| ESPN Classic to air Friday's awards banquet from NY
With the Big Apple as the backdrop, NASCAR will honor the top drivers in Nextel Cup racing at the series' annual awards banquet Friday night from the Waldorf-Astoria at 9 p.m. ET on ESPN Classic and ESPN360.com. The event will be re-aired at midnight on ESPN2. In addition, ESPN Classic will air highlights from the NASCAR NMPA Myers Brothers Awards Luncheon at 8:30 p.m. Friday prior to the start of the banquet coverage. Held on the day before the banquet, the luncheon highlights NASCAR awards such as rookie of the year and ends with the presentation of the Myers Brothers Award by the National Motorsports Press Association (NMPA) to the individual or group making the greatest contribution to NASCAR racing in the past year. .
No more weekends off: P’s & C’s reporting
The great L.A. Times scribe Jim Murray once said, "Spring is the time of year when the ground thaws, trees bud, the income tax falls due — and everybody wins the pennant." And so it is that your correspondent, memorably dubbed as the faux "crusading everyman" by one of our angrier blog participants, has already done his taxes, an annual end-of-January ritual before heading to spring training and being immersed in a six-week world where normal life is put on hold and baseball takes precedence over all else. We'll be headed down Wednesday, a day before pitchers and catchers are officially required to report. Need some time to stock the fridge of the rental house and get a lay of the land in our new neighborhood, plus stop by the ballpark at Dark Star to see how many eager Braves arrived early.
Bouncing back : Pain-free , post-surgery Tschepikow ready to hit field ...
Arkansas' Ben Tschepikow hasn't felt comfortable on the baseball diamond in four years. A wrist injury in his throwing hand sidelined him in his senior season at Fayetteville High in 2004. Later, chronic back pain debilitated him in his sophomore campaign at the University of Arkansas in 2006. After back surgery in the offseason, the wrist injury from high school was re-aggravated in 2007. Surgery on his right wrist last summer and a full recovery from back pain - thanks to an earlier surgery - have the former Purple Dog feeling fresh for the first time in nearly half a decade as the Hogs prepare to open the 2008 season Friday. "The problem with injuries is that you're never 100 percent," the medical redshirt junior said. "It's either a physical problem or a mental problem.
Queenslander Ceriann Davies bowls 'em over
UNSEEDED Australian Ceriann Davies claimed her second world indoor bowls title in four days when she beat England's Debbie Stavrou in the women's matchplay final today. The 29-year-old sports psychologist from Queensland capped a dream world championship debut, having already partnered world No.1 David Gourlay to the mixed pairs crown on Sunday. Welsh-born Davies downed favourite and defending champion Caroline Brown of Scotland in the quarter-finals before progressing to beat second seed Stavrou 11-7, 10-1 in the final at Hopton-on-Sea in England. "At the end of the first end, I started to think of the winning post and went off a bit," admitted Melbourne Commonwealth Games silver medallist Davies. "But then I got my head down. "I'm feeling more a sense of relief than anything else.
Rentlo to set up in South Australia
RR Australia will establish a Rentlo presence in Adelaide on the back of strong predictions for the current financial year. The company trades as Radio Rentals in the eastern States - and is a separate company to major South Australian electrical goods retailer Radio Rentals. RR Australia said it is on track to meet its forecast of a 50 per cent rise in net profit, following strong trading in the December quarter. "The company is well positioned to produce a solid full year result, which is consistent with analyst expectations, being around $10 million after tax, some 50 per cent above the 2006/07 year,'' RR Australia said. This profit provides scope for strategic development during the 2008-09 financial year, including plans to establish a South Australian store at Elizabeth which will trade under the "Rentlo'' brand.
Lawmakers face tough vote on smoking ban
The legislation highlights the inconsistencies in the smoking debate. If it's important to protect the health of restaurant and bar employees, why shouldn't casino employees be afforded the same protection?Ultimately, it's difficult to predict what a smoking ban might look like after it snakes its way through the legislative process. Some House GOP members are set to offer amendments that would exempt bars and family farm corporations from smoking bans.Who can say no to family farmers? And if smokers can't go to a bar to puff, where can they go?It all raises some difficult questions for state lawmakers, who likely will have to take votes that will anger some people back home. The question is, which people. .
Exponential(TM) Identifies Top Online Advertising Trends For 2008
Looking back, 2007 was a pivotal year in online advertising. There was major industry growth in terms of emerging companies and technological innovation, setting new standards for online advertising. Additionally, there were a significant number of mergers and acquisitions among the major players enabling them to build out more robust and comprehensive solutions. In the midst of all the creation and consolidation, many other tools and ideas transpired, including: the emergence of media search, the use of ad exchanges, the popularity of widgets and the massive proliferation and adoption of social networks. "The year ahead brings great potential as online advertising continues to evolve and mature. We've come a long way since the early days of online advertising; even since we built Tribal Fusion in 2000," said Dilip DaSilva, Exponential's founder and CEO.
Duncan Cameron, 64, teacher, poker player, man of happy habits
To tell you how tight this group of friends is, our wives would comment on how good it was to see a bunch of men go visit someone in the hospital and then hug the guy and kiss him when they were ready to leave," Mr. Isley said. "Men usually don't do that sort of thing, but these friends know they can count on each other for anything they needed, any time of day." At his funeral today, Mr. Cameron's poker buddies will serve as pallbearers. "Our plan is, we want to get through this funeral," Mr. Isley said, "and then we want to continue our poker games in memory of Duncan — so we can get together and talk about him some more." Survivors include another daughter, Kimberly Kathleen Bennett of Statesboro; and four grandchildren. .
Gunman 'somewhat erratic'
Please leave me alone, Robert Kazmierczak said as he threw his arms up and declined further comment. This is a very hard time for me. Gov. Blagojevich, on the nearly empty NIU campus Friday, called the shootings a terrible act of unthinkable evil. The governor, along with NIU President John Peters and board of trustees Chairwoman Cherilyn Murer, met privately with about 100 friends and siblings of the victims. When you look in the eyes of these young people, all you have are tears, Murer said. We are all much older today than we were yesterday. Contributing: Dan Rozek, Stefano Esposito, Dave McKinney, Lisa Donovan, AP .
Chelsea Handler Pulls No Punches with PR.com
Chelsea Handler is a master of dry wit and stone faced sarcasm. She will toss out a humorous quip, disguise it as truth, and wait for you to laugh before fessing up to the joke. She doesn’t waver or beg forgiveness for her remarks because she doesn’t have to. Chelsea segues through comedic bits with the confidence of knowing who she really is, and therefore, not particularly caring if you do. Who she is, is a highly spirited, yet good hearted Jewish girl from suburban New Jersey who moved to Los Angeles for a little adventure and the vague hope of a show business career. She got both in spades! Fans of the E! Network first got a glimpse of Chelsea Handler on E!’s "101 series" (think "101 Worst Celebrity Breakups" or "101 Best Celebrity Makeovers") where she always offered the most deliciously ironic comments on every celebrity scandal she was asked to give her opinion on.
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