This has been one of the better seasons of baseball pitching in recent memory, and it’s an exciting time to be a baseball fan. Let’s have a look at the pitchers leading the charge in the National League, to see who may have a shot at the coveted Cy Young award.

Dan Haren. Haren’s WHIP of 0.89 is the best in baseball, and his 2.59 ERA isn’t too far behind. While he plays for a team that’s out of contention, Haren has been a benchmark of consistency for most of the season.

Consistently one of the best pitchers in baseball during the past few years, Haren has brought it to another level in 2009, as his opposition is batting just .202. He’s slowed down a bit as of late, which may hurt his chances from here.

Wandy Rodriguez. Before getting shelled his last time out, Wandy had given up just four total earned runs in seven starts since the beginning of July. This has lowered his ERA to a ridiculously low total, and if he keeps up this pace, who knows where he’ll be at the end of the year.

Matt Cain. Cain’s 12-4 record, 2.44 ERA, and 1.17 WHIP are generally overlooked because of Tim Lincecum’s out of control numbers, but Cain’s season is simply one of the best in baseball. An ERA of 2.44 is one of the best of the decade, and Cain’s terrific season is largely the reason for the Giants’ contention in the NL West.

Chris Carpenter (12-3, 2.27 ERA, 0.98 WHIP). Who knew that Carpenter still had it. One of the best pitchers in baseball just a few years ago, Carpenter missed nearly all of 2007 and 2008, and most of the baseball world either forgot about him or wrote him off. At 34 years old, Carpenter looks as good as ever before, with what has been an incredible season of pitching so far. Carpenter has amazingly surrendered just 19 walks in 130 innings pitched, one of the reasons for his career low 2.27 ERA. It’s no coincidence the Cardinals lead their division.

Tim Lincecum. Since last year, Lincecum has emerged as the new dominant pitcher in baseball. No one can strike batters out like he can, and his league-high 205 strikeouts back this up. If this wasn’t enough, he also has the best ERA in the majors, at 2.19. Lincecum is the front runner for the award at this point in time.

In addition to the pitchers above, there are a few other pitchers in the midst of exceptional seasons who could very easily contend for the award with a strong finish in August and September. These pitchers include the likes of Johan Santana, Adam Wainwright, Josh Johnson, Clayton Kershaw, and Javier Vazqeuz. Each of their seasons easily could have won the award in prior seasons. Should be an interesting finish.

This has been one of the better seasons of baseball pitching in recent memory, and it’s an exciting time to be a baseball fan. Let’s have a look at the pitchers leading the charge in the National League, to see who may have a shot at the coveted Cy Young award.

Dan Haren (11-7, 2.59 ERA, 0.89 WHIP). With the lowest WHIP in baseball, Dan Haren has been lights out for most of the season, limiting his opposition to a .202 batting average and pitching the majority of his games having given up 5 hits or less all season.

Consistently one of the best pitchers in baseball during the past few years, Haren has brought it to another level in 2009, as his opposition is batting just .202. He’s slowed down a bit as of late, which may hurt his chances from here.

Wandy Rodriguez. With an 11-6 record, a 2.51 ERA, and a 1.20 WHIP, the 30 year old Rodriguez has finally found his form away from home. Typically one of the best home pitchers in baseball, Rodriguez’ away stats are nearly as good this season, and Rodriguez has been nothing short of amazing since the beginning of July, with a 1.34 ERA during this time.

Matt Cain (12-4, 2.44 ERA, 1.17 WHIP). While often overshadowed by his teammate Tim Lincecum, Matt Cain is having a season that any pitcher would be thrilled to have even once in his career. ERAs this low are generally unheard of nowadays, and Cain is partly responsible for a resurgence of success in San Francisco. Should Lincecum be hurt or otherwise slip up, Cain’s numbers stand pretty well on their own.

Chris Carpenter. Easily the comeback player of the year, and wouldn’t it be something to win a Cy Young award in the same season? With 12 wins (and just 3 losses), a 2.27 ERA, and a WHIP below 1, Carpenter’s 2009 season has been legendary, especially when you consider the fact that he basically went two years without pitching whatsoever. Whether he wins it or not, I have to give my full respect to Carpenter.

Tim Lincecum (12-3, 2.19 ERA, 1.02 WHIP).
Lincecum appears to be the favorite for the Cy Young award at this point, and with good reason. These numbers are out of control! Between the ERA (best in the NL), his opposition’s batting average of .211, his four complete games, and most notably, his major league-high 205 strikeouts, Lincecum dominates the opposition nearly every time he takes the mound. He needs a haircut badly, but who really cares when you’re putting up numbers like these?

In addition to the pitchers above, there are a few other pitchers in the midst of exceptional seasons who could very easily contend for the award with a strong finish in August and September. These pitchers include the likes of Johan Santana, Adam Wainwright, Josh Johnson, Clayton Kershaw, and Javier Vazqeuz. Each of their seasons easily could have won the award in prior seasons. Should be an interesting finish.

Literally. That is the accusation against Wallace Souza, a former police officer, politician and television host in Brazil. Souza hosts a highly-rated real crime television program based in Manaus, a city deep in the Amazon rainforest. Souza and his son Rafael (who is currently incarcerated on multiple charges, including homicide) are accused of orchestrating murders, and then sending out his TV crews to get exclusive video and thereby boost his ratings on his TV show Canal Livre.

But wait, theres more: Souza is also accused of being a drug trafficker, and that the victims were his competition for drug operations in the area. Talk about killing two birds with one stone.

State police intelligence chief Thomaz Vasconcelos remarked in an interview with The Associated Press, “The order to execute always came from the legislator and his son, who then alerted the TV crews to get to the scene before the police,” http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2009/08/11/wallace-souza-brazilian-t_n_257061.html

Canal Livre is based on showing the rise of crime in and around Manaus, and the state of Amazonas, in Brazil. The city of Manaus has a population of approximately 1.7 million people in a region that is otherwise sparsely populated, but largely lawless. It is a hub city for the transport of goods as it sits on the confluence of the Negro and Solimoes rivers. It is also a hub for drug traffickers throughout the Northern part of South America.

Below is a clip from the Canal Livre show. It shows a Canal Livre reporter arriving at the scene of a homicide before the police where the victim was burned and the body was still smoking. WARNING: The video is not for the squeamish. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jll87TT8yMY

In lots of ways, Comcast Cable is the ultimate home telecommunications service! This should not be surprising when you think about the fact that this leader in cable based communications delivers the best telephone, high-speed Internet, and television that you can get anywhere!

Telephone service is probably the aspect of what Comcast Cable TV offers that most customers find the most surprising, but when you think about it any system that can transmit hundreds of channels of Television should not have any trouble with telephone service! That’s why Comcast Cable TV offer Digital Voice as such a feature rich, yet low cost, telephone service that contains all of the call management tools that you could possibly want, plus free domestic long distance, at an exceptionally cheap flat rate!

Broadband Internet in another impressive service that you can get from Comcast Cable TV. With an ever increasing amount of entertainment and info available online, it’s important to have the quickest Internet connection possible! After all, with the possibility of streaming high definition video over the Internet, a slower connection just doesn’t cut it anymore! Fortunately, this high-speed digital cable Internet service doubles the speeds of the nearest competitor and calls into question whether or not slower technologies such as DSL and satellite Internet can really be called �high speed!�

This high speed Internet access means that you’ll find it easy to take advantage of the latest online applications. Whether it’s a VoIP based collaboration application for work or a massively multiplayer PC game to unwind when the work is done, a high speed Internet connection from Comcast TV can make it happen! In addition, you’ll be able to download massive amounts of data and big software applications as well. Need productivity software? Just download it so that you can get to work right away instead of waiting for it to arrive in the mail or going out to the store for it! Want to buy the most recent release of your favorite film? You can just pay for it online and download it as well. Even full movies in High Definition TV are an option with this kind of speed!

Comcast TV’s highspeed Internet service gets even better when you look at the fact that you can get extensive supplementary features as well! For example, every subscription comes with complementary security and antivirus software (as well as software updates for it) and parental control software. It may also be possible to set up a hardware firewall between your home network and the Internet using hardware provided by Comcast Cable TV! Free or inexpensive access to good Internet content makes this service an even better deal!

While the Internet is a great tool, Television is still the greatest option when you’re ready for relaxing entertainment, and Comcast TV is second to none where television is concerned! With 100’s of channels, extensive High Definition TV options, DVR capability, and many other high tech features; this is the right choice for all of your Television entertainment needs! Each and every programming package from Comcast TV has features like access to ON DEMAND, your local channels, extensive music channels, parental controls, and an interactive on screen program guide. All of these features add up to a lot of control over what you watch and plenty of access to extra entertainment!

The fact that Comcast TV allows you to bundle all of your home telecommunications services together makes it an even better special!

Y.E. Yang shocked the world and probably himself by beating the world’s best golfer, and maybe the greatest golfer of all time, Tiger Woods, by coming back from 2 strokes down Sunday to win the PGA Championship. Yang is the first Asian player to win a Major, the first player to beat Tiger Woods when Woods was tied or all alone in the lead after 54 holes of golf. Golf enthusiasts cheered, David took down Goliath, 12 never struck for Cinderella, No. 110 took down No. 1.

While fans were excited by the turn of events today, this really can’t be good for golf. The PGA can’t be happy about this, nor could any of Tiger’s major endorsers. Without a major in 2009, people are beginning to write off Tiger Woods, thinking that he may very well be past his prime.

Woods is by no means past his prime. After returning from an injury that ended his 2008 campaign, Woods has bounced back with wins at five tournaments. Some of these involved some vintage Woods Sunday comebacks. Unfortunately, the majors are far more watched than the other tournaments, so the typical sports fan doesn’t realize that all’s not lost in Tiger’s corner.

While everyone loves to talk about Yang and what he did today, this was a crippling blow to the PGA in 2009. There were simply no exciting stories that capped off the year of majors. Tom Watson nearly became the oldest golfer (by far) to ever win a major, before losing it on the final day. Woods went the entire year without a major, virtually unheard of during his career.

Yang will probably make few headlines anytime soon, and the once “sure prospect” of Woods beating Jack Nicklaus’ record for majors one is suddenly not such a sure thing anymore.

What do people get to look to now? “Oh, I can’t wait to see Tiger take revenge in the exciting series of FedEx cup event”? No! They are looking to, “Hey, Anthony Kim or Rory McIllroy are ready to take the torch next year.”

We need the Tiger, the best golfer, to be well, the best golfer. He needs to hold leads on Sunday. He needs people to be scared on the last few holes with Tiger on the prowl. We need Tiger Woods to dominate everybody and ask questions later. If he’s labeled the best, he needs to start performing in the biggest and best events.

Here’s to hoping that 2010 brings us a Tiger resurgence, and most notably, a major or two. The sport really needs it.

This section of Drive-By Shooting Review features the review of Samsung PN42B450 42-Inch 720p Plasma HDTV. This is definitely a superior 42 inches plasma high definition television that raised that bar for all other televisions using 720p resolution technology. Reading this review, you will be able to find out whether we are favoring this TV or rejecting it outright.

For any 720p resolution television, Samsung PN42B450 is huge. Other manufacturers who produce TV of this size opts for 1080p technology doesnt make much of a difference; as mentioned earlier in our various reviews, if the size of the screen is 50 or more, then only such technology can make a difference. If you have come across any such TV that makes such difference please let us know.

May be Samsung also follow the same logic and hence they keep on churning out 720p technology HDTVs rather than implementing 1080p resolution like its competitors. To cut the long story short, Samsung PN42B450 is superb in terms of clarity in vision.

With the PN42B450, the colors are rich, accurate and well defined; and since it is plasma the blacks, whites and grays are simply perfect. Tonal balance is awesome, as is image warmth and depth. Plasma shines image tracing performance; and the result is no ghosting or fast action image blur at all.

This plasma gives outstanding experience while watching a stylish action movie or playing games. Samsung is expert in implementing QAM HDTV tuner technology and this time too it succeeds big time; the chief HDTV broadcasts are also displayed clearly. The television enjoys excellent connectivity with three HDMI ports - audio in/out ports, PC video and optical audio output.

Apart from that, the TV features side-mounted A/V input ports. The remote control lives up to the expectation too. Apart from picture and other features, the surround sound impact of this Samsung genius is also top-notch.

I don’t know when it will end. Samsung continues to surprise me with the level of features, performance, quality and value that they are able to produce in a television at such an attractive price. If you want HDTV that will keep you smiling, impress your friends and won’t send you to the poor house; then the Samsung PN42B450 is the TV for you.

Sometimes known as ‘Rafa,’ Rafael Nadal is a local of Spain who has made a huge impact in the world of tennis.

Born June three, 1986 in Manacor, Mallorca, Rafael Nadal is the child of Sebastian and Ana Maria Nadal.

Standing 6′1′ and weighing 178 lbs, Rafael Nadal turned into a professional tennis player in 2001 after having played since four years of age.

Under the guidance and teaching of Toni Nadal, his uncle, Rafael Nadal started learning how to play tennis extraordinarily early in life as is evident from his early championship.

Toni, who remains Rafael’s coach, is a particularly crucial part of this kid’s success. In 2003, Rafael Nadal earned the ATP Newcomer of the Year award.

In 2005, he won 11 titles and also caught recognition as the ‘Most Improved Player’ for 2005 as named by the ATP.

In June 2006, Rafael Nadal won his 2nd Roland Garros crown and also scored his 100th claycourt career victory.

That same month, Rafael Nadal turned twenty and finished his teen years with major success.

Even though Rafael Nadal is right-handed, he plays left-handed and produces a backhand using both. As with most top athletes in their sport, Rafael Nadal is managed by IMG and is frequently found in Nike attire.

Fans who would like to ask a signed photograph or send Rafael Nadal their best wishes are advised to do so in care of his pro association.

It is usually recommended that fans not send any item that they cannot afford to lose, for example prized possessions and/or limited edition collectibles.

As with all mailed autograph requests, there’s no guarantee of an answer.

As with all mailed autograph requests, there’s no guarantee of an answer. For this reason, many fans simply wish to request a signed photo.

Depending on the sportsman’s schedule, autographs may be authentic, secretarial, pre-printed or maybe impossible to provide. Patience is the key to asking for autographs by mail, especially when you are talking about a sports figure as popular as Rafael Nadal.

Rafael Nadal ATP Tennis 201 ATP Blvd. Ponte Vedra Beach, FL 32082.

For big fans of dinosaurs and other prehistoric creatures, nothing can suit them better than to watch the 3D movie Ice Age 3, the third of the Ice Age movies. In case you missed watching it in the movie theatre, you can simply download and watch Ice Age 3 online.

First, though, you must have a computer with an internet connection because without which you’ll never be able to make a download of the movie or watch it online. Any computer is fine, really, so long as it has a capacity that is big enough to store the entire movie file. You may also want your computer to have a big screen so you can appreciate the images better.

In so far as internet connection is concerned, go for high-speed internet connection, such as DSL or Broadband, so downloading the movie does not consume a lot of your time, and you’ll be able to watch Ice Age 3 online after downloading. When you are looking forward to something as spectacular as Ice Age 3, you really wouldn’t want to wait a long time before you can do that.

After making sure that you have all the necessary equipment, go look for a safe and reliable downloading site. You must know for sure that you can have thousands of options in this case as there are many sites offering free services, even. Then again, if you want to be certain that you will have the best time of your life watching the movie, you need to do some work to be able to find the right site to download from.

It goes without saying that if you have to download Ice Age 3 online from the net, you must look for a paid site that will enable you to do this. A paid site has security measures to ascertain that your system will not get virus or spyware infections.

Paid sites are of different types; some paid sites ask for payment every time you make a download, which is going to cost you a lot of money over time. There are other sites, though, that require just a one time payment, and this is where you can save a lot especially if you love to download movies online.

So you can be sure that you will stumble on a great downloading site, don’t forget to visit movie downloading review sites where you can find a comparison of the top downloading sites on the net based on their performance, features, customer testimonials, and so on.

You may have heard your own friends talking about how great and awesome Ice Age 3 is. Now you can share your own views when you download and watch Ice Age 3 online.

Y.E. Yang shocked the world and probably himself by beating the world’s best golfer, and maybe the greatest golfer of all time, Tiger Woods, by coming back from 2 strokes down Sunday to win the PGA Championship. Yang is the first Asian player to win a Major, the first player to beat Tiger Woods when Woods was tied or all alone in the lead after 54 holes of golf. Golf enthusiasts cheered, David took down Goliath, 12 never struck for Cinderella, No. 110 took down No. 1.

While fans were excited by the turn of events today, this really can’t be good for golf. The PGA can’t be happy about this, nor could any of Tiger’s major endorsers. Without a major in 2009, people are beginning to write off Tiger Woods, thinking that he may very well be past his prime.

Woods hasn’t regressed as much as people like to think. He’s still won a very impressive five tourneys in 2009, and has staged some remarkable comebacks this year. Only the more serious fans realize this, but the media will be all about Tiger’s lack of a major in 2009.

For the short-term, Yang’s victory makes for an interesting story and may feed the media with some fuel for now. But the 2009 PGA season is devoid of stories. A lack of a Tiger win, and Tom Watson’s falling short at the British Open both make for some major disappointments compared to what could have been.

Yang will probably make few headlines anytime soon, and the once “sure prospect” of Woods beating Jack Nicklaus’ record for majors one is suddenly not such a sure thing anymore.

While there are a few more months of golf left, there are no majors, and only serious golf enthusiasts will track these events. Fringe fans will go back to watching other sports, and will be far from enthused about the 2010 golf season.

Tiger must bounce back in 2009. He is the face of the PGA, and any story lines lacking Tiger Woods will do anything but help the sport grow.

Let’s hope that 2010 brings us the return of Tiger Woods, just as the 2009 tennis season has done for Roger Federer after a disappointing 2008. While fans may have cheered on Yang as he defeated Tiger today, you can be sure they’re pulling for Tiger over the long run.

The Sony Bravia provides you with the best definition in television that can be bought. This great technology is only offered by Sony. You will have 1920 X 1080 pixels in this television set and also the 1080p video inputs. If you want to buy the very best that is out there when it comes to television sets, there is nothing better than this brand of TVs. One of their popular models to consider in a smaller screen size is the Sony Bravia L-Series lcd HDTV.

The Sony Bravia is not a cheap television, but because it is so futuristic in picture quality, sound, and design, and since it is made by Sony, this television will remain the best for years. The video processing system is state-of-the-art and the best in the arena of television sets. In addition, the pixels let you to see hues with an immediacy that was not possible with previous television screens.

Whether you are watching Blu Ray, DVD, or broadcast television, you will see the high quality picture and audio right away when you start watching the Sony Bravia. This is the most recent of the high technology television sets that are offered by Sony. It features Digital Realty Creation and a Multi Function DRC that is unsurpassed by any competing TV set on the market.

The Sony Bravia is not just a television set; buying it is comparable to putting a movie theater right into your home. The thin design of this television set makes it possible for you to hang it on the wall for best viewing from any chair in the room. The sound quality makes you feel as though you are at the theater viewing a motion picture instead of sitting in your family room viewing television. A nice 46″ option for you to consider is the Sony Bravia W-Series lcd hdtv.

The colors are enhanced to the point where colors that were never previously displayed on the screen are clearly displayed with the Sony Bravia. The color quality is so sharp and bright that you will almost certainly see this right away. In addition to the sharp and true-to-life colors, you can also bask in the Advanced Contrast Enhancer Function that also allows the crisp picture.

Listening to the sound from the Sony Bravia, you’ll see why this item is like nothing else that you have heard. It is so impressive that you will be able to catch what anyone is saying on TV without needing to always adjust the volume. The speaker sound system permeates the whole room, making your television viewing experience close to perfect. If you’re looking for an inexpensive, try one of the smaller models such as the Sony BRAVIA XBR-Series LCD HDTV.

If you wish for the absolute best that is available on the market today in the realm of high definition televisions with excellent sound, design, and the best picture that you can find, think about getting the Sony Bravia, the latest generation when it comes to television technology brought to you by the best in the field, the Sony Corporation.