Nice to see Mark Methot register a goal

The Eric Wynalda, John Harkes, Claudio Reyna generation was forced to do it through college, minor league, regional American soccer teams and overseas.Olsen was part of the generation when it all changed, when there was a concerted effort by everyone involved to create a true, nationally organized American soccer identity that could play competitive, consistent, professional soccer.When his name is mentioned, even though he was injured and did not make the 2002 World Cup roster, it is mentioned alongside Clint Mathis, Landon Donovan, and Brian McBride...as players that forced the world to pay attention and prepare when facing the United States Men's National Team...at least for a short period of time.As American fans, analysts and coaches discuss Ben Olsen, it won't only be about his career, but how to measure oneself. He is a barometer of where American soccer was, where it is, and where it has to go. He reminds us that we must constantly adapt, evolve, and commit everything we have to the goal Those are pretty admirable ideals to embody. . MOSCOW/KIEV (Reuters) - Europe on Friday looked for a swift restoration of gas supplies, after striking a deal with Moscow on monitoring gas shipments via Ukraine that have been halted by a rancorous pricing dispute with Kiev. World RussiaDiplomats in Prague said the European Union would send monitors to Ukraine on Friday to be deployed at the main metering stations for gas arriving from Russia.The Czech EU presidency said in a statement late on Thursday the monitors agreement "should lead to the Russian supplies of gas to EU member states being restored." Czech officials, however, declined to give any details of the deal.The apparent breakthrough came after talks between Czech Prime Minister Mirek Topolanek, German Chancellor Angela Merkel and Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin.Nevertheless, Russia and Ukraine have yet to agree a price for Russian gas deliveries, subsidized since Soviet times, and Putin on Thursday again demanded Kiev pay the going market rate.The nine-day gas crisis has left hundreds of thousands of people in the Balkans without gas, forced factories to shut down and disrupted deliveries as far west as France and Germany, even as the continent faced freezing mid-winter temperatures.The dispute between Kiev and its former Soviet master in Moscow also follows tensions over Ukraine's efforts to join NATO, a move bitterly opposed by Moscow and viewed with wariness even by European members of the alliance and by investors.In typically forthright comments to Western reporters at his residence outside Moscow, Putin blamed the gas crisis in part on a "collapse" of the authorities in Kiev and high-level corruption in Ukraine.DAMAGING ROW"In order to restore normal flows, (Ukraine) needs to come to Moscow and sign a contract for gas supplies to Ukraine," he said "And they need to pay for the product they receive. At the market price...our Ukrainian partners don't want to sign and don't want to pay. That's it."Ukraine has been beset for months by political squabbling between President Viktor Yushchenko and his former ally, Prime Minister Yulia Tymoshenko, notably over ties with Russia.Russia cut off gas for Ukraine's domestic consumption on January 1 in a row over pricing and debts, a dispute Putin said was now damaging Russia's image.Officials from both sides met EU officials in Brussels where the 27-nation bloc sought an end to the spat, which has highlighted its vulnerability to energy supply disruptions.The European Union receives a quarter of its gas supplies from Russia, 80 percent of which pass through Ukraine.Supplies to 18 countries have been disrupted by the dragging dispute.(Writing by Jon Boyle; editing by Ralph Boulton) World Russia.

Well, here we are again and we all knew this was coming.Heck, I bet some of you bought your tickets to Atlanta last February. Like a juggernaut Army, our football teams have laid waste to the SEC landscape, leaving crying children and jealous alumni wondering to their cars in the parking lots pouting and wondering what future seasons could bring.These are momentous times for both of us, and much is at stake for both teams. For you, Alabama fans, it is an ascension back to some rightfully owned parking spot at the elite football club.For us, it is an attempt to make one of the most historic runs in college football history.And like a Cowboys-49ers NFC championship game in the mid-90's we both know this is the real game. Ultimately, this is the one that really counts. Sure, before the season, many of you were probably humble.And and like us, when asked by some random SEC fan how we thought the season would turn out before the season actually began, we shrugged our shoulders and said It will probably be us and Florida, but you never know. In the end, that was not the truth, you knew this was coming, and surely you knew your Crimson flags would fly high over the SEC west but you didn't want to seem pompous or over confident. Like us, you know your team is the cream of the crop, the pride of the SEC west, led by an intense and confident coach who rarely sweats under pressure.And in this time of thanks, let us all be thankful that our teams are at the top of the SEC pile, and in turn, the top of the college football world. Tebow and Ingram, Jones and Haden, Dunlap and Cody, Spikes and McClain, Saban and Meyer.These are the names we will be recanting to our grandchildren and names sportscasters in the NFL will be uttering to their audiences for many years to come. Like Generals assessing their armies through binoculars, our teams have been under the respective microscope of each others fans. From 400 some odd miles away, each of us have discussed endlessly what this game will look like almost all year long; what advantage one may have over the other, which players will ultimately end up looking overrated, and which ones will be heroes, forever intertwined and revered in each others history and lore. Last year may not matter, but you know Meyer can figure out a way to beat you.We know how good Julio Jones and Mark Ingram are, even if we have little regard for your prototypical quarterback and we also know Saban is foaming at the mouth to avenge the loss from last year. We fully expect nothing short of war under those Atlanta lights and we know that your team is probably the only one that can competently provide that war. So let's have fun this week, with both of us being undefeated this is, in all likely-hood, the biggest game in SEC Championship history.Bust out the grill, say a prayer, call up the friends and let the banter begin. If you are going to Atlanta, then fill the bars (I hope to) and special events with Crimson Red and Orange and Blue, for we are the pinnacle of college football and no one can take that away from us. . THE COLONY, Texas, Jan 8, 2009 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) Pizza Inn Inc. (Nasdaq:PZZI)well-known for its great-tasting pizza at affordable prices, announced today theopening of a new buffet restaurant in Corinth, Mississippi. The restaurant alsoprovides delivery services and supplies a window for carryout convenience.The new unit is owned and run by Mr Keith Vaughn, Mr Mark Robinson and Mr.Bruce Sharp. The 3,600 square foot eatery is located at 602 South Cass St.

andis the second franchise opening in the company's new prototype buffetrestaurant. "The PizzaInn family is proud to have this new team on board. We see the passion andcommitment the Corinth store's staff has for their community and feel positivethey will provide customers the service and quality for which Pizza Inn isrenowned."This store features a dine-in, buffet-style setting and serves the chain'sauthentic thin and thick crust pizzas. "My staff and I look forward to introducingPizza Inn's tradition of serving made-from-scratch pizzas in a family-friendlyenvironment to all of our Corinth residents."Pizza Inn was recently acknowledged for its success as 2008's Pizza Chain of theYear by Pizza Marketplace. For more detailed information on this recognitionplease visit the following link provided. http:// news follows the chain's recent announcements of sixth straight quarter ofpositive domestic buffet restaurant same store sales growth.Pizza Inn, Inc. ( http://) is headquartered in The Colony, Texas,along with its distribution division, Norco Restaurant Services Company. TheCompany is a franchisor and food and supply distributor to a system offranchised and company owned restaurants operating both domestically andinternationally under the trade name "Pizza Inn."-0-CONTACT:Pizza Inn, Inc.Scott Richter, Sr.

Director of . Rather than do the usual drone of a narrative game recap (I'm not that clever, and really, I'm not that lyrical), I'd like to do a quick n' dirty analysis of last night's game, between the Blue Jackets and the Calgary Flames.So, here's what went well, what went OK, and what was abysmal: The Good: The CBJ playing solid, Hitch-like hockey for 54 minutes. Lots of energy, tight checking and solid goaltending. I know, I know, hockey's a 60 minute game. I'll get to those dreaded 79 seconds, in a later light section. Jared Boll is back, and, is that a scorer's touch I see Great transition, going from drawing a goaltender's interference penalty, to coming out of the penalty box, and scoring a goal on a stellar feed from Brassard. Kristian Huselius with two great primary assists, as well as a Shootout Goal. It's amazing as to how well he's brought the energy to his game, since coming off of IR, "allegedly." Much like the Ottawa game, "Juice" has truly been the CBJ's best player, on the ice. Now, about those far too many passes and Sportscenter, Top 10-candidate plays... Nice to see Jan Hejda and Rusty Klesla playing solid defense; here's hoping that pairing continues. I think continuity of pairings could be one problem that's occurred, particularly with Tyutin's early season struggles. Rick Nash getting the CBJ on the board, on another fine feed from Huselius. Nash also registered a 1, for the evening. I know, to quote a certain local TV color analyst, "It was a goal-scorer's goal" (then again, he also said that about LaPerier's second goal of the campaign, the other night...sigh) Another Power Play (PP) tally, and one-of-two, overall...is this really the same team who was 30th, in this category, last year Two goals in a span of 53 seconds. Way to fight back, and get the crowd re-energized! Nice to see that large crowd of 17,772. Yes, it was a Saturday, and yes, OSU's regular season is over, but, also recall, in a transient (so many folks being from other parts of the country, visiting their families over the holiday weekend) city, such as ours, and, having come off a four-game swoon (not that we're bandwagon-jumpers, here in the capital city...no, not us) quite a pleasant surprise, and a throaty crowd, at that. Nice to see Mark Methot register a goal. I think he's been an underrated performer, this season. The OK Steve Mason, for the first 54 minutes, was pretty darn good. Then came that 79-second span, in which those two behind-the-net goals continued to plague him. Wait, I'm not done in my assessment of his performance... Brassard picking up an assist. While he was upping his game, a bit, he still looked tentative and was a bit loose with the puck. Jason Chimera. 10 games (no points), and counting. So much for the "garbage" I'd heard that I was wrong about Chimmers. Louis Blues. The CBJ need to come out, with energy, and take the Blues out, early, then bury them. No more prevent mode, no more blown leads. The fragility's got to end. . Did Mark McGwire cheat Did he use steroids to build his massive home run hitting frame Is he little more than a liar when it comes to admitting what we all know is the truthThe collective answer is obvious to anyone taking a step back from the emotional brink.We don’t know.And in those three words lie another answer.