Baseball - The Good And The Bad
Baseball. It has a very long history in the United States. Some of it good and some of it not so good. But all of it has made the game what it has become today, for better or for worse. We’re going to examine some of the events that have shaped the game over the years, not all of them on the field.
Most recently, probably the greatest effect anything has had on the game of baseball has been the controversy surrounding steroid use. While nobody really knows when the use of steroids started, we do know that since we have begun testing for these illegal substances many ball players have tested positive, some of which have had a profound effect on the way fans look at the game.
Probably the most famous of these is Barry Bonds. While he is by no means the first and probably not the last, with his chase of both Ruth’s and Aaron’s home run records, his steroid use, which he denies he did knowingly, has led to quite a bit of controversy. Many fans don’t believe his records should count.
But more important than just the fact that players use steroids to jack up their stats is how steroid use has diminished the game itself. Fans are disgusted with the player’s conduct, old records are falling like flies hitting a bug zapper and new records seem to have very little meaning.
Steroids aren’t the only thing that has helped diminish the game of baseball. Rising players’ salaries have driven ticket prices through the roof. The average American family can’t even afford to go to a ball game anymore. Add to that the fact that many ball players, in spite of their overblown salaries, act like children, complain about every little thing and don’t play as hard as they should.
The recent baseball strikes, something that was non existent in the early years of the game, have also hurt the game. Fans, cheated out of whole seasons, have not returned to the ball parks in the numbers that they once enjoyed. If not for the revival of the game, thanks to Mark McGwire and Sammy Sosa, they may have never come back at all.
Right about now you’re probably wondering where the good comes in. Well, there’s more of it than you realize. It’s just with all the bad going around the good tends to go unnoticed. But it’s there. Just take a look at some of the newer stadiums. Some of them are beautiful enough to be used for sight seeing alone. And there still are some ball players like Jeter and Glavin and a number of others who play hard and bring a level of respect back to the game itself. And, while not everybody agrees with the designated hitter, there are many who believe that it has added excitement to the game.
The game of baseball has certainly taken its lumps. But an institution as old as this isn’t going to just wither away and die. Problems will no doubt continue, with new ones popping up all the time. But as long as there are little boys with sparkles in their eyes and a glove on their hand, the game of baseball, good and bad, will always be around.
Michael Russell
Your Independent guide to Baseball
Brand Identity
Brand Identity is simply the promise a company makes to its customers. It may be purely the function of a product, or it can be personality or values-oriented. Whatever it is, it’s something companies all over the world attempt to leverage as a way of strengthening their businesses.
Why is Brand Identity important?
A brand identity is important because it has the power to single-handedly set a company apart from its competition. And those who successfully craft their brand identities to positively affect their bottom lines know that doing so takes time, money and effort. It’s not as simple as just a logo or a tagline. In essence, brand identity is the reason you give your market to choose you…is it compelling enough? Your market will decide.
A word on revising your brand identity…
The key to a successful re-branding effort is “evolution,” not “revolution.” You must reassure your existing customers that everything they like about you will remain intact and become integral part of something even better. Don’t go to unjustified extremes for any reason because major perceived changes may destroy existing emotional ties to your brand thereby eroding valuable customer loyalty.
More than marketing, Brand Identity is the lifeblood of a company having an outward brand identity that resonates with your market is very important, but just as important is the people who make up your company understanding that brand identity and doing their part to reinforce it. Truly effective marketing starts from the inside out. Do your employees believe in the company? Do they feel like they’re an important part of it and that they have a vested stake in its success? A company with truly solid brand identity can say yes to those questions. If your company can’t, here are some steps to address the issue:
1. Get your brand personality, values and corporate culture on the same page: Marketing needs to work closely with human resources to ensure values and expectations are in sync both internally and externally.
2. Empower your employees to effective brand representatives: Align your criteria for recruiting talent and rewarding performance in such a way that promotes voluntarily brand reinforcement from your team.
3. Constantly reinforce brand-centric values and behaviors: Internal communications are a useful tool for achieving this. Like a good football coach, keep hammering the fundamentals until they’re second nature.
Your employees are your brand ambassadors and the people who determine ultimate success or failure for your company. That’s why it’s so important to get them to buy into your brand identity and take individual ownership and responsibility for it. When that kind of culture exists in a company, growth and success simply become byproducts of a happy, motivated team.
Scott White is President of Brand Identity Guru, a leading brand consulting and market research firm located in Easton, Massachusetts, near Boston.
Brand Identity Guru specializes in creating corporate and product brands that increase sales, market share, customer loyalty, and brand valuation. Over the course of his 15-year branding career, Scott White has worked in a wide variety of industries: high-tech, manufacturing, computer hardware and software, telecommunications, banking, restaurants, fashion, healthcare, Internet, retail, and service businesses, as well as numerous non-profit organizations.
Brand Identity Guru clients include: Sun Life Financial, Coca Cola, HP, Sun, Nordstrom, Archway Marketing Services, Franklin Sports and many others, including numerous emerging growth companies. Scott can be reached at swhite@brandidentityguru.com or 508-238-4347.
Honda Turbochargers at Inner Auto: Excellent Quality at a Low Price
A turbo is an ingenious little design that harnesses the wasted
kinetic energy we dump out through the exhaust system force more
air into the engine. A turbo can be a simpler, more compact way
to add power, especially for an aftermarket accessory. The basic
turbo system comes with the turbo, exhaust manifold for turbo,
waste gate, blow-off valve (bypass valve), lines for oil supply
and return and the intercooler, which is optional.
Your Honda’s turbocharger is ultimately the most powerful of all
forced induction systems. While turbo charging a Honda car motor
increases the amount of air that can be flowed into it, it has a
negative effect on how easily we can flow it back out again.
This weakens positive pressure difference between these two
fundamental sides of the engine, and causes both cam timing &
exhaust system design to become extremely important to producing
more power.
An area of the turbo acts as an insulator from the exhaust heat
to keep the intake air compressor side as cool as possible.
Keeping the intake air cool increases power since more air
molecules enter the cylinders at a given pressure. Yet in most
current forms of racing where the rules do not prohibit the use
of turbo or slap restrictions on their use, the turbo reigns
supreme in terms of engine power output.
Inner Auto offers Honda parts
focused on reliability, quality, great designs and affordable
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arts and you will find Inner Auto’s impressive array of
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impressive performance of your Honda.
Navel Oranges
The world is switching to healthy food. People are increasingly including fibrous and high-energy fruits in their diets. Navel oranges provide a good source of vitamins and form a delicious variant for everyday snacks, lunches, salads, desserts or simply as a refreshing drink. Many people vouch for navel oranges as the best oranges in the world. They love to sink their teeth in the seedless, meaty flesh, which is safely enclosed in an easy-to-peel, shiny, thick rind. The segments separate with ease, making it easier for children to eat the delicious fruit.
The fruit gets its name from the characteristic ‘navel’ at the fruits’ blossom end. A small convoluted opening looks similar to a navel, differentiating it from the other variety of oranges. You can start enjoying this fruit towards the end of the year when they begin to colorfully decorate the shelves of supermarkets from the second week of November until spring. However, the fruit doesn’t taste its best too early or towards the end of its season. In the beginning the fruit doesn’t appear very bright, and has some traces of bitterness. During peak season, navel oranges become sugary-sweet and very affordable. As summer knocks on the door they again become puffy, dull and costly.
Although California navels are more popular, Florida navel oranges also have their own fan following. These don’t look as colorful as their Californian counterparts but are seedless, have a higher juice content and are very sweet. You can find the Florida navels in all sizes, big and small, with a thin rind which requires some patience to peel. Do not buy dull-colored fruit with spots or a navel with wrinkled skin. Pick those orange from the basket which are shiny, firm and heavy for their size.
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Oranges provides detailed information on Oranges, Florida Oranges, Navel Oranges, Mandarin Oranges and more. Oranges is affiliated with Bottled Spring Water. |
Student Loan - The Basic Facts
There are a lot of different ways of funding your way through college. You might be one of those students lucky enough to have a full scholarship. You may also have rich or generous parents who are willing or able to pay the bills.
However, many students are not so lucky. Most of the above funding sources will only pay part of the bill, not the total. And even if you can get all your tuition paid, you still have to come up with the money for rent, books, entertainment and other living expenses.
Employment
You may be able to get a job. This is a good idea for all students, but it is not always easy to do so. Some colleges are located far from towns with employment opportunities. Sometimes employers are reluctant to hire students as they usually cannot commit to full time work and will likely not be around during holidays. If you do manage to get a job, it will probably not be the highest paying job in the world, and you shouldn’t work more than part time. Remember that your main aim during your college years is to get the best grades you can, and working 40 hours a week just to pay your tuition would be self-defeating.
Loans
So that means that for many students, the only method of paying for college that will be available to them is to take out student loans. Going into debt is always a commitment, and it can be especially stressful before you have even started working and aren’t certain how you will pay back the loans. Student loans however, have a number of advantages over regular loans. First of all the rates and terms are more lenient. Student loans are likely to be at a much lower interest rate than most loans that will be available on the market for other purposes. They will also give you plenty of time to get on your feet and find a job after you finish your studies. This means they are not going to be due immediately after graduating.
Repayment periods on student loans are probably the fairest and most patient you’ll ever get in your life. These rates and terms reflect the faith that lenders put in today’s students. They know that ultimately, college is a good investment and most graduates will be able to pay back their debts if they are just given the time.
Joseph Kenny is the webmaster of the loan information sites www.selectloans.co.uk/ and also www.ukpersonalloanstore.co.uk. At the Personal Loan Store you can find all the different loan types explained.