text:
Power Players: Tom Werner NASCAR drivers feel the pinch Earlier free agency essential for MLB Lefton: Fanatics, NHL goods 'Zero-hour' part of StubHub-MLB deal Power Players: Jim Petersen Power Players: Derrick Hall NHRA highlights attendance gains Comcast to make most of Games A question of timing: College football
SBJ/Nov. 11-17, 2013/In DepthPrint All
Sports media's next step
The deal ESPN cut for rights to El Tri — Mexico's national soccer team — wasn't particularly long or lucrative. It hasn't delivered big audiences for ESPN.
But the January deal provides a glimpse behind ESPN's growth strategy for the next decade or so: cut relatively small rights deals that support other programming on its channels. ESPN holds the rights to next year's World Cup, and the Mexican soccer deal lasts through that event.
SBJ Podcast:
John Ourand & Abraham Madkour on the current media landscape, ESPN's dominance and expected topics for this week's SMT conference
ESPN saw the rights to the Mexican national soccer team as a good asset leading up to next year's World Cup.
Photo by: Scott Clarke / ESPN
While the prospects of a new eight-game NFL package would certainly be popular and bring out a lot of bidders, television executives believe the chances of a truly game-changing deal, along the lines of when the NFL went to Fox in 1994, can't happen for the foreseeable future.
"We are transitioning from significant growth in pay-TV revenue to much slower growth in the more mature pay-TV infrastructure," said Fox Networks Group President and COO Randy Freer. "The last decade saw a significant increase in rights fees paid and content provided to the market. There will be a more moderate growth curve in rights fees going forward."
The most recent batch of rights to hit the market over the past several years has been much longer term than previous deals. The NFL's deal ends in 2022. MLB's runs until 2021. NBC has the NHL sewed up until 2021. And NASCAR's deal runs until 2024.
That has left the current slate of sports channels looking to develop the rights they have and pondering new ways to grow, from expanding their digital slates to negotiating higher license fees from distributors.
ESPN will be active in trying to secure NBA and Big Ten rights — it is considered a front-runner to keep at least
"We're focused on whether there's going to be another NFL Thursday night package and on the NBA deal that's up in three years and the Big Ten that's up in three years. Those are unbelievably important," said Norby Williamson, ESPN's executive vice president of programming and acquisitions. "But there are also other tactics and strategies that you can use to bolster your networks and programs."
ESPN used essentially the same strategy to buy a series of college football bowl games — from the Famous Idaho Potato Bowl to the Heart of Dallas Bowl. The idea is to create relatively low-cost programming the company can own to support other programming. ESPN views the bowls as a way to support its investment in college football.
"I'm not trying to say that you can build an entire network around one thing like you could with the NFL or NBA or MLB or a significant college football package," Williamson said. "But there's a lot of stuff, if you do your homework and look at it differently, that's available and out there that … has helped us to continue to grow our different platforms."
Sports rights are as valuable as ever for television network executives, providing live programming and good demographics. But because most rights are tied up for so long, they believe they are nearing the end of the era of wild rights fee increases.
The pay-TV puzzler
For decades, the surest way for sports networks to grow has been through affiliate fees paid by cable, satellite and telecommunications operators.
That's the main way ESPN grew in the late 1990s, when it increased its affiliate revenue by 20 percent a year. The channel now makes $5.47 per subscriber per month from cable, satellite and telecommunications operators, according to SNL Kagan. With a distribution of 97.37 million homes, that means ESPN pulls down nearly $6.4 billion per year from affiliate fees alone.
Golfer Rickie Fowler chats with Trevor Pryce on the "Crowd Goes Wild" set at Fox Sports 1.
Photo by:Getty Images
Network executives don't expect to make as much as ESPN, which has such a big head start. But they believe they can create a nice business at a fraction of the cost. That's one of the main reasons why Fox rebranded Speed into Fox Sports 1 and its Fuel action sports channel to Fox Sports 2 in August. Its executives saw more potential to grow as a multisport channel rather than a motorsports channel.
The problem is that distributors appear more willing than ever to dig in their heels on rising affiliate fees. They say the increased number of sports channels — in addition to the fees they charge — is resulting in shrinking profits from their video businesses. Distribution executives call this trend "unsustainable."
"It's really put a spotlight on the unsustainable trend lines on sports costs as well as the tax that sports rights holders hope to place on all consumers, whether they're sports fans or not," said Dan York, DirecTV's executive vice president and chief content officer. "The oversaturation of distinct sports networks, and the prices associated with them, has reached a breaking point. Distributors and consumers have come to realize that a lot of content, especially sports content, can be incredibly overpriced and can be gone if the price is too high."
For decades, distributors have made similar claims during negotiations before paying out increases.
Today, however, distributors can point to several successes over the past year, including Fox Sports 1's August launch, when they refused to increase the channel's license fee to around 80 cents per subscriber per month. On a local level, DirecTV has not cut a deal for Comcast's regional sports networks in Houston or Portland, and it has kept Pac-12 Networks off its system since the channels' August 2012 launch.
The next two months will test whether distributors will continue to pay big increases for sports channels. Time Warner Cable's deal with YES Network is ending, Fox is negotiating Fox Sports 1 with Cox and Charter, Turner is looking to renew its DirecTV deal, the Dodgers are preparing to launch a new channel in Los Angeles, ESPN still hasn't finalized its Dish Network deal, and MLB Network is coming up on its renewals.
Distributors say the environment has changed and they don't make enough money from their video services to support big increases. Plus, they resent having to pay more for the same programming that is being repackaged on new channels.
"What you've got is the same games that existed last year, five years, even 10 years ago being more thinly sliced for unsustainably higher prices for each slice of the sports content rights marketplace," York said. "There's no new must-have games on these new networks that we didn't have yesterday."
NFL Network President and CEO Steve Bornstein went through these types of high-profile public battles with distributors when he launched NFL Network 10 years ago. Last September, the country's second-biggest cable operator, Time Warner Cable, became the last big holdout to sign a deal.
Bornstein said that channels launching today would have an even tougher time than when NFL Network went live. "The business is more mature. There's more choice out there," he said. "It's not for the faint of heart — going out there with only a single channel."
Bornstein said distributors changed their business model, focusing more on broadband and telephony revenue rather than programming.
"The industry changed. The industry became much more of a triple play bundle of services than just a video provider. That probably was one of the reasons why we had some friction at the beginning," he said. "When they were primarily video providers, it was a different dynamic than when they were a triple play provider."
Competing with ESPN
A dominant story line when NBC rebranded Versus into NBC Sports Network at the beginning of 2012 was that ESPN finally was going to see a competitor in the cable space. Fox had the same story line when it launched Fox Sports 1 this August.
For Bornstein, that story line is naïve.
"They aren't just competing against ESPN. They're competing against hundreds of other channels for people's attention," he said. "If you put good content out there and you have critical mass, which they achieved, you can compete."
By comparison, prime-time audiences for Fox Sports 1 and NBC Sports Network are about a third of ESPN2's. Fox Sports 1 (which was Speed for the first eight months of the year) has averaged 234,000 viewers in prime time so far this year, and NBC Sports Network has averaged 203,000 viewers.
Both Fox Sports 1 and NBC Sports Network expect those ratings to grow as they market around the sports rights they already own. Both channels should see ratings grow when they carry NASCAR races starting in 2015. Fox also expects to see ratings growth from popular sports such as U.S. Open golf, the World Cup, college sports and UFC. NBC Sports Network holds rights to English Premier League soccer and the NHL.
"Live ratings is one of the true values of the pay-TV business," Freer said.
But compete with ESPN? That's not likely.
Some networks, like CBS Sports Network, are carving out a nice business irrespective of the Bristol-based sports media giant. CBS Sports Network is not rated. But it is in 53 million homes and serves as a complement to its broadcast network.
"We're not in the business right now of trying to chase ESPN — they are what they are," said CBS Sports Chairman
Under McManus, CBS has taken a more measured approach to rights deals. Rather than bidding to bring new events to the network, it has focused on keeping the events it already has and producing profits from them.
"I work for a man who doesn't like losing money on sports properties," McManus said of Les Moonves, CBS's president and CEO. "We've been pretty consistent about that and kept all the events we wanted to keep, and we've made a profit on all those events."
With rights tied up, the biggest path to growth could be in the digital arena. Turner, which is negotiating to keep its NBA package and is interested in an NFL package, if it comes to market, views the second screen as an area of focus.
"Television is not going to go away," said Turner Broadcasting President David Levy. "But new platforms and new mediums that have emerged will enhance the whole consumer experience. The next generation of sports fans is using two screens. My job is to make sure those two screens somehow connect and provide information within those two screens."
Levy pointed to his MLB deal last October as evidence, as it included more digital rights than TBS previously had.
"We started investing into NASCAR.com and probably at the time overpaid for certain things. But we learned from that deal, went on to the next deal with the PGA Tour, and we went on to the next deal with NBA.com," he said.
"You learn from every deal. You learn how to produce. You learn what works and what doesn't work and where the connection is. You apply those learnings to the next broadcast or next website or next mobile opportunity."
NBC Sports Group Chairman Mark Lazarus sounded an almost identical theme of focusing on digital, saying that he didn't realize that digital video consumption would become as widespread so quickly.
The Olympics offer a perfect example. In London, NBC found success carrying every event live online. It plans to do the same in Sochi next year. "We're all trying to maintain the elusive audience, and the audience is fragmenting across various platforms and mediums," he said. "Television is still by and far king, but we all have to be mindful of the new digital platforms."
At least until 2022, which is when the NFL's packages are up again.
Average prime-time viewership (000s)
2013 2012 2011 Network Aug. Sept. Oct. Aug. Sept. Oct. Aug. Sept. Oct. ESPN 1,473 3,242 2,895 1,298 2,923 3,120 1,298 2,937 3,070 ESPN2 414 723 633 374 770 461 374 809 648 ESPNews 102 140 91 93 116 78 93 121 95 Fox Sports 1* 212 294 234 153 185 120 153 214 192 Fox Sports 2* 28 22 18 38 41 36 38 12 14 Golf Channel 160 114 99 116 151 74 116 102 106 MLB Network 221 205 40 147 174 77 147 226 62 NBA TV 48 49 102 36 40 97 36 30 29 NBCSN 81 85 203 158 95 74 158 153 189 NFL Network 515 976 973 459 906 937 402 345 152
* Speed switched to Fox Sports 1 and Fuel switched to Fox Sports 2 on Aug. 17 of this year.
Source: SportsBusiness Daily research
The Crystal Ball
Envisioning the sports media landscape in 2023
— Compiled by John Ourand
"I suspect that I won't be able to recognize where sports media is going to be in 10 years. This whole convergence that we talked about happening in 1999 and 2001 is actually now happening. There's true convergence of all these platforms, content and devices. How you best serve them will be the challenge of the guys that are going to run this business after I leave it."
— Steve Bornstein, president and CEO, NFL Network
"Television for sports is still going to be the centerpiece, if you have access to it. That doesn't mean that it will be the only device that you'll be with. There will be other devices that are part of that experience and will be more one-on-one related. I don't say that about entertainment. Sports is the last destination appointment viewing genre. If you don't have access to that 70-inch flat screen monitor, you're going to find other ways to watch it live. Then it's that second screen experience while you're watching it, if you have access to that second screen. It's my job to make sure I fill those video screens with relevant content."
— David Levy, president, TBS
"The NFL-to-Fox deal launched that network. That groundbreaking move, I don't know if it exists anymore. It used to be that one bold move could do something. We're beyond that. Look at what's happened over the last five years with the Olympics and how its strategy has evolved in terms of streaming everything. Consumers demand that. Consumers are going to be less tolerant as time goes by. The stuff is going to have to be sharper and more accessible than it is today. Technology has got to continue to be simpler."
— Norby Williamson, executive vice president, programming and acquisitions, ESPN
"Over time, consumers will continue to understand the unsustainable tax that's imposed on them for content that they may not consume. Either through market or regulatory forces, consumers should and will be offered a choice over what content they will have to pay for. You'll see contraction in the market, whether it is complete disconnecting from subscription television or downgrading packages. You'll see, increasingly, distributors taking a stance and saying no to things where the price-value relationship is out of balance."
— Dan York, executive vice president, chief content officer, DirecTV
Nielsen-rated sports networks
■ Launch date: September 1979
■ Homes: 97 million (#20 cable network)
■ License fee: $5.47 per subscriber per month
■ October prime-time average viewership: 2.9 million (#2 cable network)
Top shows in October
2. "Monday Night Football" (Oct. 21) Vikings-Giants 13.2 million viewers
3. "Monday Night Football" (Oct. 14) Colts-Chargers 12.0 million viewers
4. "Monday Night Football" (Oct. 7) Jets-Falcons 11.5 million viewers
5. College football (Oct. 12) Texas A&M-Mississippi 5.1 million viewers
■ Launch date: October 1993
■ Homes: 97 million (#19 cable network)
■ License fee: 73 cents per subscriber per month
■ October prime-time average viewership: 633,000 (#32 cable network)
Top shows in October
1. College football (Oct. 26) South Carolina-Missouri 3.1 million viewers
2. College football (Oct. 19) LSU-Mississippi 2.6 million viewers
3. College football (Oct. 12) Alabama-Kentucky 2.6 million viewers
4. College football (Oct. 5) Arkansas-Florida 1.6 million viewers
5. College football (Oct. 5) Michigan State-Iowa 1.5 million viewers
■ Launch date: November 1996
■ Homes: 75 million (#58 cable network)
■ License fee: 20 cents per subscriber per month
■ October prime-time average viewership: 90,000 (#91 cable network)
Top shows in October
1. College football (Oct. 12) Texas A&M-Mississippi start 550,000 viewers
2. "SportsCenter" 12 a.m. (Oct. 26) 331,000 viewers
3. "SportsCenter" 7:40 p.m. (Oct. 14) 273,000 viewers
4. College football (Oct. 5) Washington-Stanford start 241,000 viewers
5. "SportsCenter" 11 p.m. (Oct. 26) 209,000 viewers
■ Launch date: March 2005
■ Homes: 75 million (#57 cable network)
■ License fee: 20 cents per subscriber per month
■ October prime-time average viewership: 116,000 (#80 cable network)
Top shows in October
1. College football (Oct. 5) Mississippi-Auburn 943,000 viewers
2. College football (Oct. 26) Wake Forest-Miami 885,000 viewers
3. College football (Oct. 5) Georgia Tech-Miami 857,000 viewers
4. College football (Oct. 5) Illinois-Nebraska 781,000 viewers
5. College football (Oct. 26) Duke-Virginia Tech 525,000 viewers
Fox Sports 1
■ Launch date: December 1995 (as Speedvision); August 2013 as FS1
■ Homes: 89 million (#38 cable network)
■ License fee: 23 cents per subscriber per month
■ October prime-time average viewership: 234,000 (#53 cable network)
Top shows in October
1. College football (Oct. 12) Oregon-Washington 1.8 million viewers
2. College football (Oct. 19) Washington State-Oregon 1.1 million viewers
3. NASCAR Camping World Truck Series (Oct. 19) Fred's 250 powered by Coca-Cola 1.0 million viewers
4. College football (Oct. 19) Texas Tech-West Virginia 770,000 viewers
5. "The Ultimate Fighter" (Oct. 9) 725,000 viewers
Fox Sports 2
■ Launch date: July 2003 (as Fuel TV); August 2013 as FS2
■ Homes: 36 million (#101 cable network)
■ License fee: 15 cents per subscriber per month
■ October prime-time average viewership: 18,000 (#101 cable network)
Top shows in October
1. "UFC Fight Night" (Oct. 26) 122,000 viewers
2. Monster Energy Cup (Oct. 19) 116,000 viewers
3. College football (Oct. 26) TCU-Texas 108,000 viewers
4. "NASCAR Raceday" (Oct. 20) 107,000 viewers
5. Champions League Group Stage (Oct. 23) 100,000 viewers
NBC Sports Network
■ Launch date: July 1995 (as Outdoor Life Network); January 2012 as NBC Sports Network
■ Homes: 78 million homes (#50 cable network)
■ License fee: 33 cents per subscriber per month
■ October prime-time average viewership: 203,000 (#57 cable network)
Top shows in October
1. NHL (Oct. 1) Capitals-Blackhawks 935,000 viewers
2. "NHL Live Pregame" (Oct. 1) 715,000 viewers
3. NHL (Oct. 2) Sabres-Red Wings 583,000 viewers
4. Premier League (Oct. 27) Chelsea-Manchester City 583,000 viewers
5. NHL (Oct. 9) Blackhawks-Blues 523,000 viewers
Golf Channel
■ Launch date: January 1995
■ Homes: 82 million (#45 cable network)
■ License fee: 29 cents per subscriber per month
■ October prime-time average viewership: 99,000 (#90 cable network)
Top shows in October
1. Presidents Cup (Oct. 4) 778,000 viewers
2. Presidents Cup (Oct. 3) 740,000 viewers
3. Presidents Cup (Oct. 6) 497,000 viewers
4. "Live From" (Oct. 4) 318,000 viewers
5. Presidents Cup (Oct. 5) 296,000 viewers
■ Launch date: December 1976
■ Homes: 99 million (#3 cable network)
■ License fee: 62 cents per subscriber per month
■ October prime-time average viewership: 3.2 million (#1 cable network)
Top shows in October
1. MLB Division Series (Oct. 9) Pirates-Cardinals Game 5, 6.1 million viewers
2. MLB NLCS (Oct. 18) Cardinals-Dodgers Game 6, 6.1 million viewers
3. MLB NLCS (Oct. 15) Cardinals-Dodgers Game 4 , 5.8 million viewers
4. MLB NLCS (Oct. 11) Dodgers-Cardinals Game 1, 5.8 million viewers
5. MLB Division Series (Oct. 10) Tigers-A's Game 5, 5.5 million viewers
■ Launch date: October 1988
■ Homes: 98 million (#13 cable network)
■ License fee: $1.27 per subscriber per month
■ October prime-time average viewership: 1.1 million (#12 cable network)
Top shows in October
1. "Red" (Oct. 12) 2.1 million viewers
2. "Castle" (Sept. 30) 2.0 million viewers
3. "Castle" (Oct. 2) 1.9 million viewers
4. "Law & Order" (Oct. 19) 1.9 million viewers
5. "Castle" (Oct. 1) 1.9 million viewers
NFL Network
■ Launch date: November 2003
■ Homes: 72 million (#63 cable network)
■ License fee: $1.13 per subscriber per month
■ October prime-time average viewership: 973,000 (#20 cable network)
Top shows in October
1. "Thursday Night Football" (Oct. 10) Giants-Bears 7.9 million viewers
2. "Thursday Night Football" (Oct. 3) Bills-Browns 6.9 million viewers
3. "Thursday Night Football" (Oct. 17) Seahawks-Cardinals 6.0 million viewers
4. "Thursday Night Football" (Oct. 24) Panthers-Buccaneers 4.6 million viewers
5. "NFL Total Access" (Oct. 10) 2.973 million viewers
MLB Network
■ Launch date: January 2009
■ Homes: 70 million (#67 cable network)
■ License fee: 27 cents per subscriber per month
■ October prime-time average viewership: 40,000 (#99 cable network)
Top shows in October
1. Division Series game (Oct. 7) A's-Tigers Game 3, 912,000 viewers
2. Division Series game (Oct. 4) Pirates-Cardinals Game 2, 832,000 viewers
3. "MLB Tonight" (Oct. 26), 235,000 viewers
4. Postgame (Oct. 4) 217,000 viewers
5. "MLB Tonight" (Oct. 26) 208,000 viewers
■ Launch date: March 1999
■ Homes: 59 million (#81 cable network)
■ License fee: 19 cents per subscriber per month
■ October prime-time average viewership: 102,000 (#83 cable network)
Top shows in October
1. NBA preseason (Oct. 5) Bulls-Pacers 304,000 viewers
2. NBA preseason (Oct. 18) Pacers-Bulls 271,000 viewers
3. NBA preseason (Oct. 25) Kings-Clippers 271,000 viewers
4. NBA preseason (Oct. 19) Spurs-Heat 231,000 viewers
5. NBA preseason (Oct. 5) Warriors-Lakers 225,000 viewers
Notes: October time period runs from Sept. 30 to October 27. CBS Sports Network is not Nielsen rated.
Sources: Nielsen (distribution numbers), SNL Kagan (license fee information), SportsBusiness Journal/Daily research (ratings)
Compiled by: John Ourand


text:
Type 2 Diabetes and the Effect of Probiotics
Recruitment status was: Recruiting
|Tracking Information
|First Submitted Date ICMJE
|December 18, 2006
|First Posted Date ICMJE
|December 19, 2006
|Last Update Posted Date
|December 19, 2006
|Start Date ICMJE
|November 2006
|Primary Completion Date
|Not Provided
|Current Primary Outcome Measures ICMJE
|Original Primary Outcome Measures ICMJE
|Same as current
|Change History
|No Changes Posted
|Current Secondary Outcome Measures ICMJE
|Not Provided
|Original Secondary Outcome Measures ICMJE
|Not Provided
|Current Other Outcome Measures ICMJE
|Not Provided
|Original Other Outcome Measures ICMJE
|Not Provided
|Descriptive Information
|Brief Title ICMJE
|Type 2 Diabetes and the Effect of Probiotics
|Official Title ICMJE
|Effect of Probiotics on Systemic Inflammation and Insulin Resistance in Type 2 Diabetics and Healthy Controls
|Brief Summary
Insulin-resistance in type 2 diabetes is associated with chronic inflammation. Anti-inflammatory actions might increase sensitivity to insulin. Since some probiotics have anti-inflammatory properties, ingestion of the probiotic bacteria Lactobacillus Acidophilus NCFM might increase insulin-sensitivity.
The inflammatory response to endotoxin injection and the insulin-sensitivity is examined before and after four weeks ingestion of probiotics.
|Detailed Description
Numerous studies have shown an association between insulin-resistance in type 2 diabetes and chronic low-grade inflammation. Some probiotics have an anti-inflammatory properties. Ingestion of probiotics might therefore, due to this property, increase sensitivity to insulin.
In this study type 2 diabetics (N=24) and healthy control (N=24) are given the probiotic bacteria Lactobacillus Acidophilus NCFM for four weeks. The anti-inflammatory effect is examined by evaluating the inflammatory response (White blood cell count, plasma-cytokines) to an iv injection of endotoxin (0,3 ng/kg) before and after the intervention. Also the insulin-sensitivity is measured with an hyperinsulinemic euglycemic clamp before and after L. acidophilus NCFM.
|Study Type ICMJE
|Study Phase
|Not Provided
|Study Design ICMJE
|Allocation: Randomized
Intervention Model: Parallel Assignment
Masking: Double
Primary Purpose: Prevention
|Condition ICMJE
|Intervention ICMJE
|Drug: Lactobacillus acidophilus NCFM
|Study Arms
|Not Provided
|Publications *
|Not Provided
* Includes publications given by the data provider as well as publications identified by ClinicalTrials.gov Identifier (NCT Number) in Medline.
|Recruitment Information
|Recruitment Status ICMJE
|Unknown status
|Enrollment ICMJE
|Estimated Completion Date
|December 2007
|Primary Completion Date
|Not Provided
|Eligibility Criteria ICMJE
Inclusion Criteria:
Exclusion Criteria:
|25 Years to 80 Years (Adult, Senior)
|Accepts Healthy Volunteers
|Contacts ICMJE
|Contact information is only displayed when the study is recruiting subjects
|Listed Location Countries ICMJE
|Removed Location Countries
|Administrative Information
|NCT Number ICMJE
|Other Study ID Numbers ICMJE
|Has Data Monitoring Committee
|Not Provided
|U.S. FDA-regulated Product
|Not Provided
|IPD Sharing Statement
|Not Provided
|Responsible Party
|Not Provided
|Study Sponsor ICMJE
|Rigshospitalet, Denmark
|Collaborators ICMJE
|Royal Veterinary and Agricultural University, Denmark
|Investigators ICMJE
|PRS Account
|Rigshospitalet, Denmark
|Verification Date
|December 2006
ICMJE Data element required by the International Committee of Medical Journal Editors and the World Health Organization ICTRP

subset: commoncrawl


text:
A MOTORCYCLIST was taken to hospital with a serious leg injury after being thrown from his bike in a collision with a road sign and a car in Houghton.
The crash happened at about 10.30am yesterday on the A182 Hillside Way roundabout with the A690 Durham Road.
The motorbike, ridden by a 21-year-old man, was in collision with a grey Toyota Yaris.
Several police vehicles, an ambulance and a fire engine, from Rainton Bridge, attended the scene after passing firefighter Simon Vickery alerted emergency services.
"The car and the bike have collided and the motorcycle has hit the sign and come to rest." Mr Vickery said. "Unfortunately, he's suffered quite an injury."
The Echo understands that the driver of the Yaris was unhurt.
A Northumbria Police spokeswoman said: "At around 10.30am on Tuesday officers attended the scene where a motorbike and a car collided on the A182 at Hillside Way at the roundabout under the A690. A 21-year-old man was taken to hospital with injuries described as serious but not life threatening at this time. "
Anyone who saw the accident is asked to contact police on 101 ext 69191, quoting reference 365 of 20/05/14.


text:
Zynga, the maker of popular Facebook games like FarmVille, now says that it receives 90 percent of revenue directly from users -- after the company came under pressure to stop promoting "offer scams" that tricked users into signing up for expensive subscriptions.
The numbers were released to clear up any confusion about the company's business model, and with the company possibly valued at $1 billion after Electronic Arts acquisition of Playfish for $400 million, the details could also be revealed to reassure potential purchasers of the company -- and investors eager to cash in on that possible payday.
But Zynga, which along with Facebook and other players is facing a class-action lawsuit over the once-lucrative ads, isn't the only company that is under scrutiny for shady business practices.
The federal government is looking into a similar scheme to defraud Web surfers that's popped up on sites like Orbitz, Priceline, FTD and Classmates.com.
Affinion, Vertrue, Webloyalty offer signups from payment pages on other Web sites that may look like a free discount on purchases, but actually sign people up for "loyalty programs" -- and monthly charges.
The take? $1.4 billion.
And while Continental Airlines has since stopped participating, some of the Web sites that profit from the practice have less remorse than Zynga, essentially blaming the victims for not reading the fine print.
Jackson West wonders if we shouldn't change the name to "misinformation economy."


text:
Steamboat promenade recommendation delayed
Advisory group postpones decision about base area project
March 26, 2010
Steamboat Springs — The citizens committee that reports to the Steamboat Springs City Council about the construction of the new promenade at the base of the ski area adjourned after three hours Thursday without making a recommendation about how to get the best project for the $4.5 million it has to spend this summer.
Everyone agrees that two more seasons of work would be needed to build the pathway that would wrap the ski base in a horseshoe shape, as well as bring Burgess Creek out of its subterranean culvert. And they know they are short about $2.7 million of the estimated two-year construction budget of $7.2 million. How best to spend the $4.5 million budget in hand this summer is the dilemma.
"How do we deal with this huge question mark that's hanging over the table?" Committee member Peter Patten asked his colleagues on the committee.
The Urban Redevelopment Area Advisory Committee deferred the decision to a special meeting set for 1 p.m. Wednesday in the Crawford Room of Centennial Hall.
URAAC heard that Duckels Construction, which completed the first phase of the promenade project last year, was the unanimous choice of a contractor selection committee that interviewed three local firms chosen as finalists.
Committee member David Baldinger Jr. said Duckels' proposal of $7.2 million was the low bid.
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When URAAC members reconvene next week, they'll try to decide whether to build the promenade from the plaza in front of Torian Plum south to the deck outside Bear River Bar & Grill at the Sheraton Steamboat Resort, plus about 120 lineal feet of the daylighted stream. Or, they could recommend going with a less glamorous plan of work that could set the stage for the entire length of stream extending beyond One Steamboat Place, while postponing the shorter stretch of stream indefinitely.
Baldinger said he favors the proposal to daylight a portion of the creek.
"I think building the promenade to the deck at Bear River could create a very nice entrance to Gondola Square," Baldinger said.
Steamboat Ski and Resort Corp. CEO and President Chris Diamond said he's concerned that without a completed promenade, the project will have lost its way.
"We wouldn't have a project, if this is it," he said. "All we have is $4.5 million. Is this all we're going to do? I'd scrap the creek and redesign the promenade if we have to."
Joe Kracum, base area redevelopment coordinator, told the committee members that although the scope of work for this summer still can be adjusted, the firm bid that Duckels submitted was for construction for the trail as far as the Bear River restaurant deck with the abbreviated version of the reconstructed stream.
"Here's what we can get done," Kracum said.
Duckels would build the promenade from Slopeside Grill to the top of the Torian Plum parking garage and then complete a set of stairs and a circular ramp descending to the lower elevation of the slope where it passes the Christie Peak Express chairlift and beyond the grade-level eastern entrance to the Sheraton to the corner of Gondola Square. The promenade would have a snowmelt system fed by a boiler room at Torian.
Diamond asked the committee to study the plan to find another $200,000 to build the anticipated second boiler room for the second leg of the promenade. With that flexibility in hand, he said, he would go to Ski Corp. owners Intrawest and Fortress Investment Group to pitch a plan to fund and rebuild a new, larger, terraced version of the Bear River deck. In addition, he proposes tearing up the pavers outside the gondola building to install a snowmelt system at Ski Corp.'s expense, as well as expanding the second boiler room to meet the Ski Corp.'s expanded snowmelt needs.
Diamond said it was premature to give a cost estimate for Ski Corp.'s work plan, but he would like to get it done concurrently with the promenade work to tie the projects together visually. He has yet to gain corporate approval for the expenditure.
Ski Corp. Vice President of Skier Services Jim Schneider, who also serves on the committee, urged his colleagues to consider abandoning the short section of daylighted creek in favor of conducting preliminary grading for the length of the streambed and burying all of the necessary plumbing lines while water and sewer are being relocated along that course anyway.
"Wouldn't it be better to come back (in 2011 or later) with skid steers and landscaping equipment instead of a second year of backhoes?" he asked.
Time will be of the essence when URAAC convenes Wednesday. The committee is expected to make a recommendation to the City Council, acting as the Urban Renewal Authority, by April 6. Construction is scheduled to begin April 16.
In the meantime, Kracum and Baldinger will continue working on an economic white paper intended to convince the City Council that it would be fiscally beneficial to loan the Urban Renewal Authority much of the unfunded $2.7 million in construction budgets. They already estimate that they can dig into that number by reducing the cost of insuring interest rates on their bonds, cutting construction costs and carrying forward unanticipated revenues from the 2009 bond issue.
They hope to make the case that extending the loan would allow the city to begin reaping the sales tax and employment benefits of a completed promenade and creek sooner rather than later.


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Austin's formula one project continued to collapse this week, with news construction of the Circuit of the Americas has been halted.
Bernie Ecclestone cast doubt on the health of the project last weekend in Abu Dhabi, prompting the Texas comptroller to question whether state funds should be released.
The next domino to fall was the organisers' instruction for workers to down tools and not pick them up again "until a contract assuring the (race) will be held" in 2012.
"The failure to deliver race contracts gives us great concern," said project partner Bobby Epstein.
Comptroller Susan Combs also linked the turmoil with the recent announcement that a privately-funded grand prix will be held in New York in 2013.
"Additional races have the potential to reduce the number of attendees to a Texas race, thereby decreasing the economic impact," she said.
"The ongoing controversies are a concern and we will continue to monitor them."
The project began to fall apart recently when it emerged that promoter Tavo Hellmund, of Full Throttle Productions, was turning his attention to other projects.
"It is the responsibility of Circuit of the Americas to bring it (the US GP) across the finish line," Hellmund's company said in a statement.


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Chicago firefighter Nicholas Sposato worked his last shift at his northwest side firehouse Tuesday.
Soon, he'll enter the ranks of City Hall. A firefighter for 18 years, Sposato won an upset election to become the city's 36th Ward alderman
"This is a great job, one of the best jobs, I work with some of the greatest guys you could ever want to work with," Sposato said of his firehouse.
Not many expected him to win his political fight.
Sposato ran against Ald. John Rice, who was the hand-picked successor of longtime Ald. William J.P. Banks.
Sposato credits his fellow firefighters,
"I believe one of the main reasons I'm elected is because I am a fireman. Guys that came out and worked and helped me, you name it, they did it for me," he said.
One person who didn't support his campaign was Mayor-elect Rahm Emanuel, but Sposato said he's ready to move past the election.
"We've had conversations. There's no hard feelings. I'm not going to be any bit disruptive to him but by no means am I going to be a rubber stamp, " he said.
As a former firefighter, Sposato said he'll be very understanding of city workers' issues once inside City Hall, but won't stand in the way of needed change.
"We have to take everything step by step, and take a good close look at everything," he said.
He admits that his new title will take some time to get used to.
"I keep telling everybody just call me Nick, It's a weird feeling. People treat you different," he said. And he acknowledged the new high-profile job will come with more scrutiny,.
"If I'm not doing what I'm supposed to do, then I'm open to hearing about it."


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NEW YORK, June 26 (UPI) -- Republican Gov. Chris Christie says New Jersey's recently passed cost-cutting legislation could serve as a national model for debt reduction.
"I think what we did in New Jersey proves that's the way to do it," Christie said on NBC's "Meet the Press" Sunday. "The executive needs to lead and then, bring people to the table to forge compromise."
Christie's remarks came as President Barack Obama was set to meet with Republican leaders, Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell and House Speaker John Boehner, at the White House Monday in an effort to restart stalled talks on raising the nation's debt limit.
The Democratically controlled New Jersey state Assembly passed legislation Thursday to close a massive budget gap due to the state's pension and health benefit obligations to public employees in a move predicted to save the state more than $120 billion over the next 30 years.
The legislation, which will increase the amount public employees pay for their healthcare and pension plans and end the ability of unions to collectively bargain for their medical benefits, came after months of intense budget negotiations, Christie said.
"And everybody has got to put skin in the game," he said. "I mean I gave on things that I wanted. Obviously the Senate, Democratic Senate president in my state and the Democratic speaker gave on things they wanted and we came to a compromise that didn't violate our principles. And that's the key."
Christie said the president needed to take the lead in the federal effort on debt reduction.
"If you're the executive, you've got to be the guy who's out there pushing and leading," he said. "You can't lay back and wait for somebody else to do it."
"There is no substitute for the three leaders in the room having to look at each other and having to hash this out."


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Morehouse and Albany State capture 2009-10 SIAC All-Sports Awards
TUCKER, GA – Morehouse College and Albany State University have captured the SIAC Commissioner's Men's and Women's All-Sports Award for the 2009-2010 sports seasons. This is Morehouse's third consecutive SIAC Commissioner's All-Sports Award and fourth in the last six years. The Albany State women have won this award for seven consecutive years, meaning they've been the recipient of this honor every year since it was re-established in 2003-2004.
Morehouse scored a total of 40 points en route to this year's Award. With the exception of baseball, the Morehouse men won every conference title in spring sports which includes golf, tennis, and track & field in addition to baseball. The Maroon Tigers also took home the men's cross country title to go along their other conference championships.
 Benedict tied for second place with 25 points after three second-place finishes in cross country, baseball, and track & field while finishing third in golf. Albany State also finished tied for second by capturing their first baseball conference championship since 2006. The baseball title was accompanied by a second place finish in football and two third-place finishes in both cross country and track & field.
Tuskegee, with 20 points, came in a close third after taking home yet another football championship, coupled with their first conference title in basketball since 1979. Fort Valley State University (11), Stillman College (8), Clark Atlanta University (7), and Paine College (7) make up the remaining scoring institutions.
Albany State's women tallied 34 points after winning conference titles in volleyball, softball, and tennis while finishing third in track & field. This was the Lady Rams' 9th consecutive SIAC volleyball title and their first ever SIAC tennis title.
Benedict's women came in a close second with 25 points after winning their first conference title in basketball since 2007. The Lady Tigers also finished second in track & field while also placing third in volleyball and tennis.
Finishing right behind Benedict College was the Fort Valley State Lady Wildcats, who came in third place with 24 points. The Lady Wildcats held off Benedict and perennial power Albany State to take this year's track & field conference title while also finishing second in cross country and softball. Kentucky State (15), Clark Atlanta (10), Tuskegee (7), and Stillman (4) also scored points in this year's standings.
The Commissioner's All-Sports Trophy is presented to the men's and women's athletic department who have excelled athletically within the conference. A scoring system of 10 points for 1st place or conference titles, 7 points for 2nd place, and 4 points for 3rd place is used to determine the All-Sports Standings for the SIAC 13-member institutions. Football is determined by their finish in the regular season. The Men's & Women's Basketball tournament is not double elimination and does not offer a consolation game.


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On Wednesday night at a party celebrating Michael Kors' 30th anniversary in fashion at The Carlyle hotel, Judy Collins asked for some assistance from the crowd to bring "Somewhere Over the Rainbow" home. Anjelica Huston, Patti Hansen and most of those in attendance dutifully sang along. Across the room, Kors was misting up.
"Last night I cried at my fitting," the designer explained a little later. "I cried with Carmen Kass, of all people. Trust me, she's not a crier. And then Bette Midler sang 'Happy Anniversary' backstage before we started [the show]. I cried again. And then tonight Judy Collins sang 'Somewhere Over the Rainbow' and I cried again.…I got a little welled."
After Collins' set, the small room began to fill with fashion editors and a few of the front-row faces from Kors' show earlier in the day, including Emma Roberts, Debra Messing and Angie Harmon. The nostalgia in the air had Hansen and Rene Russo reminiscing about their modeling days.
"OK, here's the truth," Russo said. "I was at Studio 54 twice."
"She left for Hollywood then," Hansen chimed in.
"I would do my work, go home and go to sleep," Russo continued. "Pitiful, I know."
"You were a good girl," Hansen observed.


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I'm experiencing the first major OS X function failure in a decade of using Apple's Unix-based OS.
The "Find" function of the Finder and Spotlight has quit working in OS X 10.8 Mountain Lion. Basic Spotlight searches work, but clicking "Show All In Finder" brings up a blank window. Find searches in the Finder likewise. Some Googling and Binging indicates that this is a not-unknown issue, but the suggested Terminal tweaks that I've tried have not remedied the malfunction. I'm hoping that instelling OS X 10.8.3 when it's released will fix it, but in the meantime I need a search engine for local volumes.
Happily there are third-party local search alternatives available; two freeware and the other inexpensive shareware. Interestingly, the respective developers of two of these Spotlight/Find alternative solutions both suggest checking out the other one as well as test-driving their own offering. Very sporting, but they both have plenty of reason to be confident about their software.
First up is Devon Technologies' freeware EasyFind app. Paradoxically, one of EasyFind's main advantages and most serious shortcomings are the same attribute: its non-indexed nature. Not needing indexing means EasyFind is ready for action the moment it's first started up. However its non-indexedness also makes it somewhat slower returning search results than Spotlight is. How much slower will vary depending on how fast a Mac you have, how much RAM, and so forth. However, it's tolerably quick on my 2.0 GHz late 3008 Core 2 Duo MacBook with 4 GB RAM. The fact that you can limit your search to fairly narrowly specific categories and/or locations also helps speed things up.
Very much in the positive column is that searches in EasyFind are much more easily configurable than with Spotlight, and don't require you to memorize and mess around manually with arcane Boolean operators in your search input. EasyFind does use Boolean logic, but it's configured via more user-friendly checkbox lists and pull-down menus, as well as wildcards, and phrases. EasyFind also uses very little memory, and doesn't just give you the files, but also shows previews, gives you many other options to work with, and provides a hierarchical result list that I find more tractable than Spotlight's results returns. You can search as "root" user, after date ranges and file sizes, and save searches to re-run later.
Product [EasyFind]
Find Any File
Thomas Tempelmann's Find Any File is another non-indexed file search solution that uses the OS X file system driver's fast search operations, where available.
This lets you search for file properties such as name, dates, size, etc., but not for file content (use EasyFind for that). However, Find Any File can find files that Spotlight doesn't—e.g. those inside bundles and packages and in inside folders that are usually excluded from Spotlight search—and it's reasonably fast.
Find Any File offers an alternative hierarchical view for the found items. You can switch to it using Command>2 or click on the little icon at the top right of the results window. With the hierarchical view, you can directly look for the results in the folders that interest you.
If you hold the Option key down in the Find window, the Find button turns into Find All. Click on it and you'll asked for an administrator password, after which Find Any File will restart with root permissions, being able to find really any file on your Mac's volumes, including files in other users' home directories. Note that this will only work on local disks, and not on network mounts, though.
You can save entered searches to files (with the extension ".faf"). You can then double click them in the Finder to have them start the search immediately, or use the saved search as a preset.
Find Any File is free demoware, but if you keep using it, Thomas Tempelmann requests a shareware fee of US$6.00
Product [Find Any File]
There's also a free and simpler clone of FAF by OSXBytes called iFileX.
iFileX's functionality and design is based on Mac OS early-era file search tools such as Find File and Sherlock, as well as Find Any File, from which iFileX borrows some special features.
iFileX Features
- Find files Spotlight doesn't – As a root user, Files inside packages, bundles, hidden files
- Very fast searching – Fast searching on HFS formatted volumes.
- Filter results – Easy show or hide packages content, hidden files and/or folders, show duplicates.
- No indexing – Doesn't index files and doesn't depend on Spotlight.
- Advanced boolean operators – Search after names, file sizes, creating and or modification dates, Folders, Alias.
Product [iFileX]


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Anderson (S.C.) all-purpose back Rafael Little says a leader has emerged entering his senior season at T.L. Hanna.
"Kentucky is my leader," he said. "They've recruited me the hardest, and I just like everything about them right now."
Such as?
Article Continues Below
"Well, I've really got a good chance to come in and get some early playing time and contribute as a true freshman," Little said. "They say they really need to sign a good running back, and I'd be able to compete for playing time right away. I've got a better chance of that there than the other schools recruiting me.
"Also I like my recruiting coach, Joker Phillips, and their campus. It's a good school. Everything's just real nice."
Little, however, said he didn't plan to make a commitment any time soon.
"I'm going to wait and see how things go, probably decide after my season," he said.
Little (5-11, 190, 4.5), who accounted for more than 2,000 all-purpose yards and 34 touchdowns as a junior, is also being heavily recruited by Georgia, Auburn, South Carolina, Clemson and Tennessee. All have offered scholarships.
He noted that Georgia, Auburn and South Carolina would round out his current top four. He has visited all three for camps or unofficial visits in recent weeks.
Academically, he maintains a 2.8 GPA and projects as a full qualifier. He's awaiting scores from his most recent test.


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Using Resumes #3: The Importance of a Well-Written and Error-Free Resume
While having a resume is a good thing to help you stand out from the crowd, if it is not well-written — or worse, has misspellings and other errors — your efforts will have been wasted.
You'll impress employers with a simple resume that looks nice and showcases your skills and experience.
The key is working at your resume — writing, editing, rewriting, proofreading, and final editing. (It also helps to have at least one adult review one of your drafts to help catch errors.)
The more work you put into your resume, the more success you'll have with it.
Lost? Go to the Map of the Teen Job-Search Tutorial.
Have you checked out the rest of the great free career and job-related tutorials offered on Quintessential Careers?
Maximize your career and job-search knowledge and skills! Take advantage of The Quintessential Careers Content Index, which enables site visitors to locate articles, tutorials, quizzes, and worksheets in 35 career, college, job-search topic areas.


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60 days professional training with a refresher this winter. Great mare, UTD on everything, completely sound. Has had a few babies, I own one of her silver gruella paint sons. Fun to ride and handle. Could make a beginner horse with a little more time.
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Cost of hospice care tops reimbursement
Your recent article (Page A1, Dec. 29) about hospice programs highlights some important considerations for families and patients facing the need for end-of-life care. Our experience (and one shared throughout the hospice community) is that the earlier an eligible patient is admitted to hospice care, the better supported he and his family is throughout the end-of-life journey.
While the growing number of for-profit hospice programs may suggest that there is money to be made in this business, our experience at Mission Hospice is quite the opposite. In fact, the level of patient care we provide exceeds the amount reimbursed by Medicare and private insurance. Fortunately, our community recognizes the importance of personalized, compassionate end-of-life care, and their generous donations support our work. The history of nonprofit hospice care in San Mateo County goes back 35 years, when Mission Hospice was founded as the county's first hospice program. Our board, staff, volunteers and donors are local residents who believe that access to compassionate palliative and hospice care should be available to all patients — regardless of their medical coverage or ability to pay.
Dwight Wilson
CEO, Mission Hospice & Home Care
Civilization lecturer makes history juicy
Scott Herhold (Page B1, Jan. 7) was right to praise Bill Fredlund and his Institute for the Study of Western Civilization for its delightful contribution to teaching our primary cultural heritage. We have taken a number of his classes, and we would add that he is the most amusing and entertaining lecturer we know. History can be taught as dry as dust. Not Bill. Heads roll, heretics burn, cathedrals rise, dynasties fall. Through it all, the great art and seminal ideas that make us who we are shine through. Turn off the TV, and come on down to the institute. You won't regret it.
Alice Wheatley
Bill Anderson
Los Gatos
People need push to use less sugar
Overindulging in sugar has proved to be detrimental to human health. Studies by UC San Francisco have indicated that taxing sweetened drinks such as sodas would result in a measurable decrease in health care costs as well as the number of people contracting Type 2 diabetes over time.
Generally, humans left to their own inclinations are not motivated to reduce consumption of that which may be harmful to them, their offspring or their environment unless presented with a strong deterrent.
Samuel TwoBears
Food stamps: Healthful food has a higher cost
John Mitchell (Letters, Jan. 8) may be on to something when he suggests we ban the use of food stamps for junk food — if he's willing to triple the amount of assistance we provide, since healthy food costs about that much more, per calorie.
John Shelton
La Selva Beach


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That was another thing rubbing Dortmunder the wrong way the names that horses get saddled with. Abby's Elbow, Nuff Said, Dreadful Summit, Dire Straits.
If you were going out to the track, where the horses were almost irrelevant to the occasion, where the point was to drink beer and bet money and socialize a little and make small jokes like, "I hope I break even today; I could use the cash," it didn't matter much that you were betting 30 across the board on something called Giant Can and that you had to wait for a bunch of horses outdoors somewhere to run around in a big oval before you found out if you had won.
But here, in the darkest wilds of New Jersey, on a ranch barely 60 miles from New York City, surrounded by all these huge, nervous creatures, pawing and snorting and rolling their eyes, out here breathing this moist, smelly air, walking in mud or worse, it just capped Dortmunder's discontent that these dangerous furry barrels on sticks were named Picasso's Revenge and How'm I Doing?


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Vishal Sikka: The beauty and power of algorithms
About this talk: Adaptive, intelligent, and consistent, algorithms are emerging as the ultimate app for everything from matching consumers to products to assessing medical diagnoses. Vishal Sikka shares his appreciation for the algorithm, charting both its inherent beauty and its growing power.
About this speaker
Vishal is a member of the Executive Board of SAP AG and the Global Managing Board, leading all SAP product development and innovation. He has global responsibility for research and academic and government relations. Vishal has led the development and delivery of SAP's breakthrough in-memory platform, SAP HANA. He is also the author of "Timeless Software," which explores the renewal of products without disruption to customer environments. He is the founder of two startup companies.
About this event
TED@BCG was an event produced by TED in conjunction with our partner, the Boston Consulting Group. The event gathered together leaders from business, academia, and society who have been at the forefront of change and transformation. The TED@BCG series of events were held in Singapore and San Francisco in October 2013.


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This Forum has been archivedVisit the new Forums
I know we're wanting to be more fansite friendly with making info pages for them and such... but are we really going to go so far as making individual pages for individual characters of fan made cinema in the main space?
See examples:
--User:Coobra/Sig4 02:07, 18 July 2009 (UTC)
- Move according to WW:PA. Fan fiction should not be in the main namespace. --Pcj (T•C) 02:13, 18 July 2009 (UTC)
- Even popular/well known fan fiction like Illegal Danish? Would it be assigned to one user who may not have written it?--SWM2448 02:32, 18 July 2009 (UTC)
- Agreed with Lon-ami, subpage them: Dude where's my Mount?/Wyden
- Event Tales of the Past does not take names in the main space.
- Loremaster A'noob, Arch Druid of the Noobhoof Clan (talk/contribz) 12:42, 18 July 2009 (UTC)
- Just a few points. Illegal Danish is not an individual character. I thought Coobra was just pointing out those examples which are individual characters, or ships, that should not be on the main page. Another thing is that those examples all had the "Silly template". It could be that they think the Silly template allows for those examples to be on the main page. I think that Category:Silly should maybe be rewritten to emphasize what not to put on the main page. WoWWiki does have a "Silly template" available so it must be used for something. I also think "they should probably be subpages of one page". Rolandius (talk - contr) 12:58, 18 July 2009 (UTC)
- Some fanfic and machinima are part of Blizzard sanctioned contests. Those could stay in the main namespace, if they were presented under Blizzard auspices. Sub-parts of fanfic or machinima don't deserve their own main namespace pages, but subpages seems to work although it may bring out the anti-subpage zealots. -- Fandyllic (talk · contr) 3:46 PM PST 20 Jul 2009
Went ahead and moved them to subpages of their particular article, now the next question... should the silly template remain on the subpages, all it would do is clutter up the silly category in my opinion. User:Coobra/Sig4 23:00, 20 July 2009 (UTC)
- Thats what thought, which I did, but they were re-added. So I'd thought I'd ask just to make sure. User:Coobra/Sig4 20:15, 21 July 2009 (UTC)
- I made a {{sillysubpage}} template for subpages. We could make it not add tagged pages to their respective silly categories, if desired. Please use this template for subpages of larger silly pages. -- Fandyllic (talk · contr) 2:33 PM PST 22 Jul 2009
- Looks good to me. =) User:Coobra/Sig4 23:02, 22 July 2009 (UTC)
I think we need a 'Serious' version of the 'Silly' template (With a better name). The Silly template is often used for out-of-WoWWiki jokes and fan works about WoW, but there is nothing exept for {{Fanfic}} for out-of-WoWWiki fan works that are not "silly". Things with the Fanfic template are often pressured to be shoved in a server or user subpage, but as the mess with Tales of the Past shows, it does not always work.--SWM2448 00:15, 23 July 2009 (UTC)


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Debut with Tigers further proof David Price is good, but not great
David Price made his Tigers debut on Tuesday night, and we saw results in keeping with his recent history.
More MLB: Power Rankings | Expert Picks | Latest news & notes | Fantasy news
Lefty ace David Price made his Tigers debut on Tuesday night against the Yankees in the Bronx (DET 4, NYY 3, 12 innings). Here's how that went ...
Price pitched deep into the game, missed bats, exhibited excellent control but also got knocked around on contact. That's a good outing -- not a great one -- and that's in keeping with what Price has been of late.
Broadly, the Price we're seeing now isn't the Price we saw early in his career. That's to be expected, of course, as this is a game of constant and thorough adjustments, even with great performers like Price. Specifically, Price in recent seasons has abandoned his slider, varied his hard offerings and become more of a fastball-changeup guy with the occasional curve ...
Without question, the approach is working for him, as his "post-slider" span includes Price's Cy Young campaign of 2012 and, of course, his current All-Star season of 2014.
What's also notable about Price in recent years is his improved command and control. For instance, through 2012 Price walked 8.0 percent of the batters he's faced. Since the start of the 2013 season, however, he's walked just 3.5 percent of opposing hitters. He's done that without any appreciable drop in his strikeout numbers. When you pepper the zone (and the margins of the zone) with five different pitches, you're going to run some impressive command indicators. So it is with Price.
With the fully evolved Price, however, there's also been a negative trend-line, and that's his ability to induce weak contact. This season, for instance, he's running the lowest ground-ball percentage and the lowest ground-ball/fly-ball ratio of his career. Although a pitcher's home run/fly-ball percentage can be prone to random variation in the short run, Price is headed for a career worst mark on that front. On another level, even though Price is giving up more fly balls these days, he's not showing an increased propensity for infield pop-ups.
Here's more evidence that Price isn't what he once when it comes to managing contact ...
That's Price's percentage of line drives allowed on balls in play (i.e., fair batted balls that don't leave the park). While there's the potential for some classification errors when it comes to line drive data, the overall pattern is pretty clear. The 2013 and 2014 seasons are the only seasons in which Price has allowed a line drive percentage of 20 or greater on all five of his pitches. So not only is Price allowing more fly balls, but he's also giving up a lot of ropes when hitters put the bat on the ball.
On a "bottom line" level, Price for his career has allowed a slash line on balls in play of .286/.285/.358. This season, it's up to .305/.303/.377, and last year it was .300/.299/.378. Bear in mind that those career numbers include the 2013 and 2014 uptick.
There's nothing wrong with Price's overall run prevention skills, but there's a small gap between his ERAs and what his ERAs should be given the strength of his underlying indicators. That's because Price these days tends to get hit hard when batters make contact, at least relative to his prior standards.
It's also worth noting that Price is now going to from a home park -- the Trop -- that cuts down on hitter contact rates -- to a new home park -- Comerica -- that increases them. This season to date, Price has benefited from a career low contact rate. Will that remain the case now that he's calling Detroit home? Based on the related trends above, more contact would be a bad thing for the 2013-14 version of Price.
None of this is to say that Price is anything less than an established ace and a contributor who makes an already good team better. It's possible that he'll come off this disappointing-by-his-high-standards start in the Bronx, cut a swath through the league and pitch the Tigers to the belt and the title. He's that good. However, if anyone's expecting Price to be better than the lowish-3.00 ERA pitcher he's been throughout recent history -- the pitcher he was on Tuesday night against the Yankees -- then they may be primed for disappointment.
(Data: Brooks Baseball, FanGraphs, Baseball-Reference, Stat Corner)
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Yes, the offseason has been slow so far
No, you're not imagining things. This MLB offseason has been very slow compared to the last...
Mike Francesa says he could manage Yanks
Francesa will retire from radio next month, so he'll have plenty of free time next summer
Rumors: Twins look into Cole, Odorizzi
The Twins need help in the rotation, and they may look to the trade market to find arms
Braves sanctions: What you need to know
Here are the bullet-points of what went down Tuesday regarding MLB and the Braves' punishm...


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By the time you read this, dear reader, we will be hip-deep in free hooch, assaulting our innards with various stripes and strengths of liquors, doing untold damage to our liver and kidneys and God knows what else for years to come. The hangover will be stupendous though, fortunately, slow in coming, a face-numbing, stomach-churning blah held off by consistent drinking, brief periods of exercise (read: walking from one bar to another, and so on) and the adrenaline brought on by prolonged exposure to rock and/or roll, occasionally both and sometimes neither. We will be in Austin for the annual South by Southwest music festival, supporting the locals (Dallas, not Austin) and harvesting this year's crop of hyperbole and empty promises. And it will be great, a grand time. Yes.
Which brings us to a question. Actually, a series of related questions: Why can't we do it here? Why shouldn't we do it here? What is stopping Dallas from pirating the yearly shindig, moving it three hours north? Wouldn't take much. Look at the club calendars for this week and last. A majority of SXSW notables have gigs booked at various clubs in Deep Ellum and Denton, or just played here on their way down Interstate-35: Clinic, Girls Against Boys, South, Luna, The Moldy Peaches, The Walkmen, The Waxwings, Vue, Mink Lungs, High on Fire, Dressy Bessy, Arlo, The Catheters, Calvin Johnson, My Morning Jacket, Jenny Toomey, The Stratford 4--and that's just naming a few.
Not only that, but the Dallas area has more talent coming out of it than Austin has in years. If you'll permit another list: the Baptist Generals, The Burden Brothers, Centro-matic, Chao, Chomsky, [DARYL], The Deathray Davies, The D.O.C., Eleven Hundred Springs, El Gato, The Falcon Project, Flipside, Earl Harvin Trio, Legendary Crystal Chandelier, The Legendary Fritz, Lift to Experience, Little Grizzly, Mandarin, N'Dambi, the pAper chAse, The Polyphonic Spree, Red Animal War, Sorta, Sparrows, 6Two. We could go on, but we think the point is clear. Rock, hip-hop, R&B, country, jazz, whatever--Dallas-Denton-Fort Worth has it, and we have it every week. Live Music Capital of the World? While Austin may take that title in terms of quantity, Dallas has it beat when it comes to quality. Trust us.
So. What is Dallas-Denton-Fort Worth missing exactly? Well, in terms of SXSW, all we're missing is, you know, a few thousand journalists and label folks. But see, that's not as big of a problem as it sounds. The North Texas New Music Festival has shown it can con a few label types into coming into town to check things out, right? Right. What if, instead, they focused their efforts on siphoning off the steady stream of writers and A&R reps and such heading to Austin, convincing them to make the drive north since they're already in Texas and living on expense accounts anyway? Why not?
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It's just a suggestion; no offense to the fine ladies and gents at SXSW HQ. Maybe we're just lazy, or maybe we're just tired of the bad rep Dallas tends to get, while Austin has been coasting on reputation for as long as we can remember. Either way, we don't think it's a bad idea. (Of course, we don't--we're suggesting it, after all.) For now we can call it, as a colleague suggested, North of South by Southwest. Kind of has a ring to it. (Although, truth be told, we are partial to another potential moniker: Kiss It, Bitches. Let it grow on you for a sec.) Whatever you wanna call it, it's worth a shot. And if it doesn't work, we'll deny any and all involvement...
We told you a couple of weeks ago about Flipside's new album (Raw, a double-disc set, recorded live at the Elbow Room last May) and the accompanying CD-release shindig held at--where else?--the Elbow Room. Turns out the discs didn't make it back from the manufacturer on time, so the release party will actually happen on March 20 at the Elbow, as part of the Dallas Creative Music Alliance's every-Wednesday showcase there. Come check it out, pick up a copy of Raw and help Flipside "do battle against the forces of mass-marketed commercialism and the status quo" and continue to "make music for human beings, not consumers." Even if you don't like Flipside, or have never heard them, that's a cause worth supporting. And while you're in a do-gooder mood, write to Fox and ask it to keep Undeclared on the air. Oh, and 24. Good shows...
Our pals (hehe) Drowning Pool will perform at this year's Wrestlemania in Toronto on March 17. Won't watch it, won't tape it. Well, guess there is the remote possibility that one of the members of the band will take a chair shot or something like that. Let us know how it goes...
Hand stamps: Faceless Werewolves open for Luna and The Stratford 4 on March 14 at the Ridglea Theater; Burnt Sienna is at Rubber Gloves Rehearsal Studios on March 20; Valve and The Happiness Factor perform with Superdrag at Trees on March 14, followed by Pleasure Club and James Hall on March 15, and Slick 57 and Eleven Hundred Springs supporting the Supersuckers on March 20; The Deathray Davies play March 15 at Club Clearview, with Arlo, Dressy Bessy and Harlow. And several dozen great bands from all over the place will also be in town. You can rest up next week. That's our plan.


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As above, say like me you have paid for movies or TV series with iTunes (or via AppleTV), what happens if Apple was to ever go bankrupt or similar (and iCloud disappears), how would I get copies of the content I paid for?
With music you can at least convert to another format but not sure if you can also do that with video.
Chat Forum
What happens to your iTunes purchases if Apple was to ever to go kaput?
As above, say like me you have paid for movies or TV series with iTunes (or via AppleTV), what happens if Apple was to ever go bankrupt or similar (and iCloud disappears), how would I get copies of the content I paid for?
your paying for movies and tv series?
Well, if I enjoy them through the traditional method online (cough) I like to pay, after all if its good (like Breaking bad or the Sopranos) you'd want more made, takes money though.
didn't you amend the terms and conditions when you signed up?
I added that the IMF would personally have to intervene and download what I actually liked to an mp3/mp4 player and a former Apple employee ride to my house on a bike with gears to deliver my replacement tunes
PS have you seen how much cash Apple has?
have you seen how much cash Apple has
Understand, but in theory digital content can last forever unlike books and CD's etc but there's lots of big companies no longer around, like IG Farban, Atari, DAF, Equitable Life, Polaroid Eric (thanks Wikipedia), in fact I would struggle to come up with a name of a company at the top of their game for 50 years is.
As far as I know there is no 'shelf life' on a digital purchase like other consumables, so what if Apple was to go bankrupt in 50 years time?
I would struggle to come up with a name of a company at the top of their game for 50 years is.
Ford motors
Shell Oil
Products may come and go and and markets may swing but if a biog player like Apple went down a. It wouldn't happen overnight and b. someone would buy up the rights to their licensed products and keep the service running.
1st world problem - go read the Daily Mail to cheer yourself up.
but there's lots of big companies no longer around
small scale big ? a quick google gives me "Apple currently holds $146.6 billion in cash and marketable securities". I suspect that is more cash than the "lifetime" sales of some "large" companies
Apple will never go kaput. Not while there are queues of lemmings eager to have their latest product and pay a prenium to do so.
The OP's question has merit. All of the companies listed above as examples of longevity also illustrate that longevity is usually only achieved by radical reinvention at some point.
Case example, IBM doesn't make any money from building computers and hasn't done for a long time.
Shell cannot continue to rely solely on oil for its revenues.
BAe Systems looks nothing like it did when it was first formed.
ICI doesn't even exist. It was bought in 2008 by AkzoNobel.
I can see a future where Apple sells of it's, by now, unprofitable media library arm to someone else who can administer it for far less cost.
Isn't it the same as with e books, they're effectively a rental? Didn't Bruce Willis have this argument, wanting to give all of his iTunes purchases to his kids and apple claimed breach of terms? Therefore if apple goes pop then so do your purchases?
It's probably less of a rental agreement and more of a perpetual license for the original owner, i.e. you own the rights to that media forever but you don't have permission to transfer ownership to someone else. I'm just guessing.
I'd guess that if Apples folded then your local copy of iTunes wouldn't be able to verify the licenses and would eventually refuse to play any DRM protected media you had. There was another online DRM music company which folded a few years back and everyone just lost the ability to play stuff...
Do people actually worry about this sort of shit?
you are aware you don't own anything you buy through iTunes?
If Apple goes bust, with those cash reserves, then I think we'll all have more pressing concerns than streaming the last episode of Breaking Bad.
Like the feral mob presently trying to batter down your armoured, barricaded front door, as the rumour has spread through the post-apocalyptic wasteland outside that you've got a tin of Spam
you are aware you don't own anyFTFY
thingmedia you buy through iTunes?any format
Microsoft switched off their player and stopped issuing keys for music, so just killed everyone's players overnight: http://news.cnet.com/8301-10784_3-9926741-7.html
A few more links:
Mrmo and spudly have it. You don't own anything you've paid for on iTunes, you rent it from apple, so in the, unlikely, event they go bust, so will your music/movies.
Apple has more money than the usa.
If apple goes bust, then america probably will as well. Your music and film collection will be the least of your worries.
Topic Closed
This topic has been closed to new replies.


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Blackberry Playbook lovers and users have yernd for a Netflix application since we all heard news of it release. But even after year and a half since the device was released, not to mention the We Want Netflix petition, that to date has received over 5,000 signatures in support of Netflix developing on the Blackberry Platform. Despite all of these efforts in a recent article by TheStar, was informed that the petition "would not change our development plans, which do not include Blackberry at this time."
We want #teamblackberry stand up to Netflix #TeamBlackBerryStands together!


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Bermuda Sea Shells by Nielsen *** RARE ***
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Bermuda Sea Shellsby T. R. A. Nielsen On date of this listing t was only 1 other copy for sale on the Internet at -- $70 My personal copy for years, I've never seen more than 1 or 2 at a time offered for sale. 24-page stapled booklet with 46 b/w photos. No publication date - research shows circa 1960. Printed by the Bermuda Mid-Ocean News, Ltd. The visitor to these islands should be able to collect between forty and fifty different species of shells without undue effort... CONDITION: Science institution stamp on title p. and 1 page inside. Stain on back cover, about 1x1" goes thru to p. or 2 inside. SHIPPING : U.S. -- Via USPS Media, First Class or Priority flat rate envelope with delivery confirmation. Insurance available; rates vary according to final bid amount. International -- Via USPS Priority flat rate envelope or International First Class Air mail depending on size and economy. Both shipping methods have approximately the same transit time. International insurance not available. PAYMENT : U.S. Buyers -- Paypal or USPS money order is preferred ; also accept bank cashier's check and personal checks but shipment will be held for a minimum of 10 business days. Money orders other than USPS are not accepted. International ... read more


text: Lately I've been noticing my Evo won't remember any passwords. For example I will log in on this site and checker the box that says "remember me". But if I leave or close this site and come back later I have to login again. It's been doing that on other sites as well. I noticed that I haven't even been getting the pop up that asks me if I want to remember the password. Any ideas?


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All quotes tagged Relieved
(216 quotes found)
"Definitely, we're relieved. When we first started hearing about his discomfort we were all kind of worried. But the doctors did a great job of finding the problem and getting on top of it."
"We've been here all day yesterday, all last night. So I'm so glad and relieved that it's over. And that nobody got hurt."
"That has definitely had an impact on the market. It relieved some concern -- that was the one thing everyone had been most worried about."
"The attraction from a performance standpoint is that he can do both (start and relieve). Probably more importantly, everywhere we checked, it came back he was our kind of guy. Very good competitor. Good teammate. Takes the ball. Doesn't complain."
"I'm excited to be with the Mets. I can start or relieve. I will try to help manager Willie Randolph however I can."
"Needless to say, we are relieved to know that your local authorities treat such crimes with the seriousness that they deserve."
"I'm kind of relieved it's all over so I can concentrate on my job here. I'm in a great situation. At the end of the day it was a great experience for me. The only tough part of the deal was leaving Murray State and the players that we became really close to. Not being named the head coach - it's not like I'm beating myself up. I understand the situation."
"Such a combination of steps will help relieve pressure from a rebound in investment, increase the sensitivity of the central bank's (monetary) adjustments and reduce the banks' interest income losses."
"I'm just relieved they didn't nominate someone from Wall Street or someone who was more an internal appointment to the Republican Party. They've appointed someone who is very well qualified for the job."


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Online Class
Wire Weaving Bracelets: Basics & Beyond
with Sarah Thompson
Weave up your very own netted collar style necklace using a few simple supplies and this tutorial. You will use what is known in the world of bead weaving as "netting" and a variety of seed beads to create an elegant necklace with a professional finish. If you are new to beading, no worries! This PDF tutorial has clear, close up photos and written instructions with each step that make it easy to learn. Instructions on how to weave in new thread and knot is included. You may sell necklaces made from this tutorial. You shall not distribute or share the tutorial, nor teach a class from this tutorial.


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Women in Asia Need more Equality to Achieve Climate & Poverty Goals
New research released today by the Rights and Resources Initiative (RRI) shows that despite more understanding, more resources, and policy recommendations, women continue to be largely marginalized and ignored or exploited in resource management processes throughout Asia – to the detriment of global climate and poverty reduction goals.
This suite of analyses, released today at the International Workshop on Gender and Forest Tenure in Asia and Collective Forest Tenure Reform in China, demonstrate that exclusion and inequality on gender grounds are still rife and complicated by the intersection of cultural and social norms, economic pressures, and inadequate legal and institutional frameworks. Authors of the studies call for emerging programs and policies to combat climate change or encourage sustainable development to incorporate lessons learned.
This new research links analyses on the status of forest tenure rights and gender rights across South and South East Asia. Today's workshop in Beijing, hosted by the State Forestry Administration's Chinese Academy of Forestry in coordination with RRI and Landesa-RDI, and includes high-level participation from provincial and national government agencies in China, leading experts on gender and forest tenure from throughout Asia and voices from Chinese civil society.
Securing tenure and access rights to natural resources has long been a critical step towards achieving environmental and social justice; however, these issues have again become timely in relation to new forest sector initiatives for mitigation and adaptation to climate change, particularly Reduced Emissions from Deforestation and Degradation (REDD+) strategies and programs, posing a danger that past failures to address gender will only be repeated in the new plans and interventions.
In the last decade, climate change has become more prominent in the global discourse, and the REDD+ agenda is re-invigorating interest in the relationship between gender, on one hand, and forest tenure, governance and enterprise on the other, in order to ensure the success of climate intervention strategies. Without this linkage, Asia is unlikely to achieve the climate and poverty goals to which it has committed.
According to Jeannette Gurung and Abidah Billah Setyowati from Women Organizing for Change in Agriculture and Natural Resource Management (WOCAN), REDD+ can provide significant benefits for countries in Asia if properly designed; however, limited participation by women and other marginalized groups, is a huge problem: "Despite the evidence of women's extensive engagement in forest management, few institutions in the countries studied have incorporated gender into their activities and plans. The current, almost complete neglect of gender issues and women's roles as stakeholders within REDD+ policies, plans and projects globally provides evidence that little has changed in the way that members of the forest sector view these concerns - this is despite the fact that gender equality is currently understood by development practitioners as key to reaching goals for poverty alleviation and human development."
It is not just women that are harmed by their disenfranchisement. According to Cécile Ndjebet, President of The African Women's Network for Community Management of Forests (REFACOF), "If women are left out of the land rights equation, we will see a drastic drop in agricultural production, leading to increasing food insecurity and potential famine. Poverty and displacement will increase, and we will see a drastic rise in conflicts over resource ownership and usage."
Thai woman via Shutterstock.
Read more at EurekAlert.


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Teaford, Royals lean to left against Tigers
Teaford, Royals lean to left against Tigers
DETROIT -- It's not something that manager Ned Yost planned, as the Royals slated three lefties to start this weekend's series against the Tigers.
But as a team, Detroit is batting .275 against right-handers this season and .247 versus lefties. The average against righties is tied for second in the Majors, while the Tigers are ranked 18th against southpaws.
Sunday's Royals starter Everett Teaford said no matter what the numbers are against left-handers, the Tigers have the type of lineup that can do serious damage.
"We feel that it is a good matchup for us to start left-handers, but you still have to executive your pitches," Teaford said. "My game plan is to not get embarrassed, especially when you're going against guys like [Miguel] Cabrera and [Prince] Fielder. I'll have to minimize walks and other freebies and keep guys off the bases."


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Global Technology is working in the medical field in Egypt to provide conventional films, dry films, CRs, dry imagers, Digital mammography machines, US machines and DR cassettes.
Global Technology now is expanding business in medical and non medical fields with new high quality products...
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The pharmaceutical firm, which was already facing accusations of corruption in its consumer business in the country, spoke out after the news agency Reuters published details of an anonymous internal email containing allegations that Syrian doctors were bribed to help boost medicine sales.
The claims in the email - sent last week to top managers including chief executive Sir Andrew Witty - related to the activities of GSK staff and local distributors and is understood to have contained names.
The FTSE 100 company told Sky News: "We have zero tolerance for any kind of unethical behaviour and we welcome people speaking up if they have concerns about alleged misconduct.
"On 6 August 2014, we received an email making claims regarding GSK's pharmaceutical operations and related distributors in Syria.
"All the claims in this email will be thoroughly investigated using internal and external resources as part of our ongoing investigation into operations in Syria.
"We are committed to taking any disciplinary actions resulting from the findings.
"We have suspended our relationship with our distributors in the country pending the outcome of our investigation.
"We remain committed to the secure, humanitarian supply of safe and effective medicines and vaccines to patients in need."
GSK's ethical standards have been called into question amid a series of corruption claims covering China, Lebanon, Iraq, Jordan and Poland.
The most high-profile allegations relate to its operations in China where GSK is alleged to have funnelled hundreds of millions of pounds to doctors and officials.
A new twist emerged in June when GSK confirmed its former top boss in China, Mark Reilly, had been filmed in a covert sex tape prior to the bribery investigation being launched by Chinese officials.
Four China staff members were arrested in July as part of the wider corruption probe while a British man, Peter Humphrey, who had carried out an investigation for GSK in China was jailed last week for breaking privacy laws.
Reuters said the new corruption claims in Syria involved alleged bribes paid to boost sales of various medicines, including ones to treat cancer and to prevent blood clots.
It reported they took the form of cash, trips and free medical samples running into thousands of pounds.
While GSK suspended its consumer business in Syria two years ago because of the country's civil war, it has recorded annual sales of almost £6m.


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Airport Fees Review
Council approved a bylaw amending fees at Kelowna International Airport to compensate for increased costs of operations. Affected fees include fuel fees, landing and terminal fees and vehicle lot parking rates. Hourly and metered parking rates will remain unchanged.
Parking Management Strategy
Council endorsed recommended guiding principles, approved base parking fee adjustments and directed staff to launch Phase 2 of the Parking Management Strategy, including the creation of area plans, beginning with the South Pandosy and Downtown areas.
Ethel Street Active Transportation Corridor
Council supported an application for a $100,000 Cycling Infrastructure Partnerships Program Grant covering a portion of the cycling component of an Active Transportation corridor on Ethel Street and approved moving Phase 1 of the construction (between Harvey and Bernard Avenues) up one year.


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text: This adorable little furball may or may not be joining our house soon photo by AdventuresOfACrazyLab, on Flickr IMG_6555 by AdventuresOfACrazyLab, on Flickr Her mom (VERY pregnant at the time) ventured up to my pastor's house one day and had this little girl not too long after. She is SO adorable! She's around 3-4 weeks now, so it'll be a few more weeks before we take her. Anyways, I really need some name suggestions because I'm drawing a blank! We have a Harleigh and Tigger already, so those are obviously out. (As a side note: we may have a Great Dane joining our household in the future as well. That hasn't been totally confirmed yet and we are still in the planning stages. HOWEVER, if anyone knows of a good Great Dane Rescue please point me to them! Thanks )


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Currently 0.00/512345 Rating: 0.0/5 (Total votes: 0)
Rating: 0.0/5 (Total votes: 0)
What's New in This Release:
· Support for Spring Training games! Earn rewards when your favorite players perform well in practice and exhibition matches!
· You asked. We listened. Auctions can once again be bought-out with Coins instead of Baseballs.
· Additional bonuses for playing with friends.
· Multiple other bug fixes.
What's New in 1.4.4:
· Play as many Dream Seasons as you want! Continue to play beyond the Diamond level to improve your record and roster.
· Improved login functionality.
· Various Bug Fixes and Improvements.
» show more


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CINCINNATI, Dec. 20 (UPI) -- Deciminated by injuries at quarterback, the Cincinnati Bengals brought back Scott Covington on Thursday, signing the third-year pro from Miami to a one-year contract.
Covington was on the Bengals' roster to start the season before being waived on September 10. He played in three games for Cincinnati in 1999, completing four-of-five passes for 23 yards.
Covington could see action as early as Sunday's game at Baltimore.
Jon Kitna has been bothered by a sprained middle finger on his throwing hand and did not start in Sunday's 15-14 loss to the New York Jets. Akili Smith started in his place and suffered a torn hamstring that will sideline him for the season.
Backup Scott Mitchell, another possibility to start this week, strained his rib cage in practice.
In another move, the Bengals placed cornerback Mark Roman on the injured reserve list.
Roman dislocated the middle finger on his right hand in practice Wednesday. A second-year player from Louisiana State, Roman has started the last eight games and played in each contest this season. He has collected an interception and a fumble, and has broken up seven passes.
The Bengals (4-9) have lost six straight games.


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Analysis / From Washington to Gaza to New Zealand
"The strategic defense environment today is completely different," U.S. General James Jones declared recently. The new defense environment is characterized by "enemies that have no territorial base, no borders, no regular military bases," explained Jones, the Supreme Allied Commander, Europe (SACEUR), and the Commander of the United States European Command (COMUSEUCOM).
"The strategic defense environment today is completely different," U.S. General James Jones declared recently.
The new defense environment is characterized by "enemies that have no territorial base, no borders, no regular military bases," explained Jones, the Supreme Allied Commander, Europe (SACEUR), and the Commander of the United States European Command (COMUSEUCOM).
This description fits three security events that occurred in recent hours: the IDF air strike that killed Abdel Aziz Rantisi, the attack yesterday at the Erez Crossing, and the release of the Mossad mishap in New Zealand.
Jones' area of command extends (among other places) to Israel, Syria, and Lebanon. It is possible that after Israel's disengagement from the Gaza Strip, and Gaza's heightened security link with Egypt, it, too, could fall within the theater of the American general's command. The meaning of this switch would not be purely organizational: It would reflect the tightening of U.S.-Israeli cooperation in the war on terror.
The strikes against Hamas leaders are carried out within the context of Israel's policy of disengagement from the Gaza Strip, a plan that has been formulated by Prime Minister Ariel Sharon and which now has U.S. support. As a "plus" to be gained from Israel's disengagement plan, President George Bush has cited the precedent-setting aspect of the evacuation of settlements; as a "minus," Bush administration officials are concerned about the possible strengthening of terror groups, which could gain control of the Gaza Strip after the IDF's departure. Disruption of Hamas' operations might make it easier for Mohammed Dahlan to impose his authority on the Gaza Strip, with American and Egyptian support. Early this month, Israel refrained from attacking Rantisi, around the time of a meeting he held with Dahlan - the IDF exercised restraint, wary both of hurting Dahlan physically, and about possibly compromising Dahlan in the eyes of Palestinians (who might have accused him of complicity in Israel's assassinations policy).
Just under a month ago, Israel assassinated Ahmed Yassin. In contrast to fears that surfaced as Hamas spokesmen vowed reprisals for Yassin's death, the past month was one of the most placid periods since the start of the intifada in September 2000.
Terror strikes originating in the Gaza Strip will continue after the assassination of Hamas leaders, and also after Israel's withdrawal from the area. Based on the assumption that the Erez crossing will be targeted for attacks in the future, the IDF's Southern Command plans to move the Erez terminal to a point more than a mile away from where it is now located.
Recently, millions of shekels were allocated to fortifying security arrangements at the current Erez crossing - but if Sharon's separation plan is approved, this investment will be frozen, and the funds will be used to beef up the new, relocated terminal.
In Washington, Hamas and Hezbollah are considered terror organizations that have unacceptable links in Iran and Syria, and which use these connections to undermine American efforts in Iraq. Last week, U.S. Secretary of State Colin Powell, and other senior U.S. State Department or armed forces spokesmen, stressed the key support Syria gives to terrorists who infiltrate Iraq. American warnings about this subject are designed to set the stage for direct action in Damascus - or perhaps for Israeli action against Hamas leader Khaled Meshal in Damascus, and other militant figures in the city.
The Mossad's embarrassing mishap in New Zealand stands out as a kind of ugly foil to the success enjoyed recently by the IDF, the Shin Bet security service and also Israel's police force in anti-terror operations. This misadventure is part of a series of botched operations in recent years in a number of countries - Switzerland, Germany, Britain, Cyprus. Now, New Zealand is on the list. The latest mishap proves that Mossad chief Meir Dagan, who has been on the job for 18 months, has not found a way to end the chain reaction of flaws in the Mossad system - the problems derive from the quality of personnel, and their performance in the field. In addition, Sharon, like his predecessors in the prime ministerial post, has not succeeded in his supervisory role over the Mossad.
The Mossad, one can assume, does not spy on New Zealand's government. Its agents must have been sent to the country either to keep tabs on elements hostile to Israel that are located in the country, or to develop cover identities for use in some third country.
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At the Hotel Granduca—a luxury, villa-style boutique hotel with 122 suites in Houston, Texas's Galleria area—it's sometimes difficult to book a room during the week.
"Over the past three months, Hotel Granduca has posted the highest occupancy since [it] opened four and a half years ago," says Mary Grace Gray, the hotel's general manager. "Houston is the energy capital of the world, and the rise in oil prices means greater activity for Houston, and many more hotel guests. Also, we're seeing an increase in visitors, particularly from south of the border—Mexico and South America—because of strong currencies such as Brazil's. We expect this surge in business to continue through the rest of the year."
Similar stories are being heard across the United States. "There's no question the hotel sector is on a rebound," says Scott D. Berman, principal and industry leader, Hospitality & Leisure at PwC in Miami, Florida. "In the last 120 days, corporate group business has come back much [more quickly] than expected. That says to me the Fortune 1000 is getting on airplanes not only for client service needs, but also to meet corporate leaders."
Not only that, says Richard C. Conti, president of the Plasencia Group, Inc., in Tampa, Florida, and chair of ULI's Hotel Development Council, the industry's standard measure of health—revenue per available room (RevPAR), which is occupancy times rate—is expected to rise by 7 to 9 percent this year and by double digits in 2012.
"As the recovery in the industry strengthens, hotels have become an attractive sector," Conti says. "Equity funds are back in the marketplace, and real estate investment trusts [REITs] are a big player, putting more money out. They got in early to buy properties at a discount. There [are] a lot of transactions. In 2009, there were $2 billion in hotel transactions, rising to $6 billion in 2010, and transactions are expected to double this year."
Hotel demand is highly correlated to gross domestic product, and as properties boost occupancy, rates increase. "There is virtually no new construction of hotels," Conti explains. "The further good news is that debt has finally come back for acquisitions—but not for new development."
Individuals and companies interested in entering the hospitality industry should study it carefully, says Granduca owner Giorgio Borlenghi. "Partner with someone already in the industry who has built hotels before and has the financial wherewithal to do it again," he advises. "Make sure you absolutely, positively know what product is needed in the location you are pursuing. In some markets, a limited-service property may be needed rather than the luxury hotel you might want to build. Take into consideration the ambience of the hotel and the competition you might face."
In most cases, don't go it alone, emphasizes Conti. "Go with a brand," he advises. "It's very difficult as an independent. Many lenders won't work with you unless you're an established independent like a Kimpton. And don't overleverage. People got into trouble last time because, between debt and mezzanine debt, they overleveraged—sometimes [up to] 90 percent—so there was no room for error if the market hiccupped. Even if you have the opportunity to overleverage the property long term, it is best not to do it."
PwC's Berman urges that extra due diligence be done in preparation for any hospitality transaction. "Spend money on commercial and financial thoroughness," he says. "If you are buying existing assets, 'check under the hood' and make sure the seller is representing the goods accurately, whether inventory or financial figures. Be vigilant."