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Tuesday, November 22, 2011

Patriots have their way in rout of Chiefs

 Quarterback Tom Brady paced a slow-starting offense by completing 15 of 27 passes for 234 yards with two touchdowns and no interceptions.

"I don't think it could have gotten much worse than what we did in the first half," said Brady, referring to his club's tenuous 10-3 halftime advantage. "But I thought we came out strong in the second half and took control in the third quarter."

Both of his scores went to Rob Gronkowski, his strapping 6-6, 265-pound tight end.

The first of those, a 52-yard catch and run, represented the longest reception of Gronkowski's two-year career and gave the Patriots a 7-3 edge with 4:18 left in the opening half. The second was a 19-yard strike 4:33 into a game-breaking 17-point third quarter. It was the fourth time this season Gronkowski scored twice in a game.

Gronkowski now has 20 touchdowns in 26 career games, making him the fastest to reach that mark among tight ends in NFL history. Mike Ditka had been the leader, needing 31 games to net his first 20 scores.

"Whatever, man," Gronkowski said. "When I get the ball, I just don't want to go down. I try to do something with it, just like a running back does."

Before kickoff, Kansas City lost starting quarterback Matt Cassel for the rest of the season when it was forced to place him on injured reserve with what coach Todd Haley has described only as a "significant" hand injury.

New England's defense ruined the starting debut of Cassel's replacement, Tyler Palko, by intercepting him three times. The first two occurred on tipped balls that cornerback Kyle Arrington alertly swiped, giving him a league-leading seven pickoffs this season.

"He's been very opportunistic," coach Bill Belichick said. "He's been around the ball a lot and when you're around it, those are the types of plays you make."

The last interception, by reserve cornerback Phillip Adams, came in the end zone early in the fourth quarter.

Palko was not drafted out of the University of Pittsburgh four years ago. He was cut two years ago by the California Redwoods of the United Football League. He finished 25-of-38 for 236 yards and a meager 49.9 passer rating compared to Brady's 109.2.

"Any time you turn the ball over in this league, you don't give yourself the chance to win the football game," Palko said. "And three interceptions are inexcusable. I don't care if they were tipped or what not. The ball left my hand and I'm accountable for the passes."

In strengthening its hold on the AFC East to two games by capitalizing on earlier losses by the Buffalo Bills and New York Jets, defending division champion New England (7-3) also enjoyed a big night on special teams.

Julian Edelman punctuated that effort with an electrifying 72-yard punt return up the middle that helped stretch the Patriots' margin to 24-3 at 9:04 of the third quarter.
New England finally got going later in the period and Brady found Gronkowski open over the middle for a big play that revived the fans who had been booing a short time earlier.

Gronkowski caught it in stride on a crossing pattern over the middle. He then turned up the field and managed to keep his feet inside the Kansas City sideline all the way to the end zone for the longest reception of his career.

Officials reviewed the play to see if Gronkowski stepped out of bounds and upheld the touchdown call, giving New England its first lead after the 85-yard drive.

Palko caught the Patriots off guard in the first period and Kansas City led 3-0 after one.

Palko completed five of six passes for 39 yards in the period as Kansas City outgained New England 103 to 33.

Thomas Jones had a 26-yard run during Kansas City's scoring drive, which started at its own 45 after a 25-yard punt return by Javier Arenas. The Chiefs got to the 5 on Jones' run, but went backward from there. It started with an illegal shift penalty, followed by a 1-yard gain by Jones and then a disastrous draw by Palko.

Andre Carter smothered Palko the moment he tucked the ball and started forward, dropping him at the 15 and forcing the Chiefs to settle for Succop's field goal 1:30 left in the first.

The Patriots sputtered on their first two drives, going three-and-out on the first and running five plays before punting again on the second. Brady, who was called for intentional grounding on third down on New England's first possession, was 2-for-7 in the period.
"We held the gunners and our internal guys did a good job blocking their players," Edelman said. "As a punt returner, you have to make someone miss and then get back to your return side, so we executed the play really well."

Stephen Gostkowski tacked on field goals of 21 and 19 yards.

Kansas City, which fell to 4-6 with its third consecutive loss, held its own for most of the opening half. The Chiefs led 3-0 after a 45-yard drive led to Ryan Succop's 26-yard field goal with 1:30 left in the first quarter.
Through the first four offensive series, it appeared that the Patriots offense had reverted to its punchless form from several weeks prior. Back-to-back losses to the Steelers and Giants raised the obvious questions about the defense, but there were also the uncomfortable issues surrounding a suddenly impotent Tom Brady-led offense. Receivers weren't getting open, the line wasn't blocking and Brady looked hurried and indecisive in the pocket.

Against the Chiefs on Monday night, it appeared to be more of the same. Brady was sacked three times early on (including a lost fumble),  the passing game had been ineffective and Kansas City's defense, coached by former Pats assistant Romeo Crennel, was making Brady look out of sorts.

The Chiefs, who had to start journeyman quarterback Tyler Palko after placing Matt Cassel on injured reserve, led 3-0 after the first quarter. And then, in the time it took Kansas City to blow a defensive assignment, tight end Rob Gronkowski was motoring down the sideline for a 52-yard touchdown. And that, as they say, was that.
New England's defense stood tall after that, waiting for the offense to find its stride. "This is all about having each other's back," said defensive end Andre Carter. "It's all about team concept."

The loss of Cassel is the latest in a series of major injuries to cripple the Chiefs. They were already without two of their top offensive players, prolific running back Jamaal Charles and tight end Tony Moeaki, as well as Pro Bowl safety Eric Berry.

The teams met for the first time since Sept. 7, 2008, when Brady suffered a season-ending knee injury.

Brady moved ahead of boyhood idol Joe Montana into sole possession of seventh place on the all-time list with his 118th career victory. He is only one win behind Johnny Unitas.

New England rebounded strongly from a 24-20 loss to the New York Giants in its previous game here. That setback ended a 20-game regular-season home winning streak.
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Kevin Bacon facebook 4.74 degrees game

kevin bacon facebook game Facebook's data analysis team has released what it calls the largest social networking study ever, and discovered that only 4.74 people separate strangers from each other. That's largely thanks to Facebook itself, of course, as well as other modern social networks.
Since the American social psychologist, Stanley Milgram, conducted his famous ‘small world experiment’ in the 1960s, it has been commonly accepted that most people have six degrees of separation between them.

However, a vast new study by Facebook’s data team and the University of Milan, which assessed the relationships between 721 million active users (more than 10 per cent of the global population) of the social network, has found that the average number of connections between people has dropped to four.
"When considering even the most distant Facebook user in the Siberian tundra or the Peruvian rainforest, a friend of your friend probably knows a friend of their friend," wrote the Facebook data team in a blog post explaining its research. The average number of acquaintances between any two people in the world is now pegged at 4.74. The researchers used Facebook because of the 721 million users. That huge number of users allowed for a more accurate finding. The original six degrees came from a study in the late 60′s that had people send actual postcards to specific other people via friends.
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The experiment used one month and used a special algorithm to calculate the distance between any two people on Facebook using a sample path. The links between one person and another averaged 4.74 and in the US with more than half the population on Facebook, there was only 4.37 folks between each of us. "At first glance, the median friend count on Facebook — 100 — may seem surprisingly low; a quick survey of my own friends reveals that they almost all have more than 100 friends," the team wrote.

That's a sociological phenomenon that's well documented, in fact.
kevin bacon facebook page "These effects all arise because for people, classes, and flights to be popular, you must be much more likely to choose them. So you shouldn’t feel bad if it seems like all your friends are more popular than you: it appears this way to most of us."

The information comes from research Facebook released late Monday evening on 721 million active Facebook users and their 69 billion connections, done in collaboration with Università degli Studi di Milano.
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Democrats andRepublicans are the same on Bush tax cut debate dooms deal to cut deficit

A long-running war between Democrats and Republicans over Bush-era tax cuts doomed the debt supercommittee's chances of reaching a deal. Efforts to overhaul the tax code may await the same fate as both parties gear up to make taxes a central issue in 2012 elections.

Republicans insisted during the supercommittee negotiations that curbing tax breaks to raise revenues be coupled with guarantees that all the Bush tax cuts would continue beyond 2012. The tax cuts, which affect families at every income level, were enacted under President George W. Bush and were extended through 2012 under President Barack Obama.

Republicans for years have bashed Democrats as eager to raise taxes -- a theme they will employ often in next year's elections -- so they weren't about to agree to a tax hike unless they also could take credit for preventing a huge tax increase scheduled to take effect in 2013.

Democrats countered that the supercommittee was created to reduce the budget deficit, not add to it by extending tax cuts. Most Democrats, including Obama, want to extend the Bush tax cuts only to individuals making less than $200,000 a year and married couples making less than $250,000.

"We simply could not overcome the Republican insistence on making tax cuts for the wealthiest Americans permanent," said Sen. John Kerry, D-Mass., a member of the supercommittee. "This was simply doctrine for some of our Republican colleagues, even as many worked very hard in good faith to find a better way forward."

Another member of the supercommittee, Rep. Dave Camp, R-Mich., said, "It is deeply regrettable that my Democrat colleagues could not see their way to addressing these much-needed reforms without at least $1 trillion in job-killing tax increases on families and employers."

Extending all the Bush tax cuts, including provisions to spare millions of middle-class families from paying the alternative minimum tax, would add $3.9 trillion to the budget deficit over the next decade, according to projections by the nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office. The Democratic plan would add about $3.1 trillion to the deficit over the same period and make the wealthiest Americans pay about $800 billion more in taxes.

Democrats and Republicans economy views are not more different on the Bush Tax cut debate dooms. The issues often arise in the history of both.The supercommittee was formed to come up with a package that reduces government borrowing by at least $1.2 trillion over the next decade. But with a Wednesday deadline approaching, the committee's co-chairs conceded failure Monday.

"After months of hard work and intense deliberations, we have come to the conclusion today that it will not be possible to make any bipartisan agreement available to the public before the committee's deadline," said a joint statement by the co-chairs, Rep. Jeb Hensarling, R-Texas, and Sen. Patty Murray, D-Wash.

Democrats had said they would accept significant cuts to benefit programs like Medicare and Medicaid, but only if Republicans would agree to tax increases. Despite Republicans' aversion to tax increases, a growing number of GOP lawmakers said they would consider higher taxes if they were coupled with significant spending cuts.
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Rhodium used in snickerdoodle recipe, quibids review, kindle fire, quibids, cheesecake recipe

snickerdoodle recipe, quibids review, kindle fire, quibids, cheesecake recipe In terms of rarity, rhodium makes gold look like paper dollars: Last year, 114 ounces of gold were mined for every ounce of rhodium, according to Deutsche Bank.

Yet, at just under $1,700 an ounce, rhodium is now cheaper than gold. It is a far cry from the peak of June 2008, when rhodium commanded more than $10,000. More importantly, rhodium has disconnected from its cousin platinum, falling 31% this year while platinum is down less than 10%. Rhodium as a treasured steel, also known as “the Nobel metal”, continues to be made use of all over time resulting from the neutral gray coloration and durability with the metal. It really is one among the platinum teams but additionally probably the most high priced of all cherished metals and any jeweler will mention that it’s also the most tough metals to do the job with.


Rhodium is recognized to get utilized in creating rings or cufflinks as well as the steel includes a home that will keep away from and safeguard the finished merchandise for becoming tarnished or scratched. Sterling silver or gold is going to be flashed by the jeweler as a means to guard the softer metals. Other utilizes of Rhodium consist of the use being a filter in mammography plus the quality in the features that it presents for your X-rays. Nuclear vegetation will use Rhodium in the reactors as being a suggests to evaluate neutron flux levels. This metal may also be present in the spark plugs of aircraft on account of the electrodes.

Men have been in search of posts that might be determined with them both by character or for trend. Rhodium as well as the homes thereof could be connected into the power of a character on the person that prefers this elegant and stylish steel to adorn their persona. No corrosion or tarnishing will be in a position to have an effect on the steel and therefore the individual would be seen with no a tarnished but a really solid character. Rhodium is having car trouble. More than three-quarters of total demand is for automotive catalysts (the comparable share for platinum is about 35%). The disruption inflicted on car makers' supply chains by the Japanese tsunami and lingering economic weakness in the West has hurt demand. Erica Rannestad, an analyst at commodities consultancy and investment bank CPM Group, reckons rhodium consumption will grow by less than 5% this year against a 7% increase in supply.


Meanwhile, rhodium's super-rarity limits its investment appeal. Relative to platinum and gold, the rhodium market is small and illiquid, worth just $1.2 billion at today's price. The establishment of a physically backed rhodium exchange-traded fund in May sparked a brief rally. But its market capitalization of about $10 million limits its impact.
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That said, rhodium has solid medium-term prospects. At today's price, it is at virtual parity with platinum against an average since 1993 of 2.1 times. Rhodium is particularly suited to gasoline-powered vehicles that dominate major automotive markets outside Europe. As global demand for vehicles grows and emissions standards tighten further, so the surpluses of rhodium built up in recent years should be worked off. By 2013, rhodium's rarity should start to reassert itself in pricing. In the meantime, you can try to lay your hands on some.
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Rich Rodriguez fired or hired?


Arizona has hired former Michigan coach Rich Rodriguez to take over a program that has not played in the Rose Bowl and has been mired in mediocrity for most of the past decade.

Athletic director Greg Byrne posted on his Twitter account a picture of himself with Rodriguez, wearing an Arizona baseball cap, the coach's wife and two children. The tweet said, "And the new Arizona football coach and his family is ..."

Arizona fired head coach Mike Stoops last month after he went 41-50 in seven-plus seasons. The Wildcats have not won more than eight games in a season since 1998 under Dick Tomey.

Rodriguez will try to change that with a fast-paced spread attack that has produced prolific offenses everywhere he has coached.
Rich Rodriguez turned West Virginia into a national championship contender before flaming out as Michigan coach under enormous expectations.

Those turbulent three seasons with the Wolverines didn't keep Arizona from hiring Rodriguez to overhaul a program that has been mired in mediocrity for most of the last decade.

Athletic Director Greg Byrne posted on his Twitter account Monday a picture of himself with Rodriguez, the coach's wife and two children. The tweet said, "And the new Arizona football coach and his family is . . ."
Rodriguez was fired by Michigan after last season, following three turbulent years. He went 15-22 with the Wolverines. Previously, he guided West Virginia to two BCS games.

Considered one of the pioneers of the spread offenses that have become popular in college football, Rodriguez went 60-26 in seven seasons at West Virginia.

Penn State inquiry: Former FBI Director Louis Freeh, tapped to lead Penn State's investigation into the child-sex-abuse allegations against a former assistant coach, said his inquiry will go as far back as 1975, a much longer period than was covered by a grand-jury report issued this month.

Freeh was named to oversee the university Board of Trustees' internal investigation into the abuse allegations that ultimately led to the ouster of longtime head coach Joe Paterno and university President Graham Spanier.
Interesting to note that current Arizona quarterbacks coach Frank Scelfo was on the same staff as Rodriguez at Tulane under Tommy Bowden in the late 1990s.

Arizona announced late this afternoon that, contrary to usual procedures on a Monday, there would be no post-practice interviews for coaches or players.

Arizona has been looking for a replacement for Mike Stoops, who was 41-50 before being fired at midseason. Rodriguez has been an analyst for CBS Sports this season.
Briefly: Stanford's Andrew Luck been named a finalist for the Davey O'Brien Award, presented annually to the nation's top quarterback. ... Washington State quarterback Connor Halliday will miss the Apple Cup against rival Washington on Saturday because of a lacerated liver sustained in an overtime loss to Utah. ... Massachusetts fired head coach Kevin Morris after he compiled a 16-17 record in three seasons.
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‘Breaking Dawn’ fills seats at theaters

North Olympic Peninsula theaters were packed with fans of the “Twilight” saga this weekend, contributing to “Breaking Dawn — Part 1” having the fifth-best opening weekend in movie history.

Showings on two screens at Deer Park Cinema in Port Angeles didn’t sell out but did very well, said Tom Watson, theater manager, Monday.

In Port Townsend, The Rose Theatre sold out three showings Friday, nearly sold out three showings Saturday and was “very, very busy” Sunday, said Rocky Friedman, theater owner.

Deer Park Cinema had six showings each day, Friday through Sunday, in addition to two just-after-midnight premiere screenings early Friday morning.

Many of the moviegoers were from out-of-town, traveling from Seattle and other areas so they could see the film in the same town the film’s protagonist, Bella Swan, would have, Watson said.

Twilight author Stephenie Meyer’s four-novel tale of vampires, werewolves and teen love are set in such Peninsula locations as Forks High School, LaPush’s First Beach and Bella Italia in Port Angeles.

It’s not also uncommon for people to travel to Port Angeles simply to get a seat at a big blockbuster premiere after it has sold out in big city theaters, Watson said.

Not only did “Breaking Dawn” do well, but it drew family members of “Twilight” fans to the multiplex theater who might not have wanted to see the “Twilight” movie, and so drove up attendance up at other films, he said.

Friedman said that “Breaking Dawn — Part 1” was only the second film from the Twilight Saga shown in the Port Townsend theater.

Friedman said he was unsure if his theater would have the final episode, “Breaking Dawn — Part 2” in November 2012. It depends on the distributor, who may choose one theater over another for various films, he said.

Small, two-screen movie houses like The Rose Theatre may miss certain films, he added.

“Breaking Dawn,” the fourth movie in “The Twilight Saga,” had a huge opening weekend —
$138.1 million in the U.S. and a worldwide launch of $283.5 million, according to The Associated Press.

The U.S. total gives “Breaking Dawn” the second-best opening weekend for the franchise, after the $142.8 million launch for 2009’s “New Moon.”

“Breaking Dawn” did more than half of its business, $72 million, on opening day Friday.


The movie’s debut weekend was the fifth-best weekend ever, behind “Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows — Part 2,” “The Dark Knight,” “Spider-Man 3” and “New Moon.”

While the “Twilight” series is set on the North Olympic Peninsula, none of the movies was filmed at the locations it depicts.

Most scenes were filmed in Oregon and Canada, with a few southern Washington locations.
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