Your Different Options for Baby Girl Bedding

Princesses aren’t your only option whenever it comes to baby girl bedding.  There are a lot of other wonderful choices available as well.  For instance, you could opt for butterflies, gardens, puppies or even something that is more modern.

One company, Glenna Jean, even makes a Maya inspired modern girls baby  bedding set that you might like.  It is actually quite stunning in that it features flowers and a variety of artistically interpreted geometric patterns.

Flowers are also great for baby girl bedding.  You can find many baby girl bedding sets with ornate designs and many others that have much more modern designs.  Patterns range from very intricate to those that are very simple.  A lot of colors are also available so that you can match the rest of your nursery’s décor.

There are also a lot of children’s stories, cartoons and nursery rhymes that are ideal for baby girl bedding.  You will find an endless list available that includes such things as Care Bears, Noah’s Ark and even Winnie the Pooh.  This is nice because your daughter will come to love these characters as she grows older and you can then even continue on to adorn her toddler bed with them.

Check List for Your Baby Bedding

As new parent you want to give your Little bubble of joy the best and from the very beginning you want to pick the best for your baby this is why your nursery is so important make sure the crib that you pick for your baby is safe and that is up to the standard and regulation, also make sure the  bedding you pick for your baby is safe as well you don’t want the bedding to se to soft and also and the mattress has to firm a lot baby death at early age has been connect to this cause, make sure the baby has a sheet that fit you don’t want to be too big for your mattress and make sure they are not pillow, stuffed animal, or anything that can get in the baby face and covered.

As well as design a good neutral one that can be use for boys and girls is Dr. Seuss ABC Crib Bedding Set this baby bedding set is neutral and has the alphabet letter embroidered on white mini-waffle pique. The rich deep colors include a barn red, avocado green, cornflower blue, mango orange and chocolate brown. Bold dots, variegated stripes, and a whimsical alphabet and character scatter-print bring a fun Dr. Seuss classic to life.

Baby Bedding the Focal Point of Your Baby Room

Having a baby is very excited and is also very excited to decorate the baby room and it could be overwhelm at the same is a lot to do and you might think you have enough time to do it but doing a little be at the time you will get everything done.

One of the first this do is try pick the decoration of the room or a theme and to help you with that you might want to pick the baby bedding as the focal point of the room your will find a lot baby bedding to choose from you can go from classic to funky style if you want to keep simple you can pick one specific color for example pink for a girl and decorate the room with pink and white baby bedding and have picture frames and diaper stacker that go with the décor and do the same thing with baby boy bedding as well.

You other choices will be pick something like safari, cowboy, princess, sport, ladybug, rockstar and many more choices to choose from if you do this it will be a lot easy to decorate the rest of the room because the focal point will be the theme that you pick then it will be easy do the rest for example if you pick safari the color of the wall can have leaf print and sticker of animals like monkey, lion, elephant, bird, and more.

If you pick a cowboy theme this one can easy go for a boy or a girl let say you are having twins you can find baby bedding blue cowboy and pink cowgirl and the rest of the room will be Wild Wild West.

Do your homework on time and you will have a lot fun decorating your baby room

Helpful Tips When Buying a Infant Crib Bedding

As first when you become at parents there are things that you are not aware off one of then is very important and that is educate our self especially as new parents we want to make sure that anything we bring around our baby is safe not just to look this is why is so important to pick a crib that have all the guidelines based on  the Juvenile Products Manufacturing Association, and the infant crib bedding as well has to follow standard remember not to focus on the look you can start doing this research online where you have ton of information at your fingertips and the local store too.

You budget don’t think your infant crib bedding has to be expensive in order to have all the standard you can find affordable crib bedding that have all the requirements, and at the same time be careful with cheap crib bedding the crib bedding has to be firm not soft, and if you buy a crib bedding and is soft is not good always do your homework this is your baby safety we are talking about here and this is a very important issues.

A Charming and Modern Baby Girl Bedding

If you are having a baby girl then you must be very excited and happy at the same time, babies bring so many happy moments I our life, but if you were thinking of what baby girl bedding to pick baby you think of picking a princess theme every little girl dream about become a princess one day, or maybe you even dream to have a princess room or you want your daughter to have a princess room like the one you have when you were a little girl, and if you decide to for with the princess theme which princess you are going to pick they are a lot of princess or maybe you want to pick only a few of your favorite.

Another baby girl bedding set you can pick is the new trend that is evolving now is polka dots with stripes you can find a lot different design for this many manufacture carry this now  the combination of the polka and the stripes is very unique and cute at the same time.

Color is the other big decision you have to make you can pick the traditional classic pink or you can get the cute combination of pink and brown or also can be found in pink and chocolate, now a day with can find a lot different combination of color to pick a baby girl bedding you can even found your favorite color and decorate your baby girl room base on all some beautiful combination that are in most of the store online and you local store as well.

Tiger’s return highlights magical day at Augusta

Tiger Woods came back from scandal, a months-long exile and a verbal spanking from the Masters Tournament chairman to shoot a four-under 68 that could’ve been even better.

He showed, after all the speculation and talk, that he is quite ready to challenge for a fifth Masters title. It was business as usual for Woods at Augusta, especially the way he dominated the par 5s, making eagles at Nos. 8 and 15, the first time he’d ever made two eagles in the same Masters round.

Tiger’s long-awaited return would’ve been enough for any given Thursday, but there was more, so much more.

Fred Couples, age 50, shot six-under 66 to take the first-round lead. Tom Watson — sorry, make that The Legendary Tom Watson — wasn’t all that far from shooting his age. The 60-year-old shot five-under 67. The rest of the leaderboard bore a resemblance to the world rankings: Phil Mickelson, Y.E. Yang, Lee Westwood and K.J. Choi were tied with Watson in second place at five under. Ian Poulter, Anthony Kim, Trevor Immelman, Adam Scott and Zach Johnson were among the big names a few shots back. That’s serious starpower.

Two other over-50 players, Bernhard Langer (71) and Sandy Lyle (69), also broke par. Soft, receptive greens and forgiving pin locations offset windy afternoon conditions and led to a birdie-fest.

So the start of the 74th Masters featured Tiger’s impressive return, big names and low scores. Somebody write this recipe down for the rest of the week along with these instructions: Repeat three more times.

Couples did his best to steal some of the spotlight from Woods. Fresh off three Champions Tour wins, Couples played like a man 20 years younger. He drove it straight and long, hit sharp irons and putted well. Amazing. What else can you say?

“It’s just happening,” Couples said. “Putting has become the best thing in my game. Then I can be more of an attack player. I’m not surprised but I’m thrilled. There’s just something in the air that makes me feel like I’m going to play well when I come here.”

Couples made seven birdies and made it look easy. He missed a short but hard-breaking birdie putt on the last hole, but his 66 was still the lowest score he’s ever put up at Augusta National. His coolest play had to be saving par from the bushes left of the 10th green, where he bumped a 7-iron chip shot to three feet.

For a guy who played sockless (his comfy golf shoes feel like tennis shoes, and Fred says he never wears socks with his tennis shoes), it was quite a show.

Still, the remarkable run by Couples couldn’t overshadow the sport’s biggest day of 2010 — Tiger’s return. You knew it was going to be special from the size of the gallery jammed around the first tee, waiting to catch a glimpse of Tiger for his 1:42 tee time. It’s doubtful a bigger crowd has ever surrounded that tee.

You also knew it was going to be a unique day when an airplane began circling overhead at 1:30 p.m., moments after a wave of applause announced Tiger’s walk from the clubhouse to the putting green. The plane pulled a large banner that read, “Tiger, did you mean bootyism?” The plane circled back around just as Woods got to the first tee. Woods said later that he never noticed the plane or its banner, but it would’ve been hard to miss.

For the record, Tiger busted a perfect drive down the middle of the first fairway, which by then had a yellowish tint from tiny tree droppings that were blown by gusty winds and covered the fairway. The assembled press corps tried unsuccessfully to describe them, but they’re brown, about an inch long and kind of fluffy. Blossoms? Not exactly. But they were everywhere.

Woods tried to hit a careful cut with his driver on that first shot, just to make sure he got the ball in play. It worked so well that he did it most of the day. If he drives it this well for an extended period of time, he will be very tough to beat. Woods played a nice approach and just missed the birdie putt. For the record, his playing partners, Matt Kuchar (70) and K.J. Choi (67), did just fine despite the crowds.

At the par-5 second, his 5-wood second shot came up short and right, and he tried to use the new backstop on the redesigned second green to get his flop shot close. His ball carried a few feet too far — a little rust? — and the ball didn’t catch the slope. That left him a slick downhill putt, and he settled for par.

He got his first tournament birdie of 2010 on the short par-4 third. Another perfect drive, followed by a low spinning approach shot that stopped inside four feet. He made the putt.

By this time, there was little doubt that Tiger’s game was in fine form. He played a low 5-wood shot at No. 4, a 240-yard par 3, that was so good that it cut right through the wind and went just long. It was a dicey chip but no problem. Woods got it close and made par.

There were more classic Tiger moments. He hit it close in two at the eighth for an easy eagle. At nine, he was a bit more spectacular. His drive caught a branch down the left side of the fairway, leaving him blocked by trees. He sweep-hooked a 5-iron shot around the trees and landed the ball just in front of the green. It ran to the back fringe, where it caught the slope and backed up toward the cup. He holed the 10-footer for an unlikely birdie — well, unlikely unless you’re Tiger Woods.

You’ll see the replay of that shot over and over this week. After he hit it, Woods scissor-stepped to his right once, then four more times, then broke into a jog as he attempted to get a look at the result. It was vaguely reminiscent of Sergio Garcia’s shot from behind a tree at Medinah in the 1999 PGA Championship.

“I was surprised it held the green,” Woods said. “That was the first putt I made all day, just about.”

He made two bogeys on the back nine, which negated some solid play and another eagle, this one from six feet at the 15th after he hit a massive tee shot. His eagle putt at the 13th power-lipped out, and he also had near misses at 10, 12, 14, 16 and 18, to name a few.

So forget about the five-month layoff. Look out for Mr. Woods.

“I’m very pleased, I hit it well all day,” Woods said. “I had one loose shot on 14, then I made a sweet pitch and I should’ve made that putt. I didn’t putt very well today or it could’ve been a pretty special round.”

Most people would’ve thought a 68 after what Tiger has been through would qualify as a pretty special round, but he’s right — it could’ve been lower.

“I was looking at all the scores; guys were tearing the course apart today,” he said. “Most of the tees were up, especially on the par 5s, so if you drove the ball in the fairway, you could be pretty aggressive. You’ve got 30-some guys under par. I feel like I’m in the right spot, but there are so many guys up there, anybody can still win this event.”

On this Thursday, Tiger answered the question. He is back. All the way back? We’ll see.

At times, he did live up to his pledge to be a kinder, gentler, more fan-friendly player. He smiled and waved after he made that birdie putt at the ninth, mouthed “Thank you” to the gallery, and tipped his cap while adjusting it. He had a few tantrums, but they were minor compared to what we’ve seen from him in the past.

At the 11th, he didn’t like his tee shot and slammed the driver head into the ground and uttered an audible “God—–t!” When he pulled his approach shot badly at the 14th, he simply let his club drop from his hands after his follow through and chided himself, “Noo!” His celebrations were subdued, too, but Tiger doesn’t normally go wild in the first round. The tournament isn’t at stake yet. There’s no one to intimidate or scare yet. No need for theatrics.

Woods wasn’t going to let on that this was anything but just another day at the office.

“It felt normal,” he said. “I was pretty calm all day. I was just trying to plod along and not throw away shots.”

He’s wrong about it feeling like a normal Thursday at the Masters. There was Tiger. Watson. Phil. Fred. Airplanes with banners. Ovations for Tiger at tee boxes and along fairways. Birdies and eagles. It was anything but a normal Thursday. It was a day to remember.

Source: Golf.com

Baby Bedding

Emmitt Smith’s family tree has slaves, slave owner

Some know Emmitt Smith as the National Football League’s all-time leading rusher. Others recognize him as a three-time Super Bowl champion or a Dancing with the Stars winner.

But do you really know who Emmitt is?

Until he traced his genealogy for the NBC reality series “Who Do You Think You Are?”, Emmitt says he didn’t even know the answer to that question.

To find out more about himself and the family members who paved the way for his success, this hall-of-fame inductee followed his roots to Burnt Corn, Alabama, the town where his great-grandmother was born. “I feel like a detective on a hunt trying to find clues,” he says.

In Burnt Corn, Emmitt wandered into a convenience store and asked a clerk if he knew two of his relatives, Bill and Victoria Watson. Coincidentally, Joe, the clerk, turned out to be Emmitt’s second cousin.

Emmitt soon learned that his great-great-grandmother, Victoria, had an unusual maiden name — Puryear.

Genealogist Marjorie Sholes told Emmitt that “Puryear” was probably the name of a slave owner. “African-Americans, at the end of the Civil War, sometimes picked the names of their last slave owner,” she says.

The next step? Emmitt went in search of Victoria’s parents’ names. In an old ledger, Marjorie found a man named Prince Puryear who was described with the letter “m,” which meant mulatto. “Specifically, black/white race,” she says.

They also discovered that Prince’s mom was a woman named Mariah. “Now, I know that Prince was mixed race and born into slavery,” Emmitt says. “If Mariah was his mother, could she be the link between the black and the white side of my family?”

To explore this theory, Emmitt traveled to Mecklenburg, Virginia, to learn more about a notorious slave trader who owned Mariah at some point in history. The man’s name was Alexander Puryear.

Virginia historian John Caknipe said Samuel Puryear, Alexander’s father, might be the link to Mariah. To find out for sure, John selected a book of old deeds from a shelf. The number on the book was 22 — the same number Emmitt wore on the football field for 15 years.

“I’ve been wearing jersey number 22 since college,” he says. “Maybe it is my destiny, and I’ve always believed I was a child of destiny, but, whew, this is … it’s making me a little bit nervous.”

Emmitt says the family history he unearthed in book 22 shook him to the core. John helped him find a property deed stating that Mariah was transferred from Samuel to his son, Alexander.

“Samuel probably had her bred,” John says. “Then, when she got old enough, he gave her to his son. … They raised and bred horses, and raised and bred slaves.”

“In other words, the horses were more important than any slaves that they ever had,” Emmitt says. “They treated my people like animals…but worse than animals.”

The deed stated that Mariah was passed down along with a horse bridle and a saddle. “She was such a young woman,” Emmitt says. “I have a 13-year-old daughter right now, and I have a 10-year-old daughter right now. I couldn’t imagine them being passed down through slavery that way.”

Professor Steven Deyle, a domestic slave trade historian, says it’s safe to assume that Samuel was, in fact, Mariah’s father. “Alexander was engaged in this horrible, horrible traffic and why he didn’t sell Mariah is because he recognized Mariah as his sister,” Steven says.

After discovering the horrors his family endured, Emmitt says he’s even more thankful for the power of progress. “I thank God for people who stood up for equality for all of us,” he says.

Emmitt says he felt the true power of his newfound knowledge while sitting on the porch of an old slave quarters in Clayborn, Alabama.

“That house down in Clayborn is where I started to put things together,” he says. “And right then and there, I sensed that my ancestors were crying out to me because they were lost for so many years, and here, their great-great-grandson is going on the journey to find who they were.”

While Emmitt sat on the porch, it started to rain. “It was coming to me all at one time, and it was incredible,” he says. “Oftentimes, people want closure, and I felt like my folks did not have closure. At that time, when I found that information, I felt like they were crying out, ‘We got closure now.’”

After learning what he could from dusty record books, Emmitt took the next step in his genealogical journey and had a DNA test.

The results showed him that he’s 81 percent African, 12 percent European and 7 percent Asian, which is most likely Native American ancestry.

Emmitt’s journey has come to an end, but he encourages anyone who’s curious about their roots to follow in his footsteps. “You must go do this yourself,” he says. “It’s extremely important. It’s critical. It will help shape your vision in terms of how you go forward. It will also help you appreciate your past.”

Source: cnn.com

No. 1 Virginia Triumphant Over No. 4 Maryland, 11-10

COLLEGE PARK, Md. - Sophomores Chris Bocklet and Steele Stanwick each matched career highs with four goals to lead the No. 1 Virginia Cavaliers (10-0, 1-0 ACC) over the No. 4 Maryland Terrapins (6-2, 1-2) on Saturday night, 11-10, in front of 7,639 fans at Byrd Stadium. The Cavaliers opened up Atlantic Coast Conference action for the second year in a row with a triumph over Maryland.

“I am not sure who the good guy or the bad guy is in this game,” said Virginia head coach Dom Starsia. “We go ahead, they come back. We make a play at the end and win the game. It is quite remarkable, but this is how these conference games are like. Every game in the ACC is like this – we are in the murderer’s row part of the schedule with Maryland today and now North Carolina and Duke up before the ACC Tournament.”

Virginia shot out of the gate on the shoulders of Chris Bocklet (South Salem, N.Y.) who scored three straight goals, spearheading a 6-0 Cavalier run to start the game. Bocklet scored unassisted at 13:53 after running from the X position and depositing the ball in the upper corner of the goal. He scored again on John Haldy’s (Bryn Mawr, Pa.) pass at 12:05 and capped his run at 9:12 with a score via a Brian Carroll (Towson, Md.) helper.

Carroll scored his first goal of the game 15-yards out on a Matt White (Ridgefield, Conn.) assist with 5:11 left in the first quarter. White then assisted Steele Stanwick (Baltimore, Md.) at 2:44 and Haldy’s unassisted left-handed goal with 2:10 left in the first quarter capped the 6-0 Virginia run.

Maryland was able to dent the scoreboard with six seconds left in the opening period when Will Yeatman scored on a pass from Ryan Young, cutting the Terrapins deficit to five goals, 6-1.

Neither team was able to get much going in the second quarter until Stanwick scored on another White helper with 3:38 left before the intermission, pushing the UVa lead to 7-1.

Less than a minute later Yeatman scored his second goal of the game with 2:52 left in the first half, cutting its deficit back to five goals, 7-2, going into the intermission.

Bocklet scored his fourth goal of the game 1:28 into the third quarter on a Stanwick pass, giving UVa the 8-2 advantage.

Maryland then cut its deficit to three goals, 8-5, scoring the final three goals of the third quarter. Yeatman secured the hat trick with an unassisted score with 12:26 left in the period, quickly followed by a goal by John Haus, assisted by Young with 10:44 left in the quarter.

Maryland then scored again with five seconds left in the third quarter in transition after a missed shot by Rhamel Bratton (Huntington Station, N.Y.). Dean Hart grabbed a pass from Brian Farrell and deposited it for the score, cutting the UVa advantage to 8-5.

Stanwick then scored two quick unassisted goals to open the fourth quarter on identical plays. At 13:43 and 12:49 he rolled off the X position and shot left-handed into the net, giving UVa the 10-5 lead. Stanwick’s goal at 12:49 was on man-up after Max Schmidt was tagged for unnecessary roughness at 13:31.

Adam Sear started a 4-0 run for Maryland with a man-up goal via a Travis Reed feed at 12:01. The Terrapins were in the extra-man situation after Bray Malphrus was charged with holding at 12:31.

Joe Cummings scored on a Young assist at 7:41. Then Young scored unassisted on the ensuing faceoff at 7:17. Cummings took a feed from Yeatman at 3:36 to cut the UVa lead to one goal, 10-9.

Young almost evened the scored, 10-10, but stepped in the crease negating the score at 2:10. Shamel Bratton (Huntington Station, N.Y.) then beat his defender and fired a rocket into the net unassisted at 1:51 to push UVa’s lead back to two goals, 11-9.

Yeatman in transition squeezed his fourth goal of the game with 57 seconds left to bring the Terrapins’ deficit down to one goal, 11-10.

Virginia won the ensuing faceoff and was able to run out the clock to secure the one goal victory.

Virginia won the shots (37-33), ground balls (34-30) and faceoffs (15-9) battles, while turning over the ball (21-18) more than the Terrapins.

Adam Ghitelman saved four shots in between the pipes for UVa, while Brian McDermott won 13-of-20 faceoffs.

Virginia continues ACC play on Saturday, April 10, when the Cavaliers open up the New Meadowlands in the Konica Minolta Big City Classic against No. 2/3 North Carolina. Game time is 4 p.m. and it will be broadcast in the Charlottesville area on WINA AM 1070 with John Freeman calling the action. The contest will be televised live on ESPNU.

source:  ncaa.com

Rising star Torres faced tough decision

The summer of 2008 was approaching, and Jose Francisco Torres had a decision to make. The coach of the U.S. Olympic soccer team, Peter Nowak, wanted the young midfielder on his squad for the tournament in China.

But Torres, who had joined Mexican club team Pachuca’s youth ranks straight out of high school in Longview, Texas, had other plans. Nearly four years of hard work were about to pay off. The Pachuca coach was offering the 20-year-old a first-team place for the upcoming season, but only if he stayed with the team over the summer. So the young Mexican-American gave up the chance to play in the Olympics, turning down Nowak and by proxy the United States.

It wouldn’t be long before Torres would get another chance to declare his soccer allegiance to his country of birth, though. He was capped by the full national team in the fall of that year.

“I decided to play for the United States — that was my choice all along,” Torres said, preparing for the home stretch of the Mexican season, followed by what he hopes will be a trip to South Africa. “The opportunity came with the national team, and I took it. My goal now is to get to the World Cup.”

But there’s another side to the story of the man known in Mexico as “El Gringo.” Many south of the border maintain that Torres originally turned down the United States because he was hoping for a call from Mexico, the nation that gave him the chance to flourish as a professional and his father’s native land.

Whether that version is wishful thinking by Mexicans, to whom the talent of the now-22-year-old Torres is clear, or simply a convenient explanation, whispered by some close to the player to help make life livable south of the border for a dual-national who now represents Mexico’s biggest soccer rival, one thing is for certain: El Gringo is not alone.

As globalization continues to shrink the planet in many ways, soccer has thrived more than ever as the world’s game, one that transcends borders. Perhaps one of the more interesting effects globalization has had on the game — far less mundane than the hoards of cash super-clubs have figured out how to make by capitalizing on soccer fever worldwide — is the emergence of scores of dual-nationals: soccer players with more than one nationality and allegiance, forced to choose just one country to represent in sport.

The United States, traditionally a country of immigrants, has its fair share. Many of those who will represent the U.S. in South Africa inherited their affection for the game from parents who came from abroad. Oguchi Onyewu, Benny Feilhaber, Charlie Davies and Stuart Holden are some who join Torres on that list — any could have chosen to play for another country. A couple of potential dual-national stars have escaped American clutches in recent years as well, most notably New Jersey-born Giuseppe Rossi, who scored twice for Italy in a Confederations Cup match with the Americans last year, and Bosnian-Serb Neven Subotic, a U.S. citizen who will play for Serbia at the World Cup after turning out for American youth teams in the past.

In the age of migration, dual-nationals are hardly a uniquely American issue. Rare will be the competitive team at this year’s World Cup that doesn’t count a number of them among its ranks. Some countries even go so far as to bestow citizenship upon promising players from abroad who perform well in their national leagues, although naturalization policies that vary from accommodating (think Italy or Mexico) to long and complicated (the U.S. and Japan) make nationalization a separate if related issue.

No matter the route to citizenship, the 2010 World Cup provides an interesting perspective on the shrinking globe. A few of the more unique and notable cases on display in South Africa will be Gonzalo Higuain, a French-born forward who debated playing for France before deciding to represent Argentina; Liedson, a naturalized Portuguese striker who didn’t leave Brazil until he was 25 but now will play against that country in the World Cup; and Peter Odemwingie, a Nigerian born in the former Soviet Union who has never lived in Africa but will represent the Super Eagles at the World Cup on that continent.

Those stories hint at why few issues in the world of soccer have inspired so much emotion, much of it negative. The international game understandably arouses nationalist feelings for many fans, and the idea of being snubbed by a fellow citizen for another country would seem to be irreconcilable with that patriotism. It is simply impossible for most to put themselves in the shoes of a player loyal to more than one flag.

“Each player knows that it’s a really difficult decision for an individual,” Torres said. “I think it’s the player’s decision in the end, irrespective of what’s said in the press or in general. In my case, my family helped a lot, and I spoke with some other experienced players who have been through similar things.”

Edgar Castillo also understands both sides of the story. Another Mexican-American who developed his game south of the border, the New Mexico-born left back first chose to play for Mexico before reconsidering his decision and switching to the U.S. last year. He now is on the fringe of the World Cup team and, like Torres, hopes to wear the red, white and blue in South Africa. But Castillo has found that teetering between two countries has in some respects made him persona non grata on both sides of the border.

“They killed me here in the Mexican press,” Castillo said after his switch. “It was a little exaggerated; they were very mad. When you have two nationalities, you have two. You love the two countries but you have to see in soccer terms where you fit in.”

FIFA has begun to make a few clumsy approaches at dealing with the issue. Last year, the global body opened the door for more players to switch national allegiance at an older age, and it has suggested the process of nationalizing players with no previous links to a country be examined.

With no foreseeable end to the international movements of people and players, though, dual-nationals are certain to become even more common in coming years. In turn, much controversy and angst will continue to be generated, particularly in countries that lose recruiting battles for top players. For future dual-nationals in the shoes of Torres and Castillo, the choice won’t get any easier.

Source espn.com

Baruto keeps bid for promotion on track

OSAKA (Kyodo) Ozeki wannabe Baruto showed no signs of cracking and rolled to his eighth win after overpowering Kyokutenho at the Spring Grand Sumo Tournament on Sunday.

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Lone yokozuna Hakuho and surprise package Tokitenku all won handsomely to stay tied with Baruto at 8-0, but Harumafuji was condemned to his first defeat of the 15-day meet on a day of upsets for ozeki wrestlers.

Baruto rode his luck to preserve his unbeaten record in Saturday’s bout against Kakuryu but he was never in any danger against his latest Mongolian opponent at Osaka Prefectural Gymnasium.

The Estonian drew Kyokutenho (1-7) in at the charge, got his right hand clamped onto the second-ranked maegashira’s belt and calmly marched him out of the dohyo.

“From the first day I have been fired up and I am just trying to focus on each bout as it comes,” said Baruto, who needs to win at least five more bouts to be considered for promotion to ozeki for the summer basho in May.

Hakuho didn’t enjoy quite such a smooth ride in the last bout of the day, but the Mongolian yokozuna was equally impressive in weathering Tamawashi’s (3-5) attack and heaving the fourth-ranked grappler out.

In sharp contrast, Harumafuji was beaten with alarming ease and now sits alone at 7-1 after being railroaded by Kotoshogiku (6-2).

Komusubi Kisenosato (3-5) snapped Kaio’s three-bout winning streak by dipping into his energy reserves to bump out the veteran ozeki to a third loss, and Bulgarian ozeki Kotooshu then bit the dust to fall two wins behind the leaders with defeat to fourth-ranked Tosayutaka (1-7).

“I have not wrestled offensively enough so far here but I was able to get forward and attack today,” said Kisenosato.

Aminishiki (4-4) completed a miserable day for ozeki, the komusubi grabbing Kotomitsuki by the thigh and working him over the bales and out to a third defeat.

Toyonoshima, meanwhile, completed a winning double for sumo’s third rank of sekiwake when he bundled out top-ranked Kakuryu (2-6) to even his mark at 4-4.

Enjoying his best ever start to a tournament, Tokitenku failed to pull off an inside-ankle-kick pull-down at the charge but kept seventh-ranked Kakizoe (5-3) at bay with a series of slaps before pulling him down to secure a majority of wins.

“I am pleased but it is too early for title talk,” said Tokitenku. “It was not a good ‘tachi-ai’ today but I settled down after that. Every day I am focused on my sumo and watching my opponents carefully.”

Source: japatimes.co.jp

VANCOUVER 2010 XXI Olympic Winter Games Results

Rimashita Vancouver Olympics.
If the result of many players from the Nihon.

★ Keiichiro Nagashima (Department of Physical Education Faculty of Liberal Arts graduate) Speed Skating
· 500m silver medal
· 1000m 37 place

Haga Ryouhei (Department of Physical Education Faculty of Liberal Arts 3rd grade) Speed Skating
· 1000m 29 place

Norihito Kobayashi (Graduated in Economics) Nordic
Individual normal hill, 7th
Sixth group,
Large Hill, Individual 27th

Yusuke Minato (Economics), Nordic
Large Hill, Individual 26th

Ishida Masako (Faculty of Liberal Arts Graduated in Physical Education) Distance
Women’s 20km relay, ninth
5th place, women’s 30km classical
20th Women, composite distance

Madoka Natsumi (Graduated in Physical Education Faculty of Liberal Arts) Distance
We, the women’s sprint semi-final defeat
Women’s 20km relay, ninth
Women’s team sprint qualifying seventh,
# 31, Women’s 30km classical

Good excercice for the mucsle

No time and opportunity to move the body but are concerned about lack of exercise.
Such for you, you can introduce the exercises at home.

Sit in the center of the body, making for a healthy body, muscle is very important. Even worse position to be weak abdominal muscles, bones and internal organs also have an adverse effect. Also, Ue enjoy all sports, training is essential for strengthening the abdominal muscles. However, the mouth muscles to say that People are divided into several muscles. This is a sober look at transversus abdominis muscle of the existence of it all.
Transversus abdominis, the back of the abdomen, located adjacent to the internal organs is important to maintain muscle abdominal pressure.
Since the most effective in the prevention of low back pain, please continue it every day.

Let’s try []
1, lying in the supine position in the horizontal posture, strike its knees

2, palms toward the floor, put the bottom of the waist

3, while exhaling through the mouth, the palms on the floor to push back

4, Kittara exhale and restores power to loosen

basic attitude. The point is someone to slow

※ repeat at a slow pace. Please try 20 consecutive times starting place.

☆ The first is difficult to sense the transversus abdominis, the transversus abdominis acts as a natural force in the hip and hand. If you come to become, next to lift his head and look at attitudes toward the belly, please try the same exercise. It is even harder.

Hanyu rallies to world junior title

Yuzuru Hanyu vaulted from third place after the short program to win the gold medal in men’s singles at the world junior championships at The Hague on Thursday night.

Hanyu’s victory makes him the fourth Japanese man to capture the world junior title. He joins Vancouver Olympic bronze medalist Daisuke Takahashi (2002), Nobunari Oda (2005) and Takahiko Kozuka (2006) in holding the honor.

Trailing Americans Grant Hochstein and Keegan Messing heading into the free skate, the 15-year-old Hanyu stormed to the title by landing seven triple jumps to finish with a total score of 216.10. He notched a personal best mark of 147.35 in the free skate performing to Rachmaninoff’s “Rhapsody on a theme of Paganini.”

China’s Nan Song earned the silver, while Russia’s Artur Gachinski took the bronze.

Hanyu, who also came from behind to win the Grand Prix Final in Tokyo last December, was pleased with both his effort and the result.

“I am very happy to win this competition and I am satisfied with today’s performance, including the jumps, steps and spins,” he said. “I did my best. I am very happy to win, but I am even happier with the performance itself.”

The victory made it a clean sweep for Hanyu this season in the junior ranks. The Sendai native won both Junior GPs (in Croatia and Poland) he entered and the Japan junior title in Yokohama.

Source: http://www.japantimes.co.jp/

VANCOUVER Close Ceremony

A clown crawled out of a trapdoor in the center of the BC Place floor, plugged in two enormous electrical cables that exploded with sparks, and then mimed pulling a rope to raise the faulty fourth cauldron leg that stubbornly and infamously stayed down during the opening ceremonies. Catriona Le May Doan, who was awkwardly left without a leg to light on that first night, then appeared to finally receive her moment to light the cauldron anew.

It not only was a funny, clever, superb way to begin the ceremonies, it was the first time in history that a mime was actually entertaining.

There is much to remember from these Olympics. Lindsey Vonn used every remedy shy of leeches and copper bracelets to heal her shin, but nothing made her body feel quite so good as draping a gold medal around her neck for winning the downhill. Bode Miller made good on all those pre-Games predictions — albeit four years later and half a world away from Torino — when he won three Olympic medals, including his first gold.

Evan Lysacek ended Russia’s hold on men’s Olympic figure skating, even though Evgeni Plushenko still won’t let go (give it up, Evgeni — you lost). Korea’s Yu-na Kim took women’s figure skating to a new level (her score would have beaten U.S. champion Jeremy Abbott’s performance in the men’s competition). And Sidney Crosby added to his growing legend by scoring the game-winning goal in overtime of the gold-medal hockey game, a tense showdown that challenged hearts even more than a lifetime diet of poutine.

When Vancouver Olympic Committee CEO John Furlong mentioned the hockey victory during his closing remarks, a spontaneous roar filled the BC Place dome and forced him to stop speaking. Or perhaps that just was the noise from the public celebrations on Granville and Robson streets, where Canadians waved flags and broke into “O Canada” at every opportunity.

Like the cauldron itself, Canadian athletes took awhile to catch fire at these Games. But after the U.S. completely dominated the first week, Canada started winning almost everything the second week, including the all-important (in Canadian eyes, anyway) hockey gold. The host country finished with 14 gold medals, the most here, and 26 overall. The U.S. led the overall medal count with a record 37, including nine gold.

Or, at least, that’s the official tally.

“If you’re good at something, we will claim you. And since you competed here, that makes you Canadians, too,” Michael J. Fox told all the athletes during the closing ceremonies. “Canada is my home and now it’s your home, too. And that means the new home medal count is …”

The closing ceremonies were a night for laughing. Unfortunately, these Olympics began with that terrible, horrifying moment when luger Nodar Kumaritashvili flew off the track to his death the morning of the opening ceremonies.

“To the people of Georgia, we are so sad and so sorry for your loss,” Furlong said in his speech. “Your unimaginable grief is shared by every Canadian and of those who have gathered here. May the legacy of your favorite son, Nodar Kumaritashvili, never be forgotten and serve to inspire youth everywhere to be champions in life.”

How do you put something like that into proper context while cheering athletes who slide down mountains, chase rubber pucks around the rink and skate across ice while wearing costumes Elton John would consider a little too outrageous? I don’t know, other than that you go on with life and live it to its fullest.

So, you sing: Canadian music legend Neil Young performed “Long May You Run” as the torch was extinguished. You dance: Mounties, hockey players and lumberjacks high-kicked their legs around 15-foot-high inflatable beavers, 20-foot-high moose and giant table hockey figures while Michael Buble sang from a stage shaped like a giant RCMP hat (it’s very doubtful we’ll see anything like that in Sochi in 2014, or anywhere else, ever.) And you laugh at yourself: Comic actress Catherine O’Hara made her entrance with curlers sweeping her path while she howled, “Hurry! HARD!” and later alluded to the rainy conditions at these Games and the artificial flakes inside the dome by saying, “There may be more snow in the stadium than on the slopes.”

You invite the world together, hand out party favors (the crowd wore moose antlers included in the closing ceremony welcome bag), pour some cold ones and celebrate life. Life in every land and at any age.

Fifty-one-year-old Hubertus Von Hohenlohe skied in his fifth Olympics here, 26 years after skiing in his first in Sarajevo. He is a lot slower now, but he was here and that’s what matters.

“If you told me when I was 34 in Lillehammer that I would be racing at 51, I would have imagined I would be an old man with gray hair and a belly and all this,” he said. “But I just kept going. The lesson is you can do much more than you think you can.”

You can do more than you think.

That’s what the Olympics remind us. Consider: In 1980, a very pregnant Helen Demong stood as near as she could get to the Lake Placid skating oval and cheered on Eric Heiden as he raced to his five gold medals at the Winter Olympics. A month later, she gave birth to a son, whom she named Billy. In 1998, Billy went to Nagano as a teenager on the U.S. Olympic team. He didn’t get to march in the opening ceremonies, however, due to a snafu that kept him trapped too long at the accreditation center. This week, Demong won America’s first gold medal in Nordic combined. After receiving his medal that evening, he proposed marriage to his girlfriend, and she accepted.

And Sunday evening, the boy who “attended” the 1980 Olympics in his mother’s womb and grew up within a ski jump of Lake Placid, the athlete who missed the opening ceremonies of his first Olympics because of red tape, the man who won a gold medal in his fourth Olympics, carried the Stars and Stripes as his country’s flagbearer, just as his hero, Heiden, did 30 years ago.

With enough work, enough dedication and enough desire (and perhaps enough of that Austrian cheese Vonn used on her shin), you can do more than you think.

The 2010 Games of Vancouver are over, the Olympic flag on its way to Sochi for the 2014 Olympics, and hopefully Plushenko will be willing to hand over that flag when those Games end and it’s time to move on to the 2018 Games.

And perhaps, come 2034, another Demong will compete in the Winter Olympics (if there still is winter then).

I found this interinting  article at ESPN.com and I thougt it will be intereting itbring a good message “you can do more than what you think” which is the spirit in every olympic.

Source:http://espn.go.com/

Pacquiao Won Again

FanHouse has a Manny Pacquiao vs. Joshua Clottey live blog for round-by-round updates for one of the biggest boxing fights of the year.

The main event will start a little after 11:30PM ET. Check out our Pacquiao vs. Cotto results page to find out what happened on the undercard.

Check out Pacquiao vs. Clottey live blog below.

Refresh this page often for minute-by-minute updates.

Referee: Rafael Ramos, Texas

Judges: Duane Ford, Nevada; Levi Martinez, New Mexico; Nelson Vasquez, Puerto Rico

Joshua Clottey entered the ring wearing a bright, glittery red robe trimmed in white. Dancing to music and with members of his entourage waving the Ghanian flag. One of them gave the throat-cutting gesture. Clottey’s trunks are red with gray trim.

Manny Pacquio’s first music was “Thuder Struck” by AC-DC, which switched to “Eye Of The Tiger” by Suvivor.Pacquiao, wearing a red robe with blue and yellow trim, climbed the ring post in his corner and waved to the cheering crowd. Pacquiao’s trunks are read with white and yellow.

Michael Buffer: Let’s Get Ready To Rumble!!!!

Round 1: The crowd is screaming “Manny, Manny,” even before the round begins. Clottey paces and Manny gets final instructiosn from trainer Freddie Roach. Pacquiao jabs and goes to the body. Clottey’s hands are held high. He looks bigger. Pacquiao is still throwing. On the ropes, Clottey is covering up. Clottey throws a short jab. Pacquiao fires away at the body. Clottey still has not answered. Clottey is blocking shots, but there is no offense. Pacquiao’s counter right lands over a lazy jab by Clottey. Clottey lands a short right. Pacquiao’s round, 10-9.

Round 2: Same thing to start the second. Pacquiao is throwing, Clottey is catching. Clottey uncorks a couple of jabs. Pacquiao lands to the head and body. Cottey tries to come forward. Pacquiao backs him up. Clottey digs to thebody and to the head. Pacquiao goes to the body and the head and the body again. Clottey answers similarly. Pacquiao digs to the body and head. Clottey lands once to the head. Pacquiao is digging around Clottey’s guard to the ribs, but Clottey’s punches that land to the head are accurate. Pacquiao’s round, 10-9

Round 3: Clottey may be feeling the body shots that Pacquiao is landing. Clottey comes back. Pacquiao’s activity has Clottey backing up. Clottey is taking shots to the midsection and ribs, but comes back with a left-right. Clottey’s not going anywhere. Clottey lands a hard right hand that pops back Pacquiao’s head. Clottey is briefly pinned in a corner but he’s blocking shots. Clottey begins to answer back. Telltale signs. Clottey lands to the head. Pacquiao’s round, 10-9.

Round 4: Clottey has more pep in his step to start the round. Clottey lands a lead right. Clottey loops in another right. Pacquiao digs a right to the body but takes a one-two to the head. Pacquiao throws two hands at Clottey and is warned. Frustration that he can’t get to his head. Pacquiao lands a five-punch combination on the ropes. Most of the punches are landing on Clottey’s arms. But they’re more than Clottey’s offering. Clottey lands a right left to the body. Pacquiao closes to the head. Pacquiao’s round, 10-9.

Round 5: Pacquiao is winning simply on activity. Clottey lands twice to the body. Clottey lands a right to the head. Overhand left from Pacquiao. Clottey clearly has it in the tank but seems to be saving up. Pacquiao right hooks twice to the head. Clottey lands a short right. Clottey lands a left to the head and a right. Pacqauio lands a five-punch combination. And then, four punches before the bell. Pacquiao’s round, 10-9.

Round 6: Clottey is clearly trying to wear down Pacquiao with pressure. But he’s got to throw to keep from digging a bigger hole. Clottey throws a right. His back against the ropes, Pacquiao takes three punches, but punches his way out. Pacquiao keeps punching. A four-punch combination finds Clottey hard to the head and body. Clottey lands a hard right that jars Pacquiao. Pacquiao digs to the body. Clottey find Pac-Man with a right and then a left. Pacquiao nails him three times along the ropes. Clottey lands a left at the bell. Pacquiao’s round, 10-9.

Round 7: Clottey goes to the body early. Clottey doubles up on the left and lands a right. Pacquiao continues to lead to the body and go to the head — around Clottey’s defense. Pacquiao chases Clottey to the ropes, but takes a hard right. Clottey goes to the body and the head. Pacquiao lands a five-punch combination to the body. Clottey can’t sustain any consistancy on punch series’. Pacquiao’s round, 10-9.

Round 8: Clottey lands a looping right hand. Pacquiao’s still boxing and maintaining distance. Pacquiao digs five right hands that split Clottey’s guard. Clottey is warned for a low blow. Pacquiao takes a couple of seconds of recovery time. More body shots from Pacquiao. A nice right hand from Pacqiao. A head butt. No damage. A hard right and a left from Pacquiao. Several punches follow. Pacquiao closes strongly, uncontested. Pacquiao’s round, 10-9.

Round 9: Clottey doesn’t answer as Pacquiao jabs at his defense. Clottey comes forward but nothing. The PacMan just wails with whatever he can fight. Clottey finally goes with a right, left, right combination. But the PacMan comes back. A six-punch combination by The PacMan is punctuated by a right hand. Pacquiao does it again, and again. Clottey is baffeled Clottey is a sparring partner at this point. Pacquiao’s round, 10-9.

Round 10: Clottey needs to throw caution to the wind, and but instead, he’s riding a downward spiral toward defeat. A right hook from Pacquiao lands hard. A left to the body from Pacquiao. What must Clottey be thinking? Clottey tags PacMan, but doesn’t followup. Clottey leaps in and lands a right. Clottey lands a right uppercut and a right. PacMan comes back, however, and gets busy again. Pacquiao chases Clottey to the corner and continues landing. Pacquaio’s round, 10-9.

Round 11: Clottey is coming forward with intensity. Pacquiao still is outboxing him. Clottey lands two hard lefts. PacMan comes back. Clottey lands an uppercut. PacMan drives him to the ropes with a six-punch combination. Pacquiao closes by chasing and out-landing Clottey. The crowd is in a frenzy at his resolve. Pacquiao’s round, 10-9.

Round 12: A hard right from Clottey and then a head butt. Clottey lands a long right hand. Clottey lands a left to the body and one to the head. Pacquiao doubles a left hook to the body and head and follows with a right hand. Clottey is being outworked again. PacMan takes a left hand. They exchange down to the bell, and when the bell sounds, PacMan is in Clottey’s face as if he still wants to go some more. Pacqauiao’s round, 10-9.

Duane Ford had it 120-108, Levi Martinez, 119-109, and, Nelson Vazquez, 119-109, all for Manny Pacquiao by unanimous decision.

FanHouse scored it 120-108,for Pacaquiao.

Congratulation Pacquiao you did it again

Source: boxing.fanhouse.com

Injured Beckham to miss World Cup

MILAN, Italy (AP) David Beckham will miss the World Cup and most if not all the Los Angeles Galaxy season after tearing his left Achilles’ tendon Sunday while playing for AC Milan.

His international career for England is all but over. It remains to be seen how much he’ll have left for the Galaxy and Major League Soccer.

“He will miss the World Cup for sure,” a person familiar with the injury told The Associated Press, speaking on condition of anonymity because an official announcement had not been made. The person said it was likely the 34-year-old midfielder will play again.

Beckham was injured without getting hit during AC Milan’s 1-0 Italian League win over visiting Chievo Verona.

With only a few minutes remaining and the score 0-0, Beckham was by himself with the ball at his feet, shifted his weight and reached a hand down to his left heel. Beckham then stood up and snapped his wrists like he was breaking a twig in half in a gesture to show the AC Milan bench he knew the tendon was broken.

Visibly in pain and in tears, Beckham went to the sideline for medical attention, leaving Milan a man short because all three substitutes had been used.

“He felt the muscle begin to come up, which is a typical symptom when you break an Achilles’ tendon,” Milan coach Leonardo told Sky. “This is a real blow.”

Sky reported that Beckham said, “It’s broken, it’s broken,” when he came off.

Club physician Jean Pierre Meersseman told Italy’s Sky TV that Beckham will fly to Finland, where he will be treated by specialist surgeon Dr. Sakari Orava.

“He’ll go to Finland tomorrow and will be operated on probably tomorrow afternoon or Tuesday morning,” Meersseman said.

While Beckham has not been a starter for England in recent matches, he was likely to make the World Cup squad as a reserve and looked forward to the high-profile June 12 matchup against the United States — and Galaxy teammate Landon Donovan.

The former Manchester United and Real Madrid star was on his second loan stint to AC Milan as he looked to boost his chances of making England coach Fabio Capello’s 23-man World Cup roster. With no chance to play in the World Cup, his international career is likely over after 17 goals and 115 appearances, second in English history behind only goalkeeper Peter Shilton’s 125 matches from 1970-90.

Rooney strikes again

LONDON (AP) Wayne Rooney scored two goals and helped set up another to lead Manchester United to a 3-0 win over Fulham on Sunday that moved it atop the Premier League.

United struggled to break down a stubborn defense throughout the first half, but Rooney scored in the first minute of the second period with a low shot into the bottom corner from Nani’s pass.

Rooney added his second in the 84th with a first-time shot into the far corner from Dimitar Berbatov’s cross and then helped set up his fellow striker with a minute left.

United manager Alex Ferguson said Rooney could top the 42 goals scored by Cristiano Ronaldo two years ago.

“I said a while ago it’s impossible for a player to get 42 but he is on 32 and there is a challenge there for him,” Ferguson said. “He has 13 possible games and you never know. I wouldn’t put it beyond him.”

Manchester City missed the chance to go level on points with fourth-place Tottenham after a 1-1 draw at Sunderland.

Source: http://www.japantimes.co.jp/

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