Hey everyone, Cuzzy is on the way back! This is no lie as I have been working on finally freeing up some time to get Cuzoogle back up to par.

As you know the last year was a crazy time and it left very few hours for blogging. The job is going great, Harrison is doing great and the time seems right to jump back in the blog pool.

The crazy thing is, that over the last year when time started to dwindle for posting, the blog has somehow stayed afloat, with really good traffic.

On Feb. 1 it was the two year anniversary of Cuzoogle and that really got me inspired to pick things up.

I also learned that less seems to be more. I used to pump out 4-5 less than great posts a day and now I can see 1 of 2 being good enough. Honestly, 5 good ones a week will probably work. We will see.

I need to get back into the social side of things as well. While building up all the networks for my 9-5 job, Cuzoogle has taken a back seat. I will be working my way back in to help friends out with links and promotion soon so stay tuned for that.

Enjoy Super Sunday everyone.

A New York City middle school student has been arrested for doodling on her desk with a marker.

Twelve-year-old Alexa Gonzalez scribbled “Lex was here 2/1/10″ on her desk Monday. She also wrote “I love my friends Abby and Faith.” The girl says the doodles could have been erased, according to the Daily News.

Don’t worry folks, she won’t be doing hard time or anything. Gonzalez has been assigned eight hours of community service, a book report and an essay on what she’s learned from the experience.

Just imagine what would happen if they catch you putting gum under your desk!

By Andy Charles

There were plenty of times during the Raptors 108-99 defeat of the hopeless New Jersey Nets on Wednesday when it looked like 4-43 for the visitors from the south would become 5-43.

But thankfully for the Toronto faithful it was a couple of unheralded players who came to the rescue as the Raptors made it 15 straight games where they had topped the 100 points – a 10-5 record in that spell helped them move 4.5 games ahead of the ninth-ranked team in the Eastern Conference playoff race.

That the Raptors are only 5.5 games out of Boston now at the top of the Atlantic Division is all the more unbelievable given the fact that they were trailing one of the worst teams in NBA history by 12 points during the second quarter.

But at that point it was second-season pro Sonny Weems who stepped up with eight of his 14 points on the night to lead Toronto back from 42-30 down to take a one-point lead by half-time.

Along with Weems, Antoine Wright came into the starting five to score a season-high 18 points as the Raptors overcame the absence of Hedo Turkoglu, DeMar DeRozan and Jose Calderon to secure victory.

Although the Nets are no team to be worrying about at most times, they have recently shown the odd flash of inspiration and they certainly showed that in the first 18 minutes on Wednesday – whether they get the five wins they need to avoid the ‘worst in history’ tag is another matter.

But if the game did one thing, it proved that the Raptors have more than their usual starting five, plus Jarret Jack, to rely on, in particular Weems who had his first career double-double after pulling down 11 rebounds as well.

One of his plays, a quite ridiculous finish that was against all NBA Odds of an alley-oop during the second period run, even turned the odd cat-call from the crowd at the Air Canada center into a crescendo of cheers that seemed to lift the whole team.

“Sonny was energy and beyond tonight,” Raptors coach Jay Triano told AP after the game. “Open drives to the basket and he finished and made plays for other people too.”

By Andy Charles

Well we are just past halfway through the season and it’s one of the Raptors usual Atlantic Division rivals who are making many of the headlines in the NBA, and for all of the wrong reasons.

At the 43-game mark, the New Jersey Nets were tied for the worst record in the league’s history – 3-40 – and seriously face the ignominy of being the worst team ever to play professional basketball in North America if they can’t win another six games over the rest of the season.

Bereft of top-level talent, the standout Brook Lopez apart, the Nets are on track to beat Philadelphia’s 9-73 record in the 1972-3 season (starting in the year of my birth as it happens), a quite dreadful team who somehow managed to go on a run of five wins in seven games after hitting a nadir at 4-58 with 20 games left.

Of course they went on to lose their last 13 games, having also lost their first 15, leaving me wondering just how Fred Carter managed to average 20 points in such a futile season!! NBA Predictions certainly wouldn’t have backed him to do that given his team’s results!

Lopez must know how that feels by now, though, with an inexperienced crew around him (let’s not forget he is only a sophomore pro) and with injuries having cost almost all of their starters and key bench players plenty of playing time.

Although they ended their 11-game losing streak in midweek against the Clippers (nothing to write home about really), should they lose their next two games (Washington and Philly at home) the writing will almost certainly be on the wall since February is a horror month when the Nets must face the likes of Boston, Cleveland and other red-hot teams like Charlotte.

But it is doubtful whether anyone currently with the team will be able to stop new owner Mikhail Prokhorov, who takes over at the end of the season, sweeping the staff clean when he starts work proper. A new coach and a series of high-priced free agents might be the only way to forget a 2009-10 season that could go down in the annals of horror stories across all sports.

At least in Lopez, Devin Harris and a couple of other starters forced into big minutes when they weren’t ready for it, there are a few building blocks to start with – other than that, doctor, NBA Picks suggest that this is a hopeless case!

By Andy Charles

Getting away from the defensive deficiencies of the Raptors for a minute, there is a man playing in the Atlantic Division at the moment who deserves the respect of all NBA fans, not just those in the town he now calls home.

The player I am talking about is Philadelphia 76ers center Sam Dalembert, the only player in the NBA who comes from Haiti, focus of so many tragic front page headlines over the last 10 days or so.

The massive earthquake to hit Port Au Prince last week was a tragedy that hit home to Big Sam, who had his parents, sister and brother on the Caribbean island through their worst loss of life in history.

Only his father now remains on the island, through his own choice, but Dalembert returned to Philly at the family’s behest in time to play against Portland on Wednesday and received a heartfelt welcome from fans in a city sometimes harshly known for turning on their own.

I have nothing but respect for Dalembert, who somehow managed to briefly forget the heart-breaking scenes in Haiti to score 10 points and pull down 15 rebounds in a losing effort.

It really is difficult to imagine just what he and his countrymen and women have been through, but to have a hero like Sam to look up to is just his small way of trying to get a focus in North America on the country’s recovery efforts, which will take years and likely cost billions.

He has already announced his plans to donate $250,000 to the cause and other sports with Haitian interests have followed suit – it’s only a drop in the ocean at the moment but I say kudos to Sam Dalembert and wish him nothing but the best for the future…apart from when he is playing the Raptors of course.

By Andy Charles - A professional sports writer who blogs about NBA Betting.

Sex Symbol Megan Fox Loses Popularity, While Soft-Spoken Entourage Star Emmanuelle Chriqui Is Crowned The No. 1 Most Desirable Woman

Now this is no surprise to us at Cuzoogle as she has been one of our faves way before Entourage. We Canadians are proud of Emmanuelle and are happy we can share her with the world. Thanks to AskMen.com for doing all the hard work in putting together a list of the hottest of the hot.

Here is the full press release with all the details! Congrats Emmanuelle!

Los Angeles, Calif. (January 19, 2010) - After more than 6 million votes were cast, film starlet Megan Fox fell short of securing a top 10 position in AskMen.com’s Top 99 Most Desirable Women 2010 ranking, while Entourage actress Emmanuelle Chriqui claimed the No. 1 position. The Top 99 Most Desirable Women is decided by an annual poll in which AskMen.com readers are asked to consider more than instant sex appeal and cast their ballot for women who embody the traits that they desire most in a potential companion such as intelligence, humor, talent, and character. In 2009’s list, Eva Mendes took the No. 1 spot.

Rounding out the top three for 2010 are Victoria’s Secret model Marisa Miller and British actress Kate Beckinsale, respectively. Readers can also view the full “Top 99 Most Desirable Women” list, including profiles of each honoree, at www.AskMen.com. The top 99 most desirable women for 2010, in order, are:

Last year’s No. 1 Most Desirable Woman, Eva Mendes said, “I love AskMen.com and I love that they love me back. Thank you!! Xxx”

“The AskMen.com Top 99 list has been my annual ego boost time, and one that I want to savor while I can. Thank you guys!” comments Access Hollywood’s Maria Menounos.

Emmanuelle Chriqui, who ranked No. 12 on 2009’s list, wiped out previous favorites like Megan Fox, who dropped from No. 2 to No. 11 over the past year. Fox’s plummet from the top 10 ranks may come as a surprise considering that most men’s magazines couldn’t get enough of the actress in 2009. However, her overexposure spawned a backlash that reached beyond her drop on the Top 99; several leading men’s sites teamed up for “A Day Without Megan Fox” on August 4, 2009.

“It’s refreshing to see a respected but relatively low-profile actress like Emmanuelle top the Top 99, while many of the tabloid regulars didn’t even make it,” comments James Bassil, editor-in-chief of AskMen.com. “To me, this outcome really reflects what is unique about our annual list: that it is a real indicator of the kind of women that men want, rather than simply those ones that we are continuously exposed to.”

To see exclusive videos, photos and comments from this year’s honorees, visit www.AskMen.com. Further coverage of the Top 99 Most Desirable Women will also be available on AskMen.com’s Facebook and Twitter pages.

By Edwin Hawkeswood

I won’t keep you in suspense. There is only one team in the city of Toronto that is even worth a second look in the sports section. That team is the Toronto Raptors.

There are many ways to look at them (and since no other team in the city seems to want to win, fans have to look at someone).

They can be considered one of the worst defensive teams in a long time who’ve struggled just to get to .500 in the franchise’s most critical season.

Read full story here

By Andy Charles

Things appear to finally be looking up for the Raptors although the kudos of a road win over the Philadelphia 76ers is not quite what it once was.

Toronto made it three wins on the bounce and eight from 10 with a last gasp win in the City of Brotherly Love, and even though the defense still has to be a worry for coach Jay Triano, winning these close games is a habit he will be happy to get into.

And the manner of the second-half performance, after trailing by 11 at the break, will give him even more heart, as Andrea Bargnani and Chris Bosh dominated in close against a Sixers side lacking Elton Brand’s size.

But the Sixers are a side with a real soft underbelly this season, losing for the third time straight, and in each of those games they have held a double-figure lead at some point only to throw it away.

Philly shot okay when given the space, but they could not match the ruthlessness of the Raptors, who shot 51% from the floor which made all the difference in a game that went down to a final three-point play from Bosh inside the last nine seconds.

Bosh made a superb off-balance layup under pressure from Sam Dalembert, and the Philly center was adjudged to have fouled as well to give the Raptors a two-point lead, which held up when Lou Williams missed a buzzer-beating three-pointer.

Bosh’s 29-point effort came in the wake of some scathing comments from Triano, who felt the big man was starting to fade after his quick start to the season in the fine win over Orlando that preceded Friday’s success.

The win also lifted Toronto above .500 for the first time since the middle of November and gave them a couple of games advantage in the race for an Eastern Conference playoff berth as the midway point of the season (already??) comes close. NBA Predictions certainly suggest they will be up there.

Triano said after the game: “I’m not going to say we’re a good defensive team. But we’re getting better at it, and I think that’s the biggest thing – that guys care about defence right now.”

And it really is making a difference, as the Raptors go into next week with a 13-0 record when they hold teams to under 100 points this season – keep that up and worries of not making the top eight will be a distant memory as far as NBA Picks are concerned.

2009 is over already? (insert Tom Haverford “What!”)

Yep the year and decade come to a close tonight and I just wanted to say Happy New Year to all the loyal readers and casual visitors out there.

It was an odd year for Cuzoogle and hopefully 2010 will see a rebirth.

The blog kept getting pushed down the line of things that are important to me this past year. Very little time was left over to even think up an idea for a post. T-Roc helped me get through the college football season and I thank him for that.

The Raptors have been ho hum to date and that has also not inspired me to get back in the blogging game.

So in case you are curious why blogging has been moved to the back burner, here are the Top 10 highlights of my year.

1. On Sept. 19, 2009 around 3 in the afternoon, Harrison James Cusden was born. Worrying about getting a post out or what the daily stats are like will never be as important. Harry has been so much fun and has changed my life for the better in so many ways.

2. This is a close second so hopefully Katie will understand. In February the first lady of Cuzoogle and I got engaged. The wedding will be in the summer of 2010.

3. In the summer of 2009, we bought our first house. Love it!

4. Thanks to all the work on Cuzoogle and various other self-learning skills, I started a new job in Feb. Yes Feb 2009 was a biggie. New job, found out we were prego, engaged…….The new gig has been the best job ever and I really like it. Learning a lot and it is pretty demanding. Hence another reason why there is little time to blog. I now do marketing for SimplyCast, an email marketing company in Dartmouth. Check it out.

5. Five year anniversary with Katie. We hit White Point for a romantic weekend and our last real trip before the baby.

6. Family visits were pretty big in 2009. My parents a few times, Katie’s parents a few times, my sister and nephew….many friends as well. We hope there are many more this year and of course we will see everyone at the wedding.

7. A new computer! Finally after 5 years I got a new computer. Yes I hope this helps out with getting back into blogging. I also got Katie a new mac book for her birthday. I know that is one of her highlights of the year.

8. Toronto trip for baby shower etc. We hit the T-Dot to visit family and friends and scored a lot of great stuff from the baby shower. I miss Toronto for it’s energy and food.

9. My first cell phone ever. Yep finally in Feb (there is that month again) I got a blackberry so I could be ready for any baby related calls.

10. All my family, friends and colleagues that helped make it one of the better, action-packed, wall-to-wall years of my life. Looking forward to a rest in 2010, not thinking it will happen.

Happy New Year everyone, all the best in 2010.