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Two of Major League Soccer's most decorated clubs will meet for the first time in knockout competition as D.C. United and the Houston Dynamo contest the Eastern Conference finals. It's a matchup few expected when the regular season concluded but which features two teams built for the rigors of the playoffs.
Here's a preview:
Game 1: Sunday at BBVA Compass Stadium in Houston No. 5 Houston Dynamo (4 p.m. ET, NBC Sports Network)
Game 2: Nov. 18 at RFK Stadium in Washington, D.C., (4 p.m. ET, NBC Sports Network).
Records: D.C. 18-10-8; Houston 16-10-11.
At stake: The conference championship and berths in the Dec. 1 MLS Cup final and the 2013-14 CONCACAF Champions League. If D.C. wins, it would host the MLS Cup. Houston would travel to Seattle or Los Angeles.
Season series: Houston 2 at D.C. 3 (April 28); D.C. 0 at Houston 1 (May 12); D.C. 0 at Houston 4 (July 15).
D.C. and Houston won their respective quarterfinal series over more talented opposition thanks to team chemistry, contributions from unheralded players and defensive determination.
United's 2-1 aggregate triumph over the New York Red Bulls cemented the capital club as a legitimate MLS Cup contender and confirmed Ben Olsen as a coach to be reckoned with. D.C.'s 5-0-2 regular season run without injured 2011 league MVP Dwayne De Rosario (knee) was impressive but included only one match against a playoff qualifier. Questions about whether United had the defensive chops to hang with the likes of New York were valid. But they were answered emphatically this week.
D.C. shut down the Red Bulls' offensive juggernaut over the two legs, yielding only an own goal in Saturday's opener. The defensive midfield pairing of Perry Kitchen and Marcelo Saragosa was outstanding and center backs Brandon McDonald and Dejan Jakovic have improved considerably over the course of the season.
There were contributions from reserves as well, most notably Robbie Russell, who stepped in admirably for the suspended Andy Najar on Thursday and set up D.C.'s winning goal; and backup goalkeeper Joe Willis, who saved a penalty kick taken by New York's Kenny Cooper.
"This team has guys who produce from every rank and file," Russell told reporters. "Guys off the bench, guys who weren't even on the (active roster) last week. It's unbelievable."
Said Olsen: "They dominated big portions of the game, but we hung in there. ... When the chips are down, there is a certain spirit about them. It has nothing to do with me. These guys have just come together by themselves, in particular in the absence of Dwayne. They gelled and they believed and sometimes belief is enough."
Olsen can deflect the credit, but his reputation as a player who mastered the game's intangibles clearly carries weight in the locker room and was critical to United's transformation following De Rosario's injury in early September.
Coaching and club culture have come to define the Dynamo as well. Players come and go, but the torch always is seamlessly passed to a new group of contributors. Coach Dom Kinnear sets the standard.
"Come playoff time, we've always been a different team. The system and the belief is bigger than the man," Houston midfielder Brad Davis told Sporting News. "There's not one guy who's been through this club who would win a championship by himself. We've had some great players come through here, but those guys who've come here have always had great attitudes."
Dynamo soccer rarely is glamorous, but it's consistently effective. Houston flummoxed top-seeded Sporting Kansas City in the quarterfinal series, grinding out a 2-1 aggregate win and advancing to the semis for the fifth time in seven years on the strength of an outstanding performance in the first leg.
The Dynamo countered SKC's high pressure by playing the ball long, forcing the visitors to retreat and build from the back. They couldn't. Houston held firm and won on the strength of a brilliant long-range goal from midfielder Adam Moffat and Will Bruin's late backbreaker.
Houston has had the better of the all-time series between the clubs, going 11-4-2 in all competitions. Of course, the Dynamo's record extends back only to 2007, the last time Untied made the playoffs before this season.
For all the tradition each club has established, they haven't been contenders at the same time. That will change starting Sunday.
Houston is well positioned to establish an advantage in the first leg. The Dynamo went 13-0-7 in MLS and CCL play at BBVA Compass Stadium this year and will have an extra day's rest thanks to the storm that pushed the D.C.-Red Bulls decider back to Thursday.
It's been a trying week for United, which stayed an extra night in New York and then traveled directly to Houston on Friday to prepare for its second road playoff game in four days.
D.C. will take the field Sunday afternoon without goalkeeper Bill Hamid, who will serve his one-game red card suspension, and Najar, who was docked an additional two games for throwing the ball at the referee in the playoff opener, meaning he will miss the series.
"We have to get ready for a quick turnaround in a tough place," Olsen said Thursday.
Willis played well in relief of Hamid in March and April but was beaten four times by the Dynamo on July 15 when he replaced the ejected starter. Davis and Brian Ching converted penalty kicks, and Bruin and Oscar Boniek Garcia struck from open play.
United demonstrated its strength down the middle against New York, but the Dynamo's speed and service on the flanks could pose problems.
While Najar's energy will be missed, left back Chris Korb also is struggling with a hamstring injury that forced him out of Thursday's match. Russell and Lewis Neal performed admirably at Red Bull Arena but will face a different sort of challenge Sunday.
D.C.'s chances to advance will improve dramatically if it can grind out a draw, or even a one-goal loss, in Houston. The conference title will be decided Nov. 18 at RFK Stadium, where United has won more than its fair share of big games.
"It's a short turnaround, a little shorter than they had which is unfortunate," D.C.'s Chris Pontius said. "Houston's a tough place to go get a result, and we need a result there."
Pontius must see more of the ball than he did against New York if United hopes to get its attack on track. Striker Lionard Pajoy will be charged with occupying and disrupting Houston defender Bobby Boswell, who is enjoying one of the finest seasons of his career, while playmaker Branko Boskovic must be smart with the ball when confronted by the Dynamo's gritty, hard-working midfield.
If United can hold firm, there's a slight chance De Rosario might be ready to contribute at RFK. After winning two MLS titles in Houston and an MVP award in Washington, his potential return would add a delicious bit of drama to a series already full of subplots.


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10-Point Must (11/6/13)
By Brendhan Conlan on November 6, 2013
10. Bellator 106 Fallout
Strange as it may sound, the loss of Tito Ortiz-Quinton Jackson turned out to be a positive for Bellator 106 based on the organization's subsequent decision to show the card for free. Doing so exposed a lot more fans to the product than would have been the case with a $50 price tag and no doubt created some new followers based on the attached action. The undercard was strong, the featured fights were decent, and headliners Eddie Alvarez-Michael Chandler produced another classic. Some quick thoughts: Joe Riggs still has a little gas left in the tank and should end up in a Bellator tournament final at some point / Pat Curran has some mental hurdles to leap before truly emerging as an elite fighter / Daniel Straus' size and wrestling ability are going to make him a hard champ to dethrone / Mo Lawal's lack of improvement, even regression, over the past few years is concerning / Is there any unification bout in history with less interest than Emanuel Newton's eventual date with Attila Vegh? / I could watch Chandler-Alvarez fight 10X. Their heart combined with technique and willful aggression is a recipe for action-packed entertainment in the cage.
9. Vitor Belfort Would Stop TRT for a Title-Shot
Belfort recently turned heads by saying he would stop using TRT if required to do so for a title-shot. While the sentiment is commendable on the surface, it also calls into question the reason he needs to inject testosterone currently if able to fight confidently without it in a situation with such high stakes. If there's one issue other than judging I'd like to see State athletic commissions address in a serious manner come 2014 it is TRT. There's too much gray area. Then again, considering Belfort has only fought outside of Brazil a single time over the past two years it may not really matter in his case.
8. Lyoto Machida vs. Gegard Mousasi
The UFC definitely made the right decision by booking Machida-Mousasi (February 8). The fight not only pairs two exceptionally talented individuals against one another, but it also makes complete sense from a divisional perspective and the winner could easily emerge with a title-shot depending on how action unfolds. Machida looked fantastic in his middleweight debut where he knocked out Mark Munoz, while the 34-3-2 Mousasi was a force at 185 pounds before deciding to move up as a means of avoiding the rigors of dieting. They're two of the best in the business and fans are fortunate to see their eventual scuffle.
7. Renzo Gracie Would Fight for Free
Gracie has been attempting to talk his way back into the Octagon for awhile now. Tired of the chirping, UFC President Dana White decided to make Gracie an offer to stay on the sidelines. Gracie's response? Money's nice but he would fight for free if given the chance. Honestly, with some of the bums the UFC puts out there on undercards or overseas shows there's no reason a legend like Gracie shouldn't get one more shot. Additionally, a Brazilian event would be a perfect backdrop for the bout since the fans would embrace his presence rather than scoff at it.
6. Josh Barnett and Travis Browne Agree to WADA Testing
In order to battle Browne at UFC 168 the Nevada Athletic Commission forced Barnett to undergo increased drug testing based on past infractions. Happy to clear his name, Barnett agreed, and so has Browne based on an interest in leveling the playing field. It's nice to see the NAC on the ball in terms of focusing on a fighter with a history of PED use even though he's been clean as of late, as well as two competitors willing to take the extra effort and a company open to supporting the process financially.
5. Shane Carwin "Itching to Fight"
It's hard to blame the big lug for wanting to give it a go, at least one final time. He was forced to retire due to health-related issues and the last time he fought he was pummeled from pillar to post by Junior dos Santos. Personally, if Carwin can get his body in check I would have no problem with a send-off scrap. Carwin has been a class act throughout his career and entertained on numerous occasions thanks to his brand of cement-fisted slugging.
4. Dan Henderson's Contractual Status
Stakes are high for Henderson this Saturday night and not just because he's battling Vitor Belfort in Brazil. He's has butted heads with management before in the past, is 43 years old, uses supplemental testosterone, and also happens to be on a two-fight skid (though both losses involved razor thin Split Decisions). Compounding matters, the grizzled veteran's contract expires after the effort meaning there's a significant chance he won't be re-signed if he stumbles. Hopefully "Hendo" will weather the storm and either pick up a win or have endeared himself enough in the hearts of fans to essentially force the UFC to keep him around for another three tilts until it's finally time for the former PRIDE/Strikeforce champ to call it quits.
3. Alexander Gustafsson vs. Jimi Manuwa
The UFC's questionable booking of Gustafsson against Antonio Rogerio Nogueira for five months down the road fell apart this week when "Little Nog" was forced to withdraw due to injury. Rather than give him a Top 5 foe, the matchmaking team made it clear the company is invested in maintaining the possibility of another go between Gustafsson and champion Jon Jones by tabbing Manuwa as a replacement. The British powerhouse is an excellent striker but he has yet to face a Top 10 foe, let alone beat one. The only saving grace is that the event is scheduled for London so local fans have at least been given a treat. However, beyond that the match-up is head-scratching, as Gustafsson has shown he is one of the best 205ers in the world while Manuwa has only proven he knows how to smash tomato cans.
2. UFC Fight Night 32 Pre-Event Hype
UFC Fight Night 32 isn't one of the company's best cards in Brazil but that isn't necessarily a bad thing considering how many shows the UFC has produced in the MMA hotbed as of late. The headliner between Dan Henderson-Vitor Belfort should be excellent, plus there are some other pleasing pairings for enthusiastic fans including Brandon Thatch-Paulo Thiago, Rony "Jason"-Jeremy Stephens, Thiago Tavares-Justin Salas, and Daniel Sarafian-Cezar Ferreira. Also, Rafael Cavalcante-Igor Pokrjac is almost certain to produce a highlight reel knockout given their respective abilities. Throw in the high level of energy Brazilian crowds consistently bring to the table and you've definitely got plenty of reasons to crack a cold one on the couch Saturday night and enjoy the festivities.
1. UFC Fight Night 31 Pre-Event Hype
The UFC has always shown solid support for soldiers by helping veterans financially through donations to various charities, having the organization's stars visit with troops, and delivering action with the military in mind. Tonight's show is no exception to the rule. It features some potential-laden preliminary fights like Lorenz Larkin-Chris Camozzi and Steven Siler-Dennis Bermudez, as well as competitive clashes on the main card including Jorge Masvidal-Rustim Khabilov, Liz Carmouche-Alexis Davis, and Tim Kennedy-Rafael Natal. There are also a number of fighters with military ties like Carmouche, Colton Smith, and Kennedy slated for service, making the atmosphere even more special than it might be otherwise.
Welcome back to the 10-Point Must! Every week I'll give my thoughts on ten topics from the past seven days with hopes the readership will contribute their takes as well in the Comments section. This time around, subjects range from Bellator 106 to a few new UFC match-ups to the hazy future for Dan Henderson beyond his upcoming bout with Vitor Belfort at UFC Fight Night 32. (Photos by USA Today Sports Images)
Front-Page Photo Credit: Benny Sieu-USA TODAY Sports
- joe mo mma says:
Whoa… Machida vs Mousasi deserves its own headline! I've been waiting for Mousasi to get some stiffer competition, who better than Machida at MW? I'm pretty pumped for this one.
- SBERG says:
I Kinda disagree….As good as this fight looks on paper this is going to be a snoozer…..I have a feeling both guys are gonna look bad after this and I don't mean beat up but just boring….Just a horrible matchup stylistically…
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18 Comentarios
5 en noviembre 29, 2017
My fiance and I stayed her for the holiday. This place is run by a kind hearted couple who elegantly make you feel at home with many accommodations and a cozy ambiance. This place defines the meaning of "Above and Beyond". It I'm in Whitby/Oshawa Area again I will definitely stay here again.
5 en diciembre 20, 2016
We have visited this amazing Bed & Breakfast several times, we continue to visit this B & B due to the wonderful hosts that are so warming & delightful. Coming from Morin-Heights,Quebec, this home is definitely home away from home, the rooms are beautiful and the breakfasts, filling and delicious. We recommend this place to everyone. It's #1.
5 en agosto 12, 2016
We never thought that we would find a B & B less expensive than the poorest motels, yet with class that exceeds the finest. We slept soundly, awoke refreshed, had coffee in our room, (over)ate a breakfast that far exceeded our desires, enjoyed inspirational reading material, and, as frosting on the cake, great conversation with another guest. Our only regret is that we might never again have occasion to pass through the Toronto area. But if we do, we'll be on the phone to the Pearsons the moment we know the dates we'll be coming.
5 en julio 06, 2013
Brilliant hosts, nothing too much trouble for them! Very large room fully equipped with bathroom, living area, flat screen TV, coffee maker and fridge (with yummy chocolate coated strawberries and snacks on arrival. Private patio leading to garden and use of hot tub. Lovely breakfasts served daily and varied daily (and made to accommodate individual tastes/allergies). THE BEST BED AND BREAKFAST WE HAVE STAYED IN and all for only 45 canadian dollars per person per night. Mark and Monica
5 en julio 02, 2013
We had a fabulous stay at Strawberry Suite Bed and Breakfast. We needed to check in early to get to our event on time and Heather was very accommodating. Our room was very cozy and I loved all the attention to detail. Our breakfast, what else can I say then...it was excellent!!! We were able to sit on a closed in porch and enjoy the surrounding while we ate and were also able to talk to the other family staying there. We certainly will recommend this B and B to anyone going to Oshawa and hope that we can stay there again.
5 en mayo 02, 2013
Staying at Heather and Winsley's Bed and Breakfast made our visit to Oshawa a most lovely experience. Upon arrival, they both greeted us with warm and friendly smiles. Our room was as comfortable as imagined. There were chocolates on our pillows, as well as covered strawberries in the fridge. The bed was very comfortable, and the electric fireplace made the room even more inviting. The breakfasts were outstanding, and the waffles were delicious. Heather also excels in presenting a beautifully set table every morning. This was the first time we have stayed at a bed and breakfast, and we are so happy that we chose this one. Heather truly loves pampering all her guests. She and Winsley are so hospitable. We highly recommend Strawberry Suite Bed & Breakfast
5 en marzo 27, 2013
This is hands down, the best bed and breakfast in Canada, I would venture to say in all of North American. The house and rooms are just beautiful, so comfortable and lovingly decorated. The hosts are the nicest people you'll ever encounter, well loved by family and friends, judging from the photographs displayed. Every little detail was taken care of, the linens are soft and the beds so cozy. And the breakfast!!! Fresh, hot, delicious, most amazing eggs benny of my life. This is the perfect place to stay, staying at Strawberry Suite felt like I was at home with my family.
5 en enero 23, 2013
Heather & Winsley are great hosts and the comfort of the rooms makes you feel right at home. The breakfasts are amazing and always something new and different. Thanks once again for a wonderful stay in your charming B & B!
5 en septiembre 27, 2012
This place is wonderful! I have respiratory problems from a lung injury and am easily bothered by scented cleaning products and laundry detergents. The owners bent over backwards to make my stay comfortable, even going to the effort to wash the sheets in unscented detergent and clean the bathroom with unscented products. The room was quite charming, and unlike many places where we have stayed, the bed was actually comfortable. There is even a small refrigerator in the room. And the breakfast was gourmet all the way, incredibly delicious and plentiful. The owners are lovely, personable people, the kind of folks one would wish to have for friends or neighbors. The location is easy to get to from main roads and there are reasonable restaurants to go to for dinner and a shopping center within walking distance. We definitely will stay there the next time we are up that way. A great start to our vacation! Debbie & Bob
5 en agosto 17, 2012
My boyfriend & I stayed here en route to Montreal. We stayed in the downstairs suite, which was spacious and clean. We made sure to utilize the backyard & hot tub which was a cute setup. But most of all we loved BREAKFAST!!!! It was so tasty, and we kept comparing our meals throughout the trip to it. The lady who owns this place (I forget her name) put a lot of effort into it and we totally stuffed ourselves...she was really sweet and gave us advice for our trip. Overall great place to stay!!
5 en noviembre 03, 2011
On the road from Montreal to Niagara Falls on the banks of Lake Ontario before reaching Toronto, , The town of Oshawa and the most memorable bed and breakfast! On arrival you will be charmed by your hostess, then, in your room you will fel like you are at home (nice furnitures and fittings) Last but not least, you will enjoy the menu choice including the large home made breakfast cooked by Heather. In a nutshell, a must see stopover on road 401!
5 en septiembre 06, 2011
I have stayed in B&B's all over Canada. I have yet to find one as good as this place. Strawberry Suite B&B is quite frankly offers the best value, the best breakfast, the best accommodations, and the best host and hostess in all of Canada.
4,8 en julio 22, 2011
I searched long and hard for accommodation in the Toronto area that I would be happy to bring my father to for an 80th birthday celebration trip. we were planning an eight day stay... Well, that we were looking to be "happy" turned out to be a huge understatement of what we experienced!! We were overjoyed at the warmth of the hospitality shown by Heather and Winsley - we could not possibly have found anywhere that came close to our wonderful experience at Strawberry Suite. Heather's willingness to help with our planning, to answer our never ending questions and every morning, to surprise us with exquisite, five star breakfasts was worth the trip in itself! The rooms were a delight, complete with tea/coffee making facilities and a microwave. Do not hesitate to make contact with Heather or Winsley in preparation for your next Oshawa / Toronto trip.
5 en julio 18, 2011
Beautiful B&B, warm, inviting, Home away from Home, fabulous Breakfasts, great, friendly hosts in Heather and Winsley, well worth staying at for 1 or more nights. delightful treats in your own fridge. I couldn't ask anymore out of a B&B, try it for yourself and see, you won't be dissappointed. Heather and Winsley are gods people.
5 en julio 18, 2011
This being a 'special' birthday treat, for my 80th no less, and my first trip to Canada for over 40 years, our visit to the Strawberry Suite exceeded all expectations, from the wonderfully warm welcome to the exceedingly good breakfasts and never-ending pots of tea!!! We could not have had better hosts than Heather and Winsley and as such we highly recommend this establishment to any travellers visiting Oshawa and Toronto. jd (sr) Cranleigh, Surrey, U.K.
5 en diciembre 09, 2009
I stayed in the Suite Dreams room for 8 days. It was amazing! The room is so comfortable, I had the best sleep of my life here! Winsley and Heather are so welcoming and considerate, even when I arrived at 11:30 at night. I wish I could give more than 5/5! Thank you both again! And please say 'hi' to Chris for me!! Jessica
5 en diciembre 01, 2009
The Strawberry Suite was an absolute comfort and joy to stay at. Heather and Winsley are extraordinary hosts with hearts that radiate warmth and hospitality. The Abundant and Outstanding Breakfast Fare, receives 10 Stars from me! Thanks Pearsons Karen from California
4,0 en noviembre 08, 2009
The gentility and hospitality of the owners of the Strawberry Suite B&B is incomparable! Heather & Winsley Pearson provide a lovely and relaxing experience including five star hotel touches in their charming home! Chocolate-dipped strawberries, home-baked, whole-grain goodies and other snacks were provided in my room upon checking in. Breakfast is beautifully presented, healthy and delicious. They have both cheerfully accommodated my harried hockey mom schedule allowing for some very late check ins. I am thrilled to have found this home-away-from-home and will be returning over and over again.


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340 av Michel Jasmin (off Cote de Liesse), Dorval, QC, Canada, H9P 1C1
Phone: (514) 636-3391 Fax: (514) 636-9495
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Exclusive flexible rate for Choice Privileges members when you book direct at ChoiceHotels.ca or through the Choice Hotels Mobile App. Valid at most International and U.S. Choice Hotels locations. Must be or become a Choice Privileges member prior to making the booking. Discount rate is non-transferable or redeemable for cash, cannot be used for future stays or existing reservations and may not be combined with other promotions, offers or discounts. Unless otherwise stated, quoted rates are per room, per night, based on single/double occupancy and do not include taxes, gratuities or incidental charges. Early departure fees, deposit and cancellation restrictions may apply and will vary by hotel. Not valid at vacation rental properties.
The Comfort Inn® Aéroport is minutes from the Pierre Elliott Trudeau International Airport and close to many exciting Montréal attractions, including La Ronde amusement park, Casino de Montréal, Olympic Park and Underground City.
Visitors enjoy many annual festivals and events in the Montréal area, including the Montréal International Film Festival, Just for Laughs Festival and Montréal International Jazz Festival. Downtown Montréal, famed for its fine cuisine and multitude of entertainment opportunities is just 20 minutes away.
All well-appointed, spacious guest rooms come with sofa sleepers, ironing equipment, hair dryers and 32" LCD television. Handicap accessible and non-smoking rooms as well as microwaves and refrigerators are available on request. For business travellers, this Dorval hotel provides high-value services including free wireless high-speed Internet access. Pets are welcome with a small fee.
This Comfort Inn hotel delivers great value with amenities including:
Check-In Time: 15:00 Check-Out Time: 12:00 Guest Rooms: 94


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The second stage of the Heat's title defense is now complete, as a dicey 94-91 Game 5 victory will advance Miami to the Eastern Conference finals and formally end Chicago's season. With nine playoff games -- and two downed opponents -- in the books, it's a worthy time as any to reflect back on what we've learned from the Heat's postseason thus far.
Dwyane Wade isn't physically right, and that hasn't yet mattered.
While Miami's second-round series was fun and physical, an overmatched Chicago team offered precious little opportunity for drama. The Bulls were expected to put up as much a fight as they could muster -- and they did. Injuries to Derrick Rose, Luol Deng and Kirk Hinrich simply put the Bulls way out of their league, particularly once Nate Robinson's once-brilliant offense extinguished as result of overuse.
With the outcome of this series all but assumed, the attention of the basketball world naturally turned elsewhere -- to the extracurricular fouls on the court, Rose's potential return and Wade's achy right knee. The latter is obviously the most pertinent at this point. Wade's injury has been officially diagnosed as a bone bruise, and the severity of it was mild enough for him to return to the floor in Game 4 after sustaining a knee-to-knee bump from Chicago's Jimmy Butler. But Wade hasn't looked himself through most of this playoff run, and seemed particularly idle in taking jumper after jumper against the Bulls' defense in the bulk of this second-round series. His explosion off the dribble is muted, but the bigger deficit seems to be in Wade's willingness to attack. This made him a more limited offensive player overall, though Wade did make a few nice drives into traffic in the final minutes of Game 5 to give some reason for optimism.
If Wade is able to create off the dribble at that level and connect on those floaters in the lane (in lieu of getting all the way to the basket), the overall impact of his injury will be relatively negligible. But if Wade's knee becomes any more problematic than it currently is, that could make things trickier against a Pacers defense (supposing Indy closes out a series it currently leads 3-1 against New York) that forces opponents to earn every point through pressure and contact. Either way, a limited Wade isn't yet enough to unseat the Heat as championship favorites, and Wade is still producing enough to ward off any serious concern.
The threat of Miami's shooters is more important than their actual shooting.
The formula for upsetting the Heat almost always begins with an outlier. Even the Heat aren't immune to the unfortunate turns of random chance, and a committed defense could, in theory, limit Miami's shooters to the point of clogging up the rest of its vaunted offense. Actually achieving an upset would still require pristine execution in most every other phase of the game, but the window would open on the basis of loading up on the drives of LeBron James while putting the game in the hands of cold shooters.
Yet in these playoffs, even that strategy hasn't worked very well. Against Chicago, Ray Allen converted just 23.5 percent of his three-pointers, Shane Battier just 28.6 percent and Mario Chalmers only 23.1 percent. Those are rough percentages from three of Miami's more accurate perimeter options, and yet the Heat put away the Bulls in five games and have yet to be pushed to their offensive limits. Shooting matters a great deal to any team working against an elite defense, but actually making those shots seems to stand secondary. Even when Allen is shooting a miserable percentage, just having him in the corner makes a help defender hesitate before rotating or draws attention in transition so that James might run unimpeded to the rim.
LeBron James won't settle.
This -- along with Norris Cole's inconceivable hot streak -- is the primary reason why Wade's injury and the Heat's shooting struggles haven't played a bigger role to date. James has been a bit sloppy with his passing at times, but overall has remained as aggressive and potent as he was in the regular season. Chicago's defense is designed specifically to counter strong drivers like James, but against the Bulls he actually attempted a greater percentage of his field goals at the rim (44 percent for the series) than he did in the regular season (41 percent), while also drawing 8.2 personal fouls per game. That last mark led all players in the second round, and served as a step up from James' regular season average (6.6).
His drives still come with an amazing foresight of the opponent's backline rotations, as we've seen James carve through the Bulls' defense at times despite the well-placed help of Noah and Taj Gibson. That's simply the value that James provides, and as long as he remains so determined to get to the basket, no defense in the league will likely have the tools to stop him.
Miami has the ability to completely lock up limited offenses with ball pressure.
The Heat have yet to encounter a high-powered offense in the postseason, but their two opponents to date set up an interesting precedent for a potential matchup with the Pacers in the Eastern Conference finals. Indiana has struggled when opponents deny post position and apply defensive pressure on the perimeter, and it just so happens that Miami typically wears down opponents through just such means. When that kind of pressure has been applied in the past (as was the case in Game 2 against New York), Indiana tends to seize up -- thus forcing Paul George and George Hill into an uncomfortable amount of perimeter shot creation.
Neither the Bucks nor the Bulls are quite on the Pacers' level on either side of the ball, but against those two opponents the Heat have allowed just 93 points per 100 possessions on the basis of that very strategy. For reference, that mark is the best in the postseason, and has made opponents nearly five points worse than the NBA's worst regular-season offense (Washington). Indiana's size should create some leverage against Miami, but thus far the Heat have shown the capability to capitalize on the weakest elements of the Pacers' offense.Statistical support for this post provided by NBA.com.


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Obama: New OFA will be 'a permanent commitment'
President Barack Obama announced Friday that his Organizing for Action, a new 501(c)(4) group to support his second-term legislative agenda, will be "a permanent commitment" to his political mission.
"We may have started this as a longshot presidential primary campaign in 2007, but it's always been about more than just winning an election. Together, we've made our communities stronger, we've fought for historic legislation, and we've brought more people than ever before into the political process," Obama wrote in an email to supporters. "Organizing for Action will be a permanent commitment to this mission."
The group's board will include a host of former Obama staffers, an Obama campaign aide said Friday. Along with Messina will be Obama campaign and White House alumni Stephanie Cutter, Robert Gibbs, Jennifer O'Malley-Dillon, Julianna Smoot, Erik Smith and David Plouffe, when he leaves the White House later this month.
"We've got to keep working on growing the economy from the middle out, along with making meaningful progress on the issues we care about -- immigration reform, climate change, balanced deficit reduction, reducing gun violence, and the implementation of the Affordable Care Act," Obama wrote. "I'm not going to be able to take them on without you."
Obama's email includes a link to a video of Michelle Obama addressing supporters, telling them that their work is not finished.
"If we want to finish what we started and truly make that chance we can believe in, we can't stop now," she says in the video. "Supporters like you will be the heart of this organization."
CORRECTION: An earlier version of this article misstated one of the Organizing for Action board members. It is Democratic strategist Erik Smith, not former Google CEO Eric Schmidt.


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The Storm Prediction Center at Norman, Okla., said Wednesday a bout of "fairly substantial" bad weather is possible in Kansas, Nebraska and the Dakotas on Saturday, from Oklahoma to Iowa on Sunday and from Oklahoma to Illinois on Monday.
Storms could become steadily worse through the period — starting with hail and high winds Saturday and evolving into a system with tornadoes possible by Monday in Arkansas, Illinois, Iowa, Kansas, Missouri and Oklahoma.
The bad weather could extend into Tuesday but forecasters said a longer term storm prediction was not possible yet.


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Hi, i'm having some problems with ZoneAlarm Pro.
Someone is randomly targeting TCP Ports and the computer just freezes.
I'm accessing the computer remotely since i use it for a Counter Strike Server and toggling the settings while under said attack is kinda impossible.
Today i managed to "get to it" in time and blocked the ip but this won't help if i get flooded by another ip :(.
Can anyone guide me on how to set up the firewall so this doesn't happen again?
The PC is running XP SP2 , ZoneAlarm Pro version:9.0.112.000 , system conf: amd sempron 1.75ghz, 1gb ram.
LE: Screenshot http://img408.imageshack.us/img408/4254/floodn.png
Uploaded with ImageShack.us


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Beebe said he hadn't found support from lawmakers to opt for a state-run model of the insurance exchange, in which households and private businesses shop for private coverage. Beebe had told the federal government that Arkansas would opt for a partnership model in a letter last month, but left open the possibility of a state-run plan after the Obama administration extended the deadline to decide to Friday.
"Right now the Legislature has indicated no desire to change anything to go to a pure state-run (exchange). So we'll continue where we are and they'll continue to gather information, and when and if I get a consensus or expression from the Legislature that they want to a state exchange, then we'll write another letter," Beebe told The Associated Press after speaking at the Agricultural Council of Arkansas' annual meeting. "It may be an annual kind of change, depending on how quickly you can ramp it up and what their guidelines call for, but as I understand it we can always change if the Legislature wants to change."
The partnership option allows states to handle consumer relations and oversight of health plans, while the federal government does the heavy lifting, taking care of enrollment and figuring out any taxpayer help that consumers may be entitled to. Beebe sent the letter opting for the partnership model before the Obama administration announced it would give states another month to decide on a state-run exchange.
Beebe, a Democrat, decided on the partnership model last year after Republican lawmakers blocked efforts for a state-run exchange. The state has since been moving toward a partnership model, and has received more than $27.7 million in grants from the federal government for planning. Republicans will control both chambers of the Legislature next year, and the incoming House speaker and Senate president have said they haven't found much support for a state exchange.
Beebe said he wasn't surprised at the lack of support, given the short period time since the federal government extended the deadline.
"That's a little quick for them to wrap their arms around what their options are," Beebe said.
The exchange is one of two major components of the federal health care law that Beebe and lawmakers must address. Beebe is urging lawmakers to support expanding Medicaid's eligibility under the law, which would add 250,000 people to the program in the state.
Republicans have generally opposed the expansion, but have left open the possibility of a compromise that could include reforms to the state's Medicaid program.
Beebe told the council expansion would help rural hospitals around the state by cutting down on the cost of uncompensated care they must address when patients don't have insurance.
"They're going to be paid for some of these people they wouldn't get paid for that they're servicing free," Beebe said.


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BID NO.: 04-49 NOTICE TO BIDDERS - CONSTRUCTION Notice is hereby given that sealed Bids will be received until 3:00 p.m. on January 14, 2004 by Cheryl Albertson, St. Johns County Purchasing Department, 2740 Industry Center Road, St. Augustine, FL 32084, for ST. JOHNS COUNTY 2004 ROADWAY IMPROVEMENTS. Bids will be opened promptly after the 3:00 p.m. deadline. SCOPE OF WORK: In general, the Work that is to be performed under this project consists of asphalt pavement to be applied on approximately 3.57 miles of County collector and local roads. Bidders must be pre-qualified with the Florida Department of Transportation, Division of Contracts. Copies of Bidding Documents may be obtained by bonafide General Contractor from St. Johns County Purchasing Department, 2740 Industry Center Road, St. Augustine, FL 32084. Any and all questions relative to this project will be directed to Ken Scher, County Engineer @ (904) 824-2412. Additionally, Package request forms are availabl e by calling the DemandStar.com, Inc. System at 800-711-1712 and requesting Document #04493. Many packages can be downloaded from the Internet. Check the agency s site for download availability and any applicable fees. Vendors registered with DemandStar.com can download most packages at no cost from their web site www.demandstar.com . St. Johns County reserves the right to accept or reject any or all bids/proposals, waive minor formalities, and to award the bid/proposal that best serves the interests of St. Johns County. THE BOARD OF COUNTY COMMISSIONERS OF ST. JOHNS COUNTY, FLORIDA Cheryl Strickland, CLERK OF THE COURT BY: Yvonne King, Deputy Clerk L2840-3 Dec.20,2003
Posted from 20-Dec-03 to 27-Dec-03
© 2018. All Rights Reserved. Contact Us


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May, 2009
AUSTIN, Texas — The call is going out to public and private/nonprofit middle and high schools across the state: Texas Healthy Habitats Grants of up to $15,000 are now available from the Texas Center for Service-Learning, with applications due June 19. The grants will support students doing service-learning projects to benefit wildlife and the environment, made possible with a donation from EnCana Oil & Gas (USA) Inc. to the Texas Parks and Wildlife Foundation.
The grants program envisions students partnering with communities and (TPWD) staff and other experts to identify conservation needs and work together to come up with solutions. The students will address priorities in the Texas Wildlife Action Plan, a blueprint to "keep common species common" and avoid more species from becoming threatened and endangered.
The program builds on an existing partnership between TPWD and the Texas Center for Service-Learning (TCSL), a statewide initiative of the Texas Education Agency and the Region 14 Education Service Center. The center improves student achievement through service-learning, which integrates community service with academic success.
"Service-learning inspires students to learn," said John Spence, TCSL director. "Because the projects are designed by the students, this generates buy-in. Kids show up early and stay late to see their projects through. Teachers connect the project to their TEKS objectives, so projects help meet state education standards. Community experts are invited into the process, so the school-community relationship is strengthened."
Grant applications will be accepted through Friday, June 19. For assistance, applicants are invited to participate in Webinars hosted by TxCSL at 3:30 p.m., Thursday, April 23 and 11:30 a.m., Friday, May 22. Complete information is on the center's Web site, including grant application instructions and downloadable forms.
Through grant projects, students will draw on TPWD educational resources and use comprehensive service-learning standards to research and define a local environmental issue, investigate public and organizational policies related to the issue, design and implement a service-learning project in collaboration with at least two community partners (including TPWD staff), evaluate and publicize the results to public officials and community members, and develop Web profiles for each project that will be integrated into the TPWD and TCSL Web sites.
Grant applicants may ask for up to $15,000. The money may be used for supplies, substitutes, transportation and training. Requirements include a progress report and a final report, as well as evidence of impact, a Web profile of the work, and one day of training for grant recipients in Austin in August, before school starts. Program organizers expect students will likely plan projects in fall and do field work in spring.
Eligible schools include public (including charter) and private nonprofit schools (grades 6-12) applying to coordinate service-learning projects in a public, charter, or private institution, or nonprofit youth-serving organizations that work with public middle or high schools. Schools must have a Tax ID and be a middle or high school located in Texas. Private schools and nonprofits must have IRS 501(c)(3) status. Nonprofits applying for the grant must be working with students in middle or high school levels to qualify.
Earlier this year, EnCana Corporation donated $486,000 to the Texas Parks and Wildlife Foundation. The donations supports the Healthy Habitats grants program, plus two other projects-control of giant salvinia and other invasive plants choking Toledo Bend reservoir in East Texas, and facilities for the new Texas Game Warden Training Center in Hamilton County.
Since 1991, the Texas Parks and Wildlife Foundation has been the official non-profit partner of the Texas Parks and Wildlife Department. By bringing together companies, corporations, communities and individuals, the foundation has raised more than $60 million benefiting a wide variety of projects.
EnCana is one of North America's largest independent natural gas producers. The company has a long history of supporting conservation and education causes. For the past two years EnCana has been on both the Dow Jones Sustainability World Index and the North American Index. Inclusion in these groups demonstrates high environmental, social, and business standards.
PHOTOS showing students doing service-learning projects similar to those they will eventually do with Healthy Habitats grants are in the EnCana Donation Projects news images group on the TPWD Web site.


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A previous first-team all-region honoree by Daktronics, Abreu led the Wonder Boys to a 32-21 record and a third-place finish in the Great American Conference this season. His on-base percentage ranked 20th nationally. Abreu saved some of his best work of the season for the last half, finishing the season with a 17-game hitting streak where he hit .410 with 14 RBIs. The senior also was named to the All-Great American Conference First Team, earning a unanimous selection by GAC coaches.
Abreu and Southern Arkansas' James Baune, who earned a third team selection, were the only GAC players honored as Daktronics All-Americans.
Members of the College Sports Information Directors of America (CoSIDA) selected a total of 49 student-athletes to first, second, and third teams, while 18 student-athletes were named honorable mention.


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Topic: Virtual Domain Name
==== Required information ====
- iRedMail version: 0.8.5
- Store mail accounts in which backend (LDAP/MySQL/PGSQL): mysql
- Linux/BSD distribution name and version: Debian/wheezy
- Related log if you're reporting an issue:
If I want email IDs as email@example.com, then do I have to specify the Virtual Domain Name as mydomain.com ? Can I give it as mx.mydomain.com ?
Please suggest.


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Teamsters Local 320 sues Wadena County
Teamsters Union Local 320, which represents a substantial portion of Wadena County's workforce, filed a civil lawsuit against the county on April 26 in Seventh Judicial District Court in Wadena. Court file number 80-CV-13-286 has been assigned to the case. According to Mncourts.gov, the lawsuit deals with employment.
The Wadena County Board of Commissioners scheduled a special closed meeting about the suit on Thursday, May 2. County Attorney Kyra Ladd will meet with commissioners at the special closed meeting. It is not known whether she will be assigned to defend the county, or whether commissioners may choose their labor attorney, Tom Fitzpatrick, to handle the case.
Attorney Kevin Michael Beck filed the suit on behalf of Minnesota Teamsters Public and Law Enforcement Employees' Union Local 320. Beck practices with the firm of Kelly and Lemmons, P.A. The website avvo.com lists his practice areas as employment and labor law, criminal defense, state/local/municipal law, general practice, and military law. He has been in practice for five years. He earned his bachelor's degree from Carleton College, and his J.D. in 2008 from William Mitchell College of Law.
Teamsters Union Local 320 is the only bargaining unit which has not settled with the county on a labor agreement for the 2013-2015 period.
Rin Porter, Wadena Pioneer Journal


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Fisher students, staff pound the pavement on Walk to School Day
According to the National Walk to School Day website, National Walk to School Day was first celebrated in 1997 under the name Walk Our Children to School Day.
It initially began as an event geared to raise awareness about the importance of "walkable" communities in the United States, but has gained substantial popularity since its inception, attracting international interest in more than 40 countries worldwide.
Last year, the first-ever National Bike to School Day was celebrated nationwide on May 8.
About 70 Fisher Elementary students, Pre-K through fifth grade, participated in this year's National Walk to School Day, under the supervision of 13 staff members, family members, and, of course, beloved family pets of all sizes.
"Sense of community"
"We always invite family members to join in this activity," said Fisher Elementary Principal Deanne Lacoste. "Including them adds to the sense of community that we already have here."
Walkers met up at two different points in Arlington at around 7:30 a.m., one group in front of the Federated Church of East Arlington and another in the parking lot of Saint James Episcopal Church in Arlington Center.
En masse, the groups trekked up each of their respective hills before finally congregating in front of Fisher Elementary in a flood of rosy cheeks.
Students who normally ride the bus to school were also able to participate in the celebration by walking laps around Fisher Elementary's soccer field after being dropped-off by school buses.
Fisher Elementary fourth-grade teacher Michelle Tessier said she thinks National Walk to School Day is a great activity from which all students can benefit.
"It's been proven that students do better in the classroom after physical activity," she said. "After this morning's walk, everyone is awake and ready to learn."
Rachel Leard, a second-grade teacher at Fisher concurred, adding that she hopes the celebration inspires students to walk on a more regular basis.
"Not only does something like this build community, but it also promotes a healthy lifestyle," she said.
"I think it went really well. The kids definitely had fun."
According to Lacoste, this year marked the seventh year in a row that Fisher has participated in this activity and they are sure to participate next fall.
To learn more about National Walk to School Day, visit www.walkbiketoschool.org.
Contact Elizabeth A. Conkey at firstname.lastname@example.com or follow on Twitter @bethconkey.
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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Harel Z, Biro FM, Kottenhahn RK, et al. Supplementation with omega-3 polyunsaturated fatty acids in the management of dysmenorrhea in adolescents.
Am J Obstet Gynecol
. 1996;174:1335-1338.
Harel Z, Biro FM, Kottenhahn RK, et al. Supplementation with omega-3 polyunsaturated fatty acids in the management of dysmenorrhea in adolescents.
Am J Obstet Gynecol
. 1996;174:1335-1338.
Deutch B, Jorgensen EB, Hansen JC. Menstrual discomfort in Danish women reduced by dietary supplements of omega-3 PUFA and B
(fish oil or seal oil capsules).
Nutr Res
. 2000;20:621-631.
Seifert B, Wagler P, Dartsch S, et al. Magnesium—a new therapeutic alternative in primary dysmenorrhea [translated from German].
Zentralbl Gynakol
. 1989;111:755-760.
Fontana-Klaiber H, Hogg B. The therapeutic effects of magnesium in dysmenorrhea [in German; English abstract].
Schweiz Rundsch Med Prax
. 1990;79:491-494.
Penland J, Johnson P, et al. Dietary calcium and manganese effects on menstrual cycle symptoms.
Am J Obstet Gynecol
. 1993;168:1417-1424.
Ziaei S, Faghihzadeh S, Sohrabvand F, et al. A randomized placebo-controlled trial to determine the effect of vitamin E in treatment of primary dysmenorrhoea.
. 2001;108:1181-1183.
Namavar Jahromi B, Tartifizadeh A, Khabnadideh S.Comparison of fennel and mefenamic acid for the treatment of primary dysmenorrhea.
Int J Gynaecol Obstet
. 2003;80:153-157.
Helms JM. Acupuncture for the management of primary dysmenorrhea.
Obstet Gynecol
. 1987;69:51-56.
Taylor D, Miaskowski C, Kohn J. A randomized clinical trial of the effectiveness of an acupressure 357 device (Relief Brief) for managing symptoms of dysmenorrhea.
J Alt Compl Med
. 2002;8:357-370.
Hondras MA, Long CR, Brennan PC. Spinal manipulative therapy versus a low force mimic maneuver for women with primary dysmenorrhea: a randomized, observer-blinded, clinical trial.
. 1999;81:105-114.
Sampalis F, Bunea R, Pelland MF, et al. Evaluation of the effects of Neptune Krill Oil on the management of premenstrual syndrome and dysmenorrhea.
Altern Med Rev
. 2003;8:171-179.
Ziaei S, Zakeri M, Kazemnejad A, et al. A randomised controlled trial of vitamin E in the treatment of primary dysmenorrhoea.
. 2005;112:466-469.
Eccles NK. A randomized, double-blinded, placebo-controlled pilot study to investigate the effectiveness of a static magnet to relieve dysmenorrhea.
J Altern Complement Med
. 2005;11:681-687.
Han SH, Hur MH, Buckle J, et al. Effect of aromatherapy on symptoms of dysmenorrhea in college students: a randomized placebo-controlled clinical trial.
J Altern Complement Med.
Modaress Nejad V, Asadipour M. Comparison of the effectiveness of fennel and mefenamic acid on pain intensity in dysmenorrhoea.
East Mediterr Health J
. 2006;12:423-427.
Doubova SV, Morales HR, Hernandez SF, et al. Effect of a Psidii guajavae folium extract in the treatment of primary dysmenorrhea: A randomized clinical trial.
J Ethnopharmacol
. 2006 Oct 13. [Epub ahead of print]
Zhu X, Proctor M, Bensoussan A, Wu E, Smith CA. Chinese herbal medicine for primary dysmenorrhoea.
Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews.
Yang H, Liu CZ, Chen X, et al. Systematic review of clinical trials of acupuncture-related therapies for primary dysmenorrhea.
Acta Obstet Gynecol Scand.
Lee C, Roh J, Lim C, Hong J, Lee J, Min E. A multicenter, randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled trial evaluating the efficacy and safety of a far infrared-emitting sericite belt in patients with primary dysmenorrhea.
Complementary Therapies in Medicine.
27Wu LL, Su CH, Liu CF. Effects of noninvasive electroacupuncture at Hegu (LI4) and Sanyinjiao (SP6) acupoints on dysmenorrhea: a randomized controlled trial.
J Altern Complement Med. 2012;18(2):137-142.
28Kannan P, Claydon LS. Some physiotherapy treatments may relieve menstrual pain in women with primary dysmenorrhea: a systematic review. J Physiother. 2014;60(1):13-21.
29Smith CA, Armour M, Zhu X, Li X, Lu ZY, Song J. Acupuncture for dysmenorrhoea. Cochrane Database Syst Rev. 2016;4:CD007854.
30Pattanittum P, Kunyanone N, Brown J, Sangkomkamhang US, Barnes J, Seyfoddin V, Marjoribanks J. Dietary supplements for dysmenorrhoea. Cochrane Database Syst Rev. 2016;3:CD002124
This content is reviewed regularly and is updated when new and relevant evidence is made available. This information is neither intended nor implied to be a substitute for professional medical advice. Always seek the advice of your physician or other qualified health provider prior to starting any new treatment or with questions regarding a medical condition.
Copyright © 2012 EBSCO Publishing
All rights reserved.
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I haven't installed any new HW or SW but ZA keeps asking me.
Also, since my last ZA update, my ZA won't go through a complete scan.
It keeps getting stuck and not finishing.
Since this update, my computer keeps giving me a message that 'a problem has been detected and windows has been shut down to prevent damage'.
This didn't happen before the latest update of ZA.
I'm not sure what to do.
Please help!(and I can't tell which software version I have...?)
Operating System:Windows XP Pro
Software Version:7.0
Product Name:ZoneAlarm Internet Security Suite


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Discussion in 'Gaming' started by AlphaMan, Feb 1, 2013.
Well this is Meeting 2013.
Meeting 2011 announced the PS Vita and Meeting 2005 announced the PS3.
Well we all know the PS4 and new XBox are coming sometime. The only question is the date.
They're gonna introduce the controller-less Move 2.
Or the return of the six-axis.
I have little doubt that Sony will show off the PS4 and this means Microsoft will be playing catch up but then again with how Sony advertised PSVita and priced it they could well screw up the launch of the PS4.
Yup, it seems about that time. Let's hope Sony learned their painful, multi-billion dollar lesson from the PS3 and refrains from releasing yet another overpriced supercomputer. Of course, given the Vita, that seems unlikely.
I've come to appreciate the PS3 with time. Blu-Ray, laptop HD upgrades, bluetooth, free internet services, etc. I bet over time people paid as much for that 360 as the PS3 though I understand the initial sticker shock. Mind you I bought a slim so my perspective probably isn't the same as those first buyers.
Timing is everything so it will be interesting to see. Sega made a big mistake dropping the Saturn early and then the really nice Dreamcast came out before the PS2 and X-Box. They need to be careful not to have a 360 successor release later with more horsepower and bury their lead.
The PS3's steep price was driven largely by two things: its exotic, proprietary architecture, and Sony's insistence on using it as a Trojan Horse for the Blu-ray standard. If they learned anything at all, the next system should use either a more standard architecture, or a minor iteration of the Cell architecture, and keep the BR drive (maybe go to a higher-capacity BR, if such is available.) That should help keep costs down and make the system easier to develop for--two problems that hobbled the PS3's launch.
Any news/ideas on ps4 vs. xbox720 specs?
Given that neither has been announced (as far as I know), any specification would be pure speculation.
^^ true, but there is speculation if any are interested
If either the new Xbox or PS4 require online connections there isn't a snowball's chance in hell that I will ever buy them, I don't care how incredible the software is, nothing doin' PERIOD.
The consoles may not "require" it, but they may be practically useless without it. Sony and Microsoft do not care even a little that some people will forego the console on that basis. It's not enough people to matter.
It will be interesting to see what they pull out because I think it will be a nice evolution but maybe not the revolution seen from going to early 3D with PSX, mature 3D with the PS2/XBox, HD visuals/strong online with the 360/PS3. I'm not sure these new systems will be game changers so much as a necessary upgrade.
I think it's a virtual guarantee that this generation won't be a huge leap in terms of console specs. What you may see is more innovation with peripherals, much like Nintendo did with the Wii U (e.g. the touchscreen controller), and more in the way of online/social media integration.
Oh I fully realize that, just throwing my opinion in the ring. I know the glory days of gaming, the golden age is long behind us and now we have mindless, cheap apps and shallow MMORPGs. Everything is geared towards "social interaction" which is truly a contradiction since everyone is sequestered in their basements as they play (anyone remember local area connection sessions? Or even "two player mode?")
I think online connections have a utilitarian use because videogames can now be updated/fixed whereas you could only do that with computer games in the old days.
Yeah, I'm with you. However, I completely disagree with you that gaming is worse today. If anything I'd say that we're in the golden age of gaming right now; just because we don't enjoy it doesn't change that.
I'm going to leave consoles behind and return to PC gaming. The PS4 doesn't even support PS3 games. Didn't bother me back then with PS2 games since I didn't own any. Now I do, and backwards compatibility should be a given.
So, out I am.
And I probably shouldn't have compared the PC and PS3 graphics of games like Crysis 2, GTA IV or the Assassin's Creed games.
Separate names with a comma.


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Douglas is cheering hard for his team on the bench but on the inside he's sad :-(
Douglas is cheering hard for his team on the bench but on the inside he's sad :-(
Real Talk
The way they're playing right now is clearly not the dantoni way and I'm loving it!
Real Talk
If our play continues, D'Antoni saves his ass, at least for a couple of weeks. But we should fire him anyway.
STAT's a jealous bitch he needs to pass the ball
Oh yeah I think we're golden at pg right now. Yeeeeeah!
Real Talk
IMAX > Chris Paul
Sig made by Sons of Thunder
With Iman Shumpert. This guy is a beast and he plays like he's a veteran, I like him at PG and he really has the athleticism for it. His shot is better than we ever expected so far and he's only in his 4th or so NBA game.
I can't find anything wrong with the way he plays at the moment. Unselfish hustler, decent shooter, shut down defender... I say he's our future at PG.
Stop shooting, Melo.
Sig made by Sons of Thunder
We are up 30.


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Ruth Bass: Plenty of room at inns we have now
It must be a field of dreams, this hotel invasion of the corner of Dan Fox Drive and the ugliest strip of commercialism in the Berkshires. If you build it, they will come.
That was the theme of the marvelous movie, and when the dreamer built his diamond, the field was peopled by ghosts who floated out from the cornstalks. But ghosts don't have credit cards.
Hotels are not fantasy -- they need human beings, thousands of them each year, preferably for more than a single night's stay.
The gurus of statistics -- people who depend on dreams as little as possible -- know that occupancy of hotel, motel, inn and bed and breakfast rooms is not 100 percent around here, even in the summer when the Berkshires and its roads appear to be jammed.
Occupancy, in fact, averages way below the full mark on a year-round basis. A lot of beds need no changing every day. They are as fresh on Wednesday as they were on Monday. Just take a look at the parking lots at 9 p.m.
Perhaps the developers dream of PEDA filling up that commercial/industrial space where General Electric once employed thousands of workers. It may happen. We hope it happens. But there's no rush to grab a plot, and it's taken years to get what's there now.
Perhaps the hoteliers dream of so many planes trying to land at the nearby Pittsfield "Municipal" Airport that several are in a holding pattern at any point in the day, a taxi line at the ready.
The rebuilding and expansion of the airport, creating a moonscape where a woods once stood, is another field of dreams. The rich will fly in with their private jets, but those who predict a chance for ordinary folk to book a flight on a commercial line don't remember Northeast, Bar Harbor and several other companies that have come and gone. The bottom line doesn't land in the right place.
Dreaming is fine for those willing to risk the money to go up against the Comfort Inn, Hampton Inn, some fine local motels, the Red Lion, Cranwell and, for the highest of the high-enders, Blantyre.
But is there fallout? Yes. With little prospect of an increased need for rooms, our locally owned hotels, motels and B&Bs will have to share the wealth with these two biggies, fighting the strength of Internet bookings and the lure of reward points.
A giant's ability to destroy is why the town of Greenfield in Franklin County barred Walmart -- they didn't want their venerable and excellent department store to close its downtown doors.
Environmentally, it's irresponsible to build things that aren't needed, using water resources and adding traffic (and pollution) to an area that is already not only unpleasant for drivers but often dangerous. New asphalt will add runoff.
The fallout includes benefits, of course. Pittsfield will get a lot of tax money if these places are built -- property taxes and room taxes and meal taxes. Tempting. People will work there -- most of them in low-end jobs and many of them part-time.
And, it's to be hoped, goods and services will be bought locally, aiding retailers, plumbers, electricians, landscapers, plowers of snow, etc. Once upon a time, boards of various kinds in Pittsfield, rightly or wrongly, questioned whether a new gas station or a new bar or a new package store was needed.
One of the reasons for the query always was whether we really wanted to see another set of gas pumps on another corner. And while the freedom to make or lose money usually wins out in such cases, it's still a good question.
People talk about the future of the Patriot on that same corner, but it remains dead (and never had many patrons).
Two more? Their rise from the ground will make the controversy over a flower shop disappear into obscurity.
Ruth Bass, a former Sunday editor of The Eagle, lives in Richmond. Her website is www.ruthbass.com.
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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Ghetto Pass 2.0: The Long Tail of Street Entrepreneurs
The Assimilated Negro is the issuing authority for your own personal Ghetto Pass, helping you safely navigate among the people and places of browner territories.
Internet futurism, meet the ghetto. Earlier this year, a book tagged as a manifesto on "the new economics of culture and commerce" set the business, tech, and publishing world on fire. That title, The Long Tail: Why the Future of Business Is Selling Less of More (perhaps you've heard of it), comes highly recommended, and certainly constitutes an impressive presentation on how largely online trends are creating a new economic paradigm. The thing is, for a book that is landscaping the future, many of the trendsetting principles are well-worn truisms in the ghetto. So this week, we take a peek at a slightly more obscure manifesto called, The Long Booty , and its Hood Hustlers holding ghetto MBAs. They may not have blogs or use Amazon, but they certainly understand Why the Future of Business in the Ghetto is More or Less Selling More of Less.
Examining The Booty
Premise: If you have enough hustlers and vendors on the street selling "niche" items, those people in aggregate can outsell the "hits" of food, drugs, and alcohol you find in corner bodegas and chain drug stores. The Long Booty functions as a market for those who say "Pfft!" to being encumbered by aisles, and dealing with people and checkout lines. But unlike The Long Tailers who also have to avoid the hazards of virtual online shopping, The Long Booty presents the truly ideal scenario of just going outside on your block and getting it direct (I'd like to examine my bootleg Seven jeans in person, thank you very much!). When the big stores don't got it and online is too dangerous, enter: The Booty .
The Booty vs. The Tail
As with other ghetto trends, The Booty shares much of the sensibility of the more mainstream Tail, but dispenses with the pretense. You won't hear catchy buzzwords like "niche marketplace" and "radical transparency" associated with The Booty , but the fact remains there is nothing more niche than the man direct-marketing his inventory of a power strip, one slipper, and a two-pack of ninety-minute "is it real or is it Memorex" audio cassette-tapes. And there's no transparency more radical than his pulling those items out of a garbage bag when he sells them to you. In the end, it could be said The Long Booty is an entirely old model for business that is just starting to have its principles applied by people with money on the Internet.
Along The Booty
As you move along the booty the market becomes more and more niche, so here's a taxonomy of some of the ghetto-preneurs you might see along The Booty :
Bootleggers - The vendors you know and love, bootleggers are the Fat Ass of The Long Booty .
Invisible Gods - Anyone who serves food or drink from a cart, or truck. These people are often invisible during the day, only to become your salvation late in the night when you come home drunk and hungry.
Package Artists - Package artists don't know how to offer you something by itself, they always have to add on. Everything is "2 for $5," then "5 for $50," then "the table for whatever you got in your wallet right now."
Smoke Dogs - These guys only know four words and two phrases, "I got smoke" and "Newports."
Street Evangelists - The religious sector of the market (though not to be confused with Invisible Gods), redemption never came so cheap. Be sure to read the riveting literature.
We Steal, You Get the Great Deal - Incredible bargains, but dealing with this vendor invariably prompts looks over your shoulder for police, and renditions of the Clint Eastwood "So, are you feeling lucky?" line in our head.
Random & Useless Shit Sellers (RUSS) - RUSS's have items you buy just so you can show your friends and family that such an item was for sale. Think used pajama bottoms, or a broom with no bristles.
Potpourri Peddlers- The typical PP has a towel and an array of items that look like he just ran in someone's house and hurriedly swept the contents of your desk and nightstand into a hefty bag for later pawning. Similar to RUSS, but he sometimes has things you can use. For example, a girl wearing a designer dress to the Oscars may hit him up for some Scotch nipple tape.
Freelancers - As expected, these guys are wild cards. They might happen to have a remote control for a nonexistent VCR you can get off them for cheap. They are also often service-oriented, i.e. will carry your futon up the five-floor walkup for $5.
General Tips
Is The Long Booty full of crap? - In this discussion, Anderson explains how you find both good and bad along the Tail. Similarly, the Booty provides hits and misses. For example, my last Booty purchase netted me an authentic version of Prince's Purple Rain on DVD. On the flip side, a friend of mine purchased a DVD player, only to find a brick when he got home and opened the box.
Economics of Perceived Abundance - The Long Tail is touted as the economics of abundance, but The Long Booty is known as the economics of perceived abundance. Perceived because it seems there is an infinite number of vendors, but the only thing really in abundance are shots from police officers (ha! take that coppers).
Fun Facts
• Did you know there is now a bootleg version of everything in the universe? If funds are tight this year, you can probably even find a bootleg version of your family to spend the holidays with.
• Did you know independent movies often purchase everything a RUSS has to offer? Placed on set, it's instant pathos — an easy way to subtly establish the character as a conflicted soul.
• Did you know Smoke Dogs only carry items with the color green somewhere? Marijuana or Menthols. It's all about being organic. Also they have been on the endangered species list since the Giuliani administration.
Ghetto Terror Alert - While The Long Tail is predicated on conversation in the marketplace, The Long Booty prefers consumers to keep their opinions to themselves. Treating the workspace of any vendor as if it were a comment box solely concerned with your opinion is grounds for assault, or at least a stern, highly audible, and embarrassing lambasting on the street.
Slang Check - The Long Booty , that's all you need to know.


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4:4 ratio screen?
That would make it a square wouldn't it? Come on guys, try harder.
ViewSonic is taking aim right at the iPad - and would-be HP TouchPad owners - with a tablet sporting a 9.7in, 4:3 ratio IPS LCD screen. And, yes, like those fondleslabs this one, the ViewPad 10e, has a 1024 x 768 resolution - the best, we think, for folk who regularly switch from portrait to landscape and back again. …
That would make it a square wouldn't it? Come on guys, try harder.
I think it will have to retail at £200 if it want to be a big success.
yes, it'll need to be around that price to be a success. but chances are, it won't be.
With it looking so much like an ipad i'm sure someone will think they can fence it for ipad monies.
Pretty poor decision but kinda understandable - I don't think Viewsonic are one of Google's "Honeycomb" partners (they mainly rebrand third party tablets) and Ice Cream Sandwich (ICS) isn't out yet.
If I were Viewsonic I would have guaranteed an upgrade to ICS when it is open-sourced.
Bet the tablet isn't cheap either.
It's hardly a poor decision if they have no other option, is it?
They can't provide Honeycomb. Ice cream sandwich doesn't yet exist.
What decision have they made?
well it's a Sunday paper, doh!
The Apple lawyers will be in contact...
And 4:3 so it's a certainty !
Hopefully it'll be a similar enough size to an iPad that it can use iPad accessories - about the only gripe I have with my Advent Vega (apart from the viewing angle, but for £200 you can't grumble too much) is that its funky dimensions make finding a decent case a real struggle.
Paris, because.
looks like it is running this excellent 3rd party launcher - have Viewsonic licensed it? If so good choice. Looks flash and works rather well too.
If it's 200-250 quid it's a right bargain.
Yes, at last!!! We finally have an iPad competitor on the market. 4:3 aspect ratio AND an SD card slot to differentiate it.
My only complaint is that it's not a full sized SD slot, so I'll be forced to buy an expensive microSD card and adapter for my digital camera.
With the wide viewing angles as well as the 4:3 aspect ratio, digital photographers finally have something to replace the photo album or packet of photos that we used to hand round to friends.
8GB for £8.55 including adapter. A full size SD card would be £7.98. So 56p more expensive.
"expensive microSD card and adapter.."
You can get a 16Gb microSD card and adapter for under £15 nowadays. Adapters are about a quid and cards start at <£4 for 4Gb. Is it really THAT expensive??
I bought an 8gb micro, WITH full size adapter for $8.99 on Friday, needed it for the new digital camera i'd bought, and I only buy micros now. That way they can go in my phones (all micro) or the digital vidcamera I already had (SD), and I wasn't sure if this was maxi or micro.
gotta love the flash media bins at the checkout at Microcenter...
that'd make it a good contender...
The design of it is a little bulky for my tastes however from the pictures its user interface looks a lot better than Apple's iOS. Just my opinion.
Doesn't look like it will be £200 if this is the same tablet
Another part of the Viewsonic web site says that the tablet comes with both Win7 and Android


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I am most pleased to report that I just tried Dugi's latest viewer build.
It's v4.201 and the ant trails are working just fine.
Please visit the Members Area and get your copy ASAP.
Enjoy the new feature and enjoy WoW.
Many thanks to Dugi for diligently working through the code to debug it and get the product ready for prime time.


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Starbucks on Thursday, Nov. 14, 2013 said the first official trip including the café car will begin at 6:36 a.m. Nov. 21 on SBB service linking Geneva Airport and St. Gallen—presumably ideal for first-cup needs of numerous passengers.
"The design is contemporary and focused on comfort, yet at the same time functional," Starbucks said in a statement. "This combination is expressed through beautiful design elements and a color scheme inspired by coffee."
Starbucks logos appear both on the exterior and exterior of the car, which offers a capacity of 50 customers. The first floor features a standing bar and baristas, while lounges occupy the second floor of the car.
"We are very happy to unveil this exciting new on-board experience for our customers", said Director of SBB Passenger Transportation Jeannine Pilloud. "We continuously work to enhance our on-board services through innovations to ensure travelers enjoy a pleasant journey and this project is an evolution of our catering concept. We want our customers to feel at home while traveling with us."


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Twitter, Facebook not for Sandberg
By Todd Zolecki / MLB.com
PHILADELPHIA -- Don't expect to see Phillies interim manager Ryne Sandberg on social media anytime soon.
Like, ever.
"I've had a lot of pressure from my five kids, who range from 28 to 34 years old, all over me about having Facebook and Twitter accounts and all that and how good that would be," Sandberg said before Tuesday's game. "I haven't gone that route yet. I text. A lot of texts. But the Twitter thing and all that, me personally, I don't see how anything good comes out of that. I don't see why I need to share every thought or some thought I have on a subject and throw it out there. I think, for me, I see only bad things happening from that. And Facebook, talk about not having any privacy."
Lannan out for season with left knee injury
Phillies left-hander John Lannan's season is finished, as he requires surgery on his left knee.
Lannan said on Tuesday he has a 60 percent tear of a tendon in the knee. Phillies physician Michael Ciccotti has recommend surgery, although Lannan will receive a second opinion from Dodgers physician Neal ElAttrache in Los Angeles.
"I'm pretty sure I'm going to get surgery," Lannan said. "They've got to reattach the tendon to a healthy point in the knee."
Lannan missed two months earlier this season with a strained quadriceps tendon in the knee. He said last week in Atlanta he wanted to get this recurring issue -- the knee has bothered him in previous seasons -- resolved. The recovery from this surgery could take 4-6 months, although he said he will not rush it.
"Long term, I know if I do the right things and rehab the right way and I don't rush back, I'll be all right," Lannan said.
Lannan is eligible for salary arbitration following the season. He made $2.5 million this year, so it certainly seems possible the Phillies non-tender him because of the health risk.
"Whenever that time comes that's when I've got to reassess the situation," he said. "But for now I'm a Phillie."
Proefrock also gave injury updates on other Phillies:
• Ryan Howard (left knee surgery): He saw a doctor on Monday and will begin baseball activities Thursday.
• Ben Revere (right ankle surgery): He is finally off crutches. "I don't know whether Ryan or Ben will be back on the field here or in Florida [for rehab appearances], but the expectation is that they'll be back on the field somewhere before the end of the season," Proefrock said. "Whether it's up here, whether they're playing in instructional league, I don't know. … I think the main thing for both of them is to just get them to the point where there are no surprises in Spring Training next year."
• Mike Adams (right shoulder surgery): He continues to rehab and, as Adams said recently, he expects to be ready come Spring Training.
• Michael Stutes (right biceps tendinitis): He is long-tossing. "He's making good progress," Proefrock said. Proefrock said there is a chance Stutes could be back at some point this year, although it's too early in the process to offer a timetable.
• Jeremy Horst (sprained left elbow). He visited the doctor Tuesday. He could begin a throwing program soon.
• Joe Savery (stiff left elbow). He will begin a rehab assignment later this week, most likely in Clearwater, Fla.
• Jonathan Pettibone (strained right shoulder): He allowed 10 hits, three runs and struck out one in six innings on Tuesday in a rehab start with Triple-A Lehigh Valley.
Sandberg seeks clarification on balk call
PHILADELPHIA -- Phillies left-hander Jake Diekman got called for an unusual balk in the eighth inning of Monday's 5-4 win over the Rockies at Citizens Bank Park.
Diekman was working out of the stretch with runners on first and second when Nolan Arenado wanted to call time, and made a movement out of the batter's box, although he never completely left the box and time had never been called. Diekman began his delivery to the plate, but upon seeing Arenado move out of the box he believed time had been called and stopped his delivery. Home-plate umpire Jim Joyce called a balk.
Phillies interim manager Ryne Sandberg and Joyce had three conversations about the call during the game. Sandberg's contention was that a hitter cannot induce a balk. Rule 6.02(b) states: "If after the pitcher starts his windup or comes to a "set position" with a runner on, he does not go through with his pitch because the batter has stepped out of the box, it shall not be called a balk."
Joyce spoke about the call following the game with Randy Marsh, who is Major League Baseball's director of umpires. Marsh is in town this week.
"I implemented the balk wrong," Joyce said before Tuesday's game. "The rule actually states if the batter leaves the batter's box and causes the pitcher to hesitate or stop, a balk shall not be called. I got probably a little more technical on that. He didn't leave the box, but the spirit of the rule is if you make the pitcher stop by some sort of action by the batter, a balk shall not be called. I probably was a little overzealous in throwing out that balk."
Joyce said he spoke with Sandberg and Rockies manager Walt Weiss about it before Tuesday's game.
"You could have the hitter step out, and if the pitcher delivers a weaker pitch they could step back in and whack it, if they're just trying to deliver a pitch," Sandberg said. "So, for me, it's a total disadvantage for the pitcher there in all regards to the play. The rule states that, and I think that's why the rule is what it is."
In Tuesday's 5-3 loss to the Rockies, two more balks were called, but both were against Colorado reliever Rex Brothers, who didn't come to a complete stop in his delivery from the stretch in the same at-bat in the eighth inning.
Todd Zolecki is a reporter for MLB.com. This story was not subject to the approval of Major League Baseball or its clubs.


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So its been a little bit since we last talked about people's thoughts on whether or not Bosh will be booed come his return. Has anyone changed their tune on whether or not to boo Bosh? Some new things have been said over the summer to maybe fuel the fire, so does that change your opinion of him?
Source - Click hereJarrett Jack is asking the Bosh bashers to put a sock in it when the Miami Heat touch down at the Air Canada Centre on Feb. 16.
That day marks the return of former Raptors favourite Chris Bosh, who left many Toronto fans angry and disappointed when he elected to sign as a free agent with the Miami Heat this season.
Given Torontos history of turning on star players who once played in this town, it seems likely that Bosh will take his share of heat when the Heat finally play at the ACC.
But the Raptors point guard believes booing Bosh is uncalled for stressing that Bosh signed with the Heat as a matter of business, not because he dislikes Toronto or the fans.
He was up here not too long ago to gather his things, Jack said. Obviously, he could have sent some people to do that for him. But he came up to say his proper goodbyes, to a lot of the people who lived in our building and that sort of thing. And that says a lot about a person.
People actually loved Chris here. And there was nothing fake about it. He was like Michael Jackson up here. He was larger than life in a sense. And when people love you, they hate to see you go. But thats just life.
Jack acknowledged that Toronto fans have a reputation of turning on former Raptors and Leafs.
They boo who they feel need to get booed, he said. But they dont boo everyone. When Matt Bonner comes back, its like the president. Morris Peterson as well, they cheer him heavily.


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Aidan's life in Photos -- anything and everything about Aidan.
A photoblog of my first times, fun moments and blessings in life.
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Discussion in 'Miscellaneous' started by cooleddie74, Apr 7, 2012.
I have a small Tom Servo that came with one of the DVD sets. That's all I've ever gotten a hold of.
Here's a brief and fun review of the brand-new Jocasta Nu action figure that's slowly starting to arrive for those who ordered her....
Swivel neck? A sign of things to come regarding [the lack of] articulation?
It occasionally happens, though on Vintage Collection figures it's certainly an unwelcome anomaly. That said, we've entered the era of figures with only 5 - 8 points of articulation where they have ball-jointed necks but swivel everything else and no elbows, knees or ankles.
Yes, because we expect Jocasta Nu to be performing incredible kung-fu feats.
Not that I'm trivializing the shift towards less articulation. It annoys me just as much.
For me I could do without 14 or 15 points of articulation on an action figure of the librarian of the Jedi Archives, an old lady who shuffles around with a big brown purse. But you know how the collecting community is....unless they can reenact scenes from Kill Bill with her they aren't happy.
Darth Maul? A Stormtrooper? I expect 14 or 15. A character whose most exciting action is to point Ewan McGregor to a shelf or table? Not vital.
At least they didn't use ball-joint hips. I hate those. Bespin Luke is horrific.
I used to love ball jointed hips on Marvel Legends. Then I started collecting DC Universe Classics, and realized just how cumbersome they are for posing. The double-cut hips that DCUC uses gives pretty much the same level of poseability without the ridiculous amount of fidgeting around to get the ball in just the right position to even make the leg go forward.
Most ball-jointed hips are definitely overrated. The first Vintage Collection version of the Sandtrooper (VC14, the one with the white pauldron and clean armor) has them and it's supposed to help him sit astride a Dewback, but when you bend his legs out to mount him on one he looks ridiculous and completely unnatural. It looks like he's doing a painful split on the poor lizard's back.
Finally have some pictures ready - and for once I can actually contribute pictures. First up is Fall of Cybetron Soundwave, which I honestly think is a pretty nice figure. Some fans have complained about the size relative to other figures in the line, but he's roughly about the same size as G1 Soundwave, so it's not an issue for me. The mold is a scaled up and modified version of the War for Cybertron Soundwave.
Vehicle mode. Soundwave transforms into what's called an armored communications vehicle, and I have to say I like this design in both scales. While the minority of G1 characters who didn't have actual vehicles occupy a special place for me, it's nice to see Soundwave having a more mobile form. His launching mechanism works in this mode too.
Robot mode. A lot of G1 elements, and the posability is nice. While the WFC mold came with a weapon that could split into halves, representing Soundwave's G1 weapons, this version only comes with the shoulder weapon. It was supposed to include a rifle similar to Optimus Prime's G1 weapon, but this was apparently cut for costs at the last minute. I used Getaway's weapon here since it's the right size and color.
Stored discs. Ratbat is in front, with Laserbeak and Ravage behind him. Since this causes the aforementioned backpack problems, it looks better from the front.
Soundwave is naturally more fun with his minions, and I think that's one of the pluses. He comes with Laserbeak, while the Japanese version has him painted as Buzzsaw instead (as was the case with G1). There are also two twin packs currently available, Frenzy (colored red) and Ratbat and Rumble (colored blue) and Ravage. They come with little Decepticon cases and turn into data discs instead of micro cassettes.
"Soundwave superior. Generics goofy."
Here are the generic Transformers I found. As one might expect, they're very basic and have somewhat weak construction, with the limbs just being ball joints.
These two include an SR-71 type plane and what seems to be a turboprop bomber. The bomber's nose is a separate piece that attaches to the left arm, which has no hand. Whether that means it's supposed to be a weapon isn't clear, but those propellers are rather awkward in robot mode.
The other pair includes a helicopter robot and a jet robot, who vaguely resembles the Bayformer version of Starscream. The helicopter robot is the only one who seems to have paint variations on the packaging, on the lower legs (unpainted on the actual figure).
Here is the front of the card. I have no idea if Generic Tank Guy is part of the line or just used for the packaging, since I didn't see any carded versions. He seems to turn into the six-wheeled tank at lower right (these corner vehicles were partially hidden by the bubbles), and it's not clear if the tank at lower left is another figure or just a stock vehicle. The "combined" robot is just a black version of GTG, and it's interesting that he has matching arms and legs (twin spy planes and bombers). Does that mean only those two are meant to combine, or were they just lazy on the photography?
Here is the back of the card, showing tech specs and instructions for the four flying robots. Generic Tank Guy isn't included, which is one reason I'm curious as to his actual existence. The helicopter bot oddly uses both color variations in his instructions, with red or black on the lower legs.
And finally the liner placed in the bubbles. Helicopter bot seems lighter and has a silver face as well as colored legs, and this is the only other place where the combined figure shows up.
Very cool pics, Unicron! I love the packaging. It has kind of a 1980's Hasbro/Mattel vibe to the design and coloring. The figures themselves also have a retro look to them as if they came off the production lines in 1984 instead of recently.
Yeah, one of the nice things about Soundwave I forgot to mention is that his box art also includes the art from the two-packs, which certainly have a G1 theme to them. So Soundwave has all of his minions with him, and I saved that part to stick on the end of my new bookshelf.
I didn't know Big Lots carried this line. I'll have to check my local store to see if they have any newer stuff in their toy aisles. They've actually carried old surplus Star Wars figures in the past but the selection was limited.
I had duplicate mini Hawkeye and Black Widows, so I turned them into jewelry!
In other Star Wars collecting news, Wave 1 of the 2013 Clone Wars line is reported to be hitting retail in the Philippines. The first wave contains the new animated 501st Legion Clone as well as Cyborg Darth Maul along with three or four other figures.
Filipino sightings usually mean U.S. stores won't be too far behind.
As a refresher, here's what the 501st Clone looks like in multilingual European packaging:
Here's one I didn't post before: the brand new 2013 Clone Wars Anakin Skywalker.
And here's the new animated R2-D2.
And to round things out, the newest Obi-Wan Kenobi and Captain Rex, both different from the 2012 versions of the characters.
Obi-Wan looks pissed off!!! LOL.
Yeah, the 2012 and 2013 figures are meant to be more intense and determined looking. The earlier Clone Wars Obi-Wans had friendlier, more serene expressions that didn't necessarily go well with being an action figure designed for combat play.
I want to see her wear it in a pic!
Separate names with a comma.


text: Honor James 146 Report post Posted April 19, 2013 The Moroccan Rugby League Federation, MRLF, has conducted a first coaching course since becoming officially recognised by the RLEF in 2012. The course was run by the French Federation's Thierry Dumaine, supported by FMRL coach-tutor candidate Anas Mansour, in Casablanca. "This signals a major development in our country," said FMRL president Mustapha Jedoual. "I would like to take the opportunity to thank Thierry Dumaine for his visit, for his valuable advice and for the commitment he showed to our cause." Dumaine, who led the France Cadets in their Easter tour to England, sharing a two match Test series, is hopeful that the Moroccans will use the course as a springboard for future growth. "It was a pleasure to participate," he noted. "The 20 candidates showed real enthusiasm and interest over the three days and certainly have the potential to develop as coaches. This is just one important stage and I hope that they use it as part of a long term plan that will include possible qualification for the 2017 World Cup." Mansour attended the launch of the RLEF Technical Strategy in London two years ago and the second phase in Beirut and is expected to play a leading role in Morocco rugby league's future. RLEF General Manager Danny Kazandjian observed part of the course. "The historical, social and cultural ties between France and Morocco run extremely deep, and the closer the cooperation between the French and Moroccan Federations, the stronger the game will be in the kingdom," he commented. "My visit was also a good opportunity to discuss with the FMRL board what steps they must take to obtain a royal federation under Moroccan law, one that this fully recognised by the government." Middle East North Africa Regional Director Remond Safi was pleased that three regional nations were involved in education courses, a first for the MENA. "It has been remarkable as the MENA Region saw two technical courses happening at the same time, in Morocco and UAE, led by Lebanese and French staff," he said. "History has been made with the very first coaching courses in Morocco and the Emirates since the launch of the RLEF Technical Strategy and with the new generation of coaches we will see regional development continue to accelerate." Both Morocco and UAE will run domestic championships for the first time this year, with clubs led by the newly trained and qualified coaches. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites


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Stars reunited for Invisible Woman
Kristin Scott Thomas and Ralph Fiennes were reunited on the red carpet at the London premiere of The Invisible Woman.
Fiennes directed and stars as Charles Dickens in the adaptation of Claire Tomalin's book about the writer's romance with a younger woman, Nelly Ternan, played by Felicity Jones.
Scott Thomas and Fiennes famously played lovers in Anthony Minghella's Oscar-winning film The English Patient back in 1996. In The Invisible Woman Scott Thomas plays Nelly's mother, Mrs Frances Ternan.
Fiennes revealed she had asked to be in the film after seeing his directorial debut Coriolanus, but did have doubts initially when he offered her the role of Nelly's mother.
He said: "Kristin very sweetly saw this other film I made and said, 'I'd like to be in a film that you're directing'. I said, 'I'd like you to play the mother of Nelly.' And I think she had a bit of a... 'The mother, I'm not sure about that.'
"I felt the mother was a crucial role. The way the mother nurtures, guides, sort of acquiesces in Nelly's love, I thought that was a very interesting path, and Kristin does it brilliantly."
Scott Thomas, who travelled from her home in Paris especially for the premiere, was full of praise for Fiennes.
She said: "He was a very good director, incredibly brave to take on both roles of Dickens and director.
"It was very easy to be directed by him. We have a very good communication."
Jones, 30, revealed how her research for the role had led her to believe Nelly had inspired some of Dickens' famous characters.
She said: "I think she had a profound influence on his work.
"I grew up loving Great Expectations and it was amazing playing Nelly and thinking that Dickens had written that after he met her, so it just made it resonate even more.
"I do think, particularly in that book, there's a lot of Nelly and her mother in it."
The Thick Of It star Joanna Scanlan plays Dickens' wife Catherine in the film, which was adapted for the big screen by award-winning script writer Abi Morgan.
Scanlan confessed being directed by Fiennes was, "quite scary".
She added: "He's a force and he has such clarity about that he wants and how he's going to bring the scene together.
"I did feel a lot of the time that he would have played it much better than me. I felt I was failing him!"
The Invisible Woman is due to be released in cinemas on February 7.
Press Association


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He suffered, what most believe, a torn achilles in tonight's game vs. the Warriors. Got right back up and made two free throws while barely standing.
If this is the way we see him end his career, it's disastrous. Love him or hate him, he's one of the all-time greats, and you have to respect how he's gone into every game with passion, and given everything he's got over the past 17 years.
Typical recovery time for this injury is 8 months-1 year. He's already stated that next season would be his last. Hopefully this isn't his last game.