5 percent more than double the stated rate

U.S. EconomyBut since the definition of joblessness has changed over the years, this expert assessment might be too rosy.As many as 25 percent of Americans were unemployed during the days of bread lines that symbolized the Depression, but that figure is more than three times the current 6.7 percent unemployment rate, the economists say. economy was in the 1930s," James Poterba, president of the National Bureau of Economic Research told a recent Reuters Summit.Or are we Figures collected for Reuters by John Williams, from the electronic newsletter Shadowstats , suggest that, while we are not there yet, the comparison is not as outlandish as it might initially seem.By his count, if unemployment were still tallied the way it was in the 1930s, today's jobless rate would be closer to 16.5 percent more than double the stated rate."I expect that unemployment in the current downturn, which will be particularly deep and protracted, eventually will rival, if not top, the 25 percent seen in the Great Depression," Williams said.He and other critics have one particular sticking point with the current way of measuring unemployment: the treatment of discouraged workers.Under President Lyndon Johnson, the government decided individuals who had stopped looking for work for more than a year were no longer part of the labor force. This dramatically decreased the jobless rate reported by the government."Both part-time workers wanting full-time work and discouraged workers tend to make the unemployment rate lower than it would otherwise be," says Robert Schenk, professor of economics at St. Joseph's College, Indiana.The latest report, due on Friday, is expected to show another month of more than half a million job losses in December, and a jump in the unemployment rate to 7 percent.However, some economists, including Kenneth Rogoff at Harvard University, now say joblessness could top 11 percent. Any sport, any team, no, forget favorite player, the man is as close to an idol as my religious conscience will allow me to have.

After dealing with the devastation that was the Martinez boys (and Griffey, and Joey freaking Cora, and scary Randy Johnson etc) ruining my Succos that year, 1996 began with said kid shortstop being our new starting shortstop And I just knew. I just f'ing knew that he was going to be awesome, and that this was my new favorite player. (Could I have told you how awesome, or that he would be the absolute perfect role model in every respect imaginable Of course not, only he's that good.) Sure enough in the first game of that magical year he hit his 1st career HR and made a sick over the shoulder catch.He came at the perfect time. For most kids there is no stage in your life that you are as completely obsessed with baseball as much as ages 8-11, give or take a few months.

That's when you can really appreciate baseball cards, your balls haven't dropped yet so girls still have cooties, when you have no responsibilities whatsoever and can therefore memorize your favorite player's stats (.314, 10 HRs, 78 RBIs in '96, I'll never forget that stat line). Opening Day 1996 I was 9 years old and the last 14 years rooting for Derek Jeter (and the other pinstriped people of course) have been as great as it gets. All of the jumpthrows, all of the Jeterian swings, The Jeffrey Maier HR, The Flip, Mr. November, The Dive (along with the moments that most people don't remember at all, like when he scored from 1st on a routine single) etc etc. etfreakingcetera are all ingrained in my memory, and hopefully always will be.For whatever reason SI's Sportsman of the Year has always mattered in some way to me.

I guess part of that is because in most cases when you think back to any year since 1954 there's a decent chance the Sportsman of the Year selection will have been the greatest, biggest story of that year. Whether it was the first winner Roger Bannister, who ran the first sub-4 minute mile, or the 1980 US Hockey team, to last year's winner Michael Phelps. The combination of lifetime achievement award and still gettin' it doneness is very well acknowledged.And now the man, the myth, the legend, the best there was, the best there is, the best there ever shall be, The Captain, Jeter Christ Almighty, 7-time American League Champion, 1996 Rookie of the Year, 2000 All-Star Game MVP, 2000 World Series MVP, 10-time All-Star, 4-time Gold Glove winner, 4-time Silver Slugger winer, 2-time Hank Aaron Award winner, 2009 Roberto Clemente Award winner, and most importantly5-time World's Champion, Derek Sanderson Jeter is what we'll take from 2009. This article is also featured on Dachs's New Blog. It looks like the Tennessee Titans are alive and well for the 2009 season after all. With Vince Young leading the team to its fifth straight win this week, they still have a chance for the playoffs. Next week the Titans play against the Colts ,and that matchup should be another close game for the Titans that comes down to the end of the game. Below I have some observations from the 12th week of the regular season and how I see those points of interest playing out from a fantasy perspective 2009 NFL Regular Season Week 12Packers vs LionsCowboys vs RaidersBroncos vs GiantsColts vs TexansSeahawks vs Rams49ers vs JaguarsTitans vs.