Mammoth Blog

In 1801 The Tripolitan War, between the United States and the Barbary States, began.

In 1942 The entire male population of the Czech village of Lidice was massacred in retaliation for the death of Nazi official Reinhard Heydrich. source>>>

Computer-related injuries on the rise in children? Sure, I thought, their thumbs get sore from playing Grand Theft Auto for hours on end. But I was wrong; we're talking real injuries here, the kinds that land kids in the emergency room. Computer-related injuries serious enough to send someone to the emergency room have increased 732 percent from 1994 to 2006, even though home computer ownership rose less than half that. The data are gleaned from a federal database of 100 emergency rooms around the country. Children under age 5 were most likely to be hurt, and the injuries were caused by tripping over cables or equipment, being hit on the head by a falling computer monitor, or getting caught on equipment. Deep cuts, bumps, and bruises are the most common injuries.

Monitors are the most likely culprits, causing 37 percent of all computer injuries in 2003, according to researchers at the Center for Injury Research and Policy at Nationwide Children's Hospital in Columbus, Ohio, who reported in the July American Journal of Preventive Medicine. (That number has been dropping, thanks to the growing popularity of flat-screen LCD monitors, which are much lighter and less likely to cause harm than the hulking cathode-ray-tube monitors of computers past.)

Computer injuries are hardly epidemic; currently, about 9,300 people a year are injured by computers. But since most parents probably never think of the home computer as a potentially dangerous device, it's worth thinking about how to reduce the risk, particularly to children younger than 10, who are the most likely to suffer a head injury
. Here's how to make home computers safer, from the Center for Injury Research and Policy and other sources:

* Put the computer against a wall and away from walkways.
* Push the computer well back on the desk, so it's less likely to topple.
* Anchor cables and cords to the back of the desk, or use cable covers, available at consumer electronics stores.
* Keep the computer out of play areas.
* Install safety covers on unused electrical outlets.
* Anchor desks and bookcases to the wall, then attach computer components to the desk or wall. Baby-proofing tethers or cable ties work well for this. Injuries to children from falling furniture are on the rise, according to the Consumer Product Safety
Commission, so tethering heavy furniture is a good idea even without the computer.
source>>>

At the Robert Treat Academy, students sporting blue-and-green plaid uniforms fill the auditorium at 8:30 for morning announcements.

"Have a sensational day of learning," principal Michael Pallante says to the crowd after they sing Happy Birthday to a fellow student.

PHOTOS: Workin' 7:30 to 5? A day at Robert Treat
CITIES: More black lawmakers open to school vouchers

"Let's stay focused. Let's learn. You guys are becoming stars."

Some students have been there since 7:30, eating breakfast and receiving extra homework help.
FIND MORE STORIES IN: New York | Johns Hopkins University | United States Department of Education | Paul Vallas

About 70% of its 450 kindergarten through eighth-grade students stay until at least 5 p.m.

The public charter school operates 205 to 210 days a year, compared with the state-required 180.

Some grade levels devote Saturday hours to state testing preparation.

Pallante calls the 11-month school year a "blessing for these urban school kids and their parents. We have kids from broken homes, drugs, parents incarcerated. We have everything."

More time is necessary for academic improvement, he says.

Robert Treat Academy boasted the highest test scores among New Jersey urban public schools in 2008, based on a test called the New Jersey Assessment of Skills and Knowledge. The school was one of only eight nationwide declared "high-poverty, high-achieving" by the U.S. Department of Education.

With examples like this, the push for extended learning time is gaining nationwide.

Roughly 1,000 schools -- 80% charter schools, 20% traditional public schools -- have expanded their schedules by more than one to two hours a day or 300 hours a year, according to the National Center on Time and Learning in Boston.

Karl Alexander, a sociology professor at Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore, says poorer children need enrichment programs over summer months to compete academically with middle-class children. "The real key is what you do with the extra time," he says. "It has to be high-quality."

But in Miami-Dade County, Fla., a three-year program in 39 underperforming public schools that included an extended school day and a longer school year produced mixed academic results, according to a final evaluation released last month. Administrators and teachers experienced fatigue and burnout, and many students did not attend class in the beginning of the summer, the report said.

"Principals and teachers also reported that proficient students felt stigmatized by the mandatory additional time, which was viewed as a punishment rather than enhancement," program evaluators wrote.

Other report findings showed students scored lower on the Florida Comprehensive Assessment Tests in reading or math compared with other students in the county.

KIPP Philadelphia Charter School CEO Marc Mannella says he instituted a longer school year because students were coming to KIPP (Knowledge Is Power Program) behind by two to three grade levels.

KIPP: Knowledge Is Power Program shown as urban triumph

Ashley Rainer, 13, says she doesn't mind leaving the house at 5:50 a.m. to take the bus to KIPP Philadelphia. "I feel good about it, because I know when I'm in college and have a job it is going to happen," she says.

Other kids aren't exactly thrilled.

"Everybody says it (stinks) going to school in the summer, but it benefits me," says Louis Grier, 14, of Robert Treat, where students won't see a summer break until July 1.

The concept of a longer school year also has spread to Louisiana and the Recovery School District, which was formed after Hurricane Katrina to give direction to underperforming schools. District Superintendent Paul Vallas added 40 days of instruction to the school calendar.

The National Education Association, the nation's largest teachers union, takes the stand that the extended calendar may work for certain school districts but not all.

"More hours is not automatically the best answer," says the NEA's Joel Packer. "Maybe we need to reduce class size, change our curriculum. Maybe we need more school counselors and mentors."

Joshua Medina, 16, a former Robert Treat student, now goes to The Hill school in Potsdam, Pa., on scholarship.

He already has his eye on New York University or Washington, D.C.'s Howard University and hopes to pursue a career in law.

"Robert Treat became my home away from home. From birth, I was always a motivated person, but coming to this school really helped me realize what I'm motivated for." source>>>

A Food and Drug Administration advisory committee will vote Wednesday on whether the makers of three blockbuster antipsychotic drugs -- already widely prescribed "off-label" to children and teens -- should be allowed to market them to treat schizophrenia and bipolar disorder in young people.

AstraZeneca's Seroquel, Pfizer's Geodon and Eli Lilly's Zyprexa are approved for schizophrenia and bipolar disorder in adults. Two other antipsychotic drugs, Risperdal and Abilify, already are approved for treating bipolar disease and schizophrenia in patients under 18.

"We generally are in agreement that the sponsors (the makers of Seroquel, Geodon and Zyprexa) have provided adequate support to suggest effectiveness" for treating those conditions in children and adults, said Thomas Laughren, director of the FDA's Division of Psychiatry Products, in a memo to committee members before the two-day meeting began here Tuesday.

In addition, Laughren said, the drugs' safety profiles appear to be "qualitatively similar to those observed with these drugs in adult patients." Adverse reactions that can occur with these "atypical" antipsychotics, he said, include sedation, weight gain, increases in blood fats and sugars and tardive dyskinesia, a condition characterized by involuntary repetitive movements.

Although the FDA isn't required to follow advisory committee recommendations, it usually does.

After listening to scientific presentations by FDA staffers and representativesfrom the three drug companies, panel members heard testimony from the public. No matter whether the speakers felt the companies should get the FDA's approval or not, virtually all agreed that more research is needed into the drugs' long-term safety and effectiveness in children and teens.

"Serious questions have not been answered," said Ronald Brown dean of the College of Health Professions at Temple University-Philadelphia. Three years ago, Brown chaired an American Psychology Association panel work group on psychiatric medications for children and adolescents.

Doctors prescribe the three antipsychotic drugs to about a million Americans ages 13 to 17 every year, says Diana Zuckerman, president of the National Research Center for Women & Families in Washington, D.C. "Unfortunately, the studies are inadequate," Zuckerman said. "They provide really no useful information about the long-term risks of tardive dyskinesia, sudden death or diabetes."

Christina Bagno of Brooklyn Heights, N.Y., says a combination of Seroquel and lithium have enabled her 7½ -year-old daughter, diagnosed with bipolar disorder, to live a normal childhood. "Antipsychotics saved my child," Bagno said.

But Liza Ortiz, of Austin, Texas, says Seroquel killed her 13-year-old son in January. He started hearing voices when he was 11 and was diagnosed with schizophrenia last year, Ortiz told the panel. Doctors prescribed a "cocktail" of antipsychotic drugs, she said, and he died four days after Seroquel was added to it.

David Fassler, a Burlington, Vt., psychiatrist who serves as secretary-treasurer of the American Psychiatric Association, says schizophrenia and bipolar disorder are "very real illnesses" in children and adolescents.

"In actual clinical practice, these medications are not used on a short-term basis," Fassler said of Seroquel, Geodon and Zyprexa. "We don't yet have sufficient data on longterm safety and efficacy in pediatric populations."

If the advisory committee recommends approving the three drugs for the treatment of children and teens, Fassler said, it should do so only for short-term or on-again, off-again use and only if manufacturers don't advertise their use in young people directly to consumers. source>>>

Chase Brown, a Victoria rock singer, has become known for performing songs with his ladder at Victoria's Downtown Bar and Grill every Wednesday over the past few years.

The restaurant's owner, Johnice Bowman, purchased him a ladder of his own on Brown's 24th birthday last year. His performance wouldn't be the same without it.

"I start out the show slow. The ladder comes out a little later, and it changes the direction of the show," Brown said. "When I start riding that thing, they get a kick out of it. I've never seen anybody do it before. It just gets people's attention."

Since he used it so much, it got worn out. He now has a new ladder he will unveil Thursday at Greek Brothers in El Campo.

Brown decided to sell the ladder Bowman gave him on eBay, and have all proceeds go toward American Cancer Society's Relay for Life.

"Both of my grandmothers both passed away of cancer," he said. "Just being able to give something that might in some way be able to help, even in the smallest way, means a lot to me."

Bidders can begin bidding for the ladder on eBay starting Thursday. To show his appreciation and support, Brown will personally deliver the ladder to the highest bidder if the buyer lives within a 500-mile radius.

"It's after a main song I dance to called 'Walk 500 miles.' It's the signature song that I started off with." source>>>

eBay aims to "spark the entrepreneurial spirit" among its sellers with today's launch of the eBay Sellers Challenge. The challenge is for sellers to answer the question: "How would you use $25,000 go grow - or start - an eBay business?"

"The eBay marketplace is a community rich in innovation and entrepreneurial spirit," says eBay Marketplaces President Lorrie Norrington. "The Sellers Challenge helps underscore this simple truth, and along with the powerful selling tools available on eBay, signifies our fundamental commitment to ensuring the success of our sellers."
eBay Sellers Challenge

eBay will choose four winners for the contest, and each of them gets $25,000 in business grants, as well as marketing advice and "assistance" from eBay. Meanwhile, eBay hopes to get more people to use its services exclusively for conducting their business.

Participants in the challenge must build a business plan using only tools offered by eBay. They must submit the plan along with an accompanying video in one of the following four categories:

- Current or former members of the Unites States armed forces;

- Individuals or small businesses who have not sold on eBay;

- Part-time sellers who want to go full-time on eBay; and

- Full-time eBay sellers who want to grow their business further.

The submissions will be judged by eBay and the Ewing Marion Kauffman Foundation, who is offering entrepreneurial tips at the Sellers Challenge site.

"Because entrepreneurship is central to the economic welfare of the United States, the Kauffman Foundation is pleased to see companies such as eBay work to inspire entrepreneurs everywhere," said Thom Ruhe, director of entrepreneurship at the Kauffman Foundation. "We are always proud to work in partnership with organizations that support our mission: to help individuals attain economic independence and entrepreneurial success."

There will be 8 finalists selected - 2 from each category. Selections will be made based on perceived business challenges and obstacles, clarity of business plan, "passion for using eBay," and appropriateness to contest theme. Buyers and sellers will be able to vote on finalists, and the most popular one from each category wins. source>>>

More and more of us are turning to eBay to make extra cash in the credit crunch - but how do we make it worth our while? Two self-confessed eBay addicts handed over their tips for savvy internet trading to Claire Rees.

IMPULSE buyer Kate Novell turned to eBay when she was made redundant and needed some quick cash.

The former marketing manager at Red Dragon FM set up her own events company when she lost her job and found she needed something to help pay the bills.

Kate, 30, of Canton, Cardiff, realised she could easily benefit financially from shopping sprees in the past - and was soon hooked on the online auction site when her first item, a pink Radley handbag, fetched £40 in days.

"Someone bought it for me eight years ago and I loved it at the time but would never use it now," said Kate, who has been selling on eBay for six months and estimates she has made almost £1,000.

"A friend of mine recommended I write the description in pink as it actually attracts buyers and it worked.

"I went from being in full-time employment to not and I thought it seemed like a good time to start."

Kate now makes up to £100 a week getting rid of the outfits that seemed a good idea when she bought them, but no longer suit her style.

"This week I put some Chanel sunglasses on there and started the bidding at £8 or buy now for £30," she said.

"Sometimes I forget what I've put on and it's a nice surprise when I get a Blackberry alert saying someone's bid - it's a really easy way of making money while you get on with other things."

Kate keeps her eBay stock in the one-bedroom flat she shares with her husband and admits things used to be a lot more cluttered before she turned enterprising.

"I've got loads of handbags and dresses that I never wear anymore," she said.

"My cupboards were full. I'd never got around to it before and would give stuff to friends but we've all got so much and with the credit crunch it's such a good idea to make money out of trash that's always going to be someone else's treasure."

Kate's eBay credit crunch tips

Customise the description to fit the item - if you're selling something pink, write the description in pink.

Set the bidding deadline for an evening or morning, or a Saturday morning - people are less inclined to use it while they're at work so a midday deadline is a no-no.

Dresses are big sellers - women are always buying one and wearing them once so want something cheaper they can wear to their next big event.

AIMEE Bateman has been eBay trading for three years but "got serious" about it at the beginning of the year and now it dictates how she shops.

The 28-year-old from Cardiff Bay read a book written by an eBay millionaire and it inspired her so much she set about using the trading site to significantly top up her income.

Kate now goes shopping with eBay in mind and even raids the homes of her friends and family to find items she think can make easy cash.

"I never buy anything to keep any more," said the recruitment manager for Boomerang in Cardiff.

"The only thing I've kept lately is a brand new stool from John Lewis that I bought on eBay with the plan to put it back on and sell.

"It was so lovely and it was only 99p so I had to have it, but that's very rare, everything goes straight on there."

Aimee now trawls charity shops to satisfy her "addiction" for eBay, which earns her around £250 a month.

"People are put off by it because it seems a chore, but I put a batch on every week and keep it on there for seven days so there's less admin," she said.

"The most annoying bit is taking the photos and packing the items up for the post office, but it's also fun and all the women in the post office have a giggle about what I'm selling."

And Aimee thinks almost anything will sell - and has learned to appreciate not everyone shares her taste.

"I bought a dressing gown from a charity shop for 20p and made £30 on it," she said.

"I sell all over the UK - I even sold a blanket."

Aimee now buys so much to sell on, she has to rent space at Cardiff Self Storage at Wentloog Corporate Park to house it all.

"Sometimes I'll have a bad week, but generally I get rid of nine out of 10 things," she said.

"My friend's recently been made redundant so I went round there and we went through her stuff to find out what she could sell.

"Now she's hooked too - and it's handy as she's just about to have a baby."

Aimee's eBay credit crunch tips

Always use extremely good quality photographs of your items - and put on several, with a detailed description.

Trust is really important - email the buyer to ask if they were happy with the item to encourage a good relationship.

Read The eBay Business Handbook: How anyone can build a business and make money on www.eBay.co.uk by Robert Pugh.

eBay - the history

Online auction site eBay was set up in 1995 by Paris-born Pierre Omidyar - the first item sold was a broken laser pointer for $14.

It reached Britain in 1999 and in 2001, overtook Amazon as the most visited e-commerce site.

With no start-up or marketing costs, the site allows people to buy and sell everything from cutlery to cars.

One of the site's biggest success stories is South Wales dad-of-four Jamie Murray - the former hospital porter-turned-eBay millionaire who started off selling his Playstation 2 now has an annual turnover of £3.5m. source>>>

1. Classified Ads

While most people know eBay as a place to sell or auction items, few know that you can also place Classified Ads on the site.

eBay Classified Ads can be used to list items, services or properties for sale in order to generate multiple leads.

A Classified Ad lets people know you have something for sale but unlike eBay auctions, the transaction takes place off of the eBay site. As the seller, you list the price of your item but there is no bidding. People who are interested fill out a contact form and their information is forwarded to you. The rest of the transaction is between you and the interested party.

2. A Radio Show

eBay has an official radio show called 'eBay Radio' which can be heard 'live' on Tuesdays from 11am - 2pm PST (2-5pm EST) and Thursdays from 5-7pm PST (8-10pm EST) on www.wsradio.com/internet-talk-radio.cfm/shows/eBay-Radio.html. The host of the show is Jim Griffith (also known as 'Griff'). Griff is also Dean of eBay University and author of 'The Official eBay Bible.'

eBay Radio features hot topics and news directly from eBay along with guest segments containing helpful information for eBay buyers and sellers. During the 'live' shows, you are welcome to call in and ask Griff a question. The toll free number is 877-474-3302.

3. The eBay Police Blotter

eBay has a very active Trust and Safety Department and their Global Law Enforcement Operations Team is involved in behind-the-scenes activity to pursue, apprehend and prosecute fraudsters on ebay.com and paypal.com in an effort to keep the site safe for buyers and sellers.

eBay and PayPal work with law enforcement agencies around the world to apprehend and prosecute fraudsters. The Police Blotter is where the Global Law Enforcement Operations Team shares information with the eBay Community about their law enforcement activities around the world.

The cases cited on the Police Blotter provide interesting examples of various cases where they have assisted law enforcement in convicting a fraudster. You can find the Police Blotter at pages.ebay.com/securitycenter/law_case_study.html source>>>

The Pittsburgh Penguins defied the odds to force a deciding seventh game of their Stanley Cup finals against Detroit Red Wings.

Having suffered a 5-0 humiliation in game five, the Penguins bounced back to record a 2-1 victory and level the series.

Needing the win to take the final to a tie-breaking game, the Penguins responded superby with Marc-Andre Fleury, who had been pulled out of the defeat in game five, pulling off 25 saves to keep the Red Wings at bay.

Having dominated the opening period and the home side were rewarded when Jordan Staal put the hosts ahead within the first minute of the second frame.

Tyler Kennedy doubled their lead 5:35 into the third - and although the Red Wings pushed for a way back into the match, Fleury was in outstanding form.

Kris Draper followed up Jonathan Ericsson's rebound to cut the deficit but it was too little too late for Detroit.

The final game of the series will be played on Friday. source>>>

Phil Mickelson: The sentimental favorite, and while it would be ideal for him to come back and win this event after his short layoff, the reality is that Phil has his eyes on Bethpage and -- just guessing here -- wouldn't be too heartbroken with a weak finish here if it meant getting tuned up for the U.S. Open.

Justin Leonard: Everybody's favorite for the tournament, the defending champion at the St. Jude is once again looking strong coming in. Leonard isn't the most expressive of fellows, but he's quietly putting together yet another consistent, strong season. TPC Southwind sets up well for him, so look for him deep into Sunday.

Sergio Garcia: If we can get past the whole Augusta-whining and girlfriend drama, what you've got is a guy who can still play some very good golf if his mind is in it. And with all the attention being elsewhere this weekend, he's got the opportunity to sneak in and make some noise.

Boo Weekley: BOOOOOO!!! The best golfer ever to wear camo on a PGA event returns after a short layoff, and boy howdy, are we glad to have him back. Who knows if he'll be in game shape, but he'll give us a good quote.

And, of course ...

John Daly: Welcome back to big John. He's on home turf, but he's also around the exes wearing Rolexes. Here's hoping Big John puts it together ... or at least has a pleasant, drama-free weekend. We'll be chatting tomorrow afternoon about Daly's return at 3 p.m. Eastern; swing on by and hang with us. source>>>

Change has come to the LPGA in the four years since Carolyn Bivens took over as commissioner, the first woman hired for the job in the organization's then 55-year history. Bivens was president and CEO of a media planning and buying company. Before that, she was the associate publisher of USA Today, where she also had been senior vice president of advertising.

Bivens made headlines last August when it was announced the LPGA would require all international players to speak conversational English or risk losing tour status. The backlash required the tour to modify its stance and announce that it would push language proficiency courses. She also took some heat last month for suggesting that pros should Twitter during competition to reach younger fans.

But she scored some hits, too. Earlier this year, the organization inked a 10-year deal with the Golf Channel worth a reported $3-4 million, and a five-year deal worth at least that much with a South Korean media conglomerate with TV, digital and magazine platforms. The tour will go to Asia twice and will unveil new venues for some events.

One of those is the LPGA Championship, being played for the final time at Bulle Rock Golf Course in Harford County. Long-time sponsor McDonald's is getting out of the tournament game as a means to make money for Ronald McDonald House Charities. The LPGA will own the Championship, with a new home to be announced in November.

Taking control of the Championship, one of the tour's signature events, allows the LPGA to choose the site, set eligibility criteria and reap all the revenue. In other words, the commissioner says, a chance to control the organization's destiny for years to come.

Here's what else Bivens had to say to Toy Department:Carolyn Bivens

TD: Do you consider the LPGA's time at Bulle Rock to be a success?

Bivens: It has been a wonderful home for the McDonald's LPGA Championship. It helped raise a lot of money for a lot of kids. Fortunately for the LPGA, the owner, Herb Lotman, has agreed that after this year he will turn the Championship over to us and we will own one of our majors. We will be one of the only professional tours to do that. It is exciting and it's one of the things I believe years from now will be very transformational.

But you're taking a step in this economy, without a sponsor or a venue, into a huge black hole. No one can predict when things will turn around.

Bivens: The fact that a sports league or association would own one of its own championships and be able to illustrate and display their best of class of their brand, to set the eligibilty criteria and own all the revenue streams for that event is huge. Yes, it is high risk and high reward, but the opportunities for that to make a difference from a brand standpoint ... over the next 50 years is very big.

After you settled into the job, did you have a 'what was I thinking' moment?

Bivens: I think the biggest challenge for those of us who come from corporate America, which works differently than the sports leagues and associations, is how public doing the business of sports tours and associations is.

Have you made the adjustment or have others adjusted to you?

Bivens: We've all sort of made the adjustment. The LPGA is not a traditional golf association and I say that because we are more of an emerging brand inside golf. We are not the product or service that we were five to seven years ago. Nor are we what we will be five to seven years from right now. As many other women's sports strive for more solid footing financially and more recognition and opportunities around the world, sometimes the sport has to break some china.

That reminds me of the famous Ann Richards quote when she said that Ginger Rogers did everything Fred Astaire did except backwards and on heels. Is it harder for the LPGA to get traction and do what you need to do for the future?

Bivens: I would rather be in our position or in our shoes than in anyone else's right now. I believe that there's more upside. I believe that it is still more challenging for women's sports leagues and associations.

Do you feel that you have to set yourself on fire to get noticed and make marketing deals or is recognition coming more naturally?

Bivens: I think that corporate America is much more responsive than the inside-the-sports world is. The corporate world for us is much easier. No. 1, there are more women who have broken into the decision-making ranks, but also the generation of men that are making decisions are very different than the commissioners and LPGA staff before had to deal with. We have to make our case that we are a brand worth investing in, that we pay back more than just hospitality and we can be integral to their business and help generate new business and/or retain business. That we can do. Inside the sports world and inside the world of media, I still do believe that it is more of a challenge for woman. One has to do no more than thumb through the small news holes of most local newspapers right now and just count the number of articles over the course of a week on women athletes vs. men athletes.

The Golf Channel contract signaled a "look at me" moment for the LPGA, that things for the organization were turning. Is that how you feel?

Bivens: I absolutely believe that. One of the biggest challenges for the LPGA over the course of the last 15, 20 years is getting these remarkable athletes exposed to the rest of the world. When one doesn't have a television or media home ... it's hard for fans to follow -- even avid fans. It's challenging to know how to find us. Are we on this weekend? And if we are, what time and where? Thursday is often different than Friday and different from Saturday and Sunday, too. You can't be that hard to find. Even avid fans get discouraged. To have a consistent home helps your avid fans and allows you to reach out and grow your fan base and turn casual fans into avid fans and avid fans into advocates.

You are trying different things -- a rookie blog and Twitter -- not always well received. It must be hard to be part of something as traditional as golf and try to get traction in whatever the new world of communications is.

Bivens: The opportunities with media, I believe, are important to all sports. Everybody's experimenting right now. No. 1: How can we use social media to reach out and create new fans and connections. The next step -- and we're nowhere close to this -- is can you monetize it and how might you do that. Whether it's Facebook or Twitter isn't so important. Six months from now there might be something else. The issue that all sports have is that we don't compete just with sports. We compete with any other way fans spend the little bit of free time they have. Clearly, we are entertainment, which means we have to be reaching out to young people. We have to be generating and creating this interest when they're 12, 13, 14 years old. The 12-, 13-, 14-year-olds aren't into appointment viewing. They'll follow the leader boards while they're skateboarding or doing whatever else they're doing and they're going to do it on their hand-held devices. So how do we reach them and how do we connect with them? It may be a little bit more challenging in golf because golf is traditional, but it is something that cuts across all sports right now -- the NBA, the NFL -- it's how you keep and grow your fan base.

Do you need to have American players to attract U.S. sponsors and fans?

Bivens: That is a question we get asked so often. The conventional answer is yes, we do. And that may be true for the next few years. The reality is that the face of the United States, who we are and our demographic makeup, is not what it was 20 to 25 years ago. I would contend that the LPGA, with 121 international members, looks much more like the United States than the traditional demographic. The white, Anglo-Saxons are not going to be the majority much longer and there are many major markets where they aren't right now.

How many years into the future are you looking? You talk about a focus of five to seven years, but you also talk about 50 years. Where, as an executive, is your focal point?

Bivens: For the long term, dealing with the base of the platform, you look out 10 years. Most of the rest of the planning you do for five years out. A good example of planning and marketing is the NBA. [Commissioner] David Stern began investing in China 12 years ago. They started taking teams over and started doing some of recruiting, looked for partners. Twelve years later, they're seeing some rewards.

So your deal with J Golf, South Korean television, that's looking 10 years out, maybe more?

Bivens: The deal is a five-year deal and the big news about that ... is that it's multi-platform. It's not just cable television rights for South Korea. They own multiple magazines, they have a partnership deal with CNN, they have multiple digital platforms. It's a way of cross generation to introduce current and future members of the LPGA to a very important part of the world. source>>>

Change has come to the LPGA in the four years since Carolyn Bivens took over as commissioner, the first woman hired for the job in the organization's then 55-year history. Bivens was president and CEO of a media planning and buying company. Before that, she was the associate publisher of USA Today, where she also had been senior vice president of advertising.

Bivens made headlines last August when it was announced the LPGA would require all international players to speak conversational English or risk losing tour status. The backlash required the tour to modify its stance and announce that it would push language proficiency courses. She also took some heat last month for suggesting that pros should Twitter during competition to reach younger fans.

But she scored some hits, too. Earlier this year, the organization inked a 10-year deal with the Golf Channel worth a reported $3-4 million, and a five-year deal worth at least that much with a South Korean media conglomerate with TV, digital and magazine platforms. The tour will go to Asia twice and will unveil new venues for some events.

One of those is the LPGA Championship, being played for the final time at Bulle Rock Golf Course in Harford County. Long-time sponsor McDonald's is getting out of the tournament game as a means to make money for Ronald McDonald House Charities. The LPGA will own the Championship, with a new home to be announced in November.

Taking control of the Championship, one of the tour's signature events, allows the LPGA to choose the site, set eligibility criteria and reap all the revenue. In other words, the commissioner says, a chance to control the organization's destiny for years to come.

Here's what else Bivens had to say to Toy Department:Carolyn Bivens

TD: Do you consider the LPGA's time at Bulle Rock to be a success?

Bivens: It has been a wonderful home for the McDonald's LPGA Championship. It helped raise a lot of money for a lot of kids. Fortunately for the LPGA, the owner, Herb Lotman, has agreed that after this year he will turn the Championship over to us and we will own one of our majors. We will be one of the only professional tours to do that. It is exciting and it's one of the things I believe years from now will be very transformational.

But you're taking a step in this economy, without a sponsor or a venue, into a huge black hole. No one can predict when things will turn around.

Bivens: The fact that a sports league or association would own one of its own championships and be able to illustrate and display their best of class of their brand, to set the eligibilty criteria and own all the revenue streams for that event is huge. Yes, it is high risk and high reward, but the opportunities for that to make a difference from a brand standpoint ... over the next 50 years is very big.

After you settled into the job, did you have a 'what was I thinking' moment?

Bivens: I think the biggest challenge for those of us who come from corporate America, which works differently than the sports leagues and associations, is how public doing the business of sports tours and associations is.

Have you made the adjustment or have others adjusted to you?

Bivens: We've all sort of made the adjustment. The LPGA is not a traditional golf association and I say that because we are more of an emerging brand inside golf. We are not the product or service that we were five to seven years ago. Nor are we what we will be five to seven years from right now. As many other women's sports strive for more solid footing financially and more recognition and opportunities around the world, sometimes the sport has to break some china.

That reminds me of the famous Ann Richards quote when she said that Ginger Rogers did everything Fred Astaire did except backwards and on heels. Is it harder for the LPGA to get traction and do what you need to do for the future?

Bivens: I would rather be in our position or in our shoes than in anyone else's right now. I believe that there's more upside. I believe that it is still more challenging for women's sports leagues and associations.

Do you feel that you have to set yourself on fire to get noticed and make marketing deals or is recognition coming more naturally?

Bivens: I think that corporate America is much more responsive than the inside-the-sports world is. The corporate world for us is much easier. No. 1, there are more women who have broken into the decision-making ranks, but also the generation of men that are making decisions are very different than the commissioners and LPGA staff before had to deal with. We have to make our case that we are a brand worth investing in, that we pay back more than just hospitality and we can be integral to their business and help generate new business and/or retain business. That we can do. Inside the sports world and inside the world of media, I still do believe that it is more of a challenge for woman. One has to do no more than thumb through the small news holes of most local newspapers right now and just count the number of articles over the course of a week on women athletes vs. men athletes.

The Golf Channel contract signaled a "look at me" moment for the LPGA, that things for the organization were turning. Is that how you feel?

Bivens: I absolutely believe that. One of the biggest challenges for the LPGA over the course of the last 15, 20 years is getting these remarkable athletes exposed to the rest of the world. When one doesn't have a television or media home ... it's hard for fans to follow -- even avid fans. It's challenging to know how to find us. Are we on this weekend? And if we are, what time and where? Thursday is often different than Friday and different from Saturday and Sunday, too. You can't be that hard to find. Even avid fans get discouraged. To have a consistent home helps your avid fans and allows you to reach out and grow your fan base and turn casual fans into avid fans and avid fans into advocates.

You are trying different things -- a rookie blog and Twitter -- not always well received. It must be hard to be part of something as traditional as golf and try to get traction in whatever the new world of communications is.

Bivens: The opportunities with media, I believe, are important to all sports. Everybody's experimenting right now. No. 1: How can we use social media to reach out and create new fans and connections. The next step -- and we're nowhere close to this -- is can you monetize it and how might you do that. Whether it's Facebook or Twitter isn't so important. Six months from now there might be something else. The issue that all sports have is that we don't compete just with sports. We compete with any other way fans spend the little bit of free time they have. Clearly, we are entertainment, which means we have to be reaching out to young people. We have to be generating and creating this interest when they're 12, 13, 14 years old. The 12-, 13-, 14-year-olds aren't into appointment viewing. They'll follow the leader boards while they're skateboarding or doing whatever else they're doing and they're going to do it on their hand-held devices. So how do we reach them and how do we connect with them? It may be a little bit more challenging in golf because golf is traditional, but it is something that cuts across all sports right now -- the NBA, the NFL -- it's how you keep and grow your fan base.

Do you need to have American players to attract U.S. sponsors and fans?

Bivens: That is a question we get asked so often. The conventional answer is yes, we do. And that may be true for the next few years. The reality is that the face of the United States, who we are and our demographic makeup, is not what it was 20 to 25 years ago. I would contend that the LPGA, with 121 international members, looks much more like the United States than the traditional demographic. The white, Anglo-Saxons are not going to be the majority much longer and there are many major markets where they aren't right now.

How many years into the future are you looking? You talk about a focus of five to seven years, but you also talk about 50 years. Where, as an executive, is your focal point?

Bivens: For the long term, dealing with the base of the platform, you look out 10 years. Most of the rest of the planning you do for five years out. A good example of planning and marketing is the NBA. [Commissioner] David Stern began investing in China 12 years ago. They started taking teams over and started doing some of recruiting, looked for partners. Twelve years later, they're seeing some rewards.

So your deal with J Golf, South Korean television, that's looking 10 years out, maybe more?

Bivens: The deal is a five-year deal and the big news about that ... is that it's multi-platform. It's not just cable television rights for South Korea. They own multiple magazines, they have a partnership deal with CNN, they have multiple digital platforms. It's a way of cross generation to introduce current and future members of the LPGA to a very important part of the world. source>>>

An emotional Phil Mickelson returned to the PGA Tour on Wednesday, trying to keep some normalcy in a life that has been turned upside-down by the discovery that his wife has breast cancer.

Mickelson will play the St. Jude Classic, which starts Thursday, and then return to Bethpage Black for the U.S. Open. He is a popular figure in New York, and the runner-up to Tiger Woods at Bethpage in 2002.

He isn't sure what to expect from his game this week or next.

"I'm not playing just to play," Mickelson said, whose white cap featured a patch in the shape of a pink ribbon, the symbol of breast cancer. "Bethpage is a golf course that suits my game. I love that course. Obviously, I'm playing because I believe I can win. That's the goal."

Mickelson was at Bethpage on Tuesday for a practice round.

His voice cracked at times Wednesday while talking about his wife, Amy, one of the most popular figures on the PGA Tour.

He said the cancer was discovered early enough that she won't have to rush into surgery or make quick decisions. He expects surgery the first week in July, and only then will they have a better idea what they are facing.

Mickelson sounded as though he would play more than the U.S. Open. He just wasn't sure where.

"Throughout this year, we'll have a lot of treatment," he said. "We'll try to do normal things, like playing golf tournaments."

His three children are going camping with their grandparents this week, while Amy spends time with her closest friends. Mickelson said it was unlikely she would be at the U.S. Open -- the first major she has missed -- because of the emotion.

"It's difficult to face a lot of people ... when you're seeing people crying," Mickelson said.

Mickelson has done his crying alone.

Supremely confident on the golf course, Mickelson said the emotions of watching his wife deal with breast cancer are new to him.

"I've never felt this emotion," he said. "I'll be driving alone and start crying. It's weird."

Golf has been part of their lives for the 16 years they have been together, and Mickelson is curious to see how he can separate a wife coping with cancer with the concentration required inside the ropes.

"I'm looking forward to the four to five hours ... where I'll be able to focus on something else," he said. source>>>

Golf is a game of single strokes and millimeters, where a ball that rings a hole can change the course of lives. It's like trying to putt on a high wire. And when the life goes wrong, it can go badly, irreparably wrong in a hurry.

Ken Green was once one of golf's can't-miss characters, Daly before Daly, a hellion who nonetheless had the talent to play in the Masters and on the 1989 Ryder Cup team. But his game slid, his life spun. And in an agonizing turn, just as he was starting to get his game back together on the Champions Tour, he suffered unimaginable tragedy. Monday in Meridian, Mississippi on the way home from the Triton Financial Classic in Austin, Texas, Green's car blew a tire and careened into a tree. While Green survived, his brother Billy, his girlfriend Jeannie Hodgin and his German shepherd Nip were all killed. Green is looking at the possibility of losing his right leg.

No career should end in such tragedy. Green's early years on the Tour were marked by a Caddyshackesque approach to the game. A 2003 Golf Digest article recounts some of his greatest hits: the time he snuck friends into the Masters in the trunk of his car, the times he'd drive golf balls through sliding-glass doors, the times he'd try to chip balls from a hotel room into the pool across the street, the time he got fined for drinking beer while playing with Arnold Palmer at the 1997 Masters. (He claimed at the time it was nonalcoholic.)

"For whatever reason, I never really liked people telling me what to do," he told Golf Digest. "I've always been that way. I might handle it differently now, but I'm still not going to let someone tell me how I should act. Was it good that I ended up being a golfer? There are tons of guys like me, but nobody knows about them. I was in the public eye, so I took the heat."

But the good times came to an end, as they always do. Green later slid into depression, suffered an expensive divorce, and found himself $300,000 in debt. He fought his way back onto the Tour in 2002 through qualifying school, but couldn't stick.

"You try to pay the debts off, but when you're not making money, it's hard," he told Golf Digest in 2003. "And then my IRS debt ... well, they don't have a prayer unless I do well out on tour. I'm getting 'play well' cards all the time from the IRS."

And from there, he added, things just spiraled out of control. "Finally I got the mental yips full bore, and I lost it totally. I couldn't play. It's impossible to play when you have 20 different people in your brain trying to scare you. There's not one positive guy in there ... Before I even got over the ball, I knew I was going to miss it. It didn't matter if it was two feet, four feet. It's just horrifying. Playing on a professional level, it's pretty tough. Having one moment is not a big deal. I was having them every time I was over the shot."

Even so, he was starting to put his game back together. As the Connecticut Post's Chris Elsberry points out, this year on the Champions Tour, he'd played in 11 events and earned $123,906. In March, his seventh-place finish at the AT&T Champions was the first Top 10 finish since a tie for sixth at the 1996 U.S. Open. Everything seemed to be coming together for a second act.

And now, this. It's cruel, how high you can rise and how quickly it can be taken away. Everyone in the golf world poured their hearts out for Amy Mickelson, and justifiably so. Here's hoping they do the same to help Ken Green as he tries to hold the shattered remains of his life together. source>>>

Kentucky junior left-handed pitcher James Paxton has been selected in the supplemental first round of the 2009 MLB Draft by the Toronto Blue Jays with the 37th overall pick, it was announced at the MLB Network Studio 42 Tuesday night.

Paxton, a native of Ladner, British Columbia, becomes the fourth all-time Kentucky player to be taken in the first round of the MLB Draft, becoming the highest pick since 2008 World Series Champion Joe Blanton, a starter for the Philadelphia Phillies, was taken with the 24th overall pick of the 2002 MLB Draft by the Oakland Athletics. In 1996, outfielder Chad Green was selected with the eighth overall pick by the Milwaukee Brewers. Outfielder Everett Murray remains the highest drafted UK player in program annals, selected with the fifth overall pick of the 1975 MLB Draft - the secondary draft held in June of 1975, which consisted of just four rounds.

The supplemental first round consists of compensation picks for MLB teams that have lost free agent players during the offseason. Toronto received the 37th overall pick in the draft and the fifth pick of the supplemental first round after Type A free agent pitcher A.J. Burnett signed with the New York Yankees in the offseason.

The 6-foot-4, 215-pounder finished the year with a 5-3 record and a 5.86 ERA, ranking third in the NCAA in strikeouts per nine innings (13.2), just behind No. 1 overall pick Steven Strasburg of San Diego State - considered to be the best draft prospect in MLB history - and Oral Roberts hurler Mark Serrano. Paxton fanned 115 in 78.1 innings in 2009, issuing just 20 walks while holding opponents to a .266 average. In his three-year career, Paxton has totaled an 11-5 record and a 4.91 ERA, appearing in 55 games with 24 starts. Paxton has two career saves in 148.1 innings, allowing 149 hits, while striking out 168. Paxton's 115 strikeouts in 2009 check in fifth-best in the 105-year history of the Kentucky program, marking just the 10th player in program history to eclipse 100 strikeouts in a season. Paxton and UK senior southpaw Chris Rusin (108 strikeouts in 94.1 IP) teamed to help UK set a new season strikeout record, as the UK staff fanned 523 in 2009, breaking the previous record of 502 team strikeouts in 1995.

Last year, a school-record seven UK players and nine signees were drafted in the 2008 MLB Draft, including first-team All-American outfielders Sawyer Carroll and Collin Cowgill. Carroll was picked with the 111th overall pick in the third round by the San Diego Padres, just behind right-hander Scott Green, who was nabbed with the 99th pick of the third round.

The draft will continue through the first 111 overall picks, which includes round one, compensation round A, round two, round three and compensation round B. Wednesday, the draft will resume in the fourth round at noon ET and will be tentatively scheduled to go through the 30th round. The draft will conclude Thursday with the 31st through 50th rounds, beginning at 11:30 a.m. ET. source>>>