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Fans of the BBC's sci-fi flagship Doctor Who can now download content for PlayStation Home (remember that?) based on the hugely popular show.
PS3 owners can now dress up their avatars in the Eleventh Doctor's iconic tweed jacket and bow tie (bow ties, as we know, are cool) and wield the Sonic Screwdriver, according to the PlayStation Blog.
Alternatively, they can don companions' costumes such as River Song's catsuit or alien outfits based on the Silurians and the Silence. They can even have a pet Cybermat follow them around the virtual community.
And, of course, the Tardis makes an appearance, serving as a private room that PS3 owners can invite their friends too. While inside the Tardis, users can film their own Doctor Who-style adventures and upload them automatically to YouTube.
Last week, Sony announced Harry Potter-themed content is in the works for PlayStation Home.
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Nation & World
Sectarian killings in Iraq leave at least 70 dead at Sunni mosque
Gunmen allegedly associated with a pro-government Shiite militia slaughtered more than 70 worshippers at a Sunni mosque in Diyala province Friday, heightening Iraq's sectarian divide in a volatile part of the country where government forces and their militia allies are battling militants from the Islamic State.
The gunmen, reported to be members of one of the volunteer Shiite militias that have been working alongside the Iraqi army for two months, reportedly took 30 minutes to execute men attending Friday prayers at the Mosaib bin Omair mosque, according to witnesses on the scene. But other accounts, being pushed by pro-government media outlets, claim the mosque was attacked by fighters from the Islamic State – who it is claimed used a suicide bomber followed by machine-gun fire – to punish local tribes for failing to support the nascent Islamic State's caliphate project.
Regardless of the perpetrator, the scene was of epic carnage with at least 73 people killed, according to local health officials and eyewitnesses reached by phone at the scene.
"When we entered the mosque (after the killings) it looked like hell, like judgment day," said Abu Abdullah, who lives near the mosque and heard the attack unfold. "Blood was everywhere."
The massacre, according to local accounts, reportedly followed a failed attempt to attack pro-government forces with a roadside bomb. After it exploded, witnesses saw two trucks full of armed men with covered faces enter the mosque.
"They killed all the people in the mosque," Abu Abdullah said.
Local government officials in Diyala province confirmed the attack and condemned the killings.
"We accuse the militias that did it," said provincial Gov. Amir al Majami. "They are supposed to be fighting (the Islamic State) and be under the control of the Iraqi security forces."
Assaib Ahl Haq, an Iranian trained- and equipped-militia that has been very active in Diyala in fighting the Islamic State, was being widely blamed on pro-Islamic State Twitter accounts but immediately issued a statement denying involvement.
The slaughter threatened to upend recent progress Iraqi leaders had made to create a new government that would unite its efforts against the Islamic State and resolve differences among Shiites, Sunnis and Kurds.
Parliament's two primary Sunni blocs demanded an investigation into the killings and announced that they would withdraw from the formation of a new government under Prime Minister designate Haider al Abadi unless the culprits are handed over.
"This is a natural result of accepting armed groups in the state. The crimes of the militias are targeting the political process," Parliament Speaker Salim al-Jabouri, a Sunni, said in a news conference.
It also sparked calls for retribution from Sunnis in the province. Shiite militias have deployed to the area since June, when Iraq's most revered Shiite cleric, Ayatollah Ali Sistani, issued a fatwa calling his followers to defend their country against the Sunni extremists of the Islamic State.
Internet forums associated with the Islamic State and its supporters immediately flooded the Internet with unconfirmed pictures of the carnage, along with calls to Sunnis to reject reconciliation with the Shiite-led government, which has been a long-assumed necessary first step to eliminating the Islamic State's presence in Sunni-held areas.
Aymenn al Tamimi, who studies Iraqi insurgent groups for the Philadelphia-based Middle East Forum, said that the massacre, if proven to be the work of Shiite militias, will embolden the Islamic State's messaging to Iraq's Sunni population that only it can protect them from the Shiite government that it says oppresses them. And it will only lead to a bloody response from the Islamic State and its Sunni tribal allies that will push the new government in Baghdad even further from successful reconciliation.
"It helps give a pretext for IS to say it will conduct revenge attacks against the Shi'a, thus playing up the image again of protector of Sunnis," he said. "One might reasonably expect the next major IS ops to be called 'revenge for our people in Baquba.'"
But besides the instigation of what many see as a new round of mayhem as the two communities target one another's civilian populations, it also sends a message to Sunni tribes that might be considering opposing the current control over much of Sunni Iraq by the Islamic State: The government cannot protect you from us or from the Shiite death squads.
"I think it has a deterrent effect more than anything: You will be slaughtered if you leave our 'protection,'" Tamimi said.
Already the response from the local tribes has indicated that Diyala, which is immediately northeast of Baghdad and has been bitterly contested since the fall of much of northern and central Iraq to the Islamic State in mid-June, is likely to see revenge massacres of Shiites in the coming days.
Entire families were killed in the mosque, said Sheikh Salman al Jabouri. He said 15 tribes announced their intent to battle the militias because of their outrage over the killings, indicating a deterioration of support for the government from a Sunni community already fearful of Shiite oppression.
"This is a violation against the mosque and the people who were doing their Friday prayers," he said. It took place "under the watch of the (government) troops that were near the mosque."
A military official, who spoke on the condition of anonymity, said the army would launch an investigation into the killings, which witnesses claimed took place within plain sight of a nearby army checkpoint.
Iraq's Human Rights Ministry voiced outrage about the massacre and called for the government to prosecute the killers. Kamal Amin, the ministry's spokesman, said the shootings were intended to "divide the country."
"There is no justification for such an incident," he said. "We don't want any kind of reaction, which would be unacceptable."
Adam Ashton of The News Tribune of Tacoma, Wash., in Baghdad and McClatchy special correspondent Adam Mehdi in Diyala contributed to this report.

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VENUE/Áit: Garden of Original Kerry Crafts
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In Druidic times the wren was considered the most sacred bird in Ireland. It was called the Druien or Druid bird.
Druids and the Celtic Culture
written by The Editors of Encyclopaedia Britannica
Druid, (Celtic: "Knowing [or Finding] the Oak Tree"), member of the learned class among the ancient Celts. They seem to have frequented oak forests and acted as priests, teachers, and judges. The earliest known records of the Druids come from the 3rd century BCE.
According to Julius Caesar, who is the principal source of information about the Druids, there were two groups of men in Gaul that were held in honour, the Druids and the noblemen. Caesar related that the Druids took charge of public and private sacrifices, and many young men went to them for instruction. They judged all public and private quarrels and decreed penalties. If anyone disobeyed their decree, he was barred from sacrifice, which was considered the gravest of punishments. One Druid was made the chief; upon his death, another was appointed. If, however, several were equal in merit, the Druids voted, although they sometimes resorted to armed violence. Once a year the Druids assembled at a sacred place in the territory of the Carnutes, which was believed to be the centre of all Gaul, and all legal disputes were there submitted to the judgment of the Druids.
Caesar also recorded that the Druids abstained from warfare and paid no tribute. Attracted by those privileges, many joined the order voluntarily or were sent by their families. They studied ancient verse, natural philosophy, astronomy, and the lore of the gods, some spending as much as 20 years in training. The Druids' principal doctrine was that the soul was immortal and passed at death from one person into another.
The Druids offered human sacrifices for those who were gravely sick or in danger of death in battle. Huge wickerwork images were filled with living men and then burned; although the Druids preferred to sacrifice criminals, they would choose innocent victims if necessary.
Caesar is the chief authority, but he may have received some of his facts from the Stoic philosopher Poseidonius, whose account is often confirmed by early medieval Irish sagas. Caesar's description of the annual assembly of the Druids and their election of an arch-Druid is also confirmed by an Irish saga.
In the early period, Druidic rites were held in clearings in the forest. Sacred buildings were used only later under Roman influence. The Druids were suppressed in Gaul by the Romans under Tiberius (reigned 14–37 CE) and probably in Britain a little later. In Ireland they lost their priestly functions after the coming of Christianity and survived as poets, historians, and judges (filid, senchaidi, and brithemain). Many scholars believe that the Hindu Brahman in the East and the Celtic Druid in the West were lateral survivals of an ancient Indo-European priesthood.
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Nitto Denko Corporation ("Nitto Denko"; Head Office: Osaka, Japan; President and CEO: Yukio Nagira) and Maruho Co., Ltd., ("Maruho"; Head Office: Osaka, Japan; President and CEO: Koichi Takagi) announced today that Nitto Denko obtained approval of "pain relief in laser irradiation treatment of the skin" from the Japanese Ministry of Health, Lavour and Welfare ("MHLW") as an additional indication for Penles® Tape 18 mg (generic name: lidocaine), a local anesthetic patch preparation for which Nitto Denko holds manufacturing and marketing approval, and is sold by Maruho, and which has already been approved for "pain relief in insertion of venous indwelling needle" and "relief of pain following removal of molluscum contagiosum."
Since its launch in the Japanese market in 1994, Penles® Tape 18 mg has been marketed as a transdermal local anesthesic containing lidocaine in an easy-to-use patch form.
Laser irradiation is commonly used to treat patients, including many children, with such as pigmented skin lesions (birthmarks, etc.) and hemangiomas, and often causes pain , which has led to a demand for a local anesthetic that can be safely and conveniently used with reliable efficacy in clinical settings.
Nitto Denko and Maruho jointly conducted a series of clinical studies, with patients including children, on "pain relief in laser irradiation treatment of the skin" using Penles® Tape 18 mg, and filed an application for approval of this additional indication to the MHLW.
With the approval of this additional indication, Nitto Denko and Maruho expect that easy-to-use Penles® Tape 18 mg will contribute in facilitating "pain relief in laser irradiation treatment of the skin."
Nitto Denko and Maruho will continue to listen closely to the opinions of patients and healthcare professionals, and contribute to better health for people all over the world.
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Comparing Road, Bridge Quality by State
The nation's infrastructure is a key priority for President Barack Obama this week, as Congress debates whether, and for how long, to fund the Highway Trust Fund — the federal program that disburses gas taxes to states for road and mass transit construction projects.
Federal transportation officials have warned the fund could become insolvent within weeks, potentially delaying ongoing repair and construction efforts across the country. Transportation Secretary Anthony Foxx, for example, recently sent letters to states warning their funding is in jeopardy.
The president has traveled around the nation highlighting what the administration says is an aging network of roads, highways and bridges that need repair and expansion. As part of that effort to pressure Congress, the White House released a report saying many of those roads and bridges need work. (The House on July 15 added $10.8 billion to the fund, an amount expected to keep it solvent for 10 months, and the Senate is expected to consider a similar amount later this month. But the long-term fate of the fund remains unclear).
These maps detail the findings in the report, which examines more than 4 million miles of public roads and 600,000 bridges. The report says 14% of roads nationally are in poor condition — and one in four bridges is either "structurally deficient" or "functionally obsolete".
The first map shows the total miles of public roads by state, with darker shades representing more miles. Large and populous Texas, not surprisingly, leads the way:
This map details the percentage of roads in each state that are in "poor" condition, as defined by the U.S. Department of Transportation and the American Society of Civil Engineers. Darker shades represent states with a higher proportion of roads in "poor" condition. Nevada has the lowest percentage of roads in poor condition, just 2%. Rhode Island and Connecticut have the highest proportion, according to the report: 41%.
The last map represents the percentage of bridges by state that meet federal definitions for being "structurally deficient" or "functionally obsolete." These definitions don't mean bridge collapses are imminent, of course, but they do help describe structures that might need attention:
You can read the full report here. View full-screen versions of the maps: Roads | Bridges | Miles.


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When the selectmen met on Dec. 21, they encouraged Janet Wall to contact the Conservation Commission relative to her interest in the Town Forest.
Wall reported that help is available through the Cooperative Extension Forester. The town forest, which lies off Pudding Hill Road, encompasses 57 acres. Wall pointed out that the forest is now underused: it could be used for recreation, education, and perhaps, revenue to the town.
Others in on business were Recreation Commission members Susan Cilia and Dick Houghton to discuss the 2013 budget for the Rec Commission. Along with adding $10,000 to the Capital Reserve Fund, they expressed satisfacton at "sticking with what we've got."
There was discussion of the augmented mowing which will be required by the new Tibbetts playing field. The Oyster River Youth Association will be picking up some of the expense; the balance will be worked out.
Luke Zagar was deemed Madbury Volunteer Fire Department's Firefighter of the Year when that group met for its yearly holiday celebration on Dec. 16.
Ken Wolcott was awarded a Certificate of Appreciation for his 50 years' service with the MVFD. He has served as chief and in every other possible capacity during this time, according to Fire Chief Tom Perley.
Others honored were Ardie Boutin for 10 years' service and Andrew Davis for 5 years.
The Zoning Board of Adjustment will meet on Jan. 15 at 7 p.m. in the Town Hall to hear, once again, appeals from Sara and Albert Nadeau relative to the assisted living facility they propose to build at 302 and 304 Knox Marsh Road. (The two lots would be joined if the facility were built.)
This case has been subject to continued hearings, with the ZBA turning down an appeal for a variance as well as a request for a rehearing of that decision. The crux of the matter appears to be the status of the land, which is in the Residential/Agricultural zone but has been taxed as commercial property since before zoning was accepted here.
At a hearing on Dec. 18, the ZBA chairman, Gray Cornwell, was supported by the board when he decided that a continued hearing on a Special Exception application which was being heard would be held on Jan. 15, with individuals on both sides of the question bringing in two Time Lines - one on each of the two lots - relative to how each lot was used: when and what was going on there, as far back as possible.
The ZBA is questioning the Planning Board's decision that these lots were legal non-conforming. (The Planning Board earlier approved a site plan for the facility.)
Cornwell said he doesn't want to rehash all the testimony that the ZBA has heard, but is calling for new material from both parties.
Community calendars for 2013 should have been delivered to each house in town by New Year's Day. Anyone who was overlooked can pick up one at the Town Hall.
Don Sylvester, Madbury's professional photographer, took the pictures illustrating each month, and he coordinated the printing job as well. His theme is "Hands" and he has recorded the hands of 15 residents at their vocation or avocation.
The Madbury Community Club wishes to thank Sylvester and the several other residents who are not members of the club but who helped with delivery, and the businesses whose ads support the activities of the club.
On Dec. 20, twenty-two club members gathered at club president Kitty Cornwell's home to enjoy holiday cheer and they voted to donate $1200 to various local charities. Other worthy causes are supported during the year, as well as Madbury Day.


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A world where governments, the armed forces, and arms transfers are transparent, accountable, and free from corruption.
We strive for a world with open governments served by transparent defence institutions that are accountable to ordinary people and whose primary purpose is the protection of all citizens.
The defence industry supporting these institutions should provide capability based on clear national defence strategies in a fair and open market, and be held to account through effective and independent oversight mechanisms rooted in functioning civil societies and efficient government procurement.
Our principal purpose in pursuit of this vision is to improve transparency and reduce the levels of corruption in defence and security ministries, in armed forces, and in defence companies.
We fight defence corruption across three areas:
hold security forces in advanced and emerging powers to account
prevent conflict and build stability by tackling corruption
remove corruption risks in the arms trade
We track the risk of defence corruption in governments and defence companies:
We work with governments, armed forces, defence companies, civil society organisations, academics and journalists.
If you're interested in working with us to improve transparency and accountability your defence organisation, please don't hesitate to contact us.


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Junior Katie Hogan
Final Stats
NORTH DARTMOUTH, MA-The University of Massachusetts Dartmouth's softball team lost the first game, 5-0, and won the second game, 8-7 in nine innings, against visiting Johnson & Wales, in a non-conference doubleheader Wednesday at the UMass Dartmouth Athletic Complex.
With the first game scoreless in the top of the second inning, the Wildcats scored three runs, all on walks issued by Corsairs junior pitcher Ashley Felaccio (Acushnet, MA/Fairhaven HS). UMD had a runner in scoring position in the third inning, but junior Elizabeth Mulready (Rockland, MA/Rockland HS) was thrown out trying to steal third base. A home run by Wildcats freshman Robyn Ziegler (Doylestown, PA/Central Bucks East HS) gave them a 4-0 lead in the top of the sixth inning. An RBI double by freshman Alyssa Babineau (Princeton, MA/Monty Tech HS) scored the final run of the game for the Wildcats, securing the 5-0 victory. Felaccio (1-3) took the loss, allowing five runs on six hits with eight strikeouts. Wildcats freshman pitcher Taylor Cwalinski (7-8; Jackson, NJ/Jackson Liberty HS) earned the win, pitching seven shutout inning, giving up four hits with ten strikeouts.
Johnson & Wales continued their offensive surge into the nightcap, scoring three runs in the top of the first inning. With two runners on base, Ziegler doubled to left field, scoring both runners. Ziegler came around to score on a double by Cwalinski, putting the Wildcats up 3-0. After a lead off double, Wildcats junior Lauren Lomonaco (Southampton, NJ/Seneca HS) scored on an RBI single by junior Korissa Bailey (Pelham, NH/Pelham HS), increasing their lead to 4-0. In the bottom of the third, the Corsairs finally dented the scoreboard. After an RBI ground out by junior Brittany Eldridge (Raynham, MA/Bridgwater-Raynham HS), junior Hannah Rounds (Lincoln, RI/Lincoln HS) drilled a base-clearing triple, pulling the Corsairs within a run, 4-3. The Wildcats added another run in the top of the fifth. In the bottom of the fifth, Mulready homered to left center field, and then freshman Emily Pontes (Tewksbury, MA/Essex Agricultural Tech HS) scored on a passed ball, tying the game at 5-5. The score remained tied through seven innings, forcing the teams to play extra innings. Both teams scored in the eighth inning and Johnson & Wales scored again in the top of the ninth on a fielder's choice groundout. Trailing 7-6 in the bottom of the ninth, and with runners on second and third, junior Katie Hogan (Tewksbury, MA/Shawsheen HS) hit the game-winning single to the gap in right centerfield, scoring Pontes and Mulready, giving the Corsairs an 8-7 win. Felaccio earned the win in relief, throwing five innings, giving up two runs on three hits with four strikeouts. Cwalinski took the loss in relief, allowing three runs on four hits with six strikeouts in five innings of work.
"We didn't show up for the first game," said UMass Dartmouth Head Coach Amy Sasin. "We came out flat offensively and defensively. The team found their intensity and came out aggressive in the second game. We were able to get some runs on the board, our defense played well and our pitching buckled down. We were looking at too many pitches in the first game but we jumped on the first pitch in the second game and got some nice line drives. It was a nice balance of offense and defense in the second game. Hopefully we can take our aggressiveness at the plate and clean defense into our next game against Salem State."
UMass Dartmouth is now 8-17, while Johnson & Wales is now 15-18. The Corsairs will return to action when they visit Salem State Thursday. The Wildcats will visit Simmons Friday.


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Q&A: Can Tom Brady, Cam Newton Help Under Armour's Spine Run Over Nike?
By Barry Janoff
July 5, 2012: In 2011, Under Armour broke an advertising campaign with the ominous tag line, "Do you hear footsteps? Or are they hearing yours?"
On July 9, Under Armour will launch a national campaign to support Spine RPM, the company's new line of training and running footwear, with which it intends to have category leaders including Nike and adidas hearing footsteps.
The multi-media effort will star such Under Armour spokespersons as NFL players Tom Brady (New England Patriots), Cam Newton (Carolina Panthers) and Julio Jones (Atlanta Falcons), Olympic snowboarder Lindsey Vonn and Kemba Walker of the NBA's Charlotte Bobcats.
The "This is How We Run" campaign will include TV, print, outdoor, Internet, POP and social media. Lead agency is Crispin Porter + Bogusky, Miami.
The product and marketing will seek to extend Under Armour's success in activewear into the performance shoe category, taking direct aim at sales shares dominated by the likes of Nike, adidas, Asics, New Balance and Skechers. The Baltimore-based company said it has grown from $17,000 in revenue in 1996 to $1.47 billion in 2011.
The initial Spine line, now available nationwide, will expand to shoes for basketball, football, baseball and other specific sports, according to the company.
"We shown over the past seven years the need for another footwear company," Under Armour founder and CEO Kevin Plank said during the Spine launch event in New York last month. Plank said the campaign would be the biggest in company history, which industry experts said would put it over $10 million. "Our mission statement is to make all athletes better," said Plank. "To have them do more than they did before they interacted with Under Armour."
Spine RPM has a proprietary spine cage sole design, and weighs in at 9.7 ounces. (MSRP is $99.99 for men's and women's shoes and $79.99 for youth.) By comparison, Nike is scheduled to hit retail this month with Flyknit, a 5.6-ounce running shoe; and adidas has adiZero running shoes that come in as light as 6.7 ounces.
Lightweight running shoes comprise about 25% of the overall running shoe market, up 20% from 2011, according to research and market advisory company SportsOneSource.
NYSportsJournalism spoke with Matt Mirchin, svp-sports marketing for Under Armour, at a recent launch event in New York about the company's aggressive drive to support Spine RPM.
NYSportsJournalism.com: How did the people at Under Armour decide on the best way to get the news about Spine out to the public?
Matt Mirchin: It is a fully integrated campaign. That is what we wanted to accomplish with this. The way our consumers consume media is a little different from the way it was two years ago and certainly from the way it was ten years ago. It was important for us to have a presence on TV, so we will have that 30-second television commercial. But there will also be a massive in-store component, where people will see in-store featuring Tom Brady, Lindsey Vonn, Kemba Walker and Julio Jones. Cam Newton will be a big part of our print and in-store. From the digital and social media perspective, we will have Web site takeovers, major presence on social media destinations and a 60-second spot running online.
NYSJ: The MLB All-Star Game is July 10, and the Olympics begin at the end of the month, so will these events be part of the TV media buy?
MM: Beginning July 9, we are going to to go in a heavy rotation for the three weeks leading up to the Olympics. In the past what we have done is spread out our campaigns over about a 12-week period. This time, we will spend about the same amount of money but in a shorter period, during the three-month period in July. Speaking of baseball, Bryce Harper of the Washington Nationals is an Under Armour endorser, and although he won't be part of this campaign, he has been wearing Spine shoes and is a strong advocate of the product. So when we expand in a baseball shoe line, he will be part of the marketing, possibly heading into Spring Training next season.
NYSJ: What is the message that Under Armour wants to convey to consumers?
MM: The great thing about the shoe is that it combines the best of being lightweight and functional. So if you want to go run, and you are going to run three, four, five or ten miles, you can wear these shoes to do that. And if you are going to do any training where you need a more stable shoe, Spine provides you comfort and the lightweight support but also gives you the stability that you need when you train. So we are getting out the message that this is a multi-purpose shoe. You'll see the athletes running and training.
NYSJ: What is the target audience for the shoe?
MM: The same demographic and target audience that buys Under Armour apparel. We want those people to now buy Under Armour footwear. We feel maniacally focused in talking to that target consumer. But what happens is that when we talk to those consumers, their influence spreads. So we certainly anticipate attracting consumers who would be new to Under Armour or who have been undecided about what type of running or training shoe to buy and are drawn to our message and to the quality of our product.
"We want people who buy Under Armour apparel to now buy Under Armour footwear. We feel maniacally focused in talking to that target consumer."
NYSJ: When you look at the category, the big guns are Nike and adidas, and there are other companies that have also carved out space. How does Under Armour plan to make its mark?
MM: Under Armour is a proven performance apparel company that is now getting into performance footwear. We have always had quality products that consumers rely on, so we are taking what we have established and carrying that into shoes. And we are supporting it with athletes who have proven to fans and consumers that they are dedicated to their sports and that they are willing to work hard and do what it takes to succeed.
NYSJ: Was the relatively recent expansion into football and baseball cleats a driving motivation to create performance shoes?
MM: We have had great success with our football and baseball cleats, where we have a significant market share. So we are using the technology and the power of our brand, coupled with the athletes who support us, to expand the brand. Consumers have come to us and come to the retailers that carry our products and asked us to create quality performance shoes. So in many ways we are responding to what consumers have already been asking for. We felt that gave us permission to move into this category.
NYSJ: How important is the social media aspect of your campaign?
MM: Very important. Our consumers are constantly using Facebook, Twitter, YouTube and other social media destinations. When we introduced Spine, we had our athletes use Twitter to help get the word out. As the campaign progresses, we will encourage interaction between our athletes and consumers, and also encourage consumers to follow us on social media for information.
NYSJ: Spine is certainly a unique name for a shoe brand. Was that always the working title for the line?
MM: When we were looking at possible concepts, our designers looked at elements in life such as bat wings and helicopter blades. But the human spine was really the element in nature that we felt would translate best into the type of shoe we wanted to create. We actually had a lot of debates over the name, and whether or not Spine was marketable and commercial. One of the strong points is that it is unique and different. Our discussions always came back to the idea that Spine accurately described the shoe, especially when you turn it over and look at the Spine Cage sole. It translates into something that people will remember. And when you go into market with a new product, and when you are seeking to take market share in a crowded category, you want all of those attributes in your favor.
NYSJ: Are you finding that Under Armour comes up in conversations among consumers more often than ever?
MM: I want to answer that as humbly as possible. One of our mottos is 'Stay Hungry. Be Humble.' When you talk to consumers, especially those 18 and older, some prefer our brand, some prefer other brands. But when you get into that seven-, eight-, nine-, ten-year-old consumer, they don't understand that we've only been around for a short period of time. They look at some our competition as being their parent's brands. When they look at the young athletes we have signed — Kemba Walker, Cam Newton, Julio Jones, Bryce Harper, [light-middleweight boxing champion] Saul Alverez — these young consumers look at Under Armour as their brand, as the brand of their generation. Those kids are growing with us, growing up wearing Under Armour apparel and now Under Armour shoes. We are their brand of choice. And that's where we believe we will win.


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EVERETT -- Mike Scheerens has been a model train enthusiast his entire life.
When he was about 10 years old, he watched his father, James, build tracks for HO-scale trains, one of the largest models available. When his father tried a smaller model called N-scale, Scheerens remembers the size was better suited for him.
"He tried fiddling with the N-scale and he couldn't do it because it was too small," said Scheerens, 47. "He threw it away and I took it out of the garbage later and fixed it. I got it working."
That fascination with model trains hasn't disappeared. Scheerens earlier this month published a book, "Apartment Model Trains: Two Examples," to share what he's learned about building model train layouts in small apartments. It's also a way to preserve the ideas he originally posted to a website.
Scheerens in December 1999 started building a model train layout that would loop throughout his roughly 500-square-foot, one bedroom Everett apartment. He attached the railway to wooden planks and positioned them under cabinets in his kitchen, around a stacked washer and dryer, and eventually around his bedroom.
He designed paper mountains and painted broken foam pieces with beads on it to look like seawall or rock. His basic construction tools were a 25-foot tape measure, a 45-degree triangle, pencils, a handsaw, Elmer's wood glue and a cordless screwdriver fitted with drill bits.
The whole arrangement had to come down in 2007 when Scheerens, who works at Boeing, moved into a two-bedroom apartment. He dreamed up a layout supported on the tops of bookshelves and plastic storage containers. The layout wasn't completed in 2011 when Scheerens moved again into his approximately 900-square-foot home. He started in September to build another layout where his black Lionel locomotive can now pull several cars along part of his living room wall. He's planning to expand the route throughout his home.
"It's kind of like an art," he said.
Scheerens said he's found most of what he needs to build his layouts at local hobby and hardware shops.
One store which supplies Scheerens and others who build model train layouts is Broadway Hobbies in Everett. The store hosts a train club so people can share their layout ideas and problem-solving tips. The club's discussions often include ways to build layout in small spaces, said Lou DeBenny, the store owner.
His store also sells magazines and books that can help create layouts, DeBenny added. Still, the most common problem he's heard when it comes to building happens when the designing and buildings is supposedly complete.
"The beauty is that the second they say they're done, they want to do something different," he said.


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The signings have been coming fast and furious since the calendar flipped to 2013, and Callaway has made the latest splash.
Late Wednesday night, Callaway announced the signing of Ryo Ishikawa. The 21-year-old sensation remains overwhelmingly popular in his native Japan and across Asia, and is a fast-rising star in the United States, where he will play a full PGA Tour schedule this year.
Ishikawa, who has won 10 times on the Japan Golf Tour, will play Callaway equipment – including the company's new RAZR Fit Xtreme Driver and the Odyssey putters he has used for nine of his victories, the company said. He also will wear Callaway-branded apparel, caps, gloves and footwear.
Ishikawa played several events on the PGA Tour in 2009, and caught the broader public's interest at the 2010 U.S. Open with his pink attire and low scores. He tied for 20th in the 2011 Masters – about a month after he announced that he would donate his 2011 tour earnings plus an additional 100,000 yen for every birdie he made to the Japan earthquake relief efforts.
In May of 2007, Ishikawa became the youngest golfer to win a Japan Golf Tour event, capturing the Munsingwear Open KSB Cup at 15 years and eight months of age. He turned professional in 2008 and, by the end of that season, became the youngest player to break into the top 100 of the Official World Golf Rankings.
He went on to dominate the 2009 season in Japan with four wins to become the leading money winner and be named the circuit's MVP. Also that year, he became the youngest golfer to ever reach the top 50 in the Official World Golf Rankings.
He officially became a member of the PGA Tour last March, and had two top-10s in 18 starts while amassing $727,051 in official earnings. He will make his debut as a Callaway staff professional at the Humana Challenge next week in La Quinta, Calif.


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If they're just random people, I'd see these as things we'd put in the random amazing pictures thread. But if they're forum-goers, then a separate thread feels totally appropriate. I know some of you folks do some pretty cool stuff. :)
http://static.zerochan.net/Shin.Megami.Tensei.III%3A.Nocturne.full.755006.jpgQuite possible one of the best Nocturne fan arts I've ever seen...
Mesh, I think you're usually ... er ... unique in your viewpoints.


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'Escalivada' (Roast aubergine and peppers)
'Escalivada' (Roast aubergine and peppers)
Ingredients for 4 people: 4 large aubergines 8 red peppers 2 cloves of finely chopped garlic 1 dl of olive oil Salt
Flame grill the aubergines and peppers or roast them in the oven. Peel and remove the stems of the aubergines. Peel and seed the peppers. Cut the vegetables into strips.
Sprinkle with finely chopped garlic and dress with oil and salt before serving.
More information
Recipe information
- Category: First course
- Cooking time: 30-60 minutes
- Price: Low
- Season: All year round


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Learn More About Peru Tours
A large, mountainous country on South America's Pacific coast, Peru offers visitors the opportunity to visit beautiful beaches, panoramic mountains and tropical jungle. Most international travelers to Peru make at least three key stops to Lima, Cuzco and Machu Picchu.
Peru tours typically begin and end in Lima, in a scenic valley between the ocean and the desert. Its main square, Plaza de Armas, is a UNESCO World Heritage Site, complete with paths, gardens and an elegant bronze fountain. The monastery and church of San Francisco in colonial Lima is famous for its catacombs, filled with bones from an estimated 70,000 human burials. Don't miss dining on delicious seafood while in Lima, such as ceviche, made of marinated fish.
Cuzco is nestled high in the Andes, a fascinating mix of Inca and colonial Spanish architecture. Almost every central street has the remains of ancient Inca walls, arches and doorways that serve as the foundation for the colonial and modern buildings. Consider souvenir shopping in Cuzco, as indigenous women, wearing pretty embroidered shawls and with their long dark hair in braids, sell woven blankets and handmade crafts and jewelry here. Pisac, a day trip from Cuzco in the "Sacred Valley of the Incas," is also an excellent place to purchase hand-crafted items.
For many on a Peru vacation, the Inca city of Machu Picchu is the highlight of their visit. Tour the archeological site with its myriad staircases, terraces, temples, palaces, towers and fountains, and marvel at the fascinating structures that were buried beneath jungle vegetation for centuries, only revealed to the western world in the early twentieth century. There are many hiking options here, but one of the least strenuous is a walk out to the pedestrian Inca Drawbridge along a cliff-hugging trail.


text: David Suchet (right) as detective Hercule Poirot in an adaptation of Agatha Christie's Murder on the Orient Express. Acorn Media hide caption toggle caption Acorn Media The Two-Way Book News: Was A Belgian Policeman The Real-Life Hercule Poirot? May 14, 2014 Also: Ralph Waldo Emerson's 1863 letter of recommendation for a job-seeking Walt Whitman; an interview with Peggy McIntosh, who wrote about "white privilege."


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British Centenarian Reclaims World's Oldest Paraglider Title from American Rival
Seeking to reclaim the world record for oldest paraglider, a 104-year-old British woman successfully jumped off a 2,400ft Cypriot cliff two weeks ago.
Earlier this year, Peggy McAlpine's title, which she earned five years ago, was taken from her by 101-year-old Utahn Mary Allen Hardison. McAlpine, refusing to allow her legacy to be unceremoniously usurped, arranged a repeat of her previous tandem paragliding adventure.
Speaking with the Sunday Express, she recalled falling in love with extreme sports at the tender age of 80, when, at the Essex Show, she was persuaded by her grandkids to bungee jump.
"I climbed to the top and looked down and saw the people like ants and my heart sank," she said. "But I'd gone so far, I couldn't stop. So I stepped on the platform and drew up my courage and leaped from the top."
Since then, her family can barely keep McAlpine grounded. "She said after the first world record that she'd do it again in five years time," her 75-year-old daughter Elizabeth Forsyth told the paper. "If that American lady hadn't beaten her record maybe we could have kept her on the ground but that was not to be."
And to those pretenders who would dare deign to rob McAlpine of her rightful record she offers a preemptive warning: "I would certainly like to do it again - especially if anyone takes my record."


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The South Carolina coach Dawn Staley has something new to entice women's basketball players this fall - her Naismith Memorial Hall of Fame trophy.
Staley returned Monday from a weekend of celebrations and ceremonies in Springfield, Mass., where she was inducted along with 11 other basketball greats. Staley was humbled by the honor and hopes she's set an example for young women looking to achieve big things in basketball.
Staley's got big plans heading into year six with the Gamecocks, telling the Hall of Fame audience that if her players stick with her at South Carolina they'll be national champions.
Staley has led the Gamecocks to consecutive NCAA tournament appearances and believes this honor will attract additional talented players to campus.


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Subscribe To Stunt Legend Vic Armstrong In Talks To Direct Nicolas Cage In Left Behind Updates
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The pieces are quickly falling into place for the upcoming "mainstream" adaptation of Christian rapture book series Left Behind. Earlier today we learned that Nicolas Cage has been selected to star as the lead in the movie (because sure, why not) and now the project has found its director. New reports have surfaced saying that Vic Armstrong, who has been working in the stunt department on Hollywood films since the 1960s, is now in talks to helm the adaptation.
THR says that the movie will be the first in a planned trilogy (naturally) and is being backed by Stoney Lake Entertainment, a new company founded by producer Paul Lalonde. While Armstrong is best known for his stunt work, he is also a long time second unit director, working on recent films such as The Amazing Spider-Man, Thor, The Green Hornet and Salt. His experience as feature director is limited, however. He has one title to his name, the 1993 Dolph Lundgren action movie Army of One, but he also helmed an episode of The Young Indiana Jones Chronicles. He was Harrison Ford's stunt double in both Raiders of the Lost Ark and Blade Runner, and also subbed for Christopher Reeve in the Superman movies.
The book series, written by Tim LaHaye and Jerry Jenkins, follows a group of people who have been left behind on earth after the biblical rapture and work to fight against the anti-Christ. The trade's new report says that the Christian beliefs will still be at the center of the movie, but that "the story will be more in the mold of a classic disaster movie." The books were previously adapted into a series with Kirk Cameron, which Lalonde also produced.
Production is currently aiming to star down in Baton Rouge, Louisiana next spring with a budget of about $15 million.


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I would like to have an estimate for the infinite series $$ \sum_{k=B}^\infty \frac{A^k}{k!}, $$ where $A$ is a large positive quantity and $B$ is just a little bit bigger than $A$, namely, $B = A + C \sqrt A$ for some fixed large positive constant $C$. (In my application, $A$ and thus $B$ are increasing functions of some other variable, but $C$ really will stay fixed.)
I expect that the answer should look something like $$ ?\ \sum_{k=B}^\infty \frac{A^k}{k!} \ll e^{-C^2/2} \ \ ? $$ uniformly in $A$, $B$, and $C$. (Possibly there should even be an asymptotic formula.) It would be great to be able to just quote such an estimate "off the shelf". I've only been able to find such estimates when $B$ is substantially larger than $A$, such as $B > 5A$.
Does anyone know of a bound of this type in the literature? Many thanks.


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Arizona marks two years since Giffords shooting
PHOENIX (AP) — Rep. Gabrielle Giffords was shot in the head two years ago Tuesday by a mentally ill gunman in a rampage that briefly renewed the debate about gun control in the U.S.
As Arizona and the nation pause to mark the anniversary of the shooting, the gun debate is an even more prominent part of the national political conversation following the mass killing at a Connecticut school.
Giffords and husband Mark Kelly visited Newtown, Conn., last week and called for greater gun control efforts, and they are discussing a new initiative in an interview airing Tuesday on ABC News. Details were not made public, but it's clear from Mark Kelly's comments after recent mass shootings that he and Giffords want to become a prominent voice for gun control efforts.
Opinion: Giffords and Kelly on fighting gun violence
The network offered a preview of the interview Monday. Kelly described a meeting with a father of a Connecticut victim in which he "just about lost it" after the parent showed him a picture of his child.
When asked what can be said after a mass shooting kills children in a classroom, Giffords offered up a one-word response: "Enough."
Tucson will mark the anniversary by ringing bells across the city at the moment that Jared Lee Loughner opened fire at a supermarket where Giffords was meeting with constituents.
But even on a day of remembrance, residents won't be able to escape the gun debate.
City Councilman Steve Kozachik has organized a gun turn-in program at a local police station Tuesday for people who have decided they no longer want weapons in their homes. He's hoping it helps bring added pressure as Congress and Arizona's Legislature come back into session to "keep the conversation" alive.
People giving up their guns will receive $50 gift cards from Safeway — the grocery store chain where Giffords was shot in the parking lot. The grocer contributed $1,000 of the nearly $10,000 Kozachik raised.
He said that as the shooting fades from the public's mind, issues like controlling the sale of large capacity magazines and keeping guns from the mentally ill need attention.
The event has angered local gun-rights advocates, including an outgoing state senator who plans to gather outside the station and offer people cash for guns instead.
"They're stealing it — stealing it," said Frank Antenori, a Republican who was defeated in a congressional primary bid last year. "Can you name me one firearm in working condition that's worth $50 or less?"
Antenori and Kozachik accused each other of acting out of political motivations. Antenori said the councilman was sullying both the Tucson and Connecticut school shooting victims by the timing of the buyback. Kozachik said the outgoing legislator was just trying to keep his name in the news and remain relevant.
Tucson residents held events over the weekend to mark the anniversary of the Saturday morning when Loughner opened fire with a pistol with a 30-round magazine that he emptied in just 40 seconds.
Rep. Ron Barber, then a Giffords aide, was shot in the thigh and cheek, and went on to replace his boss in Congress. He supports an outright ban on high-capacity magazines and a new federal assault weapons ban while acknowledging there are millions of both already in circulation that will remain there.
"There's no way that those are going to be taken or collected - there's no way that's possible," Barber said Monday. "But if we can move forward toward controlling the accessibility or access to those magazines or assault rifles we can go a long way to minimizing or possibly preventing future tragedies."
Barber plans to mark the moment of the shooting at a private gathering with staff and family members. He will also visit a hospital to thank doctors who treated him and other victims and attend an evening prayer service.
Barber also is pushing for better mental health care and early intervention into school bullying, which he said can lead to serious mental health issues.
"I think it's a very complicated issue and no one or two or even three steps are going to address it or get rid of mass shooting in the future," Barber said.
Arizona Gov. Jan Brewer, a Republican who vetoed GOP-sponsored bills twice in two years that would have allowed guns on school campuses and in public buildings, said Monday she's expecting more legislation in the wake of the Connecticut shooting, but she offered no suggestions.
"It will be something that I'm sure will be addressed in the Legislature and my ears are all open, and I'm certainly anxious if there is a solution that we get it done," she said.
Loughner pleaded guilty in the Tucson shooting in November and was sentenced to seven consecutive life sentences plus 140 years.
Copyright 2013 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.


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It used to be that when the oil market zigged, the Russian stock market zigged with it — after all, it represents the emerging economy that still has the highest leverage to energy prices. Lately, however, Russian stocks have been zagging with oil prices relatively firm.
So what gives?
Much of the blame goes to Russian mega-cap Gazprom OGZPY, +0.14%, which is at 52-week lows as I write this.
The Economist does have a point that, as a publicly traded arm of the Russian state, Gazprom management serves two masters, and in the end, it becomes increasingly difficult to do what is necessary in the interest of the average shareholder.
But the suggestion that Gazprom should be broken up is rather comical given that it is still an instrument of power in hands of the Kremlin, making it highly unlikely that it will be given up. All indications are that President Vladimir Putin will serve the remaining five years of his term, and given that presidential terms were increased to six years in 2008, he is likely to seek yet another term. This makes it a fair bet that Gazprom will not be broken up in the near future to unlock "value."
It is true that Gazprom shares are depressed. At last count, shares of the largest holder of hydrocarbon reserves of any publicly traded energy company on the planet traded at 2.39 times earnings and 0.37 times book value. For comparison, CNOOC CEO, -1.66% — which, too, is controlled by the Chinese government and enjoys preferential treatment for many domestic energy projects — trades at triple Gazprom's valuation of 8.3 times trailing earnings and 1.75 times book.
However, something else is troubling investors.
Russian small-caps — as measured by the Market Vectors Russia Small Cap ETF RSXJ, +0.09% — have been notably underperforming the large-cap Market Vectors Russia ETF RSX, -0.30%, even though Gazprom is part of the RSX and not part of RSXJ. Typically, when I see emerging-market small-caps underperform in any market, I immediately begin to think that some investors, many of them international, are playing defense. The same is visible in the Indian market to a greater degree. (Both Indian and Russian small-caps generally trade at deep discounts to their large-cap local brethren, even though of late that "depth" is extreme — and getting even more so.)
Not to oversimplify the differences between the Indian and Russian situation, as Russia is excessively geared toward commodities and India is the only domestic-demand-driven major emerging market, but weak small-caps in emerging markets are always a big red flag.
Russia (accounting for 10.8% of EU imports) is as big of a trading partner to the European Union as is the U.S. (11%), but as a percentage of Russia's $1.95 trillion GDP, its relative exposure to the EU is huge. And the EU, as recent headlines on employment and industrial production indicate, is seeing its economy deteriorate further. In the fourth quarter of 2012, the Russian economy grew 2.1%, the slowest such growth rate since the end of the deep recession experienced post-Lehman in 2008.
Total Russian exports decreased to $39.038 billion in January 2013 from $48.568 billion in December 2012. The January-December comparison is a little misleading, as there is clear seasonality to those numbers, but January 2013 exports were still below the $39.728 billion from January 2012 and the $39.246 billion from January 2011.
I think Europe is pulling Russia down via their close trade relationship, and there is little Russia can do to stop it.
The MSCI Russia Index trades at a forward P/E of 4.24 and a price-to-book of 0.81, which is less than half of the broader MSCI Emerging Markets Index with a forward P/E of 10.28 and a P/B of 1.65. The Russian stock market also yields 3.65%, compared to the much lower 2.7% for emerging markets on average when using the same MSCI indices.
Clearly, there is value in Russian equities ... but that's unlikely to be appreciated by investors as long as its economy is so closely tied with the euro-zone mess and so leveraged to commodity prices.
Ivan Martchev is a research consultant with institutional money manager Navellier & Associates. The opinions expressed are his own. Navellier & Associates holds positions in Gazprom and CNOOC for some its clients. This is neither a recommendation to buy nor sell the stocks mentioned in this article. Investors should consult their financial adviser before making any decision to buy or sell the aforementioned securities. Investing in non-U.S. securities including ADRs involves significant risks, such as fluctuation of exchange rates, that may have adverse effects on the value of the security. Securities of some foreign companies may be less liquid and prices more volatile. Information regarding securities of non-U.S. issuers may be limited.


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Insight is power. We look at your business from every perspective - strategic, cultural, operational, financial - to really understand the challenges and opportunities facing your business.learn more
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A large food service company already operating on razor thin margins has been experiencing a continual increase in the cost of their raw goods, which has caused additional financial pressure. With the pace of historical medical inflation running at 8%-10%, the organization was naturally concerned with their upcoming medical plan renewal and how they were going to shoulder the anticipated cost burden. Additionally, one of our key objectives was to streamline administration, which would allow their HR staff to focus on more impactful initiatives for their employees.
The JMBI team is intimately familiar with the incumbent provider's platform and cost structure and quickly understood this no longer fit our client's needs given their recent growth in employees. We leveraged this knowledge to get our client placed into a different market segment with preferred pricing considerations. Additionally, we fully understood the administrative "pain points" our client has been experiencing and what a new vendor would need to provide in order to mitigate this burden going forward.
The JMBI team performed a very open and transparent marketing exercise to the key players in the medical, dental, life and disability insurance industry. Our up-front due diligence and positioning of our client served us well in the market. We received several very competitive pricing proposals and developed a thorough fixed and variable cost analysis. Understanding that cost control wasn't the only objective, we developed an objective scoring analysis to measure both the qualitative and quantitative aspects of the various proposals.
With a lot of hard work and good old fashion negotiations, we were able to reduce our client's projected medical spend by over 10%. Again, while most employers are accustom to double digit cost increases year-over-year, we were able to deliver a significant savings to our client's bottom line. We were also able to address many of the administrative burdens through a change in carrier and certain processes on the ancillary lines of coverage.
Our clients, who are Manhattan residents, had an upcoming renewal on their condo insurance. The current insurance was with a high-quality carrier, which provided robust coverage.
JMBI Private Client understands and has experience with numerous major metropolitan areas. The marketplace, especially for higher value properties, has recently become more competitive resulting in opportunities for clients. JMBI Private Client's awareness of the changing marketplace led us to proactively contact the clients regarding their program.
As more carriers have entered the high-value personal lines area, JMBI Private Client has expanded our platform of carrier relationships to enhance the options for our clients. In our communication with the clients, we explained the changing competitive landscape and offered to market their program with carriers who could offer the same robust coverage terms.
The clients placed their program with a new carrier that offered comparable coverage terms. Previously, the clients had chosen to not insure certain jewelry and other valuable items due to cost concerns. Those items were added to the new policy, and the clients were still able to obtain a meaningful decrease in premiums
At JMBI, we live by the credo "Insight. Action. Results." We approach our clients from their business perspective – by understanding their goals and objectives. Each client develops their own "roadmap", or course of action that considers micro and macro factors – from global economic conditions to sector specific anomalies or client specific situations.
By partnering with our clients, JMBI ensures the risk management plan mirrors and supports their overall strategy. Our strong business perspective supports our clients' management of risk.
Contact Us
© 2013 JMB Insurance Agency, Inc. All rights reserved.


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Juve snap up Romulo from Verona
Juventus have signed midfielder Romulo Souza Orestes on loan from Hellas Verona with an option to buy.
Juve will pay one million euros to loan the Brazilian-born Italian, with the option to buy worth six million euros, the defending Serie A champions said on their website.
The option is automatically exercised if Romulo plays in at least 60 per cent of Juve's official matches this coming season.
Romulo è bianconero. L'esterno arriva con in prestito oneroso con diritto di riscatto http://t.co/girD69hYvh pic.twitter.com/cVo0hJOrGQ
- JuventusFC (@juventusfc) August 2, 2014
Juve become the ninth club on the resume of Romulo, who played for six different sides in Brazil before moving to Fiorentina from Cruzeiro in 2012.
He was loaned to Verona before making the move official last month but has now moved on again, given the opportunity to play in the Champions League with Juve.
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PB Found Glass Pickling Jar
Earn $25 back in rewards* for every $250 spent with your Pottery Barn Credit Card.Learn More
- Overview
In villages throughout Hungary, these antique glass jars were once used to preserve seasonal fruits and vegetables so they could be enjoyed year round.
- Variations in markings, size and hue make each jar unique.
- Imported.
- Dimensions & Care
- Small approximately: 6" diameter, 10" high
- Small Capacity: 3-5 liters
- Large approximately: 8" diameter, 15" high
- Large Capacity: 8-12 liters
- Hand wash.
- Shipping & Returns
UPS can deliver most in-stock items within 3-5 business days.
Next Day Delivery and Processing
We can arrange for next day delivery to most destinations within the contiguous 48 states, for an extra charge of $26.00 per address. If we receive your order by 6pm PT Monday through Friday, you'll receive your order the next business day; orders placed on Friday after 6pm PT through Sunday will arrive on Tuesday. Note: Next Day Delivery service is not available for some oversized items, White Glove Delivery, out of stock items, personalized items or for items shipped directly from the manufacturer.
View the complete Shipping and Delivery Information page.
You can return eligible item(s) within 30 days of receiving an order or 7 days for Quick Ship upholstery items for a refund of the merchandise value. An original receipt or gift receipt is required. Monogrammed items and Made to Order furniture or rugs are not eligible for returns. Review the full list of ineligible items and our refund policy below before starting the process.
Easy Ways to Return:
- Stores - You can return most non-furniture items to your local Pottery Barn store for free.
- Bring to UPS Location (under 70 lbs) – See our full Easy Returns Policy to start the process.
Ineligible Items
Items non-eligible for returns or exchanges:
- Monogrammed items
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- Gift cards
- Made to Order items, including custom rugs and furniture
- Final sale items (with prices ending in $.X7 or $.X9)
- Items damaged through normal wear and tear
Questions? See our full Easy Returns Policy.


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A former UCLA School of Medicine researcher has been sentenced to four months in federal prison after reading the confidential medical files of celebrities such as Drew Barrymore, Arnold Schwarzenegger and Tom Hanks.
Huping Zhou also was fined $2,000 at his sentencing Tuesday. He pleaded guilty in January to four misdemeanor counts of privacy violations.
Prosecutors claimed that before and after his 2003 firing, Zhou accessed private records of celebrities and co-workers more than 300 times.
Court filings said the breaches also involved the records of Sharon Osbourne, Barbara Walters, Elizabeth Banks, Leonardo DiCaprio and Anne Rice.
Authorities say Zhou didn't try to sell the information. His attorney Edward Robinson says the Chinese immigrant didn't know it was a federal crime.
Related Content from AccessHollywood.com:
VIEW THE PHOTOS: Tom Hanks' $100M Films
VIEW THE PHOTOS: Scenes From 'Charlie Wilson's War'
PLAY IT NOW: 2010 LA GLAAD Media Awards Backstage: Drew Barrymore - 'I Celebrate What [Ricky Martin] Is Doing'
PLAY IT NOW: Backstage At The 2010 SAG Awards: Drew Barrymore Keeping Family's Name Alive
MORE ACCESS ON THESE TOPICS: Drew Barrymore - Barbara Walters - Elizabeth Banks - Sharon Osbourne - Leonardo DiCaprio


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In a startling turn of events, Alex Rodriguez spoke with the Steinbrenner family and New York Yankees officials Wednesday and told them he wants to stay in pinstripes.WTF?
The two sides are currently working toward a 10-year, $275 million contract, a source with knowledge of the talks told FOXSports.com's Ken Rosenthal. The deal also would include incentives that could push the total value higher. ...
Recently, however, the Yankees have been talking to [Mike] Lowell not just about replacing Rodriguez at third base, but also about playing first, major-league sources tell Rosenthal.
In case you are wondering, Lowell has played more than 10,000 innings in 1,262 games and has spent not even one minute at first base.
I have no idea what this is about. Isn't a lot of Lowell's value tied up in his glove at third? Can he learn a new position at age 34? And are the Chokers serious about playing him $14 per for three or four years to do so? Does Lowell even want to play first?
Bizarre. One thing is for sure: the "Hank and Hal" era is off to an entertaining start.
Other reports have the Yankees and Angels interested in Lowell, but neither team really wants to offer Lowell a four-year deal (this early in negotiations).


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The 2020 Tournament dates will be published soon.
18071 Highway 96 Miller, MO 65707 USA
417-466-5653 or 417-737-3548
The sights and sounds of America's Pastime can still be heard at The Sandlot, formerly the Mickey Owen Baseball School. Mickey's dream of teaching kids to play the game the right way continues under the direction of Brad Longley and Tom Cox.
Combining old school work ethic with the newest innovations and techniques, Sandlot Baseball offers players an opportunity to take their game to the next level. Whether you're a newcomer to the sport or an experienced performer, The Sandlot can help you reach your full potential.
Come enjoy youth baseball instruction at its finest, in our history-laden complex in the heart of the Ozarks and at some of the finest indoor facilities in the area.
The Sandlot Baseball Complex has six beautiful, age-appropriate fields where kids from 8-18 can play baseball from April to August. We have 13 Tournaments scheduled in 2019, and have numerous Day and Overnight Camps planned throughout the winter, spring and summer.
Thank you for the overwhelming support of coaches, players, parents and fans. Because of you, The Sandlot lives on.
We hope you'll join us, and look forward to hearing those immortal words, "Play Ball!"
The 2020 Tournament dates will be published soon.


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Jacuzzi Hot Tubs Ontario Canada
Jacuzzi provides the world's most recognized brand of hot tubs and spas.
Consult our free brochure or visit a local Jacuzzi dealer to learn more about how you can treat yourself to the relaxing hydrotherapy benefits or spoil your friends and family to a hot tub party in your backyard. Regardless of how you choose to indulge in the luxury of a hot tub, visit hot tub stores in Ontario near you to find the whirlpool best suiting your needs, preferences, and budget. Ontario Jacuzzi dealers will provide you with all the information you need to know concerning indoor and outdoor selections, the hottest sales, and customer reviews, so you can choose the best tub for your lifestyle. There's a hot tub out there looking for a home in your backyard, so let the spa retailers in Ontario help you find it.
Hot tubs in Ontario present you with a seemingly never ending list of possibilities for entertainment and relaxation. Regardless of whether you are one to relax in your spa for hydrotherapy benefits or if you tend to open the tub up during your backyard cookouts, keeping your spa performing at its highest level is important. In order to maintain your spa's health and prolong its lifespan, come into your local Jacuzzi retailer to acquire all the necessary maintenance supplies. Our hot tub dealers will provide you all the chemicals, parts, and filters to ensure your tub functions at its finest. Visit Jacuzzi stores as they offer additional accessories, such as lifts, covers, steps, and more to further personalize and protect your very own hot tub spa in Ontario.
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By Ed Harris
Two officials from the Hospital of Central Connecticut attended a recent Town Council meeting to assure councilors and the public that Bradley Memorial Hospital was not closing. The officials were guests of Councilor Cheryl Lounsbury, who said she had heard rumors going around town that the hospital would be closing down.
"This is an anchor, a strategic anchor," said Hospital of Central Connecticut Executive Vice President and Chief Medical Officer Steven D. Hanks, MD, MMM. "Bradley is not closing. The future for the Bradley campus is bright."
Hanks explained that the hospitals in the Hartford Healthcare partnership were simply consolidating services.
In 1995, Bradley merged with the Hospital of New Britain to form the Hospital of Central Connecticut. Hanks said this allowed the hospitals to save $10 million a year. In 2006, another $6-8 million was saved in operating costs by combining the hospitals to a single license.
Two years ago the Hospital of Central Connecticut joined Hartford Healthcare, which also includes Midstate, Hartford and Windham Hospitals.
During his presentation Hanks referred to a report that is currently being formulated by Philadelphia based Health Strategies and Solutions. Though the report will not be finalized until September, one of the proposals would replace the operating room at Bradley with an outpatient orthopedic surgery center.
Hanks assured the council that the emergency room at Bradley was not going to close. Hanks said the emergency room use was increasing.
"The community need is going to drive the investments at Bradley," Hanks said.
Hanks presentation seemed to calm any fears that the councilors may have had.
"You should feel very secure that the hospital is not going to close," Councilor Al Natelli said. "In the long term it is going to morph into something the community needs."
Bradley to stay open; Emergency room use is increasing
By Ed Harris


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Ipswich and Beverly Police are on the lookout for a suspect in two bank robberies Monday.
Ipswich and Beverly Police are on the lookout for a suspect in two bank robberies Monday.
On Monday at 1:34 p.m., the Ipswich Police Department received a report of a robbery at the Sovereign Bank at 116 Central St. The suspect entered the bank and passed a note demanding money, according to police. The suspect spoke to the teller and said "hurry up, 100's and 50's," and repeatedly told the teller to "hurry up, hurry up." The suspect fled on foot with undetermined amount of money.
The suspect is described as white male, appeared to be in his early 20s, approximately 5 feet 6 inches tall, with a tattoo on his left hand. The suspect was wearing a long-sleeved dark-colored shirt with a gray T-shirt over it with the words AERO printed in white over the front chest, and a dark colored ball cap with a large skull design on the front.
The investigation continues in cooperation with the Beverly Police detectives due to the fact a similar incident took place at a bank in Beverly 20 minutes before this incident. The suspect appears to be similar in description and motive.
If anyone can identify the suspect or provide additional information, please contact the Ipswich Police detectives at 978-356-4343.


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White House defends diversity
White House press secretary Jay Carney parried a question on diversity Tuesday after President Obama picked three white men for top posts.
There are still many more Cabinet jobs to fill, but his nomination of Sen. John Kerry for state, former Sen. Chuck Hagel for defense and John Brennan for CIA spurred one question during the press briefing about the president's commitment to diversity.
"The president values diversity, believes it's important, because it enhances the quality of the pool of potential nominees for positions across the administration," Carney replied. "He believes that by looking broadly for candidates for offices that [it] ups the chances he'll find the very best person for the job."
Carney said the diversity of the administration on all levels "reflects a process that was deisgned to allow him to find the very best candidates."
"But the goal in the end is to find the very best individuals for these specific positions, and he feels he has done that," he said. "That will be what guides him as he makes further decisions."
One member of the press corps couldn't resist making a quip referencing former opponent Mitt Romney's famous quote about women during the campaign.
"Check your binder for that," joked Bloomberg's Hans Nichols when the diversity question was asked.


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Tuition Statements (Form 1098-T) will be mailed by Jan. 31st.
- You may also access your statement on-line a week or 2 earlier by following the instructions below:
New students who have never created an account with Vangent need to follow steps 1-5:
Step 1: Create an account with Vangent TRA Services at https://tra.vangent.com
Step 2: You will receive an email from TRA Customer Service
Step 3: Click on the link in the email to go to the login and account set-up screens.
Step 4: Log into Vangent TRA Services at https://tra.vangent.com
Step 5: Select View/Print 1098-T to access your current statement.
Students who have an account from last year simply need to follow steps 1-2:
Step 1: Log into Vangent TRA Services at https://tra.vangent.com
Step 2: Select View/Print 1098-T to access your current statement.
- On-line statements are available 24-7 dating back to 2005.
- Further assistance is available at https://tra.vangent.com
You will not receive a 1098-T if any of the following apply:
- Students whose fees were completely covered by financial aid.
- Students who took non-credit classes only.
- Non-Resident aliens (Resident code = 600-603, 700-702).
- Students with no Social Security Number or Taxpayer ID Number on file.
Assistance is available from Saddleback College's District Headquarters:
- Phone: 949-348-6098
- email: email@example.com
- General info: http://www.socccd.edu/info/1098t.asp


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How I Learned to Stop Whining and Love the Game/
by Katherine Bruens
I work professionally as a Producer and Production Manager in the advertising industry and independent film world here in San Francisco. I am also one half of a partnership that has produced three micro budget features here. Rather than become frustrated that the market in San Francisco has demanded that I spread my attention between these three worlds, I've embraced this hybrid. This market gives me a way not only to maintain my freedom to usher forward new personally driven works, but it also allows me to produce media through a broad spectrum of strategies, sometimes with vastly different amounts of money. What's more, in the end these projects are all trying to achieve a similar result.
CXL, my partner Sean Gillane and my current feature, is just starting its public life with a local premiere at the San Francisco Film Society's Cinema by the Bay, while our first film Corner Store is delivering to its final distribution outlet with Hulu. Thus I feel I am in an interesting place to look both back and forward at our experiences producing and developing audiences for these local films in relation to the spectrum of possible strategies and budget categories I have been a part of professionally here in San Francisco.
The following is a collection of some of my thoughts and experiences dealing with how to produce a film by recognizing that yes, all projects need resources, but that while of course they can be purchased for money, they can also be developed through relationships and time. What's more, when money is lacking, and it always is, look to the potential value of the resources around you and the potential value you have to offer in the project itself.
From top to bottom and beginning to end, making a film takes a lot of resources, this we know. This is what makes the production process both so challenging and so potentially beautiful. It's important to remember that each project has a unique set of needs and resources, perhaps its best to begin thusly:
1 Assess your resources and strategize the best way to satisfy those needs
2 Choose a production style and timeline that accommodates the valuable resources around you (your own time and energy included)
3 Offer what you have in exchange, which in many cases is a real stake in the project you are working on;
4 Deal with the remaining hard costs applying all the same
Perhaps these are obvious when read, but I want to push the particular point of doing this as early as possible, especially when money is the resource most lacking.
A lot of the initial feedback for CXL has been anchored in praise over the uniqueness of the ideas and the success achieving these ideas in the final product. This praise is gratifying in part because the project was designed to do just that.
When we started CXL, the director Sean Gillane and I spent time examining the resources (money, time, relationships) that we had available to us and created a script and production strategy that utilized those resources, rather than chasing resources that we had no access to. By beginning this way we were able to ensure that this film would 1) be completed and 2) be completed to our standards and expectations.
Perhaps a micro-budget example will help to illustrate the point:
I want to make a narrative feature and know I don't have the money to pay for a casting director and subsequently to pay my talent. Do I a) give up and cast myself knowing I have no training, or b) go to a local theater performance and scout for talent that would be interested in working with me for the experience? By choosing the latter, I have used my time and relationships to get my film the talent it deserves and have substituted time and relationships for money. Moreover, in order to cast this highly capable actor as the lead in my film, I need to ensure that he can fit our production schedule into his life without being financially affected. My calendar will need to shift to make sure that the value of this relationship afforded me can make it to the screen.
The process repeats itself with locations, crew and post-production personnel.
At this point another distinction must be made that applies to micro-budget, but perhaps just as much to Low-Budget as well. There is a world of difference between calling up, say, a director of photography and asking if they can come work for 30 plus days for you on your feature for free, versus grabbing a coffee with someone who is a shooter whose work you love and saying "I have this project and I'd love to show you the script and see what you think."
You have a project that is empty of personnel and hungry for the checks and balances a creative team should give it. Why not approach someone with a blank canvass of possibility? How would they like to be involved? What do they think your project could value from?
If you have an LB or ULB project keep in mind any added value you can give your team by inviting them to be part of a collaboration. This will supplement the drop in pay they will ultimately need to agree to and will help you assemble your human resources while improving your film in the end. I can tell you from experience that nothing will piss off your crew more than treating them like hired help when they came on despite the rate for the love of the game.
Even in advertising I can approach crew for a job and ask if they can help make my budget work in this or that way if, say for example its a new client for them and they feel as though helping out will help them get more work in the future.
When indie filmmakers get wind of what commercial budgets are like, it can be a shocking and sometimes infuriating experience. But when I have the opportunity to look back on this spectrum of production, it is no surprise that commercial budgets could have me spending 500K on a couple of days of shooting. This content has to be delivered in breakneck speeds. With weeks or even days to assemble what without money could/should take months, the cash keeps things moving. Oh yeah, and the client gets the final word.
So what of the hard costs in indie? When I began Corner Store, all I had was my time and access to a subject I was sure would make a wonderfully interesting documentary. After my own ducks were in a row I reached out to two parties, a camera owner to help me shoot some test footage, and a friend interested in film who had a history of event coordination. Both became interested in their own right and organically became part of the team. With that I could begin to create the infrastructure to help us raise the money for the hard costs of equipment and our travel costs to Palestine.
The same principles apply to your supporters as when assembling your production team. I have the great pleasure of being able to say that in our two largest live fundraising events for Corner Store we were able to raise first $6,000 in one day and subsequently $12,000 in one day to supplement the thousands we continued to raise along the way on and offline. I could write a lot on how this was accomplished, but one thing I can say here is it was not done by expecting that people would care about my project and sitting back to let the funding come to me. The burden was on me to create relationships with leaders in communities I felt would see the most value in what I was doing and, just as with my crew, showing them how their help would be crucial to what would become our shared goal.
By allowing them access to the creation of the film I was inviting them to share in the subsequent feelings of success. Whatsmore, by treating each and every person like a member of our team by the time the film was released we had supporters there to fill every theater and feel as though they were part of the collective effort to push the film out into the world.
All of this, as previously stated, is the beauty and the burden of film. Even as I'm sure my future experiences will more clearly mold these ideas and I can only hope will usher in many more, at this particular vantage point I wish to highlight two main take aways;
1) When you want to build something, anything, a strategy should take precedence above all else. This seems inordinately obvious when applied to most industries, but should be considered just as important in the creation of the most collaborative art form available.
2) Money is just one kind of resource, and I've never seen any production be successful through money alone.
Trailer: http://vimeo.com/51766635
BIO: Katherine Bruens is a local Producer and Production Manager in both Advertising and Independent Film in San Francisco. Her directorial debut Corner Store, a documentary feature, gained a strong local following and enjoyed glowing reviews from local news outlets as well as the New York Times. With Corner Store in distribution internationally and a digital deal with HULU in the works, she is focusing her energy on partner Sean Gillane and her current feature, CXL while beginning to develop their next project with their ever growing San Francisco team.


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April 21st, 2017
We traveled from Taipei to Kaohsiung on the Taiwanese bullet train.This image viewed 1 times, as of last night.


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VOTE NO and get more powers. That was the offer on the table from Prime Minister David Cameron yesterday, as he pledged to reopen the devolution settlement for Scotland if voters rejected independence in the forthcoming referendum.
In a carefully choreographed pitch he hopes will persuade soft Nationalist voters to back him in opposing independence, the Prime Minister made his strongest declaration yet that he was prepared to examine a looser arrangement between Scotland and the rest of the UK, saying he wanted to look at "what further powers could be devolved".
However, he said those powers could be considered only if and when independence was rejected by voters, saying it was for people in Scotland to decide on that first, before any fresh deal within the UK was examined.
The offer prompted a fresh row with the SNP government in Edinburgh, as Alex Salmond demanded to "see the beef" of Mr Cameron's claims, after the Prime Minister repeatedly failed to provide specific examples of which powers he thought could be devolved.
The First Minister accused Mr Cameron of failing to spell out what his plans would look like or what they would involve, saying he was now duty bound to make it clear in the months ahead.
But the Prime Minister later told Mr Salmond he would not be doing so, and urged him, in face-to-face talks, to "get on" with holding a referendum – which the SNP wants to put off until 2014. He said that, "for all our sanity", the debate over whether Scotland should become independent had to be settled speedily.
The frosty tone continued later as, after an hour of talks with the First Minister, Mr Cameron expressed his "frustration" at the slow pace of progress on agreeing the ground rules for a referendum.
And, in an acknowledgement of his lack of political backing in Scotland, he said he hoped to "hear from" Labour foes including Gordon Brown, John Reid and Alistair Darling, saying he would need their support in any campaign against independence.
His offer of more powers came as a surprise, given previous Tory statements on devolution. It follows comments by the party's Scottish leader Ruth Davidson that she believed a "line in the sand" should be drawn on Holyrood's powers, once new powers enshrined in the new Scotland Bill were in place.
However, there have been warnings that if the pro-Union camp does not show flexibility on the devolution settlement, it could push voters, particularly Labour supporters, into the hands of the pro-independence camp.
Mr Cameron acknowledged the Conservatives weren't "currently Scotland's most influential political movement" and that, therefore, "more than a little humility is called for" when speaking in Scotland.
Despite Tory opposition to the creation of the Scottish Parliament, he said he believed in devolution, as it gave people "a choice and a real say in their own affairs".
Turning to the future, he said: "That doesn't have to be the end of the road. When the referendum on independence is over, I am open to looking at how the devolved settlement can be improved further. And, yes, that means considering what further powers could be devolved."
But he added: "That must be a question for after the referendum, when Scotland has made its choice about the fundamental question of independence; when Scotland has settled this question once and for all – and ended the uncertainty that could damage and hold back Scotland's prospects and potential."
Pressed later to name a single additional power he thought should be devolved, Mr Cameron declined to do so. However, in comments that would appear to rule out a system of "fiscal autonomy" running in Scotland with Tory blessing, he said it was "because we have the fiscal union" within the UK that the country was able to work.
He also argued the UK would always need to demonstrate "solidarity" across borders.
He said: "When there are floods in Cornwall, or a factory closure in east Kent, or an economic problem in the west coast of Scotland, we don't sit around asking, 'Shall we help', 'Is this our responsibility', 'Is this part of our package', as we do in the EU issues. We think this is our country, this is our United Kingdom, we have solidarity, we help each other."
Under fiscal autonomy, Scotland would take complete control over all taxation, paying the UK government for services it decided to share with the rest of the country.
Mr Salmond insisted last night that Mr Cameron's new offer needed meat on the bones.
He said: "What I said to the Prime Minister in the discussion is, if that is the case, we now need to know what it is. We need to know the detail – where's the beef?"
He insisted bodies in civic Scotland considering where they stood should know whether the pro-Union parties might be set to come out in favour of a more-powers option.
"The anti-independence parties now have absolutely incumbent, particularly the government of course to spell that out, to give the detail," he said.
The First Minister accused Mr Cameron of echoing a Tory claim made in the 1979 devolution referendum campaign by the former prime minister Alec Douglas-Home who said a Conservative administration would propose a better solution. "They can't expect to do another shimmy as was done to Scotland back in 1979," Mr Salmond said. "Fool me once, shame on you. Fool me twice, shame on me."
He added: "This is a matter of months, not years, for us to be given the specifics of what is now – to quote the Prime Minister exactly – 'on the table'."
The talks, at St Andrew's House in Edinburgh, showed little signs of agreement on how the referendum should be held. But Mr Salmond said the only "substantive point" of disagreement was whether one or two questions would be asked, claiming two other areas of dispute – whether to allow 16- and 17-year-olds to vote and the issue of the 2014 date – were close to agreement.
On a second question, he said: "If there's a strong demand from civic Scotland, from the unions from the voluntary sector, the churches, civic society, looking for something different, for some other option to be tested, politicians at the very least should listen. It's the only serious issue in terms of process that needs to be settled."
Mr Cameron did accept there was an obligation on the part of the pro-Union parties to set out their vision of enhanced devolution, according to Mr Salmond.
But Scottish Secretary Michael Moore, who was at the talks, said: "We still have differences of view over the issue of timing, the franchise and whether there are one or two questions."
He also insisted Scots were still not clear what independence would mean. "We keep seeing a moving feast from the SNP on what that might look like," he said. "We've seen a shift over the currency that the country might adopt; we've had very little clarity about how we would do very major things like regulating our banks and financial institutions.
Labour's Patricia Ferguson said: "It is bizarre Alex Salmond is now asking David Cameron to define a policy he claims not to support but everyone knows he is secretly relying on as a fall back. This just reinforces the case for a simple, straightforward question sooner rather than later."


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Red-hot Rockies moving on up Power Rankings
The World Series trophy will not be handed out until next fall, but it's hard to blame fans for wondering what a championship in their hometown would feel like.
The Royals lead the American League Central, the Pirates are half-game out of first place in the National League Central and Rockies are the hottest team in baseball.
The World Series trophy will not be handed out until next fall, but it's hard to blame fans for wondering what a championship in their hometown would feel like.
The Royals lead the American League Central, the Pirates are half-game out of first place in the National League Central and Rockies are the hottest team in baseball.
Could this be their year?
What's more, the Braves and Red Sox are back on top in their divisions, and there is a dogfight developing in the AL West between the Rangers and A's. Let's not forget about the Angels or the Mariners.
And just how long will be it until the Blue Jays and Rays really flex their muscles and make the AL East more interesting than it already is? Raise your hand if you think there is a surprise team out there that's going to separate itself from the competition over the next month or two.
Once again, it's time to hear your voice and your vote.
MLB.com has set up a panel of experts to vote on the top 15 teams each week. The group includes MLB.com vice president and executive editor Carlton Thompson, VP and executive producer Jim Jenks, columnists Mike Bauman, Hal Bodley, Anthony Castrovince, Richard Justice, Matthew Leach, Terence Moore and Tracy Ringolsby, reporters Barry M. Bloom, Marty Noble, Jesse Sanchez and Lyle Spencer and MLB Network analyst Mitch Williams.
Agree? Disagree? The power to rank the teams is yours.
1. Braves
Atlanta is tied with the Rockies for the best record in the big leagues despite losing four of its past five games, including three of four to the Pirates. Last week, Justin Upton became the first player in Braves history to hit eight home runs through the team's first 13 games, and he remains a home run threat every time he steps into the batter's box. That said, Upton is hitting .216 over his last 10 games.
Last week: 1
2. Rangers
Texas is coming off a three-game sweep of the Mariners and has regained the top spot in the standings in the AL West. Yu Darvish is pitching like a staff ace, but the Rangers will miss starter Matt Harrison (back surgery) until the All-Star break and an already depleted starting rotation will be challenged. Again.
Last week: 5
3. Giants
San Francisco has won three in a row, Barry Zito is dominating once again and Pablo Sandoval is a big reason why the reigning World Series champs are just 1 1/2 games behind the hot-hitting Rockies in the division. Sandoval, who leads the team with 17 RBIs, is 10-for-19 with 13 RBIs with runners in scoring position.
Last week: 2
4. Rockies
Colorado, which has won three consecutive series, came this close to a nine-game winning streak and is arguably the hottest team in baseball. The offense has received its fair share of attention, but Rockies starters have 11 quality starts in the first 18 games of the season.
Last week: 9
5. Red Sox
The offense is coming together and the starting pitching has been strong. How strong? Starters had allowed three runs or fewer before Sunday, when Ryan Dempster allowed four runs in the first game of the doubleheader.
Last week: 8
6. A's
Nobody loves playing against AL West opponents as much as the A's do. Oakland is 11-2 against the AL West, but just 1-5 against every other team. The club could have used Yoenis Cespedes (hand injury) over the weekend, getting swept in three games by the Rays.
Last week: 4
7. Reds
Joey Votto is batting .328 with a .516 slugging percentage and a .522 on-base percentage. And yes, he's hitting home runs, too. The slugger went deep for the second time in two games Sunday, racking up seven hits in 11 at-bats against the Marlins during that span.
Last week: 12
8. Nationals
The Nats have lost six of 10 games and have struggled on defense, but Bryce Harper continues to shine in his sophomore season. The young outfielder leads the team in almost every offensive category and is almost single handedly keeping the Nationals within striking distance of the division-leading Braves.
Last week: 3
9. Yankees
Andy Pettitte is feeling strong and Mariano Rivera is 5-for-5 in save opportunities, but Derek Jeter's absence cannot be overstated. The veteran shortstop is not expected back until after the All-Star break because of a new fracture in his surgically repaired left ankle.
Last week: 13
10. Cardinals
Carlos Beltran has found his power, and it could not have come at a better time. The veteran outfielder homered in three consecutive games, raising his batting average from .227 to a season-high .268.
Last week: 11
11. Royals
First-place Kansas City has pitched its way to the top of the standings in the AL Central. Starters have gone at least six innings over the past seven games and into the seventh inning in six of the last eight. Overall, starters have pitched at least six innings 14 times in 17 games this season.
Last week: 15
12. D-backs
Arizona won eight of its first 12 but dropped the first two series on the current three-city road trip. The D-backs' bullpen has been lights out, holding opponents to five runs over 32 innings over the past 12 games.
Last week: 6
13. Orioles
The Chris Davis power show enters its fourth week and shows no signs of slowing down. The first baseman had three hits Sunday and has 10 hits in his past five games. He leads the team with seven home runs, 21 RBIs and a .403 batting average.
Last week: Not ranked
14. Tigers
You can blame the club's recent offensive woes for the four-game losing streak. Detroit went 1-for-8 with runners in scoring position Sunday against the Angels -- and 5-for-52 for the week.
Last week: 7
15. Brewers
Milwaukee has won seven in a row to move above .500 mark for the first time since beating the Rockies on Opening Day. The Brewers could still use consistent contributions from Ryan Braun. The All-Star has four home runs and 10 RBIs in his last nine games, but he was 5-for-32 and struck out at least three times in four games during that span.
Last week: NR