Related Shows Show Closed This production ended its run on July 20, 2014 Star Files The Cripple of Inishmaan star Daniel Radcliffe stopped by Live with Kelly and Michael to discuss his greatest fear is about doing a show on the Great White Way. The Broadway.com Audience Choice Award winner also shared a peek at his luscious locks for his upcoming film Frankenstein, and Rippa commented that he “would be a very beautiful woman.” Well, Radcliffe, if you’re on board, we have one (or two) shows in mind you could step into after Inishmaan! That’s after he adds Rosencrantz and Guildenstern Are Dead and Company to his resume, both of which he expressed interest in doing while speaking to The New York Times. Daniel Radcliffe The Cripple of Inishmaan View Comments
Renovator certification
Painters, carpenters and home renovators will benefit by attending a training Sept. 29 in Brunswick that will explain new Environmental Protection Agency regulations for lead-based paints.Offered by University of Georgia Cooperative Extension and Greenville Tech, the training will be 8 a.m. until 5 p.m. at the Glynn County Extension Office. The EPA Renovation, Repair and Painting Rule took effect April 22 and affects contractors, property managers and others who work in housing or childcare centers built before 1978.Participants will learn how to minimize lead dust generation and soil contamination during maintenance, renovation and remodeling projects. Following these procedures will reduce the risk of lead exposure to employees, children and residents.Participants in the class will perform hands-on activities and be tested at the end of the class. Those who earn a passing score will be certified as renovators, a certification that is valid for five years.The cost of the course is $260 and is limited to the first 20 registrants. For more information, or to register, go to the website www.fcs.uga.edu/ext/housing/training/lead_training.php.
Personal finance tips for you and your members
75SHARESShareShareSharePrintMailGooglePinterestDiggRedditStumbleuponDeliciousBufferTumblr,John Pettit John Pettit is the Managing Editor for CUInsight.com. John manages the content on the site, including current news, editorial, press releases, jobs and events. He keeps the credit union … Web: www.cuinsight.com Details For the Average Joe, even if you feel you’re doing well with your finances, you could probably stand to make a few changes to your financial habits. If you’d like to spend less and save more, here are a few things to think about…Be smart with credit cards: A credit card can be a valuable tool, but if used incorrectly, it can create debt that can be tough to manage. Only use your credit card for purchases you can pay off each month. This is a great way to build a good credit score, but always make sure you’re being careful when paying with plastic.Find savings as often as you can: It doesn’t matter how big or small the purchase, you can probably find it cheaper somewhere else. Have you checked the competitor’s prices? Looked online? More times than not, you’ll find just what you’re looking for on the internet, and usually for a lot less.Use automatic bill pay: Have you mapped out your monthly bills and their due dates? If you haven’t, now would be a good time to start. Look at the due dates and design an auto pay schedule that will keep you from missing any payments. Paying your bills on-time is must if you want to keep your credit score up.Be cheap: No matter how much money you make, you should always try to live below your means. The less you spend, the more you can save for your future, and you’ll be glad you planned ahead when retirement time comes around.
Politicizing casualties dishonors sacrifice
Categories: Editorial, OpinionThe following editorial appeared in The Washington Post.Staff Sgt. Bryan C. Black, 35, always relished a challenge.As a child, he drove himself to learn chess; as a teen, he excelled as a wrestler; and as an adult, he joined the Army, where he finished Ranger school and joined the Special Forces. Their lives, their brave service and the sacrifice of their grieving families should be discussed and honored.Instead — thanks to a president with a compulsive need to be the center of attention — their deaths have been trivialized.President Donald Trump reduced condolences to a political competition and treated the grieving families who received them as pawns in a game.Having failed to publicly acknowledge the deaths for 12 days, Trump on Monday boasted about reaching out to family members of slain military personnel while falsely accusing his predecessors of not doing so.His whining about how hard the calls are on him — and the apparent hash he made of a conversation in which he allegedly told one widow her husband “must have known what he signed up for” — underscored his cluelessness about being commander in chief.Trump then worsened his offense by attempting to exploit the combat death of the son of his chief of staff, John Kelly, whom he suggested did not receive a condolence call from President Barack Obama.The president ought to have read the eulogy Kelly delivered for two other Marines four days after his son was killed in Afghanistan. After asking the officer who introduced him, “Please don’t mention my son,” he talked passionately — and sometimes angrily — about the sacrifices of the military.He never mentioned his son, later explaining to The Post’s Greg Jaffe, “The death of my boy simply cannot be made to seem any more tragic than the others.”Such grace and dignity in the face of unimaginable loss is the trademark of Gold Star families.It was on display in the days after the Niger attack when the families of the four men spoke with pride about their loved ones.“I know if you could ask him, he’d be glad that it was him,” said Staff Sgt. Wright’s brother. “He’d be glad he’s the one that went so somebody else’s son could come home.”Those words, and not Trump’s, ought to be what we remember.More from The Daily Gazette:EDITORIAL: Thruway tax unfair to working motoristsFoss: Should main downtown branch of the Schenectady County Public Library reopen?EDITORIAL: Urgent: Today is the last day to complete the censusEDITORIAL: Beware of voter intimidationEDITORIAL: Find a way to get family members into nursing homes
Deployed to Niger, he learned the local dialect.Before joining the Army, Staff Sgt. Jeremiah “J.W.” Wayne Johnson, 39, owned and operated a successful business.In uniform he became a chemical, biological, radiological and nuclear specialist.Staff Sgt. Dustin M. Wright, 29, was a good student and talented athlete.When he joined the Army he continued a family military legacy dating to 1812. Sgt. La David T. Johnson, 25, was known to be both determined and playful, as demonstrated by how he commuted to a job at Walmart — removing the front wheel of his bike and becoming known as the “Wheelie King.”These are the four soldiers who were killed Oct. 4 when their unit was ambushed by Islamist extremists in West Africa.
Economic recovery, structural reform take center stage in 2021 state budget policy
The coronavirus outbreak led to a contraction in the country’s economy of 5.32 percent in the second quarter this year and all components of economic activity fell significantly. The government expects the economy to contract by 1.1 percent this year, or to grow 0.2 percent in the best-case scenario.Read also: Govt aims for 2021 budget deficit at 5.5% of GDP, sees growth near 5%As a consequence, around 3.7 million workers have lost their jobs so far this year, according to data from the National Development Planning Agency (Bappenas), a number that is expected to hit around 10 million by the end of the year.At the same time, the outbreak has also exposed Indonesia’s healthcare gap as unequal distribution and shortages of testing and medical supplies, hospital beds, health and lab workers have hindered the COVID-19 response. Economic recovery and structural reform will be at the core of the government’s 2021 state budget policy as the COVID-19 pandemic paralyzes the economy and causes a health and social crisis in Indonesia.The government is directing the fiscal policy next year toward accelerating economic recovery after the COVID-19 pandemic, structural reform to boost productivity, innovation, economic competitiveness, the acceleration of economic digital transformation and making use of and anticipating demographic dynamics.“Structural reform must also be carried out in education, health, social protection and budgeting and the taxation system,” President Joko “Jokowi” Widodo said in his annual state budget speech before the People’s Consultative Assembly in Jakarta on Friday. Jokowi in his state of the nation address earlier in the day also reiterated the need to carry out regulatory reform to cut red tape that has hampered investment in the country.“We dedicate all of this to a fair national economy that caters to the interests of workers and job seekers in order to alleviate poverty by providing the widest possible quality employment opportunities,” he said.The government expects state revenue to reach Rp 1.77 quadrillion (US$119.79 billion) next year while state expenditure is expected to be Rp 2.74 quadrillion. Therefore, the budget deficit is set at Rp 971.2 trillion, 5.5 percent of gross domestic product (GDP) next year, compared with an estimated 6.34 percent of GDP this year.Read also: Govt to roll out $2b for ICT development in 2021, boost inclusionIt also pledges to continue this year’s stimulus allocation into 2021, which will include funding for social protection and micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs) support, while fiscal relaxation will be implemented again to support the government’s agenda.The government is allocating Rp 356.5 trillion (US$24.04 billion) in economic recovery stimulus funding next year in an effort to further support the country’s economic recovery, as well as to strengthen the healthcare system, including the provision of a coronavirus vaccine.However, experts have expressed concern at the government’s policy as uncertainty surrounding the pandemic remains.“There are several sectors that will be like sinkholes if we give them too much stimulus funding while the COVID-19 pandemic is yet to end,” said Bank Central Asia (BCA) economist David Sumual on Friday. “It will be difficult [to see a positive result] if our tax money enters into bad sectors, such as tourism, aviation and transportation.”The government will provide Rp 136.7 trillion in next year’s stimulus for ministries and regional administrations to improve tourism, food security, industrial areas, communication and technology development and as loans for regions, among other projects.By comparison, only Rp 25.4 trillion will be allocated for health care, including the procurement of coronavirus vaccines once they are available, Rp 110.2 trillion for social aid and Rp 48.8 trillion for micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs).“As long as COVID-19 is still there, the people will remain pessimistic,” David said.Bank Permata economist Josua Pardede expressed a similar view, saying the government’s optimistic macroeconomic assumption for next year was still surrounded by virus uncertainty.Read also: Govt to provide $24b pandemic stimulus funding next year“The key is how successful Indonesia’s and the global COVID-19 containment efforts are so that people’s confidence and spending can improve,” he said.The government projects GDP to rebound and grow by 4.5 percent to 5.5 percent next year and forecasts the rupiah exchange rate to be around Rp 14,600 per United States dollar.“Next year’s economic projection, although recovering, is dependent on the COVID-19 containment,” Finance Minister Sri Mulyani Indrawati told a virtual press briefing on Friday.“The people’s discipline, vaccine availability and fiscal expansion through continuing the national economic recovery program will determine [the economy],” she added.The government will also continue next year its cooperation with Bank Indonesia (BI) to finance the budget deficit. As debt monetization is only being applied this year, the central bank is expected to remain the standby buyer for Indonesian government bonds.“We will maintain BI’s ability to participate in auctions to create a stable and balanced supply and demand,” Sri Mulyani said.Topics :
Khan beats Nathoo to stay perfect after four rounds of Gaico Construction chess
… Kids Chess Challenge set for this weekendCANDIDATE Master (CM) Taffin Khan remains flawless heading into the last three rounds of the Gaico Construction-sponsored Guyana Chess Federation (GCF) Fide-rated seven-round Swiss tournament, which will conclude this weekend at the National Racquet Centre in Woodford Avenue, Georgetown.After four rounds, Khan, who had been a dominant force at both the junior and senior levels, remains on top with four points. In his latest clash, on Wednesday afternoon, he defeated the previously unbeaten Loris Nathoo.Last weekend, the CM had beaten Chelsea Juma and Justino DaSilva and gained a walkover victory from former National Schools champion Saeed Ali.Also unbeaten are CM Wendell Meusa and Glenford Corlette with 3.5 points each. Both players won last Saturday and then on Sunday morning, but they drew their game on Sunday afternoon. On Wednesday afternoon, Corlette got the better of Errol Tiwari, while Meusa defeated youngster Samirah Gobin.Of the 27 players, several are on three points, including Nathoo, Adrian Roopnarine (who has returned to competitive chess in Guyana after many years), DaSilva and Davion Mars.Ethan Lee and Shiv Nandalall are on 2.5 points each.Meanwhile, GCF will be hosting a Beacon Café-sponsored, two-day, seven-round Swiss competition, dubbed ‘Kids Chess Challenge’ at the same venue over the weekend.The event, which has a time control of one hour plus 15 seconds per player, attracts $500 per participant and is open to all persons born in 1999 or after.Players desirous of registration can contact Rashad Hussain 681-6000 or Davion Mars 610-3345 for further information.According to Secretary of the GFC, Aneesa Maryam Hussain, a number of the junior players have opted out of the remaining rounds of the Gaico tournament to play in the children’s competition.She said that as a result, the final three rounds of the Open tournament is expected to be more competitive.“We are also expecting at least five players to have an international partial rating upon conclusion of this tournament due to them already defeating an internationally rated player in this tournament. Standout is Roopnarine who has already won 3 of his first four rated games.”The senior tournament is the first of four Grand Prix competitions, this year, scheduled by the new GCF executive.
CBA volleyball falls to Port Byron in five sets
Also on Thursday, East Syracuse Minoa hosted Oneida, and dropped a close 26-24 opening set, unable to recover from that as the Indians then beat the Spartans 25-17 and 25-21 in the next two sets.Olivia Fortuno got 10 kills for the Spartans, Skyler Mahoney adding six kills and four blocks as Ariana Costanzo had 19 assists, helped by 14 digs from Morgan Ransom and 12 digs from Alana Day. Jamie Jones led Oneida, earning 17 kills, her passes often coming from Zoey Fox, who had 25 assists.On Saturday afternoon, ESM did defeat Camden 25-6, 25-15, 25-20, to finish its regular season at 6-12.Mahoney took the lead with her 11 kills, helped by Fortuno and Megan Volz, who each got four kills as Volz also earned three aces. Costanzo fed everyone with 18 assists and Day picked up eight digs.Manlius-Pebble Hill also lost on Thursday’ night, falling 25-18, 25-12, 25-19 to Faith Heritage as Allie Vargo got 10 kills and Rylie Meier 13 assists for the Saints.Share this:FacebookTwitterLinkedInRedditComment on this Story Once more, Port Byron had an answer, pulling out a tense fourth set 25-22 and, in the final set, doing just enough to hold off the Brothers in another 25-21 decision.Bella Roberson still had 16 kills fand four blocks for CBA as Delaney Della Donna and Ashley Brown had six kills apiece. Kristen DeLorenzo amassed 39 digs as Makenna Shultz had 22 assists and Lauren Griffith had eight assists.Rileigh Gray had 27 assists for Port Byron, feeding it to Miranda Adrich (12 kills, 14 digs), Cassie Nolte (11 kills, 10 digs) and Sophie Redmond (10 kills) on the front line as Gabriella Atchison had 15 digs. What has proven an exciting season for the Christian Brothers Academy girls volleyball team has included three matches that have gone the full five sets.And that included last Thursday’s battle against Port Byron, where the Brothers led twice, but could not hold on to either advantage against the Panthers.CBA won the opening set 25-21, only to fall in the second set by that same margin as the Brothers rebounded and, in the third set, prevailed 25-16 to go back in front.
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MBB : Keita sinks 2 crucial free throws in return from injury; Triche continues hot shooting
Published on January 7, 2012 at 12:00 pm Contact Mark: mcooperj@syr.edu | @mark_cooperjr Comments Jim Boeheim frantically moved his hands and arms, calling for a timeout. Baye Keita was trapped by two defenders in a two-point game late.Keita stayed strong with the ball, and the Syracuse center was fouled by Marquette forward Jae Crowder before the SU head coach was granted his timeout. And sure enough, the sophomore, battling a hip injury that kept him out of SU’s last game, coolly sunk both shots, extending the Syracuse lead to 61-57.‘Baye made the two shots of the year,’ Boeheim said. ‘He hasn’t been to the foul line in probably six months, and he goes and makes two free throws.’It hasn’t quite been six months — he got to the line Dec. 28 against Seton Hall — but the point was made. Keita is not an offensive juggernaut even when healthy. It was a question as to whether Keita would even play on Saturday after he was kept out of Wednesday’s game at Providence with a hip injury. But the center suited up and played a season-high 20 minutes in Syracuse’s 73-66 win over Marquette.With starting center Fab Melo in foul trouble throughout the game, Keita’s ability to get on the court was paramount.AdvertisementThis is placeholder text‘For him to be able to come back and play 20 minutes was crucial for us,’ SU guard Scoop Jardine said. ‘He gave us everything he’s got, and that’s the type of kid he is.’The question of whether Keita would play was answered promptly when he hustled to the scorer’s table less than two minutes into the game. Melo picked up two quick fouls, but his backup was healthy enough to fill in the middle of the Orange’s 2-3 zone.Keita was effective in different ways than Melo. While the starter took four charges, Keita put forth a decent all-around game: four points, five rebounds, two blocks.‘I’m feeling good now, I’m feeling good,’ Keita said. ‘My hip was bruised last game, so I’m just getting back.’Without Keita against Providence, freshman forward Rakeem Christmas was forced to eat minutes as Syracuse’s center. Against Marquette, Christmas played about two minutes in the middle early in the second half, but for the most part, Melo and Keita spelled each other.Keita received crunch-time minutes, too. And that’s when he had the opportunity to knock down the big free throws. After he put SU up four with 4:34 to play, Marquette didn’t grow closer.‘I’m going to make them,’ Keita said of his big shots. ‘Every time I step on the line, my mind is like I’m going to make them.Triche stays hot from outside during 1st-half runBrandon Triche wasted little time picking up where he left off.The Syracuse guard’s hot shooting from 3-point range continued for the second straight game. After Rakeem Christmas won the opening tip for Syracuse, Triche knocked down a triple from the left wing on the Orange’s first possession.The junior made three in a row against Providence on Wednesday to help Syracuse gain a second-half advantage. This time, he did most of his damage in the first half, scoring 13 of his 16 points as the Orange flexed its top-ranked muscles against Marquette. He was a leader on Saturday, knocking down four more treys and asserting himself defensively as well.‘He’s making shots, that’s what he’s doing,’ SU head coach Jim Boeheim said. ‘He’s aggressive offensively, he’s looking to score.’More often than not, Kris Joseph and Dion Waiters have knocked down the big shots or made the key plays in Syracuse’s 17-0 start. But since entering Big East play, Triche has become a player to look to as well.Joseph came up with a steal early in the first half and tossed the ball upcourt to Triche on the fast break. The guard rose to the hoop and finished with a pretty reverse layup, putting Syracuse ahead 14-11.Later in the first half, he delivered a viciously clever pump fake so good that Marquette guard Todd Mayo flew past him and out of bounds. His defender out of the picture, Triche buried the 3 from the right corner to extend SU’s lead to 31-12.Yet Triche’s personal performance turned out to tell the story of Syracuse’s overall game. It was a tale of two halves. He scored just three points coming out of the locker room after the break, and they came early in the second half on his fourth trey.Triche said Syracuse’s difficulties and lapses defensively affected the team’s offensive play, too.‘I think when the team starts coming back we kind of look for one player to make a play,’ he said. ‘We’re not moving as much, pretty much playing together.’mcooperj@syr.edu
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Net goal
Published on October 20, 2014 at 11:57 pm Contact Matt: mcschnei@syr.edu | @matt_schneidman When Syracuse named Paul Flanagan the first head coach in SU women’s ice hockey history in 2008, all the program had was him and a rink.There was no locker room and no skate sharpener. He had no staff members and no players, and he only had three months to find them.“We didn’t have anything,” he said.What he did have was five Frozen Four appearances, 230 wins and a .692 winning percentage from nine years as the head coach of the St. Lawrence women’s hockey team. He already had a reputation as one of college hockey’s best coaches, but couldn’t pass up the challenge to elevate a program that, at the time, didn’t exist.Syracuse (1-1-4) isn’t at the level that Flanagan would prefer, having not won a College Hockey America conference title despite three championship game appearances. His recruiting expertise and established reputation of success have him gradually approaching that targeted peak though, increasingly validating a move that initially left many in shock.AdvertisementThis is placeholder textIt wasn’t until his seventh season at St. Lawrence that the Saints won their first outright conference title, and Flanagan will look to do the same in his seventh year at the helm of the Orange. “For a lot of reasons, not one singular, this has been a great move,” Flanagan said. “I stand here today feeling comfortable that we’re moving in the right direction. I think we should be knocking on the door both with winning the CHA and getting into that Top 10.”Growing up in Canton, New York, Flanagan was immersed in the culture of a college town focused on one sport. He played baseball, but St. Lawrence Saints hockey was like the town’s professional team, he said.A young Flanagan could often be found at a rink, either watching the Saints or playing himself. He was around the team at an early age and, knowing players and coaches, the self-proclaimed “rink rat” said it was easy to nurture his passion.“He was born and raised in Canton and St. Lawrence was all he knew,” said SU assistant coach Alison Domenico, who also played for Flanagan at St. Lawrence. “He’s such a small-town guy.”He attended St. Lawrence, where he played for the Saints from 1976–80. In 1982, Flanagan found his first head coaching gig with the Canton High School boys’ team.After six years as a high school coach and 12 as an assistant with the St. Lawrence men’s team, Flanagan took the head job with the women in 1999 before amassing 230 wins in nine years.“He built this thing from the ground up,” current St. Lawrence women’s head coach Chris Wells said. “He’s a tireless recruiter and was able to get some great kids in here early on.”Flanagan plucked prized prospects from key markets in Canada like Quebec and Toronto, Wells said, using St. Lawrence’s proximity to steal top players away from Ivy League schools.But in 2008, before Domenico’s senior season, Flanagan announced to the team that he’d taken the job at Syracuse, a decision that left Domenico in “pure shock.” But she said that she understood. “To go from a successful program to just see ‘You’re just on your own two feet here, let’s see what you can do’ — it was very challenging but exciting at the same time,” Flanagan said. “It wasn’t like I felt I had to leave or I wanted to leave, it was just this opportunity presented itself and I was excited about it.”A year before he was standing in the coaches’ box at the Frozen Four. Now he was standing on gravel trying to get players to come play for him.He stood in the parking lot behind Tennity Ice Pavilion and pointed at space, showing recruits and parents where a locker room was going to be built. Recruits knew there would be no immediate championships. Rather, they wanted to be part of a ground-up movement and play for a coach with established success and a frank attitude about why they should be part of Syracuse’s first recruiting class.“There was no bullsh*tting with him,” said Taylor Metcalfe, a freshman defender on the first SU team. “Whatever he did or whatever he was planning on doing, even though you weren’t sure what it was yet, it was for the best and it was going to work out from all the experience he had.”There were no expectations for the program, Metcalfe said. Some players had to cart their equipment back to their dorms because there wasn’t enough storage at Tennity.Yet for some reason players, even ones like current Swiss National Team member Stefanie Marty, were attracted.“The ‘starting from the bottom’ is a reason why I went to Syracuse,” Marty said in an email. “It was challenging and interesting to build up a team culture, that goes from building simple team rules to inventing team cheers and other traditions on bus trips, before games, pretty much anything you can imagine from serious to almost absurd.”Gradually, the program evolved. After a 10-15-3 first season, Flanagan led the Orange to two straight CHA championship game appearances and a combined 32 wins the next two seasons, while winning the 2010 CHA Coach of the Year award.After only 10 wins in 2011–12, Flanagan guided SU to a program-record 20 victories in 2012–13. Then came another 20 the next year.What started off as trying to find a place for players to change into and out of their uniforms has become a mission to finish the job of becoming CHA champions.But Domenico said there’s one question she repeatedly gets asked by recruits and their parents: “What’s Paul like away from the rink?”“He’s a blue-collar guy who rarely gets outworked in anything that he does, whether it’s painting the house or recruiting players,” Wells said.And now he wants something to show for the program he built from scratch.“It’s seven years, we’re not a new program anymore,” Flanagan said. “I won’t be satisfied until I can sit down and say, ‘We’re really good.’ I think we’re close.” Comments Facebook Twitter Google+
USC returns to the diamond with postseason aspirations
The Trojans return to Dedeaux Field this weekend to kick off a promising season with one of the most experienced and skilled teams in recent years, consisting of 19 upperclassmen and seven returning starters.USC hopes to continue the positive trend set last season, in which they narrowly missed the NCAA Regionals and finished with a 29-24 record, the first time the team had finished with a winning record since 2005.Though the Trojans still boast many of their key players from last season, the team lost four players who were instrumental to the team’s success: pitcher Wyatt Strahan, pitcher Bob Wheatley, infielder Kevin Swick and catcher Jake Hernandez.Despite the absence of these impact players, head coach Dan Hubbs, now entering his third year, believes the remaining players’ flexibility in skill and position will allow for those holes in the lineup to be easily filled.“We have some great players, especially on our staff, who are ready to move from bullpen pitchers and step up to fill in the roles of Strahan and Wheatley,” Hubbs said. “We’re confident that with the guys we’ve got stepping into the roles of catcher and other infield positions that the new guys will be just as good as their predecessors, if not better.”To further help assimilate the Trojans into their new roles, many of the players have spent the off-season bonding as a team, discussing fixable problems from last season and seeking advice from their teammates as they transition into new positions or roles within the lineup.Junior pitcher Kyle Twomey, who recorded an ERA of 3.11 in 55 innings pitched during the 2014 season, explained how the Trojans have assisted one another throughout the preseason.“It’s really important that we as a team help one another and give good advice so we’re ready and good to go for the first couple series of the season,” Twomey said. “For example, I was in the bullpen last year, so [junior pitcher] Marc Hubberman talked to me about the seventh and eighth inning role I had last year. That type of communication is really key to getting guys comfortable with what it’s going to be like this weekend when the lights come on and it starts to count.”Hubbs believes the team’s hard work in the preseason will help ensure more consistency and improvement from the 2015 season.“I think the kids came back in the fall with the mindset that they weren’t gonna let anything come up to circumstance or chance or leave it to the hands of the committee to decided whether we go to the playoffs,” Hubbs said. “I think we’ve seen in practice much more intensity in terms of getting things done and making sure we’re ready to win games in a bunch of different ways.”Senior catcher Garrett Stubbs, junior pitchers Kyle Davis and Twomey and sophomore catcher Jeremy Martinez highlight the 2015 squad.Nine freshmen also join the team this season, along with two impact junior college transfers in pitcher Tyler Gilbert and outfielder David Oppenheim.Sizing up the 2015 Trojans in terms of skill and ability, Twomey predicts that pitching will be the team’s greatest strength.“As of right now, we have five guys who can fill a starting role and we’re also going to be pretty strong at the back end of the game relieving wise because there are a couple of guys who are really ready to fill those roles of coming in late and closing games out right,” Twomey said.Hubbs thinks that while pitching and defense up the middle of the field will likely be the team’s greatest strengths, the offensive game will see a great deal of improvement from last year.“I really believe we’re going to see a lot more home runs and doubles with this team,” Hubbs said. “I think we have more team speed offensively, which we didn’t have last year. We should be able to score more runs and run the bases more aggressively, as opposed to last year when we primarily just had to rely on the big hit.”The Trojans open the 2015 season tonight at Dedeaux Field against the Towson Tigers who were 22-25 overall in 2014, but 6-17 on the road.The team is led by head coach Mike Gottlieb and senior shortstop Peter Bowles. This will be the first meeting in series history between the Trojans and the Tigers.Looking forward, the Trojans begin the season with non-Pac- 12 match ups with Cal State Fullerton, Kentucky and Oakland next week.Overall the schedule consists of 24 out of 56 games against 11 different teams that made the 2014 NCAA postseason.Additionally, this year’s schedule includes games against three teams that made the 2014 College World Series, and a nonconference series against 2014 regional team Cal Poly.Despite this season’s difficult schedule, the Trojans feel confident that as long as they execute appropriately, they should start off the season on a high note.“I think especially just the first couple of weeks its important to just play fundamental baseball and keep it clean cut and continue what we’ve been trying to do all fall and spring,” Twomey said. “I think once we get that down well be able to excel as the season moves forward.”