Alex Rodriguez sued Major League Baseball and Commissioner Bud Selig, accusing them of pursuing justice as part of a hunt designed to smear the character of the Yankees star and cost him tens of millions of dollars.

The lawsuit, filed Thursday in New York State Supreme Court, seeks unspecified compensatory and punitive damages for what it alleges was a relentless campaign by the league and Selig to the reputation and career of Alex Rodriguez. suit was filed during the first week of hearings in the grievance by the Major League Baseball Players Association to overturn the 211 game suspension of Rodriguez imposed by MLB on Aug. 5 for alleged violations of baseball drug agreement and labour contract. The suspension Nike Free Danmark stemmed from baseball investigation of the Biogenesis of America anti aging clinic, headed by Anthony Bosch.

Albert Pujols also filed a lawsuit. The Los Angeles Angels slugger sued Jack Clark on Friday over comments on a local radio show accusing the three time NL MVP of using steroids.

The lawsuit between former Cardinals stars was filed in Circuit Court in St. Louis County, where Clark lives. It seeks unspecified damages and asks for a determination and declaration that Clark statements are false.

MLB issued a statement Friday that called Rodriguez actions and said his suit was in a violation of the confidentiality provisions of Nike Free Run Herre the Joint Drug Agreement between MLB and the union.

Rodriguez spokesman Ron Berkowitz shot back in a statement of his own that the league violation claim was of the bases for the complaint filed by Mr. Rodriguez last night arise from MLB wilful and persistent violations of those very confidentiality provisions over the past six months and beyond, Berkowitz said.

The suit claims Selig and MLB tried to smear the three time AL MVP reputation to over Selig past inaction on performance enhancing drugs, which the lawsuit said had turned the Age of Baseball into the Age of Steroids. lawsuit, calling baseball probe and prohibited, said Selig hoped to redeem himself and secure his legacy as the of America pastime at the expense of Rodriguez.

down Mr. Rodriguez would vividly demonstrate that Commissioner Selig had learned from the errors of his previous explicit or tacit tolerance of steroid use, the lawsuit said.

The lawsuit claimed MLB is paying Bosch $5 million in monthly installments to buy his co operation. Federal and Florida state prosecutors are probing Bosch.

are the lengths that Commissioner Selig and MLB have stooped to in their witch hunt against Mr. Rodriguez paying and Nike Free Run Herre protecting someone under investigation for providing steroids to minors, the lawsuit said. It also accused Selig and the league of intimidating witnesses and providing cash for evidence and testimony.

Joyce Fitzpatrick, a spokeswoman for Bosch, denied the allegations against her client.

Bosch is co operating fully with Major League Baseball. He did request that security be provided because he feels his life is in danger, she said. the allegation that he was paid for his testimony is absolutely untrue. He hasn received $5, let alone $5 million. lawsuit said two potential sponsors Nike Inc. and Toyota Motor Corp. have terminated negotiations with Rodriguez for potential sponsorship contracts and Rodriguez voice work as a hero for an animated movie, Me, has been cut. The movie chronicles the Yankees history and features baseball stars, past and present.

There are two legal claims made in the suit, that MLB and Selig interfered with Rodriguez existing contracts and that they interfered with his prospective business relationships.

Baseball leaks and public statements concerning Mr. Rodriguez alleged actions have ensured that Mr. Rodriguez will not secure any endorsement contracts in the future, the lawsuit said.

The suit accuses the league and Selig of planting negative stories about Rodriguez in the media and trying to muddy his name and and maliciously subject him to a trial in the public arena.

public persecution of Mr. Rodriguez has known no bounds, the lawsuit said. It said the league had repeatedly breached confidentiality itself and as far as to place negative news stories about Mr. Rodriguez one of the league best players on his very own website. actions, the lawsuit said, were with Bud Selig goal of cementing his legacy as the commissioner who cleaned up baseball. its statement, the league said none of the allegations relevant to the real issue: whether Mr. Rodriguez violated the Joint Drug Prevention and Treatment Program by using and possessing numerous forms of prohibited performance enhancing substances, including testosterone and human growth hormone, over the course of multiple years and whether he violated the Basic Agreement by attempting to cover up his violations of the program by engaging in a course of conduct intended to obstruct and frustrate the Office of the Commissioner investigation. court papers noted that Rodriguez suspension was four times the length of the other 13 players suspended this year in connection with the Biogenesis probe and far longer than the 50 game penalty for a first positive drug test.

The lawsuit said the suspension will cost Rodriguez tens of millions of dollars in salary from his contract with the Yankees. As part of the $275 million, 10 year contract, he is owed $25 million next year, $21 million in 2015 and $20 million in each of the final two seasons. He also can earn $30 million in bonuses for reaching milestones.

Rodriguez said in a statement his lawyers were what they need to in order to vindicate me and pursue all of my rights. said he still looked forward to separate arbitration proceedings and the day to come when I can share my story with the public and my supporters.

What exactly is a brand? It a question that has confounded the academics for decades and eluded the most erudite of scholars. So, coming from the trenches of the real world of branding, we defined the term and given it a comprehensive meaning.

What is a Brand? A Definition:

"A brand is a product or service with a unique mark, symbol or logo that has a defined set of attributes and characteristics which create a unique experience for the consumer/user."(c)

Let break this definition down into pieces that you can use to create and further develop your own brand.

A brand consists of eight basic building blocks:

The Name

The Logo (brand icon)

The Brand Colors

The Slogan and Brand Messaging

The Sound of the Brand

The Overall Look and Feel = The Brand Position

Packaging the Brand

The Brand Experience

Is a product the brand? No.

Is a symbol the brand? No.

Does the brand really exist in the slogan? No.

If I don remember the Brand, but I remember the color; is that the Brand? No.

Is the brand mostly represented by its packaging? No.

Does every Brand have a unique sound? No.

So, we are left with the real question? What then, is a brand?

"A brand is a product or service with a unique mark, symbol or logo that has a defined set of attributes and characteristics which create a unique experience for the consumer/user."

A Brand is the greater sum of its parts. It is always more than just the nuts and bolts, the pieces; great brands are always the result of the whole equaling more than the sum Nike Free Run Herre of its parts.

Take Nike, for example. As a consumer, I been a user of their Brand for a long time. As a marketer, I been an observer for a long time. I studied long and hard to determine why "Just do it" has worked for consumers for Nike Free Run Dame over 20 years. As an academic marketer I couldn get it. But as a consumer, the visceral message of getting up in the morning, rain or shine, want to or not want to, and going out and running no matter what "Just do it" is a slogan that works. I not a runner, but I walk every day and just getting out there or on the treadmill and "just doing it" is an important part of my lifestyle.

But would Nike be what it is today without Michael Jordan and Tiger Woods?And that where the Brand Experience comes in.

A Brand is beyond the product; it beyond shoes or clothing or sports equipment it all about being a "member of the club." It about belonging. It about the coolness factor. Tiger made golf cool. He took it from being an "old white man sport" to being the coolest, hottest sport any kid could image.

Branding is about making me, the consumer or buyer, more hip, more in the "know," more cool than anybody else. We are a generation and a nation wanting to be special. We want to be richer, more beautiful, better dressed and more effortlessly gorgeous than any other generation that we know. (But then, we are a bit narcissist and would discount any other generation!)

At a time in our economy when everything comes from Wal Mart, via China, it seems as though the low price wins. But, Nike Free Dame au contraire. Branding is at an all time high and it precisely because we don want to be just low price buyers. How pedestrian, after all. We want the world to mean more than price. More than money. We want everything to mean more. We want everything to have meaning.

AUSTIN, Texas Lance Armstrong stepped down as chairman of his Livestrong cancer fighting charity and Nike severed ties with him as fallout from the doping scandal swirling around the famed cyclist escalated Wednesday.

Armstrong announced his move at the charity in an early morning statement. Within minutes, Nike said that it would end its relationship with him to Nike Free Run Herre the seemingly insurmountable evidence that Lance Armstrong participated in doping and misled Nike for more than a decade. said it will continue to support Livestrong.

The clothing and footwear company said Wednesday that it terminated Armstrong contract great sadness. does not condone the use of illegal performance enhancing drugs in any manner, it said in a statement.

The US Anti Doping Agency released a massive report last week detailing allegations of widespread doping by Armstrong and his teams when he won the Tour de France seven consecutive times from 1999 to 2005.

The document purpose was to show why USADA has banned him from cycling for life and ordered 14 years of his career results erased including those Tour titles. It contains sworn statements from 26 witnesses, including 11 former teammates.

Armstrong, who was not paid a salary as chairman of the Lance Armstrong Foundation, will remain on its 15 member board. His duties leading the board will be turned over to vice chairman Jeff Garvey, who was founding chairman in 1997.

organization, its mission and its supporters are incredibly dear to my heart, Armstrong said in a statement. therefore, to spare the foundation any negative effects as a result of controversy surrounding my cycling career, I will conclude my chairmanship. spokeswoman Katherine McLane said the decision turns over the foundation big picture strategic planning to Garvey. He will also assume some of the public appearances and meetings that Armstrong used to handle.

Armstrong strongly denies doping, but did not fight USADA accusations through arbitration, saying he thinks the process is unfair. Once Armstrong gave up the fight in August and the report came out, crisis management experts predicted the future of the foundation, known mainly by its Livestrong brand name, would be threatened. They said Armstrong should consider stepping down to keep the charity from getting dragged into a debate over doping.

Armstrong inspiring story of not only recovering from testicular cancer that had spread to his lungs and brain but then winning the world best known bike race helped his foundation grow from a small operation in Texas into one of the most popular charities in the country.

Armstrong drew legions of fans and donations and insisted he was drug free at a time when doping was rampant in professional cycling. In 2004, the foundation introduced the yellow bracelets, selling more than 80 million and creating a global symbol for cancer awareness and survivorship.

my cancer treatment was drawing to an end, I created a foundation to serve people affected by cancer. It has been a great privilege to help grow it from a dream into an organization that today has served 2.5 million people and helped spur a cultural shift in how the world views cancer survivors, Armstrong said.

As chairman, Armstrong did not Nike Free Run Dame run the foundation day to day operations, which are handled by Livestrong president and chief executive Doug Ulman.

Ulman had said last week that Armstrong leadership role would not change. Armstrong statement said he will remain a visible advocate for cancer issues, and he is expected to speak at Friday night 15th anniversary gala for Livestrong in Austin.

family and I have devoted our lives to the work of the foundation and that will not change. We plan to continue our service to the foundation and the cancer community. We will remain active advocates for cancer survivors and engaged supporters of the fight against cancer, Armstrong said.

CharityWatch, which analyzes the work of approximately 600 charities, lists the foundation among its top rated organizations. That status normally goes to groups which spend 75 percent or more of their budgets on programs, spend $25 or less to raise $100 in public support, do not hold excessive assets in reserve and disclose of basic financial information and documents.

Livestrong says it had functional expenses totaling nearly $35.8 million last year and 82 percent of every dollar raised went directly to programs, a total of more than $29.3 million.

The foundation reported a spike in contributions in late August in the days immediately after Armstrong announced he would no Nike Free 5.0 longer fight doping charges and officials moved to erase his Tour victories.

Daniel Borochoff, founder and president of Chicago based CharityWatch, said last week it may take some time for donors to digest the allegations against Armstrong.

that admire and support an individual who is later found out to be severely tarnished, don want to admit it, don want to admit that they been duped, Borochoff said. though, do need to trust a charity.

After opening her tournament with a blazing 10 under 63, Lydia Ko slipped back into a share of second on day two of the Australian Open.

The brilliant young Kiwi shot a round of four under 69 including five birdies on the second day, to finish one shot Nike Free Run Herre behind Colombian Mariajo Uribe, who leads the way on 15 under.

Fifteen year old Ko was backing up her dazzling opening round 10 under 63 when the winner of three tournaments Nike Free Run Herre against pros made 11 birdies and an eagle and needed just 21 putts.

Meanwhile, American golfer Michelle Nike Free Udsalg Wie, who turned pro at aged 15, has no advice for when Lydia Ko should ditch her amateur status.

Ko is playing in the same group as Wie in the first two rounds of the Australian Open which the 15 year old New Zealander leads after the first round.

Ko recorded 11 birdies and an eagle in her 10 under 63 yesterday while Wie fired a one over 74 and the third member of their group, world number one, Yani Tseng finished with a five under 68.

Wie was expected to be the next big thing in women's golf when she turned pro days before her 16th birthday in 2005, which attracted sponsorship deals with Nike and Sony to be reportedly around $US10 million per year.

Since then she has struggled to live up to the hype winning only two LPGA Tour events, the last being in 2010.

"I have no advice for her," Wie told the Golf Channel.

"Turning pro or not turning pro, going to college, not going to college, it's a very personal decision. It's not something someone can say: 'I think you should turn pro. I think you should stay an amateur. I think you should do this or that.'

"It's her life; it's her career. When I turned pro, I really wanted to turn pro. That was a very personal decision for me. I really wanted to do that, and I have no regrets. I hope she makes the right decision for her. Whatever decision she makes, it has to really just be on her and what she wants to do."

Wie had plenty of praise for Ko who won her third professional event last week at the New Zealand Open to go with her NSW Open and Canadian Open victories in 2012.

"She's a phenomenal player," Wie said. "The fact that she's won three times in the last 53 weeks, it's phenomenal. She's really a nice person as well. She seems like she has a great head on her shoulders. She just seems like a kid. So, I hope she stays that way, and she just keeps getting better. I hope she just enjoys it."

World number one Tseng said after her round that she'd seen Ko on TV but never in person before they stood on the 10th tee to begin their round.

"It was fun to watch her (Ko) play golf today. I mean she still looks 15. I don't know how she hit the ball so well. I don't know. I wasn't even that close to her when I was 15. I really enjoyed playing with her today, too. She pushed me up a little bit," Tseng said.

"There were six or seven tractor trailers inside that were burning; as well as some tow motors, a few explosions in there," said Bragg. "A pretty substantial fire."

Bragg says size of the building is comparable to the size of a football field.

No injuries have been reported.

Fire crews were able to Nike Free Danmark clear the scene at around 2:30 Friday afternoon.

It appears the building is not a total loss, according to Bragg. But the damage estimate so far totals more than $650,000

"I was told that they were able to save a substantial portion of the business. So, right now, it looks like there has been some of the business saved."

Amani Abraham is the morning web editor and also tracks morning drive traffic for 1590 WAKR, 97.5 WONE and 94.9 WQMX during weekday mornings and is a reporter/anchor. Amani is a 2011 graduate with a Communications degree Nike Free Nike Free 3.0 Dame from the University of Akron, where she excelled in her work on the student radio station WZIP FM and Z TV, the University's television program.

Don't drop the ball on booking ahead. The opening match of the 2006 F Internationale de Football Association World Cup will be played on June 9, 2006 at the new World Cup Stadium in Munich, and Germany is inviting fans from all over the globe to come celebrate.

The Bavarian capital is serious about football (in 1974, the German national team won its second world championship title at the Olympic Stadium in Munich). It's also serious about temples for football. The new World Cup Stadium was built at a cost of approximately $340 million (EUR 280 million) by Munich's two top football teams, Bayern Munich and TSV 1860.

Described unflatteringly in the local press as a "UFO," "dinghy" and "life belt," the arena is surrounded by a smooth outer layer of translucent plastic that can be illuminated with different colors. This spring, the night sky should be a kaleidoscope in honor of visiting teams and their colors.

The stadium seats 66,000 across three levels and features 18 kiosks and six restaurants to "ensure that no avid football fan needs to go hungry." For a quiet refuge from the lively football fanatics, or if you crave less hearty fare than weisswurst and Bavarian bier, look no further than the Mandarin Oriental hotel, situated in the city's former Ballhaus.

Tucked away in a quiet side street within Munich's Old Town, this elegant hotel offers spectacular views over rooftops (and on a clear day, of Nike Free Danmark the Alps.) The corporate headquarters of many businesses are nearby, as well as many of Munich's museums, art galleries, antique shops, theaters, chic boutiques, Rococo churches and famous squares. The animated clock, the Glockenspiel of Marienplatz, and the world class shopping of the Maximillianstrasse are steps away. Next door to the hotel is one of Munich's oldest and most famous breweries, the Hofbr

Completed in 1880 by Johann Kilian St the Ballhaus was planned as a focal point of Munich's social scene, with d balls and orchestral concerts. Historical city fragments some date back to 1235 are still visible at basement level. Until 1919, the property was in the possession of the St family. But with World War I came a need for structural changes, and the spacious halls were partitioned Nike Free Udsalg to make offices for a sewing thread manufacturer. In 1945, the building was renovated again, changing hands several times. The hotel debuted in May 1990 as the Raphael, and reopened in May 2000 as the Mandarin Oriental.

The hotel's 53 guest rooms and 20 suites feature old world appointments such as Biedermeier reproductions and modern amenities like high speed Internet access and DVD players. Lower floors have higher ceilings, and vice versa; frequent guests know to request higher floors for more light and better views, and the lower floors for warmth and larger room. Three suites are enhanced with private terraces, some with 180 degree views of Munich's skyline.

The oversize bathrooms feature heated Portuguese marble floors, separate shower stalls with rain shower heads, heated towel bars for warming oversize Porthault linens and deep soak tubs with skyline views.

The regional delicacies of the Viktualienmarkt, Munich's venerable open air market, are just steps away, but the hotel's excellent food, service and presentation should not be missed. Mark's Restaurant, on the mezzanine floor overlooking the lobby, is a luxurious setting designed for a quick business lunch or a leisurely meal. Mario Corti, the chef de cuisine, was recently awarded a

star for his Mediterranean inflected international cuisine. The Lobby Bar is open for afternoon tea, but is more ideal for drinks and Nike Free Run snacks after a day of meetings or a visit to the opera. The rooftop swimming pool and bar is open from May to October, offering lunch or cocktails with the spectacular view.

Prices start at about $495 (EUR 410) a night, with 20 suites starting at about $740 (EUR 610) a night.

The Hofbr am Platzl, Munich's biggest and most beloved beer house, is world famous for its brown ale. On Sept. 8, 1908 a scandal occurred at the Hofbr Someone ordered a lemon soda in the beer hall. The waiters refused to fill the order, and the landlord had to step in and serve the beverage. Today, the three variations of beer available light, dark and wheat are also available with a lemon soda mix.