This is a reminder that some people have twenty five thousand dollars, in disposable income, for things like a limited edition cell phone:
“HELSINKI - The luxury unit of Nokia has started selling a phone designed jointly with Ferrari for about 18,000 euros ($25,400) at its stores in London, Paris, Hong Kong and Singapore, it said on Thursday.”
Nokia would be much more impressive if the company charged fifty thousand dollars ($50,000.00) for the cell phone and earmarked half of that to a worthy charitable organization. If someone can afford twenty five thousand dollars, then surely a few more dollars simply won’t matter.
After being eliminated from World Cup championship contention by Brazil, Hope Solo spoke candidly. She did not play. The U.S. coach, Greg Ryan, had replaced Hope Solo with veteran goalkeeper Briana Scurry. The following are Ms Solo’s comments, after the defeat:
“…’It was the wrong decision, and I think anybody that knows anything about the game knows that,’ she said. ‘There’s no doubt in my mind I would have made those saves. And the fact of the matter is it’s not 2004 anymore’…”
Hope Solo will be trashed in the media for those comments. It has started already. Some call her comments ’sour grapes’. Some have called her a poor team mate.
I disagree - I think that these were heartfelt, honest comments from Ms Solo. Perhaps the media is surprised when an athlete does not speak in cliches. Ms Solo is a world class athlete who has confidence and pride in her abilities. One would not expect Tiger Woods to say something like ‘That golf course was so tough that I would have shot high numbers like everyone else.’ Tiger Woods would not say anything like that. He would not think that. One would not expect Michael Jordan to say something like ‘There is no way we could have beaten that team.’ Even if one leg was in a cast, Michael Jordan would never let thoughts like that walk through his mind. It just would not happen.
So, Hope Solo thinks that she could have stopped Brazil. And she is confident enough to say it. Good for her. Hope Solo is someone I would want on my team.
Catherine Forsythe
[tags]soccer, world cup, hope solo, goalkeeper, u.s. women’s team[/tags]
After being eliminated from World Cup championship contention by Brazil, Hope Solo spoke candidly. She did not play. The U.S. coach, Greg Ryan, had replaced Hope Solo with veteran goalkeeper Briana Scurry. The following are Ms Solo’s comments, after the defeat:
“…”It was the wrong decision, and I think anybody that knows anything about the game knows that,” she said. “There’s no doubt in my mind I would have made those saves. And the fact of the matter is it’s not 2004 anymore…”
Hope Solo will be trashed in the media for those comments. It has started already. Some call her comments ’sour grapes’. Some have called her a poor team mate.
I disagree. - I think that these were heart felt, honest comments from Ms Solo. Perhaps the media is surprised when an athlete does not speak in clichés. Ms Solo is a world class athlete who has confidence and pride in her abilities. One would not expect Tiger Woods to say something like ‘That golf course was so tough that I would have shot high numbers like everyone else’. Tiger Woods would not say anything like that. He would not think that. One would not expect Michael Jordan to say something like ‘There is no way we could have beaten that team’. Even if one leg was in a cast, Michael Jordan would never let thoughts like that walk through his mind. It just would not happen.
So, Hope Solo thinks that she could have stopped Brazil. And she is confident enough to say it. - Good for her. Hope Solo is someone I would want on my team.
As expected, U.S. soccer coach Greg Ryan is being roasted in the press. Here is an example. It is from Ann Killion’s column from The Mercury News:
“…Brazil still may have won with Solo in there, but we’ll never know. Ryan chose to disrupt his team in the middle of a World Cup. Now he is left to pick up the pieces of the mess he made, with one of the all-time coaching blunders. Ryan not only lost the game, he has also lost his team. And his one chance to grab his country’s attention. It was a devastating morning.”
Ouch! This is just one example. Some media articles are calling for Greg Ryan to be replaced as the national team coach. Of course, if the U.S. women had won, he would have been hailed as a ’soccer savant’ - a genius. The aftermath of his decision to play Brianna Scurry over Hope Solo is going to be blistering. Now we will find out how the team really feels about their coach.
As expected, U.S. soccer coach Greg Ryan is being roasted in the press. Here is an example. It is from Ann Killion’s column from The Mercury News:
“…Brazil still may have won with Solo in there, but we’ll never know. Ryan chose to disrupt his team in the middle of a World Cup. Now he is left to pick up the pieces of the mess he made, with one of the all-time coaching blunders. Ryan not only lost the game, he has also lost his team. And his one chance to grab his country’s attention. It was a devastating morning.”
Ouch! This is just one example. Some media articles are calling for Greg Ryan to be replaced as the national team coach. Of course, if the U.S. women had won, he would have been hailed as a ’soccer savant’ - a genius. The aftermath of his decision to play Brianna Scurry over Hope Solo is going to be blistering. Now we will find out how the team really feels about their coach.
Catherine Forsythe
[tags]soccer, greg ryan, u.s. women’s team, ann killion, news media[/tags]
The U.S. Women were eliminated from World Cup championship play by Brazil. The score was 4-0 for Brazil. Here are three things will be find their way into the press and into discussions by soccer fans:
1. Shannon Boxx, for the American team, was given two yellow cards. That means that she was ejected from the game. That also meant that the U.S. played the second half with just ten players. Not only did the U.S. miss Shannon Boxx but the extra person advantage allowed Brazil to dominate in the second half. Further, Shannon Boxx is not eligible for the consolation match on Sunday. My opinion: the second yellow card was a poor call.
2. The U.S. coach, Greg Ryan, is going to be catch a huge amount of criticism for changing goalies. He played Briana Scurry for Hope Solo. The argument will be that this change was a distraction and impacted on team chemistry. My opinion: Briana Scurry played well and cannot be faulted for the four goals. She is part of the team - and this group has been together long enough that a change in goal should not matter. I know that many will not agree with that. I do feel badly for Hope Solo. She played well and, as a competitive athlete, she should be upset at not playing in the semifinals. That does not mean that she is disruptive or that she is anti-Briana. At this level, she has to be competitive and has to believe that she is the best. Kudos to Ms Solo for a stellar tournament.
3. Speed and skill cover a multitude of errors. The team from Brazil is fast and they are so dangerous on offense. The quickness of the attack from Brazil really exposed openings in the American defense. The one player advantage in the second half was just an added bonus. The team from Brazil was far superior on this day. My opinion: I feel so badly for Leslie Osborne from the American side. The first goal, into her own net, was off her. It was a mis-play and gave Brazil the lead. In the end, the team from Brazil had an outstanding game and were dominant even before the red card to Shannon Boxx. This is Leslie Osborne’s first World Cup and she has been brilliant. I hope she is back for more international competitions.
So, on Sunday, it is Brazil and Germany in the finals. It will be great soccer.
Catherine Forsythe
[tags]world cup, women’s soccer, usa, brazil, semifinals[/tags]
The U.S. Women were eliminated from World Cup championship play by Brazil. The score was 4-0 for Brazil. Here are three things will be find their way into the press and into discussions by soccer fans:
1. Shannon Boxx, for the American team, was given two yellow cards. That means that she was ejected from the game. That also meant that the U.S. played the second half with just ten players. Not only did the U.S. miss Shannon Boxx but the extra person advantage allowed Brazil to dominate in the second half. Further, Shannon Boxx is not eligible for the consolation match on Sunday. My opinion: the second yellow card was a poor call.
2. The U.S. coach, Greg Ryan, is going to be catch a huge amount of criticism for changing goalies. He played Briana Scurry for Hope Solo. The argument will be that this change was a distraction and impacted on team chemistry. My opinion: Briana Scurry played well and cannot be faulted for the four goals. She is part of the team - and this group has been together long enough that a change in goal should not matter. I know that many will not agree with that. I do feel badly for Hope Solo. She played well and, as a competitive athlete, she should be upset at not playing in the semifinals. That does not mean that she is disruptive or that she is anti-Briana. At this level, she has to be competitive and has to believe that she is the best. Kudos to Ms Solo for a stellar tournament.
3. Speed and skill cover a multitude of errors. The team from Brazil is fast and they are so dangerous on offense. The quickness of the attack from Brazil really exposed openings in the American defense. The one player advantage in the second half was just an added bonus. The team from Brazil was far superior on this day. My opinion: I feel so badly for Leslie Osborne from the American side. The first goal, into her own net, was off her. It was a mis-play and gave Brazil the lead. In the end, the team from Brazil had an outstanding game and were dominant even before the red card to Shannon Boxx. This is Leslie Osborne’s first World Cup and she has been brilliant. I hope she is back for more international competitions.
So, on Sunday, it is Brazil and Germany in the finals. It will be great soccer.
If your dog ever has had fleas, you know it is a battle. There is a ‘folk rumour’ that may be true: fleas would survive a nuclear catastrophe. If you have gone to battle with fleas, then you would tend to believe in the truth of that belief. There is a holistic approach to ridding your dog of fleas but it does take some work.
Fleas are not only on the dog. They are lurking in other places too, such as the carpeting, the dog bedding and perhaps even your clothes. You must treat the environment, as well as the dog. If you just focus on treating the dog, it will become an endless battle. The fleas will return to the dog if they are not eliminated from the dog’s environment.
Salt will help eliminate the fleas. The salt will be a dehydrating agent. Salt can be used alone or with equal parts baking soda. If you are using this mixture on the carpet, leave this on the carpet overnight. And then vacuum this up. Repeat this for four more days. - Yes, it is loads of work. (And please test this on a small part of your carpet to make sure that the material will not be damaged.)
The dog is treated with the same mixture of salt and baking soda. It is so much easier to do this outdoors. Make sure you have enough supplies on hand. Your dog will shake some of this off and, of course, be prepared to have this all over your clothes. Try to leave this on the dog for three hours at least. Then, comb out the dog. Be sure to comb out the dog before giving it a bath. If your dog will allow you, it would be a good idea to run the vacuum over the dog. Then bath the dog. And yes, repeat this for four more days. Doing this once will not eliminate the problem. Eliminating fleas just seems endless - but this method does work.
