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Jan. 11, 2006
A Pair of BCS Wins: The Big Ten produced a perfect 2-0 record in Bowl Championship Series (BCS) games for the third time in the system's eight years after Penn State knocked off Florida State in the Orange Bowl and Ohio State defeated Notre Dame in the Fiesta Bowl. The conference also boasted two BCS victories in 1999 (Wisconsin in Rose, Ohio State in Sugar) and 2000 (Wisconsin in Rose, Michigan in Sugar). The Big Ten is the only conference to rack up multiple BCS wins in three different years. The only other leagues to win two BCS games in a single season are the SEC (1999, 2002) and Pac-10 (2001).
BCS Success: The Big Ten leads all conferences with eight BCS victories and 13 berths overall since the system was created for the 1998-99 season. The SEC ranks second to the Big Ten with seven BCS triumphs and 11 appearances while the Big 12 has also played in 11 BCS games. The complete breakdown of BCS records by conference appears to the right. Ohio State is a perfect 4-0 in BCS games, the most wins of any team in the country, while Wisconsin is one of only three programs (along with LSU and Texas) to boast a 2-0 mark in the BCS.
Three More Bowl Wins: With a record of 3-4 during the 2005-06 bowl campaign, the Big Ten has now recorded three or more bowl wins in four straight seasons for the first time in conference history. The Big Ten was an impressive 5-2 in 2002 followed by three victories in both 2003 (3-5) and 2004 (3-3). The league's 14 bowl wins over a four-year period is tied for second all-time behind the conference's 16 postseason triumphs during the 1996 (4-3), 1997 (2-5), 1998 (5-0) and 1999 (5-2) bowl campaigns.
Conference Call: The Big Ten's total of three bowl wins this season was tied for third among all conferences behind only the ACC and Big 12, which both recorded 5-3 marks.
Bowl Coaching Greats: Two different Big Ten coaches currently appear atop the NCAA charts for bowl victories, appearances and winning percentage for a career. Penn State's Joe Paterno improved his bowl record to 21-10-1 to stand atop the career postseason victory chart, now two triumphs ahead of Florida State's Bobby Bowden (19-9-1), who lost to the Nittany Lions in the Orange Bowl. Paterno also tops all coaches with 32 bowl appearances in his career. Wisconsin's Barry Alvarez improved to 8-3 in bowl games for a winning percentage of .727, the highest in NCAA history. The NCAA's list of winningest bowl coaches includes only mentors with 11 or more bowl games and Alvarez is now followed by Georgia Tech's Bobby Dodd (9-4, .692), Bowden (.672) and Paterno (.672).
Bowl Winners: The Big Ten's 3-4 bowl record this season included victories in the Capital One, Fiesta and Orange Bowls. Wisconsin sent head coach Barry Alvarez off with a victory in his final game with the Badgers after posting a convincing win over Auburn in the Capital One Bowl. Ohio State has now won four straight bowl games for the second time in school history after defeating Notre Dame in the Fiesta Bowl. The Buckeyes' only other four-game bowl winning streak occurred over two decades with Rose Bowl titles in 1949, 1954, 1957 and 1968. In its first BCS appearance, Penn State edged Florida State in triple overtime in the Orange Bowl with Joe Paterno building on his NCAA record with a 21st bowl triumph.
Close Calls: The Big Ten's four bowl defeats this season came by a combined 26 points, with three of the four losses decided by a touchdown or less. Michigan was edged by Nebraska, 32-28, in the Alamo Bowl with the Cornhuskers scoring the winning touchdown with less than five minutes remaining and the Wolverines final drive stalling after an eight-lateral play ended just 13 yards from the endzone. The Music City Bowl was decided by only three points with Virginia taking a 34-31 lead on a field goal with 1:08 on the clock before Minnesota's last drive resulted in an interception in the endzone. Northwestern twice cut the deficit to only five points in the final three minutes against UCLA in the Sun Bowl only to see the Bruins' return a pair of onside kicks for touchdowns after each score, the last occurring with 18 seconds on the clock to seal a 50-38 defeat. Iowa rallied from a 24-point deficit against Florida in the Outback Bowl to pull within 31-24 with 1:24 on the clock before the Gators recovered the onside kick.
Bowl Attendance: Four of the Big Ten's seven bowl games drew sellout crowds while the Fiesta Bowl attracted its largest attendance ever for a non-championship game. The conference's seven postseason games attracted 372,811 patrons for an average of 53,259 per contest, including full houses for the Sun, Outback, Fiesta and Orange Bowls.
Working Overtime: Penn State took part in the longest bowl game in Big Ten history when the Nittany Lions defeated Florida State in triple overtime in the 2006 Orange Bowl. The last conference bowl game to need an extra session was the 2004 Capital One Bowl, where Georgia edged Purdue, 34-27. The only other league team to play more than one extra session in a postseason game is Ohio State, as the Buckeyes defeated Miami (Fla.), 31-24, in double overtime in the 2003 Fiesta Bowl to clinch the national title. In eight years of the BCS, only three games have needed extra time and the Big Ten has been a part of all three contests -- the two games mentioned above and the 2000 Orange Bowl with Michigan edging Alabama, 35-34, in overtime.
Seven Teams Go Bowling: The Big Ten's seven bowl berths in 2005 matched the second-highest total in conference annals, trailing only the league record of eight bowl participants established following the 2003 campaign. The Big Ten also qualified seven schools for postseason play after the 1993, 1996, 1997, 1999 and 2002 seasons. The conference sent six or more teams to bowl games for the seventh straight year and 14th time overall. League programs have now made 66 bowl appearances over the last decade (1996-2005) and 219 appearances all-time.
Big Ten BCS Duos: In Ohio State and Penn State, the Big Ten sent a pair of teams to BCS games for the fifth time in the system's eight years. Since the inception of the BCS in 1998, the Big Ten has qualified 13 teams for BCS bowls, more than any other conference. The league also sent a pair of squads to BCS games after the following seasons - 1998 (Ohio State, Wisconsin), 1999 (Michigan, Wisconsin), 2002 (Iowa, Ohio State) and 2003 (Michigan, Ohio State).
Winningest Programs Square Off: Four of the top five winningest programs in NCAA history faced off in Big Ten bowl games with Michigan battling Nebraska in the Alamo Bowl and Ohio State challenging Notre Dame in the Fiesta Bowl. With bowl play concluded, the Wolverines currently rank first in college football annals with 849 victories, followed by the Fighting Irish (second with 811 wins), Cornhuskers (fourth with 794) and Buckeyes (T-fifth with 774). In addition, Penn State ranks seventh with 771 wins all-time.
Bowl Veterans: The Big Ten boasts three of the 11 programs with 37 or more bowl appearances in Penn State (8th with 38), Michigan (T9th with 37) and Ohio State (T9th with 37). The Nittany Lions are tied for third all-time with 24 bowl triumphs while the Wolverines and Buckeyes are tied for 12th with 18 wins.
Bowl Streaks: Michigan's current streak of 31 consecutive bowls is the longest active streak in the nation. Meanwhile, Iowa is one of only four schools to play a January bowl game in each of the last four seasons along with USC, Georgia and Florida State.
IOWA QB Drew Tate: Completed 32-of-55 passes for 346 yards and three TDs against Florida in the Outback Bowl, including two scoring strikes to wideout Ed Hinkel in the fourth quarter as Iowa rallied within a TD after trailing 31-7.
MICH QB Chad Henne: Completed 21-of-43 passes for 270 yards and three TDs and added a scoring run in Alamo Bowl against Nebraska.
MINN QB Bryan Cupito: Established career best with four TD passes against Virginia in the Music City Bowl, completing 18-of-28 passes for 263 yards.
MINN WR Ernie Wheelwright: Hauled in seven passes for 120 yards and a touchdown against the Cavaliers.
NU QB Brett Basanez: Set Sun Bowl record with 448 yards of total offense, including connecting on 38-of-70 passes for 416 yards and two TDs vs. UCLA, rallying the Wildcats within five points twice in the last three minutes.
OSU WR Ted Ginn, Jr.: Career-high 167 receiving yards with a TD on eight receptions while adding a 68-yard scoring run in the Fiesta Bowl.
OSU QB Troy Smith: Named Offensive MVP of the Fiesta Bowl after setting a career high with 342 passing yards, completing 19-of-28 passes with two TDs and adding 66 yards on the ground in the victory over Notre Dame.
PSU QB Michael Robinson: Completed 21-of-39 passes for 253 yards and a TD while adding 21 rushing yards in victory over Florida State in Orange Bowl.
PSU RB Austin Scott: Stepped in after starter Tony Hunt injured an ankle and ran for a season-high 110 yards on 26 carries (4.2 avg.) with two touchdowns in Orange Bowl triumph over Florida State.
WIS RB Brian Calhoun: Named MVP of the Capital One Bowl after racking up 213 yards on 30 carries (7.1 avg.) with a touchdown in a win over Auburn.
WIS WR Brandon Williams: Set career-high and UW bowl record with 173 receiving yards on six receptions (28.8 avg.) with a touchdown vs. Auburn.
IOWA LB Abdul Hodge: Established an Outback Bowl record with 19 tackles, including 14 solo stops, with a TFL against Florida.
MICH CB Leon Hall: Named Alamo Bowl Defensive MVP after picking off two passes and adding four tackles against Nebraska.
MINN LB John Shevlin: Tied for team lead with 10 tackles (eight solo) and produced two TFLs, a sack and a fumble recovery against Virginia.
NU LB Tim McGarigle: Collected a game-high 17 tackles, including nine solo stops and a half of a TFL, against UCLA.
NU DE Kevin Mims and LB Nick Roach: Both returned an interception for a TD in the first quarter as NU set a Sun Bowl record with 22 first quarter points.
OSU LB A.J. Hawk: Named Defensive MVP of Fiesta Bowl after recording a game-high 12 tackles (nine solo), including 3.5 TFLs and two sacks.
OSU DE Mike Kudla: Set career high with three sacks against Notre Dame, part of a seven-tackle performance in the Fiesta Bowl.
PSU DT Jay Alford: Collected 2.5 TFLs, including 1.5 sacks, and forced a fumble against Florida State in the Orange Bowl.
PSU LB Dan Connor: Posted a team-best seven tackles, including two TFLs, to lead a PSU defense that limited FSU's offense to one TD in regulation.
WIS LB Mark Zalewski: Recorded eight defensive stops and two TFLs, including an eight-yard sack, to help UW hold Auburn to a season-low 10 points and 236 yards of total offense.
IOWA KR Damian Sims: Returned five kickoffs for 107 yards vs. Florida.
MICH KR/PR Steve Breaston: Produced 224 all-purpose yards, setting an Alamo Bowl record with 146 kickoff return yards and adding 72 punt return yards.
PSU P Jeremy Kapinos: Punted a career-high 11 times for 487 yards (44.3 avg.) with a long of 54 and three inside the 20 against Florida State.
WIS P Ken DeBauche: Averaged 45.3 yards on three punts against Auburn, including a 58-yard boot and one kick placed inside the 20-yard line.
Big Ten Standouts Claim National Honors: Big Ten student-athletes collected five national awards this season, the highest total since league standouts took home seven national accolades following the 2002 campaign. A pair of Big Ten standouts each claimed two national trophies in Minnesota center Greg Eslinger (Outland and Rimington Trophies) and Penn State linebacker Paul Posluszny (Bednarik and Butkus Awards) in addition to one national accolade for Ohio State linebacker A.J. Hawk (Lombardi Award). The last Big Ten student-athlete to pick up multiple national awards was Nittany Lions' running back Larry Johnson, who earned the Walter Camp Player of the Year, Maxwell and Doak Walker Awards in 2002.
Eslinger became the first player to win both the Outland Trophy, which honors the nation's outstanding interior lineman, and the Rimington Trophy, awarded to the country's top center, in the same season. The Big Ten Offensive Lineman of the Year is the 11th conference player to collect the Outland Trophy and the first since Iowa's Robert Gallery was honored in 2003. Eslinger is the second straight league center to be awarded the Rimington Trophy and the third Big Ten honoree in the six-year history of the award, joining 2004 co-winner David Baas of Michigan and 2001 winner LeCharles Bentley of Ohio State.
Posluszny is the second player in Big Ten annals to claim both the Bednarik Award, honoring the country's outstanding defensive player, and Butkus Award, awarded to the top linebacker, in the same season. The junior linebacker joins fellow Nittany Lion LaVar Arrington, who was the league's most recent winner of both awards in 1999. The Big Ten has now collected the Bednarik Award on five occasions in the award's 11-year history. Conference student-athletes have earned the Butkus Award on seven occasions.
Hawk became the fifth Buckeye to collect the Rotary Lombardi Award, honoring the nation's top college lineman or linebacker, and the first since offensive tackle Orlando Pace became the first player to win back-to-back awards in 1995 and 1996. The Big Ten has now claimed the Lombardi Award on seven occasions with six of those trophies headed to Ohio State.
National Coach of the Year: Penn State's Joe Paterno has picked up multiple national honors following the 2005 campaign, including being named the American Football Coaches Association (AFCA), Associated Press, Bobby Dodd, Home Depot, Munger and The Sporting News National Coach of the Year. In his 40th season as head coach, the PSU mentor led the Nittany Lions to an 11-1 record, a share of the Big Ten Championship and an Orange Bowl victory over Florida State. Paterno is second in all-time victories among major college coaches and fourth in wins across all four NCAA divisions with a 354-117-3 career record. He has now won an unprecedented five AFCA National Coach of the Year awards and was also honored in 1968, 1978, 1982 and 1986. The only other major college coaches to earn AFCA Coach of the Year more than once are Alabama's Paul "Bear" Bryant (on three occasions) and USC's John McKay and Texas' Darrell Royal (on two occasions each). The last Big Ten coach to be named the AFCA National Coach of the Year was Ohio State's Jim Tressel in 2002.
Farewell to a Legend: Wisconsin's Barry Alvarez concluded a 16-year career as the Badgers' head coach with a victory over Auburn in the school's first trip to the Capital One Bowl. He ends his time on the sidelines with a record of 118-73-4 and his 118 career wins rank eighth on the all-time victory list for conference coaches. Alvarez took UW to 11 bowl games in his 16 years and boasts an 8-3 record, including three Rose Bowl victories. He will remain in his position as Wisconsin's Director of Athletics, while current defensive coordinator Bret Bielema will take over the head coaching duties next season.
Smart Players: The Big Ten topped all conferences with eight members of the 2005 ESPN The Magazine Academic All-America Football Team, an increase of two over the league's six honorees from last season. The Big Ten's eight Academic All-Americans include three first-team selections in Indiana's Will Meyers, Iowa's Mike Elgin and Penn State's Paul Posluszny. The league's five second-team choices are Michigan's Jason Avant, the Michigan State duo of Chris Morris and Drew Stanton and the Minnesota pair of Greg Eslinger and Mark Losli. Eslinger was one of only six student-athletes to repeat as Academic All-Americans after being honored as a second-team selection in 2004. To be eligible for Academic All-America honors, a student-athlete must be a varsity starter or key reserve, maintain a cumulative GPA of 3.20 on a scale of 4.00 and have reached sophomore athletic and academic standing at his current institution.
Everybody's All-American: Four Big Ten standouts were named consensus All-Americans in Minnesota's Eslinger, Ohio State's Hawk and the Penn State duo of Tamba Hali and Posluszny. The Big Ten and the SEC tied for third among all leagues with four consensus picks, trailing only the Pac-10 (7) and Big 12 (5). The Nittany Lions were one of only five schools with multiple consensus All-Americans along with Georgia, Texas, UCLA and USC. In addition to the four consensus selections, 11 other Big Ten players earned All-America accolades from the American Football Coaches Association, Associated Press, Football Writers Association of America, Sporting News or Walter Camp Football Foundation. Those honorees include Iowa's Chad Greenway, Minnesota's Laurence Maroney and Mark Setterstrom, Northwestern's Zach Strief, Ohio State's Bobby Carpenter and Nick Mangold, Penn State's Levi Brown and Alan Zemaitis and Wisconsin's Brian Calhoun, Joe Thomas and Brandon Williams.
Double-Digit Wins: For the third time in four years and just the eighth time in conference history, three Big Ten teams ended the season with double-digit wins in Penn State (11-1), Ohio State (10-2) and Wisconsin (10-3). The league produced at least three teams with 10 or more wins in both 2003 (Iowa, Michigan, Minnesota, Ohio State) and 2002 (Iowa, Michigan, Ohio State) while also accomplishing the feat with four programs in 1999 and three schools in 1998, 1993, 1903 and 1902. Over the previous decade (1996-2005), 23 conference teams have posted 10 or more wins and nine squads have racked up 11 or more victories. Penn State produced its first 11-win season since 1996 and 13th year of 11 or more victories under Paterno. Ohio State hit double-digits for the third time in the last four years and the 15th time in school annals. Wisconsin hit the 10-win mark for the first time since 1999 and just the fourth time in program history.
Ohio State and Penn State Share Big Ten Title: In the final weekend of conference action, Ohio State and Penn State secured a share of the 2005 Big Ten Championship by taking care of business on the road. The Buckeyes were the first team to hit the field as they met Michigan in Ann Arbor for the 102nd meeting in the all-time series. The Wolverines built a 21-12 advantage with less than eight minutes remaining before OSU rallied for the win, with Antonio Pittman scoring on a three-yard run with only 24 seconds left to give the Buckeyes a 25-21 victory and a share of the crown. The Nittany Lions then took the field in East Lansing and built a 17-0 halftime lead over the Spartans before holding on for the 31-22 triumph to split the conference title.
Buckeyes Win 30th Big Ten Championship: Ohio State picked up a share of the 30th Big Ten title in school history, the second-highest total among all league programs behind only Michigan (42). The Buckeyes have now won two conference championships in head coach Jim Tressel's five years at the helm and four crowns in the last decade, also splitting the title in 1996, 1998 and 2002. The Wolverines lead the way with five championships in the last 10 years (1997, 1998, 2000, 2003, 2004), followed by OSU's four crowns and a pair of first-place finishes for Iowa (2002, 2004), Northwestern (1996, 2000) and Wisconsin (1998, 1999).
Penn State's Second Title: The Nittany Lions and head coach Joe Paterno picked up their second Big Ten Championship since joining the conference in 1993. PSU placed third in the standings in their first season before claiming the Big Ten title with a perfect 8-0 mark in 1994 -- part of an undefeated 12-0 campaign including a Rose Bowl victory over Oregon. Since joining the league, the Nittany Lions have placed third or better on six occasions -- 1993 (3rd), 1994 (1st), 1995 (T3rd), 1996 (T3rd), 1997 (T2nd) and 2005 (T1st).
Worst to First: Penn State became the third Big Ten program in the last six years to win a conference crown just one season after placing ninth or worse in the league standings. The Nittany Lions produced a 2-6 record during the 2004 campaign to finish in ninth place, only to improve to a 7-1 mark and a conference title in 2005. Illinois produced a similar reversal of fortunes four years ago, winning the 2001 championship with a 7-1 record after tying for ninth at 2-6 in 2000. While the Illini were placing ninth in 2000, Northwestern earned a share of the Big Ten crown with a 6-2 mark just one year after ending the 1999 season in 10th place with a 1-7 record.
Spreading the Love: Parity has reigned over the Big Ten landscape for the last decade (1996-2005) with eight different teams winning the conference title either outright or as a co-champion: Illinois ('01), Iowa (`02, '04), Michigan (`97, `98, `00, '03, '04), Northwestern (`96, `00), Ohio State (`96, `98, `02, '05), Penn State ('05), Purdue (`00) and Wisconsin (`98, `99). The title has been shared by at least two teams six times in this span, with a pair of three-team ties in 1998 and 2000 and two teams atop the standings in 1996, 2002, 2004 and 2005.
Big Ten Championships for Current Coaches: Seven current league coaches have earned at least one Big Ten crown in their careers. The complete list is below:
5 -- Lloyd Carr, MICH (1997, 1998, 2000, 2003, 2004)
3 -- Barry Alvarez, WIS (1993, 1998, 1999)
2 -- Kirk Ferentz, IOWA (2002, 2004); Jim Tressel, OSU (2002, 2005); Joe Paterno, PSU (1994, 2005)
1 -- Randy Walker, NU (2000); Joe Tiller, PUR (2000)
Nittany Lions Earn BCS Automatic Bid: While both OSU and PSU shared the Big Ten title, the Nittany Lions collected the league's automatic Bowl Championship Series (BCS) berth based on a 17-10 victory over the Buckeyes on Oct. 8. Penn State took part in its first BCS bowl game since the system's inception in 1998, becoming the sixth Big Ten school in eight years to earn BCS automatic qualification joining Illinois (2001), Michigan (2003, 2004), Ohio State (2002), Purdue (2000), and Wisconsin (1998, 1999).
Big Ten's Best BCS Finish: For the first time in Big Ten history, the league placed two teams among the top four in the final BCS standings released on Dec. 4. Penn State ended the regular season ranked third in the final BCS standings, surpassing the program's previous top final ranking of 11th in 1999, followed by Ohio State at fourth overall, the school's third top-five finish in the last four seasons (5th in 2003, 2nd in 2002). The Big Ten had previously placed two programs among the top five of the final BCS poll in 2003 (No. 4 Michigan, No. 5 Ohio State) and 2002 (No. 2 Ohio State, No. 5 Iowa). Overall, the Big Ten tied the ACC and SEC with five teams among the top 25 in the final BCS poll, including No. 18 Wisconsin, No. 20 Michigan and No. 25 Northwestern.
Big Ten Shatters Three Attendance Records: The Big Ten established three attendance records in 2005 while also surpassing the five million mark in total attendance for just the third time in league history. In 69 contests, the Big Ten averaged 72,566 patrons per outing which shattered the previous league best of 70,505 fans per game set in 2002. In addition, the conference's total attendance of 5,007,067 for all games ranks third in Big Ten annals behind only the 2002 (5,499,439 in 78 games) and 2003 (5,282,102 in 75 games) seasons. Big Ten programs also set records for total and average attendance in conference games only with 3,175,427 patrons in 44 contests for an average of 72,169 fans per outing. The previous league highs were 3,138,387 in total attendance and 71,326 per game, both established in 2001. The Big Ten boasted 38 sellouts this season, which equals the second-highest single-season total in league history behind only the 39 sellouts posted in 2004. Ten of the Big Ten's 11 teams boast at least one sellout this season and the league sold out all five games the weekend of Oct. 15, which marked the first time the league featured packed stadiums for every game in a single week since at least the 1998 season. In addition, the conference set a single-day attendance record during the opening week of non-conference play with an average of 76,475 fans for eight home games, besting the previous record average of 70,270 patrons for eight games on Sept. 14, 1985.
Nation's Best Fans: Big Ten teams fill three of the top four spots in the final NCAA attendance rankings and seven conference programs rated among the top 30 in the country, which ranks second to the SEC (nine top 30 teams) among all leagues. Michigan led the nation with an average of 110,915 patrons per game while Ohio State ranked third (105,017) and Penn State rated fourth (104,859). Other Big Ten schools to appear among the top 30 in average attendance were Wisconsin (13th with 82,551), Michigan State (20th with 75,183), Iowa (21st with 70,585) and Purdue (26th with 62,996).
First-Year Phenoms: Big Ten freshman had a big impact on the football field in 2005, with Northwestern's Tyrell Sutton being named the National Offensive Freshman of the Year by The Sporting News. The Wildcats running back was named the Big Ten Freshman of the Year after ranking third in the conference and eighth nationally with 122.8 rushing yards per game (1,474 yards total). Sutton also rated third in the conference with 18 touchdowns, including 16 on the ground. He was one of six first-year league standouts to be named to The Sporting News Freshman All-American first team, along with Iowa defensive tackle Mitch King, Minnesota defensive end Steven Davis, Ohio State cornerback Malcolm Jenkins, Penn State all-purpose player Justin King and Wisconsin defensive end Matt Shaughnessy. King was one of four Penn State freshmen to boost the Nittany Lions to a share of the Big Ten crown thanks to an improved offense, which led the conference at 35.2 points per game just one season after ranking last in 2004 with only 12.9 points per outing. Penn State's top three receivers this year were all in their first season on the field -- redshirt freshman Deon Butler (37-691 yards, 9 TDs) and true freshmen Jordan Norwood (32-422) and Derrick Williams (22-289, TD). Also on the receiving end, Indiana boasted one of the league's top wideouts in freshman James Hardy, who led the conference with 89.3 receiving yards per game and ranked second with 10 scoring catches, while hauling in 61 passes for 893 yards.
Non-Conference Review: The Big Ten produced a record of 28-6 (.824) in non-conference play in 2005, which is the best winning percentage since going 23-4 (.852) prior to bowl play in 1997. In addition, the league's 28 non-league victories were the most prior to bowl play in an 11-game season since Big Ten teams went 28-7 (.800) in 1999. All five of the schools that defeated league programs in 2005 took part in a bowl -- Arizona State (Insight), California (Las Vegas), Iowa State (Houston), Notre Dame (Fiesta) and Texas (Rose).
Road Warriors: Big Ten teams were especially successful on the road this season with a record of 26-27 (.491) in all away games, the league's best road winning percentage and most victories away from home since at least the 2000 season. The Big Ten's previous best road performance in the last six years occurred in 2002 when the programs built a 25-30 (.455) mark in visiting stadiums. In addition, conference teams won 20 of 44 road games in league action, matching the 2002 season for the most successful road campaign since 2000.
Basanez Ends Career Ranked Among Top Two in Five Categories: Northwestern quarterback Brett Basanez ended his stellar career by setting the Big Ten mark with 1,975 total offensive plays in his four years on campus, while finishing second in four other categories. The Wildcats signal caller took part in 78 plays in the Sun Bowl against UCLA to move past Indiana's Antwaan Randle El (1,917) and Purdue's Drew Brees (1,931) to become the Big Ten career leader in the category. Basanez also completed 38-of-70 passes for 416 yards and added 32 yards on the ground against the Bruins to boost his career numbers to 1,584 pass attempts, 923 completions, 10,580 yards through the air and 11,576 yards of total offense. Basanez, the media's choice for Big Ten Player of the Year, ends his time in Evanston ranked second in all four categories behind only Brees. The first-team All-Big Ten selection also cracked the top 10 single-season leaders in all five categories. A complete list of Basanez' career and single-season accomplishments appears on page 8.
More Career Record Chasers: In addition to the performance of Basanez, the Michigan State duo of Brandon Fields and Drew Stanton, Ohio State's Ted Ginn, Jr., and Wisconsin's Brandon Williams also find themselves atop the Big Ten career charts in various categories. Fields, a junior who entered the season leading the Big Ten in career punting average, maintained his spot atop the rankings with a 45.6 career average with one year to play, just percentage points ahead of Iowa's Reggie Roby in second place (45.5 avg. from 1979-82). Stanton completed 66.7 percent of his passes in 2005, the fifth-best single-season performance in conference history, and surpassed 300 completions for his career to qualify for the top spot in the all-time records with a 65.7 completion percentage. The Spartans junior has one year left to remain ahead of the Hawkeyes' Chuck Long, currently ranked second after completing 65.0 percent of his passes from 1981-85. After setting an NCAA record with four punt return touchdowns as a freshman, Ginn, Jr., added a fifth score on a punt return to equal Iowa's Tim Dwight for the Big Ten career mark. The OSU sophomore also surpassed 40 career returns to qualify for second with his 15.6 yard average on punt returns, just behind the league record of 16.0 yards per return set by Indiana's Bill Hillenbrand from 1941-42. Williams ended his time in Madison with 106 career kickoff returns for 2,349 yards, which equaled MSU's Derrick Mason for total returns but ranked second to Mason's 2,575 yards. In other return records, Michigan's Steve Breaston climbed to second all-time with 1,267 punt return yards and into a tie for fourth with 98 punt returns.
Carr and Paterno Join Century Club: A pair of Big Ten coaches joined prestigious company this season when Penn State's Joe Paterno and Michigan's Lloyd Carr became just the 11th and 12th head coach, respectively, to collect 100 victories at a conference institution. Paterno, who ended the 2005 campaign ranked second in the NCAA records book with 354 career victories, was the first mentor to join the list after picking up his 100th win since joining the league in 1993 on Sept. 24 at Northwestern. Carr joined the club with an overtime victory at Iowa on Oct. 22, the same weekend that Paterno picked up his 350th career triumph at Illinois. Carr is the third Wolverines head coach on the list along with Bo Schembechler and Fielding Yost.
A New Golden Age of Coaching?: With Alvarez, Paterno and Carr in the century club, the Big Ten featured three active coaches with 100 or more wins at their respective institutions for the first time in more than 85 years. The last time that three league coaches all ended a season with 100 or more wins at their schools was in 1921 when Chicago's Amos Alonzo Stagg (158 wins at the time), Michigan's Fielding Yost (137) and Minnesota's Henry Williams (136) accomplished the feat. The conference coaching roster for 1921 also featured Illinois' Robert Zuppke, who had only 70 wins at the end of that season but would go on to rack up 131 triumphs in his career.
Big Ten Individual Leaders . . . : With the Big Ten season complete, the conference produced new statistical leaders in every major category during the 2005 campaign. Iowa's Albert Young rallied to become the first Hawkeye to lead the conference in rushing since Dennis Mosley in 1979. The sophomore running back, who ranked fifth among all rushers after five Big Ten games, climbed to second place on the charts entering the final weekend of play trailing only Minnesota's Laurence Maroney, whom the Hawkeyes were facing in the regular-season finale. In a matchup of the league's top two ground gainers, Young rushed for 103 yards while Maroney was limited to 10 yards before leaving the game in the first quarter after reaggravating an ankle injury. Young ended the season ranked first in league games only with 125.2 rushing yards per game, while Maroney topped the Big Ten in all games with 133.1 yards on the ground per outing. Ohio State's Troy Smith led the Big Ten in league games only with a 169.6 pass efficiency rating, making him the first Buckeye quarterback to lead the conference since Joe Germaine in 1998. Northwestern's Brett Basanez produced 339.4 yards of total offense per game to rank first in the league for the second time in his career after leading the way as a freshman in 2002 (250.3 ypg). He became just the second player in the last 20 years to average more than 300 yards of total offense per contest along with Purdue's Drew Brees, who accomplished the feat three times from 1998-2000. On the receiving end, Dorien Bryant become the fifth different Purdue wideout in the last seven years to top the Big Ten in receptions per game with 6.62 catches per outing in conference games only. The Boilermakers offense has produced the leading pass-catcher in six of the last seven seasons, a group that includes Taylor Stubblefield (2002, 2004), John Standeford (2003), Vinny Sutherland (2000) and Chris Daniels (1999). Wisconsin running back Brian Calhoun led the charge in scoring with 10.5 points per game, making him the first UW player to lead the league in points since Ron Dayne in 1999. And in punting, fellow-Badger Ken DeBauche led the Big Ten with 44.4 yards per boot in conference contests only to end the two-year reign of Michigan State's Brandon Fields, who concluded the season ranked fourth with 41.0 yards per punt.
. . . and Team Leaders: In the team statistics, Ohio State dominated the defensive side of the ball while three different squads topped the charts in the major offensive categories. The Buckeyes led the Big Ten in league games only in scoring defense (14.8 ppg), total defense (271.1 ypg), rushing defense (80.8 ypg) and passing defense (190.4 ypg). The last conference school to rank first in all four categories was Michigan in 2001. The Buckeyes have now topped the conference in points, total yards and rushing yards allowed in three of the last six seasons, including the 2000 and 2003 campaigns. OSU led in scoring defense four times in that six-year span (2005, 2003, 2002, 2000), ranked first in total defense on four occasions (2005, 2003, 2002, 2000) and topped the league in rushing defense three times (2005, 2003, 2000). However, the annual leader in passing defense in the Big Ten records book is determined by pass efficiency rating and Penn State (104.1) edged Ohio State (111.7) for the top spot in that category. The Nittany Lions also led the league in defensive pass efficiency last season with a rating of 92.8. On the offensive side of the ball, Northwestern was the only Big Ten unit to rank among the top five in points, total yards, rushing yards and passing yards per game. The Wildcats topped the conference in both total offense (494.0 ypg) and passing offense (306.6 ypg) while rating fourth in scoring offense (31.6 ppg) and fifth in rushing offense (187.4 ypg). Northwestern ranked first in total and passing offense for just the second time in school annals and the first time since the 1950 squad accomplished the feat. NU most recently led the way in total yardage in 2000 while topping the charts through the air in 1973. Minnesota led the Big Ten with 259.2 rushing yards per outing in 2005 league games, ranking first for the second time in three years (2003). Penn State put up more points than any other league outfit this season with 35.2 points per contest in Big Ten games to lead the way in scoring for the first time since setting the conference record in 1994 (48.1 ppg).
Gophers' Rushing Feat: In addition to leading the Big Ten in rushing, Minnesota became the first program in NCAA history to produce a pair of 1,000-yard rushers in three consecutive seasons. First-team All-Big Ten choice Laurence Maroney is the constant in that three-year span, tallying 1,464 yards in 2005 to become only the third player in Big Ten history to break the 1,000-yard mark in each of his first three seasons, joining Wisconsin's Ron Dayne and Michigan State's Sedrick Irvin. Maroney ranks second in school history with 3,933 yards on the ground for his career, a total that is just 279 yards shy of cracking the league's top-10 rushing leaders. Sophomore Gary Russell was the second Gopher to hit 1,000 rushing yards this season with a career-best 1,130 stripes. Maroney was joined by Marion Barber III with over 1,000 rushing yards in 2004 and 2003.
Badgers' Two-Way Threat: Wisconsin running back Brian Calhoun also entered the conference records book this season. The junior led the league with 1,636 rushing yards while ranking third on the team with 571 yards receiving to become just the second player in NCAA history to record 1,500 yards on the ground and 500 yards through the air. The only other Division I-A player to accomplish that feat was Pacific's Ryan Benjamin. Calhoun is only the second Big Ten player to surpass 1,000 yards rushing and 500 yards receiving along with Iowa's Ronnie Harmon, who racked up 1,166 rushing yards and 699 receiving yards in 1985.
Putting Points on the Board: Big Ten offenses produced points at a record pace during the 2005 season with eight teams averaging 30 or more points per outing and all 11 teams tallying an average of 30.1 points per game, the highest totals for the league since at least 1990. The Big Ten's previous high over the last 15 seasons occurred when six teams averaged 30 points or better in 1999, while the highest average for the entire league was the 28.5 points per contest produced in 2002. Eight conference attacks rated among the top 36 scoring offenses in the country including Minnesota (T10th at 35.8 ppg), Penn State (13th at 34.4), Wisconsin (14th at 34.3), Michigan State (T18th at 33.8), Ohio State (26th at 32.7), Northwestern (28th at 32.3), Iowa (T36th at 30.0) and Purdue (T36th at 30.0).
Wildcats Join 500-Yard Club: Northwestern became just the second team in Big Ten history to average more than 500 yards of total offense per game after ending the 2005 campaign with an average of 500.3 yards per outing (4th in the country). The only other league attack to crack the 500-yard barrier was Penn State's 1994 team that produced 512.7 yards per contest to set a conference record. In addition to the Wildcats offensive explosion this season, two other league outfits ranked among the top five single-season leaders in total offense -- Michigan State (4th with 497.3 ypg; 5th nationally) and Minnesota (5th with 494.8 ypg; 7th nationally).
Gophers Break Through at Michigan: Minnesota snapped the longest current losing streak among all Big Ten series this season with a last-second 23-20 road victory at Michigan on Oct. 8, ending the Wolverine's 16-game winning streak against the Gophers. Minnesota claimed the Little Brown Jug for the first time under head coach Glen Mason and picked up its first triumph over Michigan since 1986, which was also a three-point road win (20-17). The Wolverine's 16-game winning streak ranked seventh all-time among Big Ten streaks, as the longest streak in league annals was snapped in 2004 when Northwestern ended a 24-game skid against Ohio State. Michigan still boasts the longest active winning streak in a conference series with a 13-game string of success against Indiana.
Big Ten on TV: The 2005 campaign featured the most televised contests in conference history for an 11-game season, with 68 of 70 home football games appearing on television. That total included all 44 intraconference and 24 interconference games televised by either ABC Sports, ESPN, ESPN2, ESPN Plus, ESPNU, ESPN Classic or ESPN360. Six interconference road games were also televised bringing to 74 the number of Big Ten football games that appeared on television.


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It only takes a minute to get started. Fill out our uncomplicated sign up form and login to the website.
This step is noncompulsory but will seriously increase your chances of your profile getting noticed by other daters. Let people know a bit about yourself, your hobbies and upload any nice photographs of yourself.
Utilise our website's cutting-edge search to uncover members who fulfill your requirements. Or just scan through listings and uncover daters that arouse your interest.
Identified someone who appeals to you? Send a note to them or just a wink and wait for their response. With a little luck you'll be on your way to true love.
You won't regret it

subset: commoncrawl


text:
Luther Giordano
Nancy Edgington
Copyright © 2010 by Luther Giordano & Nancy Edgington.
Smashwords Edition
All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system, without permission in writing from the copyright owner. This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places and incidents either are the product of the author's imagination or are used fictitiously, and any resemblance to any actual persons, living or dead, events, or locales is entirely coincidental.
This ebook is licensed for your personal enjoyment only. This ebook may not be resold or given away to other people. If you would like to share this book with another person, please purchase an additional copy for each person you share it with. If you're reading this book and did not purchase it, or it was not purchased for your use only, then please return to Smashwords.com and purchase your own copy. Thank you for respecting the hard work of this author.


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Many if not all TN state legislators received an email from Planned Parenthood Memphis Region on April 24 attempting to respond to the release of Lila Rose's undercover video showing a PPMR employee perfectly willing to help who she thought was a 14-year-old girl cover up her rape and pregnancy by her 31-year-old "boyfriend."
In its email PPMR blamed the misinformation on these points:
These raise even more questions. Is PP so inept it doesn't know when to stop accepting patients? Or is it more concerned about getting $$ rather than providing safe patient care? Is PP saying it does not train its interpreters on TN law? How many other girls did this interpreter "counsel"?
PPMR Ceo Barry Chase also incorrectly identified TN's minor parental involvement law as "notification" when it is actually "consent." Big difference. He is unaware?
In addition, after 1st acknowledging the authenticity of Lila's video and what was told her by the PPMR employee, Chase incredibly stated PPMR's employees don't break the law and all receive "knowledgeable, professional" counseling. Huh?…
Chase further confused the fact Lila was posing as a 14-year-old, not actually a 14-year-old, wondering why she didn't immediately report the incident to authorities rather than "endanger a young woman."
Finally, contrary to its claim PPMR has NOT contacted Lila or LiveActionFilms requesting a copy of the video. How easy is Lila to reach? I received an answer to that question 7 minutes after asking it. Click to enlarge:
Here is PPMR's self-indicting email. Click to enlarge:
Bottom lines:


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I'm DONE, I'm GONE
my husband and i have been having problems in the last year or so. lack of communication, no intimacy, and hurt feelings on both sides. i had hit bottom, and was seriously considering moving out. i confronted him on saturday afternoon, and told him i was unhappy. he sat there and stared at me, and really didn't respond. then he shouted at me, that he needed me to help him. (he's a hoarder and i moved out of our room, he wanted me to help him clean it for the umpteenth time).
the phone rang and we took a little time apart. when we started talking again, i took my bff's advice and took ownership for MY part in our misery. he opened up to me, and told me he feels like i shut myself off f/ him. i told him, i feel like he doesn't listen to me, so i stopped talking. i told him that every morning i have to make a conscious effort not to leave. he said, "not leaving is not the same as deciding to stay."
we talked, cried, and laughed. by the time we finished talking, we decided once a week, to reconnect. movie at home on saturday nights, w/ our dd8, watching our dds 7&3, in their bedroom. and weekends my teens are home, maybe a dinner or movie, in the city.
we've been making an EFFORT to be kinder to each other, hold hands, kiss when we enter our home, say i love you, and this morning he asked me to dance in our kitchen.
i think you have to learn to give a little, and take stock of YOUR impact on your marriage. after 10 years together, 8 years married, 5 children total, it's worth it. i just wanted to share, i'm happier than i have been in a long time, and i almost threw it all away.
best of luck as you two work on this :) it's good to see y'all giving it a fighting chance.
thank you, i really think it was a long time coming. :)
Quoting Cbreland07:
Sadly so many would rather throw it away that put the effort in to work on it.. I'm happy you and your husband have started on the road back to a happy marriage! Good luck mommy and good for you!
thank you. :)
Quoting Anonymous:
Congrats for talking it out instead if walking away! Oh yea...bump :)
thank you. :)
Quoting ColtsFan1912:
best of luck as you two work on this :) it's good to see y'all giving it a fighting chance.


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NDSU Women's 4x400 Relay Team's Historic Season
Fargo, ND (WDAY TV) - Antoinette Goodman, Ashley Tingelstad, Paige Stratiotti and Morgan Milbrath are four of the fastest runners in college track.
But when you put them together like NDSU head coach Ryun Godfrey did a few months ago, you get something else, a dominant and record setting relay team.
Paige Stratiotti/NDSU Jr. (First Leg): The first time was at Minnesota we were in the 2nd heat, which is the slower heat, our 4x4 ended up doing really well, first time we ran together and could see be a really good team potentially."
The potential has been realized this spring for this 4 by 4 team. Goodman, Tingelstad and Stratiotti all say the reason this team has been special has been the addition of one of North Dakota's very best, freshman Morgan Milbrath.
Morgan Milbrath/NDSU Freshman Lead leg: "They were very welcoming, it was scary at first don't want to let them down, they've had success for so many years, you want to step into that role and fill it really well."
Tingelstad/anchor leg on Milbrath: "She's done a great job, she's the missing piece we've been looking for this 4x4."
With the pieces together, the records fell, the school mark was broken three times in 21 days, capped off by another record time at the prestigious Drake Relays; the success hasn't affected the four who admit they have different quirks to their success.
Antoinette Goodman/NDSU Sr. (Third Leg): "We're all weird, Morgan is the worst and Ashley everything has to be perfect with her jersey."
Tingelstad: "I have to wear the same white one and same black one, I don't know why.
Milbrath: "Before Notre Dame we were sitting down watching meet go by, next thing I know (she was out, biggest meet of our career and she was sleeping for 2 hours)."
What do you think the lasting legacy of this 4x 400 team is?
Milbrath: "Within a team this is a standard now this is something to reach for, those girls were fast, we need to keep going, keep striving."
Stratotti: "We've done everything we possibly could have done since August to get till where we were are now and I have no doubt in my mind that this weekend is going to go really well."
The 4 by 400 prelims begin on Thursday in Oregon, Godfrey says his goal is to see the team advance to the final.


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Gaviscon Peppermint Tablets
£6.70 (14p each)
Product Summary
Peppermint Flavour Tablets
Each Chewable Tablet contains 250mg Sodium Alginate, 133.5mg Sodium Hydrogen Carbonate and 80mg Calcium Carbonate as the Active Ingredients
Please note that while we take every care to make sure the product information displayed on our website is correct, product recipes are regularly changed. This may affect nutrition and allergen information therefore you should always check product labels and not rely solely on the information presented here.If you require specific advice on any Waitrose branded product, please contact our Customer Care Team. For all other products, please contact the manufacturer.This information is supplied for personal use only. It may not be reproduced in any way whatsoever without the prior consent of Waitrose Limited nor without due acknowledgement.


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I will never forget October 21, 2011. That was the day I had a seizure while driving. I had been seizure free for seven years! The neurologist gave me the o.k. to drive. The day before the wreck, the pharmacy had to switch my medication to a generice brand. Not many people know that there is a difference between a brand name and generic name medication, except for the price. I do.
Companies that make generic medicine only have to have a 3.5% variation in the compound of the drug. That means that one pill may not have as much of the working medicine in it that is needed for you. Patients with epilepsy need to be consistant with their medicication!
This made me have a CAR WRECK after only taking one dose of the generic medicine. My 14 year old daughter was in the front seat. I lost control of the car. She tried to grab the steering wheel, but without knowing I fought her. After hitting mail boxes, a tree fell in between us. Her ankle was shattered. After five surgeries, her ankile is fused with titanium. At the age of 19 she already has arthritis.
After that date I have become more vocal about epilepsy. I need help to spread the word and explain how it affects 1 out of 26 people in the United States alone! Not everyone falls to the ground and shakes. Epilepsy is also the least funded for research.
I need your help spreading this worldwide!!


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Here's a random story that's been bugging me for a few days. This is set about six months or so after the final. Only thing is, Stan didn't leave. He is still chief and Mary and Marshall are still partners. Please review!
Unlikely Friendship
Marshall chose a booth at the back on the bar; he just wanted a quiet drink where he didn't have to talk to anyone. He was questioning his decision to come in here instead of stopping at the liquor store to pick up a bottle of scotch on his way home when it suddenly hit him and he remembered why he chose to come here… because I didn't want to be reminded that there was no one other than Oscar waiting for him at home.
He sighed and rubbed his tired eyes; it had been a long week of witness transfers and Mary bugging him about his break up with Abigail. He had just kept changing the subject, not ready to talk about it yet.
While they had been fighting a lot lately, he was surprised when he got home two weeks ago to find Abigail stood with her bags packed. She told him that they were never going to work because too much had happened for them to be happy together. He had said she was wrong, that he loved her and would do anything to make it work but she still walked out, leaving her engagement ring on the table.
He wasn't stupid…He knew everyone in the office and probably over at the ABPD were gossiping about it. He heard them talking, saying how they wasn't surprised it hadn't lasted….And they all assumed that it was him that broke things off with her. A part of him wanted to put them straight but a bigger part of him knew it was none of their business and that it would probably just make matters worse if he said anything.
He hadn't even told Mary the reason why they split. He wasn't sure what her reaction to the truth would be and he wasn't ready to deal with the fall out. So he resisted all of her attempts; the teasing, the understanding, the sympathetic, the threatening…It just seemed to make her more determined.
His phone vibrated in his pocket and pulled it out to see Mary's caller ID. He couldn't help but smile at the irony. He wondered whether she was calling about a problem with work…Or if she was trying another tactic to get him to talk…Maybe she was at his house now, wondering where he was. He put the phone of the table and waited for it to go to voicemail…If it was work related, she would leave a message or Stan would be calling him in a next couple of minutes.
A minute later, he got a text message alert; unsurprisingly from Mary.
'I wanted to see if you were okay. It's just Norah and me hanging out tonight, if you feel like joining us. M'
He was tempted to take her up on her offer but he also knew what she had planned. They would start by watching a movie with a few beers and by the end of the film; they'd be in a deep and meaningful conversation and he would be confessing everything that had happened.
'I'm fine. Appreciate the offer but I'm going to pass, thanks. See you tomorrow.'
Once he had hit sent, he shoved the phone back into his jeans' pocket and leaned back, sipping his scotch.
He was debating with himself, whether he should order another drink and get a cab home or if he should leave now, picking up a bottle of something and face the fact that whatever time he went home, the place would still be empty.
Then he heard a familiar voice.
He looked up and was surprised to see Brandi sat at the bar, talking into her cell phone, obviously upset with someone.
He frowned a little, wondering what Mary's sister was doing a bar, alone. Ever since her broken engagement to Peter and she spiraled out of control, she had given up drinking. Then three months ago, she had given birth to her son, Joseph Scott Shannon. According to Mary, the younger Shannon had been doing really well since her return to Albuquerque and even managed to find herself a part-time job working in the admin office for a Construction Company.
Marshall watched as she slammed the phone down on the bar and picked up the straw in her drink, stirring it. He considered going over to say hello but quickly changed his mind. There was obviously a problem and he wasn't in the mood to be sucked into another Shannon family drama. It didn't look like she was upset or scared…Just angry. He knew that look well, from working with Mary almost every day for the last nine years.
He drained the rest of his scotch and stood up; hoping he could sneak out before being seen. He had almost made it to the door when he heard her voice again. When he looked over, he saw a man had joined her and by the looks of it, he was unwelcome.
He hesitated in the doorway until he saw the guy, trying to take Brandi's hand as she tried to resist being touched. He knew he would feel guilty if he just left her here alone when he could have helped, so with a loud sighed, he headed over to them.
"Hey, honey…" He greeted, placing a hand on Brandi's shoulder, causing her jump.
"Marshall?" She looked at him in surprise but then realized what was going on when her sister's friend flicked his eyes briefly the guy hitting on her. "You're late…"
"I know, I'm sorry but you know how the job can be…" Marshall replied, moving his jacket aside a little so his gun and badge was showing. "Who's this?"
"Hey, man…I didn't know she was taken…I don't want any trouble…" The guy jumped up from the bar stool and held up his hands.
"I don't want any either but maybe you should leave me and my girlfriend to get to our date?" He sat down on the stool on the other side of Brandi, draping an arm across her shoulder.
"Of course…" He stumbled away. "Sorry…"
Brandi chuckled as she watched him leave. "Thanks…"
"No problem." Marshall gave her a small smile. "It looked like you needed rescuing."
"Yeah, the creep wouldn't take a hint." Brandi replied and sipped her drink. "It's orange juice."
"I never said a word…"
"I know but I thought I should tell you." She shrugged. "I don't want it getting back to Mary that I've been in bars drinking…I really don't to take the 'I told you so' speech."
"Hey, come on…" Marshall started.
"Please, you know Mary better than anyone." Brandi cut him off. "You know she's waiting for me to fail."
"I know she's proud of what you've done since you've been back."
She let out another laugh. "Still doesn't stop her expecting me to fail."
Marshall opened his mouth, feeling like he should defend his best friend but before he could, the barman appeared.
"Can I get you anything?"
"This is on me…" Brandi looked at him. "Thank you for helping me out."
"Your real date is not going to show up and start a fight, is he?"
"Nope, I've been stood up."
Marshall knew he should probably turn her down but if he did, it would mean returning to the cold empty house.
"Scotch." He told her barman then to Brandi. "So, is it serious?"
"With this guy…the one who stood you up?" He asked. "Mary never mentioned you dating anyone."
"I'm not…I was meant to be meeting a friend from work but she cancelled last minute." Brandi shrugged. "I was looking forward to it… It's my first night out since the baby."
Marshall nodded his thanks when the barman returned with his drink. "Night is still young…you can still enjoy it."
"Marshall Mann, are you asking me out on a date?" She teased.
He choked on his scotch at her words. "No….No, I don't…I mean, I've just…"
"Relax, I'm joking." She laughed. "Anyway, I know you and Abigail just broke up…I was sorry to hear that."
"Yeah, me too."
"She was nice…I thought you two were good together."
"You thought she was nice after she arrested you…"
"To be fair, she also helped clear my name."
"True." Marshall nodded in agreement.
"But hey, at least you guys figured it out before the wedding…" Brandi said with fake cheerfulness. "You wouldn't believe the kind of looks you get when you try to check into a hotel alone when you're wearing a wedding dress."
It was Marshall's turn to laugh. "I think I would get more then looks if I tried to check into a hotel alone wearing a wedding dress."
She titled her head a little to get a better look at him. "How many of those have you had?"
"Only two but I'm running on about two hours sleep so…"
"Why are you here and not at home in bed?"
He shrugged. "More people here."
"Oh…Marshall…" She put her hand on top of hers. "You really miss her?"
He looked at her hand for a few seconds before pulling away. "It's only been two weeks."
"Then call her…Tell her you'll do whatever to get her back."
"You want the truth?" Marshall stared down into his glass, swirling the liquid. "I love her…I miss her…I would have done anything for her…but despite all that….I don't know if I would take her back, even she begged."
She frowned a little. "She hurt you?"
Marshall swallowed the rest of the scotch in one mouthful. "Brandi, I appreciate it but I don't really want to talk…"
"Okay, sure…" She shrugged. "What should be talk about then?"
"Anything…" Marshall replied, signaling the barman for another drink. "How's Joey doing?"
Brandi broke into a wide grin and pulled out her cell phone, to show him photos. "Oh, he's just great…The best thing that's happened to me…"
Marshall forced a smile in return, as she scowled through her photo album. He finished his third drink even quicker than the first two because with the help of Brandi distracting him and the scotch, it just made the pain a little more bearable.
Okay, some of you may know already but I really like Brandi and wished he had seen more of her with Marshall. I loved the end of Duplicate Bridge, where he's on the phone with her all…Also, the cut scene from Never the Bride when he's giving her advice about talking to Mary.
This is a friendship fic … but I would love you opinion! Please review and let me know.


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Santa Clarita residents with city-related requests or questions can submit their inquiries on the city's Web site 24 hours a day with the improved eService online request system.
Residents can visit www.santa-clarita.com/eService and file inquiries about anything from burned out street lights to information on construction projects in their neighborhoods.
The inquiry will be forwarded to the appropriate city department.
City wins park and recreation award
The California Park and Recreation Society awarded Santa Clarita the 2007-08 Creating Community Award of Distinction, an award given to one city in the state.
The city's Graffiti Task Force also won the Neighborhood and Community Life Award. The awards were announced at a banquet in Long Beach on Feb. 29.
VIA hosts evening fundraiser in L.A.
The Valley Industrial Association of Santa Clarita is hosting an evening of fun, food, education and entertainment March 29 at the Junior Achievement Headquarters in Los Angeles.
VIA in the Park is the main fundraiser for the Valley Industrial Association's Connecting to Success event, which is presented each year to students in the William S. Hart Union High School District.
Those who attend the March 29 fundraiser will directly assist in providing this important workforce readiness program to more than 2,000 local students.
Tickets are $65 and can be purchased by calling the Valley Industrial Association at (661) 294-8088 or e-mailing email@example.com.


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French designer Stephanie Staub has launched a new, more affordable range of made-to-order collection of flower girl dresses and page boy outfits for brides available online HERE.
Answering the current economic situation, Little Eglantine decided to help brides-to-be to still enjoy luxury children's wedding garments without the tag price.
"I can see how brides are financially struggling. Lots of them are not able to get the service and the quality they were able to get before. And it's sad really, because a wedding is something so personal, so important, that you don't want to end up having a splendid gown… but nothing else!! I want them to enjoy a wedding that is still gorgeous in all its smallest details." The designer explains
Already offering bespoke services, the designer has come up with a made-to-order collection. Clients can still choose exclusive designs and fabrics especially selected for the range, pick the correct size and buy the garments online.
"Each outfit is made to order, the designer says, and I personally make sure they are all of the utmost quality."
Brides who are looking for luxury made-to-measure flower girl dresses and page boy outfits, with the designer's unique output, and who want to chose among the vast variety of the taffetas the House offers can still enjoy Little Eglantines bespoke services. And children will receive the personal, warm and sophisticated touch of French "Haute Couture" which set Little Eglantine's collection apart. Smitten with perfection and refinement, the designer will help the bride-to-be choose and develop designs that look perfect on children.


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Picture this: A local emergency of some sort has emergency personnel knocking on your door telling you that you have 5 minutes to evacuate your house (fire, gas leak, railroad collision, earthquake). What will you spend those 5 minutes grabbing? Hopefully you'll say your children and your 72 hour kit (and then whatever else you think you have time to grab and can carry).
The idea of creating kits that keep your family alive until help arrives, until you find help, or until you can just return home can seem daunting. It feels like there is so much to have, so much to do, so much to buy, and if you forget just one thing, you might be doomed.
Don't think it. Break it down into individual pieces. Most of the things you need you probably already have at home now. The remainder are not expensive, are easy to get and easy to use. Think about it more like planning for a camping trip, but with much less stuff!
What is a 72 Hour Kit and Why do YOU Need One?
Just what is a 72 hour kit? It is a kit (sometimes referred to as a Go Bag), in a back pack or tote, that allows you to live away from your house for up to 3-4 days in an emergency. It is different than a term you might hear called a Bug Out Bag (B.O.B.) as a B.O.B. is meant for the possibility of permanent living away from home. Your 72 hr. kit is meant to allow you to escape an immediate threat, live for 3 (or 4 days if you stretch it) without having to rely on authorities, and going back home (though sometimes, home won't be an option if it is bad enough and that BOB will be a blessing).
Find out about all the different types of emergency bags here.
Why might you need a Go-Bag or 72 hour kit? You might need one for any number of reasons why you might be evacuated from your area.
You will probably return home, eventually, but until such time as you can return home, find a place to be safe with your family whether in a shelter or at a friend's house, you'll have the means to keep your family hydrated, fed, and safe until then.
• Scenario #1: Leaving Houston for the oncoming Hurricane Rita, many were stuck in the stand-still traffic on the highways going out of Houston. Some for a very long time.
• Scenario #2:Wildfires happening in the Northwest and California that have people evacuating from their homes, sometimes with only minutes to spare, and having no place to go until they can find shelter with friends and family or in governmental shelters, depending on what is available. (This is a real-life situation in California and the Northwest almost every year)
• Scenario #3: There is an explosion in the area at a local factory. The fumes might be toxic, and they cannot predict that more explosions won't be coming. You're asked to evacuate and make way to safer ground. But where is that? This is a real life situation for those in West, Texas in 2013 and in China in the last month.
What Kind of Container Do You Need?
You'll see in the photo above that we've used a variety of containers for our 72 hour kit.
- Backpack
- Rolling Suitcase
- Plastic Storage Tote
We keep the plastic storage totes in storage in our home full of food and water and rotate out often. The backpacks serve as our Get Home Bags (the ones we travel with all the time) and are a portion of our 72 hour kit. We have a suitcase for family clothes and blankets. We keep a camping kit handy with 2 2-person tents and some supplies in another tote not seen in this photo. Items can easily be transferred if needed, but are created for quick and easy storage, gathering and use for us if we need to leave. We understand that if we had to trek across the miles, we wouldn't be able to drag those plastic totes, but we'd do some quick rearranging and make things work better for the situation at hand. We also keep a first aid kit (the bottom-most tote) handy.
TIP: To go along with your 72 Hour Emergency Kit, it's important to already have an escape plan ready for when you do need to get away from the house quickly. Don't wait til the last minute to make decisions about where you'll go because you don't always have the best decision-making skills in the moment of panic.
*Don't miss the 30 Days of Preparedness Linkup at the bottom of the post!
There are many more ways to be prepared!*
What to Have in Your 72 Hour Emergency Kit
Here is a list of basic items to include in your 72 hour kit. Be sure to store them in an easily accessible spot (we've actually begun to keep ours in the car along with our emergency car kit). The preparedness mindset is 1 is none (meaning you have no backup) and 2 is 1 (meaning once you use your extra, you only have that one left). The idea behind this kit is that you have what you need to get through a short-term crisis before you can return home or until you can find shelter and/or help. You don't need to take your kitchen sink, but where you can, have a backup or a plan if something fails or gets lost.
FEMA recommends 1 gallon of water per person per day, but that is a bare minimum. You'll want more for sanitation, first aid and more. Be prepared with water filtration systems, water purification tablets, water bottles and more for water gathered on the road.
Here are some of the items you might find useful:
Tips: Keep a set of water bottles in your car at all time. You can rotate them out monthly to keep it fresh. A case can be stored flat on the bottom of your trunk, or you can use handy emergency water pouches for extras. Always keep water with you when you're on the road.
NOTE: Ready.gov recommends having a bottle of bleach and an eye dropper. I prefer the tablets, even if they take a little longer, because you don't have to worry about the bleach bottle breaking or leaking, which they are prone to doing because they aren't meant for long-term storage.
In most cases, you can get by with typical camping food or things you've collected for your family. But don't discount the calories and stock up mostly on granola and dried fruit. You need dense nutrient, high calorie food. If you do have access to a shelter, food may be provided for you, but it might not be enough.
Here is a list of ready-foods that can go in your kit. But you've got one more decision to make. Do you want food you'll need to cook or food that can be eaten directly out of the packaging? This is just a list to get you started.
- Granola Bars
- Emergency Food Bars
- Protein Bars
- Oatmeal packets
- Beef jerky
- Peanut butter snack cups/crackers
- Freeze-dried meal pouches (remember to pack enough water to use with these)
- Dried Fruit & Vegetables to snack on
- Homemade MREs
- Meat in a tin or pouch
- Canned ready-meals
- Home Canned Food (just be careful of the glass)
- Camping Plates/Utensils (you shouldn't need a cup as your water bottle will double)
- Can opener
- Comfort foods and special dietary foods
- Bring whatever cooking canisters you'll need depending on the kind of cooking you intend to do. Remember to keep it small and lightweight. Include at least one item that can be used to boil water.
Tip: Don't rely on weird food that you bought off the internet to feed your family. Make sure you use what you've actually eaten, even if it is the weird food! Take a night to play act an evacuation or a 'camping night' and eat that food and use your items in your kit so that nothing is unfamiliar to you.
Your car can serve as a shelter if you are stranded on the way. However, a packed shelter can give you peace of mind in case you are no longer with your car or are given rest in an area without your own shelter. A simple tarp + rope can serve as an emergency shelter, or you can tie a small tent to the bottom of your pack, or make a bedroll out of sheets/pillow. We keep a tote of just the camping equipment that can be attached to our backpacks if needed. We live in an area that even in colder weather, we don't need heavy-duty gear. But please pack according to the needs of your environment.
- Tent
- Tarp (you can get a smaller one with it's own pouch)
- Rope or Paracord
- Emergency Blankets
- Sleeping bag, sleeping pad and/or blankets
- Inflatable pillow
Tip: Like with eating new weird food that you got from the internet, don't assume you'll know how to make a shelter with your tarp and rope. Take a night to camp in the backyard and use these supplies and build your shelters so that you'll have the basic understanding of what you need to do. Trying to set up for the first time in a harsh weather event will make things even worse.
Fire & Heat
If you're having to be outside, fire can be a great way to warm you, to cook your food or even be a signal. Keep a couple of different kinds of fire starters in different areas of your pack, safely wrapped from the elements, so that you can always have fire. You'll also have to think about portable cook stoves if you won't be able to start a full fire in order to cook your food.
- Matches If you are going to use matches, be sure to store them in a waterproof case, even if they are waterproof matches.
- Lighters If you are going to store a lighter, please don't get the cheapest lighter you can find. Often times, they fail miserably. Get the disposables, but get the better versions. I keep a Zippo lighter and a backup canister of fuel.
- Strikers– There are all sorts of fire strikers, magnesium rods and more, but this is my favorite of all the ones we've used. I particularly love it becuase it's bright orange and can be seen easily if you drop it.
- Portable stove There are stoves that take fuel tabs, but I like the idea of a small portable stove that can burn wood like a rocket stove and save some weight. The portable fuel tabs can be more convenient depending on where you might be.
- Portable grill for campfire If you decide to cook food over a campfire, this is a great portable grill to have a stable platform to cook on.
Tip: Develop an alternative ways to start a fire that don't involve matches or starters. It's a skill that takes practice and can change depending on your surrounds and weather, but it is a good skill for anyone to have.
Flashlights, glow sticks, etc., help make you able to see in dark spaces and have light to get you around safely. Don't just rely on battery operated flashlights because there is a whole world of solar power lighting options available to you now that are much better than they used to be. Invest in good lights, not the cheapest you can find. There are so many options but here are what we use:
Let's face it, the need to go to the bathroom is going to come up. And you need to be able to clean yourself, even if only gone for a few days or until help arrives, because being sweaty and dirty will just lead to feeling blah when you're away from home. While doing something homemade may seem a great idea here, this is a time for convenience!
- Wipes – bleach wipes to help clean surfaces, dishes, gear and more. We store these in zip top bags or vacuum seal them to keep them fresh instead of lugging around the container. Then we rotate them through our regular supplies when we do our quarterly bag checks.
- Toilet Paper – just because.
- Toothbrush/Toothpast or toothpaste dots/Floss
- Soap – you may choose to purchase body wipes for quick wipe downs instead of soap, but having a bar of hard soap is going to be useful for doing things like washing clothes, your hair, etc.
- Powder shampoo can help a little with morale
- Feminine hygiene products
- Trash bags – not only to put your trash in as you generate it if you don't bury it, but for all sorts of reasons.
Tip: Remember, you'll need to think about water for sanitation as well as drinking when planning your 72 hour kit. Having some convenience products to clean with helps take a load off carrying more water, but don't discount needing water to clean with altogether.
- Axe – for cutting firewood
- Shovel – to bury trash or waste product, put out campfires
- Duct Tape
- Knife – whether a sheathed knife or a large multi-tool, you need to have a sharp blade for many jobs around camp.
Tip: Use a bright color of duct tape that can also be used to mark trails or signal directions in wooded areas or on buildings.
A pre-paid cellphone (with numbers already programmed into it), walkie talkies, a radio – things to help you be able to stay connected if communications are still available.
- Cell phones
- Hand held Ham radio
- Walkie Talkies
- Signaling devices.
Tip: Most walkie-talkies work on a line of site idea. If you are trying to use them where you are in canyons, large buildings, etc., their range can be effected, but they are good to have for short-range communications.
ATM's and banks may not be available during a local emergency. Nor will credit and debit cards be operational if there are interruptions in power or satellite in your area. Be sure to have extra cash stashed in small denominations to be able to purchase things if purchasing is an option.
Tip: Tuck coins and money in different pockets and crannies of your bags and boxes. Don't keep it all in one place.
Have an extra set of clothes good for whatever season you're in, plus extra socks. Keep a good, sturdy pair of shoes handy in case you have to walk. You'll want to have dry clothes available if you get wet, be able to layer on more if it is cold, and change into something clean if you get hot and sweaty or dirty. If you're wet, having something dry to change into will be a wonderful thing.
- Extra set of clothes suitable for the season you're in.
- Extra socks
- Hat
- Gloves/Coat
- Extra sturdy shoes
- Diapers
- Poncho/trash bag/rain gear
If you're in cold temperatures, be sure to have cold weather gear available, with extra gloves in case you get yours wet. Wear items that breath easily and won't make you sweat (cotton for the winter can get wet easily and not dry out quickly).
If you have small children and the elderly, 2 or 3 changes might be needed for accidents and diaper changes. Be sure to also include any extra diapers and diapering equipment you might need. Small children might revert to pre-potty trained days because they might be scared or you can't make quick potty stops as often as they need them. This might be time to think about a portable potty, too, because rest rooms might not be readily available.
TIP: Tuck a few large trashbags into your pack. Not only are they good for carrying and sitting on, they are good to cover your gear or your body as a rain protector if you didn't pack ponchos.
Have a small, well-packed first aid kit to help out with medical emergencies. You can either make your own or buy one ready-made to suit your purposes. Here is a very basic list to get you started:
- Bandages in varying sizes
- Sterile gauze pads (sanitary napkins/pads will also work)
- Scissors/Tweezers
- Triple Antibiotic ointment
- Hydrocortisone cream
- Alcohol wipes
- Pain relievers/aspirin
- Instant cold compress
- Hand warmers
- Sterile gloves
- Immodium
- Mucinex
- Space blanket (use a better version of a blanket)
- Ace bandage/large scarf
- Particle mask/face masks
- Prescription Medication
- Antacids
- Extra glasses/contacts
Tip: 10 First Aid Skills Every Parent Should Know
Make sure you have copies of the documentation you may need to rebuild your life after, or identify yourself during an emergency. You can keep the copies in a water proof bag or vacuum sealed or on a small memory stick.
- Driver's License
- Social Security Cards
- Credit and/or bank accounts
- Birth Certificates
- Voter Registration
- Medical Information
- Vaccination Records
- Contact information
- Emergency ID cards
Tip: For more information on how to create your own Family Emergency Binder click here.
It is important to have something that you carry at all times for security. Even having a knife in your pack that is handy for utilitarian reasons but can do double-duty as a self-defense weapon is important. If you are more comfortable carrying a weapon or mace.
Tip: 10 Basic Safety Tips for Women
You might want to consider adding items for entertainment if you end up spending many hours waiting for things to happen – books, card games, pen/paper, electronic readers (though know that you might not have electricity to recharge).
- Playing cards
- Books
- Crayons/paper a small stuffed comfort toy
Tip: Pack some extra glowsticks for night time play with the youngesters.
Want a great checklist to take time to build your 72 hour kit over time?
Make this list what you need for the particulars of your family. There are many other things that you can add to the list that you may find helpful. Depending on the vehicle you may be able to evacuate in or the modes of transportation you may use, where your planned final stop might be, or whether you have extra bodies to help carry. Make this a good starting point for what you need to do for the basics and expand it as your family needs and circumstances dictate.
Just remember, you need to be able to pull or carry what you pack. Don't plan emergency needs expecting to always have a working vehicle or a way out in a car. Be prepared to carry, pack the most important items in personal packs that you can carry.
TIP: Don't plan on carrying more than 25% of your body weight.
or use this link to help you create a printable .pdf of this post (until I can get the printable list done for you). It's easy and free to use, and will let you edit what you actually print!
Watch this family to see how important having a prepared evacuation plan and a 72 hour kit can be!
If you would like to take the next step and use a step by step weekly plan, check out Your Own Home Store's plan – you can read the review here.
September is National Preparedness Month and The Prepared Bloggers are at it again!
It's safe to say that our ultimate goal is to help you have an emergency kit, a family plan, and the knowledge to garden, preserve your harvest and use useful herbs every day – without spending a ton of money to do it. Luckily that's obtainable for every family and a journey we would love to help you with.
This year we have posts about food storage, 72-hour Kits & Bug Out Bags, and every aspect of preparedness, from water storage to cooking off grid. You'll also find many ideas to help you be more self-reliant.
Be sure to visit our sites and learn as much as you can about being prepared. We'll be using the hashtag #30DaysOfPrep for these and many other ideas throughout the month of September, so join in the conversation and make 2015 the year you become prepared.
Food Storage
The Prepared Pantry: A 3 Month Food Supply | PreparednessMama
How to Wax Cheese for Long Term Storage | Perky Prepping Gramma
Dispelling the Canned Food Expiration Date Myth | Self Sufficient Man
6 Canning Myths You Must Know | Melissa K. Norris
How to Dehydrate Cherries | Mom With a PREP
How to Dehydrate Milk for Long Term Storage | Perky Prepping Gramma
Survival Tips from the Great Depression | Self Sufficient Man
The 5 best crops for Self Sufficient Gardeners | Our Stoney Acres
Butchering a chicken | The Homesteading Hippy
Self-Sufficiency Simplified | Blue Jean Mama
3 Small Livestock Preparedness Tips | Timber Creek Farm
Essential Oils for Preparedness | Mama Kautz
Farm First Aid Preparedness | Timber Creek Farm
72-Hour Kits or Bug Out Bags
How to Build a 72-hour Go Bag | Blue Yonder Urban Farm
Build Your Dollar Store B.O.B. for your Car in minutes! | Simply Living Simply
10 Essential Oils You Need in Your B.O.B. and at Home | Blue Jean Mama
10 Must-Have Herbs for Your B.O.B | Simply Living Simply
Create a 72 Hour Emergency Kit or Go Bag | Mom with a PREP
5 Things New Moms Can Do to Prepare for Disasters | PreparednessMama
Trauma Essentials for the Prepper | The Prepared Ninja
Emergency Preparation for Those Who Are Disabled or Elderly | A Matter of Preparedness
10 Most Important Items a Female Prepper Should Have | Living Life in Rural Iowa
How to Prepare Your Car for Winter | Frugal Mama and the Sprout
How to Prepare For a Power Outage | Blue Yonder Urban Farm
Why Natural Health, Exercise and Whole Foods Play a Role in Survival | Trayer Wilderness
Getting Started With Water Storage | The Backyard Pioneer
10 Totally Free Prepping Things to Do | Living Life in Rural Iowa
21 Prepper Tips I Wish I'd Heard Before I Started Prepping | Urban Survival Site
Is Homesteading Like Prepping? | The Homesteading Hippy
What You Should Consider When Fire Is A Threat | Trayer Wilderness
11 Ways to Cook Off-Grid | Melissa K. Norris
2014's 30 Days of Preparedness Challenge List
Enter your email and click submit to get your FREE Family Emergency Binder Starter kit. Take control of your family's preparedness today!


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Your Overtons.com Session is About to Expire!
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Links Golf and Racquet Club
North Myrtle Beach, South Carolina
Reviews of Links Golf and Racquet Club
North Myrtle Beach, South Carolina
I just love this place and so do our two children! The staff are wonderful, the activities are great! We LOVE the fact that it is in a residential area! It is a wonderful place to ride a bicycle and relax. The neighborhood is great and if we could afford it, we would buy a house in the neighborhood surrounding The Links. The units are spacious. The resort is near everything that you could possibility want or need. Who cares if its not on the beach? We love the fact that we are sooo near the beach, but not on it. Between the free van shuttle to the beach, and the beach cabana (which is quite nice) you don't need your units to be on the beach. You have the best of both worlds. I love not having the messy sand in my unit, yet we can go to the beach every day and have a refrigerator, picnic tables, and bathrooms and showers, right at the beach with the cabana. How cool!
Could not use our week last July due to a Mission Trip with our church, so we rented our week and found another resort ON the beach a few weeks later. Oh, how we missed our place at The Links. The resort on the beach was so small (even though it was also two bedrooms), crowded and soooo noisy we couldn't even sleep. Despite the fact that we were on the beach, we were miserable and realized even more how GREAT we have it at The Links !
great location love private cabanna on beach everything is so accessible kids love playground, and game room
What a GREAT resort! We own two weeks now! Everyone is soooo friendly. The beach and the cabana are awesome.
We loved the welcome party! What a blast. Hot dogs and hamburgers by the poolside with a raffle and a DJ.
Buying all of our Myrtle Beach attraction tickets from the Links excursion desk saved us a ton of money. They get really great discounts and the best seats!
The cabana and shuttle are great. The strip of beach in front of the cabana is really really nice. Filled with families and couples alike. I can see why Myrtle Beach wins for Best Family Beach every year. I am soooo glad we are on board.
The Links itself has its own special nook. Set back in a residential forest like setting, it is quite and calming. The kids can run and play, the place is beautiful, and the club house abounds with fun activities. Think Dirty Dancing! There are ping pong contests, shuffleboard contests, etc...
I am sooo glad we went and even more glad we bought!
We visited our friends last month to check the resort. They have been bragging about their $750 investment. Good deal for the price. The bedrooms upstairs are both spacious. It can use a little color. The bathroom downstairs is not clean. We own two Marriott timeshares and one in a Fairfield resort - there is no comparison - it is in a residential area, no view of the ocean. It is not a place where I want to spend a week so we decided not to buy.
Stayed here a couple of years ago, but was impressed with the size of the unit and it's townhouse layout. Kids loved the pool and the little patios outside of the units. Decor was pleasant. Not so far from the beach but definitely required getting into your car and making a trip. If you are a golf fan, this IS the place for you (well outside of Hilton Head anyway). We liked being away from Myrtle Beach's hustle and bustle and close to the library (web access is available for non- residents - no charge). Thoroughly enjoyed it at the Links.
I stayed at the Links August 22 - 29. I am very pleased with my purchase. I purchased this timeshare blindly and was very anxious to use it so I could see what I bought.
I love the beach, but also enjoy the attractions at Myrtle Beach. This was the best of both worlds. Although you had to pack up and drive to the beach, it was less than 5 minutes away. The beach wasn't crowded, the facilities are nice, the units are SUPERB! I just love it! Next to my home, this is the best investment I ever made! I'm proud to be an owner.
7/4/2004-7/11/20 We were at the Links Golf & Racquet Club in N. Myrtle Beach at one of the busiiest vacation weeks. The rooms were fabulous, very clean, 3 bathrooms, 2 bedrooms, a complete Kitchen. It was situated in a residential community, off of very busy highway 17. It was great to go out to all the attractons and come back to serenity. The Pool was clean and not surprisingly, overcrowed. Staff were helpful and pleasant. After going down by the beach and seeing the other resorts and the crowds (some patrons had to pay for parking at their own resort), we were happy that we stayed 3/4 of a mile from the beach. I would recommend the Links for convienence and comfortability.
Nice resort but not a true "beach vacation". The resort is great for those who want to golf or enjoy the shopping, but it's too far if you are going to Myrtle Beach to enjoy the beach. You have to pick up and drive to get there. I agree with the previous reviewer - it's a nice resort but only 3 stars if you are going for the beach.
stayed her in oct 1999 on a bargain trade from RCI
it is several miles across rt 17 to the beach (cabana and parking 1 1/2 blocks from beach)
if you are a golfer its a 4 star but only 3 for beach bums like me
We were very plesantly surprised with this resort. The units are very spacious and well maintained. The fireplace is a nice touch if you are staying in the cooler season. The two story layout separates the living area and the bedrooms, a real plus if you have young children.
The staff was always helpful and courteous. Our unit backed directly on the golf course and gave us a great view of the course and a small pond.
The resort is located away from the heavy traffic, but is close to everything.


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Breast Cancer Awareness Month – Shop Pink for BCA Part 11
- TINte Cosmetics Blushed Beauty ($28.00) In Honor of Breast Cancer Awareness TINte Cosmetics will be donating 40% of the proceeds from each sale of our New Match Book Kit in Blushed Beauty to breast cancer awareness and research.
- Poly-Vitamin Serum ($95.00) 100% of profits during October to National Breast Cancer Coalition.
- YSL Golden Gloss #27 ($28.00) his October, YSL is proud to support the search for the cure. 30% of your purchase of Golden Gloss N 27 will be contributed to the National Breast Cancer Coalition Fund.
- Clinique Great Lips, Great Cause Lipstick Set ($16.50) $10.00 from each sale is contributed to The Breast Cancer Research Foundation.
Please consider participating in Temptalia's Breast Cancer Awareness Fundraiser!


text: Gareth Jones @garethjones active 5 years, 5 months ago ActivityProfileFriends 0Groups 1Forums Topics StartedReplies CreatedFavorites Forum Replies Created Viewing 1 post (of 1 total) Author Posts 16th April 2012, 8:22 at 8:22 am #181557 Gareth JonesParticipant I and four friends will hire an apartment in the city centre. The place looks really nice and works out as £20 per eve each. We booked through http://www.budapestholidayservice.com/ Author Posts Viewing 1 post (of 1 total)


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Talbots does not offer any wedding attire for its customers to purchase as of September 2015. It offers some accessories that a woman may consider suitable to wear on her wedding day, however, including the freshwater pearl necklace and sterling silver teardrop earrings.Continue Reading
The freshwater pearl necklace features two strands of beads joined together by a hook-and-eye clasp. The sterling silver teardrop earrings feature levers that hold the earrings in place.
Other accessories from Talbots that a woman may deem appropriate to wear on her wedding day include the control-top hosiery and opaque hosiery. Both types of hosiery are made of nylon and come in a variety of colors.Learn more about Clothing


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Gameloft bringing more games to Windows Phone 8 and Windows 8
I've played many a Gameloft game on my iPad (and other iOS devices), and although the company now likes to focus on Freemium titles packed with ridiculous in-app purchases, it is still a name synonymous with quality gaming.
Which is why it's great news for Windows 8 and Windows Phone 8 devotees that the company plans to bring 15 of its new games to both of those platforms over the next twelve months, starting with Asphalt 8: Airborne and Dungeon Hunter 4 this fall.
Announcing the move, Steve Guggenheimer, corporate vice president of Developer and Platform Evangelism, Microsoft says, "We're thrilled to work with a gaming industry leader such as Gameloft to deliver top casual and core titles to our customers this holiday. We strive to make Windows 8 and Windows Phone 8 the best platform for gaming. With top gaming companies such as Gameloft investing in the platform, it is evident that there is no better time for game developers and gamers alike to choose Windows".
While there's no word on the full list of Gameloft games coming to Microsoft's tiled operating systems, titles confirmed to arrive by the end of the year include the previously mentioned Asphalt 8: Airborne and Dungeon Hunter 4, as well as Despicable Me: Minion Rush, Total Conquest, Six Guns, and UNO & Friends.


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<< Back - 1993 > Mazda > Miata > Engine Mechanical > Crankshaft Pulley
1993 Mazda Miata Crankshaft PulleyReview Fitment Notes to Ensure Proper Fit
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Genuine Crankshaft Pulley
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Crankshaft Pulley Reviews - 1993 Mazda Miata
Genuine | W0133-1755286
Parts Geek was right on time for me. I waited for about 2 months trying to get this part from JC Whitney but they kept sending the wrong part. Finally they admitted that they didn't have the part in stock. I order from Parts Geek, the price was right and part is already installed on my vehicle.
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March 9th, 2014 | Posted by Finally!!!


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News story
NHS charges from April 2013 announced
This was published under the 2010 to 2015 Conservative and Liberal Democrat coalition government
The NHS prescription charge in England will increase by 20p from £7.65 to £7.85 for each quantity of a drug or appliance from 1 April 2013.
However, the cost of a prescription prepayment certificate (PPC) will remain at £29.10 for a 3 month certificate. The cost of the annual certificate will remain at £104.
PPCs offer savings for those needing 4 or more items in 3 months or 14 or more items in one year.
In England, around 90 per cent of prescription items are dispensed free.
Dental charges
- The dental charge payable for a band one course of treatment will increase by 50p from £17.50 to £18.
- The dental charge for a band 2 course of treatment will increase by £1 from £48 to £49.
- The charge for a band 3 course of treatment will increase by £5 from £209 to £214.
Wigs and fabric supports
Charges will be increased by an overall 2.5 per cent for wigs and fabric supports.
Optical vouchers
The range of NHS optical vouchers available to children, people on low incomes and individuals with complex sight problems are also being increased in value. In order to continue to provide help with the cost of spectacles and contact lenses, optical voucher values will rise by an overall 1 per cent.
PPCs can be ordered from the NHS Business Services Authority, or by phoning 0300 330 1341.
Document information
Published: 1 March 2013
From: Department of Health


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I wanted to have a younger looking appearance. I had a "turkey neck" which made me look older than my actual age. I have loved my results, and have become a botox patient, and am seeing the esthetician there for regular facials.
The O.R. on Site Was Definite Positive, Because It Allowed Me the Privacy That I Was Looking For.