Mammoth Blog

The technological advances of the modern world served only as a tease Friday. Tiger Woods was doing something special, and unless you were seeing it in person, only the live scoring updates could satisfy your curiosity.

There was Woods at the Buick Open, for a time looking like he was going to shoot nothing, and it wasn't on live television! How spoiled we are.

And how spoiled we are by Woods, the game's No. 1 player and attraction.

It was only a day earlier that some were wondering what was wrong with him. On Friday morning, Woods played his first five holes in 6 under par and shot 30 for his first nine despite a bogey. So much for missing the 36-hole cut.

OK, so he cooled off a bit on the back nine and ended up with a 9-under-par 63 at Warwick Hills Golf & Country Club, a birdie-fest of a track if there ever was one on the PGA Tour.

Still, Woods had muddled his way to a disappointing 71 on Thursday, bemoaned his poor iron play, called it his worst putting day of the year and had those of us who document such things scrambling to find the last time he had ever missed consecutive cuts.

That would be never.

Of course, this is just one more example of why no one should ever cast doubt upon Woods too quickly. Yes, he missed the cut two weeks ago at the British Open, when he had a horrible six-hole stretch that saw him go 7 over par with two double-bogeys at Turnberry.

It was one of the rare times that Woods was unable to crawl back out of a hole he dug, and he ended up missing the cut by one stroke, just the second time he had done so in a major championship as a pro.

So naturally when he was missing a few greens, hitting indifferent chip shots and taking 32 putts Thursday, it was only natural that the ambulances and fire trucks were called. Surely something was wrong.

Once again, the beauty of Woods. ...

He has not won 68 PGA Tour titles and 14 major championships by panicking at the first, second or even third sign of trouble.

"No. The same. Absolutely the same," Woods told reporters Friday when asked if he spent any extra time working on his putting stroke before the round. "Same routine, didn't change anything. Just made sure I was committed to what I was doing out there today, and I got my speed a little bit better. Yesterday my speed was bad, and today the read was smoother, and I just made sure I got my speed correct and I was all right -- even though the one hole, 18 [his ninth, and his only bogey], didn't have my speed very good and ended up costing me a shot."

OK, but surely Woods put in some extra time Thursday night on the driving range to correct those flaws he saw in his iron game, right?

"I normally do, but I was a little bit hot yesterday, so I decided to just go home and get away from it for a little bit," Woods said. "And came out today with a better understanding of what I was going to do and just hit the ball.

"I drove it great yesterday. Just didn't hit my irons as close and didn't putt well, so I was just going to drive it just as good today and hit my irons a bit better and see if I can pour some in."

The 63 was Woods' lowest round of the year, and his lowest since shooting a second-round 63 -- tying a major championship record -- during the second round of the 2007 PGA Championship at Southern Hills.

But it wasn't even his lowest at Warwick Hills. Woods shot a second-round 61 after opening the 2005 Buick Open with a 71. He went on to finish in a tie for second.

So what does Friday's performance mean? Probably not much, other than a boost of confidence, which it is difficult to fathom Woods needing, anyway. He has won three times this year, more than any other player on the PGA Tour. He has eight top-10s.

But each time he won a tournament -- Bay Hill, Memorial, AT&T National -- it raised expectations for the upcoming major championship that, coincidentally, was only two weeks away. And disappointment followed, with two ties for sixth and a missed cut.

So would a victory at the Buick mean anything in two weeks at the PGA Championship? Probably not. But it certainly wouldn't hurt.

Earlier this week, Hank Haney, Woods' coach, was trying to put things in perspective, which is what everyone should try to do in Tiger's case.

The missed cut at the British Open, while surprising, should be viewed in the broader context, Haney said.

"Golf is a hard game," he said. "How realistic is it to never get beat in golf? You quickly see that there is so much more to golf than driving the ball. At Augusta and the U.S. Open, [Tiger] lost those tournaments because of putting. That was pretty obvious. I saw where his putting average at the majors is two strokes higher than the regular events. That's eight shots [per tournament]. Two more putts per round ... it happens, but you have to move on.

"He's got a big stretch coming up. He looked good last weekend [when we practiced together]. And we'll see how it goes."

On Friday, it went really well. source>>>

Singer Mariah Carey, the most successful female recording artist in history with more than 175 million albums sold worldwide, will perform four shows at The Pearl in the Palms. Hotel mogul George Maloof pulled off the incredible coup as Beyonce arrives in town for four shows starting tonight, and the official news of Mariah's concert dates was confirmed within the past hour.

Mariah will appear in the up close and personal, once-in-a-lifetime concerts Sept. 11-12 and Oct. 9-10. Tickets are $129 to $254 and will go on sale Aug. 8. Mariah's shows will be the first of its kind and surround the highly anticipated release of her new album Memoirs of an Imperfect Angel, which features the current single "Obsessed" written and produced by Mariah, The Dream and Tricky Stewart, who are responsible for the majority of tracks on the new album.

Memoirs is set for a Sept. 15 release, so we'll get an advance listen here in Las Vegas with her two September shows! Memoirs is the 12th studio album of Mariah's career and is the follow-up to her platinum-selling album E=MC² released in April last year.
Leach Blog Photo

Photo: Bill Boatman

Mariah Carey and Nick Cannon celebrate their first anniversary at Moon in the Palms.

From Mariah's last album, "Touch My Body" made history when it became her 18th #1 Hot 100 hit, surpassing Elvis Presley's record. She is now positioned as the only active recording artist in the 51 years of the Hot 100 with the potential to surpass The Beatles' all-time high of 20 No. 1 hits. source>>>

A 40th anniversary Woodstock concert proposed for September will not take place, according to Michael Lang, one of four partners to stage the Woodstock Music and Art Fair in 1969, and the public face of Woodstock for 40 years.

A resident of the Town of Woodstock and the driving force behind the 1969 Woodstock concert and two anniversary concerts, in 1994 and 1999, Lang had initially wanted to stage a free concert in Brooklyn's Prospect Park. That event was planned to coincide with the Woodsotck anniversary, Aug. 15-18. Lang, however, ran into difficulty rounding up sponsors to cover the $8-$10 million cost of the show.

As deadlines to coordinate that concert passed, Lang looked toward the end of September, with hopes of staging an anniversary event in conjunction with Climate Week.

Climate Week is set for Sept. 20-26, will target 100 cities worldwide and is part of the Seal the Deal! campaign, according to www.sealthedeal2009.org, a Web site maintained by the United Nations. Seal the Deal! "aims to encourage governments when they meet at COP 15 in Copenhagen this December to agree on a climate change agreement that will protect people and the planet and promote a global green economy," according to www.sealthedeal2009.org.

Lang's push for a concert in conjunction wtih Climate Week would have complemented nicely the "green" push that Woodstock Ventures has undertaken on its new Web site, www.woodstock.com. Lang said any anniversary concert would have incororporated as many green aspects as possible. source>>>

One of the main attractions at the California Mid-State Fair in Paso Robles every summer is its impressive lineup for its concert series.

This year is no exception, but some neighbors are taking exception with the volume of some of the big name acts.

Thursday it was the very popular group Black Eyed Peas pleasing the crowd of more than 7,000. Although, these concerts have had their critics.

The Black Eyed Peas definitely get their fans started when they opened up their show with their popular hit "Let's get is started".

But not everyone in Paso Robles is a fan. The group also got Al Crume's decibel meter started once again, just like Judas Priest and Kiss the nights before.

"The KISS concert with all the explosions, it was driving us crazy and the dogs were freaking out. And last night we couldn't even watch TV," said Crume, who lives about two miles away from the fairgrounds.

"With KISS Tuesday night, they brought pyrotechnics and fireworks. Fireworks are loud, it's part of the big production that people go buy tickets to go see" Tom Kuffuery a representative with the Mid-State Fair said.

KISS is the only show this year with fireworks that Crume's dogs could do without. But Kuffuery says while the fair does its best to be a good neighbor, the individual bands have the final say on the audio levels.

"There's really only a couple a fairs in the entire nation that bring the lineup that we do, so I would hope that would never go away. We have such a unique thing here in Paso Robles, that we've become known for, that I think that would be a shame," Kuffuery said about not inviting the louder groups back.

Crume doesn't want the big names concerts to go away, he just wants the volume turned down a bit. He says when he tried to contact the Paso Robles Police Department they just told him to call the fair.

"Their attitude is, during the fair anything goes. I know if I went in front of the mayor's house and played my radio until 10:30 p.m. or 11:00 p.m. real loud, the police would sure be there." Crume added.

Fair officials say they have only received two or three complaints this year, which is on par from years past. They also point out almost 70,000 people have come to, and enjoyed, the concerts this year. And they do have an 11:00 p.m. curfew for all shows. The Black Eyed Peas were done playing before 10:15 p.m. on Thursday. source>>>

The Disco Biscuits have announced 30 performances to lay the groundwork for their Fall 2009 tour dates. "The Planet Anthem Tour" will feature nearly non-stop touring this fall, in support of the band's forthcoming release of the same name. In addition to some weekend-based 2-night stands, "The Planet Anthem Tour" will see The Disco Biscuits travel to some fan-favorite venues and locales. Tickets for the fall shows will go on sale through BiscoTix (http://biscotix.musictoday.com) on Monday, August 2 at noon ET, with Ticketmaster on sale dates to be announced.

As The Disco Biscuits hit the road this fall, the band will begin to roll out a series of EPs leading up to the new, full album, Planet Anthem - scheduled for release in January 2010. The highly anticipated roll out of new tracks has already begun, with the introduction of "Konkrete" and "You and I," at recent performances. The Biscuits are set to shake up the industry with a plan to release the album throughout the fall, in clusters, on 3 EPs.

These pristine, studio quality, multi-media releases will include singles, remixes, and music videos. The first, due out in September, will be available on the band's website, on tour, online, and as a limited edition retail package. The subsequent EPs will be released throughout the fall in six week increments as Planet Anthem will, slowly but surely, be unveiled. As a show of appreciation for the band's fans, The Disco Biscuits are now offering free downloads of both "Konkrete" and "You and I" on the band's website, www.DiscoBiscuits.com.

The Disco Biscuits will kick off the band's massive Fall Tour with two nights at the Starland Ballroom in Sayreville, NJ, September 12-13. Starland weekends have long been a fan favorite, and these performances will be the band's first since returning to the States from Japan, a trip made for their performance at Fuji Rock Festival, on the heels of the most successful Camp Bisco to date.

From there, the band will head south to begin fall's busy life on the road. September 17 will mark the band's return to Fayetteville, AR for a performance at George's Majestic leading into a weekend in Texas. The Disco Biscuits will visit Dallas' Palladium Ballroom on September 18 before visiting Austin's Stubbs Bar-B-Q on Saturday, September 19.

The Biscuits will then head to the Southeast for a series of performances in some favorite destinations, returning to Tuscaloosa's Jupiter on September 22 before heading to Oxford, MS on September 23 and Nashville, TN on September 24. The band will round out the week with two exciting performances supported by Infected Mushroom (performing as a live band) at Atlanta's Tabernacle on Friday, September 25 and again at Knoxville's Tennessee Theater on Saturday, September 26. Before heading north, the band will perform in Boone, NC on September 30 and in Richmond, VA on October 1.

The first weekend in October finds The Disco Biscuits spending two nights in the nation's capital, at the legendary 9:30 Club, on October 2-3. The band's summer performance at the 9:30 Club quickly became a fan favorite from 2009, and this weekend is not to be missed. The Biscuits will return to State College, PA to perform at The State Theatre on October 4.

October 7 will feature the kick-off of the band's scheduled New England performances with a show at Burlington, Vermont's Higher Ground. From there, the band heads to Hampton Beach, NH and the historic Hampton Beach Casino Ballroom before returning to Northampton, MA for a reprise of last winter's 2-night weekend extravaganza. The Disco Biscuits will perform at The Calvin Theatre on Friday and Saturday, October 9-10.

The Midwest run kicks off with an October 28 performance at the Kalamazoo State Theatre, the band's first visit to the Michigan city. From there, The Disco Biscuits head to Madison, WI on October 29 and to Minneapolis, MN on October 30 before Halloween's blow out at Chicago's Auditorium Theatre with guests Holy Fuck, Glitch Mob, and local favorites Orchard Lounge. The band will wrap up its Midwest engagements in Urbana, IL on November 1 at The Canopy Club.

The Disco Biscuits are also pleased to confirm a California run anchored by two performances at San Francisco's Fillmore on Friday and Saturday, November 20-21. The two shows will be bookended by scheduled performances in San Diego, Los Angeles, and Santa Cruz. The band is excited to return to California for these shows following previous unavoidable cancelations. The Disco Biscuits will perform in San Diego at Wave House San Diego on November 18, in Los Angeles at the House of Blues on November 19, and in Santa Cruz at The Catalyst on November 22.

The current list of confirmed Disco Biscuits tour dates is as follows:
The Disco Biscuits Fall Tour 2009
September 12 - Starland Ballroom - Sayreville, NJ

September 13 - Starland Ballroom - Sayreville, NJ

September 17 - George's Majestic - Fayetteville, AR

September 18 - Palladium Ballroom - Dallas, TX

September 19 - Stubbs - Austin, TX

September 22 - Jupiter's - Tuscaloosa, AL

September 23 - The Lyric Theatre - Oxford, MS

September 24 - Venue TBA - Nashville, TN

September 25 - The Tabernacle - Atlanta, GA

September 26 - Tennessee Theatre - Knoxville, TN

September 27 - The Fillmore - Charlotte, NC

September 30 - Legend's Music Hall - Boone, NC

October 1 - The National - Richmond, VA

October 2 - 9:30 Club - Washington, DC

October 3 - 9:30 Club - Washington, DC

October 4 - The State Theatre - State College, PA

October 7 - Higher Ground - Burlington, VT

October 8 - Hampton Beach Casino Ballroom - Hampton Beach, NH

October 9 - Calvin Theatre - Northampton, MA

October 10 - Calvin Theatre - Northampton, MA

October 28 - Kalamazoo State Theatre - Kalamazoo, MI

October 29 - Wisconsin Union Theater - Madison, WI

October 30 - First Avenue - Minneapolis, MN

October 31 - Auditorium Theatre - Chicago, IL

November 1 - The Canopy Club - Urbana, IL

November 18 - Wave House San Diego - San Diego, CA

November 19 - House of Blues - Los Angeles, CA

November 20 - The Fillmore - San Francisco, CA

November 21 - The Fillmore - San Francisco, CA

November 22 - The Catalyst - Santa Cruz, CA

Caribbean Holidaze
December 10-14 - Caribbean Holidaze - Runaway Bay, Jamaica

source>>>

Add the names of David Ortiz and Manny Ramirez to those that have been leaked from the list of 104 players who tested positive for the use of performance-enhancing drugs during Major League Baseball's 2003 survey testing. And the big question now on the minds of many observers -- ironically, in the wake of supposedly anonymous identities getting leaked by unauthorized, unnamed sources -- is, what will happen with the rest of the names?

David Ortiz and Manny Ramirez
Ortiz, Ramirez named
Complete coverage
- Ortiz tested positive in '03; Manny named
- Manny mostly mum
- Ortiz responds
- Timeline of 'The List'
- Sox support Ortiz
- Baseball reacts
- News upsets Yankees
- Bodley: Reveal names
- Ortiz lifts Sox
- Ortiz's statement
- Drug Policy in Baseball
- Ortiz's bio/stats
- Ramirez's bio/stats

Sights and Sounds
Ortiz responds
MLB Tonight
Bodley
Reynolds & Duquette
Ortiz comes to plate
Photo gallery

"Can somebody in baseball, please -- we're all begging people -- get that stupid list out and move on?" White Sox manager Ozzie Guillen said on Thursday night in Chicago. "This is ridiculous. This is embarrassing. This is a joke. Whoever is there is there, get them out and that's it.

"Every week we've got to come up with this thing. It's getting old. We all know the list is out there. It's like, who's going to be next? I think we should do it. Believe me, if that list is going to be out there, it's not going to be any problem for baseball. Maybe people will be upset, disappointed. But there are already a few names out there. Maybe they need to talk about it. Maybe we need to talk about this every week to get people's attention, but it's not the right way to get attention."

Prior to Thursday, the names of Barry Bonds, Jason Grimsley, Alex Rodriguez, David Segui and Sammy Sosa had also been made public. Ortiz confirmed Thursday's report, which first appeared on The New York Times' Web site, quoting unnamed sources, was accurate. Ramirez has declined to comment.

A-Rod, when asked about the latest revelations, said, "He's my friend and I care for David. I have nothing else to say about it."

Several of his Yankees teammates were more expansive in their responses.

"That list, names are going to keep coming out," Mark Teixeira said. "I agree with everyone else who says just put it all out. It's ridiculous. Just let all the games go on and let everyone deal with it at the same time. Every two months things come out. It's not good for the game. It happened in 2003. Let it all come out, let everyone talk about it for one or two days and then we can move on. I don't understand how something that was supposed to be anonymous can come out in the first place."

"Too bad for everyone, once again, we're sitting here talking about it," added Yanks shortstop Derek Jeter. "I'm pretty sure someone will come up with something else. I'll stick to what I said before: Not everyone was doing it. You're talking about 100 people. There are a lot more than 100 people playing baseball. It's unfortunate that we have to sit here and talk about another name a couple of months later. I wish that wasn't the case but unfortunately it's the situation."

The Players Association is ardently against releasing the names. Regarding the '03 results, the Players Association was supposed to destroy the tests, but officers of the federal government, investigating the case against the Bay Area Laboratory Co-Operative, seized them under a warrant from an MLB-approved lab. They are still in government possession and the union continues to contest the seizure with the case at the federal appellate court level.

The tests are supposed to be under court seal and the union again on Thursday said it would fight to maintain that legal privacy. Major League Baseball declined to comment and deferred queries to the union.

"That list was supposed to remain confidential, so whoever is leaking it, I can assure you, he isn't from the Players Association," said Dave Bush, a pitcher with the Brewers. "I don't know who has it or who knows about it, but that list is not supposed to be out there. At the time that test was taken, it was to remain confidential. The situation we're at right now -- with testing -- is because of that '03 test, so it's irrelevant who was on it. It's sensational now."

"This is all kind of pointless to be honest," said Jonathan Papelbon, Boston's closer and a teammate of Ortiz. "What's the point of even talking about [what happened] six years [ago]? That's the way I feel about it. I don't see the point of releasing any names."

"From a players' standpoint, it's not going to do any good to see the people you love and you care about have their name tarnished by the entire list coming out," said Mariners veteran Mike Sweeney. "In the same breath, if it does come out [in its entirety] maybe we can move on. I think the entire list will eventually get out."

"I wish they would just get the whole list out there," added Seattle left-hander Jarrod Washburn. "It's bad for the game to keep dragging it out. It stinks that all of these guys used performance-enhancing drugs, but when names on the list keep coming out every couple of months, it just keeps opening a wound that we're trying hard to close."

In 2003, 5-to-7 percent of the players tested positive for using performance-enhancing drugs, reaching a threshold that led to the establishment of MLB's current drug policy that includes random testing and was renegotiated three times. In '03, there were no punitive measures and the names were not supposed to be disclosed. Suspensions and/or fines began in '04.

As far as performance-enhancing drugs are concerned, the current program calls for a 50-game suspension for the first positive test, a 100-game suspension for the second and a lifetime suspension with a right to seek reinstatement after two years for a third. All three are accompanied by a loss of salary for the suspension. A different set of penalties apply if a player tests positive for a stimulant.

Ramirez, who now plays for the Dodgers, is the only Major Leaguer to violate the drug policy this season. He lost 50 games from May 17 to July 3, a suspension that cost him $7.7 million of his $25 million salary, which is partially deferred.

"I see both sides of it," said White Sox left-hander Mark Buehrle, who tossed only the 18th perfect game in MLB history on July 23. "When we got tested, they said it never was going to come out. So for that reason I can see it not coming out. But it seems like it's giving baseball a bad name. Every couple of weeks, every month, one name gets leaked out here and there. It's almost like, get it all out and get it over with and go forward."

"Don't just keep busting out two to three names a year or whatever it is," said Cardinals pitcher Joel Pineiro, who played with Ortiz and Ramirez on the '07 Sox. "Just get it out there now, get it over with. I'm pretty sure some people are going to have different opinions. So many good things have happened for the game. We've got all this good stuff going on and it just goes back to the names coming out. It hurts the game. Hopefully we can just get it out of the way, get it over with and enjoy the game for what it is."

"I don't sit here and judge people one way or the other," said pitcher Derek Lowe, another former Boston teammate who now plays for the Braves. "Everybody has the opportunity to take stuff or not take stuff. I don't think they're bad people for doing it. I'm probably in the minority. Baseball is baseball. You still have to get guys out."

Lowe and Johnny Damon, who both played with Ortiz and Ramirez on the Red Sox, wonder if the news will taint Boston's 2004 World Series championship team.

"That probably is what's being said, and that's what makes guys like me upset," said Damon, a member of a team that swept the Cardinals in the '04 World Series and is now playing for the Yankees. "I was never in that conversation with guys who said when and where they would do it. It wasn't in lockers. That's the tough thing. I've never been in that conversation."

Ortiz, Jason Varitek and Kevin Youkilis are the only players remaining on the active roster from the Red Sox teams that won the World Series in 2004 and '07, although Youkilis played a minor role in '04.

The '04 Red Sox clawed back from an 0-3 deficit in the American League Championship Series to defeat the Yankees and win the first World Series title for the franchise in 86 years.

"I clearly didn't know of anything that was going on," said Lowe, the winning pitcher in Game 4 of the '04 World Series. "Fair or not fair, you have to look at both sides. In 2003, people said everyone was going to get tested, but nobody was ever going to know. From what I understand, people who were taking it at that time were notified that they had failed. But at that time, who cared?" source>>>

Yankees facing race against Red Sox for Blue Jays ace Roy Halladay. Blue Jays GM J.P. Ricciardi's best hope now is to get the Yankees and Red Sox in a bidding war for the former Cy Young winner, and according to a source, that's exactly what he's trying to do. Both the Yankees and Red Sox have issues to address in their starting rotations, but the prospect of keeping Halladay away from the other team could play as much into the situation as anything. Halladay would give either team an enormous edge. - NY Daily News

Red Sox after Tribe's Victor Martinez. The two sides have been talking Victor Martinez for weeks now, but Boston has been reluctant to give up Clay Buchholz as part of the deal and Cleveland has not been interested in some of Boston's lesser prospects. By trading their ace, the Indians have signaled that they are building for the future. Trading Martinez and his $4.5 million contract now would allow the Indians to have maximum financial flexibility, and clear room on their roster for the power bats they have sitting at Triple-A. - Providence Journal

Blue Jays would trade Halladay to Dodgers for five or six prospects. The Blue Jays have told the Dodgers they can get Roy Halladay without trading anyone off their major league roster, for five or six prospects. The Dodgers said no, arguing that would gut their minor league system. They already had thinned the system considerably last summer, trading six prospects to get Manny Ramirez, Casey Blake and Greg Maddux. The Blue Jays also said they would take fewer players if Clayton Kershaw or Chad Billingsley were one of them. The Dodgers said no to that too. No to Kershaw? Of course. No to Billingsley? There has been discussion within the organization about whether to reconsider that stance, although the Dodgers are not expected to do so. source>>>

The sobering words were spoken at a World Series. They also apply to today's trading deadline in major league baseball.

Before Game 7 of the 1982 World Series, St. Louis manager Whitey Herzog was about to go to the field for batting practice. As he did, a few journalists in his office told him the many factors his team had in its favor that night in the one-game showdown with Milwaukee for the title.

Herzog responded to all their evaluations as he walked toward his office door, his fists jabbed into his Cardinals windbreaker. "It doesn't mean anything if we don't execute," he said.

Soon after the trade deadline passes at 4 p.m. today, you'll be able to hear "winners" and "losers" declared. But no playoff berths will have been clinched. Even the teams that appear to have done the best in this year's trade market must still go out and play well in the big-game glare to reach the World Series.

As many years of baseball have shown us, if a team has an abundance of talent but doesn't execute -- doesn't play the game properly -- it puts itself in jeopardy of losing to a team with inferior talent.

Conversely, a team that doesn't have the most talent but that does executes consistently -- hits the cutoff man, makes double plays and takes the extra base -- gives itself a chance to beat a team with a more dazzling roster.

In that Game 7 in '82, the Cardinals executed beautifully at a key moment. They threw out a Milwaukee runner who tried to go from first to third on a single to right. They wound up winning, 6-3.

TIGERS' INTERESTS: As the trading deadline approaches, it's clear the Tigers could use a boost in four areas (in no particular order of priority): starting pitching (they didn't plan to have two rookies in the rotation, as they do now), left-handed hitting (Carlos Guillen can alleviate their imbalance there), relief pitching (with Joel Zumaya headed for shoulder surgery) and backup catcher (an experienced big-leaguer who has shown run-production ability). The Tigers' chances at acquiring any of those?

They could change hour-by-hour today, or minute-by-minute as the deadline approaches.

OUTSIDE INFLUENCE: For Tigers general manager Dave Dombrowski, as for any general manager of a contender, two potential last-minute factors can loom at the trade deadline beyond the trade offers themselves: recent struggles by his team and deals by his competitors.

Until their 13-run outburst Wednesday night, the Tigers ranked last in the American League in runs in the few weeks since the All-Star break. Asked how that slowdown affects his interest in getting a hitter, Dombrowski said, "It doesn't affect it at all. It was our interest before, and it continues to be an interest."

Dombrowski said that he's not swayed by any trades fellow contenders might make: "I think you have to take care of your own situation first and foremost and not react to what other people do. That would continue to be what our plans are." source>>>

Gambling is everything in Macau, the former Portuguese colony, now a Chinese Special Administrative Region. Its 500,000 citizens welcome 30 million visitors every year, most of them from mainland China and Hong Kong. The peninsula in the southeast of China is a huge attraction for one reason: Macau is the only place in China, where casinos are legal.

And while Macau has been a gambling hotspot for a long time, business really took off after a 40-year old monopoly on casino gambling in the former Portuguese colony was lifted seven years ago. The liberalisation triggered a massive boom that has catapulted the city to the top of the world's gambling resorts.

It is now the biggest international gambling market by revenue, having edged past Las Vegas since 2006. In fact, Macau now rakes in more money than two of the major US gaming destinations, Las Vegas and Atlantic City, combined. Most of the revenue stems from gaming-related taxes, the main source of income for Macau's government.

But with the global economic crisis continuing, for the first time, casinos in China's Special Administrative Region are hurting. Macau's gambling revenue slipped by more than 12 percent in the first six months of this year to 6.4 billion dollars compared to the first half of 2008.

Gabriel Chan, a gaming analyst with Credit Suisse in nearby Hong Kong, admits that like many other experts he may have underestimated the impact of the economic crisis on the gaming industry. "I guess people were too confident before," he says. "In the case of Macau, people, including myself, didn't realize that recession could affect liquidity in the economy that much."

Fireworks during a new casino opening in 2006Bildunterschrift: Großansicht des Bildes mit der Bildunterschrift: Many new casinos opened with great fanfare in Macau after the gambling market was liberalized Analysts like Chan weren't the only ones who were taken by suprise by the severe downturn. The gaming industry itself apparently wasn't preprared for tough times either. In the midst of one of the worst economic slumps in decades, Macau's table game capacity is expected to increase this year by 24 percent compared to last year.

All about gambling

What's more, unlike other gambling destinations like Las Vegas or Atlantic City which have tried to diversify over the years and feature many other entertainment options, Macau still has one main attraction: "The Macau market is totally different from other markets," explains Chan. "In Las Vegas you spend your time on shows and other things. But in Macau it's all about gaming."

While its unique focus on gambling may have helped in the past, it may now hurt Macau. Tourists coming to Las Vegas stay for approxamately four days. The majority of Macau visitors are day-trippers, who don't care about luxury hotel rooms, shows or concerts. They want to maximize their time on the game table. More than in Las Vegas high-rollers try their luck in Macau. Bets of one million or more euros at the black-jack table are all but unusual.

But the number of visitors hoping to hit the jack pot on the tiny peninsula is dropping. "Since the beginning of this year there has been a decrease of arrivals in Macau", says Sandra Carvao, deputy chief of the World Tourism Organization's (UNWTO) Market Department in Madrid: "They have seen up to date a reduction of nine percent in their arrivals of tourists, which is pretty much in line with what happened in Asia overall."

New travel restrictions

In addition, Beijing also spoiled some of the casino fun last year, when it tightened its travel restrictions for citizens wanting to visit Macau. The move was seen as an attempt to make it more difficult for Chinese people to gamble there. Earlier, visitors needed only a single travel permit for both Hong Kong and Macau. Now tourists need two separate visas for both destinations, which are only one hour by ferry apart.

"If there is a reduction of movement," says Carvao, "there will also be a reduction in the income that the casinos have."

Consequently many experts blame China's stricter visa rules for a substantial part of the revenue losses. "In the past a lot of the VIP's said they went to Hong Kong for shopping and went to Macau instead," says Credit Suisse analyst Chan. "That is why I think that visa restrictions had no impact on the mass market, but had some on the VIP market indeed."

Tables in a casinoBildunterschrift: Großansicht des Bildes mit der Bildunterschrift: There is no shortage of space at Macau's tablesWhile Chan believes that China's new travel rules contributed to the downturn on Macau, he doesn't think they are its main cause: "Although people are restricted to go individually to Macau, they still can go there when they join a package tour."

With the crisis continuing, some new projects have now been put on hold. Still, if the economic malaise persists, all bets on whether Macau will continue its stunning growth as the world's gambling mecca are off for now.

But at least on one front there is light at the end of the tunnel, predicts tourism expert Carvao. She believes that Beijing will soon loosen its travel policy again: "I think this will be a temporary situation," she says. "It's also in the interest of China to stimulate outbound travel, because that will be beneficial for their transport companies and tour operating companies."

Given the fact that for millions of Chinese Macau is the only casino destination to go to, that could provide a desperately needed boost for the city. source>>>

The online casinos have always used the casino games as the main feature of their gambling websites. All players who decide to gamble online do so in order to play the familiar casino games such as blackjack, video poker or play the hundreds of slot machines available at the online casino. Bonuses and other incentives have in the past worked very well to attract the players from the land based casinos to the internet casinos and the free money offered by the online casinos are likely to continue adding to the player base at the online gambling companies. But recently a new trend has swept the internet gambling community - the slots tournaments being held at a few online casinos.

The poker player is generally quite familiar with the notion of the poker tournament, it's one of the most popular feature of the poker site and recent TV popularity has turned the poker tournament from a friendly competition to a televised sport. But for the longest time the online casinos had nothing to respond with - you simply visited an online casino to play the games we are all so familiar with. But thanks to a group of online casinos, now those gambling websites have a strong contender to the poker rooms. Get familiar with the slots tournaments!

The leader of this new form of casino entertainment is, not surprisingly, the Golden Casino (official website), which for years has been ranked among our top recommended online casinos; you can see the full list by following the online casinos link at the top of this article. The Golden Casino was offering great service and an array of casino games ever since it was established, but the addition of the slots tournaments did wonders in increasing its popularity among the players. And how wouldn't it - during the month of July alone $315,000 in slots tournament prizes were given away by this online casino. What really did the trick with this online casino was the introduction of the free entry tournaments - now gamblers could join one of the many ongoing matches without spending a dime, yet win real money in the thousands. Who could say no to this kind of game? Really fun to participate in and this month's top tournament brought a prize pool of $144,444 alone.

Considering the large amounts of money that could be won at the online casino by joining on of the free or buy-in tournaments and the fact that the slots are still the most popular game at the casinos world-wide, there is no surprise that the idea quickly took off. Go Casino (official website) is another great online casino website offering the slots tournaments so popular today. What makes this casino different is the gigantic bonus for new players - up to $20,000 free over the player's first twenty deposits. Choose any of these two online casinos and join one of the hundreds of slots tournaments held every month. Once you do - you'll quickly realize how fun those could be. source>>>

A business owner faces up to 15 years in prison for operating what South Salt Lake police say was an Internet gambling operation.

Frank Musil was charged Wednesday with one felony count of conducting a pattern of unlawful activity and five misdemeanor gambling counts. Musil operated Fast Action Internet Cafe, 3424 S. State St., until police raided it in November.

In charging documents filed Wednesday, a South Salt Lake police detective wrote that he went undercover inside the cafe and found computers displaying bingo screens and making sounding bells and whistles like those in a casino. He then purchased $5 worth of "credits" and was able to cash in his winnings at the cafe, the detective wrote.

Musil, 51, is free pending a Sept. 29 appearance in 3rd District Court in Salt Lake City.

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Anytime a new major online gambling market opens up, the big names in the industry are going to attempt to be the first ones in. That is what is happening in Spain, where Bwin and William Hill want to corner the Spanish market.

Spain has been in a similar position as the US recently regarding their online gambling laws. The Spanish government, however, is moving quicker towards correcting their European Union violations and legalizing online gambling in the country.

That effort has prompted two of the biggest online gaming operators in the world to begin negotiations for licensing deals. The two companies are trying to get a piece of the nearly fifty million potential customers in the Spanish market.

"If an online gaming company wants to grow, certainly the Spanish Internet gambling market would be one to go after,' said observer Kelly Gray, "next to the US, the Spanish market could end up being one of the biggest online gambling markets in the world."

The US market is considered to be the biggest in the world, even though online gambling is currently illegal in the country. Lawmakers in the US are also working on developing a legalized, regulated Internet gambling industry.

Should the US market open up, it would be likely that many current land based casino companies would get preferential treatment when it comes to licensing. There will be pressure, however, to license some foreign companies to keep up with European Union commitments. source>>>

In time for the upcoming holiday shopping season, eBay (Nasdaq:EBAY) sellers who deliver the highest level of customer service, as rated by buyers, will be promoted for the first time ever with a special eBay Top-Rated Seller badge, receive deep discounts of 20 per cent on their final value fees and be elevated in search, the company announced today. eBay Top-Rated Sellers earn their status based on how their own buyers rank the quality of a sale through eBay's detailed seller ratings

feedback system.

"For buyers, the new eBay Top-Rated Seller status makes it easy to find the highest quality sellers on eBay based on the feedback of other buyers," said Lorrie Norrington, president of eBay Marketplaces. "For sellers, the Top-Rated Seller status recognizes and rewards their commitment to consistently delivering the highest level of customer satisfaction."

eBay said it expects to immediately qualify 150,000 eBay Top-Rated Sellers in the U.S. when the program goes live in October 2009, and will launch at the same time in the United Kingdom and Germany. These highest-rated sellers will display an eBay Top-Rated Seller badge on the "view item page" that displays their listing. Going forward, any seller with as few as 100 transactions a year and $3,000 annual in sales volume can qualify based on buyer feedback. The eBay Top-Rated Seller status is based on further refinements to eBay's feedback system, which allows buyers to score sellers on a number of factors that determine the overall quality of the transaction.

With today's announcement, eBay is also making it easier and more efficient for sellers to run their business on eBay by rolling out further enhancements: a Search Visibility tool to provide more transparency on placement in search results, a streamlined resolution process for unpaid item claims, new bulk editing tools, and an update to its highly regarded Seller Dashboard. source>>>

Money earned online with auction sites such as eBay is taxable just like regular income, Canada's minister of national revenue said Thursday.

"Taxpayers should know that the tax laws that apply to traditional commerce apply in the same way to electronic commerce, like eBay selling," Jean-Pierre Blackburn said Thursday.

"I strongly encourage eBay sellers, and for that matter, any taxpayer who has not already done so, to correct their tax affairs as soon as possible to avoid penalties or prosecution."

In 2007, a Federal Court of Canada decision required eBay Canada to provide tax officials with the full account information on their sellers, including their names, user IDs, mailing addresses, billing addresses, phone numbers and email addresses.

The Court of Appeal upheld that decision in April 2008 and as a result, in November eBay Canada began providing the Canada Revenue Agency with the names of eBay sellers who earned more than $1,000 a month for three straight months, as well as their contact information and sales records.

The tax agency can use the information to determine if eBay sellers properly reported the income they earned from sales. If the body determines that an individual or a business did not comply with the tax laws, it will take any necessary action, it warned.

In addition to paying any outstanding taxes, plus interest, consequences may include penalties, as well as legal actions that could result in fines and other imposed sanctions, the agency said in a release.
No penalty for voluntary disclosure

"To avoid paying these fines and penalties, taxpayers who have failed to file income tax returns for past years or who have not reported all their income can voluntarily correct their tax situation," Blackburn said.

Under the voluntary disclosures program, taxpayers who take the initiative to correct or disclose any information will not be penalized or prosecuted if they make a full disclosure before the CRA starts any audit or other compliance action.

The agency expects that the audits, based on the information received from eBay, will begin at the end of this summer.

They will then begin contacting eBay sellers to ensure they have filed all required returns and accurately represented the full scope of their business income.
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Canadians who are high-volume sellers of products on the online eBay marketplace may find themselves being audited by the Canada Revenue Agency beginning this fall.

Revenue Minister Jean-Pierre Blackburn said Thursday anyone who has sold products on the Web site could avoid audits, fines and penalties by voluntarily coming forward and declaring the revenue to the agency.

"Taxpayers should know that the tax laws that apply to traditional commerce apply in the same way to electronic commerce, like eBay selling," Mr. Blackburn said in a statement. "I strongly encourage eBay sellers, and for that matter, any taxpayer who has not already done so, to correct their tax affairs as soon as possible to avoid penalties or prosecution."

EBay Canada's head of marketplace development, Andrea Stairs, said the company had alerted all members affected by the outcome of a recent Federal Court of Canada decision prior to disclosing their account information to the CRA.

"To date, there have been no additional information requests from the CRA," Ms. Stairs said in a statement. For more information. http://www.ebay.ca/powersellerinfo.

The CRA reminded those who may have been flying under the radar that they can escape penalty and interest on overdue tax by coming forward under the Voluntary Disclosure Program, provided such action is initiated before the CRA launches any audit or other compliance act.

The agency says it will begin audits at the end of this summer.

From 2006 to 2008, eBay and the CRA clashed swords over disclosure of information on eBay's "PowerSellers" - those who transact at least US$1,000 a month in sales. eBay Canada balked at disclosing information it considered a "violation of our users' privacy," but after an appeal was denied the Federal Court of Canada forced it to release information on its 2004 and 2005 PowerSellers, effective Nov. 7, 2008.

Because Canada's tax system relies on voluntary compliance, "it's no surprise that income from eBay selling is taxable," said Jamie Golombek, vice-president of tax at CIBC Wealth. "Sellers who may be in trouble should approach the taxman before they come after you."

John Wonfor, national director of tax for BDO Dunwoody LLP, said the CRA is concerned only with professional e-commerce practioners, not individuals who may infrequently sell items such as used sofas just to get rid of them, usually at a loss. "You don't have to pay tax on a loss and you can't deduct it because it's personal use property, so it's a non event."

There are five levels of PowerSellers, with the top ones transacting US$150,000 a month, Mr. Wonfor said. "So there's substantial stuff going on."

Once the CRA got the information it demanded on the PowerSellers, it would check income tax and GST returns to see if they matched eBay activity. If there is a mismatch, the agency would begin audits. "They're putting everyone on notice that they should come forward before we catch you," Mr. Wonfor said, "PowerSellers who have been reporting all along have nothing to worry about."

Michael Rice, a semi-retired PowerSeller and owner of Fenian Antiques in Saanichton, B.C., says he gives the CRA an income statement every year and pays GST and provincial sales tax on all transactions. But there are many on eBay still not following the rules, he said: "They're trying to fly under the radar and will get caught at some point." CRA statements like Thursday's are "scaring more people into doing it," but "nothing has changed that I'm aware of."

eBay is lowering the threshold on becoming a PowerSeller to $3,000 a year "so virtually everyone will be one." The tax is due for items shipped to Canadians but is not due on items shipped out of the country, Mr. Rice said. source>>>