News You Know

As I write this article, the Twins and Tigers are battling it out in the top of the 12th inning at Mall of America Field in Minneapolis, Minnesota. The score is currently 5 to 5 with 1 out. Whoever wins this game will be flying to New York tomorrow to take on the Yankees in the first post-season game. The Twins have lost to the Yankees 9 times this season including every game in New York. The Yankees announced that they really don’t care who they have to play, in fact, many of the Yankee players said they would not even be watching tonight’s game. One thing is for sure, this weekend has been a GREAT weekend in the beautiful mid-western city of Minneapolis as the 3-0 Vikings took on the 2-1 Packers last night at Mall of America Field and won the game making Brett Favre the first quarterback in NFL history to beat every single team in the league.

Tonight also marks the last regular season game of Minnesota Baseball at Mall of America Field(HHH Metrodome). Next year the Twins will take the field at the new outdoor stadium, Target Field

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Chicago looks like the most likely choice for the location of the 2016 Olympic summer games. Hosting the Olympics in Chicago would bring in more money from a United States television network than if it were hosted in some of the other locations who have made bids; Rio de Janeiro, Tokyo or Madrid.

Fox has publicly announced that they would only enter the TV bidding if the games are going to be hosted in Chicago. While having the games in Chicago would be a nice domestic background, Rio would be the first South American country to host the games filling the desire to spread the games’ influence to a new continent.

Hosting the games in Chicago will most likely also help lure more sponsorship deals. Although, hosting the games in Rio would be attractive for advertisers who’s reach is global.

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Today I am introducing a new section to the NYK website. Each week about mid-week I will post my picks for the upcoming week’s games. My picks are bordered in green.

Detroit @ Chicago 12pm CST

Cincinnati @ Cleveland 12pm CST

Seattle @ Indianapolis 12pm CST

New York @ Kansas City 12pm CST

Baltimore @ New England 12pm CST

Tampa Bay @ Washington 12pm CST

Tennessee @ Jacksonville 12pm CST

Oakland @ Houston 12pm CST

New York @ New Orleans 3:05pm CST

Buffalo @ Miami 3:05pm CST

Saint Louis @ San Francisco 3:15pm CST

Dallas @ Denver 3:15pm CST

Carolina @ Pittsburgh 7:20pm CST

Green Bay @ Minnesota 7:30pm CST Monday Night

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A New Recall from Toyota Covers a Floor Mat Linked to a Recent San Diego Accident

A Toyota recall list has been issued to fix Toyota floor mats. The September 2009 Toyota recall also includes 3.8 million vehicles, and encompasses their Lexus brand. According to the Toyota Company’s main press website, the problem with the cars is that the floor mat can become entangled. Toyota Recall September 2009 List Includes 3.8 Million Vehicles with Faulty Floor Mats with the accelerator pedal. In news out of San Diego, it was this reason that led to the crash of a family driving a Lexus where the floor mat snagged the gas pedal and sent it up to 120 miles per hour before the vehicle crashed into an SUV. The mats have been blamed for that accident, and now the Toyota recall could be one of the biggest in automotive history.

According to the Toyota press release on the floor mat recall, “Recent events have prompted Toyota to take a closer look at the potential for an accelerator pedal to get stuck in the full open position due to an unsecured or incompatible driver’s floor mat.” They go on to talk about the dangers of an accelerator pedal being stuck, and that high vehicle speeds can lead to even more dangerous situations. That part is self-explanatory, but leads to their revelation of why the Toyota and Lexus recall has become necessary. They also consider this to be an extremely critical recall, and that anyone with one of the effected vehicles needs to act immediately. The list of affected vehicles is found on page two of this article.

This is a very smart move by Toyota, and one that is probably going to cost them a lot of money in the end. By putting their customer safety ahead of a few extra dollars though, they could be extending a lot of good will to their customer base, and further ensuring that they have repeat consumers using their vehicles. Toyota has also taken steps to educate drivers on what they should do if their car does end up with a stuck accelerator. The most important tip is to press the break pedal and shift the car into neutral, or if it is one of their button-start engines to simply depress the button for a full three seconds to get the engine to turn off. These are both useful steps, and if you wish to read more about the Toyota warnings, I have linked the press release at the end of this article.

Source: AssociatedContent

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NFL Power Rankings 2009 Week 4 results present enthusiasm to some teams that are still in the league and playing well. From worst to better some teams, falls down and other got to the top. Let’s start with New York Giants (3-0) as the top team to beat up in this NFL Power Rankings Week 4 2009.

Don’t forget the New Orleans Saints (3-0) with almost perfect offense as Giants. Followed by Baltimore Ravens (3-0), New York Jets (3-0), Indianapolis Colts (3-0), and Minnesota Vikings (3-0).

Meanwhile, still on the run and needs double-team-up are Chicago Bears (2-1), Atlanta Falcons (2-1) and among others…

Previous week’s ranking in parenthesis.

1. Giants (1). Do you get the feeling the “other Bucs” as in Pirates would offer more resistance than the Tampa Bay Bucs?
2. Jets (2).
3. Saints (4). They beat up on the hapless Bills and TO’s not happy.
4. Vikings (7). Greg Lewis making that incredibly athletic catch as time expired. What a throw Favre!
5. Colts (6). Cardinals may be shot and my it’s such a great thing that I have Fitzgerald AND Boldin on my fantasy team.
6. Ravens (8). Is this a typo? The Ravens have the second-best offense of 430.3 yards per game.
7. Patriots (N/A). They beat a very good, solid Falcons team handily.
8. Chargers (N/A. No LT, no problem vs. the quickly-fading Fish.
9. Packers (N/A). In Minnesota on Monday Night against #4. Let’s see how they rank this time next week.
10. Broncos. Their defense, thanks in no small part I’m sure to a certain former Eagles safety, have allowed a league-low 13 points through three games.

NFL Power Rankings Week 4 for 2009 and the Heisman Watch dominate a football themed Sports Fix! Tim Tebow may have been knocked out of last week’s game but he still leads the Heisman race.

NFL Power Rankings Week 4 – are the New York football Giants the number one team in the NFL? It is only week four and they are as good as choice as any where in an odd season start that has the New York Jets at 3-0 and the Pittsburgh Steelers and the Arizona Cardinals at 1-2.

Add to that, the Tennessee Titans are at 0-3 and many thought they would be a powerhouse. And each week, I keep reminding folks, don’t forget the New Orleans Saints and that amazing offense. They are winning (and covering Las Vegas folks).

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