At what time you allow faith to take over and leave problems
behind rather than repairing the problem you are only dropping
the value of your home since the equity will decrease. The
equity of the home determines your faith. If you apply for a
mortgage against the home, you may not get the value if the
equity drops. Likewise, if you decide to sell your home you must
suffer loss. Now you can ask your self-questions, are you
worried about your home’s equity value? Are you lingering
waiting for problems around the house to fix them self?

When you leave leaky faucets unattended, or else allow crud to
build in the bathrooms, or even allow holes to linger in the
walls you are only causing more harm to you and your home. The
act on your part will lead to substantial decrease in loans
against the home, and substantial decrease in sell of the home.
The lingering may also lead to higher cost for repairs later.

If you fix the problem now it could save you hundreds later.
Fixing leaky faucets, merely details tightening a screw or nut,
or else paying around ten bucks to replace the thing…you
merely loosen the nuts at the top of the old faucet and slid in
the new faucet to fix the problem.

For the most part, you will need to locate the water shutoff
valve before installing a new faucet. This is probably the
hardest part of installing a new faucet.

If you allow crud to build in your bath area, or kitchen area,
it only brings down the appearance of the home, and brings down
the opinion of friends and family on you.

>From time to time, you can clean the crud from the area to
improve the appeal of the home, but other times you must
entirely improve the area.

For the bath area if the crud is not cleanable, then you may
need to replace certain areas of the bath. If you have tile
walls you can replace cracked tiles easy. On the other hand, if
you need an entire shower replacement you will need a kit.

A new shower kit will only cost you a few hundred dollars, but
will increase the value of your home immensely. If you must
install a new shower, you will need tools. The kit generally has
the materials you need for installation. The tools required
include a 3/8 PVC Pipe, Purple Primer, CPVC Cement, Philips
Screwdriver, Silicon Sealant, Liquid Nails, Tubing Cutter, and a
bit of common sense.

The first step to improving your home by installing a new shower
is to gather all the materials and tools together and put them
in reach. You will need to even the floor with the drainpipe and
make sure all the water connection is turned off before starting
the installation. Once you finish you will need to check the
area for leaks before completing the final phase of
installation.

The kit will include new faucet, showerhead, walls, shower doors
and/or curtains. The curtain kits are often cheaper than the
kits that include shower doors.

The walls will come in handy; especially if the old walls are so
far gone, that repairing or cleaning is out of the question. If
you clean the shower area daily, you can prevent going through
this installation process again in the near future.

It only takes a couple of dollars to repair, but it can take
thousands to fix lingering problems. Again, the equity of your
home is the primary focus for any lender or buyer, thus keeping
the equity value stable is important to you and your home.

If you feel that you do not have the skills to improve your
home, or else the cash to repair or improve, you may want to
consider reading a variety of materials on home improvement,
especially the do-it-your-self books that can guide you through
the steps to improving or repairing your home at an affordable
cost. Some books will guide you through the process while
informing you of cheaper strategies than others will.

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Hampton Court Palace can be found to the south-west of the Capital, on the edge of the River Thames, enclosed by woodland and beautiful estates. Hampton Court Palace, Henry 8s splendid water shore residence is situated in over 500 acres of parkland and grounds.

Awaken the mood of more than four-hundred and fifty years of the past, fancy dressed artists can be spotted within Henry eights and King William 3rd’s amazing private apartments. The pictures, noise & stench of the spectacular Tudor kitchens where royal dinners were set-up for Henry?s dinning room of over seven-hundred visitors can also be viewed.

Hampton Court Palace has been divided into 6 distinct routes or journeys. The Maze at Hampton Court Palace which is sited on the Thames to the west of the Capital is maybe the most prized hedge maze on this earth.

Hampton Court palace has a shocking custom & is said to be inhabited by many ghosts, including 2 of Henry 8th’s dead wives and a nursemaid to his family. Hampton Court Palace stewards & staff will be on hand to aid visitors to their booked state dwelling for a cava and canap?s gathering. Uniformed employees will declare the evening dinner & guests will be encouraged to find their reserved seats for a remarkable 2 course dinner with selected fine champagne. Information about Hampton Court London can be found at the official site for tourism in England.

Hampton Court Palace has sixty acres of ceremonial grounds on top of the five hundred acres of royal forest. The royal grounds go back to the 16th Century, when the 1st Privy Garden was fitted between 1530 & 1538 for King Henry VIII.

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For anyone suffering coughing fits (or listening to them) these natural cough remedies may help. Natural remedies include treatment for allergies, herbs, essential oils and vaporizers.

Coughs may be caused by a number of factors including allergies, vial infections and chemical infections. If there is a fever present, it may be caused by an allergy to milk.

In order to find out if you have an allergy, you can perform a pulse test on yourself - after drinking milk, take your pulse at 15, 30 and 60 minutes and if your pulse rises by more tan 10 beats per minute, you may have an allergy.

If you have trouble sleeping, steam vaporizers may help with sleep at night.

Essential oils including black pepper, cardamom, cedar wood, cypress, Eucalyptus globulus and Eucalyptus radiata, frankincense, Helichrysium, lemon, peppermint, pine, rosemary and sandalwood may all help. These oils may be diffused into a room, inhaled or applied as a rub.

Herbs may be very helpful including: English plantain, licorice, thyme, sweet chestnut and comfrey.

A mixture of ginger, honey and lemon as a hot mixture may be just as beneficial in place of cough syrup. Make it up as a tea by first boiling some water and pouring it into a small thermos (about a litre or a quart). To this add some grated ginger and then four tablespoons each of lemon and honey.

A moderate a moderate amount of exercise is always beneficial for natural cough remedies. - don’t overdo it, particularly if the cough is in conjunction with a cold or fever.

If the cough persists, consult your health care practitioner.

Paul Newland is a health writer, sports training consultant and martial arts instructor and manages the Global-Longevity.com website.
He is the author of numerous health information books and guides, including the Wellness Report, The Ultimate Antioxidant Report, The Selenium Report, The Ultimate Nutrient Guide and The Essential Fatty Acid Report and The Ultimate Sports Nutrition Guide - available Free (for a limited time) through Global-Longevity.com

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Choosing an online shopping cart is a big decision. Unlike a traditional brick and mortar business, your website is your only chance to impress potential customers. It needs to project a professional image to capture the trust of your visitors. The shopping cart is a particularly important part of your website because it deals with people’s personal information and credit card numbers. People are nervous about online purchases and need to be assured that they are giving their credit card numbers to a reputable company.

There are several types of ecommerce shopping carts available. They range from merchant services, which require no programming skills, to fully integrated shopping carts that require custom programming. The three main categories of shopping carts are:

• Merchant services such as eBay and 2Checkout
• Hosted shopping cart services
• Fully integrated shopping carts

Merchant Services

Most shopping carts require you to have your own merchant account and gateway. A merchant account is a bank account that allows a business to conduct credit card transactions and the gateway allows the transaction to be conducted over a secure connection. It’s okay if you don’t have a merchant account or gateway. Merchant service shopping carts allow you to use their merchant account, gateway and shopping cart for a higher cost.

Merchant services are beneficial for very small businesses or those that are just starting and don’t have a lot of orders. Merchant services provide the merchant account, gateway, hosted shopping cart and will maintain your customer’s personal information. They usually require a set-up fee between 50 and 200 dollars, transaction fee between 30 and 75 cents, and 5% to 10% of each transaction. Because you are using their merchant account, your customer’s credit card statement will show the merchant services business name not yours. In some cases, customers will not recognize the charge and may dispute it.

Merchant service shopping carts have an administrative interface, which allows you to login to your account to add products, prices and shipping options. The shopping cart generates the html for the purchase buttons and you simply copy and paste the html into your web pages. When your customer clicks on the purchase button, he is taken to another website to enter the credit card information. This indicates to the customer that you are a small business. Some potential customers will abandon the shopping cart rather than enter their credit card information on a website they know nothing about.

Once your business grows to the point where you are processing over $1000 a month, it’s more cost effective to apply for your own merchant account and switch to either a hosted shopping cart (little or no programming) or a fully integrated shopping cart (programming required).

Hosted Shopping Cart

The hosted shopping cart is a great solution for a small business that is processing over $1000 a month but does not have the resources to create or customize a fully integrated shopping cart. Hosted shopping carts are similar to the merchant services because they provide an administrative interface for you to enter products, pricing and shipping options. They will generate the html for the purchase buttons, which can be copied and pasted into your html pages.

Hosted shopping carts face some of same problems as merchant service carts because your customers will be transferred to a different website to enter the credit card information. Some hosted shopping carts allow you to customize the shopping cart so that it has the same look and feel as your websites. Customizing your shopping cart may require some programming skills, but it could also prevent customers from abandoning their shopping carts.

The main difference between the merchant services shopping cart and the hosted shopping cart is the name that appears on the customer’s credit card and pricing. Hosted shopping carts allow you to use your own merchant account and gateway, which means the customer’s credit card statement will show your business name next to the charge. This can decrease your charge backs.

If you are using your own merchant account and conducting over $1000 of transitions each month, the hosted shopping carts can be less expensive than merchant services. Your merchant account will probably charge a monthly fee between 20 and 60 dollars, transaction fee between 10 and 50 cents, and a percentage of the transaction, usually ranging between 2% to 3.5%. In addition to the merchant fees, your shopping cart service will also charge a monthly fee between 10 and 30 dollars and could charge a transaction fee. These fees sound more expensive than the merchant service option, but if you are processing over $1000 a month and growing, it’s better to pay flat monthly fees than continue to be charged 5 to 10 percent of the each transaction.

Fully Integrated Shopping Carts

The fully integrated shopping cart is a great option for any business that can afford it. The shopping cart will be dynamic and will have the same look and feel as your website. The ZIP Baby Potty Training Store is a great example of a fully integrated shopping cart. Fully integrated shopping carts like this contain features that are not found in merchant service or hosted shopping carts. For example, you can discount items, display customer reviews, assign products to multiple categories, display out of stock notifications, sort products and prices, and display shipping estimates without requiring the customer to create an account.

Integrated shopping carts require advanced programming skills and can often be used with your own merchant account or with a service that allows you to use their merchant account for a higher fee. There are many integrated shopping carts available. Free carts require the most programming skills, but if you don’t have the programming skills necessary to customize a free shopping cart, there are many companies that specialize in customizing fully integrated shopping carts.

Your choice of a shopping cart can have a dramatic impact on your business. Your website is the first and only impression you get to make so you’ll want to make it as professional as possible. While shopping for a shopping cart system, put yourself in your target customer’s shoes and browse the Internet. Review your competitor’s websites as well as those outside your industry. Make a list of shopping carts that you find appealing and research them thoroughly before choosing one.

Copyright 2004 Danna Henderson. All Rights Reserved.

Danna Henderson started ZIP Baby in order to provide parents with comprehensive potty training information and a large selection of potty training products. For more information visit the ZIP Baby Potty Training Store .

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Shick Tube-Veyor Corporation was founded in 1956 by William F.
Ungashick, an aeronautical engineer. Today, Shick is an industry
leader in providing single source automated ingredient handling
systems and equipment. Shick designs, manufactures, installs and
services systems for customers primarily in the baking industry.
Headquartered in Kansas City, Missouri, Shick has approximately
165 employees located in Missouri and Singapore. The firm
selected Encompix (www.encompix.com) because it has filled the
manufacturing software requirements of Engineer-to-Order
companies since 1992. The company name reflects the commitment
to developing business application solutions that encompass the
complex areas of project-based and job-based manufacturing.

Additional new Encompix clients include Global Vehicle Systems,
Air-x-hemphill (AXH), Komline-Sanderson, and Pattern Equipment &
Prototype (PEP).

In the increasingly competitive world of engineer-to-order and
project-based manufacturing, companies have to operate at
maximum efficiency to compete with not only domestic firms, but
also the growing number of overseas competitors. The companies
that will thrive in this environment are those that are
continually looking for improvement.

According to Thomas R. Cutler, spokesperson for the ETO
Institute (www.etoinstitute.org), “Encompix has experienced
strong levels of success because this year few other
manufacturing software companies truly understand the specific
issues and nuances facing the engineer-to-order segment of the
manufacturing market.” Encompix provides ETO manufacturers with
a competitive advantage by improving bottom line results.

Encompix www.encompix.com Roger Meloy 513-733-0066

# # #

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A fitter player and, more importantly, a fitter team can play at a faster pace for a longer period of time. Fitness and player stamina is what sets apart professional and part-time teams, especially when they play in “all or nothing” matches such as the FA Cup where there is no middle ground for a draw. Stamina training in soccer is just a party of getting and remaining fit for the entire season. A player requires strength to keep the ball and win the match and this means the player must be able to sprint, accelerate and move quickly around the field for 90 minutes.

The warm-up is an essential part of injury prevention, vital when your star player is earning £70,000 a week and will pick this up whether he plays or is sitting out injured. To improve your fitness and agility, start off with five minutes of jogging on the spot followed by high knees, heel flicks, jumping jacks and then five minutes of stretching. You can also perform press ups, squat thrusts, ‘lateral raises’ by using dumbbells or resistance bands, crunches, dips and sit to stand using the dumbbells. Instead of running at a continuous pace, mix up the routine with running, jogging and sprinting in a random manner.

You can start by jogging for five minutes, then sprint for 20 yards, slow jog for 100 yards, cruise for 200 yards, backward running for 20 yards, turn and sprint for 30 yards, walk for 50 yards and then jog again for 300 yards more. When you finish your training session, stretch the hamstrings, groins, quads, calves and lower back for between 20 to 30 seconds to allow your muscles to recuperate properly.

Soccer demands a high level of stamina, thus endurance training is an essential part of any professional soccer training programme. It serves as a great confidence booster when you can see your opponent fading during the later stages of a match and you have reserves to use and take advantage of. Endurance training is a must that requires a solid aerobic base so that you remain active in the playing field for a long period of time.

Stamina fitness training for soccer players include activities like jogging, hill running, cycling and shuttle runs. It requires certain exercise equipments like cross-trainer, stair climbers and treadmills. Sprint training includes shuttle runs, relay runs, and the pattern of sprint-walk-jog. For sprinting, a strong drive is required. The upper body should be relaxed. Strength training includes circuit training and weight training.

You can easily perform some of the activities for improving your overall stamina:

• A full squat with bodyweight
• Clean and press seven-tenths of their weight overhead
• Curl six-tenths of their weights
• Hop 25km distance in 10 hops on each leg (if you are feeling especially masochistic!)
• 40 press-ups in one minute
• 40 bent-knee abdominals in one minute
• 40 squat thrusts in one minute
• Eight chins (male) and three chins (female).

Stamina is developed by completing rounds of continuous activity at moderate intensities, performed for longer than three minutes. The general-endurance component of run-play training has a middle distance event where you carry out a cool run of 2000-3000 metres at around 70 to 75 per cent of maximal heart rate.

Stamina training also includes a distance events where you have to to try a cool run of 3000-5000 metres at about 70 to 75 per cent of maximal heart rate.

David Walker runs a free soccer bets website. It is also possible to watch live football online.

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Whatever your business resolutions may be for this year, you
need to take action. Each day that passes by is lost profits
if you don’t do anything to improve your business. Everyone
wants to have more and more success but if you just stay there
and dream about being more successful, you will never reach
your goals.

As a matter of fact, it’s imperative that you work on a
well-constructed business plan to ensure that you meet your
objectives. By using a road map for your future promotions, you
will be more focused and motivated. Just remember, doing a little
every day can lead to a huge accomplishment in the future.

You should always try to improve your business wherever you can
and make more profits because there are so many different
profitable marketing techniques that you can use to boost your
business.

With that said, let’s see some of these lucrative promotion
strategies that will skyrocket your sales and profits.

(1) Pay Per Click(PPC) Search Engines

Pay Per Click search engines are among one of the quickest
ways to drive targeted traffic to your website. You just bid
on keywords related to your site and you can get a top listing
along with the organic search engine listings.

Bidding and keyword research are critical to the success of your
campaigns. If you bid high for high competition keywords, you
can be sure to get a good placement in the PPC. An example with
Google Adwords, positions 2-4 are usually very good. Of course,
position 1 is the best but you will be paying the highest bid
and your budget can be drained quite fast.

If you bid for low competion keywords, you can pay for as low
as 5 cents and expect a top listing because there won’t be
many ads competing for these keywords. Hence, if you can get
lots of these low competition keywords which bring you highly
targeted clicks, that will be a very profitable campaign.

Then you just need to ensure that you either get these visitors
to subscribe to your newsletter or buy whatever product or
service you might be offering.

The most difficult parts are to get the right keywords and
sufficient amount of clicks to prevent your keywords from being
slowed or disabled. When this happen, your ad will disappear.
The best status for your keyword should always be “normal”,
hence it will be shown at full delivery. To solve this issue,
your ad must be eye catching, it can arouse curiosity, it can
state a benefit in the description, it can include a call to
action and it helps if the ad itself contains the keyword
you’re targeting.

It takes a few minutes to set up an account with AdWords at
http://adwords.google.com

To search for potential related keywords for your website, you
can make use of Overture search tool at

http://inventory.overture.com/d/searchinventory/suggestion/

or Google AdWords Keyword Tool at

http://adwords.google.com/select/KeywordSandbox

Some changes at AdWords, if you are promoting affiliate products,
you no longer need to identify yourself as an affiliate and include
the abbreviation for affiliate ie “aff” in your ad description.

In addition, if there are several ads promoting the same product
by using the same keyword, only one ad will be displayed now.
Hence there won’t be duplicate ads. A higher rank for your ad
will be determined based on its maximum cost-per-click(CPC) and
clickthrough rate(CTR) just like before.

To solve this issue, you can promote that same product on
your own website instead of linking directly to the merchant’s
site.

To know how much advertisers are paying for keywords, check out
Overture bid tool at

http://uv.bidtool.overture.com/d/search/tools/bidtool/

This can give you an idea for the competitivity of the keywords.

Advertising on Overture is more costly and depending on your
industry, usually you will reach over 80% of active Internet
users than on AdWords because your site will also appear on
Overture’s network of sites like MSN, Yahoo, Altavista, Infospace
and CNN amongst others as sponsored sites.

To sign up for an account at Overture, go to this url

http://www.content.overture.com/d/USm/ays/choose.jhtml

(2) Search Engine Optimization(SEO)

Getting free traffic from the search engines is one of the
most powerful marketing tactics because not only are you
not paying a dime but the traffic just like PPC is extremely
targeted. People coming to your site after making a search
on the search engines is one of the best methods to deliver
good results.

Getting your site noticed and ranked high in the search engines
takes time and work but the long lasting traffic is well worth
the effort.

To optimize your site, consider putting your targeted keywords
in your title, description, include some keywords in your content,
and most importantly, get quality relevant links to your site.

While you will be waiting for your rankings to appear on the
search engines, an advice is to drive traffic via the PPC in the
meantime.

(3) Affiliate Program

An affiliate program is a type of joint venture and is a highly effective
technique to generate new streams of traffic and skyrocket your sales.

And best of all, it’s FREE advertising and minimal effort on your
part in contrast to ppc and seo where you have to work for your
rankings or pay for every click.

On the contrary, you can capitalize on other webmasters’ existing
websites which are already getting traffic and if you have a product
or service, it does not cost you anything to contact these business
owners and offer them to join your affiliate program to promote
your product in return for a commission. Persuading them and finally
recruiting them is the hardest part of your job and you have to
make sure that your joint venture proposal is convincing and
interesting.

Furthermore, you can also profit from other marketers opt in email
lists and you can get a flood of new customers very quickly.

Promoting your business constantly and regularly is the key to
long term growths. Take action today and start to work on your
online business goals by implementing the strategies mentioned
above. Every day and month which goes by is only lost time which
could have been used to market your business slowly but surely.

This article can be freely published on a website as long as
it’s not modified in any way including the author bylines,
plus the hyperlink must be made active just like below.

Jean Lam is the editor of Web Biz Secrets Newsletter.
Subscribe today for powerful marketing tips and receive
his new PDF eBook “3 SureFire Ways To Start An Internet
Business And Strategies To Promote It”

Visit his Internet Marketing Resource website.

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There are three specific criteria that make any loan work. They are:

1. Collateral - What you have of value (assets) to place at risk if you should default on the loan.

2. Capacity - Your ability to pay back the loan over time. This includes income reporting such as IRS Form W-2 or 1099. Capacity also includes credit. You got to have it for banks to consider your loan with any hopes for approval. Banks will review your most current credit rating at the time of the loan application and sometimes one more time before closing. Credit reports will list several trade lines and the more you have in good standing, and at least 12-24 months since the trade line was opened, the better. Trade lines considered are home loans, car loans, student loans, credit cards, cell phones and more. There is also a numbered scoring process that determines your overall credit worthiness. Credit could also be argued as a form of collateral as I will explain further into this article.

3. Capitol - Banks look for a down payment to lessen their risk of defaulted loan. This money will usually come from a gift by relative, personal savings or proceeds from equity on a previously sold property.

There are three types of loan programs available

Full Doc Loan - This concerns Full Documentation. Most people use this loan because it’s the only loan type available through their bank. I’t also the least expense to originate not because it’s easier, but because it’s more competitive in the marketplace. Also due to the strict underwriting FHA guidelines and verifiable documentation of the loan.

Low Doc Loan - These loans are also known as streamline. For Military Veterans using VA loans, the cost is almost nothing (except for pre-paid escrow fees) because of the rebate paid to the loan originator by the bank. The rebate is broken down on your Settlement Statement some where on Page 2. Typically it’s called Y.S.P. or yield spread premium. Good lenders will usually cover the upfront costs of VA Streamline loans such as appraisals, closing costs, etc. Only the client can pay their own prepaid escrow accounts by law. Often within three months, the old pre-paids from the previous mortgage loan’s escrow account and refunded. So it’s really a no-brainer. The only underwriting guideline for the veteran is to demonstrate current mortgage payments for the last 12 months.

For civilians that use Conventional loans by banks these loans will usually be slightly increased in either point origination fees or interest rate or both depending on your mortgage research shopping. Low Doc loan criteria for the first time homeowner or the long time renter producing a clean rent history for the last 12 months and copies of cancelled rent checks both from and back. Sometimes a letter or a phone verification from the present landlord is a requirement but very easy to do. Another could be a phone verification of employment. They cannot ask for income wage, just that you work there and maybe how long you’ve been employed. Privacy Act Statements prevent employers from disclosing too much information. No Tax Forms are needed. Usually just the last three months bank statements will suffice. What determines the best overall rate and cost of the loan is going to be if your loan is considered prime or sub-prime. That is determined either by the middle of three credit scores or the lesser of two credit scores. These scores are generated by the three major credit bureau agencies: Experian, TransUnion and Equifax.

No Doc Loan - If you can fog a mirror, you can get this loan in most cases! The loan can also be coined as ‘Tell me a (believable) story and I will give you a loan.

Sometimes referred to a NINA (No Income, No Asset) loan, this loan can either have 20 percent down payment or less with excellent middle credit score. There is no proof of income and no proof of assets. This loan will cost more to originate and in interest rate but is the easiest lon to obtain.

No Doc loans are great for people who are in transition. They have not been at the same job for two years but they have been in the same industry. They have relocated, married, divorced, out grown the home with new family members, downsized as empty-nesters or just have to have that signature trophy home.

So there you have it in a nutshell. Go find the right lender and level the playing field to your advantage. It’s your money.

http://www.ult.net

You may freely reprint this article on your website or in your newsletter provided this courtesy notice and the author name and URL remain intact.

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The great American game of baseball!! Home runs, triple plays, and the World Series, make viewing this sport a great pastime. Fans, over generations of time, have come to hold special individual memories of baseball. It’s sealed in their minds; baseball IS the greatest sport of all time. Remembering, all is in the eye of the beholder, can it be that baseball history can define itself by years of great team lineups, talented athletes, extravagant game plays and greatest cheaters???

Who would have thought that in all baseball has provided for its fans, a set of stats dedicated to cheaters would fit in? No one would think that there would be a way that great athletes would conjure up or develop ways to improve their stats, career or even their place in baseball history. It is proven, however, that Hall of Fame greats and record breakers in the field of ball playing would actually be at the head of such schemes–no matter the severity of the scheme. Cheaters have been recognized throughout this sport since almost at its beginnings.

The most notable offenders and cheating title holders would be: John McGraw, Gaylord Perry, Ty Cobb, Mike Scott, Ken Hrbeck, Joe Niekro, Pete Rose, and Albert Belle. Later, and to add some variety to this interesting topic, one of the many baseball scandals include the 1919 Chicago White Sox sellout.

John McGraw was a Hall of Fame great who had a reputation for holding base runners by their belt loops and would even go as far as blocking and tripping runners. He was not afraid to try this stunt with runners larger than his 155lb frame.

Gaylord Perry, Hall of Fame inductee, had the infamous “spitter” ball or “Vaseline ball”. While compiling his 314-265 record, this pitcher would stand on his mound and touch his sleeve or cap. At these times, he would “load up” his ball, or appear to “load up” his ball in order to psych out the batter at the plate, enhancing the hopes for a strikeout. Because of this naughty habit, this great athlete was one of the few pitchers in the sport to get reprimanded. In 1982 he was suspended from baseball for doctoring the ball.

Ty Cobb, or otherwise known as the “Georgia Peach”, was not a Hall of Famer, but held dozens of the league’s records. However, despite the records, the major reason that this athlete was able to steal bases on occasion without fail was because fielders would fear the wrath of his sharpened spikes. Cobb had a nasty habit of using his pointed spikes as weapons on the base paths.

Mike Scott, also a holder of dozens of major league statistics, had a habit of using emery boards not for the nails on his hands but to shave a little bit here and there on the ball. Altering the ball in this way allowed many of the hitters to be potential strikeout victims.

Kent Hrbek was a charismatic player who helped his team reach two World Series. In 1991, his charisma was not enough to save him when in a play, a member of the opposing team landed on his base. Lo and behold, Hrbek in an orchestrated maneuver he thought to be covert bumped the fellow off the base. He tagged the guy out. What Hrbek did not know, was that there were cameras running at certain angles poised to catch him in the act. Hrbek himself found out what it was like to be OUT!

Joe Niekro was no stranger to the emery board, ball-shaving fix. Even though Niekro claimed the emery board in his pocket was to file his fingernails so he could keep his knuckleball skills in check, it wasn’t until 1987 he was caught cheating. An umps’ eye caught an emery board flying out of Niekro’s pocket and Niekro got suspended for 10 days, no doubt giving the pitcher sufficient time to keep a neat set of nails.

Pete Rose was a gambler. At times in the world of sports, inside information has benefited players or fans alike. One small fact could swing a bet one way or another, but no one would think that a player would bet on his own team. It would not only be ethically incorrect, but a detrimental career move if caught. Hall of Fame inductee Pete Rose made such a career-crippling move by placing bets on the outcomes of his own teams’ games!

In the unholy name of baseball cheating, there was Albert Belle. He was known to have “his own kind” of special bat; one that could have been known to hold more cork than a million bottles of champagne. In 1994, Belle was suspended for seven games in an occurrence where Albert’s bat was confiscated by an umpire after suspicions of bat tampering were made known to him.

Last, but probably forever in the name of baseball, not least, it would only seem fair to mention one event that has come to be known as one of baseball’s greater scandals. Most times, individual team members could be blamed for tampering with this great sport. But for the sake of keeping any more skeletons from coming out of closets, it can be safe to discuss this topic: The 1919 Chicago White Sox Sellout. Imagine a crowd of fans that grow to the tune of around 43,000 strong. Fans driving from far and wide. Fans waiting to see their team rise to victory in The World Series. Hopes for the true fan gets crushed when it is discovered that eight players of one team were paid off to lose to the other team. Then insult adds to injury; it becomes clear that the event was due to a master mob plan. The eight players involved get suspended, and later are banned from baseball for life. The White Sox reputation suffers for many years to come.

With all that said, throughout baseball’s history of cheaters and scandal, there is only one phrase that can sum up the result of the intentions of those trying to reinvent the rules of baseball for personal gain and that phrase is - “Cheaters NEVER prosper.”

This article was written by F.R. Penn sponsored by www.stubhub.com. If you’re looking for baseball tickets to see your favorite teams live in action, look no further than Stubhub.com where fans buy and sell the hottest sports tickets. Reproductions of this article are encouraged but must include a link back to www.stubhub.com/

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I would like to share a spiritual experience with you that not
only was very personal to me, but I believe it has value to
every person’s life. I would pray that the precious Holy Spirit
would touch you, and show you how it may apply to your life as
well.

This occured in a devastating moment of my life. My husband was
into some really terrible things that had destroyed our
marriage, and we had just told our two children that we were
getting a divorce. If you have been through this experience,
you’ll relate to the place and pain I was in.

After the kids had been settled and got busy, I had time alone
in my room. I was praying and crying, and I felt Jesus’s hand on
my head, stroking my hair and comforting me.

Soon, I literally saw a vision of heaven, at first it was the
Lord and I walking through beautiful green fields, then I saw a
lion eating grass. I love animals and this hit me as being
profoundly strange. Soon a lamb went up to the lion and they
began playing together. I knew then what I was seeing wasn’t
earthly, but heavenly.

We then approached a city, where there was a lot of activity,
but I wasn’t shown what they were doing, (heaven isn’t boring!)
they moved in love and with a sense of purpose, but it was a
joyful, light thing. Not a stressed out busyness that’s common
to us. I saw some people dressed in white robes, but were rather
plain, I then saw others also in white robes, but they were
magnificent, obviously held in high regard and honor.

I questioned the Lord about the differences between the two
groups of people. He then showed me the plain, first group and
what their lives on earth were like, they had sorrow, pain and
hardship, and they worked VERY hard at fixing their lives. The
Lord asked me what I saw. “I see people in pain working so
desperately to fix their lives”. Exactly He said.

Then He showed me the second group of people, the dazzling
group, and their lives on earth also, and I saw the same
circumstances in their lives (some worse in fact), pain,
suffering and hardship, but I saw them down on their knees
crying out to God for help. They gave their lives over to Him,
placing their circumstances in His hands and trusting Him to
move for them.

He then showed me their “after” appearance and then asked me
what I saw. “Wow, I see God in their lives.” Exactly He said. He
showed me both groups were equally loved, both groups were
equally in hardship, but the difference it made in eternity was
HOW we responded here on earth to those hardships.

He then told me, “I’m going to introduce you to My Father, you
need Him now.” At that moment I tried to tell Him no, because
all of the sudden I felt great fear.

I had NO idea I had a fear of facing The Heavenly Father, until
it was presented to me. But it all unveiled so quickly, I really
didn’t have much time to protest. Jesus sat down at the Father’s
side, and it was like a veil or curtain was pulled aside, and
there I was, face to face with The Father!

You know how when you are shocked, sometimes the oddest things
fly out of your mouth? Your brain is totally by-passed? That’s
what happened, the first words out of my mouth were “Oh, You’re
kind!” “I was afraid of You.” He chuckled and told me that most
people are too. I knew that if ANYONE got even one, fast glimpse
of His face, they would fall instantly in love! It would be
impossible not to, He was so incredible.

I was aware that my heart was exploding with love for Him, and I
had a strong desire to give Him something special. I started
looking around to see what was around me that I could give Him.
I realized that not only was there nothing good I could present
to Him, but to my horror the only thing I possessed was a sack
of garbage in my hand. I felt bitterness and sadness wash over
me, that was all I had. I had no gift to bring.

He immediately knew I was feeling this and told me, “Valerie, I
LOVE garbage.” I was again stunned! “How could this be Lord?” He
told me to remember the previous groups of 2 people I had met
earlier, and said that He can take the garbage in our lives, and
change it into something beautiful. That each component made a
unique masterpiece, each life totally different, but all to His
glory.

He then giggled, and His eyes lit up (yes, really) and acted
almost like a child about ready to open a birthday present, and
invited me to bring Him my sack of garbage, that we could go
through each piece together, one by one, and I could tell Him
the story of my garbage. I felt we had all the time in the
world, there was no hurry, or people banging on the door wanting
their turn with Him. It wasn’t like a Santa Claus line like I
always had imagined, having to wait and wait to get a chance to
be alone with God.

I then approached Him and together we looked into my garbage
sack. The first item I pulled out was a rotten sock, it was
dirty and had so many holes in it, it was barely recognizable as
even being a sock. I told Him this one was my favorite. It
represented my husband. He stretched out His hand, and I placed
the sock in His hand and He said it was His favorite too.

The next in the bag was my wedding ring, it was broken and
smashed. I told Him it was my marriage. I put the broken pieces
of the ring in His hand.

The 3rd item I pulled out a heart (mine), it was bloody,
mangled, bruised and broken. He knew it was my heart too, and he
carefully took my heart into His hands and told me, “I’m really
good at fixing those.”

The fourth item was a bitter root. I told Him that was my sin
and I was sorry for my bitterness and that it was ugly. I placed
that into His hand too, He thanked me for giving that to Him and
smiled.

I thought at this point my bag was empty, when all of the sudden
a horrific smell came out from the bag. I looked around inside,
and found in a hidden corner at the bottom a dead, rotting and
decaying mouse. I grabbed it by its tail and pulled it out and
was looking for a garbage can because I didn’t want to put this
foul thing in His hand. He didn’t give me a choice here and
wisked it out of my hand and said, “I’ll take care of that one.”
It represented the enemy’s evil plans and schemes that had
caused great damage in my life.

NOW, my sack was empty, but I didn’t know quite what to do with
it. I knew if I carried around an empty sack, I would probably
want to put those things back in there. He sensed my thoughts
and suggested giving Him even the sack so I wouldn’t be tempted
to take those things back. I told Him yes please, and if I asked
for my garbage back, to please tell me no.

I felt loved and free, He even LIKED me! He then told me it was
time to go back and to watch Him make a masterpiece out of this.
He did warn me that masterpieces take time to build.

Ask the Holy Spirit to reveal if you have garbage in your life.
Ask Him what is in your garbage sack and what it represents. I
would encourage you to place those things in His mighty hand,
and watch Him make a masterpiece in YOUR life.

As an update footnote: This happened to me several years ago,
the Lord did deal with my husband, my husband ended up finding
the great love of God, He did heal my broken heart, and He has
healed our marriage. Our divorce was cancelled, all glory goes
to God! Day by day His grace helps us.

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