Gary Bettman held his "State of the League" address before Game One of the Cup Finals today and while addressing the fact that all the teams will play each other at least once, the topic of goaltender's equipment came up again. Bettman citing that goals are down and that goaltenders are better physically and in their equipment, that there needs to be a way to get more room for the shooters to shoot. This comes weeks after the league and PA announced they would be forming a group to find a way to deal with goalie equipment issues.

This has been a debate that has been going on since the new rules came into effect after the work stoppage. The game was opened up, for sure, but it always seemed that the league and the people in charge of rule changes have it out for goalies. It's an odd statement to say that because goalies are being better that they need to be punished and have equipment taken away from them. It's almost like saying that guys like Alex Ovechkin, Sidney Crosby, and Jarome Iginla need to use wood sticks because they are much too good for composite and that Dion Phaneuf and Shea Weber can only stick check because they hit too hard.

The problem I have is that the NHL brass isn't embracing the goaltenders for their stellar work. Not only do they have to be physically sharp, but mentality as well. The fact they have been subjected to these changes and still are as good as they are-- it's a testament to how far goaltending has come in the last two decades. To be honest, if a young Wayne Gretzky had to play against goalies of today back then-- odds are he wouldn't have scored 92 goals and 215 points like he did in the early 80s.

I think the time has come to embrace the idea of bigger nets. It needs to happen. It HAS to happen. For the sanity of goalies and fans out there-- bigger nets need to be a god-send and needs to be the saving grace. My reasoning is on how far these decrease in pads will end up being. Will we soon see that goalies wearing editions of the local papers on their legs, like so much Greg Goldberg in the "Mighty Ducks??" Sure, it would bring up advertising dollars for papers to bid to have their goalie wear their paper, but it's joke in the long run of things.

Bigger nets will stop the insanity of the shrinking the size of goalie pads, while also give Bettman what he wants, which is to give shooters more to shoot at. That is, until goalies adapt to that, to which there will be a scurry to figure out how to adjust the game more to give the shooter even more to shoot at.

Adaptation is the reason for the goalies getting better. It has been the case ever since the beginning of the sport. From wearing proper padding to freezing the puck to the mask to the butterfly position; goalies have been able to adjust themselves to the game around them and become better players. Sure, people love scoring and it's what gets fans out of their seats (aside from fighting); but why can't people realize that a great goaltending performance could outweigh scoring in a single game.

Plus, the protection issue comes up as well. Hockey sticks are becoming lighter and the velocity coming off the sticks are becoming higher and higher. The goalies need all the padding they need to help protect their bodies from these weapons the stick companies are coming out with today. Sure, the one-piece composites may break like a wet snowball, but when they stay together, they are deadly both in accuracy and velocity. Taking padding away is taking away absorption of the blow from guys who are facing upwards of 100mph shots on a regular basis throughout the game.

The thought of bringing back the firewagon hockey style of the old days is an intriguing one and one that many older fans may enjoy-- but in the grand scheme of things; it probably won't be as good as some thought it would be. All it would do is allow teams to adapt (there's that word again) to a more defensive style of hockey and we're right back to where we were before the lockout with clutching and grabbing being the norm and posing as defensive hockey.

Note to Gary Bettman and those in charge of rule changes-- bigger nets. It's the thing that'll allow goalies to keep their padding for protection, as well as give the league the bigger shooting area for the offense to shoot at. It's the only sane thing to keep the sanctity of the game in tact....until scoring is down again and we put in the "Doubler" puck like MTV's Rock n' Jock.

Similar posts: fantasy hockey

The NHL released the pre-season schedule yesterday.

The highlight of the schedule is 4 teams opening pre-season and remaining in Europe to start the regular 2008-2009 NHL season.

The Lightning starts it all off on September 28th playing against the 2008 German league champion Eisbaren Berlin in the German capital at the new 02 World Arena.

On September 30th, the Rangers will play the 11-time Swiss league champion SC Bern which will be the first time a Swiss team will play against an NHL team. Then on October 1st, they face Russian club Metallurg Magnitogorsk in Bern, Switzerland to complete for the Victoria Cup (a trophy which will be awarded to the victor of a match between an NHL team and the winner of Europes IIHF-sanctioned Champions Hockey League each year).

The Senators will face Swedish club Frolunda in Gothenburg, while the Penguins will meet Finnish club Jokerit in Helsinki.

The pre-season schedule will also feature several games played in arenas outside the NHL market including Halifax, NS; Kansas City, MO (THANKS to the Pens remaining in Pittsburgh!!); Las Vegas, NV; London, ON; Moncton, NB; Salt Lake City, UT; Summerside, PEI; and Winnipeg, Manitoba.

I've never been a fan of professional sports being introduced into European markets. I didn't like the idea when the NFL made mention of it and I especially don't enjoy the fact that teams will begin the NHL season in Europe (especially since one of the teams is Pittsburgh)! I can't give you a specific reason why, but I just know I don't like it -- maybe it's because it's OUR league. They have their own thing and we have ours -- why can't we just leave it at that?.

Similar posts: fantasy hockey

Similar posts: fantasy hockey

Similar posts: fantasy hockey

can bring a little offense to the party, much like Ruutu was able to do.

"Matt is a versatile forward that will bring grit, energy and experience to our lineup," said Pens general manager Ray Shero. "He is the type of player that adds depth up front and is capable of providing offense for our hockey club."

I'd like to take this time to announce to all Penguins fans that formation of the following fan club, "The Cooke-y Monsters". Having seen a lot of Canucks games over the past few years, Penguin fans will fall in love with him the same way we did with Jarkko Ruutu. He's a pest that will give you 110% every time he's out on the ice. A definitely blue-collar worker, Cooke will quickly become a fan favorite among Pens fans.

Unfortunately, I live in New York and can't get to Mellon on a regular basis. I'm calling upon those Penguin fans who fill the place on forty-one nights a season to bring your banners, get a section together somewhere in the arena, and throw cookies on the ice when he scores a goal. Okay, maybe not the last part, but that'd be pretty cool.

Let's make "The Cooke-y Monsters" a big deal in Pittsburgh. I'll definitely be promoting this more and more once the season comes around and hopefully get a pictures link on here of any folks awesome enough to help get this off the ground. And when I go back to Mellon Arena next season, I'd love to be able to sit in "The Cooke-y Monsters" section and cheer on the Pens.

Similar posts: fantasy hockey

Oshawa Generals Press Release: The Oshawa Generals are pleased to announce a change in their ownership structure. Rocco Tullio has agreed to terms and conditions with John Davies to acquire his remaining shares of the Oshawa Generals, and he now welcomes two new partners as owners – former National Hockey League star Adam Graves and former OHL coach and manager Peter DeBoer.

Similar posts: fantasy hockey

The first of a series of blogs looking at the goings on in the Coca Cola leagues...if you're not into that sort of thing, do join us anyway...it's a magical land of goalmouth scrambles and ageing old footballers looking for a last pay packet. I'll buy you a Toffee Crisp if you come along for the ride...good, thanks for joining me. You look very nice today.

It's all going on in the Championship as Colin "Tinkerman" Calderwood plays a genius master stroke. Gone from The City Ground are the likes of the pacy Junior Agogo along with bullish front man Grant Holt. Rob Earnshaw could provide a few goals but Cole's signing stinks of a desperation move. He could prove me wrong but with the influential Kris Commons gone from the squad we could learn a lot about Calderwood as a manager this season as he takes charge of a side that isn't going to walk a league that easily.

Down south, Southampton are set to get a big windfall from any possible sale of Peter Crouch from Liverpool to rivals Portsmouth. They could get a figure as high as £500,000 to make Crouch's move more bearable for Saints fans. In a time of rebuilding under new boss Jan Poortvliet it's all change. Letting go of Inigo Idiakez will alert several Championship sides.

Crystal Palace have netted what could be one of the free transfers of the summer in signing Daryl Flahavan from Southend. The goalkeepers helped the Shrimpers into the playoffs and is a rock solid stopper with a good few years in him yet at the age of 29.

Everyone likes the return of an old head to start their weeks with and Ipswich have added the legend of Panini sticker albums Chris Kiwomya to their backroom staff as a reserve team development coach. It's good to see old boys returning to their roots and at least Kiwomya doesn't want to play again. Yet.

QPR are fast becoming this season's Manchester City as they sign unknowns from around the globe for their new revolution. Argentines and Italians have arrived already with more expected. The influx of new faces worked for Sven last season right away but there will be quesiton marks from R's fans as to whether it's going to work for them.

Wolves have been in the news (well the bbc website news anyway, if you look close enough) as they've dropped their reserve team for next season. It seems a bit of a silly move to deny a lot of players the chance to play football but it could well open the floodgates in loan requests for their talented reserves. Daniel Jones and Mark Little were on loan with Northampton last season and they did enough to prove to us at least that they can be lethal weapons at League One level.

The new boys in the Championship are trying to mould their sides to be able to compete next term. Doncaster are most people's tips for relegation straight back down with Forest and League One champions Swansea City likely to try and "do a Bristol City" and compete in the top six. There's plenty of good quality coming down from the top flight this time around though and the usual suspects should be about to show the new sides what the Championship is all about.

In League One, all the talk is about the arrival of Roberto Di Matteo to the MK Dons. Di Matteo must have thought he was going somewhere vibrant when he talked about the move. You can imagine "Stadium:MK" to sound appealing and he must have got a hell of a shock when he turned up to simply find an Ikea and a shopping centre as all Milton Keynes has to offer.

Colchester have smashed their transfer record to bring in talented Cheltenham Town striker Steven Gillespie for £400,000. Gillespie was a bit hit at Whaddon Road and it's understandable for him to depart for the challenge at Colchester, one of my tips for promotion. The money will help Cheltenham sign two or three players though and we'll see what they do with that.

Here at Northampton, things are going swimmingly with the signing of Leon Constantine on a free transfer. Constantine should compliment big Adebayo Akinfenwa in our attack and we're not just a few players short of being a dark horse. Whisper that quietly though...any signs of optimism at Sixfields is a bad sign!

One of the hot targets for League One sides is Wolves defender Charlie Mulgrew. The left sided player turned down a move to Swindon this week so this could open the door for Southend to move in. Mulgrew was on loan at Roots Hall last season and may now fancy a return, particularly with Wolves' reserve now non existant.

Not a lot going on with the whiners at Leeds. They're fifteen point deduction not being in place this season will have them down as odds on favourites for the title this time round but their latest signing of Enoch Showumni, a free from Bristol City may show more signs of where they are and what type of player they need for League One.

The left sided problem has returned to London but it's not England this time. Leyton Orient are madly hunting for a replacement for Wayne Cordon who left a couple of months ago. I hear Stuart Downing's your man for these types of problems.

Fans of Leicester will have had a shock this week as it was announced that Shakespeare was joining the club! Unfortunately it's not everyone's favourite playwright but Craig Shakespeare who left his post at West Brom to hold talks with The Foxes. Meanwhile new boss Nigel Pearson says he wants to play "winning football" at Leicester...maybe that was why Southampton only just avoided the drop last season if he wasn't trying that tactic!

Finally, down in League Two and Bury's new signing Efe Sodje reckons his new side can make the playoffs this season. He wins this week's "Kiss of Death of the week" award. You just watch them struggle now.

One of the new hits of league football could come from Rochdale's new striker Jon Shaw. Shaw scored twenty goals in thirty eight starts last season for Halifax and with the gap between Conference and League Two football closer than ever he shouldn't take too long to adjust. Dale just missed out on their first promotion since the war times last season and coul make it next time around with a proven goalscorer.

Another side that missed out on promotion was Darlington and their shrewd move for Stockport's Adam Proudlock could help their attempts to break into League One this time around.

Two parties are battling to invest in Chesterfield...a game of pass the parcel is due to take place at Saltergate this week to decide which party is better. The musical chairs challenge ruled out the Monster Raving Loony Party in the preliminary round.

Bournemouth are thankfully moving out of administration and it's good to see. If their ten point deduction didn't come into play last season they would have been well safe and it was a shame to see them go into the basement league again. Bourmeouth is a favourite away day of mine and hopefully we'll be returning very soon.

Brentford have moved to sign Marvin Williams from Yeovil in one of the best moves of League Two's tranfer window so far. Williams has a good talent to get behind defences and will score a lot of goals in that league. Expect the Bees to be challenging for promotion this time around with Adam Newton another handy capture from Peterborough.

Bradford are another side set for big things in League Two this season and the signing of Paul McLaren from Tranmere will be very useful, McLaren was Tranmere's player of the year last term and turned down a new deal at Prenton Park to drop down a division.

Meanwhile, The Chuckle Brothers will be trembling in their boots as their beloved Rotherham United must wait another two weeks to see if they are to start next season with a points deduction. The Millers are in trouble again and could face a similar minus points start to that of a couple of seasons ago when they were relegated from League One after starting on minus 10.

Finally, my dark horse tip for next season in League Two are Shrewsbury Town...the double signing of Grant Holt and Richard Walker from Nottingham Forest and Bristol Rovers respectively will stand them in very good stead.


More from the land of the Football League next week.

Read more...

It probably comes as no surprise that National Hockey League MVP Alexander Ovechkin is the top forward in the exclusive Sportstwit.com fantasy hockey player rankings for 2007-2008.

The winner of the Hart, Art Ross, and Lester B. Pearson awards last season, the 22-year-old Russian finished well ahead of center Evgeni Malkin of the Pittsburgh Penguins and winger Jarome Iginla of the Calgary Flames.
Here are the Top 30 fantasy forwards for 2007-08:


RNK Player Points GP G A PTS
1 Ovechkin, Alex LW WAS 83.95 82 65 47 112
2 Malkin, Evgeni C PIT 78.10 82 47 59 106
3 Iginla, Jarome RW CGY 77.44 82 50 48 98
4 Datsyuk, Pavel C DET 77.02 82 31 66 97
5 Zetterberg, Henrik LW DET 75.93 75 43 49 92
6 Thornton, Joe C SJ 72.48 82 29 67 96
7 Spezza, Jason C OTT 72.06 76 34 58 92
8 Kovalev, Alexei RW MON 71.95 82 35 49 84
9 Getzlaf, Ryan C ANA 70.52 77 24 58 82
10 Lecavalier, Vincent C TB 70.48 81 40 52 92
11 Alfredsson, Daniel RW OTT 69.79 70 40 49 89
12 Heatley, Dany RW OTT 69.43 71 41 41 82
13 Staal, Eric C CAR 68.16 82 38 44 82
14 Gaborik, Marian RW MIN 67.80 77 42 41 83
15 Sundin, Mats C TOR 67.29 74 32 46 78
16 Kovalchuk, Ilya LW ATL 67.21 79 52 35 87
17 Morrow, Brenden LW DAL 66.89 82 32 42 74
18 Richards, Mike C PHI 66.86 73 28 47 75
19 Doan, Shane RW PHO 66.40 80 28 50 78
20 Roy, Derek C BUF 66.08 78 32 49 81
21 Pominville, Jason RW BUF 65.84 82 27 53 80
22 Ribeiro, Mike C DAL 64.95 76 27 56 83
23 Savard, Marc C BOS 64.63 74 15 63 78
24 Nash, Rick LW CLB 64.53 80 38 31 69
25 St. Louis, Martin RW TB 64.13 82 25 58 83
26 Sedin, Daniel LW VAN 64.05 82 29 45 74
27 Jagr, Jaromir RW NYR 63.67 82 25 46 71
28 Arnott, Jason C NSH 63.24 79 28 44 72
29 Jokinen, Olli C PHO 62.96 82 34 37 71
30 Crosby, Sidney C PIT 62.

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Hi hi hi hi.
Idiot's craving for kit kats.
Any kind soul, Please buyher kit kats.
Hahaha.
And I refused to buyher kit kats.
She's saddeddd. ):


Hehehe, I saw idiot during pe just now.
And she was carrying a basket of hockey sticks.
HOCKEY HOCKEY HOCKEY sticks !
Whoaaahhhh(:
Im honoured.I play hockeeeyyyy and my dear idiot is carrying a basket of hockey sticks.
Hahaha.
Omg,why am i sooooo lameeeeee huh,idiot ?


:D
Im boreddded lah.
And I have yet to write your lettterrrr !!
33333 Idiot.

Read more...

Well, this post certainly should have been published earlier (like 2 weeks ago..!) but I had so much to write and just didn't know how to write it. I hate that. I feel like I continually have tons of things in my head that I just cannot seem to write down in a semi-coherent manner. And what does come out just always seems so juvenile.... whatever. *chuckle*

So Spain finally broke the 88 year curse and even went on to win the Euro Cup 2008... The were a favorite but no one saw them getting past Italy, since they haven't won a single tournament game against the Azzurri since 1920...! But they did it, via penalty shoot out (neither have good reputations with penalties, but the 1994 World Cup final always comes up in my mind when Italy gets into a penalty shoot out.) And to be fair, Italy has been crap the entire Euro Cup. They deserved to get the boot (hah, pun intended :P ) although I was secretly hoping for an Italy-Germany final (World Cup revenge!!!)

Anyway, soccer fever is a weird thing that I still continue to marvel at while soaking it up as much as possible during my time here. In short, national soccer teams embody the hopes and fears of their entire nation. At least in Germany (and well as in many other European countries,) players are more popular than pretty much any actor/actress/director/journalist/political figure. They are national heroes. Imagine the pressure!

...And they say that it's just a game...

The US is pretty much the only country on Earth that didn't contract the fever. We kick ass at the Olympics but that doesn't generate half as much passion as baseball, American football, hockey, or basketball does. But even so, you don't see/hear people honking their and waving flags down the streets of your town when [insert team here] wins the first game of any playoff in any sport. Sure, people went ballistic when the Giants won the Superbowl, but the Superbowl's the "final" and it was basically David vs Goliath, so it was totally warranted and would have been weird if people didn't go completely bonkers for the Giants around the NJ/NY area.

Football (or, auf Deutsch, Fußball) here in Germany has united people in ways that nothing else can. First and foremostly, it really is the world's sport. Then, when your national team plays, it's a vehicle of patriotism. Under normal circumstances you'd pretty much never choose to support any other country than your own in a tournament such as the Euro Cup. And then, in any other situation, it would be awkwardly dubious to witness people randomly dressing in, and painting their faces the colors of the German flag, proudly waving their flags. Even if it is the German version of Independence Day (which is the Day of the Republic here, actually.) And for any other country it would be a bit weird as well, but especially in Germany, where time has certainly past since their dark times, but not that much time. When do Americans get particularly patriotic? Usually when you start bashing their country, for one. A bit for Independence Day. Uh....hmm. That's about it, isn't it?



Studying cultures has always been extremely interesting to me. One of the reasons I study/teach languages is because I believe that language is culture and vice versa. Take a stupid but pretty luminous example (when I realized this, a while ago, I actually sort of did a mental double take.) Italian doesn't have a word for "it". Everything is he or she, him, her, his or hers. Books are masculine, pens are feminine, shoes are feminine, belly buttons are masculine. I also realized very recently that they don't have word for half-brother/sister, step-brother/sister/etc. How interesting is that? If that alone doesn't give you a little snippet of insight into their culture without experiencing it with your own eyes, then I don't know what can. There's a huge connection, but it's one that's not so easily put into words. (That's something I'll work on for my doctorate...)

Anyway, back to Berlin for a moment.

In the 2006 World Cup, when Turkey got knocked out, Turks in Germany began to root for Germany and the country saw a drastic improvement of cultural/race relations. In fact, I heard some Turks (adults that had been living in Germany for a long time or even born and raised here, by the way) who said that they finally felt German and part of Germany because of the spirit of the World Cup bringing people together. That's pretty amazing in my book.

So in this Euro Cup, when Germany and Turkey were scheduled to play, the air will filled with suspense not only for the game, but for the people who were going to watch it here in Berlin. The country focused on the capital, where an estimated 200,000 Turks live (the population of Berlin is about 3.4 million.) Were the Germans and Turks going to beat each other up (especially after getting "beer muscles"?) Will racial riots begin? Will the game cause some sort of cultural chasm between the two groups or will it unite them? Really, these were the spectrum of questions being asked and it was clear that the city had braced themselves for the worst because police in riot gear were present all over.

Fortunately, the Germans and Turks passed the test in race and culural relations with flying color, a pretty beautiful thing, considering the very complex issue at hand. I'll give you a quick summary: the Germans basically imported tons of Turks into the country in the 60s, after Germany realized that they literally had no manpower because of the decimated population post-war. So now there are immigrants, 1st and 2nd generation Turks living in Germany but since Germany probably has some of the strictest immigration laws on the planet, even kids born in Germany to Turkish immigrants parents aren't given the right to become German citizens. So these kids consider themselves German, born and/or raised, but have either Turkish, or in some cases, even no citizenship. So you can imagine the frustration and identity confusion if you're in their shoes. That's sort of the tip of the iceberg.

Americano news >>> fantasy hockey

special landing page on MyFantasyLeague. StatsWorld has already transferred 2007 accounts to MyFantasyLeague, in addition to transferring all league histories. StatsWorld customers are also eligible for a special $59.95 rate for the 2008 fantasy football season.
It looks like MyFantasyLeague is doing the transition the right way. It did all the heavy backend work before telling Statsworlds customers about it. Therefore, for StatsWorld customers, it should be a seamless transition. The biggest hassle will be learning the differences between the two interfaces. This is a crucial step that MyFantasyLeague took, because it should keep most of StatsWorlds customers from shopping for a new fantasy football commissioner service.
In terms of the StatsWorld personnels future involvement, Steve Drew, president of StatsWorld said, It has truly been a pleasure providing fantasy football services to you and your coaches over the years. We firmly believe that you will enjoy the additional league management capabilities at MyFantasyLeague.com as well their reliability and customer service. In other words, Drew is getting out.
Congratulations to both sides on the deal.

See more: >>> fantasy hockey

Well, this post certainly should have been published earlier (like 2 weeks ago..!) but I had so much to write and just didn't know how to write it. I hate that. I feel like I continually have tons of things in my head that I just cannot seem to write down in a semi-coherent manner. And what does come out just always seems so juvenile.... whatever. *chuckle*

So Spain finally broke the 88 year curse and even went on to win the Euro Cup 2008... The were a favorite but no one saw them getting past Italy, since they haven't won a single tournament game against the Azzurri since 1920...! But they did it, via penalty shoot out (neither have good reputations with penalties, but the 1994 World Cup final always comes up in my mind when Italy gets into a penalty shoot out.) And to be fair, Italy has been crap the entire Euro Cup. They deserved to get the boot (hah, pun intended :P ) although I was secretly hoping for an Italy-Germany final (World Cup revenge!!!)

Anyway, soccer fever is a weird thing that I still continue to marvel at while soaking it up as much as possible during my time here. In short, national soccer teams embody the hopes and fears of their entire nation. At least in Germany (and well as in many other European countries,) players are more popular than pretty much any actor/actress/director/journalist/political figure. They are national heroes. Imagine the pressure!

...And they say that it's just a game...

The US is pretty much the only country on Earth that didn't contract the fever. We kick ass at the Olympics but that doesn't generate half as much passion as baseball, American football, hockey, or basketball does. But even so, you don't see/hear people honking their and waving flags down the streets of your town when [insert team here] wins the first game of any playoff in any sport. Sure, people went ballistic when the Giants won the Superbowl, but the Superbowl's the "final" and it was basically David vs Goliath, so it was totally warranted and would have been weird if people didn't go completely bonkers for the Giants around the NJ/NY area.

Football (or, auf Deutsch, Fußball) here in Germany has united people in ways that nothing else can. First and foremostly, it really is the world's sport. Then, when your national team plays, it's a vehicle of patriotism. Under normal circumstances you'd pretty much never choose to support any other country than your own in a tournament such as the Euro Cup. And then, in any other situation, it would be awkwardly dubious to witness people randomly dressing in, and painting their faces the colors of the German flag, proudly waving their flags. Even if it is the German version of Independence Day (which is the Day of the Republic here, actually.) And for any other country it would be a bit weird as well, but especially in Germany, where time has certainly past since their dark times, but not that much time. When do Americans get particularly patriotic? Usually when you start bashing their country, for one. A bit for Independence Day. Uh....hmm. That's about it, isn't it?



Studying cultures has always been extremely interesting to me. One of the reasons I study/teach languages is because I believe that language is culture and vice versa. Take a stupid but pretty luminous example (when I realized this, a while ago, I actually sort of did a mental double take.) Italian doesn't have a word for "it". Everything is he or she, him, her, his or hers. Books are masculine, pens are feminine, shoes are feminine, belly buttons are masculine. I also realized very recently that they don't have word for half-brother/sister, step-brother/sister/etc. How interesting is that? If that alone doesn't give you a little snippet of insight into their culture without experiencing it with your own eyes, then I don't know what can. There's a huge connection, but it's one that's not so easily put into words. (That's something I'll work on for my doctorate...)

Anyway, back to Berlin for a moment.

In the 2006 World Cup, when Turkey got knocked out, Turks in Germany began to root for Germany and the country saw a drastic improvement of cultural/race relations. In fact, I heard some Turks (adults that had been living in Germany for a long time or even born and raised here, by the way) who said that they finally felt German and part of Germany because of the spirit of the World Cup bringing people together. That's pretty amazing in my book.

So in this Euro Cup, when Germany and Turkey were scheduled to play, the air will filled with suspense not only for the game, but for the people who were going to watch it here in Berlin. The country focused on the capital, where an estimated 200,000 Turks live (the population of Berlin is about 3.4 million.) Were the Germans and Turks going to beat each other up (especially after getting "beer muscles"?) Will racial riots begin? Will the game cause some sort of cultural chasm between the two groups or will it unite them? Really, these were the spectrum of questions being asked and it was clear that the city had braced themselves for the worst because police in riot gear were present all over.

Fortunately, the Germans and Turks passed the test in race and culural relations with flying color, a pretty beautiful thing, considering the very complex issue at hand. I'll give you a quick summary: the Germans basically imported tons of Turks into the country in the 60s, after Germany realized that they literally had no manpower because of the decimated population post-war. So now there are immigrants, 1st and 2nd generation Turks living in Germany but since Germany probably has some of the strictest immigration laws on the planet, even kids born in Germany to Turkish immigrants parents aren't given the right to become German citizens. So these kids consider themselves German, born and/or raised, but have either Turkish, or in some cases, even no citizenship. So you can imagine the frustration and identity confusion if you're in their shoes. That's sort of the tip of the iceberg.

Americano the best top 10 >>> fantasy hockey

Northland Community Calendar June 25-July Kansas City Star
Northland Community Calendar June 25-July 1Kansas City Star, nbsp;MO nbsp; minutes agoALL-AMERICAN BIKE PARADE AND WATERMELON EATING CONTEST: Children can participate by decorating any set of wheels they can ride or pull.

Community Calendar Pittsburgh Channel
Do you have a community -mail all of the details to webstaff@ and type community event in the subject line of your message. Submissions must be in Microsoft Word or some other text-based format. Graphics, images and.

Update: Backstreet Boys Brian Littrell apos;s wife Leighanne launches bag. Celebrity Baby Blog
I apos;ve read all your comments, and just because I made the first bag out of a sheet doesn apos;t mean they are made out of sheets now. I used a sheet to get a pattern. These bags are not made in a factory, or in China like most items that you purchase.

American Red Cross Designers apos; Show House Fort Lauderdale Sun-Sentinel
You may think there apos;s nothing good about the slump in the housing market. It apos;s bad news if you are trying to sell your house, but it apos;s great news for charities trying to find homes for their fundraising designer show house. In boom times, it apos;s.

Events on Long Island New York Times
Events on Long IslandNew York Times, nbsp;United States nbsp; Jun 20, 2008COLD SPRING HARBOR Whaling Museum Children’s Summer Workshop, summer hat decorating using fabric paint. Ages to 10. Wednesday at noon and pm $3 and $8;.

Julie Henderson CNN Sports Illustrated
The one thing I apos;m absolutely obsessed with lately is. My cable TV. I just got it. Laughs. I just moved into my new apartment and it took me months to get all the stuff. Now I apos;m decorating my apartment. I apos;m really upset because all my favorite.

Home Front: Living in a House on the Market, What to Do with Used Books and Magazines and more Washington Post
Post Home Section staffers Jura Koncius and Terri Sapienza help with your decorating dilemmas.

Festivals across the Southeast from July thru September Atlanta Journal Constitution
Festivals across the Southeast from July thru SeptemberAtlanta Journal Constitution, nbsp; USA nbsp; hours agoIncludes Trade Fair, barbecue cook-out, dog show, equine clinics, stable decorating and more. Shelbyville, 931-684-5915, .

BHS Class of 2008 All Night Graduation Party Belmont Citizen-Herald
BHS Class of 2008 All Night Graduation PartyBelmont Citizen-Herald, nbsp;MA nbsp; Jun 23, 2008Earle Frazer, and Rick Cudmore, who provided indispensable assistance to the decorating and clean up crews. Virtually the entire class attended and stayed.

Beachy keen Minneapolis-St. Paul Star Tribune
In her latest book, Mary Emmerlings Beach Cottages Clarkson Potter, $, the style doyenne translates her comfortable living mantra to a beach aesthetic. Her suggestions for a dose of sunshine would be equally home at a cabin Up North.

Crepe Expectations Long Beach Press-Telegram
LONG BEACH Patrick Parmentier apos;s passion for cooking was born out of necessity. Growing up in France, a young Parmentier began cooking meals for himself and his brother to help out his mother, who worked three jobs to make ends meet.

Style-setter turns her focus to the beach Philadelphia Inquirer
Style-setter turns her focus to the beachPhiladelphia Inquirer, nbsp;PA nbsp; Jun 6, 2008. each move prompting another book on cowboy style, flea market finds, picket-fence gardens, and American flag decor. Her Laguna Beach, Calif.,.

Design ideas for lunch bags, decorating and gardening Seattle Times
Design ideas for lunch bags, decorating and gardeningSeattle Times, nbsp;United States nbsp; Jun 21, 2008Then click over to Beach Bungalow for a peek inside the fantasy girly bach-pad saturated in rich colors.

Semi-Finalists in The SDP Third Annual Decorating Contest PRWeb
The Society of Decorating Professionals announces the top Decorators in the areas of Interior Redesign, Home Staging, Color with No Regrets, Accessorizing, and Decorating. Winners will be announced at the Third Annual Educational Conference in Chandler, AZ. Keynote speaker is Mary Carol Garrity of Nell Hills in Atchison and Kansas City, KS. Terri Bowersock of Terris Consignment will be.

Student Found Shot to Death Spokane Spokesman-Review
David Robert Boss, a history major and Boise native, was found dead by a roommate about ., Moscow police officials said. Boss’ roommate apparently arrived at the apartment at 1218 S. Main St. about . and found the victim on the floor in.

Put some twinkle into your home for the holidays Portsmouth Herald
FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. — Some of us must be genetically linked to Martha Stewart. We apos;re holiday junkies. We live for decking the halls with over-the-top decorations. One tree is never enough. Our vocabulary is laden with talk of Christopher Radko.

Style-setter turns her focus to the beach The Philadelphia Inquirer
Beyond fond memories of Thrashers fries and drugstore vanilla Cokes, Mary Emmerlings recollections of childhood summers in 1950s Rehoboth Beach, Del., are of simple beach cottages filled with straw mats, wicker chairs and painted tables.

Italian Green San Diego Reader
The old Naval Training Center at Point Loma is now a perfect new neighborhood, a salmon-colored village with shops, groceries, restaurants, and even an arts center, all within a short walk — something like urban heaven on earth albeit slightly marred by the periodic roars of aircraft.

A teacup, towels and bit of apos;twee apos; Fort Lauderdale Sun-Sentinel
THIS weekend, MTV reality stars the Osbournes heavy metal icon Ozzy Osbourne, wife and manager Sharon, daughter Kelly and son Jack will engage in that most Southern Californian tradition: the estate sale. Of course, this family has approached.

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Google AdSense, even online advertising is easily accessible for small businesses.
Can these advertising dollars slow down? Yes, but they will not stop flowing. Recently, there has been a bit of shakeout and consolidation of subscription sites. Expect that to continue to as sites begin to not only compete for fantasy players, but also for advertising dollars.
Personally, I believe there will always be a market for subscriptions in fantasy sports (or any other industry) - simply because people like buying something that they feel is exclusive and makes them feel special. Why buy a $30K fully loaded Nissan when you can get a $90K BMW? Also, why do people spend $4.50 on a Starbucks latte? In both cases, the items make people feel special.
However, high-end products are a small market niche and rarely reach the entire industry. Since the size of the fantasy market is so much smaller, it can support fewer players in that niche. While pay will stay around, be prepared to battle for those customers.
At the end of the day, free will prevail, with subscription sites filling small but valuable niches. I am a fan of free, and I prefer free. Would you rather have that money, or let someone else have it.

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Yahoo Fantasy Baseball Sign In Yahoo - better if your in a Yahoo league, but their new batting and pitching sabermetric tables are helpful First Inning - amazing site for minor league stats, easily the best Baseball-Reference - not great for in-depth stats, . While it may seem like a long time until September, the upkeep of a fantasy baseball team is similar to spring cleaning around the house. It isnt as daunting if it can be broken down into smaller segments Yahoo Fantasy Baseball . quality start according to Major League Baseball and Kyle Kendrick. No one else considers that quality, maybe quantity. I dont think you should necessarily trade Johan, but hes not exactly carrying fantasy teams with his pitching That his accomplishments have not translated into fantasy sports strips any claim of realism. In a normal 55 league, Bonds is usually drafted late in the first round or early in the second. Yahoo has him ranked as number 12 Yahoo Fantasy Baseball 2008 Yahoo sports fantasy home - Yahoo sports fantasy baseball, ufc weigh in fighters, ufc 84 weigh ins, yahoo sports tennis, ufc 84 weigh in No lights broke forth, but the same bed and yahoo sports fantasy home nodded again I use Baseball Prospectus for their PECOTA Weighted Means spreadsheet, but this is a paid site and many of you want to avoid paying for fantasy information. Yahoo in its Splitsville fantasy page has similar information, updated weekly . Yahoo Fantasy Baseball Plus . stats had not improved from there 05-07 averages, I would say he's a good sell-high candidate, but all of them point him to legitimacy. Jason Bay has been more than resurrected, he's been ameliorated. Stats from Fangraphs and Yahoo! . It is on yahoo sports I am starting a Brand New Head 2 Head Keeper league There are 18 Stat categories Batting : R, H, HR, RBI, SB, TB, E, AVG, OPS Pitching : IP, W, SV, K, HLD, ERA, WHIP, SV%, QS. Yahoo Fantasy Baseball 08 The US Supreme Court today refused to hear a case involving a Missouri company and Major League Baseball about fantasy sports. MLB and the Players Association had claimed it the statistics of baseball players as well as the . 2) Instead of letting fantasy baseball be one of the only things Yahoo is doing right these days, take it over. You ARE MLB right? Not only do you have better access to the stats, and the players but you also own the content that goes . Yahoo Fantasy Baseball Sign In Yahoo baseball 08 - Gary carter book, yahoo baseball, fantasy sports yahoo baseball, gary carter stats, base ball players, yahoo baseball fantasy league Nobody but yahoo baseball 08 'ud put up such a fear is over Galena Will Google compete with Yahoo!s fantasy sports offering? Perhaps. There are really more questions than answers at this time. There are two certainties here: 1) Google will incrementally develop the product, and 2) It will be a product . Yahoo Fantasy Baseball No licensing for fantasy baseball! Sweet! (Roto Nation). The best cricket writer we know just went to India, and wrote about his cricket experiences. (CricInfo). Shyamalan vs. Hollywood. (NYT). Tampa: Where criminals carry 30-inch . Both have to be under the same Yahoo account, though. And I also added in 2 other tabs, one for help and one for the latest MLB news. If you have a look at the league tabs you will notice I formatted all the pertinent league data for . Yahoo Fantasy Baseball 2008 Reuters - Major League Baseball and the players association struck out on Monday when the US Supreme Court rejected their appeal of a ruling that sided with a company that uses player statistics for fantasy baseball Imagine playing fantasy baseball back in the 1910s. There wouldve been a ten way tie for home runs with one. Someone wouldve got three runs and two RBIs in a week and wouldve walked to victory in H2H. The top pitcher taken wouldve . Yahoo Fantasy Baseball Plus Launches 2004 Editions of Premium and Free Fantasy Baseball Games features of ! and are the gold standard with most of the fanta. . with 2.5 months of a season played already, so I think it should make things interesting. Hope we can fill this league up, but please don't join if you won't stay active throughout the season. 2008 Yahoo! Sports Fantasy Baseball . Yahoo Fantasy Baseball 08 On each Sunday were going to try and answer your 2008 fantasy baseball questions. Is this every fantasy baseball question we receive? No, but itsa few of the better ones that were emailed directly to us at info[at]razzball.com 66 Head to Head League Through Yahoo Sports My friends and I created a 12 team league using Yahoo Fantasy Baseball this year. The 12 statistical categories used for scoring:. Batting Categories: Runs, Home Runs, RBI, Stolen Bases, .

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It appears that we have run our last Fantasy Hockey contest for the 07/08 NHL season. We need to have two games on the daily schedule to run a fantasy contest. Now that the third round NHL playoff schedule is out, it appears that the games will be staggered throughout the round, and we will not get any more multiple game days this playoffs. This is done to maximize TV profits, but is bad for our contests here as the Fantasy Hockey season is now over. Thanks to everyone who played in our unique daily fantasy hockey contests this year. We are planning to make Fantasy Hockey bigger and better for next season. In the meantime please check out the Fantasy Baseball, Fantasy Basketball, and Fantasy NASCAR Racing contests that continue to run on Fantasy Sports Live.

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