| Tuesday's sports roundup
NEW YORK Umpires, MLB clash on background check issue Umpires are balking at baseball's attempt to widen background checks in the wake of the NBA's referee betting scandal. In exchange for an agreement to allow credit checks, the World Umpires Association asked Major League Baseball to add a seventh umpire to each postseason crew. Negotiations broke down during a contentious meeting last week at baseball's headquarters. After the NBA acknowledged last month that the FBI is investigating referee Tim Donaghy for betting on games, baseball officials reviewed how they monitor their umpires. The commissioner's office asked major and minor league umps to sign authorizations for the background checks, and both the major league union and the Association of Minor League Umpires told their members not to sign the forms.
Nigeria: the Race for PDP's Chairmanship
It calls itself the biggest party in Africa. Given the fact that Nigeria is the most populous country on the continent and government is the biggest business in Nigeria and at the same time the biggest patron, the ruling Peoples Democratic Party's boast is hardly an empty one. Indeed to the extent that there are any political parties in the proper sense of the word in Nigeria, the PDP appears to be the only one left standing. Mostly by the sleigh of hand of planting Trojan horses firmly in the leadership of its rival parties, PDP has managed to divide and kill the more viable ones, notably the Alliance for Democracy and the All Nigeria People's Party. .
Muir In Charge Of Overhauling Bucs Offense
LAKE BUENA VISTA - Weary from patching leaks and determined to carve open some holes, Bill Muir is anxious to repair his reputation. Tampa Bay's 64-year-old assistant, once described by Bill Parcells as "the best offensive line coach I've ever worked with," has yet to put his stamp on the Buccaneers through five seasons marked by early exhilaration and recent torment. Since Muir joined Coach Jon Gruden on the staff of the 2002 championship team, the Bucs have averaged only 18.2 points in 80 regular-season games. The rushing attack, presumably Muir's specialty, has ranked 27th, 24th, 29th, 14th and 28th. Tampa Bay averaged 19.9 points in Tony Dungy's final five years with the Bucs. After tapping into free agency up front without much success, the Bucs invested heavily on the offensive line with premium draft picks the past two years.
Integra LifeSciences and IsoTis to Combine
Creating a Global Leader in Orthobiologics Integra LifeSciences Holdings Corporation (NASDAQ: IART - News; "Integra") and IsoTis, Inc. (NASDAQ: ISOT - News; "IsoTis") announced today a definitive agreement whereby Integra would acquire IsoTis in an all cash transaction. This strategic combination, unanimously approved by the Board of Directors of IsoTis, will create a global leader in regenerative medicine. The transaction is expected to be completed in the fourth calendar quarter of 2007. The transaction offers a number of potential strategic benefits to Integra: Upon closing, IsoTis, Inc. will become a wholly-owned subsidiary of Integra. Integra will be one of the largest companies in the world focused on advanced technology in orthobiologics and will have a product portfolio that encompasses some of the largest and most trusted orthobiologic brands, such as INTEGRA(R) Dermal Regeneration Template, DuraGen(R) Dural Graft Matrix, Integra Mozaik(TM) Osteoconductive Scaffold, NeuraGen(R) Nerve Guide and the Accell family of demineralized bone matrix products, DynaGraft(R)II and OrthoBlast(R) II.
More Asia and the Pacific Pages
This summer marks the 10th anniversary of the 1997 Asian financial crisis. The 1997 crisis triggered extensive economic and political unrest in emerging Asian markets, sending many countries from Thailand to South Korea into recession. At the time, one common interpretation was that the crisis debunked the "Asian Miracle." Capitalism and globalization were repudiated and blamed for the bursting of currency and property bubbles and the resultant difficulties. The 10 years since the crisis have shown that this interpretation was exaggerated. The countries that were most affected by the crisis have been recovering by embracing the free market and globalization. Asia is once again the most dynamic region in the global economy. In hindsight, the 1997 crisis was nothing more than a regional recession, a transitory setback that spurred more openness and transparency.
Forecasters reduce number of predicted storms for season
The number of hurricanes predicted by the hurricane team at Colorado State University has been reduced. However, researchers Phillip Klotzbach and Dr. William Gray said they still expect a much more active season than the typical seasons between 1950 and 2000. They predict a total of 15 storms with eight of them becoming hurricanes and four of them becoming intense hurricanes. The team bases their forecast methodologies on a variety of climate-related global and regional predictors. The forecast is down from the May predictions of 17 named storms, nine hurricanes and five intense hurricanes. Two named tropical storms have been recorded in 2007. They were Barry and Chantal. Andrea is listed as a sub-tropical storm, according to information received from the Colorado State University. "Sub-tropical storms are associated with a frontal zone with a cold core low while tropical storms have warm cores," said Jimmy Nunn, hydro-meterological technician with the National Weather Service.
It's Easy Keeping Him Down on the Farm
Michael Cropp was practically born among his family's cattle. On a rainy December night in 1994, his mother, Michele, whose jacket wouldn't zip over her pregnant belly, spent the night before she went into labor fixing a fence to keep the herd from running away. She was so tired from the repair job that she slept through most of his birth. Since then, 12-year-old Michael and his cattle have been practically inseparable. After years of eager waiting, Michael finally joined the county's 4-H club at age 9 and was able to show steers at the annual Montgomery County Fair. For the fourth year, the family will join Michael at the fair, where he will show four steers, a cow and calf, two hogs, four lambs and four goats. .
Terror Experts Share Expertise
More than 150 men and woman charged with keeping the Rochester region safe dug deeper into understanding terrorism at Monroe Community College Wednesday. The security directors and first responders took part in Monroe Community College's Homeland Security Management Institute's (HSMI) annual conference. Four of the nation's anti-terror experts explained the roots of the radical Islamic movement and ways to detect legitimate threats. "We're in a war whether we like it or not. The war's been declared on us, they have a different time table. You have to know who they are and what they mean and what they're doing and what they want to achieve to combat them," Henry Morgenstern, president of Security Solutions International said. Morgenstern lived in Israel for 20 years.
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