Monthly Archives: January 2014

Comets Win in OT

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January 26, 2014 - American Hockey League (AHL) Utica Comets The Utica Comets are starting to heat up at the right time, as they earned their second straight overtime victory over Abbotsford Saturday night, with a 4-3 win. Utica has now won four in a row overall and six consecutive against the Heat to move to 15-20-2-3 this season.

Benn Ferriero scored the overtime winner for the second night in a row, this just 1:10 into the extra session. Forward Alexandre Grenier scored two goals for the Comets and Brandon DeFazio also added a goal of his own. Pascal Pelletier collected two assists in the victory. Joacim Eriksson made 23 saves on 26 shots, as he won for the eighth time in nine starts.

The Comets picked up right where they left off in overtime last evening, as they opened the scoring just 2:05 into the first period. DeFazio fought his way to the front of the net and buried a feed from Jordan Schroeder, who was set up in Gretzky's office behind the cage. The goal was the fifth of the season for DeFazio and the assist marked Schroeder's first point as a Comet, in just his second game played.

Markus Granlund evened things up 5:37 later, as he walked in from the right circle and beat Eriksson for his seventeenth goal of the season. Max Reinhart and Evan Trupp picked up the helpers on the play. The goal ended Eriksson's shutout streak against the Heat at 131 minutes even.

The Comets once again pulled ahead as Grenier collected a loose puck in the slot and fired a quick wristshot past MacDonald to make it 2-1. Center Pascal Pelletier picked up an assist on the play, his team leading 28th, while Grenier's goal was his 14th this season.

Abbotsford once again tied things up with a special teams tally, this a shorthanded goal from Reinhart. The Heat centerman drove the front of the net and deflected home a feed from Granlund, giving both players two points on the evening. Reinhart's tally was just the third shorthanded goal surrendered this season by the Comets.

Abbotsford took a 3-2 lead 7:18 into the third period on a superb individual effort from forward Brett Olson. After forcing a turnover from Utica blueliner Yann Sauve, Olson picked up the puck, moved into the slot and fired a wrist shot just under the crossbar and past Eriksson. Olson's goal, which came unassisted, was his seventh of the season.

The Comets knotted things up just under four minutes later as Grenier scored for the second time tonight. MacDonald misplayed a dump in from Pelletier and the puck came out to Grenier, who tapped it into an open net. The marker moved Grenier into a tie for fourth amongst all AHL rookies with 15 goals on the season. Pelletier is now tied for third in the league with 29 assists.

In a dj vu moment for the Comets, Ferriero finished off the Heat for the second night in a row with an overtime winner. The winger carried the puck down the right wing and put a twisted wrister past MacDonald to end the game and give Utica the two points. Ferriero's goal tied him with Grenier for the team lead this season. Sauve picked up the lone assist on the play.

The Comets return to the Mohawk Valley for a three game homestand, which begins Tuesday at The AUD against the Lake Erie Monsters. Utica will also host the Syracuse Crunch on Friday night and the Rockford IceHogs on Saturday evening. All three games are slated to begin at 7:00 p.m.

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Comets Win in OT

World’s Wackiest Marathons and Races

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North Korean travel agencies surprised athletes the world over recently when they announced that admission to the Pyongyang Marathon will be open to recreational runners this year.

Previously, The Mangyongdae Prize International Marathon, its formal title, was an elite-only event and has never included a U.S. athlete. Now the looser restrictions may lure some Americans to travel to the mysterious, long-forbidden country.

READ: Elderly Couple Ran a Marathon Every Day of 2013

But running in a socialist state is far from the most unusual thing one can do during a race. In fact, the world is full to brimming with curious quests. Here are some of the world's wackiest marathons and races:

The Neverending Marathon If you're the type who steps onto the course and feels like he could run forever, consider signing up for Morocco's Marathon des Sables, a 151-mile "ultra-run" across the Sahara Desert. That should quench your thirst for mileage, if not your actual thirst.

Run with the... Mules Animal lovers will get a kick (possibly literally) out of the Boom Days Pack Burro Race in Leadville, Colo., where runners are paired up with a burro or donkey to run alongside for 22 miles of mountainous terrain.

A Vision in White Fancy a jog in the southernmost area of the world? Enter the Antarctic Ice Marathon, a frigid 26.2 mile race with an average windchill temperature of -20C and an altitude of 700 meters.

READ More: Hospital 'Buzzing' Over Engagement of Boston Marathon Bombing Survivor to Nurse

Tropical Trot At the other end of the spectrum, the Kona Underpants Run in Kona, Hawaii, calls for stripping down to one's skivvies. Held a few days before the Hawaii Ironman World Championship, the event was designed to allow athletes to blow off some steam before the big competition but now it's become its own destination.

Dash in the Middle of the Night Choose from 3K, 5K and 10K options at the Midnight Run in Reykjavik, Iceland. Despite kicking off at 10 p.m., the race takes place in complete daylight as it occurs during the solstice. Afterward, participants rub elbows in geothermal hot tubs. Glugging glogg is entirely optional.

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World's Wackiest Marathons and Races

World Cup riots in Brazil trigger riots and arrests

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Social unrest ranks alongside shoddy infrastructure as leading concerns for teams and supporters planning to travel to Brazil for the tournament.

While the country has won the World Cup five times, many Brazilians resent the scale of spending poured into hosting the tournament. Banners carried in the business districts of Sao Paulo proclaimed No rights, No World Cup and Fifa go home.

Despite the popularity of the game, some demonstrators took aim at the earnings of players. Wake up Brazil, a teacher is worth more than [the footballer] Neymar was one slogan.

It is not just the disparity of income between rich footballers and public sector employees that took the brunt of anger. By rights we mean the peoples right to decent public services, said Leonardo Pelegrini dos Santos, a university student. We are against the millions and millions of dollars being spent for the cup. It is money that should be invested in better health and education services and better transportation and housing.

Demonstrators staged a sit-in along a line of lavatory bowls set along Copacabana beach in Rio to highlight that 70 per cent of the citys sewage was untreated before it was dumped in the bay.

The Olympics are coming, the World Cup is coming, its a chance to draw attention and maybe the world can talk about whats happening here in Rio, said Leona Deckelbaum, an activist. To me it is unbelievable that theres not basic sanitation in a city like Rio.

Another pointed out the contrast between the images in tourist brochures and the consequences of lack of city services. Its really dirty. The sand, everything, said Ruth Ferreira.

Separately Brazil has been hit in recent weeks by generalised unrest targeting commercial areas.

Almost a dozen shopping centres in the country have been hit by rolezinhos mobs, composed primarily of young people from slum areas, going on the rampage in upmarket shopping malls in Rio and Sao Paulo.

Dilma Rousseff, the president, has seen her governments popularity hit even as she prepares to open her campaign for re-election in October.

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World Cup riots in Brazil trigger riots and arrests

Stem cell facility to open in Co Galway

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Monday 27 January 2014 10.49

The first facility in Ireland licensed to manufacture human stem cells opensin NUI Galway this morning.

The development will mean some patients suffering from certain diseases will be able to access clinical trials of stem cell therapies.

Stem cells are human cells that can develop into many types of tissue.

As a result, scientists are increasingly studying their potential for regenerating diseased or damaged tissue in people suffering the effects of certain illnesses, such as heart attacks, stroke, arthritis or diabetes.

Before they can be used widely in humans such therapies must undergo extensive clinical trials.

The first Irish licence to manufacture stem cells for this purpose has been granted to the Centre for Cell Manufacturing Ireland at NUIG.

The custom-built facility will take small samples of bone marrow from adult donors and culture them in a specially designed laboratory to make billions of stem cells.

The cells will then be injected back into the donor or other patients as part of clinical trials.

The first of those trials will investigate their use in the treatment of diabetes patients who are suffering reduced blood flow to lower limbs, a symptom which often results in amputations.

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Stem cell facility to open in Co Galway

Marijuana and Spirituality (Does Pot/Weed/Cannabis Enhance Spirituality?) – Video

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Marijuana and Spirituality (Does Pot/Weed/Cannabis Enhance Spirituality?)
Ask Teal Website - http://www.askteal.com Pot, otherwise known as cannabis or marijuana, is considered a spiritual medicine and has been used as such since 2...

By: TheSpiritualCatalyst

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Marijuana and Spirituality (Does Pot/Weed/Cannabis Enhance Spirituality?) - Video

Popstars shimmer and shine on Grammys red carpet

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27 JANUARY 2014 A host of stunning popstars lit up the Grammy awards red carpet on Sunday night wearing sparkling dresses.

Taylor Swift turned heads in her full-length silver glittering Gucci gown, despite complaining that it was "a bit scratchy!"

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The singing sensation showed off her incredible physique in the column number, topping off the look with a simple ponytail and smokey eyes.

Another star sparkling at the annual awards ceremony was Rita Ora.

The British popstar, who posed up with boyfriend Calvin Harris, turned heads in her metallic green Lanvin number. She had eschewed her usual floor-sweeping creations for the short dress.

Pregnant Ciara showed off her blossoming baby bump in a beautiful gold Emilio Pucci dress. She revealed that it had taken some time to make sure the fit of the dress was perfect.

"My good friend Peter Dundee did all kinds of fun things to make it happen," she told E!s Guiliana Rancic on the red carpet. "Three to four fittings were mandatory."

She also spoke about her pregnancy, revealing that she feels "really good, really comfortable. I just ate a club sandwich and fries!"

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Popstars shimmer and shine on Grammys red carpet