| Head injuries, damaged lives
Doctors and researchers have linked the deaths of several professional athletes to traumatic brain injury caused by long careers in high-impact sports. n Hall of Famer Mike Webster died in 2002 at age 50. Webster was diagnosed with brain damage in 1999. n Former Pittsburgh Steelers offensive lineman Justin Strzelczyk was killed in a fiery automobile crash in 2004 at age 36 after a high-speed police chase. A 2007 inquiry showed severe brain damage. n Former Pittsburgh Steelers offensive lineman Terry Long committed suicide in 2005 by drinking antifreeze. Doctors say brain damage led to depression and suicide. n Andre Waters, a 44-year old former NFL defensive back, committed suicide in 2006. An inquiry showed that Waters' brain tissue was consistent with those of an 85-year-old man, with signs of the early stages of Alzheimer's disease.
Horsemen talk about boycott
The nucleus of you would go hungry or start getting out of the business," Luchento said. Cat Manzi, one of the track's leading drivers, said the sentiment is that such risk is necessary. "Take a look around. We're dead men walking," Manzi said. Freehold Raceway officials this week said the track will slash its purses for the second time in two months, blaming poor business and the lack of the promised purse supplements. The track also recently cut four jobs from its administrative departments. The Meadowlands is expected to announce purse cuts as well. New Jersey's three major racetracks are largely struggling to make ends meet. Freehold Raceway first cut the amount of purse money it pays out last month, reducing it by 7 percent. Monmouth Park where thoroughbred racing is currently on a seasonal break saw drop-offs in several business categories in 2007.
Ex-mobster warns of gambling's dangers
FAIRFAX, Va. | It's clear right away -- long before the woman sitting up front asks, "Did you shoot anyone?" -- that this guy with the straight-out-of-central-casting Brooklyn accent and gold chain is not your typical college lecturer.It's clear from Michael Franzese's life story -- the 17 years in the mafia, the millions upon millions of ill-gotten gains, the "Yuppie Don" nickname, the prison term -- that he is a breed apart from the professors usually addressing this crowd.And it's clear, from the wide eyes and dropped jaws in a George Mason University auditorium on a recent evening, that these kids in their gray hooded sweat shirts are listening intently, drawn in by Franzese's message and mien.They're hearing Franzese deliver the same, simple points he makes to college athletes and coaches, to NBA rookies and Major League Baseball players and umpires, to professional tennis players and NFL veterans.Know the dangers of gambling, because, he says, "If you don't have a gambling problem, you know somebody that does.
Bail them ALL out!
I personally would prefer bailouts, though, where the chief moron who approved the gargantuan loan gaffes does not get multimillion-buck golden parachutes they're escorted out the door. So, if we're cool with these bailouts for the fat cats from Fed rate cuts to secret side deals then let the small fry share in our self-centered refusal to let corporate titans go under. Contact the writer: 949-777-6727 or jlansner@ocregister.com .
Office market may be next to fall
Shown here is Bebe's son, Nolan, playing the part of Joseph in the Nativity float for his school in the Fantasy of Lights Parade. • Sticky sweet Christmas letters: Love 'em or hate 'em, the skinny on those often too-good-to-be-true yearly Christmas letters. More on MotorCityMoms.com .
Category: Social networking
Between the Lines Latest Post | Last 10 Posts | Archives Social networks: The new pulse of the Internet Posted in: General Web Technology Social networking I ran across a post from Rich Miller at Data Center Knowledge noting that Akamai's content delivery network is handling 1 million rich media requests per second from social networking sites such as Facebook, MySpace and Bebo. Much of the traffic comes from applications maker such as Slide and RockYou with tens of millions of users. ComScore released its November 2007 numbers for widget consumption as another indicator that the widgets are becoming like blood flowing through arteries of the Internet. In fact, content is becoming more modularized and distributable, and the lines between applications and objects are blurring.
Calculating calories you burn can be an exercise in futility
The spinning class at our local gym was winding down. People were wiping off their bikes, gathering their towels and water bottles, and walking out the door when a woman shouted to the instructor, "How many calories did we burn?" "About 900," the instructor replied. My husband and I rolled our eyes in disbelief. We looked around the room. Most people had hardly broken a sweat. I did a quick calculation in my head. We were cycling for 45 minutes. Suppose someone was running and that the rule of thumb, 100 calories a mile, was correct. To burn 900 calories, we would have had to work as hard as someone who ran a five-minute mile for the entire distance of nine miles. Exercise physiologists say there is little in the world of exercise as wildly exaggerated as people's estimates of the number of calories they burn.
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