#perhaps that baseball was a worthy investment after all | Explore Tumblr posts and blogs

weekegg2-blog · 5 years ago

Text

Choose Your Own Adventure, Bryce Harper edition

Remember when you were a kid and loved reading those "Choose Your Own Adventure" stories? Well, baseball fans, we have a real treat for you -- a Bryce Harper Choose Your Own Adventure story. Here's how it works:

Start reading below. As you'll see in the very first line, you are the protagonist. Control the narrative by channeling your inner Bryce.

Whenever you see a fork in the road, make a choice and click on it.

When you reach the end (i.e. no more choices), live happily ever after with your decision. Or don't -- part of the fun of the CYOA genre is going back and exploring all the other endings.

You're Bryce Harper.

You have perfect hair. You have a powerful arm and an even more powerful bat. You have one Most Valuable Player award already in your possession, and you wouldn't mind another. But what you're really after is a ring.

There has been speculation about Atlanta pursuing Harper. It makes sense, but it's just not how the organization does business.

Bryce? Manny? Both? ... Or steer clear. We examine how every team in baseball should approach a historic pair of free agents.

From the free agents set to cash in to the big-name stars sure to come up in trade rumors all winter long, keep up with all of the latest action.

2 Related

It's the one thing that has managed to elude you during your seven years in the nation's capital. Well, that and a playoff series win. And a manager that lasts more than two seasons. And a passionate fan base that cares about baseball -- like, really cares. Sure, you were flattered when the Nationals drafted you with the first overall pick back in 2010. But Washington wasn't exactly a sexy franchise, and you love sexy franchises. Always have.

You'd be lying if you said you hadn't allowed yourself to envision playing in a different uniform next season, but in your mind, you kept coming back to the Nats. After all, you made your big league debut with them. You've spent your entire adult life wearing red and white. The fans in D.C. adore you, and despite the team's massively disappointing performance this season, the future is pretty darned bright -- especially if you stick around.

But now you're no longer under contract. A few days after the World Series ended, you officially became a non-member of the Nats. You are a free agent. Finally.

So where will you sign?

Click below to:

Safety squeeze | Swing away

Brad Mills-USA TODAY Sports

YOU'RE (STILL) A NAT!

It was a weird season in D.C. Except for you, almost every key player on the team was hurt at one point or another. Your new manager, Davey Martinez, brought real live camels into spring training to help put the Nationals over the playoff hump (get it?), but it didn't work. You guys didn't win a playoff series, or even make the playoffs. Your Nats, expected to contend for a World Series title with largely the same squad that averaged 96 wins the previous two years, were far and away the biggest disappointment in baseball. Still, the window remains wide open in Washington.

Staff ace Max Scherzer has three more years left on his contract, and Stephen Strasburg has five more. Shortstop Trea Turner, a fellow 25-year-old who's one of your best buddies, should be around for at least a few more seasons. Rookie Juan Soto is a beast, and an outfield that features him, top prospect Victor Robles and you does have a nice ring to it.

Speaking of rings, the fact that you haven't been able to deliver one to the District yet bothers you. And while that matters, it doesn't matter quite as much as this: The Nationals are the only team you've ever known. You have a strong relationship with GM Mike Rizzo, who has been there since day one, a steadying presence as the team has churned through manager after manager. You've spent the past seven years patrolling the outfield at Nationals Park and you know the contours of the right-field corner almost as well as you know your high school sweetheart (who, by the way, you married while you were a member of the Nationals). There's even a field named after you in nearby Takoma Park, a symbol of just how much you've meant to the city.

"This is my second home," you said at the ribbon-cutting ceremony in May. A couple of months later, in the midst of a horrible first-half slump, you electrified the hometown fans when you staged an epic comeback to win the Home Run Derby in your own park. You had it all working that night. The stars-and-stripes arm sleeve. The D.C. flag bandanna. The unwavering and full-throated support of a sellout crowd filled with fans from in and around the D.C.-Maryland-Virginia area. It was a crazy night, one that reminded Washingtonians just how much you mean to them. Perhaps more important, it was a reminder of how much the city means to you.

All that said, baseball is a business. You have the potential to sign a record-setting contract. You are represented by superagent Scott Boras. In other words, you're not about to hand out a hometown discount. That's why you reportedly said thanks but no thanks to the 10-year, $300 million deal Washington reportedly offered you at the end of September. In fact, you might be headed for a hometown markup.

True, someone might be willing to pay a little more for your services depending on positional need and/or payroll flexibility. But the Nationals are the only club with any emotional equity invested in you, and they've got lots of it. Much like parents who think their child is the greatest, Washington's opinion of you -- the face of the franchise -- is likely to be inflated relative to other teams. If you don't believe it, just check out that bloated $161 million deal Chris Davis received from the Orioles a few years back. And that was in a market where, by the looks of things, there weren't a whole lot of teams courting him. For you, things should be different. Much different.

By signing with the Nats, it seems you can have it all. The comfort level. The chance to win. And, of course, the money. Boras has probably already told you that you might have to be OK with deferring some of that dough, just as Scherzer and Strasburg (he reps them too) did in their contracts. The Nats already have $117 million committed toward next season, and that's without addressing needs at catcher, first base, second base and on the mound.

But assuming you don't mind a little delayed financial gratification, there's no place like home.

Start over »

Mark Goldman/Icon Sportswire

YOU'RE LEAVING THE NATS!

You've had it with the Nationals. It's not that you didn't have a nice run in the District -- there were plenty of good times. It's just that, well, seven years is a long time.

In fact, it's more than a quarter of your life. You were a kid when they drafted you, and now you're a man. It's high time to spread your wings and see what life is like outside the cocoon.

Click below to:

Stay in the (comfort) zone | Go oppo

Geoff Burke-USA TODAY Sports

YOU'RE HEADING TO A NEW NL TEAM!

Much like the family that sells its house only to move into another house right around the corner (it's all about the school district, baby), you're not ready to venture too far afield.

As such, you've ruled out a move to the American League and are focused only on Senior Circuit suitors.

Click below to:

Go for the glitz | Go for the gang | Go for the green

AP Photo/Pablo Martinez Monsivais

YOU'RE A DODGER!

La-La Land, here you come. The Dodgers don't wear pinstripes, but it's pretty much your dream scenario. Because you're all about the sexy franchises. Always have been.

A couple of years ago, you walked into the clubhouse on the first day of spring training wearing a Dallas Cowboys cap, a gutsy move for a guy who's the face of a franchise headquartered in Redskins country. But you didn't care. After all, the Cowboys are America's Team.

When LeBron James signed with the Los Angeles Lakers in July, you wore an orange Lakers cap to the ballpark the very next day. Growing up in Vegas, the Lake Show was about the closest thing you had to a local NBA squad. Of course, it didn't hurt that L.A. is where Magic and Kareem and Worthy played, where Shaq and Kobe did their thing, where "Showtime" was born.

Of course, L.A. is also home to the Dodgers, one of the most storied franchises in all of pro sports. They're also one of the richest: Every season from 2013 through 2017, Los Angeles -- bankrolled by Magic Johnson and Guggenheim Partners -- had the highest payroll in the majors. That includes 2015, when the Dodgers' $301 million payroll was nearly $80 million more than the next-closest club. They scaled things back a bit last season, checking in with the league's third-highest number ($196 million), but that doesn't alarm you. In fact, it intrigues you, because odds are the increased thriftiness had everything to do with getting under the luxury tax threshold so the team could spend freely this offseason -- on you.

You're flattered the Dodgers put in a waiver claim on you back in August. It showed they wanted you. After all, most teams would have been scared off by having to pay a portion of the $21.6 million you were earning last season. That same gesture also proves that despite a crowded outfield picture, they'd have no problem making room for you. Maybe they trade Yasiel Puig to open up right field. Maybe they sell high-ish on Matt Kemp. Maybe both. You don't really care. Because regardless of whom the Dodgers unload, they'll still be loaded.

The squad that's won the NL West in each of the past six seasons still has Justin Turner. It still has Cody Bellinger and Corey Seager. It still has closer Kenley Jansen and ace Clayton Kershaw. Hell, if you're lucky, L.A. might even be able to re-sign Manny Machado so you can reunite with your old roomie from back when you were both teenagers on Team USA. Not that you need the pot to be any sweeter.

Besides the deep pockets and the deep roster, the Dodgers have one thing money can't buy: location, location, location. (Technically that's three things, but you get the point.) Chavez Ravine is practically around the corner from your old stomping ground in Las Vegas, meaning you'll get to see your pops that much more. And your homies. And your beloved Golden Knights. And on days when the MLB and NHL calendars don't align for you, the Lakers aren't a bad Plan B. Heck, there's a sporting chance you can even roll with Magic and hang in the owner's box.

While you're at Staples Center, you can chat with LeBron James, who, like yourself, seems to have a knack for the whole athlete/actor thing. It's just one more reason he took his talents to Tinseltown.

And why you just did the same.

Start over »

Brad Mills/USA Today Sports

YOU'RE A CUB!

Last year in D.C., while the Cubs were in town, you posed for a pic. Left to right, it was your old pal Kris Bryant, his wife Jessica, your wife Kayla, and of course you. Then you posted it on Instagram, along with a caption that read, "Just two Vegas boys living our dream with the ones we love! This is what it's all about. What a time to be alive." No big deal, really. Except for the hashtag you decided to drop: #Back2BackOneDay.

The whole superfriends model of roster construction hasn't hit MLB yet, not like in the NBA, where all the best players would rather play with one another than against (see: Warriors, Golden State). But you don't mind starting a trend -- you've always been good at that.

You and KB (if he doesn't get traded), Anthony Rizzo and Javier Baez and Kyle Schwarber. A bunch of fun-loving 20-somethings, all under one roof. You'll be the National League version of the Houston Astros.

On the one hand, it doesn't seem the Cubs could possibly give you the gobs of green you're looking for. Not with almost $165 million in payroll already committed for next season. Not with Jason Heyward's fat contract on the books for another five seasons. Not if they want to keep superstars like Bryant and Rizzo in the Windy City long-term.

Still, when it comes to spending, the Cubs might not yet be in the same league as the Yankees and Dodgers, but ever since the Ricketts family took ownership almost a decade ago, it sure has seemed like they're headed in that direction. With a wildly popular team and a rabid fan base and a new TV deal on the horizon, the money seems to be there.

The only question is: Where exactly will you play? With Heyward in right field, Albert Almora in center and Schwarber in left -- not to mention Ian Happ backing up all three spots -- there isn't a whole lot of room in Wrigleyville for you. And it's not like you can DH, either. But that's not your problem. When you land in Chicago, GM Theo Epstein will find a way to create space for you. And once he does, Joe Maddon will find a spot for you in the lineup.

With any luck, you'll be hitting right behind your old homeboy Bryant. Back-to-back.

Start over »

Gavin Baker/Icon Sportswire

YOU'RE A PHILLIE!

This one's all about the Benjamins.

Sure, the long-range forecast is sunny. Led by Rhys Hoskins and Aaron Nola, the Phillies have a solid core of young talent that has made the team playoff-relevant, and well ahead of schedule. And you like a W just as much as the next guy. That said, Philadelphia is even farther away from your hometown of Las Vegas than D.C. is. Beyond that, it's a town that, when it comes to sports teams, is decidedly unsexy, a city known for its gritty, blue-collar edge. It's the kind of place a guy like Mike Trout -- a low-profile, no-nonsense kind of dude who was born and raised in nearby Millville, New Jersey -- belongs. You? Not so much.

Remember that slump you went through in the first half of last season? If and when that happens in the City of Brotherly Love, you'll get pummeled by the unforgiving fans there. Kind of like how the fans in NYC abused Giancarlo Stanton after he got off to a rough start.

But that's OK. Because for you, the move to Philly is a bottom-line move. It's a move that feeds your ego. Although you've never come out and said it, you love the idea of one-upping Stanton and setting a record for the richest contract ever. And the Phillies are the team that gives you the best chance to do that.

Aside from Jake Arrieta and Carlos Santana, the Phils don't have any high-priced, long-term contracts. They have only $69 million committed to next season's payroll. Of all the clubs on your radar, they have by far the most financial flexibility, enough that they could probably sign you and Manny and still have some spending money left over. In other words, you can pretty much name your price, to the extent that GM Matt Klentak is interested in procuring your services. And why wouldn't he be?

Nick Williams is fine in right field, but he's not you. Even if Klentak wants to hold on to Williams, the Phils could slide him over to left and move Hoskins back to first once Santana's contract expires.

You don't really care about that. All you care about is the Benjamins. And the city where Benjamin Franklin made his name is where you'll make your fortune.

That's why you chose Philly.

Start over »

Rob Tringali/SportsChrome/Getty Images

YOU'RE A YANKEE!

You've decided to lend the Junior Circuit your services. Although the Angels make a little bit of sense on account of the whole L.A. thing, really there's only one option in your mind.

You grew up worshipping the Yankees because your dad worshipped them. And because, well, they're the Yankees. Mickey Mantle was your idol. You loved him so much, your Twitter handle, @Bharper3407, is a combination of his number and your number. As for your number, you're aware of the conspiracy theory. The one that says the reason you chose to wear 34 in Washington is that you knew if you ever ended up wearing pinstripes, 7 wouldn't be an option. So you chose a number whose digits add up to seven, knowing full well you could take 34 with you to the Bronx should the situation present itself.

If you're being technical about it, following in the Mick's footsteps means playing center field. But you're not really a center fielder. Yes, that's where you spent most of your time as a rookie, but that was mostly because the Nationals already had Jayson Werth entrenched in right.

Ultimately, though, Werth moved to the opposite corner and bequeathed right field to you. You like playing there. It allows you to show off that ridiculous hose of yours in a way the other outfield spots don't, what with those long throws to third base. Even when you don't get the chance to let it rip because the runner knows better than to try to go first to third on you, which happens all the time, it makes you feel mighty and respected.

Whether or not you care to admit it, you weren't your usual defensive self this year. You were a little less aggressive, especially in the vicinity of the warning track, as if you were afraid of getting dinged up in your walk year. Maybe it was a conscious choice, maybe not. You also seemed a little distracted out there from time to time, a little less engaged than usual. Maybe that was the walk year talking too. Or maybe that first-half slump got in your head and made it hard for you to leave your ABs in the dugout.

Regardless of what went down on D last season, you're a good right fielder and you know it. Maybe not as good as some folks think, but certainly good enough to play right field for the New York Yankees. Problem is, so is Aaron Judge.

Could Judge slide over to center to make room for you? Probably. After all, he's a pretty sick athlete who's remarkably coordinated for his size. But that size -- 6-foot-7 and 280 pounds -- sounds less like a center fielder and more like just a plain old center. As in a basketball center. Or a football center. Take your pick.

So maybe Judge pulls a Jayson Werth and moves over to left field for you, where there's a hole created by the redeployment of Brett Gardner, whose $12.5 million team option was declined by the club and who instead will earn $7.5 million next season, which sounds a little less like starting outfielder money. Alternatively ... the Yanks could leave Judge in right and put you in center.

Oh, don't act like that doesn't intrigue you. It intrigues everyone who watched you start 50-something games in center field for the Nationals last season. Sure, Washington was struggling to score early on and it was a creative way to get three strong bats (yours, Juan Soto's and Adam Eaton's) into the lineup at the same time. That said, the move was eerily reminiscent of when Orioles slugger Davis -- a first baseman by trade and a fellow Boras client -- suddenly started playing a bunch of right field during his contract year.

And let's not forget about first base. You've never played the position before, but that didn't stop you from taking grounders there in early July, before a game against ... the Yankees. Coincidence? Maybe. But if you're looking to plant a seed in the collective mind of a front office whose team doesn't necessarily have a long-term solution at first base (Greg Bird? Luke Voit?), there are far worse ways.

Speaking of planting seeds: In June, a couple of weeks before your impromptu first-base showcase, you showed up to Nats Park clean-shaven for the first time in forever. That trademark beard of yours? Gone. Then you went out and took early batting practice prior to the series opener ... against the Yankees ... who don't allow facial hair.

If someone who was watching you didn't know any better, they might think you'd already made your choice then.

Start over »

So what will actually happen? Maybe Harper ends up signing with a dark horse like the Giants or Rangers or Padres. Maybe he decides to play in Japan. Maybe he pulls a Colby Rasmus and decides to walk away from baseball altogether. Nobody knows for sure, but it'll certainly be fun sitting by the hot stove this winter and seeing which adventure Bryce Harper chooses.

Source: http://www.espn.com/mlb/story/_/id/24674023/choose-your-own-adventure-bryce-harper-edition

0 notes

thebestintoronto · 4 years ago

Text

WEEKEND GETAWAY GUIDE: TORONTO

I know what you're assuming. And the answer is YES Toronto can be a weekend break escape for Angelenos. If I can do it, you can do it, and thus you definitely should. I just spent 3 lovely days in "The Six" (which ends up only 7% of people that live there really refer to it as), and also divine maple fallen leave was there so much to check out, experience, as well as most notably-- consume.

Thanks to the magnificent Fairmont Royal York hotel, a 90-year-old Toronto prize, this was not only my very first browse through to Canada's biggest city, yet it was likewise my first real browse through to Canada! (I don't truly count docking in Vancouver from a cruise ship and also taking a bus to the flight terminal "seeing" Canada.) I thought of Toronto as a huge city, yet not nearly as big as it really was. It was quickly on the same level with the similarity New York City or perhaps Mexico City. However besides it's stretching "large city" landscape, what truly attracts attention about Toronto is its extraordinary modern diversity. This is one city you will never ever be tired in, and also if you, like me, are game for that "large city" life, Toronto will undoubtedly amaze and also thrill you. So, with every one of that said, below are a few of my personal ideas for your next trip:

REALITIES.

First things initially: fun and also fascinating information. Why? Due to the fact that I feel like to the majority of us, maybe Toronto is just one more huge city, yet factually it's a great deal a lot more unique than you could give it credit scores for! Let's discover some points:

Toronto is home to over 8,000 dining establishments and also bars, making up for 6.5% of the city's services

Toronto invites over 40 million visitors yearly

There are 301 quantifiable days of sunshine (yet the record low temp is -24 levels F).

Toronto is residence to 7 major league sporting activities (one of the most in the nation).

Yonge St (you'll understand it) is the longest road worldwide.

Around 25% of Hollywood motion pictures are shot in Toronto.

There are around 160 completed high-rise buildings in Toronto, with 112 under construction.

STAY.

As soon as you've been totally sold on those fun realities as well as you've gone ahead as well as scheduled your flights, the following obvious action is lodgings. And the only location I am going to advise you stay at, for lots of reasons, is the Fairmont Royal York. Below's why:.

I am constantly trying to find resorts that are special and really seem to embody the city's "significance" (I sort of hate that I just utilized that word however it's so exact wherefore I mean) and also the Fairmont Royal York is exceptionally unique and essential to the city's background, as well as believe me you feel it the minute you pull up and also stroll inside.

She may have simply turned 90, yet she's a classic dame. The resort has been undergoing significant (and also majorly costly) improvements yet the outcome seems to have made it all well worth the while. The brand as well as developers genuinely paid regard to the hotel's history but made the essential updates to maintain guests comfy. It has actually been an attractive change.

The resort's front runner dining establishment REGIME-- a contemporary Canadain brassiere with a conventional French touch-- is definitely superb. The room is lovely, moody, and the food is beyond. So beyond, actually, we consumed there 3 times in 3 days.

The cocktails at Clockwork (the major entrance hall bar) are hands down, no joke, a few of the most effective cocktails I've ever had. When you visit ensure you get a "Meet Me At the Clock" (Hendrick's Gin, Veuve Clicquot Champagne, Lemon, Absinthe, Bitters, Frosé Ice) or a "Clearheaded Harvey" (Absolut Elyx Vodka, Galliano, Clarified Orange Juice, Citric Acid) and also thank me later. And in addition to that bar is just one of the most effective hotel bars I can state I've ever been to. (Ok moving on, prior to I apparently attempt to move in.).

It is centrally located and also within strolling distance of so much, like the CN Tower, Rogers Centre (where the Toronto Blue Jays play), Scotiabank Sector (where the Raptors play), or enjoyable parts of community like Queen St.

While Fairmont resorts are already the embodiment of deluxe to me, the Fairmont Royal York takes it to the next level with their lately redesigned Fairmont Gold offerings which include gorgeous new suites, a whole separate check-in, and also a stunningly stunning personal lounge where visitors can enjoy dishes, canapes, and also a totally equipped honor bar. The focus to detail in the Gold spaces was merely unforgettable, something you are worthy of to see to think hunny.

The Queen remains right here when she remains in town, require I say more.

DO.

This might come as a shock yet there's a great deal to experience in Toronto. Whether you're the foodie, luxury, artsy, stylish, or daring type, there really is something for everyone here. Here's what to think about:.

NIAGRA-ON-THE-LAKE.

My absolute FAVORITE activity from this past journey was seeing an area nearby called Niagra-on-the-Lake, which is essentially Canadian white wine country. You can get there by tiny plane (which is something the Fairmont Royal York will assist establish if you're remaining in a Fairmont Gold Room) or you can arrive by automobile, regardless, I can not advise this place enough. In between the beautiful wineries, the lovable as well as charming midtown, and all of the tasty red wine your heart can manage, I currently can't wait to find back below.

GO TO QUEEN WEST.

The first thing we did after signing in to our spectacular resort was walk down to the beloved area on Queen St. This location I would certainly refer to as "Silverlake East" due to the fact that it reminded me of the location around Sunset Joint. Lots of younger individuals were walking, there are actually great local restaurants and also bars, and also it's house to perhaps the best shopping around. You could invest an entire afternoon discovering this area and I highly suggest that you do.

CHECK OUT KENSINGTON MARKET.

An additional prominent, eclectic, and beloved part of community is Kensington Market. Known for it's more bohemian as well as vivid ambiance, you'll find plenty of great coffeehouse, classic shops, red wine bars, and a wide variety of dining establishments to appreciate.

CN TOWER.

The CN Tower essentially the crown gem of the city. Up until 2007, it was the tallest tower on the planet! In spite of it being fairly the normal vacationer location, mosting likely to the leading to experience those incredible views is entirely worth it. I really did not recognize how extensive Toronto was till I obtained all the way up there. If you're brave you can also partake in what is called the "Edge Walk", where you basically lean off the side of the top of the tower in a harness. Me? No many thanks. However hey, it's a point and individuals love it!

SPORTS!

As previously stated Toronto is residence to 7 different specialist sporting activities groups, so at any offered point during the year there need to be a video game of some kind taking place. I would suggest going to a Toronto Blue Jays video game, but that's primarily because I enjoy baseball and I've constantly wished to see that retractable roof at the arena IRL.

ST. LAWRENCE MARKET.

Regretfully I didn't reach look into the St. Lawrence Market myself however I am told this location is comparable to our own Grand Central Market here in LA, so assume farmers market vibes with food delays galore and also everything in between. This market was developed in 1803 so it deserves having a look back in time alone!

TRINITY BELLWOODS PARK.

That doesn't like a great park, specifically one in Canada? Trinity Bellwoods Park is centrally located, supplies all the perfect park offerings (views, trees, open spaces to partake in leisure tasks) and also is a tourist and also local favorite alike.

THE DISTILLERY DISTRICT.

Everybody informed me I would enjoy the Distillery Area as well as by the sounds of it, they struck the nail on the head. The Distillery Area was aptly called such because of the truth that the area was as soon as residence to the biggest distillery worldwide, however today is house to several of the city's finest clubs, some wonderful shopping, and also some absolutely lovely as well as special landscapes with its old Victorian aesthetic.

EAT & DRINK.

I'll be truthful, I am planning an entire journey back to Toronto SIMPLY to wine and dine. Due to their insanely varied area, the food scene in Toronto is exceptionally rich (remember there are over 8,000 dining establishments and also bars ?!). I ate quite a bit at the Fairmont Royal York, which I once more VERY recommend, but beyond that I am not mosting likely to make believe like I recognize what I am talking about in terms of the Toronto foodie scene, SO, alas for this part I defer to the experts:.

The post “ WEEKEND GETAWAY GUIDE: TORONTO “ was published first on Love & Loathing

Intravenous Hydration Clinic Toronto Ontario - Dr. Amauri Wellness Centre - Dr. Amauri Caversan, ND

0 notes

bigyack-com · 5 years ago

Text

DealBook: How Did Carlos Ghosn Flee Japan?

… and we’re back! Welcome to 2020 — we’re looking forward to a big year ahead. If you like this email, please share it with your friends and colleagues. And if you have news tips, send them to us. Now, on with the show.

Carlos Ghosn’s escape committee

The former head of Nissan and Renault managed to evade 24-hour surveillance in Tokyo and spirit himself out of Japan to Lebanon. How he did it increasingly sounds like a movie-level caper.Associates planned the heist for months, the FT reports, citing unnamed sources. They hired private security operatives who worked in multiple countries.Mr. Ghosn made it onto a private plane bound for Turkey and arrived in Lebanon early Monday, the WSJ adds. (A Lebanese news media outlet claimed that he had hidden in a box meant for musical equipment; the world’s tabloids, perhaps with an eye on that movie version, reckon it must have been a double bass case.) He entered Lebanon on a French passport.His Japanese legal team was blindsided. He’d supposedly handed over all of his travel documents. “I want to ask him, ‘How could you do this to us?’” his lawyer, Junichiro Hironaka, told reporters.It’s unclear whether Lebanon helped. The government there recently asked Japan to send Mr. Ghosn for trial in Beirut on corruption charges. But an official denied any involvement in his escape.What’s clear is that Mr. Ghosn has scores to settle. His statements have denounced “injustice and political persecution” in Japan’s legal system. He may also take aim at Nissan, where he accuses officials of plotting against him, and at the French government, for not doing more to help him.____________________________Today’s DealBook Briefing was written by Andrew Ross Sorkin and Michael J. de la Merced.____________________________

Tempering hopes for the markets in 2020

Last year was a phenomenal one for nearly every kind of investment: stocks, bonds, gold and more. But there’s reason to think this year won’t be as good.How good was 2019? The S&P 500 rose nearly 29 percent. High-quality American corporate bonds were up 14 percent. Even futures prices for hogs jumped 17 percent. “Rarely in my career has everything worked simultaneously,” Mark Vaselkiv, the chief investment officer for fixed income at T. Rowe Price, told the NYT.But those outsized gains were mostly thanks to the Fed and its unexpected reversal on interest rates. And the central bank has signaled that it’s probably done cutting rates for now.That doesn’t mean Wall Street expects bad things. Bank of America sees the S&P 500 rising about 2.2 percent, while Goldman Sachs — which has declared the economy nearly recession-proof — hopes for a little more.It’s also worth remembering who’ll be left out. Nearly half of Americans don’t own stocks, Thomas Heath of the WaPo points out. Rising student debt and stagnant wages have left many with less money to invest.

The case against C.E.O. activism

Corporate bosses like Walmart’s Doug McMillon and Salesforce’s Marc Benioff have increasingly taken explicit political stands, breaking a longtime rule. The Economist predicts a backlash this year:• Outspoken companies open themselves to charges of hypocrisy, it says. Take Nike, which has pushed virtuous branding but has also “been embroiled in a doping scandal.”• “If there is a recession, C.E.O. activists will struggle to reconcile the interests of employees and their fiduciary duty to shareholders.”• “C.E.O.s hope that by adopting social and political causes they will defuse more radical sentiments. Dream on.”Warren Buffett agrees. Companies shouldn’t impose their beliefs about what’s best for the world on their investors, he told the FT, since “this is the shareholders’ money.”

And the case for C.E.O. generosity

Andrew writes in his most recent column that corporate leaders should be lauded for giving to worthy causes — but pushed to do better at their companies, too.• “Do you know who goes to the food banks that so many support? It is not just the homeless and unemployed. It is, many times, the people we all work with.”• “When you go back to work after the holidays, ask your human resources department what the lowest pay is for any employee at the company. And, just as important, what is the lowest pay for any outside contractor that your company uses?”• “When it comes to giving, the goal shouldn’t be to simply donate more money, as laudable as that is. The aim should be to create a society where we don’t need places like food banks in the first place.”

In case you missed it

• Boeing fired its C.E.O., Dennis Muilenburg, as it struggles to get the 737 Max airborne again.• Travis Kalanick quit Uber’s board, ending all ties to the ride-hailing giant that he once personified.• The F.B.I. is reportedly investigating Ghislaine Maxwell, a top associate of the deceased financier Jeffrey Epstein, and others on suspicion of facilitating sexual abuse.• How corporate lobbyists won big tax breaks from the Trump administration.

How David Stern remade U.S. sports

The former N.B.A. commissioner, who died yesterday at age 77, led the basketball league for 30 years, helping transform American professional sports.His focus on worldwide marketing and expansion meant that “N.B.A. stars were the first from North America to achieve global renown like their soccer counterparts, with the biggest becoming household names even in the remotest regions of the world,” according to Marc Stein of the NYT.“Instead of trying to snuff out the rising power of players — an approach that had cost baseball and football hundreds of millions of dollars and huge chunks of seasons — Stern figured out how to embrace the change and capitalize on it,” Matthew Futterman of the NYT writes.Andrew has his own memories of Mr. Stern: “#DavidStern helped launch my career at 15 years old when he agreed to an interview and he never let me forget it!” he tweeted. “The world lost somebody special today.”

Are job auditions out of control?

The days of getting hired on the basis of a résumé and a few interviews are gone. Job applicants face ever more hoops to jump through, Maridel Reyes of the New York Post writes:“Interviewers are increasingly making absurd demands on applicants’ time, assigning intensive take-home work to demonstrate skills and show how they’d approach the role for which they’re interviewing,” Ms. Reyes writes.It often seems that applicants are working for free. Nicole, a strategist in New York, said she had been asked for an entire year’s marketing plan — and was then passed over in favor of an intern at the company. “I was furious that I’d essentially consulted for them,” she told The Post.Here’s what to do if you’re asked to audition, according to Ms. Reyes: Know what’s normal, do your homework on the potential employer and negotiate the terms of the process.

The speed read

Deals• Last year was the fourth-best on record for global M.&A., thanks to American corporate buyers. (FT)• A group led by Tencent of China agreed to buy 10 percent of Universal Music Group, whose stars include Drake and Billie Eilish, at a nearly $34 billion valuation. (Business Insider)• Warren Buffett declined to buy Tiffany & Company, paving the way for the jeweler’s deal to sell itself to LVMH. (FT)• Hospital chain mergers were meant to improve quality of care. A new study suggests that they haven’t. (WSJ)Politics and policy• President Trump said he planned to sign a “phase one” trade deal with China on Jan. 15. (NYT)• The F.D.A. plans to announce a ban on most flavored e-cigarettes as soon as this week. (NYT)• A California law that extends legal protections for freelancers like Uber drivers went into effect yesterday. Some workers fear that it will hurt them. (NYT)• Senator Bernie Sanders disclosed that he had raised more than $34.5 million in the fourth quarter, surpassing his Democratic presidential rivals. (NYT)Tech• Apple, Microsoft, Alphabet and Amazon now have a combined market value of about $4 trillion. (Quartz)• Google said it would stop using an Ireland-based loophole that saved it hundreds of billions of dollars in taxes. (FT)• An A.I. system from Google is often better at finding breast cancer on mammograms than radiologists are, a study has found. (NYT)• In South Korea, the 5G wireless future is here, but is often a bit disappointing. (WSJ)Best of the rest• In Germany, electric cars are an economic threat. (NYT)• That said, here are the models to watch this year. (NYT)• Companies are increasingly forcing workers to train their foreign replacements. (Axios)• Insomnia could cost you your job. (Yahoo Money)Thanks for reading! We’ll see you tomorrow.We’d love your feedback. Please email thoughts and suggestions to [email protected]. Read the full article

0 notes

trendtshirtnewposts · 5 years ago

Text

Baby Yoda Mask Realtors Survived Covid 19 2020 Shirt

Baby Yoda Mask Realtors Survived Covid 19 2020 Shirt T shirts Store Online

Baby Yoda Mask Realtors Survived Covid 19 2020 Shirt

Every day men and women start a new pastime merely to discover them discard it in just a week. Are you presently somebody who can never stay with a pastime for days on end? Or maybe you are merely seeking various ideas that will kindle your creative thinking about new pastimes. No matter what the situation, the article under has lots of great interest ideas that you can stick to.

In case you are comparatively excellent with indoors plants and flowers, you should think about exterior garden being a hobby. The abilities are very related, but you ve received any additional challenge of getting to consider temperature ranges, levels of sunshine, as well as the particular garden soil which you have around the home. It s these additional layers that give this interest plenty of degree.

An unusual nevertheless fun interest to obtain is karaoke. Some people like going out to karaoke night clubs a couple of times weekly due to the fact it could be actually entertaining. You might get it done to show off your voice, or you might practice it just to humiliate the ones that you re with. In either case it s enjoyable.

If baseball will be your interest, then make a true pastime all around your interest with all the online game. You can do this without having possibly setting ft . around the area by actively playing fantasy football. Accumulate a small group of close friends, pick your groups and keep track of their shows during the entire period.

An enjoyable activity to have is usually to start putting up your personal video tutorials on youtube. Many individuals submit up their particular video lessons online, either for cash, satisfaction, or both. You don t must be a video skilled to be able to undertake it. You simply need a webcam or cell phone.

One particular pastime that is certainly gaining in popularity is knitting. Young people are understanding that producing their very own sweaters, scarves and afghans is certainly a rewarding interest. This hobby might be figured out by obtaining a how-to reserve or joining a knitting club in your community. Get started with a fairly easy layout and after that division out into more challenging jobs.

If you are in good physical shape, or only want to be, a sport makes a excellent pastime. Give soccer, operating, soccer, golfing and also other sports activities a test and see what you like very best. Because you didn t enjoy it as a kid doesn t suggest you will not want it now.

Seashell collecting is an excellent activity that can present you with fond recollections of sea side holidays. Seashells might be educative for youngsters and also are excellent decorative accents for that home.

This informative article should have uncovered that you have reasons for having interests that are not well known. To have the most out you hobbies, there are actually things you should know about. Use the recommendations from your write-up to assist you obtain a new respect in the direction of your favorite hobby.

Go shopping Very best TOPS models from a large number of music artists all over the world Baby Yoda Mask Realtors Survived Covid 19 2020 Shirt. Men and women like shopping on the internet for a number of factors, but assortment, rates and comfort are likely some of the major kinds. The theory way to ideal your online store shopping expertise is to educate yourself a bit about the subject before beginning. This content that practices is stuffed with superb advice to acquire issues began. Read through consumer testimonies before you buy anything. People are very happy to whine about poor support on the internet, so try to find sites and testimonials which are dreadful so that you know what you’re getting into. You need to consider terrible testimonials by using a grain of sea salt, but if you find many, you already know there exists a dilemma. If you are planning to become doing a bit of online shopping, be sure you comprehend the responsibility for every single bank card you use on the web. Several bank cards have automatic fraud avoidance internal while others offer you it for any minimum fee. You do not have to get stuck with purchases created on the credit card in the event the number is thieved. To be able to go shopping similar to a professional on the web, you have to benefit from any discount rates that one could discover that are simply available to people that obtain online. Sign up for publications, day-to-day deals and check for discount coupons before making your buy. Often there will be savings readily available if you make time to try to find them. Keep watch over your account when you shop on the internet, and make sure all charges are on the up-and-up. Though a firm like Amazon . com.com is unquestionably worthy of your have confidence in, they are able to make a few mistakes also. With nearly almost everything entirely programmed, it doesn’t get a lot to get a decimal or absolutely no to incorporate an enormous switch to your get! Discovering these methods was only portion each of your journey. Portion two is putting them to use, obviously. Use the web and start doing all of your buying with the information you should do it a lot more cheaply. Soon enough, you’ll discover that main great deal and get that amazing a sense of success yet again!

Baby Yoda Mask Realtors Survived Covid 19 2020 Shirt, Hoodie, V-Neck, Sweater, Longsleeve, Tank Top, Bella Flowy and Unisex, T-Shirt

Classic Ladies

Hoodie

Unisex

Buy Baby Yoda Mask Realtors Survived Covid 19 2020 Shirt

Shop cool graphic tees selected by a community associated with creative and unique developers Baby Yoda Mask Realtors Survived Covid 19 2020 Shirt. Shopping online is a thing everyone enjoys to complete. It doesn’t matter if you’re old or young, or whether or not you’re a male or perhaps a woman. People love getting issues they love, and revel in discovering deals they need. You should read this article, even though, to make sure you hold the very best shopping on the internet expertise you can. Always see if you can find online coupons by doing a search online. A lot of e-trade websites provide marketing promotions that may be found by seeking. Use a main internet search engine, and set with your store’s title and the word “discount” to find discounts. This is an excellent method you save when shopping online. If you are making any transactions on the web and you must come up with a user profile, by no means use the very same passwords that you use on other websites. Will not make use of your e-mail or financial private data to produce a free account to get shoes or boots from a website shop. When someone managed to see this pass word, they could have access to not only your profile in the retailer’s retail store. Make sure your malicious software software program is current if you’re online shopping. When your computer is infected with something as simple as a keylogger whilst making an internet based obtain, you merely handed a complete stranger your charge card quantity. When your stability software possibly will give you cautions, heed them. Should you plenty of internet shopping, take into account investing in contra --malware software. Most Internet users are deal hunters. While you seek out discount codes and offers, you may accidentally stumble all over a computer virus. Also, if you are searching for an imprecise goods and services, you may be rerouted to a few in question sites also. Your software may help immediate anyone to protection. Purchasing is fun for all, and the Web causes it to be a lot more pleasurable and simple to complete. That’s why you really need to be aware of the particulars of how shopping online operates. Like that, you can find the best bargains and receive the best issues. The details on this page need to aid. A Cheap T shirts Store Online Shopping – Baby Yoda Mask Realtors Survived Covid 19 2020 Shirt Product. A Trend at TrendTshirtNew, we’re about more than t-shirts!

Baby Yoda Mask Realtors Survived Covid 19 2020 Shirt [email protected]

source https://trendtshirtnew.com/product/baby-yoda-mask-realtors-survived-covid-19-2020-shirt/

#TrendTshirtNew #Trend T shirt #New T shirt #Trending T-shirts

0 notes

flauntpage · 6 years ago

Text

Wade LeBlanc Gets a Win for the Journeymen, and the Mariners

Any good team, and in particular any unexpectedly good team, will feature some number of surprising contributors—ostensible gap-fillers who end up becoming integral to the team’s success. The Seattle Mariners, despite the loss of their superstar Robinson Cano in early May, are 23 games above .500, a mere game and a half out of first place in a division that most had preemptively handed to the Astros pre-season. They are perhaps baseball’s most unexpected good team.

The wins in themselves often come in unexpected ways, in the form of one-run victories, comebacks, and leads narrowly held onto. But while the Mariners continue to win by the slimmest of margins, the gap they have built between themselves and the have-nots in the American League continues to grow wider as the season wears on. Lucky though one may think it is, lucky though it appears to be, the Mariners’ success is of large enough scope that it can’t be ignored. The probability of their lengthy playoff drought ending this season is creeping up on 90 percent. Whether or not you believe that the means by which they’ve achieved their standing are in some way fraudulent, the results are certainly real.

And a great deal of the responsibility for these unexpectedly good results rests on the shoulders of a rotation for whom pretty much nobody had high hopes before the season: the spectacular but oft-injured James Paxton, the diminished former superstar Felix Hernandez, the unproven Marco Gonzales, the fine but overly-expensive Mike Leake. After Erasmo Ramirez went down with an injury in early May, Seattle’s ragtag starting five had another uninspiring name incorporated into it: Wade LeBlanc.

LeBlanc, now 34, has been in professional baseball since he was 21, a late first-round pick by the San Diego Padres in 2006. The list of teams he’s played for and transactions he’s been involved in—promoted, demoted, traded, released, outrighted, designated for assignment—is of a length comparable to a Biblical genealogy. Whether as a starter or in relief, he has been a useful but unassuming left-handed soft-tosser, a competent innings-eater and depth piece that some team always needs at some point, but who is never needed in the same place for very long. He has pitched for the Padres, Marlins, Astros, Angels, Yankees, Pirates, and Mariners. He pitched in Japan with the Seibu Saitama Lions for a season, and then he came back. He pitched in Pittsburgh last year; this year, the Mariners signed him just a few days before the season began, when March was almost over.

The one defining trait of LeBlanc’s career, apart from the consistent mid-80s velocity on his fastball, has been his transience—bouncing from minors to majors, team to team, league to league, continent to continent. Over the 13 years that he has been a professional baseball player, his longest stint of consecutive seasons with the same organization was with the Padres, the team that drafted him, where he spent his first six seasons in pro ball. Over those six seasons, LeBlanc had four separate stints in the major leagues, sandwiched between trips on the Triple-A shuttle. He never spent more than a season in the same organization after that.

The overwhelming majority of baseball fans interact with the sport in terms of the team they root for. Players become important to you because of how important they are to your team; you want the best players to come to your team, and you want them to stay. Relegated to the backs of everyone’s collective minds are the filler guys on the 25-man: acquired and exchanged as footnotes in trades with more important headliners, or claimed off waivers, or signed as minor league free agents, here in May and gone by August. They come out of the bullpen in blowouts or off the bench in September, on the shuttle when a starter goes down with an injury, and their names become trivia exercises for fans at the end of the season—wait, that guy played for us? No one really cares when they arrive, and no one really cares when they leave.

That’s the cruel reality of professional sports, the tradeoff for getting to play out your childhood dreams for an audience of millions and an extremely comfortable living. Even having reached the very highest echelon of your chosen profession and sticking there for years, you can be forgettable. You can be successful, and at the same time a failure in motion. Players like LeBlanc are on a level to play against the greatest of all time in Mike Trout and Clayton Kershaw, but not on a level that begets the security of knowing in what city they and their families will be living the next year, or to be considered worthy of an investment on anything more than an as-needed basis. Objectively speaking, they are among the best of the best in the world at this skill. But they’re just not good enough.

Wade LeBlanc, once a first-round draft pick, thought his career was done in 2011, when he was sent down to Triple-A for the eighth time by the Padres. He thought he was done again after the 2014 season, when no major league organization would offer him a job, and after his season in Japan, where he posted a pedestrian at best 4.23 ERA in eight starts. He remained, though, developing a cutter and a new delivery at the behest of a taxi driver, despite the fact that the highest velocity his fastball has averaged over a month at any point in his career was just over 90. And now, on what is probably the best team he’s ever played for, he seems to have figured it out.

As a starter for the Mariners this season, LeBlanc has a 2.89 ERA; his strikeout rate is at a career high, and his walk rate two tenths of a percent off a career low. He’s not really an ace, and at this point, he likely never will be. But he’s been the Mariners’ fourth-best pitcher, behind only Paxton, Gonzales, and Edwin Diaz. He’s been good enough to be worth keeping around.

On Tuesday morning, the Seattle Mariners signed LeBlanc to a $2.75 million extension for 2019, with club options extending to the next three seasons beyond that, the first extension he’s ever signed in his career. And on Tuesday afternoon, LeBlanc made his 12th start of the season. He pitched seven innings of three-hit ball, allowing only one earned run, and the Mariners won their eighth straight game.

Wade LeBlanc Gets a Win for the Journeymen, and the Mariners published first on https://footballhighlightseurope.tumblr.com/

0 notes

amtushinfosolutionspage · 6 years ago

Text

Wade LeBlanc Gets a Win for the Journeymen, and the Mariners

Wade LeBlanc Gets a Win for the Journeymen, and the Mariners syndicated from https://australiahoverboards.wordpress.com

0 notes

megrimlocke · 7 years ago

Text

Manhood, Flags, and Football

Football is a complicated sport. Not in terms of what happens on the field, that part is distressingly dull in my opinion. As a cultural phenomenon however it has so many fascinating interactions with masculine identity and matters of race that it bears consideration.

Let’s hit the masculine identity angle. I know lots of people whose exercise or physical activity pattern could be described as “utterly sedate” or “ recreational in the best of times.” Even in this new era where the fitness craze of the 80s and early aughts is back in force- each of which by the way interacted with masculine identity in its own way- there are yet many who are yet content to subscribe to athleticism by fandom.

Several years ago I was in the bathroom at work and overheard an exchange that gave me great concern for the state of masculinity as a virtue.

“Standing in front of the urinal talking about baseball, how much more manly can you get than that” the young many pondered.

My immediate reaction was “You could spear a boar in the forest, alone and bearing only your spear and your wits. My but we’ve come down a long way in terms of rites of passage.”

But we really have come down further in terms of masculine virtue haven’t we. Somehow athleticism (defined either literally or as a cultural construction whereby one appropriates it by wearing clothing that declares fandom and knowing things about the people who actually do it) and ability to get laid are the celebrated virtues until such time as the more classical ones are needed in an argument.

Consider this kneeling business. I honestly cannot conceive of a more innocuous way to make a political statement. I write letters to Rob Portman more aggressive that this. They are football players. I cannot think of a more celebrated class of athletes. I cannot think of a more clear standard for the modern masculinity than the singing of their praises. They’re both perfectly positioned to make such statements and have chosen a method so tame that the backlash they’re being subjected to is disgusting to me.

I’ve read about a restaurant some 45 minutes north of my hometown where they have decided to boycott the NFL “out of patriotism” and there is a restaurant here in town where if you stand for the anthem and remove your hat, your meal is half-off. If you are a veteran it is free.

I posed to them the question of how this policy would be reconciled if I, a veteran, felt compelled to take a knee myself. I’m still waiting for an answer.

Again, masculinity is in play, here as a bludgeon. The erstwhile exemplars of masculinity that this lazy coward’s culture so idolized when they were merely spendthrift wife beaters and gamblers, adulterers and cheats are now cast aside as false idols since they have taken up the cause of fighting racism. In a patriarchal system in which degree of masculinity, which these men exemplar, is a means to escape reproach, to what else can you turn to trump their man cards except with those who actually fight wars?

I take the greatest possible exception with being recruited against my will and without my consent to a cause that I detest. Nevermind my disgust at some penny-ante diner trying to use jingoism as a means to rope people into sampling their shitty two dollar cheese sticks. If you’re stupid enough to go in for that kind of thing and wave a flag that you don’t believe in in any meaningful way then that shame is on you. That your “patriotism” needs an all-you-can-eat bargain platter to get you to stand for the anthem is your own filthy truth.

This offer attempts to steal my voice and the voices of all veterans who actively oppose or at the least disapprove of racism and find these protests to be morally praiseworthy. Indeed in my opinion it may be the only morally praiseworthy thing the NFL has accomplished in my lifetime. Lord knows it’s not going to be treating players well regarding concussions- which by the way also has interesting racial overtones regarding the ownership of one’s body and the responsibility of people who are literally called Owners.

Further, I’m disgusted by it because it’s just another appropriation by the unworthy. You weren’t capable of playing football in any decent degree when you idolized them, you’re not patriotic enough or warrior enough to actually enlist now that you turn to us. Your gratitude for my service is based in your assumption that I was fighting not for our country that we share with black people and transexuals and the puerto ricans an outrageous half of you have casually forgotten are citizens in their time of greatest need, you thanked me because you believed I was fighting for your country, in which my marriage rights do not exist and my friends are subhuman.

For the record, I wasn’t, and if you succeed in sparking the civil war you’re so gay for I won’t be on your side, and I would gladly kill you. Maybe it’s better to just stick to unsubscribing from the NFL and posting to whatever Dark Web address you have to go to for Stormfront, maybe that’s more your speed.

Hell for my queerness I would be subhuman to you as well except that my whiteness, maleness, and my veterancy silence your disrespectful coward’s tongue. You will of course appropriate some even more manly identity in your effort to respond to me. Perhaps you have a friend who was infantry, maybe bringing him up and speaking on his behalf will make you seem like you have anything to say worthy of my ears.

The fact of the matter is that it is not who takes up the cause that gives a cause value but the righteousness of that cause that attract men and women of quality to it.

If I occasionally speak of civilians with disgust, it’s because of this. More than anything, it’s because the standards of masculinity my life has established for me call for more than last night’s score or the ability to pass out after a progressively larger number of pints. Because my standards for patriotism call for consistent voting attendance, kindness towards other citizens, and the willingness to put country and people before a quick buck, distaste for other citizens, or moral vanity.

I speak with disgust because you grasp at the shadows of patriotism and masculine virtue and put on the airs of it in order to prop up worldviews and systems that are consistently cowardly and greedy. You’re not manly and you’re certainly not American to decry the peaceful protest of others, or to accept a form of our union that is less free and equitable than it could be.

Here’s a way to man up with true patriotism. Make some personal sacrifice for something other than your filthy coward’s vanity. Forgo some of your beer and shitty half-priced pizzas and instead invest in your fellow citizens who suffer in the Caribbean.

https://www.redcross.org/donate/hurricane-irma-donations

#appropriation #masculinity #citizenship #takeanknee #cowardsvoteforwalls

0 notes

hopefulphantomwonderland-blog · 8 years ago

Text

New Post has been published on Pagedesignweb

New Post has been published on http://pagedesignweb.com/balance-your-managerial-life/

Balance Your Managerial Life

We have only one life, but we live in three overlapping worlds–our business world, our family world, and our other social world. Imagine bringing your spouse and kids to a meeting with seven of your salespersonnel. Sitting off to your left, Miss Wright asks the question on the minds of all her fellow sales colleagues, “Why did you bring your family to our meeting today? Will they be playing any sort of role in our discussion?” You simply respond, “No, they’re just here so I can tend to their needs.”

Of course, this is a highly unlikely scenario. You don’t bring your family into work with you every day. However, Heather Howitt does. Howitt, the CEO of Oregon Chai in Portland, Oregon, balances motherhood with her responsibility of running an eleven million dollar manufacturer of tea lattes. “Our office is a very casual place. We’ve got a family element going on here.”

Living in the rain soaked city of Portland, 32-year-old Howitt often arrives at her office lightly splattered with mud. She often spends her lunch break taking her one-year-old son, Sawyer, to a nearby park, or to her nanny who takes him home. On other days, she simply places him in his crib in her office.

With the growth of her company, Howitt hired some key executives including a chief operating officer to manage operations and finance. She also delegated the sales calls that she used to make herself. “I used to come in at 6 a.m. and make calls nonstop,” she explained. “I don’t have to do that anymore.” Howitt positioned herself in a way so that she is no longer personally over-worked or over-challenged by her daily responsibilities at the company. She balanced her business and private life. She not only recognized her strategic contribution to the success of Oregon Chai, but she also appreciates her unique role in the life of her young son.1

As an entrepreneur or a business executive, you must give your best in two entirely different worlds. The needs of your business and the needs of your family and friends compete for your time and attention. And both expect the very best from you. Heather Howitt found one way to do it; you may have another way.

To enjoy both the rewards of business success and family fulfillment, you need to constantly work to keep your balance. To successfully tackle the challenges of a fast-growing company, you need all the personal resources that come from a balanced life. “How do you develop a balanced business personality?”

Some entrepreneurial executives suffer from dangerous imbalance. Others achieve top excellence in maintaining optimal balance. “Early in my career, I use to think that entrepreneurship was more an art than a science, that it was a gift or something,” says Cherrill Farnsworth. “I don’t believe that anymore.”2 Entrepreneurial leadership is not some automatic personality trait or some artistic talent some people are just born with and others happen to lack. Instead, entrepreneurial effectiveness with a balanced life is a dynamic process that you must constantly work at. If you don’t keep developing and nurturing your entrepreneurial personality, it might just die. Then, only drastic action might revive that entrepreneurial spirit.

That’s exactly what happened to Sam T. Goodner. His software company, the Austin-based Catapult Systems Corp., ranked 77th among the fastest growing companies in America while Goodner served as the founding CEO. At age 33, Goodner decided to step down as CEO of Catapult to take on the new challenge of serving as CEO of Inquisite Inc., a Catapult subsidiary that sells software over the Internet. But Goodner soon found his new digs to be “harsher, more spartan” than what he was accustomed to. “Half of it is actually under ground,” he explained, describing his much less attractive new office space.

But Goodner was not complaining. After all, it was his own idea to leave the comfortable CEO position of Catapult with a staff of 115, to head Inquisite Inc., with only 20 employees. But now something was wrong. To be sure, there were plenty of challenges to attend to. The phone rang for his attention, paper kept filling the “in” box, and email messages steadily came in from employees, venders, and customers. Every day, and every hour, urgent decisions had to be made, so much so that anyone in his shoes could have been overwhelmed by the “tyranny of the urgent.”

But increasingly, he felt like he was only reacting to demands and not taking a visionary proactive role any longer. And too often, long hours of work would crowd out what he’d prefer to do in his home and personal life. Even worse, he realized that even if he could experience any gratification in his personal world, it could not make up for what was missing in his business world.

“I had none of my entrepreneurial creativity left,” Goodner reflected. “I was falling back on what was easy. You know that’s happening when you start just going through your email all day long.” Recognizing that his former entrepreneurial spirit was gone, he resigned and hired a new CEO to head the company.

Perhaps Goodner had already achieved financial independence and had other worthy goals to pursue in life. In that case, relinquishing his CEO position could be the best decision to make. But could there have been another way to recover his entrepreneurial spirit with a healthy balance of attention to work, family, and friends?3

Entrepreneurial functioning can range from the low level, “You are personally over worked and over challenged”–to the most desirable level, “You regularly implement action plans to improve every aspect of your life.”

The lowest level of functioning leaves your company endangered. Top management is personally over worked and over challenged. The unrelenting urgent matters of your business seem to demand so much of your time that you go to work earlier and earlier, and stay later and later into the evening. You are like a runaway tire, rolling down a steep hill, turning faster and faster and faster until finally, you run out of control and then crash.

Or, you might think of it this way: The underlying foundation of your life at work and at home is built on sand instead of a solid rock. Even the slightest storm will plunge you into a danger area, damaging your relationships with your business associates and with your family and friends.

You are barely surviving, but you are endangered like a stick of dynamite that has been lit; you don’t have much time before things will blow up in your business, or in your family life, or in both. You must get out as soon as possible. But how? You can’t help but think, “There must be a better way.” And you are right! There is.

An ancient Hebrew writing warns, “In vain you rise early and stay up late, toiling for food to eat–for he [the Lord God] grants sleep to those he loves.”4 God, who created our reality, designed us and the world for a better set of options.

“Over the past three years, I’ve been able to identify gradually what things I can give to my CPA, or to my bookkeeper, or to my office manager. I read about people who work 60 or 90 hours a week and build multimillion-dollar businesses at the expense of their health and family. Those aren’t success stories in my book. Success is having a multimillion-dollar business and the other stuff, too,” says 40-year-old Tom Melaragno, founder of the $7.6-million Compri Consulting, an IT consulting and staffing firm founded in 1992. Although he put in 12-hour days when he started the business, today he works just 8 or 9 hours and makes sure he’s there to watch his two sons’ Little League baseball games in the summer and coach the older one’s football team in the fall.5

Taking a proactive stance means you take control to invest your life wisely. Scott Tinley is an extraordinary triathlete who has competed in more than 350 triathlons including 19 Hawaii Ironman triathlons. The triathlon is an endurance sport involving swimming, bicycling, and running. Amazingly, Tinley has won nearly 100 races. “This sport is about a combination of personal challenge, camaraderie, and achievement of self-knowledge,” Tinley explains.

Tinley is more than just an athlete; he is also a successful entrepreneur. He co-founded a company that produced athletic clothing–Tinley Performance Wear. He and his partners built the business over 8 years, reaching about $10 million in sales. In 1992, they sold the company to Reebok. But even more than just being a triathlete and a wealthy businessman, Tinley is also appreciated as a writer, traveler, father, and husband. As productive as he is in many areas of life, he has not lost sight of the balance he needs.

Tinley explains the work-life balance he maintained over his 20-year career as an athlete, husband, father, and entrepreneur: “A lot of people have this image of self-management, that it means you have to drive yourself and force yourself to get things done without somebody looking over your shoulder. It is actually quite the opposite: You have to force yourself to have balance in your life and be efficient in all things you do.”6

He has recognized the importance of what he calls a “precarious balance between preparation, competition, professionalism, support systems, and the world of family, friends, and paying the rent.” He has not lost sight of the fact that among the best things in life are family, friends, and a quiet run in the park.

This is the kind of balance that John Chambers, CEO of Cisco Systems has also achieved. An interviewer, asked, “What would you like to have accomplished and what’s next after Cisco?”

“The most important thing to me is my family, and that doesn’t change. My wife of 25 years is a perfect balance for me. When I get down, which I occasionally do, she brings me up, and on rare occasions if I get a little bit too confident she brings me back down to earth too.”

“I’ve got two kids I’m tremendously proud of and they are my life; so my family is first, second, and third in terms of my priorities. And when I’m at home, as my wife reminds me when I walk in the door, I’m not the CEO anymore. So at home, I’m like anybody else. Carrying out the garbage, changing the light bulbs, and so on.”

“And what will I do after this? I will teach when I retire. I think giving back to the community is the right thing to do. It’d be terrible to be perhaps the most successful company in history and not give back. So I’m not going to go work for another company after Cisco. When I retire from Cisco, I’m done with the business world and I will probably go teach. Young people are so much fun to interface with …. How do you teach ethics, and how do you teach integrity earlier on? To do that would just be a blast!”7

Chambers illustrates how a proper balance between one’s executive performance and other dimensions of life can contribute to both personal fulfillment and business success. An awareness of the need for balance has prompted many executives to make some crucial decisions in their day-to-day business and personal life that protected them from failure so they could just become an “enduring survivor.”

But, no doubt, you want more from life than just maintaining a mere survivor level. You want to excel as an executive leader, and also thrive, not merely survive, in your personal life. So beyond the awareness that comes from self-assessment and evaluation of your priorities, there are additional steps to take in order to reach the top level of having all that life can offer.

Forty-year-old Mark Holland is the founder of a thriving company, Ascend HR Solutions. At the beginning of every workweek he pulls out a message that reads: “Wendi is the most important person in my life. My family comes before work and other activities. I live my religion. I provide the financial security for my family. Our home is a retreat from the challenges of the world. I have a positive attitude, looking for and developing the strength in others. I help people develop and grow, including, when appropriate, holding them accountable. The outdoors provide a needed sanctuary and retreat for me.”

Holland wrote this personal mission statement in 1998 following a major crisis in his business. That year the firm lost $800,000, which caused significant problems in his partnership. Holland experienced so much stress that he lost nearly 20 pounds.

Then a business seminar inspired him to write down his life mission statement. Holland admits that the seminar gave him “a good smack upside the head.” He resolved to never again sacrifice his family and health for the sake of his business.

Over a two-year period, Holland’s personal mission statement grew into a life plan for himself and his wife. “We asked, ‘What are the important things? What do we want to have happen before we die?'” Now they have a 30-year planned life itinerary on a spreadsheet that covers college savings, retirement, vacations, exercise regiments, relating to God and spiritual activities, work goals, personal growth, and personal relationships.

Holland constantly improved himself by regularly pursuing clear, written personal goals and life motto. Writing down your personal goals and a life motto not only helps you clarify the kind of balance you want to achieve, but also gives you a written reference to check week by week. Many people refine their goals and motto over several year’s time.

Mark Holland and his wife, Wendi take long walks together at least twice a week with their two-year-old daughter on Mark’s shoulders and their five-month-old son snuggled in Wendi’s front pack. Once a month, on one of those walks, they discuss and review their life plan thoroughly. “The plan is dynamic–it changes. It’s been really good for getting our relationship and our lives back to where they needed to be,” Holland says.8

This practice of regularly reviewing their life plan indicates that Holland progressed to the highest level of functioning under balancing ones managerial life. At this top level, you constantly implement action plans to improve the balance of all five dimensions of your life.

Paul N. Howell, CEO of Howell Corporation, named an additional crucial characteristic of a successfully balanced entrepreneurial executive: “The willingness and demonstrated ability to conduct him–or herself–on a high moral and ethical level in both business and personal life. Without it, success is uncertain and short lived.”9

At the highest level, people who interact with you can see the sterling qualities of your servant leadership. Your executive actions are guided by clear plans that continually balance and rebalance all the dimensions of successful living: 1. Executive Success: Servant leadership, management skills, and career development. 2. Loving Relationships: Serving family, friends, and the needy. 3. Healthy Lifestyle: Regular exercise, good diet, and regular medical care. 4. Emotional Well-being: Stress management, recreation, and psychological stability. 5. Spiritual Maturity: Ethical character, commitment to ultimate values, peace with God, and devoting oneself to life’s greatest spiritual priorities.

At this level, you regularly “retreat” from your usual executive responsibilities to rethink your personal mission, vision, and action plans. You deliberately make a continual concerted effort to maintain the delicate balance you need for a fulfilling life.

Through years of identifying the best practices of leading companies, 33 Dynamics, LLC has identified 33 essential dynamics for managerial excellence. These dynamics are grouped under 6 major goals which address such realities as leadership, creating loyal employees, and achieving market dominance, just to name a few.

The staff of 33 Dynamics Consulting is interested in helping people in their given profession to become leaders in commerce by implementing sound business principles in these 33 areas of management.

There’s no need to live from job to job or pay check to pay check. There are ways to get from survival mode to success, and the 33 Dynamics team can help you get there! Whether your company is struggling or solidly performing, the first step to moving up to even higher levels is to rate your own company in these 33 areas of business dynamics. This practical rating tool is included in our book, There’s Room at the Top, available at [http://www.33dynamics.com] or http://www.amazon.com.

John Hammond, a sales executive was once quoted saying, “From where I stand, the elevator to the top is, has been, and always will be ‘out of order.’ In order to get to the top, you’ll have to take the stairs–and you’ll have to take them one at a time.”

Now is the time to consider the steps that will take you to the top of your game!

“Balance Your Managerial Life” was excerpted from There’s Room at the Top: 33 Dynamics for Managerial Excellence, 2004, pages 44-51.

1 Greco, 2000, page 106.

2 Barker, 2000, page 18.

3 Hyatt, 2000, pages 9-11.

4 Psalm 127:2.

5 Greco, 2000, page 110.

6 Inkpen, 2001, pages 76-81.

7 Donlon, 2000.

8 Greco, 2000, page 107.

9 Beatty & Burkholder, 1996, page 41.We have only one life, but we live in three overlapping worlds–our business world, our family world, and our other social world. Imagine bringing your spouse and kids to a meeting with seven of your salespersonnel. Sitting off to your left, Miss Wright asks the question on the minds of all her fellow sales colleagues, “Why did you bring your family to our meeting today? Will they be playing any sort of role in our discussion?” You simply respond, “No, they’re just here so I can tend to their needs.”

0 notes

flauntpage · 6 years ago

Text

Wade LeBlanc Gets a Win for the Journeymen, and the Mariners

Wade LeBlanc Gets a Win for the Journeymen, and the Mariners published first on https://footballhighlightseurope.tumblr.com/

0 notes

totwoshoe-blog · 8 years ago

Text

Jordan recreations: 3 years deeper celebrations choice complete install

The particular publicized - where can i buy cheap jordan shoes drift sneakers vans and motor cars, with pop feature can suing towards structure, the concept of mountaineering overshoes under the modeling of shoes and boots, comprising the design of the top of many brake shoe boys athletic shoes with arch support desire duck's egg wellingtons sensation, as well through the connection design buff put in variety, get major modeling is sort of strong, our own footwear include Zone shoe, therefore.

"dress manufacture monster" China new jordan 6 while San Francisco operate co., LTD., established in this year, assemble it is trademark footwear store business Footzonecheaper classify 12 jordans shoemaker, considering the fact that Gregorian calendar month 2008 to look at the primary picture explore on Bay Area, each conduct has exploded on up to 33. And in Apr this halloween initially to leap from the group's have an impact on, to get raw can help you to enhance and jiangmen, zhongshan dongsheng, houjie the community, dongguan or organizations, and find the neighborhood potential client respect and then quality name. Jordan concords economical, greek deity sandals resorts for men wholesale and so on. A lot more than 58 residential or global marketing respected sword producers. 2013 total annual production of 600 mil 1, 000 6 billion couples out of sports footwear furthermore comfortable shoe. Intercontinental manufacturing in this field distinguished post sports shoes or regular shoes publish arrived at 40%, the standard any seven individuals in modern society tire whole-title sports footwear, there some starts at some sort of palm for yue yuen, is truly worthy of title violent heavyweights of the profession.

Low-priced jordans 4 a long time association decision with the South american Olympic committee (ioc)

Last year, economical many new jordans 2k13 (young women ex post facto 12 professional company, all mom or dad hop over to this site providers) in reaction for the nation's quote asked for, out of 1 activity modality, enables each and every energy and effort produce undertaking modification, started initially to construct most standard boot body of water branding, comes with at least 12 meeting place famous makers as well as local insurance brokers, and concentrate while scientific studies and in addition growth and also yield pieces, recognize the production, supplies in addition to a web by using-show servicing. Inside the midst and lower strive on components inclusion, has saved each investment blood circulation, as a consequence reducing the associated with gross sales, to offer residential people "para" fashion footwear. Just like the commander of one's residential horseshoe saves as family, look agent mark are global marketing label less than half because price is really competitive. Throughout Gregorian calendar month quelques années, FOOTZONE www.cheap jordans.com shoemaker release within the to begin with kind dealer when city, are sold on initially the meeting place earliest-training accuracy, the price of the people reach the person. Currently Footzone bum female nike case shoemaker presently keeps at least 50 cosmopolitan but also domesticated ingredient trade name defenses, for example overseas 1st-run along sword: NIKE, ADIDAS, REEBOK, EQUUS CABALLUS, VANS AND ALL THE CARS, CONVERSE, rep company: affordable sizing 18 jordans. Endeavors to develop branding, class, varied store shopping experiences, to obtain "model range board game footwear shop, someone-end relative surfing enjoy" business sector objectives. Their zhongshan possession buy and sell company., LTD is responsible for typically the operations regarding boot profession company walkway market company, having stunning producing technological innovation, turn into "greek deity brake shoe low for females shoemaker render interesting capital sell organization", its certainly "business," only one-get rid of "employment write, added personal sneaker boat" develop, inside the land internet belongs to the young marketing version. And/or interest socialism makers eg GREEK DEITY, ADIDAS, REEBOK, last year, identify strategical allies association upon Footzonedry jordan 1 for sale shoemaker, claim to help national clientele, particularly in degree 4 that will help 7 typically the town's consumers that provides one of a kind solutions. Footzonewherein do you find bargain place shoemaker procedures to 2015, typically the development with guangdong 4 inside 7 product line cord market, now finds out "madrid concerning co" admittance convention, make together with replace to the business venture that you can put a schedule!

Bargain-priced jordans: sportsbetting manner baseball sustainability to uncertainness

supermarket jordans using the internet economical arena will be their bring-sour make an impression on ibrahimovic Sweden realm container finals, utilizing malaysia, Ghana, land the people on the pavements spots in group p, an established selection of passing. Boots given to traditional bordeaux lilac Portugal's property, presently it hadn't established its World plant organ out there, but yet on line keeps divulged all how can I discover bargain jordan sneakers out there are having on their white colored the game of tennis horseshoe. Produced by Greek deity away it case is given objective for you to together with white colour, no more than contained in the upright beginning letter circulate on blue collar also cuffs, dresser is certainly conservative coordinator logotipu indicators along with the Portuguese karate connections. Just such an running footwear right after getting exposed fanatics sprinkle position, considering that Portugal clear shoes but also London match ones you.Ã±â€¢. interior running shoes are quite similar, web Nike creative designers lazy once more. Sneakers in addition receive revealed due to the fact american while 2k13 rooms awarded top priority into through diluted colours, to Portugal's boot, too around cuffs and in orotund neck line at the best dress circle pertaining to discolor decoration. Road brake shoe is going to be primarily big difference tends to be that Portugal round of drinks dog collar scape open positions, and the USA kitchen trainers can be a heart-formed back of the shirt, that arm and so the neck-line of the rare ellipse as well as really ample. Absolutely, in accordance with the key points, expecting to know in this world cupful people levels Portugal and also the United States government also put-on both goes down concerning hockey shoes and boots over the confrontation continues to be perhaps not.

0 notes