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Anything but Quakes
Major League Soccer is looking for people who have demonstrated leadership and a willingness to better their community.
Until June 20, the Earthquakes are accepting nominations for people who have made a difference to the San Jose community. Fans can nominate themselves or someone else and have the opportunity to win great prizes.
If selected, our Earthquakes Community MVP will win tickets to a home game, recognition during the game, club merchandise and an autographed item! In addition, our winner will compete for a Grand Prize with the MVP's of the other 18 MLS organizations. The Grand Prize winner will receive a $10,000 donation to the charity of their choice. Also, the winner and a guest will win round-trip airfare for two to Kansas City, two-night hotel stay, two tickets to the 2013 AT&T MLS All-Star Game at Sporting Park and much more.
The nominator of the Grand Prize winner will receive the same fantastic gift package so send in those nominations!
For full details and entry form, click here.
It wasn't a dream start for the U.S., but let's slow down on the doomsday scenarios. Life on the road in the Hex ain't easy.
In case you missed the match, here's a snapshot courtesy of US Soccer. Included is that unreal bicycle kick from Juan Carlos Garcia (a play that originated with Earthquakes defender Victor Bernardez).
A dramatic weekend of FA Cup results left an indelible mark on the overall strength of some Premier League sides. Notably, Liverpool's rollercoaster season continued after an embarassing 3-2 loss to League One side Oldham. Such improbable results shape the tournament's excitement. 2012 Champions League holders Chelsea almost fell victim to Liverpool's fate. If it wasn't for a Fernando Torres equalizer, Chelsea's interim manager Rafa Benitez would probably have seen his last match in charge of the Blues.
Matches of the Week:
Arsenal vs. Liverpool: Wednesday, January 30, 11:45 a.m. PST, Emirates Stadium
Arsenal's title tilt may be finally turning in its favor. Sitting in sixth place, the Gunners put the finishing touches on London rivals West Ham last weekend with an emphatic 5-1 victory. French hitman Olivier Giroud's left-foot keeps on getting better. Giroud bagged a brace against West Ham and added another in this past week's FA Cup action.
Could Arsene Wenger finally have refined his team into that reminiscent of 2003 and 2004? Maybe. A lot of question marks still remain for an inconsistent, yet offensively appealing side. To the delight of the Arsenal faithful, Theo Walcott has re-signed and looks to maintain his scoring streak.
Liverpool's inconsistency, though, knows no bounds. The verdict is still out on Brendan Rodgers' philosopy and methodology to return the club back to prominence despite the Barcelona-esque soccer he employed at Swansea last year (often dubbed Swanselona). The mercurial Luis Suarez has been a seldom golden light for the Reds. Suarez has bagged 16 Premier League goals but the club still sits in seventh place on 34 points, three points behind Arsenal.
Liverpool has yet to beat a side above them in the 2012/13 Premier League season and this week's encounter at Arsenal's Emirates Stadium may not be the most welcoming place to start.
With both teams firing on all cylinders and managers preaching a free-flowing ideology, goals may come aplenty for both sides.
Fulham vs. West Ham: Wednesday, January 30, 12:00 p.m. PST, Craven Cottage
An appetizing London derby between Fulham and West Ham, sitting in the 14th and 12th positions respectively, may paint a better picture of the ominous relegation battle looming over both sides. A mere two points seperate Fulham and West Ham (25 and 27 respectively).
Fulham's 2012/13 form has yet to mirror that of the previous season. The loss of Clint Dempsey to Tottenham may be partially to blame but the paucity of goalscorers and creativity may be more at fault. The addition of Man United's want-away Bulgarian striker Dimitar Berbatov would have been perceived to add a certain elegance to the Cottagers' goal-scoring chances. With only seven goals in the Premier League, Berbatov is still seeking the form that catapulted him to Man United. Fulham will introduce Emmanuel Frimpong, a young Arsenal midfielder now on-loan to the Cottagers, against West Ham. The move will be mutually beneficial for both parties; Frimpong will gain experience for Arsenal's sake, and Fulham should see heightened team performances.
Big Sam Allardyce holds the reigns for a gritty West Ham side looking to maintain their survival in the top-flight. Recent acquisition and former West Ham youth product Joe Cole will add his veteran abilities to a predominantly English side. The forecast appears bright for West Ham despite the 5-1 drubbing from Arsenal last week. At an enviable 12th place in the table, West Ham will continue to seek points in whatever way possible.
Man City vs. Liverpool: Sunday, February 3, 8:00 a.m. PST, Etihad Stadium
Liverpool's tough week will conclude at nearby Etihad Stadium. Two wins, against Arsenal and City, may be the catalyst that both the Kop and Brendan Rodgers need to not only surge players' confidence but to execute the team's vision.
City will also see their second match of the week. City travel to QPR on Tuesday, Jan. 29 to face a new-look side now under the guidance of relegation specialist Harry Redknapp. Considering City's depth, many would expect City to walk away with the three points. Manchester's "noisy neighbors" have won their past three Premier League matches including beating Arsenal 2-0 and a resolute Stoke City side 1-0.
Should Liverpool find a way to claim two wins over the week, Brendan Rodgers' efforts may have finally come to fruition. Based on past results for the Reds this year, City should be triumphant and Roberto Mancini's side will continue their focus on retaining the Premier League crown.
Game of the Week:
Chelsea vs. Arsenal: Sunday, Jan. 20, 5:30 a.m. PST, Stamford Bridge
The London derby will headline the upcoming weekend's fixtures. Chelsea, sitting in third on 41 points, look to bring their away form home against their northern London rivals. While both sides have encountered adversity and internal turmoil, Arsenal's form may be the most scrutinized of any "Big Four" team this season. A side that prides themselves on finishing in the top four and qualifying for the Champions League, Arsenal unfavorably sit in sixth and have yet to find a clear talisman with the departure of Dutch striker Robin van Persie. To make matters worse, Arsenal's esteemed leader Arsene Wenger has deemed his players as "timid."
Under Rafa Benitez's guidance, Chelsea has seen an astonishing spell away from home. The Blues walked to a 4-0 victory over a resolute Stoke City this past weekend (in part to Jonathan Walters' two own goals) and have made it seven victories out of their past nine away games. Rafa Benitez's interim status will only remain interim unless Chelsea maintain their ascension up the table.
Fans may be entitled to goals galore in this encounter as both sides have been firing on all cylinders. Arsenal capped 2012 with a 7-3 victory over Newcastle and Chelsea has been finding the net at an alarmingly similar rate. While the clash will draw international attention, a developing subplot is the short-term future of Chelsea's tenured box-to-box midfielder Frank Lampard. Frequently linked with an MLS side, Lampard may truly be in the winter of a once electric career.
Notable Matches:
Tottenham vs. Manchester United: Sunday, Jan. 20, 8:00 a.m. PST, White Hart Lane
As appetizing as Chelsea vs. Arsenal is for fans, north London's White Hart Lane may produce a matchup just as mouthwatering. A battle between first-place Manchester United and third-place Tottenham, Sir Alex Ferguson's United will be seeking revenge for the 3-2 defeat at the hands of Spurs on Sept. 29. Tottenham's summer signing Clint Dempsey found the net in the match and pacey Welsh winger Gareth Bale was a handful for a typically fortified United backline.
Tottenham will be without their lanky Togolese striker, Emmanuel Adebayor, who has opted to play for his country in the upcoming African Cup of Nations. Andre Villas-Boas side, though, won't be without their offensive weapons. Striker Jermaine Defoe has netted 10 goals on the year while Bale has added nine more.
League leaders, Manchester United, are expecting three points from the affair. The Red Devils are unbeaten in their past nine Premier League matches, including eight victories. Robin van Persie leads his side with 17 goals in 22 matches played and, based on his form from the past year, is hungry for more.
Valencia vs. Real Madrid: Tuesday, Jan. 15, 12:00 p.m. PST, Estadio Mestalla
In the first leg of this home and home Copa del Rey matchup, Real Madrid look to the non-league match to rebound to winning ways. A media firestorm has surrounded the most illustrious and accomplished European club. Real's manager, Jose Mourinho, is no stranger to the media's spotlight but a departure from the club appears imminent for the self-described "Special One." Real Madrid sit in third-place with 37 points after tying La Liga bottom-dwellers Osasuna 0-0 over the weekend. Although Los Merengues were without defender Sergio Ramos and the oft-polarizing Cristiano Ronaldo to suspensions, Madrid sit 18 points behind archrivals F.C. Barcelona; a near insurmountable lead.
To keep their trophy ambitions alive (and Mourinho's career), Madrid's matchup against historic rival Valencia may be the turning point that the side needs.
Game of the Week:
Manchester United vs. Liverpool FC: Sun. Jan. 13, 5:30 a.m. PST, Old Trafford
Bay Area faithful may have their eyes set on the 49ers' playoff matchup against the Green Bay Packers on Saturday, but the palpable drama will resurface some 12 hours later in Manchester, England.
Manchester United face their bitter northeastern rivals Liverpool in what looks to be a mouthwatering encounter. United looks to stay at the summit of the Premier League and move up to 55 points off of their 22nd match. Liverpool, whose season has not reached their newly elevated expectations under the guidance of first-year manager Brendan Rodgers, simply seeks points. Qualification for a spot in European competition next season may just appease the Kop faithful.
United's blistering start to the season has been pinpointed to the arrival of Dutchman, and former Arsenal striker, Robin van Persie. The talisman's prolific goal-scoring run has seen him net 16 league goals in 21 league games so far. Yet, Liverpool's much-maligned and divisive Luis Suarez has also re-discovered his goal-scoring abilities. The Uruguayan has bagged 15 league goals, including braces in his previous two Premier League matches.
While a 21 point gap displaces Liverpool from Manchester United, the magnitude of the match will draw on decades of competitive battle. Liverpool's recent rich vein of form has seen the Merseysiders win their previous four matches. Similarly, United is undefeated in their past nine matches from all competitions. With two short-tempered squads, fans will be the greatest beneficiaries of Sunday's excitement.
Notable Matches:
Manchester City vs. Arsenal: Sun. Jan. 13, 8:30 a.m. PST, Emirates
Sunday's drama continues an hour after the conclusion of the Old Trafford battle. Arsenal's Emirates will play host to Man City in a matchup between the sixth and second sides in the Premier League. To the unrest of Gunner's fans, Arsenal's current position would not allow for Champions League qualification and may lead to the termination of Arsene Wenger's tenure. To make matters worse, Arsenal's leading goal-scorer, Theo Walcott, has yet to agree upon a new contract despite netting an audacious hat-trick against Newcastle last week.
City is in pursuit of its second consecutive Premier League title despite a seven point discrepancy behind neighbors Manchester United. The recently financed club is led by a three-pronged attack in Edin Dzeko, Sergio Aguero, and Carlos Tevez.
Last season's matchup at Emirates left the City faithful in a state of bewilderment. Spaniard Mikel Arteta hit an 87th minute wonder strike to give Arsenal the three points in a 1-0 win.
Arsene Wenger has built his well-deserved reputation on earning points from hard-fought matchups and the Frenchman may field a tactically-astute side ready to seize the given opportunity.
Malaga vs. FC Barcelona: Sun. Jan. 13, 12:00 p.m. PST, Estadio La Rosaleda
First-place Barcelona will travel to the Estadio La Rosaleda in a matchup against fourth place Malaga. Barcelona recorded four first-half goals against Espanyol to stroll to victory this past weekend. The Andalusian side, though, may prove more formidable to the Catalonians. Malaga's combination of a veteran attack supplemented with a young nucleus has catapulted the once overlooked side into fourth place.
Barcelona is expected to secure three points from the match but away games can prove difficult for even the best of sides. Messi has netted an astonishing 27 league goals in 18 league games and Malaga may fall prey to the predatory diminutive Argentine.
Juventus vs. Parma: Sun. Jan. 13, 6:00 a.m. PST, Stadio Ennio Tardini
A multi-faceted Juventus attack will look to maintain its first place position against the eighth-spot Parma. Juventus leads Serie A with 44 points from 19 matches and is ready to gather three more off of the upcoming away game. Parma's attack is led by Ishak Belfodil's six strikes. The 20-year-old Algerian and former French youth national team member has embraced his first season with Parma. He may be the catalyst the side needs to climb up the Serie A ladder.
The Turin side should grab three points but fans may be entitled to goals galore in this encounter.
Clint Dempsey named US Soccer "Male Athlete of the Year":
The Nacogdoches attacker has had a memorable 2012. After recording six goals for the US Men's National Team, including a memorable strike to beat Italy, Dempsey has received his third "Male Athlete of the Year" honor by US Soccer. Dempsey couldn't stop scoring for club or country in 2012. The former Fulham hit-man left the club as its all-time leading Premier League scorer. In a much-publicized transfer saga, Dempsey switched to North London side Tottenham. Dempsey has three league goals for the Spurs who currently sit in fourth place in the Premier League table.
For more information on Dempsey's award, click here.
Lionel Messi keeps scoring:
Ninety goals in a calendar year and still one more game to play. The diminutive Argentine saw Gerd Muller's 40-year-old record of 85 goals and didn't blink. Messi will lineup against Villadolid on Sat., Dec. 22 to conclude a historic goal-scoring year. FC Barcelona must also feel relieved to have secured Messi's abilities for the long-term. Messi, Puyol, and Xavi all extended their stays with the only club that they have ever played for professionally. Messi signed until 2018 while Puyol and Xavi are now contracted until 2016. The 25-year-old Argentine has 25 La Liga goals in 16 games played this season as well as having netted 22 braces in the 2012 calendar year.
Find out more about Messi and Co. here.
Corinthians host Club World Cup:
The nightmare for Rafa Benitez can't get any darker. After almost having successfully rejuvenated Fernando Torres' career circa 2008, Benitez lost his most important game to date during his ever-increasingly short tenure as manager of Chelsea. Chelsea lost to Brazilian outfit Corinthians 1-0 and are still trophy-less after their dramatic 2012 Champions League title win.
For the full recap, click here.
Zenit St. Petersburg fan group demands all-white, heterosexual team:
The Landscrona, the largest fan group of Zenit St. Petersburg, has demanded that their team be composed strictly of white, heterosexual players. The blatantly intolerant mandate is somehow justified by the fan group that these players are "only worthy" of the great city of St. Petersburg. The comments have not come without ramifications. Manager Luciano Spalleti has reiterated his firm stance against such demands and has pledged to do everything in his power to increase tolerance among the fan base.
Read the full story here.
Man City denies rumors that it will buy MLS team:
Last week, rumors swirled that Man City was positioning itself to purchase an MLS expansion team in New York City. The Citizens have denied such claims even though the club looks to expand its brand stateside in a growing soccer market. City was reported to purchase a team for $100 million and then re-sell a minority portion to local investors. Among notable names involved in the possible deal was none other than David Beckham. The new team would've played out of Queens.
For more on this development, click here.
A weekly insight into local, national, and international soccer, "Anything but Quakes" previews the best matches of the week ahead.
Games of the Week:
Liverpool FC vs. Fulham FC, Sat. Dec. 22, 9:30 a.m. PST, Anfield
With the holiday season approaching, many set aside the time to reflect on the year past. The Barclay's Premier League will reach its near midway point before the holiday break and finds that the usual suspects are at both the summit and the basement of the league standings.
If the 2011/2012 Premier League season would be any indication of team's performances in the 2012/2013 season, the upcoming Liverpool FC vs. Fulham match at Anfield may take on more significance for European qualification than the current sides sitting in the 12th and 13th spots respectively.
Liverpool has undergone significant front office changes in recent years. John Henry and Tom Werner's Fenway Sports Group purchased the famed club in October, 2010 and have set their sights on returning the club to the prominence it found in the 1970's.
Former Swansea manager Brendan Rodgers now holds the reigns for the Merseysiders. Yet, he is still waiting to align the club's on-field success with that of their ownership's vision.
Saturday's match against Fulham may be the inflection point for a team striving to break into the top four. Despite suffering a 3-1 loss at the hands of Aston Villa last Saturday, Liverpool must now re-group and prepare for the final months of the season.
Expect an open match between the two sides. Fulham's refined Bulgarian striker Dimitar Berbatov has a knack for taking advantage of opportunistic chances.
AS Roma vs. AC Milan, Sat. Dec. 22, 11:45 a.m. PST, Stadio Olimpico
Rome's Stadio Olimpico will host the traditionally heralded matchup between two sides admittedly underperforming. AS Roma sits in sixth place and AC Milan are right behind them; two teams perennially fighting for not only a Champions League berth but the Serie A crown.
AC Milan's performances to date have fluctuated as they try to find their offensive prowess. The loss of journeyman Zlatan Ibrahimovic may have left an indelible mark on their goal-scoring abilities. With rumors that Robinho may leave in January, Milan's attack may be on a precipitous decline. Young Stephan El-Shaaarawy, though, has taken advantage of the opportunity left by Ibrahimovic's exit. The Italian has tallied 14 goals in 17 Serie A games this season and is hungry for more.
Roma's attack is once again spearheaded by an Italian presence. Pablo Daniel Osvaldo has recorded eight league strikes while forever young 36-year-old Francesco Totti has added six more.
Points will be crucial for these two sides as they fight for a place in Europe.
Notable Matchups:
Manchester United vs. Swansea City, Sun. Dec. 23, 5:30 a.m. PST, Liberty Stadium
The "Swans" will host the matchup between first place Manchester United and the 10th place Welsh side. Michael Laudrup has helped Swansea pick up where Brendan Rodgers left them last year; embracing a dynamic brand of passing soccer commonly not found in the British Isles. Swansea may be playing some of the best soccer in the Premier League. Relatively unknown Spanish striker, Michu, has taken the league by storm. The former Rayo Vallecano has provided 12 league goals for Swansea and seems to do nothing wrong in the process. United will be led by Dutchman Robin van Persie and Wayne Rooney. Although United are expected to walk away with three points, the Liberty Stadium has proven difficult for many away teams.
Real Madrid vs. Malaga, Sat. Dec. 22, 11 a.m. PST, Estadio La Rosaleda
Real Madrid are desperate to resurrect their winning ways. After a loss and a tie in their past two matches, Real Madrid sit in third place in the La Liga table; four points behind cross-town rivals Atletico and 13 points behind archrivals Barcelona. Add internal strife to the equation, a foreseeable managerial change in the coming weeks, and Real Madrid may be all but out as repeat league title contenders. Fourth place Malaga will be no easy team or place to play. The Champions League side has found a recipe of success through a motley crew of individuals. Madrid may be in for another surprise and, should Madrid not get a win, it may be the last match for Jose Mourinho.
A weekly insight into local, national, and international soccer, "Anything but Quakes" previews the best matches of the week ahead.
Game of the Week:
FC Barcelona vs. Atletico Madrid: Sun. Dec. 16, 12 p.m. PST
This past weekend's Manchester derby fell nothing short of the drama it promised. Robin van Persie's 92nd minute free-kick, deflecting past a cheating Joe Hart, gave the Red Devils a 3-2 victory and a six point lead in the Premier League.
Meanwhile across the Celtic Sea, FC Barcelona and Atletico Madrid strolled to another comfortable three points. Iconic strikers Lionel Messi and Radamel Falcao led their clubs, FC Barcelona and Atletico Madrid respectively, to victory and maintained the first and second spots in La Liga.
The two South American strikers have been nothing short of sensational in the past calendar year. Messi's brace on Sunday gave him 86 goals and cemented his position as the highest all-time scorer in a calendar year, one more than Gerd Muller's 85. The 25-year-old Argentine has already netted 23 La Liga goals through 15 games and still has three games remaining to improve upon his record. The Colombian Falcao, named after the legendary AS Roma and Brazilian midfielder, has embraced his namesack's industriousness and netted a cool five goals against Deportivo La Coruna last weekend. He currently has 40 La Liga goals in 48 games.
FC Barcelona's Camp Nou will play host to Sunday's 12 p.m. PST matchup. Although Messi had an injury scare ahead of last week's game, the Argentine and company look to be fully fit for the crucial matchup against Atletico. To many of their competitors' envy, FC Barcelona sits on 43 points through 15 matches. Atletico trails with 37 points.
With Messi and Falcao firing on all cylinders, fans may be treated to an offensive exhibition.
Notable Matchups:
Bayern Munich vs. Borussia Monchengladbach: Fri. Dec. 14, 11:30 a.m. PST
Bayern Munich's Allianz Arena will host this Bundesliga battle between top spot Bayern and eighth spot Monchengladbach. After 16 matches, Bayern is in the driver's seat with 41 points. Croatian and Euro 2012 phenom Mario Mandzukic paces Bayern with nine goals.
Fulham vs. Queens Park Rangers: Sat. Dec. 15, 7: 00 a.m. PST
Queens Park Rangers are still in search of their first win of the season. Fulham earned a hard-fought 2-1 victory at the expense of a struggling Newcastle side on Monday. This London derby will either help propel Fulham back into their UEFA Cup ambition or start QPR's ascension out of relegation
Paris Saint-Germain vs. Lyon: Sun. Dec. 16, 12:00 p.m. PST
A battle between the number one and two teams in Ligue 1, Lyon vs. PSG should provide fireworks. Enigmatic striker Zlatan Ibrahimovic will once again try to lead the nation's capitol to three points all the while attempting to secure the career of his under-fire manager Carlo Ancelotti. Ibrahimovic has an astounding 14 goals in 13 games played for second-place PSG while the athletic Bafetimbi Gomis leads Lyon with 10 strikes.
A weekly insight into local, national, and international soccer, "Anything but Quakes" previews the best matches of the week ahead.
Game of the Week:
Manchester City vs. Manchester United, Sun. Dec. 9, 5:30 a.m. PST, Fox Soccer Channel
The Etihad Stadium will play host to the Manchester derby, headlining this week's Barclay's Premier League matchups. United and City sit at the one and two spots respectively atop the league summit after 15 matches played.
United's manager Sir Alex Ferguson may be closing in on his tenure after 27 seasons at the helm but the Scotsman has once again put his team in the top spot. United's "noisy neighbors", though, are right on their rivals' heels – only three points behind Manchester United – after securing 36 points.
If Wayne Rooney's February 2011 bicycle kick was any indication, expect fireworks between the two sides. Former Arsenal hitman, Robin Van Persie, leads the Red Devils with 10 strikes on the year. Supersub Bosnian striker Edin Dzeko paces City with six goals.
Notable Matches:
Manchester City vs. Borussia Dortmund: Tues. Dec. 3, 11:45 a.m. PST, Champions League
Sunday's derby aside, Manchester City face a must-win situation against Group D leaders Borussia Dortmund. With just three points from five matches, Roberto Mancini's side are desperate to advance to the knockout stage.
Chelsea FC vs. FC Nordsjaelland: Wed. Dec. 4, 11:45 a.m. PST, Champions League
Recent managerial appointment Rafa Benitez enters Wednesday night's Champions League clash with one goal in mind: securing his first win for his employers. After enduring two ties and a loss, Benitez needs three points to ensure that his third-place Chelsea are eligible of making the knockout round. Chelsea currently sits with seven points. Danish side FC Nordsjaelland only has one tie through five matches.
NCAA College Cup:
Division 1 Men's Semifinals and Finals: Friday, Dec. 7 and Sunday, Dec. 9
Creighton, Indiana, Maryland, and Georgetown make up the Final Four. Maryland looks to be the favorite after having earned their sixth College Cup appearance in 11 seasons. Sasho Cirovski's Terrapins will face College Cup newcomers, Georgetown, in one semifinal while Indiana is pitted against Creighton in a Midwestern matchup. Quakes' players Jed Zayner and Brad Ring will push for their Indiana Hoosiers as they enter their 18th College Cup. Zayner won the national championship in 2003 and 2004 and Brad Ring suited up for Indiana from 2005 to 2008.
A weekly insight into local, national, and international soccer, "Anything but Quakes" previews the best matches of the week ahead.
Welcome to the first installment of the weekly, "Anything but Quakes." We will select certain local, national, and international games to preview and analyze.
Game of the Week:
LA Galaxy vs. Houston Dynamo, MLS Cup, Dec. 1, 1:30 p.m. PST on ESPN
A rematch of 2011, the LA Galaxy face the Houston Dynamo at The Home Depot Center on Saturday, Dec. 1 at 1:30 p.m.
Quakes fans may still be bitter about a premature exit from the MLS Cup Playoffs and a replay of last year's matchup may not add much consolation. Yet, there are plenty of storylines for Quakes fans to keep an eye on ahead of the match.
Dominic Kinnear has once again led his troops through the trenches and into the MLS Cup Championship. Kinnear, who assisted 2012 MLS Coach of the Year Frank Yallop from 2001 to 2003 in San Jose, garnered the fifth and final seed in the Eastern Conference. Like recent Dynamo teams, Kinnear has built a resolute squad eager to take on any opponent.
David Beckham's MLS tenure is coming to an imminent close. After six seasons with the LA Galaxy, the 37-year-old Beckham has ignited a media firestorm surrounding his next possible venture. He has been linked to ownership groups, a January transfer to Premier League side QPR, or a short spell with Australia's A-League. Love him or hate him, even his move will make international headlines.
With a team full of veterans pitted against a team without a central figurehead, the MLS Cup should prove its mettle once again.
International Game of the Week:
Real Madrid vs. Atlético Madrid, Dec. 1, Santiago Bernabéu
Los Merengues could not have fathomed a worse start to their campaign. Like the fractured relationship between Michael Corleone and his older brother, Fredo, in the beginning of the "The Godfather Part II", more worry has surrounded the commonly overshadowed sibling rather than the heir apparent.
In this narrative, Fredo is the historically working class Atlético Madrid and the heir apparent is their glamorized cross-town rival, Real Madrid.
Real finds themselves in third place after 13 games with 26 points; 11 points behind archrival and potential Catalonian separatists Barcelona and eight points behind Atlético.
The Madrid derby, though, may be the wake-up call that Mourinho's men need to not only regain their supremacy in La Comunidad de Madrid but also to contend for the La Liga title.
When the two-sides met on April 11, 2012, Cristiano Ronaldo rose to the occasion – bagging a hat-trick including two astonishing long-range efforts. The Portuguese's effort helped push his club to their first La Liga title since the 2007/2008 season.
Yet, Cristiano Ronaldo, despite scoring 12 league goals thus far, has not scored in Real's past three matches. Meanwhile, Atlético's frontman, Colombian Radamel Falcao, has paced his squad with 11 goals in 12 matches played.
Mourinho and company are desperate for a win. If his track record has proven anything, Mourinho's Real Madrid side will be tactically prepared to grind out the three points.
Notable Games:
U.S. Women's National Team vs. Ireland on Nov. 28, 2012 at 7:00 p.m. PST on Fox Soccer:
Interim head coach Jillian Ellis is set to lead the US Women against Ireland.
NCAA Men's College Cup Quarterfinals, Nov. 30 to Dec. 1:
With eight teams remaining, the ACC is well-poised to hoist the championship trophy yet again. UNC and Maryland look to head into the Final Four after matching up against Indiana and Louisville respectively in the quarterfinals.
NCAA Women's College Cup Final Four, Nov. 30:
Stanford, UNC, Florida State, and Penn State make up the Final Four. Traditional powers Stanford and UNC make up one electric semifinal matchup. Stanford women seek their second consecutive national championship.


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Guitar hero: Grammy winner Pat Metheny to jam with Unity Group in Ann Arbor on March 10Written by Vicki L. Kroll | | email@example.com
Infinite potential — that's what Pat Metheny feels when he's holding a guitar.
"If you say the word 'guitar' to 50 people, they will get 50 different images in their minds," the jazz guitarist wrote in an email interview with Toledo Free Press. "To me, it is attractive because it is so undefined."
Since his 1976 debut, "Bright Size Life," the artist has reinvented the instrument. His sonic creativity and sizzling string work have won both fans and countless honors.
In 2013, readers of Downbeat magazine voted to induct Metheny into its Hall of Fame. He is the youngest member and only the fourth guitarist, joining Wes Montgomery, Django Reinhardt and Charlie Christian.
"Guitars, for me, are like screwdrivers are for a handyman. They are tools, and I have different ones for different uses," Metheny wrote from a tour stop in San Francisco.
For his latest project, the composer assembled an amazing lineup: saxophonist Chris Potter, bassist Ben Williams and drummer Antonio Sanchez.
Metheny won his 20th Grammy Award last year for "Unity Band," an instrumental jazz quartet album.
"This is such a special group of musicians. From the first notes we played together in early 2012, through the recording and then all the touring that we did to follow, there was an instant connection that seemed to go beyond the usual kind of thing," he wrote.
"We had such a great time together and the consistency of the playing was at a super high level, and we seemed to always get to something night after night."
Known as the Pat Metheny Unity Group, the four decided to make another disc.
"We all wanted to keep it going, and my sense of it was that we had only scratched the surface of what it might be. My instinct was to push it to be something else, but that something else could have the benefits of all the playing we had already done together as a place to build from and expand outward from," Metheny wrote.
Joining the fun was multi-instrumentalist Giulio Carmassi.
"To do what I wanted to do, I knew I likely had to expand the palette by adding another musician. However, I didn't want to alter the incredible dynamic of the core quartet. What I really needed was a good musician who could play a lot of parts," Metheny wrote.
On "Kin," released last month, Carmassi plays piano, trumpet, French horn, flute, alto sax, recorder, vibraphone and trombone; he also sings and whistles.
"As I have described a few times, if the first 'Unity Band' record was kind of like a black-and-white documentary type record, this is the IMAX 3-D version of the band," he wrote.
The Pat Metheny Unity Group will bring that colorful sound to the Michigan Theater in Ann Arbor at 8 p.m. March 10. Tickets are $39.50-$49.50.
"Playing live is the final destination and the reason I became a musician. Everything leads to that," Metheny wrote.
Tags: 20th Grammy Award, bassist Ben Williams and drummer Antonio Sanchez, Downbeat magazine, guitar, Hall of Fame, jazz guitarist, multi-instrumentalist Giulio Carmassi, Pat Metheny, saxophonist Chris Potter

subset: commoncrawl


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Wednesday, August 05, 2015
An unranked, incomplete, utterly biased list of the greatest works of literature ever published. How many have you read?
The Crack-Up, by F. Scott Fitzgerald:
Because Fitzgerald knew Lindsay, Britney and the Olsens better than we do. (And because it was first published in Esquire.)
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Considering that Fox and NBC networks just had their upfront presentations earlier this week, we had a feeling that CBS wouldn't be far behind. We were right. The CBS Upfronts Presentation went down in New York yesterday and it seemed that the ladies ruled the roost. Cobie Smulders led the way in a white Rebecca Minkoff "Mistral" dress with cutouts and cheeky red pumps. Apparently, her earrings were designed by Krysten Ritter for JewelMint to benefit Autism Speaks. How I Met Your Mother, FTW! We bet she's in the best shape of her life after having to fit into that unforgiving catsuit she wore through The Avengers. It was also great to see Lucy Liu, looking impossibly tiny, but fit, in a burgundy Marios Schwab slip.
Kat Dennings and Beth Behrs — the 2 Broke Girls — looked great posing together. We just can't understand why Kat won't smile more? She was a knockout in a black dress and nude pumps but wouldn't stop pouting for some strange reason. Seriously, every photograph we saw didn't have a hint of a grin in it. Luckily, her co-star Beth, made up for her in the sunshine department, while wearing a lovely royal blue sheath. To see who else attended, you're going to have to click through our gallery, but we promise you … it'll be worth it.
[Photos: Splash News Online]


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You can now browse all the issues digitized by Google for newspapers like The Montreal Gazette, The Sydney Morning Herald, St. Petersburg Times, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette and more. The digitized newspapers are searchable in the Google News Archive and they're also included in Google's regular search results.
"The News Archive Partner Program provides a way for Google and publishers and repositories to partner together and make historical newspaper archives discoverable online. As part of Google News, the News archive search function provides an easy way to search and explore historical archives. For articles already in digital format, we've worked with the hosts of these archives to crawl and index their materials. When materials aren't easily available in digital format, we have partnered with the copyright holder to scan and present the newspaper in a way that is full-text searchable, fast and easy to navigate," explains Google.
Google also digitizes books, magazines, photos and videos.
{ via Search Engine Roundtable }
Workin' In A Cocktail Bar
4 hours ago


text:
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levi has a lovely face, super body and a terrific cock.rni would do anything for levi


text:
TRENTON, N.J. (AP) — Spending on prescription medicines in the U.S. fell for the first time in decades last year, slipping as cash-strapped consumers continued to cut back on use of health care services.
Patients also benefited from a surge of new, inexpensive generic versions of widely used drugs for chronic conditions like high cholesterol, according to a new report.
Total spending on medications dipped 1 percent, to $325.8 billion last year from $329.2 billion in 2011. Likewise, average spending per person on medicines fell by $33, to $898 last year, according to the report from the IMS Institute for Healthcare Informatics.
"That's the first time IMS has ever measured a decline in the 58 years we've been monitoring drugs," Michael Kleinrock, director of research development at the institute, told the AP.
Kleinrock said that while total drug spending fell by 1 percent, the decline was 3.5 percent after accounting for population growth and economic expansion.
Factors behind last year's drop in drug spending include positive trends such as more use of cheap generic pills and flukes such as a fairly mild cold and flu season in early 2012. But there also was a big negative: people rationing their own health care.
IMS found affordability of health care remains a big problem, with growing out-of-pocket costs forcing people to go without needed doctor visits, medicines and other treatments.
For some, that was because they lost jobs or homes during the worst recession in decades. But higher costs also are hitting many employed people who have health insurance.
Employers have been raising health costs for their workers well above the inflation rate, through higher copayments, premiums and deductibles. Many commercial insurance plans now have annual deductibles -- the amount a patient must pay before insurance kicks in -- that exceed $1,000, Kleinrock said.
The number of insured people with consumer-directed plans, where patients face very high deductibles and sometimes pay 20 percent of costs after that, has jumped from about 8 percent in 2008 to 19 percent last year. Now many folks insured through their jobs have such plans, not just young, healthy people buying insurance on their own.
"Even patients with insurance are feeling the pinch and have been reducing their use of health care," Kleinrock said.
The report notes that out-of-pocket costs, which exclude monthly health plan premiums, are now three times higher than they were five years ago, on average. They're seven times higher for those with consumer-directed plans.
That's one reason the number of doctor visits, planned hospital admissions and outpatient treatments each dipped by a half-percent to 1 percent last year, compared with 2011.
At the same time, the number of patients admitted to hospitals after coming to the emergency department spiked for the second straight year, climbing nearly 6 percent in 2012. That's a sign some people are waiting until they are very sick to seek medical help.
Meanwhile, the number of prescriptions used per person last year edged down just 0.1 percent. At the same time, the percentage of all prescriptions filled with a generic medicine hit 84 percent last year, up from 80 percent in 2011 and just 54 percent a decade ago. Nearly three-quarters of prescriptions filled in 2012 cost patients $10 or less in copayments.
A big reason was new generic versions of some of the pharmaceutical industry's biggest-selling drugs of all time: Lipitor for high cholesterol, Plavix for preventing blood clots and strokes, Singulair for allergies and asthma, Diovan for high blood pressure and several others.
Those brand-name drugs all lost patent protection during 2012 or late 2011, enabling generic drug companies to flood the market with copycat pills costing up to 90 percent less.
Those new generics reduced spending on medicines by $28.9 billion last year. That savings was partly offset by the introduction of a big number of breakthrough drugs that are very expensive, drugmakers raising prices on existing medicines and population growth.
Spending on cancer treatments, fueled by new medicines considered major advances, hit $25.9 billion, making it the top-selling category. That was followed by treatments for mental illnesses, respiratory disorders, diabetes and pain, all garnering more than $18 billion in 2012. Cholesterol drugs, the top category a few years ago, fell to sixth place at $16.9 billion, thanks to generic competition.
IMS, based in Parsippany, N.J., compiles and analyzes data from pharmacies, hospitals, nursing homes, drug wholesalers and other groups to produce its annual report on health care spending trends.
Back in 1957, the first year IMS studied, total U.S. drug spending was only $1.9 billion. That's risen each year since, generally climbing more in years when the economy is strong.
For now, IMS is forecasting that overall spending on health care will continue to grow faster than spending on medicines at least through 2017. That's due to factors including the increasing number of elderly patients and those with very expensive chronic conditions such as diabetes, psychiatric disorders, severe heart disease and various cancers.
"The sickest people drive most of our health care spending," Kleinrock said, noting that just over half the total spending by private health insurance plans last year was for just 5 percent of their members.
Follow Linda A. Johnson at http://twitter.comLindaJ--onPharma
Report: U.S. medicine spending dipped in '12
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When you use the 'Find businesses' option in Google Maps the search results normally come with reviews. Google retrieves the reviews from lots of different web sites. Of course those web sites in turn often embed Google Maps in their reviews.
If you are thinking of eating out or booking a hotel then these sites are a great resource to help you make the best choice.
Here is a quick breakdown of a number of sites that appear in Google Local Search reviews who also use Google Maps in their sites:
Qype claims to be the largest user-generated local review site in Europe but actually reviews restaurants, bars and businesses throughout the world. Like many of the sites that are featured in Google Maps' reviews Qype is built on user-generated reviews and recommendations.
It is possible to search Qype by area. If you choose this option Qype displays a Google Map with tags of local businesses. Clicking on a tag will take you to the reviews of that business and a zoomed in map of its location.
Dine.com - Dine.com allows users to search restaurants by type and location. You can search by type of restaurant and location, e.g pizzerias in New York. Dine.com features user submitted reviews.
InsiderPages - InsiderPages returns user reviews of local businesses. Like Dine.com it is possible to search on a Google Map by type of business and location.
ViewLondon - ViewLondon provides user reviews of restaurants, bars and clubs in London. Search results are tagged on a Google Map and it is possible to search for similar venues near by.
GrayBoxx - GrayBoxx also utilises user reviews but also uses its own 'PreferenceScoring' system for local businesses. Individual search results are tagged on a Google Map.
11870 - 11870 similarly contains user reviews of places and services. Users can also submit photos and videos. Results of searches can be viewed on Google Maps.
TravelPost - TravelPost provides user reviews of hotels around the world. Individual hotels are tagged on a Google Map.
Mobil Travel Guide - Mobil Travel Guide provides hotel reviews from Mobil's own hotel inspectors. Hotels are then tagged on a Google Map.
Previously featured on Google Maps Mania
Yelp - User generated reviews of local businesses.
Judy's Book - An on-line community of user recommendations.
Trip Advisor - User generated reviews of hotels and vacations around the world.


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Heather Burkard was not expecting a whole cow's head when a local butcher offered her a cow "skull" for her to use in her latent evidence class at Surry Community College's Elkin Center.
However, that is exactly what she found when she arrived at the shop to pick up the remains with her husband's pickup.
Burkard laughs and shakes her head, saying, "His idea of a skull and mine are a bit different."
Burkard's class trains students to investigate crime scenes and observe the most minute of details others might miss. She has taught the class since the fall semester. following a career in Florida and Charlotte.
Burkard was on the investigative side of the crime scene before turning to education. She saw how crime scene investigations were handled, and now she passes that knowledge on to the future investigators.
As part of their class, students are expected to study and investigate a mock crime scene. Burkard jumped at the chance when she heard of the cow remains, and with the help of a Surry Community College backhoe, three separate holes were dug to act as graves for the remains.
The remains were buried at a site on Surry's main campus in January, but for security reasons the whereabouts are not allowed to be published. Burkard admits that tampering with a crime scene is a possibility in the real world, but she hopes to minimize the disturbances while the students learn the basic concepts.
Students were split into three groups and allowed to add clothing, spent cartridge casings, cigarettes, and other pieces of fake evidence to make the grave as realistic as possible. The three graves were then filled back in and left for several months to demonstrate decomposition.
When the students returned from Elkin last week, the three groups switched sites to one they had not created and started digging.
One site had a cow's head buried, another had a second head and assorted bones, and the third had organs and cartilage.
The cold weather this semester has limited the remains' deterioration, meaning students may open a grave to see a cow smiling back at them. Burkard said one "still had its tongue sticking out" when she received it.
The first day students began by searching for disturbed dirt with a piece of rebar painted blue and hooked in an "L" shape. If dirt had been disturbed the pole would sink into the ground, allowing students to probe and find the edges of the dug holes. If not, the ground would be hard and not allow the pole to bury in.
They then roped off the area and began searching every leaf- literally, every leave - for evidence. Once it was clear of debris the students swept - again, literally swept - the dirt away and began get into the digging.
Tuesday is the third of four days, with Thursday being the final outing. Two of the three groups were still a few feet away from resurrecting their finds and shifted into high gear.
The third struck it rich with a lucky find. The tip of a cow horn, subtle at first like a grayish rock, broke through the surface and brought students from all the groups together to share in the excitement.
The second group began digging deeper around the horn, but Burkard reminded them that if they did not keep the dirt removed evenly the hole would fall back in on itself and make their work pointless.
The first group checked in occasionally on the second's progress, but the third remained focused on their own site, playing Backstreet Boys on a student's cell phone.
The students still have a long way to go. The site where the skull first broke through the dirt is the site with assorted bones added in, meaning a large cow skull is still buried and no sign of the bones has been observed.
May 2 is the last day of digging, and only one class period remains after that for the school year.
Burkard said the graves will be refilled following their excavation this year, allowing the remains to further decompose and be unearthed next year by new students. She hopes by then the tough cow hide will have broken down more and bones and teeth will be working loose, adding more realism for the students.
To contact Taylor Pardue call 336-835-1513 ext. 15, or email him at firstname.lastname@example.com.


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Hilbert Hits the Offensive Boards
22 Offensive boards is a season record
- Release Date:
- January 30, 2010
- Contact:
- The Office of Sports Information
- (716) 649-7900 ext. 333
HAMBURG, NY: The Hilbert women's basketball team bounced back from the Wednesday night conference loss when they hosted Penn State Altoona on January 30. The Lions came in with a 10-4 AMCC record (4th place) yet the win-less Hawks didn't back down. Altoona finished with the victory (80-47) but Hilbert's offensive rebounding and extra effort for loose balls transitioned into more team points on Saturday, which, in itself, is a moral victory for the team.
Hilbert's aggressive mindset resulted in more steals, more trips to the foul line and more assists than in their recent games. The Hawks outrebounded the Lions on the offensive end (22-15) with freshman forward Katie Newton (Elba, NY/Elba) grabbing 5 of her 7 there. Newton and fellow teammate Amanda Dudek (Tonawanda, NY/Tonawanda) lead both squads in rebounding with 7 a piece. Hilbert had three players reach double digits in scoring with Newton {photo to right} leading the way - 12 points off 8-11 from charity stripe - followed by freshman Amber Grosch (Depew, NY/Depew) and sophomore Mary Zinni (Batavia, NY/Batavia) with 10 points each. All eight Hawks filled the scoring column on the stat sheet today.
Marissa Lucas led the way with 24 points in 23 minutes for Altoona as all 10 players shared court-time. Altoona held a 37-17 lead at half time and turned it up another notch in the second half shooting 18-30 (60%) from the floor.
The Hawks face Franciscan University on Sunday, January 31 with a 2 pm tip to finish the weekend schedule. Hilbert has a mid-week bye in their game schedule but turn around next weekend and travel to Franciscan to finish their head-to-head meetings with the Barons.
Hilbert College, located in suburban Hamburg, N.Y., south of Buffalo, is a private four-year college founded in 1957 in the Catholic Franciscan tradition. With nearly 1,100 students, Hilbert is a dynamic Western New York college that offers career-focused majors, including one of the top criminal justice programs in the region, and more than 50 minors and concentrations. The college's engaging, student-centered campus community offers numerous leadership, internship, and service learning opportunities from which students launch successful careers while making positive changes in their communities. The Hilbert Blueprint promotes a well-rounded student experience over four years – starting with the Foundations Seminar in the freshman year, followed by Sophomore Service, Junior Symposium, and culminating with the Senior Capstone. Hilbert has expanded its academic offerings with the college's first graduate programs and new Accelerated Degree Programs geared to adult learners.
Upcoming Events
- First Year Student Orientation
- Aug 14, 2015
- Summer Session A2 Ends
- Aug 21, 2015
- First Year Student Orientation
- Aug 28, 2015


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|Home > Guides > Core Developers Guide > ActionMapper > RestfulActionMapper
A custom action mapper using the following format:
You can have as many parameters you'd like to use. Alternatively the URL can be shortened to the following:
This is the same as:
http://HOST/ACTION_NAME/ACTION_NAME + "Id"/PARAM_VALUE1/PARAM_NAME2/PARAM_VALUE2
Suppose for example we would like to display some articles by id at using the following URL sheme:
Your action just needs a setArticleId() method, and requests such as /article/1, /article/2, etc will all map to that URL pattern.
Improved restful action mapper that adds several ReST-style improvements to action mapping, but supports fully-customized URL's via XML. The two primary REST enhancements are:
These two improvements allow a GET request for 'category/action/movie/Thrillers' to be mapped to the action name 'movie' with an id of 'Thrillers' with an extra parameter named 'category' with a value of 'action'. A single action mapping can then handle all CRUD operations using wildcards, e.g.
This mapper supports the following parameters:
The following URL's will invoke its methods:
method called
GET: /movie/
GET: /movie/Thrillers
method="view", id="Thrillers"
GET: /movie/Thrillers!edit
method="edit", id="Thrillers"
GET: /movie/new
POST: /movie/
PUT: /movie/Thrillers
method="update", id="Thrillers"
DELETE: /movie/Thrillers
method="remove", id="Thrillers"
To simulate the HTTP methods PUT and DELETE, since they aren't supported by HTML, the HTTP parameter "__http_method" will be used.
The syntax and design for this feature was inspired by the REST support in Ruby on Rails. See Simple RESTful support
To use the Restful2ActionMapper in an existing struts application we have to change the strus.mapper.class constant and let it point to the Restful2ActionMapper
The problem with the above approach is that we may break existing actions because the Restful2ActionMapper tries to guess the method name using conventions that aren't applicable to normal action classes.
To overcome the above problem, we have to use a different action mapper depending on the url we want to process. REST actions will be processed by the Restful2ActionMapper and non-REST actions by the DefaultActionMapper
To achieve that we have to rely on namespaces and the PrefixBasedActionMapper that can choose which action mapper to use for a particular url based on a prefix (the action namespace).
To put everything together, we create a package for our rest actions
All other actions remain in their existing packages and namespaces we use the PrefixBasedActionMapper telling it to use the Restful2ActionMapper for actions in the /rest namespace and the DefaultActionMapper for all other actions
For the Restful2ActionMapper to work we also have to set
Below you will find a simple unit test to test how to test actions when
Restful2ActionMapper is used.
Thanks to Antonios Gkogkakis for the examples!


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Home » super-bowl
DeBragga is making our own sausages now, from outdoor raised hogs that are completely antibiotic-free. These animals are naturally and humanely raised on pure grain, and the flavor of these sausages is exceptional. We add hot chile flakes to this pork sausage to make them shot through with heat, zesty and delicious, and they are great with meals or as an appetizer or snack. DeBragga's own sausages, from our table to yours.
Aging: NoOrigin: U.S.Grade: naturally raisedBreed: Duroc, BerkshireBone: noWeight: 1lbPack Size: 5 links
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Find accommodations in Gainesville with the hotel list provided below. Search for the cheapest discounted hotel and motel rates in or near Gainesville, VA for your upcoming personal or group travel. We list the best Gainesville, Virginia motel and hotel rooms. Browse the Gainesville area hotels to find the perfect lodging! Please use the provided map of the Gainesville hotels. Planning a group? Lock in Gainesville Group Hotel Deals
Gainesville Hotels, Motels & Accommodations
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text:
Created on 10 May 2010
- Scott Pearson has been a part of a number of organizations throughout his 12 years of professional hockey, but he says his time spent with the Chicago Wolves was second to none. The Wolves are a solid organization, he began. Of all the organizations I played for during my 12 years of professional...


text:
Veibeskrivelser til Rosemere Backpackers and Budget Lodge
6 MacDonald Crescent, City, Wellington, New Zealand
kart og veibeskrivelser
From Bus and Train station:
-catch no's1,2 or 11 bus to corner of Cuba St and Manners Mall.We are a 5-8 minute walk up Dixon St to MacDonald Crescent where Rosemere is located.
From Wellington Airport:
-Airport Bus leaves every 1/2 hour(6am-8pm) and costs NZ$6 approx into the City.Get off at Dixon Street and from there we are a 5-7 minute walk.
Shuttles leave from outside the terminal and cost NZ$15 to our door.Cabs also leave from outside the terminal and cost NZ$30 approx.Be sure to get a Combined Cab(Blue Top)


text: At W.H. News Conference: Obama calls out cowardice of Senators Graham and McCain for going after UN ambassador Susan Rice for her Benghazi presentation, "when they go after the U.N. ambassador apparently because they think she's an easy target then, they've got a problem with me.†You dissin' my girl at the UN? What, you afraid of me? COME AT ME BRO.


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I have to admit to a certain amount of amusement at this petition to get Piers Morgan deported from the United States. As you can see, the petition itself has quite easily reached the numbers required to gain a response from the White House. There are a number of problems with the petition of course.
The first one being that while what Morgan actually said ("You're an unbelievably stupid man, aren't you" being not the sort of thing we expect a TV host to say) is undoubtedly protected by the First Amendment. His bosses have every right to fire him if they want: that's not a breach of First Amendment rights. But the government almost certainly does not have the power to punish him for such statements and deportation would be a punishment by the government.
On the other hand, what he actually said is perhaps not all that sensible. Second Amendment rights are part of the foundational myth of the US itself. Every country has such myths of course: my native Britain still, rightly or wrongly, defines itself in part as having stood alone against the Nazis back those 70 years ago (and in some quarters, against Napoleon 200 years ago). To the point that a Germany v. England soccer match will be met with two inevitable events. Despite the fact that they routinely beat us at the game, the chant of "Two World Wars and one World Cup" will be heard. And there will be the humming of the theme tune to "The Dambusters" a popular post war film about plucky Brits beating the Hun.
And don't even try to get the English onto the subject of the French.
Whether it's right or wrong, a good idea or not, part of that founding myth of the US is that the citizenry picked up their guns and killed enough of the Brits that the latter left and the country was free. Thus the citizenry must be allowed to bear arms.
Please note, this is nothing at all about the politics, about modern weapons, who argues for what. It's just that as an outsider (and I've lived in the US, just as Morgan is doing now) you've got to be pretty unperceptive not to note that this is part of what the country thinks about itself. Guns gained our freedom thus we must keep our guns to keep our freedom: that really is a strong strain of thought through US society.
But there's a much larger problem. Which is that we really don't want Piers Morgan back if you do throw him out.
In response to the petition, Jeremy Clarkson, the British Top Gear presenter, added on Twitter: 'Americans. It took us 40 years to get rid of Piers Morgan. Pleease don't send him back.'
One reason being that when editor of the Daily Mirror Morgan published some clearly fake photos of British troops abusing Iraqis. That cost him his job and a great deal of whatever goodwill he might have had.
No, I'm afraid you're stuck with him.


text:
Friday, August 8, 2014
The Berkeley County School District school board election is heating up as the Aug. 15 deadline to file approaches. Of the four districts up for reelection, three will have nonincumbent candidates in the race and at least one will not feature an incumbent.
The districts up for reelection are 2, 4, 6 and 8. The election is Tuesday, Nov. 4.
District 2 incumbent Doug Cooper has not said whether or not he intends to run this election season. As of Aug. 7, he had not filed.
On the first day to file, Aug. 1, challenger John McQuillin filed for the seat.
McQuillin told the Independent hed like to see more fiscal responsibility on the board.
So far two candidates have filed for District 4: Incumbent Shannon Lee and challenger Jeff Reuer. Its the first district in the race to have more than one confirmed candidate already filed.
Lee is seeking a second term so she can further expand the Stuff-the-Bus campaign and create a parent summit.
Id like to work on a way that parents can be more of an active voice in district policy and the school calendar, Lee said. I dont think parent involvement is where it needs to be right now and thats what I want to work on in the next four years.
Reuer said increasing input from parents and the community will also be one of his major campaign points.
District 6 incumbent Sheldon Etheridge has confirmed that he will not seek reelection.
Im not going to run; Im moving to Clarendon County, Etheridge told the Independent. Etheridge said he would not publicly endorse a candidate for his seat at this time but he added: There are a few people Id like to see run.
Sally Wofford is the first to file for District 6. Wofford recently gathered more than 500 signatures to oppose the school boards consideration of the so-called ban on parent coaches.
Just the way that it seemed that the community voice or the taxpayers of Berkeley County were not represented by the board prompted me to get involved, Wofford said. The purpose of the board is strictly policy making and facility. The board should have less involvement in administration.
District 8 incumbent Frank Wright has filed for reelection already. He is seeking is fifth term.
I enjoy doing what I do, I think this will be a great chance to continue the great work that weve done, Wright said. We worked hard to pass the last bond referendum so we could be progressive and be proactive in creating good schools throughout the whole county.
He has not received an opponent as of Aug. 7.
Filing closes noon on Friday, Aug. 15.
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text:
Mayor Pro Tem Loretta Lipsey presided over the Dec. 3 assembly in the absence of Mayor Gus Wilson, who was unable to attend because he was out of town on business.
After the routine approval of the agenda, minutes of the previous meeting, and accounts payables to pay the city's bills, the council heard the second reading of an ordinance to amend the city charter.
The ordinance was listed under old business and concerned the reapportionment of Gray voting districts, which is done under the Municipal Home Rules Act. Redistricting is required following the Census count that occurred in 2010.
The districts have been a point of discussion because of the difference in the number of people in the four areas. Districts 1, 3, and 5 are close in population with 800-plus people. District 2 is the quandary because, under the new plan, its population is under 600.
For the full story, pick up a copy of this week's newspaper or subscribe to our e-Edition at http://ee.jcnews.com.


text:
WeatherBug New Media
Doerun, GA 31744
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text:
Daily Sales Up to 70% OFF Limited-time deals start every day at 12 pm ET.
Founded in 1865, Carter's has dressed generations of children. For over 140 years, Carter's has been one of the most trusted names in the business, and today continues striving to offer the best products to their customers, at affordable prices. It all began when William Carter decided to knit mittens in his kitchen. Today, Carter's is the number one children's brand, selling over 10 products for every child born in the U.S.
Jungle Canvas Art
by Carter's®


text:
Only hotels in Beauharnois are listed below. Find cheap and/or discounted hotel rates in or near Beauharnois, QC for your corporate or personal leisure travel. We list the best Beauharnois, Quebec motel and hotel rooms. Browse the Beauharnois area hotels to find the perfect lodging! Please use the provided map of the Beauharnois hotels.
Beauharnois Hotels, Motels & Accommodations
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text:
For Sale: 1968 Ford Mustang
1968 Ford Mustang Coupe - Custom
Ad #181991880 Posted:2015-02-23 06:50:03
This ad expired 78 days ago.
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Yes it is true here is a blog that gives us a point of view from Graham Nelson who created Craft of Adventure Five articles on the design of adventure games. Also "creator of the Inform design system for creating interactive fiction (IF) games. Despite its age and obscurity, the Player's Bill of Rights is still an elegant, relevant view of game design and the player's experience. Many of its core messages hold up well in today's game design environment."
This is why I am posting this here at the pug since I feel that todays. DEVS need to all read Grahams essay and take heed. One can only imagine how much better quality of MMO's we would have to day.
I have few points that I personaly feel that should be applied in every MMO.
1. "Not to be killed without warning. clearly that insta-death wasn't fun, even if that death was the result of a bad decision from the player. We made a set of changes to help give players a second to assess the situation and react."
2. "Not to be given horribly unclear direction or asked to do unlikely things."
In the original Bill of Rights, these were two rules: one about unclear hints, and a second about needing to do unlikely things." I mean come on now that should be a given but how many times have you scratched your head while questing and ask yourself WTF?
3. "To be able to win without experience of past lives or future events." How Many times will it take to beat a raid boss?
4. "Not to have the game closed off without warning." I cant think of any application to MMO gaming for this rule?
5. "Not to need to do boring things for the sake of it." One word GRINDING.
6. "Not to have to figure out an unspecified or unclear interaction."
"When you give a player a tool, you're making a promise. You, the developer, promise the tool will work in a predictable way, usually with an associated risk and reward. You're also promising there are instances in the game where that tool will be clearly valuable.
In a good game, your goals and instructions are clear and provide the set-up to a given challenge or level. In a great game, the entire game world communicates to you. It broadcasts what you need to do (your goal), how you might get there (clear or subtle paths and obstacles) and which tools will be most useful in this specific scenario."
7. "To have decent, clear controls and UI." Todays DEVs still understand this one.
8. "Not to depend much on luck." The word faceroll comes to mind.
9. "To be able to understand a problem once it is solved. The key loop for player satisfaction in terms of strategy is ensuring players understand a problem once it's solved, and on the flip side that they understand what led to any failures."
10. "Not to have too many dead ends. You can never erase the feeling of being lost even when the player wasn't actually lost."
11. "To know how the game is getting on." Two words End Game.
12. "To receive good value for money spent."
This is an addition to the Bill of Rights because I think it gets overlooked in today's world of freemium and free games.
For games that come with a fixed price tag, it comes down to the perceived value of the experience provided. Some players translate this into hours of gameplay but it's really about the quality of the experience (along with replayability). As a whole, developers have been in the business long enough that we have a sense for how we should price our games.
In freemium and free games, though, we're still figuring it out. Social games are at the far end of the spectrum. It's easy--and somewhat common--to spend $50 to buy about 15 minutes worth of game time. Not many players are willing to spend that kind of money, and even fewer will consider it money well spent that they'd be happy to spend on a regular basis."
This last one is a age old argument P2P vs F2P Intreasting that Graham had thoughts on this very subject back in '95.
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I find that as I skim the list, it reminds me of the huge number of little things games tend to do so much better and more cleanly now compared to games of a generation ago.
Elite Member
Joined: 1/13/10
Currently playing EVE, SMITE, ArcheAge, and Combat Arms
Misunderstanding of a doc on game design resulting in misuse as a platform for F2P rant.
I am disappoint.
There isn't a "right" or "wrong" way to play, if you want to use a screwdriver to put nails into wood, have at it, simply don't complain when the guy next to you with the hammer is doing it much better and easier. - Allein
Advanced Member
Joined: 1/04/05
Your bill of rights steps on most of the EULA's that game makers use. Guess who would win in court?
Novice Member
Joined: 9/13/04
Everything has it's time and its place, know yours?
There are "no" Bills of rights in any game. You agree to their terms, period. Some of these rights are laughable as is. I'm sure this was just a skit, and maybe a possible out-cry because you and this blogger "think" you are entitled to these things and more. Apparently, reality comes hard for some. :) Good luck in your thought of "rights", nonetheless.
Originally posted by Razperil
@Razpenil ... I think your imagination may have jumped the wrong conclusion when you saw the title. It's a list of talking points about various irritants in design, not a "we demand rights" rant.
Originally posted by maplestone
TY for getting the real purpose of this thread.
Novice Member
Joined: 6/10/10
I think #8 is talking less about facerolling and more about RNG in general. Ever played a game where Random Number Generators were in literally every equation used? From crit, to loot drops, to monster spawns, to crafting, to monster damage, to PVP damage, to rewards... literally EVERYTHING! It can get annoying really quick!
Luck in facerolling is just crits stacking up at once, but that hardly scratches the surface of luck based systems ;)
Originally posted by Edeus
Ever played a game where Random Number Generators were in literally every equation used?
I tend to see RNG as a core philosophy of these games.
The way I look at it, RNG is the sum of everything the game mechanics can't simulate but still should affect the outcome. In a way, every mechanic is starting with "roll a die" and just fleshing it out with layer upon layer of details that I can control and compensate for if I wish to focus my attention on it. But deep down, RNG is still going to be there, once I've burrowed to the bottom of the game mechanics. So to me, if you can ever reduce an MMO to a game of chess with a completely deterministic outcome, you've dug too far and seen too much. On the other hand, if there are a lot of people like you who are constantly running into a wall of RNG that you want to do something about, I do think that's a sign that the game mechanics need to go deeper, offering you another layer of complexity to explore.
Novice Member
Joined: 3/05/10
Almost nothing on that list is applicable to MMOs. Interactive fiction adventure games were almost entirely about figuring things out. That was the main mode of gameplay. That doesn't translate well to a genre where thousands of other players share the gamespace with you. I feel like you understood neither the original list in the text document nor the updated list on the blog.
Novice Member
Joined: 12/05/07
This is not asking for rights, it's asking for entitlements.
Now we're calling prostitutes "sex workers". What's next? Calling hit men "end-of-life technicians"?
Advanced Member
Joined: 4/30/09
I think people need to get their priorities straight. Bill of rights for games? lol.
A company has the right to make any product the way they feel like. You have to right to not buy them, buy something else and say their product is crap.
Sellers and producers are NOT your slaves and servants - they don't have to make things to customers exacting specifications. The WANT to because they want to make money - however they also have the right to be douchebags, don't care about making money and make whatever they want.
Some people really, REALLY need to get this concept through their heads.
Novice Member
Joined: 2/27/08
You have no rights. There is a game. If you want to play the game, go ahead. If you don't like the way the game is played, stop playing.
Those are your only rights.
Played: UO, EQ, WoW, DDO, SWG, AO, CoH, EvE, TR, AoC, GW, GA, Aion, Allods, lots more
Originally posted by Disdena
I disagree, This is a essay written by a pioneer in the gaming field. If you read the artical you would realize this. This should be the standards for DEVs of all gaming. That also should include MMO gaming.
Originally posted by Cephus404
I disagree, customer service should always be number one with any thing. Why Should I spend any of my money on any MMO game if I feel that I have no rights? I will not.
Spotlight Poster
Joined: 9/04/10
First off, I believe Rights wasn't really a good term to use, considering that as a consumer we have no rights or entitlements ( I consider it a synonym) to games. They're made how they're made and if we do not like them we go find something else. Instead, these should be tips for future developers to keep an eye on to give players an enjoyable freedom.
Second, I believe the following:
3 is near-impossible in PvE due to the multiplayer aspect. You're bound to find out what to do by friends unless dungeons or raidlike content becomes a bit randomized (When is the dragon gonna come out. Will it fly from the clouds? Will it burst from the earth causing an underground fight?)
5 is interpreted stereotypically as "No more grinding" When in actuality it is "No more grinding that feels not rewarding and doesnt change many things"
I believe the major factor in #5 is the Does it change gameplay space? question. Most MMOs don't change the outlook of the world through grinding and thus all your work feels a bit meaningless. What if chopping trees in a game constantly ends up devoiding the area of trees, allowing you to remove the stumps and either turn it into a plantation of some sorts or even build a house a la The Lorax. (With enemies coming to break it down or ransack it.)
7 is probably the hardest to get right for some games. Will it be tab target with a billion different skills or just simply camera, health bars, and thats it? I think the main problem is that monitor UI's can only give so much and take so much screen coverage..There either has to be a balance or innovation to get it right.
8..It's all seeds. I honestly believe skill A should deal X damage normally, with extra damage hitting the head or less damage yet making the enemy studder if moving when hitting the legs. Something like Bloodline champions in several cases..
9 can be helped out here and there for several developers. I believe one of the best would be customizable skills so that Magic A is not simply Magic A. This could give creative content for some players to find combinations to defeat others and feel good that it works..the downside of course is that this leads to 'cookie cutter' builds and we all see what happens then.
Advanced Member
Joined: 11/20/07
Originally posted by botrytis
The party the Judge decides makes the best and most reasonable argument depending on the dispute and the circumstances.
Contrary to what many people tend to believe - an EULA is not overriding law.
If an EULA said "We may come to your house and chop your limbs off, at any time, without recourse." that does not mean a Developer could actually do that.
An EULA is a contract. Contracts are disputed every day, in court. And US Law does not apply outside the US (as US law)
To the OP:
I do see your point here, but a few of the things you ask for, like point 4, forget that games are owned by companies and cost money to maintain. Someone has to pay for the game to operate. So when companies go out of business or games become unprofitable - they close.
As for point 12 - I see you are from Arizona? I would suggest to you that the consumer laws in your state and country are more at fault here than the games, developers or publishers. For a remedy to this you should approach your government representatives. The consumer laws of many other countries already address this.
Nothing says irony like spelling ideot wrong.
Novice Member
Joined: 6/24/09
Originally posted by Isturi
That, in principle is *precisely* your "bill of rights". Don't feel like a game satisfies your needs? Stop playing. Find something else. This touches on something else that pisses me off about modern gamers, and that is this notion that every game ever made must cater to every playstyle and interest. Period. From people complaining about a game that's brutal by design being "too haaaaarrrrd!!!", such as Dark Souls, to people complaining that a game like Darkfall doesn't have PvE worth mentioning. To me, it's like saying "Why doesn't this bicycle have 3 wheels!? I demand they add another wheel to this bicycle!!" Because... then it would be a tricycle...?
Sorry... went off on a tangent, but it is somewhat related to the whole entitlement angle. Yes, I know, the OP wasn't so much about petty entitlements people have, but enough people brought it up that it's worth talking about.
"You'll never win an argument with an idiot because he is too stupid to recognize his own defeat." ~Anonymous
Elite Member
Joined: 4/12/11
RIP City of Heroes!
Originally posted by Isturi
Where is your list of responsibilities?
Novice Member
Joined: 6/24/09
Originally posted by waynejr2
Where is your list of responsibilities?
You have no idea how much I wish MMORPG.com would add a "Like" or rating function to forum posts right now.
"You'll never win an argument with an idiot because he is too stupid to recognize his own defeat." ~Anonymous


text: Martina Schneider, MS, trained by Jack Kornfield, has taught at a variety of meditation centers across the US. She brings nonsectarian mindfulness practices to businesses, such as cofacilitating mindfulness retreats for a Genentech program in South San Francisco and mental health organizations such as the Bi-Polar and Depression Alliance in San Francisco. Ms. Schneider has combined her mindfulness practice with social justice work and has worked extensively with homeless and underrepresented populations, counseled people at San Quentin State Prison while they were incarcerated and on release, and has worked with the Zen Hospice Project in San Francisco. Her interest in the combination of nonsectarian mindfulness practices with psychotherapy informs her approach in her Marriage and Family Therapy private psychotherapy practice in San Francisco and Berkeley, as well as the mindfulness-based workshops she teaches in the Bay area.