside next to UCLA swim coach Cyndi Gallagher, soaking in the team atmosphere and the California sunshine.

She took note of it all – the attitude, the focus, the cohesiveness – then turned to Gallagher and said, “I don’t think I have reached my full potential yet.”

She still needed time.

After just a brief pause, Gallagher looked back, smiled and said, “I’m glad.”
Raised in Texas by parents who had once been athletes themselves, it didn’t take long for Stanton, now a senior at UCLA, to develop an active lifestyle that mirrored those of her parents.

She began swimming competitively at 9 and, being the oldest of four siblings, perhaps spurred her brother and two sisters to take to the pool as well. At one point, the whole family would go to swim meets together.

Both the Lee and Joe Jamail Texas Swimming Center and the Student Recreation Center Natatorium at Texas A&M would, over the years, become more than just competition venues to Stanton.

“I’ve swum in both of those pools for over a decade – probably three to four times every year before college,” Stanton said. “These pools mean a lot to me.”

Eleven All-American first-teams and four All-Region MVP honors later, Stanton had the opportunity to visit five different colleges that all sought her in-pool excellence.

“In high school there was never a question of whether I could swim in college; I knew I wasn’t done yet,” Stanton said. “I knew I wanted to join a D-I program out of high school, but it was just a matter of finding the right fit.”

For most, the familiarity of home would be the deciding factor.

For Stanton, a place where she could train and swim for four years was important, but the perfect fit would consist of much more.

“UCLA was the perfect package,” Stanton said. “The team was probably one of the biggest reasons why I came, as well as the awesome coaching staff and excellent academics.”

Gallagher knew she had prioritized her recruiting efforts well and it seemed that nothing could hold Stanton back.

“She was mature, focused, articulate, well-spoken; a great student and swimmer – she’s the type of person you want in your program,” Gallagher said.

Stanton, however, came in wide-eyed, unsure of what to expect. And the trials began.

“I thought I knew how to swim pretty well until I came to college and realized that I had to learn so many new things here,” Stanton said.

As a freshman, she got sick during the conference season and although she was able to close out strong – she still missed the NCAA cut.

Sophomore year brought more tribulations.

“I had some family issues that I had to deal with and I was also trying to figure out some stroke technique that I couldn’t seem to grasp,” Stanton said. “My mind really wasn’t there.”

She said she had so many things going on in her head that it haunted her all the way back home, to a meet in Texas. With a poor 24th-place showing in the 200-meter backstroke in the early-morning portion of the meet, she said she felt as if nothing was right – nothing was connecting.

Stanton said that assistant coach Erika Hansen-Stebbins grabbed her by the shoulders and, looking her in the eyes, told her that she was faster than she had been swimming and that she knew it.

That one moment has been ingrained in Stanton’s memory ever since.

“That’s why what we have here is special,” Stanton said.

Perhaps it was just a sophomore slump.

As a junior, Stanton was named team co-captain along with Kristen Fischer. Yet again, she was met by heartbreak in conference meets.

“I had some success in the dual meets,” Stanton said. “You can have individual success, but when you have team success, it means that much more.”

Her team-oriented goals have earned the respect of her teammates – so much, in fact, she’s been called the “team mom.”

“She takes care of everyone,” Gallagher said. “It can be a burden when you take care of everyone because sometimes you forget to take care of yourself.”

With a year of learning, Stanton has grown wiser and made huge strides her final year at UCLA.

She attributes much of this sudden turnaround to the motivational speech that coach Sue Enquist, who coached the Bruins to 11 NCAA softball championships, had given to the team prior to the Texas Invitational earlier this season.

Simplifying abstract ideals into concrete and feasible goals, Enquist delivered a message that Stanton instantly connected with.

Enquist gave the team an ultimatum, asking the team if that day were the last day the players could ever wear swimsuits, how different would they prepare for it and how much more

motivated and inspired would they be?

With that fresh in mind, Stanton looked to capitalize on a momentous opportunity.

“I realized that I only have three months of this left in my life,” Stanton said. “It’s now or never.”

Stanton came back to Texas under all sorts of pressure. Memories of the sophomore meet still lingered.

Yet when the pressure was on, she followed Enquist’s advice, swimming as if each event was her last.

And she swam her way to lifetime bests in the 100 back (54.14), the 200 back (1:56.18), and the 200 IM (2:01.22).

“She had a quiet confidence and a quiet determination, more so than ever,” Gallagher said. “You don’t know how that comes, but you hope that it comes at some point in their career. She had a confidence and a determination that this was her year.”

After a tough offseason and consistent dedication to practice, her hard work has paid off.

“The light went on and she broke through the ceiling,” Gallagher said. “Once you can see no limits for yourself in swimming, you can do that for everything in your life.”

And sometimes it does take a long time. For Stanton it took three years to have everything fall in place. In a sense, there are two types of seniors: ones who have one foot out the door and ones who won’t leave until they reach their goals.

It’s obvious which type she is.

Stanton’s success, she feels, transcends the pool. She’s on the honor roll as an international development studies student, specializing in the examination of underdeveloped countries in southeastern Asia and the sub-Sahara. She’s planning to intern over the summer and hopes to get a master’s degree.

“The best thing I’ve learned is to be in the present,” Stanton said. “When you’re in class you’re only going to be in class. The same thing goes for the pool. If you can really master that, you can be real successful in college and in life.”

And all roads lead back to Texas. The NCAA Swim and Dive Championships will be held at Texas A&M, in the Student Recreation Center Natatorium pool. It’s the same pool Stanton swam in growing up in Texas. It’s the same pool that holds a soft spot in her heart.

“They are kind of the pools that I grew up with and I have great memories in them,” Stanton said.

“This will be the last collegiate swim meet of my life and it’s going to mean a lot.”

There will be a big cheering section there to greet Stanton – her mother, her friends, her family.

It’s a triumphant ending to her collegiate career.

And somehow, it should all feel connected.

It should feel right.

For Madeleine Stanton, it has just been a matter of time.