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Bowled over

Bowled over

Fahd Al Rugheib from the Kuwaiti Police Federation Club took silver and Karim El Gowali of Egypt the bronze medal. "I have been playing this game for five years," Al Rugheib of Kuwait, 27, said. "One of my colleagues in school was bowling. I watched and liked it very much." china wholesale mlb jerseys

Mazloum doubles as coach of the Egyptian Shooting Club. The director of a bowling centre, Mazloum said bowling was not very well known in Egypt. "It needs a lot of patience, accuracy, discipline, and physical and mental effort."

The coach of the Kuwait Police Sports Federation Nour El Emari began bowling 20 years ago. "I'm still playing the game and at the same time I am the team coach." Kuwait, with six players, was making its debut at the tournament.

"In Kuwait, bowling is popular but there are not many women," El Emari said. "A bowler has to love the game to continue in it." wholesale mlb jerseys china

In the women's event, Suzan El Azabi from the Interior Club won the cup while Aliaa Ismail took second. Hamsa Ahmed from the Egyptian Police Sports Federation club won both third place and first place in the juniors.

"Bowling was a hobby," Ahmed, 20, said. "Then I was selected for the national team. I participated every year in all national championships starting from 2004 and placed second.

"It is suitable for men and women," Ahmed added.

In the youth competition, Ayman Hashim of the Egyptian Police Sports Federation Club won the gold while Sherif Hossam from Shooting Club took the silver medal. Mohamed Merdash, also of the police, won the bronze. Merdash, 18, had won the juniors cup in 2006. "I admired the game and my coach Rashid encouraged me." cheap mlb jerseys china

Merdash took first place in the national championships in 2006 and second in the Hurghada Championship the same year. He has been playing for eight years and will participate in the World Cup in Germany 2008 and in the Beijing Olympics.

"I've encouraged a lot of my friends to start bowling," Merdash told Al Ahram Weekly.

In men juniors' event, from the Egyptian Police Sports Federation Club Alex Alexander won the gold medal, Mohamed Abdel Fattah won the silver medal and Ahmed Mustafa El Baghdadi the bronze medal. "It's my first time to participate in this championship and I am so glad," Abdel Fattah, 15, said.

In the women's junior event, Omneya Mustafa won her second title. "I am so happy to win," Mustafa, 20, said. "I hope in the coming championship to win the cup. I dedicate my prize to my mother who has always encouraged me."

Mustafa started bowling five years ago. In the Sinai International Open Bowling Championship in 2006, she finished fifth.

"Bowling is considered the second most difficult game in the world in the Guinness Book of World Records," said Rashid Wahid, coach of the Egyptian Police Sports Federation for 14 years. "The alley is different from any other game. It varies. A line has to be fixed every five minutes. china cheap mlb jerseys

"This game needs a lot of practice. The players are also different. Twelve bowlers participated in this championship men, women and juniors. The bowlers have to be talented, disciplined and patient. It looks from the outside an easy game, someone just shooting the ball, but on the contrary, it is difficult."

Bowlers must determine their true skills in such areas as accuracy, consistency, the ability to read lanes, and spare shooting skills to succeed. The game also needs coaching for strategy and technique.

It's expensive, too. Bowling equipment like shirts, balls, shoes, towels, bags, wrist support and finger aids are very expensive. The main problem is that the lane needs a lane machine, oil and lane surfaces with specific criteria.

"Still, it's very popular in Egypt among youth. The number of bowling centres in Egypt is good," Wahid said.

Egyptian coach Mohamed Wagdi El Kurdi defends the game. "Bowling is a new game. It isn't as popular in Egypt as in European countries for several reasons. It's an expensive game. Each ball costs LE2,500.

"Second, there are no sponsors for the players. Taxes on equipment are too high. Renting bowling centres is also very expensive. The federation does its best and has set up a school for teaching bowling."

The school, located in the International Centre of Bowling in Medinet Nasr, costs LE100 per month. Equipment is free.

The Egyptian federation organised the second Police Open Championship for Bowling from 17 20 March. It was held at the Bandar bowling centre in Maadi. Clubs Shooting, Wadi Degla, Aviation, Interior, Police, Zamalek, Shams, the Egyptian Police Sports Federation and Kuwaiti Police Federation took part in the four day event.

The championship comprised 53 bowlers men, women, youth and juniors under 16. Each bowler played 16 rounds over three days. In the semi final the best eight bowlers from each group played in what is called round roping. In the final, the best four players played step ladder. The fourth played against the third player. The winner played the second best player and the winner faced the No 1 for the title.

Braemore Home

Braemore Home bracing for possible strike

Canadian Union of Public Employees national representative Kathy MacLeod said local 3513 is currently hosting a strike aversion campaign. cheap oakleys

"We're hoping to have a settlement and we're hoping the employer would call us back to the table so we could get a deal on local issues," said MacLeod. "Our 48 hours notice hasn't been served yet, but could be served at any time to the minister of labour."

Issues that remain contentious between the union and the employer are keeping people in temporary positions for five years or more, not allowing causal employees to receive shift and weekend premiums, and refusing reclassifications of four positions, which MacLeod says have already been agreed by both parties.

Various classifications of front line employees at Braemore, including dietary workers, laundry, maintenance and residential care workers have been in a legal strike position since Jan. 31.

The group's contract expired in 2009, and in July the local voted 98 per cent in favour of strike action.

"We're prepared to resume talks with the employer at any time," said MacLeod. "Last time we had talks was October 2010.

"The last thing they want to do is go on strike, but because these issues are so important to the local, they are prepared to strike over these issues."

Debra MacPherson, Braemore chief executive officer, said management is waiting for monetary issues to be resolved with the union, adding that the employer is not the lead negotiator on those matters.

She said she's hopeful talks between the lead negotiator and the union will resume, so local issues can be addressed. Christian Louboutin Sale

"Once that happens we will be able to go back to the table here at Braemore," she said. "We certainly are open to going back to the table once that provincial table has settled the monetary package. We think we can resolve our local issues and reach an agreement with more discussion with the union."

MacPherson said right now a contingency plan is being finalized in the event of a strike, including a plan for how to care for clients.

Currently there are also non union staff available at Braemore and employees of other union locals. According to MacPherson, the facility has 134 beds and about 118 clients, including youth and adults who have complex disabilities and receive a variety of programs, including rehabilitation and residential support. Christian Louboutin Shoes For Sale

The Braemore Home is funded by the Department of Community Services and under ownership and direction of the Cape Breton Regional Municipality. It also recently made headlines for an incident that Community Services deemed a case of abuse. The mother of an autistic man has said her son was locked in a constantly lit room for 15 days at the home and only allowed out occasionally for exercise and meals.

An independent review of the home was ordered by Community Services Minister Denise Peterson Rafuse and welcomed by the union, which said employees were wrongly tainted by the scandal.

Jim MacLeod, one of six CBRM councillors who comprise the board of directors of the Braemore home, said both sides met Friday to discuss monetary issues with the assistance of a facilitator, but unfortunately talks broke off.

MacLeod said the board has no hand in any of the negotiations.

To MAJESTIC and because of clients I have an older child with a disability and a younger one without so I do know the struggles in maintaining a normal childhood for one while tending to the needs of the other. Please don't think I have anything but respect for someone who has cared for a person with a disability. I DO NOT work at Braemore Home but I do know they have PROFESSIONALS working there who work very hard to give their clients the very best the can. They have chosen this as their profession (thank heavens someone will do the job) and they do get paid but some of these "off the street workers" don't get much more than minimum wage and they certainly don't get any respect for the difficult job they do. Who comforts the client when they are sick? Who makes sure there is a birthday celebration when there is no family? Who makes sure every holiday is recognized and celebrated? Surely this is not part of their job description but is done because of the love and care they have. It makes me sad to think people only look to the negative. fake oakleys

I agree WOW! People have no problem placing blame on the rcws in the facility. Maybe someone should look at the efforts that local is doing to avoid a strike and to get back to the table. Management walked away without even listening and management is who can put a stop to this strike. People also have to see that the clients at Braemore home are like family to the staff there, taking into consideration that MANY spend just as much time or more with the clients at Bramore home. The staff do not want to strike, but will do what they have to, to get what they deserve for the very important work they do!!!!!!! For those people that would like to judge the frontline staff, maybe they should think about the complex and challenging behaviors they deal with daily and the resources they have to do this. I agree with you CHEF,John M. Try walking a mile in their shoes before you are so quick to run off at the mouth !

You must understand MAJESTIC that I DO understand the plight of families with disabilities and do realize all the problems that go hand in hand with having children with disabilities. However I feel that the staff at these facilities do a fantastic job. They only deem it necessary to write about the negative never the positive work that these workers do and the attachment they have to their clients. They are there to protect ALL the clients.

To people that think Braemore should be bulldozed, you are probably right. A new facility should exist for the clients of this home. There is not enough personal space for each person. To the ones that think we deserve "danger pay", that is a terrible statement. We enter the building going to work, expecting to do the best with what we have. Are there aggressive clients? Of course, this is a MENTAL HEALTH facility. Do we think they deserve less? Absolutely NOT. They just require more support and understanding. As caregivers, we require more support and understanding as well.

Brian Reade on the

Brian Reade on the quiet defiance in the face of such bitter evil 24 hours on

Twenty four hours after the butchering, Woolwich attempted to hide its pain under a blanket of normality.

If you could tear your eyes away from the deserted South London streets behind the police cordon where a soldier's blood was being washed away by heavy rain showers, and from the rows of the media vans, a reeling community made a decent go at getting through another lunchtime. Nike NFL Jerseys Wholesale

People, shocked to the core the day previously by the cold blooded execution on their doorstep, may have been frowning more deeply and conversations may have been more sombre, but they were trying to make out they were functioning as usual.

The unemployed signed on in the JobCentre, students and pensioners read in the library while office workers bought their lunch in Subway. Wholesale Jerseys

Joggers jogged, shoppers came out of Tesco Express and passengers on the 122 bus stared briefly at the media mob, then got back to their lives. Cheap NFL Jerseys CHINA

Just as we saw after the 7/7 bombings of 2005, and even further back, after IRA atrocities in Birmingham, Guildford, Hyde Park and Warrington, people were attempting to do what they do best: Keeping calm and carrying on.

Young mother Abi Sharrock pushed a buggy with one hand and in the other carried a bouquet of carnations, which she handed to police to be laid at the shrine next to the death scene.

She said: "I just wanted to be here to show them, whoever they are and whatever they want to do to us, that no matter how low they stoop they'll never beat us."

It was a defiance summed up by three words on Wednesday afternoon by Ingrid Loyau Kennett to the slayer with blood soaked hands.

Words more powerful than any terrorist act: "You will lose."

Simple but profound words, which simply say, "You can wield your machetes and detonate your Semtex, you can record your hate filled videos and send them to every laptop on earth, but it's ultimately futile because we're better than you".

Such defiant statements trip easily from the mouths of politicians. Boris Johnson and David Cameron were in Woolwich yesterday to deliver them.

But they are nowhere near as powerful as seeing ordinary people live them.

And any snapshot taken of Woolwich going about its business yesterday, 24 hours after the men of terror had done their worst, diluted that poison to the point of ineffectiveness.

The steady stream of people who turned up bearing flowers had to hand them to police, who took them the 200 yards up the hill to the growing shrine on Artillery Place.

The messages were powerful and heartfelt.

"To a fallen hero from a grateful stranger," read one. "You served us in our hour of need, I'm so sorry we weren't there for you," said another. Wholesale NFL Jerseys China

Not everyone was calm, though. Among some of the men who gathered outside Woolwich Town Hall, there was anger and a desire for revenge.

When London Mayor Boris walked towards a group I was speaking with, there were yells of "send Qatada home", "dirty, evil scum" and "kick the b out". Johnson looked shocked.

Victor Emesudike, 52, bellowed: "Hang them. I am from Nigeria. I say hang them."

The Woolwich resident told me he felt ashamed to be of the same nationality as one of the terrorists, even though he has lived in London for more than a decade.

He said: "This is a great country. Why would you want to hurt people who have showed you so much love? They are evil. They will never win. There are too many good people here."

As he spoke, people walked past into the library, Tesco Express and Subway. Joggers stopped to let the number 122 bus past.

Bowl teams enjoy

Bowl teams enjoy team meal ahead of big game china wholesale mlb jerseys

MONTGOMERY, AL (WSFA) Players and coaches from the teams enjoyed a team meal ahead of the game. The Montgomery Chamber of Commerce hosted a dinner for the Falcons at the train shed while the Cattlemen's Association, Alabama Gulf Seafood, and Max Credit Union did the same for the Jaguars at alley station.USA coach Joey Jones saying ""our guys have really enjoyed this city. They have really rolled out the red carpet for us."The game marks South Alabama's first bowl game in the program's brief five years.It's Bowling Green's 12th bowl game, but the city is making an impression,Falcons coach Dino Babers saying "camellia Bowl is doing a great job with the hospitality, especially the people of Montgomery. We're really excited for being here."Hosting a Division 1 college bowl game is a big deal for the Capital City, not only because of the multi million dollar economic impact, but also because it's an opportunity for a city to show off its history and its potential. wholesale mlb jerseys china

Bowl still not under contract

Bowl still not under contract

Miami quarterback Brad Kaaya (15) looks to pass as South Carolina defensive end Gerald Dixon pressures during Saturday's Independence Bowl.(Photo: Nelson Chenault USA TODAY Sports)

The folks at the Independence Bowl entered into a unique agreement with its new title sponsor, Duck Commander, this year. Not only did Saturday showcase South Carolina and Miami, a myriad of business ventures from first family of outdoors took center stage.

Moving forward, I Bowl chairman Paul Pratt would like to make sure the deal works for both sides.

"I would have liked to talk with Willie (Robertson) man to man to complete this arrangement," Pratt said. "We have to see if this is a good fit. It might not be.

"We have bills to pay. I don't want to be here when we don't have a bowl. I'd like to sit down and say, 'What worked for you guys? Let's see if we can up the ante and get more dollars from you and your partners.'" wholesale mlb jerseys china

Story: Rain, sleet or snow: The I Bowl matters china cheap mlb jerseys

The I Bowl and Duck Commander are still working off a letter of intent, created in February. It was scheduled to create a six year deal.

"The agreement is still fluid, that's why we have to go back and hammer this out," Pratt said. "There are terms must be met. We need to get a real contract."

Pratt's term as chairman runs until March. Kyle McInnis will then assume duties as chairman for the 2015 game. However, Pratt will continue be very active in the negotiations with the Robertsons

"I don't want grass to grow under our seats," Pratt said. "We need to get this done in the next month."

Saturday's official attendance was 38,242, but driving rains, plummeting temperatures and a nearby tornado warning didn't urge area residents to flood Independence Stadium.

Story: Future of Independence Bowl in community's hands cheap mlb jerseys china

"The conditions were bad, but fans still showed up in large numbers; and they stayed longer than they've stayed in the past," Pratt said. "It shows the power of the matchup and the Robertsons." wholesale mlb jerseys

The attendance figure ranks just shy of the average for the past five years, but is far short of the numbers the bowl has regularly produced with an SEC team. It was the lowest attendance with an SEC team since the famous Snow Bowl between Mississippi State and Texas A in 2000.

South Carolina, a 24 21 winner of the Hurricanes, was the first SEC team to play in the games since 2009.

Saturday saw the debut of Independence Stadium's impressive new video board, ribbon board and sound system. The Independence Bowl took out a loan for more than $1 million and the city of Shreveport will contribute $100,000 a year for five years.

Pratt acknowledged some kinks need to be worked out with the new equipment.

"A series of things, including an adjacent building, led to the power loss on part of the board in the second half," Pratt said. "In the future, we must have technician on staff."

Pratt said the size of the type where the score and game information was too small and will be adjusting in the future.

SEC teams have won their past three appearances in the I Bowl.

Photo gallery: Duck Commander Independence Bowl

South Carolina used the facilities at Loyola College Prep prior to Saturday's game while Miami spent its time practicing at the new Freedom Fields complex in Bossier City.

Bowl season winners and losers

Bowl season winners and losers

Let start where it all began, with the SEC West. After all, it was Texas A resounding win over South Carolina on the opening Thursday that laid the foundation for the narrative that dominated the regular season that the West was ridiculously good, perhaps the best division ever.

When the Mississippi schools rose up and beat A and Alabama and Auburn in early October, there was no turning back until the first week of January, at least.

That when the West put the finishing touches on a 2 5 bowl season the top five teams in the standings all lost and the jeers came from all corners of the rest of the nation.

My view of the conflicting West narratives is that both are true: The division was overrated and it was the best in the country.

So yes, it deserved the in season praise. At the same time, it clearly wasn the toughest division we ever seen. The postseason results particularly the losses by Ole Miss, Mississippi State and LSU were proof of that. wholesale mlb jerseys china

Count the West as an in season winner and a post season loser. The semifinals averaged a 15 rating and drew the two largest audiences in cable history. Then the title game checked in with a 18.5 overnight. Sure seems like that was a smart investment of $5.5 billion (approx) over 12 years.

Loser: SEC. The conference didn't play for the national title for the first time since the 2005 season. Even worse, it blew a 15 point lead in the most important game (Alabama to OSU) and went 7 5 overall a record, frankly, that's usually fit for the Big Ten. And now it has to suffer through basketball season.

Winner: Big Ten (it's about time). Have to give credit where it's due, and the conference more than held its own with Ohio State beating Alabama and Oregon, Wisconsin outlasting Auburn and Michigan State edging Baylor. (We won't mention Illinois' face plant against Louisiana Tech or Maryland's belly flop against Stanford. How the Alabama administration can keep employing him, I do not know. Isn't Mike Shula available? Or Mike DuBose? Mike Price?

Winner: Big Ten. First undisputed national championship that didn involve a phantom pass interference call since the Buckeyes won it all in 1968.

Loser: Oregon. The Ducks are 0 2 in the title game this decade. Easy to say they weren physical enough and they weren but the dropped passes early were killers. Tough to win games like that without so many of your top playmakers.

Winner: SEC East. Went 5 0 in the postseason, in case you didn notice and I certain you didn because there was no reason to.

Loser: Big 12. The tumble started on selection day, when playoff hopefuls TCU and Baylor were tossed aside in favor of Ohio State, and it continued through the games themselves. The conference went 2 5, with atrocious losses by Texas and Oklahoma.

Winner: Pac 12. Placed a team in the championship and won six of nine games overall.

Loser: Pac 12: It was favored in eight of the nine. Ooops. cheap mlb jerseys

Winner: Urban Meyer. Had his Buckeyes masterfully prepared for Alabama and Oregon, won the title with his third string quarterback and got the talented underclassmen to develop faster than anyone had a reasonable right to expect. Coach of the century? Nicky S. might quibble, but nobody else would dare.

Loser: Florida State. The Seminoles played the way they did all season (sloppy, bored, entitled), which highlights the difference between Oregon and everyone in the ACC.

Winner: Ohio State Michigan rivalry. Urb vs. Harbs will be Woody vs. Bo redux (until Harbaugh gets an NFL offer he can refuse). Hate Week can come soon enough.

Loser: Duke. The quest to lose bowl games in every fashion imaginable continued this time, a kickoff return as the Blue Devils failed to secure their first bowl win since 1961.

Winner: Ohio State. No team in the BCS era has won the title with a worse loss than the Buckeyes (VaTech), but they were terrific down the stretch and should be just as good next season, unless they experience QB chemistry issues. china cheap mlb jerseys

Loser: State of Mississippi. Gave all the non believers plenty of evidence to support the sketpicism. Ole Miss and MSU were outscored 91 37 by TCU and Georgia tech Georgia Tech! combined.

Winner: Conference USA. Nobody was more successful than the league whose members you can't name. CUSA won four of its five games, with three victories in decisive fashion.

Loser: Baylor. Avoided a UCF level embarrassment but blew a 20 point fourth quarter lead and lost to Michigan State in the Cotton.

Winner: TCU. The Hotline's pick for the fourth semifinal spot (ahead of Ohio State) did nothing to undermine its case with a 39 point victory over Ole Miss.

Loser: Chris Petersen. While his former team was winning the Fiesta Bowl to finish 12 2, the first year Washington coach lost his sixth of the season (to Oklahoma State in the Cactus) and did little to prove he's capable of leading UW to the top of the Pac 12.

Winner: The service academies. They were 2 0 with Air Force handling Western Michigan and Navy rallying to beat San Diego State. wholesale mlb jerseys