NEW YORK, May 31, 2012 /PRNewswire/ -- Clayton, Dubilier & Rice, LLC ("CD&R") and Roofing Supply Group ("RSG" or the "Company") today announced that funds managed by CD&R have acquired RSG, a leading distributor of residential and non-residential roofing materials in the U.S., from The Sterling Group. Terms were not disclosed.

RSG provides a complete offering of roofing materials for residential and commercial applications, including composition asphalt shingles, underlayment, and associated ancillary products, as well as other complementary building materials. RSG's branch-based operating model includes 59 locations in 24 states throughout the West, Rocky Mountain, Northwest, Southwest, Southeast and Midwest regions of the United States.

"RSG is a well-positioned business in a very attractive industry that has built strong customer relationships over time based on superior service and reliability," said Nathan K. Sleeper, a Partner at CD&R. "We look forward to partnering with RSG's exceptional management team to continue to grow the business, strengthen its market presence and enhance its industry-leading operating capabilities."

"We are proud of the success we have achieved with The Sterling Group," said Mike Farrell, President and CEO of RSG. "Looking ahead, we see many opportunities to further strengthen our industry leadership and welcome CD&R's support as we move the company forward to the next level of profitable growth."

Philip W. Knisely, a CD&R operating advisor, has assumed the Chairman role at RSG. Mr. Knisely is currently Chairman of Atkore International, a leading manufacturer of electrical and metal products, and prior to that was Executive Vice President and Corporate Officer of Danaher Corporation.

Financing for the transaction was obtained from Deutsche Bank Securities Inc., Goldman Sachs Bank USA, Credit Suisse, UBS Investment Bank and Citigroup. Deutsche Bank Securities Inc. and Goldman, Sachs & Co. acted as financial advisors, and Debevoise & Plimpton LLP acted as legal advisor to CD&R. The Sterling Group was advised by Harris Williams in the transaction.

About Clayton, Dubilier & Rice, LLC Founded in 1978, Clayton, Dubilier & Rice is a private equity firm that has managed the investment of approximately $17 billion in 52 U.S. and European businesses. These investments represent an aggregate transaction value of over $80 billion and include leading distributors, such as Diversey, HGI Holdings, Sally Beauty, US Foods, Univar and VWR International, as well as building products businesses, such has HD Supply, NCI Building Systems, Atkore International, Rexel and WESCO. For more information, please visit http://www.cdr-inc.com.

About Roofing Supply Group Founded in 1981 and based in Dallas, TX, Roofing Supply Group is one of the largest wholesale distributors of roofing supplies and related materials in the United States. Through its network of 59 branches in 24 states, RSG provides one-step distribution services from roofing product manufacturers to roofing contractors and homebuilders. For more information, please visit http://www.roofingsupplygroup.com.

Contact: Dan Jacobs Clayton, Dubilier & Rice (212) 407-5218

Sherri Gunn Roofing Supply Group (214) 956-5219

Original post:
Clayton, Dubilier & Rice Acquires Leading U.S. Roofing Material Distributor, Roofing Supply Group

PEABODY, Mass.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--

Beacon Roofing Supply, Inc. (BECN) ("Beacon") announced today that it has completed its previously-announced acquisition of Cassady Pierce Company (Cassady Pierce), a distributor of residential and commercial roofing products and related accessories headquartered in Pittsburgh, Pa. with six locations in the Pittsburgh area.

Paul Isabella, Beacons CEO and President, stated, "We are pleased to announce the completion of the Cassady Pierce acquisition and to welcome the Cassady Pierce team to Beacon. We thank owner Dennis Kelleher for the opportunity to make the terrific company he built part of Beacon, and we look forward to President Bill Vernals continued leadership of their talented team. These branches will continue to operate under the Cassady Pierce name. This acquisition will provide tremendous opportunities for Beacon in the Western Pennsylvania market and is another important step in our nationwide expansion."

About Beacon Roofing Supply Inc.: Beacon Roofing Supply, Inc. is a leading distributor of roofing materials and complementary building products operating 199 branches in 38 states in the United States and across Canada. Website: http://www.beaconroofingsupply.com.

"Safe Harbor" Statement under the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995: Statements in this press release regarding Beacon Roofing Supply Inc.'s business which are not historical facts are "forward-looking statements" that involve risks and uncertainties. For a discussion of such risks and uncertainties, which could cause actual results to differ from those contained in the forward-looking statements, see "Risk Factors" in the Company's Annual Report or Form 10-K for the most recently ended fiscal year.

BECN-F

Continue reading here:
Beacon Roofing Supply Completes Cassady Pierce Acquisition

JOHN WAWROW ORCHARD PARK, N.Y. The Associated Press Published Thursday, May. 31, 2012 7:50PM EDT Last updated Thursday, May. 31, 2012 7:52PM EDT

Forget extending Shawne Merriman any belated birthday wishes. For someone who turned 28 last week, the Buffalo Bills defensive end suddenly feels as if he's actually turning back the clock.

A year older? I'm like Benjamin Button, man, Merriman said with a smile, referring to the fictional movie character who aged in reverse. I'm going backward.

On the field, Merriman took a big step forward Thursday by fully taking part in his first team practice since having season-ending surgery to repair a partially torn right Achilles tendon in November.

Merriman's presence at the Bills second voluntary minicamp session came two days after he received a clean bill of health from James Andrews, the doctor who performed the operation.

Confident he's put his injury troubles behind, the NFL's 2005 defensive rookie of the year believes he's finally in a position to regain the form that earned him three Pro Bowl selections and the nickname Lights Out as having been one of the league's most dominating pass rushers.

I feel young, Merriman said. Anybody that will get a chance to watch me this year will see I'm moving around as I did when I came into the league.

The opportunity to finally prove himself couldn't come soon enough for a player whose future was being questioned, and who is entering the final year of his contract with Buffalo.

He ran out of second chances in San Diego two years ago, when the Chargers released him after five-plus seasons. And Merriman's barely made a dent in Buffalo, since the Bills took a chance by acquiring him off waivers in November 2010.

He finished the 2010 season on injured reserve after aggravating his Achilles tendon injury in his first practice with the Bills. And Merriman had nine tackles and two sacks in starting only five games last year with Buffalo before electing to have season-ending surgery.

Continued here:
Merriman feeling rejuvenated after first practice

After a horrendous April, Heath Bell and the Marlins have had something to shout about in May. (AP)

The Marlins began the season in April with the fanfare of a new ballpark, new uniforms, a garish home run sculpture and batch of marquee additions, but when manager Ozzie Guillens remarks about Fidel Castro struck a nerve both in Miami and inside the commissioners office, things quickly went south. The Marlins were just 8-14, mired in last place in the NL East when the calendar turned to May, but they reeled off a seven-game winning streak in the first week of the month, and thanks to a recent 8-3 run, their record this month is a major league best 21-8, for a .724 winning percentage. Via a just-completed three-game sweep of the Nationals, theyre now second in the division, one-half game behind Washington. If the season ended today, theyd host the Mets in the Wild Card game.

Dont start printing playoff tickets just yet, though. Though the Marlins are seven games above .500 at 29-22, theyve outscored opponents by only two runs, for a Pythagorean winning percentage of .505; in other words, theyre about three wins above expectations, the type of showing that tends to regress over the course of the season. During their 21-8 run, theyve outscored opponents 131-115, a balance that would be expected to produce a .559 winning percentage, or 16.2 wins in 29 games. In other words, theyve been playing way over their heads lately.

Theyve done so by winning the close ones, going 11-8 in one-run games, 7-3 in two-run games, and 2-5 in games decided by five runs or more. At 18-11 in games decided by two runs or less, their .621 winning percentage is fourth in the majors, and second in the league behind the Mets (16-6, .727). Their 29 close games is tied for third behind the Giants and Tigers at 30.

Again, such performances generally arent sustainable over the course of a full season. Last year, three teams finished with winning percentages above .600 in games decided by two runs or less, which was as many as the previous two seasons combined. From 2000 through 2011, just 21 teams have done so, around two per year. Such a frequency of close games generally wont last, either. The Marlins are on pace to play 92 such games, which would rank as the fourth-highest total since 2000. The record is held by Guillens world champion 2005 White Sox, who played 95 squeakers and went 61-34 (.642) in those games. Oddly enough, all five of the other teams who played at least 90 close games in a season had records below .500 in those games.

Sustaining such success in close games is hard because it usually comes down to clutch performances. Teams outdo their expected winning percentages (in terms of runs scored and runs allowed) by hitting or pitching especially well with runners on base or in scoring position, or in the tightest games what are generally referred to as high-leverage situations. For decades, sabermetricians have sought proof of the existence of clutch hitters players who routinely rise to the occasion and perform better and while anecdotally, fans tend to remember the big hits by the likes of David Ortiz and Derek Jeter, nobody, not even Bill James, has proven their existence to the satisfaction of the general stathead community. Thats not to say that clutch hits dont exist they happen every day its just that predicting who will be clutch is something of a fools errand. The best players tend to hit the best, regardless of the circumstances.

Clutch pitching is a bit of a different story, because managers have more control over how they deploy their relievers, particularly their best ones. They can bring them in to face the top hitters, whereas managers usually dont have a pinch-hitter better than their other hitters waiting in reserve, and they cant alter the order in which their players bat in big situations. Additionally, top closers such as Mariano Rivera tend to allow fewer hits on balls in play, seemingly in defiance of what weve learned over the past decade about the extent to which pitchers can control such outcomes.

So how are the Marlins doing it? Not with the wood in their hands; their batters are hitting a meager .233/.333/.344 with runners in scoring position, which in term of OPS ranks 11th, and is neither as good as their overall .246/.316/.381 line nor the NL average with runners in scoring position of .243/.334/.382. In high leverage situations, the Marlins are batting .249/.332/.398, which isnt significantly better than the league average of .254/.331/.392; their 730 OPS ranks eighth.

To the extent that one can put a finger on it, those close wins owe more to the pitching staff. Marlins pitchers have yielded a .232/.339/.334 line with runners in scoring position, compared to the NL average of .246/.337/.385; that resulting 673 OPS ranks fifth in the league, while the five home runs theyve yielded are tied for second. On the other hand, in high leverage situations the ones that have the greatest impact upon win expectancy, which generally arrive in the late innings when the number of outs is dwindling theyve yielded a .262/.339/.382 line, very close to to the NL average of .255/.331/.392; that resultant 722 OPS ranks 10th in the league.

Another way of looking at pitching performance under such circumstances is through Baseball Prospectus Fair Run Average stat. FRA expresses the number of runs allowed per nine innings after dividing up the responsibility when a pitcher departs with men on base by taking into account the run expectancy of the situation, the expected yield given the number of outs and the location of baserunners. It does away with the distinction between earned and unearned runs scaling about nine percent higher than ERA, pegged to the league scoring rate and adjusts for the quality of defensive support received. Furthermore, it credits the pitchers sequencing (a walk issued with the bases empty is less costly than one with the bases loaded) and his ability to get groundballs and infield popups, which come in handier with men on base.

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Jay Jaffe: Don't expect Marlins' success to last

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Last November, via a press release from a PR firm, the son of hip-hop mogulthe son ofDiddy/P. Diddy/Puff Daddy/Sean Puffy Combs announced that he was verbally committing to play football at UCLA. In February of this year, Justin Combs, who played his high school football in New Rochelle, New York, made good on that verbal pledge by putting pen to paper on National Signing Day.

Now, the fact that a very rich mans son will be utilizing a free scholarship has gotten some California residents unmentionables all wadded up.

A website called BusinessInsiders.com writes that state taxpayers are calling on the well-heeled freshman to turn over his $54,000 scholarship to students who need it more. Just who those taxpayers are isnt explained, although toward the end of the article the Occupy Wall Street movements rallying against tuition hikes at UCLA earlier this year is mentioned.

The argument appears to be that, since Justin Combs father is worth hundreds of millions of dollars, the family should be compelled to pay for his schooling regardless of his athletic merit that led to the scholarship offer in the first place.

Fortunately, theres a voice of well-reasoned sanity that can be heard above the inane howling.

Hesdone what he needs to do to be successful and in a meritocracy we have to accept that no matter who your father is, whether he be rich, poor or absent, that you can in fact be successful on your own merit, Dr. Steve Perry said during an interview on CNN. Theres nothing free about a Division I athletic scholarship. Its 40 hours-plus of work on campus every single week in order to maintain that scholarship. Theres nothing free about it, because this child will earn this.

This is about some people feeling that, because Sean P-Diddy Combs has in fact been successful, that his child should not receive any form of support for his own ability. We have to begin to celebrate success at some point in this country. We cant, as we say, hate on this brother (Combs dad) for his success or for his children for being able to be successful.

Amen.

UCLA determined that Combs, a cornerback, was worthy of receiving one of the couple of dozen or so football scholarships it hands out annually. Based on the Bruins evaluation of his football skills as well as what he brings to the academic side of the equation a 3.75 high school GPA what his father makes or doesnt make literally means nothing when it comes to exactly what the younger Combs received: a merit-based scholarship.

Read more from the original source:
CFT: Michigan-OSU recruiting spat continues

JIM WASHBURN WAS telling a story the other day, a story about himself, laced with equal parts down-home, self-deprecation and what-the-hell. It is what the Eagles defensive line coach does.

It was a story from back in 1999, when Washburn was interviewing for a defensive line coach job with Jeff Fisher, then the coach of the Tennessee Titans.

"It was me and him and Gregg Williams ooh, I shouldnt have said that," Washburn said, smiling. Williams, of course, is the man who was banished by the NFL for running a bounty program in New Orleans. Back then, Williams was the Titans defensive coordinator.

Washburn figured that Williams name isnt meant for polite NFL society at this point. So then he made sure to say it again.

"Me and him and Gregg Williams in Mobile, interviewing for a job," Washburn said. "I was coaching at the University of Houston. Jeff goes, You want to be the head coach someday, right? I said, Oh, no. He said, You want to be the coordinator, right? I said, No, I already did that and I was terrible.

He said, Oh, I got it. You want to be the best defensive line coach in the league, dont you? I said, Nah, Im not really interested in that. He said, What do you want to be? I said, I just want to coach the best defensive line in the league. Its not about me. I could care less. I just want to coach guys.

Thats the reason I came here," he said. "Because I knew this: theyre going to give you tools here. Some places, they dont. Some places, they dont have the contingency plan. If somebody gets hurt, they dont have a way to plug somebody in. Here, theyre going to get you players ... Thats all a life-timer like me, a position coach, can ask, is to have the tools. Theyre going to do that."

He has an overstocked cupboard this year, Jim Washburn does. In his second season on the Eagles staff, with the additions of draft choices Fletcher Cox and Vinny Curry, it is hard to imagine that, barring an injury, the Eagles arent going to have to let go of a good player or two from among Washburns group.

He calls Cox and Curry "sudden" and "quick" and "twitched-up dudes." He says Brandon Graham, a year removed from knee surgery, looks like a different player. When he talks about his bunch, led by Trent Cole, he lays it on pretty thick, and he realizes what he sounds like, and so he prefaces many of his comments with, "This is not the company line, or anything else ..."

Still, he keeps going.

Continue reading here:
Rich Hofmann: Eagles' line is all that matters to Jim Washburn

Getty Images

Last November, via a press release from a PR firm, the son of hip-hop mogulthe son ofDiddy/P. Diddy/Puff Daddy/Sean Puffy Combs announced that he was verbally committing to play football at UCLA. In February of this year, Justin Combs, who played his high school football in New Rochelle, New York, made good on that verbal pledge by putting pen to paper on National Signing Day.

Now, the fact that a very rich mans son will be utilizing a free scholarship has gotten some California residents unmentionables all wadded up.

A website called BusinessInsiders.com writes that state taxpayers are calling on the well-heeled freshman to turn over his $54,000 scholarship to students who need it more. Just who those taxpayers are isnt explained, although toward the end of the article the Occupy Wall Street movements rallying against tuition hikes at UCLA earlier this year is mentioned.

The argument appears to be that, since Justin Combs father is worth hundreds of millions of dollars, the family should be compelled to pay for his schooling regardless of his athletic merit that led to the scholarship offer in the first place.

Fortunately, theres a voice of well-reasoned sanity that can be heard above the inane howling.

Hesdone what he needs to do to be successful and in a meritocracy we have to accept that no matter who your father is, whether he be rich, poor or absent, that you can in fact be successful on your own merit, Dr. Steve Perry said during an interview on CNN. Theres nothing free about a Division I athletic scholarship. Its 40 hours-plus of work on campus every single week in order to maintain that scholarship. Theres nothing free about it, because this child will earn this.

This is about some people feeling that, because Sean P-Diddy Combs has in fact been successful, that his child should not receive any form of support for his own ability. We have to begin to celebrate success at some point in this country. We cant, as we say, hate on this brother (Combs dad) for his success or for his children for being able to be successful.

Amen.

UCLA determined that Combs, a cornerback, was worthy of receiving one of the couple of dozen or so football scholarships it hands out annually. Based on the Bruins evaluation of his football skills as well as what he brings to the academic side of the equation a 3.75 high school GPA what his father makes or doesnt make literally means nothing when it comes to exactly what the younger Combs received: a merit-based scholarship.

Continue reading here:
PHT: Big East TV deal not that lucrative

Walking to the front window he looks out every morning, Edward Mathewson wanted to see his flag.

The silk, hand-sewn stars and stripes had travelled a long way to reach the pole planted in the 80-year-old Navy veteran's front yard in Scranton.

From the arid skies over Camp Victory in Iraq and the military bases of Afghanistan, the flag found its way to Dunmore in the hands of Mathewson's son-in-law, Lt. Col. Patrick Cusick of the National Guard, who returned from his third tour of duty last year.

But there was no quiet rustling rising from his front yard on Memorial Day. His flag had disappeared.

"The first thought in my mind was 'Whoever took this flag out of my yard - I hope they rot in hell,' " Mathewson said Thursday.

Monday would have been trying enough without the loss of his home's proud adornment - this year's Memorial Day had fallen on the sixth anniversary of the death of his wife, Mary.

So, Mathewson celebrated the annual holiday as best he could and settled on a sad truth.

"I figured well, that's it. I'll probably never see it again," he said.

Mathewson soon learned that his story was not unique, and that the Dunmore Police Department may have found his flag - Officer Bob Ruddy had found a pile of about 30 flags stacked near Dunmore High School.

Mathewson headed over to the Dunmore Borough Building later that day with the hope of claiming his flag from the stack of stolen banners. He saw two attached to poles like his own.

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Dunmore police make veteran's morning with replacement of stolen flag

Regulation has become a suspect word in the minds of many. But that's not the case with the historic new building efficiency standards approved unanimously by the California Energy Commission on Thursday.

The standards have been greeted with universal approval and appropriately so. The building industry, environmentalists and utility firms helped fashion the new rules and enthusiastically embrace them.

The new standards for residential construction are 25 percent more efficient than the ones they replace and 30 percent more efficient for commercial construction.

Under them, beginning in 2014, home builders will be required to fit new houses with solar ready roofs, more efficient windows, insulated hot water pipes and whole house fans among other common sense improvements.

Nonresidential buildings will also have to have solar ready roofs under the standards, employ cool roof technologies and install high performance windows that maximize the use of "daylighting,"

The new efficiency rules will add $2,290 to the cost of the average new home, adding $11 a month to a conventional 30-year mortgage but saving homeowners $27 on monthly heating, cooling and lighting bills for a net monthly gain of $16.

According to the Energy Commission, overall, the new standards for both residential and nonresidential buildings translate to 25 percent less energy use for lighting, heating, cooling, ventilation and water heating than the 2008 standards they replace and the avoidance of an additional 155,000 tons of greenhouse gas emissions.

All in all, not a bad day for California regulators, for the environment and for consumers.

Copyright The Sacramento Bee. All rights reserved.

What You Should Know About Comments on Sacbee.com

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Editorial: New standards will save dollars and megawatts

Los Angeles, CA (PRWEB) June 01, 2012

As the Los Angeles real estate market recovers, builders are noticing a resurging interest in renovating older homes. True, the extravagant 12-room mansions of the boom years, for the most part, are a thing of the past with functional, traditional, elegant bungalow structures taking their place. However, that doesnt mean style has to be left behind.

Even those on a budget are splurging where it counts on quality materials and skilled labor, says Jeff Campbell, a Los Angeles general contractor specializing in constructing and renovating luxury homes whose clients include Hollywood directors, movie stars and other wealthy Angelinos. Not everyone can afford an expensive home, but they certainly can incorporate some of the materials and features to create that same luxurious feeling.

Here are some renovation ideas homeowners may want to use when remodeling their kitchen or bathroom:

The New High End Kitchen

High-end countertops and cabinets lead the way with new conveniences like built-in coffee centers, induction cooktops, warming drawers, and pot fillers faucets installed near the stove to eliminate the need to carry heavy pots from the sink. Sculptural stove hoods and retro kitchen appliances in colors such as red, yellow, and cobalt blue are becoming more popular. In addition, green is in with homeowners opting for energy efficient appliances, bamboo floors, and renewable and recycled materials for countertops such as quartz and concrete.

Bathroom Remodeling Trends

From heated floors to flat screen TVs and stereos with remote controls, homeowners are remodeling bathrooms with an emphasis on luxury and comfort. Spa-like bathrooms often include multi-head showerheads with adjustable settings in large frameless glass showers. Everything old is new again, with shapely bathtubs, nickel fixtures, vintage-style subway tiles, and ornamental borders all the rage. Glamorous lighting adds a touch of elegance and a fireplace can provide the truly luxurious experience.

Jeff Campbell Construction specializes in constructing and renovating high-end homes in Los Angeles and neighboring communities and can help homeowners incorporate any of these remodeling trends into their home at competitive prices. A third generation contractor, Jeff Campbell utilizes premium building materials and products and works directly with homeowners, their representatives, architects, designers, and real estate agents to provide a personal touch. His team of highly qualified licensed sub-contractors understands the personal attention and devotion that goes into crafting a truly unique home.

For more information about Jeff Campbell Construction, please visit their website at http://www.jeffcampbellconstruction.com.

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Beverly Hills Remodeling Contractor Announces New Trends in Luxury Remodeling