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The prospect of playing shooting guard for the Lakers sounds prestigious and exciting. But like many things, there is a catch.
For the past 17 years, rookies and veterans alike have discovered that this job requires more than the ability to knock down shots. They also must possess a bucket of patience because playing time is not guaranteed.
That is, not as long as Kobe Bryant can still dribble a basketball.
Jodie Meeks, Andrew Goudelock and Devin Ebanks are the latest young guns who have landed the role of Bryant's understudies. It's a job they relish, desire and, more important, understand.
All three know they never will budge Bryant from his starting spot unless he retires. Bryant recently opened that door when said he might not play beyond his current contract that expires after the 2013-14 season.
But Meeks, Goudelock and Ebanks aren't holding their collective breath. They know not to believe anything until they see Bryant actually walk away. In the meantime, they are doing what they can – sit and learn from the game's best.
"You want to learn from the best and this dude has been on the top of the game, sheesh, for as long as I can remember," Goudelock, 23, said.
Said Meeks: "You just focus on getting better every day. Everybody knows you're not going to take his spot. So for me, it's just an opportunity to learn from one of the best to ever do it."
Meeks is a prolific scorer out of Kentucky who was drafted in the second round by Milwaukee in 2009. Midway through his first season, he was traded to Philadelphia, where he found himself in the starting lineup. In just his second start, Meeks scored 26 points – 20 in the first quarter.
But his meteoric rise crashed and burned, and the next season he found himself back on the 76ers bench. So if he was going to be a backup, why not back up a 15-time All-Star? Meeks signed a two-year free agent deal with the Lakers.
"It's amazing to me to watch, especially like tonight when he gets hot," Meeks said after Bryant scored 31 points in a recent exhibition game. "I just watch and learn on the defensive end and offensive end. I try to take his advice, try to pick his brain so I can try and get better."
That is, if Bryant is in a big-brother mode. Bryant jabbed Meeks repeatedly before a game in Ontario, saying the young player couldn't possibly look good to the coaches because "Jodie has to guard me every … day in practice. … and I've been murdering that dude."
Bryant continued, teasing Meeks about not ever having scored on him.
"Sure he gets the best of me, but I don't back down," Meeks said. "I always try hard."
Goudelock caught Bryant's eye last season and he dubbed the rookie guard "Mini Mamba" because of his fearless shooting, a trait similar to Bryant. Goudelock called it a huge compliment and hoped the moniker would stick.
It didn't. The nickname, Coach Mike Brown's confidence in him and his minutes disappeared as quickly as they appeared. He finished the shortened season averaging 4.4 points and shot 37.3 percent on 3-pointers while averaging in 10 minutes a game.
This exhibition season he averaged 3.8 points in eight minutes a game, taking advantage of three games that Bryant has sat out. He has seen action in six of the eight games.
"I've learned so much from just watching him and how he conducts himself, his demeanor on the court and when things go wrong," Goudelock said of Bryant. "You find out a lot about a player when things are going wrong, their attitude and how they respond to the game.
"I've watched it. How he comes to the bench, how he interacts with other players. He motivates certain guys."
All three said they were awed the first time they saw Bryant on the court, all wearing the same uniform. But that wide-eyed mentality faded as soon as Bryant shot the ball over their heads.
"When you first get here, you get a little shell-shocked, star-struck to see all these guys that you grew up watching, but not now," said Ebanks, who is starting his third season in the league.
"Basketball players are competitive and they try to outdo each other. He's the best, so he brings out the best in you."
Contact the writer: email@example.com


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The Parent Trap: 7 Legendary Artists Who Played CoachellaWe look at a few legends who have graced the hipster-heavy festival and examine how they were received by the audience.
Pixies' 'Ring the Bell' Video: Two Girls Dumpster Dive For '90s Treasures [Premiere]Want to direct a music video for the Pixies? Perhaps, you should record a clip of yourself lip-synching one of the band's songs and hope it goes viral.
Pixies Move On, Sans Kim Deal, With New Song 'Bagboy'In the wake of founding bassist Kim Deal leaving the band, the Pixes have moved on and just released their first song from the post-Deal era.
Priorities: Israeli Fans Ask Prime Minister To Postpone Iran Attacks Until After Madonna Show

subset: commoncrawl


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Microsoft went on the offensive on Valentine's Day, openly accusing rival IBM of trying to subvert Microsoft's efforts to standardise its new document format and in turn destabilise customer choices.
"A lot of hype - and smoke-and-mirrors obfuscation - surrounds interoperability these days," Microsoft wrote in an open letter published on its website.
The letter was authored by Tom Robertson, the general manager for interoperability and standards, and Jean Paoli, general manager for interoperability and XML architecture.
The hype and obfuscation references point squarely at IBM, which was the only Ecma International member to vote 'no' in December to standardising Microsoft's Open XML file format.
Ecma International, an international membership-based standards organization for information and communication systems, approved the standardisation measure.
OpenXML is the default file format in Office 2007, and support has been back ported to Office 2003, Office XP and Office 2000.
After the Ecma vote, Bob Sutor, IBM's vice-president of open source and open standards, wrote on his blog: "The OpenDocument Format ISO standard is vastly superior to the Open XML spec.
"ODF is what the world needs today to drive competition, innovation and lower costs for customers. It is an example of a real open standard versus a vendor-dictated spec that documents proprietary products via XML. ODF is about the future, Open XML is about the past. We voted for the future."
Microsoft is seeking further standardisation of OpenXML through ISO, the International Organization for Standardization, a move that IBM is also contesting.
Microsoft claims its rival has led a campaign to subvert OpenXML standardisation at the ISO and is trying to prevent the format from being judged on its technical merits.
The open letter states: "This campaign to stop even the consideration of Open XML in ISO is a blatant attempt to use the standards process to limit choice in the marketplace for ulterior commercial motives - and without regard for the negative impact on consumer choice and technological innovation."
IBM added more fuel to the fire Monday when it released what it calls the Open Client Solution, an Eclipse-based cross-platform desktop client that features a set of collaboration components including a document editor that supports ODF but not OpenXML.
By Wednesday, Microsoft had heard enough.
"Microsoft has determined that it is important to shine a bright light on IBM's activities that will have a negative impact on the IT industry and customers, including taking concrete steps to prevent customer choice, engaging in hypocrisy, and working against the industry and against customer needs," a company spokesman said via email. "Microsoft will continue to be public in identifying the ways that IBM is trying to prevent customer choice."
In the open letter, Microsoft outlines its work on interoperability issues over the past year, including creation of its Interoperability Executive Customer Council, made up of senior CIOs, and the Interoperability Vendor Alliance, which worked with JBoss and Novell to build interoperability among their products.
On Monday, Microsoft and Novell outlined progress in their relationship in terms of virtualisation technology and integration of an open source translator technology that works between OpenXML and ODF.
That work, however, is drawing heat from more than IBM.
Some open source advocates have gone as far as to call for a boycott of Novell, which said it will include the open-source OpenXML translator in its next version of OpenOffice.
In its letter, Microsoft directly addresses document formats and XML, saying: "We believe that Open XML represents an exciting advance toward achieving the original vision of XML, where broad interoperability allows documents to be archived, restructured, aggregated and re-used in new and dynamic ways."
OpenXML is a departure from historic Microsoft practices with its Office file formats, which it has routinely altered as Office has evolved, creating interoperability issues for users with different versions.
The letter goes on to say that Microsoft's customers, especially in the government sector, prefer an open, standardised document format, and the letter defends the Ecma process that resulted in OpenXML standardisation.
Microsoft uses the letter to focus on the comparison of ODF and OpenMXL, saying, "It is important to recognise that ODF and Open XML were created with very different design goals and that they are only two of many document format standards in use today, each of which has characteristics that are attractive to different users in different scenarios." The letter notes that PDF and HTML also are ISO standard document formats.
Observers do acknowledge that ODF is nowhere near as feature rich as OpenXML.
"ODF from a feature standpoint is supporting a subset of OpenXML; there is a ways to go on ODF," says Chris LeTocq, principal analyst of Guernsey Research. "Even if you are IBM and you are committed to ODF you would also have to support OpenXML if that is what customers ask you to do."


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Columbus (Ohio) Eastmoor safety Ron Tanner picked up three new offers this week from Big Ten Schools. Minnesota offered the 6-foot-1 prospect on Thursday. Michigan State offered on Saturday, and Ohio State jumped into the mix with an offer Sunday.
Tanner attended junior day events at Michigan State and Ohio State this weekend.
"I was excited and pretty surprised about the Ohio State offer," Tanner said. "I went there today for their junior day, we toured the facilities, went to the basketball game. They offered me a full ride. It was pretty exciting."
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Tanner said he had already seen much of what Ohio State put on display Sunday, but his parents got their first inside look at the program.
"We went to the indoor field, the weight room, the training room, and the players' lounge. We also saw the Heisman showcase, which my parents have not seen. They really liked the visit. They grew up Buckeye fans, as did I, and it was exciting for them to see how things work behind the scenes."
Tanner's visit to Michigan State was his first look at the Spartans' program.
"It was kind of a similar atmosphere to Ohio State," Tanner said. "The tour was a bit different. It was a little more individualized at Ohio State. At Michigan State, there were more recruits there, and we split into two big groups. I got to talk to their defensive back coach. They went through how the recruiting process works at Michigan State. I talked to coach [Mark] Dantonio, and they let me know they were going to offer a full ride scholarship."
Tanner gave positive reviews for both trips.
"They were both great," Tanner said. "I haven't seen Michigan State at all, so I did not know what to expect. I have no complaints, it was nice. Both were exciting visits, Michigan Sate was just something new."
Tanner's offer from Minnesota came in before he made his visits.
"They came in an talked to my coach at school, I got the message relayed to me that they were offering a full ride. I have talked to them on the phone, I know they were very excited about me."
Earlier this month, Tanner told Rivals.com that Michigan was his leader.
"I definitely like Michigan a lot," Tanner said. "But now, I have more of an open eye, and I want to look at all of the colleges, and looking at all the colleges as even and try to find what fits me best."


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During a recent discussion of the most recent Retro Review, I mentioned that it was a GOOD book, something that doesn't always occur with the Retro Review process. She pointed out that I'm the idiot in charge of picking the damn things, to which I responded, "Who's scruffy-looking?" Still, the charge is a valid one, and I tried to explain to her that, sometimes, there is as much enjoyment in a completely ludicrous comic book as there is in a really good one. As with the movies of Ed Wood, there comes a point where the quality isn't even an issue anymore, the point where a work becomes so bad, it's almost good. Indeed, many of my favorite characters and comics are just to the right of the line between "fine art" and "dumb joke", and even some of the greatest characters of our shared history are just a little bit goofy around the edges. (See, they're ninjas, but they're also reptiles, right? They fight with archaic weapons and they love pizza!) Ask someone Stephen's or my age about the works of Sid & Marty Krofft sometime, or consider how ridiculous/transcendentally awesome the concept of the Silver Surfer really is…
The MS-QOTD (pronounced, as always, "misquoted") has three words for ya: The. Powerpuff. Girls.
If that doesn't prove the point, nothin' will, asking: What characters best epitomize the point where "ridiculous" and "awesome" intersect?
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Off the top of my head, I'm going to have to go with Squirrel Girl. Because the concept is so dumb, the name is idiotic, and yet the character is so damn enjoyable. She's Luke Cage and Jessica Jones' nanny, yet she's also single-handedly defeated Wolverine, Dr. Doom, and Thanos, among others.
I think it has to be Beta Ray Bill. It's weird to write that because half my brain screams "No! Beta Ray Bill is pure awesome!!!! Not silly! NO."
But he IS an orange horse alien who assumes the powers, abilities and manner of dress of the Swedish god of weather.
Madman is another guy that comes to mind. He makes whiz-bang yo yos philosophical. I've also always had a soft spot for Mr. Tawky Tawny.
Dex-Starr, the Red Lantern who is nothing more than a black cat from Earth who happened to be angry enough to get a ring. Not an alien cat, not an anthro cat, just a black house cat from Earth with a power ring (and can now spit acid blood).
To be honest, a number of Lanterns fit the bill in some way. Rot Lop Fan (who has no concept of color or light so he believes he is not a GL but a member of the F-Sharp Bell Corps), G'nort (the insane dog man), Ch'p (in some incarnations a cartoony anthro squirrel from an alternate timeline of anthro animals), etc. They all sound like they shouldn't work in the same setting as Batman and Superman, but they do (at least they do for many of us that like the characters).
Plastic Man is the same, someone who seems so silly and crazy and shouldn't be in the same setting as the JLA, yet it works for him.
Also, Tribbles from Star Trek, Lepi from Star Wars and pretty much any non-human alien from Farscape. All are so ridiculous yet awesome.
Justice League International. The perfect combination of awesome and ridiculous.
I approach blasphemy here, but a solid handful of the early (pre-Shooter) Legionnaires: Bouncing Boy, Triplicate Girl, Matter Eater Lad, even Dream Girl in terms of overall usefulness. The it-matters-'cause-we-work-together theme and the AWESOME personality upgrade of Nura made it work better in later years, but early on…
No question: Finn and Jake and the characters from "Adventure Time". Completely random and silly but sometimes as funny as an episode of "Squidbillies".
About 80% of the characters in the WWE. Especially the ones in the late 80's-Early 90's. Lest we forget people like Doink the Clown, Tatanka, I.R.S., the Repo Man, the Goobledygooker (I think I spelled that right) and about a hundred other rediculous concepts that were fun to watch beat the crap out of each other.
You mean back when wrestling was actually fun to watch, when they tried to give the wrestlers unique and outlandish personalities, rather than every guy just being a generic 'roid freak?
This entire thread is pointless without mentioning The Stalk from Saga
I like the Wonder Twins. I don't know if they ever got a serious treatment in comics but they fit.the topic here. They are/were ridiculous, but if you look at the overall concept of aliens with limited shapeshifting abilities, it could work. I would read that boo anyway, if the right team was attached.


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Yo bros and uhh brodets. yah that works. My names Chris. I'm from the good old town of Orlando, FL. I think, NO, i KNOW BMX is the greatest sport ever. I'm a chill rider. It don't matter the skill level, as long as you ride, your cool with me. So if ya wanna ride, you... More
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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/Dec. 2-8, 2013/Marketing and SponsorshipPrint All
Lawyer Mark MacDougall runs IMG sale with steady hand
The trial lawyer hasn't sat in a single IMG management meeting. He hasn't met officially with any of the potential IMG buyers. He wasn't even in the country the week KKR dropped its bid for the company.
But when it comes to the sale of IMG, Washington, D.C.-based attorney Mark MacDougall has the most powerful voice in the room.
Photo:COURTESY OF AKIN GUMP STRAUSS HAUER & FELD
MacDougall worked with Forstmann Little's two trustees to determine when the company went on the market. He sat through more than 20 pitches from banks that wanted to handle the sale.
He spurned Goldman Sachs and JPMorgan Chase, banks with whom Forstmann had a close relationship, and instead selected Evercore and Morgan Stanley as the lead banks. And then he backed away, allowing the bankers to deal directly with the buyers and report back to him on the sale's progress.
But it's the perfect reflection of MacDougall, who colleagues and competitors describe as a smart, principled and intense attorney with a reputation for being an aggressive and zealous representative for his clients.
"He's a no-nonsense, fair, good guy to have in your foxhole — I don't care what kind of fight you're in," said Bill Nettles, the U.S. attorney for South Carolina, who worked with MacDougall on several criminal defense cases.
Everything MacDougall's done around IMG has been driven by one mission — to get the highest possible price for the shareholders, which includes everyone from institutional investors like GE and Boeing to former Forstmann Little partners to IMG employees.
"He's doing the right things," said Julian Robertson, the hedge fund pioneer and a member of IMG's board who was named chairman of Forstmann Little after Forstmann's death. "I think the world of Mark MacDougall and I very much respect what Ted Forstmann decided to do [in granting him power of attorney]."
Former ESPN exec Mark Shapiro (top) is working on the William Morris Endeavor/Silver Lake Partners bid. NFL Network CEO Steve Bornstein (below) is with the CVC Capital/Peter Chernin bid.
Photo by:TONY FLOREZ PHOTOGRAPHY
For nearly three decades, Forstmann relied on Steve Fraidin for most of his legal needs. The two did countless deals together, including the acquisition and sale of Gulfstream. But they had a falling out in 2010 around the same time that Forstmann was dealing with a lawsuit that alleged he had gambled on college and pro sports.
Forstmann had met MacDougall more than a decade ago through Bob Strauss, a founding partner of Akin Gump Strauss Hauer & Feld, and had used MacDougall on several minor issues. He hired MacDougall to be his primary lawyer in 2010, and Akin Gump began working on a lawsuit in 2011 filed by the same man who accused Forstmann of betting on sports. (The case is pending.)
Photo by:GETTY IMAGES
It's a specialty that can pay upward of $1 million a case, and a profile in "The American Lawyer" on his work in the area earned him the nickname "The Cleaner."
"Our job is to kill the false story. Not the bad story, which is what a PR guy does," MacDougall told the publication.
MacDougall was not available for comment for this story.
The reputational recovery work is only a small portion of what MacDougall does. He spends most of his time doing corporate litigation. He recently led a lawsuit by Bahrain's state-controlled aluminum company against Alcoa that alleged the U.S. corporation committed fraud and racketeering. It was considered the first claim of alleged bribery by a foreign company in the U.S., and Bahrain's aluminum company secured a settlement valued at $450 million.
MacDougall also does pro bono criminal defense work, primarily in South Carolina, where he's represented several defendants facing the death penalty. Most recently he worked on the capital trial of Earnest Daise in Beaufort, S.C., which in October resulted in the first unanimous life verdict in a South Carolina death penalty case in more than a decade.
"He can see ways that you can't think of that [a case] could play out," Nettles said. "It's not paranoid, but you need to have thought through all the permutations. If 'A' happens, we have a plan. If 'B' happens, we have a plan. He's got the ability to see around corners."
IN THE RUNNING FOR IMGColleen Coyle, who worked with MacDougall at Akin Gump for two decades, said: "If any one of my children were ever in trouble, Mark is the first person I would turn to. As a trial lawyer, he's very aggressive. He really, really defends his clients to the max. He's very bright and has very high principles and expectations of the people he works with."
William Morris Endeavor and
Silver Lake Partners
There's no doubt that WME co-CEO Ari Emanuel wants to push into sports, and sources say he believes IMG is the perfect vehicle to do it. The question is: What does Silver Lake Partners think? The private equity firm has a minority stake in WME and would be the one putting up most of the money for IMG. Former ESPN executive Mark Shapiro is working on their bid.
The Carlyle Group
The private equity fund said last week that it had raised $13 billion for its newest fund, giving it more than enough cash to acquire IMG. It is working with ICM Partners, the movie, TV and literary talent agency. It's unclear what their commitment or vision is for IMG, and some financial sources question their interest, but they stayed in the bid process even after KKR, another finalist, recently dropped out.
CVC Capital and Peter Chernin
The London-based private equity firm, which owns Formula One, was one of the first potential buyers to begin researching IMG. Its interest in the company has been strong, and they have the financial support of Mumtalakat, a Bahrain-based fund, and sports and entertainment expertise of former News Corp. President Peter Chernin. NFL Network CEO and former ESPN Chairman Steve Bornstein also is working on their bid.
MacDougall grew up outside of Boston. His mother was a nurse and his father was a union carpenter. After graduating from Notre Dame, he earned an MBA at Boston University and worked in corporate lending at a bank before going to law school at nights at George Washington University.
IMG will be the first multibillion-dollar sale he's overseen. The company, which was put on the market in August, has three final bid groups: William Morris Endeavor and Silver Lake, The Carlyle Group, and CVC Capital and Peter Chernin (see box).
It is the second asset Forstmann Little has taken to market since Forstmann's death two years ago. It put the fitness chain 24 Hour Fitness up for sale earlier this year. In that process, sources familiar with the process said MacDougall took a hands-off role, allowing Goldman Sachs to lead the sale. Forstmann Little ultimately pulled 24 Hour Fitness off the market when it didn't fetch a sufficient offer.
MacDougall has been more involved in the IMG sale, sources familiar with the process said. He has a distrust of IMG management, according to sources, and challenged IMG Chief Executive Officer Mike Dolan earlier this year after learning of Dolan's unauthorized meetings with potential buyers before the sales process officially began. He's also kept the high-profile advisory board out of the process, a move that many see as a response to former board member Michael Ovitz's alleged attempt to take over IMG in 2011.
"He doesn't dictate the process with the exception of a deep distrust of management," said a source familiar with MacDougall's approach.
But another source said, "He is 100 percent making the decision."
There are parallels between MacDougall's role in making the final decision about the future of IMG and the role Jones Day attorney Michael Horvitz played in the 2004 sale of IMG to Forstmann Little. Horvitz was chairman of the McCormack Family Trust. He let management make presentations and then he negotiated the deal with Forstmann Little after it submitted a winning, $750 million bid.
Nearly a decade later, MacDougall will play the same role. The only difference is he has a much bigger number to hit. This time IMG is expected to go for $2.5 billion or more.
ATP adding Michelob Ultra to U.S. nets
Michelob's branding of the nets at the ATP's 10 U.S. tourneys is seen on a mock-up from the Miami event.
Photo illustration:ATP
Michelob Ultra will replace Corona as the ATP's lead sponsor in the United States next year, putting the low-carb beer brand on the nets at the circuit's 10 U.S. tournaments through 2015.
The deal marks Michelob's first major move into the sport of tennis, expanding on its road racing and golf sponsorships.
Corona remains the ATP's top sponsor outside of the U.S. at the tour's other 51 events. The switch in brands became necessary after the Department of Justice earlier this year required Anheuser-Busch InBev, as part of its purchase of Grupo Modelo, to cede U.S. marketing rights for Corona. Grupo owned Corona.
"This was an opportunity for the ATP to show the flexibility … of our global sponsor program in 31 markets, 30 different countries," said Laurent Delanney, the ATP's CEO of Europe and commercial director.
He added it "is the first time we did it" in splitting the lead sponsor. The ATP first signed Corona as its top global sponsor in 2010, replacing Mercedes-Benz.
FedEx close to new ATP dealThere is no change in the financial structure because Anheuser-Busch InBev inherited the Corona sponsorship when it acquired Grupo Modelo. It chose the switch to Michelob Ultra, though the ATP had a say in which of A-B's brands the beer giant tapped, Delanney said.
The ATP is close to renewing its sponsorship with FedEx Corp., said Laurent Delanny, CEO of ATP Europe and commercial director.
FedEx first signed with the ATP in 2010, paying in the seven figures annually to align with the men's tennis circuit.
The FedEx deal is one notch below lead sponsor, which now will be shared between Corona and Michelob Ultra.
— Daniel Kaplan
"In the U.S., we are pleased to bring Michelob Ultra fans unique access to world-class tennis via the ATP World Tour, and we're looking forward to unveiling our plans soon," Lori Shambro, vice president, Michelob Ultra, said in a statement contained in a release due out today.
In addition to net signage, Michelob gets on-site activation and point-of-sale branding opportunities at the 10 U.S. events.
Michelob Ultra has a smaller presence in the U.S. than Corona, but could be a better fit for tennis. Michelob Ultra controlled 1.8 percent of the U.S. beer market in 2012, compared with 3.4 percent for Corona, according to Beer Marketer's Insights, a trade publication.
That said, Michelob is seen as more upscale than Corona and, combined with Ultra's focus on low-calorie beer, is a better match with the tennis crowd, said Bob Basche, founder and principal of Connect Sports and Entertainment.
"This is a big upgrade for them, quite frankly," he said. "Michelob is an upscale beer in the A-B portfolio. It complements the other sponsorships that Ultra has. It is definitely not an NFL brand. It will work well with tennis."
Michelob currently sponsors the PGA and LPGA tours, and has supported players including Grace Park and Natalie Gulbis. The ATP's Delanney said he did not expect Michelob to sign tennis players to endorsements because the new ATP pact is event focused.
Michelob is also a sponsor of road races, including several marathons. Last month, the beer company announced a deal with U.S. Road Sports & Entertainment to title sponsor what is now called the Michelob Ultra 13.1 Marathon Series.
More than a decade ago, Michelob Ultra sponsored the Pilot Pen women's tennis tournament in New Haven, Conn. That is believed to be Michelob Ultra's only previous sponsorship of professional tennis.
Cross-licensing, niches take spotlight for MLB
After a fiscal year in which licensed sales were flat, MLB is looking to niche areas for growth.
MLB consumer products chief Howard Smith said sales of Red Sox championship gear were comparable to the team's last championship in 2007, getting the fiscal year off to a nice start.
MLB hair bows from USA Licensed Bows
Photo by:MLB
Having a retailer as large as Dick's Sporting Goods based near Pittsburgh doesn't hurt, but now Smith is wondering if the Pirates are ready to make a jump to more of a national brand. "On-field success after so long and stars like Andrew McCutchen really made a difference," he said.
At the licensing show during the recent MLB Industry Meetings, MLB was showing a number of cross-licenses, where more than one license is used on a product. A Hello Kitty line of apparel and hard goods, which was tested last season with some West Coast MLB teams, is being expanded to a full MLB license. "If there is something in pop culture that allows me to offer fans a different way to connect with baseball, we're going do it," Smith said.
A cross-license with the "Peanuts" comic-strip characters also is being developed as a tie-in to the 2014 MLB All-Star Game, which will be played in Minneapolis, where "Peanuts" creator Charles Schultz was born. The city of St. Paul has held "Peanuts on Parade" tributes since 2000 and a similar one is being planned for 2014 to celebrate the All-Star Game with co-branded "Peanuts" character statues and other products.
Under Armour has not shown great passion for the licensed sports business, but MLB has found a way to capitalize on the brand's still surging popularity through a deal to combine marks with longtime apparel baseball licensee Gear For Sport. Smith said the deal was not complete; however, industry sources said the products to be sold online and at MLB venues will include T-shirts, fleece, hoodies and golf shirts, items already manufactured by MLB partners.
Other new products displayed at the meetings included high-end, MLB-logoed boots from Eastland, and a variety of women's jewelry and accessories, among them licensed MLB hair bows from USA Licensed Bows.
Execs still looking to media rights as engine for growth
"None of us know when this bubble will burst," said Rich Gotham, president of the Boston Celtics, who in 2011 completed a 20-year rights deal with Comcast that included an equity stake in the Comcast SportsNet New England RSN.
Industry confidence on continued rights-fee inflation is so institutionalized that it has created a scenario wherein the tail of rights fee escalation is wagging the dog of pro team ownership.
"You've got groups buying pro teams now because they like what they see as the future of their media rights," said Andrew Kline, founder and managing partner of sports investment banking practice Park Lane.
"Our growth's going to continue to come from media," said Torrey Galida, COO of Richard Childress Racing. "NASCAR's first network TV deal back in 2001 was responsible for a huge amount of growth within the sport. … As Fox and NBC really focus on NASCAR as a premier property for their cable sports channels, that will help us grow and reach a broader fan base."
Fox Sports' Larry Jones: "Now the challenge is to turn those rights into profits."
Photo by:TERRY LEFTON / STAFF
"What keeps me up at night," said Larry Jones, Fox Sports Media Group executive vice president, "is how we are going to monetize all these huge rights fees and deals we've done over the last five years. Now the challenge is to turn those rights into profit."
Others said the outlook for the overall cable industry was of more concern to them than whether the sports rights fees gravy train will ever slow.
"As long as the [overall] cable industry remains viable and healthy, the sports industry will do increasingly better," said YES Network President and CEO Tracy Dolgin. "We are the engine driving industry growth. The health of the cable industry worries me more than the sports part of the cable industry."
Threats of cord-cutting and, to an even greater extent, a la carte pricing were cast as industry villains by cable execs already anxious about affordability.
"It's not whether or not people think it [cable TV] is a valuable asset," said David Preschlack, executive vice president of affiliate sales and marketing for Disney and ESPN Networks Group. "It's whether or not people can afford it. The lowest quintile of [annual income earners] in this country makes less than $10,000 a year. When they are faced with a $60 or $70 monthly cable bill, it's not that they don't want to buy, it's just not feasible. … Within that lowest quintile are some of the best consumers of our products. That's a scary thought as the income divide grows."
> PEACETIME EFFORTS: With long-term collective-bargaining agreements at top sports properties ensuring no lockouts or strikes for the foreseeable future, the top execs representing athletes and management were asked what issues were paramount during this period of "unprecedented peace." (The current MLB CBA expires after the 2016 season, the NFL's ends in 2020, the NBA's new CBA expires after the 2021 season and the NHL's expires after the 2021-22 season).
"The perception of peace" is dangerous for unions, the NFLPA's George Atallah said.
Photo by:TERRY LEFTON / STAFF
George Atallah, NFLPA executive director of external affairs, said "the perception of peace for any labor union is actually pretty dangerous." Atallah said the NFLPA's most pressing issues are health and safety concerns, including new protocols for injured players returning to play and testing for HGH. He said that while there is an agreement in principle with the NFL on testing for HGH and the disciplinary process around that, commissioner discipline in those cases remains a sticky issue. "If a player without a positive test is disciplined by the commissioner, players believe that should go to a neutral arbitrator," he said. "The NFL believes that should go back to the commissioner."
Until that issue is resolved, HGH testing in the NFL is unlikely.
Joel Litvin, NBA president of league operations, forecast no changes in the league's labor-management dynamic when Adam Silver becomes commissioner next year, since Silver was chief negotiator during the last CBA "and he's been glued to [Commissioner David Stern's] hip for many, many years." On the other hand, "It has been difficult to do business with the union because of their vacancy at the executive director level, but they are in the process of a search." Billy Hunter was ousted as the NBPA's executive director in February.
Terry Lefton can be reached at firstname.lastname@example.com.


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With only thirty-two pages left to read, I had to put Elizabeth Ruth's novel Matadora aside. Life happened and commitments and interruptions were distracting me from a good read. The writing is excellent−descriptions poetically detailed. I was transported in time to a place where dust tickled my throat and my breath quickened at the snorting of bulls in their pens. Yes, I was enjoying the book too much to rush through the ending. That's strange coming from me−the one who impatiently flips to the last chapter because I just NEED to know the ending NOW. Shameful to admit, but I've even read the last chapter first. Just sometimes.
I cured myself of these habits, or maybe my readers cured me. 'Were you shocked to learn that the killer was her deranged father??' 'No,' he said, 'actually, I accidentally read the last few paragraphs of the story first.' Arrggghhhh! Serves me right, though. So, out of deference to the author, I no longer spoil the rhythm and pace of a well-written book.
Though crime/suspense is my favourite read, Matadora, published by Cormorant Books, is not of that genre. Something else that sets it apart from my 'go to' books is the setting−Spain and Mexico. Foreign settings are not usually favoured by me. So why am I reading it, you ask.
|Elizabeth Ruth, Author
I had the pleasure of dining with the author of Matadora, Elizabeth Ruth, at the Eden Mills Writers' Festival. My first impression was of a woman impeccably groomed, cool and confident, possessing an air of graciousness. In reading Ruth's novel, I recognized the same proud carriage and qualities in her main character Luna, the courageous Matadora. Fleetingly, I wondered if Elizabeth Ruth always possessed these characteristics and passed them on to her protaganist, or whether Luna instilled them in her creator. I'm getting ahead of myself though.
At dinner, Elizabeth Ruth asked me what I liked to read. I need a good story, I told her. Even when the writing is great, the book is a disappointment if the story is lacking. She reached into her bag saying, this is a good story. She handed me her copy of her latest novel. Fortunately, I was immediately impressed. Can you imagine if I thought the cover was boring and the storyline sucked? I'd never make a good poker player. So it was with relief (for both of us) that I was immediately intrigued. I love character driven stories and I correctly suspected the 1930s story of a young female bullfighter would be filled with passion and courage. The enthusiastic testimonials on the book cover cinched it for me. I'd be ordering this book when I returned home. I couldn't wait to read it. Which brings me full circle.
Thirty-two pages to go. The house to myself, a hot cup of Tetley, a warm fireplace, and Elizabeth Ruth's Matadora...


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106 E Public Square
Scottsville, KY 42164
For comfortable tooth cleaning in the Scottsville, Kentucky area, Dr. Frank Duncan is known for having a gentle touch. The friendly team at Frank L. Duncan, D.D.S provides dental hygiene treatments for a whiter smile.
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A negative self image can be detrimental to many facets of your life. Scottsville area dentist Dr. Frank Duncan understands the positive life-changing power that a healthy and beautiful smile can bring to you. Here at Frank L. Duncan, D.D.S, we don't want you to be embarrassed any longer. Why not take your smile - and even your life - to a new level of self-confidence and beauty?
Most major credit cards are accepted at Frank L. Duncan, D.D.S in the Scottsville area. Types of cards accepted include Visa, MasterCard, and Discover Card.
For comfortable dental hygiene treatment in the Scottsville, Kentucky area, Dr. Frank Duncan is known for having a gentle touch. The friendly team at Frank L. Duncan, D.D.S provides teeth cleaning for a whiter smile.
Maintaining good dental hygiene is the foundation for healthy teeth and gums. We're committed to helping you have a lifetime of oral health.
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Vicky Levene D.D.S. DMD P.C
7420 Westport Rd
Louisville, KY, 40222
Springhurst Endodontics
3801 Springhurst Blvd
Louisville, KY, 40241-6137
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7980 New La Grange Rd # 2
Louisville, KY, 40222-4767
Cosmetic dentistry is everywhere these days.
With new materials, especially dental "superglues," we're reshaping teeth, filling gaps between teeth, restoring broken teeth, replacing missing teeth, placing lighter braces. The technique is called dental bonding, and the aesthetic result is wonderful.
But it's not forever.
The American Dental Association puts the life of tooth bonding materials at about five years. This may be a conservative estimate, but there will come a time when a bond needs attention.
In general, if you treat a bonded tooth like your other teeth, you'll keep your dental restoration intact longer. Lax home care habits or the wrong foods can hasten wear and tear.
So go easy. If your tooth restoration is brand new, or years old and still flawless, keep smiling. With care, we've seen dental bonding last a long, long time.
Here are some reminders to help lengthen the life of your dental restoration.
Everyone knows Mona Lisa's smile, but who knows what she meant by it?
Psychologists tell us that, in our ancient past, a smile was a gesture of appeasement. They also believe that, to modern man, a smile signals many different messages - recognition, sympathy, apology, lessening of tension, confusion, embarrassment, doubt, joy, delight. A smile, social observers agree, is a mask behind which we can hide our true feelings.
This mask is a complex gesture. First the corners of the lips curl upward. Then, as the smile grows, front teeth are exposed. In our culture we consider people with glistening white teeth and a beautiful smile to be "good" people. Bad teeth, on the other hand, tend to distort the smile "message" because, curiously, we subconsciously judge others by their teeth.
Some people believe that teeth are a more important element of beauty than the eyes.
Have you noticed that, in the movies and on TV, the "good guys" never have broken teeth or a missing tooth? The "bad guys" almost always do.
Nearly all dentistry affects our appearance, and our appearance affects our sense of personal worth. Among the many things that a cosmetic dentist can do to give you a beautiful smile are:
So … cosmetic dentists are scientists, clinicians, artists and image-makers!


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Come walk, raise money for kidney foundation
The National Kidney Foundation is raising money for the West Texas area with a Walk Kickoff Party from 11 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. today starting at Fuddruckers, 5501 Slide Road. Individuals or teams may walk, and registration starts at 11 a.m.
For more information, call 799-7753.
Kids learn about fairy tales through crafts
Children can learn about fairy tales through crafts and stories during a four-week class that begins Friday at Hodges Center, 4011 University Ave.
The class, which costs $10, will meet 10-10:45 a.m. on Fridays. It is for ages 3 to 5. To register, call 767-3706.
Painters invited to enter art show at park
Park officials and volunteers are issuing the second call for participants for the Annual Summer Art Exhibition at Cooper Breaks State Park. This year's show will open with an informal reception from 5 to 6:30 p.m. Saturday. The show ends Aug. 17. This year's exhibition will be painted art.
Anyone interested in showing paintings is asked to select five pieces and that are ready to hang. For more information, call 940-839-4331.
Learn ballroom dancing at Maxey Community Center
Maxey Community Center will begin a four-week ballroom dance class July 28. Students will meet at 6:45 p.m. Mondays or Wednesdays at the center, 4020 30th St. The cost is $20. To register, call 767-3796.
© 2017. All Rights Reserved. | Contact Us


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Eyeglasses shopping in Tampa offers you a wide variety to choose from including designer frames from great companies and cool vintage eye wear from all age. Many optical stores in Tampa also offer other eye facilities such as eye exams and contact lenses fitting. If you are not new in Tampa it is fun to go round in different eyeglasses shops and compare prices and frame designs before settling for the best. You can also shop in more popular stores if you are a visitor.
Prescription eyeglasses in Tampa
If you have your correct prescription and PD measurement from your optician you can buy prescription eye wear almost anywhere in Tampa. Most shops offer facilities for fixing prescription lenses on sunglasses if you have an eye problem. Alternatively you can make a one stop shopping in eyeglasses shops that offer eye examinations and eye check ups. The only difficulty you might encounter in this case is that you have to book an appointment which sometimes takes time depending on the optical store. Eye Doctors Of New Tampa (19062 Bruce B Downs Blvd.Tampa, FL 33647) offer eye exams, consultancy facilities and a variety of designer eyeglasses frames including Dolce & Gabana, Nike and Vera Wang. You can also shop for prescription glasses at Eye Wear Designs by Frances (3401 Henderson Blvd, Tampa, FL 33609).
Designer sunglasses in Tampa
Eyeglasses brands you will easily find in Tampa include Ray Ban, Dolce & Gabana, police, Vera Wang and Cazal among others. Designer sunglasses are also available in both optical stores and some boutiques. Places where you can get designer eye wear include Disston Optical (3435 49th Street North- St. Petersburg, FL 33710), Visionworks (Tampa, FL – South Dale Mabry Hwy) and Eye Wear Designs by Frances (3401 Henderson Blvd, Tampa, FL 33609). Designer sports eye wear is also readily available in Tampa. Visionworks is also good for kids eye wear.
Vintage eye wear in Tampa
The best places for buying vintage eye wear in Tampa are mainly in boutiques because they have wide variety of unique pieces that you probably wouldn't come by that easily. Sherry's YesterDaze (5207 North Florida Avenue- Tampa, FL 33603) for instance has vintage eye wear and other vintage accessories and clothes as well. Some optical stores also have a few pairs of vintage sunglasses. The other option fro buying vintage eyeglasses in Tampa would be online. You can try VintageSunglassesshop.com or eyeglasses.com.


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Enjoy amazing spots like Aka renga, Landmark Tower in a day
Access from Haneda Airport to Central Tokyo
Basic information for travelers getting around from Tokyo's Haneda International Airport.
2017-09-28 10:39:00
Located in over 20,000 spots throughout Japan - How to withdraw cash at convenience stores
Introducing helpful convenience store services that can save you when you run out of cash in Japan.
2017-09-28 10:39:00
Access from Narita Airport to Central Tokyo
Basic information for travelers getting around from Narita International Airport located in Chiba.
2017-09-26 10:39:00
Tax Refund: Rules and Procedure
Vital information about duty free goods for shoppers!
2017-08-30 10:39:00
Coming to Japan? Learn about Japanese Currency and Taxes before your trip!
Before your departure learn about important information concerning the Japanese yen.
2017-08-30 10:39:00
Great accommodations to experience an authentic Japanese atmosphere and hospitality
Introducing quality accomodations for those who want to get the most out of their stay in Japan.
2017-08-30 10:39:00


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Sabina Coyne
Found 10 Records, 10 Photos and 101,183 Family Trees
Born in Clonrane Ballindine, Mayo, Ireland on 1902. Sabina married Andrew J Lynch and had 6 children. She passed away on 1983 in Middleton, Cork, Ireland.
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Simply start with yourself and we'll do the searching for you.
Potential photos and documents for Sabina CoyneView All 10 Images
Top record matches for Sabina Coyne
Surname meaning for "Coyne"
Irish: Anglicized form of Gaelic'descendant of Cuán', a byname from a diminutive of cú 'hound', 'dog'.


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(Archived document, may contain errors) Parental Choice in Education: Forecasting the Impact By Clifford F. Thies This year, approximately one million petition signatures have been gathered to place ballot initia- tives before voters in Colorado and in California to extend financial aid to parents who send their children to private and religious schools, and who home - school their children. 1 These initiatives rep- resent merely the latest efforts of a nationwide, grassroots movement to gain for parents in America a right enjoyed by parents in almost every other industrial democracy, namely, control of their children's education. In Germany, Japan, England, and France, in Belgium, Holland, Canada, and Australia, in the emerging democracies of the Hispanic world, the Pacific rim, and the former Soviet empire, govern- ments respect the responsibility of parents for their c hildren, and do not demand that parents pay twice, once in taxes and again in tuition, to exercise this responsibility. Article 42 of the constitution of the Republ 'ic of Ireland declares the family to be the "natural edu- cator" of the child, and "guara n tees to respect the inalienable right and duty of parents to educate their children." Article 23 of the Dutch constitution guarantees government funding on an equal basis for all schools chosen by parents meeting regulatory standards. The Alberta Act of 1 9 05, whereby that province joined the Canadian confederation, established a right to Catholic or Protestant schools with funding equal to that provided to public schools. Article 27 of the Spanish constitution guarantees the freedom of parents to choose th e religious and moral education of their children, and defines the financial obligations of the government with regard to the same. In addition to being incorporated into numerous national and state constitutions, parental choice in education has been incl u ded in several international agreements. The United Nations' Universal Declaration on Human Rights, for example, clearly states that "parents have a prior right to choose the Idnd of education that shall be given to their children." These commitments to p a rental choice in education sound, and are in fact, idealistic. However, the truth is that, throughout the world, this right has been won the way every civil right has been won, through years, even generations of struggle, through perseverance in the face of frustration, through the consolidation of initially small victories, and ultimately by appealing to people on the basis of justice. And so it will be in the United States.
Clifford F. Tbies is a Bradley Resident Scholar at The Heritage Foundation, on lea ve from Shenandoah University where he is the Durell Professor of Money, Banking and Finance. He spoke at The Heritage Foundation on October 29, 1992. ISSN 0272-1155. 0 1993 by The Heritage Foundation.1 Editor's note: On November 3, 1992, the Colorado p arental choice initiative was defeated, as was a sales tax increase to finance public schools. Supporters of parental choice in that state plan to follow up in the legislature, or with a more carefully focused citizen initiative, with an emphasis on minim izing the potential cost to the taxpayer. The California parental choice initiativewill appear on the Spring 1994 ballot.
We are today in the second great campaign in the United States to gain parental choice in educa- tion. The first great campaign occu rred during the 1960s and early 1970s. Limited support of paren- tal choice was in fact obtained in several states. In New York, Pennsylvania, and Rhode Island, laws were passed providing financial support for private schooling, including per capita grant s and tax re- lieL Additional support included provision of textbooks, transportation and other services, such as the administration of state-mandated examinations. This first great campaign to gain parental choice in education was defeated by a series of U .S. Su- preme Court decisions that were desig !nIed to establish, in Jystice Hugo Black's words, a "high and impregnable, wall of separation between church and state. Toward the late 1970s, momentum gathered for a second great campaign to gain parental ch o ice. This is the campaign in which we are now engaged. Part of this second great campaign has been a reconfiguration of the Supreme Court. In 1983, the Court upheld, by a 5-4 vote, an income tax deduction allowed by the state of Minnesota for expendi- tur e s incurred for elementary and secondary education, including education at religious schools.3 The stated reasons for allowing the deduction were 1) that the expenditures qualified whether in- curred at public as well as private schools, thus evidencing th a t a public interest, as opposed to a pri- vate, religious interest was being served; and 2) that the financial assistance was given to parents, and not to religious schools directly, therefore not entangling church and state. We might also note that Presi d ent Reagan's initial appointees to the Court helped to form the one- vote majority for this particular decision. His subsequent appointees, and President Bush's ap- pointees, have since consolidated this new majority. Another contributing factor to thispe c ond great campaign has been the undermining of our public schools through their transformation from locally controlled and financed schools that reflected community values, to increasingly politicized, bureaucratized, and equalized schools. Our public sch o ols used to be schools of choice. There were some obvious exceptions. In the South, the dual school system assigned children to schools on the basis of skin color. In the North, majority control of public schools alienated the Catholic minority. But for w h ite Protestants, and be- cause of local control and finance, the decision of where to live involved an election of which schools your children would attend. Ironically, the same crusade against religion that defeated the first great campaign for private s chool choice also undermined popular support for public schools. The overwhelming majority of2 7he reference is to Everson v. Board ofEducation, 330 U.S. 1 (1947), which dealt with the provision of transportation services to children attending private kc hools in New Jersey. Although allowed, on a 54 vote, the majority argued that state aid to private schools could go no further. That is, the provision of other services offered children attending public students on a non-discriminatory basis to children a t tending private schools would be presumed to be, unconstitutional if these private, schools taught religion. In Lenton v. Kurtznwn and Earley v. DiCenso, 403 U.S. 602 (197 1), the Court declared Pennsylvania's and Rhode Island's financial support of priva t e schools unconstitutional, even though restricted to expenses incurred in the teaching of secular subjects, arguing that the restrictions would require continuing surveillance to insure against diversion of funds to the teaching of religion, and that suc h surveillance would excessively entangle church and state. In Conunitteefor Public Education and Religious Liberty v. Nyquist, 413 U.S. 756 (1973), the Court declared New York's tuition grants for poorer families and tax credits for wealthier unconstituti onal because the funds in both cases went to schools whose primary mission was religious education. 3 Mueller v. Allen, 103 S. CL 3062 (1983).
2parents want their children to be taught,religion. This desire was more or less adequately met by the teaching of a non-denominational form of Christianity in the public schools. But with Justice Black's "high and impregnable" wall of separation, all references to ma i nstream religious beliefs have been removed from the public schools, and have been replaced by what has been described as the "false neutrality" of the complete absence of religion. Not only is the complete absence of religion unsatisfactory to many paren t s, but a variety of be- liefs objectionable to many parents have made their way into public schools, such as sex education that seems to endorse promiscuity. As a result, parental choice in education is no longer a Catholic versus non-Catholic issue, but a religious versus non-religious issue, or perhaps I should say a tradi- tional, conservative values versus contemporary, liberal values issue. A generation ago, public schools were administered on a very decentralized basis. But school dis- trict consolid a tion, cross-town busing, state mandates and control of teachers, textbooks, and curric- ulum, and a variety of schemes to equalize funding, have effectively turned public schools into instruments of state, as opposed to local, government. This has made lo c al public schools less able to reflect community preferences. Let's examine school funding equaliiatiom, Through the 1960s, public schools were funded pri- marily by local property taxes. This meant that public schools in poorer districts-central cities a n d rural areas-were funded at low levels. To be sure, state aid to school districts effectively estab- lished a floor, or minimum level of financing, below which funding would not fall. But public schools in wealthier districts-i.e., the suburbs-were funde d at higher, often much higher levels. If you wanted your child to attend a good public school, you had a choice. Were you willing to re- locate to a political subdivision with good public schools? Were you willing to buy an expensive home in an exclusive s uburb, and pay the higher taxes needed to finance good public schools? Since the 1960s, however, states have implemented a variety of schemes to reduce the variation in the financing of public schools. In a number of states, state funds are distributed to school districts in order to offset variation in local property taxes. Texas just recently implemented an equalization scheme whereby wealthier school districts will have to share their tax revenues with poorer districts. As a result of equalization and o t her state controls of local public schools, the public school sys- tem can no longer be as responsive to variation in the demand for education. To be sure, this has not yet become a significant part of the cam aign for parental choice in education, but I believe that it has that potential. ts.p Popular Support for Parental Choice In Education In the last year, popular support for parental choice in education has increased dramatically. Dur- ing the 1980s, the Gallup Organization found that from 43 to 51 pe rcent of Americans supported vouchers that could be used at "any public, parochial or private school." While not always an out- right majority, support always exceeded opposition. But, this year, the Gallup Organization found that 70 percent favored vouch e rs, only 27 percent opposed. This finding is verified by a Business WeekHarris Poll that showed that 69 percent fa- vored vouchers, and by a survey of African Americans conducted for the Joint Center for Political and Economic Studies that found 88 percen t support. A survey conducted by Florida State University found that 63 percent supported parental choice, and a survey conducted for the Wisconsin Policy Research Institute found that 70 percent of Wiscon- sins supported parental choice.
3Consistentl y, parental choice in education is found to be most favored by the poor, by minorities, and by residents of central cities. At this point, I should comment on the poll recently released by the Carnegie Foundation. In this survey, people were asked if vouc h ers should be used to enable a child to attend "a private school at public expense." Let me ask for a show of hands. How many of you would support vouchers for all schools, pub- lic, private and religious. Okay, how many of you would support vouchers only for private schools? Is there any surprise that the Carnegie Foundation found that only 32 percent favored vouchers for only private schools? In fact, a number of surveys, including ones conducted by the Gallup Orga- nization, have demonstrated that while Ameticans support vouchers for all schools they oppose vouchers only for private schools. Americans believe that public money should benefit all children; not the few (those who attend private school) nor even the many (those who attend public schools), b u t all. And, in particular, that every child should have at least a decent education, including children in central cities where public schools not only fail their education function, but aren't even safe; and including children of parents whose deeply hel d religious views make secularized public schools an unacceptable choice.
Cost to the Taxpayer Both the Colorado and California parental choice proposals involve extending vouchers to parents whose children attend private or religious schools, or who are home-schooled, which would be worth up to half the cost of educating a child in the local public school district. If such a plan were to be implemented, what would be its cost? The education establishment has only looked at the cost of extending financial aid to children cur- rently in private or religious schools, or being home-schooled. They give no consideration to the fact that some children who would attend public school would switch to the private sector if finan- cial support were forthcoming. The p o tential savings from reduced public school enrollments are ig- nored. This a static, fixed-pie view of the world. What else would you expect from economists employed by the education establishment? In California, the Legislative Analyst Office forecasts t h at the cost of that state's parental choice proposal would be $1.7 billion on the assumption that all 650,000 students currently in private or re- ligious schools, or being home-schooled, would redeem the proposed voucher at a value of $2,600 each. Not on e student in a public school would switch to a private or religious school, or to home- schooling. In Colorado, the Office of State Planning and Budgeting forecasted a cost of $195 million, on the assumption that 65,000 students currently in private or rel i gious schools, or being home-schooled, would redeem the proposed vouchers at a value of $3,000 each. Again, not one student in a public school would switch to a private or religious school, or to home-schooling. Economic theory, the experience with pareri a l choice in other industrial democracies, the experi- ence in the United States in higher education, one after another survey of parents' willingness to switch upon being offered education vouchers, Wisconsin's demonstration project in Milwaukee, and priv a te demonstration projects in Indianapolis, Indiana, Atlanta, Georgia, and elsewhere, all argue that the assumption that not one student would switch is wrong. Some children will certainly switch to private and religious schools, and to home-schooling. The questions are how many, and how fast.4
But, for a moment, let's ignore the potential savings of parental choice in education. What if not one student were to switch? The forecasts of the education establishment say that public funding for education wou ld have to be increased by something like 4 percent. Would this be too high a price to pay for fairness in educational funding, so that parents with strongly held religious views need not be forced to pay twice for education, once in taxes, and again in t u ition? Would this be too high a price to pay to insure that every American child, including those in our central cities, would have access to a good school, a safe school, a school where teachers send their own students? When you think of it this way, eve n if parental choice in education were to increase public fund- ing for education by a small amount, it would be money well spent. But it's obvious that parental choice will save tax money, not increase the costs of education borne by the taxpayer. Let's r e view the world of evidence regarding the responsiveness of primary and secondary school enrollment to economic incentives. First, let's look at public-private choice in other industrial de- mocracies. International comparisons are difficult to make becaus e of differences in the meaning of "public schools," because some public schools teach religion and others don't, and because of varia- tion in the level of financial support given private and religious schools. At one extreme, there is The Netherlands whe r e over 70 percent of the children attend indepen- dent schools, most of them being either Protestant or Catholic. The reasons why the private sector is so large in this country are: 1) that public schools are secularized; and 2) full funding is provided s c hools in the private sector. Most comparable to the Colorado and California parental choice plans are Australia, France, and the United Kingdom. In these countries, the public schools are more or less secular, and only partial support is given to private a nd religious schools. The sizes of the private sectors of these countries are given in @T table on the following page as 22 percent, 15 percent, and 26 percent, for an average of 21 percent. This average suggests that, with their proposed parental plans, t he private sector would more than double in Colorado and California. Therefore, the cost of extending financial aid to children in pri- vate and religious schools, and being home-schooled, would be more than offset by the savings that would accrue from th e transfer of children from the public sector to the private sector. Next, let's look at survey data. Parents of public school children indicate that, if they are given vouchers, transfers to the private sector may bi much higher. A 1982 survey conducted f o r the U.S. Department of Education found that from 23.5 percent to 44.6 percent of parents of public school children would be "very likely" or "somewhat likely" to transfer them to private and religious schools, depending on the size of the voucher. A 198 6 Gallup Organization survey found that a modest voucher would induce 27 percent of par- ents of public school children to transfer their children to private and religious schools. A recent poll conducted by the Reason Foundation of parents of public schoo l students in the Los Angeles school district found that 52 percent would take advantage of that state's proposed voucher. In Wisconsin, up to 53.4 percent would send their children to private or religious schools if it didn't cost them anything extra. Eve n the Carnegie Foundation survey, which must be considered4 In recent years the private sectors have grown in these countries, so the current average would be lager.
5suspect, found that 19 Parental Choice in Education in Selected Countries percent of parents of public school children Status of Religion Support for Students would transfer them to In Private Attending Plvate private schools. Public Schools Schools Schools These surveys indicate Australia Secular Partial 22% that the private sector Belgi u m Christian Full 51% /2 would at least double, Canada Varies Varies 50. and more probably triple France Secular Partial 15% in size with the im- plementation of a Colo- Oermany:. Christian Varies 1%,49/6 rado or California-type Ireland Christian Full 20%, 5 00/, voucher plan. Instead of Japan Secular -3 1%,280/c increasing the taxes re- Netherlands Secular Full 71% quired for primary and secondary education, United Kingdom Secular Partial 200/64 these proposals would United States Secular None 9% more Probab l y reduce I If two numbers, students in primary then secondary schools. the taxes required, and 2 Plus additonal students in "separate" public schools. certainly would not in 3 Partial support for senior high schools only. - 4 Plus 6 percent in non-support e d private schools. crease the taxes required. Source: 1988 World Education Encyclopedia. And, yet, while the cost of education borne by the taxpayer would probably go down, the total amount spent on educa- tion-public money plus private tuition-would cert a inly go up. This is because, with more variety, quality in the eyes of the customer will go up. With higher quality, people's willingness to spend on education will go up. To quantify the potential impact of parental choice in education, I developed a sim u lation model in which parents of varying incomes, and with varying preferences for private and religious educa- tion, with varying qualities of local public schools, and with versus without vouchers, choose be- tween public and private schools. I tried to make the parameters of the simulation model realistic, but of course there's no guarantee that the forecasts of the model will prove to be precise. The model's purpose is to illustrate what could happen with parental choice. With vouchers equal to half th e money spent per student in local public schools, my simulation model predicts that the cost of education borne by the taxpayer, including the cost of public schools and of the vouchers redeemed by those attending private and religious schools, will decre a se by 14 percent; and that the total spent on education, including public money and private tuition, will go up by 7 percent. These results reflect the responsiveness of private and religious school choice due to the change in economic incentives effected by the introduction of vouchers. How will these changes in enrollment come about? Will there be a massive and disruptive re-reg- istration of students currently enrolled in public schools? In some particularly awful public school districts this might happ e n. But if public schools are so bad that parents would-after their children have already begun their education-withdraw them from public schools and re-register them in private and religious schools, then it's about time that happens. But, by and large, p u blic schools are not so bad that parents would disrupt the education of their children that have already begun their education. Besides, unless the education establishment were to embrace the concept of re-chartering public schools, there are physical lim itations to quick expan- 6
sion of the private sector. The shift to private and religious schools will basically occur slowly over time, and in the absorption of growth by the private sector. This, in fact, has been the experience, in other countries. I n Holland, initial, partial support of par- ental choice in education was obtaine@d in 1889; and full support was obtained in 1920. These changes coincided with long-term, year-by-year growth of the private sector. From 1890 to 1920, enrollment in private schools in the primary grades increased from about 30 percent to about 40 percent. Then, from 1920 to 1940, enrollment in private schools in the primary grades further increased to about 70 percent. In the secondary grades, the shift to the private sector took longer, reaching about 70 percent in 1960. For a more recent example, in British Columbia, Canada, partial support of parental choice was begun in 1978. This support consists of per capita grants to qualifying private and religious schools amounting t o 30 percent of the per-pupil cost of public school instruction. Since then, private school enrollment has increased from about 4 percent to about 7 percent. In British Columbia, it took about four years for the cost of extending aid to students already i n private and religious schools to be offset by savings due to the increase -in the private sector. Since the private sector has continued to grow, implementation of parental support nowadays saves the taxpayers money. The charter school idea explicitly in c orporated into the California parental choice initiative, and which could be legislatively added to the Colorado initiative, has the potential of dramatically, and non-disruptively accelerating the switch of students from the public to the private sector. However, because this idea is so innovative, its impact would be impossible to forecast. That the United States Constitution has no explicit reference to the responsible freedom of parents to direct the education of their children reflects the innocence o f our nation, in this matter, at its founding. We had not yet eaten of the tree of the knowledge of state education. Until recently our public schools were locally controlled and financed, and incorporated the val- ues of the community. But, today, they ar e heavily bureaucratic, extensions of state as opposed to local government, and instruments of would-be social engineers. Other countries have constitutional-level protection of the family because they went through the essentially religious war we have onl y recently entered into, a struggle to determine to whom God has entrusted our children: to their parents, or to the state. From the attack on church schools conducted by the Third Republic in France, as well as by Bismarck's Kulturkampf in Germany,..to th e nationalization of schools by various socialist regimes in this century, to Hitler's dictum "this Reich will hand over its children to no one," those who wor- ship the state envy the authority of parents over children. But, as Moses said unto Pharaoh, af ter that king would have allowed the men of Israel to leave, "We will go with our young and with our old,. with our sons and with our daughters, with our flocks and with our herds will we go; for we must hold a feast unto the Lord."7


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Website was launched today, although we were already getting 100s of hits a day (little demand even with cache disabled). :) Very pleased.
Some features :
- Different CSS files for different languages
- Random picture function
- Dynamic Now On text
- SSI import (from SMF)
- customised blog navigation
- google tracking, javascript pop-ups, referral detection.


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Where is San Francisco?
San Francisco is located on the Eastern part of Panama City along the Pacific waters. It is situated directly East of the new and ultra modern Punta Pacifica high rise area.
What are the Homes Like in San Francisco?
The real estate in this affluent neighborhood is a mixture of new luxury condominium high rises and high end large homes.
What is the Neighborhood Vibe in San Francisco?
There isn't a huge social scene here within the neighbors. The residents in San Francisco tend to dine out at the fine restaurants nearby or meet friends at bars in the city in the evening. Many wealthy families and businessmen enjoy their home in San Francisco because the vibe is low key and luxurious.
What Amenities are close by to San Francisco?
San Francisco is close to Panama City's most deluxe amenities situated next to Multiplaza Mall with top designer brands, Punta Pacifica Hospital, restaurants, and beauty salons. There are specialty grocery stores, sport shops, bars, and the Atlapa Convention center very close by. Also, when you live in San Francisco you are very close to the Southern Corredor accessing you quickly to Tocumen International Airport.
What is the weather like in this San Francisco Neighborhood?
The San Francisco neighborhood enjoys an ocean breeze to take away some of the Panamanian heat.
What Makes Living in San Francisco Unique?
San Francisco is a unique place to live because it has a nice mixture of homes and condo buildings that are all situated close to the ocean and the best amenities in Latin America. You can walk to the mall, hospital, restaurants, and much more!
It is close to the ruins of Old Panama (Panama Viejo). These ruins once served as the forts of the Spanish Explorers in the 1600´s, but were ransacked and destroyed by Sir Henry Morgan and his men. Now, all that remains are stone ruins which are one of the top Tourist attractions in Panama City.


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Former IRA gunrunner Ferris gets green light for luxury home
Convicted IRA gunrunner Martin Ferris has been given the thumbs up for a new luxury home in rural Kerry.
The Sinn Fein TD has plans to demolish an existing single-story dwelling and construct a three-bed, split-level dormer bungalow.
Kerry County Council has authorised the impressive house plans in Barrow, north of Fenit and close to Tralee Golf Club.
All the bedrooms will be at ground level along with the living room.
The master bedroom will have a large en-suite bathroom and an additional wet room area.
The upper level of the home is open plan, with a large kitchen, spacious dining area and an outdoor balcony overlooking the idyllic Kerry countryside.
The planning application was made at the beginning of August, just before Mr Ferris found himself embroiled in controversy.
There was public outrage when it was revealed that the Dail deputy met the convicted killers of Det Garda Jerry McCabe on their release from prison.
Kevin Walsh and Pearse McCauley walked out of Castlerea prison and were greeted by Mr Ferris, who ushered them into a white van.
The two men had served more than 10 years of a 14-year manslaughter sentence for shooting the Limerick detective during a botched post office robbery in 1996.
Mr Ferris later defended his actions, saying that the two men had decided, along with himself and a few others, that they would keep their release as low key as possible to avoid causing further pain to Mr McCabe's family.
Walsh, McCauley and their accomplices in the failed raid, Jeremiah Sheehy and Michael O'Neill, have since apologised to the McCabe family.
"The killing of Jerry McCabe was wrong. It should never have happened," Mr Ferris said.
"I fully agree with what has been said by the lads themselves, that they deeply regret what happened."
County planners have placed strict conditions on his new home, including thick native hedges for all new site boundaries. Also, any trees or shrubs that die must be replaced with similar native species, the council said.
Belfast Telegraph


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"This afternoon, the press has been calling to inquire as to why I voted against the large economic package passed yesterday. Although I could write numerous paragraphs (both philosophical and practical) on the many reasons I chose not to support the legislation, my short statement on the vote may be found below:
'First, I didn't receive a copy of the 200-page bill until this morning of the vote. It would have been reckless to support the bill without time to read and research it. Second, not only did the numbers not seem fair to the taxpayers, the corporate welfare aspect of the legislation caused me great concern. Instead of handouts to billion dollar corporations, Mississippi should assist its small business owners by creating a free and fair environment (free market) which allows for economic growth. Eliminating the inventory tax, franchise tax and corporate income tax would be a good start.'"
"Politicians and their groupies whose persona is dedicated to grandstanding on social media may render themselves inconsequential in the real scheme of things...it takes legitimate participation in the process to improve our condition."
"Senator, I don't know what politician you are referring to in this post... My cousin Senator Chris McDaniel who has the largest number of folks in our state following him and supporting his positions on social media. He won the largest percentage for re election of all state senators nearly 90 percent in his district. He stands for his principles and never kisses the brass ring to go along to get along with the powers that be. His principled stands he outlines fully on social media and Russ Latino and Chris were in the same page this week like John Polk, Joel Bomgar and many others like me who are tax paying citizens and small business owners much overlooked in our businesses... As Chris said you all saw this huge bill for the first time the morning of the vote. Joey Fillingane my senator the chair of finance told Billy Hudson he had only read 5 percent of the bill right before presenting it in finance and on the floor and voting for 263 million dollar tax giveaway and new state debt In a time of budget constraints and cuts discussing a gas tax hike for all of us for roads and bridges in Ms. You are our dear friend we appreciate your principled conservative stands on issues we pray for you daily!! But I will tell you my cousin Chris McDaniel is not grandstanding!!! God Bless."
"While I have great respect for Americans for Prosperity and the work they do, I disagree with the way they have characterized the bond bill passed in the legislature this week. Koch Industries (AFP's financial backers) has taken advantage of, and profited from, many incentive programs throughout the years. One of their recent projects was a steel mill, which Mississippi worked hard to recruit, that chose to locate in Arkansas due in part to $125 million in bonded incentives and $200 million in tax credits from that state. A spokesman for Koch Industries echoed my sentiments exactly on the subject, when he said, "Koch Industries will not put ourselves and our employees at a competitive disadvantage in the current marketplace." Incentive programs are the reality of the current marketplace, and I choose not to put Mississippians at a competitive disadvantage because the marketplace is less than ideal."
"I ask Senator Chris McDaniel, Senator Melanie Sojourner, and Representative Joel Bomgar to give up their quest to straighten out the Republican Party, and to join the Libertarian Party. The establishment GOP has made it clear that they do not value your counsel. The only time you receive praise from them, is when you vote the way the establishment wants you to vote. You're welcome in the Libertarian Party, which is the only truly limited government party in Mississippi. You know this to be true."
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The 25 best companies for work-life balance
windsor City, UtJuly 31, 2013 2:47 p.m.
article: 'prominent research institutes showing that time at home with the kids is a major concern of both sexes."
Just wondering about if they feel this in principle or because they are going to actually spend more time with the kids.
Have just had experiences with two people this summer(one man one women, different families) who routinely were getting bonus time off for various reasons and the manner that that time was spent was:
1. Going running
2. Sleeping
3. Internet surfing
4. Reading
5 Going to the gym
6. Going to the movies
7. Going out with friends
8. Watching TV
9. Texting and Facebook on phone
The only thing that either of them did that was remotely considered not a self-focused activity was one went swimming with the family, but spent all the time doing their own training instead of interacting with their children.
I'm all for more balance to allow time for being with children, but in these two cases, its been basically ZERO time spent. :( :(


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I'm glad Jennifer managed to make it one more week. I hope she gets past this block and proves herself next week. If she doesn't, she's probably gone.
I was hoping Kevin would win over the brothers.
I'm glad Jennifer managed to make it one more week. I hope she gets past this block and proves herself next week. If she doesn't, she's probably gone.
I was hoping Kevin would win over the brothers.
Glad Jennifer is still there but she better get her head in the game. The surly brother needs to grow the hell up. Kevin cooks good food and is the chef to beat at this point. If he can cook that kind of food on his day off, maybe he should try to cook it for the damn show. Not sad at all to see Robin go. Glad she outlasted Mike the mouth.
"How do you know the chosen ones? No greater love hath a man than he lay down his life for his friend. Not for millions, not for glory, not for fame... for one person. In the dark. Where no one will ever know or see." - Sebastion, Babylon 5
What's up with Jennifer? She's not only cooking badly, but her attitude is awful. She's really letting this get to her... I wish she'd get out of her funk and at least beat out Eli.
Perhaps against my better judgment, I really like both Voltaggios (in addition to Kevin). They just seem like really good, talented chefs. Every time Michael does or says something obnoxious, he does something nice (like splitting his winnings in RW). I'm always curious to see what they'll do next. It was nice to see Bryan talk some about his son - very cute.
Is Bryan's son's name Dasher? Like the reindeer?! I sincerely hope I heard that wrong
Jennifer is losing the judges faith and support. Even if she can pull out a couple of good dishes her inconsistancy is a red flag.
It is amazing that a rendition of chicken wings won. I am always impressed at how they come up with ideas and how such a simple concept took first place.
Having seen pannacotta prepared on this show a number of times I made it awhile back and used a winning recipe on the Top Chef site. I was unimpressed.
I am glad to see Robin gone, I was not a fan. I have to believe there were many much better chefs who did not make the cut. Why they chose her will always remain a question in my mind.
It sure looks like the final 3 are a lock but we see in the preview that Kevin makes a mistake he regrets. I doubt they would eliminate him for one glitch since he has had such a stellar run but they do insist that they judge the dish before them and we have seen good chefs go down for it.
I am enjoying this season.
I know it was time for Robin to go home but I felt sorry for her. She really wanted to be there and seemed to love what she was doing. And I didn't like how mean Eli and the one bro was to her, there was no excuse for that disrespect. Jen has completely fallen apart, even her appearance looks defeated. I hope Eli gets voted off next. I predcit Kevin and the brothers will be in the final three with Kevin winning it. I also like Nigella as a judge last night. She could be a judge all the time, replace Toby with her.
Eli should have gone home last night because his dish was absolutely inedible. Also, I wish Robin would have outlasted him just because his attitude toward her is despicable.
Jennifer has taken herself out of this competition and, like folks above have said, her food and her body language show it. Remember there was a point last season when the judges noticed that Leah had lost her drive to win the competition? Well, Jen's in the same spot, I think.
Still and all, I'd like to see her pull herself together because she's apparently a spectacular chef, and I'd be very, very disappointed if Eli outlasts her in this competition.
But Kevin's still my favorite to win the whole thing.
No sympathy for Robin.Originally Posted by straycat80;3748835;
Are the judges decisions totally based on the dish or do they look at other factors. This is my first season watching this so sorry if it has been answered elsewhere.
I believe he was saying Thatcher.Originally Posted by Bunny555;3748772;
I have to think that winning the QF counts for something even Padma says that the winner gets no immunity. While Robin's dish was bad, it was still edible. Eli's dish was a disgusting mess, absolutely inedible. Did Tom taste it and then spit it out (off camera)? Tom has often said that each performance has to stand on itself. No cumulative points from past performances. Eli's past record, while not stellar, was much better than Robin's. End result: Eli stays, Robin goes home.


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VIDEO: Churning up some fun
A tornado and butter whipped up good times in Miltona and Millerville over the weekend.
Miltona held its 43rd annual Tornado Days to celebrate the community's recovery from a devastating tornado on July 18, 1970.
A perfect summer day set the stage for an impressive parade Saturday. Dozens of parade entries wound through town - everything from a whole lot of fire trucks to watergun-squirting red hat ladies - and there was a whole lot of candy tossing and waving to the crowd.
People also attended an ice cream social, craft sale, 5K run, bake sale, farmers market, beer gardens, water fights, bean bag tournaments, live music, waffle feed and lots more.
Meanwhile, Millerville hosted its annual Butter Days to celebrate the success of the Millerville Co-op Creamery Association.
Big crowds turned out to see sculptures made of butter, play games, enjoy musical entertainment, eat and more.
The festivities included a bean bag tournament, street dance, a 5K race, kids' pedal tractor pull, parade, bounce house, turtle races, historical photography displays, pork chop feed and church bazaar.


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The Seattle.gov Web site is currently undergoing scheduled maintenance. During this time, some of our applications and Web sites may not be available. Please check back soon.
The Bay below Sunset Hill Park is alive with sailboats, and you can smell the salt breezes as you gaze far out to the Puget isles and the craggy Olympic skyline. (Excerpt from Enjoying Seattle's Parks by Brandt Morgan.)


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Although it seems so long ago, the Los Lonely Boys made a phenomenal 2012 appearance at Charlotte's NC Music Factory. They were supposed to also return in 2013, which was canceled, unfortunately, due to Henry's tour accident. Thankfully, however, Henry is doing much better, and the boys have managed to rebound, gracefully, with their 2014 release of "Revelation," and with a dynamic tour schedule in support of their recent release. With a 2015 return to Charlotte being seemingly uncertain, the good news is: Charlotte's LLB fans can still enjoy their music—no problem, there!
As for Revelation—right off the get go—there appears to be a great deal of heart-felt meaning behind the lyrics. One can never deny this about the Boys' music, with respect to this and their other releases. Also, this new album possesses a very compelling sense, in that once it's been listened to for the first time, a second listen becomes a must, about a day or hours later—that's right—it grows on you!
"Blame It On Love" proves to be an excellent track to open the album with. It also seems to be used, quite strategically and tactfully, to help build hype, for what has turned out to be a very well-put-together set of tracks. As for the mention of heart-felt lyrics, this becomes very apparent in this first track, as well as others—very well done and not surprising, nonetheless!
"Give A Little More" is exactly what one would expect from a well-put-together set of LLB tracks. It has a Reggae-feel, with a get-up-and-dance appeal—another winner, which needs to find a home in the Top-40 musical mainstream.
"It's Just My Heart Talkin'" seems to possess Grammy-worthiness, right along with "There's Always Tomorrow, " and "The Greatest Ever,"—all of which sound as if they belong in an appropriate movie-track; they all have that great feel..!
As for the "So Sensual " track, the best way to describe it, is: It cruises down the road, with the top down, on a beautiful summer day, and is seemingly written about a special woman's sensuality–very sensual and smooth, indeed!
The "Familia" Track seems to support the core strengths of what keeps the boys going—their family! No matter where they're touring, and/or what trials and tribulations they may become faced with, they will always have their familia—a must hear for every LLB fan out there!
"Don't Walk Away" is a very well put together track, which is commanded, lyrically, by JoJo. It sounds as if it may be written around a relationship with a significant other; however, you'll have to buy the album, and listen to interpret the lyrics—well written and sung, in any case.
"Can't Slow Down"—one of Henry's lyrical contributions to the album—is very well done! It yields a lyrical and rhythmic appeal, with meaning to back it up. It's also very smooth and seems to keep the album trucking, right into the next track. "Dream Away," which seems to yield a more traditional sense of what LLB was built on: Dreams—dreams which have, since, come true!
"Rule The World:" The best way to describe this gem, is: Good-old-fashioned-in-your-face-LLB-Rock-n-Roll! The boys do a great job redefining what music seems to be missing, these days, with this very song—rule the world, indeed!
The last track, "Everything About You," yields a nice ending, to what has proven to be a very smooth album. With all known, it will be interesting to see which songs move higher into the media mainstream—LLB fans will certainly be listening for them, regardless. Until then, Revelation can easily be downloaded on i-tunes and/or purchased on amazon.com. In any event, this new LLB album comes highly recommended and is worth the purchase.


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Long Pages in this Wiki
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Starcraft II Caster Search Contest (~6,629 characters) StarCraft II (~3,547 characters) Main Page (~1,651 characters) League of Legends (~601 characters) Games (~144 characters)Expand Navigation


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Select a quantity and printing method. Changes are easily made later.
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LAS VEGAS, July 12 (UPI) -- The NBA fined Cleveland Cavaliers owner Dan Gilbert $100,000 Monday for harshly criticizing LeBron James' decision to leave the team as a free agent.
Commissioner David Stern told NBA.com Monday at an owners meeting in Las Vegas that Gilbert's open letter to Cleveland fans -- released last week after James' move to join the Miami Heat -- was "a little bit extreme," and as a result, the owner been fined.
After James announced his decision Thursday as part of an elaborately produced hourlong special on ESPN, Gilbert posted an open letter on the Cavaliers' Web site accusing James of a "cowardly betrayal" and a "shocking act of disloyalty."
That in turn prompted U.S. civil rights advocate Jesse Jackson to respond Sunday by blasting Gilbert, saying his letter indicates he "sees LeBron as a runaway slave. This is an owner employee relationship -- between business partners -- and LeBron honored his contract."
"Those engaged in this public arena must look upon workers with respect and shared dignity," Jackson told the Detroit Free Press during a visit to United Auto Workers' headquarters Monday.
"I strongly disagree with Rev. Jesse Jackson's recent comments and we are not going to engage in any related discussion on it," Gilbert said in a statement Monday.
Stern said Jackson's "slave" comment went too far.
"However well-meaning Jesse may be in the premise on this one, he is, as he rarely is, mistaken," Stern told NBA.com. "And I would have told him so had he called me before he issued his statement, rather than this morning. But he is a good friend of the NBA and our players."


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McPhee third in state Poetry Out Loud competition
For the third time in four years, a Morris Area student has placed among the top three in the state's Poetry Out Loud competition.
MAHS sophomore Thomas McPhee placed third in the Poetry Out Loud state finals on Monday at the Fitzgerald Theatre in St. Paul.
McPhee became the school's fourth regional champion last month.
He was among 18 competitors in this year's state finals. The top two regional placers in the state's nine Poetry Out Loud regions advance to the state contest.
"He had an excellent day," said MAHS' Poetry Out Loud advisor Dave Johnson. "He was right in the running for a state championship and he ended up third, which is great."
Johnson said the judges' tabulations weren't available, but "I'm guessing the distance between first and third was not big."
MAHS has competed in Poetry Out Loud the last four years. In its first year, Annika Kildegaard placed second in the state, and a year later Mary Hu won the state competition and advanced to the national Poetry Out Loud contest in Washington D.C.
Last year, Alex McIntosh won the regional competition and he and McPhee both qualified for the state competition. McIntosh placed fourth and McPhee placed sixth.
This year, McPhee and Tim Ostby moved on to the regional competition by finishing in a virtual tie during the local POL competition in early February. Matt Cotter placed third but only the top two finishers advance.
"Thomas really put in the work needed to achieve success in this competition," Johnson said. "He's very deserving."


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Flash Draw Created Dec 12, 2008 470 x 338px Unless noted Copyright 2008 xxemmy14xx.
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Kaitou X Feb 15, 2009
I like how you drew the snow!! Great draw!! :)
meeksneakspepsi Feb 14, 2009
this is a neat lil drawing
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