| Opinion: Stuckey other ’07 draftees at a crossroads

Opinion:-Stuckey,-other-’07-draftees-at-a-crossroads getCSSSean Deveney
Rodney Stuckey isn’t the only player from the 2007 draft class who is facing a make-or-break year. Several of his fellow high-profile draftees have made little progress entering their third seasons and must produce this year to ensure their NBA futures.

Mike Conley, Grizzlies . Conley blossomed in the second half of last season, after the Grizzlies traded Kyle Lowry and handed Conley the starting job. But this year, his poor shooting has returned, and he has been turnover prone. He can’t allow Memphis’ dalliance with Allen Iverson throw him off.

Yi Jianlian, Nets . Yi was advertised as a big man who could shoot, and though he is definitely big, there’s little evidence that he can shoot consistently. Even if he gets his shot together, he will have to be more effective defensively and on the glass to warrant a starting spot on any NBA team, even the Nets.

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Julian Wright, Hornets . As a rookie two years ago, Wright was productive, but stubborn and flighty. Well, you can remove productive from that equation. Wright has gone backward since his rookie season, and though some blame goes to coach Byron Scott for not getting the most out of Wright, most blame falls on Wright, who appears bent on squandering his talent.

Al Thornton, Clippers . Thornton posted nice numbers last year but continued to frustrate coach Mike Dunleavy with defensive miscues and a tendency to make boneheaded offensive decisions. The Clippers brought in Rasual Butler, and injuries are the only reason Thornton is back in the starting five.

getCSS  SportingNews.comMavs Howard out indefinitely with ankle injuryHornets star Paul unsure coach Scott had to goPistons-Wizards PreviewLeBron wants to switch numbers as Jordan tributeWilliams excused from Jazz for personal matter

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} - | Opinion: Stuckey other ’07 draftees at a crossroads |

| Tokyo train stations use lights to stem suicides

Tokyo-train-stations-use-lights-to-stem-suicides TOKYO - Alarmed by a rise in people jumping to their deaths in front of trains, some Japanese railway operators are installing special blue lights above station platforms they hope will have a soothing effect and reduce suicides.

As of November, East Japan Railway Co. has put blue light-emitting diode, or LED, lights in all 29 stations on Tokyos central train loop, the Yamanote Line, used by 8 million passengers each day.

Theres no scientific proof that the lights actually reduce suicides, and some experts are skeptical it will have any effect. But others say blue does have a calming effect on people.

We associate the color with the sky and the sea, Mizuki Takahashi, a therapist at the Japan Institute of Color Psychology, a private research center that was not involved in the lighting project. It has a calming effect on agitated people, or people obsessed with one particular thing, which in this case is committing suicide.

Suicide rates in Japan have risen this year amid economic woes, and could surpass the record 34,427 deaths in 2003.

Last year, nearly 2,000 people committed suicide in Japan by jumping in front of a train, about 6 percent of such deaths nationwide.

In Tokyo, the number of suicides at stations run by East Japan Railways rose to 68 for the year through March from 42 two years earlier.

Thats causing more train delays, with conductors describing them over public address systems as human accidents.

East Japan Railway has spent about 15 million yen, or $165,000, for the special lights at all the Yamanote stations.

The lights, which are brighter than standard fluorescent bulbs, bathe the platform below in an eerie blue light. They hang at the end of each platform, a spot where people are most likely to throw themselves in front of a speeding train, said Norimitsu Suzuki, a company spokesman.

Another company, Keihin Electric Express Railway Co., which operates in Tokyo and nearby Yokohama, also installed the blue lights at two stations last year after there were two suicides within a month at one of the two stations.

We thought we had to do something to save lives, Keihin Railway spokesman Osamu Okawa said.

We know there is no scientific proof that blue lights will help deter suicides. But if blue has a soothing effect on the mind, we want to try it to save lives, Okawa said. But he declined to say whether the number of suicides at the two stations has decreased since the lights were set up.

Shinji Hira, a psychology professor specializing in criminal psychology at Fukuyama University in Hiroshima, speculated that blue lights could make people pause and reflect.

But he said that if railways want to go further to ensure safety, they should set up fences on platforms, as several Tokyo subway stations have. The barriers have sliding doors that allow passengers access to the trains.

East Japan Railway, one of numerous private train operators in Tokyo, said it may construct similar platform fences on all Yamanote line stations by 2017 — but thats a far bigger project than installing the blue lights.

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