text:
Rays Off Day Facts and Figures
With today being a off day for the Tampa Bay Rays before they take on the Texas Rangers tomorrow night in a 3-game series, I thought it might be a good time to relate some unusual and interesting facts about the team today. Within the short history of the Rays there are hidden gems of information and wild facts that most fans have not seen or heard about the team.
This is an organization that might not have the storied history of some of their division rivals in Boston or New York, but they are building their legends and reputations daily, and with that process comes interesting facts and anedotes surrounding the team. I am going to try and give you some interesting facts about the Rays and some of the people behind the scenes that most people will never meet while attending a game at Tropicana Field.
Let's first start with some of the people that reside on the third floor offices of the Trop., and move onto the Rays Coaching staff.
Brian Killingsworth who is the Rays Senior Director of Marketing and Promotion once played with current Ray Carlos Pena in the Cape Cod League in 1997. Both men were members of the Cape Cod Champion Wareham Gateman that season.
Rick Vaughn, who is the Rays Vice President of Communications was the Public Relations Director for the MLB's All Star tour to Japan in November 2002. He also is a graduate of George Mason University asnd threw the first no-hitter in the university's history.
Fred McGriff, who is currently in his third season as a Special Advisor to the Rays also is about to enter his first
year of Baseball Hall of Fame eligibility in 2010. He played baseball for 19 years and amassed 2,490 hits, 493 HR and 1,550 RBI. Only 15 players have reached this level of achievement in thei careers, with 11 of them already selected to the Hall of Fame, and the other 4 are not eligible yet.
John P Higgins, Senior Vice President and General Counsel for the Rays was the first employee hired by the team on April 1, 1995. Prior to the first game of the American League Divisional Series he threw out the First Pitch.
Jeff Ziegler, who is thew Rays Traveling Secretary did not begin his career in baseball. He originally ws a member of the St. Petersburg Police Department as a patrolman and detective in the narcotics and vice division for 13 years. He was assigned by MLB as the resident security agent for the Rays in 1997-1998.
Brian Anderson, who is pulling double duty in 2009 as both a color analyst for the Rays Television Network and as Assistant Pitching Coach for the team originally started his double role with the team after Spring Training 2008. He came to the teams an a non-roster invitee after missing both 2006 and 2007 with two different Tommy John's surgeries.
His career effectively ended on Marhc 12, 2008 when he walked off the mound against the New York Yankees after suffering another arm injury. He had tore his ulnar collateral ligament for the third time, plus tore his flexor mass muscle for the second time in his career. He was announced as the Rays Assistant Pitching Coach on March 25, 2008.
He first wandered into the Rays broadcast booth when
regular color analyst Joe Magrane went to New York to cover the 2008 Olympics for NBC. But this was not his first entry into the broadcast booth. He also did some work in Cleveland for the Indians both in the Sports Time Ohio telecasts and doing a weekly highlights show for the team.
Only three uniformed Rays personnel have been here as long as Rays Third Base Coach Tom Foley. Current Hitting Coach Steve "Hendo" Henderson, Current Durham Bulls Manager Charlie Montoya, and hitting coordinator Steve Livesey.
Here is another crazy fact about Foley. as a youth at Palmetto High School in Miami, Florida he was an ambidextrous athlete, throwing a baseball with his right- handed as a shortstop and left-handed as a fotball quarterback.
Steve Henderson, the Rays Hitting Coach was a team member of theSt. Petersburg Pelicans during the 1989 Championship in the Senior Professional Baseball Association. The team did not ever recieve their championship rings until 2008, when during the Rays "Throw Back" day against the Houston Astros, each memebr of the team were finally presented their championship rings.
On June 15, 1977, Henderson along with pitcher Pat Zachry, Doug Flynn and Dan Norman were traded to the New York Mets by the Cincinnati Reds in a deal known as the "Midnight Massacre" for future Hall of Famer Tom Seaver. Henderson took it all in stride and played in 99 games that season for the Mets and lost the N L Rookie of the Year award to Andre Dawson by one vote.
George Hendricks, the Rays First Base Coach is a perfect example of what an athlete can do on a baseball field. Hendricks never even played high school sports at Fremont High School in Los Angeles before th Oaklan A's made him their first selection on the January segment of the draft in 1968.
Hendricks went on to become a four-time All-Star and earned two World Series rings. The first with Oakland in 1972, and then his second in 1982 with the St. Louis Cardinals. He was also a member of the Los Angeles Angels 1986 division winning team. He also led the MLB in outfield assists in 1979 with 20 while with the Cardinals.
Jim Hickey, the Rays Pitching Coach is only one of seven Pitching Coaches in the last 50 years to go to the World Series with two different clubs. He joins former Rays manager Larry Rothchild, Dave Duncan,Mel Stottlemyre, Johnny Sain,Stan Williams and Dave Wallace in this exclusive group.
Dave Martinez, the Rays Bench Coach is only the second former Rays player to join the coaching ranks of the Rays. Wade Boggs was the first to work for the Rays as their Hitting Coach in 2001. Matinez, an original Ray, also recorded the first hit for the Rays , a third inning single off Detroit starter Justin Thompson.
He was also the first Rays player to steal two bases in a game, and the first Rays to record an inside-the-park home run when he did it off New York Hideki Irabu on July 10, 1998. 11 days later h
is season was over after a hamstring injury. He was also a team mate of Foley's in Montreal from 1988-1991.
And last but not least, I am going to list the Opening Day roster for the first Rays season in 1998. Some of these names you might remember, and a few of them you might be trying to forget, but they are all part of the history that makes the Rays who they are today.
Wilson Alvarez Opening Day starter)
Rolando Arrojo 14 wins in his rookie season )
Dan Carlson 7.64 ERA in 10 appearances)
Rick Gorecki 1-2 with a 4.86 ERA )
Roberto Hernandez 26 saves in 71.1 innings )
Albie Lopez 7-4, with a 2.60 ERA )
Jim Mecir 7-2, with a 3.11 ERA )
Tony Saunders 6-15, with a 4.12 ERA )
Dennis Springer 3-11, with a 5.45 ERA )
Ramon Tatis 22 games, 13.89 ERA
Esteban Yan 5-4 with 77 strikeouts
Mike DiFelice .230 average with 23 RBI
John Flaherty .207 average with 24 RBI
Wade Boggs .280 average and 1st Rays HR
Miguel Cairo .268 average with 46 RBI
Aaron Ledesma .324 average with 8 SB
Fred McGriff 19 HR and 81 RBI
Bobby Smith .276 average with 11 HR
Paul Sorrento 17 HR and 57 RBI
Kevin Stocker .208 average with 25 RBI
Rich Butler .226 average with 20 RBI
Mike Kelly 10 HR and 33 RBI
Dave Martinez .256 average and 20 RBI
Quinton McCracken .292 average with 19 SB
Bubba Trammell . 286 average with 12 HR
With the Rays next off day on Monday, maybe I will try and get some more trivia on some of the current memebrs of the Rays 40-man roster and on their home, Tropicana Field. Until then, enjoy the Rays 3-game series against the Texas Rangers and your Fourth of July weekend.


text:
The most complete database on Chinese herbal medicine
|Get a FREE account now and discover how to treat this symptom with Chinese medicine
|Chinese Formula
|Symptoms related to increased borborygmus
|Sheng Jiang Xie Xin Tang
Fresh Ginger Decoction to Drain the Epigastrium; Pinellia and Ginger Decoction
|Harmonizes the Stomach; Disperses accumulation; Eliminates fullness of the abdomen and epigastrium; Drains congested fluids.
|Water and Heat complexes or Stomach Deficiency with food retention and suspended fluids lingering internally.
|Diarrhea; Epigastrium is solid to palpation; Fullness of the epigastrium; Increased borborygmus; Smelly regurgitation; Sound of fluids in the abdomen and hypochondrium.

subset: commoncrawl


text:
Milan Lucic provided the strength, his linemates added the scoring touch and Boston Bruins made sure they didn't give away a big lead to Washington this time.
Milan Lucic provided the strength, his linemates added the scoring touch and Boston Bruins made sure they didn't give away a big lead to Washington this time.
Nathan Horton had a goal and two assists, Lucic set up Boston's first two scores on hustle plays behind the net and the Bruins beat the Capitals 4-1 on Saturday.
Boston coach Claude Julien said his big two wingers on the top line — Lucic and Horton — set the tone for the victory by hitting early.
"I've always said, 'If I'm coaching the other team and I have those two guys playing against me and they're playing at their best, I'd hate to be a defenseman on the other side,'" Julien said. "The speed they come at you, puts guys on their heels. When we're forechecking well, we're turning the puck over."
David Krejci added a goal and two assists, Rich Peverley had a power-play goal, and Andrew Ference scored his first of the season on the eve of his 34th birthday for the Bruins, who avenged a frustrating loss to the Capitals earlier this month.
Bruins backup goalie Anton Khudobin made 32 saves, and Lucic had a career-high three assists.
"When I came in (before the game) I knew he was feeling well," Horton said about the Lucic, a 6-foot-3 winger. "I think everybody gets up, feeding off his personality. When we're putting it in the right spots, he' getting to the pucks. Guys are scared of him. He gets them."
Marcus Johansson was credited with Washington's goal when the puck caromed into the net off Bruins defenseman Johnny Boychuk.
The Capitals knew Boston's big guys were hitting from the start.
"They have those kinds of players," Capitals captain Alex Ovechkin said. "They do a good job."
Michal Neuvirth made 34 saves for the Washington, which suffered its fourth loss in five games.
Boston blew a 3-0 lead against the Capitals in Washington before losing 4-3 in overtime on March 5 in their only other meeting this season.
The Bruins jumped ahead 1-0 on Horton's goal 14:12 into the game. Lucic raced in, collecting a pass behind the net, circled and found Horton in the slot. He one-timed a shot by Neuvirth.
They increased it to 2-0 just over 3 minutes later when Lucic beat defenseman Tomas Kundratek to a puck in the corner, out-muscled center Mike Ribeiro near the net before sending a pass in front to Krejci, who slipped a quick shot into the net.
"We shot ourselves in the foot," Washington winger Joey Crabb said. "We turned it over in our own end and they capitalized on it."
The Capitals cut it to 2-1 early in the second when Krejci's clearing pass from the side of the net caromed off Boychuk's skate and behind Khudobin. Johansson, the closest player to the puck, was credited with the goal.
With the teams skating four a side, Ference's wrister from the top of the left circle— off a pass from Horton — beat Neuvirth inside the right post, making it 3-1 at 8:02 of the second.
Peverley's goal off a scramble in front came 8 seconds into a power play early in the third.
The Bruins came out hitting from the start, turning the game a bit chippy at times. Boston appeared to have a plan of checking the Capitals nearly every time they passed or handled the puck. Washington responded later in the second, challenging the Bruins to a pair of fights.
"When we need that kind of stuff, we have to do it," Ovechkin said.
It was the teams' first meeting in TD Garden since Washington eliminated Boston in overtime of the seventh game during the opening round of last season's Stanley Cup playoffs.


text: I guess I am the token SiCortex person who posts here sometimes. There are probably other lurkers as well. Hopefully this is generic enough to not trigger a commercial allergic response from the moderator... The philosophical idea was something like noticing that HPC codes tend to miss in the cache, with a "flops per miss" figure of merit. So we tried to build a system with relatively less CPU but just as much memory and very good communications. As a consequence, we tend to do very well on communications intensive codes, and relatively less well on codes that smell like DGEMM or which have an unusually large amount of integer stuff. As a general matter, your code will be limited by something (memory, comm, cpu, I/O are the usual suspects), so a balanced system is one is which everything breaks at once. We're probably unbalanced towards comms, whereas a commodity cluster is (usually) unbalanced towards CPU. Porting is pretty easy, in the sense that "configure" and "make" tend to just work, but it isn't unusual to have to tune to get the best performance. We've worked pretty hard to make the performance tools play well together. Is it a beowulf? The software philosophy is about the same, but the hardware isn't really commodity, except the DIMMs. Regarding scalability of the systems, they range from 72 to 5832 cores, and are mostly assembled from the same boards with different backplanes. We think we know how to cluster systems as well, should anyone turn up with a suitable suitcase of cash. -Larry _______________________________________________ Beowulf mailing list, Beowulf at beowulf.org To change your subscription (digest mode or unsubscribe) visit http://www.beowulf.org/mailman/listinfo/beowulf -- This message has been scanned for viruses and dangerous content by MailScanner, and is believed to be clean.


text:
Gallery: It's that time of year - parts of Suffolk and Essex are a white out
PUBLISHED: 15:01 16 January 2013 | UPDATED: 15:01 16 January 2013
(c) copyright citizenside.com
SCHOOLS have been forced to close, roads in some rural parts of the county are impassable and vulnerable residents are trapped inside by the freezing temperatures.
But it is now all bad news. Because the snowfall that continues to cover parts of Suffolk and Essex is an excuse to have some fun.
Making the most of the snow, Ali Hembery and team built a new ITFC supporter in the garden while Dawn Morgan cleverly captured snow time in her garden.
Barry Pullen has photographed a silent playground, covered in fresh white snow that has stopped the youngsters enjoying the usual thrills of the park. Others have opted to focus on the snow-drenched trees and peaceful fields crackling in winter glory.
Is there snow where you are? Send us your photos via suffolk.iwitness24.co.uk
For live weather updates, see the podcast on our homepage updated twice daily by the experts at Weatherquest.


text: I'm getting this so I can surf the web/stream music and generally screw around when I have down time at work. My new position means a lot of time just being there. I can't just leave to find wifi, so it probably won't be an option 95% of the time. Figure 20-25 hours a week of this and how many mb I'd go through.:huh I don't even really care how it works at home, heck, I don't even care how it works as a phone anywhere. It will be about 90% surfing tool, 9% texting tool, and 1% phone. I have to carry the work phone anyway and can use that whenever, but it doesn't do anything else. My new work phone(which is sprint) works great at my house. I have to walk up the hill to my barn for my verizon to work here. Just waiting for a sale now.


text: http://batman-news.com/2013/02/12/batman-arkham-3-confirmed-for-2013-release/ So I guess a couple weeks ago it was confirmed that a new Arkham game would be released later this year. I just got finished playing through a bunch of the downloadable content for Arkham City, and I am more than ready for another installment. Points of interest: It looks like Rocksteady will not be developing this new sequel, which could end up being a good or bad thing (who knows?). There were also a rumors of a new Silver Age Batman/Justice League prequel, which may or may not be this new Arkham game. I personally hope that they are different games, as Arkham City's story did certain things that set it up for a continuation. If they want it to be a multi-character game, I'd rather they do what they did with Arkham City by including Catwoman. You could also throw Robin or Nightwing in there if you want, but I'd prefer the story to be solely in the Batman universe.


text:
Berkshires After Dark: 'Pub crawl' idea goes upscale
DALTON - You'll have to trust me when I tell you about what I think is the hottest ticket in town, because thus far there's been no promotion and seats have still sold out in a matter of days.
I'm referring to an extravagant yet affordable series of food and wine tasting bus tours recently organized by Kelly's Package Store
There have been two tours so far, one on June 6 that chauffeured 24 attendees and their two hosts from the Dalton liquor store due south, where four different restaurants in Pittsfield, Lee, Stockbridge, and Great Barr ing ton has special food and wine pairings waiting.
This was an experiment, said Jason Dennis who, along with fellow Kelly's employee and certified specialist of wine Kolin Kozlowski, came up with this novel idea.
"You hear of bar crawls." said Dennis. "So we called restaurants and set up a Berkshire wine bar crawl. We told two friends, they spread the word, and in two days we were sold out."
It was a success by all accounts, illustrated by the large number of return customers who joined the tour I attended on June 20. "Repeat offenders," Dennis affectingly calls them.
The only way I knew about this event, dubbed the 'Kelly's Bus Wreck Tour; NoCo Invasion!' and managed to score a seat was through a savvy friend. Now that I'm letting the cat out of the bag I expect space on coming tours to be hotly contested.
Two factors made this a wonderful experience: the top-notch food, wine, and hospitality that we received at each stop, and the welcoming, jovial atmosphere aboard the bus that Dennis and Koz lowski cultivated with informative speeches that boarded on stand-up comedy and endlessly flowing bottles of wine (a Santa Marina pinot grigio and a Zonin Monte pulciano) that transformed the various pairs of couples, small groups of friends, and solo participants (The average age hovered around 45) into a giggling posse.
The five-hour tour took us from Kelly's parking lot in Dalton to North Adams's Red Sauce and Williamstown's Hops & Vines, Coyote Flaco, and The '6 House Pub.
Each restaurant knew when to expect us and had an entire section set aside for the tour. The management decided which dishes to prepare and wines to pair.
The year-old Hops & Vines Beer Garden and Brasserie went so far above and beyond, serving us meal-sized portions of dazzling dishes accompanied by lectures on culinary philosophy from both the chef and manager, that I'm tempted to write about nothing else.
The restaurant has an earth-toned beer hall (the Hops) with long communal tables and bright Mediter ranean atmosphere due largely to skylights, as well as a separate dining room with an elegant Art Nouveau décor suited for low-lit fine dining (the Vines).
The menu similarly unites hearty beer hall food with gourmet Mediterranean cuisine. The bratwurst was some of the best I've ever tasted and came with explosively tasty house-made sauerkraut. The tender ribs and spicy Ahi tuna tartar also elicited raised eyebrows from my dining companions who erupted into applause when the chef came out to say hello.
"I think you just got your $65 worth," Kozlowski joked as we meandered toward the bus. His joke wasn't far from the truth.
Our next stop, Coyote Flaco, took an entirely different and equally successful approach. Here we had an entire room to ourselves and were offered a steaming buffet of authentic Mexican dishes paired with three sweet, hearty Mexican wines, all from Baja California, poured by our very own bar tender.
I consider Mexican food to be an echelon above all other traditions and approach it with the cautious enticement of someone whose heart has been broken too many times by bland East Coast preparations masquerading as authentically Mexican. But that heartbreak was mended the moment I cut into one of the hulking chiles rellenos, oozing with cheese and tender ground pork. Its spicy and engaging mélange of flavor reminded me of a succulent choriza sausage, but its texture was incomparable.
The flautas con pollo balanced the meal (yet again we'd been served a full meal rather than a small tasting plate as was the expectation) with a crispy, firm, moist mouthfeel. Owner and chef Gallo Lopez told us about the food as well as the bar's 85 tequilas, each available as a silver, añejo, and reposado.
By now, with a pitcher of tequilas fresh in our stomachs, the scene on the bus had turned into a full-blown party. Multiple flat screen TVs, cushioned seating, a restroom, and a wet bar accommodated us as if we were rock stars. Conversation had melted into tearful laughter and Dennis kept counting heads to make sure we hadn't lost anybody. We still had hours to go.
There's so much more to say about this tour, but instead I suggest that you throw your hat in the ring when tickets for the next such event become available. Given the combination of food, wine, education, and pure entertainment that characterized this experience it's a surprise that seats cost a mere $65.
There was no pressure to buy anything from our hosts or from the liquor store.
Prices may differ in the future, but Dennis assures that they will be kept affordable the opportunity to experience an array of fine Berkshire restaurants and international wines is available to as many people as possible. 21 and older, of course.
The next tour hasn't been announced yet, but Kelly's is teaming up with Dottie's Coffee Lounge in Pittsfield for a wine dinner on Friday and is hosting a Wiffle Ball tournament and Oktoberfest celebration in the coming month. Judging by the performance of the Bus Wreck Tour, you should add these events to your calendar without hesitation. And check the website regularly for a chance to get on the bus when the next tour comes around.
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.


text:
Would anyone be interested if I were to develop a KO Forum App?
Would anyone be interested if I were to develop a KO Forum App?
Spike still runs the garden.
Not an iphone fan myself (blackberry!!!), but if you can make money off of it then by all means, do it...
I need copyright permission to launch the app when I finish creating it.
If you are a KO administrator, PLEASE let me know if it would be okay to launch the app.
Spike still runs the garden.
Blackberry Storm At&T make an app for Research In Motion I would use it.
What exactly would the app do?
If you can sort it out so that I can type side on you know what I mean?) like some other sites do...that'd be sweet.... make sitting on the bullet train a lot less boring and typos would be a thing of the past.
Also, I jailbroke my iPhone and would love to know a good app site and any recommended apps you have.
i got the nexus one if its available for android markets then i'd definitely be into buying it man
DaTPRiNCE...That EGYPTiAN Fella, #MeloMafia
An update on the app?
A BlackBerry and Android app would also be good for the members.


text:
Video: Smart Car Goes Flying -- FlyEco's Three-Cylinder Diesel
Original, Exclusive Videos from AVweb | Reader-Submitted & Viral Videos
Although some may consider it a smugmobile, Mercedes's diminutive SmartCar has gained a worldwide following and a market. The European version has a nifty three-cylinder diesel with impressive fuel specifics that a company called FlyEco has adapted for aircraft use. The engine has all the usual suspects -- high-pressure common-rail injection, turbocharging, and liquid and oil cooling. In this excluse AVweb video from the Aero show in Friedrichshafen, Germany, FlyEco's Arnim Wegener gave us a detailed rundown on the FlyEco 450 three-banger.
Don't see a video screen?
Try disabling ad blockers and refreshing this page.
If that doesn't work, click here to watch on YouTube


text:
Co-sponsored by the Virginia Sports & Entertainment Law Journal, the Virginia Entertainment and Sports Law Association, and Virginia Continuing Legal Education, the symposium features industry leader Donald Dell '64, as well as representatives from ESPN, BET, NBC, the NBA Development League, and TV One. Six hours of continuing legal education (CLE) credit is available to practicing attorneys who attend. Registration is $249 in advance for practitioners and $264 on the day of the event, but law students may attend and receive course materials free of charge as long as they sign in and provide their contact information on the day of the event.Ā
Third-year law student Robby Forbes, editor-in-chief of the Journal, started planning the event last year by looking for alumni who worked in the industry. "UVA Law has a very rich pool of alumni who are working in this field," Forbes said. "Things snowballed to the point where I realized we had a program with such a high degree of quality that it would be interesting to practitioners, not just students. We needed some outside help in pulling it off."
Forbes approached Virginia Continuing Legal Education about making the conference available to a national audience. The organization took on the administrative aspects of the event, helped organize a networking cocktail party for participants and attendees, and funded panelists' travel expenses. "This partnership should last beyond just this year," Forbes said, noting that the event is a unique opportunity for attorneys in the mid-Atlantic region, who might not normally have access to a conference featuring top experts in the field.
"It will benefit law students who will have a chance to attend—for free—panels with some of the biggest names in sports entertainment law in the country," he said. "They can make contacts and learn about the industry at the same time."
The symposium features panels on breaking into sports and entertainment law; negotiating sports and entertainment property rights in the digital age; representation in film and television productions and the music and sound recording industries; legal issues surrounding age limitations in professional sports; and the basics of representing professional athletes. Participants include Philip Evans '88, president of the NBA Development League; Frank Golding '93, assistant general counsel at ESPN; Byron Marchant '87, executive vice president and general counsel at BET; and Virginia law professor Glen Robinson, David and Mary Harrison Distinguished Professor of Law. The conference is bringing in 11 alumni in all.
Considering that many alumni had to pass on the conference because it hit during one of their busiest weekends, "It's amazing that we were successful in bringing in such an impressive group of speakers. If all goes well, I believe we'll continue to have success in attracting big-name people to come," Forbes said.


text:
By Ben Golliver
The 2012-13 NBA season is almost a week old now, and there's a "down is up, up is down" feel to it. The Magic sit atop the Southeast Division; the Nuggets are in the Northwest Division cellar. The Knicks are undefeated; before Sunday's defeat of the awful Pistons, the Lakers were in sole possession of the league's worst record. What's stood out in Week 1? And, more importantly, which early season developments will stick going forward? Let's take a look.
Fact: James Harden is heading for a staggering offensive season
The personal exchange facing James Harden after his trade from the Thunder to the Rockets was simple: short-term title contention swapped for cash, minutes, shots and the increased profile that comes with that combination. He wasted no time in making the most of his new benefits: Harden had 37 points, 12 assists, six rebounds and four steals in his Rockets debut, followed that with 45 points and seven rebounds on Friday against the Hawks and then, on an off night, he tallied 24 points, six rebounds and five assists against the Blazers on Saturday. Through three games, Harden is the NBA's leading scorer, averaging 35.5 points, six points more than his nearest competition, and he was named the Western Conference player of the week Monday afternoon.
Most of the attention was given to Harden's first two performances, as both produced wins and ungodly stat lines. His play in the Rockets' overtime loss to the Blazers was just as instructive. See, Harden was not at his best. He missed five shots in the paint, getting unfriendly rolls on multiple occasions. He had five turnovers, including one on a key play in which Blazers guard Wesley Matthews ripped the ball clean out of his hands, ending a potential game-winning possession at the end of regulation. In past years, the loaded Thunder offense would have marched on without Harden, the third option, if he wasn't hitting.
In Houston, the Rockets have no choice. Good, bad or ugly, Harden is the guy, getting 24 shot attempts even when he's only hitting one out of every three. Six of the Rockets' top seven shot-takers from 2011-12 (Kevin Martin, traded to the Thunder; Luis Scola, released under the amnesty clause; Kyle Lowry, traded to the Raptors; Goran Dragic, signed with the Suns as a free agent; Courtney Lee, sign-and-traded to the Celtics; and Chase Budinger, traded to the Timberwolves) are gone. Only Chandler Parsons (8.7 attempts per game last season) remains. What's more, none of the replacements, aside from Harden and scoring point guard Jeremy Lin, are proven offensive options. Excepting Harden and Lin, the other seven members of coach Kevin McHale's current rotation (Parsons, Patrick Patterson, Omer Asik, Marcus Morris, Carlos Delfino, Toney Douglas and Cole Aldrich) averaged a combined 39.9 shots per game last season. By comparison, Kevin Durant and Russell Westbrook combined to average 38.9 shots per game by themselves while Harden averaged just 10.1 shots last season. This is a lay-up for McHale: He's got Harden, itching for more, and no one else, save Lin, mounting any real challenge for the rock. The solution? Feed the beard.
Harden's transition to No. 1 option winds up serving as a good example of why extrapolating per-minute numbers to actual performance requires a careful eye toward context. His per-36 minute numbers in Oklahoma City -- 19.3 points, 4.7 rebounds, 4.2 assists, 1.1 steals -- were very good. They weren't, however, necessarily indicative of All-NBA caliber scoring if his role increased, because Durant and Westbrook loomed as such limiting factors. The Rockets' current set up -- a green light for Harden, few other reliable scoring options -- bakes in a production floor for Harden. By virtue of a Texas-sized opportunity (Harden is currently averaging 22.7 field-goal attempts per game, good for No. 4 in the league) and a proven ability to get to the free-throw line (Harden is averaging 11 free-throw attempts per game, good for No. 4 in the league), Harden can be counted on for 20+ points a night, almost regardless of how well he plays. He was a top-five player at his position in terms of overall offensive efficiency last season and he's a career 37 percent three-point shooter, so there's plenty of reason to believe that he can keep his scoring average closer to 30 than 20 now that he's fully unshackled. That would put him square in the middle of the scoring champ race; Durant and the Heat's LeBron James, perennial contenders for the award, should emerge as the other favorites, but both have high-usage teammates who have helped cap them out around 28 points per game over the last two seasons.
All things considered, picking Harden to wind up as the league's top scorer is more sane than insane.
Fiction: The Clippers are legit title contenders
The Clippers look like world-beaters after opening with impressive wins against the Grizzlies and the Lakers. Their nationally-televised dissection of their crosstown rivals really stood out, as the Clippers looked younger, deeper and more athletic than the Lakers, and they succeeded in holding Dwight Howard in check and forcing Kobe Bryant into his one-man scoring routine. Chris Paul held the game firmly in his grasp, finishing with 18 points, 15 assists and six rebounds, while Jamal Crawford continued a scorching early-season run, single-handedly outscoring the Lakers bench 21-17. Talk of championship contention is inevitable any time a star-laden team trounces a supposed conference favorite like that. That buzz only gained credence with the Thunder's slow start. Who doesn't like the idea of a wide-open race?
There are a few good reasons to pump the brakes. First, there's Crawford, who is shooting a jaw-dropping 53.5 percent from the field and 47.3 percent from deep and providing plenty of YouTube fodder with his dribbling skills. Crawford currently ranks fifth in the NBA with 25.7 points per game and is one of only three reserves in the top 20. All of this is comically unsustainable. Last season, no reserves finished in the top 25 in scoring; James Harden was tops among reserves in scoring, with 16.8 points per game, significantly below Crawford's strong start. Long known as a streaky shooter, Crawford has topped 42.1 percent shooting just once in the last 10 seasons. Also, his shot-attempt total is sure to take a hit when Chauncey Billups returns from injury, and Vinny Del Negro will need to carve some space for Grant Hill, too. There's a fall coming, the only question is how big and how far. (The good news for Crawford is that he has found a far better fit with the Clippers than he had with the Blazers in 2011-12, and he has started so well that he could fall off a cliff and still be in the running for Sixth Man of the Year, an award he won in 2010.)
The Clippers' title hopes don't live and die with Crawford, not by a long shot. The biggest preseason bugaboos -- defense and interior depth -- revealed themselves in Saturday's loss to the Warriors. At home, the Clippers gave up 114 points to a Warriors team playing without starting center Andrew Bogut, who was being rested in the second game of a back-to-back, and without Brandon Rush, who sent the team reeling emotionally when he suffered a season-ending torn ACL on Friday. It wasn't the volume of Golden State's scoring so much as the nature of it; the Warriors, who ranked dead last in rebound rate last season, finished +15 overall on the boards and poured in 48 points in the paint, even with David Lee scoring just eight points on eight shots. Carl Landry put on his hard hat and the Clippers had no response, conceding 23 points and 10 rebounds to the man whose middle name is "undersized."
Perhaps those numbers shouldn't be shocking considering starting center DeAndre Jordan has never been given truly big minutes, and Ryan Hollins, Ronny Turiaf (who didn't play) and Lamar Odom are the only available big-man options off the bench. That brings us to Odom, whose early work is another red flag. The departures of Reggie Evans and Kenyon Martin require a forceful frontcourt bench presence. Hollins, a human telephone pole, has never been the man for that job. So far, Odom, who missed time in the preseason because of a knee injury, looks like some sort of a marshmellow/playdough/down-pillow composite. He's shooting 26.7 percent and averaging 3.0 points and 3.0 rebounds in 15 minutes per game, all down from last year's disastrous season in Dallas. He can get in better shape, but will he? That's not meant as a knock on his character. We're now nearly a year removed from the lockout and four months removed from the trade that brought Odom back to Los Angeles, his preferred reality television mecca. Where are the positive indicators that suggest this will work out?Blake Griffin Caron Butler Spurs


text:
POUGHKEEPSIE, N.Y. -- Marist College saw its two-game winning streak come to an end in Friday's 57-54 Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference men's basketball loss to Niagara at the McCann Recreation Center.
Juan'ya Green led the (15-11) Purple Eagles, while Marvin Jordan added 10, as Niagara won despite shooting just 22 of 59 from the floor. It was only 7 of 11 from the foul line. Tahjere McCall contributed nine rebounds in the win.
Adam Kemp scored 17 points for the (7-19) Red Foxes, who were limited to 15-of-41 shooting from the floor in the loss. Marist stayed in the game by converting 20 of 32 from the foul line.
Jay Bowie had 10 points, while Chavaughn Lewis added 10 points and seven rebounds for Marist, which trailed 24-22 at halftime.


text:
Moderators: bac, cullengirl, una
pennybug84 wrote:^^^^^^I saw that one, not much like Twilight but like other vampire mythology.
I thought for sure they'd mention Twilight in that episode when Jamie Kenndy's character was talking to Jim/Sam (whoever he is) and says something like haven't you been to a cineplex or bookstore lately? I thought for sure they'd mention Twilight by name, but didn't. What a disappointment
Return to Lights, Camera, Action...5,6,7,8
Users browsing this forum: No registered users and 1 guest


text:
" Genre: Children's DVDs / To Be Announced / Director: Eric Darnell, Tom McGrath / Actors: Ben Stiller, Chris Rock, David Schwimmer, Jada Pinkett Smith, Sacha Baron Cohen ... / Features of the DVD: PAL "
* Prices may differ from that shown
Madagascar 2 is an animated film from the Dreamworks studio released in 2008, three years after the original film was released. The original film is something we have watched many times. I then watched the third film in the cinema but then we somehow missed out film 2. We had a voucher for HMV which had to be spent thanks to them going into difficulties, so we decided that we would buy Madagascar 2 at a cost of £6.
The film starts with a montage of a family of lions in Africa. Poachers steal baby Alex from his father, and we see how he ended up in the Zoo in New York in the first place. We then cut to the present in Madagascar where the animals were at the end of the original film. They are preparing to leave the island. The penguins have repaired a plane they found on the island, and plan to fly back to New York. However, on the way they run out of fuel and crash land in Africa.
By some co-incidence, they crash land in the same reserve that Alex was taking from as a child and he is reunited with his parents. He gets chance to see how they live in the wild, and the animals do enjoy seeing their heritage and getting to know Alex's family. However, Alex needs to adapt to fit in as he may have been the King of the New York jungle, but he is a bit of a misfit amongst a pride of lions. He finds a way to use his skills to help the animals and make his parents proud of him.
For me, this film was perhaps the weakest in the franchise. The plot of the animals going back to their homeland and landing back in the nature reserve is a little bit too contrived for me, and it felt a bit forced in places. I think there was a lot of repetition of action sequences from film one, and one small gag from film one was made into quite a major part of this film. We saw a little old lady in Grand Central Station attacking Alex with her handbag. This same little old lady is now on a wildlife safari, and again has a thing about being violent towards the animals, and it just didn't sit right with me.
Most of my interest lay in watching how the animals reacted to finding other animals in Africa. Previously we have seen the four central characters, Alex the lion, Marty the Zebra, Melman the Giraffe, and Gloria the hippo, all happy in each others company. Here we see what happens when they meet their own kind, and it causes conflict for them.
While this was worth a watch, for me, I find it is not something that I could watch over and over again like film one and three. The plot just does not stand up to it. Musically, it is also quite similar to film one featuring songs like 'I like to Move it' and 'Born Free' though I did like songs like 'More than a Feeling' and 'Copacabana'.
The new relationships were interesting enough to keep me engaged, but not as strong as the relationships we see in film three. I also had made the assumption that film three must have started pretty much where film two ended, but I find that it really didn't. Yes, it was set in Africa, but there was no farewell to Alex's parents, and we also saw two characters start a relationship in this film that was not mentioned again at all in series three which I find disappointing as I like to see a bit of continuity. I find it spoils it for me when things are obviously not mentioned.
The humour isn't so much laugh your socks off humour, just silly things like Marty has always thought he was really unique, so it is traumatic for him when he realises that he is identical in looks and sound to every other zebra in the herd and none of his friends can recognise him any more.
It also has a touch of lion king about it for me with an evil Uncle character wanting to take over as leader within the Pride and causing the baby Alex to be stolen and then deliberately confusing the adult Alex.
If I'd watched this in the cinema, I don't think I would have purchased it on DVD as we won't want to keep watching this. Some trilogy's do have a weak point, and in this case, this is it.
This is a great family movie that has a bright and happy story with a nice feeling of friendship. It is a CGI animation by Dreamworks Studios and was released in 2009, its running time is 89 minutes in total. You can currently purchase the DVD from Amazon for £5.75 (January 2013).
This movie is the sequel to Madagascar and revolves around 4 central characters Alex the Lion (voiced by Ben Stiller), Marty the Zebra (voiced by Chris Rock), Gloria the Hippo (voiced by Jada Pinkett Smith) and Melman the Giraffe (voiced by David Schwimmer). In addition the penguins and King Julien make a very welcome return as I think they are definitely the best characters in the whole movie. The sequel movie sees Alex, Marty, Gloria and Melman, along with the penguins and King Julien on the African continent, back to where Alex was born, there is a very cute scene with Alex as a baby lion and his dad trying to teach him how to hunt and all Alex wants to do is dance and strut his stuff, as he does in the zoo back in New York. The penguins spend most of the film fixing up an old crashed plane, with some hilarious consequences!
So they are in Africa and Alex meets his dad who is the alpha male of the pride, there is also another lion, Alex's uncle who wants to be the alpha male and when Alex returns he sees it as his opportunity to do so. To become alpha male of the pride you have to compete is a ritual fight and the victor wins, Alex is tricked before the fight by his uncle and, as tradition dictates has to be banished from the pride by his father. As with most children's films they outcome is all good and everyone is happy. I will not give away any more of the plot, its worth watching it to find out though.
The film is as colourful and entertaining as the first movie and there are some touching scenes with Alex and his Dad, overall I would recommend this film to others as its fun, the graphics are excellent, the sound track is very entertaining and King Julien always makes me laugh.
This review may also appear on Ciao! under the same user name.
Madagascar:Escape to Africa continues the story of Alex, Gloria, Melman, and Marty as they try to return back to their New York zoo from the island of Madagascar. Alex the lion is voiced by Ben Stiller Gloria the hippo by Jade Pickett Smith, Melman the giraffe by David Schwimmer and Marty the zebra is voiced by Chris Rock. All return for this film, which starts soon after the original Madagascar ended, the first film saw the above group marooned on the tropical paradise which is Madagascar whilst still showing their classic New York traits. They are all comfortable in their New York zoo so finding themselves in the wild of Madagascar, true be told they soon recover and the story is a classic big city visits little city and they expand as characters.
So onto this film, the film starts by showing how Alex ended up in New York, in this part he is a cub and becomes separated from his father Zuba (Bernie Mac) and is taken by poachers. However, Zuba manages to snag his box from the jeep and the lion cub ends up in the sea before washing up in New York.
That was then and this is now, the group are going back to New York via a beat up plane piloted by the penguins who double as Mafiosi. They are slung into the air but only get as far as Africa and Alex meets his father and mother, Marty gets to run with the herd, Gloria meets Moto Moto a huge male hippo and Melman becomes the giraffe witch doctor.
I didn't particularly enjoy the first film and my two year old wasn't engaged by the film so it rarely gets a viewing however we loaned this film from the library and gave it a try.
This is a lighter, less intense film than the first and because of it works better as a funny cartoon, the other characters apart from Alex have more play in this one and there is a sense of enjoyment rather than plodding which the first often gave the impression. This film is more open in terms of the locations, deserts, savannahs and watering holes rather than enclosed jungles, yes we have to put up with the patronising upper class king of the lemurs with the typical humour aimed at the posh end of the English upper crust.
The film ends with a nice circular moment with Alex showing his strengths as a showground lion rather than a fighting lion. Quite why the annoying old women who beats Alex up in the first film is given such prominence in this film is debateable, she is surely a one joke character but she does dominate the middle third of the film for no apparent reason.
This isn't a terrible film, it has a decent sound track and the use of the move it move song is one to get the toes moving, it's a shame the erudite monkeys from the first film aren't given more air time but hey you can't have everything. The penguins tend to steal every scene and are heading for their own adventure and the possibility of a sequel is good I would suspect.
Madagascar 2: Escape 2 Africa
General information
Film Duration: 89 minutes
Category: humour / animation
Year: 2008
Director: Eric Darneel
Language: English
Country: United States
Extras: Yes
Ben Stiller as Alex
Chris Rock as Marty
David Swimmer as Melman
Jada Pinkett Smith as Gloria
The story
Madagascar 2: Escape 2 Africa the sequel to the first Madagascar movie and goes on from here. In the first part, Alex the Lion, Marty the zebra, Gloria the Hippo and Melman the Giraffe escaped from their zoo in New York and ended up on the island of Madagascar. Now they are trying to get back to the zoo with a crash aircraft on the Island. With the help of the penguins they have managed to get the plane up in the sky, but unfortunately they don't get really far. They crash in Africa and they suddenly meet animals of their own kind! Gloria meet a whole hippo family, Marty finds Zebras everywhere, but Alex has the biggest surprise of his life, when he finds his parents back! His father is the king of the lion tribe, which makes Alex the next in line of the throne. But he must first challenge a lion in the tribe to be able in stay with the group. He may choose his own opponent, but is soon deceived by Makunga, who's after the throne himself and Alex ends up facing the strongest lion of the group! Alex looses the battle and has to leave the group. Makunga seizes his chance and claims the throne and banishes Alex and his family. Also the others aren't as happy as they thought they would be and want to go back to the zoo, but the plane is broken! Alex sees a chance to make everything right! But whether it all be okay?
Acting Performances
Since it's a animation movie, you don't really get to see the actors, but only their voices. There are a lot of famous actors in this movie like Ben Stiller, who does the voice of Alex. He still remains one of my favourites in the movie with his wonderful voice. Chris Rock is also great as Marty the Zebra but of course David Swimmer and Jada Pinkett Smith are also great to listen too. Love the casting for this movie!
There are a number of extras on the DVD include commentary from the director. He talks about making the film and the problems they have had, but perhaps is only fun if you really want to know. Furthermore, there's a extra about how the film has been achieved and what more information about the actors of the film. Well nice extras but could have been more.
My opinion
I love animation movies like Shrek and Finding Nemo and also love the series of Madagascar! It just got something to do with these animals I think! But this Madagascar movie is really great to watch with the whole family. It got a lot of innocent but fun humour. The casting for this movie is great the voices really suit the characters. Also the animation looks really good and very colourful! The amount of extras is ok on the DVD but could have been more, but the movie itself is good enough to buy this DVD.
Madagascar 2 Escape To Africa.
After watching the first Madagascar last christmas my young son loved it. So when the second one came out we just had to buy it, it cost us £9.00 from our local supermarket well worth it tho as weve watched it over and over. I know you can now buy this film much cheaper from some online retailers.
The basic plot of the film without giving so much away is after been stranded on the island of Madagascar from the last film the animals Alex (the lion) Melman (the giraffe) Gloria (the hippo) and Marty (the zebra) hatch a plot with the hilarious penguins to get back home to New York. The do this by way of a crashed plane which would you believe crashes again and lands you guessed it in Africa.
There are some heartwarming plots in this film and lots of family and friends values to learn. The film is great for kids with some good educational elements to it, But there is also alot of comedy lines for adults too making this film good for all to watch.
The voices of the animals are Ben Stiller, Chris Rock, Jada Pinkett Smith and David Schwimmer. Im sure you will agree there is some very good names in there.
There is also some good music in this film which if your child is a dancer they will sure be up and dancing to it.
The film continues for 90 minute but my little one watches all the way through so the film appeals.
I know there are lots of reviews on this, but I thought I would give my opinion. I have had this film for ages, but after re-watching the first Madagascar again over Christmas I thoguht it was a suitable time to watch the follow up.
PLOT of the film is that the animals Alex, Marty, Melman & Gloria are still trapped on the island from the first film (when the penguins ran out of gas for the boat). They are making their way back to the New York, when they end up in ... You guessed it, in Africa. I dont want to give too much away but thers a significant part at the beggining of the film with Alex, which later on when they land in Africa comes to light. Anyhoo so along the way therse comedy laughs and the one liners and the amazing activity that not your average zoo animal would get up to.
I really enjoyed the first Madagascar, mainly because of Melman the Giraffe voiced by David Schwimmer (Ross from FRIENDS). This follow up film is really good and I really enjoyed the music they played. There seems a lot more of it in this film, compared to the first one. Melman was the only character that I know who did the voice of, however in this second film I was constantly thinking that I recognised the voice of Alex the Lion. Once the film finished I looked at the credits...And my suspisions was correct, it was as I thought Ben Stiller. I know this has no point in making you watch this film, so Im not sure why I brought it up, but it was a significant part in me watching the film. :)
This film is a really good family film, its full of fun. Which film do I think was the funniest? To be honest they both have their funny moments. In a particular schene in Madagascar 2 when a male hippo comes out the water to meet and greet Gloria, and there is a riddle playing along and it just made me smile and giggle. I do strongly reccomend you watch the first Madagascar first before watching this one, and in particular possibly watch them close together. I say this simply because the inital part of the film links in from the end of the previous film. Also at the very beggining there is like a flash back scene, and then a moment in the zoo with like baby versions of the 4 main cast animals. At first i thoguht these was like seperate animals or their babies at first, but after a few minutes getting into the film, i realised the part they was playing.
Ok Im blabbering now but basically awesome film!! I think their could possibly be a third, I really hope so. And I hope they use the same voice over characters as I think they match the cast perfectly, with each of their own quirky animations.
Madagascar; Escape 2 Africa (DVD)
You can currently buy this DVD for just £3.98 from Amazon.
For those who haven't seen the original Madagascar, it is an animated childrens film featuring animals who have spent most of their lives in a zoo. A series of events means that they end up in the wilds of Africa, which brings new adventures for them all.
The original characters are all back with a vengeance and although some sequels can be a little weak in comparison to the original film, this one is superb and extremely funny. With voices from Ben Stiller, Chris Rock, Jada Pinkett Smith and David Schwimmer to bring the characters to life and some hilarious scenes, this film is sure to appeal.
Although billed as a kids film, there is no doubt that this film is also designed to make adults laugh. Some of the humour is definitely for grown ups making this a film that the whole family can enjoy.
The main storylines include Alex the lion meeting his family and having to prove how brave he is, Gloria the hippo being seduced by a big, chunky male hippo and Melman the giraffe becoming a witch doctor. The plot is funny yet also touching in places and has some heartwarming messages about family and friendships to pass along.
If you are a fan of the original film then you are sure to love the sequel, and even if you haven't seen it then this film is not to be missed. It is a great family film and definitely one that will make you laugh - why not snuggle up when it's cold and dark outside and enjoy it over the festive season!
On baby sitting duties again and finally finished watching Madagascar: Escape 2 Africa, I'd started it twice but both times my daughter fell asleep watching, it seemed a bit silly to continue watching it on my own - so today I managed to finish it off with her! The brightly animated children's film is a continuation of Madagascar, the sequel sees them crash land on the African continent following their brief visit to Madagascar.
Co-incidentally they find themselves landing in what looks to be the Serengeti National Park, Alex the lion's birthplace adn sees him meet up with his parents again, all of the animals quickly embrace themselves with their fellow creatures, except of course the monkeys and penguins who seem to end up playing card-playing engineers.
I don't think that this is quite as good as the sequel and despite it obviously being a children's film, I found it a little bit gooey with a rather predictable ending.
that, I do think the majority of kids would enjoy it because the characters are quite strong, both in charicature and personality. There's a lot of action and enough dance moves to keep the young viewer occupied and the film comes in at just around 1hr25 minutes which is again the perfect length for them too.
This wasn't as good as the first one and I'm not sure if it warrants a third film being made about it either.
I really liked the first Madagascar and I had heard that this sequel was not as good so I wasn't sure what to expect. Watched the first one about 3 years ago, so literally could barely remember the plot. When M2 started I was like huh? I'm sure I've seen this already - turns out the first five minutes are like a re-cap of the first film and tells you how the main character Alex the Lion ended up being in New York. Thought that was very useful as it reminds us of what happened and sets up the next film nicely.
So was it as good as the first? not quite but it was still fairly decent. We follow the story of Alex the Lion, Gloria the Hippo, Melman the Giraffe and Marty the Zebra (from the first film) as they leave Madagascar and head back to New York. They don't quite make it there and we follow the adventure of them fitting into a new watering hole with lots of ups and downs on the way.
The film is a Pixar film and very well done. I noticed the lions manes looked very real even though it was a "cartoon" which just shows how far they have come in the last few years.
As for the plot, it was ok, fairly predictable, and kids would probably love it. It was funny in parts, but not as funny as the first I wouldn't say.
The cast are fairly star studded : Ben Stiller, Sasha Baron Cohen, Jada Pinkett Smith, Chris Rock and David Schwimmer in the main roles. David Schwimmer plays a mean Giraffe - he reeallly makes the part good!!
Run time is around 75 mins which meant the plot didn't drag on too much. There are some sub-plots which are distracting and unnecessary but I suppose they have to throw them in to pad the film out a bit. 75 mins was definitely long enough!
Film is a PG although I dont think there is anything that unsuitable for kids in it so not sure why it is PG instead of a U.
A great family film
Madagascar Escape 2 Africa
Alex, Gloria, Marty and Melman are back! We again follows the adventures of the loveable animals. Madagascar 2 is the 2008 sequel to the 2005 movie, Madagascar. It's a cartoon animation by the wonderful talented Dreamworks studios.
The film follows on in from the end of the last movie. We left Alex the Lion, Gloria the hippo, Marty the Zebra and Melman the giraffe in Madagascar after they had escaped from a New York Zoo. They had gone to Madagascar as a holiday and now want to return to New York as they were regarded as star attractions when they were in the zoo.
We firstly see a little flash back which I think was a good idea because it reminds you of the original story and tells you how Alex found himself in the zoo. It also helps the Africa story to take shape. Alex was born in Africa, a proud lion but was captured by hunters and some how found himself in America where he was given to a zoo. The animation of little Alex the lion is brilliant. He has these amazing big eyes and is so cute you just want to hug him. Alex the lion then becomes a hit at the zoo because of his dancing skills and crowd entertaining skills.
Fast forward to Madagascar and the quartet are preparing to leave on a plane flown by penguins. In my opinion the penguins are one of the funniest characters in this movie. They are portrayed as not the most intelligent animals and their antics are very funny.
Unfortunately the plane crashes and the animals find themselves in Africa. Alex soon meets up with his long lost parents who were fearful they would never see him again. The other animals also find out they are not unique as on the reservation there are hundreds/thousands of other hippos, zebras, giraffes, etc. Some of them love this situation, especially Gloria as she soon finds a male hippo who catches her attention!
Some of the quartet however soon find that their new situation is not as great as they first thought. Alex finds out that being the star attraction in New York does not really work in Africa and he and his parents are soon banished from the pride. He has to work very hard in order to restore order and honour to his family.
What I love about this film is that it has quite a few good messages for kids and a way to over come adversity. I also think that it has a great cast who really make the characters their own.
Ben Stiller plays Alex and you can really see his comedy side come out in the lion. Daivd Schwimmer (Ross from Friends) plays Melman the Giraffe. You can spot his voice immediately and he's actually somewhat like his Friends character which is a bit weird. The rest of the cast include Jada Pinkett Smith, Chris Rock, Sasha Baron Cohen and Bernie Mack to name but a few.
This film also has a great soundtrack which will make kids roar with laughter in my opinion and adults. This film, like the first film includes the song, I Like to Move it by will.i.am of The Black Eyed Peas fame. It is performed in the original movie by King Julien and is hilarious. It is used at various times throughout this film although not as a big feature production song.
Apparently according to critics this film is an improvement on the original, with more fleshed-out characters, crisper animation and more consistent humor." As of March 19, 2009, it achieved a gross of $180,010,950 in the United States and Canada along with a gross of $422,297,228 in other regions adding to a worldwide gross total of $602,308,178.
The DVD is rated PG as it contains mild comic violence. It lasts for 86 minutes and bonus features include filmmakers commentary, activision game trailer, a jukebox section and an opportunity to meet the cast. At the moment it is on sale at Sainsburys for £5.
Madagasgar 2: Escape to Africa is the eagerly awaited sequel of Madagasgar, which was about a gang of zoo animals who escaped in search of freedom. The sequel picks up with gang leaving on what they think is a fixed aircraft and crashing down in Africa. Alex the lion is then reunited withhis long lost parents, as he was captured as a young cub by hunters.
The thing I love about Madagasgar, both 1 and 2 is that it can appeal to any age group and sense of humour. The voices of each of the characters are done by talented actors such as Ben Stiller and Halle Berry.
I have a four year old and an 18 month old and they both become mesmerised as soon as they see it hit the tv screen! It is always a bonus when as an adult you can also enjoy the film that your children insist on watching 10 times a day! I enjoyed this film completley and laughed out on numerous occasions. The sound track is also a bonus.
More cheerful and interesting than the first movie, "Madagascar : Escape 2 Africa" assumes a plot and visual style of great quality that is able to please both younger and older audiences. In this new adventure we meet again with Alex the lion, Marty the zebra, Melman the giraffe, Gloria the hippo and the crazy military penguins, lost together in the shores of distant Madagascar where they enjoy the company and fun of the lemurs. Tired of their stay in the paradise island, the New York quartet attempt to return to their home and, with the help of the penguins, they devise a mad plan: they repair an old plain that they will slingshot off a tree top for take off. This is also one of the first really funny scenes when the airplane just gets thrown spinning in what seemed an uncontrollable fall. The fragile aircraft does get airborne just to crash moments later in the wild planes of Africa where the New Yorkers meet for the first time animals of their own kind living in the wild and discover the differences between this new jungle and their old concrete jungle.
This new saga inevitably leads to side by side comparisons with the first movie. The argument of this sequel has more elaborate and intelligent jokes that will just have you gasping for air. The plot is also more solid and deep and to the recurrent theme of friendships this one adds a family theme that gives a somewhat more dramatic view of the saga. Among the main plot lines we can also find the platonic romance between Melman and Gloria, Alex's adaptation to a long forgotten environment and the clash of realities between city and jungle life. There is also a host of old and new characters that intervene in quite funny moments and contribute to animate the virtual scenarios of Africa but also to symbolize the best virtues and worst defects of humans.
Visually, "Madagascar: escape 2 Africa" kept the same generic guidelines of the first movie but the quality of the details improved substantially. The characters and scenarios are more detailed and their movements more realistic, an obvious outcome of the unstoppable technological evolution in computer animation that is revolutionized every year in Hollywood.
Several Hollywood super stars lend their voices to the main characters, among which one can mention Ben Stiller, David Schwimmer, Chris Rock, and Jada Pinkett Smith that convincingly and funnily reincarnate our shipwrecked friends.
To sum up, "Madagascar: escape 2 Africa" is a funnier and more complete movie than its predecessor. Both the storyline and computer animation are top notch, maybe only surpassed by Wall-E. However, I myself found this one much funnier. If you haven't seen it yet why are you still reading this review instead of going on your way to rent/buy it???
From the many reviews that I have read about this it seems most prefer the original. I thought I would stick up for this sequel as I prefer it to the original.
First of all I think it is because there are many more original funny moments. Secondly the cast is largely the same but introduces new characters which expand on the original story.
You might find yourself missing a lot of the jokes if you haven't seen the original, granny, penguins (my favourite characters) spring to mind.
So you see the friendships further develop on this crazy adventure in Africa. Both happiness and sadness are felt throughout. The animation catches all of this perfectly. The audio and picture are both superb too.
I don't think you will be disappointed if you liked the first. All of the great characters and actors that took part have made the effort to come together again in this sequel. The plot is a lot fuller this time round and gives the movie more of a story feel. The first one set this up perfectly with the ending.
I didn't get a chance to look over the extras but at the price it is selling at now I don't think I would mark it down based on them. It is a great animated movie that has its place in my collection.
Great watching it with the family, children or even alone.
4 out of 5.
The first Madagascar was an enjoyable film that carved out a very unique look for themselves, but it was never anything that was going to challenge the likes of Pixar. Madagascar may not have the vibrant animation of those films, but it does have a great cast to rival them - Ben Stiller, Chris Rock, Jada Pinkett Smith, David Schwimmer, Sacha Baron Cohen, Cedric the Entertainer, Andy Richter, Alec Baldwin, will.i.am, Bernie Mac and Sherri Shepherd.
The film begins where the original left off, with the animals deciding to return to New York City. They board an airplane at Madagascar, but crash-land in Africa, where each of the main characters meets other animals of the same species, resulting in Alex being reunited with his parents. Of course, the expected problems and zany situations arise, and their attempts to return to New York occupy the rest of the film.
Although this is nowhere near as engaging as the best animated film of last year, WALL-E, it's a very consistent sequel that's just as good as the first. The voice cast are clearly having a lot of fun, and it pays off dividens. Also, the striking visual style is impressive.
A solid, albeit unremarkable animated sequel that again offers a strong cast and a unique animation style, yet is only occasionally funny and exists only to set-up the inevitable third film. If anything, "Escape 2 Africa" is a consistent follow up to Madagascar.
Madagascar 2: Escape to Africa was released in December 2008. It was the much anticipated sequel to the very popular Madagascar. Knowledge of the first film isn't essential which is always a plus with sequels.
Madagascar ended with Alex the lion, Marty the Zebra, Melman the Giraffe and Gloria the Hippo still stranded on the island of Madagascar. Madagascar 2 picks up the story shortly after when the penguins have managed to fix up the lemurs plane so that it is once again able to fly. King Julien and Maurice wish to accompany the four friends to New York as do Mason and Phil, two chimpanzees. (They have strangely reappeared from the first film where they did not actually make it to the island) The plane, once up in the air, obviously doesn't get very far and it crash lands in the middle of a game reserve in Africa. The four friends finally learn what it is like to be among their own kind in the wild and Alex has coincidentally returned to his place of birth. The film follows Alex as he struggles to please his parents, Marty as he struggles to remain unique, Gloria as she seeks a mate and Melman as he becomes a doctor. In a slight rip-off the lion king plot the Alpha Lion Zuba is constantly being challenged for supremacy by his brother Makunga. Once Makunga becomes the alpha lion things rapidly turn for the worst and Alex is needed to put them right. Unlike the Lion King there is no depth to the plot or characters involved and the ending is rather pathetic and anti-climatic.
Unfortunately, as in most cases, the sequel falls incredibly short of the original film. The hilarity and brilliance of the first film are absent in Escape to Africa where the plot is severely lacking in ingenuity. The minor characters from the first film are heavily used throughout Escape to Africa in an attempt to capitalize on their initial popularity. This is a huge mistake. The characters, such as King Julien and the Little Old Lady were funny in the first film precisely because they did not get enough screen time to get irritating. Instead of creating new and interesting characters the writers recycle them and give them key parts in the plot. The character of the little old lady is absolutely ridiculous and given far too much importance where as King Julien is just an irritating addition the writers seem to forget about every now and then and bring him back in to kill some time. The writers also make a mistake by separating the four friends and giving them their own subplots, the only one of which that has any consequence is the one revolving around Alex. Although Alex was most definitely a key character in the first movie it did not revolve around him. Marty's character, arguably the funniest, is pushed into the background and hardly features. The witty camaraderie between Alex and Marty disappears as their stories barely interlink. Gloria fades into the background in her bland and unexciting role looking for a mate and Melman's hypochondria, which was so hilarious in the first film, is virtually non-existent and all we are left with is a rather depressed giraffe.
The return of the penguins pleased just about everyone. The psychotic and unpredictably intelligent penguins are hilarious and a saving grace. However even some of their jokes miss the mark, especially those revolving around a wooden hula girl. The repetition of the zebras was funny to begin with but grew old very fast, just like it does one someone does it you and the parts about the Alex only being able to dance and not fight were cringe worthy as they just were not funny. We know Alex can fight because he did so in the first movie!!!! My favourite part of the movie had to be when Alex returned to his bedroom which his parents had kept preserved and he got over-excited when his mum produced his old comfort blanket. I think that was the only part that made me laugh out loud.
On the plus side the animation is incredible; it flows well even if the plot doesn't. The voice actors are also amazing. The cast includes Ben Stiller, Chris Rock, David Schwimmer, Jada Pinkett Smith, Sacha Baron Cohen, Bernie Mac, Alex Baldwin and Will.I.Am. It's hard to believe that so many great actors agreed to take part in a movie where they were all mostly underused. Unfortunately it appears that the sequel was all about the money. With Madagascar being such a great hit DreamWorks must have known cinema goers would flock to see a sequel, so they put together 89 minutes of watchable but barely enjoyable animation and attracted big names to sell it. Unfortunately the sideshows take control of the main plot and the reasons everyone loved the first one are exploited beyond all endurance.
I would suggest that you steer clear of Madagascar 2: Escape to Africa so that you do not experience the same disappointment that I have and watch Madagascar followed by the Lion King as you will enjoy that so much more!


text:
Archery Building proposals go to Selectboard
BRATTLEBORO - The fate of the Archery Building is now in the hands of the Brattleboro Selectboard.
At Tuesday night's Selectboard meeting the board set a date to interview representatives from the two groups that want to take over the historic building at 26 Depot St., along the Connecticut River near the Hinsdale Bridge.
The board will hold interviews at 5:15 p.m. before its next meeting on Nov. 20.
Those interviews will be held in open session.
A town committee that was set up to review the proposals has done its work, which includes commenting on the two plans, and the Selectboard will now consider both plans and decide which organization will get a shot at renovating and developing the property.
Fulcrum Arts, the group led by glassblower Randi Solin and ceramic artist Natalie Blake, and ArtsWorks, which is being led by Alan Steinberg of Brattleboro Clayworks, each want to lease the town's former train station and build studios, galleries and classrooms.
The ad-hoc committee that was set up to go through the plans made comments on how the proposals conformed to the Town Pan, how well the plan conformed to criteria the town set up for the project, as well as on the financial feasibility of the proposals.
The town has refused to release the plans, or the comments, but Selectboard Chairman Dick DeGray said Wednesday that the comments will be available before the meeting and he said the interviews will be open to the public.
"We will get the material before the interviews and the interviews will be held in open session. There was never any plan to interview them in executive session," DeGray said. "This has been a public process from the start and the board will look at both business plans and then make a decision and move forward."
Once one of the groups is selected, then the board will negotiate the lease behind closed doors, DeGray said.
The town has been working to redevelop the waterfront property near Union Station for more than three decades, and the parking area, bus stop and green space was opened to the public this summer.
The historic building was not torn down as part of the development, but the town does not have money to redevelop the structure so it asked the public to come up with ideas for its use.
While the Selectboard will have to negotiate the details with the eventual developer, it is believed that the town will lease the property for little money, but the developer will have to come up with all of the construction and maintenance funding.
About two dozen people showed up for a tour when the building was opened this summer, but in the end only Fulcrum Arts and ArtsWorks submitted proposals before the Sept. 12 deadline.
Fulcrum Arts wants to develop a high-end school and gallery.
Blake says the proximity of the train station, and of the Brattleboro Museum and Arts Center would support the group's plans to draw artists and aspiring craftspeople to the site to take classes and visit the galleries. Their plan includes putting an addition on the building.
Steinberg from ArtsWorks has a vision of linking the Archery Building with the rest of Brattleboro's growing arts community, and of providing new gallery space for artists around Windham County.
Steinberg said his plan would highlight the town's access to the Connecticut River and would also strengthen the town's argument to have it designated as a state-approved craft center, which could lead to more grant funding.
Now the Selectboard will choose one of those two plans to determine the future of the riverfront property.
Howard Weiss-Tisman can be reached at email@example.com or at 802-254-2311 ext. 279.
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.


text:
Deluxe promotional first aid kit with everything from bandages to first aid guide.
This basic Hangover Promotional First Aid Kit is an inexpensive promotional item that is sure to be used.
Be prepared for emergency situations with this custom imprinted first aid kit with handle.
These handy little 18-piece promotional first aid kits put all the first aid supplies you need at your fingertips.
This wateproof promotional first aid kit is great for boating, camping, near the pool, or other places where your first aid supplies might get wet.
Be prepared for emergency situations with this custom imprinted first aid kit with handle.
Be prepared for minor injuries with these customized first aid kits in an imprinted nylon pouch.
A great custom first aid kit in a mini sling bag to kick start your summer promotional campaigns.
A great promo first aid kit in a vinyl pouch with clip to easily attach to your golf bag, backpack, or purse.
A fun Primary Choice Promotional First Aid Kit in Fun In The Sun Case in a plastic oval case featuring a cool sunset design to accompany your custom imprinted logo.
This compact Primary Choice Promotional First Aid Kit in a plastic oval case is easy to carry and can be your primary choice to take care of minor cuts.
This basic trade show promotional survival kit is an inexpensive promotional item that is sure to be used.
This custom health care kit will help your customers stay a little bit healthier this season.
Promote safety first with this pocket custom first aid kit
Provide care and safety to your clients and employees with promotional first aid kits from ePromos! Our first aid kits can be custom imprinted with your company name or logo so your clients will always think of you in any type of minor emergency situation. These are great promotional health products for people in the health and medical fields, as well as making unique and functional office gifts for any kind of industry! Show those who matter that safety comes first and is provided by your company! When you need reliable customer service and great looking products delivered when you need it, turn to ePromos."


text:
Supplier Homepage Product other products Kingq Binzel MIG CO2 15ak Welding Torch
Kingq Binzel MIG CO2 15ak Welding Torch
|FOB Price:
|US $0.1-50 / Piece
|Min. Order:
|1 Piece
|Min. Order
|FOB Price
|1 Piece
|US $0.1-50/ Piece
|Shanghai, China
|Production Capacity:
|Payment Terms:
|T/T, Paypal
Request a custom order and have something just for you!Send Customized Request
Basic Info
- Model NO.: 15AK
- Maximum Welding Thickness: None
- Combustible Gas: None
- Size: Standard
- Trademark: BINZEL /GOLDEN GLOBE
- Specification: CE
- HS Code: 85159000
- Certification: CE
- Application: Hand
- Flame Number: None
- Type: None
- Transport Package: Plastic Bag or Plasptic Box
- Origin: Made in China of Chang Zhou
Product Description
Company Profile:
Changzhou Wujin golden globe welding and cutting machinery co., ltd. was founded in June 1998,is a professional manufacturer of welding and cutting auxiliary tools and is a export-oriented modern production enterprises.The company covers an area of 7,000 square meters, construction area of 16,000 square meters. Our company collects the development experience for many years. Absorb the advanced technology of countries, such as Germany, Japan, U.S.A., Italy, etc. The products have been exported to over 30 countries and regions such as Europe, America, Australia, Southeast Asia, the Middle East, etc.
Factory address: Sanqin Industrial Zone Qingyang Road Hutang Town, Changzhou City Jiangsu Province: 213162 China
Tel: 0519-86301676/86708081 Fax: 0519-86305876
Web: www.asiaweld.com www.cn-goldenglobe.com
Welcome to our company for further cooperation


text:
Texarkana Gazette
ASHDOWN - Just how far Ashdown goes in the playoffs may depend on an improving defense.
Coach Todd Ledford's Panthers, who advanced to the state semifinals last year, converted three quick touchdowns in the first quarter and went on to a 28-0 victory over Clarksville Friday night at Dick Hayes Stadium.
The home Panthers came up with two interceptions and recovered one fumble in shutting down the visiting Panthers with 181 total yards. Clarksville tailback Justin Kremers had 162 of those yards on 23 carries.
Ashdown (7-4), the District 7-4A third-place team, now advances to play the Osceola-Dumas winner next week. Clarksville, the fourth-place team from District 4-4A, ends its season at 7-4.
"Our defense really came up big tonight, and we need that," said Ledford. "Our defense had struggled at times this season, but it has improved the last three weeks."
"Our offense looked good in spurts. But we can't afford the costly penalties that had two possible touchdowns called back in the third quarter."
It was all Ashdown in the first quarter with 145 yards total offense, resulting in three touchdowns on drives of 20, 38, and 54 yards.
Clarksville received the opening kickoff, but fumbled the ball away on its second play from scrimmage. Marcus Hill recovered and advanced the ball to the 20. Three plays later, Antwan Burris scored on a 10-yard run.
After a short punt, the Panthers took over at the visitors' 38-yard line on their second possession.
With Landon Williams chalking up 32 yards on runs of 14,13, and 5, the Panthers drove to the 2 where quarterback Shad Surber scored for a 14-0 lead.
Clarksville picked up two quick first downs on its fourth possession of the period before Williams intercepted a pass at the Ashdown 25 and returned it to the 46.
On the second play, Chris Roberts broke loose for a 46-yard run to the 7. Williams then ran it in for a touchdown and a 21-0 lead after Burris' kick.
Clarksville showed some life at start of second quarter with three first downs, moving from its 27 to the Ashdown 35. The Panthers' defense then stuffed Clarksville runners for losses of 5 and 2 yards to end the drive at the 37-yard line.
Neither team threatened thereafter until the final seconds of the first half. A 38-yard pass from Surber to Patreko Brown set the Panthers up at the Clarksville 16 with 14 seconds left. Two incomplete passes ended the half.
The only score of the second half came midway in the third quarter on Williams' 8-yard run. A 52-yard pass from Surber to Andrew Cornelius set up the touchdown. Surber hit Cornelius with a short pass near midfield and Cornelius broke several tackles along the way.
Surber completed 10 of 17 passes for 163 yards.


text:
There is a condition called "schizophrenia", what it is:
• Its a psychological disorder, makes you unsure if this is reality or just a dream.
• And of course, it can make you think your dreams and thoughts were actual events.
People with schizophrenia can change, and the effects can cause trauma in life.
Its not something funny, its serious. Just a thought, its not something to laugh at, as one of my family members has this too.


text:
CD, DVD, duplicators, printers, robotics, automated, recordable, Taiyo Yuden, R-Quest, RQuest, R Quest, All-Pro, All Pro Solutions, CD Solutions, Microboards, Univenture, Primera, Mediatechnics, epson, discproducer, Teac, tower, rimage, everest, tdk, tyvek, jewel case, clam shell, c-shell, tascam, flashjet, copywriter, tuffcoat, prodisc, mailer, aquaguard, watershield, dvd-r, dvd+r, dual, layer, dvd+rw, bua-lu-ray, MFDigital, mf digital, Verbatim, ink, ribbon, Printfactory, Powerpro, P-55, cd shredder, RocketDVD, hard drive, IM4008, ICS, Intelligent Computer Solutions, Magneto Optical, Pro dj, sony, Pioneer, cd duplication, dvd duplication, replication, silk screen, offset, inkjet, thermal, digital, volusion, Ohio, JVC
CD Solutions Inc., CD, DVD, & USB duplication hardware & services
View Cart
My Account / Order Status
Click here
for B-Stock Specials-Deals on clearance, used, or opened items
Visit our Facebook page
Search for item
If you aren't finding what you need, or if you want help with an order please call us at
. We'd love to help you!
We've detected that cookies are
on your computer.
In order to add items to your shopping cart you must have cookies enabled.
Please refer to the instructions for your specific browser below to enable cookies...
To enable cookies in Internet Explorer 6 & 7:
1. Select Tools -> Internet Options.
2. Select the Privacy tab.
3. If your privacy level is set to Medium, your browser will accept most cookies.
(You can click the Default button to set the privacy level to Medium.)
4. Click OK.
5. If you're still getting this message, you'll need to lower your privacy level from Medium down to Low, which will be sure to correct the problem.
To enable cookies in Firefox 2 & 3:
1. Select Tools -> Options (PC) or Firefox -> Preferences (Mac)
2. Select the Privacy tab.
3. Under the Cookies section, select the "Accept cookies from site" option.
4. Click OK.
To enable cookies in Safari:
1. Select the Gear Icon -> Preferences (PC) or Safari -> Preferences (Mac)
2. Select the Security tab.
3.Under the "Accept Cookies" section, select the "Only from sites you navigate to" option.
4. Click OK.
After making the changes, you may re-run our cookie test to verify your changes were successful...
This option requires Java
Must have Java to use this feature.
Fax: 937-676-2478
P.O. Box 536
100 W. Monument Street
Pleasant Hill, OH 45359
About Us
Privacy Policy
Send Us Feedback
Company Info
Product Index
Category Index
Terms of Use
Copyright © 2004-2017 CD Solutions, Inc., www.cds.com. All Rights Reserved.
Built with


text:
front page
List of Americans Abroad
Edu tally helps Rangers to easy 4-0 victory over Hamilton.
Spector scores again, helps West Ham blank Barnsley 2-0 in FA Cup.
Onyewu appears headed to Dutch champ FC Twente from AC Milan.
Strange own goal undoes Howard, Everton in 1-1 draw with West Ham.
Clark, Cooper return to action for their clubs in Germany.
Holden drills home winner, lifting Bolton to 2-1 decision over Rovers.
Friedel's future is unclear as Villa searches for replacement.
Howard concedes bad PK, goal; Everton still draws 1-1 with Chelsea.
Friedel considers return to Columbus Crew as player-coach.
Spector's first two goals in six years lead West Ham to shocking rout of Man. U.
Dempsey assumes Fulham lead in goals, provides draw with Birmingham.
Riding the bench in Greece, Adu tries to find home in Denmark.
Holden's scores first EPL goal, adds assist in Bolton triumph.
Edu's goal before early exit gives Rangers 1-1 draw with Inverness.
With Edu in midfield, Rangers down Celtic to stay atop Premier League.
Neck injury to disable Bocanegra for at least three weeks.
Dempsey strike helps Fulham to another draw, 1-1 with West Ham.
Feilhaber's four goals (two winners) lead to pair of Aarhus victories.
Dempsey's first goal allows Fulham to draw 1-1 with Rovers.
Howard helps Everton pick up surprise point from Manchester United.
Villa beats Everton; Friedel bests Howard in meeting of American keepers.
Hahnemann, Howard meet; Everton, Wolves draw 1-1.
Altidore scores for Villareal, hopes it's his ticket to stay.
Adu is looking for team after Benfica cuts him loose.
Bocanegra moves across France to Saint Etienne.
Americans Abroad
(Thursday, January 27, 2011) -- United States defender Oguchi Onyewu was hurt last night in FC Twente's 7-6 victory in a penalty-kicks tiebreaker over PSV Eindhoven in a KNVB Beker Cup (Dutch Cup) quarterfinal that was tied 1-1 after regulation and 30 minutes of overtime.
Onyewu appeared to pull a muscle in his back midway through the first half and was forced to leave the match. According to a club spokesperson, the muscle does not appear torn, but it will likely be several days before the extent of the injury is known.
On Sunday, Onyewu went the distance at left back and received a yellow card in a 2-1 road victory over Groningen on the road 2-1.
In Scotland, U.S. midfielder Maurice Edu is still not completely match fit, but he enter midway through the second half of Glasgow Rangers' 2-0 triumph last night over Hibernian.
On Saturday, Edu went 75 minutes for Rangers, who unexpectedly stumbled in a 1-0 loss to Heart of Midlothian.
In the English Premier League, American Brad Friedel made five saves in goal for Aston Villa in its 2-1 win Tuesday over Wigan Athletic.
Friedel was only beaten in the 80th minute when James McCarthy let fly a long shot from 30 yards that seemed to be going well wide until it caromed off defender James Collins and went past a wrong-footed Friedel.
In a week in which Friedel's financial woes became public after his failed soccer camp in Ohio resulted in a British bankruptcy, he made three saves Saturday while keeping a clean sheet in a 1-0 decision over Manchester City.
Midfielder Clint Dempsey went the distance for Fulham in a disheartening 1-0 loss Wednesday night at Liverpool.
Twice, Dempsey forced good saves from Liverpool keeper Pepe Reina. Liverpool's only score was from a John Pantsil own-goal in the 52nd minute.
Dempsey netted both Fulham's tallies in 2-0 win over visiting Stoke City Saturday at Craven Cottage.
In the 33rd minute, carrying a defender on his back, Dempsey -- almost on the goal line -- slid into a low cross from Andy Johnson on the right side and Dempsey redirected it into the top of the net. In the 55th minute, Dempsey made a wonderful move to advance alone into the penalty area where he was taken down by Ryan Shawcross, who was immediately ejected with a red card. Dempsey converted the subsequent penalty kick.
The goals were Dempsey's seventh and eighth of the Premier League season to go along with one in the Carling Cup. He is easily Fulham's top scorer.
American Jonathan Spector went 106 minutes in midfield for West Ham United, which saw its Carling Cup dreams evaporate in the semifinals with a 3-1 overtime loss at Birmingham City Wednesday night. Birmingham took the two-game series 4-3 on aggregate.
In the 26th minute of West Ham's unexpected 2-2 draw at Everton, Spector, gave his isde a 1-0 lead that lasted until the 77th minute. Spector, playing midfield, ran onto a cross from the deep left corner and blasted a shot past U.S. teammate Tim Howard for Spector's first Premiership goal.
Howard made three sharp saves and it took Marouane Fellaini to find net in stoppage time for Everton to earn a hard-fought draw.
German American defensive midfielder Jermaine Jones has left many wondering how his German club Schalke 04 let him go for nothing. Schalke's loss has been Blackburn Rovers' find. He registered a dominant performance Sunday, breaking up countless West Bromwich Albion forays in a 2-0 victory.
Jones did made one ill-advised tackle that might have resulted in a penalty kick, but did not.
On Monday night, U.S. midfielder Stuart Holden went 87 minutes for Bolton Wanderers, who were outclassed by visiting Chelsea 4-0.
Bolton stayed close until late in the first half after which Chelsea dominated. Holden had a golden chance in the second minute, but his shot was stopped by keeper Petr Cech. He was relieved by Robbie Blake.
American keeper Marcus Hahnemann was again on the bench watching his replacement Wayne Hennessy look anything but impressive for Wolverhampton Wanderers, who lost again 3-0 Saturday to Liverpool.
Americans not dressing last weekend included striker Eddie Johnson, most likely on his way out at Fulham, and defender Eric Lichaj for Aston Villa.
In the second-tier English League Championship, American keeper Brad Guzan had his emergency loan from Aston Villa extended one more month until the end of February, On Saturday, he made four saves in Saturday's 1-1 draw with Reading.
American defender Zak Whitbread played 86 minutes for Norwich City, a 2-1 winner Saturday over struggling Sheffield United..
Two Americans who did not dress were forward Conor Doyle for Derby County in its 1-0 loss to Nottingham Forest and its striker Robbie Findley.
American forward Mike Grella is technically back with Leeds United, but he did not dress for a 2-2 draw Saturday with Portsmouth.
It appeared Grella, who has not gotten much playing time with United, had been loaned to Motherwell of the Scottish Premier League, but the loan was not approved by world governing body FIFA. Motherwell had announced Grella's signing on a half-season deal as an emergency replacement, but ran afoul of the FIFA regulation that states while players are able to register for a maximum of three clubs in a single season, they are only allowed to play for only two.
Grella had been on loan to Carlisle United of the English third-division League One, but had also appeared in a few early season matches for Leeds. The Scottish club thought the rules would be waived because of the emergency nature of the loan -- Motherwell has a number of injured players -- but FIFA said no.
In League One, American defender Frank Simek went the distance for Carlisle United, a 1-0 winner over Notts County on Saturday.
American midfielder Anton Peterlin watched from the Plymouth Argyle bench a 2-0 loss Saturday to Charlton Athletic.
In the German Bundesliga, U.S. defender Steve Cherundolo played 90 minutes for Hannover 96, which dropped a 1-0 decision Saturday to Schalke 04. U.S. midfielder DaMarcus Beasley did not dress for Hannover.
U.S. midfielder Ricardo Clark went 90 minutes for Eintracht Frankfurt, which fell 1-0 Friday to Hamburg SV.
As U.S. midfielder Michael Bradley and his club Borussia Moenchengladbach await an expected transfer offer from Sunderland of the English Premier League, Bradley came off the bench and played the final four minutes in Moenchengladbach's 3-1 loss Sunday to Bayer Leverkusen.
Timothy Chandler a young German-American defender, came off the bench and played 34 minutes in 1. FC Nürnberg's 1-1 draw Saturday with SC Freiburg. American keeper Daniel Williams did not dress for Freiburg.
In the second tier 2.Bundesliga, U.S. forward Edson Buddle made a good impression in his debut with FC Ingolstadt 04, playing 88 minutes and scoring his club's only goal in a 1-1 draw Friday with MSV Duisburg.
Buddle beat American keeper David Yelldell. German soccer magazine Kicker's "Man of the Match," scored from close-in in the 75th minute.
American defender Amaechi Igwe continues to rehab a knee and did not dress for Ingolstadt.
Karlsruher SC's American netminder Luis Robles had a tough time, facing a barrage of shots in a 4-2 loss to Alemannia Aachen despite his five saves.
Alfredo Morales, a German-American midfielder, came off the bench and played the final four minutes for Hertha Berlin, which prevailed 4-2 Sunday over Fortuna Dusseldorf,
In France, U.S. striker Charlie Davies did not dress for Sochaux in its 2-1 victory Friday over FC Paris in the Coupe de France round of 16.
St. Etienne was already eliminated from the Cup, so U.S. defender and his team were idle.
In Spain, U.S. striker Jozy Altidore watched from the bench as his club Villarreal defeated Real Sociedad 2-1 Sunday.
Do you have a comment on this story or something to say about soccer in general? Send us a letter.