NBey6's Blog

TIW 4-29-10 SC Evening

Winning Numbers: 824 & 1556

037, 143, 610, 635, 674, 751, 928, 405
8601, 9862, 0749, 2176, 2359, 1985, 1205
3780, 3482, 3491, 3906, 7845, 6405, 5763

 

037, 148, 259, 360, 471, 582, 693, 704, 815, 926

143, 254, 365, 476, 587, 698, 709, 810, 921, 032

3780, 3781, 3782, 3783, 3784, 3785, 3786, 3787, 3788, 3789

0780, 0781, 0782, 0783, 0784, 0785, 0786, 0787, 0788, 0789

3480, 3481, 3482, 3483, 3484, 3485, 3486, 3487, 3488, 3489

0482, 1482, 2482, 3482, 4482, 5482, 6482, 7482, 8482, 9482

 

82, 37, 89, 34 pairs

Updated: April 30, 2010, 12:23 PM ET

Verdasco grinds out win over Djokovic

Associated Press

ROME -- Fernando Verdasco extended his impressive form on clay with a grueling 7-6 (4), 3-6, 6-4 win over Novak Djokovic in a Rome Masters quarterfinal Friday.

The first set alone lasted nearly an hour and a half and the sixth-seeded Verdasco closed out the match with an ace down the middle after 3 hours and 18 minutes of long baseline rallies under a glaring sun at the Foro Italico.

"When you face someone who always makes you play one more shot on every point it's not easy to play a quick match," Djokovic said. "So I knew it was going to be a long match today. 

"The match could have gone either way. It was decided by one or two points."

Verdasco has reached the final of his last two events -- losing to Rafael Nadal at the Monte Carlo Masters and winning last week's Barcelona Open. Verdasco earned a semifinal matchup against David Ferrer, who cruised past Jo-Wilfried Tsonga 6-4, 6-1.

Later, Nadal was to continue his bid for a fifth title in Rome against 2008 runner-up Stanislas Wawrinka; while Ernests Gulbis faced Feliciano Lopez in the night match.

Roger Federer and his Swiss Davis Cup teammate Yves Allegro lost 6-4, 6-4 in doubles to Americans John Isner and Sam Querrey.

Federer lost his opener in singles to Gulbis on Tuesday.

Verdasco also beat Djokovic in the Monte Carlo semifinals, earning a straightforward 6-2, 6-2 victory.

The turning point this time didn't come until Verdasco won a marathon game on his sixth break point to take a 2-1 lead in the third set, running down a drop shot and forcing Djokovic to hit into the net.

The Serb committed 46 unforced errors to Verdasco's 40.

"My backhand wasn't at the level I wanted it to be at today, and I struggled a little with my serve, but I'm happy more or less with the way I played," Djokovic said. "If there was one different thing I could've done I would have liked to play better on the important points."

"Whatever we build in the imagination will accomplish itself in the circumstance of our lives."

- William Butler Yeats -

TIW 4-29-10 NC Evening

Winning Numbers: 902 & 7555

503, 610, 765, 704, 731, 346, 892, 154
0628, 1069, 2741, 9876, 9351, 8105, 8925
3702, 3409, 3418, 3126, 7045, 6425, 5763

 

610, 721, 832, 943, 054, 165, 276, 387, 498, 509

892, 903, 014, 125, 236, 347, 458, 569, 670, 781

1060, 1061, 1062, 1063, 1064, 1065, 1066, 1067, 1068, 1069

0069, 1069, 2069, 3069, 4069, 5069, 6069, 7069, 8069, 9069

8920, 8921, 8922, 8923, 8924, 8925, 8926, 8927, 8928, 8929

0925, 1925, 2925, 3925, 4925, 5925, 6925, 7925, 8925, 9925

 

65, 34, 10, 89 pairs

4-28-10 Wednesday

156, 616, 186, 263, 667, 828, 181, 532, 621, 104

825, 942, 813, 053, 073, 657, 687, 247, 227, 176

373, 597, 950, 401, 892, 462, 422, 405, 000, 555

Updated: April 27, 2010, 4:17 PM ET

Federer upset in clay-court opener 

Associated Press

ROME -- Roger Federer has a long way to go if he wants to successfully defend his French Open title next month.

 

In his first singles match of the clay-court season, Federer lost to 40th-ranked Ernests Gulbis of Latvia 2-6, 6-1, 7-5 on Tuesday in his Rome Masters opener.

The top-ranked Swiss will play two more tournaments -- in Estoril, Portugal, and Madrid -- before the start of the French Open on May 23.

"I hope I can come back from this. That's usually what I do after a loss like this," Federer said. "Sometimes it takes a loss to wake up and shake you up for your approach the next week. When you always win, sometimes you forget how hard it is. That's why today I don't get too worried about this loss."

Gulbis was anything but blase about what happened.

"I don't have a word in English for it," he said. "It's indescribable."

Earlier, Novak Djokovic began his bid to reach a third consecutive final at Foro Italico with a 6-1, 6-1 win over France's Jeremy Chardy; fourth-seeded Andy Murray beat the top Italian, Andreas Seppi, 6-2, 6-4; Lleyton Hewitt, coming back from hip surgery, ousted ninth-seeded Mikhail Youzhny 6-4, 4-6, 6-3; and Victor Hanescu of Romania upset 16th-seeded Juan Monaco 7-6 (4), 6-4.

This was Federer's first singles match in nearly a month. He took off several weeks after losing in the fourth round in Key Biscayne, Fla., at the end of March.

A Tale Of Two Seasons

Roger Federer fared considerably better in the year's lone Grand Slam than he has in non-Slam events.

Non-Slams	Slams
Events	4	1
Matches	10	7
W-L	6-4	7-0

 

Federer struggled with his serve, landing only 50 percent of his first attempts to the big-serving Gulbis' 71 percent. In the third set, Federer missed one routine baseline shot after another.

"My game was definitely not up to speed," he said. "My serve was not working at all. On clay you can lose the feeling sometimes. At one point I tried to go three-quarters speed but that didn't work, either. So I just kept going for it and hoping that it would come back eventually, and it didn't unfortunately."

Gulbis fought off jitters at the end, winning on his seventh match point after double-faulting twice when within a point of victory.

"I couldn't put a serve in," he said. "I was shaking. I didn't know what to do. It was a terrible feeling."

Federer teamed with countryman Yves Allegro to win a doubles match Monday. They face sixth-seeded Simon Aspelin of Sweden and Paul Hanley of Australia on Wednesday

"It will give a good chance to forget today and move forward," Federer said.

A light rain fell during the match on a cool day, but Federer refused to blame the weather.

"I started well and the conditions were kind of like the French Open final last year," he said. "Actually, I wasn't too happy that it was slow against a player that likes to end the points quickly."

Gulbis also took Federer to a third set before losing in the quarterfinals in Doha, Qatar, in January. His first career title came the next month in Delray Beach, Fla.

"He has immense power on both sides and one of the fastest serves in the game," Federer said. "I think he's got a great future."

The 21-year-old Gulbis began working with a new coach in September and credits former Argentine pro Hernan Gumy with his improved play. He also hired a new fitness coach.

"I just started concentrating more on tennis, treating it more like my job," Gulbis said. "Last year I didn't take it as a job. It was more like a hobby. I didn't have a system.

"Before I was practicing maybe three days and then going out with friends two days. I'm still not a big tennis freak ... but I have a better system. My team is perfect now. It's my coach, my fitness coach and my father," he said.

In other matches, Stanislas Wawrinka of Switzerland beat Jurgen Melzer of Austria 6-1, 6-2; Feliciano Lopez of Spain downed Benjamin Becker of Germany 6-4, 6-3; and Italian wild card Simone Bolelli eliminated German lucky loser Simon Greul 6-4, 6-1.

Updated: April 28, 2010, 9:41 AM ET

Sources: Russell release imminent

  By John Clayton
ESPN.com
Archive

The Oakland Raiders are preparing to release quarterback JaMarcus Russell but have to await the final word from owner Al Davis before they can do so, according to sources.

 

 

JaMarcus Russell has been paid more than $5 million per win, more than $2 million per touchdown pass and more than $100,000 per completion.

 

 Russell is on the books for $9.45 million this season, including $3 million in guaranteed money. Since trading for former Washington Redskins quarterback Jason Campbell on Saturday, the Raiders have studied Russell's contract and tried to figure out ways to release him to save the organization some money.

 

If he gets the $3 million (and sources expect that he will), Russell will have been paid $39 million since going to the team as a first-round pick in 2007.

 

The Raiders showed their confidence in Campbell by extending his contract through 2011, giving him a $4.5 million deal that season on top of the $3.14 million he is owed this season.

 

The Raiders have a minicamp Friday and it's possible Russell could be released before then. If Davis doesn't give the go-ahead to release him before Friday, he might attend the minicamp, but the team might not let him practice, fearing that he would suffer an injury and leave the team liable for the entire $9.45 million in salary.

 

Russell, who will turn 25 in August, has won only seven of his 25 starts as the Raiders extended an NFL-worst streak to seven straight seasons with at least 11 losses in 2009. He has completed just 52.1 percent of his passes in his career with 18 touchdowns, 23 interceptions, 15 lost fumbles and a passer rating of 65.2.

 

That means Russell has been paid more than $5 million per win, more than $2 million per touchdown pass and more than $100,000 per completion.

 

Russell's tenure in Oakland got off to a rough start and never got much better. He held out his first season, not signing a contract until after the first game of the regular season. That made his rookie season almost a complete loss, as he started only one game.

 

He showed some signs of progress in his second season, especially in winning the final two games of the year against Houston and Tampa Bay. But the problems of work ethic and his weight never disappeared and his third season was an utter disaster.

 

He was fined for being overweight when he showed up at training camp. He then put together one of the worst seasons in recent memory for an NFL quarterback. He completed 48.8 percent of his passes, with three touchdowns, 11 interceptions and a 50.0 passer rating that was the lowest since Ryan Leaf, Bobby Hoying and Craig Whelihan all finished below 50 in 1998.

"They that can give up essential liberty to obtain a little temporary safety deserve neither liberty nor safety."

- Benjamin Franklin -

The lastest news on the NCEL website strikes again. On 4-23-10 they announced that the NCEL has transferred over $112M more to education and that the grand total was now $1.469 billion. Well I said that very day I saw the update,"I need to play 112 and 1469 for at least a week, that's my nephews birthday (121) and my hubby's year of birth (1964)!" Well I forgot about it and last night NC drops 1469 straight in the pick 4. Just go to show you, we need to listen to intuition and follow through on hunches!!!

Tuesday 4-27-10

667, 098, 897, 812, 181, 506, 713, 716, 792

186, 263, 405, 165, 493, 872, 427, 108, 088

707, 334, 443, 766, 998, 333, 888, 444, 999

000, 5149, 9441, 1967, 3918, 3948, 5943

1100, 4711, 9034, 5164, 2769, 1885, 0760

Sunday, April 25, 2010
French Open in question for Clijsters

---

Associated Press

BRUSSELS -- Kim Clijsters is out for up to six weeks after tearing a muscle in her left foot during a Fed Cup singles match Saturday.

 

The injury forced her to pull out of Sunday's reverse singles in the best-of-five series against Estonia, and casts doubt on whether the U.S. Open champion will be able to play in next month's French Open.

 

"When the doctor tells you six weeks, then you start panicking. You think of your season's planning," she told VRT network.

 

The year's second Grand Slam tournament starts in four weeks, on May 23, but Clijsters is hoping that intensive treatment will shorten the estimated six-week rehabilitation.

 

"I am someone who heals reasonably fast," she said.

 

Clijsters beat Maret Ani 6-4, 6-2 Saturday despite discomfort in her left foot in the second set.

 

"I felt during a backhand that something serious was happening. I had never felt this before," she said.

 

The bruising became more painful overnight and tests at a hospital showed liquid had built up in her foot, and a tear in one of the muscles on the inside of her foot.

 

She said she will use crutches for a few days to rest the foot. It was unclear when she could resume full training.

 

The injury is Clijsters' first major setback since she returned from retirement last year. Often slowed by injuries before she retired, she took special care in her comeback to avoid wearing down her body.

 

Since her return in Cincinnati last August, she won the U.S. Open for her second Grand Slam title. This year, she claimed the Brisbane International in January and last month won the Sony Ericsson Open in Miami.

 

Belgium defeated Estonia 3-1 to advance to the World Group of the Fed Cup.

Is end of season also end of Brown tenure?

By Tom Sorensen
charlotteobserver.com

Posted: Tuesday, Apr. 27, 2010

Malcolm X killer to go free after 44 years

By Wayne Drash, CNN

• Thomas Hagan to go free Wednesday; he's the only confessed killer of Malcolm X
• Hagan, 69, has been in a work-release program the past two decades
• Hagan told parole board he killed Malcolm X over his split with Nation of Islam

(CNN) -- Thomas Hagan pleaded his case for freedom: To return to his family, to become a substance abuse counselor and to make his mark on what time he has left in this world.

 

He was dressed in prison greens as he addressed the New York parole board. He had been before that body 14 other times since 1984. Each time, he was rejected.

 

Hagan is no ordinary prisoner. He is the only man to have confessed in the killing of Malcolm X, who was gunned down while giving a speech in New York's Audubon Ballroom in 1965.

 

"I have deep regrets about my participation in that," he told the parole board on March 3, according to a transcript. "I don't think it should ever have happened."

 

The board granted him his wish. On Wednesday, Hagan, 69, will be free. 

 

He was sentenced to 20 years to life imprisonment after being found guilty at trial with two others in 1966. Since March 1992, Hagan has been in a full-time work-release program that allowed him to live at home with his family in Brooklyn five days a week while reporting to a minimum-security prison just two days.

 

To win his release, Hagan was required to seek, obtain and maintain a job, support his children and abide by a curfew. He must continue to meet those conditions while free. He told the parole board he's worked the same job for the past seven years. He told the New York Post in 2008 he was working at a fast-food restaurant.

 

A parole officer checked on him while outside prison, and he had to undergo random drug tests.

 

The prison to which Hagan has reported for two nights a week, the Lincoln Correctional Facility, is at West 110th Street and Malcolm X Boulevard.

 

CNN was unable to reach Hagan for a comment about his release. The Nation of Islam declined comment for this story.

 

Malcolm X is best known as the fiery leader of the Nation of Islam who denounced whites as "blue-eyed devils." But at the end of his life, Malcolm X changed his views toward whites and discarded the Nation of Islam's ideology in favor of orthodox Islam. In doing so, he feared for his own life from within the Nation.

 

Malcolm X remains a symbol of inspiration for black men, in particular, who are moved by his transformation from a street hustler to a man the late African-American actor Ossie Davis eulogized as "our own black shining prince."

 

The ballroom where he was killed has now been converted into The Malcolm X & Dr. Betty Shabazz Memorial and Educational Center. Board Chairman Zead Ramadan said the center doesn't have a position on Hagan's release.

 

"I personally find it strange that for a couple decades any person convicted in the assassination of such an iconic figure would be allowed such leniency," Ramadan said.

 

There's outrage among some African-Americans, he said, that he's being released. Would he be set free if he had killed an iconic white leader?

 

"It's really a struggle for Muslims to contemplate this issue, because our faith and our religion is full of examples where we have to exert mercy," he added. "The Malcolm X story has not ended. His populuarity has grown in death. ... Only God knows why this was allowed to happen."

 

The center is preparing for a special service next month to celebrate what would have been Malcolm X's 85th birthday. Would the center welcome Hagan if he asked to attend?

 

"We'd cross that bridge if he called us," Ramadan said, "Think about that: How far-fetched is it that he could meet one of the daughters of Malcolm X? And what's going to happen then? Mercy, fury, anger, emotions -- who knows?"

 

Killed in front of his family

 

On February 21, 1965, Malcolm X took to the stage of the Audubon Ballroom, a site often used for civic meetings. His wife, Betty Shabazz, and four children were in the crowd.

 

"I heard several shots in succession," his wife later told a Manhattan grand jury. "I got on the floor, and I pushed my children under the seat and protected them with my body."

 

Gunshots continued to ring out, she said. Her husband's body was riddled with bullets. The native of Omaha, Nebraska, was 39.

 

"Minister Malcolm was slaughtered like a dog in front of his family," A. Peter Bailey, one of Malcolm X's closest aides, told The New York Times on the 40th anniversary of the killing.

 

The assassination came after a public feud between Malcolm X and the Nation of Islam's founder, Elijah Muhammad. Malcolm X had accused Muhammad of infidelity and left the Nation in March 1964.

 

"For the next 11 months, there was a pattern of harassment, vilification and even on occasion literally pursuit in the streets of Malcolm by people associated with the Nation," said Claude Andrew Clegg III, author of a biography on Elijah Muhammad called An Original Man.

 

"Malcolm felt that if Elijah Muhammad snapped his fingers, then he could stop the escalation of the violent tone around the split of the two men. And I think there's some truth to that."

 

Over the years, the killing of Malcolm X has been the subject of much debate, with conspiracy theories involving the Nation of Islam and others. The Nation of Islam has repeatedly denied any involvement in Malcolm X's assassination.

 

Twenty-two and on a deadly mission

 

Hagan, then known by the name Talmadge X Hayer, was 22 and a radical member of the Nation of Islam the day he entered the ballroom armed and ready to kill. His allegiance was to the Nation's founder, and he was outraged Malcolm X had broken from its ranks.

 

After the shooting, Hagan tried to flee the scene but he was shot in the leg. He was beaten by the crowd before being arrested outside.

 

Last month, he told the parole board he felt the urge to kill Malcolm X because of his inflammatory comments about the Nation's founder.

 

"It stemmed from a break off and confusion in the leadership," Hagan said. "Malcolm X broke with the Nation of Islam, separated from the Nation of Islam, and in doing so there was controversy as to some of the statements he was making about the leader."

 

He added, "History has revealed a lot of what Malcolm X was saying was true."

 

Two other men, Muhammad Abdul Aziz and Kahlil Islam, were also found guilty of murder in 1966 and received 20 years to life. Both proclaimed their innocence. Hagan, who eventually admitted his part in the murder, testified at trial and subsequent parole hearings that both men were innocent. Aziz was paroled in 1985; Islam was freed in 1987.

 

At last month's parole hearing, Hagan again maintained that Aziz and Islam were not the other assassins. He said it was two other men who helped plot, plan and participate in the killing.

 

Did they receive orders from the Nation to carry out the killing?

 

"I can't say that anyone in the Nation of Islam gave us the idea or instructed us to do it. We did this ourselves for the most part, yes," Hagan told the parole board.

 

Hagan said he received a master's degree in sociology while incarcerated and that has helped him deal with his actions from 45 years ago.

 

"I understand a lot better the dynamics of movements and what can happen inside movements and conflicts that can come up, but I have deep regrets about my participation in that."

 

He added, "Unfortunately, I didn't have an in-depth understanding of what was really going on myself to let myself be involved in anything like that. ... I can't really describe my remiss and my remorse for my actions -- basically a very young man, a very uneducated man. "

 

He is still a Muslim but no longer a member of the Nation of Islam. He volunteers at a mosque to help young men. He told the parole board he hopes to become a qualified substance abuse counselor.

 

His primary mission is to help his four children, ages 21, 17, 14 and 10. He has two other grown children.

 

"My focus is to maintain my family and to try to make things a little better for them. It's upward mobility, and to encourage my children to complete their education because it's a must."

“If you change the way you look at things, the things you look at change.”

- Dr Wayne Dyer -