The Buccaneers' Eric LeGrand announced his retirement Thursday. He was originally signed by the team on May 2.

"Making it to the NFL was my dream. But now I want to see my team as strong as possible at the start of training camp," LeGrand said. "I'm a Buc for life."

LeGrand was honored with the Jimmy V Award for perseverance at the 2012 ESPYs earlier this month. In September, HarperCollins Publishers will release LeGrand's first book, a memoir entitled "Believe: My Faith And The Tackle That Changed My Life." There also will be a young readers version, "Believe: The Victorious Story Of Eric LeGrand."

LeGrand will be placed on Tampa Bay's reserve/retired list.

He was paralyzed from the neck down on Oct. 16, 2010 while tackling an Army kickoff returner while playing under Buccaneers head coach Greg Schiano at Rutgers. A junior at the time of his injury, LeGrand would have been a part of the 2012 draft.

As a college player, he recorded 60 tackles, 11 for loss and 2 sacks.

Follow this link:
Buccaneers' LeGrand announces retirement

LONDON -- The last five years have been tough for those in retirement. Portfolio valuations have been hammered, and annuity rates have plunged. There's no sign that matters will improve anytime soon, either, as the eurozone and the U.K. economy look set to muddle through at best for some years to come.

A great way to protect yourself from the downturn, however, is to build your retirement fund with shares of large, well-run companies that should grow their earnings steadily over the coming decades. Over time, such investments ought to result in rising dividends and inflation-beating capital growth.

In this series, I'm tracking down the U.K. large caps that have the potential to beat the FTSE 100 over the long term and support a lower-risk, income-generating retirement fund. (You can see the companies I've covered so far on this page.)

Today I'll take a look at British American Tobacco (LSE: BATS.L) , the world's second-largest tobacco company and a favored share among dividend investors (including Neil Woodford), thanks to its high profits and its policy of paying out 65% of earnings as dividends.

Smoking performance?The addictive nature of their products makes tobacco companies good defensive shares; they perform well in a downturn. BAT has proved the truth of this by comprehensively outperforming the FTSE 100 over the last 10 years:

2007

2008

2009

2010

2011

View original post here:
Is BAT the Ultimate Retirement Share?

IT director Karriem Shakoor noticed a trend among high-performing athletes: They all had personal performance coaches. It made him wonder: Should he get a coach to up his professional game?

His own boss supported the idea, and his research showed that many CEOs hire executive coaches. So Shakoor, who has worked in IT since 1991, hired a coach to help him take his leadership skills to the next level.

"I felt that in order for me to really assess my strengths and weaknesses, I had to engage with a coach who could step back to observe me, provide feedback and then help me tweak my performance," says Shakoor, who, as the senior director of IT shared services at Blue Cross Blue Shield of Michigan, manages eight direct reports and just over 300 full-time employees.

Shakoor started meeting with coach John Baldoni in 2009 for scheduled face-to-face meetings, interspersed with phone calls to discuss additional topics as they arose. A coach, he says, is different from a mentor or a boss. "What he really is, is a person who has an understanding of my strengths and weaknesses and how they translate into my style as a leader."

The initial goal was for Shakoor to improve his executive presence and executive style. Even though a six-month assessment showed he had indeed improved in those areas, based on feedback from company executives, Shakoor continues to meet with Baldoni for an hour every month or two as he aims to earn a CIO position in the future.

Shakoor can't point to any one work situation where coaching helped him score rather than strike out; rather, it's his overall ability to assess and successfully navigate various management challenges that's improved. "As an executive in a very fast-paced, demanding field, I view myself as an athlete, and having a coach who keeps me well-tuned as a corporate athlete has been a great benefit," he says.

Could a coach do the same for you?

Typically, IT professionals haven't engaged such services at the same pace as other senior managers, say coaches, CIOs and other corporate leaders. But that is changing as tech executives -- and their companies -- see that IT can gain as much from coaching as the others in the C suite. In fact, IT leaders may even benefit more, particularly those who rise through the ranks on the strength of their technical expertise rather than their management experience.

The good news: As CIO demand for coaching services increases, they're able to engage coaches who have experience in either IT management or coaching IT leaders, further bringing value to the service, says Suzanne Fairlie, the founder and president of national executive staffing firm ProSearch in Ambler, Pa., who frequently recommends coaching to CIOs.

Who gets coached, and when

See the rest here:
IT careers: Do you need an executive coach?

July 26, 2012 - By Deborah Brooks

With the heat of summer upon us, proper hydration is essential for sports and fitness performance.

The cooling of elevated core temperature during exercise results in fluid loss in the form of sweat on the skins surface. It is a natural and healthy response to rising body temperature. As a general rule, the more fit we become the more we sweat as our body becomes an efficient cooling machine. We must replace the lost fluids from sweating during exercise to:

Maintain proper body temperature

Lubricate the joints

Transport nutrients to the tissue

Rid the body of toxic waste built up during exercise

Along with water, sodium, potassium and other electrolytes are lost from the body in this process. Replacing lost fluid and electrolytes is the key to peak performance, endurance and injury prevention.

The big questions are what, how much and when should we be drinking?

More here:
Personal Best: Proper Hydration for Peak Sports and Fitness Performance

DUBLIN--(BUSINESS WIRE)--

Research and Markets (http://www.researchandmarkets.com/research/6fb7ns/trend_and_opportun) has announced the addition of the "Trend and Opportunities in the Italian Personal Accident and Health Insurance Industry to 2016: Market Profile" report to their offering.

In terms of gross written premium, the Italian insurance industry is the fourth-largest insurance industry in the European region behind the UK, France and Germany. From 2008 to 2010, the French, German and Italian insurance industries all expanded rapidly, as poor overall economic performance encouraged consumers to seek the financial security associated with insurance products.

The Italian government is planning to introduce discounts to consumers who are ready to submit their vehicles for inspection by insurance companies. The discount rate will be increased if the consumer opts to install a black box which will record the vehicle's activity and help to determine the cause of accidents. In addition, the government also introduced open competition into the category. Indeed, article 34 indicates that agents marketing car insurance must provide the customer with three different quotes from three different companies.

Scope

This report provides a comprehensive analysis of the personal accident and health insurance market in Italy, including:

- It provides historical values for the Italian personal accident and health insurance market for the review period (2007-2011) and forecast period (2012-2016)

- It offers a detailed analysis of the key sub-segments in the Italian personal accident and health insurance market, along with market forecasts until 2016

- It covers an exhaustive list of parameters, including written premium, incurred loss, loss ratio, commissions and expenses, combined ratio, frauds and crimes, total assets, total investment income and retentions in the Italian personal accident and health insurance market

- It analyses the various distribution channels for personal accident and health insurance products in Italy

More here:
Research and Markets: Trend and Opportunities in the Italian Personal Accident and Health Insurance Industry to 2016 ...

(CNN) Following weeks of questions over Mitt Romney's personal wealth, the presumptive GOP nominee said Thursday that criticism of the nation's wealthy, including his family, would lead to economic demise.

"There are people who are trying to attack success and are trying to attack our success; that's not going to be successful," Romney said in an interview to air Thursday on CNN's "Piers Morgan Tonight." "When you attack success you have less of it, and that's what we've seen in our economy over the last few years." Follow the Ticker on Twitter: @PoliticalTicker

The 2012 presidential campaign has centered on debate over Romney's wealth this summer, with President Barack Obama's team raising concerns about the Republican's decision to hold offshore investments and calling on Romney to release tax documents to answer any lingering queries about his financial portfolio.

The White House hopeful has firmly stated he would not release anything further than the two years worth of tax documents that he has already released and annual financial disclosure forms separately required by federal election law.

Romney, whose wealth is worth up to $256 million, has also been railed against over his tenure at the private equity firm he co-founded, Bain Capital. Democrats argue he has been misleading about when exactly he left his position as CEO at the company, saying he stayed on three years longer than he's previously admitted-a time window, Democrats say, in which he would have overseen a period in which the company is now being criticized for encouraging the practice of outsourcing.

Along with defending his personal wealth, Romney and Republicans have strongly stood against Obama's recent proposal to raise taxes on households making more than $250,000 per year, arguing such a move would have a negative impact on the economy and discourage growth.

"Dividing America based on who has money and who hasn't who is successful and who is less successful That is not the American way," Romney said.

Obama, defending his tax proposal, has frequently said his policies are not aimed as an attack on the wealthy.

"This has nothing to do with me wanting to punish success. We love folks getting rich. I do want to make sure that everybody else gets that chance as well." Obama said at a campaign stop in Iowa earlier this month. "For us to give a trillion dollars worth of tax breaks to folks who don't need it and aren't even asking for it, that doesn't make sense."

Romney made his comments during a sit-down interview in London, with his wife Ann by his side. The former Massachusetts governor, who headed the 2002 Winter Olympic Games in Salt Lake City, is in town to attend Friday's opening ceremony for this year's Olympic Games. The stop in London marks the first leg of a three-country trip, which also takes him to Israel and Poland over the next week.

Read more from the original source:
Romney in Piers Morgan interview: Stop attacking success

38 Studios, the now-bankrupt company behind Kingdoms of Amalur: Reckoning and in-development MMO Project Copernicus, spent more than $133 million before it collapsed according to newly released documents. WPRI.com detailed the company's various expenses, which were paid for largely by state loans from Rhode Island and the personal fortune of founder and former Red Sox pitcher Curt Schilling.

38 Studios spent $118 million in the period between its founding in August 2006 and the end of 2011, before it began to take in any appreciable revenue from the release of Reckoning. When the role-playing game finally hit shelves it sold 1.3 million copies. For the company to make back its $28.7 million advance from Reckoning publisher Electronic Arts and begin to receive royalties, sales would have had to surpass 2 million.

"I don't think 2 million was an unreasonable estimate--I thought it would do 2 million to 3 million," said Wedbush Securities analyst Michael Pachter. "They may have been counting on an extra $30 million to $40 million of revenue from the game."

Less-than-anticipated revenue from Reckoning and drying investor interest left the company unable to cover massive expenses laid down for research and development on Project Copernicus--$104.5 million as of March. That figure did not surprise National Alliance Capital Markets analyst Michael Hickey, who said a typical high-end MMO will take "north of $100 million" to bring to market. The studio's six years of work and a development team of 400 (some of its hiring was encouraged by state loan job creation stipulations) raised the stakes for the project's success.

But EA MMO Star Wars: The Old Republic's colder-than-expected subscriber retention over the winter put a serious damper on the developer's efforts to attract investors to its own game. "I honestly think if 38 Studios had moved to get financing months earlier they would have been fine," Pachter said. "Had they been out in the market in December I think they would have been fine."

A Boston magazine feature on Schilling's role in 38 Studios' demise said the developer was courting Take-Two to publish a potential sequel to Reckoning in May, and in talks with Korean MMO publisher Nexon. Nexon declined comment, and a Take-Two representative told Boston he wasn't aware of any negotiations.

Saul Kaplan, who was executive director of the Rhode Island Economic Development Corporation until 2008, said the new documents suggested at least another $60 million would have been needed to complete development on Copernicus. "I can't imagine a scenario where anyone was going to put that capital in," he said.

Read the rest here:
38 Studios spent $133 million before bankruptcy

ATLANTA, July 26, 2012 /PRNewswire/ --KMC On Demand, a leading provider of learning technologies and online education for the insurance claims industry, has developed and launched a customized online learning center to train members of the National Association of Catastrophe Adjusters (NACA).

"Ongoing education is a requirement for adjusters so they can perform to the best of their ability in the field," said Wanda Hogan, president of NACA. "This need has become more pronounced with the rapid deployment of technology and the many new adjusters entering the field. Our partnership with KMC On Demand allows us to serve NACA members with quality, accredited content at the best value."

The learning center provides access to more than 200 hours of training in adjusting topics that range from auto, property and casualty claims to workers compensation and fraud. It also offers access to the Property Technical Certification (PTC), which is a new, industry-specific certification program for property adjusters developed by KMC, a unit of Crawford & Company, in conjunction with an insurance industry advisory committee.

To promote continuing education to the NACA membership, KMC will offer its "Insurance Ethics" course for free to all members. This three-module course addresses ethical standards, examines insurance regulations and the applicability of state and federal insurance law to claims adjusting, and discusses the nature of the relationship between the insured and the insurer.

Courses in the center are approved by all states that require continuing education credits for adjusters, and KMC will apply for and track credits for those who use the learning center. Adjusters may purchase courses individually or access all courses for an annual fee.

In addition to the training courses, the site links to adjuster-relevant information such as social networks and blogs, state licensing requirements, career resources and job outlooks, and analytic reports on storms and earthquakes.

"The NACA learning center offers a one-stop shop that brings together relevant resources helpful to all CAT adjusters," said Douglas Dell, senior vice president of E-Learning Services for Crawford (NYSE: CRDA; CRDB), the world's largest independent provider of claims management solutions. "We will continue to work with the association to promote continuing education for adjusters that will enhance standards for the industry and professional service delivery to the insured."

About KMC On Demand KMC On Demand is a unique platform that marries cutting-edge knowledge management technology with vetted and customized insurance courses and performance support information that adjusters can easily reference. KMC On Demand is part of Crawford Educational Services, a unit of Crawford & Company that is a full-service provider of classroom, online and blended educational opportunities for claims professionals.

Here is the original post:
KMC On Demand(SM) Launches Custom Online Learning Center for NACA

Tom Fedor/The Gazette New Life Christians Joe Stopyra drives to the hoop during the title game of the Tuscarora Shootout on July 12. New Life rarely competes against public school teams in Frederick County.

Ready to end the deliberating, Connor Browns parents walked around their 6-acre Damascus property and discussed their sons future. The question at hand: Would he attend Broadfording Christian Academy or New Life Christian School?

Connor had long planned to attend Broadfording in Hagerstown, where he could play basketball with an older cousin. For years, they'd discussed playing together on the same high school team and then college and NBA teams. New Life Christian in Frederick was, well, closer to home.

As his parents walked, Brown nervously shot on his outdoor basketball hoop. Eventually, they returned with plans for Browns sophomore year after spending two years at Bullis.

So, which one is it? Brown said.

Its the Rams, they said, referring to New Life's mascot.

Initially, Brown was a bit upset not to play with his cousin, but now a rising senior, he and his brother Austin, a rising junior, have helped lift New Lifes basketball profile.

Were just working hard every day trying to build this program up, make it something that around Frederick County that kids want to, Oh yeah, I want to go to New Life, Brown said.

New Life was 21-9 last year, winning the Mason Dixon Christian Conference regular-season title and reaching the Division 1 Maryland Christian School Tournament for the first time. With the Browns and Seth Myers a rising senior who transferred from Oakdale before last season returning, New Lifes ambitions are higher than ever.

We never want to be a Montrose or anything like that, Bryant said. We just want to be a competitive team within the county.

Read the rest here:
Gazette.Net: New Life Christian basketball elevates profile

> SOUTHERN INDIANA I am a basketball coach.

Thanks to John Bradley back in 1992, I was able to figure my purpose in life. Coach Bradley was the Henryville boys coach at the time and he asked me one day if I would be interested in coaching the freshmen that year. I told him I had to think about that. At age 23, that was going to be a huge decision.

Did he actually want me to be in charge of a group of young men? Wow ... I just didnt know.

I thought about it and decided I would give it a try. (Before I go any further, I want to apologize to those guys because I was a complete and total idiot that first year, and well ... for a few years.)

Even though I had figured out what my purpose was, I still didnt know how to really do that purpose, if that makes sense. For anyone who thought I was intense or ridiculous the last few years, they probably would have called the police those first one to 10 years of my coaching career.

I knew what I wanted to do, but I didnt know how to do it. Many of those players from those years have thanked me for all I did, and I usually apologize because I could have done better and I am not talking about just on the court.

That gets me to the last two years. As I started to understand my purpose even more, I was starting to understand that purpose had to lead to more than just coaching basketball. I wanted to reach more and different people through my faith. Last fall, I applied to Athletes in Action and a couple of other organizations and was accepted.

That acceptance and the process helped me to decide to resign as boys basketball coach at Henryville.

I knew there was something that I should be doing greater than what I was doing. So thankfully to some, I resigned.

I am not putting down being a varsity basketball coach. So many men and women are doing a job that is under the microscope by many who wouldnt even consider coaching an elementary team. Asked by friend Matt Denison the other night if I was finished being a head coach, I told him I just didnt know. I will be coaching in the near future, but at what position and where is still unknown to me.

Read this article:
HUNTER: What’s your purpose?