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There are a number of different ways in which you can use Trendsmap technology on your website. Checkout our Products page, for more information on what Trendsmap can offer your business.
The words on the map are taken from recent tweets (you know, from twitter). We track the words, or topics, as they become more or less popular in overall tweets, and only show the important ones.
The development of Trendsmap commenced in June 2009 and the site was launched in September 2009. It continues to evolve as more cities and languages are added.
Sometimes the topics take over most of the screen and it can be difficult to scroll. If this happens simply use the plus/minus icons to zoom in/out a bit and give yourself a chance to see where you are and scroll by dragging a piece of the map that isn't covered by a topic. You can also go to your current location, your area, and the global view by using the other icons next to the zoom.
We use google to help us get your location (geoip). This doesn't always work correctly, sorry about that.
Trendsmap is continuously tracking twitter trends, right down to the second. New trends should appear within minutes, and they may gradually increase or decrease in prominence as they become more or less popular. Trendsmap only shows topic trends for up to one week, less if the trend is weaker. If you watch the topics on the map you will often see them adjusting real-time.
Trendsmap uses a large volume of tweets and various algorithms to determine what is trending for a given location. While it is true that the tweets from your house/village/town/etc may be trending to a particular topic, your area may not generate enough for them to show compared to other, larger areas.
Yes. Checkout our events page, and also you can subscribe to our channel on youtube to keep up to date with the latest additions
Trendsmap uses the location set in your user profile on twitter.com to determine your location. The more accurate that is, the better Trendsmap can use your tweets. For example, 'California' is not specific enough for Trendsmap to use when calculating local trends, but if you specify your location to be 'San Francisco, USA' it will be able to gain sufficient information to use your tweet to help generate localised trends.
Probably not. This could be for two reasons:
Stronger trends are represented by larger, darker topics. In order to stay consistent, if your area is not showing strong trends compared to the rest of the world, they will be naturally lighter. We are always looking for ways to make Trendsmap more useable, but in the mean time you can mouse over the trends to highlight them and read them more easily.
We are currently processing around 80 million tweets per day. We have over 1300 cities from 120 countries that have their own page on the site (eg Melbourne), and the number of topics changes depending on what people are tweeting about.
Trendsmap currently processes tweets in all languages and completes enhanced processing for the following languages: Arabic, Turkish, Russian, Italian, Swedish, English, Spanish, Portuguese, German, French, and Dutch.
You start with a view of your region where you can see the trending topics. You can scroll the maps by dragging to another area, or zoom in or out using the plus/minus icons. When you see something that looks interesting click on that topic for more information such as graphs of the volume of tweets locally vs. worldwide, what the topic is most likely about, images, links, and most recent tweets. You can also see where else this topic popular by clicking on the topic within the detail display, or what else are people tweeting about at this location by clicking on the location name.
I'm glad you said that. There are two ways you can offer feedback on this site, be it a feature suggestion, bug report, or whatever.
This site has only been possible due to a number of different components. A list of many of the components & services we use are listed below. If you have any queries regarding the development, you can contact lead developer, John Barratt via Twitter.


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As he prepared to bowl the final frame in the NJSIAA/Bollinger Tournament of Champions final, Woodbridge senior Tyler Mortensen knew he what he needed to do.
"I knew we definitely needed a strike, at least one," Mortensen said. "I just tried to throw the best balls that I could."
"It's the greatest feeling in the world," Mortensen said.
"The kid has ice in his veins," Woodbridge coach Rich Maddock said. "Tyler has been clutch for us all season. Time and time again he has come through for us. Not only is he one of the best bowlers in our county, but he is one of the best in the state."
To advance to the Tournament of Champions, Woodbridge first had to win the Group 3 title. After the first two games, it trailed Livingston by 12 pins. But Woodbridge took care of business in the next five Baker games to win the Group 3 title for the second consecutive year. It was Woodbridge's sixth Group title, the most for any boys bowling program.
The other Group champions crowned yesterday were Jackson in Group 4, Colonia in Group 2, and returning T of C champion Keansburg in Group 1. Jackson set a T of C record with 3,409 total pins, which surpassed Sayreville's 2009 total of 3,306.
"We broke a tournament record, which I didn't even know until they told me," Jackson coach Anthony Buczynski said. "I didn't even know what the record was and then they told me we beat it by over 100 pins. That's just a testament to how good these guys are. It's a real special group. It's rewarding for me as a coach."
Of the four teams that qualified for the Tournament of Champions, Woodbridge had the lowest pin total, earning it the fourth seed and a head-to-head matchup with Jackson.
"Honestly, we were clear-minded going into the matchup with Jackson," Woodbridge senior Brandon Rosas said. "We made it to the semifinals last year and lost to them, but we beat them this year, so it feels good."
Woodbridge won the first two games, Jackson the next two. Maddock preached the same message he has used all season heading into the tiebreaking fifth game.
"The best thing you can do is stay positive," Maddock said. "I told the guys, 'Listen, they are a great team but so are we. If we come out and shoot our game, we can hang with anyone in the state. If we make our shots and pick up spares, things will take care of themselves.' Today we happened to get the better of them."
Keansburg took the first game in the final, 180-168, but Woodbridge took the next three (266-179, 202-194, 266-247).
"We weren't doing that good the first game, but we came back as a team," Rosas said. "It's amazing. I didn't think we would make it this far, but now we've won the whole thing."
SEMIFINALS: Woodbridge def. Jackson, 3-2; Keansburg def. Colonia, 3-2.
FINAL: Woodbridge def. Keansburg, 3-1.
1-Jackson 3,409. 2-Washington Twp. 3,212. 3-East Brunswick 3,178. 4-Freehold Twp. 3,128. 5-Northern Highlands 3,071. 6-Westfield 2,893. 7-Linden 2,825. 8-Passaic Tech 2,767. 9-Bayonne 2,766. 10-Bergen Tech 2,661.
1-Woodbridge 2,935. 2-Livingston, North Brunswick 2,928. 4-Burlington Twp. 2,841. 5-Morris Hills 2,835. 6-St. Peter's Prep 2,832. 7-Toms River South 2,683. 8-Wayne Hills 2,677. 9-Indian Hills 2,656. 10-Pascack Valley 2,644.
1-Colonia 3,077. 2-Manchester Twp. 3,029. 3-Lenape Valley 3,021. 4-Jefferson 3,003. 5-Ewing 2,918. 6-Johnson 2,903. 7-Pascack Hills 2,839. 8-Central Reg. 2,831. 9-DePaul 2,591. 10-St. Joseph (Mont.) 2,476.
1-Keansburg 3,048. 2-Sussex Tech 3,036. 3-Lyndhurst 2,927. 4-Dayton 2,859. 5-Oratory Prep 2,857. 6-Msgr. Donovan 2,837. 7-Cardinal McCarrick 2,797. 8-Bordentown 2,771. 9-Becton 2,638. 10-Marist 2,615.

subset: commoncrawl


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"Richie believes that Smart does not "know she's a man."
Smart does not know she is a man because she isnt a man!
Boy, it's one thing after another with her toy. With all her money and connections, you'd think she'd hook him up with easy access to men or anything else he wanted.
Poor JLO. She thought she'd finally found a straight back up dancer. Lol
@DK: Exept…."Sofie Vissa is currently "shopping" the scandal around gossip sites in hopes that she'll cash in ".
Obviously, it's the trans women herself that's making a big deal out of it. Otherwise, there would be no scandal.
Looking at her pics she looks good but you'd have to be blind to think she's not trans.
Casper Smart plays a bee in a dance video, it's pretty funny. The guy obviously has a sense of humor.
Maybe Sofie Vissa can email Austin Wilde and clue Austin Wilde in on how to sell shit to gossip sites (as opposed to giving shit away to a gay porn blog patronized by guys who don't pay for porn).
Good going J-Lo, just slap a condom on that stud and enjoy everything he's got.
So he isn't gay, he's just a cheater.
Either way I'm sure things are tense at the Lopez house.
@damon459, funny how Perez used to enjoy outing people, drawing on their pics, then he fianlly admits he's a 'mo as well! Casper is just a male bimbo (or a mimbo), all about looks with little brains.
First of all, being attracted to a Trans woman does not make you gay. I would be more concerned that he's sending nude photos and texting other women. Well, he's young and horny and it's bound to happen to be honest. They didn't hook up so it sounds like pretty harmless fun.


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When he was 5, Clint Holley loved to dress like a li'l cowpoke.
He had a toy gun and holster, a cowboy shirt and a 10-gallon, er, a 10-pint hat.
Three decades later, he dresses the same way. Well, minus the gun and holster.
The Cleveland resident and musician, you see, is a self-described "concrete cowboy."
He loves cowboy hats. He has 25 snap shirts to go with his Levi's. And he wears ONLY cowboy boots, NO tennis shoes.
Luckily, he has more than two dozen pairs of boots to choose from.
"I've never lived on a farm," says Holley, who plays in the band Hayshaker Jones and works as a bartender at the Beachland Ballroom. "But I still love to dress like a cowboy -- I've done it my whole life."
Holley isn't beating a dead horse.
Unlike so many fashions that ride in and out of town like the wind, Western wear is the style that never shoots blanks.
It's beaten a path into pop culture with all its sound and fury, signifying outlaw cool.
"The cowboy was the first rock 'n' roller," says Holley. "It's a universal image."
Not totally universal, as he found out early on.
"You're a little self-conscious when you first start wearing a cowboy hat and people notice," says Holley, who owns a felt hat for the winter and a straw one for summer. "But once it becomes part of you, that's when you feel confident."
The hat doesn't just make the man. It also makes the cowgirl, says Rebecca "Sugar" Wildman.
"It all started for me when I found my first cowboy hat in Columbus," says Wildman, a musician who works as an analyst at Ernst & Young. "I got it for fun, and then I realized that I could wear all sorts of things with it."
Like jeans. Or a gingham skirt. Or Western shirts. Or boots, leather, denim.
"You can mix and match so many things with Western wear," says Wildman. "It's branched out into so many directions -- rockabilly, punk, rock 'n' roll."
It's yet to spread into corporate attire, though. Wildman refrains from wearing her cow-print top and miniskirt from Frederick's of Hollywood to the office.
"That might not work," she says.
Most of the time, Western wear does work, though.
"When people see you dressed all Western, they're attracted to it," says Wildman. "They see you as different, fun, out of the ordinary."
And a star, says Kristin Richards, whose family has owned Clip-ity Clop for 40 years.
The Brecksville shop sells more than just boots, shirts and hats. It sells a lifestyle.
"Western wear never goes out of style because there's always some movie or musician making it popular again," says Richards.
She reels off a gang of celebrity outlaws who have herded people into the store over the years, from Johnny Cash to Larry Hagman's J.R. Ewing on "Dallas" to John "Urban Cowboy" Travolta.
"People see them wearing Western clothes and they want to dress like them," she says. "You wouldn't believe how many girls came in to buy cowboy boots after Jessica Simpson wore 'em in 'Dukes of Hazzard.' "
A boot by high-end maker Lucchese starts at $150 and slithers up to $350, if you're looking for lizard skins and have a fistful of dollars to blow.
Country singer and noted hat man George Strait has inspired gallons and gallons of business at Clip-ity Clop.
"His fans always come here looking for a hat just like his," Richards says.
A few years ago, Strait did just about the same thing.
"He was doing a show in town and needed a hat," says Richards. "We even had to 'steam' it for him. You actually steam the hat to make it fit just right."
Hair-metal rockers Poison make regular stops to the shop when they're in town to buy Scullys or Wranglers. The classic cowboy brands fetch between $50 and $70 a shirt.
They've also inspired a stampede of discount versions and knockoffs, sold in stores such as Wal-Mart, Sears and American Eagle.
Greg Miller prefers riding out into the wilds for his bounty. He's traveled the country in search of vintage shirts while singing in the country-and-punk-tinged rock band the Whiskey Daredevils.
"I'll take an old retro cowboy shirt over a new one in a store any day," says Miller, who works as a TV ad salesman. "I've always found that the bigger the band, the lamer the shirts -- and the last thing I want is to get some shirt that Garth Brooks is wearing."
It isn't just that Miller is averse to glitz or spending money on a shirt.
It's all about that outlaw feeling of riding into a second-hand shop in some town and discovering a buried treasure that some cowpoke wore decades ago.
"Yeah, something like that," he says. "I'm a thrift-store cowboy."


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Carmine Catalana, Frank Hankins, Robert Woodruff Sr., Albert Fralinger and Bill Stotz gathered around the a conference room table in the Bridgeton Police Department (BPD) station and let the tape role.
"I would like to turn it into a documentary and give copies to libraries and public schools to educate people about local history," said organizer and history researcher Bob Crowe.
The bunch were equal parts rowdy and insightful but also "very knowledgeable about history," according to Crowe.
The names Catalana and Hankins defined the area's dairy and hardware supply, respectively. Woodruff Energy company is still here, providing fuels and Fralinger Engineering is out on Shiloh Pike in Hopewell Township. Stotz, who is 101 years old, worked for Woodruff and still contributes to the company.
The gang didn't give a second thought to timely jabs.
"You look like you're 102," Hankins told Stotz, who without missing a beat, retorted "I feel like I'm 105. Anyway, I still have feelings."
BPD Lt. Jere Branch, who put together the Commerce Street storefront display of BDP history, offered the conference room at the station for the filming. Volunteer Assistant History Coordinator Isaura De La Rosa lent her hands for the session as well.
"Personally, I knew a lot of the background but I learned the tid bits," said Crowe.
In speaking with Stotz at the county library this February and Hankins at the city's 325th anniversary celebration last month, Crowe said the idea started to come together.
He took thousands of original photographs, edited them and put them onto disks which projected onto a screen while the men of the hour recounted the back story of these photos and even their own involvement.
Early on in the slide show was a shot of the 1939 Bridgeton High School football team with what would be Jim Hursey Memorial Stadium in the background. Scaffolding still encased a little less than half of the structure, which construction had started on the prior year.
An image of late Bridgeton Evening News publisher John Schoefield with then president John F. Kennedy popped up.
"We used to double date together," Hankins said of outings with Schoefield.
Catalana filled in information on the former Cohansey Street milk plant, which later became a 7-Up factory.
The conference room table was strewn with other old photos, binders of photos and an easel with more taped to it. Crowe said some shots were loaners and others were from his collection.
"Some of these stories they tell, it's amazing," said Crowe.
The Criterium Theater fire of 1949 cost Catalana some milk bottles he had delivered next door that evening.
More recollections came rushing back as photos continued to pass by on the projector.
"That looks like South Avenue School. I remember when that burned down," said Fralinger. "I was the city engineer at the time."
Conversation continued for two hours without a loss for words or memories.
Some unnamed man in the background of a photo suddenly became the centerpiece or a long gone business became a fond point of recollection.
Crowe said he hopes to host two hours sessions every two weeks, until all the pictures have been reviewed or his subjects become exhausted.
"How many people get to meet guy who's 101 and talk history with him?"


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About the only thing I can think of that may be causing this weirdness is the ask query, when returning a category, includes subcategories. This would explain the results being returned weirdly, as Category:User is a subcategory of both 3.5e and 4e, and contains 3.5e stuff that doesn't have Category:4e on it. Is this how it works? If so that's a real pain...it means we can no longer use Semantic Drilldown. Surgo 16:11, 27 August 2009 (UTC)
- Actually, looking again through the manual, I am almost certain that is the problem, caused by inferencing. This can be turned off, which may fix the problem -- unfortunately, this requires back-end access to the configuration file, which I do not have. Surgo 16:14, 27 August 2009 (UTC)


text: The Super Swamper Thornbird Tires are an amazingly Versatile tire. The highway contact area in the illustration shows the tread on hard surfaces. The Three Stage Lugs on the sidewalls do not touch highway surfaces but as soon as the tire gets into mud or snow the sidewall lugs provide decisive traction in forward or reverse. Fiberglass belts under the tread and polyester body plies contribute to a really smooth comfortable ride. Super Swamper Thornbird Tires design comes close to being two tires in one... a revolutionary design that has earned its place as all-terrain legend that can cross-over to the highway with ease.


text: Ron Paul Supporter Hawking RomneyRyan.com 'This site, much like Mitt Romney himself, is for sale to the highest bidder' By Kevin Spak, Newser Staff Posted Aug 16, 2012 12:10 PM CDT 5 comments Comments Mitt Romney and Paul Ryan point to people in the crowd at a rally Aug. 12 in Waukesha, Wis. (AP Photo/Jeffrey Phelps) (Newser) – Surf over to RomneyRyan.com, and you'll pretty quickly realize that it's not a Romney campaign site. It features a link to Romney's tax returns, a link to a list of his top contributors, and the message, "This site, much like Mitt Romney himself, is for sale to the highest bidder." That last bit is the point. The site is owned by enterprising Ron Paul fan Peter Crowley, Roll Call reports, and he wants at least $5,000 for it. "RomneyRyan was an educated guess, one that I was always glad I had acquired," Crowley says. "But in the end I also bought about 70 other combinations that obviously never came to fruition, ones involving Rick Perry, Newt Gingrich, but proudly never Sarah Palin." He says he'll sell to anyone, though he'd be particularly pleased to sell it to Paul. But Crowley wasn't always a Paul fan; he once worked as an intern for Democrat Jim McGovern's campaign.


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The only thing that could make this better would be if it had scores. It might in multiplayer, but in single it doesn't. :(
Oh, and possibly a wider playing area.
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Sheffield is one of the six member communities of the Rest of the River Committee. The information was omitted from Sunday's article regarding the committee's involvement in the PCB cleanup of the Housatonic River.
The Berkshire Athenaeum and veteran homebrewer Steve D'Ambrosio will present "An Introduction to the Art of Home Brewing," in the library' s auditorium on Saturday, Sept. 21 at 2 p.m. The incorrect date was published in an article that ran in Thursday's paper.


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SACKVILLE, N.B. - Bikers will get their motors running and head out on the highway Saturday.
Toys for Tots turns 21 this year
Organizations: Tantramar Civic Centre, McDonald's, Tantramar Toys for Tots Action Group Ronald McDonald House Atlantic
Geographic location: SACKVILLE, New Brunswick, Nova Scotia Port Elgin District Halifax Sackville Industrial ParkTop of page


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Magazzu, giving his annual State of the County address to the Tri-City Chamber of Commerce at a luncheon Thursday at the Ramada Inn in Vineland, urged municipal leaders to "think creatively" in terms of sharing services and be open to consolidation as a way of cutting costs without cutting programs.
This includes creating more regional municipal courts, tax offices and school systems.
It includes creating a countywide library system, 911 call-in system, as well as merging the county and Vineland health departments.
It also includes countywide public works cooperation for circumstances like serious weather emergencies, such as the significant snow fall experienced this past winter.
"We are looking at virtually every opportunity that presents itself to see how we can collaborate with others both at the municipal and county level," Magazzu said.
Magazzu pointed out the many ways the county already shares services, including sharing health officers and medical examiners with nearby counties, creating a joint municipal court in Downe and Fairfield Townships, and the combined Vineland-Millville Urban Enterprise Zone.
In addition, he talked about the current difficulties facing the county budget.
Magazzu unveiled a tentative county budget at last week's county freeholder meeting.
County freeholders say they do not want a tax increase this year, and must look for ways to bridge a $3 million deficit in its $133,971,517 budget. They are considering various measures such as mandatory employee furloughs and health contributions, elimination of health benefits for part-time employees, reductions in charitable contribution, capital down payments and equipment purchases.
"This is stuff that we can do without the unions and I would suggest to you will probably happen," he said.
The county may also lay off as many as 55 employees, on top of 11 employees who have already been laid off this year.
This could be mitigated by concessions made by the union representing county employees, although concessions like a pay freeze have already been rejected.
"I am hopeful that they will work for us," Magazzu said. "I do not believe they are villains. I believe they have a job to do and that's to protect their employees."


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Nelson, NY -- A Morrisville man, who was seriously injured in a single-car crash in Madison County Friday night, was charged with driving while intoxicated at a Syracuse hospital, state police said.
Scott A. Colvin, 27, of 4142 Route 20 East, was traveling west about 10:15 p.m. on Old State Road in Nelson when he lost control of the vehicle and left the roadway, police said. The vehicle overturned several times and Colvin was ejected from the car, troopers said.
Colvin was taken to University Hospital, where he was arrested and charged with DWI, speeding, aggravated unlicensed operation of a motor vehicle and unlicensed operation of a motor vehicle.


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Amsterdam, The Netherlands – December 6, 2012 – uniQure B.V., a leader in the field of human gene therapy, today announced the appointment of Hans Christian Rohde as Chief Commercial Officer.
Mr. Rohde joins uniQure from Basilea Pharmaceutica (SIX: BSLN) where from 2007 he was Chief Commercial Officer and member of the company's executive management committee with responsibility for global commercial operations, marketing, supply chain, medical affairs, pricing and market access.
"We are very pleased with Hans Christian's appointment," says Jörn Aldag, CEO of uniQure. "With the approval of Glybera we need to rapidly build and expand our commercial organization to enable the successful roll-out of Glybera and provide access to this crucial treatment to as many patients as possible. Hans Christian's experience and successful track-record in major biotechnology companies such as Basilea, Merck-Serono and Biogen Idec provide us with the necessary leadership qualities to successfully commercialize Glybera."
Hans Christian Rohde (M.Sc., MBA) has almost 25 years experience in commercial roles at leading biotechnology and pharmaceutical companies. Prior to Basilea Pharmaceutica, Mr. Rohde was Corporate Vice President, Head of Global Therapeutic Areas Reproductive Health and Endocrinology at Merck-Serono from 2003 until 2007. Before this he was responsible for international marketing and global market development at Biogen Idec. From 1992 until 2000, Mr Rohde held positions of increasing commercial responsibility at Novo Nordisk. Mr. Rohde started his career at Laboratoires Syntex..
About uniQure
uniQure is a world leader in the development of human gene based therapies. uniQure's Glybera, a gene therapy for the treatment of lipoprotein lipase deficiency has been approved in the European Union, and is the first approved gene therapy in the Western world. uniQure's product pipeline of gene therapy products in development comprise hemophilia B, acute intermittent porphyria, Parkinson's disease and SanfilippoB. Using adeno-associated viral (AAV) derived vectors as the delivery vehicle of choice for therapeutic genes, the company has been able to design and validate probably the world's first stable and scalable AAV manufacturing platform. This proprietary platform can be applied to a large number of rare (orphan) diseases caused by one faulty gene. uniQure's largest shareholders are Forbion Capital Partners and Gilde Healthcare, two of the leading life sciences venture capital firms in the Netherlands. Further information can be found at www.uniqure.com.
About Glybera®
uniQure has developed Glybera as a therapy for patients with the genetic disorder lipoprotein lipase deficiency, an orphan disease. The disease is caused by mutations in the LPL gene, resulting in highly decreased or absent activity of LPL enzyme in patients. This enzyme is needed in order to break down large fat-carrying particles that circulate in the blood after each meal. When such particles, called chylomicrons, accumulate in the blood, they may obstruct small blood vessels. Excess chylomicrons result in recurrent and severe acute inflammation of the pancreas, called pancreatitis, the most debilitating complication of LPLD. Glybera has orphan drug designation in the EU and US, and obtained marketing authorisation from the European Commission for commercialization in the 27 EU countries in November, 2012, making it the first gene therapy to win approval in the Western world.
For further enquiries:
Jörn Aldag
Tel : +31 20 566 8014
Hans Herklots
Managing Director
Capricorn One
Tel: +41 79 598 7149


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President Obama and a "gang of eight" senators — four Republicans, four Democrats — last week pledged to fix the nation's broken immigration system. This year.
That's welcome news. For too long this debate has been hijacked by those who believe that forced deportation (and self-deportation) of 11 million undocumented people in the United States is not only the right thing to do, but doable. And affordable.
The bipartisan resolve that emerged last week between the White House and Senate proponents has an electoral mother: Obama carried more than 70 percent of the Hispanic vote in the November election. Republican leaders are taking a realistic look at their party's future.
Even though talks on legislation are just beginning, the "agreement to agree" on a few basic principles is encouraging. Those include:
- Securing the border with Mexico.
- Creating a "pathway" for illegal immigrants to gain probationary legal status — after registering, passing a criminal background check, showing proof of employment and ability to speak English, and paying a fine and any back taxes. Then they could begin working toward citizenship, but they'd have to go to the back of the naturalization line, behind the people who entered the country legally.
- Establishing a verifiable ID card system for employers to check.
- Eliminating the huge backlog of visa applications, which contributes to illegal immigration and often forces family members of U.S. citizens in other countries to wait 10 years or more to get approval to come here.
Even with general consenus on these objectives, there is a big "if … then" condition on securing the border. The Senate plan would set up a commission of governors, attorneys general and community leaders from southwestern states, who could block all other reform provisions from going into effect until they're satisfied with border reinforcements. While security is an essential part of any bill, the federal government is the responsible party for immigration, not the states.
Also, many people seem to think that using drones to patrol the U.S.-Mexico border is a great idea. But if the federal government starts down this path, will it also find it practical to "drone" the interstates? Perhaps the New Jersey shore? Anywhere that domestic intelligence or law enforcement needs justify it?
The big obstacles on reform, however, seem to be disappearing on Capitol Hill. If Congress backtracks on its own efforts, Obama says he'll produce his own bill and invoke the bully pulpit.
Last year Obama used an executive order to provide protections for undocumented persons who arrived here as children. That's a partial remedy. We need a system to help those trying to immigrate legally, and to give illegal immigrants a verifiable track to work toward citizenship.
Now that the former antagonists are talking and listening to each other, let's get it done.


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County housing authority breaks ground on low-income senior apartments in Renton
The King County Housing Authority broke ground Friday on Vantage Point, a 77-unit apartment development for low-income seniors in Renton that will help ease the housing crisis for some senior citizens.
The $18 million project is on land the housing authority owns next to the North Benson Shopping Center on the Benson Highway and next to its 164-household Vantage Glen community.
With 72 one-bedroom and five two-bedroom apartments, Vantage Point is expected to become home for about 120 residents, including some younger than 55 who have qualifying disabilities.
Vantage Point will open in late 2015 to new residents who are on the housing authority's wait list for a place to live. The 2,700 seniors on that list have an average annual income of $11,400, or about $950 a month, which is less than the average monthly apartment rent in Renton.
One-bedroom apartments at Vantage Point will rent for about $200 a month.
"There is a growing crisis in affordable housing for seniors," said Stephen Norman, executive director of the King County Housing Authority, the developer of Vantage Point senior apartments.
By 2025, the region will need more than 10,000 additional units of affordable housing for low-income seniors, according to a study.
A number of local, state and federal officials, including Renton City Council member Ed Prince and county Executive Dow Constantine, spoke at the event.
U.S. Rep. Adam Smith, who represents Renton in Congress, led off the guest speakers.
"We need a commitment at all levels of government and all levels of our community to make sure that we make affordable housing available to seniors. It's not just going to happen," he said, citing the expense of the region.
He said Vantage Point is a "great example" of government commitment to senior housing.
Financing for Vantage Point is coming from private funds, mostly in the form of federal low-income housing tax credits, and public dollars, including $2 million from King County's housing finance program.
The Tukwila-based housing authority is contributing $5 million, including the cost of the land.
Vantage Point will have two four-story wood-frame wings connected by a central common space. To encourage socialization and physical activities, the development will include gathering spaces, outdoor activity spaces, gently graded walking paths and community gardens.
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This deal has ended.
Get this 2 Gallon Creepy Snack Assortment for $19.99 at PopcornFactory.com. This saves $20 off the regular price. The Halloween tin includes 2 pecan caramel pixies, mellocreme pumpkins, candy corn, chocolate chip cookies, honey roast peanuts, foil-wrapped Halloween chocolates, and 5 different flavors of popcorn. Shipping adds $6.99. There is no sales tax (except IL, NM, OH OK, VA).No longer available


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Just wondering what the best routes are for cycle training on a tri bike. I usually just hit up haines point, but the road is closed and I'm interested in alternatives. I live in Rosslyn and and try to avoid the custis/W&OD trails inside the beltways since they are usually a death-wish. Any good rural open roads I can ride? I am willing to drive up to an hour for a nice stretch of open road...
Oh, where to start...
During the week you can do the Arlington hills loop, or hit McCarthur/River road outside of rush hour periods.
For bigger rides, you can head out to Marshall, VA and do Mt. Weather or drive out rt. 50 towards Davidsonville, MD. Both are about an hour drive depending on traffic. Or do an out and back in Shenandoah National Park.
Check bikely.com or mapmyride for cue sheets.
Also, check BikeWashington.com
There is a bike route from the Greenbelt metro station to Sandy Point. I agree with Andy that the Davidsonville area is great for riding. Check www.annapolisbicycleclub.com or org. not sure which one.
If you go further up River Road from where Andy mentioned, you'll end up in Poolesville, which is a good area with lots of awesome hills and not many cars. Germantown area isn't bad either, starting from the Germantown Recreation Park.
And also, Beach Drive on weekends is closed to traffic and even on the open-to-traffic sections, there aren't many cars. But you probably knew that already.
The course for the Bay Country Century is within that range. It rolls through low-traffic rolling hills before descending into scenic shoreline. Here's the route, if you want to do it yourself at any time:
Some of us have also gone east from around the town of Accokeek near Fort Washington, just south of southeast DC. There's a number of possibilities:


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DETROIT -- General Motors Co. has undertaken a sweeping management shakeup that Chief Executive Officer Fritz Henderson promised after GM emerged from bankruptcy earlier this month.
The restructuring, announced Thursday, involves more than two dozen executives, including the retirement of five of the company's most senior leaders.
GM also established a nine-member executive committee, headed by Henderson, to run the company.
"With these announcements, most of the new GM leadership team is in place," Henderson said.
Among those retiring will be Gary Cowger, 62, who headed GM's global manufacturing and labor relations units, and Troy Clarke, 54, president of GM North America.
Clarke's position has been eliminated
Cowger was credited with revamping GM's manufacturing operations and repairing the automakers dysfunctional labor relations earlier this decade.
Replacing Cowger will be Tim Lee, 58, currently GM's North America vice president of manufacturing.
GM said Cowger will stay on until the end of the year to lead reintegration of Delphi Corp. facilities being acquired by GM.
Cowger also will oversee the launch of GM's new battery assembly plant.
GM is expected to announce next week that the plant will be built in Brownstown Township, south of Detroit.
Named to head GM's four brands were:
• Brent Dewar, 54, vice president of Chevrolet.
• Bryan Nesbitt, 40, general manager of Cadillac.
• Susan Docherty, 46, general manager of Buick and GMC.
Erich Merkle, president of Autoconomy.com in Grand Rapids, said the management restructuring shows the rising power of Vice Chairman Bob Lutz in the new GM.
Nesbitt, for instance, rose quickly through GM's design ranks when Lutz was charged with revamping GM's product development process earlier this decade.
Lutz, 77, who cancelled retirement plans when GM emerged from Chapter 11 bankruptcy reorganization on July 10, now is in charge of marketing and communications. He also sits on GM's executive committee.
"You can see to a certain extent Lutz's reshaping of GM," Merkle said. "He has much more power than he had before."
Other GM executives retiring by the end of the year are Ralph Szygenda, 60, GM's chief information officer; Maureen Kempston Darkes, 60, group vice president, GM Latin America, Africa and Middle-East; and Michael Grimaldi, 57, CEO of GM Daewoo,
GM also named five new board of directors' members, completing the 13-member board. The new members are:
• Daniel Akerson, managing director, The Carlyle Group, a private equity firm.
• David Bonderman, co-founding partner, TPG, a private investment firm.
• Robert Krebs, retired chairman and chief executive officer, Burlington Northern Santa Fe railway.
• Patricia Russo, former chief executive officer, Alcatel-Lucent, a telecommunications company.
• Carol Stephenson, dean, Ivey School of Business at University of Western Ontario.
Members of GM's executive committee are Henderson; Lutz; Lee; Tom Stephens, vice chairman of global product development; Nick Reilly, executive vice president of internal operations; Ray Young, chief financial officer; John Smith, group vice president of corporate planning and alliances; Mark LeNeve, vice president of U.S. sales; and Bob Socia, vice president of global purchasing.
E-mail Rick Haglund: email@example.com


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February 2012
Day 10: Why Miguel Cabrera gets it
I am not going to go on my blog and complain about spring training. It was 86 degrees and sunny today in Lakeland, while it was maybe half that temperature back home.
That said, listening to Miguel Cabrera talk about Venezuelan food after his Wednesday workout, around lunchtime, was killing me.
"This thing, arepa, it's like bread, but they make it with corn," Cabrera told reporters when asked about his favorite food. "We put everything [in it]: Cheese, steak, everything. It's so good, so I've got to stop."
It makes me hungry just writing it. It has to make him hungry describing it.
Yet when another reporter asked him if he missed it, Cabrera was fine.
"No. Right now, no," he said, pointing to his head.
Miguel Cabrera gets it. If he wants to make this move to third base work, if he wants to move better — and especially important, if he wants to remain a durable, productive player well into his 30s — he can't eat like he used to.
"It's hard to stop that," he said. You eat all your life like that, and you've got to change."
He's serious about this. He has someone helping him out with that.
"It's kind of helped me a little bit," he said of his new diet. "You know, you've got to sacrifice, you've got to do it, and you've got to work hard to get better. That's what I want, to get better every day and try to do my best."
Cabrera didn't get into too many specifics a couple weeks ago when he talked about his workout program and his weight and his move to third base, but that was then. As he moves around third base, as he moves around Tigers spring training, as he works out separately in the early morning, he's in a very happy place. He's a loud presence in team workouts, in a constructive way, encouraging guys, recognizing nice plays, teasing hitters who had to face Justin Verlander Wednesday morning.
When I wrote about Cabrera's move to third base a few weeks ago, I wrote that it would be a challenge, but that his enthusiasm about the move and determination to make it work were the strongest points in his favor. I think his enthusiasm is more than even I expected.
"I'm happy," he said, "because I've got Prince hitting behind me. We have a very good team. We've got a chance to win more games. I'm happy because I see Verlander, he's more strong.
"I see a lot of things around me. I see these guys work hard [like] Peralta. I think when you're around great guys like that who want to win, you enjoy it more. And like I said, I like to play third. They gave me a chance to play third again, so I don't want to miss the opportunity. I want to do much better over there. I want to be in the best shape I can be to move around at third base."
Just as encouraging for the Tigers, and especially for Cabrera's agents, is the fact that he's doing this while looking towards the second half of his career. He didn't mention anyone by name, but he has seen injuries hamper players in their mid-30s. Carlos Guillen, one of Cabrera's mentors, is a non-roster invite in Mariners camp. Magglio Ordonez, with whom Cabrera worked out the past two offseasons, might well be done despite his great shape.
Cabrera wasn't around when Dmitri Young was a Tiger, but Young was in Venezuela this year trying to revive his career. Weight, among other things, took a toll on Young's legs.
"Everybody talks about the knees," said Cabrera, whose Tigers contract runs through 2015. "When you [get to] 30-something, you start to have problems with your knees, with your hamstrings, obliques, back. So you've got to see other players at 37, 36. They play for a long career and they don't have injuries, and you have to look to them. They're in good shape. So why don't you do it? Why don't you follow the right step? When you get to that age, if you're lucky, if you have a chance to play to 37, 38, you're still in your best shape."
If Cabrera someday ends up in the Hall of Fame — look at the similar batters list on Cabrera's baseball-reference page, and you see that path — this might be the defining point that gets him there. If this Tigers infield works, even to a respectable level, this might be a pretty important point to a Tigers championship season.
Actual workout note of the day: Justin Verlander continues to approach his spring training workouts with game-like intensity, and his second session against live hitters Wednesday was no different. He had a game-like tempo, he shook off signs once in a while so he could work on particular pitches, and (like most pitchers in camp) he declined to use the batting practice screen.
Hitters are catching up to pitchers, but not really to Verlander. So imagine Verlander's surprise when 20-year-old Avisail Garcia smacked a comebacker that skirted Verlander's feet along the ground on its way to center field. It was close enough that Verlander paused a few seconds and breathed a visible sign of relief, and an audible exclamation.
"That wasn't a little grounder," Verlander confirmed. "That was hit hard."
How close?
"Really close," Verlander answered.
Actual workout note of the day, part 2: What breaks up a boring spring training workout better than sliding drills? No much, I say. Maybe sliding drills that involve Cabrera, Fielder and Delmon Young. Pictures below.
Non-workout note of the day: Leyland has a lengthy note of caution for reporters Wednesday not to jump to conclusions about the fifth starter. A lot of the candidates will get an inning on Friday against Florida Southern, followed by a piggyback start Wednesday against the Braves, but a different guy will get the start each time.
"I can promise you, the minute I find out about the starters, we'll have a press conference and you'll know it," Leyland said. "I'll announce it. You won't have to worry about."
Quote of the day: "Gold or old?" — Jim Leyland, when informed that former Red Sox manager turned ESPN analyst Terry Francona called him the gold standard of managers on television.
Verlander starts Monday, 5th starter Wednesday
The Tigers rotation is set for the first week or so of spring training, including the first look at the fifth starter competition.
Andy Oliver will start Friday's exhibition against Florida Southern and lead a procession of young pitchers to pitch an inning apiece. Doug Fister will start the Major League spring training opener Saturday against the Braves at Disney World, then Max Scherzer will start Sunday in the back end of the home-and-home set.
Justin Verlander's first start of 2012 will come Monday against the Blue Jays at Joker Marchant Stadium. Rick Porcello will make his first spring start Tuesday against the Marlins in Jupiter.
That leaves Wednesday as the fifth starter day. Jim Leyland didn't say who would start, but said the order isn't going to be important. It's a piggyback day, meaning one starter will follow another and throw roughly to the same pitch count. A different candidate will start each time the fifth starter spot comes up.
Normally, you can take the spring training rotation, project it out every five days and figure out the pitching order for the first few games of the regular season. And sure enough, if you project Verlander out every five days, he'd be in line to pitch opening day on an extra day of rest, not that there was any doubt he'd pitch the opener anyway. But with scheduled off-days April 6 and 9, it's very difficult to take this pitching order and figure out who will start the second and third games against the Red Sox April 7-8.
Day 9: Throw early, get a leg up
Justin Verlander began throwing sooner than usual before last season to shake his traditional early-season struggles and turned in an MVP season.
Rick Porcello began throwing earlier than usual this past offseason in hopes of strengthening his arm sooner and getting rid of some early struggles.
Max Scherzer began throwing Dec. 1 because his arm was bothering him when he waited until Jan 1.
Different reasons, but the same result: The offseason seems like it's becoming less of an offseason for pitchers these days.
"My solution," Scherzer said, "was more throwing."
Ironically, these early stages of camp aren't a big deal for Scherzer. Give him a couple of bullpen sessions and a couple of meetings with live hitters, and he's good to go. But his problem was discomfort, not preparation. By letting his arm rest until January, he would have a tight arm when he got back to throwing.
"I just felt like everything would tighten up," Scherzer said. "My arm would be so tight it would be something I worried about."
That doesn't mean he's throwing off a mound or attacking hitters before Christmas dinner. But by doing enough throwing to keep his arm loose, it never tightened up. It left him about six weeks of shutdown time for his arm after an extended season, but that's less of a concern.
By getting his arm ready sooner, he has more time now to work on his pitching — in this year's case, honing a two-seamer.
Likewise, Porcello's reasons were partly physical. Still, there was a results-oriented part to it as well.
"I'm trying to get as close to midseason form as I can," Porcello said when camp began. "For me, it's a little bit more to do with arm strength, making sure my arm strength is where I need it to be."
Both guys talked with pitching coach Jeff Jones about their plans before they did it. Jones acknowledged trying to balance rest and work.
"It's a fine line, there's no question," he said. "I spoke to Rick and he had told me he wanted to start throwing his bullpens a little earlier this year, and I said absolutely. He didn't have a great spring last year, and he wants to do the things, I think, that he did at the end of the season, earlier this year. He wanted to just change his routine a little bit, which I don't blame him."
In Scherzer's case, Jones said, "At the end of the season, even after the season ended, I think he did a little bit of throwing, so it wouldn't be as long until he threw a ball again. I talked to him a week before the caravan and he said, 'I feel like I'm way ahead of schedule. I feel great. My arm feels great. I'm really looking forward to getting going.'"
Different things work for different people. Duane Below arrived in Lakeland just after Jan. 1 to get his throwing program going. Adam Wilk threw later than usual so that he could rest his work after throwing more innings than usual.
Actual workout note of the day: Any concern that Joaquin Benoit might be falling behind schedule with his neck tightness seems to be gone. Benoit threw a full session to hitters on Tuesday, a day before he had been re-scheduled, and said he felt fine.
Non-workout note of the day: Verlander doesn't throw his next session until Wednesday, but he was still on the back fields where pitchers throw. He alternated between batting cages watching Jacob Turner and Drew Smyly pitch, then stuck around to watch more pitchers. In fact, he seems to be spending more time watching other pitchers than any pitcher I can remember in camp. Pretty neat.
Quote of the day: "Here's my basic philosophy on hitting: If you can hit a fastball, and hit a mistake breaking ball, you've got a chance." — Jim Leyland
Look for pitching prospects in Fla. Southern game
Jim Leyland traditionally starts off the spring training schedule by pitching eight or nine guys for an inning each in the annual exhibition with Florida Southern College. This year, he's going to do that with some of his younger pitchers in camp.
Leyland mentioned Andy Oliver, Casey Crosby and Drew Smyly among the guys who will pitch in Friday's exhibition.
The starting lineup will include most of the regulars, who will get one at-bat before giving way to some of the younger position players.
The starting pitching schedule, Leyland said, is mapped out through spring training and beyond. He sat down with pitching coach Jeff Jones to work that out.
"We've got all the pitching mapped out through May, June, with one void there," Leyland said.
The void, obviously, is for the fifth starter spot, which is open for competition here.
Tigers announce single-game ticket process
If you've bought (or tried to buy) Tigers home opener tickets before, that clock in your head was probably reminding you that single-game Tigers tickets go on sale the first Saturday morning in March. Right on time, tickets this year will go on sale this Saturday at 10am ET.
The process is similar to previous years with a few minor tweaks. Fans can buy tickets online at tigers.com, by phone at 866-66-TIGER, and in person at both the Comerica Park box office on Witherell Street and (new this year) at Hockeytown Authentics in Troy.
Once again, the Tigers are using a numbering system for early-bird fans at Comerica Park so that they don't have to line up and wait overnight. This time, though, they're doubling the number of numbered wristbands to 1,000. Fans can pick up a wristband at the box office on Friday as early as 3pm.
On Saturday, sometime between 8:15 and 8:30am, a fan will randomly draw a number that will determine where the line begins with the corresponding wristband. Fans who show up Saturday morning after the drawing will line up behind everybody with wristbands, who need to line up by 9:30. A wristband doesn't guarantee tickets will be available for the games somebody wants, but it gives them a shot. Even for those fans waiting in line, the Tigers are encouraging fans to check the schedule online ahead of time to figure out which games they want to attend.
As for Opening Day tickets (April 5 against the Red Sox), the same rules apply as in past years, with up to four tickets available per fan.
Day 7: First serving of Big Potato
Jose Valverde doesn't really talk a whole lot in spring training. When he does, well, he holds court.
So, while I wrote a piece for the site gauging Valverde's chances of challenging Eric Gagne's consecutive saves record, I didn't really get into the Valverde personality. It doesn't get muted for the spring.
He didn't do anything like last October, when he supposedly guaranteed a Tigers win in the Division Series. But he also wasn't completely serious, either.
"To be so serious, I would be old quick," Valverde said. "I don't want to be old."
No danger.
When asked if he thinks he can reach Gagne's record of 84 consecutive save opportunities converted, Valverde neither dodged nor hesitated.
"I don't know," he answered immediately. "Have to ask God first. I do whatever God tells me, and that's it."
If he gets there, he said, "I'll be celebrating a lot."
"I have started working right now for some dancing if I get 85 saves," he proclaimed, much like he said he'd have a new dance in place if he saved the All-Star Game last summer.
When asked about the noise he creates in workouts, he indicated he has no place for peace and quiet.
"I want it to be noisy everywhere," he said.
"I'll be loud like crazy in my car, with music and everything," he continued. "When my friend rides, he told me, 'What are you doing? I said, 'Do your thing. Let me do mine.'"
Other highlights …
- On fatigue last year: "Me, it doesn't matter how many times I've been pitching, I never get tired. The Tigers pay me for that. How can I be tired?"
- On credit to the bullpen for his success: "It's not only the relievers, the starters too. Because all these guys like Porcello, JV, [if they don't] go seven innings, I don't do my job. I have to do it for everybody, not only for the relievers. I have to play for my third baseman, my first baseman, for the whole team."
- On whether he's superstitious talking about his save streak: "I have a lot [of superstitions]. If I had to do all my superstitions right now, we'd be here until tomorrow. I have three pieces of gum in my pocket, my water all the time. I have a lot."
- On new teammate Octavio Dotel: "You know, Dotel is 21 years old right now. You have to take care of this guy. It's great. Dotel is one of the guys I think everybody wants to play for. He's played for a long time. He's played for Houston, Oakland, the Yankees. He knows what he's doing. I watched this guy pitching last year, and I feel great, because [the Cardinals] won the World Series last year [with him]. The Tigers have a chance to win the World Series."
- On his contract situation (he's a free agent next winter): "You know, I have to play first. I have to do my job first. After that, I think about the contract."
Actual workout note of the day: Again, Justin Verlander takes spring training seriously. How serious? He'll shake off signs from his catcher, Alex Avila, if he wants to work on a particular pitch. And he did that a few times Sunday morning.
It was very much a game simulation for him, and he didn't hide his frustration if a pitch didn't go right. Still, as agitated as he can get, his stuff was evident.
Non-workout note of the day: Just when you thought Verlander's offseason as a celebrity was over, he scores tickets to the NBA All-Star Game. Verlander managed to get courtside seats for the Sunday night showcase event in Orlando, and he brought Tigers catcher and noted Lakers fan Gerald Laird with him. I'm going to guess Verlander told Laird he couldn't wear his Kobe Bryant jersey.
Quote of the day: "It'll break my heart if he's hurt again." — Jim Leyland on Joel Zumaya, before learning Zumaya tore his ulnar collateral ligament in his right elbow and will need Tommy John surgery if he wants to try to pitch again.
Day 6: Turner, Smyly … Who's more polished?
Jacob Turner and Drew Smyly have a budding rivalry going … in Tiger Woods Golf.
They're not roommates here at spring training, but along with Casey Crosby, they're hanging out and playing video games, much like Rick Porcello and Ryan Perry were doing a few years ago. Their trash talk carries over into the Tigers locker room, where Turner was razzing Smyly while he was being interviewed.
Turner has taken his fair share of rookie abuse for the past two spring trainings here, so he has finally earned the chance to dish it out. And yet Smyly, in his first spring training with the big club in just his second professional season, is nearly two years older than Turner.
The way they interact back up Jim Leyland's feeling that this isn't a competition for the fifth spot in the rotation. Nonetheless, they're two talented pitching prospects who could break camp in the rotation, though they can't both do it. And they come from vastly different routes to this point.
Turner just began his third season as a professional pitcher. He has started all three years in Major League camp with the Tigers after Detroit drafted him in the first round in 2009 (in fact, if you don't count the compensation round, he's the last Tigers first-round pick). He has logged more spring training time with the Tigers than any other starting candidate in this camp, and he has more Major League and minor league starts than Justin Verlander did before he cracked the Tigers rotation in 2006.
At age 20, he can face big-league hitters in workouts and not look overwhelmed at all. He sounds like somebody who has been through this before, even though he has only watched it.
"I think this one might be more exciting for me," Turner said, "just because this is my third year and I'm more comfortable being around everything and I know what to expect, what's going on. I'm definitely really excited for this spring, and we'll see what happens."
Smyly, as mentioned, is beginning his second pro season and his first big-league camp. When Turner was going through his first camp two years ago, Smyly was going through the SEC at the University of Arkansas. When Turner was on standby here as a possible postseason injury replacement if Detroit needed a starter, Smyly was pitching for Team USA in the Pan Am Games in Mexico.
"Now, I'm in the same big league camp as Justin Verlander and Prince Fielder and Miguel Cabrera," Smyly said.
He isn't a prototypical hard-throwing Tigers pick, but his polish by all accounts last year was impressive for somebody just beginning his career. He put that on display for Tigers coaches when he faced hitters for the first time, and they left impressed.
Smyly brought more experience into this camp than Turner did into his first one. Turner, however, brought more pro experience. Their experiences, so far, have been parallel. When the Tigers called up Turner from Double-A Erie for his Major League debut July 30, Smyly replaced him in Erie's rotation that night, having been called up a few days earlier.
Bottom line, neither of them are here just for show, or just for experience. Either of these guys could break camp.
Someone check on Wilson Betemit: They're actually separate items, but they add up to a brutal day for former Tigers. Joel Zumaya ended a live throwing session early at Twins camp on Saturday after reportedly feeling something in his elbow. Later, Scott Sizemore reportedly sprained his knee during infield drills at A's camp. Meanwhile, Carlos Guillen has missed the last two days of Mariners workouts with calf tightness, according to Larry Stone of the Seattle Times. The M's reportedly don't believe it's anything serious.
Actual workout item of the day: Both Turner and Smyly pitched against live hitters Saturday, and neither looked like green prospects. Turner went time and again to the outside corner with breaking pitches, trying to show he can spot it for a strike. Hitters made contact against him, but most of it on the ground. Smyly mixed pitches deceptively and got swings and misses from a group of hitters that included Gerald Laird, Audy Ciriaco and Jerad Head.
Actual workout item of the day, part 2: Daniel Schlereth came into camp looking to improve his fastball command, and Saturday was a start. Schlereth wasn't completely pleased with it, but he was pretty upbeat, and he had coaches watching. He said he's also throwing a slightly different slider with a little different movement.
Non-workout item of the day: Leyland stated the obvious on Saturday, that they haven't decided anything on the open rotation spot and that they don't have any favorites.
"We're putting them all out there and we're going to make a decision," Leyland said. "We haven't done that yet. We haven't even played games. Nobody has a leg up on anybody."
Quote of the day: "All-Northern Lakes League doesn't usually send you to Canton." — Leyland on his football career
Day 5: Inge finally joins the fray
The empty spot at Brandon Inge's locker was filled on Friday. Now we'll see what role he can fill on this team.
The thing about chronicling who reports early and who simply reports on time is that it's all usually a distant memory by the time spring training games start. Camps work in stages — first who comes in early, then early impressions on pitchers, then full-squad workouts, then who impresses in spring training games, then the Opening Day roster talk. One stage might bleed into the next, but it usually doesn't bleed far beyond that.
As long as I've known, Inge has been a guy who reports on time, but not especially early. It just doesn't happen, and this situation probably wasn't going to change that. Still, his line of reasoning for not doing it this year was telling.
"I didn't want to take anything away from Prince Fielder, welcoming him," Inge said. "Obviously I would welcome him in but … this [scene] right here, I didn't want it to be anything against him. I knew he was coming in. I was just kind of laying low so I could talk to you guys on my own, get it out separately, not be a distraction to everyone in there, move on."
In case you didn't see the video (it's on the Tigers site), you could judge what Inge meant by the crowd surrounding him in the photo.
As somebody on twitter pointed out to me, there's almost a timeline of reporters' tools in that picture — notepad, recorders, phone as recorder, flipcam, phone as flipcam, handheld recorder. All we needed was a reel-to-reel recorder and a boom mic and we could've sent this to the Newseum.
Inge has had some drama here over the years, from being displaced at catcher by Ivan Rodriguez in 2004, to winning the third-base job soon after, to losing his third base job four years ago to Miguel Cabrera, to getting it back, to getting re-signed at the end of the 2010 season, to this. He also has been known for being very good with the media. Friday was a side of Inge that didn't want a scene. His interview took place outside the clubhouse, and it lasted just over six minutes before he was summoned to an infielders meeting.
His reasoning for the request to compete for the second-base job was up-front and pointed: Gotta try to win a job somewhere.
"I'm not going to play third," he said. "Miggy's there for right now. I'm not going to beat him out. So the only potential spot for me to try to win a position, I thought, was second base. I want playing time. I want to stay in Detroit. I love Detroit. So that was a pretty simple decision for me. That was my only option."
No line about doing what's best for the team. Nothing about a next phase to his career. This had a little bit of a self-preservation feel to it.
There also was a dose of realism about his situation.
"I just want to play, any spot I can get as far as trying to play on the field," he said. "I'm happy for the opportunity, basically, to be able to earn some playing time. Nothing's given. I had a rough year last year, so I don't blame anyone for it. It's pretty good. It gives me an opportunity to kind of step back up and earn from the beginning."
He also said he doesn't feel what happened last year takes away from the previous eight or nine years, but you get the idea.
His teammates, for what it's worth, were pretty supportive. Ramon Santiago was quoted somewhere saying he has no problem with Inge competing for playing time at his spot. Justin Verlander was supportive.
"It's great to have him back," Verlander said. "I love Brandon to death. Whether he's playing second base, playing third base, or helping any way he can, he's an integral asset to this ballclub."
The saga of Inge at second base won't get the same attention as Cabrera's move to third, but it won't be ignored, either. He's in great shape with added muscle, but most second basemen are lighter and more agile than most third basemen, so there's still a big adjustment to make.
This part, the part about reporting to camp, is probably going to be forgotten pretty quickly. If Inge can't make the move, or if he can't hit, it's not going to be because he didn't get here early.
Actual workout item of the day: So far this week, Tigers batting practice usually has meant Miguel Cabrera and Prince Fielder trading long balls. And they had their share of decent shots today once live pitching transitioned to coaches' BP. But two other hitters seemed to stand out Friday.
Brennan Boesch continued to strike the ball with authority, lofting a ball well into the trees beyond right field on one of the back fields. And Avisail Garcia looked so good that he caught Jim Leyland's attention, prompting the manager to sit in on another BP session with him and watch him go to work.
"He's a big, young guy," Leyland said, "and he's only going to get stronger."
Garcia hit 11 homers here last summer for the Class A Lakeland Flying Tigers. It'll be interesting to see how his power translates to the cozier confines of Double-A Erie and the Eastern League, assuming that's where he ends up.
Actual workout item of the day, part 2: Ok, so yes, Cabrera was still the story of the workout. I wrote about Cabrera's first day at third base on the site, but just as impressive was the workout he put in before the workouts.
Cabrera arrived around 7am ET, and was out on the field at Joker Marchant Stadium doing his separate workout program. That included sprints around the warning track with a resistance band around him, as you can see in the picture.
Non-actual workout item of the day: It wasn't just the full squad that reported to the Tigers. Friday's first full-squad workout attracted CBSSports.com's Danny Knobler, Foxsports.com's Ken Rosenthal, ESPN.com's Jayson Stark, USA Today's Seth Livingstone, Matt Crossman from The Sporting News, and an MLB Network crew that included Matt Yallof. So, yes, these guys are getting some attention.
Quote of the day: "I can't worry about the numbers, but I think I can pitch better. That's what I strive to do." — Justin Verlander, when asked if he can think about improving upon last year.
Another quote of the day: "I'll take two championships in nine years with Prince." — Michael Lapanowski of Rochester, Mich., one of the many Tigers fans who made their way south to watch early workouts this week. It's not really news that this team has a lot of fans who travel, but the number of fans who showed up for early workouts was surprising. Remembers, games don't start until next weekend.
Inge: "I just want to play, any spot I can get"
Look for some video clips of Brandon Inge's talk with reporters on the site later. Story is also coming. For now, here are some quotes from the six-minute session:
- On the move: "I just want to play, any spot I can get as far as trying to play on the field. I'm happy for the opportunity, basically, to be able to earn some playing time. Nothing's given. I had a rough year last year, so I don't blame anyone for it. It's pretty good. it gives me an opportunity to kind of step back up and earn from the beginning. I don't think last year takes away from anything I've done in the past eight or nine years. Obviously I had a bad year, and that's fine. I accept it. I take responsibility for it. But I'm excited to be able to start fresh right now."
- On the Tigers' decision: "It's pretty simple for me, actually, if you think about it. Put yourself in a general manager's position and not think as a player. I put myself in Mr. Dombrowski's position and tried to figure out what I would do if I was in his shoes, and I respect that he's going to go with Miggy. Miggy thinks he can do it at third. He's going to go with him, and I respect that, because he's sticking with his guys. Miggy's done a lot to help the team. He's a big part of the team, so he's sticking behind him, showing faith in him that he can play third. And I appreciate that."
- Was his decision hard: "My decision, I'm not going to play third. Miggy's there for right now. I'm not going to beat him out. So the only potential spot for me to try to win a position, I thought, was second base. I want playing time. I want to stay in Detroit. I love Detroit. So that was a pretty simple decision for me. That was my only option."
- Tough transition? "It's not a big deal. Not at all. I played there in high school. I know that was a long time ago, but infield is infield. That's kind of second nature for me. Learning the outfield cuts and the instinctive things, that's why Spring Training's going to be perfect for me, because you can get away with stuff in Spring Training and learn from your mistakes, so when you go into the season it'll be second nature. It's not like I'm learning a whole new sport, you know?"
- Can he play it: "I know I can play it. I'm not thinking. I know I can play it. It's just a matter of going out and working at it and working hard and getting there."
- Why not report to camp sooner: "I didn't want to take anything away from Prince Fielder, welcoming him. Obviously I would welcome him in but … this right here, I didn't want it to be anything against him. I knew he was coming in. I was just kind of laying low so I could talk to you guys on my own, get it out separately, not be a distraction to everyone in there, move on."
Day 4: The case for Bobby Bo
Twenty-five years ago, a younger Jim Leyland made a midseason decision that his Pittsburgh Pirates would be a better team if they gave a young outfielder, Bobby Bonilla, a shot at third base. The Buccos had a veteran named Jim Morrison at the spot for the first half of the season, but at age 34, he wasn't part of Pittsburgh's plans. Thus, Morrison went to Detroit in an August trade, and Bonilla went to the hot corner.
A year later, Bonilla's first full year at third, he made 32 errors. He also drove in 100 runs and hit 24 homers, and he was hitting .303 with a .925 OPS at the All-Star break. Thus, Bonilla unseated future Hall of Famer Mike Schmidt as the National League starter at third in the All-Star Game.
Leyland moved him back to the outfield after 35 more errors in 1989, but for those two seasons, he was the Pirates' best option. When Leyland took over in Florida in 1997, he had a similar decision to make once the Marlins signed Bonilla as a free agent.
Bonilla was a lot older at 34, and a lot bigger than he was the last time he played third for Leyland. Yet Leyland and Marlins made the choice that he was best off with Bonilla at the hot corner. They knew what they were giving up on defense, considering they had an aging Terry Pendleton at third for the previous two seasons. But add Bonilla to a lineup that included an outfield of Gary Sheffield, Moises Alou and Devon White, and the thought was that the offensive benefits outweighed the defensive miscues.
Bonilla made 22 errors at third with a fielding percentage and range factor that both ranked below league average. He also batted .297 with 17 homers and 96 RBIs.
Bobby Bo, as he was nicknamed, is now the example Leyland is using when asked about moving Miguel Cabrera to third. With national writers starting to stream in, it's coming up pretty regularly.
"I've told everybody, and I'm going to say it one last time: We won the World Series [that year] – and I'm not talking about winning the World Series [this year], I'm not making any predictions, but I am making a point — in 1997, we won the World Series with Bobby Bonilla playing third base and everybody said that would never happen. And that's the end of it.
"I'm not really talking about it because I'm not going to get driven about this Cabrera thing at third base. If you guys are sitting in here and think – or if I sit here and think, more importantly – that there's not going to be a ball go by once in a while, that's not going to happen. We're all crazy. I'm not going to make a big deal out of it. Some of you will, some of you won't. But the fact of the matter is, as a manager when you put people there, you accept you believe you might get."
He also brought up the Bonilla move in Pittsburgh.
"I had Bobby Bonilla at Pittsburgh," he said. "He played third for me. He was fine. He played outfield, he played third, he had good hands and a good arm. It's like I said: Everybody's always looking for perfect players. There's not very many. They want a Gold Glover at third, they want a Gold Glover at short. They want a guy who hits 25 home runs and knocks in 120 runs. If everybody had those it'd be boring."
There are a lot of ways those moves can be compared and contrasted. The Pirates had a very good defensive infield in the late 80s aside from Bonilla, and the '97 Marlins had a gifted young shortstop named Edgar Renteria, who became famous for his last hit of the season that year. But this is the case history. And one great thing about baseball is the treasure trove of statistics that can be used to look back on that time.
Signs, signs, everywhere signs: Normally, spring training isn't the place for managers to talk about sign-stealing. For one, the games really aren't that important. For another, the pitchers and catchers have enough of a task learning the signs, let alone trying to hide them well enough.
Still, the topic came up in Jim Leyland's Thursday afternoon talk with reporters, when the question came up about catchers' signs and the complexity involved in that. And as is often the case, the unexpected answer is the one that proves most interesting.
"I've always said that if a guy on second base can look in and get the sign, I have no problem with that," Leyland said. "That's pretty good. But if guys are getting signs off monitors and that, that's just not good for the game, in my opinion.
"You shouldn't have to make [signs] so sophisticated because you're worried about somebody stealing on camera. If you think you need to sophisticate them up a little bit because some guy's really good, that's different. But I don't believe you should be able to get signs with modern technology."
That topic has come up in recent years, mainly from anonymous suspicions that some ballparks have cameras honed in from center field on the catcher to get the sign. Nothing has ever officially been proven.
Actual workout item of the day: As mentioned in the Tigers notes on the site, Austin Jackson continues to work on eliminating the leg kick in his swing mechanics, and he's feeling pretty good about it so far. So does hitting coach Lloyd McClendon.
"I haven't made that big of a change, other than quieting down the leg kick," Jackson said Thursday. "It's still there. It's just not as high. It's more just picking it up and putting it down now."
He might still have the leg kick in some situations, but the idea is to get him quicker with his swing, especially in two-strike counts to cut down on his strikeout total.
Actual workout item of the day, part 2: Leyland continues to rave about a young pitcher with a breaking ball that is better than he expected. He is not naming the pitcher.
Non-workout item of the day: Leyland has no hesitation saying that Justin Verlander is the best pitcher he has ever managed, surpassing Kevin Brown. But can you guess the best all-around player he has managed?
It's neither a former Pirate, Marlin nor Tiger.
"If you really got down to it – I've always slighted this guy not for any reason in particular – but I was thinking about that this morning. Probably the best tool player, total tools, was Larry Walker," Leyland said. "Run, throw, hit, hit with power, great baserunner — he was a tremendous player."
Leyland managed Walker for only one season, that 1999 campaign that ended with Leyland retiring. His numbers that year were incredible, leading the league in batting average, slugging and on-base percentages, with a 1.168 OPS. He hit 37 home runs, totaled 115 RBIs, stole 11 bases in 15 attempts and racked up 13 outfield assists.
"I'm not saying his results were better than anybody," Leyland continued. "I'm not saying he was the best player, I'm just saying, if you judged five tools, if you looked at the five tools. Barry's arm wasn't quite as good. But if you look at the five tools, Larry Walker might be the best that I've had as far as tools. He was tremendous. A tremendous instinctive player."
Quote of the day: Jim Leyland has said a lot of things this week about the expectations surrounding this team. Give him credit for coming up with a new line.
"I'd feel like I was a real [terrible] manager," he said, "if somebody picked us last."


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STATEN ISLAND, N.Y. -- Maybe he wasn't yelling loudly enough.
A protestor at an Occupy Staten Island gathering Thursday in St. George clocked a fellow rallier on the steps of Borough Hall, said a law enforcement source.
Richard Neely, 46, of the Bronx, was among about seven people who gathered around 8 a.m. for a May Day protest against gentrification on Staten Island, the source said.
The group is irked about the planned New York Wheel development along the St. George waterfront, said the source.
According to police, the 265-pound Neely walked up to the victim and slugged him in the face. Why he allegedly did so wasn't immediately clear.
The victim tumbled down the stairs, suffering cuts on his upper cheek and hand, said police. He refused medical attention, cops said.
Neely was charged with misdemeanor assault, said police.


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U.S. stocks rose today, with the Standard & Poor's 500 Index rebounding from a weekly loss, after data showed consumer confidence climbed to the highest level since 2008 and home values jumped the most in seven years.
"The bottom line is there's been a lot of chatter about how the market's going to respond when the Fed tapers, but home prices are rising, jobless claims are coming down, and the stock market keeps going up," James Paulsen, the Minneapolis-based chief investment strategist at Wells Capital Management, which oversees $325 billion, said by telephone. "People are feeling better. They're noticing this recovery broadening out and firing on more cylinders on a regular basis. They know they're under- allocated to risk assets."
The S&P 500 rebounded from its first weekly decline since April 19. The gauge retreated 1.1 percent last week as Federal Reserve Chairman Ben S. Bernanke said the central bank could reduce monetary stimulus if economic conditions continue to improve. The prospect of slower Fed bond-buying offset data showing existing home sales climbed and and jobless claims topped estimates. U.S. markets were closed yesterday for a holiday.
The benchmark equity index has advanced 3.9 percent so far in May, for a seventh month of gains. That's the longest winning streak since September 2009. The gauge has surged 145 percent since March 2009, driven by better-than-estimated corporate earnings and three rounds of bond purchases from the Fed.
The Dow has rallied for 20 straight Tuesdays through today, the longest streak since at least 1900, according to data by Schaeffer's Investment Research. The winning streak is the second-longest for any day of the week, following the Dow's gain for 24 straight Wednesdays in 1968, data by Schaeffer's Senior Technical Analyst Ryan Detrick show.
"Investors still clearly believe that we have the Bernanke put well in place on the marketplace," Michael Mullaney, chief investment officer at Fiduciary Trust Co. in Boston, said by phone today. His firm manages about $9.5 billion. "That's what driving everything right now. From a fundamental standpoint, from a macroeconomic standpoint, you can't justify these levels right now. The marketplace is ahead of itself from what we can tell."
U.S. stocks maintained gains after a Conference Board report showed consumer confidence climbed in May to the highest level in more than five years. The index rose to 76.2, the strongest since February 2008 and exceeding the highest estimate in a Bloomberg survey of economists.
Separate data showed that house prices rose in the 12 months through March by the most in seven years as the recovery¼in residential real estate gained momentum. The S&P/Case-Shiller index of property values increased 10.9 percent from March 2012, the biggest 12-month gain since April 2006, after advancing 9.4 percent in February.


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Since making a surprising return to WWE in April 2012, Brock Lesnar has put together a 2-2 record while working on a limited schedule. Still, he is one of the company's biggest draws.
But prior to leaving the company following WrestleMania 20, Lesnar was quickly putting together one of the best careers the WWE Universe had ever seen.
Lesnar rose to success in record time and had his hand raised following a match much more often than not. He has won multiple titles and has done so against the best the wrestling business has to offer.
Here, we will relive the top moments of Lesnar's WWE career. Note that these are in chronological order rather than a top-10 countdown.


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But if Ohio State All-America forward Jared Sullinger had a vote, he would have cast it for Kansas All-America forward Thomas Robinson, whom Sullinger will play against on Saturday when
The 6-foot-10, 237-pound Robinson, who averaged 17.7 points and 11.7 rebounds a game, was second in the AP voting.
"In my eyes, (Robinson is the) college Player of the Year," Sullinger said. "I know some think different. But with his season, the way he took his team to the top, you just got to give it to him."
Robinson agreed with Sullinger.
"Everybody's got their opinion," Robinson said. "I agree with him."


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The Voice: Fall 2002
Fall Drive goal is $925,000
The goal of the annual Fall Drive for the Dordt College Fund is to raise $925,000 during this academic year. The Dordt College Fund, which keeps tuition affordable, is vital for improving the quality of our academic programs. It makes possible access to the latest technology and library resources. It helps fund off-campus study, internships, and new programs. The Dordt College Fund is also an important resource for the grants and scholarships.
This year a group of donors established a matching challenge program to encourage donors to increase the amount of their gift to the Dordt College Fund. If a donor gave $100 to the Dordt College Fund last year and gives $200 this year, the group of donors will meet that increase with another gift of $100.
Development staff members are currently making visits, and thirty-five students are working the phones to raise the money we need. Reaching our goal will help ensure excellence and broaden opportunities for our students and faculty.


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Wheeling Central falls to Renaissance Christian, 32-26
WHEELING – Mike Young shrugged off the suggestion that his team was at a disadvantage because of its lack of experience.
"We're still Wheeling Central and there's still expectations," he said.
Speaking of the expected, the Maroon Knights knew what they were getting into Saturday at Wheeling Island Stadium when Troy Simons and Renaissance Christian Academy paid a visit. Knowing and stopping are two entirely different things, however.
Simons turned 16 offensive touches into 286 yards and four touchdowns as the Rising Tide (3-4) walked away with a 32-26 victory against the Maroon Knights (5-3), who now are in a fight for their playoff lives.
"I don't know if the better team won," Young said. "But the best kid won."
Simons. who has an offer from Stony Brook but is drawing significant Division-I interest, was scintillating right from the start. He answered an 11-play, 73-yard Wheeling Central scoring drive that culminated in the first of two Joe John touchdown runs, this one from 5 yards, by taking the Wildcat snap and running left for a 45-yard gain. Two plays later John McDonald came down with a jump ball in the end zone for a 16-yard score to tie it 6-6.
"In 41 years of coaching, he is one of the best ones I have seen," RCA coach Muzzy Colosimo said of Simons. "Because of the schedule we play, in our state nobody knows about him. Although last year in the WPIAL he finished second in interceptions.
"He sets everything up. He cuts the gear back to let the guys get in front of him. I wish I could say I taught him something, but he's taught me."
Simons made it 12-6 when he started left, cut across the field and made nearly every Central defender miss – sometimes twice – on his way to a 59-yard score, hurdling over a defender into the end zone.
The Tide's Ron Johnson pounced on a fumble at the Maroon Knights 16 but 25 yards in losses and a run for no gain left RCA with a fourth-and-25. No problem, as it turns out, because quarterback Kiev Southern lofted a pass toward the middle of the field that Simons yanked in with one hand – in double coverage – and dragged the defenders into the end zone.
"We had guys right there," Young said while shaking his head. "You can't turn the ball over against a team like this and give them opportunities to make plays, which they basically did."
The Knights got back in it with a score right before the half after an RCA punt went straight up and got caught in the wind, leaving Central the ball at the Renaissance 17. Four players later John was in the end zone from 3 yards.
Saddled with a fourth-and-20 on their second drive of the second half, the Rising Tide went to Simons. Southern found him wide open, taking advantage of single coverage that was the result of trips to the left. The 20-yard score and 2-point conversion pass to Arrington Johns made it 26-13 with 5:55 left in the third quarter.
That's the way it remained until freshman Central quarterback Isaac Rine (10 of 21, 152 yards) got a little bit lucky, as his pass tipped off the hand of John and into the diving arms of classmate John Burkhalter for a 9-yard score at 3:33 of the fourth.
"He took a couple shots out there but he is going to be fine," Young said of Rine. "He's only a freshman and he will continue to get better."
Simons provided the clincher as he went 28 yards on a third-and-21 reverse, then on fourth down from the Central 46, took his fourth touchdown to the house.
Rine drove the Knights down the field late and hit Burkhalter on a 27-yard touchdown as time expired.
"If he were playing in West Virginia, he would definitely be a Kennedy Award candidate," Young said of Simons.
C.J. Burch, playing with a cast on his broken hand, picked up a game-high 110 yards rushing for Wheeling Central.


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A brilliant resource, full of well-researched essays on various themes mentioned in the Gurbani. The site also contains online Kirtan, free downloads and more.
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Visit NBCNews.com for breaking news, world news, and news about the economy
Yesterday, Mindy McCready appeared on the Today Show to discuss the untimely death of her "soulmate."
"He didn't just touch my heart, he touched my soul," says McCready. "I've never gone through anything this painful."
David Wilson was found shot in the early hours of January 14th. Mindy found David and says she laid with him and called 911. However, police are not quick to call the shooting a suicide and Mindy is denying being involved.
"Oh my God no…Oh my God no," Mindy said weeping when asked if she killed David. "He was my life. We were each other's lives."
You can see the full interview above.
Mindy has such a sketchy past that any questions of her involvement are hard to refute. Mindy and her son Zander did not attend David's memorial service on Monday.
Got some country music gossip and don't wanna be a tattle tale? Email me, Tawny Tucker, firstname.lastname@example.com Don't miss a country music beat! Sign up to receive free email updates or subscribe to CMTT via RSS today!


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Well, the Port Authority finally got around to formally announcing its much-anticipated toll discount plan for Staten Islanders over the weekend. The announcement comes almost two months after the P.A. board approved the discount program, and it won't take effect until Feb. 1.
And here's the real kicker: Despite the hoopla attending the announcement, it won't make any difference for most Staten Island drivers. Let's be blunter: They're trying to put one over on residents of this borough.
Under the plan, an E-ZPass user with non-commercial plates will pay just $47.50 for 10 trips in a 30-day period when traveling over the Bayonne Bridge, the Goethals Bridge and the Outerbridge Crossing. That $4.75 per trip cost is exactly half the full $9.50 toll on those bridges.
Sounds good, right? Hold the pom-poms.
There is already just such a discount in place. Most Staten Island commuters who use the three P.A. bridges regularly can already avail themselves of the same 50-percent discount under the Staten Island Bridges program. That program affords the half-price discount to people who take the bridges 20 times in 30 days — basically, five days a week, as required of people who have full-time jobs.
So commuters who already participate in the Staten Island Bridges program get no additional benefit from the new discount program.
And, since the minimum number of trips required to take advantage of the new discount is still 10 per 30 days, very few other bridge-users will either. Yes, that minimum has been reduced from 20, but it still doesn't help weekend shoppers or residents with relatives in New Jersey or Staten Islanders who own or rent vacation homes and go down the shore every weekend during the summer.
In fact, the plan doesn't help anyone other than the relative handful of Staten Islanders who travel to and from New Jersey between 10 and 20 times a month. How many people do you know who fit into that category? Right. That's what we thought.
And we strongly suspect that the Port Authority is well aware that the market for this new discount plan is extremely limited. That's why the P.A. agreed to it. It won't cost the authority much in toll revenue.
And it's also reasonable to suspect that New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie went along with the discount only because it isn't likely to upset his own constituents, who already can take advantage of the current Staten Island Bridges plan but will get no new discount.
(Contrary to the wishful thinking of some aggrieved Staten Islanders, Mr. Christie is probably not ready to support a broad, Staten Island-only discount if residents of his state can't get the same break on P.A. tolls. Certainly the case can be made that such a targeted toll break is only fair considering Staten Island's unique circumstances, but getting him to agree is going to take a lot of persuading.)
Nonetheless, despite the limited usefulness of this "new, improved" discount program, Gov. Andrew Cuomo trumpeted it as his gift to Staten Island.
"You asked for relief and we delivered," the governor said in a statement issued on Saturday. "This plan will save thousands of commuters hard-earned cash each time they go over one of these bridges, putting more money in their pockets at the end of each month."
"Thousands of commuters," governor? Again, regular, 20-plus-trips-per-month commuters have been availing themselves of the Staten Island Bridges discount for years, so nothing will change for them. It will be most interesting to see just how many additional people sign up for the 10-trips-per-month discount.
We probably shouldn't be surprised that Mr. Cuomo tries to spin this as a terrific new benefit for Staten Islanders, but Staten Island elected officials, who should know better, were tripping over themselves to laud the governor. (So much so, in fact, that one might think they are afraid of him.)
Even Rep. Michael Grimm, who seldom has nice things to say about Democratic officials, said, "Governor Cuomo has taken a great step in the right direction to provide us with long-overdue relief."
And, in all fairness, Mr. Grimm was hardly alone in his effusive praise. Other borough elected officials, Democrat and Republican, went out of their way to pay homage to the governor for securing this negligible discount.
Only Assemblywoman Nicole Malliotakis has had the guts to stand up to the governor on the toll issue. We expect that, while her colleagues coo, she'll take the lead in exposing this phony discount, as well.
This is a disgraceful hoax and Staten Island voters should recognize and remember it. Real toll relief for Staten Island remains to be accomplished.


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Nutters with Putters
Tim 'Ace Man' Davies & John 'Big Top Ted' McIver
of Planet Hastings Crazy Golf Club
The Tiger Trap
Two of the finest touch putters spanning the last two millennia have joined forces to challenge Tiger Woods to a game of crazy golf.
Stars Ace Man & Big Top
Directed by Seumas Next
Higher resolution on Stage 6 below
Man challenges Tiger Woods to a game of crazy golf
'Ace Man' Davies (5 time World Crazy Golf Champion) declares crazy golf war
on the best golfer in the World, Tiger Woods.
But can Tiger putt?
Ace Man has a weapon of mass destruction - his putter.
He reckons even the three-time British minigolf champion, John 'Big Top
Ted' McIver, could beat him.
Ace Man's challenged him before but this time it's personal.
He doesn't like being ignored, we all know there can be only one and
that's the Ace.
can join in. Just
buy yourself a Tiger Trap on ebay and jangle it near the great man.
Remind him, Ace Man is waiting!
Waiting in a bunker near you.
gauntlet has been thrown down.
Well do ya? Pussy cat!
any place, anywhere!!
animals were harmed in the making of this DVD.
John 'Big Top Ted' McIver and Tim 'Ace Man' Davies are the two most successful British Miniature Golf Association players ever. They've racked up 57 tour titles between them.
golf v Golf. Who'd
win a putting contest?


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Sails, masts and booms! Oh my!
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29th August 2009, 08:25 AM
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Sails, masts and booms! Oh my!
Hi everyone. I hope nobody will be offended by my posting this question here. I have an F2 Ride 274 that was given to me, and now I must purchase all of the parts I need to use it. At one time a very long time ago I windsurfed for about two years on Mistral longboards, and I'm now trying to get back into the sport with very little knowledge of how the equipment has changed.
I'm 5'8", I weigh 142 lbs and I'll be sailing in New Mexico, where the winds are either very light or very heavy. I'm trying to figure out what I should buy - what fin, what mast base, what mast, what sail, and do I need a mast extension? Can anybody help me or direct me to a good FAQ?