Fantasy Colbert League: February 1-February 4

This week looks like we have a few really strong guests. The two that pop out most are both already “friends of the show” – Eliot Spitzer and Henry Louis Gates. I think that this week should be pretty exciting! And who knows, maybe we’ll get a few tosses too. *Misses the old-time frequency*

Nicole Detling Miller is a sports psychologist accompanying the 2010 U.S. Olymic team to Vancouver along with three other “mental coaches”. She works for HeadStrong Consulting, which helps athletes, or anyone else who wants to better their work performance, such as musicians or other artists. Miller earned her Bachelor’s degree in psychology and sports science from Ohio Wesleyan University, and continued on to get her Master’s in sports psychology from Ithaca College, while completing her Doctoral degree in sports psychology and sports medicine at the University of Utah. In addition to helping athletes, Nicole plays soccer, rock climbs, skis, and bikes as well. Currently, Ms. Miller teaches courses at the University of Utah and is also Ashworth University’s Chief Instructor and Subject Matter Expert in the School of Sport Psychology. Working with athletes from sports ranging from dressage to baseball, Nicole helps a wide variety of men and women achieve top performance.

Fract: Mayo Kitchen? No, Mayo Clinic – Ms. Miller once had an internship at the famous medical practice located in Minnesota.

Jessica Smith

Jessica Smith is an inline speed skater who was nominated to participate in the 2009-2010 World Cup speed skating events. She began skating on quad roller skates, but realized that she enjoyed inline speed skating more. Earning more than twenty medals for the United States in the World Speedskating Championships, Jessica has proven her power in the sport. Since inline skating is not an Olympic sport that is why Jessica has begun to focus more on ice skating. Her speciality is short distance since it better suited her inline skills as compared to long distances. Amazingly enough, she won her first spot on the U.S. Inline team when she was only 12.

Fract: A lifetime athlete – Jessica Smith’s parents got her involved in skating at the young age of nine months to encourage good balance and coordination.

Harold Ford, Jr.

Harold Ford, Jr. is the current chairman of the Democratic Leadership Council. For ten years he served in the United States House of Representatives as a member representing Tennessee’s 9th district until unsuccessfully running to fill Bill Frist’s vacated seat in the U.S. Senate. Ford, Jr.’s father, Harold Ford, Sr. was also a Tennessee congressman, and his son took his place after running for election in 1997. He received his undergraduate degree from the University of Pennsylvania, and went on to receive his J.D. from the University of Michigan Law School in 1996. When he was elected to Congress, he was one of the youngest members at the age of 26, and he also delivered the keynote address at the 2000 Democratic National Convention when Al Gore accepted the party’s nomination. When Ford, Jr. did not run for re-election in 2006, his brother Jake ran for the spot but did not win. Since leaving Congress, Ford has also joined the firm Bank of America Merrill Lynch as a vice chairman.

You can follow Harold Ford, Jr. on Twitter.

Fract: Do you recognize the name? Harold Ford was named Stephen’s Alpha Dog of the Week just last Monday.

Tuesday, January 26: Eliot Spitzer

Everyone who is a member of the Nation should know the name Eliot Spitzer from his humble origins as a judge for Guitarmageddon, and his subsequent 2008 appearance, which took place in between his illegal activities that cost him the governor position of the state of New York in 2008. He served as the governor for a little over a year, and before held the position of the New York State Attorney General. During his time in the Attorney’s office he worked to prosecute on cases relating to white collar crime and securities fraud. He attended Princeton for his undergraduate degree, and continued onto Harvard Law. In March of 2008, the New York Times reported that Spitzer was involved in a prostitution ring, and a few days later the then-governor resigned from the position. Since his resignation, Eliot has begun to write a column for Slate Magazine and also joined the faculty of the City College of New York.

Fract: Breaking tradition? When Spitzer was inaugurated as the new Governor of New York the ceremony was held outdoors for the first time in over a century.

Wednesday, January 27: Peter Cove

Peter Cove is the founder of America Works, which aims to help individuals find places in the workforce who would normally have trouble doing so, such as veterans, criminal offenders, and youths leaving foster care. Mr. Cove is a leading activist for private solutions to public issues, and as such, began his venture in 1984 to work for answers. Previously, he held positions in municipal government, as a consultant for Manpower Assistance Project, and with the Ford Foundation. Up until beginning America Works, Peter was the President of Transitional Employment Enterprises for seven years. With the success of America Works, Mr. Cove was able to begin the Work First Foundation in 2005 which sponsors projects that try to give jobs to those who would seem to be undeserving while influencing policy makers to use the private sector to help solve the social problems we face. Peter has a Bachelor’s degree from Northeastern University in Boston, and currently resides in New York City with his wife and five children.

Fract: Who’s honoring Peter now? In 1995 The Entrepreneur of the Year Institute awarded Mr. Cove with the title “Socially Responsible Entrepreneur of the Year” for his work.

John Durant

John Durant works in online advertising, but is part of a movement of people who seek good health by returning to certain habits of our ancestors from the Paleolithic age. The group affectionately call themselves “cavemen.” The movement relies on eating large portions of meat, followed by fasting between meals, similar to the eating habits of those who had to hunt for their food. There are others who have begun to follow a similar approach to eating, so the wave is catching. This includes avoiding food such as bread because it would not have been available at the time of the actual cavemen who did have the modern agriculture we enjoy today. Mr. Durant’s ultimate goal is to rid himself of the unhealthy habits that have become customary over many and many years of dietary trends.

You can follow John Durant on Twitter.

Fract: Diet and exercise? The followers of this trend exercise in the same way as our ancestors as well – they use a routine which focuses on sprinting and jumping which replicates what a prehistoric person would have done.

Thursday, January 28: Henry Lois Gates, Jr.

Henry Louis Gates, Jr. is a well known name, and not just because of his recent arrest after a mix-up involving him trying to get into his house in Cambridge, MA. Henry Louis Gates appeared on The Report back in 2008 and again in 2009. He is the host of the PBS series Faces of America, which will feature Stephen as an upcoming guest. Dr. Gates is the Alphonse Flethcher University Professor at Harvard University, where he serves as the Director of the W.E.B. Du Bois Institute for African and African American Research. He attended Yale Univeristy as an undergrad, and went on to receive his Ph.D. from Cambridge University in English literature. Gates tackles many different areas such as literary critique, scholarly work, writing, editing, and education, leading to many books and television appearances. One of his books is Colored People: A Memoir, which chronicles his personal history in light of the civil rights history that occurred simultaneously. In addition to teaching at Harvard, Gates has taught at Yale, Cornell, and Duke. He was named one of Time’s Most Influential in 1997 and received a MacArthur Fellow in 1981.

Fract: Not a bad title – Michael Kinsley, a noted political journalist, referred to Gates, Jr. as “the nation’s most famous black scholar.”

Enjoy this week’s shows!

• Fantasy Colbert League: March 15-March 18
• Fantasy Colbert League: March 8-March 11
• Fantasy Colbert League: March 1-March 4
• Fantasy Colbert League: February 22-February 25