World Cup Goalkeepers – Edwin van der Sar

A towering personality Edwin van der Sar is probably the best goalkeeper to have played for Netherlands. Born on the October 29, 1970, he began his football career by playing for his local city team FC Foreholte in Voorhout.

His athleticism and sharp reflexes under the bar brought him to the notice of major clubs. He first moved to VV Noordwijk, and from there to Ajax. He was apart of the Ajax team that won the UEFA Champions League in 1995.

Van der Sar hit big time when he moved to Juventus. In 2001, he joined Fulham, and started playing in the English Premier League. His biggest change came in 2005, when he moved to Manchester United for a rumored 2 million pounds. The green uniform of Manchester United also won him a nickname: Jolly Green Giant.

Van der Sar wore the national jersey for the first time in 1995 when he played for Netherlands against Belarus. Since then he has played more than a 100 matches for his country, and is likely to emerge as the most capped Dutch player.

His crowning moment was when he won the penalty shootout against Sweden in the Euro 2004 quarter final. This was the first time that the Dutch had won a penalty shoot-out. Van der Sar is admired for his grit and determination, and his ability to analyze the moves of the opposition forwards.

Some of the trophies that have come his way are Champions League, European Super Cup, and Intercontinental Cup.

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The Potential of a Chinese Website

China is constantly in the news at present due to its phenomenal economic expansion. With more and more businesses wanting to invest in China and more Chinese businesses wanting to export abroad, the Chinese market is booming. In short, China is on the fast-track to becoming a world economic heavyweight.

The potential for lucrative business ventures within the country are unquestionable. One avenue that offers businesses huge inroads into the country is the internet. A Chinese website, properly structured and considered, provides a point of contact to millions of potential new clients and customers. All the signs are pointing to the fact that companies that act now in getting their websites translated into Chinese and properly marketed using local search engines, stand the best chance of capitalizing on a fairly young economic gold mine.

Looking at recent business activity and reports from China, the internet is looking strong and healthy. Both Google and Yahoo! are now involved with the Chinese internet industry in one way or another. Google most recently launched its AdWords business in China. The local Chinese search engine Baidu.com just floated on the stock market with massive success. Statistics show that the number of internet users in 2005 stands at 103 million users, a mere 7.9% of the Chinese population. With greater access to the internet and falling prices for computing hardware, this figure will only increase. Furthermore, an increasing number of European and American companies are seeking to break into the market through Chinese websites, most notably Liverpool and Manchester United Football Clubs who both clearly see the financial potential of selling their goods to a hungry Chinese audience.

The sign clearly says, «China – Land of Business Opportunity». For businesses wanting to profit from this growing market place the Chinese website is critical. Chinese internet users are turning more and more to the internet as a source of information, goods and services. Companies that deal with anything from clothing to tourism to consulting are all in demand. Those that get a place in the market now will see secure future revenue.

In the grand scheme of things, the returns a Chinese website brings outweighs the small initial costs involved in producing it. A Chinese website will act as your marketing tool, attract new customers, give you a competitive edge and ultimately increase your revenue.

Prior to having your Chinese website translated or designed you need to know who you are targeting. When this article refers to «China» it means mainland China. In China the «simplified» script is used. However, in Hong Kong, Taiwan and Malaysia the «traditional» script is used. Be sure to use the correct script when having your website translated.

There are two ways of going about presenting your Chinese website. Firstly, to have your whole site translated into Chinese. This however can only really work for small, compact sites. Larger sites will need a larger financial outlay. Secondly, a company may decide to produce a «microsite». This is where the most important information about a company is translated and condensed into a few pages so a Chinese visitor can access the basics about who you are, what you do and how to contact you.

To get your Chinese website up and running you will need a good translation or localization agency. They will be able to analyse your current site, understand the purpose of your site, help define your target audience and then take care of the translation of the site’s content into Chinese. Some agencies can also take care of the website design work too.

Other services you may need to consider ensuring maximum impact of your site are a Cross Cultural Assessment and Search Engine Marketing. A cross cultural assessment is carried out by an expert in cultural differences. They will look at the structure of your site, the use of colours, pictures, logos and presentation to make sure it is not offensive to a Chinese audience. They will also advise on what could help boost your site’s appeal. For example, the use of the colour red is considered auspicious in China.

Once you have your Chinese website you will need to be found. A few companies now provide multilingual search engine marketing. This is where your website will be submitted to major Chinese search engines and directories; structured using certain key search terms and phrases and promoted on the internet through links from other sites.

Expansion beyond national borders is imperative for today’s businesses seeking long term growth. China clearly is a fantastic opportunity for businesses looking for a potential source of revenue from overseas. A young, internet savvy population demonstrate that a Chinese website is one of the most reasonable yet highly successful means of tapping the market.

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EPL Season 2007-08 – Your Player Transfer Guide

Shirley Bassey’s song Big Spender could not come truer for the 20-club English Premiership League. With the new season starting on 11 August 2007, the transfer outlay for the 20 top soccer clubs in England has already exceeded the £300m spent last season – then already setting a dubious expenditure record. In fact, soccer pundits expect their total outlay is to surpass the magical £500m mark by the time the transfer window shuts on 31 August 2007, which is more than enough to feed millions of homeless people around the world. Indeed, the EPL is by far the world’s most successfully and obscenely expensive soccer league.

Get this: with the latest television deal signed and sealed, the worldwide TV rights almost doubled to £625m, including highlights, radio, Internet and mobile-phone contracts, total amount expected to be poured into the game is well over £2.7b for the next three years. As consumers, we are indirectly funding this amount of money by paying more to watch live TV action.

Strange enough, baring an exception 1995 whereby the title was won on the last day by Blackburn Rovers, the crown has been worn by only three clubs, with Manchester United dominating follow by Arsenal and Chelsea. We find it difficult to believe that the title will escape from the clutches of any of these three clubs in the coming new season. But who knows? Perhaps Liverpool, the most successful English club in history with their massive outlay this season, will win their first ever EPL title.

In the latest transfer market, Manchester United has fired the first salvo by spending over £50m to procure new players so far. Liverpool, Manchester City and Tottenham Hotspurs are playing catch-up after spending over £30m each, with surprising Portsmouth, West Ham and Fulham over £20m each, and Arsenal, Sunderland, Birmingham and Chelsea a little over £10m each. With the league being so lucrative, it is easy to understand why even modest clubs are splurging to maximum their chances of staying up for as many seasons as possible. This is evidenced by the transfer dealings of new Fulham manager Lawrie Sanchez, who sanctioned more than £20m worth of deals, well surpassing the measly £1m spent four years ago. And this makes Fulham the biggest spender in West London, surpassing the mighty Chelsea.

For people like me without deep pockets, I am contented with spending a few dollars on a wager that Shirley Bassey’s Big Spender will top the bill board charts once again this coming season. Don’t bet against it. Cheers.

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Glasgow Rangers – Fantastic Football Facts!

If you’re a football fan, no doubt you’ll know lots about Glasgow Rangers FC, but I’m sure there’s loads more you don’t know about this Scottish Premier League team! Get to know the Gers better with these footie facts!

Did you know?:

Rangers were first established in 1873 by the Moses brothers, William McBeath, Peter Campbell and Peter McNeil.

Their team name was copied from an English rugby club by the same name after they found it in a book.

The first match Rangers ever played was against Callander FC on Glasgow Green. It was a friendly and no goals were scored by either side.

Their second ever match scored a momentous win, with Rangers beating Clyde (not the current Clyde team) 11-0.

Rangers were one of the first ten teams to join the Scottish Football League in the 1890-91 season. Their first league match was played on 16th August in 1890.

Their stadium is the Ibrox and it has a seating capacity to hold more than 50,000 rowdy football fans.

Rangers won the European Cup Winners Cup in 1972 when they thrashed Dynamo Moscow 3-2.

The most capped played Rangers has managed to turn out was Ally McCoist who collected 57 caps for Scotland.

Ally McCoist was also the highest goal scorer in Rangers’ history, clocking up a spectacular 335 goals.

Glasgow Rangers is not to be confused with Glasgow Celtic, formed in 1888 by Brother Walfrid Kerins who were set up to give something back to Irish immigrants in the community.

The average home attendance at a Rangers match is around 49,000 fans.

Rangers’ team mascot is Broxi Bear, a brown teddy bear with blue ears and nose.

Sir Alex Ferguson played for Glasgow Rangers between 1967 and 1969, where he scored 44 goals.

The Rangers stadium was the location of the Ibrox disaster on 5th April 1902 when the West Tribune Stand collapsed due to heavy rainfall and killed 25 people and injured over 500.

From the 1988-89 season to the 1996-7 season Rangers won the league title every year, with a staggering nine in a row by the end. The team was managed by Graham Souness and Walter Smith.

Rangers’ strip is light blue and white.

The current chairman of Rangers FC Glasgow offices is David Murray.

Famous Rangers supporters include chef Gordon Ramsey, Ultravox star Midge Ure, news presenter Kirsty Young, golfer Colin Montgomerie and actors Kenneth Branagh and Robert Carlyle.

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Eilat’s Cultural Evolution

If you were looking for the best jazz and classical music, or the newest independent films playing in the Middle East, Eilat might not be the first place you looked. But that is all about to change if the City of Eilat, the Ministries of Culture and Tourism, and the Eilat Hotel Association have their way.

Since the early days of modern Israel, the southern-most, desert city of Eilat has been associated with swimming and sun bathing, water sports, desert adventures and night life. However, ten years from now visionaries and city planners expect Eilat to be the cultural mecca of Israel …. perhaps the whole Middle East. The idea is that visitors can spend their days at the sea and their evenings enjoying the various cultural offerings of the city.

While there have always been some residents in the south, Eilat was established in 1949. At the time the area was virtually unpopulated and inaccessible by road. During the War of Independence two Israeli brigades broke through and open the road. In doing so, they also opened the window of opportunity.

The city developed steadily over the years. In 1975 the first international charter flights from Europe began and tourism really took off. Today, Eilat is a popular destination for visitors from France, England, Sweden, Norway, Denmark, The Netherlands and Russia, as well as Canada and the United States.

According to a spokesman from the Ministry of Tourism, this past year Eilat hosted approximately 50,000 foreign visitors and with the City’s focus on culture, those numbers are expected to grow exponentially in the next few years.

Local residents are also enthusiastic about the changing personality of their city because the more new events that are created, the more employment opportunities that arise.

Culture in Eilat

If you are looking for culture, there are now several different events to choose from in Eilat, depending on the time of the year.

The Red Sea Jazz Festival. Eilat hosted its first annual international jazz festival in 1987 and since then, it has increasingly attracted legendary and award-winning artists from around the world. Randy Brecker… Michail Alperin Trio… Blood Sweat & Tears… The Fringe… Spyro Gyra…Chick Corea & Origin… Diana Krall…Manhattan Transfer… The Mingus Big Band… Dianne Reeves … Zap Mama… and close to a hundred more big jazz names have all come to Eilat to perform before a continually growing audience of jazz aficionados.

This is a real music fest, with varied programs ranging from modern to traditional jazz through salsa and world music, all performed by leading bands and international stars. Even the Israeli program and performers are rich and diverse. Ten local groups performed at last year’s festival, which took place at the end of August. For seven of these groups, who represent the recent success of Israeli jazz, it was their premier performance at the festival.

One special benefit for festival attendees is the jazz master classes led by internationally-renowned jazz musicians that offer music students an excellent, one-on-one opportunity to meet artists, learn from them, and practice together.

The festival is now frequently referred to as the major jazz event in the Middle East. Last year, the four-day festival attracted approximately 50,000 people and featured more than 30 concerts.

The International Film Festival. Now entering its fourth year, this four-day festival held in late May, will screen close to 50 full-length features from around the world to an enthusiastic audience of industry experts, film fans, local residents, students and soldiers. Festival organizers say that the more than 5000 people who come to participate in the festival will see films from Israel, Japan, China, Turkey, Greece, Italy, the U.S. and more.

This year the festival is screening the children’s film «Over the Hedge», a new film by the creators of «Shrek», which is opening worldwide at Cannes in early May. Another new film, «Flight 93» tells the story of the third plane – the one that crashed into a field in rural Pennsylvania – that was hijacked in the September 11th, 2001 terrorist attacks on the United States.

Adam Greenberg, Director of Photography for well-known films such as «Dave» and «The Terminator» will be on hand to receive a Lifetime Achievement Award. There will also be a series of 44 short films screened on the beach about European football as a lead-up to this year’s World Cup in Germany.

Awards will be given in three categories: Best Foreign Film, Best Israeli Film and Best Children’s Film, which will be judged by a panel of young adjudicators from the city.

Chamber Music Festival. This new international festival which took place in different halls around the city this past February, is off to a strong start according to the reviewers. The performances by iPalpiti Orchestra, YAI – Young International Artists, Ida Haendel, Concerto Köln, Evgeni Koroliov, Aviv Quartet, and Jerusalem Trio were all well received and planning is about to begin for next year’s event.

Red Sea Classical Festival. This three-day festival held in December has been described as «a myriad of musical opulence» with its spectacular orchestras, guest singers and musicians – some of the brightest talent from around the world. This pasta year, Valery Gergiev, artistic director and conductor of the Kirov Mariinsky Theatre from St. Petersberg, Russia, entertained audiences of 2000 each night with his group of 280 musicians. The Mariinsky, one of the world’s most celebrated opera companies — is the only Russian cultural institution to survive and flourish after the fall of the Soviet Union. As a result, Gergiev is considered somewhat of a national hero.

The classical festival was held for the first time in 1993. It was organized by the City’s Office of Tourism and «Shira,» an international cultural society. Plans are now underway for next year’s festival, which will be held at the end of December and the beginning of January. Plans for 2006 include holding one night’s performance in Aqaba, Jordan.

The International Underwater Photo Competition. Imagine photographing some of the most beautiful marine life in the world. The Underwater Photo Competition draws many famous international divers and photographers – not only because of the beauty of the Red Sea, but also because of the $25,000 purse for the first place prize winner. The competition is open to both amateurs and professionals, shooting with film or digital cameras. There are two competitive categories: «Images from Around the World,» in which submissions are sent in advance from other locations and the on-site «Eilat Shoot-Out». All entries are judged by an international panel.

This year internationally renowned, award-winning photographer and explorer, Amos Nachoum will be the guest of honor and the master of ceremonies at the April event.

While most visitors would agree that this is a pretty comprehensive list for any one destination, tourism officials say that several new events being planned for the near future. Eilat is clearly a city on the move and, say Tourism officials, these festivals represent just a few of the ways that Eilat is becoming part of the world’s cultural community.

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Fresh Content: Important Peculiarities For Online Stores

Online store owners may face a problem with content updates. On the one hand, there is a recommendation to publish fresh content regularly, but on the other hand, there are a lot of static pages in an online store with relevant information which do not require to be updated. Let’s take a closer look at this problem and try to identify what should be updated, how often and why it is important.

Does Google like fresh content?

In fact, it is not a whim of Google but rather a requirement of users. For example, if you are looking for the information about the UEFA European Championship, you would probably prefer the results about EURO 2016, not about EURO 2012. That is why Google Search has a freshness algorithm developed to provide you with the most relevant and fresh results, so even if you only search for «EURO football» without specifying the year 2016, you will find EURO 2016 on SERP. You could say that it is a hot topic and popular event, so it is understandable that the information regarding it is updated every day, hour and even minute. You are right. But if you search for the «iPhone reviews» you probably will not be satisfied with the reviews that were published 4 years ago. You also prefer to receive the most up to date information. So, relevance and freshness of information is a requirement of users that Google is trying to satisfy. Below we will describe how Google analyzes the content for freshness.

A date of a document creation

The first parameter by which Google determines the freshness is the date on which the document was created. It also can be the date when the document is found by Google for the first time, in other words, when Googlebot indexes a certain document or finds a link to it. A good freshness indicator may boost certain content for some search requests, but this effect may be temporary, and the older a document gets – the worse positions it takes in the search results. For some requests, older webpages may be more preferable than newer pages. And so, it may be useful to correct the freshness indicator for a certain webpage based on the difference between the age of the document and the number of available results.

The number of changes determines the degree of freshness

The age of a document is not the only indicator of freshness. Search engine crawlers are able to index and check the changes in each document. So, the number of changes in a document can make certain content fresher or older.

For instance, if you change several words or add a small text paragraph on the page, this content will not be considered as fresh. Practice shows that in most cases Google ignores minor changes.

SEO Tip. If you update a link on an existing webpage, it is better to change the text surrounding this link, as well. In this case, Google is more likely to consider this as update and not to ignore your changes.

Where or what part of a document is changed

Each webpage has different areas and its own structure, and an update is more or less important depending on which part or which elements of the page this update affects. The most preferred part for the changes is the body of the page. Changes in comments, advertising blocks, navigation, Java script, date and time are less important.

SEO Tip. Don’t try to make fake freshness. The best way is to keep the existing page content fresh and useful at the same time.

Changes in frequency or how often content is changed

Updating content regularly is not enough. If you do this once a year it is also regularly. Content that is updated more often is considered differently than content that is updated several times per year. But, you should take into account that Google «understands» that there are sites where information is updated constantly (for example, a news portal like bbc.com and so on) and there are sites where frequent updates are not appropriate and may even be suspicious. Moreover, Google treats the links of such pages in a different way. The links value from the rapidly changing (updating) pages may not be as strong as the links from static, permanent pages.

Adding new pages

You can refresh existing pages, as well as create new ones. A very simple formula works here: sites that create new pages more often may have a higher freshness indicator than sites that create new pages less frequently.

Freshness may also be identified as the ratio of fresh pages compared to existing pages during a certain period of time. Because of this, it is recommended to add about 30% fresh pages to the site every year. But it is not obvious if other freshness signals exist.

Increase in the number of new backlinks

Not only external factors can make the content fresh. There are also external factors that can be even more powerful. If the number of backlinks to a certain page is increasing it is a signal of fresh content.

SEO Tip. A false increase of backlinks can be considered by search engines as spam or black SEO. Search engines can penalize for such activity. Keep in mind that backlinks from sites that have a good freshness indicator can improve the freshness indicator of the pages they link to.

Recommendations for e-commerce

Online stores have a lot of peculiarities in their content. Some product pages don’t need frequent updates and the information can be relevant for several months. You don’t need to update your online store pages to receive better ranking results. The main goal here is to update information to make the content as much useful for visitors as possible. Here are some recommendations:

  • Determine an optimal updated rate for your business. Check how often your competitors are updating the information. According to this, add new content to your online store regularly.
  • Use your blog to add useful content. It is the best practice for the online store to create new pages.
  • When you upgrade, engage more important part and elements of the site. Remember that the body of the page is more preferable.
  • Remember that slight changes may not be considered. To update a link, you need to change the text surrounding the link to increase the probability of the link to be considered as fresh.
  • Stable backlink growth is better than sharp and intermittent growth.
  • Plan and update the product page content, but keep in mind that frequent updates are not needed here.

In conclusion, it should be noted that you need to think about your clients first and do your best to be useful and relevant for them. Googlebot will never buy your products, so your priorities should be clearly identified.

Have a nice selling!

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Free Premiership Football Betting Tips

The Premiership circus rolls onto our screens on Saturday and every club will contribute to make another post World Cup season the biggest yet from a media perspective.

The World Cup Finals generate tremendous enthusiasm the following season, and with even the top managers under severe pressure this season for one reason or another, no Premiership job is totally safe this time around.

Should Martin O’Neill be at Old Trafford instead of Sir Alex, and will Chelsea fans tire of another season of ‘meaningless’ Premiership victories if European glory slips through blue fingers again?

‘Harry’ has been busy down on the south coast, whilst Charlton have to learn to live without ‘Curbs’ who might have jumped before being potentially pushed as the Addicks face a potential nightmare season.

Agatha Christie would have struggled to pen a more compelling start to a new term, whilst web sites offer advice to potential punters on how supporters can add profit to their enjoyment by placing bets of all varieties relating to matches that endanger the strongest of marital relationships.

Football punters are increasingly important to bookmakers who realise that horse racing has shot itself in the foot too often to entice new customers, albeit that Italian football is under scrutiny after some dodgy activity of late.

The ex-Liverpool goalkeeper Bruce Grobbelaar was accused of match-fixing in this country several years ago, but all Brucie’s blog seemed to achieve related to punters increasing their gambling on soccer, as opposed to the potentially terminal diagnosis in the horse racing sector. The ‘story’ (Bruce won substantial damages from a leading newspaper) merely boosted interest in fixed odds football betting!

Too many punters have their head in the clouds when they bet on football, with their hearts coursing the blood through the veins as betting slips are completed at breakneck speed as supporters back their team to achieve unrealistic targets.

Thierry Henry was a short priced favourite to score the first goal of the game in Arsenal’s matches last year, yet the Golden Boot winner only achieved the feat on five occasions.

Conversely, Darren Bent was on offer at rewarding odds by comparison and the Charlton striker opened the scoring in eight matches. ‘Sven’ made the mistake of ignoring Darren’s ability for this year’s World Cup, and the lesson for punters should be staring them in the face.

Punters need to delve into the information that is readily available these days, and rid themselves of laziness that will inevitably cost them money throughout the winter campaign. James Beattie scored the opening goal of the game seven times in matches involving Everton, yet James netted all those goals at Goodison Park.

Ignoring the potential of opposing teams for this example, the realistic odds for James to score the first goal at home this year should be around the 5/2 mark, with 12/1 freely available in matches away from Goodison Park. Those odds will not be reflected by bookmakers however, and punters need to hammer home the advantage, whether laying or playing the markets this season.

The scenario is repeated in the ‘correct score’ sector, with supporters of the popular teams steaming in for their side to slaughter the opposition on a weekly basis.

Although cynics suggest that ‘anoraks’ like myself can interpret numbers to an advantage, the facts suggest that figures never lie, and adopting this positive attitude can reap rewards.

Okay, so Arsenal hammered Middlesbrough 7-0 last year, but how many people would have suggested that Boro would have been the team that would have taken the hiding? Arsenal only managed to score a single home goal against Birmingham, before scraping past Cardiff (2-1) in a Highbury tie against Cardiff in the F.A. Cup, which emphasises the point I am trying to make.

If you consider that the home team is the favourite in the majority of matches, the sobering thought to consider when playing the correct score market, is that a stat of 310 against 70 emerged via home teams that scored a maximum of two goals in the Premiership last season. To ram home the point, also consider that two hundred and nineteen of those home teams scored less than two goals!

Splitting the two halves of a game offers more insight into the way that managers ‘wind up’ their players. Chelsea only ‘won’ sixteen first half ‘matches’, but claimed twenty-seven ‘victories’ in the second half of their games.

Hopefully this type of information will lead you to bet with your head this season and secure a profit instead of annual losses.

And finally to the bet of the year! This season’s major spread bet will be the market pertaining to the number of cards that Mrs (Graham) Poll will receive on her birthday. My spread would be around the 11/12 mark, with three given by her husband! Be lucky.

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Predictions in Betting

The UEFA Champions League is usually referred as the Champions League or the European Cup. It is an annual football association cup competition organised by Union Of European Football Associations since 1955 for the top football clubs in Europe. The final of the competition is watched worldwide. Champions League Picks are trying to predict the results of every Champions League match starting with the group stage.

The people try to show off their knowledge by making predictions for each UEFA Champions League match. It is very challenging and risky one as it involves money. Before attempting a champion’s league picks, one need to know a lot about the game, the team and the team players. There are lots of websites which helps you to do betting. It gives a full details about the teams and players.There are also many website which provide free picks, where you can try and see where you stand. Always remember that football betting is always a gamble, so bet within your financial limits, where you can tolerate if you lose. In order to ease your work many betting advisors are available. These are really professional betting consultants who can predict the outcome of the competitions and give advice to the public based on their predictions for money. Their predictions may or may not fail. They actually improve your chances of winning a bet. They come to these conclusions by having deep study and research. Lots of hard work is there behind each prediction. If they are successful, betters return to them. The tipsters or the betting advisors were mainly associated with horse racing previously. But now for each sport there are betting consultants. Brandon Lang revolutionised the sports betting industry and made it as it is now. Now there is hundreds of betting consultant companies available. Many come and fail as they start and yet some others have made remarkable success. People do need such advices and rely on these advisors for making huge betting on sports.

Base ball picks can be very profitable, though the game is considered boring. If you have the right information in front, you can make huge profit. The reason behind this is the baseball is over a long season and you have many opportunities to make money. It starts with April and end with the MLB world series in October. You can have many games to win with the right pick. Usually baseballs predictions require detailed analysis. Betting odds are predominantly based on the starting pitcher in the game. So before making your baseball predictions, one should carefully analyse the pitchers performances, like the pitchers current form and other factors.

Making predictions in sport betting is a dangerous thing. People who do such predictions are called handicappers. In order to make a confident prediction, one needs to spend years in keenly watching the games. It includes each and every aspect of the game. In the case of a betting in soccer game, a successful soccer prediction is based on the factors including, situational trends, motivation and psychological factors, statistical analysis, team news, injuries, suspension, rooster changes and even recent form of the players. Soccer is much different when compared to many other games when it comes to the professional league.

The game hockey is not as popular in US, as baseball or basket ball. But there are many people making money out of it either by betting or making hockey predictions. Hockey handicappers have to look upon several factors to make a successful hockey prediction. The factors for a hockey predictions include save percentage and success in wins of a goalie, the point scorers and the two way defence men on each team, heather a team is playing on their home court or not, recent injuries, overtime records, past wins or loses etc. It is also important to know the status of the goalie to make sure how good he is to prevent the other team from scoring. Thus for each game it is a different thing. You should put in a lot of money, energy and time in recording the statistics of the game in order to become a successful handicapper or a bettor.

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European Football Betting Tips – Enjoying the Beautiful Game and Earning Loads of Cash

European Football Betting Tips may be considered «dirty» for some people. This is because betting on European football, or any sport, or just betting in general, has been long connected to immoral behavior and seedy, shady business. As with any other activity, though, sport betting has its pros and cons, the most obvious pro being large cash earnings with minimal effort. Sports betting has become so lucrative that a good number of people has actually made it their main source of income. Soccer betting has been made more exciting due to the fact that soccer is the world’s favorite sport, and when a league in one country is in its off season, you can always look for another league somewhere else in the world that is currently playing. If you’re considering this to have a very good income generating potential, then, here is some European football betting tips for you to take note of. A combination of statistics, experiences along the way and continuous practice are keys to making it big.

You can handle soccer in two ways: subjectively or objectively. a list of European football betting tips will not be complete without differentiating these two. The main tool for objective analysis of soccer is the use of statistics. When determining your picks, statistics are fundamental and using them will eventually spell the difference between winning big, winning small, or losing big or small. Through statistics, you can make conclusions that may be the same or different as the odds maker’s. However, take not that it is always to the advantage of the bookmaker’s. Subjective factors such as team favorites, previous experience with betting on a team, handicapping players or teams can also affect the bettor’s judgment when he is about to make a bet. In subjective betting, it is important that the bettor knows when to observe, give it all, or hold back before betting again. It is also important to observe trends among bets. If a trend proves to be too popular, then the linesman will adjust the line, leaving bettors scrambling for very small winnings. Trends that are getting stronger and weaker should be taken into consideration by someone who observes trends.

With these European football betting tips, one of the most important things to take into consideration would be managing your bankroll. Make sure that with the amount of money you bet, you should still have a budget for bills, groceries, and other emergencies. For beginners it is essential to only keep 5% of your spendable income on betting and not go to the excess. At the start, limit your betting to three matches a day at the most. This limit allows you to test the waters in terms of how much you lose and if you can handle such a loss. Also, by limiting you number of bets, it is easier to gauge how many winning and losing bets you made, which in turn makes it easier to keep track of your bankroll growth. Once you think you have gained more experience, it may be the time that you can increase the number of matches that you can bet on. Lastly, minimal matches allow you to really analyze the results of the matches you place bets on. That way, you can sharpen your skills in both subjectively and objectively analyzing soccer matches, improving your chances of making good bets the next time. Remember that success in this business requires continuous learning. It is never too late to discover something new in this trade.

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Mobsters – The Cotton Club

THE BLACKS WERE ON THE STAGE.

THE WHITES WERE AT THE TABLES.

THE MOBSTERS WERE BEHIND THE SCENES.

AND SOMEHOW THE MAGIC TOUCHED THEM ALL – Jim Haskins – «The Cotton Club.»

In the 1890’s, Harlem was the land speculator’s dream. The elevated railroad lines that had been extended to 129th Street in Manhattan, had transformed the area from the hinterlands to what was called «The Great Migration.»

At the time, black families lived mostly in the area between Thirty-Seventh Streets and Fifty-Eight Streets, between Eighth and Ninth Avenues. The upper crust of society viewed Harlem as the next step for the upwardly mobile, and as a result, splendorous townhouses costing thousands more than comparables downtown, were being built as fast as the Harlem land could be purchased by the land speculators.

By 1905, the bottom of the Harlem real estate market fell though the floor. The land speculators were forced to face the fact that the townhouse had been built too quick, and that the prices were far above what the people were prepared to pay for them.

On the verge of bankruptcy, the land speculators used tactics that today would be illegal. They decided to rent their buildings to black tenants, far above what they would charge white tenants. Then, in a frenzy to recapture their losses, the land speculators approached white building owners and told them if they didn’t purchase vacant buildings they would rent them out exclusively to blacks, thereby reducing the value of the white landowner’s properties. The white landowners didn’t bite, so the land speculators made good on their promises. Whites began moving out of Harlem in droves, replaced by black families who had never lived in such a fine neighborhood before. Black churches followed their congregations from the slums of Manhattan to the splendor of Harlem, and by the early 1920’s, Harlem was the largest black community in the United States.

However, most blacks could not afford the high rents charged by the white building owners, so they took in tenants, causing two and sometimes three families to live in a one, or two-bedroom apartment. Coinciding with the overcrowding of Harlem, came the influx of illegal enterprises, such as numbers runners, houses of prostitution, and drug dealers. This was counteracted somewhat when prosperous blacks, mostly in the entertainment business, decided Harlem was where they could showcase their talents in a neighborhood filled with people of their own race. Fritz Pollard, noted All-American football player, who made his money in the real estate, moved to Harlem, as did fellow All-America football player Paul Robeson — destined to hone an outstanding career acting and singing on stage. They were quickly followed by famous singers like Ethel Walters and Florance Mills, and Harlem was ready for a renaissance equal to that of the glowing White Way on Broadway.

However, when there was money to be made, white gangsters like Dutch Schultz and Owney «The Killer» Madden were ready to jump in and take the profits, by force if necessary, which is the way they did business anyway. Schultz muscled his way into the Harlem numbers business, chasing out such black notables as Madam Stephanie St. Claire and Caspar Holstein. And during the height of Prohibition, Madden had his eyes on the perfect place to sell his bootleg booze: The Club Deluxe on 142nd Street and Lenox Avenue.

The Club Deluxe was owned by former world heavyweight champion Jack Johnson, the first black heavyweight champion of the world. Whereas, Johnson was proficient with his fists, Madden and his formidable crew were good with guns, knives, and bats. A few choice words, backed with the threat of violence, with few meager bucks thrown in, and Johnson handed over Club Deluxe to Madden and his partner/manager George «Big Frenchy» DeMange. The two gangsters renamed it The Cotton Club.

Not to totally insult a black man with the prestige of Johnson, Madden threw Johnson a bone, and let him hang around the joint, resplendent in a tuxedo. Johnson would smile and tell everyone who asked that he was the assistant manager under DeMange.

To understand why such a great heavyweight boxer like Johnson would cower before Madden, who was barely five-foot-five-inches and 140 pounds after a huge dinner, one would have to be made aware of Madden’s background.

Owen «Owney» Madden was born at 25 Somerset Street, in Leeds, England, on December 18, 1891. In need of work, his father moved the Madden family to Liverpool. In 1903, when young Madden was only 12, his father died, and his mother re-located her family to America, settling on the West Side of Manhattan, in a neighborhood called «Hells Kitchen.»

Madden fell in with a boisterous gang known as the Gophers. He became proficient in the favored crimes of the era: robberies, muggings, and labor racket beatings. In order to hurt and intimidate, Madden’s favorite weapon was a lead pipe, wrapped in newspaper.

Madden made a ton of money in a racket called the «insurance business.» As the president of his own «insurance company,» Madden would visit the local establishments and tell the business owners that the owner needed «bomb insurance,» in case foreigners, or maybe even Madden himself, decided to bomb the businessman’s store. The business owners caught wind quick, and paid Madden what he demanded. If they didn’t pay Madden, that’s businessman’s stores would go up in flames and debris in a matter of days, and sometimes even hours. While Madden was a member of the Gophers, and making tons of money in his «insurance business,» he was arrested 44 times, but not once did he ever go to prison.

When Madden was 17, he earned his nickname «The Killer.» A poor Italian immigrant did nothing wrong, except cross paths with Madden on a street in Hell’s Kitchen. In front of a crowd of his fellow Gophers, and whomever else was standing on the street that day, Madden pulled out a gun and shot the Italian dead. Then Madden stood over the dead body and announced to the assembled crowd, «I’m Owney Madden!»

By the time he was 23, Madden had at least five other murders to his credit. Hence the nickname – «The Killer.»

However, Madden thought he was bulletproof, until November 6th, 1912, at the Arbor Dance Hall, which was in the heart of the territory controlled by the Gopher’s rivals: the Hudson Dusters. Madden strolled into the hall by himself, like he had nary a care in the world, during a dance given by the Dave Hyson Association. Madden was watching the proceedings from the balcony, when eleven Hudson Dusters surrounded him and shot Madden six times. Madden was rushed to the hospital, where a detective asked Madden who had shot him.

«Nothin’ doin,'» Madden said. «It’s no business but mine who put these slugs into me. My boys will get them.»

By the time Madden was released from the hospital, six of his eleven assailants had already been shot dead.

While Madden was recuperating from his wounds, one of his fellow Gophers, Little Patsy Doyle, figured he’d take control of Madden’s gang. Doyle was also intent on taking back his former girlfriend, Freda Horner, who now was the sole property of Madden. Miss Horner told Madden about Doyle’s intentions, and as a result, Madden told Miss Horner to tell Doyle she would be glad to meet him for a date at a saloon on Eighth Avenue and 41st Street. When Doyle arrived, dressed to the nines and all smiles, two of Madden’s gunmen shot Doyle dead.

Being the obvious suspect, Madden was arrested three days later for the murder of Little Patsy Doyle. At Madden’s trial, he was shocked to discover that Miss Horner had betrayed him too. Miss Horner testified in court that it was Madden who had set up the Doyle murder. As a result, Madden was convicted and sentenced to 10-20 years in Sing Sing Prison. He did only eight years, and was released in 1923, just in time to strong-arm Jack Johnson into selling him the Club Deluxe, a.k.a.- The Cotton Club. By this time Madden was big into bootlegging with his partner Big Bill Dwyer, and the Cotton Club was the perfect place to sell their illegal hootch, especially their famous Madden No. 1 beer, which was considered the best brew in New York City. They took in a legitimate guy named Herman Stark as their front man/partner/stage manager, but the show within the show was completely run by Madden and DeMange.

According to Jim Haskins book The Cotton Club, when Madden and DeMange took over the joint they redid the entire interior «to cater to the white downtowner’s taste for the primitive.» The club was made over in «jungle decor,» with numerous artificial palm trees dotted throughout the spacious establishment, which had seating for 700 people. The most exquisite draperies, tablecloths, and fixtures were purchased, indicating this was a «plush late-night supper club,» and the exorbitant prices highlighted that fact. The menu was varied. Besides the traditional steaks and chops, the Cotton Club cooks drummed up Chinese and Mexican dishes, as well as «Harlem» cuisine like fried chicken and barbecued spareribs.

DeMange presided over the front door like a tyrant. One rule was perfectly clear. Although the waiters, busboys, bartenders, cooks, service personnel, and performers were all black, no black people were allowed inside as customers. (The name itself – The Cotton Club — came from the light brown color of undyed cotton.) The chorus girls had to be «tall, tan, and terrific» which meant that they had to be at least 5-feet-6-inches tall, light skinned, and no older than twenty-one. The girls also had to be expert dancers, and at least be able to carry a tune. For some unknown reason, there was no color-shade restriction on the black male dancers, who were all proficient in «high-stepping, gyrating and snake-dancing.»

To show how strict Madden and DeMange were about their policy of segregation, about a month before their second grand opening, (The Cotton Club was closed by Prohibition agents for a while, ever though the local cops were on the pad), the following job interview took place. Present were Madden and DeMange, along with their choreographer Althea Fuller, and their orchestra conductor Andy Preer. The girl being interviewed was Queenie Duchamp.

DeMange to Madden: Boss, when is the club going to be ready to open?

Madden: The pigs won’t cause us trouble for a time. They know if we’re forced to close for bootlegging they won’t get their bonuses. As it is, they’re missing the extra padding and the boys have been complaining to the Sarge. Yeah, they’ve learned their lesson. As for the club’s show… let’s ask Althea and Andy.

DeMange to Preer: Andy, how’s the pit? Ready for next month’s opening?

Preer: We will be. If Althea gets her girls ready, the pit is ready to stomp.

Althea Fuller: Boss, we had a setback. One of the girls went and found a «moral conscience.» She’s following her sister, a Garveyite, back to Africa. Shame, she was a looker in the front line. Don’t worry, Boss, I’ve already got replacements ready to audition for you today. One of them looks promising and comes with a recommendation. She’s in the front row, third one in… Queenie Duchamp. First, let’s see if she can remember the steps she was taught this morning.

(Andy Preer leads the orchestra in «I’ve Found a New Baby» and 5 dancing girls audition. Queenie Duchamp is third from the left.)

Madden: Keep the third and the fifth. The other girls are too dark and short. Althea, make sure you grill them about rules and rehearsals. We are NOT running a gut bucket operation here.

(Madden leaves with his bodyguards)

Fuller: Queenie, come here. You got the job on a few conditions.

Queenie: Anything you want Miss Fuller.

Fuller: Number one – No booze, No boys, No drugs. No exceptions.

Queenie: Yes, Miss.

Fuller: Number two- Rehearsals are Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday and Friday starting at 1:00 p.m. sharp. All rehearsals are MANDATORY and lateness will not be accepted. I don’t know what you’ve heard, but rehearsals here are grueling and performances are long with many elaborate costume changes. That means you can’t afford to be draggin’ your ass around here. Make sure you eat and get your rest. Do you understand?

Queenie: Yes, Miss Fuller.

Fuller: Number three – No mixing with the patrons. There are about 700 whitefolk that walk through those doors every night. And according to Mr. Madden, they only have one goal here and that’s to spend money. They come here to hear the best Negro music and dance numbers in the city. They might act like they want to be your friend after a couple of drinks, but they don’t. Mr. Madden doesn’t want the races mixin’ and as far as I’m concerned, I think that’s better for business anyway.

DeMange: If a white customer starts to give you a problem or tries to make a connection with you, tell me. I’ll take care of it. It’s happened before. Sometimes these rich people get a couple drinks in them and they think they own the world. Don’t worry about it, just let me know. We run a tight ship here.

Queenie: Yes, Mr. DeMange. No problem Ms. Fuller. I am an entertainer and I understand the importance of practice. In fact, I’m a singer, a blues singer! If you ever need a singer….. (Ms. Fuller and Mr. DeMange look at each other.)

Fuller: Look, missy. Your goal here is to dance, smile and follow the rules… not sing. Got it?

Queenie: Yes, Miss Fuller. Got it.

Fuller: Another thing… stay out of trouble. You’re a looker and the club world can be dirty and dangerous. It doesn’t have to be though. Keep to yourself and whatever you do, stay out of Mr. Madden’s way. If you do this, you’ll be fine. Now go to wardrobe for a fitting.

Queenie: Yes and Thank you, Miss Fuller.

The Cotton Club was an immediate success with the downtown swells. On opening night, the Fletcher Henderson band entertained the crowd (Henderson’s band was the house band until June 1931). Through radio broadcasts originating nightly from the Cotton Club, Henderson’s band was such a success, he became one of the most sought after band leaders in America. Following Henderson was the Duke Ellington Band (until 1934), and then Cab Calloway and the Cotton Club Orchestra.

Despite the fact the only booze served on the premises was Madden’s No. 1 beer, customers were allowed, even encouraged, to bring their own booze they had obtained illegally elsewhere. Of course, the management had a hefty set-up charge, which included the glasses, ice, and the mixers. If a customer came unprepared and still wanted booze instead of beer, the doorman, and sometimes even a waiter, came in handy. A bottle of champagne could cost a customer $30, and a bottle of scotch – $18, a kingly sum in those days. But the customers were well-healed, and nobody ever gripped about the prices; at least, nobody who cared about their continued good health.

After a while, DeMange and Madden lightened up a bit on the «no-black-customers-allowed» policy. This happened in 1932, right after W.C. Handy, known as «The King of the Blues,» was denied admission, even though the Duke Ellington Band was inside playing songs that Handy had written. Ellington pleaded his case to Madden, and Madden agreed to loosen his policy. But just a little bit.

Light-skinned blacks were now allowed in as customers, and a few darker blacks, who were famous entertainers themselves. However, blacks in mixed parties was a definite no-no.

Writer and photographer Carl Van Vechten wrote, «There were brutes at the door to enforce the Cotton Club’s policy which was opposed to mixed parties.»

Jim Haskins wrote in The Cotton Club, «Only the lightest-complexioned Negroes gained entrance, and even they were carefully screened. The club’s management was aware that most white downtowners wanted to observe Harlem blacks, not with mix with them.»

Even famed comedian Jimmy Durante displayed blatant racism when he said, «It isn’t necessary to mix with colored people if you don’t feel like it. You have your own party and keep to yourself. But it’s worth seeing. How they step!»

Durante went as far as to intimate that blacks were innately more violent than whites. «Racial lines are drawn here to prevent possible trouble,» Durante said. «Nobody wants razors, blackjacks or fists flying. And the chances of war are less if there’s no mixing.»

In 1933, after he settled a little problem with the IRS, and with Prohibition now over, Madden decided to call it a day. He handed over the reigns of the Cotton Club to DeMange, and hightailed it to Hot Springs, Arkansas, where he opened a hotel/spa, which became the favorite hideout for New York mobsters on the lam from the law. In fact, when New York Mafioso Lucky Luciano was in hiding, because a bulldog special prosecutor named Thomas E. Dewey had a warrant for Luciano’s arrest on a trumped-up prostitution charge, it was at Madden’s resort where Luciano was finally arrested after four months on the run.

Of course, Madden was still a silent partner with DeMange in the Cotton Club, but the huge profits would soon diminish, before coming to a halt in Harlem.

It started with the Great Depression, which had cut down dramatically on the disposable income of the rich, and the formerly rich. Downtown revelers who had frequented the Cotton Club came less often, and when they did come, they spent less money. These same revelers got caught up in the street gang mentality, and as a result, an avalanches of bullets stared flying in Harlem; whites shooting blacks, blacks shooting whites, and members of the same race slinging shots at each other. With so much lead zinging though the Harlem air, white-oriented Harlem clubs like the Cotton Club suffered a dramatic decrease in attendance.

In addition, no area of America was affected more by the Depression than Harlem. By 1934, according to the New York Urban League, more than 80% of Harlem residents were on «Home Relief,» which we now call Welfare. The Reverend Adam Clayton Powell fanned the flames of racial tensions when he started leading boycotts of white-owned stores in Harlem, in order to force them to hire more black workers. Despair and resentment sprung up in the streets of Harlem, and this lead to a fateful day in Harlem history.

A dark-skinned, 16-year-old Puerto Rican named Lino Rivera was sulking around the streets of Harlem, out of work and desperately looking for a job; any job. To pass the time, he took in a movie, then went to the Kress Department Store on 125th Street. There he spotted a knife he wanted. But the knife cost ten cents and Rivera didn’t have ten cents. Rivera had just snatched the knife and put it into his pocket, when a male employee of the store grabbed Rivera, and a scuffle ensued. While the two men were battling and another white employee tried to subdue Rivera, a crowd of black shoppers surrounded the fight, obviously favoring Rivera. During the melee, Rivera bit the thumb of one of the white employees. The injured man shouted, «I’m going to take you down to the basement and beat the hell out of you.»

Big mistake.

Within minutes, the rumor had spread on the streets of Harlem that two white men were beating a black boy to death. This false rumor received dubious confirmation, when a blaring ambulance pulled up in front of the Kress Department Store. It made no difference the ambulance was there for the white man who had the severely bitten finger.

That night the streets of Harlem erupted in total bedlam. Born out of resentment of the Depression, and the dismal way white people had been treating black people in Harlem for years, hundred of blacks rioted in the streets. They looted white-owned stored and pilfered merchandise as if they had an absolute right to take it.

The perception to the downtown whites was that Harlem was no longer safe for them to venture into, even to see the wondrous entertainment at the Cotton Club. In addition, black musicians and entertainers no longer considered the Cotton Club as the top of the heap. It became a place where the entertainers could start their careers, but once they got noticed, they went on to bigger and better things. Business became so bad at the Cotton Club, and other Harlem clubs that catered to the white downtown crowd, such as Small’s Paradise on 7th Avenue, that Harlem’s Cotton Club closed its doors for good on February 16th, 1936.

DeMange and Herman Stark, with Madden’s blessing from Hot Springs, moved the Cotton Club downtown to Forty-Eighth Street and Broadway, to a space formerly occupied by the Harlem Club. The new Cotton Club was an immediate success. It had its grand re-opening on September 24th, 1936. Cab Calloway and Bill «Bojangles» Robinson performed that night, as did Avis Andrews, the Berry Brothers, and the gorgeous Katherine Perry, who was so light-skinned she could easily pass for white.

Because it was so accessible with its new Midtown location, the Cotton Club was raking in the cash. In the third week alone, it grossed more than $45,000, and in the first sixteen weeks, the average weekly gross was $30,000. The prices in the new joint were higher than the Cotton Club’s in Harlem. A steak sandwich rose from $1.25 to $2.25. Scrambled eggs with Deerfield sausage rose from $1.25 to a $1.50 and lobster cocktails went from $1.00 to $1.50.

Still DeMange and Stark kept packing them in.

One price that did decrease was the Cottons Club’s cover charge. In Harlem, in order to keep the «undesirables» away, the cover charge was $3 per table. However, since blacks very rarely crossed the «Mason-Dixon Line» of 110th Street, the new Cottons Club’s cover charge was $2 per table during dinner time, and nothing after that.

The new Cotton Club continued to thrive until the summer of 1939, when the Internal Revenue Service hit the club’s management with indictments for income tax evasion. The indictments hit the Cotton Club Management Corp, including Herman Stark – President, George Goodrich, — Accountant, and Noah Braustein – Secretary-Treasurer, with four counts of failure to pay, and embezzlement of taxes. If convicted, all three men could face up to 25 years in prison, and fines of up to $20,000 apiece. Amazingly, because he was just listed as an employee, Frenchy DeMange escaped the indictment. At trial, the Cotton Club Management Corp. was found guilty, but the three officers escaped conviction. Still, Stark had to fork over a hefty fine to the government, in addition to $3,400 owed in back taxes.

At the start of 1940, it was obvious that the Cotton Club, and Herman Stark, had money problems. Besides the high Midtown rent and the effects of the Depression, the unions, especially the musician union, had a stranglehold on Stark and his profits. Before his problems with the I.R.S., Stark was skimming money off the top to make up for any shortfalls the unions and the high entertainment payrolls caused. But with the government watching the Cotton Club like a hawk, skimming was now impossible.

The Cotton Club closed its door for good on June 10th, 1940. Stark and DeMange gave no official reason, but as one columnist put it, the main reason was, «the lack of the famous, old filthy lucre.»

Yet, that explanation would be too simplistic. Of course money was a problem, but also America’s taste for music like Duke Ellington’s and Cab Calloway’s was changing too. The younger generation of Americans were enthralled with the new jazz and «swing» styles of white bandleaders like Tommy Dorsey, Artie Shaw, and the «King of Swing» — Benny Goodman.

The Cotton Club was a great idea whose lifespan had reached its conclusion. The black entertainers who had cut their teeth working at the Cotton Club, people like Duke Ellington, Cab Calloway, Louis Armstrong, Ella Fitzgerald, and Lena Horne, all went on to establish long and wondrous careers. But the concept of a night club with all black entertainment no longer appealed to the white mainstream of America.

The Cotton Club closed because it was a concept that had blossomed, then like a gilded rose, slowly died.

Still, the memory, and the impact of the Cotton Club on society will linger as long as song and dance remain an integral part of our American culture.

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