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Seattle Slew–the last living Triple Crown winner–died on May 7, 2002 at the age of 28. As one of only 11 Triple Crown winners in history, he is by default one of the greatest horses in the history of thoroughbred racing. Of those 11 legendary animals, Seattle Slew was the only one to complete the Triple Crown with an undefeated record, as well as the only one to have been purchased at a public auction. After retiring in’78, Slew became one of the most important and successful stud horses in the history of the sport. He sired 1,066 foals including 102 stakes race winners. Among this impressive group of offspring was the’84 Kentucky Derby winner, Swale. All told, Slew’s offspring have won an amazing $76 million dollars at the race track. Slew’s stud fee of $300,000 made him a very profitable horse even after his racing career was over. Slew wasn’t a particularly attractive horse, but he had the toughness of a championship boxer and the sort of intestinal fortitude and desire that can only be given by The Creator.

The Seattle Slew story began very modestly at a public auction in Lexington, Kentucky. The Keeneland Summer Yearling sale wasn’t supposed to be the marketplace of champions, and the idea that this particular horse would ever amount to anything other than a farmhand was downright laughable. He was somewhat clumsy looking due to a front right forefoot splay and had a shuffling gait at trot. Slew wasn’t a beautifully majestic creature like his Triple Crown winning predecessor, Secretariat. Slew was borderline ugly. So ungainly a creature was he that he was given the less than inspiring nickname “Baby Huey” by the Keeneland staff. He was purchased by two couples (Karen and Mickey Taylor and Jim and Sally Hill) for $17,500. What wasn’t apparent at the yearling sale was the intangibles that make up a championship thoroughbred–poise under pressure, love of competition, toughness, heart and desire. His owners had unwittingly stumbled onto an equine Muhammad Ali, and his competitive fire quickly became apparent to his trainers and jockeys. His first race came at Belmont Park in’76, and he entered–and won–three races as a two year old giving a glimpse as to what like ahead.

Slew quickly became a horse to watch as a three year old as he won three Derby prep races including the Wood Memorial. In the Derby, Slew got off to a terrible start as he stumbled out of the gate. He recovered from the miscue and essentially bulled his way through a pack of horses to lead at the 1/4 mile pole. Slew would win the Derby by a length and 3 quarters. He took another tough victory at the Preakness before clinching the Triple Crown with a 4 length victory in the Belmont Stakes.

Slew ran in a few races as a 4 year old but in the pre-Breeders’ Cup days there wasn’t as many opportunities for an older horse. He retired to stud in’78, where he sired champions such as the aforementioned Swale and’92 Belmont Champ AP Indy.

Slew may not have earned the appreciation he deserved in his prime, coming so closely on the heels of the charismatic’73 Triple Crown winner Secretariat–arguably the greatest thoroughbred race horse in history. The jockeys that rode him, however, understood fully what a special animal they were dealing with. Jockey Angel Cordero gave Seattle Slew this lofty praise: “If I had a chance to take any horse in the world, if someone said your life is depending on riding one horse to win, I would take (Slew). I rode 44,000 horses, but he was special, he was different. He was muscled, like a wrestler. He ran different than any other horse. It was like he came from another planet.”

Slew was laid to rest at Hill ‘n’ Dale Farm in Lexington, under a statue.

Ross Everett is a freelance sports writer and respected authority on sports betting odds comparison. He writing has appeared on a variety of sports sites including sportsbooks and betting odds portal sites. He lives in Southern Nevada with three Jack Russell Terriers and an emu. He is currently working on an autobiography of former energy secretary Donald Hodell.

If you focus on event photography you can make quite a bit of money. It is a varied and widely sought after field of photography.

Here’s how you can do it

Cover only events where it is hard for people to take the pics themselves and where they will want to keep their memories frozen in film.

One idea is to go to kids sports events. Get permission from the coach to click pics for the parents watching and then start clicking away. If you turn up with a wopping big telephoto lens like the ones used for pro coverage of events, you will be taken seriously. Make sure you get all the children doing great action shots and then hand out flyers to all the kids’ parents watching with your web address. If you can get hold of the parents email address so you can email them the URL of you site then upload the pics to your web site that day and email everyone. If you have a simple shopping cart set up you can make money in a few hours as people pop in to see the pics and buy them for $20 or more a pop.

You can do a similar thing with weddings. Take all the regular shots as part of the wedding coverage but then get your URL printed on the wedding invites and all the other wedding materials and also get an email list of all the wedding guests, offer the couple a nice 20% discount for doing this and then take lots of extra pics at the wedding of the guests doing all the things they do. Upload all the pics to your site and send the emails. You will then make a lot more money than the 20% discount it cost you because then 30 or 40 people will be also purchasing your pics at $20 or more a shot straight from your site. Also charging them more for higher resolution shots is a great bonus income as well.

The key is to just find a corner of the market where you can take the pics and then sell them easily online.

Dog shows, fashion shows, horse shows, car shows, livestock competitions, rock shows, – the list goes on. Keep your eye out in the events section of your local paper to see what is happening. Always ask for permission to shoot pics and if you need to offer the people 10% of the income if feel you need to so you can get easy access.

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The benefits of laminating sheets are far and wide. They look great and show a touch of extra effort, not to mention the fact that they have valuable protective properties.

If we’re dealing with important documents, laminating sheets will offer some great protection against any damages to the paper. As you know, ink can smear and other things can occur with minimal contact or spillage. The protective layer of laminating pouches also prevents the aging that occurs without one.

There are essentially three ways you can go when buying a laminating sheet. Let’s take a look at each to determine which may be the right fit for you.

Many people prefer to go with laminating pouches. There are a few reasons for this. What people like most about them is the fact that they’re very easy to use, as putting objects inside them is just as easy as removing them. As a result, these are a bit more expensive than the next item we’ll discuss.

Others prefer to go with self adhesive laminating sheets. They’re cheaper than laminating pouches, and they look just as good. In fact, they probably look better since the adhesive qualities of the sheets leaves very little air between the paper and the lamination.

While all sounds great about self adhesive laminating sheets, there are a few things you’ll want to keep in mind. Most notably, once you apply a self adhesive laminating sheet to something, you won’t be able to take it off. This is a stark contrast to the easy access of the laminating pouch.

Lastly, there’s the laminating machine. This will provide the highest quality lamination for you at the lowest cost in the long run. However, there’s a pretty sturdy short-term cost involved with these.

It will only make sense for you to buy a laminating machine if it gets regular use. They’re similar in price range to computer printers, and possibly a bit more expensive. They do, however, provide high quality lamination and you’ll get your money’s worth if you use it regularly.

Learn more about GBC lamination machines and other styles before getting yours.

If you feel that you could use a waterproof camera but you feel that the models on the market are too expensive, have you considered getting a disposable model for those times that you will need it? Throwaway underwater cameras are quite cheap nowadays, and they come with most of the advantages of their more durable cousins.

If you aren’t going to be using a waterproof camera very frequently, there’s no need to buy a lot of costly photographic equipment. Just get yourself one of these disposable cameras, whether for a trip to the pool, while travelling, for a party, or out on a day with family and kids. There are in fact many occasions when a waterproof camera can come in handy.

For parties or concerts, waterproof cameras that are cheap and disposable are a great thing. No need to worry about spilled drinks or playful guest splashing people with water in the summer. Many people only associate waterproof cameras with swimming, but this is actually another great place to bring these splash-proof devices.

Celebrations are usually messy events, with lots of drinks being spilled around, and in the summer people often splash around with water. If some liquid gets onto your camera, and it’s not waterproof, all your pictures for the evening will be ruined. So it’s much better to get a single use camera that is splash-resistant, instead of a normal one.

If you go swimming, whether in a pool or on the seashore, make sure to bring a disposable waterproof camera. You will find them very useful, and it’s easy to take great underwater pictures in low depths, even if you are not a professional photographer. In any case, remember that you cannot go too deep as disposable waterproof cameras are not very pressure-resistant. If you are scuba diving, you need different equipment.

Just think what a great feeling it will be to come home and be able to view the pictures of you and the people you went to the pool with frolicking underwater, all thanks to that disposable waterproof camera you bought. Your friends will be amazed at shots of them while diving or jumping into the water, while playing ball or while swimming.

If you are going away for a couple of days, to visit a city, to hike or simply to laze on a beach, bringing a disposable waterproof camera instead of a fully ledged one also makes sense. For a beachside vacation, it is almost an imperative, just as much as when going to the pool.

Disposable waterproof cameras are truly useful while travelling, even if you are not going anywhere near a beach. They will save your day in a spell of bad weather, as well as in exceedingly damp conditions. And if you happen to drop your disposable waterproof camera into a river, you can fish it out and it will still work.

Another way to use waterproof digital cameras is to give them to kids. All children, whether they are small or teenagers, will love and appreciate such a gift. Such a camera will allow them to express their creativity and have a go at the wonderful world of photography, without you being out of pocket as a result. And it will be very hard for them to damage their new toy.

Disposable waterproof cameras are a truly versatile piece of equipment, and they should be part of any enterprising photographers’ kit, whether amateur or professional. They are quite cheap and you can get them at a bargain on the Internet, so it makes a lot of sense to get more than one. You never know when you may just need that disposable waterproof camera!

WaterproofCameraWorld.com has the answers to all the questions that you were afraid to ask about waterproof cameras! Check out the site to make sure that you are in the know about underwater photography .

To beat the Rams at home by a score of 9-7 isn’t exactly impressive, but they’ll take it however they can get it. At least the defense seemed to be effective. Then again, it all happened against the Rams, a team that struggled to score throughout 2008 and seems to have the same problem in 2009.

They lost to the Detroit Lions in week 3. Either the Detroit Lions were finally do for a win and it just happened to be against the Redskins – or the loss against the Lions showed the lack of focus and determination the Redskins have.

Anymore defeats by inadequate teams and the Redskins fans, front office, and head coach Jim Zorn will see their Redskins be in last place in the NFC East.

The Washington Redskins have a very tough schedule when you consider they must play the Dallas Cowboys, New York Giants and Philadelphia Eagles twice a season.

If the Redskins can’t beat the Detroit Lions, what chance do they have against the better teams of the league. The Redskins need wins against the Kansas City Chiefs, Tampa Bay Bucs and Oakland Raiders if they hope to even taste the top of the NFC East division.

The Redskins have to create offense and do it quickly before they fall too far back in the NFC East division race. The Dallas Cowboys, New York Giants, and Philadelphia eagles are all better teams at the moment.

Their running game hasn’t been looking like it has in the past. Clinton Portis is no doubt one of the best running backs of the decade; he’s aging a bit, and seems to have lost a step.

Head Coach Jim Zorn is on the hot seat if he can’t create some spark with his offense. The Redskins are a proud franchise with a rich history, if Zorn can’t produce for the Redskins fans and ownership by motivating his players he won’t last the season. The players must come ready to play and not play the blame game either as well. .

For more Redskins discussions, head on over to the Redskins forumss at RootZoo Sports, the most active sports forum online

So, you are planning to go on a snowboarding or skiing trip but you have still not made arrangements for your equipments. While buying your gear is a more convenient option, it is also too expensive. If you have never done skiing or snowboarding before, then renting the gear may be a more feasible option for you.

Renting the gear is also an affordable option for you, especially if you are not willing to spend a large amount on buying them. As carrying them in your car or plane is also a troublesome activity, you will also be saved from this if you rent the equipments. Plus, because human body is always prone to become thin or fat, you cannot afford to purchase one again and again and thus, renting the gear is a better choice. Keeping in mind all these points, hiring the skiing or snowboarding gear seems to be better than buying a new set.

Once you have decided to get your equipments on rent, you have to reserve it much before going out for your trip, especially if you are going out during the peak season. If you wait till the last minute, you will need to search a lot for the appropriate equipments and sizes.

You also have the option to rent the gear on the mountain itself. This is beneficial as you will not need to carry the equipments all the way up. But for this, you will have to arrive at least an hour before your ski or snowboard schedule so that you get enough time to get into your equipments and get ready for the expedition. But if you are going to rent it from somewhere else, then it would be better to get it at least one day before your adventure.

The kind of equipments you need to hire largely depends upon your body weight. The gear should be of the right weight and the shoes should be of the perfect size.

When you sign your rental contract, you will also get insurance over the gear which usually costs one dollar for a day. This means that for a single trip, you will need to pay only 3-4 dollars, which is much less than the cost we will have to pay if the rented ski or snowboard gets damaged due to our fault.

All these tips will prove to be very helpful to decide which ski or snowboard equipments to rent, so that we can head towards our expedition all set.

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Right now there are many different types of kick drum samples out there, delivered in programs like Reason and FL Studio and also ones that can be downloaded via the internet. Because the kick drum is such an essential part of every genre from dance to rhythm and blues to hip hop, having a diverse selection to pick from is really a requirement if you never want the sound selection to sap your creativity.

A kick drum has a few different phases, like any sound wave. First we have the start or the attack, and this is really what cuts through any mix. If you can get a kick to have a sharp attack, it will be able to be heard through any number of surrounding and opposing layers of different sounds. An attack that does not have such a strong starting point will need to have two strong elements that follow – so it’s necessary to really be careful about picking them. The starting phase can be augmented with other samples.

The sustained kick, which pertains to the second phase of the audio sample, is the sound that stays with you the longest, much more memorable than the initial attack. If you have a great attack, you can afford to have a weak mid-sound (or sustained sound), because we have heard that the kick is there, but it can’t be both at the same time; if the attack is weak and there is no sustained sound, you don’t have a kick, you have a melon.

If you want to adjust your kick’s volume in proportion to the other drum samples, there are hundreds of ways available to you. Your main sequencer program probably has a few different places with volume controls, and even if it doesn’t you can just as easily download a free plugin or program to help you achieve this goal. Most drum machines and software on Macs and PCs offers easy volume manipulation on both the main mixers and the additional nested devices, so check them out and read your manual.

If you don’t want to use a volume envelope or volume filter to adjust the volume, there are other programs that can help you crop and tighten a drum sample. An audio editor would be a good start, as the cropping feature in most of these is truly excellent and requires little pre-developed knowledge in audio. Simply crop and then fade out the last few seconds, and you will have an adjusted sample with the volume you want.

Lastly, you should know that different programs include different drum samples. The libraries that ship with Reason and FL Studio, for example, are vastly different. They are both good, but if you find yourself making beats with the same drum samples over and over, look for some expansion packs or third party sounds to expand your choice, or modify the samples yourself if you have the time and skill.

If you want the best drum samples available, check out My Drum Samples here: http://www.mydrumsamples.com/

The last time that Georges St. Pierre defended his UFC welterweight title, it quickly turned into the low point of his career. Already facing a number of personal issues away from the cage, he looked sloppy and distracted as Matt Serra defeated him by brutal TKO. This time, things were different as GSP brutalized Jon Fitch over five rounds to win an easy unanimous decision. The judges scores of 50-43, 50-44, 50-44 underscored the one sided victory.

After a dominant takedown to open the fight, followed by a barrage of GSP punches it looked as if Fitch wouldnt make it out of the first round. He managed to survive, though generated little offense the rest of the way as the champion had his way with him both on the ground and in standup striking exchanges. Fitch landed enough counterpunches to open a cut near the champions eye, but never even came close to winning a round. Fitch had to gut his way through another tough moment in the 4th, where a big knee followed by a flurry of kicks and punches had him on the verge of a TKO loss yet again. It may have been the champions strategy that saved him, as GSP decided to take Fitch down again rather than continue the striking onslaught as the round closed.

As the final horn sounded, GSP bowed down in front of Fitch in a nice, Muay Thai inspired show of respect. In yet another moment that is thankfully commonplace in fighting and all too rare in other sports, Fitch and GSP sat knee to knee in the center of the cage congratulating each other for over a minute as their respective cutmen worked on their wounds.

And theres very likely not another athlete like Brock Lesnar even within the ranks of fightsport competitors. In his 3rd professional MMA bout the amateur wrestling legend turned WWE champion displayed a brutally effective new fighting style along with stellar patience and cage control as he obliterated tough and highly experienced Heath Herring. Lesnar received a thunderous ovation from his adopted home state as he entered the cage to the sounds of Motley Crues Shout at the Devil and quickly brought the crowd back to their feet within seconds of the opening horn as a powerful straight right sent Herring to the canvas.

From that point forward, Herring was completely out of the fight though he repeatedly demonstrated his toughness by staying in the fight and not tapping out to strikes as had Min Soo Kim in Lesnars MMA debut. Unlike Lesnars gameplan against Frank Mir in his UFC debut”when he clearly wanted to overwhelm his opponent for a quick win”perhaps the most impressive element of his improvement as a fighter was his patience.

Overall, Lesnars performance bordered on amazing”a serious case could be made that he won all three rounds by 10-8 margins, though all three judges scored the fight 30-26. He repeatedly took down and threw around the 64 250 Herring like he was a welterweight, and controlled the fight to such a degree that his opponent didnt land more than a half dozen strikes during the entire fight”and none which were particularly effective.

Lesnars win gives a much needed boost to the UFCs barren heavyweight division. While it may be premature to consider him a top 10 heavyweight, should Lesnar continue to develop and do such a good job of fighting within his abilities his potential in the sport is limitless.

Ross Everett is a widely published freelance sports writer and noted authority on sports betting odds comparison. He writing has appeared on a variety of sports sites including sportsbooks and betting odds portal sites. He lives in Las Vegas with three Jack Russell Terriers and an emu. He is currently working on an autobiography of former energy secretary Donald Hodell.

Alabama didn’t so much win their game against Tennessee on Saturday as much as they escaped. Despite playing one of their worst games of the year they managed to keep their undefeated season alive as nose tackle Terrance Cody blocked a potential game winning field goal on the last play of the game to preserve a 12-10 victory for the Crimson Tide. Alabama held a tenuous 12-3 lead late in the game before a Tennessee touchdown and recovered onside kick had them facing the specter of the defeat for the first time this season. Instead, Alabama improved to 8-0 while Tennessee slipped to 3-4.

College football pointspread players who took Tennessee as +14 road underdogs were in good shape throughout the contest and eventually cashed their tickets. The Vols improved to 4-3 against the spread while the Crimson Tide dropped to 5-3 versus the number. The 22 combined points went well UNDER the posted total of 41′. Tennessee has gone UNDER in 4 of 7 while ‘bama evened their college football totals record at 4-4.

After the game, Cody recounted his blocked field goal attempt that saved the day:

“I didn’t really get off the ground. I just reached my arm up. That’s how I got it. I knocked the blocker back. He was on his back.”

First year Tennessee coach Lane Kiffin wasn’t taking a ‘moral victory’ from the game:

“It’s a difficult loss to deal with. You come into a hostile environment and play the No. 1 team in the country, as I said before by far the No. 1 team in the country and the best-coached team around. You come in here and outgain them by nearly 100 yards and miss three field goals. I don’t believe in moral victories, we should have won that game.”

He explained the difficulty that placekicker Daniel Lincoln has getting elevation on his kicks since a quadriceps injury:

“He can’t kick the ball up high. If you kick the ball up high it’s never going to get there, so we can’t allow the penetration up front.”

Alabama coach Nick Saban views the game as a learning experience:

“You talk about how fragile a season is. You’re controlling a game, even though you may say it’s winning ugly. We’re still ahead 12-3 and totally controlling the game with 3 minutes, 29 seconds and the ball. That’s how fragile a season can be. You make one mistake and you have to go overcome it. I hope that there’s a lot of lessons our team can learn from this.”

Alabama has a week off before a tough game at home against LSU on November 7. They’ll play at Mississippi State the following week before a game against FCS Chattanooga on November 21. Tennessee hosts South Carolina next Saturday and Memphis the following week. They’ll play at Ole Miss on November 14.

Ross Everett is a freelance writer specializing in boxing, college football and NFL betting. He serves as a consulting handicapper for Sports-1 Sportsbook and is a noted authority on Internet sportsbook betting of all forms. He lives in Southern Nevada with three Jack Russell Terriers and several pet geckos.

Roller Derby has been around for years and was a staple of the early days of television. It was similar to its better known counterpart, pro wrestling and was seen on many of the same low powered UHF stations in the same bad timeslots. It had a similar borderline sleazy group of promoters and businessman that was common in the regional territory era of pro wrestling. Roller derby didn’t have the success or popularity that pro wrestling did. There was a serious athletic component to be sure, but the dim witted storylines made pro wrestling look like Shakespeare. The sport does have its own history–most know that the LA T-Birds were the perennial champions of 1970’s, and Ann Calvello and Ralphie Valladares had been in the sport forever and were considered legends–but it never really stuck in the public consciousness like the pre-Hulk Hogan era of pro wrestling.

When the original purveyors of the sport quit promoting in the early 1980s most thought it was dead and gone until a ‘new school’ of roller derby surfaced on cable TV via the A&E reality series Roller Girls. It featured a local, all-girl roller derby league in Austin, Texas and followed the lives of the players on and off the track. While much of the show dwelled in Lifetime style drama about binge drinking and bad relationships, it was the first clue that many had that roller derby had risen from the dead. A sport that had faded into the lowest level of obscurity had been rediscovered and embraced by an eclectic group of young women. They had kept the same essential format, thrown in a healthy dose of burlesque camp and Varga pin-up inspired glamour and made it into their own vibrant subculture. They changed the competitive format and renamed the competitions “bouts” a la MMA or boxing. The result was a compelling mixture of glamour, toughness and athleticism driven by a healthy dose of punk rock “do it yourself” mentality.

Today, roller derby is a full blown worldwide phenomenon. There are hundreds of local roller derby leagues not only in the United States, but Canada, Australia and Europe. Most of the local groups similarly play up the campy retro pin-up/hot rod iconography and everyone involved sure looks like they’re having a good time. Between teams there’s a vibe of good natured competitiveness and camaraderie. In the US, these groups exist under the auspices of a national organization called the Womens Flat Track Derby Association. Las Vegas has the ‘Sin City Roller Girls’, Portland, Oregon the ‘Rose City Rollers” and Seattle the ‘Rat City Rollers’. There are now groups in not only the larger and traditionally “hipper” cities but also smaller communities such as Birmingham, Alabama and Omaha, Nebraska.

This organic rebirth and growth of roller derby is a result of young women taking what essentially was TV time filler and made it into their own distaff ‘action sport’. The roller derby circa 2009 is a matriarchal success story. No one is in it for the money, as these local groups are typically run as non-profit organization. The women involved have recreated this sport, and run it, promote it and compete in it on their own terms.

The new generation rollergirls also pay homage to their sports’ pioneers much in the same way that skateboarders give props to Duane Peters and Tony Alva and surfers evoke the names of Duke Kahanamoku and Greg Noll. Many of the individual group websites have sections devoted to the history of roller derby, and the late Ann Calvello–regarded as the Queen of the original Roller Derby–is revered as something of a patron saint.

Ross Everett is a widely published widely published freelance sports writer specializing in college football and NFL sports betting. He is a frequent contributor to online and print publications, and often appears on talk radio where he gives tips on successful college football betting. He lives in southern Nevada with his two dogs and an emu.