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Big finance - the too-big-to-jail banks that dominate the economy and government - is designed for financiers and does not benefit most people. That is why many are in rebellion against the looting class of Wall Street. But if we don't like Wall Street finance, what would we replace it with? What would a finance system that served and protected the people look like?
It is time to put together a new kind of financial system. Since the crash of 2008, not only do fraud and high-risk investments continue with little regulation and lax enforcement, but policies that protect people have weakened. Experts predict that another collapse of the big banks is very possible. In our fragile economy, another crash could have devastating consequences.
The ideas we put forward in this series of articles are not final, but are a work in progress. In part I, we focus on approaches to regulation and breaking up the too-big-to-fail banks, as well as on the risk that derivatives pose to depositors. In part II, we will discuss the Federal Reserve, public banks and ways to opt out of Wall Street now.
We see this series as part of ongoing dialogue and action to remake our cannibalistic finance system. Thankfully, many people have been thinking in depth about pieces of a new financial system, and we bring some of these ideas together here.
Enforcement Will Be Central No Matter What We Do
We live in a time of cheater economics. In fact, the failure of enforcement in response to the current economic collapse has been staggering when compared to the response during the savings and loan crisis of the 1980s and 90s. The history of banking shows that corruption is a problem when enforcement is inadequate. As financial crimes investigator Bill Black points out, "Bad ethics drive good ethics out of the marketplace because cheaters prosper."
Conservative economists say that if you do not deter white-collar crime, you will get more of it. In criminal justice theory, the concept of "no more broken windows" has become an excuse to arrest and jail people who wash car windows at intersections, petty marijuana offenders and those who engage in minor criminal behavior. But in the case of the economic collapse, Black says, "We do not have broken windows; we have broken banks and broken countries."
The prediction of widespread fraud due to lack of enforcement has come true. A recent study of the mortgage crisis confirmed that control fraud, committed by people responsible for the legitimacy of loans, was endemic within the most elite financial institutions. Black summarizes, "The key conclusion of the study is that control fraud was 'pervasive.'"
Black pointed out that the actual policy of the Department of Justice (DOJ) was not to prosecute the big banks because they could have a systemic impact if they collapsed. The joke of "too big to prosecute" actually became the policy of the federal government.
The number of investigators working on white-collar crime is inadequate. Black points out that we have about 1 million people working in the criminal justice system, but only 2,500 who investigate white-collar crime. Those 2,500 cover 1,300 industries - fewer than two FBI agents per industry. They cannot really investigate, or even understand, an entire industry, so the only way enforcement occurs is when there are criminal referrals by regulatory agencies such as the FBI, the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) and the Federal Deposit and Insurance Corporation (FDIC).
During the savings and loan scandal, which Black says was 1/80th the size of the current crisis in terms of losses and criminality, his previous agency, the Office of Thrift Supervision, made over 30,000 criminal referrals and produced over 1,000 felony convictions in major cases. The top 100 list of the worst S&L frauds involved 300 institutions and 600 individuals. Virtually all were prosecuted, with a 90 percent conviction rate. This same agency which was supposed to regulate the banks made zero referrals in the current collapse.
Even banks that are involved in laundering illegal drug profits have not undergone criminal prosecution. Referrals have essentially ended and there have been no serious criminal prosecutions by the federal government. In fact, the media interviewed whistleblowers - another possible source for criminal investigations - and Black reports that none were even contacted by the FBI.
Black writes that the SEC enforcement has also been inadequate. He says the commission's web site:
showcases its record of crisis-related actions against more than 150 firms and individuals, with sanctions totaling $2.7 billion. The $2.7 billion figure is supposed to sound enormous. It is orders of magnitude too small. Losses caused by the fraud epidemic in the U.S. are well in excess of $15 trillion. A trillion is a thousand billion.
Not only have the SEC's civil enforcement and fines been woefully inadequate, but the SEC does not require any useful admissions of guilt nor has it referred any cases to the DOJ for criminal prosecution.
The FDIC has also been inadequate. At the request of rule-breaking bankers, the FDIC, which insures bank deposits in the United States and shuts down failing banks, has, since 2007, repeatedly settled charges of banker wrongdoing by agreeing to "no press release" clauses that keep the settlements a secret, The Los Angeles Times reports. Further, so far the agency has been able to recover only $787 million of the $92.5 billion lost to bank collapses between 2007 and 2012.
One major reason for this failure is the revolving door in Washington. Regulators come from the finance industry and return to it after their time in government. This is most recently exemplified by Lanny Breuer, who was responsible for banking enforcement at the DOJ and made no bank prosecutions. He just left the DOJ to work for the corporate law firm, Covington and Burling, where he is expected to earn a roughly $4 million annual salary. The recent appointments of Jacob Lew as Treasury Secretary and Mary Jo White as the head of the SEC continue the Wall-Street-on-the-Potomac revolving door. Lew's appointment maintains the control of Treasury by Wall Street in the tradition of Bob Rubin, Larry Summers, Henry Paulson and Timothy Geithner.
How widespread is securities fraud? Black points out that by 2006, 40 percent of all the loans made were "liar's loans." This was the term used by the financial industry to describe loans that were based on false incomes and false appraisals. That is over 2 million fraudulent loans. These fraudulent loans grew by over 500 percent between 2003 and 2006 and were an important factor in the hyperinflation of the housing bubble.
Studies have repeatedly shown it was the lenders who put the lies in liar's loans. Testimony, which you can read in the Financial Crisis Inquiry Commission Report, details how loan officers and brokers were taught that the quality of the loans did not matter; if they led to default, it was irrelevant. Making one single jumbo loan ($600,000 house) would result in a fee for the loan broker (who is at the bottom of the finance chain) of $20,000. Brokers only got the fee if the loan was approved and sold, so they made sure that the borrower's income was inflated. Black notes a study which showed that in 60 percent of the cases, borrowers' income was inflated by at least 50 percent. So, the system invited fraud and the lack of enforcement ensured it became widespread.
No matter what kind of finance system we have, there is a need for strong, independent enforcement with transparency and audits.
Break Up the Big Banks and Prevent Them From Getting Too Big Again
The first problem that must be confronted is to break up the big banks, the systemically dangerous institutions that are too big to fail or jail. These banks corrupt the system to the point where Sen. Dick Durbin (D-Illinois) said: "And the banks - hard to believe in a time when we're facing a banking crisis that many of the banks created - are still the most powerful lobby on Capitol Hill. And they frankly own the place."
Neil Barofsky, the former overseer of the government's Troubled Asset Relief Program (TARP), said on The Daily Show that one reason TARP failed to bail out homeowners was, "A lot of the biggest banks did and still do hold the guns to our heads."
In addition to corrupting the political and regulatory system, these banks dominate the economy and prevent competition in the finance industry. As George Will writes in The Washington Post:
In 2011, the four biggest U.S. banks (JPMorgan Chase, Bank of America, Citigroup and Wells Fargo) had 40 percent of all federally insured deposits. Today, the 5,500 community banks have 12 percent of the banking industry's assets. The 12 banks with $250 billion to $2.3 trillion in assets total 69 percent. The 20 largest banks' assets total 84.5 percent of the nation's gross domestic product.
This concentration of wealth in the largest banks has gotten worse under the reign of President Obama and former Treasury Secretary Geithner. Their legacy is that the 0.2 percent now control 69 percent of everything.
Black points to three critical interrelated problems that all stem from the systemically dangerous institutions, the too-big-to-fail-or- jail banks which have a long history of crimes. When the next one fails - not "if," but "when" - we have to shrink these banks so they no longer pose a systemic risk. Three problems with the big banks:
1. They get a huge, inherent subsidy (without which they would not be profitable). There is no chance for competition or markets because big banks crush the opposition
2. They are too big to prosecute, according to the government leadership, which destroys integrity and the concept of justice.
3. Crony capitalism cripples democracy because banks have so much economic power that they get immunity and are able to dominate and corrupt politics.
So the top priority in creating a finance system that serves the people has to be to get rid of systemic institutions that are massively criminal institutions. Our most supposedly "reputable" banks are pervasively criminal.
Once the banks are broken up, they need to be prevented from getting too big. Black suggests passing laws that forbid them from getting too large by putting an absolute limit on their size, perhaps based on a percentage of GDP; currently, Black suggests a limit of $50 billion to prevent banks from posing a systemic risk. Dallas Fed Chair Richard Fisher suggests $100 billion. This change would transform the global financial system so that there is room for public banks, credit unions and community banks to compete with commercial banks.
There is a lot of support for breaking up the big banks. Fisher has called for the break-up of the systemically important banks, as has Daniel Tarullo, a member of the Fed Board of Governors. In addition, many former bank executives see the big banks as too big, including former CEO of Citigroup and father of the modern too-big-to-fail bank Sandy Weill, former Merrill Lynch CEO David Komansky, former CEO of Citicorp John Reed, Chairman and CEO of M&T Bank Robert Wilmers, Chief Researcher of the Dallas Federal Reserve Harvey Rosenblum, former CEO of Morgan Stanley Phil Purcell, former Citigroup CFO Sallie Krawcheck, former partner at Goldman Sachs Roy Smith, and Former Chairman of Citigroup Richard Parsons. Sen. Sherrod Brown (D-Ohio) introduced legislation to break up the big banks.
Half of Americans support breaking up the big banks and only 23 percent oppose it. according to a 2013 Rasmussen Poll. And an IMG Forum survey of 39 US economists shows that a majority, 54 percent, either agreed or strongly agreed that we should shrink the big banks. Only 10 percent disagreed, and no one strongly disagreed.
Others, like Leo Panitch, the Canada research chair in comparative political economy and a distinguished research professor of political science at York University in Toronto, suggest that rather than breaking up the big banks, we take them "into the public domain and turn them into public utilities and have them serve the functions that are needed, in terms of a financial market, in a way that is determined by state policy and by a system of democratic planning."
Big Risk on the Horizon: The Unregulated, Massive Derivatives Market
There are many areas of regulation needed, such as the return of Glass-Steagall to separate commercial banking and investment banking. One area where there is a lack of regulation that deserves special attention is the derivatives market.
Derivatives are "a financial product derived from another financial product." They are not traded on well-regulated markets (like the Chicago Board of Trade) but are contracts between parties who want to trade risks outside of a recognized exchange. According to this report from America Blog, "The contracts are not standardized" and "the parties aren't vetted by any controlling institution." Further, "the only guarantee that either party will get paid is trust ... or the naked belief that they just can't lose on this one."
Another way to define derivatives as the blog Demon-ocracy would have it: "Pick something of value, make bets on the future value of 'something,' add contract and you have a derivative." Derivatives really are a form of betting on the future in an unregulated casino market:
A derivative is a legal bet (contract) that derives its value from another asset, such as the future or current value of oil, government bonds or anything else. Ex- A derivative buys you the option (but not obligation) to buy oil in 6 months for today's price/any agreed price, hoping that oil will cost more in future. (I'll bet you it'll cost more in 6 months). Derivative[s] can also be used as insurance, betting that a loan will or won't default before a given date. So it's a big betting system, like a [c]asino, but instead of betting on cards and roulette, you bet on future values and performance of practically anything that holds value. The system is not regulated [whatsoever], and you can buy a derivative on an existing derivative.
So, these unstandardized, off-market, unregulated gambles (a k a "investments") are highly risky. And here is the scary part: the size of the derivatives market. Based on 2010 data, according to America Blog, it has "$1.2 quadrillion in notional value; at least $12 trillion in cash at risk." The notional value of the derivatives market is 20 times the size of the world economy. The world's annual GDP is between $50 trillion and $60 trillion. The $12 trillion actually at risk (credit exposure) is 20 percent of the world economy and just under the $16 trillion US economy. So, if the derivatives market crashes, who is going to bail out the banks that collapse as a result?
The recent collapse in Cyprus revealed who will be at risk when the next collapse occurs: the depositors. Ellen Brown reports Cyprus can happen in the United States: "A joint paper by the US Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation and the Bank of England dated December 10, 2012, shows that these plans have been long in the making; that they originated with the G20 Financial Stability Board in Basel, Switzerland (discussed earlier here); and that the result will be to deliver clear title to the banks of depositor funds."
Further, she told us in a radio interview that in US banks' living wills, which they are required to develop under Dodd-Frank to explain how they will survive an economic collapse, they include transforming deposits into bank stock. As we saw when Lehman Brothers failed, bank stock was worth only pennies on the dollar. This puts not only every person who has accounts in the big banks at risk, but also state and city governments and pension funds that do.
The global derivatives market comes primarily from big banks in the United States. According to the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency's third quarter report, the total amount of derivative exposure at just the top four banks is now some $212 trillion (notional exposure) or 93.2 percent of the total $227 trillion in outstanding US derivatives. With a national economy of $15.8 trillion, if the big banks lose derivatives bets of 10 percent of this notional value, it will be bigger than the entire US economy. Here are some charts that show what is at risk, the banks that are at risk and some of the security fraud they have been involved in.
The collapse that comes from this unregulated market could come very quickly because, says a Demon-ocracy writer, "derivatives are traded in microseconds by computers, we really don't know what will trigger the crash, or when it will happen, but considering the global financial crisis, this system is in for tough times, that will be catastrophic for the world financial system."
Derivatives put the world economy at serious risk, and the too-big-to-fail banks betting in the derivative casino do not have a record for being corporations we can trust. Indeed, their record is one of "pervasive" fraud. Derivatives need to be aggressively regulated, quickly! But right now the government is moving to weaken the already inadequate regulation that exists.
Regulation of big finance is going to get more difficult if the Trans-Pacific Partnership becomes law. It will protect big finance by, one, preventing regulation of the finance industry by locking in a model of extreme financial-service deregulation; and, two, allowing capital to move in and out of countries without restrictions. This prevents countries from controlling the flow of capital, which has many negative consequences. It will also make it more difficult to create public banks because the agreement is opposed to state-owned enterprises.
Continuing the Discussion
This article is the first of a two-part series. The issues examined here - shrinking the banks, regulating their practices (especially the derivative market) and enforcing the law against the white-collar crimes of the finance industry - are only the beginning of remaking the finance system. In Part II, we will describe how the Federal Reserve can be re-made and central banking designed to serve the people, not the bankers and how every state and many cities should have their own public banks to build local economies, as well as outline the many steps you can take right now to opt out of Wall Street finance.
Remaking the finance system so it serves and protects the people is foundational to creating a new economy. And the deep corruption in the Wall Street finance system, corruption the participants are well aware of, presents an opportunity for transformative change. The American public, elected officials and even those involved in the finance system know that change is urgently needed and may be forced on us sooner than expected if the system collapses again. It is hard to imagine not looking back at this time period, where there was inadequate enforcement, corrupt regulation and virtually no regulation of the massive derivatives market, and not saying "we knew it would collapse." The path to disaster that the country is on seems obvious, but the future beyond Wall Street finance is not yet determined. Creating the economy we want is the responsibility of all of us.
Next week, in Part II, we examine remaking the Federal Reserve, creating public banks throughout the country and opting out of Wall Street now. You can listen to "Big Finance Fraud and Public Banks" with Bill Black and Ellen Brown on Clearing the FOG Radio.


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Norwich have completed the signing of Leeds midfielder Robert Snodgrass on a three-year deal.
The 24-year-old, who joins the Canaries for an undisclosed fee, is manager Chris Hughton's third summer signing following Jacob Butterfield and Steven Whittaker.
"He is a player I have admired for a number of years now and he's at a good age at 24, with some excellent experience from his time with Leeds," Hughton said on www.canaries.co.uk.
"He's also got that international experience with Scotland and is used to playing in big matches both with his country and at Elland Road."
Snodgrass made 193 appearances during his four-year spell with Leeds, scoring 41 goals. He also has five caps for Scotland and Hughton is confident he will be a success in the Premier League.
"Robert is an excellent addition to the squad and I'm delighted to add a player of his calibre to the team," he said.
"He had a good goal-scoring record with Leeds and obviously knows a few of the lads already with the squad well from his time at Elland Road and with Scotland. I'm sure, like Jacob Butterfield and Steven Whittaker, it won't take him long to settle in with the squad."
Snodgrass admits the chance to play in the top flight was too good to turn down.
"I'm delighted to get it done and dusted and now I'm looking forward to meeting my new team-mates and starting the season," he said.
"I firmly believe that the Premier League is the best league in the world, and when Norwich came in for me, I made the step because I believe that Norwich can kick on again. Sometimes this window of opportunity doesn't come about too often, and I jumped at the chance."
Source: PA

subset: commoncrawl


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Safeway Coupon Deals January 29-February 4, 2014
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University of Central Missouri
Administration 302
Warrensburg, MO 64093
Phone: 660-543-4640
Fax: 660-543-4943
Contact: Mike Greife
WARRENSBURG, MO (Sept. 25, 2012) – The University of Central Missouri Office of Career Services will host the annual Fall Career Expo from 1 to 4 p.m. Wednesday, Oct. 3, in the Multipurpose Building arena.
The Department of Criminal Justice and the Gamma Epsilon Delta chapter of Lambda Alpha Epsilon are combining their Criminal Justice Career Day with the Fall Career Expo, providing students and potential employers in the criminal justice field with an opportunity for initial interaction.
Representatives of more than 140 employers and graduate and professional schools will represent a variety of career fields at the event. Students may meet professionals in their fields of study, distribute resumes, and explore career opportunities.
All students are encouraged to attend. Underclassmen may receive an outlook on the job market, and juniors, seniors or anyone interested in pursuing internships or full-time employment opportunities should bring multiple copies of their resumes. Professional attire is encouraged.
Prior to the Career Expo, the Office of Career Services will offer all-day resume assistance from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday, Oct. 1, in Elliott Union 302. Following the expo, more than 20 employers will conduct on-campus interviews from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Thursday, Oct. 4, in Elliott Union 302.
To participate in the on-campus interviews, students must complete a registration workshop with the Office of Career Services prior to Oct. 4. Registration workshops are available online.
For more information, contact the Office of Career Services at 660-543-4985.


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Latest update : 2011-11-29
Governments swept away across Europe: can Sarkozy beat the odds?
Nicolas Sarkozy is low in the polls and facing the new rule of European politics: if you are in power during the debt crisis, you're out at the next election. Spain is the latest country in the eurozone to throw its government out - will Sarkozy be the next to face the axe? Also making waves this week, the Green Party is in turmoil as doubts grow over their presidential candidate's mettle and strategy.
On the set:
- Philip Turle, Journalist, RFI;
- Jean-Marc GONIN, Senior Writer, Le Figaro Magazine.


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Hamster Blocks is a simple and sweet puzzle full of hamsters developed by Media Contact LLC and freely distributed at GameTop.com. As you can imagine this game is intended for kids however it could also challenge any skilled adult.
This amazing title recalls the classic "Columns", but in this case you have no jewellery of various shapes and colours, but hamsters of different colours.
Harry The Hamster 3 is an interesting skill game for free. Harry is enjoying a trundle in his hamster ball, but the evil cat has him trapped and gets his nasty servants to attack. The goal for you is to get Harry safely. In this game, you can use arrow keys to control the movement of Harry and press spacebar to jump on the baddies' heads to splat them.
Ping Ping Hamster introduces a cute little character who is, obviously, a hamster. It has to make use of a rope to climb trees and upper floors. You will need to be witty and devise a strategy for climbing: it's not as easy as it sounds. Remember: you're using the hamster's rope to do this.
One of the biggest advantages of working with Hamster Free Audio Convertor is its capability to support a wide array of audio formats. This program will allow you to convert your music into files that are compatible with devices like BlackBerry, Apple, Nokia, Samsung, Sony etc. Furthermore, you will also be able to adjust the quality of the output file.
Digital Hamster makes it easy to create and maintain lists of all your stuff. The program is designed for Windows XP, but works on most versions of Microsoft Windows. You can catalog anything you like. Create a list of all your CDs, your DVDs, or perhaps your wine collection. Digital Hamster allows you to edit, search, sort and print your lists without hassle.
Zombie vs Hamster is a funny fighting game with very nice animation. choose who you want to fight with and destroy your opponent, You can select whether a zombie or a hamster as your character. You'll then need to defeat a whole lot of opposite group members in head to head battles. You raise from the easiest to the hardest opponents ala Mortal Kombat.
Sewer Escape is an interesting action game for free. Can you escape the sewer? Help these hamsters reach freedom with a launcher. I'm sure it doesn't smell great down there. Use your mouse to launch the hamster. Click the hamster to bounce him up. Keep clicking him to get higher and higher until you escape the sewer.
Hamster Free Video Convertor is a program that can convert video files between the most popular formats. It can convert any video file, in order to play it in more than two hundred portable devices, and formats that can be easily played in several popular players, in other computers.
If looking for a free archive tool that opens a wide variety of archive files and that is capable of creating ZIP and 7-Zip files easily, Hamster Free ZIP Archiver is a very interesting option to consider. It opens and extracts the files of a long list of image and archive file formats, including RAR, TAR, ARJ, ISO, and IMG, among many others.
Hamster PDF Reader is a utility designed to open, view, and print PDF documents. With this tool, you will able to read books, magazines, comics, newspapers, etc. in PDF and also in XPS and DjVu formats. It is free, lightweight, and uses very few system resources.
Hamster Free Video Converter is a free and easy to use tool that is able to convert your video files to a large number of video formats. It supports an impressive number of more than two hundreds devices.
In just a few steps your favorite videos are ready to be converted into your desired file formats.
Hamster Free EbookConverter is a free and straightforward utility is capable of converting nearly any e-book from the wide variety of open and proprietary e-book formats that have taken over the market. This will allow you to read your EPUB books on your Kindle and load your MOBI-formatted books to iBooks just by clicking on a few keys.
- Converts any video to iPod, iPad, iPhone 4S, PS3, PSP, Blackberry, xBox, Zune, Apple TV, iRiver, etc.
More than 200+ devices
- Converts to 3GP, MP3, MP4, AVI, MPG, WMV, MPEG, FLV, HD, DVD, M2TS and others! Integrated video player!
- Easy-to-use! Drag-n-Drop! It does not require special knowledge. There is Wizard for beginners.
Hamster Free Woman Calendar is a simple and user-friendly universal calendar for women. It will help you to avoid an unwanted pregnancy and to choose the most favorable day for conception.
Some features:
- Accurate and easy to use
- Calculate ovulation days and cycles
- Determine days favorable for conception
- Possibility to avoid unwanted pregnancy
Hamster fight (stand-alone desktop version) is a free game in which you will have to use the mouse to hit the rats that appear on the board. As you get more rats, your scoring will increase and you can register your result in the top 10. It also displays the time and the score on the main screen.
This software will help you burn or copy your CDs and DVDs.
-Burns on CD
-Burns on DVD
-Burns on BluRay
-Clears writable disks
-Checks readability of written files
-Creates ISO templates
-Works with Windows XP/Vista/7 (32 & 64 Bit)
-Complete list of supported optical disks
Hamster Free Video Converter is very easy-to-use. It requires no special knowledge to convert video files. The Wizard will help you to do all the settings when you are at a loss. Use the batch conversion mode to save your time and effort. Just select the video files to be converted make the settings and click Convert.
Fingerprint SDK is a state-of-the-art biometrics recognition software. This means that will read your fingerprints and compare them to others can be used as security system to identify peoples and to grant permissions. This awarded software allows developers to smoothly add fingerprint recognition to their software.


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Warriors Hold First Practice of the Season
The Warriors held their first official practice of the 2012-13 season earlier today, and they apparently had so much fun that they are practicing again tonight. Yes, basketball season is back, and nothing is more indicative of that as the team running through two-a-day practices.
After the first practice, Warriors broadcasters Tim Roye and Jim Barnett discussed the team's guards. Watch that video below, and check out the rest of the playlist for interviews with Stephen Curry, Klay Thompson, Mark Jackson and San Francisco Chronicle Warriors beat writer Rusty Simmons.
Some of the major news of the day …
There's no question that the squad has a lot of work to do. Popular opinion has the Warriors as a greatly improved team from a year ago, but those are empty words until the team actually gets on the court and shows what it is capable of. Practices like those of today are the first steps to living up to such expectations, and the next test will be this Sunday when the Warriors play their first preseason game against the Lakers in Fresno.
There's so much to look forward to, and we really are just getting started. Stay on top of all of our training camp news at #GSWCountdown, and be sure to watch our next live webcast after Wednesday's first practice. We're scheduled to go live at 11:45 a.m., and our guests will be Bogut and Festus Ezeli. If you have a question for either of them, submit it in the comments below or tweet us (@warriors) and use the hashtag #GSWCountdown.


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Regular season ends at Omaha
South Dakota State closes the regular season on Thursday at Omaha, where the Jackrabbits can clinch a share of The Summit League regular season title and the No. 1 seed in The Summit League championships with a win. The Jacks and Mavericks tip at 7:05 p.m. from Ralston Arena.
THE LAST TIME OUT; Feb. 23, at Murray State: MURRAY, Ky. - In a game with two aptly nicknamed teams, South Dakota State and Murray State traded runs on Saturday in the Ramada Worldwide Bracketbusters, but in the end, the Racers outran the Jackrabbits by a 73-62 score at the CFSB Center in Murray, Ky.
"There were some critical moments there where I probably should've called timeout. We have an experienced ball club, and usually when teams make runs, we're able to hold them off and score, and usually I call timeout after we score, but we just couldn't get a bucket to call a timeout," head coach Scott Nagy said. "I think a lot of it was my fault, we played a short bench and we just kind of wore down and I should've used the timeouts better."
The Jackrabbits, who fall to 21-9 on the season, went on the first run of the game, a 14-0 spurt that broke a 16-all tie and ended with the Jacks up 30-16 with 7 minutes and 10 second left to play in the first half.
The Racers, who improve to 20-7, responded with a run of their own a few minutes later with a 17-4 outburst that got them to within three points at 31-34 with under two minutes in the half.
SDSU got a late 3-pointer from Chad White and a Marcus Heemstra putback just before the first half buzzer sounded to give the Jacks a 39-33 lead at halftime.
The Jacks scored the first eight points of the second half to push the lead back to 14 points, but the Racers used a 10-2 run to get within six at 43-49 and then used an 18-2 run later in the half to turn a 48-54 deficit into a 66-56 lead with 4:23 remaining in the game.
Nate Wolters snapped the run with just over four minutes left, but Murray State scored the next seven points to go up 73-58 with under two minutes to play to secure the win.
Wolters led a trio of Jackrabbits in double figures with 18 points, tying for game-high honors with five assists. White added 13 points and led the Jacks with seven rebounds, while Brayden Carlson finished with 12 points.
Isaiah Canaan led all scorers with 22 points, adding five assists, and Stacy Wilson scored 15 for the Racers to round out the double-digit scorers.
RABBITS ON THE RADIO - Originated from the AM 570 WNAX studios in Yankton, S.D., every SDSU men's basketball games can be heard live on a total of five stations throughout South Dakota on the Jackrabbit Sports Network.
- 910 AM - KJJQ "The Ranch" - Brookings
- 1060 AM - KGFX - Pierre
- 1480 AM KSDR - Watertown
- 1490 AM - KORN - Mitchell
Pierre, S.D., native, and 2012 South Dakota Sportscaster of the Year, Tyler Merriam returns for his second season as the voice of Jackrabbit men's basketball. He also serves as the voice of Jackrabbit football.
THE JACKRABBIT EXTRA - Subscribers to the Jackrabbit Extra on GoJacks.com watch every SDSU home game and select road games streaming live on the internet. In addition, subscribers can listen to every game, home and on the road, streaming live on the internet.
To subscribe to the Jackrabbit Extra, log onto GoJacks.com and click on "SIGN UP NOW"
THE JACKRABBIT INSIDER ON FOX - Fans of South Dakota State Athletics can get a weekly behind-the-scenes look at all 21 Jackrabbit varsity sports teams by tuning into "The Jackrabbit Insider."
Hosted by Tyler Merriam, the show airs on Sundays on KTTW FOX 17 at 10:30 p.m., and can also be seen on Fox Sports North at 6 p.m. on Tuesdays.
WOLTERS ON MULTIPLE AWARDS WATCH LISTS - The only player in Division I men's basketball to average at least 20 points, five rebounds and five assists per game in 2011-12 put senior Nate Wolters on the national map, which led him earning a place on multiple award watch lists.
- Named on the Wooden Midseason
Top-25 - WoodenAward.com
- Lute Olson preseason All-America selection - LuteOlsonAward.com
- Bob Cousy Award Final 12 Candidate - CousyAward.com
- Lou Henson Award Finalist - LouHensonAward.com
- Naismith Men's Player of the Year Candidate - NaismithAwards.com
ELITE COMPANY - Nate Wolters entered the week on pace to become the first player since the NCAA began keeping assists as an official statistic (1983-84) to average 20 points, five assists and five rebounds in two separate seasons. In 2011-12, he averaged 21.2 points, 5.9 assists and 5.1 rebounds per game and became the fifth to achieve a 20-5-5 season. Wolters' 2012-13 pace could allow him to reach an elite group with a 20-points, six-assist and five rebound average, a feat he missed by just one assist in 2011-12 only two other players in NCAA history achieved.
- Nate Wolters (South Dakota
State), 2011-12 - 21.2 ppg, 5.9 apg, 5.1 rpg
- Norris Cole (Cleveland State), 2010-11 - 21.7 ppg, 5.3, apg, 5.8 rpg
- Evan Turner (Ohio State), 2009-10 - 20.4 ppg, 6.0 apg, 9.2 rpg
- Ricky Minard (Morehead State), 2003-04 - 21.8 ppg, 5.1 apg, 7.3 rpg
- Speedy Claxton (Hofstra), 1999-2000 - 22.8 ppg, 6.0 apg, 5.4 rpg
WOLTERS ERUPTS! - In the Jacks 80-74 win at Fort Wayne on Feb. 7, Wolters set SDSU single-game records with 53 points and with nine 3-pointers. In addition to those marks, the 53-point performance marks the third-highest in Summit League history, trailing only North Dakota State's Ben Woodside (60 vs. Stephen F. Austin, Dec. 12, 2008) and UMKC's Michael Watson (54 vs. Oral Roberts, Feb. 22, 2003), but does represent the highest single-game total in league history in a regulation game. It also represents the highest single-game total in NCAA Division I this season.
WOLTERS NAMED PLAYER OF THE WEEK -The Summit League named South Dakota State point guard Nate Wolters its Player of the Week on Monday for a league-record seventh time, and tied the all-time league mark with 15 career honors
Against CSU Bakersfield on Wednesday, Wolters finished one assist shy of a triple-double, scoring 32 points, grabbing 10 rebounds and dishing out nine assists. Facing Murray State in a nationally-televised BracketBusters game, he scored 18 points with six rebounds, five assists and two steals.
Wolters played 89 of his team's 90 minutes in the two games, including all 50 in the double-overtime contest at Bakersfield. His weekly averages included 25 points, seven assists, six rebounds and 1.5 steals per game. Wolters became the first player on record (since 1990-91) to earn three consecutive Summit League Player of the Week awards.
PERFECT AT HOME - The Jackrabbits entered the season with 17 straight home wins, and then capped their second perfect home season at 13-0 with a 64-55 win over Western Illinois on Feb. 16, giving SDSU a school and Summit League record 30 consecutive home wins, the longest streak in all of Division I basketball.
SEVEN IN DOUBLE FIGURES - All 10 Jackrabbits scored at least one point in the Jacks 96-48 win over UDC, seven of which reached double figures. Taévaunn Prince led the way with 13 points, Jordan Dykstra, Nate Wolters, Zach Horstman, Chad White and Marcus Heemstra all scored 12 and Tony Fiegen 10 points in the win.
DYKSTRA DOUBLES UP - After posting a single double-double in each of his first two seasons, Jordan Dykstra posted double-doubles in eight games this season, including three of the last four games, the last being a 11 point, 10 rebound game at CSU Bakersfield on Feb. 20, which also marks the first loss this season when Dykstra posts a double-double.
A FIRST FOR THE JACKRABBITS - South Dakota State's victory at previously unbeaten and No. 16 ranked New Mexico on Dec. 22, marked SDSU's first victory over a ranked opponent at the Division I level and gave The Summit League its first win over a ranked team this season. The Jackrabbits lost their first seven games against ranked opponents in Division I.
WOLTERS SETS SCORING RECORDS - Nate Wolters became the 42nd member of the SDSU 1,000-Point Club in a win over Sam Houston State on Nov. 22, 2011, and then set the school record for points in a career on Jan. 5 at South Dakota, when he broke Mark Tetzlaff's 28 year-old record in the DakotaDome. In addition to the career record, Wolters set the SDSU single game scoring record with a 53-point outburst at Fort Wayne on Feb. 7, when he also set the SDSU single-game record with nine 3-pointers.
WOLTERS JOINS 2,000-POINT CLUB - Wolters scored 1,628 points in his first three years as a Jackrabbit, including the SDSU sophomore record with 604 points and the junior record with 721 points. He entered his senior season 372 points shy of becoming the first member of the SDSU 2,000-Point Club, which he accomplished with a 22-point game in a win at Western Illinois on Jan. 17.
WOLTERS SETS FREE THROWS RECORD - Adding to his legacy, Wolters tied the SDSU career free throws made record of 532 at Kansas City on Jan. 3, and then broke the record with his first make at South Dakota on Jan. 5. He enters Saturday's game with an SDSU record 620 in his career.
MORE THAN JUST A SCORER - In addition to his scoring prowess, Wolters set the SDSU career assists record on Feb. 9, at Oakland, when dished out his 606th career assist, topping the old mark of 605, set by Brian Norberg from 1995-99. Wolters enters Saturday's game with 631 dimes in his career. He also ranks fifth all-time at SDSU with 184 steals.
DYKSTRA HITS 1,OOO-POINT MILESTONE - Junior Jordan Dykstra became the 43rd member of the SDSU 1,000-Point Club in the Jacks win over South Dakota on Jan. 31, and immediately started to climb the scoring charts. He enters Saturday's game ranked 31st all-time at SDSU with 1,081 points.
JACKS SET FREE THROWS RECORD - The Jackrabbits combined to go a perfect 17-for-17 from the free throw line at Oakland, for a perfect 100 percent free throw percentage. That ties a perfect 14-for-14 night vs. IPFW on Jan. 5, 2008 and a 13-for-13 night against IUPUI on Feb. 7, 2008, both at Frost Arena.
GOOD FOR THREE! - Two of the top-10 three-point shooters in SDSU history, based on three-point field goal percentage, currently play for the Jackrabbits. Jordan Dykstra leads the way with .471 percent, while Chad White ranks third with a .433 mark from deep.
OMAHA MAVERICKS (11-18, 6-8 Summit) - After posting just a 2-10 record to start the season, the transitioning Mavericks, who cannot play in The Summit League Championships, enter the final weekend of the season on a three game winning streak and winners of six of their last eight games.
Picked to finish last in The Summit League Preseason Poll, the Mavericks currently sit in fifth place in the league standings.
THE SERIES vs. OMAHA - The Jackrabbits lead the all-time series 47-31, despite dropping the three of the last four games in the series. The Mavericks won the last meeting in Omaha on Feb. 27, 2004, while the Jacks won the first meeting at the Division I level on Dec. 1, at Frost Arena.
THE MAVERICKS THE LAST TIME OUT: Feb. 23, vs. North Dakota - OMAHA, Neb. (AP) - Justin Simmons scored 20 points Saturday as Omaha defeated North Dakota 83-75.
John Karhoff finished with 17 points and 10 rebounds for the Mavericks (11-18). Alex Welhouse added 13 points and CJ Carter scored 12.
Troy Huff led North Dakota (12-15) with 21 points. Aaron Anderson added 19 points and five assists in a losing cause
The game was tied at 41 at halftime and there were 10 ties and 20 lead changes. North Dakota did not make a field goal in the final 5:44.
North Dakota leads the all-time series 45-33; the first game was played in the 1934-35 season. The teams played in the Division II North Central Conference until 2008 when North Dakota left for Division I. Omaha is in its second year and first as a full-time member of the Summit League.
THE LAST MEETING: vs. Omaha: Dec. 1, Frost Arena - South Dakota State opened The Summit League season against league newcomer Omaha with a well-balanced 78-63 win in front of 3,021 fans at Frost Arena, which saw four Jackrabbits score at least 13 points.
The Jackrabbits dominated the first half, leading by as many as 30 points before taking a 56-28 lead into the locker room.
Omaha came out hot in the second half, and cut the lead to as few as 13 points, but the Jacks didn't let them get any closer.
The Jackrabbits shot 56 percent in the first half on 23-of-41 shooting, but went cold in the second half, shooting just 34.6 percent on 9-of-26 shooting, including a 2-for-11 effort from long range.
Omaha shot 48 percent in both halves, going 13-for-27 in the first half and 12-for-25 in the second half.
Jordan Dykstra led all players with 17 points, including a 3-for-4 night from 3-point range. Tony Fiegen tied a career-high with 16 points on 8-of-9 shooting and added a game-high nine rebounds, while Nate Wolters and Brayden Carlson both contributed 13 points in the win. Wolters added five assists and grabbed four rebounds, while Carlson finished with five rebounds.
John Karhoff led the Mavericks with 16 points, with Justin Simmons and CJ Carter both adding 10 points in a losing cause.
NEXT UP FOR THE JACKRABBITS - With a win on Thursday, or a Western Illinois loss on Thursday or Saturday, SDSU would earn the No. 1 seed in The Summit League Championship and face IUPUI on Saturday, March 9 at 6 p.m.
A Jackrabbit loss, coupled with two Western Illinois wins, would drop the Jacks to the No. 2 seed in the tournament, where they would play the No. 7 seed on March 9, at 8:30 p.m.


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Have a great birthday people!
Have a great birthday people!
"Keep on reaching for the stars. You may find that someday you can pull yourself out of the gutter."
ok so we are late wishing you a happy birthday, we hope it was a great one.
Happy birthday for 2010... (I hate being late)
Thank you everyone!


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- Manahaim in Gad should be Mahanaim.
- I suggest the area containing "The Jordan River and Sea of Galilee" should have diagonal stripes to emphasize the impassibility.
If you don't like that you could just give it the same (or similar) effect as the rivers.
- Maybe add a danger symbol to each of the dead sea territs.
- Perhaps change the colour of Reuben. It looks too similar to the special zones (war zones and dead sea).


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Nov. 19, 2007
Complete Release in PDF Format
The Schedule
Game No. 5
Tuesday, November 20, 2007 at 7:00 p.m.
UC Santa Barbara Gauchos vs. USF Dons
at UCSB's Thunderdome
Game No. 6
Saturday, November 24, 2007 at 7:00 p.m.
UC Santa Barbara Gauchos vs. Montana State Bobcats
at UCSB's Thunderdome
On The Radio
All UC Santa Barbara basketball games are broadcast live in Santa Barbara on KTMS, 990 and 1490 AM. KEYT-TV Sports Director Gerry Fall is in his fourth year as the play-by-play voice of the Gauchos. Former Los Angeles Lakers and UCSB star Don Ford handles the color commentary for the majority of games, home and road. When Ford is not available for road games, Bill Mahoney, yours truly, will handle the task. Steve Wendt, the voice of the UCSB women's basketball team, will handle the play-by-play for a handful of men's games this season.
The Bob Williams Show
The Bob Williams in Paradise show will be aired each Tuesday night from 7:00 p.m. to 8:00 p.m. on KTMS 990 and 1490 AM in Santa Barbara. Coach Williams will talk about past and upcoming games, interview Gaucho players and welcome guests from the Santa Barbara sports community. Bob in Paradise is broadcast live each week from The Paradise Cafe on the corner of Anacapa and Ortega in downtown Santa Barbara.
The Gaucho Record
UC Santa Barbara is 3-1 on the season. The Gauchos opened the 2007-08 season by winning two out of its three games at the Basketball Travelers Classic in Palo Alto, Calif. UCSB defeated Northwestern State and Harvard before losing to the tourney host, Stanford. Last Thursday, the Gauchos opened their home schedule with a 75-56 win over visiting Cal Poly Pomona.
UCSB Remains At Home For The Holiday
The Gauchos will remain at home for their next three games and five of their next six. After opening the year in the tournament at Stanford, UCSB's schedule had it playing six of seven games at home with the only exception being a short Dec. 1 trip to Los Angeles to play Loyola Marymount. In addition to San Francisco and Montana State, Santa Barbara will host UNLV (Nov. 27), Pepperdine (Dec. 5) and Utah Valley State (Dec. 7).
Harris Remains Day-To-Day As Gauchos Take On USF
Senior guard Alex Harris, UCSB's leading scorer at 23.0 points per game through the first three games, missed the team's most recent contest, a home win over Cal Poly Pomona. Harris injured his left thumb in practice on Nov. 14 when a hard pass was kicked by one of his teammates and hit him. Although there is no break, the defending Big West Conference scoring champion was put in a brace and forced to miss the first game of his career. Harris will be re-evaluated on Tuesday morning, the day of the USF game.
UCSB Ranked 23rd In Mid-Major Poll
After opening the 2007-08 season ranked 20th in the Collegeinsider.com Mid-Major Poll, UCSB has dropped to 23rd after the first week of play. Gonzaga continues to lead the poll.
Powell, Pajevic Lead Home Win Over Cal Poly Pomona
Sophomore guard James Powell scored a career-high 24 points and senior forward Nedim Pajevic added 11 points, eight rebounds, five assists and two blocked shots, to lead UCSB past Cal Poly Pomona, 75-56, on Thursday. The Broncos, an NCAA Division II program, are picked to finish second in the California Collegiate Athletics Association. After struggling with his shooting in the first three games of the season, Powell missed his first shot against Pomona, a three-point attempt, and then made eight of his last 11, including four of his last six three-pointers. Pajevic made both of his field goal attempts, including a three-pointer, and all six of his free throws. In addition to his 11 points, the Weber State transfer led UCSB in rebounds (8), assists (5) and blocked shots (2). Junior forward Chris Devine added 13 points for the Gauchos, who made 52.4% of their shots overall and 50.0% (11-of-22) from beyond the three-point arc.
Probable Starters - Notes
G - Justin Joyner - Leads the Gauchos with 14 assists through four games.
G - D.J. Posley - Has fouled out of two of the the Gauchos first four games.
G - James Powell - Scored a career-high 24 points in win over Cal Poly Pomona.
F - Chris Devine - Only UCSB player in double-figures in all four games.
F - Ivan Elliott - Dislocated a finger on his right hand vs. CPP, but expected to play.
Probable Reserves - Notes
G - Nick Quick - Made the first three-pointer of his career against Cal Poly Pomona.
G - Jordan Weiner - Has made 2-of-3 shots overall and from three-point range.
G - Paul Roemer - Has had his two highest scoring games ever in first four.
G - Alex Harris - Remains day-to-day with injured left thumb.
G - George Murphy - Has yet to play in a game.
F - Nedim Pajevic - Leads the team in field goal percentage at 55.6%.
F - Sam Phippen - Has played in three of the four games.
F - Beau Gibb - Has 12 points in four games after scoring 15 all of last year.
F - Spencer Ford - Freshman forward will redshirt 2007-08 season.
The Bob Williams File
Bob Williams is in his 10th season as the head coach at UC Santa Barbara. Last year his team recorded an overall record of 18-11 and a Big West mark of 9-5. The 18 wins were the most regular season wins by a Gaucho team since 1991-92 and it equaled the second most wins a Williams-coached UCSB team has ever had. Williams has led Santa Barbara to winning records in five of the last six seasons, the only exception being a 2004-05 team that was ravaged by injuries. He has guided UCSB to a pair of postseason appearances. In 2002-03, the Gauchos went 18-14 overall and 14-4 in league. The 2002-03 Big West mark earned Santa Barbara its first-ever Big West regular season championship along with a trip to the postseason National Invitation Tournament. Additionally, the success earned Williams his second Big West Coach of the Year award, his first coming after an impressive 1999 campaign. In 2001-02, Williams guided UCSB to its first Big West Conference Tournament title ever and first NCAA Tournament appearance in 12 years. Including this season, Williams' UCSB teams have posted a 143-123 (.538) overall record and an 86-59 (.589) record in Big West games. Prior to his arrival at UCSB, he spent eight years at UC Davis and in those eight years, his teams recorded 20 or more wins five times and a 158-76 record. In Williams' final season, the Aggies went 31-2, won the NCAA Division II National Championship and he was named NABC Division II Coach of the Year. Including two seasons at Menlo College, Williams has a record of 332-223 (.598) at four-year schools.
UCSB signed four players to National Letters of Intent in the early signing period and all four are high school players from California. Will Brew, Jr., a 6-foot-3, 175 pound guard from St. Mary's High School in Berkeley, Jaime Serna, a 6-foot-7, 235 pound forward from Santa Margarita High School in Rancho Santa Margarita, James Nunnally, a 6-foot-5, 205 pound swingman from Weston High School in Stockton, and Greg Somogyi, a 7-foot-2, 230 pound post player from Woodside Priory in Portola Valley, have all signed to join the Gauchos next year. Somogyi is a native of Hungary who is spending his second year at Woodside Priory. Head coach Bob Williams believes this is one of, if not the, best recruitin
The Opposition
Santa Barbara and San Francisco will be meeting for the 34th time. The Dons have a 23-10 lifetime advantage over the Gauchos, but UCSB has won the last two meetings, including a 74-69 victory in The City on Dec. 17, 2006. The Gauchos also won the last Thunderdome meeting between the schools, 82-59 on Nov. 18, 2005. UCSB and Montana State have played seven times in a series that began in 1972. The Gauchos are a perfect 7-0 in the series against the Bobcats, including a resounding 88-56 win on Nov. 13 in Missoula, Mont. The 32-point margin in last season's game was the largest in the history of the series.
The Gauchos At Home
UCSB is 1-0 at the Thunderdome this season. Last year, the Gauchos struggled at home with an uncharacteristic 8-6 record. Conversely, they were 10-4 in true road games.
Give `Em A Hand, A Healthy Hand
UCSB has three key players nursing a variety of injuries to their hands or wrists. Senior guard Alex Harris missed the game against Cal Poly Pomona with an injured left thumb. He remains day-to-day as the Gauchos head into the week. Forward Ivan Elliott suffered a dislocated finger on his right hand during the game against Pomona and though he returned in the second half, he struggled holding the ball. Finally, point guard Justitn Joyner continues to play with a sore right wrist. He is playing with a special splint-like wrap that absorbs some of the impact when he receives a pass or uses his right hand in any way.
Turning Over A New Leaf
Probably the most important aspect of the defense being employed by UCSB this season is its penchant for causing turnovers. In recent years, Gaucho teams have played good defense in the sense that they have generally held opponents to low field goal and three-point percentages, and relatively low point totals. What UCSB's defense has not done, is force turnovers and thus create points from the turnovers. Through four games in 2007-08, that has changed. Santa Barbara's first four opponents have turned the ball over 83 times, an average of 20.7 per game. In the season opener, Northwestern State coughed-up 28 turnovers, a season-high, and on Nov. 11 at Stanford, the Cardinal had 16, the season-low. In 2006-07, Gaucho opponents averaged 13.4 turnovers per game and had 16 or more seven times in 29 games and 17 or more four times. This year, three of the four opponents have had at least 17 turnovers. Additionally, last season's single-game high by an opponent was 21, set by Pepperdine in a double overtime game. This year, two opponents, Northwestern State and Harvard, have already had more than 21...in regulation.
The Turnover Story, Part Deux
There is another, more sinister side to the turnover story for UCSB. While the Gauchos are forcing more turnovers this season, they are also accumulating more on the offensive end. In Thursday's win over Cal Poly Pomona, UCSB had 17 turnovers, the second highest total of the season. The Gauchos are averaging 15.5 turnovers per game, as compared to 13.9 per game last season. With 17 turnovers against Pomona, a downward turnover trend came to a halt. After committing 20 turnovers in the opener against Northwestern State, UCSB had 13 against Harvard and just 12 against Stanford.
At some point this season, UCSB is going to play in a close game. Will they be ready? Who knows, but nothing that has happed in the first four games would seem to have prepared them for a nail-biter. The Gauchos are outscoring opponents 73.5 to 63.8 points per game, a margin of +9.7 points per game. The closest of the four games was a 79-61 decision over Harvard. UCSB has beaten its three opponents by an average of 19.3 points per game, with the largest margin of 21 coming against Northwestern State. The Gauchos' sole loss came by 19 points, 67-48, to Stanford.
Sharing The Wealth
Santa Barbara has three players, Alex Harris, Chris Devine and James Powell, averaging in double-figures. The Gauchos, however, have had six different players score 10 points or more through the first four games. Devine has scored in double-figures in all four games and Harris has done so in all three in which he has played. In addition, forward Nedim Pajevic has scored 10 or more in three of the four games while three others, Powell, Ivan Elliott and Paul Roemer have scored 10 or more one time each.
Free Play
While their first four opponents have attempted 28 more free throws, the Gauchos have been far more efficient. UCSB has done an outstanding job of defending the charity stripe in 2007-08 (tongue in cheek). Opponents have made just 60 of their 101 attempts, 59.4%. On the other side of the le ger, the Gauchos have drained 58-of-73, 79.5%. The only sub-par game was a 4-for-9 performance in the loss to Stanford, in the three wins, Santa Barbara has made 54-of-64, 84.4%. Alex Harris has made 23-of-27 in his three games, an outstanding 85.2%, while Chris Devine has hit 15-of-19, 78.9%. Interestingly, two reserve forwards, Nedim Pajevic and Beau Gibb, have each been perfect from the line. Pajevic has made all eight of his attempts, while Gibb has made all four of his.
Harris, Devine Honored
Senior guard Alex Harris and junior forward Chris Devine were chosen to the Big West Conference's preseason all-league team. Harris, who led the circuit in scoring in 2006-07 at 21.1 points per game, was a First Team All-Big West Conference choice as a junior. Devine, who averaged 14.1 points and a team-leading 6.6 rebounds per game, is a two-time Second Team All-Big West selection. He was also chosen to the preseason All-Big West Team prior to the 2006-07 season. In addition to the preseason league honor, Harris was selected to a pair of Preseason Mid-Major All-America Teams. He was named Second Team Mid-Major All-America by collegehoops.net and to the 25 member Mid-Major All-America squad selected by collegeinsider.com.
The Harris Poll
Senior guard Alex Harris missed Thursday's game against Cal Poly Pomona with an injured right thumb. While he listed as day-to-day, he is likely to play against USF. Although he struggled with his shooting a bit, Harris seems to have picked up where he left off last season. Harris averaged a team-leading 23.0 points per game in the three games over the weekend. He led the Gauchos in scoring in all three games and had game-highs of 27 against Northwestern State and 24 against Harvard. Following the tournament, Harris was named to the All-Tournament Team. His 27-point performance equaled the fourth highest total his career. Harris made 21-of-46 field goal attempts in the three games, 45.7%, but after making 2-of-4 attempts from three-point territory against Northwestern State, he made just 2-for-10 in the final two games, both against Stanford. Harris also averaged 4.0 rebounds in the first three games and he tied for team-high honors with seven against Stanford. Additionally, his five steals were the most of any Gaucho in the three games. Finally, with 69 points through the first three games, Harris has now scored 1,138 in his career, moving him from 18th-place to 15th-place on UCSB's all-time list. He needs just four points to pass Raymond Tutt for 14th-place.
The Devine File
Junior forward Chris Devine has been pretty consistent through four games. He is averaging 13.3 points per game and is the only Gaucho to score in double-figures in all four games. Devine had a season-high 14 on Nov. 11 at Stanford, and he has had 13 in each of the other three games. Also, since starting the season by making just 3-of-8 shots in a win over Northwestern State, he has made 15-of-25 shots in the last three games, 60.0%. Devine has scored a total of 53 points and has moved past the 800 point mark for his career with 816. While his 3.8 rebounds per game is a decrease from his past numbers, part of it may be due to the fact that he is playing fewer minutes this year. Whether because of foul trouble or by design, the Eagle River, Alaska, native is averaging just 22.0 minutes per game this season. In 2005-06, he averaged 29.4 minutes per contest and last year he averaged 31.6 per game. This year, Devine has played more than 22 minutes just once, against Stanford, and in that game he had season-highs of eight rebounds and 14 points.
A Piece Of The Pajevic (Pronounced Pie-uh-vich)
Senior forward Nedim Pajevic has been better than advertised so far. A transfer from Weber State who sat out the 2006-07 season as a redshirt, Pajevic is averaging 9.8 points and a team-leading 4.8 rebounds per game. He also has nine assists, 2.3 per game, and four blocked shots. He paces the team in field goal percentage at 55.6%, and he has yet to miss a free throw, going 8-for-8. A native of Sarajevo, Bosnia, Pajevic has scored in double-figures in three of the four games. While he scored a season-high 16 in the Nov. 10 win over Harvard, also collecting seven rebounds, three assists and two blocked shots, his best all-around game probably came in the Nov. 15 win over Cal Poly Pomona. Pajevic was considered a good passer when he transferred and against the Broncos, he proved it as he passed off a game-high five assists. In addition, he had 11 points, two blocked shots and a season-high eight rebounds.
Old Buddy, Old Powell
After struggling with his offense through the first three games of the season, sophomore guard James Powell came alive in the win over Cal Poly Pomona. A native of Pomona, Powell missed his first field goal attempt of the game, but went on to make eight of his next 11, including four of his last six three-point attempts, to finish with a career-high 24 points. The four three-pointers tied a career-high. In the Gauchos' first three games this season, Powell scored 17 points and averaged just 5.7 per game. In the first three, he hit just 7-of-25 shots from the floor overall, 28.0%, and 2-for-9 from three-point range, 22.2%. His previous career-high of 18 points came in a double overtime win at Pepperdine last year. With Alex Harris out of the lineup because of a thumb injury, Powell's offensive explosion was a timely one. He is now averaging 10.3 points per game and he has improved his overall field goal percentage to 40.5%. Also, after getting off to an uncharacteristic poor start from the free throw line (1-for-3), Powell made all four of his attempts against the Broncos.
Justin Time
With the exception of the game against Harvard, sophomore point guard Justin Joyner has struggled to find his offensive game thus far in 2007-08. In the game against Harvard, Joyner had nine points and made 4-of-6 shots, including his only three-point attempt. In the other three games combined, he has scored six points, making 1-of-10 shots from the field. Joyner is playing with an injured right wrist, which has effected his shot. Despite the injury, which is taped up for each game, the Antioch, Calif., native leads the team in assists with 14. He had four assists against Cal Poly Pomona, his second highest total of the season. He had five in the season-opener against Northwestern State. Joyner also had a season-high five rebounds in the win over Pomona.
Ivan The Good
Senior forward Ivan Elliott had a bit of a scare in the Thursday's game against Cal Poly Pomona. In the first half of the game, Elliott suffered a dislocated middle finger on his right hand. He left the court, went into the locker room and didn't return until the second half, with his middle finger taped to his ring finger. Elliott was limited to 19 minutes in the game against the Broncos and he finished with two points and five rebounds. He had trouble holding the ball with his right hand and made just 1-of-5 shots from the field. Elliott is now averaging 8.3 points and 5.3 rebounds per game. He scored a career-high 17 points in UCSB's season opening win over Northwestern State, but in the three games since, he has scored a total of just 16 points, 5.3 per game. Also, since making 8-of-10 shots against Northwestern State, Elliott has gone 7-of-19, 36.8%. On a positive note, while he is averaging 5.3 rebounds per game, he has collected an average of 6.0 per game in the last three games, and he leads the team with five blocked shots. Also, in the gamer against Pomona, Elliott failed to make a three-pointer for the first time this season.


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The Terrebonne Parish Library launched a new service Monday to give readers more options when it comes to downloading e-books online.
The Terrebonne Parish Library launched a new service Monday to give readers more options when it comes to downloading e-books online.
The library now subscribes to Axis 360, a service that allows readers to check out e-books on their computers and e-readers for free.
Reference supervisor Ross Mays said the library already offers a similar program called OverDrive, but staff members found that titles from some publishers and authors are not available through the service.
The library will offer both e-book services to give readers the widest selection possible, Mays said.
Between OverDrive and Axis 360, Mays said, the library has something for everyone.
Tracy Guyan, assistant director of technology, said OverDrive offers more than 10,000 titles, and so far Axis 360 has 250.
The library, she said, buys new e-books at least once a week.
Guyan said the library orders books based on their popularity, as well as requests from patrons for specific authors or series.
The service seems to be popular.
So far this year, Guyan said the library has seen 39,710 e-book checkouts. Last year's total for the year was 37,133.
"People are not necessarily moving away from print, but they're definitely moving toward digital," he said.
Like at the physical library, each copy of an e-book can be checked out by only one person at a time. But Mays said the service makes it easier for patrons to find the title they're looking for and the books can move more quickly from reader to reader.
Mays said if the library has one copy of a book, a reader may have to request that it be moved from one branch to another.
But if the library has one copy of an e-book, the reader can access it from anywhere at any time.
"You don't have to come into the library," he said. "You can be on the other side of the world, and as long as you have an Internet connection you can check out a book."
Guyan said juggling two services may take some getting used to, but she believes the selection is worth the effort.
"The response to things like this is usually pretty good," she said. "Our more voracious readers want those titles and even if it may be a little cumbersome to get them, they're usually pretty patient."
Guyan said many people take advantage of the library's reference desk, where staff members can easily set up the service on a patron's laptop or e-reader.
"That way, all they have to do is check out a book," she said. "It's easy."
Guyan said readers can also use the library's online catalog to search its entire inventory of books at once, which she hopes will simplify the process.
To download an e-book from OverDrive or Axis, patrons must have their library card and personal identification number.
Those without a PIN can obtain one by calling or stopping by their usual library branch.
The new service can be found in "catalogs" section of the library's website: www.mytpl.org.


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PRINCETON — Princeton High School is willing to listen to the discussion but not really interested in actively pursuing a 1 percent sales tax initiative.
At Wednesday's meeting of the PHS Board, Superintendent Kirk Haring said the Bureau Valley School District has sent him a letter about the possibility of placing a 1 percent sales tax initiative on the November 2014 ballot. Bureau Valley wants to see if there is an interest from other school districts in pursuing this initiative together. Personally, he's not in favor of the sales tax initiative for PHS, Haring said.
Giving his reasons, Haring said PHS has been very careful to maintain or reduce tax rates for local taxpayers without reducing programs or services for the students and also continuing to improve the facility and services. The district has a good tax base and EAV, with great support from the Princeton community. The district has done a "phenomenal job" of addressing the needs at the school, without having to go to the local taxpayers for more money. Though not personally in favor of a sales tax initiative, he would explore it further if the board wanted him to, Haring said.
The sales tax initiative discussion is statewide, Haring said. Several counties have passed referendums, while other counties have not, he said.
Board member Al Taylor said he didn't see this as a positive step for the city of Princeton or Princeton High School.
However, board member Stephanie Van Ordstrand said the sales tax initiative might be an interesting and valuable discussion, especially if considering the Princeton Elementary District and education as a whole, kindergarten through 12th grades. At this point, she couldn't say if she was for or against the initiative.
Any decision by Princeton Elementary would be its own decision, not limited by any decision by PHS, Haring said.
In his comments, Gary Coates said the board has worked hard to keep the tax rate down for the citizens, but he liked the idea of not turning the board's back to the discussion. The bottom line is any referendum question would have to go the voters for approval, he said.
After further discussion, Haring said he would let Bureau Valley know that PHS is willing to continue to receive information and to be part of the discussion.
In other business, the board approved buying a new electronic sign at the corner of Euclid and Central avenues to replace the existing one which no longer works. The existing sign was damaged last fall when an electrical power surge "fried" the sign's internal electronics after a car hit an electric pole outside of town. The insurance company has sent a $12,974 payment, minus a $1,000 deductible.
The new sign, which will be bought from Baum Sign for $16,000, is a vast improvement over the existing sign that was purchased by the district about nine years ago, Haring said. The new sign will have improved electronics and remote access from smart devices and will have the ability to broadcast multiple lines of text and colors. Delivery is anticipated within about eight weeks.
Comment on this story at www.bcrnews.com.


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Solage, an Auberge Resort, Calistoga
- Free WiFi and free parking
Main amenities
- 89 guestrooms
- Restaurant and bar/lounge
- Full-service spa
- 2 outdoor pools
- Breakfast available
- Health club
- Limo/town car service
- 24-hour front desk
- Air conditioning
- Daily housekeeping
- Lobby fireplace
- Conference space
- Free WiFi and free parking
What's around
- Oat Hill Mine Trail - 11 min walk
- Calistoga Visitors Center - 19 min walk
- Calistoga Hot Springs - 19 min walk
- Calistoga Spit N' Cycle - 20 min walk
- Sharpsteen Museum - 20 min walk
- Ca'toga Art Gallery - 22 min walk
- Palmer House - 22 min walk
- Pioneer Park - 24 min walk
- Calistoga Speedway - 24 min walk
- Napa County Fairgrounds - 24 min walk
- Old Faithful Geyser of California - 2.3 mi / 3.7 km
Solage, an Auberge Resort, Calistogafrom $565
- Studio, 1 King Bed (Calistoga)
- Room, 1 King Bed, Fireplace (Calistoga)
- Suite (Silverado)
- Studio, 2 Queen Beds (Valley)
- Room, 2 Queen Beds, Bathtub (Valley)
More great choices
About Solage, an Auberge Resort, Calistoga
On the Silverado Trail
The exquisite Solage, an Auberge Resort puts you right off the scenic Silverado Trail, a mile from Calistoga's city center. You'll be a 3-minute drive from Calistoga Speedway, and 2 blocks from State Highway 29 – the main thoroughfare of Napa Valley.
Biking in Wine Country
Some of the region's big winemakers are within a 10-minute drive – names like Chateau Montelena and Dutch Henry Winery. You can take advantage of the hotel's free bikes to get there, or cruise a mile to the boutiques, restaurants, and galleries of Calistoga's historic downtown.
Michelin-starred cuisine
At Spa Solange you can unwind in a hot mineral pool or heated mud, or book a beauty treatment. When you're hungry, you can head to Michelin-starred Solbar, which serves locally sourced Californian cuisine for breakfast, lunch, dinner, and Sunday brunch.
Serene patio space
Decorated in warm colors and wood furniture, the 83 cottage-like studios and 6 suites include WiFi, LCD TVs, and patios that open up to the property's lush vegetation and outdoor artworks. Some accommodations also feature luxurious amenities like deep soaking tubs and fireplaces.
At a glance
Key facts
Hotel size
- This hotel has 89 rooms
- This hotel is arranged over 1 floor
- Check-in time starts at 4 PM
- Check-out time is noon
Required at check in
- Credit card or cash deposit required
- Government-issued photo ID required
Travelling with others
- Children (17 years old and younger) stay free when occupying the parent or guardian's room, using existing bedding
- Pets allowed
- Free WiFi in public areas
- Free WiFi in rooms
- Free valet parking
In the hotel
- Cooked-to-order breakfast daily (surcharge)
- Restaurant
- Bar/lounge
- Poolside bar
- Room service
- Number of outdoor pools - 2
- Children's pool
- Health club
- Full-service spa
- Spa treatment room(s)
- Free pool cabanas
- Spa tub
- Steam room
- Conference space
- Conference space size (feet) - 3500
- Conference space size (meters) - 315
- One meeting room
- 24-hour front desk
- Concierge services
- Limo or Town Car service available
- Free newspapers in lobby
- Wedding services
- Multilingual staff
- Porter/bellhop
- Fireplace in lobby
- Accessible bathroom
- In-room accessibility
- Roll-in shower
In the room
- In-room climate control (air conditioning)
- Air conditioning
- Ceiling fan
- Minibar
- Coffee/tea maker
- Bathrobes
- Slippers
- Iron/ironing board
- Hypo-allergenic bedding available
- Down comforter
- Blackout drapes/curtains
- Turndown service
- Premium bedding
- Patio
- Designer toiletries
- Hair dryer
- Flat-screen TV
- Cable/satellite TV channels
- IPod docking station
- DVD player
- Desk
- Free WiFi
- Refrigerator
- Free bottled water
- Daily housekeeping
- In-room safe
- Connecting/adjoining rooms available
- Access via exterior corridors
Also popular with travelers from the USA
Special features
Spa Solage has 14 treatment rooms including rooms for couples and outdoor treatment areas. Services include facials, body wraps, body treatments, and manicures and pedicures. A variety of treatment therapies are provided, including aromatherapy and hydrotherapy. The spa is equipped with hot springs/mineral springs, a mud bath, and a spa tub.
Guests under 18 years old are not allowed in the spa.
DiningSolbar - This poolside restaurant specializes in Californian cuisine and serves breakfast, brunch, lunch, and dinner. Guests can enjoy alfresco dining (weather permitting). 1-star Michelin rating. A children's menu is available.
Awards and affiliations
- Solage, an Auberge Resort is listed in the 2013 Condé Nast Traveler Gold List of the world's best places to stay and the 2013 Travel + Leisure 500.
Solage, an Auberge Resort, Calistoga's small print
Also known as
- Calistoga Solage
- Solage Auberge Calistoga
- Solage Auberge
- Solage
- Solage Calistoga
- Solage Hotel
- Solage Hotel Calistoga
- Calistoga Solage Hotel
- Solage Calistoga Hotel Calistoga
- Solage Auberge Resort Calistoga
- Solage Auberge Resort
The property has connecting/adjoining rooms, which are subject to availability and can be requested by contacting the property using the number on the booking confirmation.
Guests under 18 years old are not allowed in the spa.
Reservations are required for massage services and spa treatments and can be made by contacting the property before arrival at the number on the booking confirmation.
Mandatory fees
You'll be asked to pay the following charges at check in or check out:
Pet deposit: USD 100 per stay
- Resort fee: USD 30.00 per accommodation, per night
Resort fee inclusions:
- Pool access
- Fitness center access
- Fitness/yoga classes
- Internet access (may be limited)
- Newspaper
- In-room bottled water
- Parking
Inclusions may be listed elsewhere on the page as free or for a surcharge.
Optional extras
Rollaway beds are available for an additional charge
Breakfast costs between USD 18 and USD 25 per person (approximately)
We have included all charges provided to us by this hotel. However, charges can vary, for example, based on length of stay or the room you book.
What's around Solage, an Auberge Resort, Calistoga
- Oat Hill Mine Trail - 11 min walk
- Calistoga Visitors Center - 19 min walk
- Calistoga Hot Springs - 19 min walk
- Calistoga Spit N' Cycle - 20 min walk
- Sharpsteen Museum - 20 min walk
- Ca'toga Art Gallery - 22 min walk
- Palmer House - 22 min walk
- Pioneer Park - 24 min walk
Getting around
- Santa Rosa, CA (STS-Sonoma County) - 35 min drive
- Napa, CA (APC-Napa Valley) - 48 min drive
- Novato, CA (NOT-Gnoss Field) - 62 min drive
- San Francisco, CA (SFO-San Francisco Intl.) - 106 min drive
- Free self parking
- Free valet parking
Recent reviews
Exceptional 9.4 From 93 reviews
I love love my stay in Solage.. the service was excellent. I'm beyond pleased with the service and everything.. you will not regret staying here... you're paying for quality..
Room 65 was awful, a vent rattled all night and day while heating or AC was on.
Everything was amazing and the staff was friendly and helpful. The rooms were clean and the pool area was fantastic.
Beautiful property, accommodating staff, and we love Calistoga. Since the property is just off the main drag, it would be nice if they created a pedestrian gate for guests who want to walk to town so they don't need to walk as far from the front enterance. Overall a beautiful property. Sol Bar also serves up some good food.
Great accommodations in a terrific setting. The service throughout our stay was the best. Receiving a nice glass of wine on our arrival was most welcome after a long drive from San Francisco. And the great service continued from there to the turn down service. The Solebar had the best chips and salsa that we have ever had.We will definitely return on our next trip to Napa Valley.
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THE Warrnambool and District Cricket Association has won both the division one and two competitions at the Festival of Cricket in Hamilton.
A short time ago, the WDCA defeated South West Cricket in the division one grand final. After making 7-172 from its 20 overs, the WDCA restricted SWC to 9-103. It is the WDCA's second consecutive triumph in the annual Twenty-20 competition. It has dominated the event, winning the past three completed festivals with the 2010 festival washed out.
Earlier the WDCA, thanks to a brutal display by opening batsman Josh Stapleton, chased down SWC's 150 with four overs to spare in the division two grand final.


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AIDS orphans in Africa are being supplied warm knitted quilts thanks to the efforts of a group of women from the Ballarat region.
The women, who are all patients of a Wendouree medical clinic, started knitting the squares while waiting for appointments with their doctor.
The waiting-room knit-fest has since extended to knitting at home, where a core group of 15 women have together knitted more than 1200 squares each 20cm X 20cm.
The squares will be sent to Africa where prisoners will spend their time knitting the squares together into quilts, which will then be distributed to orphanages and other areas. All donations are made through children's charity KasCare.
Buninyong's Phyllis Eason said she was happy to help the worthwhile cause.
"I knit everywhere I go whether I'm watching tv or I'm out somewhere," she said. Fellow knitter Carla Berlyn said it was great to convert time spent in the doctor's waiting room into something that helps others.
The group is now calling for a community sponsor to help pay for the squares' delivery to Africa. To donate wool or become a sponsor, call Anna on 0409326811.


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"Florida Sunshine Millions Day is going to be a tremendous day of championship racing," said Gulfstream Park's Racing Secretary Dan Bork. "The public is going to see two champions racing at Gulfstream Park – Awesome Feather and Musical Romance – along with Mucho Macho Man, who finished third in the Kentucky Derby. Every race will feature graded-stakes winners and many of the top horses in the country."
Mucho Macho Man was sent to the sidelines after the Belmont for a good freshening and came back strong at Aqueduct on Nov. 9 with a very impressive 5 ¾ lengths victory in a one-mile allowance race. In his lone start here early last year he finished fourth behind Dialed In in the Holy Bull Stakes (G3) before shipping to New Orleans to score in the Risen Star Stakes (G2) at Fair Grounds.
A son of Macho Uno, Mucho Macho Man faces six rivals in the Classic with Robert Sahn and Stan Hough's 4-year-old Adios Charlie and Alex and Joann Lieblong and partners' 6-year-old Duke of Mischief among the leading contenders.
Adios Charlie has posted three wins and three second in as many starts career. He emerged as a player in the 3-year-old division last spring winning the Jerome Stakes (G2) at Aqueduct in April by 2 ½ lengths and finished second in both the Peter Pan Stakes (G2) in mid-May and Dwyer Stakes (G2) at Belmont Park on July 2.
A $400,000 OBS March 2-year-old purchase by Indian Charlie, Adios Charlie looked sharp winning a one-mile allowance race here on Dec. 16 by 3 ¼ lengths in his first start since the Dwyer. Leading Gulfstream jockey Javier Castellano will have the return call.
Duke of Mischief is a handicap division veteran and finished second to Tackleberry in the Sunshine Millions Classic here last year for trainer David Fawkes. The chestnut son of Graeme Hall has posted earnings of nearly $1.7 million with victories in the Oaklawn Handicap (G2), Philip H. Iselin Handicap (G3) at Monmouth Park and Charles Town Classic (G3) among the highlights. Jockey Joe Bravo has the mount.
Awesome Feather Puts Perfect Record on Line in Distaff
Stronach Stable's Awesome Feather launches a 2012 campaign that her connections hope could lead to another Eclipse Award season in the $300,000 Sunshine Millions Distaff at 1 1/8 miles as the likely heavy favorite in a field of six fillies and mares with regular jockey Jeffrey Sanchez aboard for trainer Chad Brown.
Awesome Feather won all six of her races as a 2-year-old in 2010 for breeder Jacks or Better Farm and trainer Stanley Gold, five at Calder and the Breeders' Cup Juvenile Fillies (G1) at Churchill Downs to seal and Eclipse Award campaign. Frank Stronach bought the daughter of Awesome of Course just days later at the Fasig-Tipton November sales for $2.3 million.
Awesome Feather's career was put on hold for most of the 2011 season because of a tendon issue, but she picked up where she left off with two impressive victories for Brown in New York toward the end of the year, winning the Le Slew overnight stakes at Belmont by two lengths going seven furlongs on Oct. 8 and the Gazelle Stakes (G1) at Aqueduct on Nov. 26 by 5 ¼ lengths at 1 1/8 miles.
Awesome Feather's rivals with the best chance to upset appear to be Buongiorno A. Tutti Stable's 6-year-old Sweet Repent, winner of this race in 2010 and Manoel Cruz to ride for trainer Dave Braddy, and John Oxley's 4-year-old Delightful Mary, third to Awesome Feather in the Breeders' Cup Juvenile Fillies. Jockey Luis Contreras rides her for trainer Mark Casse.
Musical Romance Begins Eclipse Title Defense in Filly & Mare Sprint
Musical Romance completed a busy campaign of 14 starts in 2012 posting a 20-to-1 upset in the Breeders' Cup Filly & Mare Sprint (G1) at Churchill Downs on Nov. 4 and then won the Eclipse vote over fellow division finalists Hilda's Passion and Sassy Image.
Regular jockey Juan Leyva takes his regular place aboard Musical Romance for trainer and co-owner Bill Kaplan as she takes on six rivals in the $150,000 Sunshine Million Filly & Mare Sprint at six furlongs. The 5-year-old daughter of Concorde's Tune ran well in this race finishing fourth early last year, but beaten only three-quarters of a length for it all.
Musical Romance is the champion but will face a strong challenge Saturday with Hardacre Farm's 4-year-old filly Pomeroys Pistol lining up with jockey Javier Castellano to ride for owner-trainer Amy Tarrant. A daughter of Pomeroy, Pomeroys Pistol finished fourth behind Musical Romance in the Breeders' Cup after bobbling at the start in a good effort and came back with sharp score here in the Sugar Swirl Stakes (G3) on Dec. 10.
Little Mike the 'Horse for Course' in Turf
Priscilla Vaccarezza's 5-year-old homebred gelding Little Mike was among the star performers of the Gulfstream meet last year when he swept to three Graded stakes victories on turf for trainer Dale Romans – the Fort Lauderdale (G3), Canadian Turf (G3) and Appleton (G3) -- punctuated by a close-up sixth in the Gulfstream Turf Handicap (G1).
A son of Spanish Steps, Little Mike went to the sidelines after the Apr. 3 Appleton, but signaled he was ready for another campaign over his favorite course winning a one-mile allowance race on Dec. 22 by a nose in a game effort. Regular rider Joe Bravo will be aboard Little Mike in the $150,000 Sunshine Millions Turf in a field of 11.
Trip for A.J. Defends Title in Filly & Mare Turf
Peter Fuller's 5-year-old homebred mare Trip for A.J. scored the biggest and richest of her 10 career victories from 26 starts winning the Sunshine Millions Filly & Mare Turf a year ago by a hard-fought half length over Team Block and Rich Ege's 6-year-old Askbut I Won'ttell, and the rematch is set for Saturday's edition of the $150,000 test at 1 1/8 miles on turf.
One difference from last year for the Trip for A.J. team is that owner-breeder Peter Fuller's daughter Abigail Fuller has come out of retirement as a jockey and has ridden the daughter of Trippi in her last two starts for trainer Milt Wolfson, finishing game second by a neck in the My Charmer Handicap (G3) at Calder in November and a close-up third last out in the South Beach Stakes here on Dec. 11.
Jockey Rajiv Maragh rides Askbut I Won'ttell for trainer Chris Block as the daughter of Horse Chestnut bids to regain the form that saw her win the Cardinal Handicap (G3) at Churchill Downs and My Charmer at Calder late in 2010, She will need to bounce back from a dull try when 11th last out in the South Beach over the course on Dec. 11.
Although the one-two from last year's race will go to the post, two others in the field may end up the favorites in the field of nine with jockey Ramon Dominguez aboard Live Oak Plantation's 5-year-old homebred Unbridled Humor for trainer Graham Motion and Paco Lopez up on Frank Calabrese's 6-year-old Romacaca for trainer Nick Canani.
A daughter of Distorted Humor, Unbridled Humor makes her first start since a very good fourth-place try last out in the Matriarch Stakes (G1) at Hollywood Park on Nov. 25, beaten 2 ¾ lengths for it all. She won the Noble Damsel Stakes (G3) and finished second in the Athenia (G3) at Belmont in her two previous starts.
Romacaca won five straight last year and has four from seven career starts over the Gulfstream course. She was claimed here in 2009 for $25,000 and gone on to push her career earnings over $600,000. The daughter of Running Stag won the Matchmaker Stakes (G3) at Monmouth Park during her win streak last season and makes her first start since finishing a good third in the Ballston Spa (G2) at Saratoga on Aug. 27.
Apriority Gets Second Chance in Sunshine Millions Sprint
Donald Dizney's 5-year-old homebred Apriority made an impressive stakes race debut a year ago for trainer David Fawkes shipping to California and finishing second by a head in the Sunshine Millions Sprint at Santa Anita behind Amazombie. The latter went on to seal an Eclipse championship campaign winning the Breeders' Cup Sprint (G1) at Churchill Downs on Nov. 5.
Apriority rose quickly in the division last spring finishing a game second in the Carter Handicap (G1) at Aqueduct in April and second in the Churchill Downs Handicap (G2) on Kentucky Derby Day, but things did not work out as well the second half of the season, and the son of Grand Slam was obviously not at his best when sixth behind Amazombie in the Breeders' Cup Sprint.
However, Apriority has come back strong since then to win the six-furlong Mr. Prospector Stakes (G3) on Dec. 31 by a nose after stumbling badly at the start. That performance will likely make him the horse to beat and favorite in a field of eight drawn for Saturday's renewal of the $150,000 Sunshine Millions Sprint at six furlongs with jockey Luis Saez in the saddle.