Zucchini is very versatile to cook with. Some fun recipes to try are zucchini oven chips, chocolate zucchini cake, stuffed zucchini and zucchini bread. A zucchini oven chip looks like a gourmet item but does not take many ingredients to make. It takes ¼ cup dry breadcrumbs, ¼ fresh grated Parmesan cheese, ¼ teaspoon seasoned salt, ¼ teaspoon ground black pepper, 2 tablespoons fat-free milk, 2 ½ cups slices of zucchini (approximately 2 small). Combine first 5 ingredients in a medium bowl, set aside and place milk in a shallow bowl. Dip zucchini slices in milk, and dredge in breadcrumb mixture. Place coated slices on an ovenproof wire rack coated with cooking spray; place rack on a baking sheet. Bake at 425° for 30 minutes or until browned and crisp. Serve immediately.

Just when we thought the economy was starting to turn around BP has the worst oil spill ever recorded. On April 20, 2010 off the Louisiana coast the Deepwater Horizon oil rig exploded! Three people were critically injured, 17 injured and taken to local hospitals, 98 crew members were evacuated and 11 crew are missing and presumed dead.  The rig burned overnight Tuesday and into Wednesday dumping approximately 13,000 gallons of crude oil per hour. Heartfelt sympathy goes out to the families that lost loved ones in this accident.

At day 58 of the oil spill there has been much controversy and a lot of bantering back and forth between the Republicans and the Democrats. Put all that aside and let’s stop the leak. It is hard to listen to the reports and the apologies; the leak should be stopped by now and it isn’t! What about the beaches and the wildlife? The first whale has now died because of the spill and there is sure to be more to follow. BP has been pressured to set up a $20 billion escrow account to compensate the clean-up fund and ordered not to pay dividends for the rest of the year by the President.

Growing up and going to college is tough enough; but what about being an athlete also. If an athlete is on a scholarship it is like a full time job. The hours of practice, games and travel is a rigorous schedule. It gets even harder for those that have other commitments as well, like children. Being a scholarship athlete is also very controversial as some colleges will suspend the scholarship or the athlete will lose the scholarship all together.

A typical day and the life of a college student is to get up at 10 AM, go to class, hang out with friends, take a nap, study and hang out with friends. They stay up way to late then get up and do it all over again. For the college student that is a mom and an athlete, this takes a special commitment and determination to go to school, take care of her family and participate in competitive sports. They get up and take care of the family, go to class, then practice, take care of family, study, go to bed and then start all over again. Nobody said it would be easy; however with the proper help and support a college mom can be just as successful as her teammate.

Interesting, Dancing with the Stars Anna Trebunskay and with all of Evan Lysaceks natural dancing and artistic ability they end up second. Trebunskaya and Lysacek had great scores throughout the competition accept week six when all judges gave them a 7, but even then they were safe. Competing with a mild concussion and breaking two toes during a rehearsal Lysacek still managed to score a 28 in the finals. Maybe Evan should stick to figure skating. Losing to Derek Hough and Nicole Scherzinger makes you wonder; was it the mattress or was it because Hough is in his sixth season of Dancing with the Stars?

Cleveland Cavaliers controversy continues with no coach and no commitment from the 2 time MVP LaBron James. James is a free agent and has made it clear to all that he wants a title! Will he leave Cleveland to get it or will the local star be patient and stay home? Unless James goes to Boston or the Lakers I don’t see a championship in his corner at New York. We are all hoping to get the answer soon. Cleveland fans have always been there even when teams have an off year. Come on LaBron, stay home and bring the title to Cleveland, it’s at your fingertips! There are some NBA stars that have never won the championship, but are still great players.

On the other side, Michigan State’s coach Tom Izzo has spent time in Cleveland with owner Dan Gilbert. He has waited for this opportunity, however when the Atlanta Hawks came calling in 2000, Izzo turned down the deal. Students and fans at MSU are rallying together to keep Izzo in Michigan. How does Izzo commit to Cleveland without knowing if James will be there next year?  I guess we will just have to wait and see who makes the first move!