Issue 106, Volume 75 by The Cougar

t h e o f f i c i a l s t u d e n t n e w s pa pe r o f t h e u n i v e r s i t y o f h o u s to n s i n c e 1 9 3 4

THE DAILY COUGAR Get Ho Yi Lau’s take on the effect of Chile’s earthquake OPINION »

Stiller fails to shine in dramatic role LIFE & ARTS »

THE DAILY COUGAR.COM

years

WEATHER » HI

65 LO 47

Forecast, Page 2

Our Facebook page is nearing 1,000 fans. Help us achieve it Thursday, Th d M March h 4, 2010

Issue 106, Volume 75

thedailycougar.com

Ecology puzzle finally solved Group of research students stumble upon missing link to science principle J

By Michelle Reed THE DAILY COUGAR The missing link to a 163-yearold ecological puzzle has been discovered by a group of UH researchers, and scientists are now able to put the pieces together and make sense of the mystery that is Bergmann’s rule, which dates back to 1840s. Chuan-Kai Ho, who holds a UH doctorate in ecology and evolution, and UH professor of biology and biochemistry Steven Pennings came upon the discovery. Ho studied latitudinal variation in plantherbivore interactions in Pennings’ lab, which Ho focused on in his sixyear dissertation. While writing his dissertation, Ho stumbled upon Bergmann’s rule, which states that animal and insect body mass correlates with

the temperature of the area that they inhabit. Ho determined this was partially correct, but was also determined by nutrition and the taste of the plants insects eat. “We don’t disagree with the idea that temperature can affect body size,” Pennings said via e-mail. “But our results suggest that other factors can also be important. We found that a diet of high-latitude plants produced a larger body size than a diet of low-latitude plants. The reason was that the high-latitude plants were more nutritious. “This explanation might not apply to all possible species, but it could apply to many species, and so would suggest a new avenue of research into Bergmann’s rule,” he said. The team of researchers on the study, including Ho and Pennings,

TRAVIS HENSLEY THE DAILY COUGAR

Pomp and circumstance: sign here

pring 2010 graduates got the opportunity to purchase their gowns, caps and tassels and sign up for class rings during the graduation fair on Wednesday at the UH Bookstore.

see PUZZLE, page 3

Flash mob surprises onlookers

Research grant allots $2.6 million Appropriation will allow professors to continue work on studies J

By Kendra Bergund THE DAILY COUGAR Imagine being on your way to class somewhere near the Ezekiel W. Cullen Building only to discover about 100 students fighting. That is exactly what happened Wednesday. The Student Program Board organized a flash mob Wednesday where a red ninja and a black ninja split students into teams and fought each other. Students found out about the flash mob by way of Facebook. On the event page, there were specific instructions for how the flash mob would happen. For those who missed out, it left many students both excited and confused. The ninjas arrived outside the PGH breezeway at noon; immediately following their arrival, students approached the ninjas saying, “I accept the mission.” The ninjas then passed out little pieces of paper with further instruction. At 12:20 p.m., the ninjas called all the students to follow them. Nearly 100 students filed their

By Wyshanda Sennett THE DAILY COUGAR

KENDRA BERGLUND THE DAILY COUGAR

The Student Program Board gave students a chance to release their inner ninja Wednesday during their annual flash mob. way from the PGH to the Charles F. McElhinney building. The students separated into their appropriate ninja groups where the black ninja laid down some ground rules. Although the ninjas would be fighting, neither physical contact nor props were allowed for safety reasons. After the two groups met in front of the McElhinney building,

they parted ways and each group marched toward the E. Cullen building where the red ninja and black ninja stood in front of the fountains with their respective group behind them. They stared at each other for 20 seconds, bowed, struck a ninja pose – and that’s when the chaos began. see NINJA, page 3

Two UH College of Pharmacy faculty researchers received $2.6 million in awards from the National Institute of Health for their research in obesity and hypertension. Tahir Hussain received $1.6 million for his project that aims to understand receptors in hyperglycemia and the treatment of hypertension associated with obesity and diabetes. Ming Hu received $1.05 million for his project that aims to improve bioavailability. Hussain said this project has been his interest since he came to Houston. He wanted to work on the role of kidneys in hypertension. His project research includes the effects angiotensin type 2 receptors have on diabetes and hypertension. Hussain said that the ReninAngiotensin system is a molecular system in the body that regulates cardiovascular function and blood

pressure, which affects the heart, kidney and other organs. He said there are good and bad components in the RAS. “In general, bad guys dominate, and if they aren’t regulated, they cause disease; especially kidney disease, heart disease and hypertension,” Hussain said. “But in this system, there are some good guys, and they are small.” Hussain’s idea was to equally and selectively activate the good components. During his research he found that the AT2 receptor is expressed in diabetes. Hussain said that his initial data provided him a clue that showed him AT2 affects the kidney function and the blood pressure. He proposed the funding to find out how it affects the kidney functions and blood pressure. He said this project would lead to the development of a target for treating diabetes and hypertension. The project is funded for five years, and Hussain said that in this time he should continue significantly in the field, and from there he will know which direction see PHARMACY, page 3

â&#x2013;

Thursday, March 4, 2010

The Daily Cougar

CALLING ALL

COUGARS!

CAMPUS BEAT FORECAST

5IF 6OJWFSTJUZ PG )PVTUPO JT MPPLJOH GPS UBMFOUFE TUVEFOUT UP TFSWF BT

Friday

Saturday

Sunday

67Ë&#x161;49Ë&#x161;

68Ë&#x161;59Ë&#x161;

67Ë&#x161;58Ë&#x161;

/FX 4UVEFOU 0SJFOUBUJPO -FBEFST "T BO 0SJFOUBUJPO -FBEFS ZPV XJMM CF FTTFOUJBM JO XFMDPNJOH UIF $MBTT PG UP UIF 6OJWFSTJUZ PG )PVTUPO CALENDAR

Âť Send event information to calendar@thedailycougar.com 713/743-1019.

THURSDAY

%P ZPV UIJOL ZPV IBWF XIBU JU UBLFT UP CF BO 0 5FBN -FBEFS 7JTJU XXX VI FEV BENJTTJPOT DPOGFSFODFT PUFBN GPS B EFTDSJQUJPO PG UIF QPTJUJPO SFRVJSFNFOUT DPNQFOTBUJPO BOE BQQMJDBUJPO JOGPSNBUJPO

"QQMJDBUJPOT BSF EVF UP UIF 0GGJDF PG "ENJTTJPOT JO UIF 8FMDPNF $FOUFS CZ .BSDI BU Q N

Big Love: 8-10 p.m., Wortham Theatre, Cynthia Woods Mitchell. â&#x20AC;&#x153;If half of all marriages end in divorce, perhaps thereâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s a better alternativeâ&#x20AC;?... Fifty brides flee to an Italian villa to escape their arranged marriages, only to be pursued by 50 jilted grooms. In the midst of popular music, slam dances and the battle of the sexes, one solution becomes clear: murder. The play contains nudity and violence. Parents are suggested to accompany younger children or leave them with a babysitter. Tickets are $10 for students. For more information, contact the UH School of Theatre & Danceâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s box office at 713-743-2929. Fairy Godmother Project: 8-6 p.m., 333 McElhinney Hall. The College of Liberal Arts and Social Sciences and the Womenâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Resource Center have teamed up with a local outreach organization, the Fairy Godmother Project, to collect prom dresses for local disadvantaged students. Itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s a donation event, asking for unused dresses. For more information, contact Jennifer Palton at

CO R R E C T I O N S J

Inaugural Kappalympics: 7:30-10 p.m., Kappa Alpha Psi Fraternity House. The Kappalympics are a Greek Olympics that all the Greek council organizations are encouraged to participate in. The event is open to the public and participating organizations members held by the Eta Lambda chapter of Kappa Alpha Psi, Fraternity Inc. Distinguished Leaders Series sponsored by Sequent Energy Management: 6-7 p.m., C.T. Bauer College of Business. Please join the Bauer College of Business for the Distinguished Leaders Series sponsored by Sequent Energy Management. The event featuring David McClanahan, President & CEO of CenterPoint Energy will take place on March 10, 2010 from 6-7pm in Melcher Hall, Room 160. Mr. McClanahan will discuss â&#x20AC;&#x153;The Role of Utility Infrastructure in Meeting the Nationâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Energy Future.â&#x20AC;? This will be a great opportunity to meet with representatives from Sequent Energy, our student leaders, and Bauer alumni currently working in the oil & energy industry.

Âť Report errors to editor@thedailycougar.com

Corrections will appear in this space as needed.

CO N TAC T U S

Newsroom (713) 743-5360 â&#x2013;

Editor in Chief

Ronnie Turner (713) 743-5362 editor@thedailycougar.com â&#x2013;

Managing Editor

Matthew Keever (713) 743-5361 me@thedailycougar.com â&#x2013;

News Editors

Patricia Estrada Hiba Adi (713) 743-5314 news@thedailycougar.com â&#x2013;

Sports Editors

Phillipe Craig Robert Higgs (713) 743-5303 sports@thedailycougar.com

â&#x2013;

Life & Arts Editor

Travis Hensley (713) 743-5302 arts@thedailycougar.com â&#x2013;

Special Projects Editor

Jarrod Klawinsky jklawinsky@thedailycougar.com â&#x2013;

Opinion Editor

Alan Dennis opinion@thedailycougar.com â&#x2013;

Photo Editor

Kendra Berglund (713) 743-5304 photo@thedailycougar.com â&#x2013;

Web Editor

Matt Miller webeditor@thedailycougar.com â&#x2013;

Advertising (713) 743-5340 ads@thedailycougar.com â&#x2013;

Classifieds

(713) 743-5356 classifieds@thedailycougar.com

Business Office Phone (713) 743-5350 Fax (713) 743-5384 â&#x2013; Mailing address â&#x2013; â&#x2013;

Room 7, UC Satellite Student Publications University of Houston Houston, TX 77204-4015

Blog Editor

Abby Lee blogs@thedailycougar.com

ABOUT ABOUT THE COUGAR The Daily Cougar is published Monday through Friday during the fall and spring semesters, and Tuesday and Thursday during the summer, at the University of Houston Printing Plant and online at http://www. thedailycougar.com. The University seeks to provide equal educational opportunities without regard to race, color, religion, national origin, sex, age, disability or veteran status, or sexual orientation. The Daily Cougar is supported in part by Student Service Fees. the first copy of the Cougar is free; each additional copy is 25 cents. SUBSCRIPTIONS Rates are $70 per year or $40 per semester. Mail subscription requests to: Mail Subscriptions, The Daily Cougar, University of Houston, Houston, TX, 77204-4015. NEWS TIPS Direct news tips and story ideas to the News Desk. Call (713) 743-5314, e-mail news@thedailycougar. com or fax (713) 743-5384. A â&#x20AC;&#x153;Submit news itemâ&#x20AC;? form is also available online at thedailycougar.com. COPYRIGHT No part of the newspaper in print or online may be reproduced without the written consent of the director of the Student Publications Department.

I S S U E S TA F F â&#x2013;

Copy editing

Meagan Washington, Jack Wehman

â&#x2013;

Production

Chenlong He, Newton Liu

â&#x2013;

Closing editor

Matthew Keever

NEWS

The Daily Cougar

PUZZLE continued from page 1

worked in salt marshes along the Atlantic Coast of the U.S., examining interactions between different species of insects from Florida to Maine. Ho said in an e-mail that while he studied plant hoppers and grasshoppers along the U.S. coast, some of the studies’ co-authors examined sea hares in Japan. Pennings says they believe that similar communities of plants and animals had similar interactions. But after examining taste tests of ten species of plants eaten by hundreds of insects and crabs, they found differences between plant-herbivore interactions. “Herbivores are more abundant and do more damage to plants at low-versus-high latitudes. Perhaps this intense herbivore damage selects for plants to be resistant (less tasty),” Pennings said. “Whatever the reason, plants definitely taste better at highversus-low latitudes.”

NINJA continued from page 1

The two groups ran toward each other and began to “fight.” The two groups “fought” for about 30 seconds before all 100 students simultaneously fell to their “death” in defeat as a finale to the performance; after which, they causally got up and walked away. It was over in less than a few minutes. Students who were involved in the flash mob said they were excited. One particular student even said she was skipping class to participate. Armin Suni was on the black ninja team. He said it was fun to be apart of the flash mob and he

PHARMACY continued from page 1

he has to go. He said that one of the important directions five years from now would be to find new molecules that can be used to target good molecules in the body. Hussain said that obesity is increasing in the United States. Individuals are spending a lot of money to lose weight. Instead, people are gaining weight,

Ho said he believed that explanations of Bergmann’s rule have failed in the past because they were based on examinations of abiotic factors. Ho’s study focused on biotic factors, such as diet quality. Ho published his team’s findings in the February issue of American Naturalist. “Since its publication, this study has been reported in the U.S. and other countries. It is a good advertisement for UH,” Ho said. Ho was able to continue research through a doctoral dissertation improvement grant given to him for the years of 2007-2008 by the National Science Foundation. “It provides around $10,000 to help improve dissertation projects that are already strong. ChuanKai was able to use his funding to perform chemical analyses of the plants that he worked with in order to determine their nitrogen content,” Pennings said. “Nitrogen is a limiting nutrient for herbivores, because most plants are low in proteins.” news@thedailycougar.com

Thursday, March 4, 2010

exÅ|ÇwxÜM The deadline for all College of Liberal Arts and Social Sciences (CLASS) Undergraduate Scholarship Applications is

FRIDAY, March 26, 2010! For all the details, visit our website: www.class.uh.edu/scholarships PLEASE NOTE: Students must have completed a minimum of 60 semester credit hours before Fall 2010. Applications available in 315AH (Academic Affairs Center), 402AH (CLASS Dean’s Office), and online at our website.

Submit completed applications to 402 Agnes Arnold Hall (attn: Scholarship Coordinator). Students only need to submit one application to be considered for all available scholarships. Available Scholarships include: E. Virginia Barnett: Scholarships for any majors in CLASS who have outstanding academic performance. Eligible students must also have received another UH scholarship for Fall 2010 – Spring 2011. Debra Danburg: Scholarships for any majors in CLASS who are enrolled in at least 9 semester hours and who have demonstrated leadership ability and civic involvement.

believes that his team won. “We killed the (red team) emotionally, they’re going to be talking to a shrink for many years after this,” Suni said. Sophomore Michelle Antosh said she was a part of the flash mob last year that was featured on YouTube. She is proud of UH for getting recognition for doing student organized activities like flash mobs. Freshman Adrian Hobbs said he really liked the concept of flash mobbing because it enabled students to interact with one another and “live life.” No ninjas were injured during the “fight.” news@thedailycougar.com

Robert A. Eckels: Scholarships for any majors in CLASS who have a minimum cumulative GPA of 3.0, demonstrated leadership skills, and who are enrolled in at least 9 semester hours. Dr. Ronald S. Lepow: One scholarship for a student in good academic standing and declared their major in anthropology, economics, political science, psychology, or sociology. Don A. Sanders: One scholarship for any major in CLASS with a determination to succeed. Student must have a demonstrated financial need. Social Sciences Undergraduate: Scholarship for students with outstanding academic performance and with majors declared in anthropology, economics, political science, psychology or sociology.

APPLY NOW! THE UNIVERSITY OF TEXAS SCHOOL OF PUBLIC HEALTH

especially among children and teenagers. He said that obese people are disposed to develop diabetes. “These are the people who will develop hypertension,” he said. “So you have diabetes, obesity and hypertension. And when these three get together, the person will die of kidney failure. We have to control hypertension and diabetes to prolong the kidneys.” news@thedailycougar.com

One School. Six Campuses. Endless Opportunities. For 40 years, The University of Texas School of Public Health has been protecting and transforming the health of people in Texas, across the nation and around the world. Visit www.sph.uth.tmc.edu to discover more reasons to choose The University of Texas School of Public Health and benefit from the best in public health. MPH • MS • DrPH • PhD • • • •

Best value among top 10 schools of public health 13 dual degree and 4 graduate certificate programs #1 ranked program in health promotion World-class research in genetics and disease prevention

APPLICATION DEADLINES:

Fall 2010 _ April 1 Spring 2011 _ August 1

Houston

Austin

Brownsville

Dallas

El Paso

San Antonio

■

Thursday, March 4, 2010

The Daily Cougar

OPINION EDITOR Alan Dennis

E-MAIL opinion@thedailycougar.com

COMING FRIDAY: Is canceling Saturday delivery really going to fix the Postal Service?

ONLINE www.thedailycougar.com/opinion

THE DAILY COUGAR

EDITORIAL CARTOON

EDITORIAL BOARD Ronnie Turner, Editor in Chief Matthew Keever, Managing editor Patricia Estrada, News editor Hiba Adi, News editor Phillipe Craig, Sports editor Robert Higgs, Sports editor Travis Hensley, Life & Arts editor Alan Dennis, Opinion editor Jarrod Klawinsky, Special projects editor

STAFF EDITORIAL

Primary voter turnout, outcome disappointing

HO YI LAU THE DAILY COUGAR

NASA cuts painful but necessary In 1969, the U.S. celebrated a milestone achievement when Neil Armstrong became the first man to set foot on the moon. Since then, no one has performed a feat equal in magnitude. With NASA’s history Karen of accomplishments Ramirez dating back to the late ‘60s, many at the time may have thought that there would have been more trips made to the moon by 2010; obviously, that has not happened. President Barack Obama announced Feb. 1 that he would seek to eliminate the Constellation project — a program created by President George W. Bush’s designed to send astronauts back to the moon and eventually to Mars — from the nation’s fiscal year 2011 budget. This seems like a setback to a great deal of people that would only decrease America’s opportunity to be at the forefront of space exploration.

Termination of the program would also lead to a great deal of lost jobs. In a Washington Post article published Feb. 2, Joel Achenbach reported that 7,000 jobs would be lost in the state of Florida alone. Interestingly enough, Obama addressed the job loss issue during his State of the Union as being a concern, and he stressed the importance of creating new ones. These actions seem a bit contradictory to that goal, but Obama’s plans to cut the program are an attempt to save the nation money; since the Constellation project was approved, approximately $9 billion in funding has been allocated for the program’s use. Initially, there was some criticism that the project was working with old technology, slowing it down and creating more expenses. Under Obama’s plan, however, money would be spent on new technology to create shortcuts, and would not require as much

funding. Although Obama would be placing a limit on spending toward space exploration instead of completely cutting it off, NASA would still be forced to rely on private companies to fund various aspects of its program. It is a shame that the nation is being set back in the advancement of space exploration. Just as the U.S. was able to put the first man on the moon, many would also like to see the country make first claims to other accomplishments of that extent. But with the economy suffering the way it has been, certain sacrifices need to be made for the good of the nation. They may unfortunately affect a great deal of people, but not doing anything would make us all sacrifice much more in the end. Karen Ramirez is a psychology junior and may be reached at opinion@thedailycougar.com

Economy becoming Greek tragedy The acronym PIGS, which stands for Portugal, Ireland, Greece and Spain, is becoming more and more common in the financial world as commentators have shifted from reporting Jason on insolvent banks and financial institutions to Cutbirth a greater problem: the insolvency of sovereign states. As these governments come under increased scrutiny, it is Greece that finds itself in the worst shape. The European Commission, the executive branch of the European Union, released statistics showing that Greece’s 2009 debt-to-GDP ratio hit a record 12.7 percent. That pushed its overall public debt to more than 110 percent of GDP, easily surpassing the other so-called PIGS nations. Greece now finds itself teetering on the edge of bankruptcy as its debt ratios make it harder and harder for the government to refinance its obligations. Costas Paris reported in Friday’s Wall Street Journal that Greece recently delayed the sale of its 10-year bonds over fears that “an unsuccessful auction would exacerbate

the sovereign-debt fears.” In the meantime, Paris reported that Greece has planned an austerity package seeking to cut spending by up to $3.4 billion — a move the government hopes will instill much-needed confidence and encourage the purchase of its bonds. And yet, the Greeks are not embracing the government’s proposals. An Associated Press article published Feb 24. reported that “more than 30,000 demonstrators marched through central Athens Wednesday, as a nationwide strike grounded flights, shut schools and crippled public services in a show of strength against government austerity measures.” It is important for Americans to take a close look at Greece’s situation and see what lessons can be learned. A mix of excessive government spending, massive government bureaucracies and unfunded pension commitments have ballooned the country into a state of insolvency. But Greece, a government often associated with fraud, has been reported to have had some major help from a curious,

or perhaps not so curious, partner. Business Week published an article Friday in which reporter Sean O’Grady wrote, “Goldman (Sachs) has come under fire for currency swap deals in which the Greek government engaged in.” Such swaps would have allowed the Greek government to report only a portion of its debt, thereby acting as if it wasn’t in bad shape. If governments spend and allow debt to continuously grow, the point will eventually come when said governments must face reality. Even with drastic policy changes, governments are forced to rely on foreign creditors to refinance their problems or look to other countries to bail them out. Will our country continue down its current path of denial only to risk waking up to headlines that mirror what we see coming out of Greece today? Or will there be a dramatic shift that leads to our government learning from the mistakes of others to avoid similar consequences? Jason Cutbirth is a UH student and may be reached at opinion@thedailycougar.com

nother primary gone by, and, yet again, the voter turnout has been abysmal. The Texas Secretary of State’s Office said Wednesday that turnout was slightly more than 2.1 million, or 16.5 percent of registered voters. Did you know the UH System is comprised of 61,000 students? UH Main Campus is home to 37,000 of those students. How many of us voted? If you did, take pride in your actions. If you didn’t, you still have a chance to redeem yourself and help get Rick Perry out of office. A poll conducted by The Daily Cougar last week showed 85.99 percent of Democratic UH students likely voting in the Democratic primary favor of Bill White, but 52.78 percent of Republican student voters supported Perry. Has the latter been paying attention? Need we remind you that Perry is a vampire? We mean it figuratively, but it might be true literally as well. And while 52.4 percent of the students polled disapprove of Perry’s performance as governor, 43.1 percent approve. Who are these people? “Chalk another one up for Perry,” said commenter Brian on thedailycougar.com. “He’s practically won the gubernatorial election now, as Bill White has no chance. It’s too bad the guy cares nothing for our university or our city. He’ll support Texas A&M, far before he will support any initiatives that the University of Houston and Houston will set forth. This is a sad day for our institution.” We agree 100 percent. Sure, Perry’s a true Texan; he’s pro-guns, prolife, pro-Texas, against taxes, etc., ad nauseum… but Texas is carrying $33 billion debt, second only to California, and the state is projecting a $17 billion deficit next year. The federal government is teetering on financial ruin and we are compelled to focus on the absolute gravity of the fiscal difficulties ahead of us. Texas is facing a multitude of problems, including increased college tuition, rising property taxes, high dropout rates and low test scores. “Perry’s problem is his job performance,” White said in the Austin American Statesman. You don’t have to believe us; look it up. Is this the Texas you want?

E D I TO R I A L P O L I C Y STAFF EDITORIAL The Staff Editorial reflects the opinions of The Daily Cougar Editorial Board (the members of which are listed above the editorial). All other opinions, commentaries and cartoons reflect only the opinion of the author. Opinions expressed in The Daily Cougar do not necessarily reflect those of the University of Houston or the students as a whole. LETTERS TO THE EDITOR The Daily Cougar welcomes letters to the editor from any member of the UH community. Letters should be no more than 250 words and signed, including the author’s full name, phone number or e-mail address and affiliation with the University, including classification and major. Anonymous letters will not be published. Deliver letters to Room 7, University Center Satellite; e-mail them to letters@ thedailycougar.com; send them via campus mail to STP 4015; or fax them to (713) 7435384. Letters are subject to editing. ADVERTISEMENTS Advertisements published in The Daily Cougar do not necessarily reflect the views and opinions of the University or the students as a whole. GUEST COMMENTARY Submissions are accepted from any member of the UH community and must be signed with the author’s name, phone number or e-mail address and affiliation with the University, including classification and major. Commentary should be kept to less than 500 words. Guest commentaries should not be written as replies to material already printed in the Cougar, but rather should present independent points of view. Rebuttals should be sent as letters. Deliver submissions to Room 7, University Center Satellite; e-mail them to letters@thedailycougar.com; or fax them to (713) 743-5384. All submissions are subject to editing.

Thursday, March 4, 2010

The Daily Cougar

SPORTS EDITORS Phillipe Craig, Robert Higgs

ONLINE www.thedailycougar.com/sports

MEN’S BASKETBALL

SOFTBALL

Last home game a winner for seniors

Cougars fall to Aggies

As the clocked ticked down on their final home game, senior starters Aubrey Coleman, Kelvin Lewis and Sean Coleman met the moment, scoring in double figures as the Cougars (15-14, 7-8 C-USA) beat Rice 78-70. “That’s our rival and everything, but we just took it as another game to get ready for the conference tournament,” Lewis said. Sean Coleman had a careerhigh 12 points, and the win assured Houston at least an eighth seed in next week’s C-USA Tournament. “It was a good night,” Sean Coleman said. “We just tried to maintain our poise and pull out the victory.” The Cougars got hot in the middle of the first half, making six of seven shots after starting 3-12 from the field. The run brought them a 23-18 lead after falling behind 13-7 12 minutes into the game. Houston took a 39-31 lead

into the half as Coleman found Desmond Wade wide open under the basket for a layup as time expired. Houston finished the first half on an 11-4 run. Coleman paced the seniors with 18 points and nine rebounds, and Lewis chipped in with 16 points, including four threepoint field goals. Rice freshman Suleiman Braihmoh had a doubledouble with 14 points and 13 rebounds. The second half began with Rice’s Connor Frizzelle driving to the hole for an easy layup, but Lewis and Coleman hit three straight three-pointers as Cougars rushed to their biggest lead at 48-33. Rice (8-21, 1-14 C-USA) stormed back in the game with a 17-2 run to take the lead 63-62 with 7:23 left to play. “We gave them second chance points and we made some turnovers,” Lewis said. “We started eliminating those to finish the game out.” Coleman sealed the win with a three point shot as the shot clock expired and, with back-to-

By Christopher Losee THE DAILY COUGAR

it,” head coach Tom Penders said. “Whenever Rice and Houston play, it is going to be a dog fight. Never pick a fight with somebody that has nothing to lose, and (Rice) played that way.”

The UH softball team lost 4-6 Wednesday night to Texas A&M in College Station. Junior Amanda Crabtree delivered a solid pitching performance early, but was relieved after the Aggies scored four runs in the 5th. Baillie Lott hit a 3-run homer in the 7th, but it was not enough to carry UH to victory. “When we play a top 25 team, we’ve have got to make (those routine and big plays),” head coach Kyla Holas said. Holas knew they were facing an opponent with a dominating offense. “When you walk into that park, you’re fixing to face some big hitters with some big swings,” Holas said. They next face Southern, whom they defeated twice at the LSU Tiger Invitational. “We have to start doing the little things right,” she said.

sports@thedailycougar.com

sports@thedailcougar.com

YULIA KUTSENKOVA THE DAILY COUGAR

Aubrey Coleman led a strong showing by the Houston seniors as the Cougars held on to beat Rice in their last home game of the season. back Rice turnovers, junior guard Zamal Nixon made consecutive buckets to give Houston a 76-65 lead with 1:16 left. “It was the type of game I expected in terms of competiveness. If you told me we were going to win by two, I’d take

WOMEN’S BASKETBALL

TIP’S TIDBITS

UH looks to keep rolling

Baseball season off to a surprising start

By Joachim Clarke THE DAILY COUGAR UH will host Rice at 7 p.m. today at Hofheinz Pavilion in the teams’ regular-season finale. The Cougars (15-13, 9-6 C-USA) look to improve on their latest success. They defeated Conference USA frontrunner Tulane 72-64 in their last outing and are in the midst of a two-game win streak. Head coach Joe Curl recently returned to the sidelines for the Cougars after a five-game absence. Curl had been hospitalized following what a UH Athletics press release described as “heart-related health concerns.” He said Tuesday that he is feeling much better. Curl attributes the Cougars success to their bench. “Our major success is our depth,” Curl said. “The players from the bench have to take on scoring, defense and rebounding in order for us to be successful.” UH will look to the trio of forward Courtney Taylor and guards Brittney Scott and Porsche Landry to lead today’s attack. Taylor, who scored 20 points and grabbed 14 rebounds in UH’s last meeting against Rice, was named C-USA Player of the Week on Monday and is averaging 15.5 points and 9.9 rebounds this season. It was her third Player of

COMING FRIDAY: Can the Cougars finish their season with a win against Tulane on Saturday?

E-MAIL sports@thedailycougar.com

By Keith Cordero Jr. THE DAILY COUGAR

■

YULIA KUTSENKOVATHE DAILY COUGAR

Houston will look to Brittney Scott to help extend its winning streak to three games when the Cougars finish their season against Rice today at 7 p.m. at Hofheinz Pavilion. the Week selection this season. The Owls (13-15, 7-8) have not been as impressive of late. Before Saturday’s 74-54 win over UTEP, Rice had lost four of its previous five games. In the teams’ previous meeting Feb. 4, UH topped Rice 72-53 at Tudor Fieldhouse, but coach Curl knows that another victory is not a given. “Rice has a very good team,” Curl said. “In the last game, I felt that it was closer than the score would have suggested.” Rice is led in scoring by forward Jackie Stanley and guard D’Frantz Smart. Curl mentioned Smart as one of the players to watch out for. “They run their offense through her and spread the ball around,”

Curl said. “We’re going to have to get in front of her and make sure that she can’t pass through us.” The UH-Rice rivalry will take center stage, as both teams will be playing for bragging rights. Rice will try to avenge its home loss to UH, and both teams want to finish their season on a high note. Being near the bottom of conference standings, Rice will be playing mostly for pride. UH sits at fourth. With a victory Thursday and losses by Memphis and SMU, the Cougars could finish as high as second place, putting them in a strong position to contend in the C-USA tournament, which begin March 8 in Tulsa, Okla. sports@thedailycougar.com

Before the 2010 season began, Conference USA had three teams ranked in the Top 25 by Baseball America, and for good reason. Rice was ranked No. Tristan 5, after a 43-18 season in which Tippet they went 16-8 in conference play, won their fourth straight C-USA tournament and wound up in the Super Regional. East Carolina was ranked No. 18 in the preseason. The Pirates went 46-20 last season, with 17-7 in C-USA to win the regular season title. East Carolina also made it to the Super Regional. Southern Mississippi went 4026 last season and was ranked No. 21. The Golden Eagles had the best finish of all when they made it to the College World Series where they lost to Texas and North Carolina. Perhaps the most surprising struggles are those of Rice, who has perennially been considered an elite program. The Owls opened their season with a road series against Stanford in Palo Alto, Calif., where they were unceremoniously swept. Granted, Stanford is an upperechelon program, but rarely does a Wayne Graham-coached team receive that kind of treatment. According to baseballamerica.com, the Owls were last swept in 2005. Rice followed up with a 13-7 loss to lesser-known Lamar (6-1) to start the season 0-4. Rice then won their next three games in the Rice Invitational. The Owls knocked off

UH (2-5) 8-2 Tuesday to win four in a row and returned to .500. The Owls are still ranked No. 9, but their ERA is a troubling 5.94. East Carolina has struggled, due in part to their challenging schedule. They’ve had two three-game series against preseason Top 25 teams, but have survived with a 4-3 record, and actually improved their ranking to No. 14. Southern Mississippi has suffered the most with their 4-3 start. The Golden Eagles took two out of three against Northwestern State (5-2) at home, and stayed home to crunch Mississippi Valley State 20-2. They then proceeded to lose two out of three at home to Division II Le Moyne College. That ugly stretch dropped the Golden Eagles out of Baseball America’s Top 25. The Golden Eagles don’t have an impressive schedule, so they could already be in trouble if they don’t do well in conference. The struggles of these three have coincided with the surprising success of UCF, sitting first in the standings at 7-1. The surprise is that Central Florida was 22-35 and 9-15 in C-USA last season. On the other hand, their opponents’ combined record of 7-22 tells the story. The No. 5 Florida Gators, who beat UCF 7-6, have five of the seven wins. It should be expected for UCF to come down a little, but with their relatively easy schedule, anything is possible. sports@thedailycougar.com

■

Thursday, March 4, 2010

LIFE & ARTS

The Daily Cougar

Stiller flick good, falls short of expectations in Punch Drunk Love, or Reign Over Me, – a screwball comedian turned deadly-serious – satisfying some fans and alienating most others. But those who set aside their expectations for how a Ben Stiller movie should be will find a thoughtful, off-center film about 40-somethings lost in the day-today, living the lives they’d sworn they wouldn’t and equally unsure

By Joshua Malone THE DAILY COUGAR Quiet and unusually understated, Ben Stiller’s performance in Greenberg, is not at all like the shamelessly juvenile (and hilarious) humor he’s built a career on. Instead, it’s most reminiscent of Adam Sandler’s recent turn

Rainbow Prom hosted by GLOBAL

3/6/10 at 8 PM to 1 AM Free food/drink Dancing and Karaoke Cougar Den, University Center

about how to fix it. Ben Stiller plays Roger Greenberg, single and aimless, house-sitting for his more successful brother for six weeks following treatment for a nervous breakdown. Eager to restart his life, he eventually meets Florence (Greta Gerwig), his brother’s younger personal assistant who, despite vague aspirations as a singer, is a similarly lost soul and about the only woman in Los Angeles as neurotic as Roger. Neither Roger nor Greta knows exactly what they’re looking for, only that as they reluctantly spend more time with each other, they eventually begin to find it. For all of its grand themes of love, discovery and redemption, “Greenberg,” is unusual in that seemingly not much happens on a moment-to-moment basis. Roger takes care of his brother’s sick dog, writes a letter of complaint to Starbucks on their “attempt to manufacture culture out of fastfood coffee,” and reminisces with his old friend Ivan (Ryhs Ifans), a struggling drug addict undergoing an agonizing separation from his wife. But while most of “Greenberg,” unfolds in a low-key conversation or with what isn’t said at all, director Noah Baumbach (“The Squid and the Whale,”) moves the film at such a brisk pace that it never becomes boring. Stiller finally has the opportunity to play a role with a degree of subtlety and his humor is still given the opportunity to shine

FOCUS FEATURES

Ben Stiller stars in Greenberg, a movie written and directed by Noah Baubac. The movie comes to theaters March 26. through; this time, though, it’s just with a straight-faced delivery and doesn’t involve anyone getting hit in the groin. Baumbach shot “Greenberg,” in Los Angeles, but the city is less of a setting and more of an actual character. It lives and breathes with Roger and Greta, from its smoggy skyline to the luxurious Hollywood Hills. Baumbach has made a living directing small, indie films before, and “Greenberg,” is definitely that. But with “indie” comes the connotations of pretentious and

self-indulgent, and while the film is about as far away from Hollywood as audiences are going to find, it strikes the balance in tone perfectly. “Greenberg,” doesn’t expect to break the box-office like “Avatar,” and will no doubt frustrate the typical Stiller fan. But it will achieve its own small and dedicated following, and rightfully so. As an engaging, modestly produced change of pace from the typical Hollywood fare, “Greenberg,” deserves all the success it gets. arts@thedailycougar.com

HELP WANTED

LEGAL HELP

:C8JJ@=@<;J

E-MAIL classifieds@thedailycougar.com