Boston

Do religious strongholds like Birmingham, Alabama watch less porn than, say, the godforsaken vistas of San Francisco and Boston? The answer, according to user data provided by the obviously NSFW Pornhub is, not really. Subject: Atheism & Religion

A study on the affects of marijuana suggests blood sugar control and other health benefits can come from smoking the popular plant. The study was released on Thursday revealing that pot smokers have been found to be thinner with better blood sugar levels and a higher insulin resistance. The American Journal of Medicine released the report that indicates users of marijuana have lower levels of insulin resistance, which is a precursor to diabetes, and that they also have lower rates of obesity. Though the findings are not substantial evidence and are also considered preliminary research, upwards of 4,700 people were used in the study. Dr. Murray Mittleman worked on the study at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center in Boston told Reuters Health that “these are preliminary findings.” “It looks like there may be some favorable effects on blood sugar control, however a lot more needs to be done to have definitive answers on the risks and potential benefits of marijuana usage,” he added when speaking to Reuters Health. Using research data from 2005-2010, the study indicated that current pot smokers had smaller waists than those who have never used marijuana. The difference is quite revealing, as users’ waists averaged 36.9 inches compared to 38.3 inches for those who don’t partake. Marijuana blood sugar control was also a benefit for smokers, as 17 percent were linked to lower insulin resistances. Though the numbers aren’t overwhelming, they do suggest benefits outside of getting the “munchies.” The findings actually reveal the exact opposite of bad eating habits and past studies would support the research, as many have concluded that marijuana users tend to weigh less. The association between marijuana and weight loss also has it’s doubts, and further research should clear up the majority of questions that remain. With so many underlying factors that could play a role, like users who also smoke cigarettes, there are still concerns behind the overall health benefits of marijuana. Are these preliminary findings enough to make you a believer that marijuana affects blood sugar levels and weight loss? [Image via Torben Hansen] Marijuana Blood Sugar Control: Study Suggests Smoking Pot Has Potential Health Benefits is a post from: The Inquisitr

Lingering stories and information about Survivor Caramoan: This season was the 29th most-popular TV show among people 18 to 49--just behind The Amazing Race, and well behind #18, Survivor Philippines.John Cochran, this season's winner, has been hired to write for CBS' new sitcom The Millers, which stars Will Arnett and Margo Martindale. He'll also recap Big Brother for EW, which is kind of like working for CBS.Cochran's famous piece of academic writing about the Survivor jury system is "not even a good essay," he told HitFix, saying it's "literally five pages long" and "was just a cute thing" that "wasn't showing any great insight. ... That's why I haven't released it."CBS screwed up Cochran's check, which had a typo in his address.Dawn and Brenda made up at Ponderosa after the teeth incident, Dawn told Gordon Holmes, but they didn't stay connected. She also calls Cochran "My very best friend in the whole wide world."Rob Cesternino makes a case for promoting Survivors' Twitter handles, and I agree that there's value in it for the network to help their stars have more of a following on social media. I don't agree with his assertion that "if there's anything that Jeff Probst seems to loathe, it's the self-promoting reality star," both because of the evidence in the reunion (Boston Rob, ugh) and also because the obsession with returnees is about turning one-time players into self-promoting stars with more fans who justify their returns.Erik Reichenbach did a Reddit AMA that is incredibly insightful and really makes me think he got a shitty edit, and is a lot more complex than the dolt the editors turned him into. He confirms that the camera operators are unintentional but useful clues about the location of the idol (one followed him when he went to pee) and says "Brandon teetered on the edge the whole time he was there. He claimed he had some kind of medication that he was not allowed to bring but I don't know if there's any validity in this." Most fascinatingly, he offers pretty pointed criticism of Jeff Probst:"He has changed a lot. It has been 4 years in between though, and I am sure I have changed too. ... Jeff Probst Micronesia filming is 100 times greater then Jeff Probst at Caramoan. He was much more fair and generally pleasant during Micronesia compared to Survivor 26. His bias for specific players is not only unfair it is kind of ruining the future seasons. Survivor 22 is one of the worst seasons I have ever watched. ...Jeff Probst has gone from Host to show-runner I believe in the last few years. He has much more creative control which is bad in my opinion. He is a great host, but he is making some very poor choices."Malcolm may have appeared on the Bold and the Beautiful, but Phillip Shepherd, who has a book in case you didn't know, appeared on an episode of the web series Development Hell. I don't have the slightest idea what's going on in this episode, but I like the callbacks to Survivor and Phillip's self-parody. Most of all, I want to see the reality series "Who Dat Cheater" hosted by Phillip. Fox, please put that into development ASAP.Lisa Fierreira, who created the amazing "Hold Up, Bro" Lego musical number (have the MP3 yet?), recapped the season finale and live reunion. She was in the audience, but the recap is in Lego, of course. To close out the season, here's a reprise of "Hold Up, Bro," easily one of the highlights of this deeply hit and miss season: » comment on this story» read the latest news about Survivor Caramoan» more reality TV news and gossip on Twitter or on Facebook.

May 23, 2013; New York, NY, USA; New York Rangers left wing Chris Kreider (20) scores the game-winning goal on Boston Bruins goalie Tuukka Rask (40) during overtime in game four of the second round of the 2013 Stanley Cup Playoffs at Madison Square Garden. Rangers win 4-3 in overtime. Mandatory Credit: Debby Wong-USA TODAY Sports Going into last night’s game I wasn’t very optimistic about the Rangers chances. Then after they went down a couple goals I really didn’t like their chances. I didn’t think they showed, grit, or any determination to get back into it. Then Carl Hagelin’s goal was the turning point. Up until then the Rangers really didn’t get anything going offensively. The fluke goal boosted their confidence and had a snowball effect for the rest of the game. I had a feeling that after Tyler Seguin scored the Rangers would find a way to get a goal. The Bruins were going to be on their heels a bit, and 12 minutes can feel like hours when you’re defending a lead in an elimination game. The Rangers couldn’t have picked a better time to get their lone Power Play goal of the series by the way, and Brian Boyle of all people scored it. Really, great timing on that one. Rick Nash and Chris Kreider did the rest and now the Rangers are off to game 5. I just like how the team crawled back into this game. Sure they got some bounces, but they’ve been denied a few of those throughout the series. They were down by two goals at one point and managed to draw level, then went down another goal and equalized again. They never led the game until the overtime goal. Next on the agenda is a tough game 5 in Boston. The Rangers have nothing to lose at this point and should play a loose game. That being said, this will probably be the toughest game to win. Boston definitely does not want a game six, and the Rangers will need to fight tooth and nail to pull out a victory. Still though, if the Rangers win tomorrow the floodgates open up. All the pressure will be on Boston to close out the series, and the media will act like 2010 is happening all over again. Still have a long way to go, but just take it one game at a time. Oh, and can somebody stop Torey Krug from scoring? Be sure to follow me on twitter @11Matt_Josephs8

Jared Wickerham/Getty ImagesTerry Francona had to love this first trip back To Fenway clothed in enemy laundry. For all the talk of his downplaying the visit, the fact that his new players awarded him a 12-3 laugher of a win has got to be sweet. Kudos to the Sox ownership for playing a well-deserved video tribute to Francona after the first inning. As Mark Reynolds said, "It was just neat to see the organization do that for him. I think I saw him teary-eyed a little bit during that thing. It was pretty neat and I was glad to be a part of it.'' Reynolds was pretty glad to be walking to the plate against Ryan Dempster, too—who lasted just three innings giving up four earned runs. David Ortiz got the Sox close with his eighth home run (a three-run shot), but this one was all Tito's. Angst Level: ELEVATED

The Red Sox are missing their backup catcher and an important left-handed piece of the bullpen, but the two are both on rehab assignments in the minors, and just so happened to have them line up in Double-A Portland's Thursday game. David Ross caught Franklin Morales, who was starting the contest, and both made strides towards returning to the Red Sox sooner than later. Morales was making his final rehab start in what has been a somewhat tumultuous delay to the start of his 2013 season. He missed most of spring training thanks to a back injury, and then his initial rehab assignment was interrupted by a strained pectoral muscle. The Red Sox kept him stretched out as a starter rather than push him back in relief, though, and he's now accumulated 17 innings over five starts, with Thursday's effort going five innings while allowing an unearned run, striking out three, and walking a pair. Franklin Morales: the Red Sox' new fourth starter? With Felix Doubront struggling and Allen Webster sent down to Pawtucket, is Franklin Morales in line to be Boston's new fourth starter? Ross contributed to the Sea Dogs win as well with a 1-for-3 day that included an RBI double. The news that matters with him, more than his performance, is that there were no reports of recurring concussion symptoms -- as we've already been reminded of with Stephen Drew this year, you never quite know a concussion is gone until the symptoms have vanished for a while. Ross will slot back in as the backup catcher, with Ryan Lavarnway heading back to Triple-A Pawtucket whenever that time comes. As for Morales, though, things are a bit more up in the air. Is he going to take the rotation spot of Felix Doubront, or slide into the bullpen? At this point, there is no obvious answer, as manager John Farrell had said that they wanted to keep him stretched out as a starter in case there was a need, and that if they felt his role was in the bullpen, they would have brought him along to the majors faster than the plan they went with has worked out. The decision might come down to how Doubront performs on Sunday, but even a decent start then might not do it: he's been keeping runs off the board of late, but given his absurd walk rate, the homers, and his inability to work deep into games, there is a lot to be concerned about.

Every morning, we compile the links of the day and dump them here… highlighting the big storyline. Because there’s nothing quite as satisfying as a good morning dump. “We don’t feel like we have a championship team [at the moment]; It’s pretty obvious, we lost in the first round,” said Grousbeck. “We have to see who is with us, we have to see what offers there are for people, we’ve got to decide what to do. It might be a multi-year plan. We’ve never intentionally lost games and we don’t intend to trash things now. We’ve got players — [Rajon] Rondo, [Avery] Bradley, [Jeff] Green, [Jared] Sullinger, Brandon Bass, the younger guys are not going to let us win the lottery anyway. That’s a good roster. We hope that Paul [Pierce] and [Kevin Garnett] are back with them and we hope we can reload along the way. “I don’t know what will happen, I’ll know more about the plan in early July. At the moment, we just have to see what the options are.” ESPN Boston I love Wyc Grousbeck.  He’s a hands-off owner but he’s not uninvolved.  He hires people for jobs, sets the parameters, and lets them do what they were hired to do.  Behind every successful team, generally, is a good ownership group.  And the Celtics have been pretty successful over the past five years. But there’s also a little bit of wordsmanship here from Wyc. No, he doesn’t know what’s going to happen.  But he knows what he’s willing to do and not do.  He knows how much he’s willing to spend and he knows what’s more likely to happen. It’s like when Chuck takes a date out with a strict $25 cap on the night.  He doesn’t know what’s going to happen… but after hitting the Wendy’s dollar menu and the second-run theater…. we can pretty much guess what’ll happen (or what won’t, more accurately). So Wyc’s spending parameters will set the tone for the summer.  Do the Celtics want to be a taxpayer for next season’s team?  Or do they want to save a few bucks now, and possibly a lot more in the long run when they avoid a repeater tax, by operating under a self-imposed hard cap of whatever the tax line is? One minor complication, and it’s very minor, is the actual setting of the tax line.  That’s done in July.  A decision on Paul Pierce has to come by June 30.  The tax line last year was $70,307,000.  Chances are good that increased revenues over the past season will bump that line up, giving the Celtics a little bit more wiggle room.  However, considering the Celtics are currently committed to $76 million, the new line won’t make THAT big of a difference in the decision-making. But it could influence some decisions.  Some things that weren’t palatable before might become so after the line is set.  We will have to wait and see how that all plays out.  So Wyc isn’t lying when he says he doesn’t know because other people, as in the players the Celtics pursue and teams with which they pursue trades, will have to say yes or no.  But I’ll bet if he ventured a guess, he could get pretty close. One thing that we know isn’t happening is Doc Rivers coaching the Brooklyn Nets.  They asked for permission to talk to him, and the Celtics said no. Reached late Thursday, Ainge refused to comment on the Nets’ interest in Rivers and reiterated that he expects him back on the Celtics’ bench next season. “Doc has told me he’s coming back,” Ainge said bluntly. “I talk to him almost every day about our team and what we are going to do moving forward.” I’d like to say that will end speculation about Doc’s future, but it won’t.  I know Doc hasn’t come out and said it himself, but the guy is taking a little break from the media and trying to be a normal multi-millionaire enjoying the spoils of being rich person.  He was in Boston yesterday… so we’l

This lineup is good. They are not going anywhere. Figuratively of course, they will not regress or take a nose dive, or fizzle out. They won't score 12 runs every night, but if you are sitting there thinking that the offense may not be for real, you are going to be mistaken, especially if you watched this club last night. I can't definitively say that about the pitching. We saw Ubaldo struggle, and who knows if Zach McAllister will be brilliant all year. You still have to wonder about Masterson staying consistent and yada yada, you can make claims about the pitching, with no argument from me. But I defy you to make an argument about this team's offense. Last year's offense had no staying power, was charged by a couple of hot streaks and a few consistent players. This year's offense is charged by a lineup full of productive players and you saw that last night. INDIANS - 12 | RED SOX - 3 W: Zach McAllister (4-3) L: Ryan Dempster (2-5) S: Scott Barnes (1) [BOXSCORE] Even Boston's manager John Farrell took a moment to praise the Indians, who beat his team into oblivion on Thursday night, a completely different result than when the BoSox came to Cleveland last month. "They've got a very good team," Red Sox manager John Farrell said. "They're in first place for a reason. They've got a very good lineup. They're balanced, they've got good pitching, a very good bullpen. They're not in first place by accident." Photo - Getty Images via Zimbio.com Very good! In all seriousness, this offense has found its groove and Francona has found the right combination to put out there on a daily basis. He is getting incredible production from just about every spot on the diamond and it isn't really a "one guy" show. There's guys who help out at different times, which means that individually, you can go through a rough stretch and the team will be okay. Mark Reynolds for instance.. Earlier this month he went through a stretch in eight games where he was 3-for-23 with only five RBI (only, hah!) and no home runs. Did the offense suffer? Well, they won five of their eight games. But they also averaged 4.25 runs per game, which is just down one run then what they normally average for the entire season. They are MLB's second best offense to only the Tigers at this juncture, both in the statistics and in the lineup they are putting out there every night. Talk about Trout-Pujols-Hamilton all you want, but the lineup isn't getting it done right now and you have to wonder what is behind them. From the leadoff guy in Michael Bourn to the the nine-hitter in Drew Stubbs, this lineup is deep. So deep that they're trying to play their backup catcher even more because he's such a Yanimal. And on Thursday night, they showed just how potent a lineup they can be, without the home run ball. "Homers have been known to be rally killers," Reynolds quipped. "You keep having guys on base, it keeps pressure on the pitcher and it makes him be precise. We were just able to get big knocks with guys on base out there." We can specifically talk about the sixth inning, which was good for six runs, a doubling of the score entirely. The previous six runs were nice, but this inning was simply a textbook version of how you want to play offensively. Carlos Santana walked to load the bases and from there the Indians would follow with four hits, a single, a double, a triple and then another single. All of it with less than two outs. That is what is SUPPOSED to happen when you have the bases loaded. A grand slam would have been cool, but it would have been four runs and who knows then if the rest of the inning goes on to occur. The point is, when you load the bases with no outs, you need to come away with not one or two runs, but you need to make that inning last and be damaging to the point of ending the game before it is actually over. And the Indians offense did that, something I don't

The waiting is the hardest part. At least that’s what the Celtics’ brass must feel like about their coveted head coach. A week after Danny Ainge confirmed to The Boston Globe that Doc Rivers would be returning to the Celtics’ bench next season, we’re still waiting for a direct word from the head coach himself. Wyc Grousbeck chimed in yesterday on the situation on 98.5 The Sports Hub in Boston, reiterating Danny’s comments, while also treading somewhat carefully. “Our indications are that Doc is coming back. Typically — and it’s similar to Kevin Garnett, as an example — everyone is tired, burned out and frustrated (after the season ends); losing to the Knicks is something I never wanted to experience in my life,” said Grousbeck. “Everybody gets time to unwind and decompress. I expect Doc will help Danny with the draft workouts, to be in the war room June 27, and over the free agency period after that.” And on Danny’s comments about Doc, Wyc had this to say. “I think Danny really spoke for him. They had been in communication and I think Danny went ahead and said it. I respect Doc too much to speak for him at this point; I hope he’s back. I’d be very surprised if he doesn’t, but he can change his mind on Labor Day. I hope he doesn’t do that.” So this all sounds fine and dandy, except for the same somewhat troubling issue that Rivers still won’t come out and say he’s back publicly. Throw in the revelation that other teams are pursuing Rivers’ (hello, Brooklyn Nets) and the Celtics are denying those teams permission to talk to Doc and things get a bit more interesting…or worrisome if you are a Celtics fan. So this all begs an important question: Why is Doc making the Celtics wait on a public confirmation of his return next season? And is there anything to be concerned about here? I present to you, a theory on Doc’s motives. Imagine you are Rivers right now. You’re one of the highest paid coaches in the league. According to Jackie MacMullan’s sources, other teams are after you, not only to run their team on the floor, but off the floor as well (hello, Orlando Magic). You are also signed to a long-term coaching deal, in essence limiting your flexibility in looking at other options. According to the terms of the deal, Doc can’t coach elsewhere during the duration of the deal, without Celtics’ approval….and likely compensation from another team. While picturing this though, it’s important to keep in mind how Rivers might view this Celtics’ team at a crossroads right now. Doc heads into this offseason with a bit of uncertainty surrounding his roster for next season, in the sense that he doesn’t know what it will look like come October 2013. The veteran Hall-of-Famer he has been through everything with in Boston is on the trading block. Kevin Garnett could be following him out of town as well, or walking away to retirement, if The Truth is no longer by his side. If Danny Ainge has his way, he’d trade both of those guys right now, for a package of first round picks and/or young players on cheap contracts with promise, in hopes of reloading the Celtics’ for the future. While these moves may be attractive to the long-term future of the Celtics, just how attractive are they to Doc Rivers? Without KG and Pierce, Doc would be forced to coach a roster featuring Rajon Rondo coming off an ACL tear, Jeff Green, and a variety of youngsters and overpaid veterans in supporting roles. We all know Rondo is no picnic to coach and Doc was yelling at Green probably more than anyone on the roster not named Fab Melo. With these guys at the helm, the Celtics would still be a playoff team, but probably one guaranteed for an early round exit. So tell me, just how excited would Rivers be to coach a crew like this, assuming KG and Pierce are out of the picture? Doc isn’t really crazy about coaching young guys to begin with, unless your name is Jared Sullinger. A couple years ago, after signing his contract extension, Doc sounded ready to take the rebuilding plun

Earlier this week, Oklahoma native Blake Shelton announced that he would be partnering up with NBC for a televised benefit concert to help those devastated by Monday's Moore, Oklahoma tornado.  Now we have a few details on the event.  According to the Associated Press (via NewsOK.com), the "Healing in the Heartland" tornado benefit concert will take place Wednesday, May 29, at the Chesapeake Energy Arena and will be televised live on NBC. So far performers for the show haven't been announced but are expected to be released today.