Bad Hands, Bad Faith

Nope, this isn't about poker or church. Sometimes I'm just in the mood to bash the insurance industry. So, there...

Manny Alexander, et. al.

The much anticipated Report to the Commissoner of Baseball of an independent investigation into the illegal use of steroids and other performance enhancing substances by players in Major League Baseball by George J. Mitchell was released today. Here's a link to the entire 409-page report.

Manny Alexander is discussed on page 91. More than 50 other players are named in the report.

Here's a list of most of the names Major League Baseball players listed in the Mitchell Report.

The following players were connected to steroids, either use or possession, in the report:
Lenny Dykstra
David Segui
Larry Bigbie
Brian Roberts
Jack Cust
Tim Laker
Josias Manzanillo
Todd Hundley
Mark Carreon
Hal Morris
Matt Franco
Rondell White
Andy Pettitte
Roger Clemens
Chuck Knoblauch
Jason Grimsley
Gregg Zaun
David Justice
F.P. Santangelo
Glenallen Hill
Mo Vaughn
Denny Neagle
Ron Villone
Ryan Franklin
Chris Donnels
Todd Williams
Phil Hiatt
Todd Pratt
Kevin Young
Mike Lansing
Cody McKay
Kent Mercker
Adam Piatt
Miguel Tejada
Jason Christiansen
Mike Stanton
Stephen Randolph
Jerry Hairston
Paul Lo Duca
Adam Riggs
Bart Miadich
Fernando Vina
Kevin Brown
Eric Gagne
Mike Bell
Matt Herges
Gary Bennett
Jim Parque
Brendan Donnelly
Chad Allen
Jeff Williams
Exavier "Nook" Logan
Howie Clark
Paxton Crawford
Ken Caminiti
Rafael Palmeiro
Luis Perez
Derrick Turnbow
Ricky Bones
Ricky Stone

The following players were cited under "Alleged Internet Purchases of Performance Enhancing Substances By Players in Major League Baseball."

Rick Ankiel
David Bell
Paul Byrd
Jose Canseco
Jay Gibbons
Troy Glaus
Jason Grimsley
Jose Guillen
Darren Holmes
Gary Matthews Jr.
John Rocker
Scott Schoeneweis
Ismael Valdez
Matt Williams
Steve Woodard

The following players were linked through BALCO:

Benito Santiago
Gary Sheffield
Randy Velarde
Jason Giambi
Jeremy Giambi
Bobby Estalella
Barry Bonds
Marvin Benard

Source: msn.foxsports.com

Links

Here are some of my favorite links that you may find interesting or useful:

Writing:

Thesaurus.com
A thesaurus helps you avoid repetition in your writing and helps you find a word for an idea you have in mind. You can use it to increase your vocabulary as the typical thesaurus has synonyms and antonyms for more than 100,000 words.

Merriam-Webster online
The Merriam-Webster Online Dictionary is based on the print version of Merriam-Webster's Collegiate® Dictionary, Eleventh Edition. The online dictionary includes the main A-Z listing of the Collegiate Dictionary, as well as the Abbreviations, Foreign Words and Phrases, Biographical Names, and Geographical Names sections of that book. It also includes 1,000 illustrations and 25 tables.

Dictionary.com
Search for correct word spelling, pronunciation & definitons.

The Elements of Style
The online version of Strunk & White's classic reference book.

Reference.com
An online encyclopedia which offers a "cite this source" tool. When you click on Cite This Source, a new window will open and show you how to add citations to a bibliography you are compiling.

Copyright law
The government Copyright Office offers introductory answers to frequently asked questions about copyright, registration, and services of the Office. Also see my July 22, 2007 blog on the subject of Copyright Violation.

Mediabisto.com
Writing community for journalists and media professionals.

The Slot
Bill Walsh's spot for copy editors.

Research

How Stuff Works
An online reference site for how everything works.

RefDesk.com
Since 1995, refdesk has provided a free index of quality, credible and timely resources that are family-friendly.
Wikipedia
The free encyclopedia where you can edit the articles and help change the world. There's even a brief entry about me (I didn't put it there).
HighBeam Encyclopedia
An Internet site for Encyclopedias with an extensive online library including reference works like Oxford Dictionaries, Britannica Concise Encyclopedia and millions of newspaper and magazine articles.

Workshops:

Internet Writing Workshop
The Internet Writing Workshop is a set of mailing lists (groups) that communicate in English by email. It is a community where writers can submit and critique written works, a forum to discuss and get help on all aspects of writing and a public service educational organization, staffed by volunteers and free of charge.

Writers Digest
Online instruction in Fiction, Composition, Poetry, Life Stories, Nonfiction and more.

Gotham Writers Workshop
Gotham Writers' Workshop is the leading private creative writing school in New York City and online. Professional writers present workshops in more than a dozen forms of writing. The school’s interactive online classes, selected as “Best of the Web” by Forbes, have attracted thousands of aspiring writers from across the United States and more than sixty countries.

Soleil Lifestory Network
Workshops and resources to help people write personal and family stories.

Poker:

Randy Glover's gatorpoker
A friend's site with interesting poker articles and links.

Neverbeg.com
Online staking headquarters.

Poker School Online
My hangout since November 2003 and the source of some great friends.

Poker Pages
This site is "information central" in the world of poker.

Computers

notebook reviews

Chess

U.S. Chess Federation

Susan Polgar Foundation

I will continually add to this list as I come across more...

Enjoy!
Frank Niro
ChessSafari@yahoo.com