Annika Faces Big Challenge

Annika Sorenstam began a gradual slide from the top of women's golf at the major championship that brought her so much satisfaction. But she salvaged her worst season of this decade last year at the U.S. Women's Open, a week where everything went right. There was thick fog that wiped out the first round at Newport Country Club. This gave her an extra day to refine her swing. She was able to complete 36 holes on Sunday and a four shot victory in the 18 hole playoff, That was when she first felt stiffness and soreness in her neck. It was nothing more than a nuisance at first but it turned into much more. Nine months later, she realized she had a bulging disk in her back and a ruptured disk in her neck. This knocked her out of competition for two months, but she is looking forward to getting back and being 100% again.

My Brother

My brother surprised me when he took a real interest in posting for PayPerPost. He thinks it is the greatest. He has been doing very well for the short time he has been writing. He gets some humor into his writings too. Look into his blog sometime Neal's Blog. I think you will have a few laughs.

Cancer Gene

They have discovered that a deadly cancer gene may be coming from Dad rather than Mother. They have found that half of the genetic breast cancers are inherited from a woman's father, not her mother. But one thing about it is that unless Dad has female relatives with breast cancer, the faulty gene may have been passed down silently, without causing any cancer. Although it is unusual, men can get genetic cancer too. This deadly gene's path can hide in a family tree when a woman has few older sisters and aunts and her breast cancer appears to have appeared out of nowhere. The new study suggests that thousands of young women, as many as 8,000 a year in the U.S. aren't offered testing to identify the faulty genes and clarify medical decisions. Testing can cost more than $3,000 so insurance companies should change their guidelines to decide coverage for this genetic testing.

Iran Condemns Knighthood for Rushdie

Britain's decision to knight Salmon Rushdie was condemned Sunday by Iran. He was the author who was forced into hiding for a decade after the leader of the Iranian revolution ordered his assassination. "The Satanic Verses" sparked the death threat. He insulted the Muslim world, During a time of especially tense relations between the Islamic republic and the West, he made his comments, and it did not go over well at all. Hosseini, Iran's Foreign Ministry spokesman, said that awarding a person who is among the most detested characters in the Islamic society is obvious proof of anti-Islamism by ranking British oficials.

BASH ON THE FARM

BASH ON THE FARM is going on now just about 3 miles south of us, They have over 50 bands playing till 2 am tonight and all day and night tomorrow. It is so hot - 90 degrees. They have 5 stages and lots of well-known christian bands playing everything from slow and easy gospel to quartettes to hard rock. There is something for everyone. Plenty of food vendors, games and air balloon stuff for the kids to play on. Some very big names are here this year. Lots of parking and a good time for everyone no matter what your choice of music is.

Mississippi Sues State Farm

Due to the Hurricane Katrina damage, Mississippi Attorney General Jim Hood is suing State Farm Fire and Casualty CO, claiming the company failed to honor an agreement for a mass settlement of claims. He had agreed in January, to drop State Farm from a lawsuit his office filed against several insurance companies for refusing to cover damage in homes from Katrina's storm surge. He did that after State Farm settled with lawyers for homeowners on a $50 million payout to about 35,000 southern Mississippi policyholders who had not sued the company but could have their claims reopened.

Spurs Keep LeBron Under Wraps

The Spurs, defending their floor, kept Cleveland's star under control. They held James to just 14 points on 4-of-16 shooting in his highly anticipated NBA finals debut and rolled to an east victory 85-76 over the Cavaliers in Game 1. James, who averaged 25.7 points in the Eastern Conference finals against Detroit, was not able to get loose for any powerhouse dunks. Any time he managed to slither past Bowen, the Spurs were lined up waiting for him.