Home Builder Developer - Interior Renovation and Design

President Donald Trump said Tuesday that the White House will phase out its coronavirus task force and likely replace it with a group focused on "reopening" the U.S. economy.

When asked why he was winding down the group, even as health experts warn of a recurrence in cases later this year, Trump said, "Well, because we can't keep our country closed for the next five years."

If a recurrence does happen, "It'll be a flame," Trump said at a roundtable event in Phoenix, Arizona, "and we'll put the flame out."

The gradual phaseout of the group would come as states begin relaxing their strict social distancing measures even as some regions see an uptick in Covid-19 cases.

Vice President Mike Pence, who oversees the task force, confirmed in a meeting with reporters Tuesday that the administration is having conversations about transitioning the coronavirus response to other federal agencies.

"We've already begun to talk about a transition plan with FEMA," said Pence, who suggested the wind-down is "all a reflection of the tremendous progress we've made as a country."

The administration is looking at starting that transition as soon as late May, Pence said.

"I think we're starting to look at the Memorial Day window, early June window as a time when we could begin to transition back to having our agencies begin to manage begin to manage our national response in a more traditional manner," the vice president said.

Trump said at the roundtable Tuesday afternoon: "Mike Pence and the task force have done a great job, but we're now looking at a little bit of a different form, and that form is safety and opening, and we'll have a different group probably set up for that."

The task force, which includes response coordinator Dr. Deborah Birx and National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases Director Dr. Anthony Fauci, has already been moved out of the spotlight. On-camera press briefings with the task force, once a near-daily occurrence, have not been held since April 24, and a source told CNBC that the operation has been meeting less frequently.

But Fauci told CBS in an interview Tuesday afternoon that the task force is not winding down.

"That's not true, I've been in every task force meeting, and that's not what they are doing," Fauci said, CBS reported.

The New York Timesfirst reported earlier Tuesday that the task force would be wound down in the weeks ahead, and that itmay never be formally disbanded.It is unclear if any other group might replace the current task force.

Pence advisor Olivia Troye and other top White House staff have told senior officials involved in the group to expect it to wind down within weeks, the Times reported.

With the U.S. economy tanking amid the outbreak, President Donald Trump has expressed an eagerness for governors to begin the process of "reopening" their states by lifting some of the restrictionsdesigned to try to slow the spread of the disease.

A self-described cheerleader for the country amid the pandemic, Trump has predicted a sweeping economic rebound by the end of the year, when he is up for reelection. "We'll open it up and I think your fourth quarter is going to be very good," Trump said in a New York Post interview published Tuesday morning.

But experts say that new Covid-19 infections and deaths could start to rise as states reopen for business.

More than 1.1 million cases and at least 70,115 deaths from the coronavirus have been confirmed in the U.S., according to data from Johns Hopkins University.

Before the task force's daily press events at the White House were apparently scrapped, Trump had assumed a starring role in the briefings, which became marked by his lengthy and often combative exchanges with reporters.

Critics had accused Trump of co-opting the briefings and turning them into de facto reelection campaign events, since social distancing measures prevented him from staging the massive rallies that he previously held on the campaign trail. Even some of Trump's allies reportedly questioned whether his extended appearances were doing more harm than good.

Trump's use of the briefings appeared to come to an abrupt end on April 23 when, in apparently off-the-cuff remarks, he speculated about whether injecting disinfectants could work as a treatment for the virus.

"I see the disinfectant, where it knocks it out in a minute. One minute. And is there a way we can do something like that, by injection inside or almost a cleaning," Trump said. "Because you see it gets in the lungs, and it does a tremendous number on the lungs. So it would be interesting to check that."

Trump tried to walk back the remarks the following day, claiming he was being "sarcastic." The president took no questions at the briefing later that evening. No on-camera press briefings with the task force have been scheduled since.

Read this article:
Trump defends coronavirus team phaseout: 'We can't keep our country closed for the next 5 years' - CNBC

The Windows 10 May 2020 Update will be rolling out this month.

Microsoftis rolling out the Windows 10 ($120 at Walmart) May 2020 Update this month, bringing new features to help with productivity, security and speed. The update -- also known asWindows 10 versions 2004 and 20H1, and formerly referred to as the April 2020 Update -- is expected to start rolling out to mainstream users on May 28.

Read more: How to upgrade to Windows 10 for free

Windows 10 is now on more than 1 billion devices worldwide, Microsoft said in March. Now that support for Windows 7 is officially over, Microsoft is encouraging users to either upgrade their PC to Windows 10 to keep it running smoothly and securely or buy a new computer.

Major refreshes to the OS come about every six months, with the most recent being the November 2019 update. Early reports from our sister site ZDNet are that the latest update -- currently available as a preview release -- takes anywhere from 7 to 17 minutes to install.

Here's what we know so far about the Windows 10 May 2020 update.

Read more:The best antivirus protection of 2020 for Windows 10

For those in the Windows Insider Program, the May 2020 Update has been available as a preview release for about a year (again, it was originally referred to as the April 2020 update, but given the coronavirus pandemic, its release was pushed back).

The final version is expected to roll out to developers on May 12, and to mainstream users starting May 28, ZDNet reported.

If you want access to the preview release now, you can join the Windows 10 Insider Slow Ring, and toggle the Stop Getting Preview Builds option to On. (This allows you to use the current preview and keeps it from being replaced by future ones as they arrive.) Otherwise, you can wait until the update's general release.

The Windows 10 May 2020 update includes a number of changes for users, according to Microsoft, such as:

Read more: You have a new PC or laptop. Here's how to set it up the best way

Microsoft will end support for Windows 10 1809(also known as the October 2018 update) Home, Pro, Pro Education and Pro for Workstations editions in November of this year (this was originally scheduled to happen in May, but again, Microsoft delayed it due to the impact of coronavirus). Enterprise and Education editions support will last until May 2021.

You can still use version 1809, but the loss of Microsoft support means you will no longer get important security patches or other updates.

Read more:20 pro tips to make Windows 10 work the way you want (free PDF)(TechRepublic)

Nope. Microsoft recommends that you update, of course, but it's not mandatory -- unless you're about to hit an end-of-service date for the version you're currently running. You can find out more about the update process onZDNet.

To see which version of Windows 10 you have, go to Settings > System > About and scroll to Windows Specifications, where you'll find the edition and version number.

If you have version 1903 (released in May 2019) and want to keep it, you have until December 2020 before support ends. And if you have version 1909 (released in November 2019), you have until May 2021 to update.

In a Monday blog post, Panos Panay, Microsoft's chief product officer of Windows and devices, gave an update on the Windows 10X operating system. The OS was announced last year, and designed to work with new dual-screenSurface Neodevices, which are not yet available. However, given the changes in the world and the fact that most people are sticking to more typical laptops and two-in-one devices right now, Microsoft will pivot the focus of Windows 10X to single-screen devices instead, Panay wrote.

"With Windows 10X, we designed for flexibility, and that flexibility has enabled us to pivot our focus toward single-screen Windows 10X devices that leverage the power of the cloud to help our customers work, learn and play in new ways," Panay wrote in the post. "These single-screen devices will be the first expression of Windows 10X that we deliver to our customers, and we will continue to look for the right moment, in conjunction with our OEM partners, to bring dual-screen devices to market."

For more, check outWindows 10 tips and tricksand6 simple security changes all Windows 10 users need to make.

Now playing: Watch this: How to take Windows 10 screenshots

2:04

View post:
Windows 10 May 2020 update: Everything you need to know - CNET

Windows 10 Sticky Notes allows you to store short notes and reminders that can be referred to over and over. Backing up those notes can be simple or complicated.

The most current version of Microsoft Windows 10 includes a note-taking application called Sticky Notes. Just like the pads of paper that inspired it, Sticky Notes gives users a place to store short notes and reminders that can be referred to over and over again. The beauty of this digital version of the system is that your sticky notes can be synchronized across all your devices.

However, Microsoft has chosen to obscure the inner workings of the Sticky Notes system from users, which caused a bit of frustration for reader dacostam, who asked for help with backing up his notes. In general, there are two ways to back up and restore Sticky Notesone easy and one much more complicated.

Disclosure:TechRepublic may earn a commission from some of the products featured on this page. TechRepublic and the author were not compensated for this independent review.

This how-to tutorial explains where Windows 10 Sticky Notes are stored and shows you how to back up and restore your notes and reminders.

SEE: Research: SMB IT stack decisions based on fulfilling business needs (TechRepublic Premium)

The easiest and most effective way to back up your Sticky Notes is with the built-in synchronization of the app itself. The first step in this process is to log into Windows 10 with an active Microsoft account set of credentials. Then, with Sticky Notes open, click the gear icon in the upper right corner to open the Settings screen, as shown in Figure A.

Figure A

Scroll down to the Sync now button and click it. Now, all of your Sticky Notes will be available to any device that logs in using that same Microsoft account. A simple but useful application of cloud technology. Click the arrow to get back the Sticky Notes app.

SEE:How to sync Sticky Notes across devices in Windows 10(TechRepublic)

In Windows 10, Sticky Notes are stored in a single file located deep in the user folders. You can manually copy that SQLite database file for safekeeping to any other folder, drive, or cloud storage service to which you have access.

Log in to Windows 10 using your Microsoft account credentials, then open File Explorer. Navigate to this file folder:

C:UsersUsernameAppDataLocalPackagesMicrosoft.MicrosoftStickyNotes_8wekyb3d8bbweLocalState

In that folder (Figure B), you will find a filed named: plum.sqlite. That is the SQLite database file we are looking for. Copy that file to another location to back up your Sticky Notes.

Figure B

When it comes time to restore your Sticky Notes, log in to Windows 10 using your Microsoft account credentials and then open Task Manager. Find Sticky Notes in the list of running applications (Figure C), click it and then press the End task button to close it out. That will release the current plum.sqlite file.

Figure C

Close Task Manager and open File Explorer. Navigate back to the same folder as before and paste your backup plum.sqlite file. When asked, say "yes" to replacing the current file by that name in the destination folder.

Close File Explorer and restart Sticky Notes. Your restored notes and reminders should not be displayed.

SEE:How to use Microsoft's Sticky Notes in Windows 10, on the web, and on your mobile device(TechRepublic)

Obviously, the complicated process for backing up and restoring Sticky Notes is not the preferred method. Opting to let Microsoft Windows 10 do the heavy lifting and synchronize your Sticky Notes to all your devices is the most efficient method. Under normal conditions, you will not even notice the synchronization process as it happens.

However, while the complicated method may be used as an option of last resort under extreme circumstances, there is one important caveat: Restoring from a saved plum.sqlite file will completely delete all the Sticky Notes stored in the current file, so proceed with caution.

Be your company's Microsoft insider by reading these Windows and Office tips, tricks, and cheat sheets. Delivered Mondays and Wednesdays

Image: strixcode, Getty Images/iStockphoto

See the rest here:
How to back up and restore Sticky Notes in Windows 10 - TechRepublic

Having looked over 28 years of transfer data for my list of the 100 best Premier League transfers -- 100-51 here and 50-1 here -- it is time to go in the opposite direction. Say goodbye to Thierry Henry and hello to Bebe. It's time for the 50 worst transfers in Premier League history.

2 Related

I tried to keep the rules for determining the worst transfer simple. In short, I wanted to measure the impact a player had on a club versus the impact he would have been expected to have when he signed originally. I paid special attention to anyone whose story or impact off the pitch was particularly notable. And while I considered only a player's performance as a Premier Leaguer in the best transfers piece, in this feature I factored in what he did after relegation if it continued to make the transfer look worse, most notably with anyone whose wages continued to drag down his team.

One more note: All the transfer values in this column are from Transfermarkt. Some of that data might be at odds with what was publicly reported at the time.

Eric Djemba-Djemba (Manchester United) is the patron saint of these sorts of lists, but I really think it's more about his name than anything else. The Cameroonian cost only 4.1 million when he was signed by United in 2003, and as a 22-year-old, he was more of a prospect than a realistic replacement for Roy Keane. If he were named Eric Stevens and arrived from Bradford City, Djemba-Djemba would not get the same sort of attention he has since leaving United.

Several strikers who flamed out in a short time span miss out, including Ricky van Wolfswinkel (Norwich City), Jozy Altidore (Sunderland) and Andreas Cornelius (Cardiff City).

I'm not quite prepared to rule on most of the transfer flops of the 2019-20 campaign given the unique position we find ourselves in because of the coronavirus outbreak, so Tanguy Ndombele (Tottenham) Joelinton (Newcastle) and Moise Kean (Everton) get a pass, at least for now.

- Stream new episodes of ESPN FC weekdays on ESPN+- Stream every episode of 30 for 30: Soccer Stories on ESPN+

Signed from Real Mallorca (Spain) for 6 million, 1999

At a time when English football was still relatively insular and distrustful of foreign players, Marcelino became the caricature of what could go wrong if a team dared look outside the British Isles for talent. The Spain international couldn't stay healthy early in his tenure on Tyneside, and after Ruud Gullit was sacked, Sir Bobby Robson simply didn't trust him.

Having developed a reputation as a "bottler," he spent four years with the club but played just 17 matches, including zero across his final two years in the Premier League. While Marcelino helped Rafa Benitez prepare for his time managing Newcastle and returned to watch his old team play, supporters still asked about the finger injury that cost the defender more than two months on the sideline.

Signed from Chelsea for 3.2 million, 2001

Signed as a 35-year-old to replace Neil Lennon in midfield, Wise immediately presided over Leicester's relegation from the Premier League. He then showed up to training camp the next summer in Finland and punched teammate Callum Davidson in a card game spat, breaking the Scottish player's cheekbone. The punch cost Wise the 3m remaining on his Leicester deal and is likely the best thing he ever did for the club, which soon entered administration.

Signed from Monaco (France) for 5.9 million, 2011

When does the transfer window reopen? Karlsen: Possible coronavirus impact Best ever transfers: 100-51 | 50-1 This summer's top free agents January transfer grades Latest completed major transfers

The South Korea international was one of several signings Arsene Wenger seemed to make in a panic at the end of the 2011 summer transfer window, just days after his club had been ripped to shreds in an 8-2 defeat at Old Trafford.

While the club signed future manager Mikel Arteta and academy boss Per Mertesacker, they also added overmatched left-back Andre Santos and striker Park over the two-day span, with the latter leaving his hotel in the middle of a medical with French side Lille to sign for the Gunners. While Santos had his own issues, Park played a total of eight minutes in the Premier League over two-plus seasons with the club.

Signed from PAOK Salonika (Greece) for 2.4 million, 2000

Also known as Tyson Nunez, the Honduran made just one substitute appearance during his time on Wearside, which is fitting for a player whom Sunderland signed by accident. Sunderland manager Peter Reid was reportedly attempting to sign 6-foot-0 future MetroStars striker Adolfo Valencia to his team, but he mistakenly ended up with 5-foot-4 Nunez instead.

The whole situation ended up in a lawsuit, although Nunez wasn't totally sidelined during his time with the Black Cats. He scored a brace in a 3-2 Honduras road win at RFK Stadium against the U.S., which was the last World Cup qualifier the U.S. lost on home soil for 15 years.

Signed from Crystal Palace for 26 million, 2016

While Everton's recruitment in the Farhad Moshiri era has been inconsistent at best, few would have argued with the signing of the 27-year-old Bolasie from Crystal Palace when it happened. Sadly, the winger tore his ACL months after arriving and hasn't been the same player since.

The Congo international missed nearly a full year and has made just 29 appearances over four seasons at Everton, with the club loaning him to Aston Villa, Anderlecht and Sporting Lisbon. Bolasie, reportedly earning something close to 80,000-per-week, has produced more loans (three) than league goals (two) during his time at Goodison Park.

Signed from Real Madrid (Spain) for 67.5 million, 2014

One of the most significant examples of United's habit of getting the least out of world-class players, Di Maria got off to an impressive-enough start at Old Trafford after being signed for a British transfer record. The Argentine was named club Player of the Month in October but, after missing time with a hamstring injury, never seemed to regain his old form.

His family was understandably unsettled by an attempted robbery in February, while the star winger was scapegoated for Louis van Gaal's uninspiring debut season. He was sold to PSG after one season at a loss of 10.8m, at which point Di Maria returned to his old self.

Signed from Heerenveen (Netherlands) for 15.3 million, 2008

Sometimes, you mine the Eredivisie for its top scorer and come away with Ruud van Nistelrooy. Other times, you end up with Alves, who had scored 44 goals in 39 matches for Heerenveen before joining Middlesbrough in the winter transfer window. He was actually decent in his first half-season with the club, scoring six goals in 651 minutes, but the subsequent year was a disaster.

In 2008-09, Alves scored just four times in 31 appearances for a Boro team that netted just 28 goals all season, the fewest of any Premier League club. Gareth Southgate's team unsurprisingly went down, with Alves taking much of the blame before leaving for Al-Sadd.

Signed from Udinese for 6.1 million, 2005

Few players have had briefer Premier League careers than the Denmark international, who joined high-flying Everton in summer 2005 and immediately suffered a groin injury. When he recovered, manager David Moyes inserted him into the lineup for a Boxing Day fixture against Aston Villa, which Everton lost 4-0.

After one January appearance as a sub in the FA Cup, Everton cut their losses and sold Kroldrup to Fiorentina for 3.6m. The 6-foot-4 defender had a fine career outside of England, but even he admitted he couldn't cope with English football.

Signed from Middlesbrough for 15.2 million, 2018

When Sean Dyche shelled out a club-record 15m to sign Gibson, Burnley thought they were signing an emerging central defender on the fringes of the England team. Over nearly two full seasons, though, Gibson has made a total of one Premier League appearance, scoring in a 5-1 defeat at the hands of Everton. He was last seen training with Middlesbrough and has likely completed his Clarets career.

Signed from Lokomotiv Moscow (Russia) for 16.1 million, 2016

Another recent Everton flop, Niasse has had a tenure with the club that has been downright bizarre. Signed by Roberto Martinez during the winter transfer window, Niasse played only 131 minutes over five matches before being told he had no future with the club by new boss Ronald Koeman.

After outlasting Koeman on Merseyside, Niasse became a bit of a cult hero and scored eight times in 22 appearances. Since then, though, he has played just 77 minutes over two seasons, mixing in a scoreless loan spell at Cardiff. His Everton career will end this summer.

Signed from Ternana (Italy) for 10.2 million, 2001

With the days of Alan Shearer and Chris Sutton gone, you can understand why the recently promoted Rovers made their move to sign the 25-year-old Grabbi, who had finished second in Serie B after scoring 20 goals for lowly Ternana the prior season.

Graeme Souness was hoping to come away with a budding star, but Grabbi failed miserably in England and scored just once in his debut season, losing his place to Andy Cole. Grabbi finished his run in England with two Premier League goals in 950 minutes across three seasons before returning to his home country.

Signed from Liverpool for 52.7 million, 2011

Most of the players on this list have not been up to the standards of the Premier League, but Torres is a different sort of problem. While he was one of the best strikers on the planet during his time at Atletico Madrid and Liverpool, he was surprisingly ordinary after signing for Chelsea.

Torres scored 65 league goals in 7,856 minutes for Liverpool, or about once every 120.8 minutes; after signing for Chelsea, he netted a mere 20 league goals in 6,824 minutes, which was closer to once every 341 minutes. He was 26 upon his arrival, so it wasn't as if Chelsea signed a player who should have been past his peak. It just never seemed to come together in West London for the World Cup winner, who scored just once in his first half-season and never topped eight Premier League goals in his time with the club.

Chelsea eventually let Torres, the most expensive player on this list, leave on a free transfer. His tenure didn't live up to expectations, but fans still have some fond memories of his time with the club, most notably his goal at Barcelona that sealed a place in the 2012 Champions League final.

Signed from Newcastle United for 36.9 million, 2011

The player signed to replace Torres didn't turn out too well, either. There was understandable shock when Liverpool broke their club record for the second time in a matter of hours, but while the 22.8m move for Ajax's Luis Suarez turned out to be a work of genius, Carroll's signing proved to be a misstep.

The 22-year-old had really spent only one half-season as a starting striker for Newcastle in the top flight, scoring 11 goals in 19 games, but injuries and coaching changes marginalized the lanky striker. He scored just six goals in 44 matches for Liverpool before being shipped off to West Ham.

Signed from Lazio (Italy) for 38.3 million, 2001

Dan Thomas is joined by Craig Burley, Shaka Hislop and a host of other guests every day as football plots a path through the coronavirus crisis. Stream on ESPN+ (U.S. only).

In hindsight, it does seem a little curious that Sir Alex Ferguson attempted to break up that famous midfield of Ryan Giggs, Roy Keane, Paul Scholes and David Beckham by making Veron the most expensive transfer in English history at the time. Veron was a more complete player than any of the four, but as Gary Neville said with the benefit of hindsight, he wasn't a like-for-like replacement for either of United's central midfielders.

Ferguson saw Veron as a unique difference-maker and famously defended the player in an expletive-filled rant to the media, but despite winning Player of the Month in his first full month with the club, Veron seemed to wither by the end of his first season and never seemed to find the right role with the club. United cut their losses after two years and sold him to Chelsea for 19.3m.

Signed from Torino (Italy) for an unknown fee, 1995

One of the top scorers in Serie A in 1994 and a one-time Italy international, Silenzi was unfairly positioned as the replacement for Stan Collymore, who had just been sold to Liverpool. Ostracized as the first Italian in Premier League history, Silenzi failed to score in 12 appearances, only three of which were starts. Forest then sent Silenzi back to Italy on a loan from which he never returned.

Signed from Lorient (France) for 18 million, 2016

Signed from Chelsea for 8.6 million, 2016

I'll link these two players because they both went through a similar saga. Sunderland signed Ndong and Djilobodji in summer 2016. Neither impressed as Sunderland finished with just 24 points and were relegated. Ndong was a much better player than Djilobodji, but both of their Stadium of Light careers ended the same way. They each went on loan during Sunderland's infamous follow-up season, when they were relegated for a second consecutive campaign. Both were released after failing to report for training over the summer, a tactic the club likely preferred to get their respective wages off the books.

Signed from Venezia (Italy) on a free transfer, 1999

Other sources have suggested Taibi cost 4.5m, but at any price, his brief run as United goalkeeper was a disaster. Ferguson signed Taibi to compete with Mark Bosnich and Raymond van der Gouw as the Scot tried to replace Peter Schmeichel. The Italian started only four matches for United, allowing 11 goals in the process, most notably that famous gaffe against Southampton's Matt Le Tissier.

That came in Taibi's third appearance, and while the 6-foot-3 keeper blamed his studs, there were no such excuses when Taibi allowed five goals against Chelsea in his fourth and final appearance for United. Ferguson's other keepers allowed only 34 goals across their other 34 games, though, as United comfortably won the league.

Signed from Everton for 13.8 million, 2001

Arguably the first significant transfer misfire of the Wenger era, the 20-year-old Jeffers was famously signed to serve as the "fox in the box" for an Arsenal team that had only the likes of Thierry Henry and Dennis Bergkamp to rely upon for scoring. Jeffers had some injury issues even before signing for the Gunners, but the reality is that he just wasn't a great player. He scored six Premier League goals in three consecutive seasons for Everton as a teenager, then never topped that mark in any season at any level afterward. He scored just four goals in 548 minutes for Arsenal before beginning the itinerant phase of his career.

Signed from Olympiakos (Greece) for 13.7 million, 2014

With Fulham attempting to avoid relegation, the addition of Mitroglou seemed like a coup. The Greece international had scored 30 goals in his prior 36 appearances for Olympiakos, which led the Cottagers to shell out a club-record fee to sign him in January.

But if you don't remember Mitroglou's career at Craven Cottage, well, you aren't alone. Fulham sacked Rene Meulensteen and replaced him with Felix Magath, whose hyper-emphasis on fitness led the German to omit Mitroglou from the team. The striker played just 153 scoreless minutes for relegated Fulham and never appeared for the club again. He went back to Olympiakos on loan and then to Benfica before being sold to the Portuguese club for 6.3m in 2016.

Signed from Sparta (Holland) for 653,000, 1995

Things started bad and didn't get much better for Boogers, who was sent off in his second appearance for the Hammers after an attempt to saw off Gary Neville's leg at the knee. Boogers would make just two more appearances for West Ham and finished his Premier League career with 100 total minutes on the pitch.

When he returned to Netherlands during his four-game suspension for the Neville tackle, a misheard quote from West Ham's press officer led the Sun to publish a headline suggesting Boogers had left the club to live in a Dutch caravan. The story wasn't true, but, after a knee injury, he did return to his homeland to finish his career.

Signed from Valencia (Spain) for 6.3 million, 2010

Six-foot-7 Zigic scored the opener in Birmingham's 2-1 Carling Cup final win over Arsenal, but the rest of his Birmingham tenure was less notable. He scored five goals in his first season as the club were relegated, and while he managed 28 goals over three years in the Championship, Birmingham simply couldn't get rid of the Serbia international.

Zigic was reportedly on 50,000-a-week and had no clause to reduce his wages in the case of relegation. With no takers, he lingered for years. It peaked with what manager Lee Clark called "the worst training session I have ever come across" in 2013.

Signed from Real Madrid (Spain) for 22.5 million, 2005

Here are the top 100 players and managers in men's soccer, as rated by our experts.

You can't fault Newcastle for trying. With Alan Shearer entering his final year at the club, they tried to sign the best possible replacement for their club legend by bringing Owen back to England. Injuries had blunted his impact during a lone season in Madrid, but the pacey English star was still only 25 and had scored 70 goals across his final four seasons with Liverpool.

Everything went wrong for Owen during his first two seasons with the club, when he suffered thigh and foot injuries before tearing his ACL in the opening moments of England's 2006 World Cup game against Sweden. Owen played just 14 games over those first two years on Tyneside and, while the next two were better, he still managed only 19 league goals over 4,073 minutes and a total of 26 over his four years in black and white.

Signed from Bayern Munich (Germany) for 22.5 million, 2007

While Hargreaves had battled injury issues before making his move to England in summer 2007, nobody could have anticipated just how badly the England international would fare in his struggle to stay healthy. Hargreaves won the double in his debut season for United, but his career was basically over at 27.

The Canada-born midfielder would make just five more appearances in the Premier League, four of which came over his final three seasons with United. After one subsequent 14-minute appearance for Manchester City, Hargreaves retired.

Signed from Derby County for 10.4 million, 2001

Another English midfielder whose career was cut short in his 20s by injury, Johnson is most famous for the perhaps-apocryphal story surrounding his signing with Leeds. As it goes, Johnson arrived for his negotiations with Leeds chairman Peter Ridsdale hoping to come away with 13,000-per-week. Ridsdale's initial offer was 30,000-per-week, and when Johnson gasped, Ridsdale misconstrued the sentiment and upped his offer to 37,000-per-week. It became the perfect encapsulation of how Leeds' spending spree at the turn of the century went disastrously wrong.

Johnson struggled to stay healthy, and once the club entered administration and were relegated to the Championship, they were stuck in an impossible situation. He had made 59 appearances for the club, but with the 60th set to trigger a 250,000 payment to Derby that Leeds couldn't afford, Johnson sat on the bench for the remainder of the season. He would return to Derby on a free transfer, in part because he was impressed with the club's training facilities. They had been funded by Johnson's sale to Leeds.

Signed from Dynamo Kyiv (Ukraine) for 16.2 million, 2000

Rebrov was part of a famous strike partnership with Andrey Shevchenko at Kyiv. While Shevchenko starred at Milan before disappointing at Chelsea, Rebrov went directly into the anonymous English phase of his career.

Spurs were hoping to see the striker who scored 10 times in the Champions League during his final season with Kyiv, but Rebrov managed just 10 Premier League goals over 59 appearances, including one in 30 during his second season. Spurs then loaned him to Fenerbahce for the remainder of his contract.

Signed from Espanyol (Spain) on a free transfer, 2019

The only player signed in the present season on this list, Roberto's career with the Hammers was short but disastrous. Taking over for injured Lukasz Fabianski, calamitous performances saw Roberto allow 14 goals (including an own goal) across his seven starts. West Ham claimed just one point from those matches, and Roberto's struggles led the club to sack manager Manuel Pellegrini and director of football Mario Husillos.

The Hammers had a 31% chance of going down when the Premier League season was stalled and, given they were averaging 1.2 points per match without Roberto, it would be fair to pin a significant amount of blame on him if they do go down. Other players have cost more and failed to live up to much higher expectations, but very few players can inspire total regime change and open up the possibility of relegation in 686 minutes of football.

Signed from Porto (Portugal) for 21.8 million, 2016

Stoke aren't the sort of club who would typically spend this much money on any one player, so there was a lot of pressure on club-record signing Imbula to make an immediate impact after Stoke signed him away from Porto. Charlie Adam compared Imbula to Patrick Vieira when he signed for the club in 2016, and given that Vieira was 40 years old at the time, it was probably fair.

Imbula became the symbol of Stoke's rapid decline and departure from the Premier League, as the midfielder made just 26 appearances over his two years with the club. He was dropped to the U-23 team and loaned out as Stoke were relegated. Imbula then helped Vallecano get relegated from La Liga before being sent home from his loan in Serie A with Lecce after three appearances. Stoke cancelled Imbula's contract by mutual consent with 18 months to go.

Signed from West Bromwich Albion for 12.5 million, 2017

I would argue that once-promising Berahino did more to consign Stoke to the Championship. In 28 matches and 1,214 minutes for Stoke in the Premier League, he failed to score even once. After scoring three goals in the second tier the next season, the club terminated Berahino's contract after he was arrested on charges of driving drunk.

Signed from Porto (Portugal) for 40.5 million, 2014

Mangala looked to be a rising superstar when City spent more than 40m to buy him from Porto, but Mangala was inconsistent under Manuel Pellegrini and frozen out under Pep Guardiola.

The defender started just four more league matches under the former Barcelona manager and was loaned to Valencia and Everton. Mangala was allowed to leave for Valencia on a free transfer this summer and has the third-largest gap between his transfer fee and subsequent sale return of any player in Premier League history.

Signed from Manchester City for 11.3 million, 2014

It's unclear whether the one-time England international simply stalled after his rise at Everton or really wasn't all that good in the first place. Sunderland signed Rodwell after a two-year spell at Man City and gave him a contract worth 70,000-per-week, crucially leaving out a clause that would have reduced his salary if the Black Cats were relegated to the Championship. When Rodwell's indifferent play and struggles with injury helped push Sunderland into the second tier, they were stuck with one of the most expensive players in the division.

That would have been one thing if Rodwell were a key member of the club, but he played just 105 minutes as Sunderland were relegated again. Facing a 43,000-per-week salary in League 1, they were able to convince Rodwell to cancel his contract. He became the symbol of Sunderland's fall down the league as an overpaid, uninterested mistake. You can criticize him for taking the money, I suppose, but Sunderland are the ones who handed him the contract.

Signed from Necaxa (Mexico) for 5.2 million, 2002

It should be telling that Southampton were more surprised when Delgado showed up in 2003 than they would have been if he had stayed home. Then one of the club's biggest signings, Delgado got on Gordon Strachan's bad side after seemingly prioritizing trips back to Ecuador for his national team over playing for the Saints.

He played just 65 minutes and trained five times in his first season after joining Southampton in 2002, only to then play all three matches for Ecuador in the World Cup. Delgado made just two starts and played a mere 303 minutes over his three years in England, scoring once. His time ended with Southampton threatening to block him from signing with another club until his contract expired, seemingly out of frustrated spite.

Read more:
Ranking the 50 worst Premier League transfers of all time - ESPN

Tom Thibodeau's intense, old school style will probably return to an NBA bench next season. Should ... [+] it? Photo by Maddie Meyer/Getty Images

Tom Thibodeau knows how to win.

He won as an assistant under head coaches like Doc Rivers and Jeff Van Gundy and as a head coach with the Chicago Bulls and, to a far lesser extent, the Minnesota Timberwolves. But after a tenure as a coach and lead executive in Minnesota ended after two-and-a-half underwhelming seasons, Thibodeau is reportedly ready to jump back into coaching.

The New York Post reported Monday that while the New York Knicks will get the first crack at Thibs, the Brooklyn Nets and Houston Rockets would also be interested. But there are significant questions whether Thibodeau can adjust and adapt to a modern NBA that is more player-centric than ever before.

Tom Thibodeau is not for everyone.

Though he made the playoffs in each of his five seasons with Chicago, advancing twice to the second round and once to the conference finals led by excellent defense, he often clashed with management (which now looks like a good thing based on how things went with Gar Forman and John Paxson) and had a reputation for demanding a ton from his players. He had a reputation for playing his guys heavy minutes and not resting them enough, but players like Jimmy Butler, Joakim Noah, Luol Deng, Derrick Rose and Taj Gibson swore by him.

Thibodeau was able to get a lot out of the Bulls during his five seasons in Chicago, though he was ... [+] criticized for playing his core guys too many minutes. Photo by Jason Miller/Getty Images

Chicago had a trademark style of strong defense and hard-nosed play under Thibodeau, and he tried to re-create that with Minnesota. But he inherited an extremely young Wolves team prior to the 2016-2017 season, with the main core of Karl-Anthony Towns, Andrew Wiggins and Zach LaVine all in their age-21 season and rotation pieces like Ricky Rubio, Gorgui Dieng, Shabazz Muhammad, Nemanja Bjelica and Kris Dunn all under 30. They went 31-51, finishing 27th in defensive rating.

So Thibodeau the executive tried to create Bulls 2.0 in Minnesota by swinging a blockbuster trade for Butler, signing veterans like Gibson and Jeff Teague and eventually Rose. The Wolves finished 27th in defense but fourth in offense in 2017-2018, making the playoffs for the first time in 14 years by beating Denver on the final night of the regular season. After a quick first round exit against Houston, things went off the rails.

Though Thibs kept the team mainly intact, re-signing Rose, making a sneaky good move in inking Josh Okogie, bringing in Deng and maxing out Towns after doing the same with Wiggins the year before, Butler demanded a trade and things got out of control. Thibs couldnt convince his prized pupil to stay and eventually traded Butler to Philadelphia.

Minnesota majority stakeholder Glen Taylor saw that the young group wasnt responding to Thibodeau, a season after Towns, Wiggins and Gibson all finished in the top 14 in the NBA in total minutes played. As Berman notes in his piece, no Thibs-coached team has ever finished in the top half of the league in 3-pointers made per game. In an era of threes, player empowerment, rest and load management, Thibodeau relied on the opposite and it backfired.

Thibodeau couldn't connect well enough with young players like Towns, and things fell apart quickly ... [+] in the 2018-2019 season despite a decent record. Photo by Hannah Foslien/Getty Images

Can Tom Thibodeau change his ways to reflect the modern game?

Hed have to with a young team like the Knicks, who are reportedly looking at options to replace interim head coach Mike Miller, who in turn replaced the fired David Fizdale, who was given a poorly-fitted group to work with and an unrealistic set of expectations from ownership to attain. But Thibodeau worked with new team president Leon Rose while at CAA and there could be a fit in that regard.

With cap space to burn and a top draft pick coming, can Thibodeau work with and develop young players like R.J. Barrett, Mitchell Robinson, Frank Ntilikina, Kevin Knox and whoever else is on the New York roster when next season begins, rather than hinder their growth in favor of young players in a misguided quest for mediocrity? Though those players would do well learning some defense, toughness and tenacity, they also shouldnt be run into the ground, either. It sure seems like he would be a better fit for a veteran squad closer to winning now.

Brooklyn and Houston would certainly qualify. The Nets championship window is as open as its ever been the next couple of seasons, and Kyrie Irving, Kevin Durant and company could benefit from a coach with pedigree and gravitas. But he needs to improve the way he allocates minutes to players and how he rests them, things he was reportedly working on when he made visits to teams like the Clippers, coached by former mentor Doc Rivers.

How would Kyrie Irving respond to a tough-minded coach like Thibodeau? Photo by Mike Stobe/Getty ... [+] Images

But would the Nets stars bristle at a disciplinarian like Thibodeau and eventually either tune him out or outright rebel? Its why I think Mike DAntoni would make a better fit for Brooklyn than Thibs.

However, DAntoni is coaching the Rockets right now, but he may not be for long. If either he or Houston decided not to renew his expiring contract, Thibodeau could be an interesting fit for a veteran Rockets team constructed to win now. Hed have to manage two superstars in James Harden and Russell Westbrook and would have to embrace the Rockets fast pace and its 3-point-centric offense. Houston wouldnt be what it is without that identity, and trying to change that style would lead to disastrous results.

In a modern NBA thats an adapt-or-die kind of league, Thibodeau has yet to prove that he can change with the times. But with a big name and a winning reputation, it sure seems like some team is going to give Thibs a chance to prove us wrong pretty, pretty soon.

Read the original post:
Does Tom Thibodeau Fit In The Modern NBA? - Forbes

ITHACA, N.Y. (WHCU) Bids for the East State Street retaining wall project are now being received by the City of Ithacas Controller.

The City provided the following news release with more details:

Sealed Bids for the East State Street Retaining Wall project located in the City of Ithaca, New York will be received by the office of the City Controller at 108 East Green Street, Ithaca, NY until June 2, 2020 at 2:00 PM. The bids will then be opened and read aloud through a Microsoft Teams videoconference. Contractors will receive an email invitation to the videoconference, but must contact Paul Presutti and Tim Logue (see below) in order to receive the invitation. After the bid opening (within 24 hours), the bid tabulation will be emailed to bidders, posted on the City website, and can be made available upon request.

The proposed project provides for the construction of a new retaining wall to replace the existing deteriorating retaining wall along at the west end of the project. The proposed wall will include drilled soldier piles socketed into rock with tie-back anchors. At the east end of the project a new micropile wall will be constructed in front of the existing wall. The project will also include new sidewalk and pedestrian railing. The project is a Unit Price contract including a Base Bid.

BIDS SHALL BE SUBMITTED IN A SEALED ENVELOPE, ENTITLED: EAST STATE STREET RETAINING WALL BID.

Each bid shall be accompanied by a deposit in the amount of: Five Percent (5%) of the Total Gross Sum Bid in the form of a Certified Check, Bank Draft, or Bid Bond. Cash will not be acceptable as a deposit. Bid deposits of all unsuccessful bidders shall be returned promptly upon execution of the contract with the successful bidder.

Copies of the contract documents, listed in the Table of Contents and the List of Contract Documents, may be downloaded and printed from the Citys website at: http://www.cityofithaca.org/bids

Documents may be examined from the website, as well as at the following locations:

City of Ithaca, Engineers Office, 108 East Green Street, Ithaca, NY 14850Erdman Anthony, 145 Culver Road, Rochester, New York 14620Amendments can only be accomplished by means of Addenda issued by the City of Ithaca or its designee. Written questions should be addressed to Paul Presutti, P.E., of Erdman Anthony at presuttipj@erdmananthony.com and copied to Tim Logue at timlo@cityofithaca.org. Questions must be received by 5:00 on May 25, 2020.

The City reserves the right to reject any or all bids and to waive any informality or technicality in any bid in the interest of the Owner. Attention of Bidders is particularly called to the requirements for ensuring that employees, applicants for employment, and contractors are not discriminated against; refer to the Contract Documents for additional information. A DBE participation goal of 3% is required as part of this contract. Each Bidder submitting a Bid to the Owner shall execute and attach thereto, the Certification regarding Equal Employment Opportunity. Although the Bidder is not required to attach such Certification by proposed sub-contractors to his Bid, the Bidder is here advised of this requirement so that appropriate action can be taken to prevent subsequent delay in sub-contract awards.

Continue reading here:
City of Ithaca accepting bids on retaining wall project - whcuradio.com

Construction crews began the installation of the new retaining wall at Hermann Heights. Workers were putting the first blocks of the east end of the new wall Saturday morning.

NEW ULM The Kasota stone retaining wall at Hermann Heights Park is no more. Construction crews began removing the wall Monday, April 27, and had it removed by Saturday to start the installation of the new stones. Workers were putting the first blocks of the east end of the new wall Saturday morning.

The original Kasota stone walls on the hillside were erected in 1970 and were experiencing surface and sub-surface water-related problems requiring maintenance regularly.

In August, the city council approved a new wall design recommended by the Hermann Heights Hillside Stabilization Committee.

The new wall will be a three-tier design and feature a curved turn-in to match the Martin Luther College side of the street.

The old Kasota stone was hauled away to site by M.R. Paving to a designated site, but the company has allowed some residents to take the old stones.

Gigi Rysdahl was a fan of the old Kasota stone and plans to use some for a patio. Michael Shaneman recovered several Kasota stones and upcycled them for landscaping purposes.

Shaneman used the stones to create a stone bench in his front yard. The bench was placed facing Garden Street giving anyone seated on it a perfect view of Hermann Monument. It is a simple reminder of the past looking toward the future.

Today's breaking news and more in your inbox

More here:
The old wall is gone | News, Sports, Jobs - NUjournal

With the states shelter-in-place order expiring at the beginning of May, many used the first weekend of the month as a chance to go to the city of Cummings Mary Alice Park, though city officials said the park wont actually be open to non-boating activities until this coming weekend.

Tracy Helms, administrator of the Cumming Fairgrounds and the park, said city officials typically consider Mothers Day weekend the beginning of the parks season and this year wasnt different. What is different is that typically, in the weeks ahead of the opening, the park is opened on the weekends, which has not been done this year due to both social distancing guidelines and a project to repair a retaining wall, which needs to be completed before reopening.

Helms said he was hopeful the project could be done by Saturday, May 9.

Hopefully, we can make it to Saturday and the weather will stay nice and it will all be good, Helms said. I understand people are itching to get out, tired of being at the house, so hopefully we have a light at the end of the tunnel on it.

Helms said previously, the city was following the Army Corps of Engineers lead on the lake and keeping the park closed while having the boat ramp open and has posted signs letting visitors know of the change.

Now, whether or not people abide by those rules is a different story, he said.

Over the weekend, many of the parking spots big enough to fit boat trailers were taken up by vehicles without trailers. Those visitors were using other parts of the park.

The problem were having is there are some car parking spaces in the boat ramp parking lot, but when those fill up, the cars are taking up the spaces that are designated for the trucks with trailers, Helms said.

Read the original post:
Despite recent heavy use, Mary Alice Park plans to officially open this weekend - Forsyth County News Online

Each spring, usually around the end of April and well into May, shad move to the shallows to spawn and the first couple of daylight often produces line stretching action on every game fish species in the lake. Catfish, white bass, hybrids and stripers and largemouth bass move into the shallows to feed on the easy pickings.

A fishing trip this past week with Cedar Creek Lake guide Jason Barber proved this statement to be spot on. The trick is getting on the water at first light, throwing the cast net a couple times somewhere near the shoreline in shallow water to catch shad for bait and then heading, post haste to a windblown shoreline. On last weeks outing, my buddy Jeff Rice and I met Barber and his son Jacob at Sandy Shores Marina at daybreak. The father and son team caught bait with a couple tosses of the cast net and we were off to fish along a rock bulkhead.

Many years ago, I was visiting with my longtime friend, the legendary Bill Dance. I remember commenting to Bill that the wave action had pushed shad up close to the shore, which was the reason for the great bass fishing.

Bills reply made a lot of sense to me. Luke, dont you think these shad can swim where they wish to, even against the current? Its not the wave action that causes them to be up shallow during early morning. Its the zooplankton on the submerged vegetation that the shad are feeding upon that causes them to go shallow at night in the warmer water and remain there the first couple hours of daylight during their spawn.

Id been aware of the excellent shallow water fishing because of the heavy presence of shad for years but until my friend explained the cause to me, I never fully understood the why of their presence each spring.

As Barber eased the throttle back on his boat an easy cast from the rock retaining wall, Jacob dropped the anchor and the boat came about on a taunt anchor rope. We soon had threadfin shad rigged on small, stout hooks with just enough weight to make casting easy.

We have been hammering blue and channel catfish here and big schools of white bass are moving in to feed. We should have no problem getting you guys the makings of a humongous fish fry. says Barber.

We didnt have long to wait for the action to begin. The wake from our boat had no more than dissipated on the waters surface when the blue catfish began hitting our baits. I was connecting with about half the bites, the eater blues, weighing between 2 and 4 pounds were on a very aggressive bite and hitting the baits hard. If we werent ready to set the hook quickly, the fish had the bait and was gone. We all settled down to the current pattern and kept tension on our lines. In a matter of minutes, we had boated ten or twelve fish and then a school of white bass moved in. Their bite was more tentative than that of the catfish, often pecking the bait once and then picking it up in a serious attempt to eat. The trick was to stay attuned to our baits via a taunt line and when we actually felt the weight of the fish, rear back and set the hook. I began cranking the reel handle slowly which caused the shad to move along bottom. With this method, even the slightest bite is detected and the tension on the line often creates an instant hook set.

Out catch was truly a smorgasbord. We even caught several good eating freshwater drum. When Barber asked if we wished to keep and eat them, he gave an understanding nod when I replied that we did. Smaller drum are excellent eating. Barber, who I have fished with for years, and I have a running joke about keeping those slimy trash fish. Drum arent listed as a game fish but they are very hard fighters and tasty when fried crispy in hot cooking oil.

Barbers plan was to fish the leeward side of a submerged point for hybrid stripers after the first couple hours of shallow water action. The wind was a bit too strong for the open water fishing so, with a cooler full of catfish and white bass, we headed to the sheltered side of a point and switched from shad to lead slabs. Im sure more white bass are caught with slabs than any other bait, especially in Texas. The trick here was to make long casts and retrieve by hopping the baits along bottom. We spent thirty minutes or so slabbing for the plentiful and aggressive white bass and then headed back to the fish cleaning station at Sandy Shores.

We Texans are bless with many lakes such as Cedar Creek that provide excellent fishing for several species. We left the lake with several gallons of tasty fillets and that contented feeling one gets from spending time in the outdoors with great friends, good medicine for these trying times we are all experiencing right now.

Contact Luke via his website http://www.catfishradio.org. Guide Jason Barber at http://www.kingscreekadventures.com or call 903-603-2047

We are making critical coverage of the coronavirus available for free. Please consider subscribing so we can continue to bring you the latest news and information on this developing story.

Read the original:
Outdoors: Fishing the spawn, shad spawn, that is - Athens Daily Review

"For him to go above and beyond to focus it down on one kid, it's special. That's a special teacher," said Tatum Hunter, mom of 6th grade student Cade Hunter.

FORT WORTH, Texas As we begin Teacher Appreciation Week, there is plenty of appreciation in Hurst-Euless-Bedford ISD for a 6th grade math teacher. Because in the middle of the COVID-19 crisis, with schools closed and students limited to on-line distance learning, he sometimes makes house calls.

River Trails Elementary, like schools everywhere, is a pretty quiet and lonely place right now. And for students like Cade Hunter, a 6th grader with high-functioning autism, learning at home can be a pretty lonely process too. And one day last week, his online session with his favorite match teacher "Mr. B" was not going well.

"We've circled back around to geometry," Christopher Butts, AKA "Mr. B" said of the course work they are re-visiting after sessions in geometry and algebra ended right before the school closed at the beginning of the coronavirus crisis nation-wide.

And for Cade the word problems were causing a lot of problems.

"Well the first issue was on my end," said Mr. B. "I kept having problems with technology."

So with neither their online meeting nor the concepts properly connecting, Mr. B decided to cut to the chase.

"Eventually I said I'll just come over there."

Cade's mom took a single picture of the driveway class. Mr. B was seated on a front yard retaining wall with a white board perched on top of a plastic egg crate for a desk. Cade sat in the driveway in an outdoor chair with a TV tray to hold his class notes. Properly socially distanced, Mr. B stayed 45 minutes until Cade understood it all again.

"When I got here and we were able to talk face to face, you could tell this is really what he needs more than anything," Mr. B said.

"It's dedication. It is dedication," Cade's mom Tatum Hunter said.

Which is what she wrote on her Facebook page, praising the teacher. "If that's not dedication," she wrote, "I'm not sure what is."

"For him to go above and beyond to focus it down on one kids, it's special. That's a special teacher," she told WFAA. "I mean, he's an amazing teacher."

Last year Mr. B was the Hurst-Euless-Bedford ISD teacher of the year. Now we know why.

"I'm just doing what I think probably most of the teachers that I work with would do, really," he said. "There's a lot of good teachers right now doing a lot of good things, and I wish they could all be recognized. "

Cade's dad, by the way, works in health care. That's why there's a sign for those heroes in their front yard that says "thank you health care workers." And in Mr. B, they say they have another hero too.

"They have great teachers at my school," Cade said.

Great teachers doing great things wherever that school, or that classroom, might happen to be.

More on WFAA:

More here:
Driveway math: teacher goes the extra mile for socially distanced geometry lesson - WFAA.com