text:
Real games? ... Check.
Real football? ... Check.
NFL.com Power Rankings? ... Check.
See how your team stacks up -- for now -- in these Week 1 rankings, which are always the trickiest to do. Consider that we're rolling together everything that's occurred since mid-May and laying it out on the great platter of opinions below. So much happened in the past three-plus months, but what does it all mean? How much can we factor in the fact that Josh McCown had a sparkling completion percentage in August?
The jumbled mess of data we have is just that, and it's up to us to decipher what among it is diddly-poo (thank you, Jim Mora) and what is important, times two (Eli Manning's torrid, er, horrid start). Take a gander below ... then provide us with your take on our take -- @HarrisonNFL is the dropbox. Should be fun.
Now, let's get to it!
(Note: Arrows reflect change in standings from the most recent Power Rankings.)
PREVIOUS RANKINGS: Post-draft | Post-free agency
Still the best team in football. It was true in early February, it was true after the draft and it's true now. One interesting note pertains to the wideouts: As disparaged as that group is, consider that Percy Harvin is healthy entering the season, Doug Baldwin is very reliable and Jermaine Kearse's physical style of play shone brightly in wins over two great teams in 2013, the Panthers and Broncos.
Denver remains the top challenger coming out of the AFC, also known as the American Football Conference. (Ever wonder how many people don't know that?) As high as the ceiling is for these Broncos, even the most ardent Elway disciple -- the guy who also has an Olandis Gary fathead in his basement -- has to admit the anointing of Montee Ball as the next Terrell Davis (or even the next Edgerrin James) is a bit premature. Peyton Manning is good for running backs, but he can't run through people for them.
New Orleans has every opportunity to be scary in 2014, especially if rookie receiver Brandin Cooks works out the way many of our NFL.com analysts think he will. That said, I'm looking at the safety combo here -- Kenny Vaccaro and Jairus Byrd -- and wondering if there's any limit as to how effective coordinator Rob Ryan's defense can be. I saw an interview with Ryan lookalike Sammy Hagar, and all I could think about was a Saints jacket hanging on for dear life.
Not sold on the Packers here, but I'm not sold on anyone else in this spot at the moment, either. Ultimately, this judgment is more about upside. Looking at the rest of the NFC North ... The Lions still haven't figured it out, the Vikings are starting Matt Cassel, and the Bears can't punt or cover a punt or do anything consistently well on special teams. The concern for Green Bay is the state of both the offensive and defensive lines -- and whether or not this club can control the line of scrimmage.
Little drop for the
Patriots, but I remain bullish on
this team's Super potential. Still, as I am typing this sentence (on a Southwest flight with no peanuts, too many kids and a bunch of Fishbone fans), at least one stud is not, shall we say,
certain for
Week 1: traded-away lineman
Logan Mankins, who will no doubt be hoping
the No. 22 he's blocking for in the
Buccaneers' running attack holds on to the rock a tinge more tightly than
the deuce-deuce he blocked for in New England.
Good to hear Rob Gronkowski saying he's "ready to go" for Sunday, though.
After a shaky preseason opener, Philly has looked strong on offense. But how will the defense fare? Although that unit was bagged on hard by pundits in 2013, it did rank 17th in points allowed -- not bad. Maybe the Eagles can get some players on that side of the ball when they swing backup quarterback Mark Sanchez to the Rams in some kind of Ricky Williams-type deal. Or, you know, a fifth-round pick would be nice.
Drop time for the 49ers, who haven't experienced many positive vibes of late. The Jim Harbaugh situation was a small distraction. Most of the preseason was a disaster. Maybe my wording is a bit strong, but watching San Francisco play in the first three weeks of the preseason, my feeling about the team fell somewhere between "dwindling confidence" and "oh-my-gosh-are-the-Niners-going-7-9?". Let's try not to panic. Try.
Enough of the
Trent Richardson talk. He'll be fine. ...
... Yeah, I was wondering how I was going to follow that sentence up, too. Sometimes, the writer becomes the reader. Sometimes, the 35-year-old Hall-of-Very-Gooder becomes the Comeback Player of the Year and a likely Hall of Famer. Go Reggie Wayne.
It's hard not to like these Chargers. Philip Rivers looked reeeaaal nice in the preseason. As Cousin Eddie would say, it might have been best just to let him finish ... the games, that is. Of course, we don't get to see the No. 1s for very long in August football, so we're still waiting to learn how running back Ryan Mathews will fare. Oh, by the way, coordinator John Pagano's defense looks improved.
With all the Chatty Cathys droning on about Andy Dalton's past playoff failures, it kinda feels like the Bengals quarterback is 50 years old and preparing for his 29th NFL season -- rather than his fourth. Either way, to me, he seems to play better -- with an edge, even -- when he's sporting a goatee. I still remember the first time I saw David Caruso with a goatee. Fierce stuff.
While doing the highlights of a Panthers preseason game for NFL Now (you should check out the app, by the way), I saw a veteran quarterback who sure didn't seem afraid to lock in on his rookie receiver. First-round pick Kelvin Benjamin will post 800 yards and six-to-eight touchdowns this year. Unfortunately, I also saw a Cam Newton who was not running like himself.
There are reasons to be positive about the Arizona Cardinals in 2014, given the potential of young running back Andre Ellington and receiver Michael Floyd on offense, as well as the weakening of the 49ers and Rams -- which includes the delightful promise of teeing it up against Shaun Hill twice -- in the NFC West. But then there's the losses of linebacker Daryl Washington (suspension) and defensive end Darnell Dockett (torn ACL). Hmmm.
You might not remember this, but 20 years (and an extra "XL") ago, Andy Reid -- wearing a prettier redheaded crew-cut than Andy Dalton could ever dream of -- coached Brett Favre's Green Bay Packers offensive line. Considering all the struggles Reid's current O-line in Kansas City is facing, with Donald Stephenson beginning a four-game suspension and Eric Fisher presumably out to lunch, you wonder if Reid will get his hands dirty and coach up that unit, a la Bill Belichick coaching the linebackers during the Patriots' undefeated campaign in 2007. Why not?
Despite being 10 spots lower in our pecking order, Chicago is not that far behind Green Bay. The real discrepancy between the two clubs is that more uncertainties surround
Marc Trestman's bunch:
1) Who is Jay Cutler at this point in his career, and will he play 16 games?
2) Can the middle of the defense stop anybody?
3) Just how bad will the special teams coverage be?
4) Here's a new term for the post- Devin Hester era: returner-by-committee.
5) How will the safeties perform this season?
Can this squad run the football? Logic says no.
Ray Rice's suspension says no. Every defense -- other than the
Dallas Cowboys' horrid outfit -- will likely say no.
Baltimore had better figure this out, or the relatively immobile Joe Flacco will be in trouble again. He played effectively in Week 3 of the preseason, but one wonders how he'd fare against a defense playing nickel and dime most of the time.
Calling it right now: Dri Archer returns the opening kick of the regular season for a touchdown ... and then the Steelers score 10 points the rest of the game. While I expect them to be OK, something seems off with Ben Roethlisberger and the the first-team offense. Sure would help if receiver Markus Wheaton were to turn it up a notch in Year 2. We're still waiting on that -- and on an apology from Emmanuel Sanders, too.
Call this ranking a vote of confidence for Rex Ryan. With that out of the way, we have to ask, who is going to cover for him ... literally? Cornerback Dee Milliner has been dinged up. Who knows where corner Dimitri Patterson -- who has since been released -- went when he was AWOL this preseason? (I'm going with Hurricane Harbor. It was one of the last weekends of summer, after all.) The safeties are so-so at best. We're used to the defense holding down the fort for the Jets, but that will be much tougher for this unit to do now.
Mixed reviews for the Dolphins at this stage of the game. Thus, they're standing pat in our Power Rankings. The offensive line looks improved, while veteran running back Knowshon Moreno came back like Gage in "Pet Sematary" after being buried in the early stages of the preseason. And yet, all in all, this still appears to be a .500 team. Now let's send it back to Dick, Bob and Nat for more exciting preseason action. Yep, Dick Stockton is still doing his thing, God bless him.
Julio Jones appears to be in line for a monster campaign -- especially if that
Falcons defense struggles, as it did last year and early this preseason, and the team finds itself in track meets for most of 2014. Thank goodness I got Jones in my
"Fantasy Live" draft.
(OK, truth be told, I missed said draft. I was on autopick, and Jones fell to me. But I digress.)
This team has to figure out a) whether rookie Devonta Freeman is ready to be the bell-cow back and b) what they have in second-round pick Ra'Shede Hageman on defense. If both players grow up fast, the 4-12 mark of 2013 will seem like a distant memory.
"Difficult it is to lay out how the preseason translates for the Bucs." -- Yoda.
Ah, what to make of the impressive performance in Buffalo and quarterback Josh McCown's highly efficient preseason (74.1 percent completion rate). This team, in theory, could finish 9-7 if all goes well -- and yet, there are questions that August football simply can't fully answer.
Still, Scott Smith over at buccaneers.com wrote a solid piece listing some stats from the past few weeks that the team can hang its hat on.
There is plenty to like about this squad, so much so that you almost get excited -- before recalling that they're the
Detroit Lions. So bringing aboard new coach
Jim Caldwell didn't exactly whet the appetite of many fans. On the surface, that doesn't seem fair, given that he
did take the
Colts to the
Super Bowl. He's just one of those guys, I guess. Of course, so was
Tom Coughlin ... and Tom Flores ... and George Seifert -- and that group accounts for six
Super Bowl rings. So give the man a chance to put his stamp on this team, even if he wasn't the sexiest offseason hire.
Side note: Thinking running back Joique Bell makes a big contribution this year.
Ironic that all those NFL analysts who disparaged
Tony Romo over the past several years are now the same ones yapping about how he's the only thing that will keep the
Cowboys from finishing 3-13. Truth is, Romo has been the best player on the team for a couple of seasons now.
The player who held that title three years ago -- defensive end DeMarcus Ware -- is, of course, in Denver after being released by Dallas this offseason. That's OK, though; the Cowboys didn't need him, anyway, as the defense looks awesome. Wait ...
Is it possible we're all underestimating Shaun Hill? His teams have gone 13-13 in the games he's started, and he does have a career touchdown-to-interception ratio of 41:23. Those are hardly bad numbers. Sure, losing Sam Bradford for the year to yet another knee injury sucked. But give his replacement a shot.
Giants fans have to be darn concerned. Eli Manning had a perfectly crappy preseason -- and that was before he went 1-for-4 for zero yards in the finale. Now he says the process of getting new coordinator Ben McAdoo's offense down will be a "season-long situation." Great. Enjoy those 15-for-29-for-177-yards games, everyone.
I picked
Bishop Sankey to be the Offensive Rookie of the Year in our
2014 season predictions on NFL.com. I think he can put up 900 rushing yards and notch 40-to-50 catches. So I pretty much sentenced his rookie season to death. Way to go, me.
Jake Locker looks good, though. ( Stay healthy, stay healthy, stay healthy ...)
Let's see what
Matt Cassel can do. This might be the USC product's last chance to be a true starter in the NFL. It should be interesting to see how he responds, as well as what kind of help the veteran quarterback receives from the young talent around him, namely receiver
Cordarrelle Patterson and tight end
Kyle Rudolph.
So what do Vikings fans make of the team's perfect preseason? I'd love to know. ( @HarrisonNFL).
Everybody knows
Robert Griffin III has not looked effective. His mechanics are being questioned, which is something I started to do last year before being swamped with explanations from people that his struggles were related to his injury. Now, though, there's no Mike Shanahan or balky knee to point to, with
Jay Gruden taking the reins in Washington and
RGIII's surgery having taken place 20 months ago.
This team must lean on running back Alfred Morris -- and I think he's up to the challenge. Give him 1,400 yards.
Much talk about free-agent addition Toby Gerhart this preseason, but I'm not sure he's the 1,000-yard feature back everyone is hoping he'll be. All he needs to do is provide balance for Blake Bortles -- whenever he becomes the starting quarterback (which is, hopefully, at some point this season). Speaking of the No. 3 overall pick, Bortles averaged 10.2 yards per attempt in the preseason -- a ridiculously solid figure.
Rookie receiver Sammy Watkins is supposed to be OK for Week 1 after injuring his ribs in the preseason finale. That's super news for Buffalo, because the Bills' passing game mostly stunk in August -- even when the No. 4 overall pick was on the field. Honestly, even if linebacker Kiko Alonso hadn't torn his ACL, this team would be bound to finish below .500 with its offense performing like this.
So the defense looks nice. Regarding this whole quarterback thing, though, can someone tell the wideouts and tight ends that it's OK for them to contribute, too? At times during the preseason, it seemed as if they weren't going to make a play unless Brian Hoyer yelled to tell them that he was throwing the ball, then delivered a perfect throw.
For all the chatter about the quarterback position and No. 1 overall pick Jadeveon Clowney, what about Arian Foster? His well-being could be key for this team. He was limited to just eight games last year ... in which he picked up 4.5 yards per carry. Eager to see what style of offense new coach Bill O'Brien uses with a healthy Foster.
So the Raiders finally gave the quarterback job to rookie Derek Carr. He certainly did enough to warrant playing over veteran Matt Schaub. Given the Raiders' prospects -- or lack thereof -- in the tough AFC West, why not provide the kid an opportunity? Sure, he might struggle early, but then again, Schaub has struggled already, so what's the difference?
Follow Elliot Harrison on Twitter @HarrisonNFL.


text:
Triple Bottom Line, LLC is a leading PHP Development service provider since it's inception form 2009. With extensive experience and expert team of PHP Programmers and PHP Developers, we are efficient enough to cope with any complex web development project, in limited time period. Our php programmers are efficient in developing …. Portal, Custom Web Application, Content Management Systems, eCommerce Applications, Social Media Application, Multimedia streaming and video sharing websites etc.
We provide flexible option to hire php programmer on full time, part-time or hourly contract.
Why Triple Bottom Line, LLC to Hire PHP Developer
Hire PHP programmer at Triple Bottom Line, LLC is always a right choice for cost effective, quality and efficient web development using PHP as programming language. Our Expert team of PHP Developer and PHP programmers have expertise over all PHP frameworks and CMS like, Core PHP, Smarty, CakePHP, Zend Framework, CodeIgniter, Open source CMS Integration and Customization (WordPress, Joomla, Drupal, Magento, osCommerce, X-Cart, Zen Cart).
Unlike other small PHP development companies we are accountable for results. Our company vision is to help our customer with latest technology to win there market. Our job not ends with project, we make sure that our customer get success with there project.
We believe in networking and business only which come through network & each project which we done is our marketing efforts to get new business. We take full care of all size projects whether its small or big.
Hire PHP Programmer on Full-Time, Part-time and Hourly rates, For detailed quote and rates to hire PHP programmer or PHP developer fill free to contact our Business Development Executive, using instant quote form.
Billing only for actual working days, excluded public holidays / non-working days.
Please feel free to contact our Business Development Executive for some other skill set/packages which is not mentioned here.

subset: commoncrawl


text:
No. 8 Roosevelt fends off upset-minded No. 22 Friends
SIOUX CITY, Iowa - (Box Score) Seventh-seeded Friends (Kan.) pushed the Chicagoland Collegiate Athletic Conference champion to the limit, but fell short in its bid to upset second-seeded Roosevelt (Ill.). The Lakers, formerly of NAIA Division I, won Wednesday's first-round battle at the 2013 State Farm-NAIA Division II Women's Basketball National Championships, 57-52.
Eighth-ranked Roosevelt led by as many as 10 points at the 14:52 mark of the second half, but did not seal the game until Becky Williford's pair of free three throws with three seconds remaining provided the final tallies. The Lakers dug down defensively when Friends had the ball with a chance to tie or take the lead in the final two minutes, forcing an Abril Marshall miss.
The Falcons, who picked up their first-ever national tournament win last season, out-rebounded Roosevelt 57-39 but shot just 23.1 percent from the field and 15.0 percent from 3-point range. The Lakers' stingy defensive effort allowed them to win for the first time in school history at the Tyson Events Center.
Roosevelt star guard Casey Davis, the team's leading scorer with an average of 17.0 points per game entering the tournament, provided offense on an evening when points were tough to come by. Davis made 6 of 13 shots on the way to a game high 19 points. Williford (12) and Maria Tamburrino (10) joined Davis in double-figure scoring for the victors.
Friends got a double-double from Sarah Munds (12 points, 10 rebounds) and 15 points from Tina Fakahafua (9-for-12 free throw shooting). The Falcons end their season at 23-10.
Roosevelt moves on to play Bethel (26-7) at 3:30 p.m. on Friday in a second-round tussle. Bethel defeated Valley City State 79-63 in an afternoon contest on Wednesday.


text:
The Free walking tour of Nice is one of the city's main attraction and a must see for any visitors. Nice Old Town (known locally as Le Vieux Nice) is a lovely honeycomb of narrow streets, dotted with beautiful baroque churches, shops and restaurants. It's a hive of activity with vibrant squares buzzing both day and night.
The tour is conducted in English and runs every Tuesday till Saturday morning from March 1st untill November 12 The tour starts at Massena Square Fountain next to "Apollo Statue"at 10:55am, and lasts around 2H30 hours. Our guide wears a red T-Shirt and so easily spotted welcoming you.
The free walking tour of Old Nice takes you past to : The Massena square fountain, the Opera House, The Cours Saleya market, « palais de la prefecture », Palace of Justice Square,Rossetti square "Cathedrale St Reparate", jesus Church,Promenade des Anglais, Port, Belanda's tower, Port Lympia,Castle Hill (The tour ends at castle Hill )
During the tour we stop few minutes at the flower market «Cours Saleya » where you can discover and buy local food. Don't forget to take a small bottle of water, sunglasses and a camera. There are toilets in the Cours Saleya. Wear shoes you can walk in, as this is a good walk of the 'best bits' of beautiful Nice.


text:
Today is Sunday, March 17
Today is Sunday, March 17, the 76th day of 2013. There are 289 days left in the year. This is St. Patrick's Day.
Today's Highlight in History:
On March 17, 1973, U.S. Air Force Lt. Col. Robert L. Stirm, a freed prisoner of the Vietnam War, was joyously greeted by his family on the tarmac at Travis Air Force Base in California in a scene captured in a Pulitzer Prize-winning photograph by Slava Veder of The Associated Press.
On this date:
In A.D. 461 (or A.D. 493, depending on sources), St. Patrick, the patron saint of Ireland, died in Saul.
In 1762, New York's first St. Patrick's Day parade took place.
In 1861, Victor Emmanuel II was proclaimed the first king of a united Italy.
In 1906, President Theodore Roosevelt first likened crusading journalists to a man with "the muckrake in his hand" in a speech to the Gridiron Club in Washington.
In 1912, the Camp Fire Girls organization was incorporated in Washington, D.C., two years to the day after it was founded in Thetford, Vt. (The group is now known as Camp Fire USA.)
In 1943, the Taoiseach of Ireland, Eamon de Valera, delivered a radio speech about "The Ireland That We Dreamed Of."
In 1950, scientists at the University of California at Berkeley announced they had created a new radioactive element, "californium."
In 1963, Mother Elizabeth Ann Bayley Seton, an American, was beatified by Pope John XXIII. (She was canonized 12 years later by Pope Paul VI.)
In 1966, a U.S. midget submarine located a missing hydrogen bomb which had fallen from an American bomber into the Mediterranean off Spain.
In 1970, the United States cast its first veto in the U.N. Security Council. (The U.S. killed a resolution that would have condemned Britain for failure to use force to overthrow the white-ruled government of Rhodesia.)
In 1988, Avianca Flight 410, a Boeing 727, crashed after takeoff into a mountain in Colombia, killing all 143 people on board.
In 1993, Helen Hayes, the "First Lady of the American Theater," died in Nyack, N.Y., at age 92.
Ten years ago: Edging to the brink of war, President George W. Bush gave Saddam Hussein 48 hours to leave his country. Iraq rejected Bush's ultimatum, saying that a U.S. attack to force Saddam from power would be "a grave mistake." In Washington, D.C., tobacco farmer Dwight Ware Watson, claiming to be carrying bombs, drove a tractor and trailer into a pond on the National Mall; the threat disrupted traffic for two days until Watson surrendered; there were no bombs. (Watson served 16 months in prison.)
Five years ago: Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Rodham Clinton, recalling a goodwill trip she'd made to Bosnia as first lady in March 1996, said she remembered landing under "sniper fire" -- a statement that conflicted with accounts of the time. David Paterson was sworn in as governor of New York; he succeeded Eliot Spitzer, who'd resigned because of a prostitution scandal. A female suicide bomber struck Shiite Muslim worshippers in the holy city of Karbala, killing at least 49 people. Paul McCartney's divorce from Heather Mills was settled for $48.6 million.
One year ago: Bombings killed at least 27 people near intelligence and security buildings in the Syrian capital Damascus. John Demjanjuk, 91, convicted of being a low-ranking guard at the Sobibor death camp, but who maintained his innocence, died in Bad Feilnbach, Germany.
Today's Birthdays: Actor Gabriele Ferzetti is 88. Jazz/New Age musician Paul Horn is 83. The former national chairwoman of the NAACP, Myrlie Evers-Williams, is 80. Former NASA astronaut Ken Mattingly is 77. Rock musician Paul Kantner is 72. Singer-songwriter Jim Weatherly is 70. Singer-songwriter John Sebastian (The Lovin' Spoonful) is 69. Former National Security Agency Director and former CIA Director Michael Hayden is 68. Rock musician Harold Brown (War; Lowrider Band) is 67. Actor Patrick Duffy is 64. Actor Kurt Russell is 62. Country singer Susie Allanson is 61. Actress Lesley-Anne Down is 59. Actor Mark Boone Jr. is 58. Country singer Paul Overstreet is 58. Actor Gary Sinise is 58. Actor Christian Clemenson is 55. Former basketball and baseball player Danny Ainge is 54. Actress Vicki Lewis is 53. Actor Casey Siemaszko (sheh-MA'-zshko) is 52. Writer-director Rob Sitch is 51. Actor Rob Lowe is 49. Rock singer Billy Corgan is 46. Rock musician Van Conner (Screaming Trees) is 46. Actor Mathew St. Patrick is 45. Actor Yanic (YAH'-neek) Truesdale is 44. Rock musician Melissa Auf der Maur is 41. Soccer player Mia Hamm is 41. Rock musician Caroline Corr (The Corrs) is 40. Actress Amelia Heinle is 40. Actress Marisa Coughlan is 39. Rapper Swifty (D12) is 38. Actress Natalie Zea (zee) is 38. Actress Brittany Daniel is 37. Actress Eliza Hope Bennett is 21.
Thought for Today: "History is not life. But since only life makes history, the union of the two is obvious." -- Louis D. Brandeis, U.S. Supreme Court Justice (1856-1941).


text:
Team Sky's Danny van Poppel won the second stage of the 2016 Tour de Yorkshire, after Kirsten Wild won the women's race, with technical issues meaning neither race was fully televised as planned.
A historic day in Yorkshire cycling history saw two Dutch riders named winners of their respective races.
Danny van Poppel won the second stage of the 2016 Tour de Yorkshire, after his compatriot Kirsten Wild took the women's title earlier in the day.
Unfortunately, these moments were only available for those on the route to watch, as television coverage of both races was disrupted.
But, for the thousands who did line the route which took the same route for both races from Otley to Doncaster, a show of cycling splendour.
The morning belonged to Lizzie Armitstead, the local lass attracting huge crowds to the women's race start in Otley.
It wasn't to be her day as, just 3km from the finish line in Docaster, world champion Armitstead's long breakaway was swallowed up by the chasing pack, allowing the 33-year-old Kirsten Wild to take the prize.
Cementing its status as a hotspot for cycling enthusiasts, attention in a sunny Otley soon turned to the beginning of the men's event.
Team Sky's Danny Van Poppel won by a photo-finish over reigning blue jersey wearer Dylan Groenewegen in a quite thrilling sprint finish on day two of the Tour de Yorkshire in Doncaster.
Van Poppel won the 135km stage from Otley by the narrowest of margins, squeezing his wheel ahead of Groenewegen's in the teeming rain on South Parade.
It was a stirring finale and just rewards for the thousands who had waited by the finish line in deteriorating conditions, for the day's second instalment of world class cycling.
Earlier, Kirsten Wild won the Asda Women's Tour de Yorkshire in a similarly dramatic sprint finish to clinch the richest prize in the history of women's cycling, denying Yorkshire heroine Lizzie Armitstead in the process.
Groenewegen's second place in the men's race means he retains the leader's blue jersey going into the third and final day, a testing 198km slog from Middlesbrough to Scarborough on Sunday.
Skipton's Pete Williams held the jersey for the King of the Mountains after winning it on day one, but he had to relinquish it on Saturday - but only to a team-mate, OnePro Cycling's Richard Handley.
Frenchman Nicolas Edet of Cofidis, who has always done well on Yorkshire's roads dating back to the Tour de France Grand Depart in 2014, took the jersey for being the most aggressive rider, after single-handedly chasing down a six-man break that including NFTO rider Josh Edmondson of Leeds.
As it happened: Crowds brave the rain as Tour de Yorkshire snakes from Beverley to Settle
Big finish in Doncaster
Team Sky's Danny van Poppel wins the second stage in Doncaster
The peloton in Pontefract
The crowds turned out to get a glimpse of the riders during the second day of the Tour de Yorkshire.
Earlier they got to see the top women racers as the Yorkshire Women's Race breezed through en route to Doncaster.
And it was Kirsten Wild who took the victory beating Lizzie Armitstead to the richest prize in women's cycling.
Later the men's race followed the same route starting in Otley.
Crowds had been gathering along then route since Saturday morning.
They lined the streets from South Milford to Monk Fryston, from Knottingley to Pontefract and Badsworth to South Elmsall to catch a brief glimpse of the peloton as the tour roadshow rolled through, and then out of our district shortly after 4pm.
Live television coverage of the race was patchy as the plane that relays images for broadcast was grounded this morning.
There was no live coverage for the women's race and coverage was cut short during the men's race just as the peloton snaked it's way alongside Kellingley Colliery and into Pontefract.
But out on the streets of Pontefract there was no lack of support for the race and many shared their excitement on social media.
Married couple of 50 years Adrian Pope and Hazel Pope turned out to support the British riders the Tour de Yorkshire riders.
Mrs Pope said; "The tour is good for the county of Yorkshire."
And Mr Pope said: "I know they had some problems with television coverage and that won't have shown Pontefract off."
Lorna Malkin came down to watch the race and says she wants to see more.
She said: "It was very exciting and everyone seemed to love it which topped it off.
"An event like this really puts Pontefract and West Yorkshire on the map because it attracted people to the town.
"Hopefully people will come down and visit Pontefract because of this.
"I just hope that having the tour this year will build on the current legacy and will continue growing and getting better each year - let's have more of it.
"It proves that Yorkshire is a brilliant venue and it can faultlessly hold a top class event.
"I would love to see it return next year for sure."
@Karen_Collins1 tweeted: " Warm welcome from knottingley @letouryorkshire @MyWakefield."
And @PontefractCivic tweeted: "@letouryorkshire a big thank you @GaryVerity for bringing @letouryorkshire by @PonteCastle and the town Thank you!"
As the riders arrived in Knottingley Wakefield Council tweeted; "Wow! What a spectacle! #TDY."
And as the team cars rolled through, signalling the riders had moved on, Alistair Watson tweeted: "Most of the kids are now out on their bikes! #inspiration #tdy #TdYPolicePics @letouryorkshire @teamjltcondor."
Throughout the day Wakefield Council held two community events at South Elmsall market and at Knottingley Sports Centre.
Sunday's final stage starts in Middlesbrough and should appeal to the climbers, according to race organisers, with no fewer than six King of the mountain classifications, including the infamous Sutton Bank.
Cyclists will follow a 198km route, through much of the north
York Moors National Park, passing through Thirsk and Whitby, before a sprint finish in Scarborough's north Bay.
The men's race sets off from Otley
The streets of Otley were packed for the start of the 2016 Tour de Yorkshire men's race as the town once again underlined its status as a cycling enthusiast's hotspot.
Many had travelled on bikes for the occasion and the streets were lined with an array of bunting expressing cycling and Yorkshire-themed sentiments.
The peloton raced from the town's starting point in the West Yorkshire town before climbing out of Pool-in-Wharfedale before hurtling past Harewood House, which memorably provided such a dramatic backdrop for the official race start of the 2014 Tour de France Grand Depart.
Vast crowds lined the roads as the riders turned away from the stately home and began heading towards East Keswick.
Kirsten Wild wins Asda Women's Tour de Yorkshire
Lizzie Armitstead's bid for the richest prize in women's cycling ended 3km from home as Kirsten Wild won the Asda Women's Tour de Yorkshire in Doncaster.
Wild, 33, from Holland, capitalised when world champion Armitstead's long breakaway was swallowed up by the chasing pack.
It was a thrilling sprint finish up South Parade in front of thousands of fans, but the great shame of the occasion was that there was no television coverage.
The Women's Tour de Yorkshire, which mirrored the men's stage from Otley to Doncaster later in the day, was the richest race in the history of women's cycling, and was also due to be televised live on both Eurosport 2 and ITV4.
However, the plane that relays pictures back for coverage was grounded this morning, meaning there was no live television broadcast whatsoever.
Organisers were hoping to scramble a replacement plane from Paris for the start of the men's race at 2.15pm, back in Otley.
While such a scenario prevented the race getting the international exposure joint-organisers Welcome to Yorkshire and the Amaury Sports Organisation craved, it was still another grand day out for the region.
Hundreds lined a route from Otley that beat a 136.5km path through Harewood, Barwick-in-Elmet, Pontefract and past Conisbrough Castle.
For Armitstead, the 2015 world champion, it was a particularly proud moment.
"I never thought I'd get to wear the rainbow jersey on my home roads," she beamed, just moments after he challenge to win the £15,000 top prize had failed.
"I kind of got involved in the attack by accident, around Conisbrough Castle. I knew I had to keep it going down the descent, there was a little bit of a kicker. I thought I'll stick it here and see what happens, then I looked behind me and there was two of us, so it wasn't exactly planned.
"You never know if you can make it stick. It was worth just giving it a go, I wouldn't have bet on me in the sprint so I thought at least try to make it an interesting race.
"When I saw the lead go from a minute to 30 seconds quickly, that's when I knew the race was run."
Despite being unable to win the race, it was a still a memorable occasion for the 2012 Olympic silver medallist from Otley, who won the world road race title in Richmond, USA, last September.
"The start was brilliant," she said. "I had a couple of bike problems at the start of the race which made it difficult but it was a humbling moment for me at the start, to be able to be supported by my community and the cycling community, which is just massive now in Yorkshire, made me feel really proud."
Big arrival in Doncaster
The town officially turned yellow and blue as the first group of Tour de Yorkshire riders arrived in Doncaster.
Hundreds of spectators turned out in Bennetthorpe to see some of the world's best female riders complete the Asda Women's Tour de Yorkshire.
Yorkshire's World Champion Lizzie Armistead led the ladies, including eight British women's teams, over the start line in Otley this morning.
All 17 teams set off on their 135km journey at around 8.25am, crossing the finish line here in Doncaster around three and a half hours later. The first set of riders crossed the finish line six minutes ahead of schedule. The finał riders came through around 20 minutes later.
Fans cheered and shouted "welcome to Doncaster" as riders completed the race. Team Great Britain were awarded purple jerseys as they won the award for best team.
As it happened: Crowds brave the rain as Tour de Yorkshire snakes from Beverley to Settle
You forget how hard it is to ride Yorkshire terrain, says Wiggins
Tour de Yorkshire: Geared up to take on cycling's elite in Yorkshire
On Tour de Yorkshire weekend - here are five of the county's best cycle climbs
Tour de Yorkshire: 'Unique' appeal of Tour has outsiders transfixed
Cycle fever mounts for Yorkshire's Grand Tour: Where to see the big race this weekend


text:
"Life of Pi" is yet to hit movie theaters, but fans can already buy the film's trusty lifeboat that becomes home to a young Indian boy shipwrecked with a tiger.
U.S. online retailer Gilt Groupe said on Friday that the lifeboat, replicated from real rafts used between the 1920s and 1950s, is among props from the movie up for sale next week.
The lifeboat is priced at $40,000 in the sale starting on November 19. Proceeds will go towards the Orangutan Foundation International, in recognition of one of the other animals who initially survives with title character Pi in the film.
"Life of Pi" is based on the best-selling novel by Yann Martel, directed by Ang Lee and stars newcomer Suraj Sharma. It opens in U.S. movie theaters on November 21.
Other items up for sale include movie posters signed by Lee, a collection of vibrant saris, and other props valued between $140 and more than $6,000.


text:
Courtesy of the National Association of Colleges and Employers.
10 Skills Job Seekers Need
When it comes to a job seeker's skills/qualities, employers are looking for team players who can solve problems, organize their work, and communicate effectively, according to employers who responded to NACE's Job Outlook 2014 survey.
Employers who interview and hire new college graduates were asked to rank a job candidate's desired skills and qualities. Employers rated seven of 10 qualities as "very important"; three were rated "somewhat important." (See Figure 1.)
How can you demonstrate that you have these qualities? Here are some things you can do during your college years to meet these demands:
Join extracurricular activities. Being an active member of a club or an intramural sports team, organizing a volunteer project, or taking part in group tasks, will help you earn that top quality spot, "ability to work in a team structure." Participating in extracurricular activities while maintaining a high GPA will demonstrate that you have the "ability to plan, organize, and prioritize work."
Keep Your GPA High. Good grades show that you have a good knowledge base—the "technical knowledge related to the job"—and demonstrates a strong work ethic—a quality that employers value.
Find an internship. Another way to demonstrate your knowledge of the job is to have done an internship or two in your field. You'll have taken an opportunity to look at your future career close up while getting hands-on experience with any potential job. Your internship can put your "foot in the door" to a job opportunity with many employers and help you build a network of professionals in your field.
Make a Date With the Career Center. The career center staff can help you go a long way in preparation for selling yourself to future employers. In addition to helping you choose a major and career direction, a career counselor can help you find internships, perfect your cover letter and resume, and develop your interviewing skills. Good interview skills will help you show a potential employer know that you can "verbally communicate" with people inside and outside the organization.


text: The RNC wants to see many fewer of these presidential debate scenes in 2016. Before a November 2011 Michigan showdown, from left: former Pennsylvania Sen. Rick Santorum; Minnesota Rep. Michele Bachmann; former House Speaker Newt Gingrich; former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney; businessman Herman Cain; Texas Gov. Rick Perry; Texas Rep. Ron Paul; former Utah Gov. Jon Huntsman. Paul Sancya/AP hide caption toggle caption Paul Sancya/AP It's All Politics New Rules Aim To Streamline GOP's 2016 Nominating Process May 9, 2014 If there are other Herman Cains and Michele Bachmanns out there with 2016 presidential hopes, new RNC rules may make it harder for them to go from "who?" to Republican presidential contenders.


text:
Just about everyone -- New York Jets general manager Mike Tannenbaum excluded -- seemed to know the Jets' acquisition of quarterback Tim Tebow was going to have a negative effect on starter Mark Sanchez.
Seattle Seahawks coach Pete Carroll felt that way when the Jets acquired Tebow, and he still does after his Seahawks rolled to a 28-7 win over the reeling Jets on Sunday. Carroll, of course, coached Sanchez during his college days at USC.
"I think he's in a very difficult situation," Carroll said Monday on 710 ESPN Seattle. "The whole emphasis of the two-quarterback thing is really hard. You saw it (Sunday). It didn't get much for them. It's got to be a little bit disruptive. I feel for him."
The Jets haven't used Tebow extensively, but he's been a regular bit player in their gameplan. At one point in Sunday's loss, CBS cameras captured a visibly frustrated Sanchez on the sideline after being pulled for another low-impact Tebow play.
Relive every game this season online and on-demand with enhanced viewing features, including the "All-22" coaches film. Get NFL Game Rewind.
"It's just a distraction," Carroll said. "It's mixed signals that go out. Their fans are torn up. If they didn't have a situation like this, they wouldn't be hooting and hollering probably the way they do at him, so it wouldn't be as difficult. That's just part of it. I do feel for Mark and anybody that would be in that situation."
The Jets' two-quarterback approach has been an abject failure. The team hoped the Sanchez/Tebow hybrid attack would make them a gameplan nightmare for the opposition. Instead, it's the Jets who appear to be discombobulated each Sunday.
It was colossal error in judgment that could set off a chain reaction in the organization.
Follow Dan Hanzus on Twitter @danhanzus.


text:
Rugby World Cup
Heroes to zeros and back again
Graham Jenkins
September 29, 2011
Kelston Boys High School celebrate with the Barbarian Cup following their recent victory over Wesley College © KBHS
It could be a big-budget movie. A school rugby team brawl their way into the headlines before a coach inspires a dramatic change in fortunes and steers his side to glory. But this is not Hollywood and neither Samuel L Jackson nor Denzel Washington are anywhere to be seen.
Welcome to Kelston Boys High School in the suburbs of Auckland - the former bad boys of New Zealand Schools rugby but now the cream of the crop.
Unlike many of their rivals, Kelston does not boast a century or more of on-field excellence having only been founded in the 1950s. It took them a quarter of a century to muscle their way into Auckland's elite and several more years before they captured the city's rugby crown. Local bragging rights would later be superseded by four national titles in the space of ten seasons and victory in the first World Secondary Schools Championship.
But success deserted them at the turn of the century and that frustration boiled over in spectacular fashion during a semi-final clash against Auckland Grammar School in 2009. The controversy made them front page news and the subsequent damage to their public profile over-shadowed the hefty suspensions handed down to the players involved.
A reputation forged under the likes of former headmaster and future All Blacks coach Graham Henry and enhanced by the production of 10 All Blacks including Va'aiga Tuigamala, Kees Meuws, Sam Tuitupou and current international Mils Muliaina took a hammering.
That season was especially memorable for Athens Henare as it was his first in charge of the First XV. "The pressure on our players is huge," he explains. "A lot of these kids see rugby as a way out and they feel the pressure of their families and community and TV coverage has only added to that. But that is not to say it is alright to fight."
Henare, a former pupil and First XV player like the other members of his coaching team, believes his players suffered more than they should have in the wake of the altercation. "There was a red card and another yellow card and the boys just got frustrated," he laments. "The whole thing was over in about two minutes but was blown up by the media. After the match the players were awesome, like brothers again, but the next day the papers went berserk. "
An "ugly" trial followed that resulted in severe and lengthy suspension for many of the Kelston players with their Auckland counterparts getting off relatively lightly to cause another media storm. "It hurt our community but because we told the truth and accepted the consequences of our actions I think we came out better," added Henare before quickly switching to the positives that arose from a dark day in their history. "It brought us closer together as a school and a community but it was pretty tough, especially for the boys and I was worried for some as rugby was everything to them."
Henare also welcomed the opportunity to underline the school's values. "As a coach I have always stressed the importance of commitment between brothers and family, being humble in victory and defeat and sacrifice.
"It can be difficult to find the balance between school, training and playing. Many of them have church and some have to look after their siblings as their parents work. That's a huge commitment for a lot of these boys and it takes sacrifice to make it work."
Many of that side returned the following year with renewed vigour because they wanted to "make things right" and didn't want to end their school careers on such a low note. "We just started again," explained Henare, "with a good work ethic, fitness and high standards on and off the field. But the key thing was that if they did something wrong then they had to face the consequences. So, if they didn't turn up for school for a couple of days we would put them on the bench."
But success would elude them - the price of "not playing as a team". Instead it was left to a new generation of players to return the school to former glories but not before an agonising loss in the final of the Auckland competition. "We probably didn't play to our potential in the final but the way I put it to the boys was that we may have lost the Tri-Nations but we would win the World Cup."
Henare believes his side's inexperience served them well as they wrapped up the national title with a 24-14 victory over Wesley College in the tournament finale last month. "The guys just listened and followed the game plan," said the modest coach. "When things went wrong they just went back to the bread and butter of the game plan. We also had an experienced guy at first-five in Taylor Adams and he just ran the show. That was probably the secret because there was nothing new or innovative. We had the talent; it was just a case of channelling that it into the team which is where we have struggled previously."
The school maintains strong ties with many ex-pupils and staff and one high-profile old boy in particular would have been among the first to pass judgement on their success. "I always send a text to Graham [Henry] and he always texts back to say 'well done' or 'hard luck'," reveals Henare. "He obviously also taught at [Auckland] Grammar but when the boys asked him who he was supporting he said 'Kelston'."
Victory in the season finale capped an outstanding year that also saw the team lay claim to the Moascar Cup - the schools rugby equivalent to the Ranfurly Shield - and both trophies now have pride of place among Kelston's many other accolades.
Unsurprisingly, success has brought interest from leading clubs but the school is keen to stress that a professional career is not the be-all-and-end-all. "We've have rugby agents who come in," explains Henare. "We have this relationship with [management company] Inside Running and they come in to talk to the boys. They tell them that only 3% make it as pros and they ask if they have a Plan B. That is really important and something we are trying to push.
Auckland's Nathan Hughes and Southland's Cardiff Vaega are just two recent graduates to make the ITM Cup grade and they look set to be joined by the 17-year-old Adams who has attracted interest from Auckland and Southland while fullback Lolaga Visinia is set to kick on from his New Zealand Schools selection with a move into the pro ranks. But many more fall by the wayside as a result of the many distractions that vie for the attention of a young man. "It is really easy to go off track," recalls Henare, "When I was at school there were a lot of really talented boys but many were lost to the game as they got distracted by girls or drink."
Henare, who has now stepped down from the head coach role, is reluctant to take credit for the side's success and instead is keen to stress the importance of the school's general approach. "I believe in our coaching philosophy and our work ethic. And we've been quite successful so something must be working."
But make no mistake, Henare is going nowhere. "The school gave me so much," he adds with pride. "And it's always been about giving something back."
Kelston Boys at the 2011 Rugby World Cup:
Kelston Boys High School - Internationals:
© ESPN Sports Media Ltd.
Graham Jenkins is the Senior Editor of ESPNscrum and you can also follow him on Twitter.
Communication error please reload the page.


text:
Iran Feature: The Week in Civil Society --- Honouring Detained Student Activist Tavakoli (Arseh Sevom)
A defiant speech from student activist Majid Tavakoli, now serving a nine-year prison sentence, in December 2008
Student leader Majid Tavakoli, locked up in prison in Iran, will be awarded the International Student Peace Prize in a ceremony in Norway today. Authorities announce new categories of criminalised speech in advance of the upcoming Presidential elections. Opposition leaders Mehdi Karroubi, Zahra Rahnavard, and Mir Hossein Mousavi remain under house arrest while their children are harassed by authorities, and secret executions continue in Iran's prisons.
The situation has gone from bad to worse when it comes to the economy. New sanctions are on the way, while the government tries to placate the population by offering a pittance for the New Year holidays.


text:
Transparency Market Research has added a Report On "Solid Oxide Fuel Cells (SOFC) Market - Global Industry Size, Market Share, Trends, Analysis And Forecasts 2012 - 2018".
Albany, NY -- (SBWIRE) -- 12/06/2012 -- Worldwide market for solid oxide fuel cells (SOFC) is forecasted to reach $530 million at the compounded annual growth rate of 6.9% from 2011 to 2016. This growth in solid oxide fuel cells industry is expected as a result of its better efficiency and cost effective nature. These types of fuel cells are mainly used in stationary, mobile, and portable applications. Development in technology is also helping in growth of this industry.
Solid oxide fuel cells play vital part in securing energy security for the country, improving environment, reducing urban pollution, and creating jobs in manufacturing industry. This technology also provides cost effective and performance driven solution over other competitor fuel cell technologies, batteries, internal combustion engines, and coal or oil fired head engines.
Read more: Solid Oxide Fuel Cells Market
Fuel cells are used in variety of applications for auxiliary power, mobile power, central or distributed power, and portable product power. These cells are among the first most energy efficient and cost effective cell types. Although high operating temperature limits the range of applications, these cells are used in numerous communication applications. Improvements in fuel cell technology have made it possible for these cells to be used in number of applications; however, such improvement is revealing even more challenges to be met.
Market Segmentation
- Planar Solid Oxide Fuel Cell
- Thin Film Solid Oxide Fuel Cell
- Tubular Solid Oxide Fuel Cell
Based on Applications
- Generators, Remote Power, And Auxiliary Power
- Generators And Portable Power Plants
- Recreational Vehicle Power
- Anti-Idling APUs
- Aircraft APUs
- Marine Vessel APUs
- Portable Products
- Military
- Exotic
This research report analyzes this market based on its market segments and major geographies. This report provides comprehensive analysis of current market trends, market growth drivers, factors limiting market growth, market structure, and market projections for upcoming years. Report also provides analysis of recent developments in technology, Porter's five force model, and complete company profiles of top industry players. It includes review of micro and macro factors significant with respect to existing market players and new entrants with value chain analysis.
Major geographies analyzed under this research report include North America, Asia Pacific, Europe, and Rest of the World.
Browse More Market Reports On Energy Market
Coal Fired Power Generation Market
Unconventional Natural Gas Extraction Market
Liquefied Petroleum Gas Market
Liquefied Natural Gas Market
Major Players
Some of the key players dominating this market are Adaptive Materials Inc., Advanced Materials Technologies, Altair Nanotechnologies Inc., The Babcock & Wilcox Co., Chevron Technology, Cummins Power Generation Inc., Edison Electric Institute, Hosokawa Powder Technology, Kansai Electric Power Co. Inc., Nippon Shokubai Co. Ltd., Rolls-Royce Fuel Cell Systems Ltd, Siemens Power Generation Inc., Tokyo Gas Co. Ltd., Watt Fuel Cell Corp., and others.
Reasons for Buying this Report
- This report provides pin-point analysis for changing competitive dynamics
- It provides a forward looking perspective on different factors driving or restraining market growth
- It provides a technological growth map over time to understand the industry growth rate
- It provides a seven-year forecast assessed on the basis of how the market is predicted to grow
- It helps in understanding the key product segments and their future
- It provides pin point analysis of changing competition dynamics and keeps you ahead of competitors
- It helps in making informed business decisions by having complete insights of market and by making in-depth analysis of market segments
- It provides distinctive graphics and exemplified SWOT analysis of major market segments
Inquire before Buying OR Buy your copy of this report @: http://www.transparencymarketresearch.com/solid-oxide-fuel-cells-market.html
About Transparency Market Research
Transparency Market Research is a global market intelligence company, providing global business information reports and services. Our exclusive blend of quantitative forecasting and trends analysis provides forward-looking insight for thousands of decision makers. We are privileged with highly experienced team of Analysts, Researchers, and Consultants, who use proprietary data sources and various tools and techniques to gather, and analyze information.
Our data repository is continuously updated and revised by a team of research experts, so that it always reflects the latest trends and information. With a broad research and analysis capability, Transparency Market Research employs rigorous primary and secondary research techniques in developing distinctive data sets and research material for business reports.
For More Information Visit us On: http://www.transparencymarketresearch.com
Contact Us:
Sheela AK
90 Sate Street, Suite 700
Albany, NY 12207
Tel: +1-518-618-1030
USA - Canada Toll Free: 866-552-3453
Email: firstname.lastname@example.com


text:
Total Members Voted: 461
0 Members and 1 Guest are viewing this topic.
Why? What's it got to do with him?
Is there still Saturday morning leagues? Non round here likePlus, lads are earning between 50 and 120 a week round here to play at average levels so I get why they'd do that
I say good luck to him. Almost certainly the right move for him. Might even get a few medals along the way.
Bristol City
A dog rejected from a Crufts could run rings round Everton
Page created in 0.05 seconds with 28 queries.


text:
Q: Tell me a little bit about your experience in the industry and how you came to Club One.
A: Very good. Well, I think what's important is that I'm not from the industry. I have over 20-plus years in retail, primarily in the world of food service. [I have] many years at Taco Bell, and then I built a company called Noah's Bagels that was sold in the mid-1990s and spent five years at Jamba Juice building those organizations, each of those growing 50 to 100 sites plus a year. I moved over to Club One in 2002 because I saw a couple things. No. 1, I've always been an exerciser and loved it, and I thought if this is an area in which I like to play, maybe it would be fun to work in it as well. Secondarily, I think this business is much like the retail business I've come from. It's about people and programs and service. And what I learned primarily from Noah's and Jamba, which both have higher purposes, is that when you can rally people around a higher purpose, the results and the productivity and the alignment are so much greater. I vowed back in the early 1990s after understanding how when people have a higher purpose how much harder they work—sometimes in a volunteer organization for nothing, but they work harder than in their paying job—that I would only work going forward in an organization that had that. I think Club One brings that to the Bay Area and to our management accounts that we serve and our community centers.
Q: You've been with Club One for six years. What have you brought to the company, which was founded by Jill and John Kinney?
A: Jill and John Kinney did start Club One in 1991, and as the entrepreneurial owners, they set the foundation for what I've been able to accomplish over the past five years. From 1991 through the early 2000s, they were acquiring clubs and trying to build the Club One and the Frog's brand. When I came on board, we began to separate the two brands and strengthen our vision and purpose, bring the right players on the bus, so to speak, in terms of leadership at the club level. Bill McBride, who is an industry veteran, [offers] financial leadership [as] our CFO and then in each of our department heads strengthening the team that way.
We also concluded that the Frog's brand and the Club One brand were not the same. Thus, rather than trying to align them, we separated them. Frog's was a little more hip and edgier than Club One, which has much more of a sophisticated approach. We've taken them in their own directions. We've stabilized and brought consistency of all the back office systems throughout all the clubs. We've put a greater emphasis going forward on our management contracts. And we chose that we could bring strength from being in the middle. We'll do that by differentiating ourselves through people, programs and results for members as the beginning of our points of differentiation.
Q: Most of your Club One clubs are in Northern California and the Frog's clubs are in Southern California. Do you plan to keep the clubs separated geographically or will there be an overlap since they are different brands?
A: You are correct in that our Frog's brand is in San Diego, and we have one Frog's in Long Beach (CA), and all of our Club Ones are in Northern California. They are separate brands, and all the behind-the-scenes systems are the same. Part of our philosophy is each individual unit should reflect the community it serves. Even within Frog's, what happens at Solana Beach (CA), which is obviously along the beach, is very different than our inland club in San Diego, and clearly Club One in downtown San Francisco is very different than a club in the suburbs of San Jose (CA). While all the behind-the-scenes systems are the same, everything that is reflected to the consumer is very different because of the communities we serve.
Q: Sounds like you really know the market you are serving, and your clubs are reflecting that. Do you find that enough clubs are doing that? That they are aware enough of their demographics and have tailored their clubs to those demographics, particularly now with greater competition?
A: Well, I think that's going to be the key for a club company our size or even an entrepreneur within a community is to leverage and understand what's going on in their community and that a big box—and some of the other boxes that are out there—can certainly find the real estate and build the building, but the ability to connect to the community and help the members achieve the results they are looking for, I think sometimes falls short in some of the larger boxes. We are a mid-sized company, I would say. We are certainly not as big as some of the large ones, and we are certainly not a one- or two-club company, but I think the strength lies in being able to position yourself to serve that community. Some of the very best and most successful clubs—if you look across the country—are entrepreneurs who are really engrained and connected to the community they serve.
Q: What sort of new programming do you have planned or have implemented already this year at Club One and Frog's?
A: The first piece that I'd like everyone to understand is that our goal is to separate from the industry much like Hawaii is separate from the mainland. It's all part of the United States, and so we want to be part of the industry, but we want to create this blue ocean of separation in the book, and that's where we are going. And we are going to do that through innovation and integrity—integrity meaning results for our members and innovation [meaning] programs that add value. So let me go through a whole litany of programs that we have started to bring to our members. Some of them will take time to develop and change lives, but we are convinced they will do so.
We are, as I think everyone will learn more about at IHRSA [the International Health, Racquet and Sportsclub Association conference], the very first and only club in the world right now to bring Kranking, which is upper-body cycling, into our clubs both on the strength floor and on the cardio floor and in our group fitness classes. We have partnered with Johnny G, who created Spinning, as everyone knows, to be his test. He will be bringing this to IHRSA later this year. Johnny chose to work with us because he believes we are an innovation leader.
We have brought MYE downloads into the clubs, in a half dozen or so of those clubs. [We are] testing the ability for members to purchase the MP3 and then download for a very small charge unlimited exercise programs that they can use when they are on any piece of cardio equipment at home, in the club or when they travel. And it's an alternative to "I want to be distracted with TV or music and actually have a coach in my head, and basically I have a group exercise class going whenever I'd like it." And that's off to a good start. A challenge that's always there is trial for our members.
As part of our trying to create blue oceans of separation for our members and provide value for our members, we have launched a series of programs that we are calling Well Power, and we will continue to build on those. The vision behind that is we will add value to our members while they are at the club, and just as importantly, try and influence their lives outside the club through programs that can make a difference. We have three right now and more are in development. The first one is our Activity Tracker, which merely allows our members to go into a portal after they sign up—and it's only for members—to see their usage of the club and compare their usage to other members across the Club One and Frog's Fitness family. So they can see that, they can see their usage, they can see their momentum for the month, etc., and we are building more and more stats on that.
Q: Is that available to any member or just personal training clients?
A: No. All 50,000-plus members have access to the system. As long as they provide us the e-mail address—which is a our way to validate that they are a member of Club One—then they have access to all these programs and more that are coming. So the first one is a very basic tracker that gives them information about their usage and how they compare to others who are members of Club One or Frog's.
The second [program] is called Couplers. This one is magical. This one has already changed the lives of our employees—by the way, we rolled these programs to our employees as well as our members. Couplers marries an individual and their family background (because all that impacts their health and wellness) to any kind of condition they have. There are management couplers, and there are diagnostic couplers that basically can help our employees and help our members improve their health and improve their ability when they interact with their physicians, since you generally have seven to 10 minutes with your doctor. For instance, what are the questions parents should be asking their physician when they take their child in for their well-child visits from the age of six weeks to 18 years? I know I have grown kids, and I don't think we did as good a job as we could do now with this tool. I now have elderly parents, and my father is struggling with movement. There are things you can do to the house to make it safer for him. How do you learn about that? We had a member who was fighting anemia, and she couldn't figure out why. She took our Coupler on anemia and solved her problem and saved thousands of dollars going forward because she's already spent thousands of dollars trying to resolve that.
So, we are bringing that free to our members. There are over 120 couplers that again marry a condition that they or any member of their family may be facing—because everyone in their family can use this program. And so this will be a huge value addition for our members and for our employees, helping them to live healthier lives, helping them to make better health care decisions. In the haze of health care or the muck of medical care, it's really going to be a huge improvement for them.
Q: Do you partner with doctors on that or coordinate with them on this once they find out what their condition is?
A: Here's the beautiful piece about this tool: Doctors love it once they understand what it is because obviously the questions are tailored to how you answered the previous question. Basically, doctors are human, and computers and medical decision-making is part logic and a little bit of art, correct? And so what happens is this program is tied into all the medical journals and guides that doctors use to study to pass their exam, and it quotes it. So if I'm looking at, I have pain in my knee and I'm doing the knee pain Coupler, it will highlight the page and the paragraph and the reference book that doctors use that narrows down to what likely could be the cause of my concern. And then, of course, that leaves the doctor to making choices about whether or not further X-rays need to be taken, etc. It's HIPAA compliant. The organization—meaning we also sell it to corporations—never sees it. In the case of members, it resides on their desktop, on their computer at home. They can print it out and bring it to their office visit or show the doctor where the logic flowed to "this is the most likely outcome." And it provides risk factors. So it'll say something like, "Given the questions you've answered, you have three out of nine indications that it's a meniscus tear, in the case of a knee," or "You have zero out of 11" or "You have seven out of nine," which begins to then narrow the focus for the doctor, which you can imagine then begins to reduce your health care costs in some of the tests that have to take place.
It's a brilliant, beautiful program, and we're so thrilled to offer it to our members—free. It's a part of their membership and another advantage to being a part of Club One.
Q: Is it free for both corporate and club members?
A: No, our corporate members have to purchase this if they are interested in it. For our 50,000-plus club members, it's part of the membership.
Our third program is called Be Well. And that's also complimentary to our members. That program is a behavior-based change program. First off, it allows them to take a mini health-risk profile, so they can see where they are in bounds and out of bounds on all aspects of their health. It then provides the tools, primarily focused against exercise and nutrition, including having a complete calorie counter so that you can punch in how many calories are in a Starbucks latte, or if I have a salad, here is my portion size. It gives them all that information. It has exercise profiles. It has a meal planner that if you choose to do so, you can then print off into a shopping list that actually tells you based upon what you've chosen to eat, here's what you need to purchase at the grocery store. Then it has all sorts of guides and tips and tools for our members. That was also launched in the November/December time frame.
And then we have many more programs coming down the road. Our philosophy is that essentially one a quarter or so. We will continue to build and add value for our members with these programs that can impact them when they are outside the clubs, as well as great programs inside the club.
Q: Sounds like you've really looked at problem areas people are having. A lot of clubs don't do a lot with weight-loss programs. These programs seem to make it simple for members.
A: I think that's the advantage we have of having multiple points of access for people to live healthier lives—and I'm speaking about our corporate, what we call our work-site health and fitness locations. In those environments, that is the No. 1 issue that organizations are facing: how do we help our people live healthier lives so they are more productive, and [how do we] reduce the health care costs that organizations are facing? And when you boil it all down, there have been so many wellness programs in organizations today, and yet we all know that obesity continues to increase health care costs and outpace inflation. If you will allow me to be a skeptic for a second, everything we've done is not working well at all because at the core of any of those programs has to be getting people to move more and eat better. So we've been on the hunt in our work-site health and fitness to find those kinds of programs to help our partners reduce their health care costs and improve the productivity of their employees. Thus, these programs have great relevance for our corporate partners. As we looked at them, we said, "Wow. They have just as much relevance for our members." This is a way, again back to our vision to create blue oceans of separation from others in the industry, part of that process. So it's a very well thought out strategy and then implementation plan to deliver it.
Q: So you originally rolled these out to corporate clients, and then you decided to roll out to all members?
A: That is correct, and then there's one other piece that I'll be a little opaque on, but we are really excited about this because we are about two or three months away. But we've been working with a psychologist who loves exercise and understands the human mind. This person has been able to take some standardized tests that we are all familiar with and take out the psychological jargon and create words that have no label to them. Again, I'm being opaque for a reason. But just imagine that a new member can come in, and we begin to understand who they are, their likes and their dislikes totally as it relates to exercise by asking some psychologically based questions. That has proven research behind it, so it's research that has been going on for hundreds of years. She has been able to apply it to the world of exercise. So our membership reps—and, more importantly, our trainers and everyone in the club—begin to understand in a language that has no label to it that has any relevance, that an individual is this label or this other label—again, I'm being opaque for a reason—and now I can begin to understand how to communicate with this person in the words and language that is meaningful to them.
Q: So it's a matter of the words they use and your representatives understanding what that language means to them, but also a matter of the language that your trainers use with the client?
A: Yes. For instance, I am this certain person, and if a trainer used language with me that was very structured and critical in terms of how I did an exercise, it would drive me nuts. We have trainers in this industry that are like that, that are very focused on the perfect movement. There are people who love that, and there are people who reject that. So, sure, they can find that out over time, but in the case of people who aren't inclined to exercise regularly, all it takes is one of those experiences, and they are out of the club so fast it's not funny. We've been able to marry the psychological profile then with a tool that enables the member to review what is played back to them and agree or disagree, and along with our welcome tracks, [we can] begin to move them on to a profile and a path that has a higher likelihood of success than if we leave it up to the human mind and dimension by itself.
Q: Would that help you to assign the right trainer to that person based on that trainer's style and that person's style, or are you not taking it to that level?
A: We absolutely are. But instead of it being subjective and it usually at the insight and intuition of either your fitness manager or a membership rep, we have a lot more fact-based information to make improved decisions. All of this, to go back to result for the member's journey to those results that is more fun and meaningful than [if] left to a random walk.
Q: When will you begin implementing that program?
A: I would say in the next 90 days. We are finalizing all the forms and questions in the process, and then we are going to test it in a couple of sites to figure out the best way to roll it on its way to all the members.
Q: As far as these programs you've already implemented, what are your goals?
A: In the case of our wellness programs, when you study the market with respect to Internet programs and how many people we'll put through and enroll, we've already exceeded the norm. Over 10 percent of the members have enrolled in our first month. That may seem low, but historically, if you send information out to someone and ask them to enroll, you get somewhere between 3 and 8 percent. So we are on our way, and we have a marketing plan that begins to prompt people with Couplers that may be relevant to them or messages and e-mail campaigns that help them to go back to Be Well and check this out. We believe this is a yearlong process to get more and more members on board. We hope that over time, we'll get over half of our members who we have their e-mail addresses—and we have the large majority of those—to consider these programs when they are relevant to them in their lives. And as we roll out more and more, obviously every new member once we get to this profiling piece will have access to it. Again, our goal is to move to where we can help people who have failed when they have enrolled at other clubs for whatever reason perhaps be more successful with Club One because of our ability to connect with them and help them find their joy. So all of this is really against driving retention, which we've had great success with, and then we will use our Kranking and other programs to drive revenue inside the club.
Q: So far, you've been pleased with how the programs are being received by members?
A: Absolutely. The stories right now are exactly that, stories and testimonials, especially for Couplers. You have to have something that's bothering you to want to go to this site. If you are perfectly healthy and all is well, thank goodness, there's no reason to go. But the beautiful piece is that it's not just about you; it's about everyone in your family that can have access to this, even though only one is a member. And somewhere in everyone's family, someone is facing some medical issue. And this is just a great resource and very different from WebMD or any of the other programs that are available on the Web today. And the difference is, it's about you instead of generic information.
Q: Are all of these programs specific to your club company or are other club companies using these?
A: I think we are the only ones in the industry today.
Q: [What is your] retention rate right now? Goals with it in the future?
A: Mid-60s and obviously lower in some clubs and higher in others, but we have 19 clubs, and across the board, we have some small fitness-only clubs and some multi-sport clubs. Obviously, we believe that over time, there is a third or so of our attrition that [come from] things we can't control. We just believe we can continue to knock a point or two or three off with value-added programs that make a difference for the members. We've continued to improve our retention and reduce our attrition over the past couple of years.
Q: Tell me a little bit more about Kranking and what that's all about.
A: We've had an association with Johnny G for years. Our chief fitness officer, Jim Karanas, is coached actually by Johnny. Jim is an ultra cyclist, and Johnny was a competitor in Race Across America and is the creator of Spinning. We are a contributor and sponsor of Challenged Athletes Foundation, which are folks who have missing arms and legs and have prosthetics. We think they are the epitome of why people should exercise. It's not to look good; it's to feel good about who you are and to lead a healthy life. These are folks who have to put on arms and legs before they go and exercise. We sponsor a five-hour spinning event every year on the bluffs of La Jolla (CA) while the Challenged Athletes Foundation has a half Ironman. We have over 100 bikes on the bluff, and we raise well over $100,000 every year for this group.
Johnny has always been a part of this, and he marveled at these challenged athletes who were getting on an upper-body ergometer and cracking away for hours. And Johnny, who's a world-class cyclist, got on an upper-body ergometer, and after about 10 minutes his arms were ready to fall off. He said, "There must be something here, but these are the ugliest pieces of equipment I've ever seen." And so over the past four years, he has been working on this new Krankcycle, as he calls it. And Jim Karanas has spent months doing all the research on the upper-body exercise. What we saw was this has such relevance to all types of people.
I'll give you an example. We've had it now in the clubs for a couple of months. Just think about how many people injure their lower extremities and put their memberships on hold and are very frustrated. Well, now they can get on the Krank cycle either on the fitness floor, in the cardio area, in the strength area or take a Spinning class. We've now integrated Kranking into the Spinning classes where the spin instructor will cue what you are doing with your legs and cue what you are doing with your arms, and you are in the room side-by-side. So there's no reason if you have a lower extremity injury that you can't continue to train and exercise and keep your cardio fitness up, whereas in the old days you were out. You were not doing anything in terms of your cardio, so [that's] No. 1. No. 2, it's a wonderful exercise for seniors, for pregnant women, and if you're a serious athlete and you exercise for multiple days in a row, your legs get tired. So guess what? Now, I can still exercise my upper body and still have a cardio workout to improve my fitness while I give my legs a rest. Then, we had the light bulb go on that says we can do fusion classes that combine, in a very short burst of time, upper-body and lower-body training. So, literally, in a 30-minute workout you can take your arms and legs to exhaustion multiple times while your heart stays up near its threshold. Of course, your heart doesn't get tired; it's your muscles that get tired, and you can go back and forth. So we've created these fusion classes that people truly enjoy, and we are in the process of rolling those out to the other clubs.
Q: How many of your clubs have Kranking?
A: We are in 12 of the clubs, but not all of them in the group fitness programs while we were testing it. By end of March, all of the clubs will have Krank cycles on the floor and in the group fitness room so that we can combine Spinning and Kranking in the room together. We will be the only club [to offer Kranking] until Johnny brings this to IHRSA in March. Then Johnny has to create a manufacturing agreement to move it forward.
If you think about the upper-body ergometer today, it's something you see for physical therapy and older adults. I will tell you in our classes today that we have about four Krank cycles in a room with 30 bikes, so it's a 1-to-5 ratio. People get on the Krank cycle for 10 to 15 minutes, then get back on the bike, and we will have literally 20 to 30 people with only four or five bikes get on a Krank cycle in a 45-minute class. We are very excited to be the first to bring Kranking to the industry.
Q: Well, let's move onto your wellness programming. How are you developing the wellness programming at Club One, and why do you place such an importance on it?
A: It stems from our work-site health and fitness channel of access, as we call it. Our corporate partners are asking us to provide programs to help their employees lead healthier lives. It's not just about managing the fitness center for them; it's how we connect with and impact the lives of their employees and complement the programs that their health care provider offers or some of the other programs that they have going on in their organization. The light bulb just went on with all of us, that all of these employees—some of them are members of our commercial clubs, so there's great overlap—we felt we could take some of those programs and bring them to our members, which we are doing, and add value for our corporate partners by selling them to them at a very reasonable rate because we can leverage the 50,000 plus people we're buying it for for our employees. So, again, trying to take our positioning and our core strength and leverage those to add value for the different channels of access that we serve.
Q: Are you seeing more corporations being willing to be open to the whole idea of fitness for their employees, and is that part of your business growing even more than other parts of your business?
A: I'm going to get on a pedestal for a minute and say this: When an organization's leaders at the C level get behind a wellness program, it's amazing how fast it goes in that organization. When an organization channels its fitness center into the world of procurement or facilities, then it's strictly an employee amenity, and the ability to implement wellness programs has slowed down. The challenge we face and everyone faces is finding the right audience and demonstrating…the facts are there with respect to return on investment from an exercise program and a wellness program, getting people to move and make better health choices. No doubt. The challenge is getting to the top and connecting with CEOs and C-level folks and having them lead the charge. I can tell you that from our own organization. We are a bunch of health nuts in this company, but I certainly lead the charge in that, in terms of our own health care costs and programs and rewards for folks to lead healthier lives because I think it's so important. But that isn't necessarily the case across corporate America.
Q: But you feel corporate wellness is becoming more important to business leaders as they realize it's helping to reduce their health care costs?
A: We are getting to the tipping point. I don't think we are there yet. A key piece of this will be some of the new medical insurance programs offered by insurers that will reward healthier behavior. The more of that that we see, I think the closer we will get to the tipping point and see a great landslide of successes as we get to that point, but we are not there yet. There are a few states that have flipped the switch in the sense of raising the deductible for all employees, and then you can buy down, so to speak, or be rewarded for that deductible all the way down to zero for indicators that show you are leading a healthy life, meaning your weight is in line, your blood pressure is in line, your cholesterol is in line, you're not a smoker, etc. When insurance providers offer it and organizations have the backbone to step up to it, I think we'll see a significant change, but only when that's the norm instead of the exception. Now, the companies that are doing that are written up all the time because it's so out there, and that's going to change.
Q: Is this a part of your business you plan to grow in the future?
A: Absolutely. As I said, the wave is coming. It's just a matter of time. To give you a classic example, I've gone out and spoken at a number of human resource conventions as well as wellness conventions and showed people that at Club One…our health care costs relative to the other companies that our medical provider insures—we are the exact same age, so it's not age based—we run one-third to one-tenth the norm on every single metric that they track. One-third to one-tenth, and it depends on the metric. That's what a healthy lifestyle does.
I can show that to other HR leaders and facilities and procurement people. And we're not effective enough. I wish I was more effective. And when I show it to senior executives, they're amazed, and then they say, "But you're a bunch of health nuts." I say, "That's exactly the point. Yes, we may be at the far end of the spectrum and you are somewhere at the different end, but you have to take steps to reward and look at your benefits programs because if you look at benefits that are offered in corporate America today..." This is the question I asked them: So let's talk about the benefits you offer that reward healthy behavior with respect to movement and nutrition. And the answer is none in most cases. Yet we offer employee assistance programs, and we offer all these other benefits programs that don't have as much value as one-third to one-tenth the norm because we're a bunch of health nuts. So that message is beginning to resonate, but we've got a long way to go.
Q: The economy is in an uncertain state. Club One is positioned as a middle-priced club company. A lot of people have said that to survive, you will have to be low priced or high end. How do you plan to stay in the business and be profitable as a mid-priced club?
A: I must be a contrarian. The middle is where the meat is. So I would say we can compete very effectively in the middle by playing our strengths, continuing to add value to the programs we offer inside the club and outside the club, and, most importantly, continue to understand what our members want, which are results— however, they define them, not how we define them—and deliver against that. Because when you do that, the price in the middle is certainly less relevant because I'm achieving something that I'm looking for. There are very few people who can determine a program for themselves, find their joy in exercise, and I think that's the challenge with the low-price leaders. There is always a place for the high-end, and there's always a place for the low and the middle. I think the key is to understand who you are and play your strengths.
I think you can clearly see from the phone call, we have a plan and are adding programs and services that can add value for our members. We're just not sitting still at all. That's for sure.
Q: You have really gotten into managing other clubs, particularly JCCs. What are your goals for Club One's management company?
A: We continue to leverage our strengths. Our strengths are obviously in running mid- to high-level clubs, our people and our back-office processes. So our nonprofit groups have begun to see that the JCCs—and we manage an India community center here in the Bay Area as well—that club management is an area that is important to their other mission-based services, and they know it's not anything they do well. So they've contracted with us to manage that piece and to improve the profitability and drive the revenue of those programs so that they can spend it all back on other mission-based services in the community.
We have three JCC contracts today that we manage, and we have numerous consulting arrangements with them. We've even developed programs, taking our service training module and branded it for the JCCs so that it's a little bit "hamisha," which is a Yiddish term and reflects the culture of the JCCs that we can then turn around and leverage and provide to the JCCs across the country to elevate their service game. So again, we are just going to play our strengths, which are service to others, all the back-office systems, great people and programs. Where we can find partners who see that that strategy benefits them as well as benefits Club One, we're interested in pursuing it with them.
Q: How has the mix of a for-profit and nonprofit working together been, especially when so many are at odds?
A:No, actually here in the Bay Area, the San Francisco JCC, six years ago—so it started before I came on board—approached us as they were building a new building because they loved what we did in our clubs and thought that we had the systems and people to help them as they were opening up a brand new facility. And we successfully did that. That, of course, led to other JCCs here in the Bay Area and throughout the country to inquire more about what we do and how we do it and how it is favorably impacting the Js. And, of course, we like it for what it does for our business. Here in the Bay Area it's an incredible complementary business. And what I mean by that is the JCCs close on certain holidays, and all those people have access to our Club One clubs during those holidays. Of course, when we're closed on Christmas, and all of our members have access to the JCC on that day.
So we've actually created here in the Bay area complementary memberships and discounts on guest fees. If a member of the J wants to visit any Club One club, they have a discount and then this open access on days in which either site is closed for either renovation reasons or religious reasons. So we've leveraged that again, turned what is historically an issue into a strength.
In each of the community centers we serve, in most cases our name is not out there. We're perfectly fine that the members love that the J is run well, and we can silently pat ourselves on the back and provide all the credit to our partners, which is where it belongs. It's a great model of servant leadership.
Q: Where do you plan to take this part of the company? Do you plan to grow it by 50 percent in the next five years or at what level?
A: I'd love to be able to grow at that level. The management-contract business on this size of a program is really about our partner organization coming to the realization that perhaps there is someone else who can do it differently and better and enable us to focus on the things we do better—meaning the partner organization. And that's a process that we can influence, but part of it takes place with our partners or prospective partners. So we continue to use the crawl, walk, run program, meaning that's why we develop these consulting programs that we can demonstrate value to prospective partners. That's our crawl phase. And then perhaps [we can] take a larger role on the way to a management business where we free them up to focus on their programs and we deliver greater returns for them to spend back to the community. It's a slower process. We are not in total control as you are when you build a club and away you go.
Q: Your company is dividing into three pieces: has its own facility, does corporate wellness programming and manages other facilities. Which brings in the most revenue?
A: Clearly today our clubs, owned and managed—by the way, some of our clubs that are branded our club name, we manage [but] we don't own them—but our clubs are our first [in revenue generation], our work-site health and fitness locations are our second, and our community centers are growing rapidly, and they are third today.
I know where we are headed is to increase the profitability and revenue from our managed sites. And whether those are community centers, that's great. Whether they are work-site health and fitness, that's also wonderful, and if they're branded clubs that we manage, that's wonderful as well.
Q: Any club purchase plans in the works for this year or next?
A: Last year, we opened a half-dozen work-site health and fitness locations, one community center and one 60,000-square-foot club. This year we have a number of work-site health and fitness locations that we are in final discussions with. We have expanded our consulting in the community center business to multiple sites right now, and [we are] in discussions with others. And there are numerous club opportunities that we continue to work through. Nothing is penciled in, so until the deal is signed, I don't think it's something we should talk about. But I can tell you there are numerous opportunities both ground up and takeovers that we are in discussions with here in the Bay Area and across the country.
Q: Any new partnerships in the works beyond Johnny G and Kranking?
A: We have a couple new wellness programs that we are working on. I'm confident one of them will launch later this year—second or third quarter—and one other one that's in development. I think it's a good likelihood that we will have more to come in that area as well.
Q: If I were to talk to you a year from now, where do you see your company being in a year in terms of the number of clubs and your programs?
A: Where we'd like to be a year from now is moving towards that goal of creating blue oceans of separation from the industry, yet remaining part of it, again through innovation and integrity. I hope that we will have a couple of new deals done so that the industry and others outside the industry will see Club One as a management-services company that can deliver on our own brand if that's the kind of management service we are providing or deliver on the partner's culture and brand (or the organization in the case of work-site health and fitness) so that we seamlessly integrate into those organizations. And so that's really it—that we continue to push the needle on our management services, integrity and innovation.
Q: If we were to talk three years from now, do you see any additional things in your longer range plans?
A: I think we are on a journey that's going to take at least that long to develop all that. We believe there will be a lot more facilities that we serve, but many of them may not have our name on them at all, and you wouldn't know that we were running them.
Q: Do you have a goal of being as large as 24 Hour Fitness in the next several years?
A: We're focused on quality partnerships, profitable ventures. Really, the number of units is not so critical as continuing to build the business, and our excellence in operations and in service to the communities and partners we serve. We stayed away from 'it's all about growth and size.' If you consider that I come from a background of adding 50 to 100 units a year, that's a big switch for me, as well as for all of us here to focus on doing things well and living up to our purpose.
Q: Right now, your clubs are all in California. Do you plan to expand beyond California in the next three to five years?
A: We certainly hope so. Primarily, again, in partnering with developers who see the value of Club One as part of their development, whether that's multi-unit retail or multi-tenant arrangement. And more and more developers—as we tell our story and highlight how we can make a difference for their development—are beginning to see that that's a path that has value.
Q: I appreciate your time and your willingness to talk to us.
A: You're welcome.