text:
May 24, 2012
TO: CSU Employees
FROM: Chancellor Charles B. Reed
RE: A Personal Message
Today I am writing to let you know that I have announced my retirement as chancellor of the California State University system. I gave this news to the CSU's Board of Trustees and to our campus presidents this morning.
Last Updated: May 24, 2012


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Postmodern and Wesleyan? is both an exploration and an internal dialogue. Essays written by differing voices explore various dimensions of postmodernism as they relate to theology, church, practices, communities, and missions.
Each section includes a critical response by a respected Wesleyan leader to the ideas expressed. Dr. Leonard Sweet concludes each section with comments to continue the conversation.
This important conversation piece invites churches, pastors, and laity to explore together how the Christian faith might shape both the present and the future.
By providing a forum for engaging issues, both important and difficult, Postmodern and Wesleyan? offers a voice to some of the most creative thinkers in the movement and a help to Christians deciding the direction they must go in order to share the good news of God's love.

subset: commoncrawl


text:
Fine-tuning Halos vie for home field throughout postseason
By Lyle Spencer / MLB.com
Torii Hunter knows.
"This ain't my first rodeo," the Angels' center fielder said through a big smile on Thursday afternoon, 24 hours after his team won the American League West. "What happens in the regular season has nothing to do with the postseason. None of that matters. Everything is different -- and I mean everything. You get a guy like Adam Kennedy hitting three home runs in a game. You never know who's going to pop up and go crazy on you -- or for you."
Garret Anderson knows.
"All those regular-season stats go out the window when the postseason starts," the Angels' left fielder/designated hitter said. "Home-field advantage is important. To a degree, it is an advantage. But we've played very well on the road. That's what's important. We don't have to be home to beat somebody."
Mike Scioscia certainly knows.
"In 1988," the Angels' manager said, recalling a magical season with the Dodgers as their catcher, "we were 1-10 against the Mets in the regular season with a Doc Gooden rainout. So it might as well have been 1-11. You know what happened in the postseason."
The Dodgers flattened the heavily favored Queens outfit in seven National League Championship Series games en route to an equally stunning five-game rubout of the vaunted "Bash Brothers" of Oakland in the World Series.
"That's what I'm talking about," Hunter said. "Crazy things happen in October, man. That's just the way it is."
The Angels are making their eighth journey into postseason play. They lost their first three series -- in 1979 to Baltimore, 3-1; in 1982 to Milwaukee, 3-2; in 1986 to Boston, 4-3. Ending a 16-year drought in 2002 as the AL Wild Card, they whipped the Yankees, 3-1, and Twins, 4-1, on their way to a seven-game triumph over the Giants in the World Series.
In 2004, the Angels were swept three straight by Boston, which repeated the feat in 2007. In 2005, the Angels eliminated the Yankees, 3-2, before bowing to the White Sox, 4-1, in the ALCS.
The Angels are the first team in this season, having wrapped up their fourth AL West title in five years, and seventh in franchise history, earlier than the division has ever been clinched.
This gives Scioscia 2 1/2 weeks, 17 games, to fine-tune, align his rotation, keep veterans sharp but rested, to do everything possible to have his machine humming on all cylinders for Game 1 of the AL Division Series on Oct. 1 or Oct. 2 -- presumably at Angel Stadium.
Shortstop Erick Aybar and second baseman Howie Kendrick, idled by left hamstring strains since Aug. 27, have been running for four days. They ran the bases in earnest on Thursday and figure to get enough late-season playing time to be ready for the postseason, Scioscia said.
Third baseman Chone Figgins, who has missed three games with a tender right elbow, figures to be back in the lineup this weekend. Hunter is expected back in center field this weekend after serving a two-game suspension, giving him time to heal a tweaked quadriceps muscle.
The only physical question on the pitching staff involves the right hand of Jered Weaver. He sustained two cuts on his middle and ring fingers in Detroit and was set to test it on Thursday night against the Mariners.
Scioscia has time to align his starters, with John Lackey, Ervin Santana, Joe Saunders and Jon Garland all eager to get starts along with Weaver.
"We have five guys we're comfortable with putting out there in a playoff situation," Scioscia said.
The only way the Angels won't have home-field advantage in the first round is if the winners of the AL East and Central have better records. At the moment, the Central-leading White Sox are seven games behind Scioscia's troupe.
The Angels are almost assured of facing the Red Sox or Rays in the ALDS. The AL East champion figures to face the Central kingpin, with the Wild Card club coming to Anaheim.
Chasing the Rays in the East, Boston leads Minnesota in the Wild Card race by five games. The Wild Card faces the division champion with the best record -- unless it's a division rival.
For what it's worth -- not a whole lot, if you listen to Hunter -- the Angels are 8-1 against the Red Sox (with eight consecutive wins), 3-6 against the Rays (1-5 in the Tropicana Field dome), 5-3 against the Twins and 5-5 against the White Sox.
"If anyone thinks those [records] matter," Hunter said, "they haven't been through it. They can use whatever information they want, but when you get on the field, it's what you've got going at that moment -- not what happened months ago."
The Red Sox swept the Angels in the best-of-five ALDS in 2004 and 2007. A rash of late-season injuries had the Angels in a diminished condition heading into the '07 postseason.
"We had a lot of injuries," Anderson said. "You can't control that stuff. I don't take anything away from Boston -- they were a fine team. We weren't healthy. They rolled over us and everybody else."
There will be occasional days off, but the Angels' elder statesman has no intention of gearing down with the first phase of the challenge accomplished.
"What we have to do now is play out the season," Anderson said. "We have a responsibility to our owner, the people who pay our checks. We have a responsibility to do our jobs. I come to the park to play every day. We've been doing it for 6 1/2 months. Why stop now? It's a half-full type of thing. I enjoy playing."
The Angels' biggest race at the moment is with the Rays for best record and home-field advantage throughout the postseason. Coming into Thursday night's games, the 88-57 Angels held a half-game lead over the 87-57 Rays, but they were even in the loss column.
With the AL having won the All-Star Game, the team with the league's best record gets to choose whether it opens the Division Series on Oct. 1 or Oct. 2. The series that begins on Oct. 1 has three off-days, allowing the manager to go with a three-man rotation if he chooses. The other series, starting on Oct. 2, has two scheduled days off.
Should the White Sox or Twins claim the Wild Card, that team would play either the Angels or the AL East champion -- the club with the best record.
Catching their collective breath after a wild celebration on Wednesday, the Angels aren't interested in entertaining all these possibilities just yet. They're just content that they're in first, waiting for seven others to join them.
"This is straight positive," Hunter said firmly, when asked if there were any drawbacks to clinching so soon. "When I was with the Twins, we grinded it out every time, 162 games [to reach the postseason]. Mentally, we were done. That's why we couldn't get past the Yankees [in 2003 and 2004]."
Minnesota reached the postseason in four of five seasons, starting in 2002, with Hunter as its center fielder and leader. Only in 2002 did the Twins reach the ALCS, losing in five games to the glory-bound Angels, who took flight into the World Series with three homers from Kennedy in an Angel Stadium clincher Hunter hasn't forgotten.
"I want to take it all the way this time," the center fielder said. "One step at a time."
Lyle Spencer is a reporter for MLB.com. This story was not subject to the approval of Major League Baseball or its clubs.


text:
[Hook 2x: Brandy]
Fall back...
I'm trying to breathe and you're killing me
Fall back...
I understand that you're feeling me
Fall back...
I ain't got a attitude
But I'mma flip if you don't give me room to move
[Verse 1: Fabolous]
I gotta stay on the move
So this cat got more spots than a leopard skin
The safe's in the ceiling where I stash drugs and weapons in
Nigga I'm just steppin' in...
Already got boxes full of money like that movie that Johnny Depp was in
I'd rather pull a gat than run
Cause what goes around comes around faster than a gatlin gun
These broke niggas think goin' to Manhattan's fun
I'm on the Punta Cana shore with a Latin one
That can suck a beach ball through a straw
Act like a chipmunk and put nuts in each one of her jaws
Homie, I'm just trying to teach yall how to score
It's easy for me to pull up each fall in azures
And my dope sends buyers from O.T
They heard I got the same shit that caused Len Bias to O.D
This the young nigga that inspire the O.G.'s
In that H-2 with thin tires and O.Z.'s
And yall got jewels but I doubt it's the same shine
Mine look like the sun and moon's out at the same time
Don't worry about the rumors that a broad dish
When I ride around with the same gun Travolta had in Swordfish
So fall back like you lost your balance
I don't want to toss with talons
But you keep stylin'
And I'mma have to let the 16 squirt
And make your white T look like a Miskene shirt nigga
[Hook 2x]
[Verse 2: Brandy]
What the fuck?
Proper truck
7 jeans, white truck
Range Rover sitting on 2-3's
On the 745 on the 105
Ain't nobody in the ride but me
Can't say anything you want about my business
Better hold your tongue unless you witness
My life first hand
My joy, my pain
Not just my music, and my name
[Hook 2x]
[Verse 3: Lloyd Banks]
You can bet your bottom dollar
If it's ever a room that I'm tied up in
That Im gonna throw bullets like Boomer Esiason
Give him a wound where his eye has been
And lift him off the ground like a hot air balloon when it's firin'
My game's smooth as Mariah's skin
But I'm popular
So I travel with the goons when I slide up in
I'm blamed for the heat round my way
I made it without a Making of the Band
Or a Freestyle Friday
Why you with him if your troops don't buck
I'm at the corner
Wrapping you in plastic like a Fruit Roll up
I get brain from every female
Like my past's intelligent
They're taking more nuts than the average elephant
They acting like they own slugs and armory
But if we bump heads
They'll be talking faster than Bone Thugs-N-Harmony
There's names you can call me
But "Broke" ain't one
I'm in the game for the O.J. run
My goal ain't done
Go in the house with your old gray gun
We got something big enough to be a court case son
And I've learned to overcome the new faces
I'm starting to heat up
So my dick get more tongue than shoelaces
You can catch me in the hood with a couple G's
And I'm bangin' things
High cause I go through more trees than Orangutans
You're going to make me go put the clip in and pop ya
You're horrible nigga
I'd rather sit through an opera
[Hook 2x]
This song is off of Lloyd Banks's 2nd mixtape: Mo' Money In The Bank. This song is full of punchlines with two rappers that are well known to use them a lot.


text:
Saturday, May 02, 2009
Simply Dazzling
Anyway, it seems he has video capture hardware and software that I can borrow! So, last Wednesday evening he comes over, gets the hardware and software (Dazzle and Pinnacle Studio) installed on my laptop, and shows me how to use it. A little over an hour later, he's gone, and I'm on my own! Within about two hours after he left, I had a "finished" movie! It had been converted, edited, and a few scene transitions were added. It does take some time, but I was surprised at how easy it was to learn. Of course, I haven't gotten into adding music or menus, and that first video/movie was only 12 minutes long. I've digitzed two more tapes but haven't edited them yet. But it is a start. Only 14 more tapes left...
Out of curiosity, I did a bit of looking on the 'net this morning for the Dazzle and must say that many of the reviews I saw were not very favorable. Some of those reviews were several years old though. It looks like people either hate it or love it. Guess it depends to some degree on the Dazzle model and the other (computer) hardware used, and their results. Based on those reviews, I'm not sure I would have purchased it. I'm not technologically sophisticated, i.e. I don't know whether my results are "good quality" or not, but I'm happy with the results thus far, and I guess that's what really matters.
2 comments:
Hi Becky,ReplyDelete
I've been thinking about digitizing my old home videos, too. Sometimes I think I can actually hear those old VHS tapes deteriorating in their storage boxes.
My sister had many of her old videos professionally converted to DVD - an expensive undertaking. Nonetheless she was delighted with the results and happy she made the conversion.
Congratulations on taking the plunge into video conversion. That's one project this is still on my to-do list!
Thanks Steve. I figured I needed to get the conversions done while the hardware was available for use. Can't beat the cost - Free! I didn't even consider getting them done professionally - I assumed it would be quite expensive.ReplyDelete
It's really a fairly simple process and the software is easy to use. Since you are initially capturing the video in "real time" it takes a while and the file sizes can be quite large depending upon the length of the video. I'm planning to get another external USB drive to store the "raw" and edited files on as well as making DVDs that will run in a DVD player (and giving DVDs to other family members).
I'm really enjoying the process and viewing the videos, which haven't been seen for quite some time and most are still in pretty good condition. There are events on them that I completely forgot about!
You have to be a "Registered User" to leave a comment. This means you must have a user ID with one of the following: Google, Live Journal, Word Press, Type Pad, AIM,or Open Id. If you don't have one of those IDs you can always send me an email (link in upper right corner of the blog). I apologize for the inconvenience but the amount of Spam Comments being left was overwhelming. Comment moderation is turned on for posts more than 3 days old.


text:
He needs to improve, period.
First, I'll start off by saying that Sanchez completely crapped the bed during the final 3 games of the regular season. Because of that, our season ended up being a failure and we missed the playoffs with an 8-8 record.
Our 3 games still can not change the fact that Sanchez improved as a 3rd year player. Some fans choose to harp all over A.) The Ravens disaster (where he turned the ball over 5 times behind a distarious offensive line) or B.) The final 3 games of the regular season; while completely ignoring the progress that Sanchez made during our first 13 weeks of the season.
During the first 13 weeks of the season? Mark Sanchez put together 10 very good performances/games. Negatives critics have refused to acknowledge this, due to the fact that our season ended very poorly. Which is their right, but when judging a quarterbacks overall development/progress, I rather look at the complete body of work before throwing a young/developing quarterback under the bus because of a couple bad performances.
Lets start off by looking at 10 of Mark's first 13 games (heading into weeks 15, 16 and 17).
Cowboys: 26/44, 335 yards, 59.1%, 2 TD's/1 INT; QB rating of 88.7.
Jaguars: 17/24, 182 yards, 70.8%, 2 TD's/2 INT's; QB rating of 85.8.
Raiders: 27/44, 369 yards, 61.4%, 2 TD's/1 INT; QB Rating of 93.8.
Patriots: 16/26, 166 yards, 61.5%, 2 TD's/0 INT's; QB Rating of 105.6.
Dolphins: 14/25, 201 yards, 56.0%, 1 TD/0 INT's; QB Rating of 95.6.
Chargers: 18/33, 173 yards, 54.5%, 3 TD's/1 INT; QB Rating of 87.1.
Buffalo: 20/28, 230 yards, 71.4%, 1 TD/1 INT; QB Rating of 92.9.
Buffalo: 17/35, 180 yards, 48.6%, 4 TD's/1 INT; QB Rating of 90.2.
Redskins: 19/32, 165 yards, 59.4%, 1 TD/0 INT's; QB Rating of 85.3.
Chiefs: 13/21, 181 yards, 61.9%, 2 TD's/0 INT;s QB Rating of 121.3.
Yes, Sanchez did have bad performances against the likes of Baltimore, New England and Denver; but is that enough to completely ignore the overall progression that Sanchez made during 10 of our first 13 games?
During these 10 games (mentioned above), the Jets went 8-2 and Sanchez combined for 187/312, 2,182 yards, 60.46%, 20 TD's/7 INT's with a QB Rating of 94.6.
So yes, as a 3rd year developing quarterback, Sanchez did have 3 failures during our first 13 games against the Ravens, Patriots and Broncos, but why completely ignore 10 of his first 13 performances of the 2011 season?
The kid combined for 187/312, 2,182 yards, 60.46%, 20 TD's/7 INT's with a QB Rating of 94.6 outside of Baltimore, NE and Denver during 10 of our first 13 games; those decent to very strong performances can not be ignored. Acknowledge those awful performances against Baltimore, NE, Denver and/or our final 3 games? Of course, but to harp all over a developing quarterback as if he's made no progress what so ever is what I consider posting with an 'agenda'.
He needs to improve, period.
Some of these Sanchez critics post as if Sanchez never improved (last season) when in comparison to his first two seasons. Now, when you look at the complete picture, you'll begin to see a completely different outcome. Sanchez did improve last season, by leaps and bounds too.
The naysayers have mocked me as if I'm using "useless stats", but when they throw Sanchez under the bus, their only using statistics such as Completion percentage, Turnovers and QB Ratings. So, it's o.k for Sanchez critics to use stats to show where Sanchez has failed, but those same statistics then become "useless stats" when in favor of Sanchez improving? It's an agenda with double standards.
These statistics that I'm on the verge of posting doesn't lie. His overall production and/or overall improvements on the football field don't lie either. He improved last season.
During his first two seasons, he combined for a QB rating of 69.5. Last year he put up a QB rating of 78.2. I'm not comparing Sanchez to Brady, but it took Brady until his 5th year in the league before he posted his first seasonal QB Rating of 90.0+
During his first two seasons, he combined for 8 games in which he threw multiple INT's. Last year Sanchez had 5 games in which he threw multiple INT's. The difference? In 2009/2010 Sanchez combined for games of 2, 2, 2, 3, 3, 3, 4 and 5 INT games. Last year Sanchez had games of 2, 2, 2, 2 and 3 INT games.
During his first two seasons, he combined for 1 INT per every 26.4 drop backs. Last year, Sanchez threw 1 INT per every every 30.1 drop backs.
During his first two seasons, he combined for 35 TD's/33 INT's. Last year alone, Sanchez put up 32 TD's/18 INT's.
During his first two seasons, he combined for a completion percentage of 69.1%. Last year, Sanchez improved his accuracy with a 56.7 completion percentage. Has improved his accuracy each of his first 3 seasons. Expecting at least 60% this season.
During his first two seasons, he combined for 7 games of multiple TD's (2, 2, 2, 2, 3, 3 & 3). Last year alone, Sanchez put up 9 games of multiple TD's of 2, 2, 2, 2, 2, 2, 2, 3 and 4 TD performances.
During his first two seasons, he combined for 8 games of 250+ yards. Last year alone, Sanchez put up 5 games of 250+ yards.
During first first two seasons, he combined for 2 games of 300+ yards. Last year alone, Sanchez put up 3 games of 300+ yards.
During his first two seasons, he combined for 7 games of 80-90 QB ratings, 1 game of 90-100 QB Ratings and 7 games of 100+ QB ratings. Last year alone Sanchez put up 4 games of 80-90 QB ratings, 4 games of 90-100 QB ratings and 2 games of 100+ QB ratings.
During his first two seasons, he combined for 7 games of 60% completion percentages or higher (61.4%, 63.2%, 63.6%, 64.9%, 65.5%, 70% and 76.5%). Last year alone, Sanchez put up 7 games of 60% completion percentages or higher (60.0%, 61.4%, 61.5%, 61.9%, 65.5% and 70.8% and 71.4%). He's not improving upon his accuracy?
During his first two seasons, he combined for 9 games of 50% completion percentages or below (34.5%, 38.1%, 38.6%, 42.1%, 46.7%, 47.6%, 47.7%, 50.0% & 50.0%). As a 3rd year player Sanchez only had 2 games of 50% or below (31.4% and 48.6%). Would you still like to claim that "Sanchez hasn't improved upon his accuracy"?
Sanchez improved last season, regardless of what NE fans and/or negative critics have to say.
Last edited by NY2FLDWC85; 07-11-2012 at 03:03 AM.
So yes, he failed during our final 3 games, but lets no ignore 10 of his first 13 starts because of it. Sanchez improved by leaps and bounds (as a Quarterback) last season; negative critics refuse to acknowledge it. And when Sanchez supporters do acknowledge it? They're made out to be homers, posting clueless stats etc, etc.
Some football fans (posters) understand the overall aspects involved in quarterback development, others don't. There lies the difference.
Heading into our final 3 games (13 games), Sanchez combined for 242/426, 2,859 yards, 58.4%, 26 offensive TD's/11 INT's with a QB Rating of 85.2.
So, when you see/hear Sanchez critics mention and/or make clueless remarks such as Sanchez "regressed", "played like trash", "failed to improve" etc, etc during the 2011 season? Just know that, these critics are only speaking of the final 3 games of the season against the likes of the Eagles, Giants and Dolphins. Heading into our final 3 games, Sanchez was at 242/426, 2,859 yards, 58.4%, 26 offensive TD's/11 INT's with a QB Rating of 85.2. They'll completing ignore the overall progression during 13 games, only to harp over the final 3 games.
Last edited by NY2FLDWC85; 07-11-2012 at 03:01 AM.
aaaaand away we go!
The guy turned the ball over 26 times last season, yet you try your hardest to make it sound like Sanchez is already a legitimate franchise QB. Aside from his playoff record, what exactly is this based on?
He's one of the most erratic, inaccurate, turnover prone starting QB's in the NFL at this point. Can he improve? Sure he can, and I think that every Jets fan out there hopes that he does. But this constant excuse making is getting to be incredibly tiresome.
We can include the Ravens, Patriots and Broncos games, and Sanchez still combined for 242/426, 2,859 yards, 58.4%, 26 offensive TD's/11 INT's with a QB Rating of 85.2 during out first 13 games (heading into our final 3 games).
Everyone knows that Sanchez failed during out final 3 games of the season against the Eagles, Giants and Dolphins, but that still doesn't change the fact that Sanchez (as only a 3rd year quarterback) combined for 242/426, 2,859 yards, 58.4%, 26 offensive TD's/11 INT's with a QB Rating of 85.2 during our first 13 games.
I'm taking the biggest offense that he took stats from "10 of the first 13" games, which basically means he cherry-picked stats from all the games that weren't a disaster for Sanchez, and then pretended like the last 3 games of the season never happened, and cooked up some impressive STATZ.
You just, without knowing it, admitted that you only judge Sanchez due to the Ravens team disaster and final 3 games. Those 4 games account for 14 turnovers. Which means, he only turned the ball over 12 times during 12 remaining games.
This kid improved as an overall quarterback last season, negative critics refuse to accept that (Due to our last 3 games).
Those were the most important games in the season for the Jets! WTF! Ok fine, whatever, let's pretend they never happened, Holmes was a choir boy, etc... Sanchez looks great, the FO looks great. The Jets only played 13 relevant games in 2011. The other 3? Everybody just gave up. No big deal. Didn't even want to make the playoffs... they knew they couldn't make the AFCCG, so why even bother? They made the right decision to give up, wasn't worth it.
Last edited by ASG0531; 07-11-2012 at 03:30 AM.
As Jet fans, we have to acknowledge his final 3 games, but that doesn't mean that (as a fan base) we can't discuss and observe how Sanchez performed during his first 13 games of 2011 (as a 3rd year quarterback).
During our first 13 games (combined) Sanchez went 242/426, 2,859 yards, 58.4%, 26 offensive TD's/11 INT's with a QB Rating of 85.2 during our first 13 games. Not bad for a 3rd year quarterback. A developing one at that.
You can discuss and observe any slice of games that makes Sanchez look good that you want. The bottom line is those last 3 games happened, Sanchez played in them, and those stats are relevant in analyzing Sanchez as a QB. You want to pretend really, really badly that Sanchez wasn't actually there throwing pick-sixes to DLinemen and just executing horrible QB play, what happened in those last 3 games ruins your little jizz-fest.
I'm sorry outside observers refuse to ignore 25% of the games Sanchez played in last year when evaluating him.
Last edited by ASG0531; 07-11-2012 at 04:30 AM.
We still had a chance at making the playoffs in ALL 3 of those games at the end of the season.
And in those 3 games, Sanchez had arguably the worst stretch of his career.
But yeah, the guys who question Mark's abilities as a legit, franchise QB are automatically labeled as "haters" or "Same Old Jets fans".
When Sanchez proves to me that he is capable of being the focal point of this offense, then he'll have my unwavering support. But until then, the facts are the facts. At this point, the kid is a bottom 3rd starting QB with a major knack for turning the ball over.
It is what it is...until proven otherwise.
Haven't you already made this thread before?
I'm one of the most pro-Sanchez people on here, and everytime I read through your spinning of the numbers, I have to reconsider my position. It's one thing to be a fan, it's another to make no attempt whatsoever to be objective. Picking out a set of games that gives Sanchez a 94.6 passer rating? Really? You think that's an accurate reflection of the player that he is right now?
I'm pro-Sanchez, but my argument has always been that he's shown enough to give him more time and that he's not primarily responsible for the team's struggles last year or either AFCCG loss. I don't know how good he'll wind up being. I think that it's unlikely that he'll ever be elite (though there's still a remote chance) and I'm almost certain that he'll be better than he has been.
Anyone that believes Sanchez is a good QB right now has a very broad understanding of what it means to be "good." I have Sanchez somewhere in the 14-19 range. That's average to slightly below-average. If he was 29, I wouldn't be satisfied with that, but he's not, so I want to give him more time instead of starting over with another young QB. But that doesn't seem to be your position.
Lastly, I'm someone that also likes to use stats to support their arguments. Yet I find your number filled ramblings to be frustrating.
Sanchez increased his passing yardage in 2011.........so what? He threw the ball more often, his yards per attempt went down. His touchdowns increased, I was very happy about this, and his performance in the red zone improved dramatically.
There's no way to put a negative spin on that, but you should also be mindful that our red zone playcalling was radically different in 2011 than it was in 2009 and 2010. We ran the ball less and threw more. Sanchez's passing TDs were slightly depressed in his first two years, and slightly inflated in his 3rd year.
Anyone that has watched the Dolphins for the past few years should know how conservative Sparano is in the red zone. Sanchez could play just as well in the red zone and throw for fewer TDs in 2012 than he did in 2011.
Lastly, our red zone excellence last year masked how bad the offense really was. Red zone %'s tend to fluctuate significantly from year to year. Even the best offenses in the league have a hard time maintaining the 65% success rate that we had last year, from season to season. If the offense regresses to 54% (where the Giants were last year), combined with the shift in red zone playcalling....that's why you can't just say "Sanchez threw for 26 TDs last year, he should throw for even more this year if he continues to progress."
It's one thing to look at a box score, it's another to understand the context in which those numbers were produced. Far too often, you're just regurgitating numbers and giving the most pro-Jet interpretation of them that you can come up with.
Fans that think that they can use stats in football as they can in baseball, you just can't without going into much greater depth. looking at your stats you can't tell if his completions were on 1st and 10 or 3 and 9. Did he throw the touchdown when they were up or down by more than 2 scores in the 4th.
Did he throw that interception on his 5yd line? or was it thrown at the end of the 1/2 in a Hail Mary?
You have to look at the game, and not the box score.


text:
Just heard an interview with Donnie Walsh on Stephen A Smith radio show. Smith asked about Artest and both men starting laughing and Donnie responded that would be a long discussion for another day. After Indiana that is never going to happen.
I did like what Walsh had to say he said, "I want professional who understand their jobs in the game of basketball."


text:
Mike from Judge makes his acoustic debut. Ten sincere folk/blues songs that may bring a tear to your eye.
1. Comin' Home
2. Someone I Could've Loved
3. Little One
4. Flying Still
5. Sights
6. Pushing A Dreamer
7. Wish
8. When The Loving's Done
9. One Eyed Jack
10. Time's Getting On


text:
Bird is the Word Last night
Mike Ricigliano/www.baltimoresun.com
During last night's game, a scene from Alfred Hitchcock's thriller, The Birds kept going through my mind. You might remember the scene where they were stuck in the gas station and the pumps were about to blow up and the anxious and terrified adults were looking for options, but none came to their minds. That is the same rationale that was floating through my head after watching seven innings of the Tampa Bay Rays scrambling for answers and coming up blank.
I mean I could have only had to watch the game from the first pitch just past 7 pm until American Idol began on Fox Television at 8 pm, and I would have seen all the Rays offense in that contest. I know there were more scoring chances in the game after that huge second inning, but the Rays did not execute or even seemed to have the ability to provide any additional show of consistent offense after that inning. The wildest play of the night had to be on a fly ball hit by Ben Zobrist and a wild game of "catch me if you can" in centerfield by Adam Jones and Ty Wiggington.
That play was a negative Web Gem all its own. Jones came in for the ball and Wiggington stood to his right to watch him glove the ball for an easy out. But instead we had a Three Stooges (Wiggy was playing the part of Curly Joe) routine where Jones misplayed the ball and it popped off his glove and smacked Wiggy in the chest and he had a chance to be the hero, but the ball finally fell to the grass. For his efforts, Jones did get an error on the play.
From the third inning on tonight the Rays only got five additional hits in the game. Unfortunately the Rays did provide the Orioles defense with 2 strikeouts and two double plays in those last 7 innings to secure their 14th win of the season. Missing were Akinora Iwamura and Pat Burrell from the Rays lineup tonight. Rays Manager Joe Maddon had decided to give Aki the night off since he has been working extra hard recently and did play extensively and looked a bit fatigued coming off the field after the Red Sox series. And Burrell has been battling a neck situation that had come and gone for the last week or so.
Considering this might have been a perfect match up for Burrell tonight, one has to wonder if the Burrell injury might be a little more than advertised by Maddon. And it is a shame he could not even use him as a pinch hitter in the ninth inning when George Sherrill, the leftie closer for the Orioles was on the mound. Both Sherrill and Hendrickson might have been great pitchers for Burrell to get some needed hit and confidence at the plate from in this game. Hopefully, we can see Burrell again at the plate in Wednesday nights contest.
Rays Did Have Offense..Early
As I stated before, the top of the second inning was a great display of what the Rays can do against a struggling pitcher. They seemed to be putting pressure on the jugular in that inning and never let Hendrickson get any reprieve until Carlos Pena finally flied out to Nick Markakis to end the inning. But the damage was already done by then by the Rays, who had a 5-1 lead at that point. In that inning Gabe Kapler hit a nice sacrifice fly to deep left field to score Willy Aybar, who had singled to lead-off the inning. It was Kapler's first RBI as a Ray.
Dioner Navarro then hit a RBI-single up the middle to score Jason Bartlett, who had doubled down the third baseline earlier in the inning. B J Upton then walked to put men on the corners with Carl Crawford coming to the plate. Crawford, who had doubled in his first at bat, took a hanging breaking pitch and hit a 2-run double to deep left that Orioles leftfielder Felix Pie tried to dive for, but came up short. Evan Longoria then extended his RBI streak when he put a pitch off the out-of-town scoreboard in rightfield to drive in Crawford.
Carlos Pena then hit a long fly out to Nick Markakis to end the inning with the Rays now up 5-1. In that inning, the three outs recorded against the Rays were also hit balls. But a few great thing did happen for the Rays. Crawford moved past Aubrey Huff with his 2 RBI in the inning to become the All-Time Rays RBI Leader for the young franchise. And Longoria, after the Orioles announcers were debating if he could keep up his RBI pace, hit his ball off the scoreboard with the next pitch. Longoria is still the MLB RBI Leader, now with 45 on the year.
Sonny is No Longer Money
Man how it pains me to write that last line. I really like the lunch pail work ethic of Andy Sonnanstine. I can see that he has the drive and passion to go out there ever five days and throw until his heart gives out, or his arm falls off. But when is enough going to be enough here. At this time last year he had a 4-1 record, not the 2009 version that sports a 1-4 record with a inflated 7.27 ERA. Is there something wrong here, or am I just be too critical of a guy we had total faith in last season and might have a few struggles on the mound in 2009.
I am not a Pitching Coach, so my opinion is based solely on what I see and what I know about pitching, but there is something tell tale about him in 2009. I am not saying he is tipping his pitches, but something is tipping off the hitters more this season than in 2008. Or could it just be something a simple as he is not re-inventing himself a bit every start. Maybe the team Volvo has finally hit the point where team have scouted him so much they can even tel
l when he is exhaling now.
That does happen in the pitcher's career, and they have to re-adjust or re-invent their pitching style to confuse and make hitter get back off their heels waiting for his breaking ball. I am not going to call for a change just yet because it might be fixable, but it will have to be fixed at this level and he can not go down to the minors and work on it. It either has to be done up here, or he might just be on his way out the door in Tampa Bay. Coming into the 2009 season, you looked at Sonnanstine as a consistent pitcher, but so far in 2009, that consistency is based more in the negative than positive so far.
Last night, he lasted only two innings, or 69 pitches before getting the hook with the Rays behind 7-5. Every one of the Orioles runs were attributed to Sonny last night. That second inning only paled in comparison to Hendrickson's by two great plays by the Rays outfield. If not for those plays, the Orioles might have tacked on two additional runs. I know the minds in the Rays dugout are spinning right now trying to figure out what to do with this situation.
Like I mentioned before, it could be a simple mechanic adjustment like Scott Kazmir, or it just might be the end of Sonny's run as a start with the Rays. Either way, the bleeding has to stop. The Rays had a killer inning in the top of the second and had no reason to have to stand out there and see all their hard work go bouncing by them in the bottom half of that inning. Change has to happen……….either good or bad, but it has to begin starting today for Sonny.
Wednesdays Wild Writs
**** The Rays got a huge boost from their outfielders' in the bottom of the second inning. After Designated hitter Lou Montanez hit an RBI-double to right-centerfield. Greg Zaun hit a single to rightfield that Gabe Kapler quickly got a hold of and sent a rocket to Dioner Navarro at home to easily get Montanez trying to score. The ball was a one-hopper that came up to Navarro perfectly to secure Kapler's third outfield assist of the year. That ties the part-timer with Carl Crawford for the team lead.
**** Every one was curious what had happened to the missing left fielder for the Orioles in the top of the fourth inning. It seems that during the bottom of the third inning after Pie had struck out looking against Grant Balfour, he reportedly was sent to the University of Maryland Hospital complaining of stomach discomfort and after a CT scan, he will be in the Orioles dugout for tonight's game.
Orioles Manager Dave Trembley was not aware of the situation in the top of the fourth inning and went into the Oriole's clubhouse looking for Pie, but had to send out Ty Wiggington to play left field for the inning. "We thought it was just a temporary thing, that he had a stomach ailment or virus, upset stomach," Trembley said. "I went to the home plate umpire and told him and he said, 'I'll give you a couple minutes.' And I told Wigginton to get ready and Pie couldn't come back, so that's why we had to make a change."
Pie, who is hitting .180 right now has essentially lost his starting left field position to Lou Montanez after being brought over from the Chicago Cubs in the off season to shore up that spot in the outfield. Ex-Ray Joey Gathright was recently traded also from the Cubs to the Orioles for infield/outfielder Ryan Freel. Gathright does have major league experience, and could be a nice speedy option in left field for the Orioles to consider for the position.
**** I give Sunsports some credit for at least giving us the audio feed from Oriole Park at Camden Yards as they were trying to fix their video problems last night. We got to hear the pre-game voices of Brian Anderson and Dewayne Staats as they ran down the match-up and only missed Upton long drive to the 364 mark in centerfield, and Crawford's ninth double of the season. We got back into the 20th Century right as Longoria began his first at bat of the night, which ended up being a liner to center field to move Crawford to third base.
**** After the game, Todd Kalas interviewed both Aubrey Huff and Kapler about their feelings on the recent demonstrations by players and pitchers in the league. Huff told Kalas that he had " gotten several text messages". I still thin it is a bit humorous that Huffdaddy had to wait two years before he got a chance to rub that fist pump back at Joba Chamberlain before Sunday;s 3-run homer. But it was Kapler's comments that showed the best representation of what most of the league might be thinking on this subject:
"Personally,my standpoint is is that if the fans enjoy it. And it is good for all of us, and as long as it is not, you know, completely over the top and out of line, I think that anything that makes puts fans in the seats, ends up paying all of our salaries. media folks included, So I do not mind seeing a little bit of showboat or something good roots out there."
I think Kapler has a great grasp of this whole situation having played with the Boston Red Sox for several seasons, then taking off for the Japanese League, which views cheering and also displays of showmanship completely different than in the United States. Then he comes back to the MLB and managed in the minor leagues for a year before deciding in 2008 he still had the desire and passion to play the game.
10 Comments
When I read the title of your blog I thought you were writing about Larry Bird! I think Kapler's comments are spot on when it comes to talking about "showboating" by players. And boy, the lose to the O's. Our teams can be frustrating can't they. So many teams are having trouble with consistency right now. I guess that's what makes baseball so exciting.
I love the title of this! It made me think of a Family Guy episode where Peter Griffin goes around singing "the bird is the word" and asking everyone if they've heard that the bird is the word.
If the O's are your achilles heal, the Rays are the achilles heel of the Sox (except this last series ;) ).
I am starting to think that when i am going to talk about consistency the rest of the year, I am going to refer to the soup I had with dinner and not baseball teams.
I am a firm believer in play 160 games, then we can argue who is better for the last two.
Rays Renegade
I think each team in the A L East is every other AL East teams' nemesis this year.
Because we play so many amongst each other, it is almost a foregone conclusion we know almost everything about each other.
Worst case scenario, we are all going to be 81-81 at the end of the year…I wish
Rays Renegade
OH MY GOSH! Elizabeth and I totally had the same thought! I cracked up when Peter started singing about "the bird is the word."
The Rays are fourth in the AL East and they're 6.5 games behind, the Rockies are third in the NL West and they're 8.5 games behind… wow…
Iguess that just shows the gap I have with my younger readers ( those under 30).
I was actually having the song by The Trashmen called "Surfin Bird" which might have been the musical source of that show.
God I am getting old lol
Rays Renegade
The showboating only seems to be annoying when it's done by the team that just beat yours! As long as it's fun there's no harm. It seems that no matter what players do, they will offend someone. As long as the majority doesn't care, then it'll be fine. Although, it usually only takes one person to ruin things for everyone else…
I guess I'm one of those people who didn't make the link from your title to Family Guy. Oh well.
I can honestly say I do not watch the show, or even remotely can even say when it is on the tube.
It is not like my humor button is missing, that show is just not in my taste range.
I grew up with "Leave It to Beaver", and "Petticoat Junction" and of course, " The Rifleman".
Only cartoon I really remember from those days was the old "Heckle and Jeckle" and Tom and Jerry Sunday Morning duos. Along with a Three Stooges and Charlie Chan marathon.
Guess I am showing my age today.
Rays Renegade
I caught that 4th inning missing OF part. I thought he had to go wee-wee. It happens. Guess I was wrong.
I originally thought the same thing, or maybe he ate something too spicy and got caught on the porcelain god.
Every dugout has that make-shift bathroom right off the tunnel for quick access so player do not have to hoof it all the way back to the clubhouse. But some might go back all the way to the clubhouse because of longer time periods on the toilet.
But no more toilet humor here. I am flushing this away. Thank goodness the guy did not have a stomach aliment because they needed him again on Wed night after Adam Jones got hurt.
Rays Renegade


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Executive Education
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Leadership, Tepper Quad,
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Recruiters recognize that our graduates are exceptionally prepared to make an impact in organizations and in the marketplace. Carnegie Mellon's Career Services team works closely with students and companies on all aspects of the career process.
Carnegie Mellon's Career and Professional Development Center (CPDC) has a team that serves the Tepper School undergraduate population — students who are majoring in economics and in business.
While some students enter Carnegie Mellon knowing exactly what they want to do in life, most do not. One of our goals is to help our students understand the vast array of career possibilities. Our program partners with the CPDC's Tepper School team, who orchestrate the career exploration, experiential learning and career networking needs of students.
Through one-on-one conversations and workshops, as well as connecting students with alumni, the CPDC's Tepper School team offers comprehensive career development services. Freshmen students through alumni can schedule an appointment to meet with a career consultant. Students have access to many career-related events, including an annual professional development and workshop calendar, company information sessions, visit to employers, job fairs such as the Business Opportunities Conference and Wednesday Night Insights speaker series, which feature senior alumni and recruiters who visit campus and share corporate and industry overviews with our students.
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N.H. man admits guilt in Bellows Falls heroin case
BRATTLEBORO -- A Claremont, N.H., man has pleaded guilty to two heroin-possession charges -- one of them a felony -- in connection with a Bellows Falls case.
But Justin A. Simoneau, 32, will be able to avoid jail and may have the felony eventually removed from his record under a plea agreement that called for prison time that is deferred in favor of four years of probation.
On Wednesday in Windham Superior Court Criminal Division, Judge David Suntag accepted Simoneau's plea and urged him to continue to stay clean and undergo treatment.
"The benefit to having this continue is having this felony off your record in four years," Suntag said.
Bellows Falls police stopped Simoneau Feb. 6 on Westminster Street for speeding. He consented to a search of his vehicle, and police at the time said they found 96 bags of heroin.
Simoneau on Wednesday pleaded to two counts of heroin possession; one is a felony, and the other is a misdemeanor. Windham County State's Attorney Tracy Shriver explained that heroin had been found both on Simoneau and in his vehicle.
Simoneau was sentenced to six to nine months of jail time for the misdemeanor, but that time is suspended with probation. For the felony, he received a deferred sentence of four years, during which time he will be on probation.
If Simoneau complies with the terms of that probation, he can stay out of jail and have the felony expunged from his record. The misdemeanor conviction, however, will stay on his record.
Suntag said Simoneau's probation will include substance-abuse screening and counseling as well as a provision that "your person or your property can be searched without a warrant if there's a reason to believe you're possessing any regulated drugs."
Defense attorney Mimi Brill said the case's resolution "makes sense. He has to earn getting this off his record."
Simoneau told the judge that he had been using for about seven years, saying his drug abuse "started off small ... and then worked its way up." He now is undergoing treatment and said it has been a success.
"I've been clean for quite a while now," Simoneau said.
Mike Faher can be reached at firstname.lastname@example.com or 802-254-2311, ext. 275.
If you'd like to leave a comment (or a tip or a question) about this story with the editors, please email us. We also welcome letters to the editor for publication; you can do that by filling out our letters form and submitting it to the newsroom.


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State Farm has honored the School of Technology at Carver High School as one of 14 schools across the U.S. and Canada that were key supporters of the Celebrate My Drive initiative recently.
The school was presented with the $100,000 grant at an assembly at the school.
State Farm celebrated new drivers at more than 400 Celebrate My Drive events organized in communities large and small – making it North America's largest-ever simultaneous gathering of new teen drivers. As part of this program, State Farm awarded 14 participating schools each a grant of $100,000. The winning schools were chosen based on an online voting process.
"The donation will be instrumental in creating academic enrichment programs for the students at
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What are some good but easy patterns for placemats to make some quick and easy Christmas gifts for coworkers?
Welcome to the Quilting Board!
What are some good but easy patterns for placemats to make some quick and easy Christmas gifts for coworkers?
you can do an elongated log cabin (rectangular). I've also done pinwheels, or fussy cut a stripe from a focus fabric, and added borders.
I purchased some snowmen placemat panels from JoAnn's. There are 6 to a panel and they were $5 for the panel on sale at 50% off. I purchased several panels and also some dark blue indigo Kona cotton for the backing. They were really easy to do and turned out very cute! Plan to give as Christmas gifts to my secret sister at church and to my neighbors.
You can take a dozen 3.5" squares, sew them together in three rows of four each, and then frame the resulting rectangle with 2.5" strips. Back them any way you like.
This will give you a placemat that's 14" x 16" (assuming 1/4" seams).
You can do the squares all scrappy, or use a planned color combination.
i like doing 6.5 inch sqaure need 2 colors 3 of each goes really fast
Kris your placemats are sew cute :thumbup: :thumbup: :thumbup:Originally Posted by kriscraft99
I'd do mug rugs instead..faster and maybe can use at work! I usually have an odd idea...
Right now Elizabeth Hartman is doing a sew along at Sew Mama Sew's blog. You can find her free design and instructions here:http://sewmamasew.com/blog2/2011/10/...-along-part-3/
The other parts are there on the site too.I intend to make these :)
Try free patters.com. I just made Spring Flower Runner and it was very simple. It could be made into a placemat. Doesn't take alot of fabric.


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Satellite Goes Surround
Maybe I'm just someone who's easily impressed, but the whole idea of sending audio and video data tens of thousands of miles into space to hit satellites that then send the data back to earth amazes the heck out of me. Recently, a DirecTV engineer told me how, at unbelievable cost, they designed and built earth stations, satellites, and receivers, and then in 1993 launched the satellites into space. Only once all the pieces were in place could they turn on a TV to see if it was receiving a signal. Yes, when the signal appeared, they were just a little relieved.
On the music side of satellite delivery, I'm a big fan of XM and Sirius. Every time I tune into each service's 130-plus channels, I'm technologically impressed, and as happy as a music lover in a record store. That both services are in stereo has never really bothered me because, while I love surround sound, I figured it would be asking way too much to have surround radio.
So I was simultaneously both surprised and suspicious when XM announced HD Surround, a way to broadcast multichannel mixes over satellite radio. My first thought: "Wow! Great!" My second thought: "I hope it sounds good." My third thought: "I hope it doesn't somehow degrade the other, non-surround channels."
XM is the first radio company of any kind to broadcast discrete surround - that is, mixes with sounds assigned to each speaker in a 5.1-channel setup, as opposed to a mix done using something like Dolby Pro Logic II, where the mix is created "on the fly" from a stereo recording. Almost everything on the light-classical XM Pops and free-form Fine Tuning music channels (Channels 113 and 76, respectively) is now in surround. Fine Tuning and XM Pops were chosen because there are more multichannel recordings available in those genres than in other kinds of music. Whenever you hear surround there, it's the real deal, never stereo jacked up with fake surround.


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Main Pairings: Harry Potter and Draco Malfoy
Story POV: Draco all the way
Plot: Harry Potter is being abused, raped and mistreated during his stay at the Dursleys. He didn't want anyone to know about it so he lied to his friends, telling them the same lie as before. But on Harry's last summer, the Dursleys went too far. Broken and bleeding, he escaped and found himself in front of the doorsteps of number 12 Grimmauld Place. Since the Order is already disband because of Voldemort's defeat at the end of Harry's sixth year, the place is empty. However, he was shocked when Harry saw the very person he hated the most: Malfoy.
When Voldemort was killed, Draco fled from his father and asked for help from the Headmaster. Remus happened to be there so he heard everything Draco has to say. Harry gave Remus the rights to Grimmauld's Place so Remus suggested to the blonde to live in the Noble and Ancient House of Black. He panicked when he found a very cold, broken and weak Harry Potter in his doorsteps so he tend to him, curing his wounds and nursing the Chosen One back to health. Slowly, as the two live on their own, Draco saw the real Harry Potter, not as a Chosen One and he fell in love. But how can he approach Harry when the latter kept on brushing him away and avoiding him? Draco learned of Harry's abuse and Draco swore to Harry that if he can heal his physical wounds, he could also heal Harry's broken soul.


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Topic: see or disable filter rule in roundcube
I have problems with filter . some users are redirecting their mail to external address
and I donot know which table /how roundcube keeps the filter information.
I want find out who is using the filter rule and in future want to disable it.
Is it possible ? Please help me.


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The stories of 2 brothers suspected in US bombing
The two Chechen brothers lived on a quiet street in Cambridge, they had been in the US about 10 years
Associated Press
BOSTON — Tamerlan Tsarnaev practiced martial arts and boxing, even aspiring to fight on the U.S. Olympic team. Dzhozkar Tsarnaev had been on the wrestling team at a prestigious school and won a scholarship from his city to pursue higher education. Neighbors recalled the ethnic Chechen brothers, living on a quiet street in Cambridge, Massachusetts, riding bikes and skateboards.
After hours of only grainy images of two men in baseball caps to go on, a portrait quickly emerged Friday of the men suspected in Monday's deadly Boston Marathon bombing.
The brothers, who came from a violence-wracked Russian region, lived together and had been in the country for about a decade, according to an uncle, Ruslan Tsarni of Montgomery Village, Maryland.
Tamerlan was believed to be 26 when he was killed overnight in a shootout with police. He was the stockier one identified in video released Thursday to the public, wearing a black baseball cap and khaki pants. According to a crime website, he was once arrested for domestic assault on a girlfriend.
"I don't have a single American friend. I don't understand them," he was quoted as saying in a photo package that appeared in a Boston University student magazine in 2010.
He identified himself as a Muslim and said he did not drink or smoke: "God said no alcohol." He said he hoped to fight for the U.S. Olympic team and become a naturalized American. He said he was studying at Bunker Hill Community College to become an engineer.
Dzhokhar, 19, attended the prestigious Cambridge Rindge and Latin school, participating on the wrestling team. In May 2011, his senior year, he was awarded a $2,500 scholarship from the city to pursue higher education, according to a news release at the time. That scholarship was celebrated with a reception at city hall.
He attended the University of Massachusetts at Dartmouth, university officials said Friday, as the campus was evacuated. The school would not say what he was studying.
The father of the suspects, Anzor Tsaraev, told The Associated Press his younger son was a second-year medical student.
"My son is a true angel ...," he said by telephone from the Russian city of Makhachkala. "He is such an intelligent boy. We expected him to come on holidays here."
He added, "They were set up, they were set up! I saw it on television; they killed my older son Tamerlan." He ended the call angrily, saying, "Leave me alone, my son's been killed."
Dzhokhar's page on the Russian social networking site Vkontakte says that before moving to the United States he attended School No. 1 in Makhachkala, the capital of Dagestan, a predominantly Muslim republic in Russia's North Caucasus that has become an epicenter of the Islamic insurgency that spilled over from the region of Chechnya.
On the site, he describes himself as speaking Chechen as well as English and Russian. His world view is described as "Islam" and he says his personal goal is "career and money."
On Friday, those who knew him were stunned. A host of a Boston-based public radio program, Robin Young, posted on Twitter a photo of her nephew with Dzhokhar Tsarnaev, their arms around each other, at their graduation.
"Heartbreaking pic," Young wrote.
Tim Kelleher, a wrestling coach for a Boston school that competed in 2010 against Dzhokhar's team, said the young man was a good wrestler and that he'd never heard him express any political opinions.
"He was a tough, solid kid, just quiet," Kelleher said.
Deana Beaulieu, a 20-year-old student at Bunker Hill Community College who lives two blocks away from the suspects' home, said she went to school with Dzhokhar and was friendly with his sister. She hadn't seen him since they graduated.
Beaulieu said she visited the family at their second-floor apartment in 2006. She recalled meeting the parents there.
"He was just a quiet kid," Beaulieu said of Dzhokhar. She couldn't recall his ever expressing any political views. "I thought he was going to branch off to college, and now this is what he's done. ... I don't understand what the hell happened, what set him off like this."
Dzhokhar appeared in the video released by authorities on Thursday, identified as Suspect Number 2, striding down a sidewalk behind his brother, unnoticed by marathon spectators. He wore what appeared to be a gray hoodie under a dark jacket and pants, and a white baseball cap facing backward.
Tamerlan was wearing khaki pants, a light T-shirt, and a dark jacket. The brim of his baseball cap faced forward, and he may have been wearing sunglasses.
According to the website spotcrime.com, Tamerlan was arrested for domestic violence in July 2009, after assaulting his girlfriend. That report could not be immediately confirmed.
He was an amateur boxer, listed as a competitor in a National Golden Gloves competition in 2009. In a local news article in 2004, someone identified as Tamerlan spoke about his boxing and his views of America.
"I like the USA," Tamerlan was quoted as saying in The Sun of Lowell, Massachusetts. "America has a lot of jobs. That's something Russia doesn't have. You have a chance to make money here if you are willing to work."
The paper quoted Tamerlan's trainer, Gene McCarthy, as saying: "He has a lot of heart. That's the key." It said he loved music, and played the piano and violin.
Copyright 2013 Associated Press


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Camomile [09-Jan-2012, version 0.8.4, Beta]
Camomile is a comprehensive Unicode library for OCaml. Camomile provides Unicode character type, UTF-8, UTF-16, UTF-32 strings, conversion to/from about 200 encodings, collation and locale-sensitive case mappings, and more. The library is currently designed for Unicode Standard 3.2.
OCaml-gettext [02-Nov-2009, version 0.3.3, Beta]
OCaml-gettext provides enough service to build a basic internationalized program. It comes with a pure Ocaml implementation, based on Camomile, a binding to GNU gettext library, and ocaml-gettext, a tool to extract strings from Ocaml source.
OCamlGettext [12-Nov-2002, version 0.0.1]
GNU gettext binding for OCaml.


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Anyone out there done a complete brake fluid change on an ABS equiped F650 twin?
I need to do one on my wife's bike and I don't see any bleed nipples on the ABS pump. I assume (always dangerous) that you can bleed the pump when you bleed the calipers because I can see no way to get fluid out of the pump.
So, would appreciate some pointers from anyone who has done this previously.


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Cards cut two relievers, clearing way for Neshek
By Jenifer Langosch / MLB.com
JUPITER, Fla. -- With a pair of roster moves on Sunday, the Cardinals brought additional clarity to a bullpen competition nearing its end.
The Cardinals outrighted starter Angel Castro, thereby creating an opening on the 40-man roster that is expected to be filled by right-handed reliever Pat Neshek, a non-roster invitee in camp. The team also optioned left-hander Sam Freeman to Triple-A.
Castro, whom the Cardinals signed to a one-year deal in December, was knocked around for seven earned runs on 13 hits in 2 2/3 Grapefruit League innings and hadn't had much better success since moving over to Minor League camp. As for Neshek, he distinguished himself early as a favorite to win a bullpen job.
Neshek is projected to join a bullpen that will also include Trevor Rosenthal, Carlos Martinez, Kevin Siegrist, Randy Choate and Seth Maness. With Freeman now out of the mix, that seventh spot will go to one of three remaining pitchers in camp -- Keith Butler, Jorge Rondon or Scott McGregor.
There is that extra vacancy because Jason Motte needs to begin the season on the disabled list.
So how do the three remaining candidates stack up? Manager Mike Matheny offered the following assessment after announcing Freeman's departure from the big league clubhouse:
"I think with Rondon, you're looking at stuff and a guy who has improved. We gave him a task of pounding the strike zone and simplifying his approaching. It's something that he has done well, and he's seen some results.
"We made some challenges to Butler as well to use his fastball in the zone and being a little more consistent and fooling with his slot a little bit. I think we saw some good results yesterday, the time before a little rough, but overall he's a guy we know can come in and do a couple things. He can throw more than one inning; we've seen that. We've seen him be able to get out some lefties.
"And McGregor, we're still watching. He's a guy who wasn't even in camp with us. But he made a positive impression and depending on what the need of the club is, there could be a use for a guy like him."
As for Freeman, who allowed two runs on six hits and four walks in 6 1/3 spring innings, the decision to send him out of big league camp now was made so that he could get consistent work over the next week. He pitched a scoreless inning in a Triple-A game on Sunday.
Cards trim roster to 35 with five cuts
JUPITER, Fla. -- With four Grapefruit League games remaining, the Cardinals pared their spring roster down to 35 players by cutting five on Sunday.
Infielder Greg Garcia, outfielder Joey Butler and lefty reliever Sam Freeman were optioned to Triple-A. Shortstop Aledmys Diaz, who signed with the club on March 9, was optioned to Double-A, where he will begin the season. And Luis Mateo, a non-roster invitee to Spring Training, was reassigned to Minor League camp.
Garcia can play three infield positions, but the organization is most likely to use him at second base in Triple-A since Pete Kozma is projected to be Memphis' starting shortstop. Mateo, too, will offer defensive versatility in the Memphis infield.
Butler will begin the season in Memphis, but with an undefined role. The Cardinals are expected to feature a Triple-A outfield of prospects -- Oscar Taveras, Stephen Piscotty and Randal Grichuk -- which would make Butler a fourth outfielder. He went 4-for-19 this spring.
Diaz, after signing on March 9 and going to Mexico to obtain a work visa, was able to play in two Grapefruit League games since returning. He went 3-for-5, but the Cardinals felt it necessary to get him to Minor League camp soon so that he can play regularly.
"I know the value we got was to watch him -- how he handles his batting practice, how he handles his work, how he handles instruction with [infield coach Jose Oquendo]," Matheny said. "All the way across was very impressive. You see a guy walk into the box not afraid in a big league spring game. He was very consistent with his approach at the plate, as well as what he was doing in the field. So it was a nice look for us."
Garcia throws first 'pen session since February
JUPITER, Fla. -- Shortly after a diagnosis in late February identified bursitis as the reason behind his left shoulder discomfort, Jaime Garcia set a goal of returning to the mound before the Cardinals finished Spring Training.
On Sunday, he successfully met it.
Garcia threw about 25 fastballs off the mound at the Cardinals' spring complex in what was his first bullpen session since Feb. 18. In between then and now, the left-hander received a cortisone shot and assurances that there is no structural damage in his shoulder.
Now that Garcia is back on the mound, he'll follow a throwing program similar to the one that he had stalled last month. There will be several more bullpen sessions and then an opportunity to face hitters during extended Spring Training. Eventually, Garcia would go out on a Minor League rehab assignment before being ready to return to St. Louis.
"I'm going to be ready to go whenever that time is," Garcia said. "I'm very, very confident I'm going to be good to go. When is that going to be? I haven't really talked to the trainers. But I'm hoping as soon as possible."
Garcia has said he has already faced the possibility of pitching with discomfort in his shoulder for the rest of his career. In order to keep it manageable, he has made some changes and additions to his workout regimen.
"It's been a little tough for me, unfortunately, since last year when Spring Training started," Garcia said. "But I'm in a good place right now. I'm coming in ready to go every day, trying to do my work, have a good mentality about this whole thing, stay positive. It was a good first bullpen."
Worth noting
• Infielder Malik Collymore, the Cardinals' 10th-round pick in the 2013 First-Year Player Draft, exited a Minor League intrasquad game on Saturday after colliding with shortstop Robelys Reyes, as both converged on a ball behind second base. Director of Player Development Gary LaRocque said that X-rays on Collymore's left shin came back negative and that he is listed as day to day.
• The Cardinals have not yet announced who will play in Memphis during Friday's exhibition game against the organization's Triple-A affiliate. However, Matheny said that a Major League pitcher is expected to start the game for the Cardinals.
Jenifer Langosch is a reporter for MLB.com. Read her blog, By Gosh, It's Langosch, and follow her on Twitter @LangoschMLB. This story was not subject to the approval of Major League Baseball or its clubs.


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Ever have trouble deciding who pays for pizza? Why bother divvying up the check based on what people ate or drank or even splitting the bill evenly? With this plate, the person who grabs a slice to reveal the black circle has to bite the bullet.
At just over 12 inches and with six "bullet chambers," it's clearly designed for smaller Neapolitan pies. 30€ from veinticuatrodientes.com. [via Gizmodo; h/t Joanna C.]


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Haren hoping to command attention with Nats
By Joey Nowak / MLB.com
VIERA, Fla. -- Listening to Dan Haren recap his tumultuous 2012 season is like listening to a weary traveler return home and recite his travails.
The way he tells the condensed version: his fastball velocity was down in the mid-to-high-80s at the beginning of the year, so he began to overthrow and ended up leaving balls up in the zone. In doing so, he got hit around early -- five of his first six decisions were losses -- before making his first-ever trip to the disabled list in early July because of back and hip issues.
Haren rediscovered his mechanics, backed off and tried to pitch without considering the radar gun. His ERA dropped from 4.82 on Aug. 25 to 4.33 by the end of the year. The Nationals brought in the 32-year-old right-hander to pick up where he left off.
"I didn't trust myself last year," Haren said. "I saw that my velocity was a little bit down and I was trying to overthrow. When you're overthrowing, that means that you're not trusting yourself. Toward the end of the year, I started to find myself. It's easier said than done to just trust what you've got out there when you have a rough game and give up eight runs in three innings -- to sit at your locker and say, 'I'll get 'em next time.'"
In all likelihood, Haren's first next time will come slotted somewhere behind Nationals headliners Stephen Strasburg and Gio Gonzalez, who occupy lockers on either side of Haren at the club's Spring Training complex in Viera, Fla.
Signed to a one-year, $13 million contract in January, Haren has a wealth of experience compared to his peers. Of his rotation mates, only Ross Detwiler and Gonzalez have appeared in five big league seasons, and only Gonzalez (twice) has reached 200 innings in a season (Haren's done it seven times, including a string of six consecutive from 2005-10).
"His value to me is that he's a capable mid-to-upper rotation starting pitcher and he gives you a veteran leadership clubhouse presence, and a guy who's been around and greatly successful for years to come," general manager Mike Rizzo said. "But we didn't get him here and pay him to be a mentor for our starters. We brought him to be a real contributor in the rotation. We feel that a healthy Dan Haren is going to revert to previous Dan Haren, and that's what we're looking for."
The three-time All-Star was reportedly pursued by a number of other teams this offseason, but his signing with the Nationals ultimately was an indication of how far this club has come in just a short amount of time.
"The biggest part of it was just the opportunity to win," Haren said of coming to Washington. "I'm not that old, but at this point in my career, winning is the number one priority. ... What other team in baseball gives you a better opportunity to win than this one? Probably none."
Among active pitchers, Haren trails only Mariano Rivera (4.0397) with a career strikeout-walk ratio of 4.0127. Three times (2008 and 2009 with the D-backs and 2011 with the Angels) he's led the league.
"When I first saw him throw, the ball came out of his hand real good and he was painting [the corner of the plate]," manager Davey Johnson said. "I said something to him like, 'Man, you're looking good.' And he said something to the effect of, 'I have a little command.' I said, 'That's right.'"
Strasburg called Haren "a proven winner" and "a guy who knows what it takes." Adam LaRoche, who spent time with Haren when both were in Arizona in 2010, said the hurler has "a little attitude about him" when he pitches.
"He's a guy that, if he doesn't have it that night, can get creative and knows to grind through some of those outings," LaRoche said. "I've seen him do it a lot. I've seen him do it when I don't know if it was a back issue or something going on that year where he was able to fight through it and change the way he pitched, mix some pitches up and kind of become a different pitcher.
"Anyway, he knows how to win. That's one thing he done, gone out and been real competitive. I love playing behind him."
Joey Nowak is a reporter for MLB.com. Follow him on Twitter at @joeynowak. This story was not subject to the approval of Major League Baseball or its clubs.


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Petricka called up to replace Troncoso in bullpen
By Kelly Erickson / MLB.com
MINNEAPOLIS -- Right-handed reliever Ramon Troncoso was placed on the disabled list Saturday with pericarditis, a swelling of the lining of the heart.
White Sox manager Robin Ventura said Troncoso came to the field Friday with some chest pain and was sent to the hospital.
"Apparently, a few years ago, he had it," Ventura said. "I think about three years ago, or he had something similar. They recognized right away and started treatment yesterday."
To fill Troncoso's spot in the bullpen, the White Sox purchased the contract of right-hander Jake Petricka. The Fairbault, Minn., native -- who will wear No. 68 for the South Siders -- found his way to the clubhouse at Target Field on Saturday, said hello to the coaching staff and was promptly told he had to stretch in 15 minutes.
Ventura said the right-hander was someone he had his eye on to bring up in September, but with the need now Troncoso was the pitcher recommended for the job.
"There's not going to be a breaking-in period," Ventura said. "He's up here.
"He throws hard, it's more about location right now and being able to come up here and just pitch. … The way our games are, you know he's going to get used."
Petricka got the call Friday night as he was packing his bags in Scranton, Pa., for a flight Saturday morning to return home with Triple-A Charlotte. He initially got a text from manager Joel Skinner and wasn't sure if he was about to receive good or bad news.
"It happened to be good," Petricka said. "It's an amazing feeling."
When he realized the White Sox were in Minnesota, he said the opportunity couldn't have come at a better time. He noted before Saturday's game that he has about 30 to 40 friends and family in attendance, despite the possibility he wouldn't even pitch.
Prior to the game, Petricka did say he wouldn't mind getting in the game, just to get his first outing out of the way, but he also planned on just taking in the moment. He was actually surprised he got the call in the first place, especially given the fact he just switched to relief this season.
Petricka started the season at Double-A Birmingham and was promoted to Charlotte in early July, making his first appearance with the Knights on July 4. Over 10 games, he pitched 15 1/3 innings and allowed just two runs on nine hits and seven walks while striking out 17, for a 1.17 ERA.
"There were a lot of guys down in the' pen but a few guys in front of me, I felt," Petricka said. "I'm just happy for the opportunity.
"I just want to show I can compete with these guys and throw strikes. That's the biggest thing -- attack the zone. If you get hit, it's better than walking people."
Gillaspie rests sore right hand, available off bench
MINNEAPOLIS -- In each of the first two games of their four-game set with the Twins, the White Sox had to pull an infielder early because of nagging injuries. But neither injury has proven costly.
After Gordon Beckham was pulled as a precautionary measure when he tweaked a strain in his right quadriceps Thursday night, Conor Gillaspie took a tough catch at third on a Wilkin Ramirez triple in the seventh inning Friday night. The catch caused Gillaspie's right hand to swell up and he had to exit the game early.
Gillaspie said the ball must have just hit him on the bone or a sensitive spot, causing it to flare up.
"I didn't really notice anything right away," Gillaspie said. "After about a minute, I kind of looked down and noticed my hand was pretty swollen and bruised. It's nothing serious, nothing that's going to keep me down really, at all. Yesterday, it was just so swollen I could hardly hang onto the bat. One of those freak things, I guess."
While Gillaspie was given a day of rest Saturday, his hand already looked better prior to the game and he was available off the bench if needed. He hopes to be back in the lineup Sunday.
"He's still sore," manager Robin Ventura said. "Hopefully, give him another day, unless Gordon gets hurt, then we'll throw him back out there. So kind of keep our fingers crossed."
Kelly Erickson is an associate reporter for MLB.com. This story was not subject to the approval of Major League Baseball or its clubs.


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Scott Wilson – Sep 10, 2017
Be A Better You – Part 1 – When You're Losing Your Mind
From Series: "Be A Better You"
More From "Be A Better You"
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WASHINGTON -- Congressman Marty Meehan (D-Mass.) will host the Concord Coalition's new interactive entitlement exercise, Just Generations, at Concord-Carlisle (Mass.) High School on Monday, Jan. 12, at 7:00 p.m.
Just Generations participants will assume the role of citizen-members of a Presidential Commission appointed to recommend ways to keep Social Security and Medicare sustainable over the long term. Working in small groups, participants will discuss options for reform and recommend changes to avert the crises entitlement programs will face when the Baby Boom generation begins retiring in the next decade.
Just Generations is part of the Concord Coalition's Paul E. Tsongas Project, designed to allow Americans from all walks of life, all ages, and all political persuasions to engage in a public debate about the generational implications of retirement policy, including Social Security, Medicare, and Medicaid.
The public is invited to participate in this interactive exercise. For more information, contact Rep. Meehan's office at (978) 459-0101 or the Concord Coalition's New England regional office at (617) 542-6088.


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MINNEAPOLIS — Brandon Roy says he will seek further treatment on the chronic pain in his knees in hopes of continuing his comeback attempt with the Minnesota Timberwolves.
Roy issued a statement through the team shortly before they played the Phoenix Suns on Saturday night. Roy had arthroscopic surgery on his right knee in November after playing in five games and had recently returned to practice. But Roy says he had a setback recently that requires more attention.
Roy spent the last few days contemplating retirement before deciding to keep going.
Team president David Kahn says it will likely take three to four weeks before it can be determined if the unspecified treatment will help. Kahn says the team is "hoping for the best, but preparing for the worst."


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This dataset is maintained and distributed by the National Archive of Criminal Justice Data (NACJD), the criminal justice archive within ICPSR. NACJD is primarily sponsored by three agencies within the U.S. Department of Justice: the Bureau of Justice Statistics, the National Institute of Justice, and the Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention.
Inventory of Data Elements in State and Federal Corrections Information Systems, 1998 (ICPSR 2575)
Principal Investigator(s): Sabol, William J.
This survey summarizes the data elements maintained by state and federal corrections information systems that track adult, sentenced offenders, and assesses the severity of obstacles in reporting statistical information. Two instruments, an Inventory Questionnaire and an Obstacles Survey, were mailed to Departments of Correction in all 50 states and the District of Columbia, and to the Federal Bureau of Prisons. The Inventory Questionnaire asked 207 questions about data elements describing offenders, 15 questions about elements describing facility management, and 20 questions about the capabilities of the information system to process data electronically. For some elements, questions were asked to determine if more detailed information (subvalues) about the element existed. The Obstacles Survey asked departments to rate the severity of problems they may encounter when processing requests for statistical information. The items were grouped into five categories: legislative and institutional factors, hardware factors, software factors, staffing factors, and data factors.
Access Notes
The public-use data files in this collection are available for access by the general public. Access does not require affiliation with an ICPSR member institution.
ASCII + SAS Setup SPSS Setup Stata Setup
Study Description
Sabol, William J. Inventory of Data Elements in State and Federal Corrections Information Systems, 1998. ICPSR02575-v1. Ann Arbor, MI: Inter-university Consortium for Political and Social Research [distributor], 1999. https://doi.org/10.3886/ICPSR02575.v1
Persistent URL: https://doi.org/10.3886/ICPSR02575.v1
Export Citation:
- RIS (generic format for RefWorks, EndNote, etc.)
- EndNote XML (EndNote X4.0.1 or higher)
This study was funded by:
- Association of State Correctional Administrators
- United States Department of Justice. Office of Justice Programs. Bureau of Justice Statistics
- United States Department of Justice. Office of Justice Programs. Corrections Program Office
- United States Department of Justice. Office of Justice Programs. National Institute of Justice
Scope of Study
Subject Terms: adults, correctional facilities, corrections management, information systems, information use, offenders, prison inmates, program evaluation
Geographic Coverage: United States
- 1998-01
- 1998-01
Universe: State and federal Departments of Corrections in all 50 states and the District of Columbia, and the Federal Bureau of Prisons.
self-enumerated questionnaires
Extent of Processing: ICPSR data undergo a confidentiality review and are altered when necessary to limit the risk of disclosure. ICPSR also routinely creates ready-to-go data files along with setups in the major statistical software formats as well as standard codebooks to accompany the data. In addition to these procedures, ICPSR performed the following processing steps for this data collection:
- Checked for undocumented or out-of-range codes.
Original ICPSR Release: 1999-03-25
- 2005-11-04 On 2005-03-14 new files were added to one or more datasets. These files included additional setup files as well as one or more of the following: SAS program, SAS transport, SPSS portable, and Stata system files. The metadata record was revised 2005-11-04 to reflect these additions.
Related Publications
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- Citations exports are provided above.
Export Study-level metadata (does not include variable-level metadata)
If you're looking for collection-level metadata rather than an individual metadata record, please visit our Metadata Records page.


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Test Reviews
MINOX DTC 500 Trail Camera Review
I recently caught up with a couple of the guys from MINOX at the CLA Game Fair 2011 that was held at Blenheim Palace in Oxfordshire. We spoke a little about their range of binoculars, especially the ones that are ideal for taking on safari like the excellent Minox BL 8×33 Binoculars and their compact BD 7×28 IF binoculars. After a short while I noticed a small green box on their stand and enquired about what it was and what it did:
They told me that it was their new trail or game camera. Which for the benefit of those who dont know is a camera that you leave at a location to take photos or video of what ever passes by that activates the motion sensor on the camera.
From Safari-Guide.co.uk
MINOX BL 8x33 Binoculars Review
Apart from the fact that they are both German brands that produce high-end optics, Minox binoculars are in many ways very similar to Steiner's in that they pride themselves on producing tough, functional binoculars using the highest quality optics, yet are also priced in such a way as to make them really good value for money.
With this in mind, I recently had the opportunity to review their very good looking mid-sized BL 8x33 binoculars, that from first appearances look like ideal binoculars to take with you on safari, camping, birding walks on a hike or pretty much anywhere.
From Safari-Guide.co.uk
German Hunting Magazine tests the DTC 500
In less than a second -- The German optics manufacturer has produced a trail camera to compete with the best, with a trigger release in less than a second and a 15 meter infrared flash range.
The technology is packed in a water tight and robust housing and works with 8 AA batteries, according to the manufacturer, enough to last up to 6 months. With 8 MP, the camera is highly efficient, allowing the user to choose between an 8, 5, 3 or 1.3 megapixel resolution.
Short films of up to 1 minute can be made, as well as black and white photos by night, with use of the infrared LED fully integrated flash.
The MINOX DTC 500 is a powerful, easy to use game camera that delivers excellent results in practice.
(Original article in German)
Product test MINOX ZA3 3-9x40 in Rifle Magazine, Sept. 2011
The riflescope I tested featured Schott glass. Schott is well known as one of the premium suppliers of top-grade optical glass. Lenses are multicoated with up to 21 different layers of MINOX M coatings. Multicoating significantly improves brightness, color rendering, contrast and light transmission.
I like the European-style fast-focus eyepiece, which is cushioned with rubber to prevent "shooter's eyebrow."
The Gun Nut August 18, 2011 -- Scope Review: More Miracles from Minox
As with the binoculars, Minox has decided not to do anything cute; in addition to a choice of models you have a choice of three reticles, and thats about it. They are all of normal size, weight, and configuration, but there are two things about the line that sets it apart.
First, unless youre already living in a refrigerator carton, they are affordable. The MSRPs are in the medium range, but the real-world prices put them down in low medium.
Second, the optics are sensational. I dont mean good for the money, I mean sensational. My scope is clearly better than a comparable American scope of slightly higher price, and about equal to an imported scope that costs nearly three times as much.


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Many people have picked teams to trade Zach and since the Clips got refused, it doesnt seem likely they will counter offer with a better deal. I'm looking at teams that dont have a solid PF, have a defensive Center to back up Curry, and a decent shooting guard to back up Crawford. We are wekest at the Center spot and no one backs up Crawford as a pure SG. So i looked up rosters and came up with the Sonics, Suns,Kings,Cavs,Pacers and Bulls. Each of those teams doesnt have a top offensive PF like Zach and has decent Center and SG players so if any of them wont work let me know im not mentioning financial status for each team. You can throw in any other bench players that would make sense. Note that I picked players in return that are more likely to be traded for Zach.
Sonics- They are overloaded with Centers so what better team to trade with to get a big man? Durant is a tall SF and they have no big man to help offensively in that post, Collison could play a David Lee role...Zach fits...Durant can have a partner in the front court and Westbrook has another weapon to pass to. We can get young Centers in either Sergie Ibaka, Robert Swift, or Mouhamed Sene..all 6'11 and up. And get a guard in Damien Wilkins who shot good against the Knicks last year and averaged 9 ppg, solid backup or if they dont like it get a different SG in young 6'7 Michael Gelabale who averaged 4.3 points in 12 min off the bench.
Suns- Hey Mike D's former team! What better to team to trade with due to the fact that Mike D has a scouting report on every one of them and knows would would best fit? Now Boris Diaw is ok but nothing spectacular at PF..Zach could fit..also the Suns are overloaded with Centers like the Sonics and have good shooters...so lets get to the ideas. We can look at Centers in either Robin Lopez or my pick Brian Skinner who averaged 1.2 BPG off the bench. And at the SG spot Gorden Giricek who can shoot or young D.J Strawberry who is doing good in Summer league hittin 22 points in his first game, despite a tailbone injury.
Kings- Well the Kings dont have Shareef Abdur Raheem as a dominate player anymore due to his injuries and Artest and Martin are a great back court but no one to help in that post. They are in dire need of an offensive man. They too have a million centers like the Sonics and Suns so lets get to ideas again. Centers can be 6'11 hard working Jason Thompson the biggest shock of the 2008 draft, or 7 foot Spencer Hawes. Guards is tough because the only other SG avalailable is John Slamons who averaged 12 ppg in 31 min so he doesnt seem like a possibility but getting those two centers would do just fine.
Cavs- Lebron is by himself no one to help in that post. Being that the Cavs relied on bench players alot moving some of them could be out of the question. But lets check out the maybe's at SG. Sasha Pavlovic who is a pure shooter who averaged 7 ppg in 23 min last year, Delonte West who averaged 8 ppg in 25 min, and Wally Sczerbs if he plays SG. Centers arent my favorite on this team but here it goes, Anderson Varejo got decet numbers but he might be hard to get so, Dwayne Jones who played only 8 min a game is likely to be let loose for anyone. Jones averaged 1.4 ppg and 2.5 rbpg in those 8 min being 6'11 and 251 pounds.
Pacers- Now i recently turned down an offer from someone on this site to trade for Jamal Tinsely. We need a C and a SG so here it goes being that the Pacers have no top PF and Try Mcmurphy isnt a top guy lets look at the possbilities. David Harrison who averaged over 1 block per game off the bench would fit nicely as a shot blocker or my man Roy Hibbert who i think has alot of upside. At the guard spot the two Rush's, Kareem Rush and Brandon Rush are the only two is see possibly going, Kareem being more likely.
lastly the Bulls- Now the odds of Zach going to Chicago is bery unlikely but lets see if we offered the Bulls something. They get Zach who can make that team perfect with all that talent and the PF spot finally being filled. Rose has a post weapon and Zach can rebound like no other for them. Hes a lot of money bu thats not why i made this thread. The Bulls are loaded with SG's so lets take a look. Shabo Thefolosha or Shannon Brown look like possibilities, even Ben Gordon who they might get rid of. Centers is a question mark because they dont have any good ones..Joakim Noah will probably start so he's out of the trade possibility..so were left with a man named Aaron Gray and Omer Asik who was drafted from Turkey.
Ok thats it if any of these trades are possible with a give and take let me know. i know that many of them seem unlikely due to cap space but if u can throw in players to even it up go right ahead...skys the limit.


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Everyone knows the dangers of drinking while driving. But what risks do companies face when their employees work while driving? The answer: more than you might think. The National Safety Council estimates that one distracted driving accident occurs every 24 seconds, resulting in an estimated 800,000 to 900,000 accidents annually. Corporate exposure to these accidents is magnified by virtue of widespread cell phone use in the business world. The temptation to handle business matters while driving is ever-present, especially when many believe they can keep one eye on the road and the other on an email. Employees use this modern day "multitasking" in an effort to be efficient, while in reality, they are engaging in an unsafe business practice that can result in serious corporate liability.
Should an employee be involved in an accident when handling business matters, while either driving or using a company vehicle, the consequences could be dire. For example, in one incident, a lumber salesman using a cell phone crippled a woman, which resulted in a $16.1 million settlement. In another incident, a company employee using a cell phone failed to see that traffic had slowed and caused a chain reaction crash that killed a 32-year-old woman, resulting in a $21.6 million jury verdict. A trucking company was ordered to pay $18 million for an accident that occurred when a driver reached for a cell phone. Another company settled for $5.2 million after a woman lost her arm in an accident caused by an employee on a cell phone. The list goes on and on. If you considered how many times your employees (or you) conducted business on a smartphone while driving, it would probably keep you up at night. The good news is that with just a few simple steps, companies can attempt to reduce exposure for distracted driving lawsuits.
1. Institute a cell phone policy
If your company does not yet have a policy for cell phone use while driving, it should institute one immediately. The National Transportation Safety Board recommends that all companies prohibit the use of cell phones while driving. This includes a ban on all communications, including talking on the phone, using a hands-free or blue-tooth device, texting and emailing. This is, of course, the most prudent and safest policy for a company to employ.
At the very least, any cell phone use policy should comply with your applicable state and local law. Currently, 10 states prohibit the use of hand-held devices, 39 states prohibit texting while driving, three states prohibit any cell phone use by school bus drivers and 32 states prohibit the use of cell phones by young/novice drivers. Keep current with the status of the law in your area, and, if necessary, amend your company's policy as the law changes in your jurisdiction.
Some companies choose to permit the use of hands-free devices while driving. While this is certainly an option, studies show that using a hands-free device is no safer than using a hand-held device. Thus, the prudent and most conservative policy is to ban all employees from using cell phones while driving.
2. Publicize the policy
If your company institutes a cell phone use policy, but does nothing to publicize it to your employees, you could continue to face liability. So, publicize the new policy (and re-publicize it often). Send out a company-wide email. Add a blurb to a company newsletter. Have employees sign a document noting that they have read and will comply with the policy. Post signs with a catchy phrase or slogan re-enforcing the policy in employee common areas, by the exits of buildings and in your company parking lots. Have managers remind employees of the policy at staff meetings, and document every time you provide those reminders. If your business has company vehicles, post signs on the dashboards with a reminder to pull over to handle any calls, texts or emails. All of this will be useful should your company ever face a lawsuit for injuries caused by an accident wherein distracted driving is alleged.
3. Enforce the policy
Should the company learn that an employee continues to use his cell phone while driving in a company vehicle, handling company business and/or using a company cell phone, company policy should be strictly enforced, up to and including termination.
4. Provide tools to your employees
Remind employees that no phone call is worth their health and safety, or the safety of others on the road. The world will not end because of a short delay in responding to a text, call or email message. No deal is big enough to outweigh the potential exposure facing a company should a distracted driving accident occur. Strongly suggest to employees that before they get on the road, they leave a voicemail message and/or out-of-office email notifying the caller/sender that they are driving and will respond once they are able to safely return the message.
5. Practice what You preach
Some of the worst offenders may be the ones trying to institute and enforce a cell phone policy, such as company executives, general counsel or even the inquisitive mind reading this article (hopefully not while driving). This policy is an opportunity to lead by example. No lower-level employees should see a company CEO or general counsel breaking the policy. If a company executive demonstrates that she can wait to safely respond to calls and emails, then other employees will follow suit.
Following these simple tips can greatly reduce your company's exposure. Ensuring that your company will not be the next example of what can happen when an employee causes an accident due to cellphone use will protect the continued safety of your employees and ultimately benefit your bottom line.