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LOS ANGELES (AP) ? The ex-wife of former Los Angeles Dodgers owner Frank McCourt wants to set aside the couple's divorce settlement, claiming he vastly understated the value of a team that sold earlier this year for $2 billion, the highest figure ever paid for a pro sports franchise.
Jamie McCourt's attorney, Bertram Fields, told The Associated Press that she "thought very long and very hard about whether to file this motion" but that after other means failed, she returned to court.
"Mr. McCourt got about 93 percent of the family assets, and Mrs. McCourt got about 7 percent," Fields said in a phone interview late Tuesday. "We would've much preferred to have this massive imbalance resolved with some modification, but we got no response to that approach. We didn't want to have more family litigation, but now it's up to the court."
The motion filed Monday in Los Angeles Superior Court claims Frank McCourt committed fraud by misrepresenting the couple's Dodgers assets as worth less than $300 million during their protracted divorce.
The pair's marriage was dissolved in October 2010, and Jamie McCourt received $131 million. The new court papers claim that after the sale and subtraction of relevant debts, Frank McCourt's assets turned out to be worth $1.7 billion, well over 10 times the amount Jamie McCourt received.
The motion claimed that even if Frank McCourt's figures were the result of mistakes rather than fraud, the settlement should be tossed out on the basis of the errors.
An email seeking comment from Ryan Kirkpatrick, an attorney for Frank McCourt, was not immediately returned late Tuesday.
The Dodgers went into bankruptcy protection in June 2011, but Frank McCourt eventually sold the team for $2 billion this May to a group that included former Los Angeles Lakers star Magic Johnson.
The group has vowed to restore dignity to the storied franchise after the era of McCourt, who is widely reviled by Dodgers fans for his seemingly profligate lifestyle at the club's expense after he bought the team from Rupert Murdoch's News Corp. for $430 million in 2004.
In bankruptcy filings, attorneys for Major League Baseball said Frank McCourt looted more than $180 million in revenue from the club for personal use and other business unrelated to the team.
Divorce documents laid out the couple's expensive tastes, including the purchase of several homes, trips on chartered jets, country club memberships and even a six-figure, on-call hair stylist.
A hearing on the motion to set aside the divorce settlement was scheduled for Nov. 16.
It seems like the evidence for exercise doing good things for a woman?s body just keeps getting stronger. And now there?s a lifesaving clinical reason to fit some cardio into your week. Duke University researchers have made an intriguing correlation between fitness levels and a woman?s chances of surviving breast cancer.
Among patients with advanced breast cancer, women with higher cardiopulmonary function survived ?significantly longer? than women with low fitness levels. The women in the Duke study with the highest fitness levels lived 36 months compared to 16 months for their ?low fitness? counterparts.
The researchers were interested in cardiopulmonary fitness levels in their patients because prior studies suggest that, in general, the lung and heart function of breast cancer patients and survivors is significantly lower than their non-afflicted counterparts. It?s believed that chemotherapy drugs and cancer treatment ? while often critically lifesaving ? can impair a woman?s cardiopulmonary function for years after treatment, with many women never returning to levels comparable to even their sedentary peers.
?Fitness level may be an important biomarker of survival among cancer patients,? reports Lee Jones, Ph.D., an associate professor at Duke University and the study?s lead author. He says the research also suggests that exercise may be an important intervention for cancer patients during and after treatment.
What can the water monster teach us about tissue regeneration in humans?Public release date: 25-Sep-2012 [ | E-mail | Share ]
Contact: Andy Hoang ahoang@salk.edu 619-861-5811 Salk Institute
Understanding how salamanders grow new limbs provides insights into the potential of human regenerative medicine
LA JOLLA, CA---- Based on two new studies by researchers at the Salk Institute for Biological Studies, regeneration of a new limb or organ in a human will be much more difficult than the mad scientist and supervillain, Dr. Curt Connors, made it seem in the Amazing Spider-man comics and films.
As those who saw the recent "The Amazing Spiderman" movie will know, Dr. Connors injected himself with a serum made from lizard DNA to successfully regrow his missing lower right arm - that is, before the formula transformed him into a reptilian humanoid.
But by studying a real lizard-like amphibian, which can regenerate missing limbs, the Salk researchers discovered that it isn't enough to activate genes that kick start the regenerative process. In fact, one of the first steps is to halt the activity of so-called jumping genes.
In research published August 23 in Development, Growth & Differentiation, and July 27 in Developmental Biology, the researchers show that in the Mexican axolotl, jumping genes have to be shackled or they might move around in the genomes of cells in the tissue destined to become a new limb, and disrupt the process of regeneration.
They found that two proteins, piwi-like 1 (PL1) and piwi-like 2 (PL2), perform the job of quieting down jumping genes in this immature tadpole-like form of a salamander, known as an axolotl - a creature whose name means water monster and who can regenerate everything from parts of its brain to eyes, spinal cord, and tail.
"What our work suggests is that jumping genes would be an issue in any situation where you wanted to turn on regeneration," says the studies' senior author, Tony Hunter, a professor in the Molecular and Cell Biology Laboratory and director of the Salk Institute Cancer Center.
"As complex as it already seems, it might seem a hopeless task to try to regenerate a limb or body part in humans, especially since we don't know if humans even have all the genes necessary for regeneration," says Hunter. "For this reason, it is important to understand how regeneration works at a molecular level in a vertebrate that can regenerate as a first step. What we learn may eventually lead to new methods for treating human conditions, such as wound healing and regeneration of simple tissues."
The research team, which included investigators from other universities around the country, sought to characterize the transcriptional fingerprint emerging from the early phase of axolotl regeneration. They specifically looked at the blastema, a structure that forms at a limb's stump.
There the scientists found transcriptional activation of some genes, usually found only in germlime cells, which indicated cellular reprogramming of differentiated cells into a germline state.
In the Development, Growth & Differentiation study, the research team, led by Wei Zhu, then a postdoctoral researcher in Hunter's laboratory, focused on one of these genes, the long interspersed nucleotide element-1 (LINE-1) retrotransposon.
LINE-1 elements are jumping genes that arose early in vertebrate evolution. They are pieces of DNA that copy themselves in two stages - first from DNA to RNA by transcription, and then from RNA to DNA by reverse transcription. These DNA copies can then insert themselves into the cell's genome at new positions.
A few years ago, Fred Gage, professor in the Laboratory of Genetics at the Salk Institute, discovered that LINE-1 elements move around during neuronal development, and may program the identities of individual neurons.
"Most of these copies appear to be 'junk' DNA, because they are defective and can never jump again," says Hunter. But all mammals, including humans, still have active LINE-1 genes, and the salamander, whose genome is 10 times larger than a human's, contains many more.
Active LINE-1 retrotransposons can keep jumping, and that was true in the developing blastema where LINE-1 jumping was dramatically switched on. But in the researchers' companion study, in Developmental Biology, they found that PL1 and PL2 switch off transcription of repeat elements, such as LINE-1. "The idea is that in the development of germ cells, you definitely don't want these things hopping around," says Hunter. "The mobilization of these jumping genes can introduce harmful genomic rearrangements or even abort the regeneration process."
In fact, when the researchers inhibited PL1 and PL2 activity in the axoloti limb blastema, regeneration was significantly slowed down.
"The need to switch on one set of genes to stop other genes from jumping just illustrates how amazingly difficult it would be to regenerate something as complex as a limb in humans," Hunter says. "But that doesn't mean we won't learn valuable lessons about how to treat degenerative diseases."
###
The work was supported by grants from the National Cancer Institute, the U.S. Public Health Service, and an Innovation Grant from the Salk Institute.
About the Salk Institute for Biological Studies:
The Salk Institute for Biological Studies is one of the world's preeminent basic research institutions, where internationally renowned faculty probe fundamental life science questions in a unique, collaborative, and creative environment. Focused both on discovery and on mentoring future generations of researchers, Salk scientists make groundbreaking contributions to our understanding of cancer, aging, Alzheimer's, diabetes and infectious diseases by studying neuroscience, genetics, cell and plant biology, and related disciplines.
Faculty achievements have been recognized with numerous honors, including Nobel Prizes and memberships in the National Academy of Sciences. Founded in 1960 by polio vaccine pioneer Jonas Salk, M.D., the Institute is an independent nonprofit organization and architectural landmark.
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?
AAAS and EurekAlert! are not responsible for the accuracy of news releases posted to EurekAlert! by contributing institutions or for the use of any information through the EurekAlert! system.
What can the water monster teach us about tissue regeneration in humans?Public release date: 25-Sep-2012 [ | E-mail | Share ]
Contact: Andy Hoang ahoang@salk.edu 619-861-5811 Salk Institute
Understanding how salamanders grow new limbs provides insights into the potential of human regenerative medicine
LA JOLLA, CA---- Based on two new studies by researchers at the Salk Institute for Biological Studies, regeneration of a new limb or organ in a human will be much more difficult than the mad scientist and supervillain, Dr. Curt Connors, made it seem in the Amazing Spider-man comics and films.
As those who saw the recent "The Amazing Spiderman" movie will know, Dr. Connors injected himself with a serum made from lizard DNA to successfully regrow his missing lower right arm - that is, before the formula transformed him into a reptilian humanoid.
But by studying a real lizard-like amphibian, which can regenerate missing limbs, the Salk researchers discovered that it isn't enough to activate genes that kick start the regenerative process. In fact, one of the first steps is to halt the activity of so-called jumping genes.
In research published August 23 in Development, Growth & Differentiation, and July 27 in Developmental Biology, the researchers show that in the Mexican axolotl, jumping genes have to be shackled or they might move around in the genomes of cells in the tissue destined to become a new limb, and disrupt the process of regeneration.
They found that two proteins, piwi-like 1 (PL1) and piwi-like 2 (PL2), perform the job of quieting down jumping genes in this immature tadpole-like form of a salamander, known as an axolotl - a creature whose name means water monster and who can regenerate everything from parts of its brain to eyes, spinal cord, and tail.
"What our work suggests is that jumping genes would be an issue in any situation where you wanted to turn on regeneration," says the studies' senior author, Tony Hunter, a professor in the Molecular and Cell Biology Laboratory and director of the Salk Institute Cancer Center.
"As complex as it already seems, it might seem a hopeless task to try to regenerate a limb or body part in humans, especially since we don't know if humans even have all the genes necessary for regeneration," says Hunter. "For this reason, it is important to understand how regeneration works at a molecular level in a vertebrate that can regenerate as a first step. What we learn may eventually lead to new methods for treating human conditions, such as wound healing and regeneration of simple tissues."
The research team, which included investigators from other universities around the country, sought to characterize the transcriptional fingerprint emerging from the early phase of axolotl regeneration. They specifically looked at the blastema, a structure that forms at a limb's stump.
There the scientists found transcriptional activation of some genes, usually found only in germlime cells, which indicated cellular reprogramming of differentiated cells into a germline state.
In the Development, Growth & Differentiation study, the research team, led by Wei Zhu, then a postdoctoral researcher in Hunter's laboratory, focused on one of these genes, the long interspersed nucleotide element-1 (LINE-1) retrotransposon.
LINE-1 elements are jumping genes that arose early in vertebrate evolution. They are pieces of DNA that copy themselves in two stages - first from DNA to RNA by transcription, and then from RNA to DNA by reverse transcription. These DNA copies can then insert themselves into the cell's genome at new positions.
A few years ago, Fred Gage, professor in the Laboratory of Genetics at the Salk Institute, discovered that LINE-1 elements move around during neuronal development, and may program the identities of individual neurons.
"Most of these copies appear to be 'junk' DNA, because they are defective and can never jump again," says Hunter. But all mammals, including humans, still have active LINE-1 genes, and the salamander, whose genome is 10 times larger than a human's, contains many more.
Active LINE-1 retrotransposons can keep jumping, and that was true in the developing blastema where LINE-1 jumping was dramatically switched on. But in the researchers' companion study, in Developmental Biology, they found that PL1 and PL2 switch off transcription of repeat elements, such as LINE-1. "The idea is that in the development of germ cells, you definitely don't want these things hopping around," says Hunter. "The mobilization of these jumping genes can introduce harmful genomic rearrangements or even abort the regeneration process."
In fact, when the researchers inhibited PL1 and PL2 activity in the axoloti limb blastema, regeneration was significantly slowed down.
"The need to switch on one set of genes to stop other genes from jumping just illustrates how amazingly difficult it would be to regenerate something as complex as a limb in humans," Hunter says. "But that doesn't mean we won't learn valuable lessons about how to treat degenerative diseases."
###
The work was supported by grants from the National Cancer Institute, the U.S. Public Health Service, and an Innovation Grant from the Salk Institute.
About the Salk Institute for Biological Studies:
The Salk Institute for Biological Studies is one of the world's preeminent basic research institutions, where internationally renowned faculty probe fundamental life science questions in a unique, collaborative, and creative environment. Focused both on discovery and on mentoring future generations of researchers, Salk scientists make groundbreaking contributions to our understanding of cancer, aging, Alzheimer's, diabetes and infectious diseases by studying neuroscience, genetics, cell and plant biology, and related disciplines.
Faculty achievements have been recognized with numerous honors, including Nobel Prizes and memberships in the National Academy of Sciences. Founded in 1960 by polio vaccine pioneer Jonas Salk, M.D., the Institute is an independent nonprofit organization and architectural landmark.
[ | E-mail | Share ]
?
AAAS and EurekAlert! are not responsible for the accuracy of news releases posted to EurekAlert! by contributing institutions or for the use of any information through the EurekAlert! system.
Factual is a company that provides open data sets for developers, most notably its location data sets and APIs. The company just announced that it has added thousands of new locations to its U.S. point of interest sets, for a total of over 22 million places in the U.S and 62 million places around the world.
Video gaming is big business, and over 200 companies came to a game show in Japan to prove it. But video games are moving out of the den and the living room, into the packets of gamers, smartphones and tablets dethrone the once-almighty gaming consoles.
TOKYO (majirox news) ? Japan is known as the home of computer games with millions of users. The world?s largest show devoted to these games opened near Tokyo. With 209 companies showing off more than 1,000 titles and devices.
Games to play on smartphones and tablets stole the limelight on the hardware side. Social networking games took front stage on the software.
?In fact, smartphone shipments are expected to exceed computer shipments during 2012,? said Keisuke Asai, director of Global Management of GREE Inc., a leading mobile social gaming network worldwide with a reach of over 140 million users. ?These games used to be for wealthy people, because they had money to buy the hardware and software. But today anyone can play these games on smartphones or computers.?
In 2011, some experts estimated the global market for these products to be a whopping 65 billion dollars.
Old favorites such as Capcom?s ?Biohazard? and the latest incarnation of Square Enix?s ?Final Fantasy were among the native Japanese offerings, but companies from all over the world were present to demonstrate their developments to the gaming world.
?Some companies also offer viewers a peek at video games for free, and then they can purchase them if they want,? Asai said. ?This is one of the reasons that video gaming is growing in developed and developing countries. Regardless of nationality, rich or poor and gender everyone in the world loves playing games.?
Jean, who was at the show, said, ?I came from France. It?s incredible and there so many people everywhere. It?s so much fun and the games are so beautiful.?
Once dominant in the marketplace, the gaming consoles devoted to video games are slipping down the ranks. Mobile games played on smartphones, tablets and social media games, are taking over.
Tomoko Honda, who can dress as her favorite character of ?Final Fantasy,? said, ?I love playing games on my smartphone because I can play it anywhere.?
As gaming is becoming more common, with gamers carrying their virtual lives in their packets and purses to be played anywhere and everywhere. However, here has been concern in Japan about tactics used by game publishers to promote in-game purchases, which have proved expensive luxuries for many gamers.
But whatever the worries of some observers, computer games are still big business. In 2011, some observers estimated the global market for these products to be $65 billion (about the same as the GDP of Ecuador for the same period). This year?s show confirms the continued growth, but also highlights the change from computers to more portable ubiquitous devices, and the use of the Internet as an integral part of more and more games.
Tags: Biohazard, Final Fantasy, gamers, Gree Inc., Japan, Japan computer, social networking, Tokyo Game Show, video
This entry was posted on 09/23/2012 at 8:39 pm and is filed under NEWS. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed.
Due to their low start-up costs and apparent ease of management, many webmasters are tempted to employ affiliate marketing systems. The entire stocking, handling, and shipping process is seen to by the vendor, not the webmaster. However, affiliate marketing has nuances that sometimes require careful attention.
Try to sell something that is quite popular already. A lot of webmasters avoid the most popular affiliate marketing products, thinking that the competition will be too tough to deal with. Generally speaking, however, it is often much easier to enjoy high sales rates in a proven niche than it is in a relatively unpopular niche. You should remember that the popular niches have a buyer pool that is already primed for the products and connecting with them is the only challenge. Your priority is finding a way to distinguish yourself from the competition, no matter what niche you get into.
Disclose your affiliations to your readers. Customers will know you are honest and be more likely to buy.
Only put your stamp of approval on products you believe in. Whatever you recommend should be a reflection on your business. Customers will have more faith in your business if you recommend other good products. A good way to keep your customers is to continue promoting good products that have good prices.
If you have banner ads, you should put a trivia question on one and make it so that the user has to visit your site in order to get the answer. Most people will be unable to leave without clicking on the banner. Entice your visitors by providing discounts to those who answer the questions correctly.
Don?t clutter your website with too many banner ads. This will make your site look horrible and drive off potential customers. Your site should be mostly content, not banners, and the banners that are there should be spread out across the page.
When someone visits your themed website with that particular theme in mind, that is what they are thinking about. Unless the link is sports related, placing a link on an affiliate site can not help you. If the site has relevant links, people will be more likely to access them.
Use various venues for advertising affiliate products. There are those that find their products online. Other customers like a physical brochure or enjoy seeing a product on a flier. Some are avid coupon clippers and like to get a discount. As you expand the scope and format of your advertising, you will grab the attention of many potential new clients.
Always be truthful and let your readers know that you are making money when they buy using your links. Your readers understand when you put up a link to an affiliate so do not try and hide it. Through this act of integrity your business is surely to grow.
If you want to be successful at affiliate marketing, know your audience. Understanding their wants, and needs is a smart marketing move. Analyze your site traffic to determine what is driving the most people to your site. What do your customers look for when they visit your site?
Do business with those affiliate companies that provide resource support to their affiliates. These companies are in it to make profit just like you are. They know the ins and outs of marketing and what techniques are effective,. Those affiliate companies that share their selling secrets do better in the marketplace. That means better sales for them and higher commissions for you.
Show potential customers pictures of customers using the product. By giving your potential customer a lot of good information, you are helping him or her to decide whether or not to trust you and purchase your product. This can lead to good word-of-mouth advertising in the future.
Often, communicating not only protects, but also strengthens, the bond with affiliate partners. Frequent communication works as a way to protect your affiliate revenue stream. Good affiliates are worth their weight in gold, and so you must ensure you hang onto them.
Acting on tips from a few sources can be more effective than reading dozens of different opinions. You put in time with no compensation upfront, as well as take the risk of not making any money. Recognize that if you continually research new techniques and never apply any, you?re stalling. Choose a few good tips, put down the books, and put what you?ve learned into action.
Proving that you are a legitimate affiliate marketer takes some strategic finesse. Your links should be more subtle. You want your customers to be comfortable buying through you.
Choose your affiliates with your target market in mind. Make sure that the advertising on your site matches what your site is selling. Those who visit your site have expectations about the content, including ads, they might see. Place ads that cater to your customers and take advantage of this idea.
When you start your affiliate marketing venture, take the time to locate affiliates that can offer you the types of products and services that you are interested in promoting. Entering into agreements with a vast range of affiliate networks will give you multiple lines of income. Do some research before you accept an affiliate to ensure that you feel comfortable promoting them.
Learn about how the affiliate marketing program tracks outside orders when you choose a program. If your site visitors place orders on the affiliate?s site and those purchases are not properly linked to your ID, then you run the risk of losing a good amount of commission.
For the most profitable affiliate marketing program, retain only those affiliates who have proven they can make you money. Watch how your affiliates perform on a regular basis. Never be afraid to cut ties with an affiliate that doesn?t make you any money, and go with someone who is more profitable.
Continue to reach your goals beyond making a profit. If you work hard all of the time you will see your income go up. It may be difficult to invest the time and patience at first, but in the end, it will be well worth your while.
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WASHINGTON (AP) ? Waking up early during the offseason back home in Florida, Gio Gonzalez and his personal trainer would consult a workout program tucked away in a folder labeled "Project 20."
As in 20 victories, a milestone number for a pitcher, even in this age of newfangled statistics.
Gonzalez became the majors' first 20-game winner of 2012, and the first pitcher for a Washington baseball team with 200 strikeouts since Walter Johnson in 1916, taking a shutout into the sixth inning Saturday to help the Nationals close in on their first NL East title by beating the Milwaukee Brewers 10-4.
"In a way, you kind of smile about it, because we finally reached our goal," Gonzalez said, standing in front of a locker sporting seven $20 bills presumably donated by teammates to mark the occasion, "and now it's time to change it up and continue to try and get better goals and higher goals."
Ryan Zimmerman and Ian Desmond each hit a three-run homer off former Nationals pitcher Livan Hernandez in the fourth inning, and Washington stopped Milwaukee's six-game winning streak. The Brewers fell to 2? games behind St. Louis for an NL wild-card berth.
"I don't feel like we have to win every single game the rest of the season ? I don't feel that ? but I tell you what: We better win most of them or almost all of them," Brewers manager Ron Roenicke said.
Owners of baseball's best record, the Nationals already are assured of postseason play, and Gonzalez (20-8, 2.84 ERA) is a big reason.
"It doesn't feel like a 20th win for myself. It feels like a 20th win for the team," the lefty said. "This is a childhood dream, but at the same time, to do it with a team that's in first place makes it that much better."
Other than a bit of a pratfall ? Gonzalez caught one of his cleats in the dirt, tumbled off the mound and landed face-first in the grass after a pitch ? he was pretty dominant Saturday. He went seven innings, allowing two unearned runs and three hits. He only walked one, and his five strikeouts raised his total to 201.
The Nationals traded for him in the offseason, shipping four prospects to the Oakland Athletics, then signing Gonzalez to a $42 million, five-year deal.
"He's always had the stuff," Zimmerman said.
With one out in the seventh, Gonzalez lost his footing while throwing a pitch that sailed to the backstop on the fly. Gonzalez stayed down on his belly for a few seconds, his arms and legs splayed, before getting up. Eventually, a team trainer, manager Davey Johnson and some smiling teammates went out to check on Gonzalez.
"Oh, it was hilarious. I asked him ... 'Are you hurt?' And he said 'No, my feelings are hurt a little bit.' So we got a kick out of it," said Nationals first baseman Adam LaRoche, who tied a career high with his 32nd homer.
Joked Desmond: "I'm just glad he didn't mess up his hair."
When Gonzalez stepped back on the mound, he tipped his cap, and the sellout crowd of 40,493 roared. They gave a standing ovation when he walked to the dugout two outs later, his afternoon done. Gonzalez later got a bit hug from Nationals pitching coach Steve McCatty.
Zimmerman (who hit his 23rd homer), Desmond (24th) and LaRoche are other significant parts of the first major league team in the nation's capital to head to the postseason in 79 years. Washington's victory lowered its magic number for clinching a division championship to six, with second-place Atlanta in action at Philadelphia later Saturday.
Milwaukee starter Wily Peralta (2-1) lasted only 2 2-3 innings, giving up three runs and five hits, along with four walks and a wild pitch.
"He really couldn't get comfortable," Roenicke said. "The mound's a little bit different, and he found that out in the first inning."
Washington's 19-year-old center fielder, Bryce Harper was in the middle of several key plays Saturday. He made a running, back-to-the-infield catch on a deep fly by Rickie Weeks to end the top of the third. Moments later, Harper drove a pitch barely above the dirt into left for an RBI double to make it 1-0. Then, apparently picked off second because he strayed too far off the bag, Harper bolted for third and wound up with a stolen base, before scoring on LaRoche's double.
"Typical Harper move, trying to make something happen," Johnson said. "He probably used that a lot in high school."
NOTES: The Brewers will start RHP Yovani Gallardo (16-8) on Sunday, while the Nationals will use RHP Chien-Ming Wang (2-3) as a spot starter to keep their rotation on regular rest after a doubleheader Wednesday. ... RF Aoki threw out Morse at the plate for the last out of the second. Morse tried to score on Suzuki's fly ball. ... LaRoche also hit 32 homers in 2006, while playing for Atlanta.
(Kim Raff | The Salt Lake Tribune) Real Salt Lake player Alvara Saborio celebrates scoring a hat trick with teammate Chris Wingert during a game against the Portland Timbers at Rio Tinto Stadium in Sandy, Utah on July 7, 2012. Salt Lake went on to win the game 3-0.
MLS ? Forward wants to play through shoulder injury.
Sandy ? So maybe Sabo won?t be gone so long, after all?
Coach Jason Kreis said injured forward Alvaro Saborio worked out with Real Salt Lake on Friday and has been lobbying to play when the team hosts the Portland Timbers in an important Major League Soccer game at Rio Tinto Stadium on Saturday night.
?
Timbers at Real Salt Lake
At Rio Tinto Stadium, Sandy
Kickoff ? Saturday, 6 p.m.
TV ? NBCSN
Radio ? 700 AM, 1600 AM, 102.3 FM
Records ? RSL 14-11-4, Portland 7-14-8
Regular-season series ? RSL leads, 2-1-1
Last meeting ? RSL 3, Portland 0 (July 7)
About RSL ? It?s just 1-4-1 in its last six league games, with just three goals scored. ? Forward Alvaro Saborio leads the team with 14 goals in league play. ? It?s 12-1-0 when scoring first, and 2-10-1 when conceding first. ? Midfielder Kyle Beckerman will return to the lineup, after missing a CONCACAF Champions League game with a red-card suspension. ? Defenders Jamison Olave, Chris Schuler and Kenny Mansally all are listed as probable, despite various leg injuries. ? It?s playing its last regular-season home game until the regular-season finale against Vancouver on Oct. 27.
About the Timbers ? Already eliminated from the playoffs, they?re still searching for their first road victory of the season. ? Forward Kris Boyd leads the team with seven goals, but has been mostly out of the lineup for the last month. ? They?re 0-10-4 on the road, and coming off a 2-2 draw at San Jose in which they led until stoppage time. ? Former RSL defender David Horst has started 15 games this season.
"I?m getting ready probably to go in and have an argument with him about it," Kreis said after practice Friday. "He wants to play. ? The doctors are saying that it?s mostly a pain issue, but he is at risk. So we?re going to ? in the end ? make a very intelligent decision about how we play it.
"From my point of view, he?s in contention."
Team officials initially expected Saborio to be sidelined at least two weeks ? and possibly a month ??with a shoulder injury suffered in a crucial CONCACAF Champions League victory over Tauro FC in Panama on Tuesday.
Saborio drew a penalty kick when he was taken down by the Tauro goalkeeper in the penalty area in the 93rd minute of a game RSL needed to win to keep alive its hopes of advancing in the tournament.
He was hurt on the play, but did not show any signs until after he converted the penalty for a 1-0 victory that players and coaches hope lifts them for the last five games of the MLS regular season.
"Maybe that was the bounce, the call, the decision that turns things right for us," Kreis said.
RSL certainly could use Saborio, considering he has scored 10 of the team?s last 17 goals in all competitions and scored three goals in the last meeting with the Timbers ? a 3-0 victory for RSL on July 7.
If he can?t play, Kreis said "other players are going to need to step up" in order to beat the playing-out-the-string Timbers and snap a streak of having scored just three goals in its last six league games.
story continues below
While the Timbers have been eliminated from the playoffs and have yet to win on the road this season, RSL is fighting to finish in the top three of the MLS Western Conference. That way, it will avoid having to play a new wild-card game that would really increase the degree of difficulty in reaching the MLS Cup title game.
The team is tied for third with the Los Angeles Galaxy, just two points behind Seattle.
"We?re ready to go out and put on a good performance and try to keep pace with the other teams," midfielder Kyle Beckerman said.
Beckerman will be back in the lineup for RSL after missing the Tauro game with a red-card suspension, which bodes well for a defense that has posted four shutouts in its last five games in all competitions.
"Every single game from here on out is absolutely critical for us, both in the league and Champions League," Kreis said. "I really feel like the playoffs have started."
mcl@sltrib.com
Twitter: @MCLTribune
Copyright 2012 The Salt Lake Tribune. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
This June, 2011 photo shows Taisho Island, one of the tiny islands, called Senkaku in Japan and Diaoyu in China,??HONG KONG (Reuters) - The dispute between China and Japan over a desolate jumble of rocky islets in the East China Sea has taken a familiar turn with Beijing deploying a fleet of paramilitary patrol ships while similar Japanese vessels steam out in response.
As in earlier disputes over rocks and shoals in the South China Sea, Beijing is relying on these vessels rather than more menacing warships to assert its sovereignty over the disputed islands known as Diaoyu in China and Senkaku in Japan.
For both sides, the presence of lightly armed paramilitary ships reduces the risk of conflict, maritime experts say, while they retain the option of deploying more firepower if the dispute intensifies.
However, unlike China's recent sparring with the Philippines over Scarborough Shoal, this flare-up pits East Asia's two maritime powers against each other in a confrontation loaded with military risk.
If a clash erupted, experts warn it could be difficult to contain to the disputed area and would likely draw in the United States, Japan's security alliance partner, into hostilities with China.
The U.S. assistant secretary of state for East Asia, Kurt Campbell, said on Thursday the disputed islands were "clearly" covered by a 1960 treaty obliging the United States to come to Japan's aid if attacked.
"I actually don't think the two sides intend to fight a war over the islands this time," said Sun Yun, an expert on Chinese security policy at the Washington-based Stimson Centre.
"But, I do think it is more dangerous because the current round of tension is more emotionally charged than the earlier stand-offs in the South China Sea."
Politics may well keep the row simmering in the months ahead with a Japanese election expected by year's end and China preparing a leadership transition.
STEP INTO UNKNOWN
While China's maritime rise has captured global attention, Japan has also been quietly and unobtrusively building a powerful navy boasting some of the most advanced military technologies afloat.
If tensions over the disputed islands led to military conflict, it is not clear that China's navy could overpower Japanese forces as easily as it might expect to prevail against militarily weaker rivals in the South China Sea.
For both militaries, a naval clash would be a step into the unknown.
Japan's pacifist Constitution has insulated its navy from combat since it was shattered in the final stages of World War Two.
Modern China's navy is still in its infancy and also has no fighting experience.
In its three-decade military build-up, Beijing has transformed what was a rusting, obsolete, coastal defense force into a blue water navy that is increasingly capable of mounting deployments and complex operations far from the Chinese mainland.
In raw numbers, China is now the world's second-ranked naval power behind the United States with a fleet including about 80 major warships, 53 submarines, 50 landing ships and 86 missile patrol boats.
With a combination of Russian and homegrown hardware, it has deployed multi-ship fleets through the Japanese island chain and out into the Pacific ocean for exercises and training. Its ships have taken part in international anti-piracy operations in the Indian ocean. It has a fleet of advanced conventional submarines.
The most powerful Chinese warships and submarines are armed with deadly, Russian-made supersonic anti-ship missiles. However, the Chinese navy lacks operational training and experience, naval experts say.
BIGGER THAN BRITAIN'S
Japan's Maritime Self Defense Force is clearly smaller with about 48 major warships and 16 submarines but it remains a formidable force compared with other traditional naval powers.
It has twice as many surface warships as Britain's Royal Navy and twice as many submarines as the French navy.
Some of its key surface warships are equipped with the advanced U.S. Aegis combat system that combines computers, radars and information from other ships, satellites or aircraft to track multiple targets and guide attacking missiles.
Japan's conventional submarines are also regarded as some of the most advanced and stealthiest in the world.
Naval experts say the Japanese navy is also a highly trained professional force that has exercised for decades in its major roles of sea lane protection and anti-submarine warfare. It has also trained regularly with U.S. forces.
If a clash took place in the area of the disputed islands between the Japanese island of Okinawa and Taiwan, both sides could deploy land-based strike aircraft to support their forces.
However, security experts say it is highly unlikely that any fighting would be restricted to naval and air units in the disputed area.
BALLISTIC MISSILES
Beijing might tempted to use its huge arsenal of 1,200 ballistic missiles aimed at Taiwan to attack Japanese forces and bases.
If China was the aggressor, they say the United States would almost certainly support Japan.
"I don't think the U.S. could stand aside," said Ross Babbage, a security analyst and former senior Australian defense official. "There would be a huge international crisis and I'm not expecting that."
"And, I don't think either side really wants it."
However, there is always the danger of miscalculation and accident with big fleets of paramilitary patrol vessels on station and civilian protestors from both sides making landings on the uninhabited islands.
This risk is likely to remain, even if the current round of tension eases, maritime security analysts say.
The arrival of China as a naval power means Beijing now has the means to challenge Japan's control over disputed maritime territory in the East China Sea and the oil and gas thought to lie beneath.
(Reporting By David Lague, editing by Bill Tarrant)
The shameless Courtney Stodden turned 18 less than a month ago, but the wife of Doug Hutchison has - according to reports - already made a very adult decision.
Court was seen shopping with her middle-aged husband in L.A. this week sporting a decidedly different look, renewing speculation that she's had work done.
A couple of Courtney Stodden pics on Twitter also fueled those rumors. Think she went under the knife? Take a look (she's legal, it's okay) below and see:
Krista Keller, Courtney's momager (who must be so proud), calls the rumors "ridiculous" and swears "she's doing her makeup differently ... that's all it is!"
"Courtney decided she wanted to change her makeup. She went for a lighter, more natural look, old Hollywood kind of look." Totally. So very natural.
"People always think a knife is touching her face, but she's like a chameleon ... she can change her look so easily," Keller added. "People just don't get it."
True, we are so unenlightened, speculating about such things.
What do you think? Follow the link above for "younger" pictures of her for comparison, then tell us below: Did Courtney Stodden have plastic surgery?
FILE - In this Oct. 4, 1933 file photo, New York Giant's Travis Jackson bunts against Washington Senators pitcher General Crowder during the second inning of Game 2 of baseball's World Series at the Polo Grounds in New York. In clinching a playoff spot, the Washington Nationals put the nation's capital in baseball's postseason for the first time in nearly 80 years. (AP Photo/File)
FILE - In this Oct. 4, 1933 file photo, New York Giant's Travis Jackson bunts against Washington Senators pitcher General Crowder during the second inning of Game 2 of baseball's World Series at the Polo Grounds in New York. In clinching a playoff spot, the Washington Nationals put the nation's capital in baseball's postseason for the first time in nearly 80 years. (AP Photo/File)
FILE - In this 1924 file photo, Washington Senators owner Clark Griffith, right, is seen with the Senators' Bucky Harris during baseball's World Series. In clinching a playoff spot, the Washington Nationals put the nation's capital in baseball's postseason for the first time in nearly 80 years. The Senators played lost to the New York Giants in the 1933 World Series. (AP Photo/File)
FILE - In this Oct. 5, 1933, file photo, President Franklin D. Roosevelt prepares to throw out the ceremonial first pitch at at Griffith Stadium in Washington, before Game 3 of baseball's World Series between as Washington Senators manager Joe Cronin, third from right, and New York Giants manager Bill Terry, second from right, look on. The President uncorked an almost wild throw that sent the players scrambling. In clinching a playoff spot, the Washington Nationals put the nation's capital in baseball's postseason for the first time in nearly 80 years. (AP Photo/File)
FILE- In this Oct. 3, 1933, file photo, a scoreboard showing Game 1 of baseball's World Series between the Washington Senators and New York Gians is displayed outside a building in Norfolk, Va. In clinching a playoff spot, the Nationals put the nation's capital in baseball's postseason for the first time in nearly 80 years. (AP Photo/Virginian-Pilot, Charles S. Borjes, File) MANDATORY CREDIT, MAGS OUT
WASHINGTON (AP) ? The Washington Nationals ended a long drought for the nation's capital Thursday night by clinching a playoff spot, returning the District of Columbia to baseball's postseason for the first time in nearly 80 years. But back then, the only postseason was the World Series. There were no wild card teams and no playoffs. The Washington Senators ? also known as the Nationals ? had to beat out seven other teams in the American League standings to win the 1933 pennant.
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THE TEAMS
THEN: The old Senators, original members of the American League, went 99-53 in 1933, a .651 winning percentage, and finished seven games ahead of the second-place New York Yankees. Joe Cronin, the team's 27-year-old player-manager, hit .309 as the team's shortstop with a team-high 118 RBIs, despite hitting just five home runs. Cronin was one of three future Hall-of-Famers, along with outfielders Heinie Manush (who hit .336 with 17 triples) and Goose Goslin (.297 with 10 triples and 10 home runs). First baseman Joe Kuhel hit .322 with 107 RBIs. The pitching staff was anchored by Alvin "General" Crowder (24 wins) and Earl Whitehill (22 wins). The Senators lost the World Series to the New York Giants in five games, nine years after beating the Giants to win Washington's only championship.
NOW: The Nationals have put together their first winning season since coming to Washington in 2005. Their manager is 69-year-old Davey Johnson, but there's plenty of youth on the team. Going into Friday night's game, Bryce Harper, a 19-year-old phenom, had hit 19 home runs. The deep lineup also features third baseman Ryan Zimmerman, shortstop Ian Desmond, outfielder Jayson Werth, and first baseman Adam LaRoche, who leads the team with 30 home runs and is closing in on 100 RBIs. The team has several excellent pitchers, including 19-game-winner Gio Gonzalez, Jordan Zimmermann and Stephen Strasburg, who was shut down a few weeks ago to limit his load in his first full season since undergoing Tommy John surgery. The Nats lead the second-place Atlanta Braves in the National League East.
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THE CELEBRATION
THEN: After the Senators clinched the 1933 pennant, Cronin was "besieged in the clubhouse by a hero-worshiping throng of thousands of fans of both sexes gone mildly mad," according to a Sept. 22, 1933, Washington Post story. He slipped out of the clubhouse onto the field, where "shrieking women" ran after him, and the young player-manager had to sprint to escape them, the Post reported.
NOW: The Nationals had a champagne toast in the clubhouse after clinching a playoff berth, but both the manager and players emphasized this was only the first step. Many fans stayed around for a while, as "Nats Clinch" flashed on the scoreboard. A bigger celebration is likely if the team clinches the NL East title.
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THE BALLPARK:
THEN: The Senators played at old Griffith Stadium, named for the team's owner and former manager. Fans could get to the ballpark in Northwest Washington by trolley. Although the dimensions changed over time, it was usually 400 feet or more down the left field line. A large oak tree just beyond the center field wall was a popular meeting spot for fans.
NOW: Nationals Park opened in 2008, and it has more standard dimensions than the old ballpark. The stadium is located in Southeast Washington, and some fans can see the Capitol from their seats.
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THE FANS:
THEN: The Senators drew only 437,533 fans in 1933 ? an average of less than 6,000 per game. But it was the Great Depression, and attendance was down across baseball. The team was actually second in attendance in the American League that year.
NOW: The Nationals have drawn 2,135,498 fans this year, about 29,000 a game, according to the team.
THE HISTORY:
THEN: The Senators began play in the American League in 1901, and didn't have a winning season until 1912. The team moved to Minnesota in 1961 to become the Twins, and a new Washington Senators team took its place. But the second team left to become the Texas Rangers in 1972, leaving the nation's capital without baseball for more than three decades. Before this year, the last Washington team with a winning record was the 1969 Senators, managed by Ted Williams.
NOW: The Nationals started out as the Montreal Expos that same season of 1969. Major League Baseball originally tried to eliminate the Expos. When that plan fell through, the team moved to Washington for the 2005 season, starting out with a promising .500 record. But the club followed that with six straight losing seasons through last year.
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EDITOR'S NOTE ? Frederic J. Frommer is the author of the book, "The Washington Nationals 1859 to Today: The Story of Baseball in the Nation's Capital," (2006, Taylor Trade). Follow him on Twitter at http://twitter.com/ffrommer
At its I/O developer conference earlier this year, Google showed off an upcoming browser-based collaboration with Cirque du Soleil that was meant to bring some of Cirque's imagination to the browser. This experiment,?Movi.Kanti.Revo, is now available online?and it's quite a trip. The experience makes full use of?HTML5 and other moden web technologies and uses your webcam (or accelerometer) to track your movements as you wander through the imaginary world.
Your Customer Service department is the front line for your company. They are the image that your customers see and hear. Datavo put together a list of 10 tips that every customer service department can use to be better and keep their customers loyal.
1. Smile and Posture. Always make sure to sit up and smile when taking any calls.
2. Stay Confident. The person that is the most certainty leads the conversation. Make sure you give off the feeling that everything will be okay and you are in control.
3. Be Authentic. If you have a script that you read, make sure to not sound like you are reading. Make sure you are listening and responding properly.
4. Listen and Repeat. Make sure to confirm what the customer has told you so that you are sure you clearly understand their needs. This will also make the customer more confident in your ability to handle their problem.
5. Be Gracious. Always thank your customers for calling, especially if they have a complaint. You may be able to fix the problem and gain their loyalty.
6. Stay Honest. If you do not know something, don't lie. Tell them you are not?sure?but you will be following up on it and will have an answer for them shortly. Make sure to follow through and provide them with the answer.?
7. Train Properly. Make sure all of your employees that have customer interactions have basic communication skills.
8. Put in Extra Effort. Customers will appreciate and be loyal to you if they feel you have gone above and beyond what the expected.
9. Own the Call. When it is possible try not to transfer the customer to anyone else, people don't like having to repeat what they have just went over with you.?
10. Apologize, Fix It and Move On. Make sure to always apologize when something goes wrong then fix it. Customers tend to remain loyal and be forgiving when you are able to fix their problems quickly.
Feel free to leave any tips in the comments that we may have left out.?
Apple's new Maps app gets a lot of complaints, Facebook starts testing automatic photo uploads, iCloud for Windows gets a little bit better, and Flavors.me gets bought out by business card experts Moo.com.
Wrong turn: Apple's buggy iOS 6 maps lead to widespread complaints Arguably the biggest new feature in iOS 6, Apple's new Maps app has raised lots of complaints due to its lack of mapping resources compared to companies like Google. Users are now finding that the maps are inaccurate, missing locations, that the navigation is bad, and that searching for certain places is very difficult. It also still lacks transit directions, which is a big loss for many users. [The Verge]
Facebook tests automatic 'Photo Sync' uploads on Android The Verge reports that Facebook has begun testing a new Android feature called Photo Sync. Modeled after Google+ Instant Upload, the feature will automatically upload any photo you take to a Facebook album. The album will start off as private, but you can change the privacy settings for photos as you see fit. [The Verge]
A New Design for Messenger Facebook also released an Android update for both their regular app and the Messenger app today, changing how messages are sent and displayed. Now, messages look like traditional text messages with speech bubbles and images, and you can also text your friends right from the Messages app. Facebook says a similar update for iOS is on the way. [Facebook Newsroom]
iCloud for Windows 2.0: An improvement, but not much has changed Apple released an update for iCloud on Windows, which brings bug fixes, performance improvements, and Photo Stream support to iOS and Mac users with a Windows PC. [Ars Technica]
Business Card Upstart Moo.com Buys Flavors.me To Expand Its Digital Profile Popular business card company Moo.com bought Flavors.me, your favorite professional nameplate sites. Moo.com says they aren't planning on removing any existing features, but in the future are open to upgrading its usability and integrating some of Moo.com's business card features. [TechCrunch]
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Public release date: 25-Sep-2012
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Video gaming is big business, and over 200 companies came to a game show in Japan to prove it. But video games are moving out of the den and the living room, into the packets of gamers, smartphones and tablets dethrone the once-almighty gaming consoles.
At its I/O developer conference earlier this year, Google showed off an upcoming browser-based collaboration with Cirque du Soleil that was meant to bring some of Cirque's imagination to the browser. This experiment,?
Apple's new Maps app gets a lot of complaints, Facebook starts testing automatic photo uploads, iCloud for Windows gets a little bit better, and Flavors.me gets bought out by business card experts Moo.com.