Showdown: McDonald's vs. Panera

Ever since "Super Size Me" came out in 2004 and really before that, food critics, parents, and friends (literally everyone) has stressed that McDonald's is the spawn of Satan. If you're hungry and away from home, avoid McDonald's and their golden arches at all costs. It's been drilled into our heads for a long time. However, that doesn't mean people listen. Last year, in a Reuters article, the author cited numbers presented by the National Center for Health Statistics that show that more Americans (34%) are obese than simply overweight (32.7%). As you know, fast food restaurants like McDonald's significantly contribute to these numbers.

So, comparing McDonald's and Panera Bread has to be stupid, right? Panera, labeled as a 'Fast Causal' restaurant, has got to be better for you with its health deli sandwiches, fresh salads, and soups, no? Even the critics agree: Health Magazine voted Panera #1 Healthiest for Eating on the Go; Zagat, one of the most trusted restaurant rated services, rated Panera #1 for Best Healthy Option.

Here's where it gets interesting. Panera is not better for you than McDonald's. OKAY, so maybe on the whole, Panera is a better option than McDonald's; however, there are certain Panera Menu items that blow even the Big Mac off of its 'Most Unhealthy' Perch. Before you write me off, listen. And let's forget about the Big Mac's 540 Calories and 29 grams of fat. That's minor league; we need to upgrade to the 790 calories and 39 grams of fat in the Angus Bacon and Cheese Burger (including 145 mg of cholesterol and 2070 mg of sodium). Have you thrown up a little in the back of your mouth yet? Well, I didn't until I read this: Panera's Italian Combo on Ciabatta has 1040 calories, 45 grams of fat, 165 mg of cholesterol, and 3020 mg of sodium.

That is absolutely absurd. And no, to answer your question, the Italian Combo is not an outlier on Panera's menu. There are at least four items (the Chipotle Chicken, the Sierra Turkey, the Salmon Club Croissant, and the large Mac & Cheese) with more than the Italian Combo's 45 grams of fat. The Mac & Cheese has 61 grams of fat and 26 grams of saturated fat. That's only three less grams of saturated fat than the Big Mac has grams of total fat.

When the Panera opened on the corner of North University and Thayer in Ann Arbor, I was excited at first because I used to love Panera. However, I soon realized that it could directly syphon business away from a favorite sandwich spot of mine, Amer's, which is right down the block on State Street. Luckily Amer's has survived and seems to be thriving with its new menu of frozen yogurts. So if you're looking for something healthier, new, and with less of a chain-restaurant feel to it and you haven't been already, you need to get to Amer's.

Why I hate the NBA

Maybe "Why I like College Basketball more than the NBA" would have been a more appropriate title, however, I bet you found my choice to be more intriguing. Regardless, it's a fact, at least in my mind.

To me, I will take the effort and intensity sprinkled with talent found in the NCAA over the half-assed, albeit more talented NBA any day. My opposition will most definitely cite just that--the talent difference--as their primary argument for the NBA's superiority. OK, congratulations, the NBA is more talented as it should be, these are paid professionals. But, since the NBA recently adopted a policy that basically mandated that players had to attend at least one year of college and prevented jumps from high school straight to the pros, the talent in the NCAA has spiked.

Take freshman John Wall from Kentucky for example. If you're bored, fast forward to the 54 second mark and watch for a minute. The kid is 19; even if you're not a basketball fan, you have to be impressed. He's my little brother's age, yet he could jump over him, is faster with the ball than without, defines the ability to hit lay-ups in traffic, and just look at that block at the 1:07 mark: nasty. He's a 6'4 point guard who catches and throws down alley-oops rather than dishing them out. Oh, right, and he's about to make millions as the number one pick in the NBA draft; let's hope it doesn't ruin him too.

One thing that the NBA has already ruined is the in-game experience for fans. At NBA games, where you're sitting, what your drinking/eating, and what celebrities are in attendance all trump the action on the court. Just think of Jay-Z at Knicks games or Jack Nicholson at Lakers (fast forward to 1:13) games. That's funny, especially the first one, but it doesn't deserve that kind of attention in a professional sports setting.

One last question: would you rather watch/play in a venue like this where the students shake the stadium or someplace like this (52 second mark) where the arena relies on terrible in-stadium announcers and piped-in rock music rather than a real band?

The start of it all: Why did I take Communications 439?

If I remember correctly, my connection with blogs started when Michigan football coach Lloyd Carr stepped down after the 2007 football season. Michigan football had a vacancy at the top of the top--the heading coaching position at one of the premier programs in the country was open for just the sixteenth time in the program's almost 130 year history. This was huge news, seeing that Michigan had only had three coaches since 1969, and all three had risen through the Michigan ranks and were consummate 'Michigan Men'. Meanwhile, I was a freshman living at West Quad coming off a season filled with disappointment, yet I was excited to see what the next coach could bring to the program.

The only question was, who would that coach be? I hunted for information on the Internet, watched ESPN, and frantically checked Michigan's official athletic department website for updates but didn't find enough to cure my insatiable appetite. Then, and I even forget how I came across it, I started reading mgoblog.com, a blog created by a Michigan graduate dedicated to Michigan sports, especially football with some basketball and hockey news as well. Needless to say, mgoblog became my go-to source of information about the ever-evolving and intriguing coaching search. With such in-depth information as tracking flight patterns into and out of local Michigan airports, the website was filled with the latest updates and developing rumors, and I was hooked.

From mgoblog, my interest expanded to other Michigan sports blogs such as the now defunct (after joining forces with mgoblog) varsityblue.com and umhoops.com, which focused on Michigan Basketball. I checked the blogs daily and looked forward to new posts and was let down if I was up to date on all of the updates.

Being for Philadelphia, I am definitely out of market to keep up with my hometown sports teams. While reading the Michigan blogs, I thought to myself why I wasn't reading a Philadelphia sports blog as well to make up for the lack of television coverage. After a quick Google search, I settled on the700level.com and have maintained better contact with Philly sports ever since.

Besides the blogs that I became attached to during college, I had previous interest and a personal connection to journalism that led me to taking Communications 439. Back home, although she does not still go into the office every day, my mom is a journalist and has a weekly business column for the local paper among other work. Ever since I was young, I have been exposed to journalism, and it had interested me from the start. However, my mom is very much an old-school journalist, for, as even she would admit, she is the opposite of technologically savvy. Take for example my first call to her on her new phone, the Motorola Droid:

"Ring, Ring"

(She picks up but is silent and then hangs up)

(My phone rings...)

"Hey, mom"

"Hi, Peter. I think you just tried to call me, but I have not learned how to answer my Droid yet."

Generally, I wanted to take this class to learn the basics behind the blogs I read. More importantly, I am coming to realize that the class also provides an excellent opportunity to immerse myself in the new age of journalism and contrast it with what I know from my experiences with my mom.