The Ends Justifies the Means

Watching the end of a blowout NFL game and the financial markets close out 2009 could be eerily similar this year. If over the next three months it seems that market participants are simply trying to run out the clock and close this year on a high, you might be absolutely right.

Through sheer force of will, if not underlying fundamentals, this market has ridden a wave of bullish sentiment that first appeared in the First Coverage data during the last week of February. The major indices are now up over 50% from March lows and with Q4 upon us now, there not a person in this industry that isn already thinking about how nice their yearend numbers would look if only today was December 31st. As of right now, it wouldn be too simplistic to assume that the goal of market participants is to get from here (today) to there (the end of Q4) without upsetting the apple cart.

So the game remains the same as it been for the last three months something unambiguously negative is to hit the tape, a market in motion will remain in motion and we continue to see, as we seen over the last few months, the sell side suggest that their buy side client base stay long this market.

Stays in the LeadNot even a rocky couple of days to start the last quarter of the year could persuade the sell side to budge from what seems like their eternally optimistic stance. Those looking deeper for hints that the sell side seven month love affair with the market is cooling won find it in the industry. continues its reign as the industry with the most bullish sentiment and tacked on another percent over the last week.

This increase is important not only as an indicator of how the market feels towards tech, but also as a good bellwether of how much risk appetite there remains in the marketplace. The higher the sentiment, the more the sell side is suggesting that higher beta technology stocks are still a place to allocate their client capital.

While in absolute terms, remains on top, it wasn the biggest gainer last week. In fact sentiment gain week over week paled in comparison to industries like Consumer Services, Telecommunications and Industrials which all pushed higher seeing us end the week with eight industries in bullish territory. The only two industries that saw declining sentiment over the last week were and .

see Sentiment SlipWe always believed that any substantial turn in the market would have to see two things occur from a sentiment point of view: First, a turn in the risk appetite of the market (hence a fall in the sentiment towards technology) and second, a retreat by market participants from the .

At the risk of wholesale jerseys bringing some bad news, we did have one of those two shoes drop last week. underwent a sentiment decline of 1.7% week over week. While it wasn enough to get listed as a meaningful sentiment change in the table that precedes this commentary (Those are all greater than 3.0%) it is enough to raise an eyebrow or two.

So, what does that mean? It means we will clearly be watching with great interest as to whether its sentiment follows suit. If there is a decline then all bets are off. A double retreat from and would make us think that this market won be able to be carried into the end of Q4 on the highs. That being said, if this drop in turns out however to be an isolated event, then the sell side would likely suggest you stay long the market, keep your eyes on the calendar and start counting down the days until 2009 is over.

NFL Hall of Famer Harry Carson speaks onstage during the of Denial: The NFL Concussion Crisis panel at the PBS portion of the 2013 Summer Television Critics Association tour at the Beverly Hilton Hotel on Aug. Brown/Getty ImagesNFL Hall of Famer Harry Carson speaks onstage during the of Denial: The NFL Concussion Crisis panel at the PBS portion of the 2013 Summer Television Critics Association tour at the Beverly Hilton Hotel on Aug. Brown/Getty Images

Finally something is being done.

Back in 1981 82 when I was involved with the NFLPA (The Players Association), there was a wonderful man named Frank Woschitz. Frank headed up all marketing and promotion, but most importantly he was the retired players advocate.

This included his having to interface with the league (NFL). One of the many things he tried to accomplish was to get monetary and medical help for the retirees who gave so much and were now suffering from injuries they had incurred during their playing days.

The NFL owners were flexible and willing to contribute to such a fund. However, his own organization, the NFLPA, had for the most part walked away from the players of yesterday. Without these pioneers, today's players Patrick Sharp Womens Jersey would not be earning the kind of money they enjoy.

I had a dear friend, football legend John Mackey. In fact, John is often considered the father of the tight end position. When they talk about players, John is typically listed among the top 100 NFL players of all time. John played for 10 years, nine with the Baltimore Colts. His last season was with the San Diego Chargers. His career spanned a decade stretching from 1963 to 1972, but shortened because of injury.

In 1970, John became the first President of the NFLPA. In his first year he organized a strike following a lockout by owners, with the NFL players seeking additional pension contributions and insurance benefits, as well as higher preseason and postseason pay. The strike resulted in increased fringe benefits for NFL Brent Seabrook Womens Jersey players. In 1971, Mackey became the lead plaintiff in a court action, which led to the overturning of the so called "Rozelle Rule," which limited a player's ability to act as a free agent. In the 1976 ruling, "Mackey v. the NFL," the Rozelle rule was determined to violate anti trust laws.

John had taken this challenge on himself. As a result, because of the league's anger, it took 20 years until he was voted finally into the Hall of Fame. He paid a large price for being a visionary. As a member of the John Mackey Foundation, I personally saw his dynamic leadership up close on many occasions.

I also watched him physically and mentally deteriorate. The wear and tear on his body from his playing days had exacted a heavy toll and the NFL was not there to help.

Fortunately, John had an exceptional advocate in the person of his wife Sylvia. Sylvia, who was John's college sweetheart, enjoyed a career as an outstanding and successful model, did she not stand idly by. There was no one there to help Sylvia except a few close friends. Among them was former AFL/NFL QB and vice presidential candidate Jack Kemp, who never forgot his friend.

Ironically, John was the recipient of the small pension he had helped negotiate, but it was not enough to cover the cost of flamesprostore.com/Jiri_Hudler_Jersey his care. He was suffering from symptoms of dementia. Sylvia, a force to be reckoned with, took matters into her own hands leading her to reach out to NFL Commissioner Paul Tagliabue. She was persistent and told her story to anyone who would listen.

Commissioner Tagliabue enlisted the aid of NFLPA executive director Gene Upshaw, who had previously been reluctant to act, and they came up with the "88" plan in February 2007. The plan is named for Mackey's Brent Seabrook Youth Jersey jersey number and provides $88,000 per year for nursing home care and up to $50,000 annually for adult day care for former NFL players, including John, suffering from dementia or Alzheimer's.

Last week, the NFL agreed to pay a $765 million settlement of concussion related lawsuits. However, in this new season and in seasons to come, the problem will continue to exist. After all, last year alone, there were 150 concussions.

Minnesota Vikings QB Matt Cassel said it fairly well:

"We are athletes. We are not gladiators. This is not the Roman Coliseum. There are long lasting ramifications to the game we play. I've already come to the understanding I probably won't live as long because I play this game and that's OK, that's the choice I've made. That's a choice all of us have made. But when you cheer somebody getting knocked out, I don't care who it is and it just so happened to be Patrick Sharp Youth Jersey Matt Cassel it's sickening. It's 100 percent sickening."

Fans crave the hard body contact, but blackhawksteamproshop.com/Brandon_Saad_Jersey the NFL technologically and by legislation must continue to work to minimize head injuries. Thank you for voices like Sylvia Mackey's.

According to an ESPN (Jan. 10, 2014) report, the first NFL playoff game on today's slate matches up the Saints and Seahawks, Marian Hossa Jersey as free NFL online streaming, odds picks and predictions are now available.

A ruckus Seattle, Wash., crowd will fill CenturyLink Field for this afternoon's NFC Divisional Round showdown between the sixth seeded (Road: 3 5) New Orleans Saints and the No. 1 team in www.blackhawksteamproshop.com/Jonathan_Toews_Jersey the conference, the (Home: 7 1) Seattle Seahawks. PST) and it will be broadcast nationwide on FOX. This NFL playoff 2014 game will also be streaming free online on FOX's NFL live stream page.

The fact that this will be the second encounter between the Saints and Seahawks in just over a month, guarantees that oddsmakers and bettors will revert to the result of that game when composing ATS point spreads, NFL picks and predictions.

The Seahawks jumped out to a 17 0 first quarter lead and would never look back, humiliating New Orleans to the tune of 34 7 on Monday Night Football's Week 13.

Also embedded in most peoples' mind is Marshawn Lynch's 131 yard rushing performance, when Seattle stunned New Orleans by a final score of 41 36 in an eventful (Jan. 8, 2011) NFL playoff game at then Qwest Field.

Thus, it comes as no surprise that Las Vegas' experts consider the Seahawks favorites by 10 points versus against the Saints [+10], and that the OVER/UNDER is set at a combined total 45 points this evening.

However, the fact that Russell Wilson Co. dominated their most recent proceedings gives bettors a false sense of security, thus, falling into Marian Hossa Youth Jersey an ATS betting trap.

And while Patrick Kane Youth Jersey utilizing statistics and figures to justify a claim for an upset seems like an impossible task, conventional (NFL betting) wisdom suggests that the New Orleans Saints will not only cover the [+8] spread, but that will have a legitimate shot at stunning the mighty Seattle Seahawks at home tonight.

The key to this NFC Divisional Round game will be winning the turnover battle, as well as (DC) Rob Ryan's ability to game plan based on mistakes made during the first meeting.

One also expects Brees to redeem himself by impacting third down situations by keeping the sticks moving and Patrick Kane Premier Jersey thus, Wilson off the field. New Orleans' key impact players will be (RB) Mark Ingram's power running and (TE) Jimmy Graham keeping the Seahawks 'D' and secondary honest.

NFL football fans cannot afford to miss what could be one of the biggest upsets in NFL playoff history. Watch the Saints vs. Seahawks on your television set live on FOX or experience the free NFL streaming feed by visiting FOX's Live Stream Page.

LONG BEACH >> The year was 1958, and there was a track meet taking place on the dusty oval circuit at Long Beach Poly. There were hundreds of fans in the stands cheering on several All American talents, with local greats like Dee Andrews and Willie Brown blazing past the competition.

But the screaming fans weren the only spectators: Beyond the far side of the track, peeking through the branches of a mulberry bush, was Roosevelt Elementary School student Don Norford, who had hopped the fence to watch his heroes slay the competition.

He has, in fact, become much more than just a part of it. Norford would run for Poly, graduate in 1964, and then return to make his mark on his alma mater. After 38 years of coaching with the Jackrabbits, Norford, 68, says he will retire after this track season, making him the third prominent Poly coach to step down this school year.

Norford leaves behind an unprecedented record of success.

As head track coach, Norford won 24 CIF Southern Section championships and 18 California State championships, both records. Norford 18 state titles are more than any other high school in California can claim. He also been an assistant coach on 10 of the Jackrabbits 19 CIF football titles and tutored more high school gridiron players who went pro than any other prep coach in the sport history.

Simply put, Norford is the most successful high school Jonathan Toews Jersey coach California has ever seen.

Asked to compare other coaches success to Norford Cal Hi Sports Editor (and California preps historian) Mark Tennis can are close, he says.

He points out that Disney is making a movie about cross country coach Jim White, who won nine state titles and who being played by Kevin Costner. Duncan Keith Jersey

is going to play Norford in his movie? Tennis asks. as much of a legend as www.blackhawksteamproshop.com/Patrick_Kane_Jersey anybody. gridiron great

Norford began coaching Pop Warner football in Long Beach in the early 1970s and in 1976 was hired on campus at Poly as an assistant coach to Gene Noji. Over the past 38 years, he has been a position coach for every different grouping on the field and has seen 45 former Jackrabbits move on to the NFL. His reputation for speed training brought non Poly pros like Jason Taylor and TJ Housmanzadeh to the Jackrabbits campus.

In 1996, the NFL honored Norford by naming him their High School Coach of the Year. It was an overwhelming experience for the coach. Norford and his wife, Carol, are famously humble: Duncan Keith Youth Jersey They bought a house on Easy Avenue less than 3 miles from Poly in 1975, and Norford still lives there to this day (Carol died in 2003).

were sitting down at the banquet, and it was gold everything. Gold plate, gold cups, everything, recalls Norford. Norford cashed it and immediately donated the funds to the school.

Mark Carrier, the NFL Rookie of the Year in 1990 and currently a coach with the Cincinnati Bengals, said in an interview for a documentary about Norford, owe that man a lot. Don came into my life right when I needed it. He was a father figure and he was a disciplinarian. He taught me how to succeed. McGinest, a three time Super Bowl champ with the Patriots, adds: really taught me how to play taught me how to be relentless on the field and never stop working. He never take the credit, though. He was hired as the head coach of both boys and girls track teams in 1989. At that point, the Jackrabbits had only won one Moore League title in the previous eight years and hadn won the league with the girls team in seven tries.

It was important to Norford for his teams to travel and gain exposure, but in that first year, he was learning as much as they were.

had an invitational in Oakland, and it was wild, he remembers. just piled all into three old vans, stayed at this seedy hotel. It was a crack up. year, the Jackrabbits are a little more experienced at traversing the country. They have a travel agent, and just a few weeks ago they won their fourth straight national championship in the 4x100 relay at the Penn Relays in Philadelphia.

In the intervening 25 years, the Jackrabbits have rewritten the history books in California. The Poly girls track team has won 13 state titles, more than the second , third and fourth best teams in state history combined (Berkeley High has the second most with five).

Poly holds the national records in the 4x100 and 4x400 relays, and Poly runners have been crowned world champions so many times at the Penn Relays that there are a few Penn Wheels most coveted prize in high school track are still in their original boxes in a storage closet at Poly.

What really sets Norford apart, however, isn just blackhawksteamproshop.com/Marian_Hossa_Jersey his success that he really doesn care about the awards or trophies.

Don years ago, someone broke into the Norfords house on Easy Avenue and stole several of his CIF rings. A friend offered to help replace them, but Norford brushed the offer aside. not why we doing this, he says.

It difficult not to discuss hardware when summing up Norford career, but it isn what he wants to talk about. most important thing to me, the only important thing to me, is my relationship with the kids, he says. love to win, but if you aren helping the kids, what does a championship mean? Jaso coached on the Poly football team with Norford for two decades, and as head coach from 1985 2000 got to see how valuable Don and Carol personal touch was.

was everybody father, and so many guys needed that, says Jaso. a stabilizing force, and a factor in a lot of people lives. The guys used to go to his house back in the old days, and Carol would feed them.

fed everybody in the whole neighborhood, he says. I come home, and she was feeding people I didn even know. the impact went well beyond full stomachs. Crystal Irving, Norford assistant head coach Jonathan Toews Premier Jersey for the last several years at Poly, ran for Poly under Norford.

Michael Vick's suspension is about to end. The Michael Vick suspension had been in place because of his off the field actions that related to his jail time, and now NFL commissioner Roger Goodell has announced that his reinstatement is on the horizon. Goodell revealed on Thursday that he will allow Michael Vick to begin playing again in week three of the NFL season, and that he will be eligible to re take the field for the Philadelphia Eagles at that point in time. It's been a long road to get back to the NFL for Michael Vick, and this could finally make it possible for him to focus entirely on football and this season for the Eagles. It's a bit of a mystery why Commissioner Goodell made the decision that Michael Vick should have to miss the first two games of the regular season. On the one hand it seems that Goodell feels that Vick is on the right path to clean up his image and play in the NFL, and on the other hand it seems that Goodell is trying to impress upon Vick that this is Goodell's league and that Vick must play by Goodell's rules. Either Goodell needs to state that the crimes that Vick was accused of warrant missing significant time, or he needed to just allow Vick to come back for week one in the NFL. Without putting any teeth into his decision, and by stating only two weeks, Goodell seems to have lost control of his power to make the final decision.

Michael Vick was just released from federal custody on July 20th after serving 18 months in prison for his role in running a dog fighting ring for which he seemed to have almost complete control. There were many violent details presented, including abuse of those dogs that angered many animal rights activists around the world. For those people, and many others, the punishment that Michael Vick has received is certainly not enough, and they may feel that Vick should be banned from football permanently. Then there is the other side of the coin, where people feel that Michael Vick has been punished enough, and that Cheap Snapbacks Hats he should be allowed back in the NFL.

This is an interesting dichotomy of ideals, because Wholesale Snapbacks Hats the NFL takes a black eye no matter how many games that Vick gets suspended. Not only that, but it also gives the Eagles current roster a chance to play on without their back up quarterback, and that when Vick comes back, he may not really even have a place in the Philadelphia Eagles rotation. I can be reached at.

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