text:
To Arms; To Arms - The I-Cubs Are Coming!
I had a nice chat before Jeff Samardzija's return engagement in Des Moines Saturday night with I-Cub pitching coach Mike Mason. We talked about Jose Ascanio's pitch counts, Samardzija's repertoire, the organization's pitcher pecking order and the effect, if any, of yo-yoing between the bullpen in Chicago and the rotation in Des Moines on young arms and minds.
Ascanio was the first order of business. It took him until his 6th start to record a win, despite a 1.01 ERA, because his pitch count leash was still so short. After a high-water mark of 81 two starts ago, he'd been pulled after 76 last time out even though he fanned the side in the 4th and 5th, his last two innings of work. Why wasn't he allowed to come out for the 6th?
"He was still closing in winter ball," Mason noted. "When the decision was made in camp to start him this year, the plan was to give him a couple starts at each pitch count level - 60, 70, 80 - as he went along and see how he handled it. The other day we figured why trot him out for the 6th just to pull him after half a dozen more pitches."
Mason had lots more to say about Ascanio before Chad Fox's elbow came undone again later that same night in Milwaukee. I asked him if the organization saw Jose as a pleasant surprise at this point.
"Pleasant is a huge understatement. He's done way better than expected," he grinned. "All along the thought was that the [Chicago] Cubs' 6th starter would come from the organization, but nobody thought 'Hosie' was the guy. Well, he's the 6th starter now. He's passed Atkins."
What about Samardzija? Passed him too?
"Ascanio is a four pitch guy. He throws a curve, a slider and a change-up that's his best offspeed pitch," Mason said. "Jeff and I are talking about him working to develop a curveball to go with his fastball and split." Apparently Samardzija's change-up isn't the complement yet to his high-nineties heat that Ascanio's is to his.
"'Hosie' used to start with Atlanta through Double A," Mason recounted. "Then he went to relief, but he's been throwing multiple pitches longer than Jeff. Jeff's attitude coming back here is great and he understands what he's got to work on."
Later that night of course, Mason's ranking of the trio of proteges in his care was borne out when Ascanio was summoned to the big leagues in the wake of Fox's latest, and maybe last, breakdown.
Yesterday Atkins responded to his snub with probably his best start of the year in pitching the team to a 9-2 win over Memphis. After a rocky start he settled down to last seven innings, the last six of them scoreless.
I asked Mason about Jeff Stevens, who appears to be the best early dividend of the DeRosa trade, although he won't be filling in at 3rd for Aramis Ramirez as DeRosa could capably have done. Stevens still has a non-existent ERA, having allowed only four hits in 14 innings. Batters are 4-45 against him for a BAA of .088, 3rd best right now in professional baseball among pitchers who've thrown at least 10 innings.
"Jeff's been very good, but he's young and he knows he wouldn't get by in the big leagues with essentially one pitch like he is here right now," said Mason. "Down the line if the bullpen keeps struggling in Chicago, I suppose they might give him a shot, but right now there's probably guys ahead of him." Mason named Kevin Hart as one of those, despite his uneven pattern so far this spring.
What about guys like Ascanio and Samardzija ping-ponging between short relief and starting?
"That's a bigger issue in terms of mental preparation than physical." according to Mason. "And even the physical part might be more with the legs than the arm because you just don't run as much if you're in the pen as you do if you're starting every five days. You have to have a different approach with your legs and your head as much as your arm if you know you might pitch any day you come to the ballpark."
I asked Mason if he mostly carries out orders from above or if he has latitude in how he works with his pitchers at the Triple A level.
"I talk with Larry [Rothschild] all the time, and he might say, like with Jeff [Samardzija], 'he's gotta develop secondary pitches,' but it's up to me what pitches we work on. That's why Jeff and I are talkin' about maybe workin' on a curveball for him. They give me assignments, but it's up to me how I work on them." he explained.
Given the ongoing bullpen turmoil in Chicago it doesn't appear Mason's workload will let up any time soon.
OTHERWISE: Greg Reinhard will start in today's noon matinee in the wake of Ascanio's call-up. In 18 innings out of the bullpen he's compiled a 0.49 ERA with 26 strikeouts and only five BB's...the PCL American North is a nice parallel to the NL Central with Iowa [16-13], Memphis [17-11] and Nashville [17-14] jockeying in the standings like their counterparts in Chicago, St. Louis and Milwaukee...Jake Fox has been day-to-day since catching some broken bat shrapnel on Friday night and taking a few stitches to close a leg wound. He's expected back in the lineup today...catcher Chris Robinson is not only hitting .394, he's also swiped five bases! For what it's worth, he's only nabbed 2/15 stealing against him...couldn't help but notice that the redhead is till red hot. Matt Murton is hitting .411 at Colorado Springs. Sometimes we take our stats with a grain of salt in the PCL...MW
Re: To Arms; To Arms - The I-Cubs Are Coming!
Good report from AAA Mike!
Javier Lopez was just DFAed by the Red Sox, he has struggled this year, but has been money for the last three. I wonder if the Cubs will take a look at him.
Re: To Arms; To Arms - The I-Cubs Are Coming!
Iowa Mike, love the AAA Report! Way to get the inside scoop.
Isn't Stevens a little old to be a one-pitch pitcher? Obviously he's got a good fastball with excellent movement to survive just on that.
It's good to get scoop behind the numbers; we hunger to know if the great starts by Ascanio, Stevens, and Reinhard are due to real improvement, or just small sample size
Re: To Arms; To Arms - The I-Cubs Are Coming!
Really excellent stuff, Mike. Thanks.
I thought my BA Prospects handbook said Stevens had 2 pitches. Any more info on what his 2nd pitch is supposed to be, and if they're scrapping it and looking for a different one?
Re: To Arms; To Arms - The I-Cubs Are Coming!
Thanks, Mike!
Re: To Arms; To Arms - The I-Cubs Are Coming!
according to this 2008 scouting report stevens has 4 pitches including a fb between 92-95 and a "whiffle ball" slider: http://www.indiansprospectinsider.com/2008/01/jeff...
excellent piece Mike, thanks for the info...
Stevens best pitch seemed to be his curve/slider when I saw him briefly in spring training...Wilken says he's basically a 2-pitch pitcher.
He added that Stevens is primarily a two-pitch pitcher.
"In the last two years, we've seen semblance, a fiddling around with the changeup but not a lot," Wilken said. "It's been basically fastball, curveball. At times, he seems to dabble in a pitch that you might want to call a slurve-slider, but the curveball is his pitch and he's got power to it. Whereas I think he had more of a slurve-slider before, he's kind of tightened it up and throws it pretty hard velocity-wise.
"It's anywhere from 82 to 86 (mph), and a lot of people say, 'Well, that can't be a curveball.' Yeah, it can, but some people, even though it's got a curveball break, will refuse to call it one because of the hardness of the velocity. Stan, who is
Re: Thanks...
Ridiculous! I hope I get to see him pitch, if for no other reason to see this 82 MPH curve. Cue up comparisons to Ben Sheet's curveball.
Re: To Arms; To Arms - The I-Cubs Are Coming!
I hope the Cubs get serious about the bullpen. The Cubs need to win some close and come-from-behind games and they can't do that if the bullpen is giving up runs like they're Mexico.
I have no idea what that means, but it sounds raunchy and borderline xenophobic, so I thought it was cool. Yay me.
F'real though... and let's hope we're seeing the start of Bradley's bat warming up, because he's going to have to step it up with our big bats gone (Zambrano & Ramirez). Go Cubs!
Re: To Arms; To Arms - The I-Cubs Are Coming!
Neal Cotts = Montezuma's Revenge?
Re: To Arms; To Arms - The I-Cubs Are Coming!
Yeah, Bradley has the signs of coming out of his year long slump (6 for his last 20 - .300), but the Cubs will need more than even his hot bat to keep pace. With no ARam and Lee MIA, Soriano, K-Fuk, Bradley and Soto are going to need to carry the load. There is just not much room for error with the healthy players on the roster right now.
Re: To Arms; To Arms - The I-Cubs Are Coming!
Mike --
Nice job! Very well done.
Re: To Arms; To Arms - The I-Cubs Are Coming!
Mike W: 23-year old RHRP Blake Parker (2006 16th round pick out of U. of Arkansas) has been moved up from AA Tennessee and will be replacing Jose Ascanio on the I-Cubs roster.
Once a power-hitting C-3B-1B-DH, Parker was converted to pitcher at Fitch Park just about exactly two years ago, and he has developed into a fine righty reliever. At the time he made the move to pitcher, he was the EXST Cubs clean-up hitter and #1 run-producer, but one of the Cubs pitching coaches (I believe it was Tom Pratt) saw Parker fooling around throwing off the mound after an EXST game, and the very next day Parker was a pitcher and he hasn't looked back. I remember the other guys at EXST at that time were shocked to see their former clean-up hitter suddenly throwing off the mound, but obviously the Cubs knew what they were doing.
It's interesting that the Cubs have decided to slide Gregory Reinhard into the starting rotation (at least temporarily), since Jesse Estrada was in the I-Cubs starting rotation right up until the end of minor league camp, while Reinhard was primed to work out of the pen.
Reinhard pitched great in minor league camp, getting good results throwing his fastball-slider-splitter combo (while junking his old slider & straight change), and I'll bet his not getting an NRI to ST (getting squeezed out by Esmailin Caridad, Rocky Roquet, J. R. Mathes, and Brian Schlitter) hurts Reinhard's chances to get a call-up now because Piniella & Rothschild haven't seen him throw, and familiarity from Spring Training does make a difference when the brain-trust decides who gets called up to the big club, especially early in the season. But Reinhard should get a shot before too long. He is a definite big league relief prospect, especially if he can throw strikes with his slider and get swings & misses with his splitter.
Reinhard is eligible for the Rule 5 Draft post-2009, so he will get added to the Cubs 40-man roster sometime this year. It's only a matter of when.
Same goes for LHRP John Gaub, presently at AA Tennessee. Gaub has a mid-90's fastball/power-slider combo that works great against LH hitters, and so he would project as a LOOGY in the big leagues. Unfortunately, guys like Gaub aren't used that way in the minors (they usually just pitch innings, regardless of who the hitters are), so Gaub hasn't had a chance (yet) to be used the way he will eventually be used in the big leagues. But with his history of shoulder problems that goes back to his college days, facing one or two hitters per outing would seem to be the perfect mission for him, since his shoulder doesn't bounce back right away when he throws too many pitches per outing.
If the Cubs want to give Gaub a shot as a LOOGY for a week or two at some point and then find that they need to option him back to the minors, it wouldn't have a negative impact on Gaub's option years because (as of now) he is eligible for four minor league options (he has completed only one "full season" through the 2008 season).
Re: To Arms; To Arms - The I-Cubs Are Coming!
Don't tell Lou that Blake Parker used to be a clean-up hitter. If he finds out he might be the #2 PH off the bench after Z. :)
Re: To Arms; To Arms - The I-Cubs Are Coming!
Thanks for input, Phil. The Reinhard's newfound success is associated with replacing a change with a splitter, and an inferior slider with a revised slider, that helps to explain his success.
I'd assumed he was a minor-league roster filler who happened to have a good month; your comments suggesting that he's definitely a big-league prospect are very encouraging.
Usually I associate slider/splitter guys as groundball pitchers. That is definitely not his profile, he's been a strong flyball pitcher both this year and last.
Wrigley Field
An article on ESPN.com about Wrigley Field. Not bad, or at least as bad as one would expect from ESPN. Al Yellon gets some pub.
Looks like the trend of kids being named Addison Clark is growing pretty good now. I named one of my twin girls born in December: Addison Clark Scott.
Re: To Arms; To Arms - The I-Cubs Are Coming!
Really interesting stuff, Mike, thanks. A question and some comments.
Q: Did Reinhard's name come up at all? With 1 run and 26K/5BB in 18 innings, those are some notable numbers. (Especially for a guy who's never been that good previously.) Did Mason mention him, or give any indication whether he's a prospect or not?
Some comments on things that surprised me:
1. The notes that Ascanio is a 4-pitch guy. He's been criticized for being too fastball-reliant in past.
2. The comment that Stevens is a 1-pitch guy and is behind hart on the foodchain. Given that Hart has allowed 11 earned runs in 13 innings (less innings than Stevens), that seems rather puzzling. Hart's didn't all come in one game, either; he's been scored on in each of his last three games and in 6 of 12 appearances. I know he can throw fast, but clearly whatever he's throwing for his 2nd-etc. pitches isn't doing much either. As for Stevens, your point is well taken, maybe Stevens is too stubborn to do what he's told and is just succeeding on his fastball, and until he mixes in a second pitch Mason won't support him. I wouldn't have a problem with that. My guess is that Stevens is probably fighting with his breaking ball. He's walked 7 guys in 14 innings, that doesn't seem like the profile for a guy who's all fastball. More like a scenario where a guy is struggling with his breaking pitch, but having success with his fastball, so for now he's really relying on the fastball. Disappointing feedback, whatever. Either it means that mason is a goofball, or else that Stevens has problems . We've seen plenty of Hart and we know Hart has command/location/deception problems; so if Mason views Stevens as an even lesser prospect than Hart, it follows that we probably shouldn't be too excited about Stevens either.
3. The other surprise is the Samardz comment. In past they always talked about him refining his slider, and working on his change. And of course he has the splitter. Talk about teaching him a curve, in addition to needing to come up with a 2nd pitch, that suggests that they are really giving up on his slider. Curves are normally much harder to control than sliders, of course. So I admit I'm not very encouraged that apparently the slider and change look so hopeless and they are starting over with the curve.
Re: To Arms; To Arms - The I-Cubs Are Coming!
I don't understand the Orgin-I-zations insistance on Samjay being a Starter?
Clearly he throws hard and his slider has its moments. Put the kid in the bullpen and let him try to be the best short reliever he can be.
The odds of him learning 2 new MLB quality pitches at age 24 seem alot longer, than the odds that the Cubs coaches end up ruining his arm/confidence and turning him into Chadd Blasko.
Re: To Arms; To Arms - The I-Cubs Are Coming!
Yes, curves are harder to control than sliders, but unless you're Carlos Marmol, Brad Lidge, or Felix Hernandez, they're also harder to hit if you are able to control it.
His slider isn't very good. It's just not. It's got no vertical movement on it whatsoever more often than not.
I imagine he's played around with a curve at some juncture, he probably just wasn't really happy with the results. Maybe if he can get one of the minor league coaches to work with him on it, it'll come around for him. I think it would suit him nicely to have a nice 80-82 power curve to go with the splitty, honestly.
Re: To Arms; To Arms - The I-Cubs Are Coming!
Good points. Certainly true that curves are harder to hit, and that his slider has been quite bad. During the brief period where he was good last year, was his slider working then? Or was that totally fastball/splitter?
If he could come up with a good curve, obviously that would be great.
I guess I'm thinking that if he hasn't made any progress in 4 years with the easier slider, how likely is it that he'll end up with a servicable curve within 4 years, much less four months?
And where is he going to practice it? Last year he'd been fairly lousy for a couple of years, then one good month and Hendry called him up. This year he was fairly lousy all spring, but two effective outings at Iowa and Hendry called him up. I guess I'm thinking that if you're going to come up with a curve that you'll trust and be able to throw for strikes effectively in the majors, that takes some time. Not sure he'll get that time.
Re: To Arms; To Arms - The I-Cubs Are Coming!
I don't recall him ever throwing a good slider. But he can move that fastball around. Throws the straight 4 seamer. Seen a 2 seamer that runs in to righties and maybe even a few cutters that run away. He's obviously got the splitfinger to go with it.
As far as learning new pitches goes, you've obviously got your bullpen sessions on your side day to iron that stuff out. You've just got to get it to serviceable down there before you pull it out in a game. Work the grip out, work the different arm angle out, and work the timing out with your wrist and elbow on the release and then you can start throwing it to hitters. I'd say it'd be a couple more appearances before we see him use a curve in a game, if that's what they're going to do.
Remember that every type of pitch is different. Your grip, mechanics, and even something like finger length all impact different types of pitches in a different way. Just because he can't throw a good slider doesn't mean he can't throw a different pitch well. Just because he's battled with trying to learn a GOOD slider doesn't mean he won't learn a good curve, either. It also doesn't mean that it'll take him 4 years to do it.
On the other hand, he may not ever learn a good curve, and he may not ever learn a good 3rd pitch to go with his asssortment of fastballs. We won't know until he tries.
Re: To Arms; To Arms - The I-Cubs Are Coming!
Cubs minor league roster moves: RHRP Blake Parker and 3B-1B Kyle Reynolds move up to Iowa from Tennessee, and RHRP David Cales (Daytona's closer) and 1B Russ Canzler move up to Tennessee from Daytona. Cales is the third Cubs pitcher selected in the 2008 June draft to get promoted to AA (Jay Jackson and Casey Coleman are the other two).
And no word yet on whether Daytona outfielders Tyler Colvin and/or Tony Campana (both sustained concussions in an outfield collision Saturday and were removed via ambulance to a local hospital) will be going on the DL. Campana was apparently knocked unconcious. Colvin (November 2008 TJS) has started playing outfield at Daytona and will likely get a promotion to Tennessee before too long, presuming he has no lasting ill effects from the concussion.
Thanks Phil...I am very excited about Cales
He is a native Chicagoan and played high school ball at Mt. Carmel, where a close friend of mine coaches. Coach stated that Cales slider is incredible and, while he has coached a first round draft pick and multiple players drafted in the early rounds, he expects Cales to be the first to reach the majors (Cales was drafted in about the 20th round, I believe). He has been dominant so far this year and it is great he is moving up (even if only temporarily) to AA ball.
Re: To Arms; To Arms - The I-Cubs Are Coming!
Thanks for the info, Phil. The Campana/Colvin collision sounds brutal. I hope they are ok.
And...Kyle Reynolds to AAA? Has batting line is deadly (after a terrible season last year at AA). Is he being sent up there specifically to work with Von Joshua?
And I am excited about Cales, am glad he's moving up.
Re: To Arms; To Arms - The I-Cubs Are Coming!
If Reynolds is solid at third, that may explain the promotion.
After all, is any of the following adept at playing third-- Fontenot, Miles, Scales, Freel, K. Hill?
You can't replace Aramis's bat, but a defensive upgrade would be nice.
Re: To Arms; To Arms - The I-Cubs Are Coming!
Outstanding, Mike. Neither the S-T nor the Trib has even scratched the surface of what you've addressed in such depth here.
Mason's comment that Ascanio "has passed Atkins" is remarkably frank. Mason will probably have to be schooled in the art of equivocation if he gets a job at the Major League level.
Again, wonderful post.
Re: To Arms; To Arms - The I-Cubs Are Coming!
Great article, Mike! Keep cornering those coach/management types.
Re: To Arms; To Arms - The I-Cubs Are Coming!
"if for no other reason to see this 82 MPH curve. Cue up comparisons to Ben Sheet's curveball"
How about the infamous "Eephus" pitch? Always loved when Bill Lee served that one up.
Re: To Arms; To Arms - The I-Cubs Are Coming!
"Matt Murton is hitting .411 at Colorado Springs. Sometimes we take our stats with a grain of salt in the PCL..."
Murton's up with the Rockies now.
Re: To Arms; To Arms - The I-Cubs Are Coming!
I still say the dude can hit. But he's like 50 now, right?
Lee avoids the DL
The Cubs say they got good news on Sunday's MRI of first baseman Derrek Lee's neck. Lee is said to be significantly improved and that he did not need an injection. Lee has a bulging disc, which is causing the neck to spasm. The MRI confirmed nothing worse, according to the Cubs, who added Lee was in no danger of serious problems.
Re: Lee avoids the DL
Is this good news or bad news? I'm not comfortable with Hoffpauir getting knocked out of the lineup till the league figures him out.
Re: To Arms; To Arms - The I-Cubs Are Coming!
On other blogs I've been sort of ranting about the demise of newspapers and "where are those RSS news feeds gonna come from and who's gonna research and pay for finding out when city hall is corrupt and tell us the governor is a low life squeem boy??" blah blah.
But this fucking site is my main source of Cubs news. Not just for the flash so and so got traded that you get in the comments but for the detail in Wellman's, The Doctor's, and AZ Phil's reports.
Unbelievable shit, dudes.
Re: To Arms; To Arms - The I-Cubs Are Coming!
"Unbelievable shit, dudes."
Recent comments
J-Hey not finishing with an offensive onslaught.
If Geoff Blum could be a Playoff hero, there is hope still...
Giants scare me. I think you're wrong about Bumgarner, he would pitch on short rest for Game 2 and then full rest for Game 5. Cueto would go Game 1, then short rest in game 4. Add in some really tough outs in that lineup and I want nothing to do with them. With that rotation they can easily steal a series.
Cards are a tough matchup. The rivalry evens out their comparable lack of talent. And like someone said, they love HRs, which is how to beat the Cubs. The upside is that I would feel really good about Lester twice against STL.
j.buchanan with a nice start...5ip 2h 1bb 3k, 0r/er
zobrist with 2HR and a double through 8
heyward 0-4 :(
Mark Gonzales @MDGonzales
Soler likely to return Sunday, Maddon says
Right now, I'd like to see the Mets first, Giants 2nd.
I believe that since most of the team from last years' NLCS is on the squad this year, they will really amp their game up even more to kick their ass in payback for 2015.
The Giants just do not have the depth in years past, and I think all things equal - and at Wrigley - they could handle them.
I do not want to see the Cards, period. Or their fans, media, or Joe Buck.
I don't want to play Braves in the first round. Any friggin team in the league can win 3 of 5..I hate the first round. Furthermore, I wanted to play the Marlins in 2003 and the Mets over Dodgers last year.
With that said in reverse order:
3. Cardinals: It will be devastating to lose in the first round, but even worse to their main rival. It is increased incentive for the Cardinals, especially after last year. Cards would have nothing to lose, Cubs have everything to lose.
2. Giants: Rotation in the playoffs scare me a bit, but what a lousy team.
1. Mets--because of the losses in the rotation
2. Giants--because they're not the team they were BUT they maybe have bullshit even-year magic?
3. Cardinals--because rivalry and not making the playoffs hurts them more than losing in the NLDS plus getting eliminated by them in the playoffs would make for horrible sports commentary next throughout next season.
Who's asking?
CLE/DET rained out last night already, possible rain-outs in New York (vs. Baltimore), Boston(vs. Toronto) and Philly(vs. Mets) this weekend too.
Not only games involving playoff spots that would need to be played, but any that involve home field advantage.
I got the first one! Second one I'm not even sure what even/odd betting is.
any opponent preference for NLDS?
Mets are down to 1 great pitcher instead of 4. Syndegaard may pitch Sunday which means if Mets win the WC game, he'd be set up for Game 1. There's a chance they clinch a spot by Sunday so he'd pitch the WC and then we'd probably get Colon for Game 1. They've certainly had the hottest bats over the last week and month out of the WC options.
A couple of Cub related puzzles.
Can't teach height and thinness
Hopefully Pirates don't call up A. Lincoln.
j.buchanan going friday...should be...baseball...or something like it.
Wow. I didn't know they could do that.
Nice for Willson, not so much for Addy.


text:
Countdown to TechEd Europe 2012: Content
- Posted: Apr 03, 2012 at 3:00AM
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In this episode, we have Arthur Yasinski, who heads up keynotes as part of the conference content team and manages logistics and marketing as well. Hot on the heels of announcing our keynote speakers, we talk more opportunities for networking, share some fun facts about the conference, and a little behind the scenes of the TechEd team.
Join us in Amsterdam this 26 - 29 June, 2012. If you're already registered, find out who some of your fellow delegates are on the TechEd Directory.
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What happend with "there's a chance to win prizes" from the first show?
Comments have been closed since this content was published more than 30 days ago, but if you'd like to continue the conversation, please create a new thread in our Forums, or Contact Us and let us know.

subset: commoncrawl


text:
New APWA staff
Elizabeth Kelsey has joined APWA in the Washington, D.C. office as the Government Affairs Assistant. She will support the Government Affairs team in creating and realizing their public policy advocacy objectives.
Elizabeth comes to APWA from the University of Michigan Government Relations office in Lansing, MI, where she was responsible for planning legislative events and outreach activities. There, she also founded the area's first young professionals group, which is still going strong with over 500 members. A native of Portland, Maine, she has interned with Congressman Tom Allen (D-ME) and at DCI Group public affairs firm, and worked on the 2004 Presidential campaign to elect John Kerry.
Elizabeth is a 2004 graduate of Muhlenberg College, a small liberal arts school in Allentown, PA, where she studied communication and political science. She received a grant from the school to study the impact of September 11 on children's political views and won a faculty award for excellence in political communication. In September she will begin evening classes at the George Washington University's Graduate School of Political Management.
Emily Walters is the new Program Manager for National RTAP. Emily joined APWA on July 5 and will be working on RTAP outreach, meeting management, RTAP archives, and training product development. Emily is originally from Lexington, Kentucky and is a recent graduate from West Virginia University. She holds a Bachelor's Degree in Journalism with a concentration in Public Relations and a minor in American Policy. She interned for the West Virginia Local Technical Assistance Program (LTAP) for a year and a half.
You can reach Emily at: (202) 218-6720 or firstname.lastname@example.com. Feel free to contact her with any of your questions or concerns.


text:
Undergraduate Business Core
Undergraduate programs in the Bill and Vieve Gore School of Business are distinct in balancing solid theoretical preparation with practical application. Students are given broad business preparation with contextual applications to prepare them for general business decision making.
In all business majors, undergraduate students distinguish themselves by demonstrating ability to:
Students further distinguish themselves by mastering the following professional skill areas in addition to functional areas:
Students completing business programs use these skills throughout the programs and across the curriculum to develop literacy and mastery of the skills. All students also complete practical experiences, in either internships or practicum projects, to give context and experience to learning achieved in the classroom.
In most business majors, students can elect to complete Bachelor of Science (B.S.) or Bachelor of Arts (B.A.) programs. The B.S. programs are designed to give students deeper specialization within the major area, while B.A. programs are designed to give broader preparation in both the program area and in other areas depending on the student's background, preferences, and interests. Students completing the B.A. option are required to complete either a declared academic minor other than the Business minor, or twelve credit hours of foreign language.
Students should discuss B.S. and B.A. options with their academic advisor to determine which better meets their career goals.
Students in all business majors (with the exception of flight operations and some economics programs) complete a common undergraduate core designed to develop skill in all functional areas of business.
There are two components to the common undergraduate core: the lower-division requirements, and the upper-division requirements. Since many of the lower-division core requirements are prerequisites for upper-division major requirements, students should work to complete lower-division courses early in their programs. Upper-division core requirements should be taken when prerequisites are met. Refer to course descriptions to determine prerequisites.
Students should try to complete as many core business requirements as possible in their LE course selections. Those courses that meet LE requirements are annotated below:


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A 71-year-old inmate at Mt. Olive Correctional Center charged with attempted murder rejected a plea agreement in Randolph County Circuit Court Wednesday.
Whorley Jack Ayers - who was an inmate at Huttonsville Correctional Center at the time the alleged murder attempt occurred - will stand trial Feb. 6-7 in the Randolph County Courthouse.
In November, Ayers was indicted on one felony count of attempted murder, one felony count of malicious assault and one felony count of offense committed by an inmate. According to the indictment, Ayers allegedly attacked Phillip J. Frye on Feb. 6, 2012 at Huttonsville Correctional Facility.
After a brief closed-door consultation with his client, Ayers' attorney, Christopher Cooper, told the court that Ayers had elected to reject the plea offer tendered by Randolph County Prosecuting Attorney Michael Parker.
"My client has rejected the state's plea agreement," Cooper said. "This is going to trial."
Parker would not release any details of the proposed plea agreement.
Also in Circuit Court Wednesday:
According to the indictment, Slaubaugh allegedly had sexual intercourse with the 5-year-old victim and forced the victim to engage in a sexual act on Sept. 17, 2011.
Special prosecuting attorney Ray LaMora is representing the state.
Gibson, Tonya Nichole Bender, 24, of Elkins, and Travis Gregory Hammonds, 22, of Elkins were named in the same indictment, which accuses them of breaking into Haney's Bar in Mill Creek on April 28, 2012, and stealing two bottles of liquor and money.
When Wilfong asked Gibson what he had done that made him guilty of the offenses to which he was pleading guilty, Gibson said he and Hammonds had stolen "money and liquor" from the Mill Creek bar.
Parker asked Gibson several questions relative to Bender's role in the alleged incident.
"Tonya Bender actually had no knowledge of (what Gibson and Hammonds planned to do at Haney's Bar)," Gibson told Parker.
"We told them we had something to do, but we didn't tell them that we were going to the bar," Gibson said. "We didn't want the girls to be involved in it."
"Did they pick you up?" Parker persisted.
"They did pick us up," Gibson replied.
"And did you have any conversation with Tonya Bender either before or after she dropped you off about what you were doing?"
Gibson's attorney, Richard Shryock, objected to Parker questioning his client.
"I understand that Mr. Parker is trying to establish a case against another person, but I don't think this is the appropriate format for a cross-examination," Shryock said.
"Part of the plea agreement states that (Gibson) has agreed to give sworn statements under oath, and if the defense objects, then the state will withdraw the plea offer," Parker countered.
Parker posed no further questions to Gibson, and Wilfong subsequently accepted Gibson's guilty plea.
Bender, the Elkins woman named in the same indictment, rejected a plea offer put forth by the state Wednesday.
Cottrell told Wilfong that he didn't provide his entire physical address to authorities and also failed to register his cell phone number.
A sentencing hearing is set for 9 a.m. Feb. 21.
Wilfong also accepted a pre-trial diversion on Demastus' behalf, meaning that counts 7-15 of Demastus' indictment will be dismissed after a period of two years if he does not violate any laws, keeps in contact with his attorney, Timothy Prentice, and has no indirect or direct contact with the victim in the case.
Demastus told Wilfong that he was guilty because, "I was having a bad day and said things I shouldn't have said" to a nurse at the Tygart Valley Regional Jail.
"What did you say to her?" Wilfong asked.
"I didn't feel I was getting the medical treatment that I needed, so I said that when I got out, I was going to pay her a visit," Demastus responded.
"And did you say this in a threatening manner?" Wilfong inquired.
"Yes, I did," Demastus said.
Sentencing is slated for 2:30 p.m. March 8.
Defibaugh said he'd been pulled over in January 2012 because an officer said his license plate was completely covered in dirt.
"He said I looked nervous, and he searched my car and found a little bit of marijuana in the back seat and about 20 clonazepam in my jacket pocket," Defibaugh told Wilfong.
He said he had a prescription for the clonazepam.
"Why weren't they in the bottle?" Wilfong asked.
"To tell you the truth, I don't remember how they got in my jacket pocket," Defibaugh said.
"You don't know why they weren't in the bottle?" Wilfong persisted.
"No ma'am, I don't," Defibaugh replied.
Wilfong said she "didn't buy the whole 'I don't know why the pills weren't in the container,' but that doesn't have any influence on the plea agreement" - which the judge ultimately accepted.
Sentencing is set for 9 a.m. Feb. 21.
McDonald's attorney, Matthew Fair, asked that McDonald be put on probation so he could undergo treatment for drug addiction at a rehab center.
"I don't think putting him in prison is going to help him as far as his rehabilitation," Fair said.
Wilfong ordered that McDonald be held in custody until a spot becomes open at the Anthony Correctional Center in White Sulphur Springs.
"After you participate in the program at the Anthony Center, you will be transferred to the Tygart Valley Regional Jail and a hearing will be held at which I will determine whether you will serve the remainder of your sentence," Wilfong told McDonald.
Myers, 32, was indicted on two felony counts of possession with intent to deliver a controlled substance, two felony counts of conspiracy to commit possession with intent to deliver a controlled substance and one misdemeanor count of possession of a controlled substance.
Defendants who haven't been convicted of a crime are innocent until and unless proven guilty.
Contact Katie Kuba by email at email@example.com.


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Celebrity Central / Top 25 Celebs
Brooke Shields
- 1965
Baby Brooke
Brooke Christa Camille Shields is born in New York City to cosmetics industry executive Francis Shields and aspiring actress Teri Shields. Teri quickly puts her 11-month-old baby in front of the camera for Ivory Snow. According to Brooke, she is hired because of a special talent: "I evidently knew how to kiss," she tells NPR in 2005.
- 1978
Pretty Baby
A preteen Shields plays a prostitute in Louis Malle's Pretty Baby. The controversial film's most shocking moment: a nude scene of 12-year-old Shields, which is cut from many releases. Despite the adult content, Shields is glad she accepted the role. "There was no sense of debauchery, or there was nothing sort of dirty about the way the story was told," she tells NPR in 2005. "I don't think any of us ever really questioned it, and I still don't question it."
- 1980
The Blue Lagoon
Although her nude scenes in The Blue Lagoon are filmed by older body doubles, 15-year-old Shields does perform love scenes with co-star Christopher Atkins (left). Sparks fly between the two teenagers. "They were in love – all goo-goo," mother-manager Teri tells PEOPLE. "I think they brainwashed themselves." By the film's release, the goo-goo is gone. "She became very businesslike toward me," Atkins tells PEOPLE of Shields, who earns a Razzie for Worst Actress.
The In-Between
Shields provocatively stares into the camera and asks, "You wanna know what comes between me and my Calvins? Nothing." Those few words increase designer Calvin Klein's (right) revenue by 300 percent in 90 days, according to Newsweek. Although much of the public is outraged by Shields' special brand of sexual innuendo, the controversy only raises her profile. She is reputed to be the youngest person to ever grace the cover of Vogue, and by year's end, appears on three more of the fashion magazine's covers.
- 1981
Nude Photo Scandal
Shields attempts to block nude photos taken of her at 10 by photographer Garry Gross (Her mother Teri signed the release of the photos). A judge dismisses the case, adding, "Much of the success and the difficulty of [Shields'] dual image of illusion and reality must be attributed to her mother." Seven months later, however, an appellate judge bars Gross from using the photos commercially, asserting that Shields is "a hapless victim of a contract...to which two grasping adults bound her." But by March 1983, Gross finally wins the right to sell the photos.
- 1983
A Model Co-ed
Shields studies French Literature at Princeton University, where many Ivy Leaguers think of her as a celebrity getting a free ride. But her grades silence any skeptics. "Three [students] got A's, and I was one of them. They post grades at Princeton, so everyone saw it, and it gave me credibility," she tells PEOPLE. "After that everyone wanted my notes." Shields graduates with honors in 1987 with a Bachelor of Arts (pictured with her mother Teri).
- 1984
Brooke, Michael & Webster
Shields accompanies Michael Jackson – who seemed more interested in his other date, Webster star Emmanuel Lewis – to the American Music Awards. Although Jackson says in his 1988 autobiography, Moonwalk, that he was romantically involved with Shields, she maintains that they were just friends. "We grew up together," she tells the AP in 1993. "He trusts me." In February, Shields and Lewis also attend the Grammy Awards (left) with Jackson.
- 1985
Virgin Territory
It comes as a surprise when the 20-year-old Princeton sophomore, known for her sexual roles, reveals she is a virgin in her autobiography, On Your Own. "I'm willing to admit I'm a virgin because I feel so strongly about it," she writes. "Love is what I want to wait for. I don't feel the need to experiment." While at Princeton, she begins dating classmate Dean Cain (right). Although the AP later reports that Cain took Shields' virginity, she never confirms or denies it publicly.
- 1986
Career Woes
The Princeton junior lands the starring role in the $16 million big screen adaptation of comic hero Brenda Starr (left), but the film makes less than $70,000. Meanwhile, she wins her third Razzie award for her supporting role in the flop Speed Zone! before appearing in such forgettable movies as Backstreet Dreams, Running Wild and Freaked.
- 1993
Tennis Partners
Shields secretly dates tennis star Andre Agassi (right), who had recently been linked to Barbra Streisand. Their relationship is confirmed when Shields is spotted cheering in the studio audience as Agassi films a guest spot on Mad About You.
Photo Credits
BIOGRAPHY (top to bottom): Globe; Ron Galella/WireImage; Ron Galella, Ltd./WireImage; Everett Collection; Ron Galella/WireImage
- Name
- Brooke Shields
- Date of Birth
- May 31, 1965
- Birth Place
- New York, N.Y.
- Relationships
Chris Henchy, husband (2000 to present)
Andre Agassi, ex-husband (1993 to 1999)
Michael Bolton, ex-boyfriend (1992)
Liam Neeson, ex-boyfriend (1991 to 1992)
George Michael, ex-boyfriend (1988)
Woody Harrelson, ex-boyfriend (1988)
Dean Cain, ex-boyfriend (1985 to 1986)
Dodi Fayed, ex-boyfriend (1985)
- Children
Rowan Francis Henchy, daughter (5/15/03)
Grier Hammond Henchy, daughter (4/18/06)


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Are you looking to make a difference? Incline Middle School is looking for people like you to help with our one-on-one reading program. All you need is a half hour per week and a desire to help a child become a better reader. Reading is Monday through Friday with the exception of Wednesdays from 11:54 a.m. to 12:24 p.m. If you are interested please call Liz Harrell at 775-832-4220 or email firstname.lastname@example.com.
Thank you.
Liz Harrell
Incline Middle School Librarian


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Bobcats open season with 2-1 victory over Stonehill
February 23, 2013
MYRTLE BEACH, S.C. — West Virginia Wesleyan's baseball team opened the 2013 campaign with a thrilling 2-1 victory over Stonehill (Mass.) on Friday. The tightly-played pitcher's duel ended with J....
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Poll: Texans still shun Obamacare, worry about jobs and education
On the first day uninsured Texans can sign up for a subsidized policy, antipathy towards the Affordable Care Act remains strong in Texas.
Four in 10 Texans reported having an unfavorable view of the law in a new poll released by the Texas Lyceum, a nonpartisan, nonprofit state leadership group.
About 36 percent of adult Texans registered support for the ACA, with feelings running strongly along partisan lines. For instance, 64 percent of Democratic respondents said they favored the ACA while 67 percent of Republicans said they disliked it.
Of those Texans who reported they were uninsured, 57 percent said they were likely to try to secure health insurance through the marketplace system that opened today.
Texas is among a handful of Republican-led states that have declined federal incentives to expand Medicaid coverage to low-income adults. The poll showed Texans approve of that decision, with 49 percent saying keep Medicaid as it is and 41 percent saying it should be expanded.
Here are some other issues explored in the Lyceum poll, which questioned 1,000 adult citizens, using telephone land lines and cell phones from Sept. 6-20. The margin of error shows that results can vary 3.1 percent in either direction.
What is the most important issue facing the country today?
The economy 25%
Syria 11%
What is the most important issue facing Texas today?
Education 13%
The economy 11%
Immigration 11%
Which is the biggest threat to your safety while driving?
Other drivers texting 42%
Drunk drivers 27%
What should be the top priority for using restored education funding?
Increase teacher pay 31%
Hiring additional teachers 24%
Invest in computers 16%


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Whew! While the whirlwind of press reviews continue to flood in, a new article has appeared online by way of BBC, featuring new comments from Rupert on his experience in Mojo so far.
"It's great that for my stage debut I'm such a long way from anything I've done until now," Rupert Grint says.
"I've been offered stage things before and I always hesitated: I thought I wasn't ready. I didn't know Jez's play at all so it was a big leap of faith - but that also goes for Ian Rickson (the director). But we've had the luxury of 19 previews to get it right and it's been an amazing experience."
Speaking of the differing dynamic between stage and film, and the intensity of being in front of a live audience for two and a half hours each night, Rupert says:
"Well that's what the rehearsals do for you. It's more intense and deeper than in the cinema. In film you dip in and out, with big distractions in between: you don't go into much detail. Theatre is exhausting in a way film-making usually isn't. But it's also really rewarding."
Submitted by Claire on Thu, 11/14/2013 - 11:06


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HARRISBURG - The Curve offense bailed out the pitching staff for a change Wednesday to win the finale of a week-long road trip.
Altoona built an early lead, only to have Harrisburg tie it in the ninth on a two-run homer. The Curve came right back in the 10th, though, as Jarek Cunningham's solo homer lifted the club to a 7-6 win at Metro Bank Park.
Cunningham's blast was his fifth of the season, and Andrew Lambo ripped his team-leading seventh homer in four-run third inning to help the Curve build a 6-3 lead.
Altoona's offense has struggled immensely most of the season and is last in the Eastern League with a .221 team batting average. But the hitters had a big game Wednesday with 12 hits and the seven runs, offsetting 12 strikeouts.
The Curve's six runs represented a huge day for the offense, which had scored more than three runs only once in the past 12 games.
Gift Ngoepe had two hits in the leadoff spot and finished the road trip strong with three hits in his final seven at-bats. He had gone 0-for-23 in his previous eight games.
Fact Box
Covering the bases
LEADING OFF: RHP Duke Welker became the 104th former Curve player to reach the major leagues Wednesday when he was called up by the Pirates. Welker was superb for Triple-A Indianapolis, with 16 scoreless innings for a 0.00 ERA in 10 appearances. He was 3-0 with 20 strikeouts and eight walks.
SAFE AT FIRST: Welker also was stellar for the Curve last season, posting a 2.31 ERA and 2-1 record in 15 appearances.
STEALING SECOND: RHP Tim Alderson was promoted to Triple-A once again Wednesday after putting together an impressive start to the season with the Curve. Alderson was 1-0 with a 1.32 ERA and two saves in seven relief outings, striking out 17 with only two walks in 13 2/3 innings. He twice has been called up to Triple-A before, once this season and once last year, but has made only three appearances with Indy in those two stints.
ROUNDING THIRD: RHP Quinton Miller was promoted to the Curve from Single-A Bradenton to take Alderson's roster spot, which could be a sign that Alderson could be staying put in Triple-A this time. Miller was 1-3 with a 3.77 ERA in 10 outings for the Marauders.
HEADING HOME: The Curve begin a seven-game homestand tonight. They'll play four games against Richmond and three against Trenton.
- Cory Giger
Alex Dickerson also had two hits, including a two-run double, from the No. 2 spot in the order. He came into the game hitting just .183, while Ngoepe was at .122, but the two combined to go 4-for-9 to spark the offense.
Cunningham, Charlie Cutler and Drew Maggi each added two hits for the Curve. Adalberto Santos was hitless but drew a walk to extend his on-base streak to 17 games.
The Curve led 6-4 entering the ninth before Anthony Rendon belted a two-run homer off Kenn Kasparek to even the game. Jeff Inman had been on in relief and gave up a one-out walk before having to depart with an undisclosed injury.
Kasparek (1-0) wound up getting the win, while Pat Lehman (1-3) took the loss for the Senators.
Game recap
Key player: 2B Jarek Cunningham went 2-for-5 with two runs and a homer.
Key play: Cunningham's homer came at just the right time in the 10th inning as it wound up winning the game.
Key stat: The Curve had topped three runs just once in their past 12 games before Wednesday.
How they scored
Bottom 2nd: Howell solo homer (0-1).
Top 3rd: Ngoepe singled, scored on Santos sacrifice fly (1-1); Dickerson singled, scored on Lambo two-run homer (3-1); Cunningham doubled, scored on Cutler double (4-1).
Bottom 3rd: Goodwin reached on Santos error, Johnson singled, scored on Rendon double (4-3).
Top 4th: Maggi singled, Ngoepe walked, both scored on Dickerson double (6-3).
Bottom 7th: Goodwin singled, scored on Bloxom double (6-4).
Bottom 9th: Goodwin walked, scored on Rendon two-run homer (6-6).
Top 10th: Cunningham solo homer (7-6).


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On the strength of its five-game winning streak, the Kewanee football team is starting to gain notice around the state.
The Boilers debuted in the "Others Receiving Votes" this week in Class 3A. The Boilers received five votes in the Associated Press state football poll, and are just three spots from cracking the top 10.
In Class 1A, voters didn't hold Stark County's 14-10 road loss to Mercer County against the Rebels. Stark County slipped just one spot in the poll to No. 6.
Mercer County maintained its No. 2 slot in Class 2A, with Maroa-Forsyth the unanimous No. 1 pick with all 15 first-place votes.
Three Rivers Conference schools in the polls are Erie-Prophetstown at No. 10 in 3A, and Rockridge No. 4 and Sterling Newman No. 6 in 2A.
Location, ST | website.com


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The Red Hat Hardware Catalog has moved. Red Hat has launched a new catalog that combines Red Hat certified hardware, software, and plugin certification lists into a single catalog, enabling Red Hat customers to discover all certified products at the same location. Check out the new Red Hat certified products catalog at the Customer Portal
Red Hat Enterprise Linux OpenStack Platform
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Canada Business Network Blog
Tag: Government procurement
2015 Study on the Participation of Small and Medium Enterprises in Federal Procurement
Participate in the 2015 SME Study on procurement from the Office of Small and Medium Enterprises of Public Works and Government Services Canada.
Classification system used to find goods and services on Buyandsell.gc.ca will change by 2017
Do you do business with the government? The codes that apply to the goods or services you supply will soon change.
Explore business opportunities and build market research on Buyandsell.gc.ca
Find out how to submit government bids and discover contracts issued in your industry.
Demystifying selling to governments
Find lucrative opportunities with government clients. Learn how you can demystify the process.
New procurement data made available
Our guest blogger, the Office of Small and Medium Enterprises, shares some tips on how you can use the newly released Pre-Qualified Supplier Data.
Doing business with the government? The Ombudsman ensures fairness
Do you provide goods or services to the federal government? The Office of the Procurement Ombudsman was created to strengthen the fairness, openness and transparency of federal procurement.
Prince Edward Island Service Centre
Get help starting or growing your business.


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Anti-Semitism continues to thrive in the Egyptian media. Derogatory images and harsh accusations against Jews in the Egyptian media have persevered through bad and good times - periods of tension and periods of calm in the more than 20 years since the 1979 declaration of peace between Israel and Egypt.
Anti-Semitic stereotypes continue to be prevalent in cartoons, with Jews often depicted as dirty, hook-nosed, money-hungry world
dominators. Comparisons of Israel with the Nazis, denial of the Holocaust and traditional libels are also common. It is ironic that while the Egyptian media frequently engages in denial of the Holocaust, it continues to demonstrate the "evil" of the Israeli government through the use of Nazi symbols.
While anti-Semitic cartoons can be found in opposition newspapers, many are printed in the government-backed press, including the largest Egyptian dailies, Al-Ahram
and Al-Goumhuriyya and the popular magazine, October.
For the promoters of these images, anti-Semitism often serves as
a political device intended to undermine normalization with
Israel. There is little or no distinction made between anti-Semitism and anti-Zionism in the cartoons. In fact, Israel is often portrayed as the frontline of an international Jewish conspiracy. The result is to dehumanize and therefore delegitimize the presence of Jews as a national entity in the Middle East.
Egypt, of course, is not the only Arab country where anti-Semitism is found in the press. Similar images appear throughout the Arab world, including in the press of Israel's other negotiating partners such as the
Palestinian Authority
and Jordan. However, as the Arab world's political and cultural arbiter, Egypt's anti-Semitic propaganda is more disturbing and dangerous.
Egypt led the Arab world in reconciling with Israel. As such, it was expected that it would lead its population and the rest of the Arab world toward changing public attitudes toward Israel. Indeed, this expectation is built into the 1979 Egypt-Israel Peace Treaty, which calls upon the parties to "abstain from hostile propaganda."
As the intellectual hub of the Arab world, Egypt exports newspapers, magazines and books throughout the Middle East. The concepts and images portrayed within these publications have a powerful influence in shaping popular opinion throughout the region.
The result of these unrelenting attacks is that an entire generation has come of age since the 1979 peace treaty being exposed to the same negative presentation of Jews and Israelis as its parents' generation. Jews portrayed as demons and murderers are people to be feared and avoided, and certainly not to be allowed to enter into normal discourse and relations.
These anti-Semitic stereotypes constitute a major setback to the normalization of ties with Israel.
As in the past, there has been a steady barrage of criticism against Israel and its leaders in the Arab media in the last 15 months - both before and after the outbreak of violence in September 2000. The focus of much of the criticism is Israel's policies with regard to Lebanon, Israeli settlements, Jerusalem holy sites and the peace process.
Several common themes in the cartoons are:
Of the many forms of anti-Semitic expressions in the Egyptian media, the most sinister and dangerous is the
use of caricatures depicting Jews in classical
stereotypes. In virtually all the cartoons, Israelis are depicted with classic anti-Semitic features and are portrayed as being militant and brutal.
Such anti-Semitic caricatures invoke stereotypes of the Jew as wicked, dangerous and cunning. They not only reflect some Arab attitudes toward Jews, but they also have the capacity to incite hatred against their Jewish neighbors.
The purpose is not only to vilify the Jew, it is also to remove any credibility to Israel's intention to live in peace with its neighbors. In fact, the message in many of the cartoons is that Israel is opposed to peace
and that Israelis enjoy killing Arabs.
The report was prepared in cooperation with The Middle East Media Research Institute


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Reese Witherspoon beat the gridlock gloom with a pinch of holiday humor on Thursday.
The actress was spotted driving a car that would make her the envy of any Christmas fanatic. Witherspoon tricked out her Land Rover with reindeer antlers flanking each side and a red Rudolph nose on the front.
The silly decorations might not illicit giggles from baby Tennessee just yet, but Witherspoon's cute car surely cheered up other drivers lucky enough to catch a glimpse.
The actress, 36, recently joked that she's working on getting her pre-baby brain back. "I couldn't remember, the other day, what you call that thing that keeps the food cold. It was the refrigerator," said Witherspoon. "I couldn't remember the name of it!"
–Julia Haskins
Reese Witherspoon Spreads Holiday Cheer While Stuck in Traffic
Splash News Online; Inset: FilmMagic


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Editorial: High grain prices hit producers twice
High corn and soybean prices continue to place dairy producers in a financial bind as rising feed costs erode milk checks. Industry analysts now project tight supplies and high prices well into the 2012 crop season despite more acres being devoted to corn. This strong demand for grain is extending its tentacles even further by elevating already record land rents and purchase prices.
In the Midwest, agricultural land posted a 12 percent gain during the past year. According to Chicago's Federal Reserve Bank, that gain tied the second-largest price climb in the past 30 years. On top of that, the last quarter of 2010 matched the highest gain in Midwest land prices for any quarter since 1977. In Nebraska, the story is much the same where land prices rose 22 percent last year alone. What's more, Nebraska farm land is selling for double the price of just six years ago.
As long as the world's appetite for grain remains strong, biofuel mandates remain in place, and interest rates stay low, the pressure on land prices will continue. So, given today's competitive land market, is it still a good buy?
The Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) just held a conference on this issue. Economists were mixed on the answer. Speakers noted it is difficult to draw comparisons to the late 1970s and early 1980s since different market conditions existed. They also noted agricultural returns on crops are subject to change, almost without notice. And finally, interest rate hikes likely would cause land prices to trend lower.
In the present market, growing dairy operations and their bankers will have difficulty tying up money into an asset that has a relatively low return on investment (ROA). In those instances, dairy producers will have to enter in partnerships to secure forage needs and, more importantly, area to disperse nutrients. Even dairy operations with large land bases need to take a serious look at enterprise budgets.
Based on current trends, we would get the most out of our feed dollars by feeding more high-quality, highly digestible forage. At the same time, more selective culling of marginally productive cows could reduce feed costs and allow us to capitalize on record beef prices. As long as strong grain prices continue, it will give all of us pause to determine what is the best balance for our operations.


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Sen. Ted Cruz, the Texas Republican, suddenly finds himself the target of ire among the loonies who ordinarily comprise his political base.
Liberal blogger Heather Parton, who calls herself Digby,� has the story HERE:
So Ted Cruz wrote a tribute to Nelson Mandela on his Facebook page:
Nelson Mandela will live in history as an inspiration for defenders of liberty around the globe. He stood firm for decades on the principle that until all South Africans enjoyed equal liberties he would not leave prison himself, declaring in his autobiography, 'Freedom is indivisible; the chains on any one of my ...Read more


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Top Definition
the way a really fat person looks when he or she sits down.
oh my god, did you see kristin when she sat down? She looks like a melted candle.
od uživatele Two ton Tess 29. prosinec 2007
Trending Now
Can you define these popular missing words?
an overweight male that doesn't do work at physical training and drinks underage. this particular male tries to get with overweight females that are smaller than 5ft.
"regan have you ever seen what a melted candle looks like? that's you with your shirt off"
od uživatele mrhat9000 10. březen 2009
When your lady has had multiple money shots to the face, neck, chest, neck and breast she will be looking something like a melted candle. Also known as Bukake.
Man, I just left your mom's house. We made her into a melted candle!
od uživatele Matt Simmons 17. říjen 2006
External female genitalia (vulva). From the TV Show Significant Others.
Man, she had a hairy melted candle.
od uživatele Dante 07. březen 2005


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Open innovation books by Stefan Lindegaard
Three free books on open innovation
I am a Copenhagen-based author, speaker, and strategic advisor who focuses on the topics of open innovation, innovation culture, and communication for innovators. I believe open innovation requires a global perspective and I have given talks and worked with companies in the U.S., Europe, Asia and South America.
Here I share three free books I've written on open innovation.
Innovation Exercises and Insights
This is a workbook with more than 40 exercises covering topics such as open innovation, innovation culture, communication, the corporate innovation team, and networking.
If you are a consultant or teacher, use the exercises in your interactions with clients and students. If you work in a company, use them in training sessions or to get some inspiration for solving your innovation challenges. It's up to you!
The only thing I ask for in return is that you share my work with your colleagues, friends and network. Let's work together to make the (open) innovation movement go even further!
You are of course also welcome to book me for a talk, session or workshop if you want a more facilitated approach to the exercises and tools.
Social Media for Corporate Innovators and Entrepreneurs: Add Power to Your Innovation Efforts
How can my company use social media to bring out better innovation faster?
This is the key question that I explore in this book, which covers issues such as:
- What are the benefits of using social media for innovation efforts?
- What are the challenges and how can you overcome them?
- How can the different social media platforms help bring out better innovation faster?
- How should companies approach social media for this purpose?
- How can innovation leaders get a better understanding of social media and start maximizing the value of their virtual networks?
Social media has the potential to be a game changer for how companies innovate and companies need to pay full attention to the intersection of open innovation and social media if they want to out-innovate their competitors. This might be unchartered territory, but it is full of interesting opportunities.
Free download or Kindle version
Making Open Innovation Work
Practical, engaging and direct! This is the style of Making Open Innovation Work, which explores the open innovation intersection between big and small companies by covering the following topics:
- Why big companies need small companies as part of their open innovation ecosystems.
- The benefits of open innovation – and the challenges it poses for companies of different sizes.
- How to make open innovation work when the partners are of unequal size.
- Case studies illustrating open innovation between big and small companies.
- How to identify and develop the people who will drive open innovation within an organization.
- What to do if things go awry in an open innovation partnership.
- How to handle issues of intellectual property rights.
- How to use social media tools to build your open innovation capabilities and attract partnerships.
Free download or Kindle version
Note: If you want to discuss ways of working together you can email Stegfan at: email@example.com. His Twitter handle is @Lindegaard. For more on working with Stefan Lindegaard visit this post on his blog at 15inno.
Originally posted on Stefan Lindegaard's blog, 15inno. Reposted with permission.
6 Comments
Thank you for sharing these Stefan, I look forward to reading them. Hopefully more individuals and organisations will see the benefits of open innovation.
Thank you for sharing your knowledge through these free books Stefan!
I downloaded all three, and will sure be reading the second one. It has some interesting chapters such as '7: Making virtual communities work' and chapter 8 on the topic of gamification. Those are (key) elements of open source projects, which makes it an interesting read for me.
thanks a lot for sharing
Will load up on Kindle tonight, thanks for sharing
What a terrific resource. Innovation Exercises and Insights could be useful with students. Thanks for sharing!
thank you for sharing your great book.


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on October 4, 2012 - 9:13 PM
, updated October 4, 2012 at 9:14 PM
A judge Thursday sentenced a 17-year-old Kenya native to more than 23 years in prison for his manslaughter and robbery convictions.
Muridi Mohamed, of Hampshire Avenue, was convicted of first-degree manslaughter for fatally stabbing a 16-year-old East Side resident during a fight Aug. 11, 2011, on the West Side.
In a nonjury trial this August, Erie County Judge Thomas P. Franczyk found Mohamed did not face deadly physical danger, nor had he tried to retreat from the fight, before stabbing Dai'John Johnson, of Johnson Street.
Police at the time said the brawl in the culturally diverse West Side neighborhood involved as many as 20 people.
As a young African immigrant, it may have been hard for Mohamed to find his niche in the community, the judge said.
"You certainly took the wrong turn when you got here," Franczyk said.
The judge sentenced Mohamed to 19 years for manslaughter and 4½ years for a robbery conviction. He said the terms would run consecutively.
Mohamed, through an interpreter, apologized "for everything he did."
He stood trial on a second-degree murder charge, but the judge found him guilty of the lower charge in part because some prosecution witnesses provided information in their trial testimony that they did not share with police who investigated the stabbing.
"I do not believe Mr. Mohamed intended to kill anyone but over-reacted to the situation," said defense attorney Andrew C. LoTempio.
"He was embroiled in a hostile environment where two groups of teenagers were fighting all summer," LoTempio said. "The man who was stabbed ended up in the middle of it."
Johnson's family submitted victim impact letters to the judge but did not address the court during the hearing.
Prosecutor Gary W. Hackbush and Assistant District Attorney Michael P. Felicetta, prosecuted the case.
email: firstname.lastname@example.com


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Thursday, June 12, 2014
Sometimes I watch life go by and think, Wow, I havent been surprised in a while.
Im pretty hard to startle because I believe life tends to be pretty random. And anyone is capable of anything: There is good even in the most hateful person, and bad in the most selfless one. Its how were made.
Still, some things still raise my eyebrows. Which is fineId hate to be so numb that nothing ever made me feel amazement. Its probably good for the soul to trip out now and then.
Things That Make Me Trip
When you walk into someones kitchen and they have one of those long magnetic strips on the wall holding what looks like 172 knives. This actually terrifies me, because when a band of roving hoodlums breaks into your house, they wont have to look for weapons. Theyre right there on the wall!! Shudder.
I dont know anyone named Edith or Alice. Thats a little sad.
Teeny, tiny dogs. A few years ago I was visiting my mom and a neighbor lady rang the doorbell. Your mother tells me you have several dogs and you clip their nails, she said. She thrust something forward that lookedoh, God, it wasnt a dog, it was an embryo. A tiny teacup Chihuahua with legs as frail as dandelion stems and eyes that bulged like wet grapes. I took the nail clippers she offered and managed to trim the dogs long, translucent claws. I can still see that poor, deformed creature and hear her saying proudly, less than a pound!
The fact that I can livehappily!in a house with no dishwasher. Who knew?
People who take their phones into church. I dont care if you put it on vibrate or in hibernation. Unless youre a surgeon or firefighter, you can probably leave it in the car without the world ending.
Visiting someones home and realizing they have no books. I dont mean books displayed in bookshelves, I mean no books on view at all. Maybe some people keep their books in closets, but I doubt it.
The crazy range of oatmeal you can buy in the grocery store. When I was a kid we had Old-Fashioned Quaker Oats (boil 10 minutes, or until consistency of library paste) and Quaker Quick-Cooking Oats (boil three minutes, or until consistency of library paste). Today we have instant oatmeal in 20 different flavors, not to mention steel-cut oats and Irish oats and oat bran. I just want to know if they all cook up like library paste.
Drivers who pass me in a blur when Im cruising at 89 mph on I-95.
How anyone can eat veal without a qualm. Consider asking your server if it was crate-raised or pasture-raised. Then follow your conscience.
People are still using tanning beds. I did fake n bake for years as a young adult. Then my dad died of skin cancer. Then doctors started finding carcinomas on me and began cutting away pieces of my body, one chunk at a time. I have numerous scars from Mohs surgery that have healed nicely, but ask yourself: Which is worse, pale skin or scarred skin? Any dermatologist will tell you tanning beds are unsafe. Know what is safe? Sunless tanning cream. The cheap stuff works great.
How awesome it is that my husband doesnt care if I cook. Actually, hed prefer me not to. Okay, he insists on it. Start one little stove fire and everyones a critic.
Julie R. Smith, who is more amazed than she admits, can be reached at email@example.com.
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The Emmi Roth Favorites Gourmet Cheese Sampler is an assortment of Emmi Roth Cheese Havarti, Blue Cheese, Gouda and other specialty products. The Gift Box includes Havarti Original, Havarti Dill, Buttermilk Blue Wedge, Moody Blue Wedge, Vintage Van Gogh, Beef Summer Sausage, mustard and crackers. Enjoy this outstanding selection of Wisconsin cheeses and snacks yourself or send as a gift for the holidays.
Havarti Original - buttery, rich and flavorful; great for slicing, cubing, cooking and snacking.Havarti Dill - versatile, Danish-style extra cream Havarti infused with fresh dill.Buttermilk Blue Wedge - rich and creamy blue cheese, tangy yet mellow; self-cured a minimum of 60 days.Moody Blue Wedge - rich and creamy blue cheese, delicately smoked.Vintage Van Gogh - creamy, flavorful Dutch-style Gouda aged a minimum of 6 months.


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Originally published May 30th, 2005.
With the recent passing of my girlfriend's 1990 Toyota Celica, she's been feverishly researching cars and collecting pricing information on used vehicles. As part of her research we took a trip down to the Laurel CarMax [3] facility to check out the feel of some cars and what we'd expect to pay. If you aren't familiar with CarMax, and they're only located in some states so there may not be one near you. But they pride themselves on no-haggle pricing and being a friendly sales environment where they don't try to pull a fast one on you like traditional horror-story-type dealerships.
As soon as you walk into a CarMax, and if you wander around, you'll be greeted by one of their sales representatives almost immediately. They're not forceful but they will ask you if you're being helped if you wander the dealership alone. How knowledgeable they are about cars depends on the person but the person who helped us, David, was there for three years and had a pretty good understanding about the cars he was showing us.
CarMax sells a large number of used cars, the Laurel, MD location sells the most out of any of them. David told us one month they had a quota of 1,100 cars and crushed it by selling 1,400 – the execs came down and cooked them steak and lobster. The reason CarMax sells so many cars is because they're valuing turnover and sale frequency over the profit per sale. It's obvious when you talk to these folks that they aren't trying to sell you an expensive car, they're trying to sell you the car you want. Even the sales commission structure works this way.
The commission structure at CarMax works as follows: a salesman makes $150 per sale plus bonuses if they sell warranties, financing plans, etc. Quota at CarMax is ten cars. If you average thirteen cars in a 6 month span, you are part of a Director's Club. Sell fifteen cars and you're in the President's Club. As you join these clubs, the commissions increase so it behooves you to sell as many cars as possible. The quickest way to do that is to match a buyer with the car they want – not try to sell them a car that's more expensive. A $50,000 car nets the same commission as a $10,000 car – but you can move cheaper cars more often!
Anyway, that gives you an idea of the inner workings. We showed up at the CarMax to find a Honda Civic, Toyota Corolla, or a Saturn of some kind. The Laurel location didn't have any used Corolla's or Saturn's in my girlfriend's price range and mileage but we did find three Civic's she was interested in looking at. Another benefit of CarMax is that you can find out what sort of financing they can secure for you in under fifteen minutes without an obligation. After a quick credit check, my girlfriend could get an incredibly crappy rate of 6.45% on a 5 year loan on a Civic ($14k sticker, $4k down). You can always buy the car and secure your own financing within three days without incurring any interest penalties (for them floating the loan to you for three days).
David told us about the CarMax MaxCare Extended Service Plan too – which covers what your typical manufacturer's 3-year 60,000 mile warranty would cover. This is important because if you're buying a gently used car, you probably only have a fraction of the manufacturer's warranty remaining. All you pay is a $75 deductible ($50 if you take it to a CarMax) and it sounds pretty sweet. The price for five years of coverage was a flat price of $1,199 on a $14,000 car – $1,149 for only forty-eight months.
David knew that we weren't going to buy a car that day (it was pretty obvious) but he was very polite, helped us with all that we needed, and when we thanked him he was very polite. He never made us feel uncomfortable and I appreciated that. We asked for a business card in case we did decided CarMax was the best option and we were on our way.


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12 Olympic events with no U.S. golds
POSTED: 09:45 AM PST Feb 19, 2014 UPDATED: 10:00 PM PDT Aug 08, 2016
The U.S. is still looking for a gold medal in these 12 Olympic sports.
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Thursday, July 25, 2013
Hurricane Preparedness Workshop
Saturday, July 27 • 10 am - 11:30 am
• Learn how to prepare your home prior to a hurricane to weather the storm
• Create an emergency preparedness kit
• Choose the best generator for your needs
• Identify the different types of alerts and wind speeds associated with hurricanes
Representatives from several area agencies will be on hand, and workshops will be conducted on selecting the right generator, gathering the supplies you need to weather the storm and how to prepare your home.
Some of the participating agencies are:
Berkeley County Hurricane Preparedness and Emergency Management Department
Several local EMS, Fire Departments, and Berkeley County Police Department
The Red Cross
The Doc Williams ASPCA
Disaster Care
Prudential Insurance Group
Senior Calendar
Monday, 9 to 10 a.m. – Weight Training. Designed to improve muscle strength and bone density, this class will help tone your body. Bring a towel, mat, and a pair of 3 lb. weights. Instructor: Ronna Toombs (must be a member of H2U to participate in this class)
Tuesday, 10:30 a.m. – "Just Good Enough" music group
Wednesday, 9:30 a.m. – Canasta: New/experienced players welcome.
Thursday, 1 to 3 p.m. – Summerville Woodcarvers. This group meets on Thursdays. New Members welcome. For more information, call Barbara at 843-871-7469.
Friday, 1 to 3 p.m. – Creative Crafters. Calling all crafters to join us to make Christmas ornaments to sell at the Gift Fair. All supplies will be provided.
Fall ball
Summerville Little League will open registration for its fall season this weekend. Registration will be held from 10 a.m. until 2 p.m. July 27 at the Boundary Street ball fields. Onsite registration will also be held from 10 a.m. until 2 p.m. Aug. 3, 10 and 17. On-line registration will also be available through Aug. 19 at http://www.summervillelittleleague.org.
SSC Work Day
In preparation for the upcoming season, the Summerville Soccer Club will have a facility work day from 9 a.m. until 1 p.m. July 27. Volunteers are needed to help set up fields, cut weeds, clean and paint signs, cut branches and install and tie down nets. Anyone interested should meet at the clubhouse for assignments.
Patriot Football
Fort Dorchester High School will begin football tryouts for all levels the first week in August. All interested athletes must obtain a physical prior to tryouts, which will be held behind the school on practice fields. Varsity and Junior Varsity (grades 9-12) tryouts will begin at 4 p.m. Aug. 2. B-team (grades 8-9) tryouts will begin at 6 p.m. Aug. 5. Dress for tryouts is a T-shirt, shorts and athletic shoes. For questions, call the Patriots' Athletic Department at 760-4455.
Coastal Center Cup
The Parents and Guardians Association of the Coastal Center, an all volunteer 501(c)(3) non-profit established in 1982, will host its second annual Coastal Center Cup Golf Tournament at the Westcott Plantation Golf Club on Sept. 28. Tee time is 9 a.m. The registrtion fee is $75 per player or $300 per foursome and includes green fee, cart fee, bag valet, cart signs, scorecards, scoreboards and a Lowcountry shrimp boil immediately following the tournament. Contact Richard at 312-4222 or firstname.lastname@example.com for more information.
Fall softball
Summerville Girls Softball has set three registration dates this month for girls interested in the 2013 Fall Season. Registration will be held at the Jerry Blackwell (Gahagan Park) Athletic Complex office from 10 a.m. until 2 p.m. July 27. The Fall Season is an instructional season for players age 7-25. Age divisions will be established based on the number of registrants and their ages. The registration fee is $60 and a birth certificate will be required for those who have never played for Summerville Girls Softball. For more information, call Barbara Koester (871-8043) or Amy Perry (323-6300).
Cathedral Camps
Cathedral Sports is offering a variety of summer camps where kids can learn about and participate in numerous activities. Cathedral of Praise will host basketball, soccer, karate and dance camps in July. Cost for each camp is $65 per camper and includes a camp T-shirt. For full details on camps, visit CathedralCamps.com.
Doty Courts Tennis
The Town of Summerville is offering all sorts of tennis camps, leagues, lessons and clinics this summer. Camps for beginning, intermediate and advanced players age 5 and up are scheduled for Aug 5-8. The fee is $115 per camper per week and a $50 deposit is required. Camp times are from 8 a.m. until noon and lunches are provided. The Town is also offering a Mixed Doubles League, Private Sessions and Assessment, Group Sessions, Adult Clinics (2.5-3.5), Beginner Junior Clinics, Junior Tennis Camp and Cardio Tennis. Registration for tennis programs is available at www.summerville.sc.us. For further information, contact Nancy Sumersett at 270-1017 or email@example.com.
Sports physicals
MEDcare Urgent Care has launched its 2013 Sports Physical Challenge, which will run through Aug. 31. Both MEDcare locations (8720 Dorchester Road, North Charleston and 1850 Sam Rittenberg Boulevard, Charleston) will offer students a sports physical for only $20 and $5 will be donated back to each school per sports physical to participating schools as designated by the student or parent. The school with the most sports physicals performed at MEDcare during this promotional period will receive an additional $500 donation.Both clinics are open every day from 9 a.m. to 9 p.m.
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Big Innings Lifts Baseball to 13-7 MAC Tourney Win
The fourth-seeded Ball State baseball team advanced in the Mid-American Conference Tournament for the first time since 2006 with a 13-7 win over No. 5 Miami University Wednesday morning at All Pro Freight Stadium in Avon, Ohio.
Scott Baker, the 2013 MAC Pitcher of the Year, improved to 12-1 on the season with the mound win for Ball State. Baker gave up four runs off of nine hits while striking out four batters. With the win Baker now holds the Ball State all-time pitching record for most victories in a season.
Offensively, the Cardinals had 17 total hits. Cody Campbell was 3-for-5 from the plate with a triple and a home run. Campbell also had three runs-batted-in and scored two runs. Blake Beemer also went 3-for-5, including a double, two RBI and three runs. T.J. Weir went 3-for-4 with a home run and Sam Tidaback was a perfect 3-for-3, while hitting a triple and a homerun.
The Red Hawks crossed the plate early in the first inning after Jake Romano tripled to right center with only one out on the board. John Crummy then singled to centerfield, scoring Romano. Baker then struck out Kevin Bower and Alex Johnson flew out to Sean Godfrey for the last out of the inning.
Down 2-0 in the second inning, Campbell started the bottom of the second off with a triple to leftfield. Beemer brought home Campbell after he singled. With two outs and runners on first and second, MU's Brooks Fiala struck out Elbert DeVarie to get out of the inning.
Miami took a 4-2 lead in the third, but Ball State answered in the bottom of the third cutting the Red Hawks lead to 4-3. Wes Winkle reached base after he was hit by a pitch. Ryan Spaulding singled to center advancing Winkle to third. Godfrey singled to the right side to bring home Winkle. Beemer then singled to bring home Spaulding.
It was a big fourth inning for the Cardinals after scoring four runs off of five hits, which included singles from Weir, Spaulding and Campbell. Tidaback tripled for the first time this season and Winkled doubled for the eighth time to help give Ball State the 7-4 advantage over Miami.
Ball State's bats stayed hot in the fifth inning. Weir singled and Tidaback hit a two run homer to left field to put the Cardinals up 9-4. The home run marked Tidaback's third of the season.
The Cardinals tacked on four more runs in the sixth after Campbell hit his fourth HR of the season and Beemer hit the centerfield wall marking his 16th double of year. With two outs, Weir collected his seventh homerun of the year.
Miami scored three in the top of the ninth, but that was all it could score and the Cardinals advanced with the 13-7 win.
The Ball State baseball team advances in the winners bracket of the MAC Tournament. Ball State will face the winner of Wednesday's 7:30 p.m. game vs. top-seeded Kent State and No. 8 seed Central Michigan at 4 p.m. Thursday.


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William Levy brings the heat week after week on Dancing with the Stars – just look at him! – but when it comes to keeping his cool outside the ballroom, he knows just the trick: a frosty snack.
"I stay up late at home watching sports, eating and not thinking about anything," he told PEOPLE after Monday's show, in which he performed a perfect foxtrot with partner Cheryl Burke. "I stay by myself watching TV, reading a book, eating ice cream."
But when it comes to de-stressing from the competition, Katherine Jenkins and pro Mark Ballas take a more physical approach.
"We play fight," Jenkins said. "We wrestle."
Added Ballas: "I win every time."


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South Central
at Seneca East
Coaches: South Central's Aaron Brokaw; Seneca East's Ed Phillips
2011: South Central 1-9; Seneca East 7-3
Last year: Seneca East 45, South Central 14
Outlook: Phillips and Seneca East face a challenge in Attica Friday. Sure, South Central won just once a year ago, but the Trojans have embarked on a new era - this is Brokaw's first season.
As a result, Phillips and his staff have been relying on scrimmages to get an idea of what South Central will try to do.
"That helps to get an idea," Phillips said. "But you never know what's happening when you have a first-year coach."
From what he has seen, Phillips believes the Trojans will go with a power running game behind a powerful force up front.
"They probably average 240 on the offensive line," Phillips said.
Phillips said the SE offense will face a squad that likes to put five guys up front. The key for the Tigers, though, is holding onto the ball.
"I think the key to Week One is taking care of the football," Phillips said. "Beyond that, we have to be assignment-sound. If we do that, we're gonna be fine."
On defense, Phillips said the Tigers need to hold the SC offense in check. He said he's seen one thing in the practices that needs to be corrected.
"We played well, but we have allowed a few big plays," he said. "We can't allow the big plays against these guys."
at Hopewell-Loudon
2011: Leipsic 11-2; Hopewell-Loudon 10-1
Coaches: Leipsic's John Kirkendall; Hopewell-Loudon's Jeremy Nutter
Last year: Hopewell-Loudon opened it's season with a 23-13 win in Leipsic.
Outlook: Not only is this a return game from last season's opener, it's a contest between a pair of 2011 playoff teams. And even though it's Week One, Nutter didn't downplay Friday night's importance.
"I think it's not a secret this is a big game with implications for later in this season," Nutter said. ""[But] they don't hand out any trophies in Week One."
The key on defense for the Chieftains may be finding a way to neutralize star receiver Devin Mangas, a second-team all state selection a year ago,
"They have a nice wide receiver in the Mangas kid, one of the top-range of athletes we'll see for the year," he said. "All 11 defenders have to be responsible for him."
It will be a big night for a number of H-L players, including Alec Gregg, who steps into the quarterback position following the graduation of Tyler Tyree.
"Make no mistake about it, Alec Gregg is ready," Nutter said. "The guys know he's prepared."
And Nutter said he's not the only one who will be.
"It's a great challenge and a great opportunity to play a great football team," Nutter said. "That's what our program is about."
at Arcadia
Coaches: Dave Vodika, Lakota; Pat Gehrisch, Arcadia.
2011: Lakota 1-9; Arcadia 7-4.
Last year: Arcadia beat Lakota, 45-13.
Outlook: It's not only the first game of the new season, but the first of two new eras.
Vodika and Gehrisch usher in their coaching debuts at their respective schools in a head-to-head matchup, but the Lakota coach said his Raiders and the hometown Redskins won't be totally in the dark about each other.
"He's seen us and we've seen them [in scrimmages], so we each have a pretty good idea of what's going on," he said. "I'm pretty impressed with what he's done [in a short amount of time].
"The quarterback, I think, is a really good football player. He was a junior with a senior laden football team last year. He still continues to impress me and I think they're using him well."
Arcadia is coming off its first trip to the playoffs, giving the Redskins a leg up on Lakota in tradition. But Vodika said that's something the Raiders would like to emulate.
"Our situation is one where we need to establish, start some tradition. We're just working hard and looking forward to it," he said.
"We look forward to changing Lakota history," Vodika said. "Sooner or later, we're going to get it there."
But doing so will take a little time, he said, and the first step is to become competitive while trying to avenge last year's 45-13 loss to Arcadia.
"I've told the boys we don't know yet who's good and who's not as good, but we're worried about us being competitive," Vodika said. "If we can learn to do that, then we're going to be happy with the results, whatever they are. Right now we want our guys to be competitive.
"We can't expect us to put it on hyper drive and get into the top 20 [percent of state teams], we've got to work at it."
at Upper Scioto Valley
Coaches: Mohawk, Erik Baker; Upper Scioto Valley, Josh Spencer
2011: Mohawk 3-7; Upper Scioto Valley 3-7
Last Year: Mohawk 21, Upper Scioto Valley 7
Outlook: While watching film of Upper Scioto Valley's scrimmages, it might have been easier to find Waldo than to find a running play out of the Ram offense. On film, Baker saw a team that likes to put the ball in the air, reminiscent to one of Western Ohio's more prominent programs.
"They run the same offense as Kenton. Obviously they don't have Maty Mauk, but they're trying to complete that same kind of scenario and run the same style of offense," Baker said. "In the three scrimmage films we've seen, they may have run the ball 4 times.
"They like to throw vertically and get down the field, and when you adjust to stop it, they'll go underneath and throw bubble screens."
According to Baker, the formation the Rams like to use prohibits them from using a standard rushing attack. However, they make up for it with screens and draws.
"They feel their quarterback is their best offensive threat. They put him at seven yards (behind center) where he's almost unreachable with a standard pass rush," he said. "It takes leverage away from the traditional rushing game. Instead they run middle screens, jet sweeps with the receiver and QB draws."
Upper Scioto Valley's defense is just as aggressive as their offense.
"They are very aggressive up front, lots of stunting. They give you a myriad of things to defend and we'll have to do some different things up front to get our offense going," Baker said.
However, Baker said the Warriors will concentrate on playing their own game, not trying to work around what Upper Scioto Valley is doing.
"You're doing yourself a disservice if your doing everything as a reaction to the other team," he said. "We've been pretty good at being able to attack. Whatever they do to us, we feel we can have a counter to it."
at Ottawa-Glandorf
Coaches: Jim Kelly, Fostoria; Ken Schriner, Ottawa-Glandorf.
2011: Fostoria 5-5; Ottawa-Glandorf 8-3.
Last year: Ottawa Glandorf 32, Fostoria 0
Outlook: Kelly and the Redmen get no easy start to his tenure as coach as they travel to Ottawa-Glandorf for Friday's first game.
The Titans, a playoff team every year since 2005, have kept FHS scoreless in the past three season-openers. And while the defense has shut down Fostoria of late, Kelly said O-G's offense has been just as formidable, churning out wins of 22-0 (2009), 48-0 (2010) and 32-0 (2011).
"Our basic concern is the way they run the ball and their physicality. They're a system off that runs the ball hard. They're determined to get in their lanes," he said.
"They have a good quarterback and good running backs. They have a great system, they stick with it, they're real diligent with it," Kelly said. "That's what makes them good. They'd don't crumble if they give up a score, they come right back."
The keys to success, Kelly said, are the same this Friday as any other game day: Limit the mistakes and capitalize on the Redmen's athleticism whenever possible.
"It's always the basics of football. We can't turn the football over. We've got to force them to make some mistakes and we've got to be tenacious after the football," he said. "Another thing for us, if we make a mistake, we can't get down on ourselves but get back up.
"We have some good athletes and we have some seniors who are good athletes. We feel like we can put challenges out there (against their defense)," he said. "On the defensive side of the ball, that athleticism lets you fly to ball."
And Kelly said the Redmen are anxious to do that, not only because it's the season's first game, but because they want a chance to please the community and the team's history.
"We're excited. Kids are champing at the bit," he said. "I look at it as an outstanding opportunity when you can represent Fostoria. It's a great tradition with a community behind it that supports it and wants to win.
"We're starting to get the kids to understand the importance of it. They hear about the state championship every day and to understand what that means."
Upper Sandusky
at Carey
Coaches: Upper Sandusky, Jake Moyer; Carey, Todd Worst
2011: Carey, 8-3; Upper Sandusky, 5-5.
Last year: Carey 42, Upper Sandusky 13
Outlook: Both veteran coaches know that first games of the season mean jitters.
It's how their teams handle those mistakes that will likely determine the winner Friday night at C.D. Wentling Field.
"It's like with most first games: the games are usually lost not won generally because of turnovers and the kicking game," Moyer said. "That's happened to me in the past. It is what it is. Everyone is nervous and everyone is jumpy. You have to constantly take care of the ball. And take advantage of the turnovers because there is going to be mistakes by both teams."
Worst said he knows both teams could make some miscues.
"We know there's going to be some mistakes here and there," Worst said. "I hope we're able to overcome those mistakes and learn a lot these first couple of games."
The Carey mentor said while Upper Sandusky only lost four players from last year's team, he puts more weight in what the Rams did in the preseason than watching film from last year's drubbing of Upper.
"The way it looks, the offensive line is pretty strong. Defensively, they're strong in the middle," Worst said. "The two scrimmages we saw (their opponents) weren't able to run between the tackles very well and that's a concern for us."
For Moyer, he doesn't need to look at film or watch a scrimmage since Carey has been running a version of the wishbone for what seems like forever.
"They pound with a purpose. That purpose is they've been running this conservative offense long enough to know all the defenses they'll see against it," Moyer said. "It makes it easier for them to adjust to whatever their doing.
"Their offense makes you become very assignment oriented. Every play, someone has to tackle the fullback first, then the quarterback, then the pitch man. Even though it's not the old wishbone offense we saw from Oklahoma from the '70s. It's more of a power bone. But it's the same idea. If you're assigned to him, you better get him, or he's gone."
Moyer said coming out strong in the second half may be the most important thing of all.
"You must weather the storm. After halftime, Carey really lays the wood to you and tries to steal the momentum from you," he said. "That's been that way forever. If you weather the storm, you'll be successful. If you don't you fail."
New London
at Buckeye Central
Coaches: New London Justin Vorhies; Buckeye Central Jason Ratliff
2012: New London 2-8, Buckeye Central 12-3.
Last year: Buckeye Central beat New London 28-7.
Outlook: The Bucks are ready to begin the new season with the same momentum they had at the end of last year, when they went on a playoff run that ended in the state title game.
Buckeye Central faces New London with a number of new starters.
"Everyday we get better," Ratliff said. "We're going to find the kids that can step up and play."
In order to take the win in the season's first game, Ratliff believes his team will need to defend well and avoid penalties.
"They have two good quarterbacks, one a good passer and one a good runner. We just need to figure out who's in the game and defend either one," he said. "Controlling the line of scrimmage will be key. And since it's the first game for both teams, I think nerves will be a factor. Fumbling and penalties like that are things we need to control. The key to the game will mainly be stopping their running game. New London has some quick running backs, like Clay Wilson, who did pretty well in the scrimmages."
Losing players to graduation also will be a factor for the Bucks, who graduated 10 starting players from their offense and eight from their defense.
"New London has a very talented senior class, some with three-year starting experience," said Ratliff. "So they have the experience factor on us. They have a new coach, but he was on stats last year. We just have to do things the right way in order to beat them and the kids have to do their part in order for us to be successful."
-The A-T sports staff


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9/20/2016UDC Law's Judicial Clerkship Surge!
9/16/20162016 School of Law Orientation Highlights
10/1/2016MPRE Workshops: Workshop 1
10/1/2016ABA Law Student Division 11th Circuit Fall Meeting
10/1/2016Popular Eugenics Talk / Lecture
10/1/2016Video Recording and Police Accountability Panel
UDC David A. Clarke School of Law
4340 Connecticut Ave NW
(Mailing: 4200 Connecticut Ave NW)
Washington, DC 20008
Phone: (202) 274-7400
Fax: (202) 274-5583
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