I hate to say it Gary but it's time to hang it up

The outlook for American Independent Networks ratingsis negative. All companies are domiciled in Allentown, PA, except wherespecified and are subsidiaries of Penn Treaty. The rating actions on Penn Treaty Network America and American Network are inresponse to their entrance into voluntary rehabilitation by their domiciliarystate of Pennsylvania on January 6, 2009. Penn Treaty has announced that it has entered into a non-binding letter ofintent to sell a majority interest in American Network and its businessoperations including substantially all of the companys long-term care insurancepolicies issued after December 31, 2001 (NewCo). Penn Treaty Network Americawill retain ownership of all long-term care insurance policies issued prior to2002 (OldCo).

Should a definitive agreement be signed for the sale of AmericanNetwork, A.M Best would re-evaluate its ratings. For Bests Ratings, an overview of the rating process and rating methodologies,please visit Founded in 1899, A.M. For more information, visit A.M Best Co.Analysts:Jeffrey Lane, 908-439-2200, ext. orCarl Austin, 908-439-2200, ext. Copyright Business Wire 2009. (Click for larger version )We're into week five of the "Andre Miller Experiment" and a lot has been made about team chemistry. Being that it's the Blazers' 40th anniversary season, we decided to combine the science of chemistry with the history of the Blazers' organization .We narrowed it down to 108 of the most influential Blazers ever.

However, keep the following disclaimers in mind: (1) We only included players that were on a Blazers roster for more than one season (sorry, Jim Barnett fan), (2) We included the front office and coaches (those that really mattered) and thus (3) were unable to mention every single Blazers' cubicle warrior, despite everyone's best effort to make the Portland Trail Blazers the one we've come to love and support unconditionally, just as (4) you'll have to come to support my being a die-hard Blazer fan and a big, fat, nerd.But, this is chemistry. Regular old water That's easy - H(2) O - or, in this case Drexler(2) Porter. Another example brings up three of my all-time favorite Blazers: Silver Nitrate - Ag N O(3), or - Aldridge Petrovic Porter. What Blazer chemical compounds can you come up with (periodic table )An added bonus for Bust a Bucket fans, exclusive access to three new shirts from Squirrelevant. There are three color options so you can wear your Blazers periodic table to the next home game! Click the shirt below for the link to buy, they are very reasonably priced at $12.90! This article is also featured on Bust a Bucket - A Portland Trail Blazers Blog.

Gary Sheffield was quoted in the Boston Globe over the weekend saying he could hit at least 25 home runs if a team gives him the chance to play every day.He even went so far as to say that he could hit upwards of 40 home runs in the proper situation. I hate to say it, Gary, but it's time to hang it up. To put the current length of his career in perspective, Sheffield was drafted sixth overall in the amateur draft by the Milwaukee Brewers just four months after I was born in 1986. The nephew of Doc Gooden, Sheffield came up as a talented shortstop and shot through the minor leagues, getting his first taste of major league ball at the age of 19 in 1988. By the time he was 23, Sheffield had a breakout year and hit .330 with 33 home runs and 100 RBI, capturing his first and only batting title. Incredibly, and this came as a bit of a shocker to me, Sheffield has never led the league in any major offensive category aside from taking the batting crown in 1992 (unless you count his lead in on-base percentage in 1996).He belted as many as 43 homers in a single season, but that guy we used to know as Sammy Sosa bested Sheffield with a 50-home run campaign. Sheffield finished in the top three of MVP voting three separate times, and he was the runner-up to Vladimir Guerrero in 2004. After a long career, including 499 home runs, Sheffield found his way to the New York Mets last season to connect on No. 500.Despite hitting the second-most home runs (10) on the team, Sheffield had a home run percentage that was far below his career average.He hit a home run in 3.2 percent of his plate appearances in 2009, his lowest mark since 1989 and a full one-and-a-half percent below his career average of 4.7 percent.Not only that, but his strikeout percentage was the third-highest of his career at 14.7 percent, coming just one year after he posted the highest percentage of his career in 2008 (17.2). He's just flat-out too old.Gary turned 41 last Wednesday, and unless he stumbles upon the fountain of youth sometime before spring training, he's just going to keep adding mileage to his meter. Last season we saw Frank Thomas, who is just six months older than Sheffield, go unclaimed in free agency, and that is probably the best indication of things to come. Sheffield maintains, as would anyone vying for a contract, that he is in top shape.But by that age in a player's life, he just doesn't have the bat speed he once used to, and it's something that cannot be overcome.It's one thing for a pitcher like Jamie Moyer to throw well into his 40s, because a pitcher can adjust his approach on the mound and be able to slow things down in good way.Sheffield mounted a career based on the violent and swift swings of his bat, and a return to the majors for his 23rd season would just beunnecessary. I can remember watching him as I grew into a ballplayer, being captivated by trying to find the kind of sock he had in his bat by increasing the torque on my swing.Yet Sheffield is not the same player I knew back then, and I don't want to see him turn into another player who hangs around far too long until nobody wants him.So Gary, just walk away, and you can control the ending to a long and productive career. . Pennsylvania Patient Safety Authority Launches New Website and Design With NewTagline 'Analyzing, Educating and Collaborating for Patient Safety'Educational resources for improved patient safety can be found more easilywith an enhanced search engine and other featuresHARRISBURG, Pa., Jan. 8 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ The Pennsylvania PatientSafety Authority launched its new website and design today featuring anenhanced search engine with easier navigation and features allowing users toshare patient safety information more easily.The new site also features a new tagline of theAuthority "Analyzing, Educating and Collaborating for Patient Safety." It alsoshowcases the data collected by the Patient Safety Authority providinghealthcare providers with a wealth of information received by Pennsylvaniahealthcare facilities through the Pennsylvania Patient Safety Reporting System(PA-PSRS)."The new design offers patient safety officers an easier route to get to theimportant healthcare information they need to improve patient safety in theirfacilities," Mike Doering, executive director of the Pennsylvania PatientSafety Authority said. "The Authority offers many educational tools forfacilities to use to make process changes in their facilities to preventmedical errors.""This new site also makes it easier for them to share the information we'vecollected and analyzed from events happening in Pennsylvania healthcarefacilities," Doering added. "Consumers can also find information on thewebsite more easily to help educate them on what they can do to decrease thelikelihood of a medical error happening to them."Doering said specifically the improved site makes it easier for users to findand distribute information in the following ways: Offers Pennsylvania-based healthcare information easier to read and findonline with an enhanced search engine; Gives immediate access to the most recent information from the homepagefeaturing a spotlight section of "What's New"; Allows users to browse by topic hundreds of Pennsylvania Patient SafetyAdvisory articles; Provides users with the means to distribute important Pennsylvania patientsafety information through an "e-mail-to-a-friend" feature; and Offers a vast collection of educational tools and resources for healthcareproviders and community groups to improve patient safety in Pennsylvaniahealthcare facilities."The Patient Safety Authority has gathered valuable information sincereporting began in June 2004," Doering said.