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Archive for June 9th, 2010

The Columbus Blue Jackets learned a valuable lesson about NHL hockey on Friday night-it’s dangerous to ‘sit on a lead’ and particularly against the defending Stanley Cup champion Pittsburgh Penguins. Down 3-1, Pittsburgh tied the game late in the third period as Ruslan Fedotenko and Alex Goligoski each lit the lamp with less than three minutes remaining. After a scoreless overtime period, Sidney Crosby scored the only goal of the shootout to give the Penguins an improbable 4-3 victory. It was the 9th win in ten games for Pittsburgh, who are a perfect 6-0-0 on the road. Columbus lost for the fifth time in six games.

NHL hockey betting enthusiasts cashed wagers on the road underdog Penguins, but on the moneyline at +117 and the puckline. Pittsburgh has gotten off to a great start this year, going 11-2-0 in the first month of the season. Columbus is struggling to stay above .500 at 6-5-1. The 7 combined goals scored went OVER the posted total of 5′. The Blue Jackets have gone OVER in 7 of 12 games this season, while the Penguins have a NHL totals mark of 5-7-1.

Crosby’s game winning score in overtime wasn’t exactly the stuff of highlight reels, with the puck barely trickling over the line:

“It was kind of a fluky. The puck kept going. I don’t know if he lost it or he didn’t know where it was or whatever. I just tried a quick shot. I thought he had the save there. It just trickled in.”

Jackets’ goalie Steve Mason gave this version of events:

“It hit my stick and I didn’t get it settled until it was over the line. It just trickled over and I was too late on it.”

Penguins’ left winger Chris Kunitz scored a shorthanded goal and praised the leadership abilities of team captain Crosby:

“It shows a lot of character from our captain. He goes out and he’s never quitting on anything. Sometimes a team goes packing, down by two with 3 minutes left. But he goes out, he’s on the bench, he’s saying, ‘Let’s get the next one.’ So we go out there and he finds himself the puck and he gets it to Goligoski, he gets a great shot and puts it in the net to get us to overtime.”

Columbus’ Rick Nash suggested that his team is having trouble ‘closing out’ games:

“We’re not closing games. We got the lead in a lot of the games already and just can’t seem to close it out. They are the defending Stanley Cup champions. You can tell why they’re such a good team. We are a team that needs to learn how to play with the lead.”

Pittsburgh will host Minnesota on Saturday night before heading to southern California next week for games against the Los Angeles Kings and Anaheim Ducks. Columbus will play at Washington on Sunday before hosting the San Jose Sharks next Wednesday. That’ll be followed by a game in Atlanta against the Thrashers the next night.

Ross Everett is a freelance writer and respected authority on sports betting odds comparison. He writing has appeared on a variety of sports sites including sportsbooks and World Cup betting 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.

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A very common and extremely effective way of showing how much you appreciate your customer is to present him with a corporate gift. Occasional gifts that display that the company is grateful to the customers go a long way in fostering mutually beneficial relations with them. Remember to focus on some crucial factors when you pick a gift for a client, since these gifts are so important.

Corporate gifts are handed to employees, customers, and other affiliate business establishment. When the gifts are granted, the management committee are accountable for choosing the right candidate based on their working performance. The gifts are given on behalf of the company that renders the message and idea of the company.

First of all the objective of the gift has to be determined – whether the gift is to show gratitude to the customer for his unfailing commitment, to mark the completion of a long and successful project, or for some other objective. If your main purpose is to attract the client towards your goods or services, then promotional gifts, which clearly highlight what you have to provide are the best options. For this aim, mugs, pens, notepads etc with the company’s logo can leave a good impression on the client.

If the customer has been using the services of the organization for a long period, then the gift has to be selected from a completely different point of view. These clients require more attention to detail, which means that their likes and dislikes have to be taken into account when selecting a gift. However, you can also present gifts like a plaque, which is universally recognized as a symbol of gratitude and admiration.

It is very important that the same gift is not given more than once to a customer. A repetitive gift can never have the same effect on a client. So if last time you presented a pen stand, this time you should opt for an item like a calendar or a coffee mug. But ensure that the gift is always appealing and has some utility.

An inferior quality gift can harm the reputation of the organization, so do not ever compromise on this aspect. However, you must also keep your budget in mind. While it is good to be generous, you should never overspend. This generates high anticipations and may hamper future relations with the customer.

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Jun/10

9

The NFL Point Spread Explained

In order to successfully bet on NFL football its important to start with the fundamentals. Were talking about the fundamentals of understanding the wagering side of the equation. There’s a lot of misunderstanding about what NFL pointspreads mean and how they are set. A firm understanding of the bookmaking concept of setting NFL lines is a prerequisite for any sports betting success.

The general public has a tendency to oversimplify the meaning of an NFL pointspread. The conventional wisdom is that it is simply a prediction of which team will win and by how much. In theory, a sportsbooks primary goal is to equally divide the action they take on an individual game. If they do their job right, the outcome of the game is irrelevant to the bookmaker. You’ll frequently hear clueless sportscasters make inane comments following a big upset like Boy, the sportsbooks in Las Vegas must have lost their shirts on that one. That’s something that simply cannot be determined from the outcome of the game alone.

Since a bookmakers primary goal in setting NFL betting lines is to equally divide action, they have to make each side of a wagering proposition attractive to a prospective player. For that reason, its more accurate to say that NFL lines are more of a reflection of the betting publics perception of which team will win a game and by how much than anything else. Some NFL teams are considered public teams due to their popularity and/or perceived qualitative skill. A bookmaker may shade the NFL lines involving teams like the Dallas Cowboys or New England Patriots to make their opponent a more enticing betting option. So if the numbers in a hypothetical game between Dallas and Cincinnati indicate that the Cowboys should be a -6 favorite a book may open the game at -7 or -7. For that reason going against public teams is almost always a strong wagering strategy.

In early season wagering there are a few additional factors at play. A bookmaker may consider a teams NFL preseason record for the simple reason that the NFL betting public gives it undue attention. Sharp players know that there is little correlation between a teams preseason success (or lack thereof) and their regular season performance. Another consideration is a teams performance in the previous season or, in some cases, their historical performance. A team with a winning tradition like New England or Carolina may be priced higher than the true odds indicate as a result.

Its also important to understand why NFL lines are moved after the opening numbers are posted. While it may occasionally be due to external factors such as injury or weather, more often than not its a direct result of the money a book is drawing on one side of the proposition or another. If in our hypothetical example above, Dallas opens -7 and not long after the line is moved to -7 that is an indication that the book has received the majority of their bets on the Bengals. Indeed, many sharp players base their NFL football bets exclusively on line movements.

NFL football betting is a very complex discipline, and many neophytes make the mistake of focusing exclusively on the nuances of the game itself. To successfully bet on NFL football, however, it is important to spend as much time understanding the intricacies of the sports gambling marketplace”and in this regard nothing is more fundamentally important than understanding how NFL pointspreads are made and why they are moved.

Ross Everett is a freelance sports writer and highly respected authority on sports betting odds comparison. He writing has appeared on a variety of sports sites including sports news and World Cup betting sites. He lives in Las Vegas with three Jack Russell Terriers and a kangaroo. He is currently working on an autobiography of former interior secretary James Watt.

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Jun/10

9

Why Revamp Your Brand Design

A logo is an integral part of brand design and people often mistake the two as same. But, this is not correct. Brand designing plays a crucial part in the success of the business as it helps in developing a bond with the customers, who identify the company by its brand. Redesigning a brand is only needed when your current brand image is not serving the objective of developing a favorable impression on customers.

A brand design not only has to be a reflection of the business’ brand identity but should also ensure that it has an impact on the communication strategy. It includes graphic designs for promotion materials, jingles in ad campaigns, the look and feel of the customer support center, the company website, and of course the logo.

Good brand designing helps elicit a positive response from the customers. However, it is not all that simple to create a good brand identity It takes a significant amount of work, and requires the person creating it to know the customers and the rivals of the organization, as well as the plus points of its products or services. This leads us to the importance of brand design consultants.

Brand design consultants are skilled professionals, who are trained in this discipline. Brand design consultants look at the current brand and the client’s aim behind going for a change in it, the existing market situation, and the expected reaction of the rivals to it before taking redesign decisions. After this groundwork is complete, the consultants focus on their main task – developing an enhanced brand identity. This task involves an assortment of activities like developing engaging ads and stylish logos; and modifying packaging design, company literature, and corporate website.

Therefore, it is critical that you engage brand design consultants when you want to carry out a brand designing exercise for your business. The years of experience and vast knowledge of these experts can make sure that you will have a successful brand.

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