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Facebook Watch Lands D-Wade Docu-Series ESPN Unveils New Shows, Podcasts Set For '18 Danica Patrick Retiring As Full-Time Driver Blaney Nabs REV As Primary Sponsor For Two Races Speedway Expects Sellout For NASCAR Finale QH Earnhardt Jr. Documenting Last Race SNY Goes Heavy On UConn Hoops Saints, Pelicans Sign Deals With SeatGeek ManU Hopes To Raise Profile In U.S. With Event
SBD/October 29, 2013/NBA Season PreviewPrint All
SportVU Tracking System Could Find Reach Beyond Court For NBA, Teams
NBA data goes big tonight as Stats LLC's SportVU technology, a series of cameras used to track every on-court movement, makes its league-wide debut with the start of the '13-14 NBA season. For Stats, the installation of the motion-tracking system in all NBA arenas marks the turning point in its plans to market the advanced statistics SportVU makes possible. Stats Senior VP/Sports Solutions Brian Kopp said, "This league deal validates what we were doing with the teams, but more importantly, it now really starts the conversation on the media and the business side." Stats for several years pitched individual franchises on SportVU, which enables teams to capture players' exact moves on the court through a three-dimensional optical tracking system. SportVU produces a number of stats that go beyond familiar basketball statistics, including distance run, rebound chances and secondary assists (similar to those in hockey). After the Rockets became the first franchise to adopt SportVU in '10, the program rapidly gained momentum, with 15 franchises using it last season. But Kopp said that the technology's exploitation was inhibited as both an analytical and marketing tool by its lack of a complete data set. A player cannot legitimately be called the NBA leader in rebound chances, for example, without data from all NBA games. With the new league-wide deal, SportVU will have its eyes-in-the-sky on every player, every play -- provided Stats can secure the league's two international regular-season games in London and in Mexico City.
EXPANDED USE: Now the real game can begin, both on-court and off. While teams use the technology chiefly to analyze players, some franchises, the NBA and Stats are looking at multiple potential platforms for the new statistics, from digital media to in-arena uses to broadcasts. Kopp said the company's data this year "becomes a whole new layer of officially branded NBA stats" on NBA.com. Kopp added that the site would feature several tables with the new data on its stats page. He expects the NBA.com information to be "skinnied down" -- that is, made less complex and more user-friendly -- from the types of data reports provided to teams. NBA Exec VP/Operations & Technology Steve Hellmuth confirmed the SportVU stats will be available online from the beginning of the season. Hellmuth said, "We've got people here cranking overtime right now. On NBA TV, the stats will be there from game one." He added that the data also will be used in features and articles on NBA.com. Hellmuth: "People reading longer articles, it's becoming rare. We're really trying to focus on making it as digestible, as easy to reference as a box score." Hellmuth said SportVU data will be "prominently displayed" on the NBA.com stats page. SAP currently is in the second year of multiyear partnership to run the page and also serves as a league sponsor.
CAVALIER APPROACH: Although franchises new to SportVU had a scant seven weeks to get the hardware installed and get up to speed on the service, Hellmuth said there was "no friction whatsoever with the teams." He noted team execs are used to working in a world of big data in ticket sales and other areas, so they are comfortable with the idea of needing bigger, better data sets. He added it was not just the stats themselves, but the combination of the numbers and Stats LLC's program to analyze it, called ICE, that got the league to commit to the deal. One team that quickly found a fan-friendly use for the new SportVU stats is the Cavaliers, who began presenting the data on their scoreboard after joining the program in December 2012. Cavaliers Senior VP/Communications & Broadcasting Tad Carper said while basketball analysis currently remains the main use of the data, the team has its eye on business applications as well. Carper said, "We've gone down sort of a two-lane highway on this from the start." Cavaliers VP/Digital Mike Conley said that the team will continue to seek new uses of the data on the Quicken Loans Arena scoreboard. Conley said, "One of the biggest pieces of kryptonite in this process is to really get all the arenas up to speed on how to parse this data in real time and quickly. … We're working on creating infrastructure that's going to be able to take that data and parse it in real time and generate the graphics automatically in-house."
AGGRESSIVE PUSH: Carper and the Cavs will continue to use the new stats to try to draw fans away from their TV sets. Carper: "TV and broadcast has become so slick and produced and full of information, it's a very comfortable space for fans. We're going to continue to enhance our broadcast, but at the same time, the in-arena experience is something we want to continue to enhance too." Carper said that potential sponsors have shown interest in specific SportVU stats tracking qualities like speed, durability and distance. Conley notes companies now are much more likely to jump on an innovative idea. He said, "Where in the past, something would need to be in the market for three years before you start to see corporate dollars start to catch up with technology, everybody now is aggressive in wanting to be on the innovation front." Hellmuth said that the type of stats the Cavaliers use in-arena come out about every 60-90 seconds, and "will also be used potentially in telecasts." He added while NBA TV staff are "still working on that," they are "definitely going to be using this data in conjunction with GameTime, our lead highlight show."
FANTASY ISLAND: Beyond online and broadcast uses, Kopp sees potential for the SportVU data in fantasy gaming, an arena the company is already involved in as creator of the PGA Tour's fantasy golf games, as well as video games. Kopp notes the NBA2K videogame series is a Stats client for traditional data, but says as the technology becomes more familiar, the SportVU data should enhance the games. Kopp said, "It could be anywhere from just integrating it into the game, like they do some of the box-score data, or it could be the ability to influence how those players perform, based on the data we're collecting."
Minneapolis, T'Wolves Agree On Tentative Deal For $100M In Target Center Upgrades
Minneapolis and T'Wolves officials yesterday announced a deal to "roughly split the cost" of a $100M Target Center renovation, nearly three years "after the plan was first outlined," according to a front-page piece by Eric Roper of the Minneapolis STAR TRIBUNE. The renovation will "redesign the exterior of the 23-year-old building, create additional gathering spaces, improve pedestrian traffic flow, upgrade amenities, increase the seating capacity, add additional VIP clubs and fix loading dock problems." It is "expected to make the building more competitive for concerts, as well as a better home for the sports teams." The agreement, which "must be approved by the City Council, would commit" $48.5M in city sales taxes to the renovation, plus another $43M from the T'Wolves. Venue operator AEG "would kick in" another $5.5M. The deal keeps the T'Wolves, WNBA Lynx and AEG at the arena until '32. If approved by the council, construction "could begin in spring or summer" of '14 and continue for 18-24 months. Minneapolis Mayor R.T. Rybak said that it will "occur in phases and allow for continued use of the building for most, if not all, of that time." The cost of the renovation was "initially pegged" at $150M, but that cost "was scaled down during negotiations." Rybak: "The bottom line is had this deal not been done, we still would have been putting money into this building ongoing. But it would have deteriorated much more rapidly." The City Council will "hold a hearing on the agreement this Thursday, with a full vote expected on Nov. 12" (Minneapolis STAR TRIBUNE, 10/29). In St. Paul, Belden & Brothers note the city's financial contribution "will come from local sales and hospitality taxes freed up under the 2012 state legislation that allowed construction" of the new Vikings stadium. Improvements also "are ahead for St. Paul's Xcel Energy Center, which sometimes competes for shows with Target Center." The Wild manage Xcel Energy Center, and a team spokesperson said that improvements "could begin next summer" (ST. PAUL PIONEER PRESS, 10/29).
Raptors, BMO Ink Deal Featuring Court Ads Amidst Upswing For Franchise
The Raptors and BMO today will officially announce a five-year agreement "in which the bank becomes the club's presenting sponsor and the Raptors use an NBA pilot program to feature the bank's logo on the team's home court," according to Morgan Campbell of the TORONTO STAR. The Raptors "haven't had a bank sponsor since their previous deal with BMO expired three seasons ago." With the NBA All-Star Game coming to Toronto in '16 and the Raptors "in the midst of an on-court rebuilding ... and an off-court reinvention," BMO "felt even more confident about the timing of its return to Canadian basketball." BMO Senior VP & Head of Brand, Advertising and Sponsorships Justine Fedak said, "It's not an instant overnight transformation. We sponsored [the Blackhawks] when they weren't on television and they had no Stanley Cups. Now they're a double Stanley Cup winning team." The Raptors under the deal "will become the second team in the NBA to sell on-court ad space to a corporate sponsor," with a BMO logo "painted on the sideline in front of each team's bench." The Pacers earlier this month signed a deal with the Indiana Economic Development Corp. BMO during its "three-year estrangement from the Raptors ... increased its investment" in Canada's MLS clubs. Its logo "adorns the jerseys" of both the Impact and Toronto FC, and the bank also sponsors the Whitecaps. BMO in '07 paid a reported $27M "for the naming rights to BMO Field" (TORONTO STAR, 10/29).
BEAR NECESSITIES: In Memphis, Michael Sheffield reported the Grizzlies' sponsorship deals this season will put the name of local clothing retailer City Gear "on the back of the chairs players sit in on the sidelines, while Mednikow Jewelers will have its name on the floor seat holder lounge, the first time that area has had a title sponsor." Other sponsors also are "raising their profile this year." Jet's Pizza "will serve its pizzas in FedExForum and have gameday specials in its restaurants." Lexus of Memphis is "giving away a trip to the April 6 road game" against the Spurs. First Tennessee Bank "will offer ticket deals." C-Spire Wireless "will host Fan Friday giveaways that will include tickets and promotional items." Artisent Floors "will give away floor seats to home games beginning Nov. 22." Chiwawa will be "the road game watch party site." Ashley Furniture "will sponsor Military Night Nov. 9" (BIZJOURNALS.com, 10/28).
New "Uncle Drew" Ad With Irving Debuts, Adding Nate Robinson, Maya Moore To SeriesThe third ad in Cavaliers G Kyrie Irving's "Uncle Drew" series for Pepsi Max yesterday debuted online with appearances by Nuggets G Nate Robinson and WNBA Lynx F Maya Moore, but the "identity of the newest cast members was kept secret" until the premiere, according to Jason Lloyd of the AKRON BEACON JOURNAL. Irving, who wrote the script for all three ads, yesterday said, "They all signed a form that they had to remain silent until today." The six-minute film was "shot in one 12-hour day at Chicago's Seward Park last summer." Robinson was "a fan of the first two pieces and began badgering to appear in the third." He plays "Lights," a "basketball star-turned-musician whom Uncle Drew finds in a jazz club." Moore is "his significant other and warns 'Lights' he can't play again because he had his hip replaced." The two men "ignore her warnings and return to the court for typical Uncle Drew antics." Moore's character "eventually shows up at the court and starts dropping shots, too." Irving said that there are "two more installments of the series, then he is ending it" (AKRON BEACON JOURNAL, 10/29). Irving said of the ad, "I'm as excited to see it as you guys are. I'm looking forward to it. I think you guys will like it. It's a funny commercial, and I'm looking forward to seeing the reaction." He added of making more ads in the series, "I'm coming up with ideas every single day just thinking about it. But my focus right now is the season'' (Cleveland PLAIN DEALER, 10/29).
YOU KNOW, FOR KIDS: In Cleveland, Laura DeMarco reported Irving yesterday "launched another new venture," as "about 500 fans lined up inside and around" a Cleveland-area Target store for the release of the new handheld PlayMG Android gaming device. To get a "photo with Irving fans [needed] to purchase a PlayMG." Fans said that they "learned about the event and device when Irving tweeted about it" earlier in the afternoon. The "game-loving" Irving is not only a spokesperson for PlayMG but also a part owner, along with actress Olivia Holt and "several private investors." Irving said, "It's a generational video game, something for younger kids." PlayMG Founder Geoffrey DeStefano said that his company "first approached the Cavs star because of his youth." DeStefano said, "He represents our target market, the young sophisticate. ... We wanted someone from middle America, from the heart of America." DeMarco noted the PlayMG "comes stocked with 11 apps, with access to more than more than 60,000 more to play on the 4-inch touch screen." It currently is "only available at Target, Amazon.com and PlayMG.com" for a retail price of $179.99, "comparable to a smartphone." Irving said it is a "great thing" if fans have younger kids. Irving: "You give them this and they go crazy" (CLEVELAND.com, 10/28).
Kings Celebrate Latest Chapter In Their History With Commercial-Free Broadcast
The NBA Kings to celebrate a new chapter in franchise history will be broadcasting tomorrow night's home opener against the Nuggets commercial-free on their local broadcast partner, KXTV-ABC. The team, which was subject to a battle that could have seen it relocate to Seattle, ultimately was purchased by former Warriors investor Vivek Ranadive this summer. Kings Senior VP/Sales & Marketing Jeff David said, "There's a large story to tell and we need to use every minute to tell that very positive story." KXTV President & GM Maria Barrs said the station took into account the loss of ad revenue, but ultimately decided it would be worth the risk. "The Sacramento market has had so many ups and downs with the Kings," she said, "and we're on a real up and we want to help celebrate it." Health care provider Kaiser Permanente will be the presenting sponsor of opening night, and will be included in all of the promotional messages about the commercial-free broadcast. The sponsorship was sold by KXTV, but the station declined to provide details. KXTV is running ads on air and on its website to promote the telecast, while the Kings had in-arena promotions, website ads and mentions during all of their preseason broadcasts. Barrs: "We're hoping to get people excited about the Sacramento Kings. That's what we want. We have a partnership with the Kings where we're going to be airing an additional 10 games after the first one, and we want people to watch, we want people to be excited, we want people to feel good and feel engaged with the team." Kings President Chris Granger echoed that sentiment, saying, "If not for our fans, this team would not be in Sacramento right now. This is hopefully just a nice thank you for all that work that our fans have put in and we want to give back to them in as many ways as we can."
VARIETY SHOW: The broadcast will produced by the Kings and essentially include three hours of commercial-free game action, as well as an additional hour-long pregame show produced by KXTV. In place of ad spots, the Kings will be airing a mix of in-arena entertainment, pre-recorded vignettes on community outreach and the new ownership, live interviews with NBA figures such as minority Owner Shaquille O'Neal, Commissioner David Stern and Sacramento Mayor Kevin Johnson, and highlights from the pregame fanfest. Granger said, "It's a sold-out game. Not everyone is going to be able to attend the game live, so being able to view the entire experience from home is as good as we can get." Kings Opening Night Broadcast Dir Mike Bird said there has been an "immeasurable" amount of planning that has gone into the telecast. His team will have 17 cameras on hand, up from the usual 10 for a regular-season home game, including wireless RF cameras and an Ultra-Mo camera. "We're actively involved right now with the in-house entertainment people to come up with a solid format to give the fans at home watching the full experience they would get at the arena," he said.
SOMETHING DIFFERENT: The Kings are the first professional sports team in North America to broadcast commercial-free, and SI's Richard Deitsch said, "It's an interesting experiment and I think as a one-time thing, I think viewers are really going to enjoy it because it's going to be a different kind of unique game broadcast." But he added it will be "interesting to see how the fluidity of the broadcast goes and the rhythm of the broadcast." Deitsch did not think that a single-sponsored commercial-free telecast would become the norm in the NBA, but Kings and KXTV execs all seemed open to the possibility of doing this again. Granger said, "It's fun to do something different. Our fans are responding very well to it right now. I think it's pushed us creatively to think through every single timeout and what we might do, so I think you're going to see the best out of the Kings organization and News10 that night."
NBA Roundtable: Media Writers Discuss Quality Of Studio Shows, Chemistry On Set
The NBA season begins with the league's network partners continuing to search for ways to appeal to viewers. THE DAILY conducted a roundtable with two leading media writers -- SI.com's Richard Deitsch and the L.A. Daily News' Tom Hoffarth -- discussing their views of topics including studio shows, on-air talent and live streaming of games.
Q: What network does the best job covering the NBA and what do they bring that makes it successful?
Deitsch: Both Turner and ESPN do a good job of covering the NBA, but I would give the advantage to Turner, simply because its studio show is far and away the best NBA studio show and arguably best studio show that exists today along with ESPN's "College GameDay." The NBA is one of those unique entities where viewers are really into studio programming, probably because there are not as many pregame shows as there are in the NFL. So that gives "Inside the NBA" that much more prominence, and by virtue of Charles Barkley, it is destination viewing. ESPN's No. 1 team of Mike Breen and Jeff Van Gundy is as good as it gets. I think so is Marv Albert and Steve Kerr. So in terms of game broadcasts, both Turner and ESPN do a really good job with their announcers, with their production. I would give ESPN an advantage with Doris Burke on the sideline even though I think David Aldridge, Craig Sager, et cetera are good. NBA TV would be a distant third; their studio shows are good, not great, in my opinion. And their game coverage is good, but I think a step behind Turner and ESPN.
Hoffarth: First, I'll admit the NBA isn't my first choice of sports viewing, especially in the regular season. So it takes something to really pull me in -- an intriguing matchup, a holiday game. A local Lakers or Clippers broadcast will grab my attention over any other national game as well, too. That said, TNT's longer-term commitment with the sport makes me feel there's more loyalty there in checking them out, especially in bigger moment games. An NBA game on ESPN seems like nothing really special, just part of the network daily offering. But if there's a Breen-Van Gundy game on anywhere, I'll gravitate toward that.
Deitsch believes continuity is a key to the success
of TNT's "Inside the NBA"
Q: A lot has been made about the success of TNT's "Inside the NBA." How do you think the show could continue to replicate said success moving forward?
Deitsch: They replicate the success because of the continuity that exists between Ernie Johnson, Kenny Smith and Charles Barkley. And as long as you have that trio, you're going to have a terrific show. That trio is one of the best we've ever seen on sports television in terms of continuity, entertainment, watch-ability. They added Shaq a couple of years ago; I think he's certainly better now than he was at the start, and the show hasn't fundamentally changed with the addition of Shaquille O'Neal, and that's why it's worked. ... The other thing is -- and this is very important -- that studio show is one of the least-scripted studio shows I've ever seen on television sports; they allow their people to have spontaneous moments.
Hoffarth: I realize that I've stopped listening to things Charles Barkley says for a few years now. I just don't find him relevant, more of a media creation at this point, someone who's figured out the business of talking and getting attention. Shaq isn't going to be Barkley 2.0, either. Kenny Smith seems to be the only one offering something, like he's actually paying attention and has processed the information. But then, maybe that's the beauty of this show -- a comfortable, barbershop setting where you don't agree with everything said, laugh a lot and feel like you're one of their friends. The person who'd really inject something special is Reggie Miller, but that would mean moving him from game coverage to the studio and forcing him to go to Atlanta, so I can't see that happening.
Q: How do you foresee the chemistry of ESPN's "NBA Countdown" developing now that there have been these recent changes just as league preseason games began?
Deitsch: Impossible to know. The thing about chemistry is you have no idea until the camera light comes on and the principles are interacting with one another, and not in any sort of rehearsal format. So we'll see how Sage Steele interacts with Bill Simmons and Jalen Rose and Doug Collins; we'll see how Doris Burke interacts with Avery Johnson. I think there are a lot of very smart people and interesting people on that show -- there's been a lot of times where you have individuals who are interesting, but they cannot match up together.
Hoffarth: I found myself paying less and less attention to this show because I can't figure out what it's trying to achieve, whether it's forced chemistry, a splash studio, virtual graphics and all that. The fact it's based in L.A. shows some intent on making it relevant, but it never seems to exploit that advantage by being right across the street from Staples Center. I'm not sure what Bill Simmons brings to the conversation except maybe a fan's perspective, and even that is suspect. Magic had the star power, and could be the most quotable, so without him there, and now Michael Wilbon missing, I think it's very pedestrian. Jalen Rose seems to have talked himself into being a co-host, so I'm not sure how inserting Sage Steele makes this any more than just moving lounge chairs around. Bill Walton would be a great person to bring back here if he wanted it. Even someone like Stephen A. Smith could add some juice.
Q: How do you feel NBA TV ranks amongst the other league-owned networks in terms of both A) overall quality and B) unbiased coverage?
Deitsch: Most of the time, bias if it comes is going to come in a studio format, or the auxiliary-programming format, and I think NBA TV for the most part at least on their postgame shows certainly does not shy away from anything in terms of game action, in terms of coaching decisions -- good, bad or indifferent -- player decisions -- good, bad or indifferent. NBA TV is usually fine with that. The question with league networks is, how far do they go in their reporting and kind of the third-rail issues. ... Usually with league-owned networks, the day-to-day stuff, they're generally pretty good about talking about a coaching doing something or whether a player is sort of doing something wrong or not, but usually it's the larger issues -- the kind of stuff that takes some in-depth reporting on something that really makes league officials queasy -- that's where I think I would not go to NBA TV.
Hoffarth: I don't seek out the channel out as much as I would MLB Network or NFL Network, or even the NHL Network, and the only reason I suspect is again because the NBA isn't my No. 1 TV choice during this time of year. I tend to go to it if there's a replay of an old game, or a special documentary, or this "Open Court" panel discussion. ... I don't think it's a quality issue or bias coverage. It seems to be just an extension of TNT's coverage in a lot of ways, which makes sense considering how content is compiled for it. My suggestion would be to try to find a two-some like the MLB's Chris Rose and Kevin Millar to do their own "Intentional Talk" show during the afternoons as a friendly place to stop by.
Hoffarth is a proponent of giving fans as many
options on how they consume games
Deitsch: I like it, a lot. I think it's a really smart move by whatever entity made that move but I really think it's a smart move, because having written about so many announcers and having talked to so many fans in multiple sports, they really do feel this connection to the local broadcasters and I think, whether it's correct or not, it's not necessarily about fandom but I think they get familiar and comfortable with a voice, and they believe that broadcast is tailor-made to them as fans as opposed to a more down-the-middle broadcast or a national broadcast or, obviously, the opposing broadcast.
Hoffarth: Whatever gives fans more options of feeling they can make a decision on how they consume games, the better. I've been impressed with the NBA TV's ability to get fan votes to decide whichever game they want to see.
Q: Who is an underrated talent or is next to emerge as a top talent?
Deitsch: I continue to be impressed with Chris Webber and his growth as a broadcaster and a thinker on the air. I think he's funny, thoughtful, smart, and I find myself always interested into what he has to say when he's on either "NBA Countdown" or when he goes on "Inside the NBA." He's not underrated, but year after year, Steve Kerr becomes a better analyst on-air, to the point where I think he and Jeff Van Gundy by far and away are the top two game analysts in their sport and I think would be in the conversation for the top game analysts in any sport. I really appreciate that Turner kind of continues to push him and we continue to see a lot of him. I would be very interested in Sage Steele, who now gets into a very prominent role for NBA fans and in a way they have not seen her previously.
Hoffarth: I hope Doris Burke is able to make an impact on ESPN's preview show, to show more of her personality and knowledge. George Karl is someone who I'll stop to listen to when he's talking now that he's back. Doug Collins will always add tremendous value no matter where's he's placed.
Suns' Ryan McDonough Discusses Unorthodox Path To GM, NBA's Rise Of Analytics
New Suns GM Ryan McDonough has climbed the NBA front-office ladder at what seems like a sprinter's pace. Just over a decade ago, McDonough was a journalism student with ambitions of being a play-by-play announcer. He turned his first full-time job out of college into an NBA Championship and, as of this summer, a GM position. McDonough spoke with THE DAILY about his path to the top, the role of analytics in sports and how he plans to bring the Suns' first NBA title to Phoenix.
Q: We all know how much of a legend your father, the late Will McDonough, was at the Boston Globe. What was it like growing up in his world?
McDonough: It was pretty neat growing up in a household like that where my father obviously wrote for the Boston Globe for a long time, was also on CBS and NBC. So when we were at home we'd get calls from sports legends. This is before cell phones and we'd get calls on the house phone from (Pro Football HOFer and former NFL Commissioner) Pete Rozelle or (Pro Football HOFer) OJ Simpson, legends of the game like that, Bob Costas, you know, whoever would call. As a kid you pick up the phone and dad wouldn't be home. You'd get to talk to those guys for a little while, so it was pretty neat. I also spent a lot of vacations travelling to either a Super Bowl or the NFL Owners Meetings, so it was a great experience from a young age. My brothers and I were fortunate that we were able to experience that and the three of us have since gone on to careers in sports.
Q: How much did that shape your career path, and was there ever a question about whether you wanted to work in sports?
McDonough: No. I always knew I wanted to do something in sports. I just wasn't sure exactly what it was. Obviously like any young kid, at first I wanted to play, and by virtue of growing up around my father and my brothers and just seeing how good the pro athletes were in all the different sports, I realized at a fairly young age I wasn't going to be able to do that for a career. So I figured I'd try to figure out other ways to stay in sports. I thought I wanted to be a broadcaster. I went to the University of North Carolina for that reason, they have a great broadcast journalism program down there, they have great athletic teams, so I did that for a year. I broadcast minor league baseball in 2001 when I was in college. Frankly, I missed the competition. I liked the broadcasting and I loved being at the games, but I missed feeling like you had something to do with the team winning and losing. I was fortunate enough to get hired by the Celtics the year after I graduated from college, and that was about ten-and-a-half years ago now.
Q: Journalism school is not the most orthodox route to the front office. Could you have imagined that you would wind up the GM of an NBA team?
McDonough: I guess I didn't really think ten years ahead, just tried to take it one day at a time and do the best I could with whatever opportunity presented itself. At that time, like I said, I wanted to do broadcasting, then once it came down to it ... when you're young and in journalism, sometimes you have to go to some far-flung places, especially if you want to do play-by-play and make very little money and ride the buses around some low-level minor league baseball. I wasn't fully prepared to do that, to be honest with you, and I just moved back home to Boston. I actually had an internship with the Red Sox in 2002, and then probably the biggest break I got was later that year at the end of 2002, the Celtics were sold to Wyc Grousbeck and Steve Pagliuca and their current ownership group. I was a guy who had just turned 23, right out of college, and I was willing to work for little to no money. I got introduced to those guys, and they wanted to pour some money into the team and try to build the best scouting staff in the league, and I started in the video room and worked my way up.
Q: At that point, how much did you really know about evaluating basketball talent?
McDonough: I went to University of North Carolina and worked in the athletic department all four years there and obviously was around some very high-level basketball in the ACC and watched the Tar Heels for four straight years. So I thought I was good at it, but a lot of young people think they're good at it. Then I got put in the Celtics video room and just watched as much film as I could, you know, trying to get ready for the draft. I just kind of immersed myself in it, and the best thing that happened for me was (Celtics President of Basketball Operations) Danny Ainge came in and started asking me a lot of questions about the video I was watching. You could tell he really took an interest in seeing me develop and getting my thoughts and from there it just kind of took off.
Q: How much are big data and analytics changing sports on both the personnel side and the business side?
McDonough: The analytics are having a huge impact on both sides. On the business side, I'm certainly not an expert there, but I know you're seeing things like how to best price your seats for certain games, some teams are doing differential pricing and things like that. On the basketball side, where I'm much more familiar, you're seeing some things that were more theories 10 years ago, maybe even five years ago as I was getting started in the league, are more widely embraced now. The studies are proving that they're effective and the way you should be doing things. ... It's more of an organizational emphasis from top to bottom starting with ownership staff and the front office, down to the coaching staff. ... It's changed how we scout players in the NBA, changed how we look at guys for the draft. I guess everything's more standardized, you have things that are minute-adjusted, pace adjusted. It's been a tool for me. In Boston we were at the cutting edge of some of that stuff, and certainly guys like (now-Rockets GM) Daryl Morey and (Celtics Assistant GM) Mike Zarren were smarter and further along with it than I am. I learned a lot and we're trying to emphasize that here.
Q: What makes you the right guy to bring success to the Suns?
McDonough: Well, I was fortunate enough to be part of a championship team in Boston and looking back to 2003 when Danny Ainge and I started in Boston, we were kind of in a rough spot. We had three max contracts at the time and the team was pretty good but not great, we certainly weren't a championship contender in my opinion. We had to kind of break it down, acquire draft picks and then build back up, and that took a while. That took four years and we took our lumps along the way, but I was to play a small part of having a team come from the second-worst record in the league with 24 wins one year to an NBA championship the next year. So I guess maybe just the fact that I've done it, I've seen it work. The good news is here, the Suns when I took over in May, were in a much better position than the Celtics were in 2003. ... We can win here. I see the path, obviously it's not going to happen overnight, the team's been down. But if you build it systematically and make some good decisions and get a little bit lucky along the way, then hopefully you'll be back contending for championships after not too long.
Eastern Conference Franchise Notes: Knicks' Mark Warkentien Rising In Front Office
In N.Y., Frank Isola wrote Knicks Dir of Player Personnel Mark Warkentien "could emerge as an important figure" in the team's front office. Isola cited sources as saying that Warkentien is "regarded as a top candidate" to become President & GM Steve Mills' "top lieutenant." Warkentien "is the most logical choice if Mills isn't looking outside the organization." Mills "has called [Assistant GM Allan] Houston an up-and-coming executive but the former Knick doesn't have the experience in managing the salary cap." Mills in "some ways is also learning on the fly and needs a more seasoned basketball guy" (N.Y. DAILY NEWS, 10/28). Meanwhile, CBSSPORTS.com's Matt Moore wrote of the Knicks' new alternate uniforms, "I'm torn. I'm a fan of bold colors, but the shade winds up seeming way too Syracuse Orange-y" (CBSSPORTS.com, 10/25).
CHARLOTTE'S WEB: Basketball HOFer Phil Jackson said Bobcats Owner Michael Jordan has "brought in mostly people that he knows, close friends" and as an owner "sometimes you can't do that." Jackson: "You don't need people who are friends or think alike or your genre of friendship group to be on your staff. You need someone outside of that group." He added, "You don't want someone you can control. You want someone that's going to challenge you and make a distinction by doing that" ("The Seth Davis Show," CAMPUSINSIDERS.com, 10/27).
LUCK OF THE LEPRECHAUN: Celtics President of Basketball Operations Danny Ainge said of first-year coach Brad Stevens, "There's going to be an adjustment for him, his family, and just the lifestyle of NBA vs. college. There's some benefits that you don't have to recruit, but you play a lot of games. And the kind of people and the age of the players you're coaching are different. There's definitely going to be an adjustment period for him, but I think he's got really good support around him in his staff and support from management and ownership" (BOSTON GLOBE, 10/28).
Western Conference Franchise Notes: A Peek Inside The Grizzlies' Brain Trust
In Memphis, Kyle Veazey wrote in the "culture of the Grizzlies' current front office, dissent is encouraged." Ideas are "submitted with the expressed intent of having people shoot holes in them." Team execs, including CEO & Managing Partner Jason Levien, Dir of Player Personnel & Basketball Development Stu Lash, VP/Basketball Operations John Hollinger, GM Chris Wallace and General Counsel David Mincberg, said that the "goal is simple." It is to "bring enough divergent viewpoints into the decision-making process that every base is covered, every idea vetted to the extreme with open minds" (Memphis COMMERCIAL APPEAL, 10/28).
PELICAN BRIEF: In New Orleans, Nakia Hogan wrote after an offseason that "saw the team rebranded, its home arena renovated, its practice facility built and its roster overhauled, the Pelicans appear to be heading in the right direction." Team Owner Tom Benson said, "The excitement is real with our players and coaches ... The new practice facility and the new improvements to the arena are just a couple of off-the-court improvements we have made that certainly I believe the team is excited about. I believe our fans are also excited about the new talent we have acquired this offseason in addition to the new name, colors and logo." He added, "Our fans want to see that the team is heading in the right direction, and I believe they see that in this team" (NOLA.com, 10/25).
THE SUN ALSO RISES: USA Basketball Chair and former Suns Owner Jerry Colangelo said the Suns "seem to finally have a direction," adding they "seem to have taken some positive steps forward." In Phoenix, Dan Bickley noted though the "local optimism is striking," it "doesn't mesh with the pundits." Suns President of Basketball Operations Lon Babby said, "People are embracing the clarity in which we're rebuilding." Bickley wrote the "civic anticipation also confirms the Suns' unique status in Arizona." At their "best, the Suns have transcended their sport and the region." Bickley: "It might even suggest that we are, above all else, a basketball town at heart." The Suns have "gained respect by admitting mistakes that littered the road behind them," as Owner Robert Sarver "has owned up to his own misdoings." Babby: "New people come in and they want to make changes. And I think we did have to make changes" (ARIZONA REPUBLIC, 10/27).
WEST L.A. FADEAWAY: Lakers C Chris Kaman, who played for the Clippers from '03-10, said of his former team, "I respect what they're doing and what they've done, but still, they're nothing like the Lakers. You look up here at all the championships. They're never going to have that." He added, "Before, the owner, Donald Sterling, didn't care about winning. He cared about sharing that luxury money. I think it was all about save as much money as I can, get as much highlight players and still people will come watch. That's what he did for a long time." Kaman: "I don't know if he's getting older, I don't want to say that out of respect, but I think he is getting older and he wants to see the fruits of his labor and he's willing to spend some more money" (LATIMES.com, 10/28).
Warriors Still Awaiting Approval For S.F. Waterfront Arena As Cost Expectations Pile Up
Warriors co-Owner Joe Lacob yesterday said the cost of as much as $170M to rehabilitate the S.F. piers where the team's new waterfront arena would be located "is a lot higher than we originally started with," according to John Cote of the S.F. CHRONICLE. Lacob said, "It's a big number. But look, we're privately doing this, and we've made the decision we're going to do it. It's more expensive than we thought, but you only live once." Warriors co-Owner Peter Guber said that their "determination extends to navigating San Francisco's fractious politics." Guber: "We've become dyslexic. 'No' means 'on.'" The team is facing "a shrinking and aggressive time frame to get its arena project approved and built in time" for the '17-18 NBA season, when its lease at Oracle Arena in Oakland runs out. Former S.F. Mayor Art Agnos, a leading opponent of the project, said, "At some point, when they get a price, it may be too expensive." Current S.F. Mayor Ed Lee yesterday said that he "was confident the city's financial exposure would not increase." Lee: "I don't think the city can chip in more. I think the numbers are what they are. They rose the last six months. ... We want to support (the Warriors), but we also have limitations on the city. And they know" (S.F. CHRONICLE, 10/29).
BREAKING THROUGH: In S.F., Ann Killion wrote Warriors G Stephen Curry has had the team's top jersey in sales for three years, but nationally in the past 12 months he "leapt from 26th to 12th in the league." Curry on a trip to China this month was the "second-most popular player behind Kobe Bryant." He received the "second-loudest ovations and was greeted with screams when he was getting on and off buses at the hotels and arenas." Curry's jersey "was sighted everywhere." A Warriors exec said of Curry, "Other than Kobe, he was the Man." Killion noted Curry has "an appeal that makes him compelling to watch." He is a "soft-spoken, two-tattooed player in a look-at-me league." Curry is on the cover of SI's NBA preview, "one of only three athletes to be on the cover twice this year." He also will be "featured in ESPN commercials, including one in the ESPN RV" (S.F. CHRONICLE, 10/27).
NBA Facility Notes: Pelicans Hoping Renovated New Orleans Arena Marks Dawn Of New Era
In Baton Rouge, Jaquetta White wrote the Pelicans' opener tomorrow against the Pacers at New Orleans Arena "will be more than just the debut of a rebranded team in a renovated facility." Team officials also hope that it is the start of an era in which the Pelicans and Saints "no longer need to rely on annual cash payments from the state to keep them afloat." The arena underwent a $35M renovation this offseason, the first of a two-phase, $50M improvement "aimed at relieving the state of having to pay annual subsidies to the team." Many of the changes were "made to the arena's club and suite level, which now feature expansive common areas and more diverse dining options." Pelicans President Dennis Lauscha said that the team hopes to cover the $7-10M annual payment that the state "formerly made to the team." He added, "I'm fairly confident these improvements are going to sell the naming rights" (Baton Rouge ADVOCATE, 10/27).
MAGIC THE GATHERING: In Orlando, Mark Schlueb wrote the $1.7M that the Magic could receive from the city to build a sports-and-entertainment complex "will ensure downtown Orlando gets something it badly needs: conference space." Magic sister company SED Development is "negotiating to buy city-owned property across the street" from Amway Center for $12.7M. The company "plans to tear down the buildings" and erect a $100M entertainment complex "with office space, bars, restaurants, retail space, a parking garage and an outdoor-festival plaza." The Magic's plans "already include a hotel and conference center as well." The conference center would be "about 40,000 square feet, able to accommodate at least 1,000 people." The tax money has been "approved by a city advisory board, but it still requires a City Council vote." The overall purchase agreement with the Magic is "expected to go to before the council" Nov. 25 (ORLANDO SENTINEL, 10/27).
BRIDGE THE GAP: On Long Island, Nick Klopsis reported the "much-anticipated Chase Bridges" at MSG were a "hit with Knicks fans" during Friday's preseason game against the Bobcats. Fans in the section had "nothing but praise for their new seats." Knicks fan Dan Wood said, "It's a great perspective. It's basically a TV perspective, but slightly higher up." Tickets to the bridges range from $110-150 per seat. The North Bridge is "devoted entirely to fan seating; the South Bridge is split between media and fans" (NEWSDAY, 10/27).
GO LOCAL: In N.Y., Jeanette Settembre reported Barclays Center has "expanded its Brooklyn Taste food program just in time for the Nets' Nov. 1 home opener, upgrading to 55 Brooklyn-based vendors from last season's 37." Nets and Barclays Center CEO Brett Yormark said, "We want people to come in and taste the best of Brooklyn. Wherever they sit, we want them to be treated like celebrities, whether they're in a $15 seat or a $1,500 seat." Barclays Center chef Lisa Brefere has worked in conjunction with arena food operator Levy Restaurants to "implement new vendors and selections bringing Brooklyn pride to the palates of hungry ticket-holders" (N.Y. DAILY NEWS, 10/27).
Nets, Pacers, Grizzlies Lead All NBA Teams In Gains On Twitter, Facebook
As the '13-14 NBA season gets under way, the Nets have proved that a move to Brooklyn -- along with efforts to improve the team and rebrand -- have paid off as the team has nearly tripled its number of social media followers over the last year (Facebook and Twitter). Teams that also made major strides in new followers include the Pacers, Grizzlies, Warriors and Clippers, who each had playoff runs last season. All four of those teams added over 85% of total additions. When analyzing the data by just total additions, popular franchises such as the Bulls and Heat were the only teams to add over three million new followers in this time period. On the opposite end, the teams with the lowest percentage of new followers were popular franchises with a large social media base following that saw disappointing seasons such as the Celtics, Magic, Lakers and Mavericks. Listed below are combined Facebook likes and Twitter followers for NBA teams' official pages/feeds from October last year, compared to Oct. 25 of this year.NBA TEAM SOCIAL MEDIA FOLLOWERS THROUGH OCTOBER 25
TEAMFACEBOOK LIKESTWITTER FOLLOWSTOTALTOTAL % +/- Nets1,229,166334,6481,563,814181.9% Pacers454,802255,951710,753138.9% Grizzlies380,216211,374591,590110.1% Clippers1,017,541408,8741,426,415107.4% Bobcats238,665159,324397,98992.0% Warriors623,142283,081906,22388.9% T'Wolves399,400190,894590,29479.7% Rockets911,259292,7301,203,98974.9% Bucks351,387172,603523,99073.0% Kings348,359172,443520,80268.3% Hawks429,294165,150594,44466.2% Pelicans400,733185,939586,67263.3% Wizards237,238178,976416,21460.5% Raptors454,332275,431729,76357.0% Thunder2,257,720604,7542,862,47454.1% Spurs1,915,752477,4912,393,24353.8% 76ers398,700236,164634,86452.3% Trail Blazers538,258195,754734,01246.1% Pistons584,067199,241783,30844.5% Jazz466,729207,425674,15443.5% Bulls9,581,1861,118,37610,699,56241.3% Knicks3,930,358771,1344,701,49240.6% Heat8,799,9741,905,08110,705,05539.5% Nuggets1,112,752237,9371,350,68938.2% Cavaliers1,102,263245,0631,347,32630.8% NBA18,283,3018,438,85126,722,15229.5% Suns903,663218,1881,121,85129.2% Mavericks2,663,937354,2103,018,14718.3% Lakers16,993,8663,420,24920,414,11516.7% Magic1,922,5881,131,8313,054,41915.1% Celtics7,085,7801,261,2648,347,04410.6%


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How Will You Respond When You See Jesus?
Mike PohlmanMike Pohlman's Blog
- 2009 Jul 27
Now I'm not saying Jesus--and the infinitely good news associated with his death and resurrection--is unworthy of our celebration. But I do worry that "celebrate" is an inadequate word to describe the response we should have to the Lord of the universe.
Take, for example, the reaction of the guards when they came upon the angel at the empty tomb: "And for fear of him the guards trembled and became like dead men" (Matt. 28:4). The response to an angel was fear, trembling and what I'm assuming was utter paralysis (i.e., like dead men). And this upon seeing an angel--a created being.
It made me wonder: What will it be like when we see Jesus?
There will be, I imagine, a sense of celebration. However, I think our idea of celebration is too often like fans at a sporting event: we will cheer and yell and maybe do the wave for our Savior. But this can't possibly be how we will respond to the Christ. It's too chipper; too trite.
We will be no less overwhelmed than the guards upon seeing an angel. Indeed, we will be more so. How that looks I'm not exactly sure, but it's a sobering thought. And one I think should influence what we do on Sunday mornings--and throughout the week.

subset: commoncrawl


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Cardinal Nation offers JHS student athletic passes
Jefferson High School (JHS) is offering students a great deal in exchange for some good behavior at all their events.
Students in grades 9-12 will have an opportunity to take part in the Cardinal Nation program for the 2009-2010 school year. Those who do will receive a Cardinal Nation T-shirt and a photo ID activity pass that will admit them to all regular season home events and concerts for $30.
Those who attend events regularly will see significant savings in comparison to paying the $3 fee for students at each event. In return, they will be asked to sign a code of conduct agreement regarding behavior expectations. Students do so with the understanding that misconduct during an event could result in the activity pass being revoked by JHS administration.
The Cardinal Nation activity passes and T-shirts will be available from 7:30 a.m. through 4:30 p.m. beginning Wednesday, August 12 at the JHS activities office. They can be purchased any time throughout the school year. They will also be available at the fall athletic mass parent/participant meeting held at JHS at 7 p.m. on August 13 and during open house/orientation at Discovery Middle School and JHS on September 2.
Contact the activities office with any questions at (320) 762-7754.


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Alternative Title: new wool
Learn about this topic in these articles:
wool classifications
...from longer fibre, are fine, smooth, firm, and durable. They are used for fine dress fabrics and suitings. Wool that has had no previous use is described as new wool, or, in the United States, as virgin wool. The limited world supply results in the use of recovered wools. In the United States, wool recovered from fabric never used by the consumer is called reprocessed wool; wool recovered...


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I recently bought the game, and i have to say Sean, you did an amazing job with it, very fun/addictive but like everything else in the world theres always room for improvement, here are the things i think it most needs
1) like what other ppl have meantioned, static defences, like infantry able dig foxholes and place snadbags etc...
2) modify infantry so they arent so helpless against a tank, that is very annoying.
3)a force order option so that if you want to charge, retreat etc.. you dont have to wait for your infantry to creep up there as slow as they can go.
4) air support, like strafing runs, and when you buy paratroopers you can choose if you want them to jump in, in a certain region


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Vintage KERMIT THE FROG TELEPHONE Rotary phone WORKS!!!
Sold for:
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- Sold Date:
- Source: eBay
Vintage Kermit the Frog Phone. 1983. This is a rare phone. Push button phone is more common. This phone is appraising anyw from $200 - $350, as a very collectible item that is never to be made again. Great for the Muppet and Kermit collectors, and also a great peice of American telephone history.Condition: Good. Colors are bright. No Cracks/Dents/Chips/discoloration. Minimal wear to the gold rotary dial. All original parts including yellow phone cord. This phone works great. Bottom of Phone reads: Kermit the Frog Phone. C 1983 Henson and Assocaiates Manufacted by: ATC: American Telecommunications Corporation, A Comdial Company. El Monte, CA 91731 Has original Model info sticker as well.


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Rode Superman (SFDK), Wondering About Restraints
Hi all.
I just rose the new(ish) Superman ride at Six Flags Discovery Kingdom... and was I surprised! Apart from the low capacity and slow line, I loved the ride.
As you may know, Superman uses a lap bar restraint, and it does it comfortably and well to the point where you're hanging 150ft off the ground upside down and only your knees/lap is holding you up. Definitely a first for me.
I was wondering, do you guys think this type of restraint will gain popularity over shoulder restraints? It certainly gives a more thrilling ride, but at what cost? Are there more accidents?
I think the use of them depends a lot on the G-forces the ride applies. On a loop, it's a positive G (you're pushed into the seat) so as long as there's no chance of the ride stalling in that position (it would roll to the bottom instead of being potentially stuck with riders upside down) I don't think it's an issue.
* This post was modified at 9/30/12 11:49:25 AM *
restraints. For me, some of the best coasters do. Mr.Freeze and Sky Rocket
by Premier, Millennium Force and Top Thrill Dragster by Intamin,
Dare Devil Dive and Pandemonium by Gerstlauer, Mind Bender and Shockwave
by Schwarzkopf, Hollywood Rip Ride Rockit and X-Coaster by Maurer Söhne
all use them and are all better because they do. That last one is interesting;
it hangs 150ft off the ground upside down just like Superman but you take
the inversion at a very slow pace. If you think that you are going to die,
that is the one!!


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When you judge another, you do not define them, you define yourself.
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You must give up the life you had planned, in order to have the life that is waiting for you.
Prescription drug abuse is like prep school for heroin abuse.
The mentality and behavior of drug addicts and alcoholics is wholly irrational until you understand that they are completely powerless over their addiction and unless they have structured help, they have no hope.
You are imperfect, you are wired for struggle, but you are worthy of love and belonging.
If you are depressed you are living in the past. If you are anxious you are living in the future. If you are at peace you are living in the present.
The inability to stop is the essence of what addiction is, … my favorite drug was more and all.
Anyone who has lived through it, or those who are now living through it, knows that caring about an addict is as complex and fraught and debilitating as addiction itself.
…there are no wrong turns, only unexpected paths.
…one of the primary differences between alcoholics and nonalcoholics is that nonalcoholics change their behavior to meet their goals and alcoholics change their goals to meet their behaviors.
Not feeling is no replacement for reality. Your problems today are still your problems tomorrow.
That's one thing Earthlings might learn to do, if they tried hard enough: Ignore the awful times and concentrate on the good ones.
When something or someone is no longer bringing you up, but pulling you down—it's time to let go.
Alcohol ruined me financially and morally, broke my heart and the hearts of too many others. Even though it did this to me and it almost killed me and I haven't touched a drop of it in seventeen years, sometimes I wonder if I could get away with drinking some now. I totally subscribe to the notion that alcoholism is a mental illness because thinking like that is clearly insane.


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Tag Archives: chicago
"open to the public" != public library – a day (almost) at the Newberry
I had a free day in Chicago today and was planning some library visits. Usually when I'm in Chicago I just go to the downtown library and then complain. This time I wanted to go someplace different, and out of … Continue reading
Posted in libraries Tagged chicago, customerservice, newberry, research 11 Comments


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KAI RYSSDAL: Now for something completely different. Tom Cruise got a new job today. He was very publicly dumped by Paramount Pictures over the summer. But Cruise has reinvented himself in a way that's raising eyebrows even in Hollywood, where not much comes as a surprise. Marketplace's Lisa Napoli has the story.
LISA NAPOLI: Not even the most cynical observers of Tinseltown could believe the news: Tom Cruise and his producing partner Paula Wagner are bringing the legendary film studio United Artists back to life.
NIKKI FINKE: My reaction to this was, "Wait a minute, I must still be dreaming here. Did I wake up and Tom Cruise has bought a studio?"
That's Deadline Hollywood columnist Nikki Finke. She says the partnership set up by MGM transcends the garden variety vanity deal that most stars cut with studios. You know, to give them an office on the lot or get them to pay for the jet.
FINKE: Now you literally have the lunatics running the asylum.
Cruise's old studio may not have wanted him around any more. But Nicole Sperling of the Hollywood Reporter says the best revenge is getting your own studio:
NICOLE SPERLING: Now they can make four movies a year, they'll be financed and marketed and distributed by MGM so that in and of itself is a big deal.
As is the fact that Cruise can star in movies for other studios, too. Financial terms of the deal haven't been disclosed. But Michael Speier of Variety says even if the whole arrangement's a risk, it's a win for Cruise and a win for MGM.
MICHAEL SPEIER: He's still a big movie star and that's great. So just even if they get one Tom Cruise movie out of it and it does well, then that's great for them because, you know, before yesterday they had no Tom Cruise movies.
And today Cruise can add his name to the list of United Artist denizens like Chaplin, Pickford, Fairbanks and D.W. Griffith.
In Los Angeles, I'm Lisa Napoli for Marketplace.


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From accounts:
ENGLEWOOD CLIFFS, NJ–Citing a need to provide quality programming 24 hours a day, CNBC has extended an invitation to anyone who owns a suit to drop by the financial news network and be a guest expert, cohost a show with Larry Kudlow, or do whatever. "Don't worry about what kind of shape your suit is in," said CNBC president Mark Hoffman, who explained that his network's studio has an iron and some old phone books that people can press their jackets on. "Just come on down, run a comb through your hair, and if you're here by 8 a.m., we'll have you on Squawk Box at 8:15 making stock picks. But don't forget your suit!" Hoffman added that men of ruddy complexion with neck sizes exceeding 19 inches are not required to wear a tie.
p. 161 of Trend Commandments…shows this to be closer to truth over parody.


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Thursday, February 6, 2014
Curator Talk - 7:00 PM to 9:00 PM
Meet Richard J. Powell, John Spencer Bassett Professor of Art, Art History & Visual Studies at Duke University, who organized Archibald Motley: Jazz Age Modernist, the first retrospective of the American artist's paintings in two decades, at the Nasher Museum. Powell is the recent recipient of the Smithsonian's Lawrence A. Fleischman Award for Scholarly Excellence in the Field of American Art History. He teaches courses in American art, the arts of the African Diaspora and contemporary visual studies, and writes extensively on topics ranging from primitivism to postmodernism. He wrote African American Art: Harlem Renaissance, the Civil Rights Movement, and Beyond (2012, with Virginia Mecklenburg), Cutting a Figure: Fashioning Black Portraiture (2008), Black Art: A Cultural History (1997 and 2002), Jacob Lawrence (1992), and Homecoming: The Art and Life of William H. Johnson (1991). At the Nasher Museum, Powell and his students curated the exhibition Romare Bearden with an accompanying catalogue (2006).


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Gordon Business SystemsGordon Business Systems Contact: Paul Gordon
Work Boston North Technology Park 110 Haverhill Rd Bldg B Amesbury MA 01913 work Work Phone: 617-588-2125work Website: https://gordonbusinesssystems.com
Upcoming Events
10:00 am Small Business Saturday
Small Business Saturday
Nov 25 @ 10:00 am – 5:00 pm
We have something exciting planned for Small Business Saturday! Bring what you bought to Market Square from 10am-5pm for your chance to walk away with free giveaways and be entered to win a $100 American Express Gift Card! Other things happening in Market Square: Amesbury Chamber of Commerce Gift Cards[...]
9:00 am Nunan's Winter Open House
Nunan's Winter Open House
Nov 26 @ 9:00 am – 5:00 pm
You're invited to Nunan's Winter Open House! We're open 9am – 5pm, and will have Kane's donuts and refreshments. You'll be able to enter to win a $100 Nunan's gift card while you're here! Santa will be on-site from 10am – 4pm, with photos happening between 10am – 3pm.
6:00 pm Poetry Open Mic Night at Amesbur...
Poetry Open Mic Night at Amesbur...
Nov 28 @ 6:00 pm – 7:30 pm
The library hosts a monthly poetry series with an open mic. Each month there will be a featured poet followed by a discussion, an open mic and light refreshments. Lainie Senechal, Amesbury Poet Laureate, hosts this event. Location: APL Teen Lounge
6:00 pm Thursday Night Music at Ristoran...
Thursday Night Music at Ristoran...
Nov 30 @ 6:00 pm – 9:00 pm
Every Thursday night, Ristorante Molise has live music from 6-9PM. November 2 – Yaeko Miranda & Justin Piper November 9 – Rico Barr Duo November 16 – Chris O'Donnell November 23 – Thanksgiving, No Music November 30 – Thomasina Glenn December 7 – The Mystic December 14 – Rico Barr[...]
6:30 pm Live Irish Folk Music at Crave
Live Irish Folk Music at Crave
Nov 30 @ 6:30 pm – 9:30 pm
Join us in the pub 6:30-9:30 every Thursday to listen to the talented musicians play traditional Irish tunes while enjoying delicious food and drinks!


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California's transportation infrastructure is crumbling. According to the 2011 Statewide Transportation Needs Assessment, the cost to preserve and rehabilitate the state's transportation system between 2011 and 2020 is approximately $341.1 billion. Over the same period, the cost of system management and expansion projects is estimated at $197 billion.
The California Transportation Commission also reported in 2011 that there are $10.8 billion in unmet transportation infrastructure needs in San Diego County, and $9.1 billion in Riverside County. We simply don't have the money to maintain and rebuild California's transportation infrastructure. Yet we are planning to spend at least $67 billion on a high speed rail project few will use.
Consequently, I have joined my Republican colleagues to reaffirm our commitment to putting California Jobs First by investing in transportation infrastructure projects that will create up to 108,000 new jobs statewide. Under this proposal, the voters will be asked to reconsider the fate of high-speed rail; should the funds continue to be wasted on creating a legacy for Governor Brown, or should they be used to build and repair highways, bridges and ports?
Our proposal makes lemonade out of lemons by taking money slated to be wasted and using it to rebuild California's transportation network. By re-directing high-speed rail funds to more pressing infrastructure needs and by dedicating gas tax dollars to state and local transportation projects as originally intended, we will reinvigorate our weak economy, reduce congestion and create jobs.
By Calif. State Assemblymember Marie Waldron (R-75th District)


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(Adds details, background, share price, previous FRANKFURT) STUTTGART, Germany, Dec 20 (Reuters) - DaimlerChrysler's designated Chief Executive Dieter Zetsche aims to cut around 8,000 more jobs in Germany without adding money to the buyout budget, a source familiar with the situation told Reuters on Tuesday. "Zetsche wants to do this via attrition," the source said, adding the incoming CEO had told Friday's supervisory board meeting he would not add to the 950 million euros ($1.14 billion) ...
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Welcome to WebmasterWorld Guest from 220.127.116.11
Forum Moderators: open
Before, we used to be able to edit the URL itself (except for the domain name). But now, when I click the "edit this url" all I can actually edit is the auto-renew and the "active" status.
I've been corresponding with ineedhits' support and it came down to them offering to change the URL if I send them the change. Which doesn't really answer the issue.
[edited to add]
OK, support spelled it out for me. URL changes are restricted now.


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Hedge fund Brevan Howard proved investors still have an appetite for the asset class yesterday as its $1bn (£505m) investment vehicle floated on the London Stock Exchange with double the expected level of funds.
Brevan Howard, which is one of the City's biggest and most successful hedge funds, succeeded with its Guernsey-incorporated listed fund BH Global Limited where many rivals have failed. US money manager BlackRock set out to raise $500m for its Absolute Return Strategies Fund, but closed the fund at just $275m last month.
Brevan Howard, which has $20bn under management, started marketing the new fund at a very inauspicious time. The investor push came just days after the high-profile collapse of $2bn Peloton Partners, a hedge fund run by former Goldman Sachs partners.
BH Global chairman Lord Turnbull, a former Cabinet Secretary and head of the civil service, has hailed the fund's success.
"To have raised $1bn in these markets is a great result and certainly beyond our initial target of $500m," said Lord Turnbull. "This result clearly demonstrates investor appetite for high-quality closed-ended funds."
BH Global Limited's funds will be invested in Brevan Howard's flagship Global Opportunities Master Fund, giving smaller investors the chance to participate in Brevan Howard's most successful fund without having to buy into it directly.
Last month it emerged the fund, which is run by Alan Howard, a prominent Conservative Party donor, was considering quitting the City for Switzerland. Mr Howard has sounded out officials in several Swiss cantons about moving the hedge fund's headquarters.
The Pall Mall-based fund, which employs 250 people in London, has told the Financial Services Authority uncertainty over taxation and the Government's recent attack on non-doms has caused it enough concern to actively consider moving the headquarters out of the UK.
It is believed as many as five of the fund's eight founding partners are registered as non-doms, giving them a partly tax-exempt status.


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It was different when they were little. Everything seemed so clear-cut. Don't eat sweets between meals. Stop hitting your sister. Clean out the hamster. You could dole it all out like a government website, secure in the knowledge that mother knows best.
But when they're teenagers, it's so much more complicated. I'm still desperate to protect them, to have my arms round them, but doling out words of wisdom doesn't seem to work any more.
Some advice is OK. Like, try eating a bit of dry toast if you've been sick. Or, take some money with you in case you miss the last bus. But most of the time, any practical advice I could offer is completely useless. Things change so fast.
'But when will you be back?' I shout after my 17-year-old as he disappears into the dark.
'I'll text you,' he calls back.
Oh, yes. Forgot about mobiles.
Sometimes you hand out advice only to think what rubbish it is.
'Do I really need travel insurance?' says my eldest, who's 19.
'Yes,' I say firmly.
'They never pay up,' he says.
And I stop, halfway through peeling a potato, and think, he's right. When has any claim I've ever made been successful? Travel insurance is just something you do before you go on holiday, like buying suntan lotion or cancelling the milk. It's habit, not wisdom.
The problem is that I don't feel much older than 18 myself. The years may have whipped by, but I'm still chewing my fingernails wondering if I've really got a clue. I have experience on my side, but it's my experience, not theirs. So I open my mouth to say, 'Wouldn't it be better if...?'and find myself thinking, 'But maybe it wouldn't...' And I clamp my mouth shut quickly, hoping no one's noticed.
I still hug them a lot. That way I still have my arms round them. But I don't need to say a word.


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Advanced Search
Current Criteria
- ›› Keywords : immigration
Immigrant Fiction: Exploring an American Identity
Strictly speaking, all American novels (with the exception of those written by Native Americans) are in one way or another immigrant fiction. But we usually think of immigrant fiction more...
Why Immigration Matters
It is difficult today to recapture the iconoclasm signaled by Oscar Handlin's opening words to his Pulitzer Prize-winning The Uprooted more than fifty years ago: "Once I thought to write a history of the immigrants in America. Then I discovered that the immigrants were American history."
History Times: A Nation of Immigrants
Throughout American history, millions of people around the world have left their homelands for a chance to...
The Development of the West
In the summer of 1876, two dramatically different places captured the American nation's attention. As the summer began, fairgoers in Philadelphia teemed into the Centennial Exhibition held to commemorate...
Bridging the Caribbean: Puerto Rican Roots in Nineteenth-Century America
In recent years, the media has tended to portray US Latinos of Hispanic Caribbean ancestry as new immigrants, but this characterization...
Glossary Term – Event
Literacy test bill
Congress passed a bill sponsored by Massachusetts Senator Henry Cabot Lodge, with support from the Immigration Restriction League, requiring a literacy test for immigrants, though President Grover Cleveland later vetoed the bill in 1897.
Glossary Term – Event
Irish Potato Famine
A blight devastated the Irish potato crop, leading over 1.3 million Irish to emigrate to the United States.
Glossary Term – Event
Emergency Quota Act
The Emergency Quota Act ended most immigration from outside the Americas and created an ethnic quota system for admitting immigrants to the United States.


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Alpha Services Identified as the Latest in a Series of Timeshare Resale Scams
In order to spread awareness of an onslaught of timeshare resale scams targeting desperate timeshare owners, Redemption and Release has issued another scam alert. An informed public can help fight this type of timeshare scam and help empower victims
May 26, 2014 (Newswire.com) - Because timeshare owners have become victims of ruthless timeshare resale scam artists, Redemption and Release has been tracking and reporting such crimes in effort to help protect timeshare owners. Spreading awareness of how these organizations operate can reduce the number of timeshare owners who fall victim to these con games. Redemption and Release encourages you to share this information with friends and loved ones who may be targeted by this type of scam. Another timeshare resale scam has been uncovered, this time targeting owners of timeshares in Mexico.
The Better Business Bureau has issued a warning regarding a company called Alpha Services, Inc. On May 22, 2014, the BBB issued a news item alerting unsuspecting timeshare owners in Nebraska, Kansas, Iowa and South Dakota of a timeshare scam operating in these areas.
Angry victims began contacting the Better Business Bureau reporting that they'd been duped by Alpha Services. The company contacted them directly offering to sell their timeshare properties in Mexico. In order to facilitate the sale, representatives from Alpha Services requested the timeshare owners pay a transfer fee of $3,600.00USD. Once the timeshare owners sent the money in good faith, the company contacted them again claiming they required another payment of $16,000.00USD to cover varied other fees including a "Mexican Government Tax Fee."
Upon further investigation, the Better Business Bureau discovered that Alpha Services did not, in fact, operate out of any of the addresses which were listed on their website. This information was verified by the mangers of those properties.
Unfortunately, these stories are far too common as of late. Timeshare resale companies obtain targeted call lists of timeshare owners and make cold calls claiming they could sell their timeshare. They even claim that they already have a buyer who specifically wants their timeshare. Then a fee of several thousands of dollars is requested for closing costs or some other fee to make the sale go through.
It seems as though every few days a new story hits the newswire of people being victimized by these scams. While authorities are beginning to crack down harder on these criminals, there are still many popping up across the country.
Timeshare owners who want to get out of their timeshares need to be very, very careful of these types of timeshare resale scams. They will prey on your weakness and desperation to get rid of your timeshare. They will tell you exactly what you want to hear, just like the timeshare salesman originally did to get you to buy into a headache.
Unfortunately, you will be left even further in debt with no end in sight to your timeshare contract.
When looking for a way out of a timeshare obligation, there are several things you need to get an understanding of and accept in order to move forward:
1) Your timeshare is worse than worthless. It is a liability; a hole that gets deeper by the year with no hope of ever being a "good investment."
2) You will have to pay to get rid of your timeshare contract obligation. Your timeshare company is unlikely to buy back or rent your timeshare forward. They are unlikely to help you get out of your contract. They have no interest in helping you. Quite the opposite. Your maintenance fees are a great source of income for them. They are counting on your money every year. Did they tell you they had a "buy back program" when they were selling you the timeshare? They most likely looked you in the eyes and lied to you.
3) Regardless of if you pay a timeshare redemption company to do all the paperwork and deed transfers for you or you endeavor to do it yourself, there will be fees and time involved in getting out of your timeshare contract.
4) If you walk away from your timeshare, your credit will be greatly damaged.
5) If you hold on to your timeshare regardless of whether you can use it or not, your fees will increase from year to year. The longer your keep your timeshare, the higher the chances of being hit with a large assessment fee in case of damage from extreme weather patterns and/or natural disasters.
Just know, there is NO viable timeshare resale market. Anyone claiming to want to buy or sell your timeshare is only looking for easy money and will likely provide no service and/or no sale of your timeshare. Don't fall victim to these timeshare resale scams.
Those who are eager to get out of a timeshare contract and think they have no other option than to let their payments lapse and thus ruin their credit ratings, take heart.
The Redemption and Release Timeshare Redemption program can help you escape the seemingly iron-clad timeshare contract that is ruining your financial future. Visit http://www.RedemptionandRelease.com online today to find out more and to speak to a helpful timeshare exit expert who will help guide you toward the right solution to your timeshare dilemma.
Categories: Travel, Personal Travel
Tags: timeshare, timeshare resale, timeshare resale scam, timeshare scams


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Senate President Doesnt Want Veto Session
LA Politics notebook by Jeremy Alford and John Maginnis
Special to the Herald-Guide - Jul 04, 2013
Members of the Legislatures upper chamber usually do what their popular Senate president wants them to do.
So when Sen. John Alario, R-Westwego, said last week that he was sending in his mail ballot to oppose calling a special veto session, its a safe bet that a majority of his colleagues made plans to follow suit before the July 11 deadline.
Unless a majority of members from either chamber vote against a veto session by the cut-off date, the state constitution stipulates that lawmakers must convene five days later to consider reversing the governors vetoes. But in the four decades since the latest constitution was ratified, this has never happened. Moreover, its usually the Senate, with only 39 members, and not the 105-member House, that reaches the majority level first to stop the automatic veto session.
In the wake of this years regular session, which adjourned in early June, there has been an above-average amount of complaints about Gov. Bobby Jindals subsequent vetoes. Causing the most angst was his nixing of a $4 million expansion of a program that offers in-home assistance for parents coping with the care of developmentally disabled children.
The governor also vetoed legislation that was passed overwhelmingly by lawmakers, including Senate Bill 162 to set up a legal and regulatory framework for surrogate births. The legislation by Sen. Gary Smith, D-Norco, who with his wife Katherine are parents of two children born by surrogate mothers, was strongly opposed by the Louisiana Family Forum and the Louisiana Conference of Bishops.
Since the vetoes were announced by Jindal, the push for a veto session has quickly developed along party lines. The chairman of the Democratic Caucus, Rep. John Bel Edwards, D-Amite, has urged those in his party to hold onto their ballots, leaving it to the Republican majority in both chambers to call off the veto session.
Jindal-Vitter Feud Aired Nationally
To observers outside Louisiana, Gov. Jindal and U.S. Sen. David Vitter might appear to have a great deal in common, from strong conservative positions to backgrounds as Rhodes Scholars. But those inside the state have long known, and readers of the New Republic magazine have recently learned, that they also share a powerful dislike for each other that has turned into a long running political feud and competition for supremacy among Bayou State Republicans.
"Its kind of a cold war between Vitter and Jindal. They respect each other, but they arent having any beers together," one Vitter ally told Marin Cogan, a writer for the national publication.
The story of their rivalry concludes that Vitters star is rising while Jindals future is clouded, which is a reversal of political fortunes from just a few years ago. The U.S. senator from Metairie has developed allies within the Legislature and among state party activists who could bolster his bid for governor in 2015. Jindal, meanwhile, is cast as a loner who is overly protected by his staff, is term-limited as governor and not highly rated as a presidential prospect.
Needless to say, it was Vitters staff who circulated the story among Louisiana journalists.
Strain Not Running for Governor
The crowded field of gubernatorial wannabes thinned slightly this week with Agriculture Commissioner Mike Strains declaration that he is running for re-election and not governor in 2015.
His political statement was issued just hours before the tragic deaths of 19 Arizona firefighters due to a wildfire that leapt out of control. Strain, whose Office of Forestry oversees suppression of forest fires, ordered flags flown at half mast at all department facilities until July 5.
Strains major policy concern of the moment is directed at Congress, where the House last week surprisingly defeated the latest federal farm bill, which the commissioner calls vital to the states agricultural industry.
Opposition to the bipartisan bill by two Louisiana congressmen, Reps. Cedric Richmond, D-New Orleans, and Steve Scalise, R-Metairie, had nothing to do with crops but rather with food stamps. The bills $2 billion-per-year cut to the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program was too much for Richmond and not enough for Scalise.
In a prepared statement, Strain urged members of the state delegation and Congress "to roll up their sleeves and work together on a farm bill that will provide the certainty that our farmers and ranchers need to feed our nation."
Finally, Good Census News for Louisiana
The latest U.S. Census estimate has Louisianas population at 4.602 million, after registering a healthy 1.5 percent increase from mid-2010 to mid-2012.
If that growth is sustained until 2020, the states population would be 8 percent higher, a growth rate not seen since the 1970s, according to an analysis by John Couvillon of JMC Enterprises of Louisiana. The results were mixed across the state, with 33 of 64 parishes losing population. Most of those, said the demographer, "were not adjacent to a metropolitan area and were not along a major highway."
Parishes with the highest growth were the two that suffered the greatest post-Katrina losses from 2005 to 2010. Tops were St. Bernard Parish at 16 percent, followed by Orleans at 7 percent. By Couvillons calculation, the growth is enough for those adjacent parishes to recapture one of the four state House seats that were eliminated in the 2011 reapportionment.
The suburban parishes of Ascension, Bossier, Livingston and St. Tammany grew at a rate that more than doubled the state average.
Quotes from the Quorum
"They are going to have to do it fair from the beginning and not rely on Big Brother to tell them they are doing it wrong."
Secretary of State Tom Schedler on the U.S. Supreme Court decision striking down the pre-clearance provision for state and local voting law changes, in the Advocate
"I wish I had been that well received when I tried to move up here."
John Georges, former candidate for governor, on his reception in Baton Rouge after buying the Advocate
Read More Stories at HeraldGuide.com!
|heraldguide.com is a supplement to St. Charles Herald Guide.
Copyright © 2001 - 2017 St. Charles Herald Guide, Inc. All rights reserved.
Please contact our WebMaster if you experience problems with the website.


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The judge at the center of a contempt of court case against the Dallas County district attorney was subpoenaed Friday after allegations surfaced that she made disparaging comments about the DA.
Dallas County District Clerk Gary Fitzsimmons confirmed late Friday that the subpoena was issued for State District Judge Lena Levario to appear at a hearing Monday to determine whether a contempt citation she issued against Watkins should be upheld.
Levario could not be reached for comment Friday.
Scottie Allen, one of the attorneys representing Watkins in the contempt proceedings, said the allegations show the judge is biased against the district attorney.
"She's made some very disparaging comments about Mr. Watkins to some people that goes directly to her state of mind about him," he said.
Allen said that Levario's comments were made in May to Jill Reese, the county's jail population coordinator, but that Reese did not come forward until Thursday.
Allen said he did not know why Reese had waited. He declined to disclose the comments "at this time."
Levario held Watkins in contempt at a March hearing in which oil family heir Al Hill III alleged he was unfairly prosecuted for mortgage fraud as a favor to Lisa Blue, a Watkins political benefactor.
Attorneys for Hill wanted to ask Watkins about conversations he had with Blue about the mortgage fraud investigation. The district attorney argued that his work as a prosecutor is privileged. His refusal to answer questions led Levario to cite him for contempt.
State District Judge Bob Brotherton of Wichita Falls will decide whether to uphold or dismiss her ruling.
Reese's attorney, Ray Jackson, confirmed Allen's allegations that the judge had made negative comments about Watkins to his client. But Jackson also said he could not disclose them.
"She was concerned about some matters that were said to her by Judge Levario and some treatment she's receiving," Jackson said. "I understand why Mr. Watkins may be interested, but my responsibility is about protecting my client, and I am not at liberty to go into those comments at this time."
Jackson said that his client was recently demoted and her salary cut in half. He said he believes she is being retaliated against, in part because she planned to report Levario's alleged statements and because the judge was unhappy with some of the monthly jail reports Reese issues that show each criminal court's productivity.
He said he is filing a grievance against the county because of the actions taken against Reese, who has worked for the county since 2007.
Levario is not Reese's direct supervisor, so it was unclear how she might have been responsible for her demotion. Neither Reese nor her supervisor could be reached for comment.
Allen described Reese as a potential witness in the contempt case but said he is not sure she will be subpoenaed.
Jackson said he hasn't spoken with Allen, Watkins or anyone else connected to the contempt case. He said Reese hired him to represent her only in her job dispute. But he said she would appear at the contempt proceedings if she is called, regardless of any possible ramifications in her grievance case.
"If she's subpoenaed or called to testify, she'll have to speak the truth," he said. "Her job has already been placed in jeopardy."
Staff writer Scott Goldstein contributed to this report.


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Investigation of the Effect of N Acetylcysteine Against Anti-Tuberculosis Drugs Induced Liver Toxicity
This study has been completed.
National Research Institute of Tuberculosis and Lung Disease, Iran
ClinicalTrials.gov Identifier:
First Posted: November 28, 2007
Last Update Posted: April 22, 2009
Information provided by:
National Research Institute of Tuberculosis and Lung Disease, Iran
- Full Text View
- Tabular View
- No Study Results Posted
- Disclaimer
- How to Read a Study Record
No Study Results Posted on ClinicalTrials.gov for this Study
|Study Status:
|This study has been completed.
|Study Completion Date:
|April 2009
|Primary Completion Date:
|January 2009 (Final data collection date for primary outcome measure)


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Let the games begin! Keep show discussion in this thread until midnight eastern. Thanks :yay
Printable View
Let the games begin! Keep show discussion in this thread until midnight eastern. Thanks :yay
No way should that music teacher have been put through!
Really liked the Next Scotty!
:hiya, xmaskat! No, didn't catch his name!
Twin Sister needs to gain some self-esteem, but singing competitions aren't the means!
So many this season sound the same to me: three notes where only one is written! :D
The girl from Mankato, MN had a good voice, but I thought she was a bit on the shouty side. When she sang softer, I liked her sound better.
The Gaga wanna be - cannot believe they put her thru. She was awful.
I LOVE Brunette GaGa! :nod She was terrific on "Blue Bayou"!
And how about Randy echoing my criticism about all the vibrato?
I'm surprised they let GaGA wannabe sing a second song. The first one was just horrid!
She was way better on the 2nd song, but really why would they have given her a second chance?
Why are they wasting time on the crazies tonight?
This guy is a lunatic!
Next show looks even stranger!


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Don't miss any opportunities to learn from our experts. Join our email list for news about webinars, telecons, live conferences and other programs you'll want to check out!
Host Barbara Kline and her VIP guests from such companies as Silicon Valley Bank and Research Firm CB INSIGHTS will reveal why 738 deals got funded with 7.5 Billion in venture funding in Q1, 2011 and why only 10 percent of that financing went to seed stage companies. (Also find out what a seed stage company is and determine what growth stage your company is in right now).
The Center for Venture Research reports that there are more than 250,000 active angel investors in the USA who invest individually or in a group such as the Band of Angels and Pasadena Angels. If you are touched by an angel investor you can expect to get from $250,000 to $2 million in funding. The big question is how to find Angel Investors and the 3 crucial steps to getting angel investing. Host Barbara Kline is an angel investor and her colleagues from New Mexico Angel Group will reveal how they decide what to invest in each year.
WEEK #3 WHEN TO HOLD 'EM and WHEN TO FOLD 'EM
Kline is a serial entrepreneur herself and she will be joined in this week's workshop by other successful company founders to reveal the ways you as founder can be sure to NOT lose your company during the funding stages. How not to give away the farm or whatever you're making! Why you need an exit strategy from the start of your company. Will you be acquired? Will you merge with another firm? Find out the 4 pillars of a start-up that ensure that you will know how to move into second stage growth.
How do you put together the best business team possible? When do you need a CFO, CEO, COO? Why technology and marketing partners are crucial. Plus how to raise social currency with a well-planned marketing communications strategy and plan) MARCOM what is it and why it's all about the BUZZ and social media in this day and age.
Marketing Partners include: NAWBO National Association of Women Business Owners, Holistic Health News, Center for Successful Recareering, The Vision Board Institute, Breakthru Communications, Breakthru Center and the Financial Maestro.


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Grainger gives scholarships to Blackhawk Tech students
Grainger, a supplier of facilities maintenance products, provides $2,000 scholarships to full-time students entering their second year of their technical education curriculum.
Washburn, a laid-off worker from a local General Motors� supplier, is enrolled in BTC�s electromechanical program and is receiving formal training to work on automotive systems such as hydraulics, pneumatics and electronics.
Klevgard is studying aviation maintenance and hopes to become a commercial pilot.
�Grainger is committed to supporting technical education and students enrolled in the trades,� said Ralph Howard, Grainger�s vice president, specialty brands. �One of the best ways to invest in the community is to contribute to the education of our future workforce.
�Whether students are entering school to retool, retrain or attain the skills they need to enter the trades, we want to help them achieve their educational goals. On behalf of our employees in Janesville, we are excited to partner with Blackhawk Technical College to build a strong workforce in our community.�
Blackhawk President Eric Larson said he�s appreciative of the company�s support.
�Blackhawk Technical College has absorbed a 40 percent increase in enrollment during the past two years, and the generosity of Grainger and Lab Safety Supply has made it possible to support many of our students during the most difficult of economic times,� Larson said.
Since 2006, Grainger has contributed more than $600,000 in support of technical education in the form of scholarships, classroom equipment, supplies and funding for program start-ups across the country.
Last updated: 12:19 pm Thursday, December 13, 2012


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Bob Geldof engaged to Jeanne Marine just weeks after tragic Peaches' death
BOB Geldof has become engaged to long-term girlfriend, French actress Jeanne Marine, it has been reported.
The news comes three weeks after his daughter Peaches died of a suspected heroin overdose at her home in Kent.
Former supermodel and friend Jerry Hall revealed the engagement news saying this will "bring joy and light" for the family who are going through a terrible time.
"Bob has proposed. She is over the moon," she told the Daily Mail.
She added: "Jeanne Marine has been a rock and a tower of strength over this.
"I'm so excited for her I am bursting to tell someone.
"Bob and Jeanne have been through hell, but they are determined something positive will come out of it.
"After all the sadness, we need something to focus on which will bring joy and light."
"Bob and Jeanne have been through hell, but they are determined something positive will come out of it."Jerry Hall, friend and model
Bob and Jeanne have been together for 18 years since meeting at a dinner party in Paris in 1996.
The Boomtown Rats star had flown to Paris, shortly after splitting with his first wife, and Peaches' mum, Paula Yates.
Yates died in 2000 of a heroin overdose, three years after new partner INXS star Michael Hutchence took his own life in 1997.
The Geldof family are yet to confirm the engagement as the news comes the same day as Peaches' toxicology results.
The results will reportedly confirm that she mirrored the death of her mum by dying of a heroin overdose.
The 25-year-old was found dead on April 7 at her home in Wrotham, Kent.
Until now her cause of death has remained unknown with the post-mortem ruling "inconclusive".
There was no evidence of illegal substances found at the scene, suggesting it may have been removed by someone before emergency services arrived at the house.


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If you take a breathalizer test and it comes back 0.06 is that considered enough to get a dui?
Asked on 3/31/11, 10:54 pm
1 Answer from Attorneys
Randal Ford Ford Firm
If you are under 21 then YES. The limit is .02
If you are OVER 21 then you can fight it but they CAN find you guilty in court. You need to check and see if you were charged with being .08 OR charged with just being under the influence (There is a difference).
If you were charged with being .08 then you win. READ YOUR TICKET and see which box the officer checked.
Answered on 5/14/11, 9:13 am