Bacary Sagna Donates World Cup Bonuses

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By Parvez Fatteh, TMO, Founder of http://sportingummah.com, sports@muslimobserver.com

Bacary-Sagna-1Arsenal defender Bacary Sagna has declared his intention to donate his €100,000 bonus earned from the disappointing French 2010 World Cup campaign to football clubs in France and Senegal – his ancestral homeland, according to the newspaper France Football.

The 28-year-old former Auxerre player has earmarked two teams from Yonne (a French department) – Saint-Florentin and Franco-Maghrébins de Sens; and another from Paris – Bernard Diomède Academy, to receive part of the donation. The remainder will be offered to two Senegalese clubs to be named later, the French paper said.

France had a horrendous tournament in South Africa and crashed out in the group stages amid player revolt against coach Raymond Domenech, and public feuds. Sagna was born in Bourgogne, France to Senegalese parents. He began his international career with the French Under-21 team in 2004, before making it to the senior team three years later.

A source at the Senegal Football Federation told the website Goal.com that the gesture will encourage other foreign players of African descent to “look back to where they hail from and give a helping hand to those in need.”

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The Muslim Voice of Baseball

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By Parvez Fatteh, TMO, Founder of http://sportingummah.com, sports@muslimobserver.com

CnuzXAs5Michigan native Ahmed Fareed has become a media face of baseball after joining the cable television channel MLB Network this past February. He works a host and reporter, appearing on studio productions including Hot Stove and MLB Tonight. MLB Network had the largest cable launch in history in 2009, with 50 million homes. During the season, the network provides nightly live updates, highlights and live look-ins involving games in progress.

Fareed moved up the broadcasting ranks rather quickly. Before joining MLB Network, Fareed spent five years with WAVY-TV/FOX 43 TV in Norfolk, Va., where he covered the Washington Redskins, the Orioles Triple-A affiliate Norfolk Tides, and Virginia Tech and University of Virginia football. “I really liked it at WAVY,” he told the Virginian-Pilot. “But it’s difficult speaking to an audience that’s so fragmented. You don’t know what they’re interested in – the Redskins, ODU, Virginia Tech. It’s nice being here [at MLB Network]. You know your audience. They like baseball. It’s enjoyable to speak to that viewer.” Fareed is still, however, grateful for his time in Norfolk. “Growing up in Michigan,” he said, “I never would have thought this place in Hampton Roads would be so important to my life. But without that job, I’m not where I am today.”

Before joining WAVY/FOX 43, Fareed was a weekend sports anchor at WILX-TV and WSYM-TV in Lansing, Mich. He grew up a Detroit Tigers fan in Sparta, Michigan. But he went on to graduate from Syracuse University’s prestigious S.I. Newhouse School of Public Communications, where he majored in Broadcast Journalism. Considered a breeding ground for major broadcasters, the Syracuse program has been attended by many of the top sports journalists, including quite a few at ESPN.

Ahmed can be followed on Twitter at @AhmedFareedTV.

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Muhammad Wilkerson First Round Pick of the Jets

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By Parvez Fatteh, TMO, Founder of http://sportingummah.com, sports@muslimobserver.com

800-Jets_Draft_Football.sff.standalone.prod_affiliate.4Temple University defensive lineman Muhammad Wilkerson reacted with emotion amongst friends and family in his hometown in New Jersey last week, as he learned that he was selected by the New York Jets with the 30th pick of the first round of the 2011 National Football League draft. Wilkerson was in tears, flanked by his mother in hijab and his father in a prayer cap, amongst a group of 80-90 friends and family members at a restaurant in his hometown of Linden, New Jersey. The 6 foot 4, 305 pound Wilkerson is expected to play defensive end in the Jets’ 3-4 defense, periodically moving inside to the 3 technique defensive tackle position in four-man fronts. “I think I can come in and help the defense be more destructive than it is,” he stated in a conference call with reporters the night of the draft.

And in addition to being versatile from a position standpoint, Wiikerson is also versatile from a skill-set standpoint, as he is proficient as both a pass-rusher and as a run-stopper. Known not only for his athleticism and strength but also for his work ethic, Wilkerson left college early after his junior year to pursue his dreams of a professional football career. Now that he has been selected in the lucrative first round of the NFL Draft, it appears that his dreams of pro football are about to become a reality. Jets coach Rex Ryan stated that he felt that Muhammad would fit in quite nicely. “I think Muhammad really fits what we want to do defensively,” Ryan told the Bergen (N.J.) Record. “He was an excellent player in college, but we think he’s got more to give. We’re going to push him and push him and coach him up to play the way that we play, play like a Jet.”

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Nour Al-Hadidi Graduates College with Perfect GPA

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By TMO Stringer, based in part on UM Dearborn Souvenir

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Nour Al-Hadidi is graduating with High Distinction and a perfect 4.0 GPA with a Bachelor of Science degree in Biology with a minor in Hispanic studies from UM Dearborn.

Ms. Hadidi’s family is active in the Bloomfield Muslim Unity Center.

Her outstanding academic achievements have been recognized on numerous occasions.  She earned a place on the Dean’s List in 2008 and 2009, earned University Honors in 2008 and 2009, and received the William J. Branstrom Prize in March 2009.  She is a recipient of the UM Dearborn Chancellor’s Scholarship and the Michigan Merit Scholarship.

Miss Al-Hadidi’s Natural Sciences Department Awards include the Merck Index Award in Organic Chemistry and the Supplemental Instruction (SI) Leader Award.  As an SI leader, she provided original problems and volunteered for additional sessions before mid-terms and final exams.  Her sessions were very popular and the feedback from students was extremely positive.  They praised her for the clarity of her explanations, her undivided attention and patience.  Miss Al-Hadidi also shares her knowledge by serving as a tutor for biology and organic chemistry students through the Student Success Center on campus.

Miss Al-Hadidi has done quality work in Dr. Simon Maricean’s laboratory, the green chemistry project, studying the selective functionalization of diols.  Her academic ability is hardly limited to organic chemistry.  She loves to learn and has a deep and diverse academic interest.  Even more impressive is the ten A Pluses on her transcript.

Exceptionally literate, Miss Al-Hadidi is fluent in both Arabic and Spanish in addition to English.  In 2010, she spent her spring break in Costa Rica to provide health care to Nicaraguan refugees, an experience she found very rewarding.

Miss Al-Hadidi will be a first year medical student at the University of Michigan-Ann Arbor this fall.

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Two Hands, One Meal, One Smile

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By Hajra Khatri

 

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Ten thousand meals, ten thousand smiles. The Muslim Youth of Greater Detroit (MYGD) gathered good-hearted volunteers and their two hands to participate in a food packaging day. Kids Against Hunger is a national organization on a mission to feed starving children in the US and around the world. MYGD teamed up with Kids Against Hunger for the first time on April 23rd. Around 110 volunteers of different faiths partook in this event. The day started with a feeling of excitement and ended with a sense of pride.  Volunteers from all over the area were given the chance to suit up and package food. Plastic gloves pulled on and hair covered up, volunteers were placed at stations. Each station had a specific task, vital for the formation of the bag. The first station volunteer rationed vitamin-fortified crushed soy into the food bags. The next three volunteers scooped dehydrated vegetables, chicken-flavored vegetarian powder, and white rice respectively into the bags. The bags were then passed onto volunteers who ensured the mass of the bags were 350 grams each. The bags were tightly sealed to guarantee a shelf life of three to five years. Bags were then packaged into boxes, ready to be sent out to local cities, and even countries like Japan and Pakistan. Ten thousand meals were packaged on that day by adults, teenagers, and even young children!  Feeha Hasan, an active teen in the Muslim community, praised Kids Against Hunger and MYGD for teaming up for this event. After participating in this event, she said, “Kids Against Hunger was a really fun and memorable experience. It was my first year and I plan on volunteering next year. Not only did this day teach me that many people die from hunger, but also that it is our duty to help the people who are in need. It was a great idea to have interfaith groups along with the Muslim community. I enjoyed working with others!”  Many youngsters like Hasan participated in this event for the very first time. By the grace of Allah (SWT), the event was a success! MYGD would like to thank those from the IAGD community who sponsored this event! This event would not have been made possible without the generous contributions. InshAllah, MYGD hopes to team up with Kids Against Hunger next year for another successful event. Our two hands can make a difference in the world. Our two hands can make meals which lead to smiles from children all around the world. It takes our two hands and our hearts to make a difference. MYGD thanks those who made a difference.

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Weather Front

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ibn tufail 5-2-11

A weather front is a boundary separating two masses of air of different densities, and is the principal cause of weather. Fronts are drawn using various colored lines and symbols, depending on the type of front. The air masses separated by a front usually differ in temperature and humidity. Cold fronts may feature narrow bands of thunderstorms and severe weather, and may on occasion be preceded by squall lines or dry lines. Warm fronts are usually preceded by stratiform precipitation and fog. The weather usually clears quickly after a front’s passage. Some fronts produce no precipitation and little cloudiness, although there is invariably a wind shift.

Cold fronts and occluded fronts generally move from west to east, while warm fronts move poleward. Because of the greater density of air in their wake, cold fronts and cold occlusions move faster than warm fronts and warm occlusions. Mountains and warm bodies of water can slow the movement of fronts. When a front becomes stationary, and the density contrast across the frontal boundary vanishes, the front can degenerate into a line which separates regions of differing wind velocity, known as a shearline. This is most common over the open ocean.

A cold front is located at the leading edge of the temperature drop off, On weather maps, the surface position of the cold front is marked with the symbol of a blue line of triangle-shaped pips pointing in the direction of travel, and it is placed at the leading edge of the cooler air mass. Cold fronts come in association with a high pressure area.

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