Men's Fitness

recently caught up with the sexy star of TV's hit series Modern Family. Lucky for us—and you—the stunning Colombian revealed her most important rules when it comes to relationships:

BE REAL AND READY
"When I meet someone and know I'm going to be in a relationship with them, I don't play games. If I like somebody, I'll go out with them and whatever happens, happens. You don't have to screw around when you feel attracted to a person."

 

ABSENCE MAKES THE . . .
"The good thing about being in a long-distance relationship is that you don't have to live the day-to-day routines. Every time you see the person, it's as if you're on vacation. You've been waiting, and you're anxious. You don't get tired of them."

IT'S THE DETAILS
"Make your girl feel special—take the time to think of her and show her you care. I guess that's why Latin men are always known for getting the girls. They are brought up like that. They know how to give a woman attention."

SEX MATTERS
"Good sex is definitely important to a relationship; whoever says it's not is lying."

Angelina Jolie's daughter Shiloh wanted a "dead pet".

The 35-year-old actress has revealed the four year old found a deceased bird and asked if she could keep it.

Angelina couldn't let Shiloh keep the animal because of the hygiene issues but she did come up with an unusual solution.

In the December issue of US Vogue, she said: "She (Shiloh) came in and said, 'Can I have a dead pet?' And I'm, 'Uh-uh, I don't think it's healthy, honey. I think they have to put him in a box,' and I had to run out to find, like, a taxidermy bird. I just worked it out for her.

"I figured that I couldn't keep the actual dead bird from the yard, so I swayed her toward one that had been cleaned, at least."

Although Shiloh spends her time finding dead birds, her six-year-old brother Pax is more interested in cooking.

Angelina said: "Sometimes. I'm not the best cook. Pax is a better cook than me. Pax likes to cook. But I try to when I can. Any house that we're in, we all chip in. But the kids are very sweet, they're very enthusiastic anytime I cook."

The 'Salt' star raises six children - Shiloh, Pax, Maddox, nine, Zahara, five, and two-year-old twins Knox and Vivienne - with her partner Brad Pitt, but admits she never imagined she would have such a large family.

She added: "I only planned for two! To each his own. It's one of those things. How you build your family - you have to know what you're capable of handling and how your children will relate to each other. Maybe if you have one child and that child has a lot of needs, you realize you cannot give more attention to another. Sometimes you just know as a parent. We felt we could handle more children, and we have a very happy, very full home."

Things are always darkest before the dawn, right? Well, chances are this could be the darkest season for Rutgers in a while. New coach Mike Rice replaces Fred Hill, who left in May and left the former Robert Morris coach with a near-vacant roster. One-time savior Mike Rosario followed Greg Echenique in transferring as seven players from last year’s opening night roster left or graduated. Rice’s calvary is coming next year, but for now, the intense coach will ask a lot from a beleaguered lineup.

After Mike Rosario’s transfer, the scoring burden fell upon Miller’s shoulders. His 9.3 ppg average last year is deceiving, because for much of the second half, he was Rutgers’ most consistent player. Now, with not much around him, he’ll have to be that and then some.

When Hill convinced Beatty to come to Rutgers last season, it was supposed to bolster the offense with a point guard who could score. Beatty’s strengths never truly gelled in Hill’s offense, but under Rice, the former JuCo transfer seems to be fitting in nicely.

A late signing by Rice, Poole could be a missing link for Rutgers’ offense. A star with St. Benedict’s, Poole has the athleticism and length to create matchup problems getting to the basket. He’ll need to temper his shot selection though.

NCAA-BOUND IF ... Miracles come true.

Anything is possible, but with only nine scholarship players on the roster, the chances are minimal — if not nonexistent — that the Scarlet Knights will dance for the first time since the 1990-91 season. Miller would need to develop into a first-team all-league player, Jonathan Mitchell and Beatty would need to become serious complimentary players and Rice would need to find another star (6-8 frosh F Gilvydas Biruta?) on the roster.

NIT-BOUND IF ... Rice’s Robert Morris tenure wasn’t an aberration.

Rice’s M.O. has been doing more with less. That’s how the Colonials became the NEC power in his three seasons. If Rice can squeeze every ounce of talent out of his roster, push the right buttons and get some surprising wins, then Rutgers could find itself in the NIT. A long shot, but that seems to be what Rice specializes in.

A LONG OFFSEASON IF ... The victories don’t come.

Remember, with Mike Rosario, Rutgers began 0-8 in the Big East the last two seasons. What will happen now that he’s not there? Miller is a nice piece, but if he can’t get it done and no one steps up, Rutgers could find itself battling DePaul for the basement in the league. And the start of 2011-12 — and the heralded recruiting class — won’t come soon enough.

There have been a lot of reasons for Rutgers’ futility in the Big East, but none is greater than the Scarlet Knights’ inability to win league games on the road. Since 2000-01, Rutgers has won just 12 road games in the conference. (Three of which were at Seton Hall.) In the Hill era, Rutgers won just four Big East road games. If Rice is to change anything around at Rutgers, it must start there.

While everyone will key in on Dane Miller this year, freshman forward Gilvydas Biruta may be the most important player on the roster. He already has the size (6-8, 230 pounds) to be a good forward in the Big East, but remember this: He has something to prove this year. If Biruta can have a breakout year, it solidifies his presence in the starting lineup next year amongst Rutgers’ incoming class. Nothing like playing to keep a job you just won, eh?

October was Domestic Violence Awareness Month, and domestic-violence advocates and the media’s attention was focused on bringing more public understanding to and promoting the eradication of men’s violence against women. However, not all intimate partner violence (IPV) fits into this neat little package.

IPV against men, especially against men by their female intimate partners, has always been a hot button issue. The mere mention of male victims in a gathering of traditional domestic violence advocates creates great controversy. While domestic violence advocates may know men are victims, they insist that their victims-service agencies (more than 2,000 of them in the U.S.) should focus exclusively on ending violence against women by men because women are the most injured and prevalent victims. As a result, serious outreach and services for the male victims of IPV are sorely lacking.

Studies indicate that men are victims of assault by their partners in 25 percent of the reported cases in the U.S. each year. The disparity between the needs of those victims and the services available is large. The gap must be closed and that can only be done through education, services and advocacy.

While resources for men are still scarce, awareness is increasing and hopefully more services will follow. IPV is not a gender issue; it is a human issue. The Domestic Abuse Helpline for Men and Women envisions a world where services are available to victims and survivors without prejudice. Call 1-888-7HELPLINE (1-888-743-5754), or visit www.dahmw.org.

Mary Browning

Domestic Abuse Helpline for Men and Women

Jacksonville

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