text:
Esophageal pH monitoring using wired or wireless devices can record the pH of the lower esophagus for a period of one to several days. These devices may aid in the diagnosis of gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD) in patients who have an uncertain diagnosis after clinical evaluation and endoscopy.
Acid reflux is the cause of heartburn and acid regurgitation esophagitis, which can lead to esophageal stricture. Acid reflux may also be the cause or a contributing factor in some cases of asthma, posterior laryngitis, chronic cough, dental erosions, chronic hoarseness, pharyngitis, subglottic stenosis or stricture, nocturnal choking, and recurrent pneumonia.
Gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD) is most commonly diagnosed by clinical evaluation and treated empirically with a trial of medical management. For patients who do not respond appropriately to medications, or who have recurrent chronic symptoms, endoscopy is indicated to confirm the diagnosis and assess the severity of reflux esophagitis. In some patients, endoscopy is non-diagnostic, or results are discordant with the clinical evaluation. In these cases, further diagnostic testing may be of benefit.
Esophageal monitoring is done through the use of a tube with a pH electrode attached to its tip, which is then passed to almost exactly 5 cm above the upper margin of the lower esophageal sphincter (LES). The electrode is attached to a data logger worn on a waist belt or shoulder strap. Every instance of acid reflux, as well as its duration and pH, is recorded, indicating gastric acid reflux over a 24-hour period. Esophageal pH electrodes are U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) 510(k) exempt Class I devices. A catheter-free, temporarily implanted device (Bravo™ pH Monitoring System, Medtronic) has been cleared for marketing by the FDA 510(k) process for the purpose of "gastroesophageal pH measurement and monitoring of gastric reflux in adults and children from 4 years of age." Using endoscopic or manometric guidance, the capsule is temporarily implanted in the esophageal mucosa using a clip. The capsule records pH levels for up to 96 hours and transmits them via radiofrequency telemetry to a receiver worn in the patient's belt. Data from the recorder are uploaded to a computer for analysis by a nurse or doctor.
Another technology closely related to pH monitoring is impedance-pH monitoring, which incorporates pH monitoring with measurements of impedance, a method of measuring reflux of liquid or gas of any pH. Multiple electrodes are placed along the length of the esophageal catheter. The impedance pattern detected can determine the direction of flow and the substance (liquid or gas). Impedance monitoring is able to identify reflux events in which the liquid is only slightly acidic or non-acidic.
Each benefit plan, summary plan description or contract defines which services are covered, which services are excluded, and which services are subject to dollar caps or other limitations, conditions or exclusions. Members and their providers have the responsibility for consulting the member's benefit plan, summary plan description or contract to determine if there are any exclusions or other benefit limitations applicable to this service or supply. If there is a discrepancy between a Medical Policy and a member's benefit plan, summary plan description or contract, the benefit plan, summary plan description or contract will govern.
Esophageal pH monitoring using a wireless or catheter-based system may be considered medically necessary for the following clinical indications in adults and children or adolescents able to report symptoms*:
*Esophageal pH monitoring systems should be used in accordance with FDA-approved indications and age ranges.
24-hour catheter-based esophageal pH monitoring may be considered medically necessary in infants or children who are unable to report or describe symptoms of reflux with:
Catheter-based impedance-pH monitoring may be considered medically necessary in the evaluation of endoscopy-negative patients with GERD complaints refractory to PPI therapy in which documentation of non-acid reflux will alter clinical management.
Catheter-based impedance-pH monitoring is considered not medically necessary for all other indications.
Policy Guidelines
The device may be placed with either endoscopic or manometry guidance.
This policy was originally created in 1996 and was updated regularly with searches of the MEDLINE database. The most recent literature search was performed through April 2013. This section of the current policy has been substantially revised. The following is a summary of the key literature to date.
Esophageal pH monitoring using catheter-based systems
Esophageal pH monitoring for 24 hours using catheter-based systems has been an established technology, primarily used in patients with gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD) that has not responded symptomatically to a program of medical therapy (including proton pump inhibitors [PPI]) or in patients with refractory extra-esophageal symptoms). Although it is an established technology, aspects of its use as a diagnostic test for GERD are problematic and thus make it difficult to determine its utility, as well as the utility of potential alternative tests.
There is no independent reference standard for GERD for certain clinically relevant populations. Traditional pH monitoring has been evaluated in patients with endoscopically diagnosed GERD, where it has been shown to be positive 77-100% of the time. (1) However, in clinically defined but endoscopically negative patients, the test is positive from 0-71% of the time. In normal control populations, traditional pH monitoring is positive in 0-15% of subjects. Thus the test is imperfectly sensitive and specific in patients with known presence or absence of disease. The state of this evidence regarding the diagnostic capability of catheter-based pH monitoring led the authors of this technical review "…to conclude that ambulatory pH studies quantify esophageal acid exposure but that this has an imperfect correlation with reflux-related symptoms, esophageal sensitivity, or response to acid suppressive therapy." (1)
Without a reference standard for GERD, it is difficult to compare diagnostic test performance between different types of tests. It is possible to determine whether 2 tests correspond close enough that they might be considered equivalent tests. Use of one test versus another may result in better patient outcomes, if despite being an imperfect test, differences in patient management based on the test findings result in overall improved patient outcomes. However, this type of argument would require rigorous studies that follow patients beyond test outcome and are organized and analyzed such that a valid inference of improved outcome due to the use of the test can be made.
Wireless pH monitoring
A 2006 Blue Cross and Blue Shield Association Technology Evaluation Center (TEC) Special Report on wireless esophageal monitoring made several observations regarding wireless pH monitoring. (2) Six case series demonstrated high success rates in successfully performing the procedure, with success rates over 90% in achieving a 48-hour pH study. Two studies that surveyed patients who received wireless pH monitoring and patients who received traditional catheter monitoring showed less discomfort, less disruption of daily activities, and higher overall satisfaction with the experience. Studies that evaluated test positivity in clinically diagnosed GERD cases and normal controls showed similar results as have been reported in such patients using traditional pH monitoring. Studies directly comparing the performance between traditional catheter and wireless pH monitoring in the same patients showed fairly close correlation between the two types of studies after correcting for calibration differences. The ideal cut-point for test positivity was different for the two types of tests.
Some studies attempted to support an argument that the longer monitoring time that the wireless monitors allows results in superior test performance. However, without a reference standard, or showing superior patient outcomes based on the longer test, such an argument cannot be made. The longer monitoring period usually results in a larger proportion of tests that are classified as positive, depending on the method of determining a positive test. As reviewed in the 2006 TEC Special Report, Prakash and Clouse compared the diagnostic yield for a single day of monitoring compared to the complete 2 days of monitoring. (3) The authors reported that the second day of recording time increased the number of subjects recording symptoms by 6.8%. However, this study had several methodologic flaws. Ideally, a study comparing the diagnostic performance of an additional day of monitoring would require an independent reference standard or demonstration of improved patient outcomes when managing patients with a 1-day versus a 2-day study. In this study, the 2-day study was essentially considered the "reference test," and there was no discussion of how the second day of monitoring was used to improve patient management in this heterogeneous group of patients. In addition, in their statistical analysis, the authors eliminated patients who did not report any symptoms during the testing period, thus deflating the denominator and inflating the yield of the additional day of testing. Finally, the 1-day test was essentially a component of the 2-day test, and thus the 2 monitoring periods were not independent, further limiting any comparison between them. It should not be presumed that the greater number of positive tests produced by a longer duration of test is evidence of a superior test.
Studies published since the 2006 TEC Special Report essentially show similar types of findings regarding the correlation of wireless pH monitoring and standard catheter monitoring. Wenner and colleagues, in another study of 64 patients with GERD and 50 asymptomatic controls, showed a sensitivity of 59–65%, when setting the specificity to 90–95%. (4) This was noted to be worse than other studies of traditional pH monitoring, but the patient population may have had less severe disease. The study by Schneider et al. showed similar diagnostic performance of wireless and traditional pH monitoring. (5) Hakanson et al. evaluated simultaneous wireless and traditional pH testing in 92 patients. (6) Wireless pH testing showed consistently lower estimates of acid exposure than traditional pH testing. The 2 techniques were correlated (r2=0.66); however, the range between limits of agreement was wide. The 2 techniques were concordant regarding the final diagnosis 82.1% of the time.
Additional studies since the 2006 TEC Special Report also repeat the findings that a longer period of monitoring increases the proportion of positive tests. Scarpulla et al. attempted 96-hour monitoring in 83 patients. (7) Monitoring for the full 96 hours was successful in 41% of patients. In these patients, the proportion showing some degree of pathologic acid exposure increased as the time of monitoring increased. Garrean et al. studied the use of 96-hour pH testing where during the first 2 days of monitoring, the patients were off therapy, and during the second 2 days, the patients were prescribed PPIs. (8) As expected, during the second 2 days, fewer patients showed reflux symptoms. It is difficult to determine from the analysis of data how such a testing protocol improves the diagnosis of GERD. Grigolon et al. showed that in 51 patients receiving prolonged monitoring, the 96-hour test reduced the number of indeterminate tests from 11 to 5. (9) In this particular study, comparison of outcomes of patients receiving wireless monitoring and a matched control group of patients receiving traditional catheter monitoring showed similar outcome and satisfaction.
Impedance-pH testing
Evidence supporting the use of impedance-pH testing suffers from similar issues as the evaluation of wireless pH testing; lack of a reference standard and lack of evidence showing improved patient outcomes. Many studies use the argument that an increase in positive tests, or diagnostic yield as it is called, by itself is evidence that supports the use of the test. However, the increase in positive tests, if it is reflective of a potentially increased sensitivity, may be accompanied by a decrease in specificity. The net effect on patient management and patient outcomes is not certain.
Several studies have demonstrated a higher yield of positive tests when using impedance-pH testing and identifying reflux events that are non- or only weakly acidic (and thus would not be detected using pH testing alone). (10-12) Bajbouj et al. studied 41 patients with atypical GERD symptoms with numerous tests. (10) The test that produced the highest number of positive findings was impedance-pH testing. Bredenoord et al. did a similar study in 48 patients. (11) A higher proportion of subjects had positive tests when using impedance-pH data than when using pH data alone (77% vs. 67%, respectively). A study by Mainie et al. showed similar findings. (12)
Studies have examined the issue of performing impedance-pH testing while the patient is currently on acid suppression therapy. Vela et al. demonstrated that during acid suppressive therapy, the total number of reflux episodes is similar, but there are fewer episodes of acidic reflux. (13)
Although impedance-pH testing produces a higher number of positive tests, particularly when compared to traditional or wired pH testing in the setting of concurrent acid suppressive therapy, there is not sufficient evidence that these test results are more accurate, nor is there a clear link to improved patient outcomes when using impedance-pH testing compared to other methods of measuring pH. Thus, this testing is considered not medically necessary.
Ongoing Clinical Trials
A May 2013 search of online site ClinicalTrials.gov identified several active studies using esophageal pH and impedance monitoring as an evaluation tool for research of various treatments such as pharmaceutical products for GERD. However, no active studies on the diagnostic and clinical utility of esophageal pH and impedance monitoring were identified.
Esophageal pH monitoring using wired or wireless devices can record the pH of the lower esophagus for a period of one to several days. These devices may aid in the diagnosis of gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD) in patients who have an uncertain diagnosis after clinical evaluation and endoscopy. Therefore, the use of wired or wireless esophageal pH monitoring may be considered medically necessary in the patient meeting the above criteria.
Given the lack of a gold standard, evidence supporting the use of impedance-pH testing is lacking. While impedance-pH testing may increase positive tests or diagnostic yield, the potentially increased sensitivity may be accompanied by a decrease in specificity and the net effect on patient management and patient outcomes is not certain. Therefore, impedance-pH testing is considered not medically necessary
Practice Guidelines and Position Statements
The American College of Gastroenterology released practice guidelines on esophageal reflux testing in 2007. (14) The literature up to 2006 was reviewed. Although the literature on wireless pH testing was extensively reviewed, the recommendations for testing made no distinction between wireless and traditional pH monitoring. An indirect endorsement of wireless monitoring might be inferred from a statement that says that a 48-hour study would produce a greater diagnostic yield from a symptom-association test. Symptom-association tests require statistical testing of the data, and a 48-hour test produces more data points. However, apparently these statistical correlation tests are not perfect, as the guidelines state that such measures "do not ensure a response to either medical or surgical antireflux therapies." No studies were cited in these guidelines that indicate superior outcomes for patients for treatment guided by wireless pH testing versus traditional pH testing. The major advantage for the wireless system cited was patient tolerability.
Impedance pH monitoring was cited as "may be useful" (a lower category of recommendation than for pH monitoring) for evaluation of patients with insufficient response to medical therapy in whom documentation of nonacid reflux would alter clinical management. It was suggested that impedance monitoring has a greater yield for findings than pH monitoring when performed on PPI therapy. The last statement of the guideline states that implications of an abnormal impedance test are unproven at this time.
The American Gastroenterological Association released a medical position statement and accompanying technical review on the management of GERD in 2008. (15) Ambulatory impedance-pH, catheter pH, and wireless pH monitoring were all supported as methods to evaluate patients with suspected GERD with otherwise normal endoscopy and no response to PPI therapy. The guideline is classified as a "Grade B" recommendation, denoting fair evidence that the practice improves health outcomes. The guideline additionally states that the wireless pH monitor has superior sensitivity to catheter pH monitoring because of the extended period of recording.
However, as noted previously, an increase in positive tests has been documented in other reports as producing both increased sensitivity and decreased specificity relative to the reference standard used in the particular study. Thus, taking into account both characteristics of diagnostic performance, it is unknown as to whether patient outcomes are improved.
The National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence (NICE) released technology appraisal guidance on catheterless esophageal pH monitoring in July 2006. (16) This guidance indicates catheterless esophageal pH monitoring appears to be safe and effective and is commonly indicated for GERD symptoms refractory to proton pump inhibitors and for GERD symptom recurrence after anti-reflux surgery.
Disclaimer for coding information on Medical Policies
Procedure and diagnosis codes on Medical Policy documents are included only as a general reference tool for each policy. They may not be all-inclusive.
The presence or absence of procedure, service, supply, device or diagnosis codes in a Medical Policy document has no relevance for determination of benefit coverage for members or reimbursement for providers. Only the written coverage position in a medical policy should be used for such determinations.
Benefit coverage determinations based on written Medical Policy coverage positions must include review of the member's benefit contract or Summary Plan Description (SPD) for defined coverage vs. non-coverage, benefit exclusions, and benefit limitations such as dollar or duration caps.
427.89, 476.0, 493.00-493.90, 507.0, 530.81, 770.81-770.89, 780.57, 784.99, 786.03, 786.07, 786.1, 786.2
Rationale revised extensively. Literature search current through May 2012; reference numbers 17-18 added. Added "catheter-based" system to Medical Necessity statement. Removed "member is unable to tolerate a catheter-based pH monitoring system". Removed "the member is having an esophagoscopy". Added six criteria for coverage. Added a medically necessary section for catheter based monitoring for infants or children unable to report/describe symptoms. Added monitoring must be done in accordance with FDA approved indications and age ranges to policy statement. Changed the Not Medically Necessary statement to: "24-hour catheter-based impedance pH monitoring is considered not medically necessary."


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Hip-Hop Artist Maino Featured on New My Purple Stuff Website
(Photo: http://www.newscom.com/cgi-bin/prnh/20090407/LA96131)
Maino is seen in the video drinking Superliminal Purple Stuff(TM) which will be seen by millions of fans on MTV, MTV2, Fuse, BET, and VH1. "All The Above" is already a great success for the artist debuting in the top ten on iTunes downloads.
"In 2009, consumers will be getting the bigger picture of what Funktional Beverages is up to," says
Purple Stuff is an anti-anxiety drink that helps you focus and calms you down. To create the calming effect, Purple Stuff has only a small amount of crystalline fructose, a natural sugar that metabolizes slowly and is suitable for diabetics. Rosehips and valerian root are combined with L-Theanine, the active ingredient in green tea, for the magic bullet. Purple Stuff also contains high quality fruit essences for a calming aroma, while the pure mineral water from an Artesian well adds the complexity to the taste.
Duchesneau comments on the launch of Supraliminal Labs Red Stuff(TM) into the market…
"Red Stuff is the best tasting energy shot on the market, but everyone says that… so I will say we are the first energy shot that does not taste like liquid aspirin. It has a caffeine hit like a Cuban Espresso coffee, along with the calming ingredients of Purple Stuff, so your heart doesn't race and you can focus your mind on work tasks. Everything we do is geared towards fun and youth and high quality nutrition."
Duchesneau has 25 years of experience in manufacturing fresh juices and custom bar mixes for restaurants and hotel chains.
Funktional Beverages has staying power, with knowledgeable and experienced executives running the company.
Executive VP
Congratulations Maino on your huge hit!
Thanks for drinking Purple Stuff…you have put us on the map with millions of teenagers.
Purple Stuff… everybody knows my name.
"All The Above"
For videos of Maino's Music Video "All THE ABOVE", The Purple Stuff Magician, the Red Stunt Plane and more information, visit http://www.mypurplestuff.com Contact Funktional Beverages, Inc. at (877) FBI-ROKS / (877) 324-7657
Superliminal Purple Stuff(TM) and Supraliminal Labs Red Stuff Energy(TM) are distributed across 30 states within
SOURCE Funktional Beverages, Inc.

subset: commoncrawl


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The recently concluded 2013 regular session of the New Mexico Legislature resulted in legislation enacting several significant changes to New Mexico's tax programs, the majority of which are business friendly. Most of the legislation was promoted as making New Mexico more attractive to new investment that will retain and create new jobs for New Mexicans. The effect or potential effect of the legislative changes will vary depending on business-specific facts. New Mexico taxpayers or those considering investing in or doing business in New Mexico in the future should evaluate the changes outlined below to determine the impact, if any, on their business model.
The 2013 New Mexico Legislature saw considerable activity intended to make New Mexico's corporate income tax more competitive with that imposed by other states. Much of the legislation passed was part of an economic development package advanced by Governor Martinez's administration found in what became an omnibus tax bill, House Bill 641, put together in a chaotic last 18 hours of the session in mid- March.
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Well, then I have a hunch that it will be handled stupidly, and I will stop watching early in the season.
I'm just sayin'...
Well, then I have a hunch that it will be handled stupidly, and I will stop watching early in the season.
I'm just sayin'...
"Whatever you are, be a good one." Abraham Lincoln
What is an "MFWalkoff?"
Ok. Just read through the cast bois, and I'm much excited! Looks like it could be a very good season indeed I'm wondering though (thinking about possible twists...) do they usually put in so much about the contestants feelings towards both parents? There were only 3 that didn't talk about their relationship with mom and dad. Also, I know this is an election year, but they asked a bunch about what political offices they would be interested in. I wonder if there will be some sort of elections in the house? I mean besides getting their rear-ends elected out
"With all its sham, drudgery, and broken dreams, it is still a beautiful world."
"I lost my dignity on a slippery wiener."
I truly hope it is not politics or religion inclined. I have had a hard time enjoying the last 2, but, will keep trying!
The cast certainly seems promising! I cannot wait to see the interaction between them all. I hope Jerry sticks around!
That's the only thing that would ruin this season for me would be if it goes overboard with the politics and different points of view. I'm hoping the bios are just hyped up with that info and it goes nowhere. Aside from that, I'm happy to see total strangers back and that there's such a wide range of ages, so hopefully people will be interested in playing the game this time around. I put in another thread that my only other hope is that the contestants have stuff to do, better challenges, and I'd love to see the return of America's Choice every week. Having the live audience with this group might be interesting, too.Originally Posted by milady;3118207;
a 75 YEAR OLD
BB fanatic


text:
Ravens head coach John Harbaugh is back into the routine at the Castle. He is turning down speaking engagements and book deals and watching video of potential draft picks.
The euphoria of being a winning Super Bowl head coach is finally starting to die down.
"I'm getting into the routines again," said Harbaugh, about to enter his sixth season in Baltimore. "I'm watching every guy in the draft. I've got to do that, I've got to know who we're drafting and if I can help.


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Five-star-impeccable as always
Should one crave for a truly good steak, a visit to this five-star outlet must be made. We did, and got fully satisfied. After all, it's the Tivoli at the Mandarin Oriental Manila in Makati City.
2/L, Mandarin Oriental Hotel Manila, tel. 7508888
The place has never changed through the years—its elegance and the exquisite food it offers.
Dining area: The black and white interiors have remained imposing. A beautifully set starter buffet is at the center; a small private dining area has wines and liquors in the attached wall cabinets. On the left side is another private room. Tables are arranged with enough room for guests to move and with enough distance from each other, such that conversation hardly filters down.
Service: Very efficient. A tall young lady is at the door, welcoming diners with a gracious greeting.
Staff: Unobtrusive but attentive. They help select choices from the menu, talking almost in whispers but still audible.
Suggested orders: Steak was the order of the day. We were first led to the starter buffet for appetizers, which was quite a selection. This diner opted for Fresh Tuna and Salmon Sushi, while our companion chose the European sausages and a couple of Roasted Vegetable Salads. Caesar Salad can be ordered and whipped up from the kitchen.
Our main course was Ribeye Steak with its traditional Yorkshire Pudding, plus a patty of vegetables. This was served with a mayo-like herb dressing, but the meat did not need enhancement. Pure and freshly grilled, it was perfect, the meat juicy and tender.
Dessert was a production in itself—a bar of cake topped with slices of bananas, plus a small ball each of ice cream and fresh cream. Strong coffee punctuated the dream meal.
Government and service charges are added to the bill. Senior cards are honored.
Rating ***
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Attempted Suicide
Police: Gunman kills man dating his estranged wife, then shoots self in Laurel, Md.
Argument between man and woman leads to car crash, attempted suicide
A man and woman were reportedly arguing while driving separate cars, leading to a crash and the man attempting to shoot himself.
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ABC7 News at 4 Now Weekdays!ABC7 is giving you MORE news in your afternoons with an extra hour, an hour earlier! Join ABC7's Leon Harris and Alison Starling for what's trending in your community and world. Every weekday afternoon at 4pm right after back to back "Hot Bench" shows at 3pm on ABC7.


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According to Dr Sunyer, "this is important so that we can understand not only how the immune systems of fish and amphibians work but also the origin and composition of the immune systems of humans and mammals". The work concludes that there is an evolutionary relationship between macrophages and cells by which both cell types derive from a common, ancestral cell with functional properties of both cells. So though the B cells of lower vertebrates (fish and amphibians) are still capable of phagocytis while they are producing antibodies, the B cells of higher vertebrates are no longer capable of phagocytis. The latter specialise almost exclusively in functions of the adaptive immune response.
It is most probable that the less-elaborated, restrictive adaptive immune response of fish and amphibians makes the preservation of phagocytosis an evolutionary advantage to B cells in their defence against pathogens. One cannot forget that fish have had a significant evolutionary success, since nearly 50% of vertebrate species belong to this group and they are constantly in contact with a vast multitude of microorganisms in the water. According to Dr Sunyer, "From a practical perspective, this discovery will be used in the near future to produce a new design of vaccines for fish in order to stimulate phagocytosis in antibodies for B cells, increasing the effectiveness of the vaccine".
The study of comparative biology remains an important source of scientific k
Source:Universitat Autonoma de Barcelona


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ODT Online
ODT /directory
The New Zealand No 1 is trying to play a "bigger" game this
year, but came up against a player who hit even bigger.
Hampton timed the ball sweetly in the first set, which took
only 27 minutes. In contrast, Erakovic looked sluggish and
She had her chances in the second set, breaking Hampton twice
and serving for the set, but was taken to a tiebreaker which
Hampton won 7-5.
It was at least an improvement for Erakovic, who was a
first-round casualty in the three previous years, but she
would have sensed a chance to do well given her part of the
draw had opened up following the early exit of defending
champion and fourth seed Zheng Jie.
Hampton will now take on Dutchwoman Kiki Bertens in
tomorrow's quarter-final.
"I had a lot of chances in that second set so it definitely
hurts," Erakovic said, "but Jamie played some great points
and deserved to win."
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Equally beach casual and city chic, Gorjana is a socially conscious lifestyle brand that makes fashionable, high quality accessories for women. Their signature dainty stackable pieces are both understated and eye catching all in one. Layer them up and you'll never want to take them off again.
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Very cute star studs. My gripe, though, is that the posts are thick in comparison to the removable earring back. It takes me a while to get them off because the back gets stuck to the post and it is hard to remove and there is not much to grab on the front. This makes it difficult to remove from the ear because I have to pull on the pointy parts of the star (because the earring is flat) and the earring back at the same time and it hurts my fingers in the process, and then I worry I'm going to rip my ear hole a bit! Not worth it--going to return.
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bnr034 wrote:Thanks Phil...
You guys reckon he'll come back for one more???
Phil Jackson in his final presser: "The Lakers will have to go back and put it back together again."
Phil: "It feels really good to be ending this season, to be honest with you. I came back this last year with some trepidation."
Phil Jackson: "All my hopes and aspirations are that this will be my last game."
Phil wouldn't say certain players quit. Said their play was depressed, that they were daunted by the energy in the building.
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Does Indian pension continue to be paid if pensioner acquires foreign citizenship? The pensioner is a lady, the pension is her only source of income and the pension amount is below annual threshold of Rs 1.90 lakh. What is position of Indian taxes payable in a situation where the pensioner is NRI and in the process of acquiring foreign citizenship? — Meena Raj
Yes, pension will continue to be paid irrespective of change in citizenship. Take care that the pensioner redesignates her resident savings account to NRO. Once this is done, the pension may be credited to the NRO account. Indian tax is payable only if the total taxable income is above the basic exemption limit of Rs 1.60 lakh for general taxpayers, Rs 1.90 lakh for ladies and Rs 2.40 lakh for senior citizens.
However, the enhanced limits are only applicable to Indian residents and not to NRIs. If the lady drawing the pension is NRI, then the general limit of Rs 1.60 lakh will be applicable to her and hence the extra amount of Rs 30,000 will be subjected to tax. Also, a tax return needs to be filed.
Recently I came across some communication from my bank in India informing me about a changed law related to repatriation and remittance from India. It was mentioned that some form has to be uploaded by the customer (me) online etc. The language was too technical and I could not follow much of this jargon. Could you throw some light on what has changed and how it affects any remittancess I may need to make in
the future? — PK Vora
The procedure for the remittance process has been modified from July 2009 as follows. First, you would need to provide the bank with a certificate from an Indian Chartered Accountant.
This certificate is to be provided in prescribed Form 15CB. You would also need to fill out Form 15CA. This Form 15CA also known as the 'undertaking' requires the remitter to furnish certain specified details (like name of the bank to which the money is to be credited, etc) regarding the proposed remittance.
The information to be furnished in Form 15CA is to be filled using the information contained in Form 15CB (certificate). Form 15CA has to be then uploaded on www.tin-nsdl.com. The remitter will then take a print out of this filled up Form 15CA (which will bear an acknowledgement number generated by the system) and sign it.
The duly signed Form 15CA (undertaking) and Form 15CB (certificate), has to be submitted to the bank who will in turn forward a copy the certificate and undertaking to the Assessing Officer concerned. Once this is done, the funds may be remitted abroad. Please note that though the procedure seems complicated at first glance, it basically amounts to filling out of two forms, one of which will be done by the chartered accountant concerned. The other one has to be filled online and then printed out with the system generated acknowledgement number.
Submission of both these documents is all that is needed to effect the remittance.
The writer is director, Wonderland Consultants a tax and financial
planning firm. He may be contacted at email@example.com


text:
The sys admin's daily grind: Backup2l
I'll Be Back
At his cozy home, sys admin Charly has always used rsnapshot to back up his data. Although things will be staying this way for server backups, he has found something more manageable for backing up the Kühnast family's desktop PCs.
Backups are inevitable, and that includes desktop PCs, even the ones at home. However, in my four walls, I do not need a professional enterprise backup warehouse, and I feel no genuine desire to pay the license fee for it. I back up everything on a small Synology NAS and the NAS, in turn, is backed up on two large USB drives.
On the NAS, I have shared a directory by the name of
linbackup; below that is a subdirectory for every machine to be backed up – a total of 14 right now. My children are obviously growing up and probably starting to hoard hardware. I really wonder who they take after. There is also a
gamelauncher directory; incidentally, this is where I back up the Windows partition.
Lately, the backup itself has been handled by backup2l [1], which I've tried out in the past few days as a lightweight alternative to rsnapshot [2]. Backup2l can be controlled by cron and creates a configurable number of incremental backups. Three parameters are responsible for this in the
backup2l.conf configuration file.
MAX_LEVEL=<3> determines the number of levels, whereas
MAX_PER_LEVEL=<8> defines the number of incremental backups per level. In my case, backup2l creates hourly incremental backups; this is the lowest level, level 3. Once it has collected eight of them (
MAX_PER_LEVEL), backup21 creates a new level 2 backup, which saves all changes since the last level 2 backup. The level 3 backups are then deleted, and the process begins again (Figure 1).
Once backup21 has collected eight level 2 backups, it creates a new level 1 backup – this is a full backup.
MAX_FULL, the third parameter, lets you specify how many full backups can exist at the same time.
Save Yourself, If You Can
I use
SRCLIST to define exactly what backup2l backs up,
SRCLIST=(/etc /root /home /var/ /usr/local)
and I can define exceptions. Backup2l distinguishes between files (
-name) and directories (
-path). Several exceptions can be linked by using
SKIPCOND=(-path "*.nobackup*" -o-name "*.o")
I use
BACKUP_DIR to tell backup2l where to save the data:
If the destination directory, as in my case, is a network drive, the user must of course ensure that it is mounted in good time. In this example,
funghi is the name of my Ubuntu test machine. All of my desktop Linux boxes are named after pizzas, and my servers are named after Scottish islands – in both worlds, there is no big risk that I will run out of names any time soon.
backup2l.conf file contains two sections,
PRE_BACKUP and
POST_BACKUP, where you can store shell commands that backup2l runs before and after performing the backup. You can use this approach to make sure that certain services are stopped during the backup.
Finally, I need to tell the tool that my part of the job is done – by flipping the
UNCONFIGURED=0 switch to
UNCONFIGURED=1. It's good to know that Funghi, Tonno (tuna), and the others are out of danger.
- Backup2l: http://backup2l.sourceforge.net
- Rsnapshot: http://www.rsnapshot.org
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text:
Brand Name phl-Meloxicam Common Name meloxicam
The content of this page:
How does this medication work? What will it do for me?
Meloxicam belongs to the family of medications known as COX-2 inhibiting nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs). It is used to treat rheumatoid arthritis and painful osteoarthritis in adults. It helps with these conditions by relieving pain and reducing swelling and inflammation.
NSAIDs work by blocking a response to injury in the body that leads to inflammation and pain.
Your doctor may have suggested this medication for conditions other than those listed in these drug information articles. As well, some forms of this medication may not be used for all of the conditions discussed here. If you have not discussed this with your doctor or are not sure why you are taking this medication, speak to your doctor. Do not stop taking this medication without consulting your doctor.
Do not give this medication to anyone else, even if they have the same symptoms as you do. It can be harmful for people to take this medication if their doctor has not prescribed it.
How should I use this medication?
Rheumatoid arthritis: The usual recommended dose is 15 mg once daily. For some people who may respond well to the medication, their doctor can reduce the dose to 7.5 mg once daily, according to need.
Osteoarthritis: The usual recommended dose is 7.5 mg once daily. Some people may benefit from receiving up to 15 mg once daily, and the dose can be increased by their doctor according to need.
This medication may be taken with or without food.
The use of this medication should be limited to the lowest effective dose for the shortest period of time needed.
Many things can affect the dose of medication that a person needs, such as body weight, other medical conditions, and other medications. If your doctor has recommended a dose different from the ones listed here, do not change the way that you are taking the medication without consulting your doctor.
It is important to take this medication exactly as prescribed by your doctor. If you miss a dose of this medication, take it as soon as you remember it. If it is the following day before you remember it, do not take the missed dose but go back to your regular dosing schedule. Do not take a double dose to make up for a missed one. If you are not sure what to do after missing a dose, contact your doctor or pharmacist for advice.
Store this medication at room temperature, protect it from light and moisture, and keep it out of the reach of children.
Do not dispose of medications in wastewater (e.g. down the sink or in the toilet) or in household garbage. Ask your pharmacist how to dispose of medications that are no longer needed or have expired.
What form(s) does this medication come in?
7.5 mg
Each yellow coloured, circular, flat, bevelled, uncoated tablet, with central break-line on one side and plain on the other, contains 7.5 mg meloxicam. Nonmedicinal ingredients: colloidal silicone dioxide, lactose, magnesium stearate, microcrystalline cellulose, pregelatinized starch, starch, and sodium citrate.
15 mg
Each yellow coloured, circular, flat, bevelled, uncoated tablet, with central break-line on one side and plain on the other, contains 15 mg meloxicam. Nonmedicinal ingredients: colloidal silicone dioxide, lactose, magnesium stearate, microcrystalline cellulose, pregelatinized starch, starch, and sodium citrate.
Who should NOT take this medication?
Meloxicam should not be taken by anyone who:
- is allergic to meloxicam or to any of the ingredients of the medication
- is about to have or has recently had coronary artery bypass graft (CABG) surgery
- is pregnant or breast-feeding
- is under 18 years of age
- has active or recent stomach or intestine ulcers or bleeding
- has bleeding of the brain or other bleeding disorders
- has experienced asthma, hives, nasal polyps, or allergic reactions after taking ASA or other NSAIDs
- has higher than normal levels of potassium in the blood
- has inflammatory bowel disease (Crohn's disease or ulcerative colitis)
- has severe kidney impairment or worsening kidney function
- has severe liver impairment or active liver disease
- has severe uncontrolled heart failure
What side effects are possible with this medication?
Many medications can cause side effects. A side effect is an unwanted response to a medication when it is taken in normal doses. Side effects can be mild or severe, temporary or permanent. The side effects listed below are not experienced by everyone who takes this medication. If you are concerned about side effects, discuss the risks and benefits of this medication with your doctor.
The following side effects have been reported by at least 1% of people taking this medication. Many of these side effects can be managed, and some may go away on their own over time.
Contact your doctor if you experience these side effects and they are severe or bothersome. Your pharmacist may be able to advise you on managing side effects.
- abdominal pain
- diarrhea
- indigestion
- nausea
Although most of these side effects listed below don't happen very often, they could lead to serious problems if you do not check with your doctor or seek medical attention.
Check with your doctor as soon as possible if any of the following side effects occur:
- depression or mental confusion
- dizziness or lightheadedness
- headaches or stiff neck
- hearing problems
- pain while urinating or difficulty urinating
- swelling of feet or lower legs, or unexplained weight gain
- signs of liver damage (e.g., yellow skin or eyes, abdominal pain, dark urine, clay-coloured stools, loss of appetite, nausea and vomiting, or itching)
- vomiting or persistent nausea, indigestion, stomach pain, or diarrhea
Stop taking the medication and seek immediate medical attention if any of the following occur:
- bloody or black, tarry stools or dark urine
- bloody vomit with material that looks like coffee grounds
- blurred vision or other vision changes
- changes in the amount or colour of urine (such as red or brown urine)
- fainting
- puffiness or swelling around the eyes, lips, or tongue
- seizures
- severe stomach pain
- shortness of breath
- skin rash, hives or swelling, itching, chills, fever, muscle aches and pains, or other flu-like symptoms
- tightness in chest
- wheezing or difficulty breathing
Some people may experience side effects other than those listed. Check with your doctor if you notice any symptom that worries you while you are taking this medication.
Are there any other precautions or warnings for this medication?
Before you begin using a medication, be sure to inform your doctor of any medical conditions or allergies you may have, any medications you are taking, whether you are pregnant or breast-feeding, and any other significant facts about your health. These factors may affect how you should use this medication.
Alcohol: People taking this medication should not drink alcohol as this can increase the risk of stomach problems with the medication.
Drowsiness/reduced alertness: Meloxicam may reduce mental or physical abilities required for performance of hazardous tasks such as operating machinery or driving a motor vehicle. Do not undertake such activities until you have determined that it does not have this effect on you.
Fertility: Fertility may be decreased in people taking this medication. This medication is not recommended for women who are trying to get pregnant.
Heart attack and stroke: The use of COX-2 NSAIDs, including meloxicam, is associated with an increased risk of heart attack and stroke. The risk is increased with higher total daily doses and taking the medication over long periods of time. If you have a history of heart disease, including heart attack and stroke, discuss with your doctor the benefits and risks of taking this medication. Ask your doctor about all available treatment options that may be right for you.
Informing health professionals: Be sure to tell any health professionals (including your doctor, nurse, pharmacist, and dentist) involved in your care that you are taking this medication, particularly if you are scheduled for heart surgery.
Medical conditions: If you have high blood pressure, heart failure, high cholesterol, diabetes, heart disease, kidney disease, or liver disease, or if you have had a stomach ulcer or bleeding in the past, discuss with your doctor how this medication may affect your medical condition, how your medical condition may affect the dosing and effectiveness of this medication, and whether any special monitoring is needed.
Pregnancy: This medication is not recommended for pregnant women. If you become pregnant while taking this medication, contact your doctor immediately.
Breast-feeding: This medication is not recommended for breast-feeding women.
Children: The safety and effectiveness of using this medication have not been established for children.
Seniors: Seniors may have a higher risk of side effects and should be closely monitored by their doctors while taking this medication.
What other drugs could interact with this medication?
There may be an interaction between meloxicam and any of the following:
- angiotensin converting enzyme (ACE) inhibitors (e.g., ramipril, enalapril, captopril, quinapril)
- antiplatelet medications (e.g., acetylsalicylic acid, clopidogrel, and ticlopidine)
- cholestyramine
- cyclosporine
- furosemide
- glucocorticoid medications (e.g., cortisone, dexamethasone, prednisone)
- heparin
- hydrochlorothiazide
- lithium
- methotrexate
- other NSAIDs (e.g., ibuprofen, naproxen)
- selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (e.g., citalopram, fluoxetine, paroxetine)
- tacrolimus
- warfarin
If you are taking any of these medications, speak with your doctor or pharmacist. Depending on your specific circumstances, your doctor may want you to:
- stop taking one of the medications,
- change one of the medications to another,
- change how you are taking one or both of the medications, or
- leave everything as is.
An interaction between two medications does not always mean that you must stop taking one of them. Speak to your doctor about how any drug interactions are being managed or should be managed.
Medications other than those listed above may interact with this medication. Tell your doctor or prescriber about all prescription, over-the-counter (non-prescription), and herbal medications you are taking. Also tell them about any supplements you take. Since caffeine, alcohol, the nicotine from cigarettes, or street drugs can affect the action of many medications, you should let your prescriber know if you use them.


text:
Ranked #1 in 8 out of the 10 evaluated specialties by U.S. News
MyPatients provides referring primary care providers with secure access to their patients' information.
Boston Children's has launched the world's 1st program dedicated to offering hand transplants to children who qualify.
Innovation insider is a semi-monthly e-newsletter analyzes innovations at Boston Children's, other academic medical centers and from industry.
Read the latest blog by a Boston Children's doctor, clinician or staff member.
Support the hospital with a donation that helps kids get the care they need.
The right team and game plan for Kimberlee
Caring for Christopher, close to home
Treating Vaidehi's unique condition
Surgery didn't slow Mackenzie down
Overcoming Felix's early onset
How a doctor's promise turned into a 5k road race for IBD
The future of pediatrics will be forged by thinking differently, breaking paradigms and joining together in a shared vision of tackling the toughest challenges before us."


text:
- Contemporary vanity
- opening lid and enclosed mirror and storage to store away all beauty products and accessories
- Once closed, the vanity can be used as a small desk
- Flip Doors
- Assembly Required
Finish: Rich Ebony Wood with Pure White Lacquer
29.75"W x 18"D x 30.375"H
Furnished Over 1 Million Homes Since 1997...
I was very satisfied with One Way Furniture Service. I have referred them to many friends, family, and customers. Thank you. Kathy A. Eisele, Boston, MA
Product Review - Allure Vanity - Mirror & Intergrated Storage Space
Furniture Brand
Nexera Furniture is one of the leading ready-to-assemble furniture manufacturers. Nexera MFI features furniture made from premium quality materials and with the highest quality craftsmanship. Highly popular in both the Canadian and American markets, Nexera is well known for their cutting edge style and modern decor that harmonizes with todays trendy consumers. Each piece is fast and easy to assemble and because of the do-it-yourself nature of Nexera, they are able to offer a top quality product at an incredible price. Nexera
Weight & Size
Reference - Sku: 221633 - Allure Vanity - Mirror & Intergrated Storage Space by Nexera


text:
Zombie Desperation is horror themed games for Android and iOS Devices. The player will fight hordes of enemies across six scenarios. The game is FREE, by playing the game you will be supporting our other projects such as Slaughter Maze.
No tutorials were found matching the criteria specified. We suggest you try the tutorials list with no filter applied, to browse all available articles. Join now to share tutorials with the community.


text:
TEXAS CITY, Texas An attorney seeks $3 million for his client who was acquitted of an armed robbery charge when a judge found prosecutors secreted evidence from the defense.
Taft L. Foley II of the Houston branch of National Association for the Advancement of Colored People filed a lawsuit in federal court Feb. 21 on behalf of Joshua Dwayne Bledsoe, who was jailed for 10 months on accusations he robbed a Texas City business in January 2010.
In a July 1 motion seeking summary judgment, Foley claims former Assistant District Attorney Jon Hall, who prosecuted Bledsoe, had a history of withholding evidence and that Galveston County Criminal District Attorney Jack Roady ratified a policy of withholding evidence by failing to properly train his prosecutors. Roady and Hall have denied that evidence was withheld but have declined to comment on allegations in the pending litigation.
For more on this story, visit the Galveston County Daily News.


text:
Bishop's conviction intensifies calls to step down
KANSAS CITY, Mo. Calls for Bishop Robert Finn's resignation intensified a day after he became the highest-ranking U.S. church official to be convicted of a crime related to the child sexual abuse scandal.
Soon after a Missouri judge found Finn guilty Thursday of one misdemeanor count of failing to report suspected child sexual abuse to the state, unhappy Roman Catholics began discussing ways to get the bishop out of office on a Facebook page titled "Bishop Finn Must Go."
Among the posts was one that listed contact information for the Vatican and urged parishioners to voice their displeasure with Finn at the highest levels. Pope Benedict XVI alone has authority over bishops. Through the decades-long abuse scandal, only one U.S. bishop has stepped down over his failures to stop abusive clergy: Cardinal Bernard Law, who in 2002 resigned as head of the Archdiocese of Boston.
Jackson County Judge John M. Torrence sentenced Finn to two years of supervised probation. If the bishop abides by a set of stipulations from the judge, the conviction will be wiped from his record in 2014.
"Now that our justice system says he's guilty, he has lost his ability to lead our diocese," Patricia Rotert, a Catholic church member in Kansas City, said Friday. "He's lost his credibility. There is turmoil and angst around him and I don't think he can bring people together."
Finn's attorneys would not comment on the bishop's future in the church, saying it was a legal matter.
However, Catholic Diocese of Kansas City-St. Joseph spokesman Jack Smith indicated that Finn wasn't going anywhere.
"The bishop looks forward to continuing to perform his duties, including carrying out the important obligations placed on him by the court," Smith said in an emailed statement Friday.
Finn's conviction comes four years after the church paid $10 million to settle 47 pending sexual abuse claims against the diocese and 12 of its priests. When announcing that deal in 2008, Finn apologized for the abuse that occurred at the hands of current and former clergy members, and promised that steps were being taken to make sure such abuse never happened again.
The diocese posted an update about the 2008 settlement on its website in June 2011 stating that Finn had written 118 letters of apology to plaintiffs or their families. That same month, Finn apologized for not responding to warnings the diocese received a year earlier from a parish principal detailing suspicious behavior by the Rev. Shawn Ratigan around children.
Instead of reading the memo and looking into the claims, Finn left it up to subordinates to handle the matter. He later admitted it was a year before he finally read a five-page document that a parish elementary school principal wrote detailing suspicious activities by Ratigan around children.
Finn also was informed of nude photos of children found on Ratigan's laptop computer in December 2010, but instead of turning them over to police, Finn sent Ratigan to live at a convent in Independence, Mo.
Monsignor Robert Murphy turned the photos over to police in May 2011 - against Finn's wishes, according to court documents - after Ratigan continued to violate Finn's orders to stay away from children and not take any pictures of them.


text:
Big new gets
chu Dx fuzzy plush, xmas Pikachu pokedoll, I <3 eevee HQ plush
Pikachu pokedoll and mini piplup pokedoll
I won this pikachu plush on ebay. for about $25 Hes mint and everything *u*
I am now searching for the piplup version of this plush. i seen one on ebay but that is too much money~
i won the Spikey Eared-chu Dx plush in a GA. also mint x3
- Post a new comment
- 8 comments
- Post a new comment
- 8 comments


text:
The Middle East drama 'Stanistan' has found its leading lady in 'Dexter' alum Jennifer Carpenter. After being picked up to pilot in May, 'Stanistan' has begun to round out its cast, and Carpenter has signed on to play the pinnacle role of Marcie Post.
Carpenter's character is being described as a highly organized and alert public affairs officer working at the U.S. Embassy in the Middle Eastern country of Stanistan. Marcie has the often tough job of being the press officer for the State Department, where she is in charge of putting a positive spin on some of the most deadly news to come out of the war-torn region.
This will be Carpenter's first role since starring in the failed ABC pilot 'Sea of Fire' in May following her worldwide fame for her role as Deb on 'Dexter.'


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text:
What can be done to reduce the cheating?
View Single Post
Join Date: Dec 2012
Location: Near a tennis court
Posts: 344
Originally Posted by
I hear you my 10 year old plays out balls all he time. I think serves are the hardest for him to call. He plays lots of balls that are a foot out.
Originally Posted by
This would be a great thread on its own......
Why can some juniors see the serves better than others?
My son has the same problem and he is a bit older...
I am beginning to think I need to get his eyes checked.
Originally Posted by
My 10 year old does this, too. I thought it was only when I play with him and he doesn't want to call it out on me, but I see him play serves in matches that are a good 6 inches or more out. Doesn't have the same issue with sidelines or baseline. Maybe it's something about that particular angle?
My son is already 16 and he would still return so many serves that are out several inches, many are 2nd serves. It's very difficult for a returner to see a gap between the balls and the service line when the ball bounces off at 80-90 miles per hour (or even 50-60 miles per hour for 10-12 yr old). He has been improving on calling serves lately, after hours of practicing receiving with another kid who has big serves and me as the line judge. We came to a conclusion that it's impossible to see a gap between where the ball bounces off and the service line if the serve is less than an inch deeper and difficult to see the gap if its less than 2" deeper. After seeing and hearing me calling the serves hundreds of the serves, he is a lot better now.
Calling the ball out from the baseline is also a lot tougher than calling the ball out on the sidelines.
View Public Profile
Find More Posts by Chemist


text:
Hi, my website is @ www.simplifiedhost.com I recently had my template created, but it looks pretty bad imo. I really wanted something simple like www.bluevm.com . Could you create me something like www.bluevm.com, but yet unique at the same time? Obviously, I just need a simple theme ( hint my domain name being www.simplifiedhost.com ) I could pay $25, and throw in some other goodies and such. I will not be giving out ANY payments until the theme is finished; I have been getting scammed too much. A TON of money was wasted on fiverr.com. Thanks!
Good luck finding someone that will make you the theme for 25$ and no payment upfront
Cltcam said
A TON of money was wasted on fiverr.com
I don't think you understand, DunKz. Basically, all I'm ordering is WHMCS integration. Do you understand how easy it is for anyone with HTML and CSS knowledge to create a simple html layout like www.bluevm.coom ? I don't think you really get it mate.
Please contact via profile page
Done. Waiting on reply.
I can integrate any template you've purchased here (html, wordpress, joomla …)http://whmcsintegration.ca
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text:
Where to find the Complainterator
By Ano on Friday 29 June 2007, 03:38 - Permalink
The automated complaint tool for spamvertized sites may be downloaded from either mirror site:
- The Car PC Store - in the Tools forum
- The Spamtrackers download area
A description of the functions of Complainterator can be found at the EU Spam Wiki. http://spamtrackers.eu/wiki/index.php?title=Complainterator
A listing that shows successful removals by users of Complainterator is in this thread http://thecarpcstore.com/phpbb2/viewtopic.php?t=642
A discussion on the list of registrars contained in the Complainterator tool is at http://thecarpcstore.com/phpbb2/viewtopic.php?t=824
The official support forum for Complainterator users is at the announcement link for the latest version. You will find it at the top of the announcements at http://thecarpcstore.com/phpbb2/viewforum.php?f=4


text:
Marchand gets five games for clipping Salo
Jan 9, 2012, 6:52 PM EDT
Bruins forward Brad Marchand has been suspended five games for clipping Vancouver defenseman Sami Salo in Boston on Saturday.
Marchand will forfeit approximately $150,000 in salary.
In describing the play, NHL disciplinarian Brendan Shanahan said Marchand "drops down dangerously low into Salo's knee area" rather than making shoulder-to-shoulder contact.
Shanahan did not view Marchand's actions as "defensive or instinctive," calling the clip a "predatory low hit delivered intentionally" to a player that was "not coming at Marchand with great speed nor in a threatening posture."
The NHL also took into account that Salo suffered a concussion on the play and that Marchand is a repeat offender, having been suspended last March for elbowing RJ Umberger.
Here's the full explanation:
- babar61 - Jan 9, 2012 at 6:58 PM
Where is that one Boston homer who will say Shanahan is retarded and Marchand did nothing wrong?
- gallyhatch - Jan 9, 2012 at 7:03 PM
He might be watching his 2011 Stanley Cup Champions dvd, that's one possibility.
: )
- drewsylvania - Jan 9, 2012 at 7:20 PM
Or, um, the current season, since they're destroying opponents?
- Ralphie - Jan 9, 2012 at 7:36 PM
He actually has the "Sedin Bobblhead" chapter of that DVD on infinite loop:
- drewsylvania - Jan 9, 2012 at 7:16 PM
If you're referring to me, it's probably the right call. It's not a knee hit, but perhaps a dangerous one. As long as they're consistent about calling a penalty on the hit, I can't complain too much about it.
- freebie717 - Jan 9, 2012 at 7:20 PM
You are unbelievable. I will say that your posts make me laugh though.
- drewsylvania - Jan 9, 2012 at 7:28 PM
Unbelievable? Don't tell me you're one of those people who think that only THEIR team plays 100% clean.
If I'm the homer, then I'm surrounded by rabid anti-Bruins haters.
- kitshky - Jan 9, 2012 at 8:23 PM
You're a homer, embrace it.
- freebie717 - Jan 9, 2012 at 9:51 PM
I'm a Flyers fan and I fully admit when they have dirty hits. What's unbelievable to me is that I honestly don't think you know what a knee is. You do realize there is a difference between the knee and the kneecap right? The knee extends the whole way around… it's not just in the front. Homer or not, I'm really not sure how you can watch that video and not see that he hit Salo in the back/side of the knee. Stop the video at the :36 second mark and tell me he isn't directly at his knee.
- viewsfromseat13 - Jan 9, 2012 at 7:00 PM
I wont say that… Even here in Boston we were calling it a bad hit…
- imleftcoast - Jan 9, 2012 at 7:02 PM
It looks like Shanny completely agreed with you and the Canucks, and dismissed Julien and Marchand's explanations.
- stakex - Jan 9, 2012 at 7:04 PM
While it was a bad hit that should have been punished, I think 5 games is a joke. There have been some really nasty head shots that haven't been given 5 games this season…
- gallyhatch - Jan 9, 2012 at 7:11 PM
Dirty hit, definitely suspension worthy. I was thinking 3 games, I feel like 5 is excessive. That being said, repeat offender, the hit ended up concussing Salo, I thought Shannahan did a great job explaining it. You won't hear me bitch about the call or the length of the suspension.
- baywatchboy - Jan 9, 2012 at 8:51 PM
Definitely should be a suspension, but what I would like to see happen with suspensions is that in addition to the suspension (or even as part of), the offending player should be suspended the next time the two teams meet. In this case,suspend Marchand for Boston's next 4 games and the next time Boston and Vancouver play.
- 1943mrmojorisin1971 - Jan 9, 2012 at 11:23 PM
That's the worst idea ever. In that case the player doesn't have to answer for his actions with his fists. Of course nobody on Vancouver would fight Marchand but in general having the suspending player sit during the next meeting of the 2 teams would make things a lot less interesting.
- porkcrisp - Jan 9, 2012 at 7:05 PM
Great explanation Shanny!
- foodforthesoul28 - Jan 9, 2012 at 7:05 PM
Oh well, it's over Marchand is suspended woopty doo can we all relax and move on now?
- kitshky - Jan 9, 2012 at 8:05 PM
No! This is all we have! What are we supposed to do now …actually watch Van v. Florida!!?
- aksnowman - Jan 9, 2012 at 7:06 PM
Remember. The reason for 5 games was for a repeat offender. Fine fit the crime.
- kitshky - Jan 9, 2012 at 7:09 PM
For the people who keep referencing Raymonds similar hit from last year in the playoffs, did you hear what Shanny had to say about "bailing" or "defensive" plays? Im going to go ahead and assume no … (yes I follow Blake Price I'm not completing plagerizing him ha)
- spokedjackets - Jan 9, 2012 at 7:10 PM
Solid explanation by Shanny, and I was surprised to see them highlight the fact Marchand hit Salo only 12 second before, in the exact same spot, and made normal body to body contact. Certainly after seeing that, I gotta agree with 5.
- drewzducks - Jan 9, 2012 at 7:11 PM
Now we can move on and it's safe for Thelma,Louise and Roberta to come out and play.
- edrooney - Jan 9, 2012 at 7:31 PM
Hey, the coast was clear for them after Saturday, I mean didn't you hear their fearless leader? They proved their toughness in Boston. They proved it, so now everyone will stop talking about what a bunch of pu$$ies they are.
Hopefully their pu$$y fans don't burn their city down again this spring when they eventually lose.
- drewzducks - Jan 9, 2012 at 7:42 PM
Good point. At least this finally confirmed that the English translation for Vigneault is in fact vagina.
- homerthompson - Jan 9, 2012 at 7:15 PM
I think the hit was worth 3, he got the extra two for being a repeat offender. All in all, good job by Shanny.
- drewsylvania - Jan 9, 2012 at 7:26 PM
From the online rulebook:
"A player may not deliver a check in a "clipping" manner, nor lower his own body position to deliver a check on or below an opponent's knees."
I guess "clipping manner" is the problem. It was definitely a "clipping manner", despite that he didn't actually clip him (neither "at", nor "across", nor "below" the knees). I missed that part of the rule before.
I have no problem getting this type of hit removed from the game. Just be consistent about it. Earlier in the game, a Canuck delivered a hit "in a clipping manner", and no penalty was called. Also, Marchand has delivered this type of hit before and not been penalized or had a hearing. Which is probably why he thought he could get away with it.
- drewsylvania - Jan 9, 2012 at 7:28 PM
For every downthumb, I get a dollar.
- kitshky - Jan 9, 2012 at 7:31 PM
ahhh….well that explains why you post such crap, makes sense now!
- edrooney - Jan 9, 2012 at 7:37 PM
Give it up Drew, most Bruins fans disagree with you.
It sucks that the Canucks' constant whining since June got the refs to call this game through blue & green glasses, but the Marchand hit was a bad one. It's an excessive penalty due to his history / reputation and the injury it caused.
Whether it's called consistently or not is another matter, but Marchand was in the wrong there.
- drewsylvania - Jan 9, 2012 at 8:22 PM
" Marchand was in the wrong there."
Which is what I noted in other posts in this thread.
- drewsylvania - Jan 9, 2012 at 8:25 PM
I just love the fact that now I'm *agreeing* with everyone and yet I get downthumbed.
Sheer hilarity.
- borderline1988 - Jan 9, 2012 at 11:13 PM
We can argue back and forth forever about whether other hits also constituted 'in a clipping mannger'.
That being said, Marchand was clearly frustrated with Salo and the low hit was undeniably intentional. This is an obvious attempt to injure another player in a dirty manner. I think he should have gotten at least 10 games for this.
I think that head shots are sometimes harder to deal with. Often in the midst of a game, a player is lining up for a check and goes a bit higher than intentioned. He should still get punished, but it can be hard to prove that there was a deliberate attempt to seriously injure another player.
In this case, Marchand was intent on blowing out another player's knees. There is no place for that in hockey or in any sport.
- mcfierce24 - Jan 9, 2012 at 7:26 PM
After Shanaban's explanation, and multiple views of the hit, taking into account a "past history" I agree with the 5. Initially I was thinking 3.
Go B's!!
- neelyisgod - Jan 9, 2012 at 7:33 PM
3 would have been acceptable, 5 seems steep but hey Shanny needs to make a statement and this is a start. Over the past few weeks this is getting out of control fast. Maybe next time regardless of the progressive discipline status a 10 game suspension should be levied to get control back or we maybe looking at 25 games square in the face sometime soon.
Last time Marchand was out they scored 9
so its not all that bad.
GO B's!!!!!
- drewsylvania - Jan 9, 2012 at 7:34 PM
At least now we'll (hopefully) stop hearing about how the Bruins get away with everything and Shanahan is in their back pocket.
- imleftcoast - Jan 9, 2012 at 8:28 PM
Now you're just pandering to get those thumbs up. I almost went for it.
- drewsylvania - Jan 9, 2012 at 8:33 PM
Everyone's assuming I'm a blind homer who's intellectually dishonest. There's no way to convince you otherwise.
- haterzgonahate - Jan 9, 2012 at 7:48 PM
reading these comments reminds me of watching kids fight in a sand box
- edrooney - Jan 9, 2012 at 8:18 PM
Are you the same haterzgonahate (awesome username btw, seriously awesome) that said the following quote earlier today in the "Bruins GM accuses Canucks of mounting "high-handed propaganda" campaign against Marchand" comment thread?
"haterzgonahate – Jan 9, 2012 at 2:59 PM
the Bruins are everything that's wrong with the league today. the Canucks aren't the first and only team to point that out, propaganda? gimme a break.. and not Mason Raymonds back!
the league has been steering teams into a non-violent corner since the lockout.. seems only the Bruins and Rangers aren't conforming. what a joke. it's not 1970 anymore.
this crap is just childish. the Vancouver organization is miles above the Bruins in my opinion. and i'm a Leafs fan for the record.
seems like the B's are all on steroids."
Try not to choke on those sour grapes. And by sour grapes, I mean those shitty trades your GM has made with Boston over the last few years. Like you don't have an agenda too.
- drewsylvania - Jan 9, 2012 at 8:25 PM
You reminded me of Cam Neely. Excellent.
- vancitybeauty - Jan 9, 2012 at 8:42 PM
You got what you deserved you dirty french piece of shit
- drewsylvania - Jan 9, 2012 at 8:47 PM
Aren't you from Canada?
- kkickflip - Jan 9, 2012 at 9:21 PM
He should have hit him normally. That was a dangerous hit. All he had to do is use his body to hit Salo in the shoulder or torso like you're supposed to instead of ducking and taking out his feet. Flipping a guy like that is dangerous considering you're not only throwing your weight at his knees but you're also flipping him in manner that could make it so he lands on his head or his skates are flying around. I think Shanahan made the right decision.
- habsman - Jan 9, 2012 at 9:28 PM
The gutless little rat may have got a 5 game suspension, but down the road, hopefully he will get what he really deserves. Just like the sucker puncher Horton.
- drewsylvania - Jan 9, 2012 at 10:12 PM
Why don't you call the cops? Your local precinct has been willing to listen in the past.
- habsman - Jan 9, 2012 at 10:32 PM
Did I hit a nerve Drew?
First, I don't need cops. Second, what's a "precinct"? Third, it must be nice to have Greggie Campbells daddie covering for all the goon cheap shots that the Bruins got away with last year right? Congrats on winning the Campbell Cup last year.
- 1943mrmojorisin1971 - Jan 9, 2012 at 11:30 PM
Of course you don't need cops. Montreal cops are responsible for dealing with on-ice incidents at the Bell Centre, not with your petty problems. As for 'precinct,' why don't you learn some English? And for the love of God, stop whining about Chara not getting arrested just because he beat up on your team. That stuff happens when you're as soft as the Habs are.
- blomfeld - Jan 9, 2012 at 11:01 PM
The reason this check has hit such a nerve with Canucks Nation is because Marchand has now made the Canucks look foolish on more than one occasion and it's really starting to get to them … on almost any given night, there are far more "cowardly and dirtier" hits meted out than this one … yet the sight of another Canuck stalwart being rendered utterly impotent by the antics of tiny little Marchand, is obviously too much to handle … can you imagine the reaction from Boston fans, if one of the sisters went berserk and KO'd Chara ? … we'd never hear the end of it ! … the bottom line is that Marchand's hit was "cool" as it stirred the pot, which is what this shit is all about …
ps seriously: Swedes are one of the most decent people of all … and the Sedin brothers probably exemplify that better than anyone … I know this firsthand, as I lived and worked in that country many years ago, which made for some of the most memorable memories in my life … at any rate, the following is a video of some Canuck forwards "hard" on the forecheck …
- xxshookonexx - Jan 9, 2012 at 11:21 PM
Suspension is fine…whatever….it still pisses me off that Raffi Torres who spent the previous weekend teeing off on other players…only got 2 games for the Prosser hit only, nothing for Ferrence and a fine for another hit….how consistent is that from the league's disciplinarian?
- 1943mrmojorisin1971 - Jan 9, 2012 at 11:46 PM
I'm fine with the suspension resulting from Marchand's action and his repeat offender status. However, I still think factoring the injury into the decision is a bad move. If that continues to be the case we'll start to see every player on the receiving end of a questionable hit being diagnosed with a concussion in hopes of earning the opponent a suspension.
Given the level of class we've seen from this team it wouldn't surprise me if Salo is cleared to play tomorrow now that the suspensions has been handed down.
- sippindasyzurp - Jan 10, 2012 at 12:21 AM
Easy suspension for this… The fact that he was frustrated 10 seconds before the incident happend makes this almost seem somewhat pre meditated… I am sure Boston will survive this but Karma is a bitch and it will rear its ugly head one day for people who continue to do this kind of stuff
- 8man - Jan 10, 2012 at 7:37 AM
The officials made the right call in the game on this one and Shannahan meted out the correct punishment. That being said, the entire two periods before this was a total mess and the officials were completely unprepared for this game.
How many Canucks jumped into and peeled away from that opening scrum before you even saw a zebra? And then they wrongly eject Lucic less than 4 minutes into the game. That put the Bruins on the psychological defensive. And then the officials spent the rest of the afternoon trying to "engineer" a fair outcome based on their previous erroneous calls or lack of response.
Seriously, I hope that in the future a game of this controversial magnitude is handled by officials who hit the ice ready for what may ensue.
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Sydney, Australia
My Rating
Good service. Easy to book, pick up from hotel was ontime, driver pleasant.
Sydney, Australia
My Rating
Good service, easy to book.
Had to change airport pick up time due to flight cancellation and rescheduling. This was handled very well, the lady I sopke with on the phone was very pleasant and made me feel it was no problem at all.
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Olive Garden
3380 North Scottsdale Road, Scottsdale, AZ 85251Map
+1 480 874 0212
Neighborhood: Old Scottsdale
Cuisine: Italian
Olive Garden serves up authentic Italian cuisine. Their signature breadsticks and one-of-a-kind menu make them an American icon. Standard Italian options like bruchetta, calamari, ravioli, and eggplant parmigiana line their lengthy menu. More exotic items like salmon, chicken dishes, and innovative pizzas are also available. For the calorie-counter, Olive Garden has a range of low fat and low carbohydrate options. Enjoy your meal with a bottle from their extensive wine list or one of their tropical island drinks. Finally, top it all off with a little something from their dessert menu—their cakes, custards, and ice creams are sure to win you over!
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Thought this was interesting. Bad, bad memory...
Thought this was interesting. Bad, bad memory...
"I am your child from the future. I'm sorry I didn't tell you this earlier." - Dylan Easton
I don't read Neyer much anymore, as I don't have ESPN insider. But I think that was very well written and well reasoned.
". . . acquiring J. Blanton from Oakland for, apparently, Bailey/Cueto, Votto and a lesser prospect. I do it in a second . . . The Reds' equation this year is simple: Make Matt Belisle your #3 starter . . . trade for Blanton, win 85 or more, be in the mix all summer." - Paul Daugherty, Feb. 8, 2008
That was rally interesting. I hadn't gotten to read any Neyer in a while. Thanks for posting that.
Get your nunchucks and the keys to your dad's car. I know where we can get a gun
Thanks for posting the article. I'm considering getting Neyer's book. I think of the Robinson for Pappas, et al, trade everytime someone advocates trading Adam Dunn for a pitcher.
"Hey...Dad. Wanna Have A Catch?" Kevin Costner in "Field Of Dreams."
The problem I have with stuff like this is that it assumes everything stays the same if the Reds would not have traded Robinson. Who knows what trades might have taken place that didn't because Robinson was playing for the Orioles instead of the Reds. Would Tony Perez had been on the team or would they have had to trade him to make room for Robinson? Who knows but trading him hurt the Reds a lot more than what he seemed to suggest. The one interesting thing to me is the talk about who the Reds got. I didn't realize that the talent coming to the Reds was supposed to have been so good.
Tim McCarver: Baseball Quotes
I remember one time going out to the mound to talk with Bob Gibson. He told me to get back behind the batter, that the only thing I knew about pitching was that it was hard to hit.
Since this was also Neyer, I decided to add it here.
An interesting read, and one I might add that reminds us that prospects are just that until proven otherwise. But it also shows you can steal a good one now & then also, I hope someday Kevin Howard for Tony Womack doesn't show up in the annals as a steal for the Yankees.Updated: May 25, 2006, 1:49 PM ET
August 30, 1990: Bagwell for AndersenBy Rob Neyer
Special to ESPN.com
Editor's Note: The following is an excerpt from "Rob Neyer's Big Book of Baseball Blunders" by Rob Neyer.
"You never know exactly how good a young player will be, but with some luck (for Bagwell) Lou Gorman will hear about the Bagwell trade until the day he dies. It could be one of those deals, like Lou Brock for Ernie Broglio, Nolan Ryan for Jim Fregosi and Frank Robinson for Milt Pappas, that haunts the man who made it."
-- Bill James, The Baseball Book 1991
On August 30, 1990, with the Boston Red Sox holding a six-and-a-half game lead over the second-place Blue Jays in the American League East, Red Sox general manager Lou Gorman traded minor-league first baseman Jeff Bagwell to the Houston Astros for relief pitcher Larry Andersen. Andersen pitched twenty-two innings for the Red Sox. Bagwell went to the Hall of Fame for the Astros.
In Gorman's autobiography, he offers a spirited defense of the trade. For one thing, "reports indicated that Bagwell would have to move from third base to first base, because his basic fielding skills were not suited for playing third base." Also, "none of the reports projected that he would have above-average major league power." And finally, "We could not ... hold onto our lead in the division unless I could find a way to strengthen our bullpen."
I called Bob Watson and made the trade, Bagwell for Andersen. Andersen would strengthen our bullpen and help us win the Eastern Division title, and we'd go on to face the A's. Andersen worked mostly as a setup man, pitching in 22 innings, walking only three and striking out 25 with a 1.23 ERA. He was exactly what we needed to bolster the pen at a critical juncture in our run at the division title.1
Uh, okay. Remember, the Red Sox owned a six-and-a-half-game lead when Gorman got Andersen. I don't care how well you pitch -- and Andersen did pitch well -- it's very difficult for a relief pitcher to make a real difference to a team with a big lead and just one month to play. True, the Red Sox wound up winning the division by just two games; they could have blown it.
But they didn't not blow it because of Andersen. After the trade, the Red Sox won eight games by three or fewer runs. In four of those games, Andersen did not pitch. In two of them, he pitched both briefly and ineffectively. So the case for Andersen's difference-making really comes down to two games. On September 7, he pitched three innings of scoreless relief in a game the Red Sox eventually won with a run in the bottom of the eleventh. And on September 21, he earned a save -- his first and last with the Red Sox -- with two scoreless innings in a 3-0 game.
The Red Sox wound up getting just one month of Larry Andersen in exchange for Jeff Bagwell's career, but that's not what Gorman expected.
There were some questions about whether Andersen would become a free agent as a result of the collusion ruling against baseball ownership. There were supposedly twelve or thirteen players who could be declared free agents as a result of some legalities resulting from the original collusion case. I called our player relations committee in the commissioner's office in New York to determine Andersen's status. The committee indicated to me that they were certain that Andersen would not be one of those players given his free agency. I was confident therefore, that if we traded for him, we'd have him in our bullpen for the foreseeable future.2
Okay, fair enough; Gorman got some bad information from the boys in New York. (Considering that Andersen would soon turn thirty-eight, it's not clear what Gorman means by "foreseeable future," but we'll let that one slide.)
Even if we assume that Bagwell couldn't have played third base in the majors, though, there's this thing in the American League called "Designated Hitter." Let's assume for the moment that if Bagwell hadn't been traded, he'd have spent most of 1991 tearing up the International League. The Red Sox would have retained his rights from 1992 through 1997. In each of those seasons the Sox had Mo Vaughn -- a lousy fielder, by the way -- at first base, while the DH slot was held by Jack Clark, Andre Dawson, Jose Canseco, and Reggie Jefferson. Canseco was pretty good, but Bagwell was just as good and would have been a lot cheaper. (Clark, Dawson, and Jefferson were not pretty good.)
And I haven't even mentioned the corner outfield slots; Bagwell was an athletic sort of fellow, and probably could have done all right in right or (especially) left field. Considering that Bob Zupcic and Lee Tinsley got plenty of playing time in this period, I suspect the skipper could have found a spot in the lineup for the .400 OBP guy with power.
The real problem with Gorman's defense -- which runs for more than three pages -- is that he tries to fool the jury into thinking that the choice was Bagwell for Andersen or nothing.
According to Garry Brown in the Springfield Republican, "The Astros asked for Mo Vaughn. They asked for Scott Cooper. Phil Plantier. Kevin Morton. David Owen. Gorman held his ground. He said no to every name until Jeff Bagwell's came up."
Cooper was slated to eventually replace Wade Boggs at third base. Phil Plantier batted .300 with twenty-seven home runs in the Carolina League that summer. Kevin Morton and David Owen were solid pitching prospects.
Morton was the twenty-ninth player taken in the 1989 draft. That summer he'd blown through three levels of the Red Sox farm system, then spent 1990 with Bagwell in New Britain. Thirty pitchers qualified for the Eastern League ERA title that season. Morton's was twenty-fifth. On the other hand, he was barely twenty-two and his 131 strikeouts were good for second in the league. Dave Owen, a seventh-round draft pick in 1988, also spent most of the 1990 season with New Britain, and went 7-9 with a 2.93 ERA. Like Morton, he certainly qualified as a prospect.
But these guys were pitchers. Didn't Gorman know there's no such thing as a pitching prospect? TNSTAAPP. Tinztap.
More to the point, did Gorman have any idea how good Bagwell was? Could Gorman possibly have guessed that Jeff Bagwell would someday become a fantastic player? Yes, he could have.
In the STATS 1991 Major League Handbook -- published shortly after the 1990 season -- Bill James published projections for 413 major-league hitters. Among the National Leaguers, Tony Gwynn's .317 was the highest projected batting average. But there was another set of projections: fifteen minor-leaguers included under the heading, "These Guys Can Play Too And Might Get A Shot." And among those fifteen minor leaguers was Jeff Bagwell, with a .318 batting average. Better than Tony Gwynn's.
Nobody meant to predict that Bagwell would win a batting title in 1991, and if Bill had noticed, he would have knocked Bagwell down a few points, just to avoid the appearance of such a prediction. But the underlying causes of the nonprediction were simple: the Eastern League was a pitcher's league, and New Britain's Willow Brook Park was a pitcher's ballpark. Bagwell was twenty-two in 1990, and he'd batted .333 with thirty-four doubles (tops in the league) and seventy-three walks (fourth in the league).
Gorman simply didn't know how good Bagwell was. Near the end of spring training in 1991, with Bagwell having won the job as Houston's regular first baseman, Gorman said he would be "greatly astonished" if Bagwell hit .300 in the majors.3 He just didn't know.
In 1997, Kevin Morton pitched professionally for the last time, going 2-1 with a 6.84 ERA for the Mexico City Tigers. He retired with a winning record (6-5) in the major leagues, but a losing record (34-57) in the minor leagues. Also in 1997, Jeff Bagwell played in 162 games for the Astros, scored 109 runs, drove home 135, and finished third in the Most Valuable Player voting.
"You can't let praise or criticism get to you. It's a weakness to get caught up in either one."
--Woody Hayes
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