Daily Archives: May 8, 2017

We allknowBilly Hamilton is fast. Academically, we can understand his blazing speed on the bases and the field. But baseball isn't always great about letting a player show off his speed.

Facing the Giants on Saturday night, Billy Hamilton was given a starring role. It was Hamilton as the Flash in a CW season finale.

In his first at-bat, Hamilton laced a triple. For another hitter, there may have been a play at third base. For Hamilton, it was a stroll in the park -- a stroll that just so happened to be the second-fastest in Statcast history, coming in at a mere 10.58 seconds. Naturally, Hamilton owns the record with a 10.45 second three-bagger that he hit on Aug. 31, 2016.

In the top of the second, he raced back and leaped to rob Eduardo Nunez of extra bases. While a deep fly to the warning track may not be the most difficult of catches, Hamilton plays the most shallow defense in Major League Baseball. Which meant he ran 96.9 feet to limit the drive to a mere sacrifice fly:

In the bottom half of the inning, he showed off his pace once again. With runners on second and third, Hamilton hit a single to left field. Or, I should say, a single for mere mortals. Hamilton turned on the burners and wound up at second base. Naturally, this one was record-breaking. The scarlet speedster went from home-to-second in 7.19 seconds -- good for the fastest double in the Statcast-era. It broke Kevin Kiermaier's mark of 7.26 that was set on June 24, 2015.

One pitch later, and before anyone could catch their breath, Hamilton swiped third.

It made Reds manager Bryan Price look like a psychic. Before the game, the Reds skipper told MLB.com's Andrew Call, "It's an impact on our offense when he's on base, no doubt about it. He's a distraction to the pitcher -- not just at first base, but at second base as well. It opens up holes for our offense due to the need to keep the middle infielders close to the bag at second base to keep him close."

In just two innings, Hamilton showed off everything a human could do with this kind of game-changing speed. So, when he singled in his next at-bat and didn't need to race around the bases, it was surely a welcome respite for the Giants fielders, if nothing else.

Of course, this is nothing new for the center fielder. The night before in the Reds' 13-3 victory, the outfielder hit a triple, drove in two and stole two more bases.

All that's left for the center fielder is an inside-the-park home run. To that, he could only say, "I'll get one one of these days."

See more here:

All right, Hamilton: Fast times for Cincy CF! | MLB.com - MLB.com

Fresh from destroying bitter rivals/neighbours Atletico Madrid 3-0 in the first leg of the UEFA Champions League Semi-Final, Zinedine Zidane and his men had to travel to Granada for their La Liga clash against Granada CF.

While Real Madrid seem to be in a good position to win their first league title in half a decade, before tonights match they had four finals in the league to take care of. The four finals were in the form of games against Granada, Sevilla, Celta Vigo and Malaga. Now that Granada has been taken care of, Los Vikingos need to ensure that the other three finals follow suit.

Coach Zidane made eight changes from the game against Atletico Madrid, retaining only Ramos, Casemiro and Nacho.

Los Blancos now look forward to facing Atletico Madrid in the second leg of the Champions League Semi-Final and Sevilla FC in La Liga.

Francisco "Kiko" Casilla Corts 7.00

Kiko Casilla was selected to start, as Keylor Navas was rested by the Mister for the upcoming fixtures against Atletico Madrid and Sevilla. Casilla will have a good nights sleep as he managed to have a clean-sheet not that Granada was a threat at any moment in the game. Zidanes second-choice goalkeeper did not have a lot to do, as the entire game was dominated by Los Merengues.

Danilo Luiz da Silva 8.00

Danilo was excellent tonight. While the Brazilian is nowhere close to emulating Dani Carvajals contributions, he laid waste to the left hand side of Granada from the first minute. He did well in defense. Danillo proved to be a menace for Granada going forward and and not allowing us to miss Dani Carvajal at all.

Jos Ignacio Fernndez Iglesias 7.00

Mr. Dependable Nacho stepped in for Varane as he has been doing for most of the season. Nacho looked sharp and was relaxed sitting alongside Sergio Ramos as Madrids juggernaut of a midfield did a splendid job. Nacho had a fine game, while nothing outside of the ordinary.

Sergio Ramos Garca 7.00

Sergio Ramos had a decent game. He did fine in protecting Real Madrid from the little threats Granada seemed to have managed. Ramos was offensively very involved as well. He did give away the ball and was also caught out of position at one point, but Granada being Granada could not make anything out of those little mishaps.

Fabio Fabulous Coentrao 9.00

Fabio Coentrao was given a rare start by Zidane as Marcelo was rightfully rested by the Mister. Tonight the Portuguese fullback was everywhere. He played his role to perfection. Coentrao was also responsible for Real Madrids second goal when he delivered a sublime ball from the left wing for an unmarked James to head it in the back of the net. Coentrao paid Zidanes faith in gold with his performance tonight.

James David Rodrguez Rubio 9.50

James Rodriguez might have lost his starting spot a long time ago, but the Colombian never fails to impress whenever provided with an opportunity. Tonight was no different; James scored two goals in the first ten minutes. The Colombian was also thoroughly involved in attack from start to finish as he tried setting up his teammates for more goals until the very end of the match.

Carlos Henrique Jos Francisco Venncio Casimiro 7.00

Casemiro did well tonight. The hot-headed Brazilian seemed calm and did not go looking for trouble as he usually does. He was gifted a wonderful opportunity to score in an open net, only for his shot to somehow go over the bar.

Mateo Kovai 7.00

Kovacic was not alone this time around. The Croatian had Casemiro with him to anchor the midfield. Kovacic did well in carrying the ball forward as he usually does. He also provided a beautiful ball to Lucas Vazquez, creating a wonderful opportunity for the Spaniard to score, only for Casemiro to find the loose ball and make a mess of it.

Marco Asensio Willemsen 7.00

Wonder-boy Asensio got the call to start as Madrids midfield heavyweights Luka Modric and Tony Kroos were provided with some rest before the crucial semi-final game against Atletico Madrid. The young Spaniard contributed well in dominating Granada from the get-go. Given that it was Granada that they were facing, maybe Asensio was expected to do something extra special, other than that the youngster did a fine job.

lvaro Borja Morata Martn - 9.50

Alvaro Morata is a hungry man. He is always hungry for goals, as was the case tonight. As always, he did a great job in getting involved in Madrids attacking play. He scored the third and the fourth goal for Real Madrid. Both his goals were jaw-droppingly good and, well, a gif speaks a thousand words.

Lucas Vzquez Iglesias 8.50

Lucas Vazquez has been doing a brilliant job in the right wing replacing the ill-fated Gareth Bale on numerous occasions. Tonight, Lucas made his intentions clear as he conquered the right wing from the first minute of the game. Lucas involvement was key in the creation of the first goal. The ever-so-reliable Spaniard was heavily involved in the Madrid attack and was unlucky to not have scored a goal himself.

Karim Mostafa Benzema 6.50

Someone explain why Benzema and Morata are both on the field when Real Madrid are playing Granada, leading 4-0 no less.

The Frenchmans inclusion was a surprise to most as it was clear that Karim belonged in the A team from coach Zidanes point of view. He came in for Asensio. It is possible, that the coach wanted Karim to relocate his scoring boots. The French forward made some good runs and participated in the attack in his short time taking good advantage of the demoralized and tired legs of the Granada players. Big Benz also outmuscled the Granada defense at times. Alas, the goal did not come. Nevertheless, a fine showing by the under-fire Benzema.

Francisco Romn Alarcn Surez 6.50

imagine being down 4 goals, ur getting relegated, and then isco comes on to face you.

Isco replaced Casemiro in the 69th minute. Isco did well in contributing to Madrids continual attack. He tried to set up his teammates several times in the short duration of his presence and even cheekily won the ball from Granada at one point.

Mariano Daz Meja - 6.50

Mariano replaced Lucas Vazquez as Zidanes final change of the night. In his only 13 minutes of play, he did well moving forward and even provided Benzema with a beautiful ball only for the Frenchman to put it wide by a few yards.

Alvaro Morata and James Rodriguez

This was a difficult decision. Both Morata and James were superb, making a strong case for both to win the Man of the Match. Therefore, the Men of the match are awarded to both Alvaro Morata and James Rodriguez.

Zinedine Zidane - 10.00

I wonder if Zidane has tried his hand in Casinos across Las Vegas. If not, he should definitely give it a try as his gamble as always paid off even tonight. While it is well known that Granada are 19th in the table and are already relegated, but Zidane still gambled by going into this match without his most prolific goalscorer Cristiano Ronaldo; midfield giants Luka Modric, Toni Kroos; difference-maker Marcelo and first choice shot-stopper, Keylor Navas.

The Mister has managed to exploit (in a good way) each of his squad members talents for favourable results in this seasons campaign, even including Fabio Coentrao. The inclusion of the Portuguese allowed Marcelo to rest, who has been playing endlessly.

Zidane got what he came for and those are the three huge points, thereby keeping the pressure on our arch-rivals Football Club Barcelona.

View post:

Player Ratings: Granada CF 0-4 Real Madrid (2017 LaLiga) - Managing Madrid

Hill-Rom Holdings Inc. (NYSE: HRC) leaders have announced the introduction of the Monarch Airway Clearance System. Building on decades of experience with The Vest Airway Clearance System, the Monarch system represents Hill-Rom's debut in mobile therapy and the next chapter in the company's patient-centered respiratory care solutions.

The Monarch system is a mobile device that provides high-frequency chest wall oscillation (HFCWO) therapy in a mobile vest with a customizable, personalized fit. With its sporty design and stylish shells, the Monarch system uses Pulmonary Oscillating Discs (PODs) that provide targeted kinetic energy and HFCWO to the lungs to thin mucus and generate airflow, moving mucus up and out of the lungs. The Monarch system allows a patient to be active and productive while receiving therapy.

"We know that consistent respiratory therapy improves lung function," said Alton Shader, president, Front Line Care at Hill-Rom. "The Monarch system gives patients more control to fit therapy into their lives and to actively stay on track to meet their therapy goals."

Up until now, HFCWO therapy was primarily delivered by a vest connected to a generator with the patient seated in a chair. Hill-Rom's revolutionary POD technology delivers similar therapy, while allowing patients to move freely.

"I wanted to create a portable, long-lasting, battery-powered device that clears the lungs so patients are free to be outside, go camping, live a fuller, higher quality of life," said Marten DeVlieger, inventor and cystic fibrosis patient who collaborated with Hill-Rom to design the Monarch system. "It is exciting to see my vision for mobile therapy come true."

The Monarch system also incorporates LTE or WiFi technology to keep patients wirelessly connected to their care team using Hill-Rom's VisiView Health Portal, the company's first digital health product designed to enhance communication between health care teams and patients. Launched in April 2016, VisiView portal is a secure, cloud-based system that automatically receives information from respiratory care devices in a patient's home. Patients and health care teams share a user-friendly dashboard to view therapy data and trends for enhanced teamwork.

Persons may visit http://www.respiratorycare.hill-rom.com for more information.

Original post:

CF patient partners with Hill-Rom on portable vest | Business ... - Batesville Herald Tribune

Sir, Anthony McDonnells article Providing Orkambi to CF sufferers will cost lives (Opinion & Analysis, April 24th) needs to be challenged.

The overall thrust of the article is that health resources are finite and in tackling one problem, we are in practice taking money away from somewhere else. His article concludes, At a time when our health system is struggling to stay afloat, we should focus the resources we have, where they can achieve the most good for the greatest number of people possible, rather than cherry-picking people based on how sad their story appears.

Time and time again when the issue of resources for cystic fibrosis services was raised by our association over the past 50 years, we were told such resources were not justified and the many must be prioritised over the few. If our association had accepted these arguments then people with CF would still be dying before they reached primary school in Ireland, as they did 40 years ago. Now thanks to a combination of better hospital services and access to ground-breaking new medications such as Kalydeco and Orkambi, people with CF in Ireland are now expected to live into their thirties or forties.

The Government has entered into at least two major agreements with the pharmaceutical industry in Ireland to reduce the costs of other drug therapies for which Ireland paid over the odds for many decades. The Minister for Health has stated that at least some of this these savings will be used to pay for new and innovative medications. The proposed increased use of generic drugs and bio-similars is estimated at bringing savings of 750 million to the Government. In short, the cost of Orkambi can be met by savings to the existing drugs budget in Ireland.

Orkambi is not only a high-tech drug, but is also an orphan (rare) disease drug therapy. Mr McDonnell fails to take into account the significantly higher research and developments costs and risks associated with developing drugs for rare diseases. Drugs for rare diseases are called orphan drugs because most drug companies feel it is not financially worthwhile to develop such drugs because of the perceived reluctance of government to pay the higher costs associated with such therapies. The successful funding of Orkambi will result in more research and development into rare disease drugs, not just for those with CF but for other rare diseases. In short, the funding of Orkambi will save more lives and not only within the CF community.

While Mr McDonnell acknowledges that other health savings will be made through Orkambi, he does not give these savings sufficient credit. Orkambi has shown to reduce potential hospitalisations by up to 40 per cent. The CF population in Ireland combined spent over 15,000 days in hospital in 2015. Massive savings will be made in the existing health budget.

Ireland is not acting out of kilter with other countries in approving Orkambi. Germany, Austria and the US have already approved Orkambi, with other countries such as France and Italy likely to follow very shortly. Indications are that Ireland got a very good deal that incudes discount on pipeline drugs from the same company that may be even better than Orkambi, a major innovation for which the Government should be congratulated.

We would encourage the Government and the HSE to fully implement the commitments in the National Rare Disease Plan to review the existing HTA/QALY system through which drugs are assessed in Ireland and to develop a system that is more orphan drug-friendly, not just for CF but for patients with other rare conditions such as muscular dystrophy, Alpha One, Huntingtons disease, Battens disease, cystinosis, and the skin condition EB. Yours, etc,

PHILIP WATT,

Chief Executive,

Cystic Fibrosis Ireland,

Lower Rathmines Road,

Dublin 6.

Visit link:

It was right to provide CF drug Orkambi - Irish Times

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4:05 p.m., Fox Sports Detroit, WXYT-FM (97.1): Norris takes on A's ace in rubber match out in Oakland

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Detroit Tigers pitcher Daniel Norris works against the Oakland Athletics in the first inning Sunday, May 7, 2017, in Oakland, Calif.(Photo: Ben Margot, AP)

When: 4:05 p.m.

Where: Oakland Coliseum, Oakland, Calif.

TV: Fox Sports Detroit.

Radio: WXYT-FM (97.1; other radio affiliates).

Weather forecast: Sunny, 70 degrees.

Probable starting pitchers: LHP Daniel Norris (2-2, 4.00 ERA) vs. RHP Sonny Gray (0-1, 6.00 ERA).

Tigers lineup:

1. Andrew Romine, CF 2. Nick Castellanos, 3B 3. Miguel Cabrera, 1B 4. Victor Martinez, DH 5. Justin Upton, LF 6. Jim Adduci, RF 7. James McCann, C 8. Jose Iglesias, SS 9. Dixon Machado, 2B

Game notes: We'll see how well the Tigers can recover from the gut-punching loss Saturday, where they were an out away from a victory but fell, 6-5, with K-Rod on the mound. The Tigers are againwithout Ian Kinsler (hamstring), but taking the mound today is Norris, who allowed just one earned run on five hits and four walks over six innings on Monday against the Indians, a 7-1 win. Gray is making just his second start of the season after coming off the disabled list with a strained lat muscle. ... Flashback: Six-year anniversary of Justin Verlander's no-hitter in Toronto.

Related:

Joe Jimenez, slowed by back injury, working to be Tigers closer

Detroit Tigers insider: J.D. Martinez could move through rehab quickly

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Game thread: K-Rod blows it again; Tigers lose, 8-6 - Detroit Free Press

Traders are taking a closer look at shares of CF Industries Holdings Inc (CF) of late. The 14-day RSI is presently at 53.58, the 7-day is at 64.35, and the 3-day is resting at 80.13. The Relative Strength Index (RSI) is one of various popular technical indicators developed by J. Welles Wilder. Wilder introduced RSI in his publication New Concepts in Technical Trading Systems which was released in 1978. RSI measures the magnitude and velocity of directional price movements. The data is represented graphically by fluctuating between a value of 0 and 100. The indicator is computed by using the average losses and gains of a stock over a certain time period. RSI can be used to help spot overbought or oversold conditions. An RSI reading over 70 would be considered overbought, and a reading under 30 would indicate oversold conditions. A level of 50 would indicate neutral market momentum.

In terms of CCI levels, CF Industries Holdings Inc (CF) currently has a 14-day Commodity Channel Index (CCI) of 193.00. Investors and traders may use this indicator to help spot price reversals, price extremes, and the strength of a trend. Many investors will use the CCI in conjunction with other indicators when evaluating a trade. The CCI may be used to spot if a stock is entering overbought (+100) and oversold (-100) territory.The 14-day ADX for CF Industries Holdings Inc (CF) is 29.02. Many technical chart analysts believe that an ADX reading over 25 would suggest a strong trend. A level under 20 would indicate no trend, and a reading from 20-25 would suggest that there is no clear trend signal. The ADX is typically plotted along with two other directional movement indicator lines, the Plus Directional Indicator (+DI) and Minus Directional Indicator (-DI). Some analysts believe that the ADX is one of the best trend strength indicators available.

Investors may be studying other technical indicators like the Williams Percent Range or Williams %R. The Williams %R is a momentum indicator that helps measure oversold and overbought levels. This indicator compares the closing price of a stock in relation to the highs and lows over a certain time period. A common look back period is 14 days. CF Industries Holdings Inc (CF)s Williams %R presently stands at -7.14. The Williams %R oscillates in a range from 0 to -100. A reading between 0 and -20 would indicate an overbought situation. A reading from -80 to -100 would indicate an oversold situation. Lookingat some moving average levels on shares of CF Industries Holdings Inc (CF), the 200-day is at 28.03, the 50-day is 28.91, and the 7-day is sitting at 26.90. Moving averages can help identify trends and price reversals. They may also be used to help spot support and resistance levels. Moving averages are considered to be lagging indicators meaning that they confirm trends. A certain stock may be considered to be on an uptrend if trading above a moving average and the average is sloping upward. On the other side, a stock may be considered to be in a downtrend if trading below the moving average and sloping downward.

See the article here:

Shares in Focus: CF Industries Holdings Inc (CF) - Rives Journal