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Kimberley school kids get lesson in online safety
Australian Federal Police (AFP) have visited Western Australia's north to warn about the risks involved in befriending strangers online and posting photographs.
The 'Think You Know' program has been developed to promote cyber safety amongst school children.
The key message is that while the internet has a lot to offer, children and teenagers can be vulnerable to online bullying, sexting and online grooming if they do not know what websites to use and how to use them.
AFP Commander Brad Shallies spent Friday visiting schools in Broome.
"Safety online is like safety walking along a footpath. It's about reinforcing those positive behaviours, because you may think you know the environment you're operating in but the likelihood is you don't, so it's a matter of be alert, be aware and practise safe behaviours," he said.
"The internet provides some marvellous opportunities for young people but it also harbours a number of threats and whilst we're not about scaring the children in these presentations, what we're about is alerting them to how they can behave more safely online."
Topics: children, information-and-communication, police, broome-6725
First posted


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Before time started counting, there was only blackness and the place of the angels. For the eternity that was before our time, the angels were creatures of perfection -- occupied only with imagining wonders. Somehow, a great and terrible illness struck and the angels were grievously wounded. One by one, they withered and fell. As the last angel stood dying, she unlocked the mysteries of their immortal imaginings and, with the sweep of her arms the universe was born.
The world of land and ocean, of fire and rain, of creatures and men, came forth from nothing and the flow of time began. The souls of the angels were gone -- passing to some other world or out of existence entirely. But their bodies remained. Perfect crystalline forms among the chaotic new world. The material of their remains: harder than stone or metal, as clear as any solid can be, always cool to the touch, and fairly dripping with power, came in time to be called Ice among the men of the world. The bodies of Ice, over time and time, met the limits of their strengths. Cracks and breaks caused the form of the angelic bodies to vanish, replaced by rough, sharp chunks. These, in yet more time, were reduced to many, many small pieces. Relics of the dawn of time.
And men did covet the Ice. For with Ice -- with the tiniest sliver of angelic power, men could accomplish great things. But the Ice is too perfect for man to long behold. Too bright is this light from the dawn of time to gaze into without going blind. Those who too long sought to harness the power of the Ice forgot their connections to other men. Men whose great works benefited all others lost track of themselves, withdrawing inside, unable to connect or to care for others. They became islands among men, lost and alone in a sea of humanity. Many went mad, simply stopped eating, and wasted away. Some, as it is told, turned to stone and their remains can still be found in this or that secret place.
In time, a caste of men arose to protect humanity from the blinding light of the dawn. Men who had a gift were born -- able to sense the use of Ice from great distances, to sense one another, they banded together to form The Guild. To collect and destroy the Ice. To protect people from themselves. The early members of The Guild rounded up vast collections of Ice and did what they could to make it inaccessible. It is said that much was dropped into the deepest seas while some was buried in the magma of active volcanoes. There is no record of actual destruction of Ice. And there are those -- the naysayers, who claim that The Guild has merely stolen these relics from honest people trying to get ahead in order to maintain power. Many Guild members have met with untimely death at the hands of an angry mob, but each has sworn an oath of life to honor their destiny.
Ice is a game of story telling, role playing, decision making, and resource management. When you play Ice, no matter your role in the game, your job is to entertain your fellows. Remember this. It will improve your gaming experience. In a game of Ice, one player is the referee and has a number of special duties. The other players are each primarily concerned with operating their character in the shared game world. Both the referee and the other players will sometimes: act "in character" when portraying the behavior of their characters, generate outcome statements during conflict resolution that will guide narration, describe scenes in which one or more player-character appear, provide input to any and all other players about each of these aspects of play or anything else -- typically in the form of "it would be cool if this happened" statements, and manage character resources primarily (but not solely) during conflict resolution. The eferee's additional duties include: managing narration, adjudicating statement generation during conflict resolution, interpreting conflict outcomes, and awarding resources to the other players.
The player characters in Ice are Guild members. The defining characteristic of Guild members is The Sense. Each member has two special sensory powers that the common people of the world do not. Foremost, they can sense the use of Ice, sometimes from great distances. These characters know the exact direction to the sensed phenomena, approximate distance to the user (to be described by the referee in vague terms that indicate distance accurately within an order of magnitude), and the number of relics used during the event. The number of Ice crystals used also determines the range out from the locus of use that such detection can take place. One crystal will disturb the aura for about fifty feet, two for about a mile, three for fifty miles, and four or more will alert all sensitives in the world. The other ability is that anyone with The Sense can detect their peers. If one person with The Sense sees another, she will know it. Children who are born with The Sense are either: recruited, murdered, or hidden very well.
A traditional icon of role playing games is the character sheet. In Ice, you almost don't need one. Mechanically, Ice characters consist primarily of a sack of six-sided dice. Writing the Character's name and history is easier on a sheet of paper, so you should go ahead and do that. It also gives you a good place to record the key to your dice. Ice characters are described with a number of characteristics, each of which must be represented by a die color. You will choose what the characteristics are, how many there are and what weight each is given. Characteristics can be: personal abilities, vices, virtues, personality traits, skills, possessions, or anything else you can think of. The only real limitation is that each must be indicated with a single word. These characteristics represent inner resources that you bring to bear when resolving conflict. There are advantages to having few and other advantages to having many. In addition to the colors needed for representing your characteristics, you should also have a number of clear and black dice available to represent your Ice resources and your islandization. Each character begins the game with one Ice die and one Islandization die.
A conflict occurs when different characters in a scene want different things to happen or when the referee decides that something a player has just stated about her character's actions is difficult. Conflicts are resolved by drawing an equal number of dice from the bag of each involved party, rolling some or all of those drawn, and following a process to specify statements about the conflict in turn that are ultimately synthesized by the referee (with appropriate player input) into a narrated resolution. The number of dice drawn for conflict resolution is determined by the complexity of the conflict. A simple static challenge is a three-die event. The vast majority of opposed conflicts will be five die events. The players and referee may choose an alternate number of dice for a conflict when it seems appropriate.
The first step to resolving a conflict that your character is involved in is to draw the appropriate number of dice, unseen from your bag. Before rolling any of these dice, you have the option of putting any number of them back in your bag -- reducing the number that you have available for your roll. (Ice Dice cannot be put back and islandization dice must be.) Once everyone has made their decisions about dice placement, the remaining dice are rolled. Whomever has rolled the most of the lowest roll made (typically ones) is designated first conflictee (ties for most ones are settled by most twos, etc. and finally to the player closest to the left of the player who initiated the conflict) and will begin specifying outcome statements. There are three kinds of constraints on the outcome statements: scope, consist, and order and number, but the following rule always applies: the statement should be as brief as possible with only one actual effect.
These outcome statements will be made by the involved players in six rounds -- one for each possible die result. Starting with the first conflictee, everyone with at least one 'one' showing on a die will make an appropriate statement. The trick to this is making the statement fit the constraints while still steering the story in the direction you want. Also note, each statement is constrained by the statements that came before. If another character swings a sword at yours, your next statement may address a response to that swing, but may not undo it.
The scope available to a player is dependent on the largest number of her dice rolled in a color-number combination. In most cases, there will be only one die of a given color-number combination, but occasionally there will be more. When a player has at most one die of a color-number, the scope of all of that player's statements for the current conflict is personal. Her statements may only regard her character's behavior (e.g. "Alex swings at Barb" or "Christine try to kiss Dalton" -- where the acting PCs are Alex and Christine). If a player rolls two of a color-number, her statements may include multiple characters involved in the current conflict (e.g. "we decide that fighting about it is senseless and retire to a pub to discuss" or "the smith and his boys get the upper hand"). If a player rolls three in a set, the scope expands to include people local to, but outside, the conflict (e.g. "a squad of the town guard rushes around the corner"). And finally, in the event that a player rolls four or more in a set, that player's scope is essentially unlimited (e.g. "a lightening storm blows in" or "The city these traders just left is plague-infested -- the disease is just starting to express on their lead man").
The second, and most difficult of the constraints to work with, is the consist of the dice in question. During the first round (in which rolls of 'one' are being statementized) your statement must pay homage to the characteristics for all dice resulting in a 'one,' by including some aspect of that characteristic. This inclusion of the rolled characteristics is repeated for each round of statement making. Routine contact with Ice channels power from the dawn of time. Acting as this conduit erodes the psychological filters that normal humans have that help in deciding how to react to varied situations. Ice users often have extra personal resources to draw upon, but are only able to do so somewhat chaotically. This is part of the challenge of the game and should be considered: during character creation, and when deciding which dice to put back in the sack after you draw. Consider, if your character is smooth-talking the palace guards and you have to make a statement encompassing "sword" and "acrophobic" you may find it challenging, though hopefully fun.
Finally, it is worth understanding the number of and order in which the outcome statements are made. The first conflictee will start, making an appropriate statement. The player to her left who also has at least one die with the starting number will produce an outcome statement appropriate for her scope and dice. Once everyone who rolled at least one of the starting number has included their statement, increment the die value and repeat, once again starting with the first conflictee if she has one or more of that die number showing. (Frequently, the starting conflictee will have had at least one 'one' and you will have a round of statement making for each of the six numbers on the dice.)
After all the statements have been made (and written down as they are stated, for most conflicts and most referees) the referee will narrate the outcome of the conflict. She too, may not undo or ignore any of the statements. She should understand the intent behind, as well as the letter of, the statements made and narrate a best-fit resolution.
The role of Ice and Islandization dice have thus far only been alluded to. The use of Ice by the characters is the only form of magic that exists in the world. The degree to which a character's actions are magical is the degree to which Ice dice are drawn from the bag (or used intentionally in uncontested behavior). When generating statements that consist of Ice dice, you should include a degree of fantasy in the statement. Islandization dice are merely representative of the ineffectuality and self-absorption caused by the use of Ice. Their role in outcome statement generation is limited to providing reduced statement power.
The flow of the available dice is the real mechanic of character effectiveness. As dice are used in conflict resolution, they leave the sack of available resources. This is one reason the ability to put them back is important. Islandization dice are gained through the use of Ice. Ice dice are gained through narrated acquisition of Ice crystals. Islandization dice slowly leave the system. At the end of each game session, each player should remove one of these black dice before recording what remains for recomposition before the next game session. Ice dice leave the sack the same way they get there, by narrating the character doing something with their Ice. It could be as simple as giving the crystal to someone else, but there should be powerful in-game social obligations to rid the world of the Ice rather than just passing it off to some other hapless schmuck. Finally, regular characteristic dice are gained through award by the referee under three circumstances: Any scene in which a character is an active participant ends with the player adding a die of her choice to her sack. Whenever a player, through description of her character's behavior, dialog, reaction, etc arouses exceptional response (often a round of "oooh" from her fellows) the referee should feel free to award a bonus die of some appropriate characteristic. Finally, when a character is played in a way that is particularly evocative of a listed characteristic, the referee can award a die of that type. These awards can be a bit tricky. It is a matter for each group to find a satisfying set of criteria to follow so that awards are none of: too frequent, too scare, or imbalanced. Remember that all the players should always feel free to make suggestions to one another. This includes "reminding" the referee when such awards are appropriate.
Now you know the constraints on the setting placed by this game -- the rest is up to you. Dark ages or renaissance, semi-historic or fictitious world, these are matters of aesthetic and left to you. The ultimate goal of The Guild, if not the player-characters in your game is to return the Ice to the original, pristine, "dawn of time" state in which it was a force of beauty and goodness. You may choose to incorporate any of a variety of philosophies that deal with the metaphysics of Ice and angels or you may ignore those issues and focus another way. The game leaves this up to you.
You also know how to generate characters and resolve conflicts. You may have noted that there is no system in place for damaging characters. It is appropriate for any character to suffer superficial damage as the outcome of any conflict when appropriate. It is also appropriate for any player to indicate through statements that their character is available for more serious damage up to and including death. There is only one circumstance in which the game dictates character death. If at any time, all the dice in a player's sack are Islandization dice (black), that player's character turns to stone. The player has full narrative rights to describe the exact circumstance of the transformation -- given that she, again, may not undo any of the conflict that was just narrated.
By default, the game is be about how to use the Ice responsibly without losing yourself. As your character acquires crystals/shards/pieces of Ice, you should be adding Ice dice to your sack. Any time to get rid of a piece of Ice, remove one. As the characters (often, NPCs), engage in mundane (conflict-free) tasks, they have the opportunity to use Ice to aid them. Because the use of Ice is the point of the game, this use (how and why) and the results should receive some narration. Each time Ice is used for such a task, roll a die for each piece used. Whenever a six is rolled, add an Islandization die to that character's sack.
The selection of characteristics is a bit funny. Considering the extremes, a character with one die each of twenty types will have a more difficult time narrating conflict outcome statements, is certain to have a limited scope in conflict, and has a much easier time gaining dice through play, while a character with twenty dice of one characteristic always knows what to be planning for, has the best chance of broadly scoped outcome statements, and the hardest time keeping her sack of dice fed.
In the first paragraph of the "Set" section above, you read that all players set scenes up. Here's how that works. The non-referee players should each request (or be prompted for!) descriptions of scenes in roughly (or exactly) equal amounts. Interspersed through these scenes are scenes framed by the referee. All the players will be expressing their agenda through the scenes they choose. The referee will also be weaving the stories of the players together and providing entertaining adversity.
This is the first game I ever wrote. I did so in response to this thread at the Forge. I thought for about five days and typed for a few hours, massively editing as I went. I don't think it's a great game -- there were great games submitted. But I like it well enough to keep it around and put my name to it.
Feel free to contact me about this game with any questions or comments
on G+ or by emailing clweeks at Google's big email platform.

subset: commoncrawl


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Discover a selection of top forums authority فرم on the internet. Come to share your passion on forums authority فرم and meet other fans of authority فرم. Then, why don't you create your own forum of authority فرم ?
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Royal Authority is an organization of corporations in New Eden, operating out of multiple start systems, regions and levels of security.
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Exploring sources of authority in Christian thought and theology while humbly remembering that esoteric discussions do not a Christian make.
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It looks like you have a Rack Attack location near you! Feel free to contact us or drop by to see why we're the #1 in customer service.
The Ford Explorer is a mid-size SUV that was instrumental in turning the SUV into one of the most popular vehicle types on the road.
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Sometimes you just want to bring everything with you. With a cargo rack, you can. The first choice you need to make is if you want a cargo box, cargo bag, or cargo basket. Each has their own advantages and disadvantages, but in as few words as possible: cargo boxes are best for skis & boards, and anything you need to keep dry. Cargo baskets are ideal for offroad vehicles, and cargo bags give you the capacity, without breaking the bank.
This rack setup uses the following products:
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The home of canoe, kayak, and Surf/Paddleboard racks. Follow a link below to find the product you are looking for.
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Rack Attack © 2017


text: {{Delete||Kris is a female member of Gustav's Species and Gustav's companion. She is first met in Greyed Out/Gustav side Greyed Out. Gustav finds her hurt and saves her life. She is really acrobatic and does lots of action manoeuvres and she is the most acrobatic of all of Gustav's species. It is revealed in the Multiverse comic Gustav and Flavio knew Kris when they were kids.


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About Us
Tradesmen Enterprises is one of Western Canada's largest growing contractor's in Facility/Plant Construction, Fabrication, Module Assembly, Maintenance-Turn Arounds, Shutdowns and Pipeline Construction. We have been in operation since 2006 and are very proud of our people and the quality of work completed on well over 500 projects to date. Our employee base is very diversified with experience in Oil and Gas, Mining, Pulp and Paper and Power Generation. We encourage our clients to engage us very early on in the process with pre-constructability and consultation. It is our feeling that this early interaction can result in project efficiencies as related to quality, schedule and ultimately cost. Often, this level of involvement results in having our Key Project Manager's planted within the Engineering and Producers offices. Our complete service offering, means that we can be hands-on through-out the entire process right through to pre-commissioning and start-up.
We have recently moved into a brand new state of the art 50,000 square foot Fabrication facility at the same site as our expansive 70 acre module assembly yard. This facility is located off HWY#43 and the Hi-Load corridor which ensures seamless transportation and logistics to all 3 Western Provinces. Tradesmen is excited about the future and we look forward to bringing our clients additional solutions and services to help them better execute their projects.
Our team consists of highly trained and experienced professionals in their field. Most of our field people hold or are working towards their journeyman certificates in pressure welding and/or pipe fitting.
We are proud of our people, our exceptional safety record, and the quality of service that we provide. Tradesmen Enterprises appreciates and understands the critical nature of working closely with our clients to ensure their projects are completed with the highest level of professionalism and satisfaction.
We look forward to being your contractor of choice.
Our Mission
Our success begins with our committed employees and grows with our exceptional safety record and the quality of service that we provide. We strive to excel in all aspects of the construction industry and pride ourselves on executing projects on time and within budget.
- Complete Module Fabrication and Assembly
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- Journeyman Welders, Steamfitters, Gas Fitter, Pipe Fitters, Iron Workers
- Member of ISNetworld, ComplyWorks, Avetta
- Member of the Canadian HSE Registry


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At ArcelorMittal Dofasco, our corporate responsibility approach includes four pillars:
Guided by these pillars, we seek to provide a safe and productive work environment, improve our operations and facilities, and engage openly with our employees and stakeholders. This strategy is underpinned by transparency and continuous improvement objectives.
We understand that we play a crucial role in our community. We are the largest private sector employer in Hamilton, Ontario and are honoured to play a key role in its future. We strive to maintain our position as an industry leader in business innovation, in collaboration with our clients and suppliers. As such, we have a responsibility to understand the concerns of all of our stakeholders and work with them to address issues ranging from the sustainability of our products to managing our environmental footprint and strengthening the vitality of our community.
We have worked diligently to embed our approach to corporate responsibility in our business strategy, defining key performance indicators (KPIs) for each of our four pillars to allow us to monitor our progress.
We're looking for 1,500 new colleagues over the next 5 years. Skilled trades, professional/technical and engineers wanted! Apply now.
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Watch VH1 Classic's Revolver Golden Gods Awards 2011 Trailer
As if it being Golden Gods weekend on Sirius-XM's Liquid Metal weren't exciting enough, check out the trailer below for the hour-long 2011 Revolver Golden Gods Awards broadcast, which airs on VH1 Classic on May 28! Also, don't forget that the Golden Gods issue of Revolver will be available everywhere on May 24 (but you can get it here now)!
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Whew. What a year.
It was a great year to join a club -- as long as it was the 500 Homer Club, the 500 Save Club or the Wildfire Schulte Memorial 20-20-20-20 Club.
It was a tremendous year to contemplate all the thrilling cash-register implications of being a 50-homer Bronx Bombardier with an opt-out clause.
And it was an especially tremendous year to go off and get your PhD in Baseball Tiebreaker Scenarios.
But with the finish line upon us, let's hand out the awards you've waited all year for. The envelopes please ...
National League MVP: Jimmy Rollins, Phillies
We could easily make a case for Matt Holliday, a guy who is going to have his season unfairly devalued because his home ballpark is a mile above sea level. We could easily make cases for Prince Fielder, particularly if he'd tugged the Brewers into the Octoberfest, and David Wright, who has had a tremendous second half. But after long and tortured deliberation, our vote goes to the 5-foot-8 shortstop who set the tone for the Phillies' wild and crazy season the minute he decreed last winter that they were the team to beat in the NL East. Rollins has blown away the modern NL record for runs scored (139) and extra-base hits (88) by a shortstop. No player at any position has ever matched his combination of runs, hits, doubles, triples, homers and steals in the same season. And he's not just a product of that offensive paradise his team plays in, either. (He has more runs, hits, doubles and RBIs -- and a higher OBP -- on the road.) But here's the real reason to vote for him: His team never would have been in position to make this historic September climb back from oblivion without him. Everybody but the Phanatic went down around him. But Jimmy Rollins kept plugging -- and Sunday he became the first NL shortstop in 34 years to start all 162 games. So he should be sputtering right now. Instead, he's the biggest energizer in the park and the most dependable defensive player on the field. If you take into account every area -- offense and defense, tangibles and intangibles -- it seems to us he's been a more important player (just barely) than Holliday, Fielder or Wright. And that's what that big word of the day, "valuable," means to us.
Apologies to: Holliday, Fielder, Wright, Chipper Jones, Albert Pujols, Jake Peavy, Chase Utley, Hanley Ramirez.
American League MVP: Alex Rodriguez, Yankees
Judging by the back pages of those indispensable New York tabloids, it's definitely been The Year of A-Rod. And without it, where would the Yankees be next week? Polishing up their fishing rods? Or trying to decide between their lob wedge and sand wedge? They wouldn't be participating in any playoff games. That's for darned sure. So to have a player like A-Rod have a season like this, in the midst of his team's astonishing midseason reincarnation, makes A-Rod the AL's easiest MVP pick in a decade. Only two players in the history of the American League have had this many homers (54), RBIs (156) and runs scored (143) in a season -- and they've been dead for a total of 99 years. That would be Babe Ruth and Jimmie Foxx. And nobody in any league has ever hit this many homers and stolen 24 bases in the same season. So as stupendous as Magglio Ordonez, Vladimir Guerrero, Jorge Posada and Ichiro Suzuki may have been, we regret to inform them there's no need to clear any space in their trophy rooms. This election was over before it started.
Apologies to: Ordonez, Guerrero, Posada, Suzuki, Mike Lowell, David Ortiz, J.J. Putz, Curtis Granderson, Victor Martinez.
National League LVP: Michael Barrett, Cubs/Padres
As free-agent marketing campaigns go, Barrett's walk year ranked right down there with, say, Armando Benitez's. Too bad. Barrett is one amiable fellow, and at least he's always swung the bat a little until this year. But from the moment Carlos Zambrano tried out his Johnny Nitro impression on him in the Cubs' dugout in May, this poor guy's season seemed to avalanche out of control. Lou Piniella couldn't export him out of Chicago fast enough. And the Padres haven't been able to figure out what the heck to do with a guy who missed three weeks with a concussion, has thrown out seven of 40 base stealers, has gone 8 for his last 46 (.174) at the plate and never seems to be involved in any games they actually win. (They're 11-20 when Barrett starts behind the plate -- and 25 games over .500 when anyone else has strapped on those shin guards.) Hard to believe, folks.
Sighs of relief for: Marcus Giles, Ray Durham, Andruw Jones.
American League LVP: Richie Sexson, Mariners
He's the seventh-highest paid position player in the whole sport. He makes more moolah ($15.5 million) than Vladimir Guerrero, David Ortiz or Carlos Beltran. And he's definitely one large (6-foot-6), imposing human. So all the Mariners envisioned when they signed Richie Sexson was your basic 40-homer, 120-RBI, middle-of-the-order production. Not too much to ask for $15.5 million a year, right? But what they got instead this year, in a critical season in the life of the franchise, was a little different than that. As in the lowest batting average (.205) of anybody in the big leagues who made it to the plate 300 times. A lower OPS (.694) than Marco Scutaro. A mere 21 homers and 63 RBIs, which are more miniscule numbers in both those departments than, just to pick a name, Ty Wigginton. And a spectacularly disastrous 3-for-45 nightmare against that Angels team the Mariners chased all summer. Yep, 3 for 45. But one thing you have to say for Sexson: At least he was consistent. He hit .205 before the All-Star break -- and .205 after.
Sighs of relief for: Josh Barfield, J.D. Drew, Bobby Crosby, Elijah Dukes, Jay Gibbons.
National League Cy Young: Jake Peavy, Padres
If we even need to explain this pick, you've been spending way too much time on your fantasy football roster. But what the heck. We'll explain it anyway. There have been 10 pitching Triple Crown winners since the invention of the Cy Young Award (i.e., pitchers who led their league in wins, strikeouts and ERA). Those Triple Crown authors then went 10-for-10 in the Cy Young voting. And Jake Peavy is about to make it 11-for-11. But here's the crazy part of Peavy's year: You wouldn't think it would be possible for a guy to go 19-6, with a 2.36 ERA, and still be able to say he'd pitched better than his record. But in Peavy's case, that's actually true. This man has had one run or none scored for him, while he was in the game, in nine different starts, (And it would be 12 if we did this less technically and counted the score when he was pinch hit for). So he could easily have 25 wins, maybe more. And he's no Petco Park creation, either, friends. He's been better on the road (10-1, 2.16) than at home (9-5, 2.51). So this is the slam-dunk Cy Young case of the millennium.
Apologies to: Brandon Webb, Aaron Harang, Brad Penny, John Smoltz, Takashi Saito.
American League Cy Young: C.C. Sabathia, Indians
As much as we admire the brilliance of Josh Beckett and John Lackey, and as easily as we could make a case for putting about a half-dozen other pitchers on this ballot somewhere, not one of those men has quite managed to outpitch the human mountain range who should be on the verge of becoming the largest (OK, heaviest) Cy Young winner ever. We're talking, ladies and gentlemen, about 6-foot-7, 260-pounds (give or take 50) Carsten Charles Sabathia. And for those who have their doubts about this choice, let's subtract wins and losses from the argument and look at Sabathia versus Beckett and Lackey. True, Lackey leads the league in ERA, and Beckett has a better strikeout rate. But check these categories: Starts of seven innings-plus: Sabathia 24, Lackey 19, Beckett 15. Starts allowing no more than two earned runs in six-plus innings: Sabathia 19, Beckett 15, Lackey 15. Innings pitched: Sabathia (241 innings) led Lackey by 17 and Beckett by 40. Then there's Sabathia's amazing 5.65 strikeout-to-walk ratio (209-37), the best by any left-handed pitcher in American League history. But the clincher is the way Sabathia kept outdueling those other AL Central aces down the stretch, especially his 3-0, 1.64 record in three late-season starts against Johan Santana. There has never been a 260-pound Cy Young winner, let alone one whose first name would be unrecognizable to 99 percent of all living Americans. But six weeks from now, unless there's a massive miscarriage of voting justice, we won't be able to say that anymore.
Apologies to: Beckett, Lackey, Fausto Carmona, Johan Santana, J.J. Putz, Erik Bedard.
National League Cy Yuk: Kip Wells, Cardinals
Tough call here between the Kipper and Adam Eaton, a fellow who compiled the highest ERA (6.29) since 1894 by a pitcher who had a .500 record and made at least 30 starts. But in the end, we looked at it this way: Eaton was signed by the Phillies to be a back-of-the-rotation starter. And that's what he was, although not a real reliable one. Wells, on the other hand, was signed by the Cardinals to be (gulp) their No. 2 starter. He was their biggest starting-pitching addition of the winter, a man who would come to St. Louis and finally harness his always-photogenic stuff. But that's not quite how it worked out. By the time the Cardinals yanked him out of the rotation, Wells was 6-17, with a 5.81 ERA (5-17, 6.27 as a starter), and had allowed at least six runs in more starts (nine) than any pitcher in the league. So in another tight Cy Yuk field, our vote went to the pitcher who did more to foul up his team's season than anyone else we considered.
Cys of relief for: Eaton, Anthony Reyes, Guillermo Mota, Jason Jennings, Rick VandenHurk, Scott Olsen, Chris Capuano.
American League Cy Yuk: Horacio Ramirez, Mariners
If we were sitting around the old corner saloon, debating the Ugliest Trade of the Year award, it wouldn't be a long debate. We could stop the conversation as soon as we got to the deal that sent Ramirez from Atlanta to Seattle last winter for Rafael Soriano. While Soriano was allowing the lowest on-base percentage in the National League among pitchers who worked as many innings as he did, Ramirez led his league in a slightly less prestigious department: highest ERA (7.16). In fact, he had the worst ERA in the big leagues among men who pitched more than 80 innings. Somehow, thanks to the miracle of run support, Ramirez finished with a winning record (8-7). But that just allowed him to sidle alongside Colby Lewis as the only starting pitchers in history to have ERAs over 7.00 and still win more than they lost. It isn't often we find a Cy Yuk candidate with these kinds of credentials: an 8.70 road ERA, more walks (42) than strikeouts (40) and a .417 opponent average/.696 slugging/.481 OBP with men in scoring position. So this case is now just as closed as that Ugliest Trade of the Year debate.
Cys of relief for: Jeff Weaver, Bartolo Colon, Cliff Lee, Vicente Padilla, Casey Fossum.
Special Bi-Leagueal Cy Yuk: Mike Maroth, Tigers/Cardinals
Maroth was actually reasonably respectable (5-2, 5.06) when he was still in Detroit. But he did allow 133 baserunners in 78 1/3 innings, which turned out to be a clear portent of things to come. After he got to St. Louis, he took it to another plateau, though, compiling the highest ERA (10.66) and highest WHIP (2.37 baserunners per inning) by any Cardinals pitcher since 1897. Here's what clinched him this award, however: After Brandon Webb reached 42 straight innings without allowing a run, we went looking for the anti-Brandon Webb -- and found that in Maroth's last 42 innings, he'd allowed (no kidding) 53 runs. We still can't believe that happened in real life.
Bi-Leagueal Cys of relief for: Jose Mesa, Rick White.
National League Rookie of the Year: Ryan Braun, Brewers
We've gone back and forth on the merits of Braun versus Colorado's dynamic Troy Tulowitzki for a couple of weeks now. So now that our head is officially pounding, we've concluded there's not even a true correct answer. Tulowitzki has had a historic defensive season, accumulating more assists than any shortstop since Ozzie Smith. But Braun had a historic offensive season, wiping out Ted Williams' record for most homers in a season by players who debuted as late in the year (May 25) as he did. It's amazing how close their numbers are in departments like total bases (Braun 286, Tulowitzki 284), multihit games (47 apiece), RBIs (Braun 97, Tulowitzki 98) and on-base percentage (Braun .370, Tulowitzki .357). But if Baseball Prospectus' Value Over Replacement Player rankings are any guide, they rank Braun No. 18 in the big leagues (right behind Vlad Guerrero) and Tulowitzki 52nd. And we keep coming back to a couple of things: (1) Since Braun's first game, he almost as high of a slugging percentage (.634) as A-Rod (.630), more extra-base hits (67) than Curtis Granderson (54) and 34 more RBIs (97) than Todd Helton (63). And (2) this guy got dropped into the No. 3 hole in the lineup of a first-place team in his third day in the big leagues. "And you know what was more impressive?" says hitting coach Jim Skaalen. "He thought he belonged there."
Apologies to: Tulowitzki, Hunter Pence, Kevin Kouzmanoff, Chris Young, Josh Hamilton, Tim Lincecum, Yovani Gallardo and a stellar cast of dozens.
American League Rookie of the Year: Dustin Pedroia, Red Sox
At any given point in any given month this season, you could have talked us into a vote for Daisuke Matsuzaka, Brian Bannister, Jeremy Guthrie or Hideki Okajima. But there's something fitting about the way the long-underrated Pedroia has outlasted and outperformed them all. When he gimped out of April hitting .182 and slugging .236, it's a miracle he wasn't banished to Pawtucket for the next four months. But since May 1, you'd have a tough time distinguishing Pedroia's numbers (.333. .389 OBP, .467 SLG, 36 doubles, 81 runs scored) from Derek Jeter's (.319, .386, .454, 36 doubles, 84 runs). And in case anybody's wondering, that's a compliment. Plus there's something you can't help but love about fire-breathing dirtballs who care way more about winning than about trophies. Pedroia may not have been the Red Sox rookie with his own 175-member international media entourage this spring, but six months later, there's no doubt he's the Red Sox rookie who most deserves a rookie of the year award.
Apologies to: Matsuzaka, Delmon Young, Bannister, Okajima, Guthrie, Joakim Soria.
Managers of the Year: Bob Melvin, Diamondbacks, and Mike Scioscia, Angels
How does a team go into the last weekend of the season with the best record in its league, even though it has gotten outscored for the year, scored almost 200 fewer runs than the Phillies, had Randy Johnson for only 10 starts all season and starts a lineup consisting of Eric Byrnes and seven people that nobody in Nebraska has ever heard of? That's called managing, friends. Meanwhile, this year reminded us again that no manager makes a greater imprint on the on-field and off-field personality of his team than Scioscia. This team doesn't hit homers, doesn't walk, doesn't make the big trade, doesn't conform to all the trendy sabermetric trends of our time. Yet it's a team no one wants to deal with in October. That, too, is called managing.
Apologies to: Charlie Manuel, Lou Piniella, Clint Hurdle, Manny Acta, Joe Torre, Eric Wedge, Terry Francona, Jim Leyland.
Top five injuries of the year
• Fifth prize (killer ZZZs division): Didn't your mom always tell you to be careful about where you close your eyes? Mariners outfielder Raul Ibanez must have missed that pearl of wisdom. He was out for a week in May after he hurt his back, somehow or other, trying to catch some sleep on a plane.
• Fourth prize (coaching can be hazardous division): No wonder managers and coaches spend so much time at the ballpark. It isn't safe outside those walls. Ask Brewers manager Ned Yost. He tried jogging to Wrigley Field one day -- only to trip over a patch of loose concrete and break his collarbone. Or ask Devil Rays pitching coach Jim Hickey. He went out golfing -- and got attacked by his own golf shot. It missed the fairway, caromed off a curb and drilled him in the eyebrow. He needed surgery for a detached retina.
• Third prize (ifs, ands or butts division): Some maladies are tougher to describe than others. So no wonder the Nationals struggled to come up with just the right words to categorize a June injury to reliever Jesus Colome. It was first described as "a soft tissue injury in a lower right extremity." Later, though, they amended that to report that Colome was suffering (and boy, was he ever) from a (yikes) "abscess on his right buttock" that deposited him in a hospital for more than a week. "It's a serious situation," GM Jim Bowden told The Washington Post's Barry Svrluga. "We pray for his buttocks and his family."
• Second prize (license to grill division): The heck with all those home run milestones. We're pretty sure 2007 produced an all-time record for most barbecue injuries. Phillies center fielder Aaron Rowand missed two games in July after "tweaking" his back while playing tag with a bunch of neighborhood kids at a postgame barbecue. Meanwhile, Cubs reliever Bobby Howry's back also lost a barbecue-related battle -- when he wrenched it trying to carry a gas grill across his patio. But amazingly, neither of those guys won the gold medal in the barbecue-mishap triathlon. Pirates pitcher Ian Snell seared away with that prestigious honor in June -- when a routine chicken-grilling expedition went amiss and he burned the tip of his index finger, forcing him to miss a start. Luckily for him, Tom Gorzelanny took his place, beat the Mariners and told the Beaver County Times' John Perrotto afterward: "Ian owes me dinner for this -- takeout.
• First prize (don't mess with Bud Black division): We've chronicled hundreds of bizarre and innovative injuries here at Year in Review. But we've never, ever chronicled one quite as bizarre or innovative as Milton Bradley's torn ACL. Anybody ever heard of a player getting hurt while arguing with an umpire? We haven't. Anybody ever heard of a player injuring himself in a tangle with his own manager? We haven't. But Bradley wrapped both of those unprecedented feats into one surreal mishap last weekend, and knocked himself out for the rest of this season (and a chunk of next season) in the process. If the WWE doesn't put in a call this winter to Bud (Bam-Bam) Black for a guest WrestleMania appearance, somebody is asleep at the switch.
• Bonus injury of the year (distinguished spectator division): How important was it to some folks to witness those historic Barry Bonds home runs? Well, as The San Francisco Chronicle's Henry Schulman reports, it was so darned important to Steve Sockolov, the grown son of one member of the Giants' ownership group, that even flying bats couldn't pry him out of his seat. He was sitting in that seat Aug. 6 when Bengie Molina lost the grip on his bat. Which then soared into the stands and conked Socklov in the head area, breaking his nose and clavicle. But when paramedics arrived and told him he needed treatment, Sockolov resisted. Why? Because he didn't want to miss Bonds' 756th home run. Why else? (Barry was one away at the time.)
• Bonus injury No. 2 (order of the Moose division): Is Geiko offering mascot insurance? Red Sox center fielder Coco Crisp hopped out of the dugout in Seattle on Aug. 5 -- and promptly got drilled in the knee by the Mariner Moose mobile, driven by said Moose. Luckily for moose impersonators everywhere, Crisp saw the Moose mobile coming at the last moment and veered away from an antler-first hit. So whew. No harm, no foul. Crisp even told The Seattle Times' Steve Kelley he'd be happy to go grab lunch with the Moose next time he was in town. "Maybe," he said, "I'll have some moose jerky."
• Bonus No. 3 (most innovative noninjury excuse for missing time): Anybody who changed teams as often as Tigers/Braves/Padres pitcher Wilfredo Ledezma this year needed a visa more than most people. But that turned into a slight problem for Ledezma in July. He headed home to Venezuela for the All-Star break and broke International Travel Rule No. 1: Never put your visa through the laundry. That unfortunate bout with the rising tide of detergent left him visaless and stuck in Venezuela. So the Braves had to put him on the restricted list for a whole week because of what GM John Schuerholz called a "washing incident." The Braves were so delighted, they spin-cycled him off to the Padres a week and a half after his return.
Box score lines of the year
Box score line of the millennium (one and done division): When historians look back on the Houston Astros' Jason Jennings Era, there's a good chance they're not going to rank it with, say, The Nolan Ryan Era. Or The Bagwell-Biggio Era. Or even The Jim Deshaies Era.
And once those historians are through picking apart the dubious three-for-one trade that made Jennings an Astro in the first place, they'll turn to this poor guy's July 29 start against the Padres as Exhibit A in their what-a-mess portfolio. Fasten your seat belts:
2/3 IP, 8 H, 11 R, 11 ER, 3 BB, 0 K, 2 HR, 39 pitches to give up 11 runs.
So where does this one rate on the list of all-time box score train wrecks? Here goes:
Jennings was the first pitcher in modern history to give up 11 earned runs without getting three outs. ... He was the second pitcher since 1897 to give up 11 runs in the first inning. ... And he was the first pitcher in 113 years, as best we can tell, to give up 11 earned runs in the first inning.
Quote of the day (from the victim himself): "I was embarrassed for my teammates to be out on the field."
Mathematical impossibility division
• Oakland's Kiko Calero, July 12 in Minnesota: 2/3 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 0 BB, 0 K, 1 pitch.
How'd that happen? How does a guy throw one pitch, give up a hit and still pitch 2/3 of an inning? Simple. Torii Hunter singled into a double play. That's how. Justin Morneau got thrown out trying to go from first to third. Then Hunter got nailed trying to make it to second on the throw.
• Philadelphia's Antonio Alfonseca, July 29 in Pittsburgh: 1 K, 1 pitch.
How'd that happen? Yeah, it's still three strikes, and you're out, even in Pittsburgh. But Alfonseca had to come in after an injury to reliever Ryan Madson, whereupon he inherited a 1-2 count and struck out Jason Bay with the next pitch.
• Atlanta's Chipper Jones, July 29 in Arizona: 1 AB, 0 R, 1 H, 5 RBIs, 0 HR, 0 BB.
How'd that happen? How does a guy accumulate five RBIs in a 1-for-1 day without a walk or a homer? He thumps a three-run double and two sacrifice flies. How else? It's the first 1-0-1-5 line of the past half-century, in case you were curious.
Mystery pitcher division
In a season in which six different position players were allowed to head for the old pitcher's mound, we have lots of tremendous mystery-pitcher heroes to choose from. But only one of those men got to pitch twice. So here's to Cardinals do-it-all utility wiz Aaron Miles. And here are his two dazzling pitching adventures:
- • The good news: Aug. 4 vs. Washington -- 1 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 0 BB, 0 K.
• The bad news: Sept. 20 vs. Houston -- 1 IP, 3 H, 2 R, 2 ER, 0 BB, 0 K, 1 HR (to Astros rookie J.R. Towles).
What you need to know: Does it sum up the Cardinals' year that Aaron Miles made more pitching appearances (two) than Chris Carpenter (one), or what? ... Miles was the first position player to pitch more than once in a season since David McCarty got to twirl three times for the 2004 Red Sox, and the first NL position player to do it since Tim Bogar pitched twice for the 2000 Astros. ... And, since Tony La Russa also let Scott Spiezio pitch this year, that made the Cardinals the first team to let multiple position players pitch at least three times in one season since Vance Law and Tim Wallach combined to pitch four times for the '87 Expos.
Miles also became the first position player to give up a home run since Mark Grace served one up to David Ross on Sept. 2, 2001. But unlike Grace, at least Miles had a built-in alibi. He'd been overpitched, of course: "They had a scouting report on me," Miles told the St. Louis Post-Dispatch's Rick Hummel. "They talked about me in the hitters' meeting."
Since Miles let five of the first six hitters he faced reach base, his manager was nearly euphoric when Brad Ausmus ended the inning by bouncing into a double play: "If I had a chance," La Russa said, "I should send over a case of tofu for Ausmus hitting into that double play."
Wait. Did he just say tofu?
"I want to be true to my values," said La Russa, a longtime vegetarian.
Hummel then relayed that tofu offer to Ausmus, who replied: "I would like it better if he'd sent over a beer."
More spectacular box score highlights
• Milwaukee's Manny Parra, Aug. 30 vs. the Cubs: 3 IP, 3 H, 3 R, 3 ER, 3 BB, 3 K, in what was (seriously) the first 3-3-3-3-3-3 line by any starting pitcher since Sonny Siebert unfurled one for the A's against Texas on Aug. 5, 1978. And did we mention the score when Parra left was (naturally) 3-3?
• Yankees rookie Edwar Ramirez, July 20 vs. Tampa Bay: 0 IP, 1 H, 3 R, 3 ER, 4 BB, 0 K, 19 pitches and just 2 strikes -- one of which was cranked for a grand slam by noted .179 hitter Dioner Navarro.
• Cincinnati's Phil Dumatrait, Sept. 9 vs. Milwaukee: 0 IP, 5 H, 4 R, 4 ER, 0 BB, 0 K, 3 HR (to the first three hitters he faced). How often do you see a starter unfurl a three-homer, zero-out line? How about one other time in the past 50 years -- by the Yankees' Wade Blasingame on June 27, 1972.
• Milwaukee's Yovani Gallardo, Aug. 8 in Colorado: 2 2/3 IP, 12 H, 11 R, 11 ER, 2 BB, 1 K, 2 HR and a minus-12 game score (the only minus-12 of the year, according to baseball-reference.com).
• Philadelphia's Jamie Moyer, July 16 vs. the Dodgers: 5 1/3 IP, 10 H, 10 R, 10 ER, 2 BB, 4K, 2 HR, in a game that made Moyer (at 44 years, 240 days old) the oldest pitcher in the past half-century to give up 10 runs in a game.
• The White Sox's Mark Buehrle, July 23 vs. the Tigers: 6 1/3 IP, 14 H, 7 R, 7 ER, 2 BB, 5 K, 1 HR. Since Buehrle also had a slightly more attractive box score classic this year (9-0-0-0-1-8), he became the first man to pitch a no-hitter and a 14-hitter in the same season since Steve Busby in 1974.
• Oakland's Lenny DiNardo, June 5 vs. the Red Sox: 6 IP, 2 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 6 BB, 0 K. Let's see now. Six walks, no strikeouts and no runs? How hard is it to do all that in an outing that long? Must be tough. Only one other pitcher in the past 30 years (Omar Olivares, in 1999) has done it.
• And don't forget Yankees rookie Chase Wright, April 22 in his second career start: 3 IP, 5 H, 4 R, 4 ER, 3 BB, 3 K and (in the lead story on Action News) 4 HR in a row. Counting his time in the minor leagues, Wright had given up four home runs to the previous 673 hitters he'd faced -- and then allowed four in 10 pitches. Hard to do!
More spectacular offensive box score lines
• Garret Anderson, Aug. 21 vs. the Yankees: 6 AB, 3 R, 4 H, 10 RBI, 2 HR, 2 doubles. Anderson's coolest feat? He pulled off the RBI cycle, by driving in one, two, three and four runs with his four hits. The only other player in the past 50 years with one of those RBI cycles: A-Rod, on April 26, 2005.
• Diamondbacks pitcher Micah Owings, Aug. 18 in Atlanta: 5 AB, 3 R, 4 H, 6 RBI, 2 HR, 1 double. Just to pick one active player who has never had that many hits, homers, extra-base hits and RBIs in the same game, here's a name: Barry Bonds.
• That very same Micah Owings, Sept. 27 in Pittsburgh: 4 AB, 1 R, 4 H, 3 RBI, 3 doubles. So that makes Owings the first pitcher with two four-hit games in one season since Whitey Ford in 1953. And it gives him more four-hit games that included three extra-base hits, just in the last two months, than David Ortiz, Ryan Howard or Gary Sheffield has had in his entire career.
• Prince Fielder, April 10 vs. the Marlins: 4 AB, 0 R, 4 H, 1 RBI, 3 BB. So what's so tough about that? How about reaching base seven times in one game -- and not scoring a run. Fielder was just the fifth player to do that in the past 50 years.
• Milwaukee's Bill Hall, during Justin Verlander's June 12 no-hitter: 0 AB, 0 R, 0 H, 0 RBI, 3 BB. After way too much research, we determined that Hall was only the second man since 1900 to play a whole game during an opponent's no-hitter, come to bat at least three times and not make an out. The other: Dale Long, for the Pirates, against the Cubs' Sad Sam Jones, on May 12, 1955.
• The Angels' Chone Figgins, June 18 against the Astros: 6 AB, 1 R, 6 H, 3 RBI, 1 walk-off triple. Figgins was the first player to end a 6-for-6 game with a walk-off hit of any kind since Jim Northrop in 1969. "I don't think I've gone 6-for-6 in a video game, let alone a big league game," he said.
Blowout of the year
He stood there on the field at Camden Yards, staring at the scoreboard. But no matter how many times Kevin Millar looked, the incomprehensible numbers on that board just refused to change.
Rangers 30, Orioles 3.
"I kept thinking about the announcers all over the country giving the scores during their games," the Orioles' first baseman told Year in Review after the most lopsided baseball game of modern times. "They had to be saying, '30-3? That's gotta be a misprint.'"
Yeah, well, they may have said that. And they may have thought that. But that was no misprint. This game really happened, on Aug. 22, in actual life. And we're still trying to digest it all.
Four Orioles pitchers gave up six, seven, eight and nine runs apiece -- the first time four pitchers on one team had ever allowed six-plus earned runs in the same game. The Orioles' bullpen gave up 24 (yep, 24) earned runs in this game -- a record for any bullpen, any time, any place, any season.
The Rangers' No. 3 hitter, Michael Young, drove in none of his team's 30 runs. But the Rangers' eighth and ninth hitters, Jarrod Saltalamacchia and Ramon Vazquez, knocked in seven apiece -- the first time any 8-9 hitters had ever done anything like that in the same game.
The Rangers hadn't scored 30 runs in any series in their past 54 series, then scored 30 in one game. They hadn't scored 16 runs in any of their previous 372 games, then put up 16 just in the last two innings. And they somehow scored those 30 runs in a game in which they had more innings in which they didn't score (five) than innings in which they did (four).
"The thing that's unbelievable," Millar said, "is that I didn't pitch in that game. And Paul Bako didn't pitch in that game. And Jay Payton didn't pitch in that game. Those were major league pitchers we used in that game. And it just didn't end."
Well, it did eventually. But it couldn't end until the Orioles had trotted back to their dugout after the top of the ninth, down by 27 runs. We'd like you to take a second and imagine that scene, a team about to go hit, trying to make up a 27-run deficit.
"I mean, what do you say?" Millar wondered. "Do you say, 'OK, guys, let's hit four grand slams -- and we'll only be losing by 11?'"
Good question. How would you know what to say? Or what to do? Or how to act? It's not like anyone has ever found himself in a spot like that -- down 27 ... um, or have they?
"The last time I was on a team that gave up 30, I was playing high school football," Millar laughed. "Our secondary defense was terrible that night."
Scrimmages of the year
But that 30-3 game wasn't the only time this year when we wanted to call in Mike Ditka to figure out what the heck just happened. Here are our two other favorite no-huddle extravaganzas:
• July 6: The Twins became the first team since 1939 to score 32 runs in one day, squashing the White Sox in a day-nighter, 20-14 and 12-0. Asked what it was like to play in that 20-14 game, Torii Hunter told Year in Review: "It was the Bears and the Vikings is what it was."
• July 21-22: The Yankees pounded the Devil Rays in back-to-back games, 17-5 and 21-4. Those 38 runs the Rays allowed in two straight games were the most coughed up by an American League staff since the '53 Tigers. And the 38 the Yankees scored were the most by any Yankees lineup since 1936. In the Yankees' last 19 possessions (er, half-innings), 64 of the 118 men they sent to the plate reached base. Tampa Bay manager Joe Maddon's exhausted postgame review: "Their offensive line wore us down."
Milestone men of the year
It was The Year of the Round Number. It was The Year Barry Passed Hank. It was a year when it sometimes seemed as if history came flying off the TV screen at you every 20 minutes.
Craig Biggio got his 3,000th hit -- and became the first man to do it in a game in which he also got four other hits.
A-Rod smoked his 500th homer -- and got there at age 32. Which was four years, eight months younger than Barry Bonds was when he reached 500.
Jim Thome hit No. 500. Frank Thomas hit No. 500. Sammy Sosa returned from the land of the lost to hit No. 600.
Tom Glavine won No. 300 -- and became just the fourth left-handed pitcher to do that in the live-ball era. Roger Clemens won No. 350 -- and became the first right-handed pitcher to do that in the live-ball era. And Trevor Hoffman joined the 500 Save Club -- a club that consists of no one on earth except him.
And, lest we forget, there was Barry. He finally bashed No. 756, on Aug. 7 at AT&T Park. Washington's Mike Bacsik -- a pitcher whose father had once faced Hank Aaron when Aaron was sitting on 755 homers -- was the victim.
The commissioner of baseball missed the party. Aaron taped a video for the JumboTron. And the new record-holder announced afterward: "This record is not tainted. At all. At all. Period." OK then. Cleared that up.
We've never had a season in the history of the sport during which that many milestones of that significance arrived practically at once. But it wasn't merely overwhelming. It was also, well, time-consuming.
"All I know is, there was a lot of game stoppage," Dodgers coach/witticist Rich Donnelly told Year in Review. "I think there was a total of 7½ hours of game stoppage [to honor all those feats]. And that's a lot of time, isn't it? That's a lot of extra Dodger Dogs.
"You know, there was a lot of good TV on this summer, and a lot of people missed their shows, because they were watching a game and they kept stopping it. Every time you looked up, they were stopping the game. We had a guy ground out to second for the 48th time the other night. They even stopped the game for that.
"And I've got to admit. I don't understand why we keep stopping the games in the middle. When you're in the middle of watching an Academy Award movie, they don't stop the movie and hand out the Academy Award, do they? So I don't get this. Don't get me wrong. They're all great accomplishments. But I think if we're going to keep having this, we should honor them in their proper place -- in January."
Crazy eight of the year
So who was the only National Leaguer to drive in eight runs in a game this year? Ryan Howard? Nope. Albert Pujols? Sorry. Matt Holliday? 'Fraid not.
Of course, it was September Astros call-up J.R. Towles, a fellow who had just finished driving in exactly two runs in his entire 13-game tour of Triple-A. But on Sept. 20, he knocked in eight in a mere four at-bats against the Cardinals.
"What are the odds of a guy like that having the best night all year by anybody in the league?" mused Astros broadcast humorist Jim Deshaies. "It was like signing a guy to a 10-day contract in the NBA -- and he comes in and scores 50."
Our five favorite goofy moments of the year
The real hidden-ball trick: June 22, Indians vs. Nationals. Washington third baseman Ryan Zimmerman tried to field a ground ball by Franklin Guttierez, only to have the baseball hop right between a couple of buttons and land inside his shirt. "It was kind of like the Twilight Zone," Zimmerman told Year in Review. "I know I couldn't do that if I tried to do it, anyway." But first baseman Dmitri Young said this just proved his longtime theory about how Zimmerman makes all those acrobatic plays at third. "I think he has a magnet inside him that just sucks up balls," Young said.
The 3:32 a.m. classic: Aug. 24 (and 25), Yankees vs. Tigers. Thanks to the miracle of a four-hour rain delay, extra innings and a 4-hour, 32-minute game, the Yankees and Tigers got the thrill of becoming the first AL teams in history to find themselves still playing baseball at 3:32 a.m. OK, so maybe "thrill" isn't the right word. Fortunately, Carlos Guillen ended it with a middle-of-the-night walk-off homer. Which at least enabled everybody to get to bed around dawn. "You know, as my eyelids were shutting, the sun was coming up," Tigers coach Andy Van Slyke told Year in Review. "So as one was coming up, the other was going down."
The unassisted trifecta: April 29, Rockies vs. Braves. Rockies shortstop dynamo Troy Tulowitzki had more assists this year than any shortstop since Ozzie Smith. But he wasn't too bad at accumulating putouts, either. On this day, he pulled off the 12th unassisted triple play in history. But what made it such a classic video moment is that, after tagging Edgar Renteria for the third out, he fired the baseball to first baseman Todd Helton for ... uh ... what exactly? "I guess," Tulowitzki confessed, "I was trying to be the first person to get four outs."
The sliding drill: June 5, Phillies vs. Mets. It's always inspirational to see a blooper video come to life. So by that standard, Pat Burrell's adventures on the bases in this game were a thing of YouTube beauty. Burrell thought he'd just romped from first to third on an Aaron Rowand single, except a funny thing happened when he'd finished sliding into third: He found Chase Utley already on third. So Burrell popped up, scrambled back toward second, got stuck in a rundown, U-turned and wound up sliding into third a second time. Which Utley decided had to constitute baseball history. "You know," he told The Philadelphia Inquirer's Todd Zolecki, "I've never seen a guy slide twice into third base on the same play."
The wildest pitch ever: April 21, Nationals vs. Marlins. It isn't every day a pitcher can wind up, throw a pitch and have it land in the stands between the plate and first base. But Nationals rookie Matt Chico did that in this game -- all because he lost the handle on a changeup and entered it in the Wildest Pitch of All Time Derby. That inspired Year in Review to ask catcher Brian Schneider and first baseman Dmitri Young which one had a better chance of catching the pitch. Young's reply: Neither of them. "Dontrelle Willis had a better chance of catching it than I did," Young chuckled. "And he was in the on-deck circle."
The five funniest quotes of the year
• Fifth prize: From an unnamed baseball executive, on the Pirates' mysterious trade deadline deal to acquire Matt Morris -- and every penny of the $12 million he had left on his contract: "That move is so far out of left field, it's in the Monongahela."
• Fourth prize: The Reds' interim manager, Pete Mackanin, told the Dayton Daily News' Hal McCoy the first thing he planned to do in the offseason, whether he gets the job full-time or not, is take his wife on a five-week trip to Europe. "If I get this job, we'll stay in Five-Star hotels," he said. "If I don't, we'll stay in youth hostels."
• Third prize: After 106 games of mediocrity, Cardinals manager Tony La Russa resurrected his favorite innovation sensation, by letting his pitchers bat eighth instead of ninth. While their record didn't change much, and the offense didn't score a whole lot more, at least the pitchers' ERA went down. Asked by the St. Louis Post-Dispatch's Rick Hummel if the staff was inspired by the higher spot in the order, pitcher Adam Wainwright replied: "Nah. We all want to bat third or fourth."
• Second prize: After Phillies speedster Ryan Howard finally stole the first base of his career, following his 1,572nd plate appearance, we asked him if this means he now has the green light. "Uh, more like a blinking yellow," he said.
• First prize: From legendary quote machine Andy Van Slyke, to Booth Newspapers' Danny Knobler, after Tigers pitcher Jeremy Bonderman beat out a heart-pounding infield single for the first hit of his career: "I've never seen an athlete get to first base hyperventilating. Even a poker player should be able to run 90 feet without hyperventilating. I thought I was going to have to revive him. I told him, 'I know CPR, but I'm not going to perform it on you.'"
Top three Ichiro quotes of the year (courtesy of the Seattle Times' Larry Stone)
No one in baseball puts thoughts into words more eloquently than the one, the only Ichiro Suzuki. The evidence please:
• Third prize: On whether he thought, after his team's 14th loss in 16 games, that his teammates were pressing: "I don't even comprehend that word. ... If someone did 100 sprints before games, then maybe he'd be pressing, but there's no such idiots on this team."
• Second prize: On the Mariners' crazy schedule, which caused them to make three first-half trips to Cleveland because of a four-game April snowout: "If I ever saw myself saying I'm excited going to Cleveland, I'd punch myself in the face, because I'm lying."
• First prize: On the prospect of facing his countryman, Daisuke Matsuzaka, for the first time in the big leagues: "I hope he arouses the fire that's dormant in the innermost recesses of my soul. I plan to face him with the zeal of a challenger."
Top three Joe Maddon-isms (courtesy of the St. Petersburg Times' Marc Topkin)
If the Devil Rays ever get to be any good, here's our prediction: Their manager, the ever-erudite Joe Maddon, is going to zoom to fame as a magnetic, 21st-century cross between Casey Stengel and Dan Quisenberry. A few recent examples of Maddon's wit and wisdom:
• Third prize: After watching the Rays' biggest bopper, Carlos Pena, hit two balls off those pesky Tropicana Field catwalks in the same game, both of which fell to earth just behind Twins second baseman Luis Castillo: "That's the Rays version of the infield hit."
• Second prize: After losing to Blue Jays pitcher -- and former Devil Rays bat boy -- Jesse Litsch: "We cannot permit that to ever happen again. I'm going to have all of our present bat boys throw a bullpen session tomorrow, just to see what we have going on here."
• First prize: On the Devil Rays' unique flair for making sure their hitting and pitching were never good at the same time: "I guess our biscuits and gravy are a little convoluted at this point. However, we'll develop the proper recipe at some point, and we'll use the correct seasoning, and eventually we'll have the culinary answer to this dilemma."
The Lou and Ozzie show
That sound you heard all summer, emanating from the shores of Lake Michigan, was the sound of Chicago's two quote-machine managers, Ozzie Guillen and Lou Piniella, spinning off their unforgettable pearls. It was tough picking just three from this season, but after weeding out the quotes we'd have had to bleep anyway, we settled on these three:
• Third prize: From Ozzie, on trying to write out a lineup card with a team that forgot how to hit: "I had tears in my eyes when I was doing the lineup. I can even hit in this lineup."
• Second prize From Ozzie, after his team arrived in Tampa Bay, fresh off 56 strikeouts in their last five games, and learned the Devil Rays were offering a promotion promising fans a free pizza if the visitors struck out 10 times that night: "I'm going to buy a ticket. I feel bad for the people donating the pizzas. They're probably going to go out of business."
• First prize From Lou, after issuing a bases-filling intentional walk for Dmitri Young, who promptly hit a grand slam: "We tried to set up the double play. But the shortstop doesn't play in the bullpen."
Late night quote of the year
No. 9 on David Letterman's list of Top 10 Britney Spears Excuses: "I haven't been myself since Phil Rizzuto died."
Jayson Stark is a senior writer for ESPN.com. His new book, "The Stark Truth: The Most Overrated and Underrated Players in Baseball History," has been published by Triumph Books and is available in bookstores. Click here to order a copy.


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|Kartik Poornima
|Also called
|Tripuri poornima, Tripurari Poornima, Deva-Diwali, Deva-Deppawali
|Observed by
|Hindus and Jains
|Decided by the lunar calendar
|Prayers and religious rituals, including puja to Vishnu
Kartik Poornima (Kartik purnima) is a Hindu holy day celebrated on the full moon day or the fifteenth lunar day of Kartik (November-December). It is also known as Tripuri poornima and Tripurari Poornima. It is sometimes called Deva-Diwali or Deva-Deppawali - the festival of lights of the gods.[1] The Kartik Purnima festival also coincides with the Sikh festival of Guru Nanak Jayanti.
Significance in Hinduism
Tripuri poornima or Tripurari Poornima derives its name from Tripurari - the foe of the demon Tripurasura. Tripurari is an epithet of god Shiva. Shiva in his form as Tripurantaka ("Killer of Tripurasura") killed the demon on this day.[2] Tripurasura had conquered the whole world and defeated the gods. He also craeted three cities in space, together called "Tripura". The killing of the demon and destruction of his cities with a single arrow - by Shiva overjoyed the gods and they pronounced the day as a festival of illuminations. This day is also called "Dev-Diwali" - the Diwali of the gods. Diwali is the Hindu festival of lights.[3]
Kartik poornima is also the birthday of Matsya, god Vishnu's fish-incarnation (avatar). It is also the birthday of Vrinda, the personification of the Tulsi plant and of Kartikeya, the god of war and son of Shiva. This day also is considered dear to Radha, the lover of Krishna - Vishnu's incarnation. It is believed that Krishna and Radha danced rasa and Krishna worshipped Radha on this day. This day is also dedicated to the pitrs, dead ancestors.[3][4]
Underhill believes that the origins of this festival may lay in ancient times, when a sacrifice called Shakamedhah was performed to attain victory over enemies.[5]
Hindu rituals
Kartik Poornima is closely associated with Prabodhini Ekadashi which marks the end of Chaturmas, a four-month period when Vishnu is believed to sleep. Prabodhini Ekadashi signifies the awakening of the god. Chaturmas penance ends on this day. Many fairs that begin on Prabodhini Ekadashi end on Kartik Poornima, Kartik Poornima usually being the most important day of the fair.[3] Fairs that conclude on this day include Prabodhini Ekadashi celebrations at Pandharpur and Pushkar Fair. Kartik Poornima is also the last day to perform Tulsi Vivah ceremony that can be performed from Prabodhini Ekadashi.
In Pushkar, Rajasthan, the Pushkar Fair or Pushkar mela commences on Prabodhini Ekadashi and continues till Kartik Poornima, the latter being the most important. This fair is held in the honour of god Brahma, whose temple stands at Pushkar. A ritual bath on Kartik Poornima in the Pushkar Lake is considered to lead one to salvation. It is believed circling the three Pushkars on Kartik Poornima is highly meritorious. Sadhus gather here and stay from ekadashi to full moon day in caves. About 200,000 people and 25,000 camels assemble in Pushkar for the fair. Pushkar fair is Asia's largest camel fair.[6][7][8][9][10]
A ritual bath at a tirtha (a sacred water body like a lake or river) at a pilgrimage centre is prescribed on Kartik Poornima. This holy bath is known as "Kartik snana".[3][11] An holy bath at Pushkar or in the Ganga river, especially at Varanasi is deemed as most auspicious. Kartik Poornima is the most popular day for bathing in the Ganga at Varanasi.[4]
Annakuta, an offering of food to the deities, is held in temples.[3] People who have taken vows on Ashwin full moon day, end them on Kartik Poornima. God Vishnu is also worshipped on this day. Any form of violence (himsa) is prohibited on this day. This includes shaving, hair-cutting, cutting of trees, plucking of fruits and flowers, cutting of crops and even, sexual union.[11] Charity especially donation of cows, feeding of Brahmins, fasting are religous activities prescribed for Kartik Poornima.[4]
Tripuri Poornima is only next to Mahashivratri, amongst festivals dedicated to Shiva worship.[5] To commemorate the killing of Tripurasura, images of Shiva are carried in procession. Temple complexes in soutern India are lit up throughout the night. Deepmalas or towers of lights are illuminated in temples. People place 360 or 720 wicks in temples, to secure escape reaching hell after death.[3] The 720 wicks symbolizes the 360 days and nights of the Hindu calenadr.[4] In Varanasi, the ghats come alive with thousands of diyas (brightly-lit earthern lamps).[4] People gift lamps to priests. The lamps are kept throughout the night in houses and Shiva temples. This day is also known as "Kartik Diparatna" - the jewel of lamps in Kartik.[5] Lights are also floated in minature boats in rivers. Lights are placed under Tulsi, Sacred fig and Amla tress. The lights in the water and under trees are believed to help fishes, insects and birds who saw the light to attain salvation.[11]
Kartik Poornima is an important religious day for Jains who celebrate it by visiting Palitana one of the most famous Jain pilgrimage centre. [12] Thousands of Jain pilgrims flock to the foothills of Shatrunjay hills of Palitana taluka on the day of Kartik Poornima to undertake the auspicious yatra (journey). Also known as the Shri Shantrunjay Teerth Yatra, this walk is an important religious event in the life of a Jain devotee, who cover 216 km of rough mountainous terrain by foot to worship the Lord Adinath temple atop the hill.
Considered as a very auspicious day for Jains, the day also assumes significance for the walk as the hills, which are closed for public during the four months of monsoon, are thrown open for the devotees on Kartik Poornima. The day of Kartik Poornima holds significance in Jain religion and devotees are kept away from worshipping their lord for four months of monsoon and hence the first day attracts the maximum number of devotees. According to Jainism , Adinath, the first tirthankara, sanctified the hills by visiting it to deliver his first sermon. According to Jain texts, millions of sadhus and sadhvis have attained salvation on these hills.[12]
See also
- ↑ Prabodhini Ekadashi is known as Dva-Diwali in some regions.
- ↑ Land and people of Indian states and union territories: in 36 volumes, Volume 8 By S. C. Bhatt, Gopal K. Bhargava p.513
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 3.3 3.4 3.5 Land and people of Indian states and union territories. 33. Daman & Diu By Shankarlal C. Bhatt pp.175-6
- ↑ 4.0 4.1 4.2 4.3 4.4 [Guests at God's wedding: celebrating Kartik among the women of BenaresBy Tracy Pintchman pp. 83-7]
- ↑ 5.0 5.1 5.2 The Hindu religious year By M.M. Underhill pp.95-96
- ↑ Fairs and Festivals of India By S.P. Sharma, Seema Gupta p 133-34
- ↑ Nag Hill at Pushkar brims with sadhus, 27 October 2009, Times of India
- ↑ Land and people of Indian states and union territories: in 36 volumes, Volume 1 By S. C. Bhatt, Gopal K. Bhargava p.347
- ↑ Viewfinder: 100 Top Locations for Great Travel Photography By Keith Wilson p.18-9
- ↑ Frommer's India By Pippa de Bruyn, Keith Bain, Niloufer Venkatraman, Shonar Joshi p. 440
- ↑ 11.0 11.1 11.2 Keys of Power: A Study of Indian Ritual and Belief By J. Abbott pp.203-4
- ↑ 12.0 12.1 "Pilgrims flock Palitana for Kartik Poornima yatra". The Times of India. 2009-11-02. http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/rajkot/Pilgrims-flock-Palitana-for-Kartik-Poornima-yatra-/articleshow/5190238.cms. Retrieved 2009-11-03.
External links


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Arrived very late on Wednesday night / Thanksgiving morning. Tried to use "lockbox" system to check in. My name was not listed on any of the boxes. Waited a couple minutes for someone to come let me in. Desk clerk was nice enough and check in was ok after that.
Room was a little beat up - thermostat was loose on the wall, repairs in bathroom had not been painted, escutcheon around tub faucet was loose. Kitchen was ok; refrigerator was clean inside, outside was pretty nasty on top. Surfaces other than counter tops, dresser tops, etc. were fairly dusty.
Room also smelled a little odd, but mostly like whatever food the previous occupant had cooked, so not really the fault of the hotel, I suppose. Not bad enough for my family to move to another room, either.
It was, however, extremely difficult to control the temperature in the room. The heater kept shutting down whenever we went to bed because of the "energy savings system." Very, very annoying.
Had to walk down to lobby to swap out towels/sheets for fresh. A little odd for a hotel, but I guess it saves them a fair amount of money.
I got a good deal and felt like I received a good value for what I spent, but if the Hyatt Fair Lakes ever wises up and puts a refrigerator and microwave in at least some of their rooms, we would probably choose the Hyatt over this place next time.
- Official Description (provided by the hotel):
- Come and experience our new Comforts of Home Bedding Collection. At the Candlewood Suites Washington-Fairfax we put the amenities where they count: in our suites. Each suite features a fully equipped kitchen with a microwave, 2 burner stove, refrigerator ice maker, dishwasher and the utensils needed for cooking. Every guest room at the Fairfax Candlewood Suites offers free high-speed Internet, and a comfortable executive desk & chair.Enjoy free use of the hotel s fitness center, business services, and laundry facilities. Relax in an overstuffed recliner while enjoying a CD or VCR tape from the hotel s free library. The hotel also has the renowned Candlewood Cupboard, a small convenience store where you can purchase items 24/7 at a reasonable price.The pet friendly Candlewood Suites Fairfax is conveniently located near the Pentagon, NRA museum, George Mason University, Patriot Center, Dulles Expo & Conference Center, Fair Oaks Mall, and Fairfax County Courthouse. Use the Vienna Metro station just 4 miles away to visit the many area attractions in Washington, DC. Dulles Airport IAD and Reagan National Airport DCA are within 14 miles.This extended stay hotel caters to business and government travelers. Best of all, every night you stay at the Candlewood Suites Washington-Fairfax you will earn Priority Club Rewards points! ... more less
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When I saw these pics of Prince Ramses at Black Stud Society, I was blown away. His light ebony skin, masculine presence and mature sexiness caught my eye AND my libido. He looks strong in body and in personality. And he looks horny. Look at the way he works that black cock! He's really into it. These pics are actually taken from his video - I liked 'em better than the professional pics because they showed him in action better, with better closeups.
Look at the way the camera man lets us look over Prince Ramses' shoulder. We can see his cock as he sees it while he's stroking it.
As he gets closer and closer, he throws back his head. His body tenses and he uses both hands as he jerks his dick...
And then he can't wait any longer. His hands move faster and faster and he shoots his load all over his stomach for the camera. Don't you wish you could be there to lick it up?


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Donna Marie (Chapman) Doody
Posted April 16, 2013, at 7:34 p.m.
In Loving Memory Of
Jan. 24, 1934 – April 17, 2008
It has been five years since the Lord called you home. You are thought of and sorely missed every day. As time has passed we can take comfort in remembering the special person you were and we can enjoy the many wonderful memories you left us with.
Love and miss you,
Woody, Darlene, Mark and families


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Sona reports BC Gold Assays as high as 17.4 g/t over 1.5m
Sona Resources Corp SYS:CA announced drill results from its Elizabeth Gold Deposit in the Lillooet Mining District, southern BC. Assay highlights include 17.4 g/t gold over 1.54 metres, 96.4 g/t over 2.5 metres (including 222 g/t over 1 metre), 85.4 g/t over 4.03 metres (including 195 g/t over 1.54 metres), 134.9 g/t over 0.9 metres, 12.5 g/t over 2.5 metres and 17.4 g/t over 1.54 metres.
President/CEO John P. Thompson said, "The assay results from the Southwest Zone quartz vein continue to be extremely positive. We are expanding the Southwest Vein, and this high-grade gold mineralization remains wide open down dip and along strike to the southwest."
View Company Profile
Sona Resources Corp
by Ted Niles


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The Temple of Tiamat is an extradimensional temple dedicated to the goddess of chaos, Tiamat.
While on duty at Ray's Occult Books, Eduardo Rivera accepted a package. Thinking it was Peter Venkman's order, Eduardo opened it up and found a strange arcane tome instead. Upon looking at it, three ancient letters rose up from the pages and Eduardo had an out of body experience. He found himself teleported to a land reminiscent of ancient Egypt. Unseen and unheard by the people around him, Eduardo followed them to a massive temple. While trying to make contact with a man, Eduardo was discovered by Tiamat. He was issued a warning and sent back to his body.
When the Ghostbusters reached the top of Dana's apartment building, they found themselves in Tiamat's dimension. They immediately saw Tiamat's temple and scaled the steps. They were taunted by Louis Tully and Dana Barrett, both possessed by Terror Birds until Tiamat made her presence known. After they Crossed the Streams, the Ghostbusters found themselves back on the apartment roof.
- Ongoing Series


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Faridabad: Board President's XI openers Vijay Dahiya (26) and Ravneet Ricky (23) took advantage of an ordinary Zimbabwe bowling to score 52 runs in 21 overs to boast an overall lead of 120 runs in their second innings of the three-day tie at Nahar Singh Stadium on Tuesday.Half and hour after the lunch break, Zimbabwean captian Guy Whittall surprised everybody by declaring the first innings at 236 for five conceding a deficit of 63 runs and allowing Board President's XI to play 21 overs. Zimbabwe medium pacers Henry Olongla and Mluleki Nkala opened the bowling but could not get much out of the placid wicket. Though thePresident's XI openers were severe on Olganga and scored 29 runs from his first three overs, Nkala and Travis Friend restricted the run flow by maintaining a good line and length.Whittall, who tried five bowlers, introduced spin in the last three overs, but without any success. He, however, did not introduce star spinner Paul Strang.Earlier Whittall and Brian Murphy remained not out on 30 and 14 respectively as Zimbabwe declared their innings. Openers Grant Flower and Gavin Rennie scored 95 runs for the opening partnership. Rennie went on to score 79 and was the fourth to be out. UNI
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HATE Jumpee Houses...
I absolutely DESPISE jumpy houses... Whenever we go to party and they have one, which is more so than not.. I get anxiety... They get crazy and the bigger kids don't look out for the littler ones and there never seems to be an adult that seems as concerned as I am.. and so I stand there and watch.. and the big kid that's playing rough is always the kid of the parent across the room having a beer.. Ugh.. I've seen so many bloody noses and head conks.. I hate them.. lol
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Hensen's performance follows another outstanding performance against Clemson, as he shut down the Tigers in an 11-2 win at Doug Kingsmore Stadium in 2003. In 16.0 career innings pitched against Clemson, he allowed just one earned run. Tiger starter Stephen Faris (0-2) suffered the loss in his first career start.
Clemson jumped out to a 1-0 lead in the first inning on a single to left field by Lou Santangelo, scoring Garrick Evans from second base.
Santangelo heads to first base after his run scoring single in the first inning.
After three scoreless innings by each team, Elon broke through with five runs in the fourth inning. Gary Morris, Drew Davis, and Chris Price led off the frame with three straight singles, the last of which plated a run. After Tyler Stevens singled home the second run, Evan Erickson brought home two more runs on a double down the left-field line. The Phoenix added to their lead when Matt Stocco drove home a run on a fielder's choice.
Elon came right back in the fifth inning and added two more runs to take a 7-1 lead. Morris was hit by a pitch to lead off the inning and scored on Davis' double down the left-field line. Three batters later, Stevens singled home Davis.
Davis led the Phoenix with three hits, while Morris and Stevens each had two hits. Santangelo led the Tigers with two hits and an RBI.
Clemson will play host to Wake Forest this weekend at Doug Kingsmore Stadium in the Tigers' first ACC action of 2004. First pitch Friday is 7:15 PM.


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Read the full story here Web Link posted Friday, February 11, 2011, 12:00 AM
Town Square
Original post made on Feb 14, 2011
Read the full story here Web Link posted Friday, February 11, 2011, 12:00 AM
Comments (4)
a resident of Amador Valley High School
on Feb 14, 2011 at 3:10 pm
Congratulations, Amador We the People team! Your city is very proud of you. Work hard, and good luck at Nationals.
a resident of Another Pleasanton neighborhood
on Feb 15, 2011 at 10:08 pm
Congratulations Amador! I don't think most people know how much work goes into this program..but it is sooo worth it!
What an accomplishment!
a resident of Another Pleasanton neighborhood
on Feb 15, 2011 at 10:37 pm
No on a parcel tax. This is the way the district wastes our money.
a resident of Downtown
on Feb 16, 2011 at 7:08 pm
Dear Resident,
Do you have any idea what the "We the People" competition is? I would submit it is the most valuable experience any high school student could possibly have. Educating young adults on civic responsibility and the meaning of our constitution is a very GOOD thing. The program receives ZERO money from the district btw. Might want to get your facts straight before commenting.
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Tri-Valley cities rank high in poll
By Tim Hunt | 4 comments | 596 views
What You Need to Do Before Your Child Goes to College
By Elizabeth LaScala | 0 comments | 99 views


text: Madrush Cyclops Printings/Rarity: Cost: CMC: 4 Card Type: Creature — Cyclops Warrior Power/Toughness: 3/4 Oracle Text: Creatures you control have haste. Flavor Text: Death comes in the blink of an eye. Retrieved from "http://mtg.wikia.com/wiki/Madrush_Cyclops?oldid=62521" Ad blocker interference detected! Wikia is a free-to-use site that makes money from advertising. We have a modified experience for viewers using ad blockers Wikia is not accessible if you've made further modifications. Remove the custom ad blocker rule(s) and the page will load as expected. Categories: Alara Reborn Rare Cards CMC: 4 Multicolored Black Red Green Creature Haste Cyclops Warrior


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Watch the dollar!
This abstraction… this green piece of paper… this strange invention – the dollar is backed only by full faith in America's faithless central bankers… who have only wiped out half the dollar's value in the last 20 years and the credit of the world's biggest debtor. What is it worth? No one really knows.
But whatever it was worth yesterday, there is general agreement that it is worth less today. We say that because we've noticed it slipping – yesterday, it was trading at just less than $1.29 per euro – at a 5 month low.
Currencies go up and down, it is true. And this isn't the first time the dollar was at $1.29 per euro. But if our memory is right, the last time it was at this level the fed funds rate was 425 basis points lower. Now, despite much higher short term rates, the dollar is falling again.
As the fed raised rates, the dollar rose too. But where will it go now? The US central bank is already giving lenders considerably more for their money than either the bank of Japan or the bank of Europe. The ECB's key lending rate is still only 4.25% (marginal lending facility effective October 11).
Japan's equivalent rate is only 0.25%.
If these higher returns fail to bring in enough wampum, what is the Fed to do? The US must borrow. It depends on the kindness of foreign lenders to keep going. And when the foreign lenders fail, the dollar falls.
As a theoretical matter, the Fed could raise rates some more to attract lenders and support the dollar. But as a practical matter, two of the major industries in the country are already desperate for lower rates, not higher ones. US housing and car-making are both in trouble. The housing industry, alone, represents a huge threat. It could drag the whole US economy down with it; frankly, we're surprised it hasn't done so already. It would take an unusually bold, or unusually reckless Fed to raise rates now.
So keep your eye on the dollar. For many, many months it has defied the most fundamental principles of international commerce – going up, even as the current account deficit rose to $800 billion a year. But markets always do what they're supposed to do; just never when you expect it. When people expected the dollar to fall – it rose. Now, no one is watching it. They're all convinced that the dollar is indestructible… as eternal and unblemished as granite countertops.
And yet, a fall in the dollar is just what you'd expect. It is the normal way to balance out America's trade and current accounts. It is the normal way to undermine Americans' wealth with hardly anyone noticing. And what better way to stop people from living beyond their means – cut their means down even further!
Few Americans pay any attention to the value of their currency on world markets. They earn their money in dollars… and spend in dollars. Only we poor exiles have to suffer the consequences of the buckling buck on a daily basis. We go to buy a bottle of wine and we find it costs more than it did, in dollar terms, last week. We go out to dinner and we're shocked at how much we spent. We pay for our new granite countertops and wonder how prices could have shot up so much.
Back in the US, the fall in the dollar is cushioned by a number of things. Most expenses are home-grown; they don't go up just because the dollar has gone down on global markets. And even imports do not fully react to the lower currency, because so many of them come from China, which holds its own money close to the American brand. What's more, Wal-Mart and other discounters are finding new and better ways to cut costs… somewhat softening the blow.
In terms of gold and euros, the dollar is already worth less than half what it was a few years ago. Keep your eye on it; a few years from now, it will probably be worth only half what it is today.