LOTTOMIKE's Blog

think either 7584 or 6584 straight could show soon in tennessee......

look for 568 to make an appearance today in tennessee or georgia.

Rice Says Iran Playing Games With Offer

WASHINGTON (April 30) - The United States rejects Iran's offer to allow a watchdog agency to inspect the country's nuclear facilities and will press ahead for U.N. penalties against Tehran, Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice said Sunday.

   



"They've had plenty of time to cooperate. I think they're playing games," Rice said.

Iran on Saturday offered to allow inspections to resume if the Security Council turned over the dispute to the U.N. nuclear monitor, the International Atomic Energy Agency.

A report from the IAEA confirmed that Iran had successfully produced enriched uranium and defied the Security Council's Friday deadline to stop the process.

Rice said the offer to resume IAEA inspections suggests the Iranians "are indeed somewhat concerned" about actions the Security Council might take to further isolate Iran.

Her remarks contrasted with comments from her predecessor at the State Department, Colin Powell, who said in an interview broadcast Sunday in London that Iran seems to "have pretty much decided they can accept whatever sanctions are coming their way."

Regardless, Rice said the U.S. probably would seek a U.N. resolution that would require Iran to comply with demands that it stop enriching uranium. Rice mentioned a resolution under Chapter 7 of the U.N. Charter, which means it can be enforced through penalties or military action.

"The international community's credibility is at stake here," she told ABC's "This Week."

"And we have a choice, too. We can either mean what we say, when we say that Iran must comply, or we can continue to allow Iran to defy."

While the U.S. and its European allies are pushing for possible penalties, Russia and China -- veto-wielding Security Council members -- have opposed the idea.

Iran insists it has no plans to make nuclear weapons and does not need or want them. The United States, Britain and France suspect the program is aimed at producing nuclear warheads.

look for 7658 straight or boxed in tennessee soon.this has never fell boxed in tennessee.....

the tennessee titans got two players today in the NFL draft who played against each other in the national championship.vince young won the championship with texas against usc and lendale white who lost.both players end up on the same team which is tennessee titans.we also signed former players who were all pros on the steelers,patriots and colts this offseason.it looks like our couple seasons of salary cap purgatory are about over.you are about to see the beginnings of a real good football team my friends......

18-27-36-45-54----8

Economy Rebounds With 4.8 Percent Growth Rate

WASHINGTON (April 28) - Popping out of a year-end rut, the economy zipped ahead at the fastest pace in 2 1/2 years during the first quarter of 2006 as consumers picked up spending and businesses regained their footing.

   


In the first quarter, consumers with the intent to buy visited stores more frequently lifting spending by a rate of 5.5 percent.


   

Inflation looked tame, too, though the latest figures didn't include last week's oil-price spike.

"The U.S. economy is cruising along now," said Bill Cheney, chief economist at John Han Financial Services, after Friday's latest report by the Commerce Department.

Gross domestic product advanced at a 4.8 percent pace in the January-to-March quarter. That marked a rebound from the feeble 1.7 percent rate in the final quarter of 2005, when fallout from the Gulf Coast hurricanes, including high energy prices, prompted people and companies to tighten their belts.

GDP measures the value of all goods and services produced within the United States and is considered the best barometer of the economy's fitness.

"This rapid growth is another sign that our economy is on the fast track," said President Bush.

Recent growth hasn't helped Bush's standing with the public. He is shouldering his lowest-ever job approval rating, at 36 percent, according to an AP-Ipsos poll.

Democrats contend that economic expansion isn't benefiting all. "This growth is showing up in the bottom lines of companies, but not in the paychecks of workers," said Sen. Jack Reed, D-R.I.

The first quarter's performance - the best showing since the third quarter of 2003 - was close to economists' forecasts of a 4.9 percent growth rate.

Even with the economy motoring ahead, inflation moderated.

An inflation gauge closely watched by the Federal Reserve showed that core prices - excluding food and energy - rose by 2 percent, down from 2.4 percent in the fourth quarter.

The inflation reading, however, was taken before oil prices zoomed to a record high of more than $75 a barrel last week. Although prices have retreated since then, they remain high.

A separate report from the Labor Department suggested that the strengthening job market isn't fanning inflation. Employers' cost to hire and retain workers - wages and benefits - rose by 0.6 percent in the first quarter, the slowest pace in seven years. That mostly reflected less generous benefits.

While the slower growth in compensation packages heartened economists, it isn't necessarily welcome news for workers. "People's wages are going up, but they are not keeping up with inflation," said Stuart Hoffman, chief economist at PNC Financial Services Group.

To keep inflation at bay, the Federal Reserve is expected to boost interest rates again at its May 10 meeting, which would mark the 16th increase since June 2004. But after that, the central bank could take a break - perhaps temporarily - in its 2-year-old rate raising campaign, Fed Chairman Ben Bernanke suggested Thursday.

Bernanke and other Fed policymakers indicated they don't want to hurt economic activity by pushing rates up too high.

In the first quarter, consumers - critical players in the shape of the overall economy - got their spending back in a more-normal groove. They boosted spending at a brisk rate of 5.5 percent, compared with paltry 0.9 percent pace in the fourth quarter. The first quarter's increase, the biggest since the third quarter of 2003, was led by spending on big-ticket goods such as cars.

Another force helping the economy was business investment. Business spending on equipment and software grew at a whopping rate of 16.4 percent, the largest gain since the first quarter of 2000. "Spending on equipment was the strongest since the last irrational exuberance of the dot.com boom in early 200," said Joel Naroff, president of Naroff Economic Advisors.

Businesses ramped up investment on buildings and plants, too.

Government spending also supported economic growth in the first quarter. This spending went up at a 3.9 percent pace, a turnaround from a 0.8 percent dip in the fourth quarter.

Looking ahead, Bernanke said he expects the economy's growth to moderate in coming quarters but still be sufficiently strong to generate decent job growth. Risks to the mostly positive outlook, he said, could come from any prolonged run-up in energy prices and a sharp drop in housing activity. For now, neither scenario is envisioned.

look for 758 in oklahoma or tennessee soon......

look for 6845 in tennessee soon......

Selig Says MLB Won't Celebrate Bonds Passing Ruth


NEW YORK (April 27) - Barry Bonds will have to wait until he passes Hank Aaron before baseball throws a party for him.

   






   
Major League Baseball is not planning any celebration for Bonds if and when he tops Babe Ruth's mark of 714 home runs, commissioner Bud Selig said Thursday.

"Hank Aaron broke Babe Ruth's record," Selig said. "We don't celebrate anybody the second or third time in."

Bonds has been the subject of steroids speculation for several seasons. The recent book "Game of Shadows" detailed allegations against him, and a federal grand jury is investigating whether he committed perjury when he told another grand jury that he had never knowingly used performance-enhancing drugs.

Bonds hit his 711th homer Wednesday. His San Francisco Giants were off Thursday, and open a three-game series Friday night at home against Arizona.

Selig does not figure to be in San Francisco - or in Milwaukee or Philadelphia, where the Giants play next week - as Bonds nears Ruth.

"We celebrate new records, that's what we do. We're being consistent," Selig said during the Associated Press Sports Editors annual meeting with league commissioners. "There's nothing to read into that."

Ruth is second on the career home run list, trailing Aaron's total of 755. When Aaron broke Ruth's record in 1974, commissioner Bowie Kuhn was not in attendance. Kuhn's absence rankled many, including Aaron.

Bonds has been hobbled by bad knees, and missed most of last season.

"He's had a remarkable career. Whatever happens, happens," Selig said. "We're going to let nature take its course. Commissioners don't sit around and say, 'I hope this guy breaks it or not."'

Selig said he had read "Game of Shadows" but not seen "Bonds on Bonds," the ESPN reality show about the slugger's life.

Selig said the book was among several factors that prompted him to launch a baseball investigation into steroids, headed by former Senate Majority Leader George Mitchell. There is no timetable for completing the probe.

Baseball's investigation, Selig said, is "not affected at all by the grand jury" looking into whether Bonds committed perjury.

something tells me that 8888 could hit soon in a ball drawn state....

look for 784 in georgia or tennessee today......

· Senate Panel Says Abolish FEMA
· Iran's New Missiles Can Reach Europe
· Rove Back Before Grand Jury in CIA Leak Case
· Sister of Iraqi Vice President Killed in Drive-By Shooting
· Spanked Employee Seeks $1.2 Million
· China to Release First Panda Into the Wild




Iran Faces Deadline to Stop Enrichment


TOMSK, Russia (April 27) - The leaders of Russia and Germany urged Iran to fulfill its international nuclear obligations Thursday, a day before a U.N. Security Council deadline for Iran to stop enriching uranium.

   


Iran also tested the Fajr-3, a missile it said can avoid radar and hit several targets simultaneously using multiple warheads.

   
   

Iran's hard-line President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad vowed that no one could make Tehran give up its nuclear technology, and he warned that the United States and its European allies will regret their decision if they "violate the rights of the Iranian nation."

"The Iranian nation has acquired nuclear fuel production technology. It didn't get assistance from anybody and nobody can take it back," Ahmadinejad told thousands of people in western Iran.

Russian President Vladimir Putin and German Chancellor Angela Merkel told reporters in the Siberian city of Tomsk that the crisis over Iran's nuclear program could be resolved only through diplomacy.

"It's still too early to run ahead and say what decision we might take together," Putin said. "The main thing is ... that whatever decision is taken is a consensus decision."

Both leaders said Iran must adhere to its international obligations but did not elaborate.

The head of the U.N. nuclear watchdog, the International Atomic Energy Agency, will present a report Friday on Iran's implementation of the Security Council demand. Uranium enrichment can produce fuel for nuclear power or material for nuclear warheads.

   


   
If Iran does not comply, the Security Council is likely to consider punitive measures against the Islamic republic. Russia and China, however, have been reluctant to endorse sanctions.

Iran has thus far rejected the demand and issued its toughest warning on the issue Tuesday. Nuclear negotiator Ali Larijani said that if the Security Council imposes sanctions, Iran would stop cooperating with the IAEA and conceal its nuclear activities.

"Our position is clear and well known. We are for the nonproliferation of weapons of mass destruction," Putin said. "But we believe that Iran must have an opportunity to develop modern technologies and peaceful nuclear energy."

Earlier, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said the IAEA report should not be seen as an ultimatum for Tehran.

"The procedure for referring and examining the report is not an ultimatum," Lavrov said. "It has a working character and therefore, there is no time limit."

Merkel also called for a diplomatic resolution.

"We are very interested for the world community, as it has been from the start, to work together and show Iran that we want to work by diplomatic methods," she said. "But it is necessary for Iran to keep to the agreements that it has committed itself to."

"We are not talking about banning Iran from using nuclear energy for civilian goals, but it must keep to its obligations and agreements," Merkel added.

China's Foreign Ministry, meanwhile, stressed the need for restraint as the crisis reached a crucial stage.

"We hope the relevant parties can keep calm and exercise restraint so as to avoid moves that would further escalate the situation," said Foreign Ministry spokesman Qin Gang.

Qin said the problem can still be "resolved through dialogue and diplomatic means, which is the correct choice for all parties concerned."

i've had a hard time here lately on my budget trying to figure out which states to drop and which to play.i decided to hold off on kentucky and played 4865 in tennessee.well 4865 came in kentucky.man thats a bummer! i play oklahoma on and off but i know as soon as i quit my numbers will come in.its good to stick with something because when you drop it its going to hit.i regretfully dropped oregon today to focus more on tennessee.its all a strategy and how you utilize it will determine your success.i've had a couple of straight pick 4 hits.i could've had a couple more but don't due to wrong moves on my part.i'm going to get it all figured out here soon.

Rick Monday Saves Old Glory


.

The day was April 25, 1976. The Cubs were playing the Dodgers in Los Angeles. Patrolling center field for the Cubs was 30-year-old Rick Monday, who was embarking upon what would be the best season of his career, with 32 home runs and 77 runs batted in. On this spring day in '76, he was on a Cubs team that was headed for a fourth place finish in the National League East. It was the fourth inning with the Dodgers batting.

The Vietnam War had ended a year before, but people didn't need a war in order to protest. What these two ding-a-lings who had just dashed onto the field of Dodger Stadium were all about nobody knew, but here they were, and where was security? They had come from the left-field corner and had just run past Cubs left fielder Jose Cardenal. One carried something under his arm but Monday couldn't distinguish what it was. Once they reached shallow left-center, they stopped and brought out the object. Monday could see; it was the U.S. flag.

He recalled that they laid it on the ground almost as if they were about to have a picnic. Then one of them dug into his pocket and brought out something shiny and metallic. "I figured having gone to college two and two is sometimes four," Monday said. "They were dousing it with lighter fluid." Then they lit a match. Which flared momentarily and died. By now, Monday was in full stride, running towards them. "To this day, I don't know what I was thinking,"he said. "Except bowl them over." He was also thinking they were trying to commit a terrible act.

"What they were doing was extremely wrong as far as I was concerned," said Monday, who served six years in the Marine Reserves. He reached them about the time they got the second match lit and were about to torch the flag. "There's a picture that I think won the Pulitzer Prize and it showed me reaching down and grabbing the flag," he said. Monday got the flag and handed it to Doug Rau, a Dodger's pitcher. That was the last Monday saw of it until a month later. The Dodgers came to Wrigley Field and Al Campanis, a Dodgers executive, presented the flag to Monday. "It's displayed very proudly in my home," he said.

Monday got a hero's welcome wherever the Cubs played the rest of that season. It was the last thing he wanted. He had simply done what he thought was the right and honorable thing to do. He had visited a veterans hospital when he played for Oakland and had seen how people's lives had been shattered fighting for what that flag represents. "It's the way I was brought up," he said. "You would have done the same thing had you been as close geographically as I was, I get the idiots stopped."