Roth Regatta

May 24, 2011. Author: Drew Collins

Point Defiance Park in Tacoma, Washington is a very large and beautiful park; actually it’s one of the largest urban parks in the United States. At 702-acres, the park includes Point Defiance Zoo & Aquarium, the Rose Garden, Rhododendron Garden, Camp 6 Logging Museum, trails, long stretches of beach, a boardwalk, a boathouse, Fort Nisqually, an off-leash dog park, the ferry dock and terminal to Vashon Island, and most notably a stand of old-gro

wth forest. More than two million people visit it each year. The Point Defiance Zoo & Aquarium is one of the finest in the entire northwest. The zoo was founded in 1905; the aquarium was founded in 1935, and then was relocated to the zoo in 1963.

One of the primary attractions from the cliffs above the park overlooking the sound, just south of the Tacoma Narrows Bridge are Eagles, Heron, Whales, Dolphin, Sea Lions, and many other fascinating and wonderful creatures, and that is outside the

zoo and aquarium. Scuba divers find this to be an amazing location to drop in just below the surface and bear witness to much more of natures wonders.

On a recent trip to the south sound, a group of us decided to dive the North Wall. The weather was good for spring in the Northwest, cool air but calm winds, making for calm seas. Upon entry at our dive site, with very little current, less than 1/4 knot, we were greeted by a very curious Sea Lion. Although he did not make himself visible underw

ater, we knew he was there.

Typically in May and June when the water temperature increases to an average of 46 degrees, the algae begin to bloom. This year the bloom is exceptionally heavy. The emerald green waters of Puget Sound become cloudy with the bloom, resulting in very poor visibility on almost all dives through July and perhaps August. My buddy and I descended to around seventy five feet and found the visibility was much better at that depth. Although the visibility was better, the light was diminished making it much darker than usual. The algae above was blocking out most of the light. With my Canon T2i and Aquatica Housing, and our flashlights we began our dive.

The first creature we encountered was a very large Grunt Sculpin.  These are very curious little critters that are shy and a little clumsy. They don’t swim like a typical vertebrate, instead they hop along the bottom or on a rocky ledge as this one was doing. When startled, they dart away very, very quickly. Grunt Sculpins have a long snout in front, almost pig like, and on the sides their pectoral fins are not webbed like a typical fin. These fins are ribbed, allowing them to act more like feet. If a diver stays calm and listens closely, they can hear this small fish producing quiet vibrations, hence the name Grunt. Typically they have a beautiful alabaster white, and brown speckled coloring. At the North Wall, Albino Grunt’s have also been spotted. We came across an Albino Grunt Sculpin on this dive. We also witnessed a few other species of Sculpins on this dive; Long Fin Sculpin, Fringed Sculpin and Scalyhead Sculpin.

The North Wall is also home to a large number of Hermit Crabs. We must have seen hundreds in the 57 minutes we were submerged. Anemone’s, Nudibranch’s, Giant Barnacles, many species of Rockfish, and Kelp are also in abundance at this spot. The rock formations and structures are interesting.  The very soft rock wall is home to Clams that like to burrow into the rock and build there homes.  The wholes provide plenty of shelter for other small life such as Crab and Sculpins.  This was only my second dive at this particular location. I plan to return a few times this summer and will bring my camera each time. Diving the North Wall at Point Defiance Park is similar to diving at Deception Pass where the Puget Sound meets the Strait of Juan de Fuca. You can read my article about my recent dive at http://photographyunderwater.net/deception-pass-–-current-intensive-diving-beyond-belief/” target=”_blank”>Deception Pass by clicking on this link.

 

New York Mets  vs Philadelphia Phillies MLB Picks:The Philadelphia Phillies scored three runs in the ninth and held off a Mets comeback attempt in the bottom of the ninth to win the series opener on Friday night. The loss dropped the Mets to four games below .500, and the Phillies are now up to 13 games above .500. Both teams have had quite a few injury issues this year, but the Phillies are getting healthier, while the Mets continue to deal with injuries.

Chase Utley returned to th

e Phillies lineup earlier this week. While Utley has been struggling, the rest of the offense seems to have gotten a nice boost from his return. Jimmy Rollins and Raul Ibanez have both heated up quite a bit the last few days.

Placido Polanco has been the consistent hitting star for this Phillies offense in 2011. Polanco is batting .320 on the season, and he already has 28 runs batted in. The offense has been inconsistent this year overall, but the pitching staff has been tremendous. Cole Hamel

s has been on top of his game so far this year. He has a quality start in all but two of his starts this year, but one of those poor starts was against the Mets.

Mike Pelfrey will start for the Mets on Saturday evening. Pelfrey has been extremely inconsistent this year. He has been very good at home, as evidenced by his 2-0 record and 2.00 ERA. He has had two poor showings against the Phillies already this year, but both of those starts were on the road. Jose Reyes has been red hot in the l

ast couple weeks.

Reyes has picked up two hits in each of the team’s last four games. Justin Turner has been a very pleasant surprise offensively, and he has his average up to .329 after picking up four hits on Friday night. Jason Bay is struggling badly and this Mets team definitely needs some contribution out of him.

Cole Hamels is a very good pitcher, but he has struggled against the Mets in his career. Hamels is just 2-9 against the Mets, and he has an ERA of 4.35. Pelfrey has been too inconsistent to back, so I think the best play here is the over.

MLB Free Picks: Over 7

Philadelphia Phillies (32-19) vs. New York Mets (23-27) MLB Betting Lines

Moneyline: Phillies (-150) Mets (+140)

Over/Under: 7

Starting Pitchers: Phillies (Hamels) vs. Mets (Pelfrey)

If you’re looking For Great MLB Baseball Odds, Check out the Baseball Forums at Bang the Book!

M Vijay has rarely converted his starts this IPL and Michael Hussey hasn’t sparkled in the previous few games. So what they do on the day of the big finale? They amass a sizzling 159-run partnership to launch Chennai to a massive total at the Chidambaram Stadium. R Ashwin then derailed the chase by packing off Gayle for a duck in the first over. Game over.

It was the ease with which the runs flowed and the calm manner in which they were accumulated by the Chennai openers that caught

the eye. There were several big shots but nearly all of them were in conventional zones. There was just one bad shot in the first 14 overs. Just one. In the 10th over, Vijay had just played a nonchalant flick that sailed just clear of a lunging Luke Pomersbach on the deep-midwicket boundary. He then tried to slog the next ball across the line and edged it to the leg side. The reaction of the players reflected their awareness of the need to keep adrenalin in check: Vijay shadow practiced a strai

ghter arc of the bat and Hussey rushed across to have a long chat.

For the duration of the partnership, which lasted 14.5 overs, they complemented each other with contrasting approaches. Hussey punctuated his bunts, chips and drives with the occasional big hit – the highlight was a monstrous heave off Syed Mohammad that crashed into the roof beyond wide long-on. Vijay went the other way. He punctuated his flamboyant on-the-up hits with quieter punches for singles and twos. They both ran betwee

n the wickets hard and fast and the scoring-rate never flagged. Vijay grew increasingly tired but it was Hussey who fell first, swatting a full toss from Mohammad to long-on. By then, they had laid a great platform.

It was Vijay who started the mayhem off the final delivery of the second over with a special shot. It was a short-of-length delivery with little room for maneuvering, or so it seemed, but Vijay wafted it on the up and through the line for a flamboyant six over long-on. Hussey pulled the next delivery, from Zaheer Khan, over the backward square-leg boundary to launch the assault. They repeated that double-dose of sixes again. Hussey swung the final delivery of the fifth over, bowled by Mohammad, over the midwicket boundary and Vijay lifted the next ball, from Chris Gayle, over long-on. Chennai reached 56 for 0 in six overs and kept going from strength to strength.

They started their bowling in the same way. Ashwin just needed three deliveries to remove the chief thorn in their path. The first two turned sharply away from Gayle before the third swerved in from round the stumps and skidded on to collect the edge from an attempted cut. de Villiers reeled off a few big shots but was trapped by Shadab Jakati and Suresh Raina had Kohli lbw to sew up the game for Chennai.

In contrast Bangalore slipped on the little things that matter on this stage. In the Powerplay, there were three instances of fielders succumbing to adrenalin rushes and indulging in needless throws; one, from Saurabh Tiwary, even went to the boundary. Pomersbach could have done a better job in seizing that chance from Vijay in the 10th over, and S Aravind messed up an opportunity to run out Hussey in the 12th over. Vijay, the non-striker, had called Hussey for a risky single and Aravind, the bowler who picked up the ball at short mid-on, flung it wide at the non-striker’s end. There was another instance in the 11th over when the bowler, Mohammad, flung himself full stretch to his right but couldn’t hang on to a difficult chance offered by Vijay. It was that kind of day. Things just didn’t go right for Bangalore and everything went according to script for Chennai

 

Platoons. Baseball Managers are well-known for using them all the time to play the odds and help ensure a better success rate. Knowing players’ tendencies and acting on them has long been a strategy employed by baseball Managers (early notables include Earl Weaver and Casey Stengel) and coaches alike. Not content to simply utilize lefty-righty matchups in their batting line-ups, Managers will also use their bullpen according to previous success rates against certain opposing hitters. Us

ing this same tactic can help ensure success in fantasy baseball as well. There are often distinct lefty-righty split stats that can help out any fantasy team.

It can be a benefit to know which pitchers fare better against left-handed or right-handed hitting when setting your line-up. This is generally a rule of thumb however since any Major League line up consists of both LHB and RHB but if you know certain teams that are heavy either way (think Toronto, Detroit, Texas, Milwaukee, Houston, Wa

shington for RH-heavy line ups, think Boston, Tampa Bay, Kansas City, Atlanta for LH-heavy line-ups), it can help to know which starters stack up better than others.

Charlie Morton (PIT) –

Traditionally stronger against Right-Handed Batters throughout his career, Morton exemplifies this split stat so far in 2011. LHB have hit at a .341 clip against him this season while RHB have fared much worse, hitting only .172 against Morton.

Justin Masterson (CLE) –

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No one can deny the rising popularity of football in India. Although hockey is our national game, football is played by a large number of people in India. It is known to be a game of strength, skills, and excitement. Many sport-persons out there have made a remarkable career out of Football. If you are looking for Football academy in Delhi, you have numerous options to choose from. This is a game which needs complete dedication and passion. If you are passionate about this sport and have

what it takes to become a Football star, you can go ahead and start learning Football basics in a Football academy in Delhi. While choosing the one, you need to make sure that you make a good choice as this is all about your future. You can start your search for Football academy or coaching in Delhi by asking your friends, relatives, and teachers as they might suggest you some good recommendations. In my opinion, internet is the best source of information about anything. You can go online and s

earch for good academies in Delhi/NCR. Conscient Football is a sports development initiative undertaken by the Conscient Group with the Heritage Schools network in Delhi/NCR. It promotes the Indian youth to play and achieve excellence in Football. There are various Football academies or coaching in Delhi where you can learn Football basic from world-class coaches. These coaches are from major international clubs and make regular visits to Delhi for short sport coaching clicks. Try to join these

kinds of Football academies for better learning. There is no doubt that Kolkata is known to be the home of Indian Football with two world famous Indian Football teams – East Bengal Club and Mohun Began AC. Today, Football is played in almost every state of India. Being the national capital of India, Delhi is gaining the momentum in terms of rising number of Football players. If you’re seriously looking to gain an international reputation in Football, the first thing you need to do is to join an internationally-recognized Football academy and coaching in Delhi. The best way to find a good Football academy is to conduct a detailed market research. Moreover, you also need to prepare yourself for this sport as this sport demands courage, skills and strength. Conscient Football academy in Delhi is a grassroots development initiative undertaken by the Conscient Group with the Heritage Schools network in Delhi NCR; the latter being a part of its ventures in the education sector, as an extension of its wider portfolio.
Ashish – About the Author:

Conscient Football academy in Delhi, football in Delhi and football coaching in Delhi is a grassroots development initiative undertaken by the Conscient Group with the Heritage Schools network in Delhi NCR; the latter being a part of its ventures in the education sector, as an extension of its wider portfolio.

Source: http://www.articlesbase.com/football-articles/looking-to-join-a-football-academy-in-delhi-4830579.html

The biennial Solheim Cup will be held Sept. 23 to 25 at Killeen Castle in Ireland. Pettersen has been

a member of the last five European teams, while Kerr has been part of the last five American squads. The two met in singles once, with Kerr winning in 2003, the last time Europe won the Cup.

“You know what

I think? I think I’ll have a message from Alison Nicholas: ‘Europe 1 up,’ ” Pettersen said, referring to the European captain, with a big smile.

Pe

The biennial Solheim Cup will be held Sept. 23 to 25 at Killeen Castle in Ireland. Pettersen has been a member of the last five European teams, while Kerr has been part of the last five American squads. The two met in singles once, with Kerr winning in 2003, the last time Europe won the Cup.

“You know what I think? I think I’ll have a message from Alison Nicholas: ‘Europe 1 up,’ ” Pettersen said, referring to the European captain, with a big smile.

Pey hard. That it would come in a

match-play tournament surprised me a little bit, but at the same time it just feels even better.”

Coming to the 515-yard, par-5 18th hole with a 1-up lead, the fifth-seeded Pettersen closed out the third-seeded Kerr by sinking a 15-foot downhill birdie putt.

“I’m sure if I missed my putt Cristie would have made hers,” Pettersen said. “So I thought the best thing was to just take care of business. Eighteen’s been awfully good to me.”

Pettersen won four of her six matches here on the 18th hole, making a birdie each time. Her first three victims were Natalie Gulbis in the first round, the Kraft Nabisco champion Stacey Lewis in the third round, and the world No. 1 Yani Tseng in the quarterfinals. Pettersen had an easier time in Sunday morning’s semifinal, making six birdies in defeating the No. 1 seed, Na Yeon Choi, 4 and 2.

Read more…

Jeff Larentowicz scored twice for the defending MLS champion Rapids (4-3-5), who had their fourth straight draw.

Larentowicz opened

the scoring by tapping in the rebound of his own failed penalty shot in the 27th minute. That started the league’s fastest scoring binge since March 28, 2008, when Houston and San Jose also combined for four goals in six

minutes.

Thierry Henry also scored for New York (4-2-5), which moved into a tie with Philadelphia for first place in the Eastern Co

Jeff Larentowicz scored twice for the defending MLS champion Rapids (4-3-5), who had their fourth straight draw.

Larentowicz opened the scoring by tapping in the rebound of his own failed penalty shot in the 27th minute. That started the league’s fastest scoring binge since March 28, 2008, when Houston and San Jose also combined for four goals in six minutes.

Thierry Henry also scored for New York (4-2-5), which moved into a tie with Philadelphia for first place in the Eastern Coad for his fourth goal.

A day after blowing a seven-stroke advantage to go into the final round at Forth Worth trailing Charlie Wi

by one, Toms made an eagle with a wedge shot from 83 yards at the par-5 11th hole Sunday to take the lead for good. Toms went on to his first PGA Tour victory since January 2006.

Toms, 44, closed with a three-under 67 at Hogan’s Alley to finish at 15 under, one better than Wi. Toms’s 13th title came a week after a playoff loss to K. J. Choi at the Players Championship,

A day after blowing a seven-stroke advantage to go into the final round at Forth Worth trailing Charlie Wi by one, Toms made an eagle with a wedge shot from 83 yards at the par-5 11th hole Sunday to take the lead for good. Toms went on to his first PGA Tour victory since January 2006.

Toms, 44, closed with a three-under 67 at Hogan’s Alley to finish at 15 under, one better than Wi. Toms’s 13th title

came a week after a playoff loss to K. J. Choi at the Players Championship, another bogey-free 62 to match the PGA Tour scoring record for the first 36 holes of a tournament (124), and he opened the third round with a birdie.

At 17 under through 37 holes, Toms scored three bogeys in the next five holes. Wi took the lead with a 32-foot birdie at the par-3 16th.

Wi extended his lead to three strokes after consecutive birdies to open Sunday’s round.

Toms finally caught up at 13 under after Wi missed the green with his approach at the par-4 10th and two-putted for bogey.

Then came the clincher on the Colonial’s longest hole, the 635-yard 11th. After laying up to a perfect spot short of the green, and with Wi’s ball sitting in a front-side bunker, Toms bounced his wedge shot once. It landed just behind the pin and then rolled back into the cup.

DONALD DENIED NO. 1 Ian Poulter kept his fellow Englishman Luke Donald out of the top spot in the world golf rankings by beating him, 2 and 1, in the final of the World Match Play Championship in Casares, Spain.

Donald could have supplanted his compatriot Lee Westwood in the top spot.

But as a visibly miffed Westbrook sat on the Oklahoma City bench for the entire fourth quarter Thursday night,

he unwittingly became the focal point of an unorthodox strategy that sparked the Thunder past the Dallas Mavericks, 106-100.

Ahead by 77-76, Thunder Coach Scott Brooks pulled Westbrook, a second-team all-N.B.A. guard, and three other starters, putting Game 2 in

the hands of four reserves and Kevin Durant. What might be called a reckless gamble turned into a stroke of genius as

But as a visibly miffed Westbrook sat on the Oklahoma City bench for the entire fourth quarter Thursday night, he unwittingly became the focal point of an unorthodox strategy that sparked the Thunder past the Dallas Mavericks, 106-100.

Ahead by 77-76, Thunder Coach Scott Brooks pulled Westbrook, a second-team all-N.B.A. guard, and three other starters, putting Game 2 in the hands of four reserves and Kevin Durant. What might be called a reckless gamble turned into a stroke of genius as as the series shifts to Oklahoma City for Game 3 Saturday night.

“If you tell me

they leave Westbrook out the whole fourth quarter and we don’t get stops to win, that would have been tough,” the Mavericks’ Dirk Nowitzki said. “Their bench changed the game. They killed us there in the fourth.”

Immediately afterward, Brooks was forced to defend his lineup decision, a situation made awkward mostly because of Westbrook’s vehement reaction toward his coach on the sideline. Westbrook scored 6 points on 3-of-7 shooting with one assist in the third quarter, but a late turnover, followed by a foul that put Jason Kidd on the free-throw line, caused Brooks to pull Westbrook with 28 seconds left.

“I’ve done it a few times during the year,” Brooks said. “It doesn’t happen often. Russell is an incredible player. He’s our starting point guard. But we weren’t getting a lot of things done, and his time was to come out, and I stayed with Eric. He was terrific handling the decisions on the court, and guys made big shots.”

Brooks considered putting Westbrook back in for the last six minutes. “I usually sub him in then,” Brooks said. “Very rarely have I ever done that since Russell has been here.”

Asked if it was difficult to watch from the bench, Westbrook said: “Not when we’re winning. I’m good. I’m just sitting there waiting to get my name called.”

His sour mood brightened quickly Thursday night. He encouraged his teammates and high-fived Harden after he shook off Jason Terry and drilled a jumper for a 10-point lead with 3 minutes 15 seconds to play.

“It was fine,” Westbrook said.

The postgame perception was that Brooks risked alienating Westbrook, if not dividing his locker room. Aside from Durant, the benched starters logged only 50 seconds in the fourth quarter.

Harden, whose 17 points were pivotal in the Thunder’s Game 7 victory over the Memphis Grizzlies last Sunday in the conference semifinals, battered the Mavericks with 23. Maynor, Westbrook’s backup, added 13 points as the Thunder bench outscored the Mavericks’ reserves by 50-29.

“Eric had our whole group going and had five guys on the floor all in sync and playing as one,” Durant said. “We had a good lead, and with three or four minutes to go, you can’t take those guys out.

“Russell understands that. He’s a perfect teammate. He was over there cheering everybody on, and from your leader that’s what you’d like to see if he was on the bench.”

Nowitzki pointed to Maynor and Harden as among the matchup predicaments the Mavericks must solve quickly. And now, Brooks has planted the seed that the Thunder is not afraid to gamble with adjustments.

“Defensively we did relax,” Nowitzki said. “We took a step back from the first two series. Portland and L.A. obviously are bigger teams, and now we’re facing a different animal. We’re facing athletes on the wing, and we’re having a tough time getting some stops.”

Halladay (6-3) struck out seven and walked one for the Phillies, who lead the National League East.

Francisco hit

a two-run homer in the second inning and Ibanez hit a solo shot in the fourth, giving Halladay the support he needed to end a personal two-game losing streak. Halladay had lost consecutive complete games because the Phillies failed to

score more than two runs in either start.

RED SOX 15, CUBS 5 Adrian Gonzalez had four of Boston’s 19 hits and four runs batted in,

Halladay (6-3) struck out seven and walked one for the Phillies, who lead the National League East.

Francisco hit a two-run homer in the second inning and Ibanez hit a solo shot in the fourth, giving Halladay the support he needed to end a personal two-game losing streak. Halladay had lost consecutive complete games because the Phillies failed to score more than two runs in either start.

RED SOX 15, CUBS 5 Adrian Gonzalez had four of Boston’s 19 hits and four runs batted in,n the day, bunted home Shin-Soo Choo from third base

with two outs in the eighth inning, lifting host Cleveland. Carrera avoided a tag by Cincinnati first baseman Joey Votto for a remarkable hit in his first time at bat in the major leagues.

MARLINS 5, RAYS 3 Logan Morrison hit a game-tying homer in the fourth inning and doubled during a two-run eighth for host Florida, which improved to 128-107 (.545) in interleague play, best in the N.L.

Tampa Bay center fielder B. J. Upton left in the third inning with tightness in his left buttock.

DODGERS 6, WHITE SOX 4 Russell Mitchell, a No. 9 hitter batting .071, tied the game in the ninth with a two-out homer off Sergio Santos (2-1), and Juan Castro hit a go-ahead single in a three-run 10th as Los Angeles rallied to beat host Chicago. Castro was a seventh-inning replacement for second baseman Juan Uribe. who sustained a hip-flexor injury.

Mitchell’s homer was the first run given up by Santos this season. He blew his first save in seven chances.

ROYALS 3, CARDINALS 0 Jeff Francis (1-5) threw seven and two-thirds innings for host Kansas City, outdueling Chris Carpenter and improving to 5-1 against St. Louis.

NATIONALS 17, ORIOLES 5 Danny Espinosa homered and drove in five runs, and Jayson Werth hit two homers and drove in four runs for visiting Washington in its biggest offensive outing since the franchise moved from Montreal in 2005.

ASTROS 5, BLUE JAYS 2 Chris Johnson hit a tie-breaking two-run homer in the ninth to rally Houston in Toronto. The Astros (16-29) had lost 10 of 12.

PIRATES 10, TIGERS 1 Neil Walker homered and drove in a career-high five runs as host Pittsburgh won its third straight.

HAFNER TO THE DISABLED LIST The Indians, who lead the A.L. Central, placed designated hitter Travis Hafner on the 15-day disabled list with a strained right oblique muscle. He will miss at least three weeks. Earlier in the week, center fielder Grady Sizemore landed on the disabled list with a bruised knee. Hafner is hitting .345 with 5 home runs and 22 runs batted in.

KILLEBREW’S FUNERAL With the Twins in Arizona for an interleague series against the Diamondbacks, the full Minnesota team was on hand in suburban Phoenix for the funeral of the Hall of Famer Harmon Killebrew, who died Tuesday. Joe Nathan, Michael Cuddyer, Justin Morneau and Manager Ron Gardenhire were pallbearers.

A’S LOSE TWO STARTERS The Oakland Athletics placed the right-handed starting pitchers Brandon McCarthy and Tyson Ross on the 15-day disabled list, McCarthy with a stress fracture in his shoulder and Ross with a strained left side. … The Phillies put center fielder Shane Victorino on the disabled list with a hamstring injury and recalled outfielder Domonic Brown, a highly regarded prospect, from Class AAA Lehigh Valley. … The Toronto Blue Jays put the right-handed starter Jesse Litsch on the disabled list with an impingement in his throwing shoulder.