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Sunday, March 2, 2008

Barry Bonds’ testimony was finally revealed



Barry Bonds' testimony was finally revealed on Friday, after nearly five years since his December 4, 2003 testimony. The player is currently facing perjury charges, and his 5-year-old testimony could become part of the case if Bonds is to go on trial.


According to the testimony, Bonds says he had never knowingly taken performance-enhancement drugs, and pleaded not-guilty, but now faces perjury charges. The player, who is now a free agent and is still looking for a team for the 2008 season, said the creams and lotions prosecutors said to be steroids were just something his trainer gave him to relief pain.


What the prosecutors are now trying to determine is whether Bonds was indeed not aware of taking performance-enhancing drugs, or was he trying to cover up for his friend and trainer Greg Anderson. "I don't think Greg would do anything like that to me and jeopardize our friendship," Bonds said.


It is well known that Anderson refused to testify in Bonds' case and had to serve one year in a federal prison for that. Bonds said he didn't think Greg would have been capable of giving him any steroids, and furthermore, they never even discussed such a matter, although it is something that both athletes and trainers tend to bring up at some point in their discussions.


Bonds said in a posting: "This winter has been the first time in my career that I've had the chance to take time for myself and really enjoy the time off. I continue to work out and feel in great shape," the 43-year-old said, still hoping to find a team and reach the 3,000 hit mark, with just 65 hits left.






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Jessica Simpson Sued For ‘Hurting Millions of Fat People’



Jessica Simpson Sued For 'Hurting Millions of Fat People'
Jessica Simpson's last movie "Blonde Ambition" went straight to DVD while a workout video she starred in was never released, which is why she got sued for $10 million by video fitness company Speedfit.


According to Speedfit owner Alex Astilean, the 27-year-old hottie changed her mind about the workout video and asked her father/manager Joe Simpson to negate the multi-million dollar contract. Jessica had already recorded a workout tape shortly before shooting her film "The Dukes of Hazzard" in 2005, but the material was "entirely unuseable" and when she was asked to reshoot it, she refused.


"Jessica was a mess during that shoot. She had no focus, she put out something that was entirely unusable," said a source close to Simpson. "They asked her to come back and reshoot, but she refused, and that's why she's facing a lawsuit now."


"The worst thing in the world would be for that tape to get out," the source added. "Ironically, it would sell better than her videos, but the last thing she needs for her career is to have the makings of a 'Saturday Night Live' skit out there for public consumption."


Speedfit is now suing Joe for failing to secure the $10 million payment from Jessica last year, as his daughter refused to settle the lawsuit.


"They are hurting millions of fat people in America!" Astilean told Usmazine.com. "I believe that very strongly - they held the video for years!"


In reply, Jessica's publicist told The New York Post that "It's a legal matter that's in the hands of attorneys."


In the meantime, Jessica's relationship with Dallas Cowboys quarterback Tony Romo is going great and their friends are already seeing them getting married.


"I think they're going to get married," Romo's close friend of three years, Michael Starr, was quoted by Usmagazine.com as saying.


"They're perfect for each other," actress Sophia Bush, a mutual friend of Romo and Simpson, added. "They're both funny and wonderful and kind. I'm rooting for them."




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Tips and Secrets to Increasing Your Sales and Your Salary


Working Wounded: Find Big-Time Success at Work.
How do you become a big-time salesperson?

It's a story that I heard from a sage salesman at my dad's car dealership when I was a kid. Two shoe salesmen land in Africa. Upon seeing hundreds of people walking around barefoot, one salesman sends a telegram back to his home office. "No sales here, no one wears shoes." While the second salesman wrote back, "Huge market, everyone needs shoes."
Rainmakers aren't witch doctors who dance to make it rain. Rather, they're salespeople who see markets overflowing where most of us see nothing but desert. Below, I've listed three dos and one don't for making sales fall from the sky. For more, check out Ford Harding's book, "Creating Rainmakers" (Wiley, 2006).

DO Listen and synthesize. The biggest difference between an average salesperson and a rainmaker? Mr. Average assumes his most important tool to making a sale is his golden tongue. While Ms. Rainmaker knows that it's her ears. Test yourself by asking a co-worker to guesstimate the amount of time you spend talking versus the amount of time your customer talks.

Chances are that you'll think that it's close to 50-50. But if your coworker is honest, you'll probably hear that it's much closer to 75-25. Rainmakers always let the other person do the majority of the talking, because every word adds more insight. It also provides fewer chances to put your foot in your mouth.

DO Make a friend, not a sale. There is no such thing as "company" to a rainmaker; everyone seems to be part of their family. Rainmakers take the time to get to know each customer. Their likes, and yes, their dislikes. What challenges they face. Where they are and where they're going. Part of making someone family means there are times when you talk them out of a sale that isn't right for them, realizing that the trust you gain will translate into more opportunities down the road.


DO Always be on the lookout. I'll admit, I've been known to put on the dancing shoes when things are going well -- to kick it up and celebrate. And I'm not alone. Many sales folks are famous for "over-indulging" after a big sale and commission. Sure, you are entitled to celebrate, but rainmakers always have their eye on the horizon for that next big sale.

DON'T Be part of the pack. A friend of mine built a very successful brokerage practice by teaching a class at a free university. Another friend who was a graphic designer would watch the want ads for marketing director positions being advertised. She'd then contact the company two months later, figuring that the new marketing director might not have a graphic designer they'd like to work with. Rainmakers do just that to make opportunities. Find the not-part-of-the-pack marketing strategy for your product or service.

Follow these tips and the only shoes that will be hard to fill will be yours, because you'll be a rainmaker.

Thought for the Week
"Nothing is as irritating as the fellow that chats pleasantly while he's overcharging you." — Frank McKinney Hubbard

List of the Week

Hiring handicaps … Workers reactions to company interviews

Employees who rate company's interview process as excellent or good, 75 percent.

Employees who said the job they accepted matched up with the job described in the interview, 20 percent.

Employees who did not meet their boss until after they were hired, 19 percent.