Thursday, April 25, 2013

Video, Journalists & PR: 3 Keys to Local Small Business Marketing ...

Competing with the big names, giant retailers, and pop up chains can be a tall measure for any small- to medium-sized business (SMB), especially when resources, namely time and money, are at the heart of it.

At Pubcon, which is taking place in New Orleans this week, presenters are providing a treasure trove of information about online marketing for local, small businesses.

What are three key things you should consider adding to your marketing plan, according to the experts? Producing videos, establishing relationships with media/journalists, and evaluating when you'll get the most exposure from your press releases.

Video, Just Do It!

Video can be one of the easiest and most influential ways small businesses can market to local, repeat customers, business owners just have to get over the fear of being on camera. ?Everyone has a story to tell,? explained Sage Lewis of SageRock Consulting. ?I?ve yet to find a boring story from a business in a video yet and I challenge businesses to make me find one!?

You Tube is the second largest site where searches are conducted and just crossed the threshold of having over 1 billion users and offers a world of opportunity for marketing a small business.

With little more than a smartphone and some video editing software, a small business can produce a video with a limited budget that can be uploaded to YouTube for free. From there they can share the videos on their websites, social media profiles (Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, etc.) and in Google+.

A video can be much more engaging to tell your story with and drive the foot traffic in to sell your wares rather than just a text story on a webpage.

Make Friends With the Media

?Journalists are people too,? explained Jay Berkowitz from 10 Golden Rules. ?But it takes time to build those relationships. Like their stories, interact with them, become friends!?

That advice can take you a lot further when you have news you need to get out about your business to the local media and local media can be a lot more effective to what you are trying to accomplish than national media. Not only that, local journalists will be more inclined to connect with you because you are local ? a connection that you wouldn?t have with reaching out to national outlets. The main thing you have to remember though is that it?s not about your audience, it?s about how you can provide value and entertain their audience.

Know Where They Look for Stories

arketi-report-where-journalist-look-2011

When surveyed about where they are connected the most, more than 92 percent of business journalists said LinkedIn, according to a 2011 Arketi report. Facebook and Twitter were in the high end of 80 percent but what this should indicate is that small business owners wanting to connect with journalists should really look to building relationships with their local journalists on LinkedIn first.

In fact, according to Sean Jackson of Copyblogger, trying to connect with journalists on Facebook is actually frowned upon. Ninety-two percent of the people they look to for story sources are industry experts, so establishing yourself on LinkedIn as an expert in your business area on LinkedIn if you are trying to connect with the local media could be a well spent use of your resources.

You need to create the trust factor though. It?s definitely not about ?hey join my network? and you start pummeling them with your business information. There has to be a careful balance of reading their work, complementing their work, sharing their work and then relating their work to your business. Figuring out how to become legitimately part of a story can go a long way once you?ve established a relationship with the journalist.

They Still Need Stories on the Weekend

While most PR specialists don?t want to work the weekend, Greg Jarboe from SEO-PR gave a great argument why small businesses should take a closer look at releasing their press releases on the weekends.

?There?s not a lot of competition, and guess what, the journalists still look for stories then too!? He detailed information about how it wasn?t really about the links in the press release, it was about the distribution and the readership of the press release.

Jarboe went on to site a case study his company did with New Orleans local deals site Get City Dealz (Disclosure: I am the CTO there) and BusinessWire, in which they did three press releases all sent out on Saturdays.

Each release was tagged in Google Analytics tracking, and each release had a different spin. One had video, one had images, and one was just text.

For a Saturday alone the results (release views, headline impressions, video and image views, and links clicked) were impressive. But when multimedia was added to the press releases it made for a great point ? multimedia, in particularly video ? gets results ? 30 percent more views than either photos or text-only.


Presenting Digital SES

Presenting Digital SES
Want to view one of the sessions you missed or listen to an especially informative presenter a second time? SES New York sessions were recorded and are available for purchase on ClickZ Academy's new e-Learning site.
Watch SES on video!

Source: http://searchenginewatch.com/article/2263885/Video-Journalists-PR-3-Keys-to-Local-Small-Business-Marketing-Pubcon

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House honors ?four little girls? killed in Birmingham church bombing (Washington Post)

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Memorial Service for Fallen Firefighters | Business Risk Management

Memorial service for 12 firefighters who died battling the West, Texas fire and explosion

To the Baylor Family:

Tomorrow afternoon, representatives from the Texas Line of Duty Death Task Force and the National Fallen Firefighters Foundation will host a memorial service to honor the twelve firefighters who gave their lives battling the recent fire and explosion in West, Texas. Attending the ceremony on the Baylor campus will be President and Mrs. Obama, Governor Perry, and other dignitaries. Baylor President Ken Starr will greet guests and bring remarks from former President George W. Bush. Thousands of firefighters from around the nation are also expected to attend the memorial service which will take place at 2 p.m., Central Time, in the Ferrell Center.

Those on the Baylor campus, and in surrounding communities, will have numerous options for viewing the service on our campus. There also will be extensive local television coverage. Those living outside the Waco area may watch a live stream of the service at http://firehero.org/westtexas.

We are honored that the Texas Line of Duty Death Task Force and the National Fallen Firefighters Foundation have chosen to hold this ceremony on the Baylor campus. The Baylor family continues to hold up in prayer all those who have been impacted by this terrible tragedy, including some of our own students, faculty, staff and alumni. We invite the entire Baylor community to join in the remembrance of these firefighters who made the ultimate sacrifice by laying down their lives for others.

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Source: http://fin4335.wordpress.com/2013/04/24/memorial-service-for-fallen-firefighters/

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Poll: Aging US in denial about long-term care need

Graphic shows AP-NORC poll opinions on living assistance

Graphic shows AP-NORC poll opinions on living assistance

(AP) ? We're in denial: Americans underestimate their chances of needing long-term care as they get older ? and are taking few steps to get ready.

A new poll examined how people 40 and over are preparing for this difficult and often pricey reality of aging, and found two-thirds say they've done little to no planning.

In fact, 3 in 10 would rather not think about getting older at all. Only a quarter predict it's very likely that they'll need help getting around or caring for themselves during their senior years, according to the poll by the AP-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research.

That's a surprise considering the poll found more than half of the 40-plus crowd already have been caregivers for an impaired relative or friend ? seeing from the other side the kind of assistance they, too, may need later on.

"I didn't think I was old. I still don't think I'm old," explained retired schoolteacher Malinda Bowman, 60, of Laura, Ohio.

Bowman has been a caregiver twice, first for her grandmother. Then after her father died in 2006, Bowman moved in with her mother, caring for her until her death in January. Yet Bowman has made few plans for herself.

"I guess I was focused on caring for my grandmother and mom and dad, so I didn't really think about myself," she said. "Everything we had was devoted to taking care of them."

The poll found most people expect family to step up if they need long-term care ? even though 6 in 10 haven't talked with loved ones about the possibility and how they'd like it to work.

Bowman said she's healthy now but expects to need help someday from her two grown sons. Last month, prompted by a brother's fall and blood clot, she began the conversation by telling her youngest son about her living will and life insurance policy.

"I need to plan eventually," she acknowledged.

Those family conversations are crucial: Even if they want to help, do your relatives have the time, money and knowhow? What starts as driving Dad to the doctor or picking up his groceries gradually can turn into feeding and bathing him, maybe even doing tasks once left to nurses such as giving injections or cleaning open wounds. If loved ones can't do all that, can they afford to hire help? What if you no longer can live alone?

"The expectation that your family is going to be there when you need them often doesn't mean they understand the full extent of what the job of caregiving will be," Susan Reinhard, a nurse who directs AARP's Public Policy Institute, said. "Your survey is pointing out a problem for not just people approaching the need for long-term care, but for family members who will be expected to take on the huge responsibility of providing care."

Those who have been through the experience of receiving care are less apt to say they can rely on their families in times of need, the poll found.

With a rapidly aging population, more families will be facing those responsibilities. Government figures show nearly 7 in 10 Americans will need long-term care at some point after they reach age 65, whether it's from a relative, a home health aide, assisted living or a nursing home. On average, they'll need that care for three years.

Despite the "it won't happen to me" reaction, the AP-NORC Center poll found half of those surveyed think just about everyone will need some assistance at some point. There are widespread misperceptions about how much care costs and who will pay for it. Nearly 60 percent of those surveyed underestimated the cost of a nursing home, which averages more than $6,700 a month.

Medicare doesn't pay for the most common types of long-term care. Yet 37 percent of those surveyed mistakenly think it will pay for a nursing home and even more expect it to cover a home health aide when that's only approved under certain conditions.

The harsh reality: Medicaid, the federal-state program for the poor, is the main payer of long-term care in the U.S., and to qualify seniors must have spent most of their savings and assets. But fewer than half of those polled think they'll ever need Medicaid ? even though only a third are setting aside money for later care, and just 27 percent are confident they'll have the financial resources they'll need.

In Cottage Grove, Ore., Police Chief Mike Grover, 64, says his retirement plan means he could afford a nursing home. And like 47 percent of those polled, he's created an advance directive, a legal document outlining what medical care he'd want if he couldn't communicate.

Otherwise, Grover said he hasn't thought much about his future care needs. He knows caregiving is difficult, as he and his brother are caring for their 85-year-old mother.

Still, "until I cross that bridge, I don't know what I would do. I hope that my kids and wife will pick the right thing," he said. "It depends on my physical condition, because I do not want to be a burden to my children."

The AP-NORC Center poll found widespread support for tax breaks to encourage saving for long-term care, and about half favor the government establishing a voluntary long-term care insurance program. An Obama administration attempt to create such a program ended in 2011 because it was too costly.

The older they get, the more preparations people take. Just 8 percent of 40- to 54-year-olds have done much planning for long-term care, compared with 30 percent of those 65 or older, the poll found.

Mary Pastrano, 74, of Port Orchard, Wash., has planned extensively for her future health care. She has lupus, heart problems and other conditions, and now uses a wheelchair. She also remembers her family's financial struggles after her own father died when she was a child.

"I don't want people to stand around and wring their hands and wonder, 'What would Mom think was the best?'" said Pastrano, who has discussed her insurance policies, living will and care preferences with her husband and children.

Still, Pastrano wishes she and her husband had started saving earlier, during their working years.

"You never know how soon you're going to be down," she said. "That's what older people have a problem understanding: You can be in your 60s and then next flat on your back. You think you're invincible, until you can't walk."

The AP-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research survey was conducted Feb. 21 through March 27, with funding from the SCAN Foundation. The SCAN Foundation is an independent, nonprofit organization that supports research and other initiatives on aging and health care. The nationally representative poll involved landline and cellphone interviews with 1,019 Americans age 40 or older. It has a margin of sampling error of plus or minus 4.1 percentage points.

___

Associated Press writer Stacy A. Anderson and News Survey Specialist Dennis Junius contributed to this report.

___

Online:

Government long-term care primer: http://longtermcare.gov

AP-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research: http://www.apnorc.org

Associated Press

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/89ae8247abe8493fae24405546e9a1aa/Article_2013-04-24-US-Aging-America-Long-Term-Care/id-abff3d442c6b4691bcf9f2c90d1c4f0e

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[Drunk Music Reviews] SXSW Travelogue: Part IV - Each Note Secure

Drunk Music Reviews?is exactly what it sounds like: Caitlin Behle reviews shows while progressively getting drunker, while illustrator?John Sebastian?turns the drunken reviews, which could be ridiculous, sloppy or just plain insulting, into a comic.

01 Title 957x1024 [Drunk Music Reviews] SXSW Travelogue: Part IV   BONUS CARICATURES

?

Part of the charm of SXSW is the people-watching. Austin?s motto is ?Keep Austin Weird? and they ain?t shitting you. There are some lovely characters floating around, and like a kid in a candy shop, John wanted to draw all of them. As John put it, ?There were a lot of real life caricatures there, it was really hard to not want to draw everybody.?

A sampling (with notes by John):

Nasty Canasta

?Nasty Canasta? is a dude working the door at some bar next to Mugshots.?He had a cut off shirt and shoulder hair, and looked like he needed a head tattoo of a sailboat to be riding the sea of head fat.

06 Nasty Canasta 802x1024 [Drunk Music Reviews] SXSW Travelogue: Part IV   BONUS CARICATURES

(Author?s note: Mugshots is?an oasis of dirt cheap whiskey with a shady patio. It?s a welcome break from live music if you just need to hang out and get drunk in the quiet of your own shame.).

Junkie Chic

Some girl I saw. She kind of represented the typical SXSW-ian you?d run into there.

?

07 Junkie Chic 783x1024 [Drunk Music Reviews] SXSW Travelogue: Part IV   BONUS CARICATURES

(Author?s Note: Other typical SXSW-ians included Overdressed Hipsters, Confused But Delighted Broes, and for some reason, Topless Ladies Riding Pedicabs.)

Shitty Tommy Lee

08 Shitty Tommy Lee 556x1024 [Drunk Music Reviews] SXSW Travelogue: Part IV   BONUS CARICATURES

Shitty Tommy Lee was some guy in spandex animal print pants, hat, and boa, a leather vest, lots of guyliner, and a mesh tank top. He was stuck in LA in 1986 and looked coked out of his fucking mind.

The Melting Girl

We saw The Melting Girl outside of The Russian Room.?She was named as such because it looked like her face was melting.

04TheMeltingGirl 653x1024 [Drunk Music Reviews] SXSW Travelogue: Part IV   BONUS CARICATURES

The Pinstripes Sketcher

Meta-DMR sketching! This nerd was drawing The Pinstripes while they were busking on 6th street. His illustrations weren?t great.

05ThePinstripesSketcher 664x1024 [Drunk Music Reviews] SXSW Travelogue: Part IV   BONUS CARICATURES

?

 [Drunk Music Reviews] SXSW Travelogue: Part IV   BONUS CARICATURES

About Caitlin Behle

Caitlin has been with Each Note Secure since her days at WOXY as an evening DJ beginning in 2008. As a senior contributor with ENS, most of her live reviews are centered on Cincinnati's local music scene. She also provides the words for Drunk Music Reviews, a series of reviews written in collaboration with illustrator John Sebastian in which they both get hammered and write/draw their live concert experiences.

Source: http://www.eachnotesecure.com/drunk-music-reviews-sxsw-travelogue-part-iv/

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Minka Kelly Goes Blonde: Caption This Photo

Minka Kelly has gone blonde! Yep the actress has traded in her dark locks for a lighter color and I have to say she looks pretty darn good. This new change has made her the object of Right Celebrity’s Caption This photo contest for the week, woot woot! A major make-over happened for the former Friday Night Lights actress and I am going to give you my two cents on it in one hot moment. First though I want to tell you all about our Caption This photo contest. It is super easy, as I am sure you are already aware. All you have to do is take a little looksy at the above pic of Minka and caption it by leaving your witty remarks in the below comments section. Then next Tuesday when a hot new topic and picture are posted be sure to check back her to see if your name is in black and white as the big winner, woohoo! See I told you loads of fun and lets be real who doesn’t want to comment on her new look. On Monday Minka debuted a new look. It was a big change for the actress, she went [...]

Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/RightCelebrity/~3/oSI7P_M5aDc/

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Factory data a new sign of slowing U.S. economic growth

By Lucia Mutikani

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Factory activity expanded at its slowest pace in six months in April, the latest sign that economic growth continued to lose momentum early in the second quarter, though the recovery has not been derailed.

Even as the economic picture has dimmed in recent weeks as the effects of government austerity started to filter through, strength in the housing market has provided an anchor.

New home sales in March were at their second-highest level in three years and overall house prices rose in February, other data showed on Tuesday.

"The numbers are not suggesting that the economy is surging, but none of them are really showing that the economy is falling off the cliff," said Jim O'Sullivan, chief U.S. economist at High Frequency Economics in Valhalla, New York.

Financial data firm Markit said its "flash," or preliminary, factory purchasing managers' index fell to 52.0 this month from 54.6 in March as output, employment and new orders pulled back.

It was the lowest index level since October, though a reading above 50 does indicate growth.

While the Markit PMI has a shorter history and has been trending higher than an established, competing index from the Institute for Supply Management, its direction is in line with other surveys showing a cooling in manufacturing activity in April.

The Richmond Federal Reserve Bank said on Tuesday its gauge of factory activity in the central Atlantic region dropped into negative territory this month, pulled down by weak shipments and new orders.

The region covers the District of Columbia, Maryland, North Carolina, South Carolina, Virginia, and most of West Virginia. These are among states expected to be hardest hit by deep government spending cuts, known as the sequester.

SLACKENING ACTIVITY

Taken together with other weak regional manufacturing surveys released so far this month, Tuesday's factory data pointed to a slackening in activity at the start of the second quarter, economists said.

Although manufacturing accounts for only about 12 percent of the U.S. economy, it has played a pivotal role in the recovery from the 2007-09 recession.

The government is expected to report on Friday that the economy grew at a 3.0 percent annual rate in the first quarter, according to a Reuters survey, rebounding from a paltry 0.4 percent gain in the final three months of 2012.

Economists, however, are looking for an expansion of only around 1.5 percent or so in the April-June period.

Data ranging from employment to retail sales and manufacturing weakened significantly in March, when the sequester began to take effect, and the Markit and Richmond Fed reports suggested the soft patch carried into the second quarter.

"This year is setting up to be very similar as far as the first-half story of the past few years, where an early start in economic activity was not able to be maintained," said Sam Bullard, a senior economist at Wells Fargo Securities in Charlotte, North Carolina.

Even so, the economy is not collapsing.

A separate report from the Commerce Department showed new home sales increased 1.5 percent to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 417,000 units last month.

The increase was encouraging in the wake of data on Monday that showed home resales slipped in March and a report last week that said sentiment among homebuilders dropped in April for a third straight month.

"This is a good report that supports the view that at least one part of the economy is not being battered too greatly by Washington's attacks on growth," said Joel Naroff of Naroff Economic Advisors in Holland, Pennsylvania. "The housing recovery keeps on going, but don't expect further surges in activity."

The momentum in the housing market has slowed somewhat because of a lack of supply of homes for sale in some major regions. Last month, there 153,000 new homes on the market, not far from record lows.

The inventory represents sales supply for only 4.4 months, below the six months that is normally considered a healthy balance between supply and demand.

Another report, from the Federal Housing Finance Administration, showed prices for houses financed with mortgages that have been sold to or guaranteed by Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac rose 0.7 percent in February after advancing 0.6 percent in January.

(Reporting by Lucia Mutikani in Washington; Additional reporing by Steven C Johnson in New York and Margaret Chadbourn in Washington; editing by Andrea Ricci and Leslie Adler)

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/factory-activity-six-month-low-april-markit-130145227--business.html

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Rep. Hoyer: Boston attack has no relevance to immigration debate

House Minority Whip Steny Hoyer (Mark Wilson/Getty Images)

The Boston Marathon bombings allegedly carried out by legal immigrants from Eastern Europe do not have "any relevance" to the ongoing debate over how to overhaul the nation's immigration system, House Minority Whip Steny Hoyer, a Democrat of Maryland, said on Tuesday.

"Those that try to make a connection between the two are not right," Hoyer told reporters during a weekly briefing

After two bombs exploded at the Boston Marathon last week, some Republicans called for delaying movement on the new federal immigration bill that a bipartisan group of senators unveiled on Wednesday morning.

The Senate Judiciary Committee is currently conducting a series of hearings about the bill to examine how it will affect the economy, border enforcement and immigrants living illegally in the United States. During one of those hearings on Monday, a discussion over whether the bombings should influence the immigration bill's progress became heated when New York Democratic Sen. Chuck Schumer claimed some were using the attack as "an excuse" to derail the bill. Vermont Democratic Sen. Patrick Leahy, the committee chairman, also suggested that it would be "cruel" to cite the bombings as a reason to vote against immigration reform.

Hoyer said Leahy was "absolutely right" in condemning those who use the bombings to delay the bill. He added that lawmakers, however, could examine how the alleged suspects entered the country and obtained citizenship for guidance on how to make the bill stronger.

"We can learn some lessons as we look at people for visas, for entry into the United States. If there are lessons to be learned, that's fine," he said. "But I don't think it has any relevance as it relates to the immigration reform that is critically necessary for our economy, for the welfare of our people."

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/blogs/ticket/dem-whip-steny-hoyer-boston-bombing-no-relevance-184829918--politics.html

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Cowboys Stadium gets 1st playoff championship game

FILE - In this Oct. 23, 2011, file photo, fans cheer as the St. Louis Rams and Dallas Cowboys play in an NFL football game at Cowboys Stadium in Arlington, Texas. A person familiar with the decision tells The Associated Press that Arlington, Texas, has beaten out Tampa, Fla., in the bidding to be the site of the first title game in the new playoff system. The game will be Jan. 12, 2015. (AP Photo/Sharon Ellman, File)

FILE - In this Oct. 23, 2011, file photo, fans cheer as the St. Louis Rams and Dallas Cowboys play in an NFL football game at Cowboys Stadium in Arlington, Texas. A person familiar with the decision tells The Associated Press that Arlington, Texas, has beaten out Tampa, Fla., in the bidding to be the site of the first title game in the new playoff system. The game will be Jan. 12, 2015. (AP Photo/Sharon Ellman, File)

FILE - In this Aug. 19, 2009, file photo, the Dallas Cowboys new football stadium Cowboys Stadium is shown in Arlington, Texas. A person familiar with the decision tells The Associated Press that Arlington, Texas, has beaten out Tampa, Fla., in the bidding to be the site of the first title game in the new playoff system. The game will be Jan. 12, 2015. (AP Photo/Donna McWilliam, File)

Bill Hancock, executive director of the Bowl Championship Series, introduces the new name - College Football Playoffs - and competition framework of what will replace the BCS in 2014 at a meeting of the football conference commissioners in Pasadena, Calif., Tuesday, April 23, 2013. (AP Photo/Reed Saxon)

Bill Hancock, executive director of the Bowl Championship Series, introduces the new name - College Football Playoffs - and competition framework of what will replace the BCS in 2014 at a meeting of the football conference commissioners in Pasadena, Calif., Tuesday, April 23, 2013. (AP Photo/Reed Saxon)

Bill Hancock, right, executive director of the Bowl Championship Series, introduces the new name - College Football Playoffs - and competition framework of what will replace the BCS in 2014 at a meeting of the football conference commissioners in Pasadena, Calif., Tuesday, April 23, 2013. He is joined onstage by, from left, commissioners Mike Slive of the Southeastern Conference, Britton Banowsky of Conference USA, Bob Bowlsby of the Big 12, and Larry Scott of the Pac-12. (AP Photo/Reed Saxon)

PASADENA, Calif. (AP) ? The grandest stage in sports was too much for the guys who are putting together the College Football Playoff to pass up.

The BCS conference commissioners announced Wednesday that Cowboys Stadium in Arlington, Texas, edged Tampa, Fla., in the bidding to be the site of the first championship game in the new playoff system.

"The stadium itself was the biggest determiner," BCS executive director Bill Hancock said about the $1.2 billion dollar, 100,000-plus seat home of the NFL's Cowboys and the Cotton Bowl. "It's still THE stadium with a capital 'T.'"

The College Football Championship Game will be held Jan. 12, 2015.

"We couldn't be more excited about bringing college football's biggest game to Cowboys Stadium," Cowboys owner Jerry Jones said in a statement. "Rest assured, we all pledge to do everything we can to make sure this game exceeds everyone's highest expectations."

The final three sites for the semifinal rotation also were announced during the second of three days of meetings at a resort hotel a few miles from the Rose Bowl. And Cowboys Stadium came up a winner again. The Cotton Bowl will be part of the six-bowl rotation, along with the Chick-fil-A Bowl in Atlanta and the Fiesta Bowl in Glendale, Ariz. The Holiday Bowl in San Diego also bid for a spot in the semifinal rotation, but couldn't pull the upset.

The Rose, Orange and Sugar bowls are already part of the semifinal rotation. The Rose and Sugar will host the first semifinals Jan. 1, 2015,

The next season, the Cotton and Orange bowls will host the semifinals on New Year's Eve. The semis will be played in the Fiesta and Chick-fil-A bowls after the 2016 season.

In the years those games do not host a national semifinal, they will stage a major, BCS-type bowl game played on New Year's Eve or New Year's Day. That means two days of huge college football triple-headers.

For the Cotton Bowl and its organizers, landing a spot in the rotation and the first title game is the culmination of a long slow return to prominence for a game with a rich history.

The game dates to 1937 and has hosted some of the most memorable matchups in college football, including Notre Dame's stirring comeback victory led by Joe Montana against Houston in the 1979 game.

But when the Bowl Championship Series was implemented in 1998, the Cotton Bowl was left out and lost much of its luster. Organizers for years tried to break into the BCS, but couldn't overcome the limitations of their antiquated namesake stadium in Dallas.

Things turned for the Cotton Bowl when it moved out of the old stadium at the fairgrounds in 2010 and into Cowboys Stadium.

When the conference commissioners announced last year that the BCS would be abandoned for a four-team playoff starting in 2014, with the championship game bid out like a Super Bowl, it was all but assumed the Cotton Bowl would be part of the new system and that Cowboys Stadium would be a strong candidate to eventually host a championship game.

They didn't have to wait long to accomplish both goals.

"The Cotton Bowl did it right," Hancock said. "Kept the Cotton Bowl a terrific event, bided their time and now they're back among the top group."

Tampa made a strong push for the first championship game to be played at Raymond James Stadium, home of the NFL's Buccaneers and the Outback Bowl. But Jones' football palace was too much to overcome.

"They were very close. Tampa won a lot of hearts and minds of the commissioners," Hancock said.

Raymond James' capacity is listed at 65,857, but seated about 71,000 for the Super Bowl. Hancock said neither bidder guaranteed a specific amount of revenue.

"Obviously, with 20,000 more tickets certainly there are better revenue opportunities," Hancock said.

As for filling out the rest of the rotation, the sites that got the nod were no surprise.

The Fiesta Bowl has been part of the Bowl Championship Series from the start, though its place among the elite bowls was threatened when the Arizona Republic reported in December 2009 allegations of a political-contribution scheme being run by game organizers. It also was revealed the bowl officials were misusing funds.

The scandal was an embarrassment to the BCS and the conferences that run it, but the Fiesta Bowl overhauled its front office and implemented reforms that allowed the game to stay in the good graces of the commissioners.

"This is a confirmation that that's all in the rearview mirror," Fiesta Bowl executive director Robert Shelton said.

In the heart of both the SEC and Atlantic Coast Conference, Atlanta gives the College Football Playoff a second game in the East, joining the Orange Bowl in Miami.

The Chick-fil-A Bowl, formerly the Peach Bowl, has been played in the Georgia Dome since 1992.

"For 16 years, we've made this our goal," said Gary Stokan, president of the Chick-fil-A bowl.

A new domed stadium is in the works for Atlanta and the Chick-fil-A bowl will move into that when it opens in 2017.

The new postseason system was named the College Football Playoff by the conference commissioners Tuesday, the first of three days of meetings at a resort hotel a few miles from the Rose Bowl.

Now that the sites are locked in, the only major remaining issue to tackle for the commissioners is the composition and structure of the selection committee, which will pick the teams that play for the national championship.

That won't be finalized at these meetings, but it's on the agenda and they would like to leave California with a framework in place.

___

Follow Ralph D. Russo at www.Twitter.com/ralphDrussoAP

Associated Press

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/347875155d53465d95cec892aeb06419/Article_2013-04-24-BCS%20Changes/id-5633838c140143928cea2934a0fe4e66

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Hearing resumes Tuesday for Miss. ricin suspect

OXFORD, Miss. (AP) ? The third day of a hearing for the Mississippi man accused of mailing poisoned letters to President Barack Obama, a U.S. senator and a local judge was expected to include testimony on his mental state.

Christi McCoy, defense attorney for Paul Kevin Curtis, has said there is no physical evidence connecting Curtis to the mailings and that he may have been framed.

For Tuesday's hearing, McCoy said she expects testimony from David Daniels, a Tupelo, Miss., attorney who says Curtis threatened him after a rehearsal for an Elvis impersonators' show Daniels helped organize in 2002. Also, a law enforcement official was expected to testify about Curtis' suicide attempt in Chicago in 1991.

On Monday, FBI Agent Brandon Grant testified that Friday searches of Curtis' vehicle and house in Corinth, Miss., found no ricin, ingredients for the poison, or devices used to make it. A search of Curtis' computers found no evidence he researched making ricin.

"There was no apparent ricin, castor beans or any material there that could be used for the manufacturing, like a blender or something," Grant testified. He speculated that Curtis could have thrown away the processor. Grant said technicians are now doing a "deep dive" on the suspect's computers after initially finding no "dirty words" indicating Curtis had searched for information on ricin.

Through his lawyer, Curtis has denied involvement in letters sent to Obama, Mississippi Republican Sen. Roger Wicker, and a Lee County, Miss., judge. The first of the letters was found April 15.

"The searches are concluded, not one single shred of evidence was found to indicate Kevin could have done this," McCoy told reporters after the hearing.

U.S. Magistrate Judge J. Allan Alexander ended the hearing after lunch Monday, citing a personal schedule conflict. After the hearing concluded, McCoy questioned why Curtis would have signed the letters "I am KC and I approve this message," a phrase he had used on his Facebook page.

McCoy said in court that someone may have framed Curtis, suggesting that a former business associate of Curtis' brother, a man with whom Curtis had an extended exchange of angry emails, may have set him up.

Still, Grant testified that authorities believe they have the right suspect.

"Given the right mindset and the Internet and the acquisition of material, other people could be involved. However, given information right now, we believe we have the right individual," he said.

Grant said lab analysis shows the poison is a crude form that could have been created by grinding castor beans in a food processor or coffee grinder.

The detention and preliminary hearing began Friday in U.S. District Court in Oxford, Miss. More witnesses besides Grant were expected Tuesday.

Federal investigators believe the letters were mailed by Curtis, an Elvis impersonator who family members say suffers from bipolar disorder.

Grant testified Monday that processing codes printed on the letter indicated they had been mailed from Tupelo, Miss., and that investigators were still trying to figure out from the codes exactly where they had been mailed from.

Grant testified Friday that authorities tried to track down the sender of the letters by using a list of Wicker's constituents with the initials KC, the same initials in the letters. Grant said the list was whittled from thousands to about 100 when investigators isolated the ones who lived in an area that would have a Memphis, Tenn., postmark, which includes many places in north Mississippi. He said Wicker's staff recognized Curtis as someone who had written the senator before.

All the envelopes and stamps were self-adhesive, Grant said Monday, meaning they won't yield DNA evidence. He said thus far the envelopes and letters haven't yielded any fingerprints.

McCoy said the evidence linking the 45-year-old to the crime has hinged on his writings posted online, which were accessible to anyone.

___

Follow Jeff Amy at http://twitter.com/jeffamy .

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/hearing-resumes-tuesday-miss-ricin-suspect-082139686.html

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Wednesday, April 24, 2013

Tumblr for iOS gets new social sharing features, options to save to Instapaper and Pocket

Tumblr for iOS gets new social sharing features, options to save to Instapaper and Pocket

Ever since going native on iOS, the Tumblr app's been on the receiving end of many, many new features and improvements. Now, continuing its ongoing efforts to make the application as good as can be, the microblogging site has released a new version for iPhone, iPod touch and iPad owners. As of today, Tumblr for iOS will now allow posts to be shared via email and a few major social networks -- including, as you'd expect, Facebook and Twitter. In addition, v3.3.1 brings added integration with Pocket and Instapaper, giving users the ability to save content to either service for offline reading at a later time. Busy couple of days, eh, Tumblr?

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Source: App Store

Source: http://www.engadget.com/2013/04/24/tumblr-for-ios-update/?utm_medium=feed&utm_source=Feed_Classic&utm_campaign=Engadget

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Explosion outside French Embassy in Libya highlights security challenges

The explosion wounded two French guards in what appeared to be the first major terrorist attack on a diplomatic compound in Tripoli since the ouster of Col. Muammar Qaddafi.

By Sara Miller Llana,?Staff writer / April 23, 2013

Security officers and officials inspect the site of a car bomb that targeted the French embassy wounding two French guards and causing extensive material damage in Tripoli, Libya, Tuesday. An explosives-laden car was detonated just outside the embassy building in Tripoli's upscale al-Andalus neighborhood, officials said.

Abdul Majeed Forjani/AP

Enlarge

A bomb that exploded outside the French Embassy in Tripoli marks the first time that a diplomatic mission in the Libyan capital has been targeted by terrorists since the take down of?Muammar Qaddafi?in 2011.

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French President Francois Hollande condemned the act, saying it was an attack not just against France but "all countries in the international community engaged fighting terrorism."

It is unclear what the motive was and whether there is a link to France?s intervention in Mali or its role in the ouster of the late Mr. Qaddafi.

No group immediately claimed responsibility for the explosion that wounded two security guards and caused massive damage but no deaths.

The US ambassador to Libya and three other Americans were killed in Benghazi in a September 2012 attack, but this is described as the first terrorist attack in the capital city against the foreign diplomatic corps. It comes at a time when a new vulnerability to the threat of terrorism, whether domestic or international, has emerged in the wake of the Boston Marathon bombings.

?This?is the first time that the capital suffers such an attack. It?s symbolically important because it?s where institutions are ? it [is a message that] these groups can strike pretty much anywhere,? says Karim Bitar,?a?senior research fellow at the Institute for International and Strategic Relations in Paris.?

According to reports, the blast, an apparent car explosion, blew off the front wall of the embassy and the reception area, as well as the windows in nearby homes in the residential area where the French Embassy of Libya is located.?

France?s foreign minister, Laurent Fabius, called it an ?odious act? and promised a thorough investigation.?"In conjunction with the Libyan authorities, our government departments will make every effort to ensure that all light be shed on the circumstances of this heinous act and its perpetrators quickly identified," France?s foreign ministry said in a statement.

Libyan Foreign Minister Mohammed Abdel Aziz condemned the bombing: "We strongly condemn this act, which we regard as a terrorist act against a brother nation that supported Libya during the revolution,? he said.?

Radical jihadists had promised to retaliate against French interests, after the country?s intervention in Mali this year to drive back Islamist militants there.

Just this week France?s Parliament voted to extend France?s involvement, which has been widely supported by the French public. France also, under former President Nicolas Sarkozy, took the lead in NATO air raids against Qaddafi?forces, another possible, but less likely, motive, says Mr. Bitar.

Libya has been mired in violence since then, underscored by the attack this morning. The central authorities have been unable to assert control over dozens of local militias wielding power with various ideologies.?

?What it does certainly suggest for France and other European states supporting the transition in Libya is that the number one question is security,? says Susi Dennison,?a policy fellow at the European Council on Foreign Relations.??This has to be a key priority if they want to see its transition emerge successfully.??

Source: http://rss.csmonitor.com/~r/feeds/csm/~3/H2cQio95gZY/Explosion-outside-French-Embassy-in-Libya-highlights-security-challenges

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Farea Al-Muslimi Says Drone Strike On Yemen Village 'Tore My Heart' (VIDEO)

WASHINGTON -- A Yemeni man named Farea al-Muslimi told a Senate Judiciary Committee hearing on Tuesday that a U.S. drone strike on his small town of Wessab "tore my heart," much as the Boston Marathon bombings upset Americans.

"Most of the world has never heard of Wessab. But just six days ago, my village was struck by a drone, in an attack that terrified thousands of simple, poor farmers," Muslimi said in prepared testimony. "The drone strike and its impact tore my heart, much as the tragic bombings in Boston last week tore your hearts and also mine."

Muslimi testified that he was with an American colleague in the town of Abyan last year when the local residents suddenly became worried.

"They were moving erratically and frantically pointing toward the sky. Based on their past experiences with drone strikes, they told us that the thing hovering above us -? out of sight and making a strange humming noise -? was an American drone. My heart sank. I was helpless. It was the first time that I had earnestly feared for my life, or for an American friend?s life in Yemen. I was standing there at the mercy of a drone. I also couldn?t help but think that the operator of this drone just might be my American friend with whom I had the warmest and deepest friendship in America," Muslimi said.

"My mind was racing and my heart was torn," Muslimi continued in his statement. "I was torn between the great country that I know and love and the drone above my head that could not differentiate between me and some AQAP militant. It was one of the most divisive and difficult feelings I have ever encountered. That feeling, multiplied by the highest number mathematicians have, gripped me when my village was droned just days ago. It is the worst feeling I have ever had. I was devastated for days because I knew that the bombing in my village by the United States would empower militants."

Read Muslimi's full testimony here.

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Source: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/04/23/farea-al-muslimi-drone-strike_n_3142322.html

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Turkish PM rejects U.S. request to delay Gaza visit in May

ANKARA (Reuters) - Turkish Prime Minister Tayyip Erdogan will not reschedule his trip to the Palestinian Gaza strip, he said on Tuesday, despite a request to do so from the United States that had irked Ankara.

During a visit to Turkey on Sunday, U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry urged Erdogan to delay his visit to avoid endangering U.S. efforts to revive Ankara's ties with Israel and Middle East peace talks.

Erdogan, who has always underlined his desire to visit the Palestinian enclave, said last week he planned to go to Gaza following an official visit to the United States in May.

"Delaying my trip (to Gaza) is out of question. As I said in the past the Gaza trip will take place after my trip to the United States. There will be no delay," Erdogan told reporters, according to state media.

Erdogan's trip would take place at a critical period for Turkish-Israeli relations, frozen after the 2010 killing by Israeli marines of nine Turks aboard a Gaza-bound aid ship.

In March U.S. President Barack Obama brokered a first step in reconciliation between Israel and Turkey, which cut its once extensive ties with the Jewish state after the incident.

Persuaded by Obama, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu apologized last month and an Israeli delegation traveled to Ankara on Monday to discuss compensation to the victims' families.

Erdogan said his trip to Washington would be on May 14, while Turkish officials said earlier this month that his planned visit to Washington to meet Obama was on May 16.

(Writing by Parisa Hafezi; editing by Mike Collett-White)

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/turkish-pm-rejects-u-request-delay-gaza-visit-122721218.html

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Deal of the Day: BodyGuardz UltraTough Clear ScreenGuardz for Galaxy Note 2

Deal of the Day The April 23 ShopAndroid.com Deal of the Day is the BodyGuardz UltraTough Clear ScreenGuardz for Galaxy Note 2. These protectors are made from the same material used to shield the front of vehicles from rock chips and provides your Galaxy Note 2 with unmatched scratch protection from outside elements. Easy to install and comfortable to use! Includes 2 sets per package.

The BodyGuardz UltraTough Clear ScreenGuardz are available for just $9.00, 44% off today only. Backed by our 60-day return policy and fast shipping!

Never miss a deal. Sign up for Daily Deal alerts

    


Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/androidcentral/~3/tdFuHPdMUfY/story01.htm

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Facebook Home (for Android)


Install the free Facebook Home app on a compatible Android phone, and you'll find that your locked screen transforms into a gorgeous, interactive slideshow of photos and posts from your Facebook friends. Anytime you glance at your phone to check the time or see whether you've missed a call, you'll see an ever-changing background image made up of pictures of friends on vacation, updates about babies and baby-related things, and whatever else comes through your Facebook feed. Tap the screen, and you can see comments and "likes," and add your own comment or "like" to someone's activity. But ?and here's the rub?anyone else who gets his hands on your phone can, too.

The huge, gaping, show-stopping problem with Facebook Home: It lacks any security whatsoever. If you have a layer of security turned on to protect your phone, such as a PIN code or other lock, the Facebook Home app still lets anyone within arm's reach mess with your Facebook account by posting comments as if they were you. (I wish I could say I don't have any friends who would do such a thing, but that would be a bald-faced lie. And, what's worse, if you lose your phone, a perpetrator could post anything as well as read anything that shows up on your feed.) For this reason alone, I cannot recommend installing Facebook Home, even though the app's concept and visual design are superb.

If you're not deterred by the complete lack of security?maybe you don't even use a lock on your phone at all, which makes me cringe, but hey, that's your decision?Facebook Home does add a homey touch to your Android screen.

Requirements, Installation, and Setup
Not all Android devices can get Facebook Home. To run it, you'll need one of the following phones:

Facebook Home comes preloaded on the HTC First. I used both a Samsung Galaxy S III and HTC First for my testing.

Before you can install Facebook Home, you first need to have the standard Facebook app loaded, but after that, it's as simple as loading the app and authenticating it.

What You'll See
Facebook Home takes over your Android's screen and replaces it with a flowing and interactive window into your Facebook feed. If you simply toggling the screen on, the app greets you with recent updates from your Facebook friends. Newly shared photos seem to get special treatment, appearing first even if they are not the most recent updates from your network. They hang on the screen for a few seconds before whisking away and letting another image capture your attention. You can also force the next one along by swiping left or right.

A summary of information about the post, such as number of "likes" and comments" appears in simple white san serif text at the bottom right. In the bottom left corner sit two icons where you can "like" or comment on the activity, too. And that's where there's no security whatsoever. I turned a PIN lock on both the Samsung Galaxy S III and HTC First that I used in testing, turned the phones off, pressed the power button, and was able to post comments freely without being asked to enter a PIN.

If you tap the screen, your own photo appears in a small circle, and if you press it, more options appear to the left, right, and above: Facebook messenger, most recently used app (e.g., Camera, Email), and Apps, respectively. Accessing any of these functions does require the PIN or other locked code, if it's enabled, thank goodness.

The concept here, in my opinion, is that with Facebook Home installed, Facebook messenger remains front and center, right before your eyes, every time you use your phone, and thus hopefully, it becomes a more convenient application for messaging than any of the alternatives. If you want the full Facebook experience, you have to also install a third app (annoying): Facebook Messenger.

Once Facebook for Android, Facebook Messenger, and Facebook Home are all installed, you can then get the new "chat heads" feature. This feature lets you continue chatting with friends no matter which app you're using. Here's how it works: Say your sister sends you a Facebook instant message, and let's say you're using the LinkedIn app at the moment. Her profile picture will appear in a little bubble, overlaid directly on top of LinkedIn. You'll also see a red badge containing a number, indicating the amount of unread messages from her. If you have multiple conversations going, you'll see multiple disembodied heads. You can dismiss any chat by dragging the bubble-head onto an X that also appears overlaid on the screen.

If you don't install Facebook Messenger, you'll still be notified of incoming chats, but rather than see the floating heads, you'll just see a notification at the top of the screen, which you can access with a quick down-swipe.

Phone Home?
At this time, I cannot recommend anyone install the Facebook Home app due to the major security flaw that lets in arm's reach of your phone post a comment or "like" activity on your behalf without having to enter a PIN code or otherwise unlock the security you have enabled on your Android. The app itself succeeds in getting Facebook in front of your face more frequently, and for the most part, the design is quite lovely. But as long as that security hole exists, don't install Facebook Home.

Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/ziffdavis/pcmag/~3/gakboIkq-fg/0,2817,2418043,00.asp

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Tuesday, April 23, 2013

How to Take Pictures?From the International Space Station

During his time aboard the International Space Station, astronaut Chris Hadfield has taken and shared some of the most amazing photos of our planet on his Twitter account. And in this video clip, he explains how he snaps those beautiful photos of Earth, and the wonderful camera equipment at his disposal. More »
    


Source: http://feeds.gawker.com/~r/gizmodo/full/~3/H1R1CvUNfaI/how-to-take-picturesfrom-the-international-space-station

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JEWELRY AND ACCESSORY COLLECTIBLE | ???? ?????

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? ?????????, ????????, ??????? ?? ?????? ? ???? ?????, ?? ??????????.

Source: http://pammscheta2012.blogspot.com/2013/04/jewelry-and-accessory-collectible_4884.html

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Shoulder injuries in baseball pitchers could be prevented with 3-D motion detection system

Shoulder injuries in baseball pitchers could be prevented with 3-D motion detection system [ Back to EurekAlert! ] Public release date: 23-Apr-2013
[ | E-mail | Share Share ]

Contact: Jim Ritter
jritter@lumc.edu
708-216-2445
Loyola University Health System

MAYWOOD, Ill. -- A new 3-D motion detection system could help identify baseball pitchers who are at risk for shoulder injuries, according to a new study.

The system can be used on the field, and requires only a laptop computer. Other systems that evaluate pitchers' throwing motions require cameras and other equipment and generally are confined to indoor use.

Loyola University Medical Center sports medicine surgeon Pietro Tonino, MD, is a co-author of the study, published in the journal Musculoskeletal Surgery.

In a well-rested pitcher, the humerus (upper arm bone) and the scapula (shoulder blade) move in concert when one bone moves, the other moves with it. This is called the scapulo-humeral rhythm. But after a pitcher has been on the mound for a while, his muscles begin to tire, and the scapulo-humeral rhythm begins to deteriorate. The bones no longer move in synch, and this can lead to shoulder injuries.

Using just the naked eye, it is extremely difficult for a coach to detect subtle changes in a pitcher's scapulo-humeral rhythm. But such changes can be easily detected with a portable tracking system called the Xbus Kit. Sensing units are positioned on the pitcher's scapula, humerus, forearm and sternum, and information is gathered from 3D gyroscopes, 3D magnetometers and 3D accelerometers.

Researchers enrolled 13 Chicago-area college pitchers in the study. For each pitcher, the system tracked the scapulo-humeral rhythm three times: Before pitching, after throwing 60 pitches and 24 hours after a pitching session.

Results:

  • Only 2 pitchers (15.5 percent) showed similar measurement at all three sessions.
  • Five pitchers (38.5 percent) showed deterioration in the scapulo-humeral rhythm after pitching, but the rhythm was completely restored at 24 hours.
  • Three pitchers (23 percent) showed deterioration after pitching. After 24 hours rest, their scapulo-humeral rhythm was improved, but still not completely restored.
  • Three pitchers (23 percent) showed deterioration in the scapulo-humeral rhythm after pitching, and the deterioration persisted even after 24 hours. This group appears to be the most at risk for shoulder injuries, Tonino said.

The study demonstrates the feasibility of using the portable tracking system to identify college-age pitchers who are at risk for shoulder injuries. To prevent such injuries, Tonino said at-risk pitchers could undergo strengthening exercises and physical therapy.

Tonino has surgically repaired thousands of shoulder injuries. But even the most successful surgery and rehabilitation cannot completely restore a shoulder to the full function the player had before the injury. Therefore, the best strategy is to prevent injuries, and the motion tracking system can help in that effort, Tonino said.

Tonino and colleagues next plan to test the tracking system on Little League pitchers.

Tonino is Loyola's Program Director of Sports Medicine. He is a professor in the Department of Orthopaedic Surgery and Rehabilitation at Loyola University Chicago Stritch School of Medicine.

###

Co-authors of the study are A. Pellegrini, (first author); P. Paladini and G. Porcellini of Cervesi Hospital in Cattolica, Italy; F. Ceccarelli of the University of Parma in Parma, Italy; and A. Cutti of Vigorso di Budrio in Bologna, Italy. None of the authors report conflicts of interest in the study.

The study is titled "Motion analysis assessment of alterations in the scapulo-humeral rhythm after throwing in baseball pitchers."


[ Back to EurekAlert! ] [ | E-mail | Share Share ]

?


AAAS and EurekAlert! are not responsible for the accuracy of news releases posted to EurekAlert! by contributing institutions or for the use of any information through the EurekAlert! system.


Shoulder injuries in baseball pitchers could be prevented with 3-D motion detection system [ Back to EurekAlert! ] Public release date: 23-Apr-2013
[ | E-mail | Share Share ]

Contact: Jim Ritter
jritter@lumc.edu
708-216-2445
Loyola University Health System

MAYWOOD, Ill. -- A new 3-D motion detection system could help identify baseball pitchers who are at risk for shoulder injuries, according to a new study.

The system can be used on the field, and requires only a laptop computer. Other systems that evaluate pitchers' throwing motions require cameras and other equipment and generally are confined to indoor use.

Loyola University Medical Center sports medicine surgeon Pietro Tonino, MD, is a co-author of the study, published in the journal Musculoskeletal Surgery.

In a well-rested pitcher, the humerus (upper arm bone) and the scapula (shoulder blade) move in concert when one bone moves, the other moves with it. This is called the scapulo-humeral rhythm. But after a pitcher has been on the mound for a while, his muscles begin to tire, and the scapulo-humeral rhythm begins to deteriorate. The bones no longer move in synch, and this can lead to shoulder injuries.

Using just the naked eye, it is extremely difficult for a coach to detect subtle changes in a pitcher's scapulo-humeral rhythm. But such changes can be easily detected with a portable tracking system called the Xbus Kit. Sensing units are positioned on the pitcher's scapula, humerus, forearm and sternum, and information is gathered from 3D gyroscopes, 3D magnetometers and 3D accelerometers.

Researchers enrolled 13 Chicago-area college pitchers in the study. For each pitcher, the system tracked the scapulo-humeral rhythm three times: Before pitching, after throwing 60 pitches and 24 hours after a pitching session.

Results:

  • Only 2 pitchers (15.5 percent) showed similar measurement at all three sessions.
  • Five pitchers (38.5 percent) showed deterioration in the scapulo-humeral rhythm after pitching, but the rhythm was completely restored at 24 hours.
  • Three pitchers (23 percent) showed deterioration after pitching. After 24 hours rest, their scapulo-humeral rhythm was improved, but still not completely restored.
  • Three pitchers (23 percent) showed deterioration in the scapulo-humeral rhythm after pitching, and the deterioration persisted even after 24 hours. This group appears to be the most at risk for shoulder injuries, Tonino said.

The study demonstrates the feasibility of using the portable tracking system to identify college-age pitchers who are at risk for shoulder injuries. To prevent such injuries, Tonino said at-risk pitchers could undergo strengthening exercises and physical therapy.

Tonino has surgically repaired thousands of shoulder injuries. But even the most successful surgery and rehabilitation cannot completely restore a shoulder to the full function the player had before the injury. Therefore, the best strategy is to prevent injuries, and the motion tracking system can help in that effort, Tonino said.

Tonino and colleagues next plan to test the tracking system on Little League pitchers.

Tonino is Loyola's Program Director of Sports Medicine. He is a professor in the Department of Orthopaedic Surgery and Rehabilitation at Loyola University Chicago Stritch School of Medicine.

###

Co-authors of the study are A. Pellegrini, (first author); P. Paladini and G. Porcellini of Cervesi Hospital in Cattolica, Italy; F. Ceccarelli of the University of Parma in Parma, Italy; and A. Cutti of Vigorso di Budrio in Bologna, Italy. None of the authors report conflicts of interest in the study.

The study is titled "Motion analysis assessment of alterations in the scapulo-humeral rhythm after throwing in baseball pitchers."


[ Back to EurekAlert! ] [ | E-mail | Share Share ]

?


AAAS and EurekAlert! are not responsible for the accuracy of news releases posted to EurekAlert! by contributing institutions or for the use of any information through the EurekAlert! system.


Source: http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2013-04/luhs-sii042313.php

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