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Friday, May 4, 2007

Headlines---

Classified Ads---
Sales Manager/Senior Management/Syndicator
    Sheldon Player, Greyhound Leasing, Deja vu?
        The Leasing Industry is Born --(Greyhound Leasing)
RW Professional Leasing Up-Date
    Kamikaze Kat
        Classified Ads—Help Wanted
Association Events/Meetings—Open to All
    Ups and Downs of Microsoft O/S
        Cartoon---Shooting the attorney
To Tell the Truth---“The Deposition”
by Kenneth C. Greene, Esq
    ELFA Capital Connection Registration Deadline Today
        NAELB Conference Winners
Marlin Business Service Analysis First Quarter:
    Marlin Business Services First Quarter Press Release
        Pacific Capital Bank reports SEC Year-end 2006
Ex-Comdisco execs start tech financing firm
    Velocity Financial Group $400 MM Press Release
        Advantage Funding Hires Christine Montalbano
Sterling Bancorp Declares $0.19 Dividend
    Wolfowitz rebuts critics over tempest at World Bank
        Ruling blocks sale of LaSalle to Bank of America
Banks' merger mania evidence of slower growth
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######## surrounding the article denotes it is a “press release”

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Classified Ads---
Sales Manager/Senior Management/Syndicator

Sales Manager

Atlanta, GA
Strong sales and leadership skills; demonstrated with sales training and sales performance. Lead team in both regional and national operations and developed marking programs.
Email: mll1946@comcast.net
[Resume]
http://www.leasingnews.org/Classified/Resumes/Michael_Leonard.pdf

Senior Management

Atlanta, GA
Strong sales and leadership skills; demonstrated with sales training and sales performance. Lead team in both regional and national operations and developed marking programs.
Email: mll1946@comcast.net

Philadelphia, PA
27 yrs. exp. sales, ops., credit, strategy, P&L mngmet. Most recently created & executed the biz plans for 2 highly successful Bank-owned small ticket leasing subsidiaries.
email: mccarthy2020@comcast.net

Syracuse, NY
Int. equip. leasing exec. 25 yrs global P&L sr. mngt., including corporate turnarounds, strategic planning, new biz dev., structure finance, contract neg., vendor leasing specialist.
Email: jimh356094@aol.com

Syndicator

Overland Park, KS
Top Syndicator from single deal to portfolios. 20+ yrs exp. Available for contract work or full time position. Nationwide contacts.
Email: FFLLeasing@aol.com

To place a free “job wanted” ad here, please go to:
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For a full listing of all “job wanted” ads, please go to:
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Sheldon Player, Greyhound Leasing, Deja vu?

by Christopher Menkin

http://www.eartechnology.com/

Sheldon Player of Equipment Acquisition Resources, Palatine, Illinois
named many of the leasing companies he was doing business with. In a telephone "background" interview, not for direct quoting, he told Leasing News that 75% of the funders he does business with are aware of his Greyhound Leasing conviction ( he served 33 months out of five year sentence.) He said he does not know if the brokers know about his background.

He said he has done over $130 million in leasing, is having Price-Waterhouse audit his financial statements, but most of his money was in real estate. He said everything was mostly in his wife's name as president, that he was about to retire to spend all his time in real estate, as that is where he really makes his money.

He has been doing business for sixteen years, invited Leasing News several times to visit his operation, offering to pay the air fare and all expenses; that he would like to get his story on the internet,
the "real version" of cash payoffs to Greyhound officers and the real truth was Greyhound really wanted the investment tax credits, didn't even ask him for financial statements.

He admitted to one instance of double-collateral from a site inspection, but said he paid it immediately and there was no UCC filing on the equipment as the first lease did not go through, he claimed. He had no answer as to when the site inspector was examining the equipment (still mostly in the crate,) he discovered a blank post-it note and unpeeled it, which revealed another leasing
companies identification label.

He said he was "young and foolish" and served his time what happened at Greyhound Leasing, which basically was sub-leasing non-existent equipment, making rental payments, investing in real estate, and leasing the same piece of equipment many times.

On the telephone, he said several times, he was anxious to get his side of the story on the internet, but sent the following e-mail:

"Thanks for taking time to hear me out.

"I will detail out what actually happened. This will take until next week as I am traveling extensively today and through the weekend.

"You and your team are definitely invited to visit our facilities and see the operation for yourself and speak with our customers.

"Thanks again,"

Sheldon Player

Most of the newspaper archives do not go back to 1984. The only archive story Leasing News could find from the New York Times:

Greyhound Plans for Possible Loss

REUTERS
Published: October 16, 1985
The Greyhound Corporation said that one of its units had set up a special provision of $36 million, or $19.5 million after taxes, to cover possible losses related to its dealings with a Utah business partnership.

Greyhound said a consent judgment totaling some $79 million had been signed by Player & Willard Partnership of Vernal, Utah.

Greyhound's leasing and financial subsidiary, which last year reported third-quarter earnings of $3.4 million, provided financing for an equipment purchase and leasing arrangement that was to be carried out by the partnership. But, Greyhound contends, the partnership purchased no equipment, and a substantial portion of the $66 million in financing was used to buy property and other assets.
---
Here is a partial list of Sheldon Player UCC filings with leasing companies:
http://leasingnews.org/PDF/Lien_UCC.pdf

Leasing News contacted twenty of the leasing companies on the UCC filing list for a comment, specifically to verify if they knew of Mr. Player’s background, as he claimed he told 75%
of the funders.

Of those that responded, none said they were aware of Mr. Player’s background. Several said that if they were aware, their bank would never have funded the leases. They have a policy of not doing
business with a “felon,” particularly if it involved another leasing company or bank. They were going to look into the leases that they had on the books.

One funder was willing to go on the record, Butler Capital.
Don Blody, Vice-President, said his company did file UCCs
in October, 2006, but never funded the deal:

Here are the facts:

1. We were doing business a few years ago with Balboa based strongly on the undoubted character and industry reputation of Bob Ciborowski (who is now with Golden West).
2. We were presented a deal in February 2005 for $200M of equipment, which we approved.  At that time we did speak directly with Sheldon Player to clarify the company’s line of business and to get additional background information.
3. There was absolutely nothing to suggest past issues or problems.  The deal was approved based on:  “The company's financial condition is strong with a net worth of over 7MM.  D&B is good with a 3A3 rating and a 75 PayDex based on 39 trades totaling $158M.  Paynet report is excellent with 22 leases since 1999 totaling $7.5MM and $2.5MM currently outstanding.  Virtually every one of the 373 payments to date were on time.  Approval is based on the company's 15 year history, strong financial condition, ability to service this debt, and excellent corporate and personal credit.”
4. In March 2005, Bob Cibrorowski called Mitch Larkin (then our director of broker and lessor business, who is now with Madison Capital) stating that he will not fund the deal based on information he obtained regarding the principal’s past, including the issues with Greyhound Leasing.  Few other lessors would have done that!

The saga continues……

1. In October 2006, we were presented a new deal from another broker.  Again, there was nothing empirical to suggest past problems, however, we were armed with the information supplied by Bob.
2. We told the broker that although the information presented was all positive, we had information to suggest the principal’s character was in question.
3. The broker went back to Sheldon Player who was surprised that we uncovered that information. 
4. He finally “went to confession” stating that he was “young and stupid” and took bad advice from a lease broker.  He stated that he “learned some hard lessons, but learned them well”.
5. Despite this, we were willing to move forward, but wanted to take real estate as additional collateral to protect us.  We also required that the company’s and the principal’s tax returns be verified with the IRS.
6. The property being offered was appraised at less than we were told, and the liens were higher than we were told.  Nevertheless, we were still willing to move forward, but were waiting for the IRS verifications.
7. Here is the clincher:  The tax returns we were supplied with showed sales of $19MM for the year ended 12/31/04 with taxable income of $5.8MM.  The IRS verification showed taxable income of $347M.  Needless to say, the company’s net worth was not the $7MM purported on their tax returns AND their “reviewed” financial statements.
8. Player contends that he had given those tax returns to another broker a while ago and that they were not the final copies.  He stated “from here out we should leave brokers out because they apparently do things that are not right”. 
9. Fool us once, shame on us.  Fool us 4 times………

The facts should speak for themselves.

This funder wanted to remain anonymous:

"We looked at funding some deals for Sheldon last year-twice from different brokers. Paynet was like a who’s who in the leasing world. EVERYbody stated perfect payment record. Looked too good to be true. Tax returns that were presented to us were beautiful, $14 million gross tax paid of $2 million

" HOWEVER those were not the tax returns that the IRS had on file..

I am amazed it has taken this long to surface and that nobody else had requested tax returns from IRS."

( Name withheld)

Paydex Report (20 pages):
http://leasingnews.org/PDF/Paynet.pdf

In addition to the twenty from the UCC filings, Leasing News was told that IFC Credit, Morton Grove, Illinois had recently funded more transactions for Sheldon Player. Rudy Trebels, CEO, did not return our inquiry to confirm or deny this.

A IFC Credit Corp. insider told Leasing News:

"Someone who you should contact would be Steve Csar at IFC. he had a son who worked there and he told me all about the games that went on. Maybe an interesting play to follow through on. After all Steve is the Credit Manager at IFC and he is all knowing, all seeing etc. By the way did you see if IFC did a deal or two with Sheldon recently??"

This respondent did not want to be identified:

" I have met Sheldon and his bride Donna at their offices in Palatine IL. This was when I was at ******. One of my brokers ****** was very strong to me on getting this transaction for Sheldon done. I had the deal approved and went out to have the documents signed. I was told the equipment was delivered and in the back. I said I would like to look at it. I was granted access.

"In the back were a lot of busy people preparing equipment to be shipped to various locations. My thought is they were sub-leasing or renting the equipment to other companies that may be not credit worthy or want some type of special treatment. No telling were all the equipment is. If you check out the public filings you will see some of the best in the market place have lent to Sheldon under his company name Equipment Acquisition Resources."

A point of trivia in this story, the lead attorney in the USA v. Player
case that sent Player to prison was Mark E. Aspey from the US Attorney’s office in Flagstaff, Arizona. He is now is a U.S. Federal Judge in Arizona. Leasing News is seeking the court records
of the case.

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The Leasing Industry is Born --(Greyhound Leasing)

ELFA archives

In 1954, U.S. Leasing Corp. became the first company formed to engage in general equipment leasing along the general lines on which such businesses are conducted today. Several companies followed suit, including Boothe Leasing Corp. (which was acquired by the Greyhound Corp. in 1962 and is now known as Finova Capital), Chandler Leasing (which was acquired by Pepsi-Cola in 1967), General Electric Credit Corp., Commercial Credit Corp. and a few others. These companies were the forerunners of the hundred of equipment leasing companies in existence today.

In the 1960s, IBM and Xerox recognized that substantial sums could be made from the financing of their equipment. Their leasing of computers and office equipment was a significant contribution to leasing's growth, since many companies were exposed to equipment leasing for the first time when they leased such equipment. Also, computer leasing by independent third-party leasing companies became popular during the 1960's.

Leasing goes Mainstream

Soon, other industries saw the opportunities in the equipment leasing marketplace. When Congress amended the Bank Holding Company Act, permitting banks to form holding companies and engage in a number of activities other than lending, banks found themselves able to engage in equipment leasing. Suddenly, leasing became respectable, moving from "lending as a last resort" to a type of creative financing of which smart companies took advantage. Within a few years, most companies were exposed to leasing and many began using leasing on a regular basis to finance equipment needs. The industry has grown ever since.

Tax law changes, accounting changes, and changes in lease structures constantly challenge the industry to stretch, bend and reinvent itself, continuing its upward slope of profitability and volume. The percentage of capital acquisition by leasing versus other methods of financing equipment has grown every year. In 1996, equipment leasing constituted $170 billion of the $566 billion spent in the U.S. on capital acquisition, up from the estimated $152 billion in 1995.

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RW Professional Leasing Up-Date

Barry Drayer,67, was convicted of defrauding banks of $28 million and sentenced to 11 1/2 years in prison Federal Judge Arthur Spatt, Central Islip, New York. He will presently surrender and be assigned a facility by the Bureau of Prisons. He is presently under house arrest.

The only one left to be sentenced is Stephen Barker, who is scheduled for May 25th. He was reprimanded to jail in February, 2006, when found guilty. Leasing News was told by a reliable source that he turned computer information over the U.S. Attorney's office and will be most likely receiving a sentence of six years.

Steven L. Tiscione, Assistant United States Attorney Eastern District of New York, and his colleague Geoffrey Kaiser are now handling the case as the lead attorney Linda Lacewell recently left the office.

The case will shortly be closed.

RW Professional stories:
http://www.leasingnews.org/Conscious-Top%20Stories/RW_stories.htm

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Kamikaze Kat

Right Click on the cat for more features or to exit the program.

http://www.leasingnews.org/EXE/KamikazeKat.exe

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Leasing Industry Help Wanted

Finance Consultant

Finance Consultants Orange County, California The Cambridge Difference More Approvals. Quicker Fundings. Career Center

www.thecambridgecapitalgroup.com

Sr. Credit Analyst

Sr. Credit Analyst Walnut Creek, California Excellent opportunity to work with growing equipment leasing bank division, excellent reputation. Click here for more information.

First Republic Bank has offices in the San Francisco Bay Area, throughout California, and in Portland, Seattle, Las Vegas, Boston and New York.

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Association Events/Meetings—Open to All

[headlines]

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Ups and Downs of Microsoft O/S

Microsoft said that it earned $4.93 billion, or 50 cents per share, on revenue of $14.40 billion for the three months ended March 31. That compares with net income of $2.98 billion, or 29 cents per share, on revenue of $10.9 billion for the same quarter the prior fiscal year. Netapplications.com shows the reason why: sales of the new program Vista ( primarily in new computers.)

As you can see, XP still dominates the operating systems, but as Netapplications.com points out, Vista made a substantial jump in market share the last 2 months, going from 0.93% in February to 2.04% in March and 3.02% in April.

Most software IT's say to wait another six months before up-grading to Vista. Most of the sales are from the sale of new computers, where Vista comes "standard."

Firefox continuing its momentum. Firefox, according to netapplications.com, currently at 15.42% of worldwide market share, is up significantly this year from 13.67% in January and 10.56% a year ago. Most of this gain has come at the expense of Microsoft's Internet Explorer.

Safari is Apple's search engine, holding its own, and the European Opera is also holding its own share of the marketplace.

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THE DEPOSITION

by Kenneth C. Greene, Esq.

A deposition is an out-of-court proceeding in which a party or witness provides testimony. Attendance is usually compelled pursuant to a notice of deposition and/or subpoena, although the time, location and other protocols are sometimes established by agreement of the attorneys.

If you are served with a deposition notice or subpoena, but you are unable to attend at the designated time, you can usually reschedule by contacting the attorney who served notice. You have the right to counsel at a deposition and it is generally advisable that you have legal representation.  You can be compelled to testify on most non-privileged matters, though you do have the right to “take the fifth" if a response to a deposition question may incriminate you criminally.

Often conducted in an attorney's office, a deposition requires that all questions be answered under oath and be recorded by a court reporter, who creates a deposition transcript.

Many of us become nervous or intimidated when subjected to a deposition. Here are a few pointers and basic suggestions to ease the process and hopefully minimize that anxiety.

1. Unless the deposition notice commands you to bring documents, do not bring any, not even preparatory notes.  Opposing counsel will undoubtedly ask to see any documents you review during the course of a deposition.
Many depositions begin with a few preliminary statements, questions, and admonitions by the deposing attorney. One common statement is “I am not trying to trick you”. Don’t be fooled. With all due respect to my colleagues, many attorneys will in fact mislead you in order to obtain testimony favorable to their case.
2. Another topic often addressed at the outset of a deposition is health. The deposing attorney should want (and is entitled) to know, if the witness is not feeling well, or taking any medications which might impair the ability to testify competently. If you are not asked these questions, but you feel that illness and/or medication, or anything else, could have an impact on the integrity of your testimony, make sure it is noted on the record.
3. I have had clients who do not wish to disclose the medications they are taking for privacy reasons. If my client agrees that the medications will not impact the ability to testify, I usually respond to these questions by stipulating that (1) the witness is taking medication; (2) neither the medications, nor the medical reason for taking them, impair my client’s ability to testify; and (3) for reasons of privacy, we will not identify the medications or the underlying condition. So far, no attorney has taken me to task when I have responded in this manner. No doubt, some day, someone will.
4. You are entitled to reasonable breaks during the course of a deposition, whether for health reasons or otherwise. Depositions can last an entire day, or longer. I have noted during countless depositions that witnesses begin to wear down in mid-afternoon. One way to avoid this is to make sure you get enough sleep the preceding night, and eat a healthy lunch. Nonetheless, you will tire by 4 p.m. or so. Don't try to compete with opposing counsel by showing you have more stamina or "can take it."  Take a break instead. Get some fresh air. Mostly, be very careful in the late hours of the day. Take your time, even if it means you might have to return another day. An inordinate percentage of the most damaging testimony I have ever heard has occurred between 4 and 5 p.m.
5. The deposition often begins with questions about your background. These seemingly irrelevant inquiries may range from the location of your high school to the name of your college fraternity. This type of question may be intended not to elicit useful information but to provide a “warm-up” period of sorts. The attorney may be testing you to learn how to best control or manipulate your testimony. These questions may also be used as a litmus test of your memory, or perhaps your personality.
6. Never guess.  If you don't know or don't remember, just say so.  If your answer is merely a guess, and you don’t qualify it as such, the transcript will reflect only that you answered, possibly incorrectly. Although it is sometimes acceptable to estimate, you should be clear when doing so. “I don’t know” and “I don’t recall” are perfectly acceptable responses when those answers reflect the truth.
7. Don't assume anything. If you don’t understand a question, ask that it to be repeated, or request help from your own attorney.
8. A trial lawyer taking your deposition is probably doing more than gathering information. He is also judging your demeanor and credibility as a potential trial witness. The attorney may play "good cop, bad cop," or repeat a question five or six times during the deposition. He may be testing you to see if your answers are consistent, or how your react to certain questions. Not all questions are asked merely to ascertain the answer.
9. One of the tricks some lawyers use is asking a question in the disjunctive so that there is little choice but to answer one way or the other, either of which is damning. A patently obvious example is “Did you begin hiding your assets before this lawsuit was filed, or afterwards?” Although that particular question would no doubt give you pause before answering, the same type of trap can catch the unwary deponent when laid in a more innocuous context.
10. Speaking of pauses, I always advise my clients to count to five before answering any question. This gives you time to think, and gives your attorney time to lodge an objection between the question and answer, which is technically how it should be done. For those of you who see that as prolonging a painful and costly process, perhaps you might count to three instead
11. One bit of simple advice that is very easy to give, fairly easy to understand, but extremely difficult to follow, is to answer the question. Nothing more, nothing less. Most of us naturally want to facilitate the flow of information as we would do in normal conversation. Consequently, witnesses talk and reveal too much too often. It is the job of the attorney, not the witness, to create the record. The sole responsibility of the witness is to answer the question directly and truthfully. If you are asked whether you are employed, the answer is either “yes” or “no”. It is not “I am a quality control expert for NorVergence Corporation”. Definitely not!
12. There may be several attorneys at a deposition, each representing a different party. Each party has the right and opportunity to examine the witness, even if he or she did not serve a deposition notice. After direct examination by each party, the attorney for the witness may conduct an examination as well. This may be followed by another round of questions, called “re-direct examination”, and then perhaps “re-cross”. However, each subsequent round of questions is limited in scope to the matters issues raised in the examination immediately preceding it.
13. It is not uncommon for those being deposed to think that they can "win" their case or compel a settlement by in effect trying the case during the course of a deposition. Bad idea. Think of it as though you speak English and the attorneys speak French. In court, everyone “speaks French”. Whatever you have said, on the record, will be presented “in French” to the judge and/or jury. In other words, the rules and procedures of law are tantamount to a foreign language to which the judge and attorneys alone are privy. Although a native might find it amusing were you to order a meal in a foreign country in his or her tongue, a deposition is no picnic, and certainly not the time to practice your nascent linguistic or amateur legal skills. Don't try to speak the language of the natives at their deposition.  In fact, don't worry about the case at all; that is your attorney's job. Your job is to answer the questions, honestly and directly, short and sweet.
14. Deposition transcripts may be used for several purposes. If the witness is unavailable to appear at trial, the transcript may be introduced as evidence in lieu of live testimony. It has become commonplace to have depositions videotaped. Ostensibly, the purpose is to afford the judge or jury an opportunity to observe the demeanor of the witness if he or she is not present in the courtroom. In reality, I believe videotaping is used tactically to further intimidate the witness. It is difficult enough to be interrogated without the eye of a camera staring you down. A deposition may be videotaped simply because the attorney finds it effective as a bullying tool.
15. On the subject of bullies, there is a limit to the tactics an attorney may employ to disarm or otherwise harass a witness. The menacing interrogations demonstrated on the television show “24”, although very acceptable as entertainment, won’t fly outside the screen. A variety of safeguards, including objections, instructions not to answer, and protective orders are available to protect the unduly harassed witness. No one is expected to tolerate verbal abuse. Except the lawyers.
16. Most deposition notices state that the proceedings will end at 5 p.m. If it takes a few extra minutes to finish, it may be worth your while to stay after the designated finish time. Otherwise, when it is over, ask to be excused. If you need to be somewhere else at 5 p.m., or earlier, tell everyone up front. When you have to go, you should go.
17. After the deposition, a transcript is provided by the stenographer. The witness may correct any errors within a designated time period, usually 30 days.  If a witness makes such changes, however, he or she can be questioned at trial as to the reasons for the changes. When the witness signs the transcript, or the applicable period of time passes, the document becomes “final” and admissible in accordance with the rules of evidence.

    Depositions are no fun for the witness. I have learned over the years that nothing I tell my client in advance will entirely eliminate his or her anxiety. What concerns me even more is that so much advice is neglected or forgotten once the questions begin. My advice to you, if you are facing the prospect of a deposition, is to make sure you and your attorney have a clear line of communication. A good lawyer will not only represent your interests, but he or she will protect you from needless stress and ensure that civil proceedings remain as such.

Leasing News Advisory Board’s Ken Greene is a well-known jazz piano player and attorney. He is presently back in private practice, but is interested in full or part-time work as a corporate counsel.

He is one of the original founders and on the Leasing News Advisory Board, active in the educational aspects of law. He lectures on leasing law and documentation, litigation and collection matters, and has produced and presented seminars to leasing companies on enhancing the attorney-client relationship. He has also instructed on law and documentation for the United Association of Equipment Leasing's Institute for Leasing Professionals, with courses leading to the Certified Leasing Professional exam, and has taught nationally for Euromoney Lease Training.

Ken welcome questions.

Kenneth C. Greene
P.O. Box 751
Kentfield, CA 94914-0751
Tel: 415.259.5494
Fax: 415.924.0971
Email: kenlaw100@aol.com

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ELFA Capital Connection Registration Deadline Today

ELFA eNews Daily

Today is the last day to register for ELFA's 2007 Capitol Connections. Please register online at
http://www.elfaonline.org/events/2007/CC

The purpose of the Capitol Connections program being held May 15-16 is to educate Members of Congress and select Administration officials on the equipment leasing and finance industry's overall economic contribution and its role as a major source of capital and investment in the U.S.

Capitol Connections will encompass not only high level targeted meetings on Capitol Hill but also meetings at select executive branch agencies. ELFA will set up meetings and work with meeting attendees to delegate participation. Targeted meetings will include:
--Select members of the House Ways and Means Committee
--Select members of the House Financial Services Committee
--Select members of the Senate Finance Committee
--Select members of the Senate Banking Committee
--The Department of the Treasury
--The Department of Transportation
--The Securities and Exchange Commission--Office of the Chief Accountant
--Small Business Administration--Office of Advocacy
--Export - Import Bank

There is no charge for ELFA members to attend Capitol Connections. You can review issue briefs and meeting schedules in the Capitol Connections section of ELFA's Advocacy website http://advocacy.elfaonline.org.

For more information, please contact Kelli Nienaber, Director of Government Relations at knienaber@elfaonline.org

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NAELB Conference Winners

The Winchester Boudreaux Boys

Winners of the Three Early Bird registration drawing for the National Association of Equipment Brokers Nashville Conference:

Leo Charpentier
Dynamic Lease Corporation
Free Airfare to the 2007 NAELB Annual Conference!

Richard Walker
Capital Equipment Leasing
Free Hotel Stay at the Opryland Resort for Conference!

Pamela Hewett
Physician Finance Consulting, Inc.
Free 2007 NAELB Conference Registration!

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Marlin Business Service Analysis First Quarter:

by Christopher Menkin

While several key personnel have left, the stock market has been kind to Marlin Business Services:

There are also good things on the horizon as it appears the company will qualify for an industrial bank in Utah. This is a major opportunity.

Marlin is also putting its best foot forward in its latest press release. Little mention of the broker business they receive, no mention of Michael Bennie being terminated as long-time head of the broker division, or of other upheavals in employee morale and those who are looking elsewhere. Why would they want to bring this up?

The stock brokers or buyers don’t read Leasing News. In fact, Google and Yahoo are manipulated as in the financial comparisons of similar companies to Marlin. Yahoo lists American Express, who has been out of leasing since they sold their unit to Key Corp October, 2004, a bank (that has a leasing division) and CIT, a worldwide company with 7,300 employees.

In the rental market, they put ATEL, GATX, Hertz Global, and United Rentals. Both ATEL and GATX do full operating leases, large ticket, meaning airplanes and trains, whereas Hertz and United Rentals really rent cars and other items, whereas the SEC filings show Marlin average ticket $7,500 and most $1.00 capital purchase options.

Google is no worse: listing comparison companies as CIT, California First Bank, Wells Fargo, General Electric, Keycorp, Comdisco, eNucleus, and 5b Technology.

Not mentioned are Microfinancial, Direct Capital, GreatAmerica, Netbank Business Finance, and the many more that could be mentioned as being “similar.”

Before readers jump to the conclusion that the writer is prejudiced, let me say the vendors love the quick pay, the credit department is first rate, the staff is very professional, and runs like a well-oiled machine. Marlin has an excellent reputation in the marketplace. They are very tough competition, and don’t you forget it. This is a top shelf company.

The point is the company is successful today because of the leadership, ideas, management, caring of the people who in the last few years are no longer there. They built the company, got the momentum going. So the financial statements of the last few years are their work. Their legacy.

Will the new chefs in the kitchen continue to cook the recipe that was developed by the chefs no longer there? And as important, the new dishes, will they taste as good as the food in the past?

Judging by the early returns it looks as if factoring may not be as profitable as first thought for Marlin Business Services.

As of March 31, 2007 the Company had $386,000 of outstanding purchased receivables balances for its factoring business "Marlin Trade Receivables.

Included in net charge-offs is $103,000 related to the factoring product.

0.76% of our total lease portfolio was 60 or more days delinquent.
6.57% of our factoring receivables portfolio was 60 or more day's delinquent.

Quarter Ended: 12/31/2006 3/31/2007
-------------- ----------- -----------
New Asset Production:
No. of Sales Reps 100 96
No. of Leases 8,985 8,639
Leased Equipment Volume $ 105,639 $ 102,652

Average monthly sources 1,309 1,337

Total assets $ 817,403 $ 795,452
========= =========
Total liabilities 676,500 661,163

*Numbers taken directly from Marlin Business Services Q1 earnings release

The real guessing is who they are going to send to the National
Association of Equipment Leasing Brokers Convention in Nashville,
Tennessee? Leasing News has asked both Fred St. Laurent
and Bob Teichman to give us a report. Please stay tuned.

[headlines]

---------------------------------------------------------------
### Press Release ###########################

Marlin Business Services Corp. Reports First Quarter 2007 Earnings

MOUNT LAUREL, N.J., -- Marlin Business Services Corp. (Nasdaq:MRLN) late yesterday reported net income of $5.0 million for the first quarter ended March 31, 2007, compared with net income of $4.7 million for the same period in 2006. Diluted earnings per share was $0.41 for the first quarter of 2007, an increase of 5% compared with $0.39 for the same period in 2006. Annualized returns on average assets and equity for the first quarter of 2007 were 2.52% and 14.61% respectively.

"Asset growth continues to be strong," said Daniel P. Dyer, Chairman and CEO of Marlin Business Services Corp. "Our immediate focus is addressing the impact of higher interest rates on our margins."

Highlights for the quarter ended March 31, 2007 include:

Asset Origination

* Based on initial equipment cost, lease production increased 25.2% to $102.7 million for the quarter ended March 31, 2007 compared to $82.0 million for the first quarter of 2006.

* Growth from direct sales was 33% year over year and growth from the
indirect channel was 12%.

* Average net investment in leases was $687.4 million at March 31, 2007 compared to $568.2 million for the first quarter of 2006. Average net investment in leases was up 4.5% or $29.3 million from the prior quarter.

* Our end user customer base grew to more than 89,000 at March 31, 2007 compared with 83,000 for the first quarter of 2006 and 87,000 in the previous quarter. The number of active leases in our portfolio was approximately 111,000 at March 31, 2007.

* As of March 31, 2007 the Company had $386,000 of outstanding purchased receivables balances for its factoring business "Marlin Trade Receivables."

* As of March 31, 2007 the Company had $4.8 million of loan balances
outstanding for its new Business Capital Loan product.

Net Interest and Fee Margin and Cost of Funds

* The portfolio yield was 12.40% as a percentage of average total finance receivables for the quarter ended March 31, 2007, a decrease of 14 basis points from the first quarter of 2006 and a decrease of 71 basis points from the quarter ended December 31, 2006. Higher interest income on free cash flow favorably impacted the prior quarter by 61 basis points. As a result of the debt proceeds raised in our third quarter 2006 term securitization, cash balances were higher entering the fourth quarter. These proceeds were used throughout the fourth quarter to fund originations and subsequently cash balances have returned to more normalized levels.

* Fee income as a percentage of average total finance receivables was 3.25% for the quarter ended March 31, 2007 compared to 3.45% for the first quarter of 2006 and 3.07% for the quarter ended
December 31, 2006. The increase from the previous quarter is due primarily to higher administrative and late fee realization.

* The average cost of funds as a percentage of average total finance receivables was 4.46% for the quarter ended March 31, 2007. This was a 59 basis point increase from the first quarter of 2006 and a 49 basis point decrease from the 4.95% reported in the quarter ended December 31, 2006. The average cost of funds in the previous quarter was negatively impacted 61 basis points by the assumption of higher debt balances, as a result of the prefunding feature of the term securitization completed late in the third quarter. As a result of the prefunding, average borrowings outstanding were a higher percentage of average total finance receivables at the end of the fourth quarter. The
prefunding proceeds were used to finance fourth quarter originations. In the first quarter of 2007 outstanding average borrowings have returned to more normalized levels.

* Due to the factors discussed above, the net interest and fee margin was 11.19% as a percentage of average total finance receivables for the quarter ended March 31, 2007;
a decrease of 4 basis points compared to 11.23% for the quarter ended
December 31, 2006.

* The average implicit yield on new leases was 12.80% for the quarter ended March 31, 2007 compared to 12.84% in the first quarter of 2006 and 12.67% for the quarter ended December 31, 2006.

* Included in income for the quarter ended March 31, 2007 is $146,000 of interest income related to the Company's factoring product and $79,000 of interest income related to its Business Capital Loan product.

Credit Quality

* Net charge-offs totaled $3.0 million for the quarter ended March 31, 2007 compared with $2.4 million for the previous quarter. On an annualized basis, net charge-offs were 1.75% of average total finance receivables for the quarter ended March 31, 2007 compared to 1.64% for the first quarter of 2006 and 1.46% for the quarter ended December 31, 2006. Included in net charge-offs is $103,000 related to the factoring product. Net charge-offs in our core leasing product are 1.69% of average net investment in leases as of March 31, 2007 compared to 1.64% in the first quarter of 2006 and 1.46% in the previous quarter. Included in charge-offs for the core leasing product is $230,000 or 13 basis points related to a vendor fraud. Current net charge-offs reflect expected
seasonality and credit levels.

* As of March 31, 2007, 0.76% of our total lease portfolio was 60 or more days delinquent, up from a record low 0.49% as of March 31, 2006 and a slight deterioration compared to 0.71% as of December 31, 2006. Delinquencies in the first quarter were impacted by interest-rate sensitive industries, including financial services, real estate and construction.

* As of March 31, 2007, 0.31% of our Business Capital Loan portfolio and 6.57% of our factoring receivables portfolio was 60 or more day's delinquent.

* The allowance for credit losses was $8.6 million as of March 31, 2007, compared to $7.9 million in the first quarter of 2006 and $8.2 million in the previous quarter. Allowance for credit losses as a percentage of total finance receivables was 1.21% at both
March 31, 2007 and December 31, 2006.

* At March 31, 2007, the allowance for credit losses was 135.4% of
total finance receivables 60 or more days delinquent compared to 238.1% as of March 31, 2006 and 143.5% at December 31, 2006. The prior year allowance included additional allowances booked for potential Hurricane Katrina exposure.

* In addition, during the first quarter of 2007 the Company
refinanced a real estate related factoring receivable of $469,000
into a 42-month fully amortizing term loan at a market interest
rate of 14.00%.

* In conjunction with this release, static pool loss statistics have been updated as supplemental information on the investor relations section of our website at
http://www.marlincorp.com.

Operating Expenses

* Salaries and benefits expense was $5.7 million in the first quarter of 2007, up from $5.1 million in the first quarter of 2006, but down from $6.9 million in the previous quarter. In the previous quarter, salaries and benefits expense included a one time pretax charge of $1.45 million related to the departure of the President of Marlin Business Services. Salaries and benefits were 3.31% as an annualized percentage of average total finance receivables for the first quarter of 2007 versus 3.62% in the first quarter of 2006 and 3.30% in the previous quarter,
excluding the severance adjustment.

* Other general and administrative expenses were $3.4 million in the first quarter of 2007 compared to $2.7 million in the first quarter of 2006 and $3.3 million in the prior quarter. Other general and administrative expenses as an annualized percentage of average total finance receivables were 1.94% for the first quarter of 2007 compared to 1.93% in the first quarter of last year and 1.98% for the prior quarter.

Funding and Liquidity

* Our debt to equity ratio was 4.49:1 at March 31, 2007 compared
to 4.59:1 at December 31, 2006.

* Capital increased an additional $2.1 million through the exercise of employee stock options and the related tax benefits during the first quarter of 2007.

* The Company had $7.4 million in unrestricted cash balances as of
March 31, 2007.

Full First Quarter report:
http://leasingnews.org/PDF/Mrln_1stQtr-07.PDF

Here is a copy of the full SEC filing:
http://leasingnews.org/PDF/Marlin_form_10-Q2.pdf

[headlines]

### Press Release ###########################

Pacific Capital Bank reports SEC Year-end 2006

((Pacific Capital Leasing ( from the SEC filing financial statement,
in thousands of dollars:)
2006: $297,525
2005: $287,504
2004: $234,189
2003: $149,642
2002: $133,927))

Pacific Capital Bancorp is a $7.5 billion community bank holding company providing full service banking, trust and investment advisory services and all aspects of consumer and commercial lending through its branches, wealth management offices and other distribution channels to consumers, businesses and other institutions primarily throughout the central coast of California. We are also one of three financial institutions that together provide the majority of electronic tax refund services on a national basis.

PCBNA conducts its banking services under six brand names at 49 locations with employs 1,622 employees.

COMPARISON OF 2006 WITH 2005

Net income for the year ended 2006 was $94.5 million, or $2.01 per diluted share, compared with net income of $99.3 million, or $2.14 per diluted share for the year ended 2005 and $87.9 million, or $1.92 per diluted share for the year ended 2004.

Actions taken in the fourth quarter of 2006 are described below and discussed in more detail throughout the MD&A and our Financial Statements of this 10K:

·    $8.8 million recognized loss recorded on securities that will be sold as part of the Company’s balance sheet management strategy
·    $9.3 million asset write-down related to obsolete software
·    $1.8 million gain on sale of the Company’s San Diego branch

These items resulted in an overall reduction of net income. As such, our fourth quarter reported earnings per share were largely unreflective of our operating performance.

Net interest income on a fully taxable-equivalent (FTE) basis was $380.0 million in 2006, compared with $320.7 million in 2005. Excluding RALs, FTE net interest income was $270.2 million compared with $259.0 million in 2005. This reflects solid loan growth and the annualized impact from our San Luis Obispo acquisition in spite of increased reliance on wholesale borrowings to fund loan growth.

Net interest income from the RAL Program increased to $109.8 million from $61.7 million in 2005. In addition to higher transaction volume, this increase was due to the changes in the contract with JHTS mentioned above. The offset to this increase in revenue is the non-interest expense increase of $54.7 million for the marketing and technology fee paid to JHTS in 2006.

2006 was a rebuilding year for the Company as we looked inward to define our strategic direction for the future. Significant initiatives in 2006 included the following:

·    Expanding our product set for wealth-management trust and investment advisory services, we purchased MCM in July 2006, a registered investment advisor with $850.0 million in assets under management at the purchase date.

·    Expanding our product offering for middle-market commercial businesses, we added loan production capabilities in adjacent markets including Beverly Hills and Encino.

·    A continuing focus on quality loan growth. Total gross loans increased by 16.8% in 2006 while the allowance for credit losses remained consistent at 1.1% of total gross loans.

·    Restructuring our balance sheet including the decision to sell $326.5 million in low-yielding mortgage-backed securities purchased in connection with our 2003 and 2004 leveraging strategies, to strengthen and improve our future earnings capability.

·    Simplifying our IT infrastructure to eliminate complexity no longer viewed as a strategic advantage and focus on providing exceptional customer service through our distribution channels. This resulted in a $9.3 million write-off of obsolete software.

·    Right-sizing our infrastructure including people, process and tools to ensure we deliver our products and services as efficiently and cost effective as possible.

·    Recruiting experienced professionals from large financial institutions to head strategic businesses and key leadership positions resulting from executive management retirements.

Focusing on 2007, the following notable strategic initiatives are expected to drive profitability and growth in earnings per share:

·    Focus on leveraging our Wealth Management footprint and the expanded product set made possible from our MCM acquisition. This will include the possible acquisition of smaller registered investment advisory firms within our markets and possible strategic alliances.

·    A renewed effort on deposit gathering through alternative channels and restructuring of compensation plans to reward deposit gathering in the same way as lending.

·    A continued reduction of non-interest expenses as the Company is committed to the delivery of products and services as efficiently as possible.

·    A focused investment in our adjacent market strategy through staffing of Commercial Banking and Wealth Management loan production offices in key regional locations outside of our retail banking footprint.

·    A commitment to invest in revenue generating strategic initiatives to be funded through operational efficiencies.

·    Strengthening of our balance sheet through specific strategies intended to drive down our cost of funding without losing sight of liquidity and capital management requirements.

Full SEC filing here:

http://leasingnews.org/PDF/Pac_Cap.PDF

[headlines]

### Press Release ###########################

Ex-Comdisco execs start tech financing firm
Say they have received $400 million in backing

BY HOWARD WOLINSKY hwolinsky@suntimes.com Two former executives from bankrupt Comdisco on Tuesday launched a new Chicago-based technology financing company with $400 million in backing to work with middle-market and venture-backed companies.

Frank Cirone, 49, and Jan Haas, 39, top executives of Comdisco, a leader in technology financing that reached the Fortune 500 before filing for bankruptcy in July 2001, have started Velocity Financial Group based in Chicago with 11 employees.

Cirone, who was chief executive of Comdisco's U.S. leasing group and was at the company for 18 years, said Velocity has $400 million in funding commitments. American Capital Strategies, the second largest publicly traded alternative asset manager, is Velocity's lead investor.

Haas, who is based in Boston, was co-head of Comdisco Ventures, Comdisco's large venture arm.

Bob Grunewald, head of financial services at American Capital, said, "With an $800 million concentration limit on any single investment, we have plenty of dry powder to support the growth of the company over the coming years, and we are excited to help establish Velocity as a leading independent force in the leasing and venture debt markets globally."

Cirone said Velocity's main focus is on middle-market companies with revenues of about $20 million to $1 billion that need to upgrade equipment, such as servers, desktop computers, phone switches and point of service sales devices. He said loans typically will range from $150,000 to several million dollars.

He said, "Not many banks will provide financing for technology assets."

http://www.suntimes.com/business/366058,CST-FIN-vel02.article

here is the press release with more details

[headlines]

### Press Release ###########################

Velocity Financial Group Launches with $400 Million of Capital
to Serve Middle-Market and Venture-Backed Companies

Chicago, IL – – Velocity Financial Group, Inc., a newly formed specialty finance company, announces that it has secured approximately $400 million of funding commitments to provide financing to middle-market and venture-backed companies. American Capital Strategies Ltd. (Nasdaq: ACAS), the second largest U.S. publicly traded alternative asset manager with approximately $11 billion in assets under management, is Velocity’s lead sponsor and investor.

Velocity will focus on financing core technology assets for companies through leases and loans. The new company also will supply venture-backed companies with expansion capital that is complementary to traditional bank and equity financing.

“Our mission is to develop strategic relationships with every customer we serve,” says Frank Cirone, chief executive officer. “By offering a range of complementary capabilities on top of a flexible financing package, we aim to distinguish ourselves as a true partner to our customers and as a value added resource. We fund transactions off our own substantial balance sheet and thus have the ability to respond quickly and serve companies from their inception to when they achieve ‘middle market’ status…and beyond.”

Velocity was founded and is being led by veterans of technology finance, Frank Cirone and Jan Haas. Prior to starting Velocity, Cirone and Haas were executives of Comdisco, Inc., (OTCBB: CDCO) the largest independent IT leasing and venture debt firm during the 1990s, a period in which it achieved Fortune 500 status.

“Frank’s and Jan’s experience in building and managing substantial leasing and venture debt finance businesses and their focus on creating customized financing solutions for their customers were key reasons we developed such confidence in their capabilities and their plan,” says Bob Grunewald, head of financial services at American Capital. “With an $800 million concentration limit on any single investment, we have plenty of dry powder to support the growth of the company over the coming years, and we are excited to help establish Velocity as a leading independent force in the leasing and venture debt markets globally.”

“We set out to build a permanent balance sheet, with strong financial partners that had wide reach, were experts in our business and shared our perspective of building an enterprise for long term sustainability and success,” says Jan Haas, president, “and we found that in American Capital.”

(Frank Cirone, Chief Executive Officer & Co-founder

Frank is a veteran of technology leasing, having spent the bulk of his 25-year career with Comdisco, Inc. the largest independent IT leasing company during its time. He was most recently Chief Executive Officer of Comdisco US Leasing responsible for leading the organization and management team for finance, sales, portfolio management, administration and equipment refurbishment. Frank also served as the CEO and president of Comdisco Ventures, held various senior management positions in the U.S., Europe and Asia and built niche businesses in the telecom and biotechnology equipment arenas. Frank began his career in accounting with Arthur Young and is a Certified Public Accountant. Frank received his MBA degree and Bachelor of Science degree from DePaul University in Chicago.)

(Jan Haas, President & Co-founder

Prior to starting Velocity, Jan founded and served as co-managing partner of Cedar Boulevard Capital, a fixed-term investment fund that acquired and managed distressed pools of loans and leases. Prior to Cedar, Jan ran the East Coast office for Comdisco Ventures from 1999 through 2001. Jan assumed the co-head role of Comdisco Ventures during 2001 through 2003, at which point he acquired the remaining assets of Comdisco Ventures to form Cedar Boulevard. Jan's tenure at Comdisco Ventures was preceded by a five year track in investment banking, most recently as a vice president with the technology group at Montgomery Securities (acquired by Bank of America/NationsBank). Jan began his career as an account officer with Chemical Bank (now part of JPMorgan Chase) in New York. Jan received his MBA degree from Kenan-Flagler Business School at the University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill and his Bachelor of Arts degree in Math and Computer Science from Middlebury College.)

Velocity is headquartered in Chicago and will serve the venture community out of offices in the Boston area and Silicon Valley. Velocity is actively funding new transactions with a rapidly growing base of customers.

About Velocity Financial Group Velocity Financial Group is a non-regulated specialty finance company providing capital equipment financing and working capital to middle-market and venture-backed companies. Formed by veterans of technology finance, Velocity provides equipment leasing to middle-market companies with revenue of between $20 million and $1 billion through its Middle Markets Group and venture leasing and lending to venture-backed companies through its Ventures Group. Velocity is focused on building long term relationships with its customers and providing flexible, customized, asset-focused financing solutions throughout a company’s life-cycle. For more information, please visit
http://www.velocityfg.com/

About American Capital Strategies American Capital is the second largest U.S. publicly traded alternative asset manager with approximately $11 billion in assets under management (second to Fortress (NYSE: FIG)). American Capital, both directly and through its global asset management business, is an investor in management and employee buyouts, private equity buyouts, and early stage and mature private and public companies. American Capital provides senior debt, mezzanine debt and equity to fund growth, acquisitions, recapitalizations and securitizations. American Capital and its affiliates invest from $5 million to $800 million per company in North America and €5 million to €400 million per company in Europe. For more information, please visit www.americancapital.com.

[headlines]

### Press Release ###########################

Advantage Funding Hires Christine MOntalbano as Credit Manager

LONG ISLAND CITY, NEW YORK, – The Advantage Funding group of companies announced that Christine Montalbano has been hired as Credit Manager.

“Christine will coordinate and streamline our current credit flow and enable us to provide more efficient service to our dealers and customers. She is a venerable and respected credit analyst and we are fortunate to have her on our team,” said Edward P. Kaye, President.

Prior to joining Advantage Funding, Christine Montalbano worked the credit desks at Citibank Auto Finance, Apple Acceptance Corp. and European American Bank (EAB). For the past 14 years, she was a Credit Analyst in the Vehicle Finance Division of Sovereign Bank.

“I was attracted to this opportunity because it allows me to utilize my skills in a managerial role and be a part of a growing company. The company’s culture and potential are second to none and I’m fortunate to be part of the team,” said Ms. Montalbano.

Advantage Funding is a leading noncaptive vehicle and equipment leasing and financing company to the ground transportation industry. It was recently acquired by Marubeni Motor Holdings, a subsidiary of Marubeni America Corporation, the multibillion multinational general Japanese trading company.

For more information contact ekaye@advantagefunding.us or www.advantagefund.com.

[headlines]

### Press Release ###########################

Sterling Bancorp Declares $0.19 Dividend on Common Shares
Company Has Distributed Dividends for 246 Consecutive Quarters

NEW YORK, -- Sterling Bancorp (NYSE: STL - News), a financial holding company and the parent company of Sterling National Bank, today announced that the Company's Board of Directors approved a cash dividend of $0.19 per common share, payable on June 30, 2007 to shareholders of record as of June 15, 2007. The Company's record of uninterrupted cash dividends extends over 61 years.

"The value and strength of Sterling's business model are reflected in the Company's dividend policy," said Louis J. Cappelli, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer. "Sterling's track record of 246 consecutive dividend payments underscores the Company's unwavering commitment to enhancing shareholder value."

About Sterling Bancorp

Sterling Bancorp (NYSE: STL - News) is a financial holding company with assets of $1.9 billion, offering a broad array of banking and financial services products. Its principal banking subsidiary is Sterling National Bank, founded in 1929. Sterling provides a wide range of products and services, including business and consumer loans, commercial and residential mortgage lending and brokerage, asset-based financing, factoring and accounts receivable management, trade financing, equipment leasing, corporate and consumer deposit services, trust and estate administration, and investment management services. The Company has operations in New York, New Jersey, Virginia and North Carolina and conducts business throughout the U.S

[headlines]

### Press Release ###########################
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News Briefs----

Wolfowitz rebuts critics over tempest at World Bank
http://www.iht.com:80/articles/2007/05/04/america/04wolfowitz-web.php

Ruling blocks sale of LaSalle to Bank of America
http://www.usatoday.com/money/industries/banking/2007-05-03-abn-shareholders_N.htm

Bank of America suggests it will fight for LaSalle after court freezes sale
http://www.iht.com/articles/ap/2007/05/03/business/
NA-FIN-US-Bank-of-America-LaSalle.php

LaSalle may see new bids
http://www.chicagotribune.com/business/chi-070503lasalle,0,1355462.story?
coll=chi-business-hed

Banks' merger mania evidence of slower growth
http://www.chicagotribune.com/business/chi-0705020819may03,0,5108084.story?
coll=chi-business-hed

Factory orders rise most in year
http://www.boston.com/business/globe/articles/2007/05/03/
factory_orders_rise_most_in_year/

30-year mortgage rate flat at 6.16%
http://www.usatoday.com/money/economy/housing/
2007-05-03-mortgage-rates-steady_N.htm

Housing Bubble and Real Estate Market Tracker
http://biz.yahoo.com/seekingalpha/070430/34008_id.html?.v=1

AMD loses momentum in industry
http://www.ajc.com/business/content/business/stories/2007/05/03/0503bizamd.html

Actor Robin Williams Says has Been Sober for 10 Months
http://www.nytimes.com/reuters/arts/entertainment-williams.html?_r=1&oref=slogin

Poll: Couric Gets More Negative Response
http://www.breitbart.com/article.php?id=D8OT7QKO0&show_article=1&catnum=6

Lawyer: Imus to Sue for Nearly $40M
http://apnews.myway.com/article/20070503/D8OT5K7O0.html

[headlines]

---------------------------------------------------------------

You May have Missed---

Bottled water overtakes milk, matches beer in '06
http://www.ajc.com/business/content/business/coke/stories/2007/05/03/0503bizwater.html

[headlines]

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Sports Briefs----

UNBELIEVABLE---Warrior 111—Mavericks 86
http://sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2007/05/04/WARRIORS.TMP
http://www.contracostatimes.com/ci_5814459

Pennington wanted Moss
http://www.nydailynews.com/sports/football/jets/2007/05/03/2007-05-03_p
ennington_wanted_moss.html

[headlines]

---------------------------------------------------------------

California Nuts Briefs---

Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger signs prison bill
http://www.sacbee.com/111/story/166239.html

Full reopening of damaged freeways promised by June 29
http://www.contracostatimes.com/ci_5814119

[headlines]

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“Gimme that Wine”

Oregon's Wine Country Comes Alive with Annual Tour Event
http://www.beachconnection.net/news/winec050307_438.htm

No, Really, It Was Tough: 4 People, 80 Martinis—Eric Asimov
http://www.nytimes.com/2007/05/02/dining/02wine.html?ref=dining

And Now, a Sip of History: The Mint Julep, Personified
http://www.nytimes.com/2007/05/02/dining/02jule.html?ref=dining

Wine Prices by vintage
http://www.winezap.com
http://www.wine-searcher.com/
US/International Wine Events
http://www.localwineevents.com/
Winery Atlas
http://www.carterhouse.com/atlas
Leasing News Wine & Spirits Page
http://two.leasingnews.org/Recommendations/wnensprts.htm
The London International Vintners Exchange (Liv-ex) is an electronic exchange for fine wine.
http://www.liv-ex.com/

[headlines]

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Calendar Events This Day

China: Youth Day –
Annual public holiday “recalls the demonstration May 4, 1919, by the thousands of patriotic students in Beijin’s Tiananmen Square to protest imperialist aggression in China.”

Denmark: Common Payer Day –
Public holiday. The fourth Friday after Easter, known as “Store Bededag,” is a day for prayer and festivity.

International Firefighters' Day
http://homeschooling.about.com/od/holidays/ss/fireprint.htm

International Respect for Chickens Day –
Launched in 2005, International Respect for Chickens Day is a project of United Poultry Concerns, a nonprofit organization that promotes the compassionate and respectful treatment of domestic fowl. IRCD is a day to celebrate chickens throughout the world by encouraging people to do an ACTION for chickens on May 4, showing the world that chickens matter, too. Ideas include arranging a library display/video presentation, a respect for Chicken Day school celebration, letters to the editor, radio talk- show participation, showing the movie Chicken Run, local mall exhibits, etc. UPC supplies posters, brochures, videos and event ideas. For info: Unite Poultry Concerns, PO Box 150, Machipongo, VA 23405. Phone: (757) 678-7875 Fax: (757) 678-5070.
E-mail: Karen@upc-online.org. Web: www.upc-online.org.

International Tuba Day
http://holidayinsights.com/moreholidays/May/tubaday.htm

Japan: Greenery Day –
National Holiday. To commemorate the birth of Emperor Hirohito in 1901.

Kent State: Students’ Memorial Day: Anniversary –
Four students (Allison Krause, 19; Sandra Lee Scheuer, 20; Jeffrey Glen Miller, 20; and William K. Schroeder, 19) were killed by the National Guard during demonstrations against the Vietnam War at Kent (Ohio) State University.

May Day –
Lumpkin, GA. Celebration of the planting season with traditional May Day activities and the Maypole Dance. Est attendance: 800. For info : Patty Cannington, PR Dir, Westville Village, PO Box 1850, Limpkin, GA 31815. Phone: (229) 838-6310 or (888) 733-1850.
E-mail: director@westville.org. Web: www.westville.org.

No Pants Day –
a growing international event, held annually in the first Friday in May, based on simple idea of relishing the joy inherent in not wearing pants. A day where everyone, be they students, respectable businessmen, or cherished community leaders parade around in public without their pants. Usually, people wear thick, colorful boxers, but bloomers, slips, briefs and panties all work as well. For info: Joy Janik, No Pants Day, 507 Sacramento Dr. Austin, TX 78704. Phone: (512) 916-4246.
E-mail: info@nonpanstday.com. Web: www.nopantsday.com.

Orange Peel Day
http://holidayinsights.com/moreholidays/May/candiedorangepeelday.htm

Relationship Renewal Day

Rhode Island Independence Day
http://homeschooling.about.com/cs/unitssubjgeog/a/susri.htm

Renewal Day
http://holidayinsights.com/moreholidays/May/renewalday.htm

Significant Other's Day

Saint Feast Days

• St. Florian
• St. Judas Cyriacus
• St. Venerius
• St. Augustine Webster
• St. Sacerdos
• Bl. Carthusian Martyrs
• St. Conleth
• St. Cyriacus
• St. John Houghton
• St. John Payne
• St. Richard Reynolds
• St. Robert Lawrence
• Bl. Martyrs of the Carthusian Order
• Martyrs of England
• Forty Martyrs of England & Wales
• St. Nepotian
• St. Paulinus of Sinigaglia
• St. Pelagia of Tarsus

http://www.catholic.org/saints/f_day/may.php

[headlines]

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It costs the U.S. government 2.5 cents to produce a quarter.

(Number 18 not correct. According to the US Mint, it costs 7.33 cents.
http://www.usmint.gov/faqs/circulating_coins/index.cfm?flash=yes&action=faq_circulating_coin )

[headlines]

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Today's Top Event in History

1891-The first hospital open to all races as a matter of policy was the Provident Hospital, Chicago, Ill. Although primarily for African-Americans, there was no racial barrier to the admission of patients or staff appointments of physicians. Dr. Frank Billings was chief consulting physician. Dr. Christian Fenger, chief consulting surgeon; and Drs. Ralph N. Isham and Daniel Hall Williams, attending surgeons. A nursing school, the Provident Hospital Training School Association, was connected with the hospital.

[headlines]
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This Day in American History

    1494- Christopher Columbus discovered Jamaica. The Arawak Indians were its first inhabitants. This was his second journey. His first he basically discovered Cuba, and on his third Trinidad, and on his fifth trip, 1502-1504, Martinique, exploring the coasts of Nicaragua, Costa Rica, and Panama. He brought a lot of slaves back to Spain, his main find in the islands. The Pope was requested to intervene in the brutality by Columbus’s men and issued a decree dividing the new world between the Spanish and Portuguese.
    1626-Dutch colonist Peter Minuit arrived on the wooded island of Manhattan in present-day New York. He bought Manhattan for $24, but from a tribe in Brooklyn, almost like buying the Brooklyn Bridge. The story has been repeated so many times school children believe the borough was bought for beads. Ironically, he Dutch had already established the town of New Amsterdam at the southern end of the island. The American Indians had no comprehension of land ownership. Shortly most of them were wiped out by small pox, influenza, and a host of diseases brought from Europe in which
they had no immunity.
(lower half: http://memory.loc.gov/ammem/today/may04.html )
    1746- The Moravians in Pennsylvania established the Moravian Women's Seminary at Bethlehem. It was the first educational institution of its kind established by the "Unitas Fratrum" in (colonial) America.
    1776 - Rhode Island declares independence from England.
    1778-The Continental Congress voted to ratify two treaties signed by representatives from the United States and France in Paris three months before, clearing the way for France to enter the American Revolution on the side of the United States. The Treaty of Amity and Commerce recognized the US as an independent nation and encouraged trade between France and the America, while the Treaty of Alliance provided for a military alliance against Great Britain, stipulating that the absolute independence of the US be recognized as a condition for peace and that France would be permitted to conquer the British West Indies. With the treaties, the first entered into by the US government, the Bourbon monarchy of France formalized its commitment to assist the American colonies in their struggle against France's old rival, Great Britain. The eagerness of the French to help the United States was motivated both by an appreciation of the American revolutionaries' liberal democratic ideals and by a bitterness at having lost most of their American empire to the British at the conclusion of the French and Indian Wars in 1763. France had been secretly providing aid to the United States since the outbreak of the American Revolution in 1775, and in 1776, the Continental Congress appointed Benjamin Franklin, Silas Deane, and Arthur Lee to a joint diplomatic commission to secure a formal alliance with France. However, it was not until 17 October 1777, and the US victory over the British at the Battle of Saratoga, that the French became convinced that the Americans were committed to the struggle and thus worthy partners in a formal alliance.
On 06 February 1778, the Treaty of Amity and Commerce and the Treaty of Alliance were signed, and on 04 May, the Continental Congress ratified these treaties. On 17 June, war between Britain and France began when a British squadron fired on two French ships. During the US War of Independence French armies and naval fleets proved critical in the defeat of the British, which culminated at the Battle of Yorktown in October of 1781.
    1796-Birthday of Horace Mann, American educator, author, public servant, known as the "father of public education in the US," was born at Franklin, MA. Founder of Westfield (MA) State College and editor of the influential Common School Journal. Mann died at Yellow Springs, OH, Aug 2, 1859.
    1850--A second Great Fire broke out in the United States Exchange, a saloon and gambling house. The fire burned 300 buildings and caused $4,000,000 damage.It is interesting that on the same date, one year later, the 5th Great Fire almost destroyed San Francisco. The entire business district was destroyed in 10 hours. 18 Blocks, 2,000 buildings
    1851-First major San Francisco fire
http://www.sfmuseum.org/hist5/5-51fire.html
    1863- The Battle of Chancellorsville ends when Union Army retreats.
    1864- General Grant's Army at Potomac attacks at Rappahannock
crosses Rapidan and begins his duel with Robert E Lee
http://lcweb2.loc.gov/cgi-bin/query/r?pp/cwp:@field(NUMBER+@band(cwpb+01175))
http://www.civilwar-va.com/virginia/va-central/1864tour.html
    1864- Over the objections of President Lincoln, the House of Representatives on this date passed the Wade-Davis Reconstruction bill, containing stiff punitive measures against the South that if put into law would have destroyed Lincoln’s more moderate reconstruction aims. The bill was also adamantly opposed by Radical Republicans, led by Thaddeus Stevens for whom it was insufficiently severe in its treatment of the Southern rebels. Lincoln eventually killed the bill by using the pocket veto. When Andrew Johnson became president, following Lincoln’s assassination, he basically abandoned all Lincoln’s reconstruction plans and set up to punish the South.
    1864 - Union General Ulysses S. Grant's forces cross the Rapidan River and meet Robert E. Lee's Confederate army.
    1886 - Chichester Bell and Charles Tainter received a US patent for the graphophone. This invention replaced Thomas Edison's phonograph, and featured wax-coated cylinders. These were considered an improvement over the phonograph's tinfoil cylinders, which had been delicate and difficult to remove.
    1891-The first hospital open to all races as a matter of policy was the Provident Hospital, Chicago, Ill. Although primarily for African-Americans, there was no racial barrier to the admission of patients or staff appointments of physicians. Dr. Frank Billings was chief consulting physician. Dr. Christian Fenger, chief consulting surgeon; and Drs. Ralph N. Isham and Daniel Hall Williams, attending surgeons. A nursing school, the Provident Hospital Training School Association, was connected with the hospital.
    1894—Bird Day began.
http://memory.loc.gov/ammem/today/may04.html
    1896- Labor union unrest at Chicago led to violence when a crowd of unemployed men tried to enter the McCormick Reaper Works, where a strike was underway. Although no one was killed, anarchist groups called a mass meeting in Haymarket Square to avenge the “massacre. When the police advanced on the demonstrators, a bomb was thrown and several policemen were killed. Four leaders of the demonstration were hanged and another committed suicide in jail. Three others were given jail terms. The case aroused considerable controversy around the world.
    1891-Birthday of American composer, Frederick Jacobi, born San Francisco, CA.Jacobi was one of the founders of the U.S. League of Composers in 1923 and served on the American board of the International Society for Contemporary Music in the 1920s and 1930s. His compositions were played by leading orchestras across the country, from A California Suite (San Francisco Symphony Orchestra, 1917) to his Serenade for Piano and Orchestra (Indianapolis Symphony Orchestra, 1952). The Austrian section of the ISCM gave a special performance of Jacobi’s works at the ISCM Congress in Vienna in 1932. He died 24 October 1952
    1905- Honky Tonk singer Al Dexter was born in Jacksonville, Texas. He perfected his style in the oil-boom dance halls of East Texas. And he recorded one of the first songs to have the word "honky tonk" in its title, "Honky Tonk Blues." Dexter, who died in 1984, is best known as the composer of the wartime hit, "Pistol Packin' Mama."
    1909- Tel Aviv founded. In 1910, the suburb was named Tel Aviv after Nahum Sokolow's translation of Altneuland, Herzl's fictional depiction of the Jewish State.
http://www.wzo.org.il/home/dev/ta1.htm
http://www.wzo.org.il/home/aliyah/aliya2b.htm
http://alpha.furman.edu/~mcknight/cr9.htm
http://www.ddtravel-acc.com/tel.htm
    1926-Drummer Sonny Payne birthday, New York City
“Atomic Bomb” Basie album, best known for. Died Jan 29, 1979 in Los Angeles, CA
http://www.drummerworld.com/drummers/Sonny_Payne.html
http://www.angelfire.com/mac/keepitlive/drummers/Payne/payne.htm
http://www.artistdirect.com/music/artist/bio/0,,477721,00.html?artist=Sonny+Payne
    1928- Canadian jazz trumpet player, “screamer,” Maynard Ferguson was born in Montreal. He went to the US at the age of 20, playing in the big bands of Boyd Raeburn, Jimmy Dorsey, Charlie Barnett and Stan Kenton. Ferguson won the Down Beat magazine reader's poll for trumpet in 1950, '51 and '52. He later formed his own big band, which in the 1970's turned in a jazz-rock direction. Ferguson's recording of "Gonna Fly Now," the theme from "Rocky," was a major hit single in 1977.
http://www.gr8music.com/Ferguson%2C_Maynard/mf-bio.html
http://www.maynard.ferguson.net/
http://www.super8filmmaking.com/maynard/maynard.htm
    1929-Birthday of Audrey Hepburn, whose first major movie role in Roman Holiday (1953) won her an Academy Award as best actress, was born near Brussels, Belgium.
Here real name was Edda Van Heemstra Hepburn-Rusten.She made 26 movies during her career and received four additional Oscar nominations. During the latter years of her life Hepburn served as spokesperson for the United Nations Children's Fund, traveling worldwide raising money for the organization. Audrey Hepburn died Jan 20, 1993, at Tolochenaz, Switzerland. Even when dying of cancer, she traded ceaselessly in Third World countries, always for the children, never stinting, giving everything she had.
Answering a reporter's question about why she worked so hard for UNICEF, she answered simply, "I do not want to see mothers and fathers digging graves for their children." One can only guess that she saw too much of that when as a girl she was accidentally trapped in Holland during World War II. She suffered extreme hardships during the war and several of her relatives and friends were executed by the Nazis. AH acted as a courier for the underground. She even had to eat tulip bulbs when food supplies ran out or they were confiscated by the Germans just before the Allied troops freed the Netherlands.
    1932 - Public Enemy Number One, Al Capone, was jailed - in the Atlanta Penitentiary - for tax evasion. After a long reign atop Chicago's seething Underworld, the law finally nabbed Al Capone in the fall of 1931. Following a high-wattage trial, the notorious mob kingpin was sentenced to an eleven-year jail term and forced to pay $80,000 in fines. But, while Capone was an alleged killer, as well as the force behind gambling rings and bootlegging networks, his trip to prison wasn't tied to any of these eminently punishable enterprises. Rather, Capone had been tripped up for repeatedly failing to pay his taxes. Capone's fiscal offenses, which had been unearthed by the band of Treasury agents now enshrined in pop-culture history as the "Untouchables," landed him first in an Atlanta prison; two years into his term, Capone was shuttled to the recently opened Bay Area prison, Alcatraz. However, Capone never served out his sentence: suffering from an advanced bout of syphilis, he was set free in 1939 favor of an extended stay in a Baltimore hospital.
    1937-Bassist Ron Carter birthday, Ferndale, MI
http://www.roncarter.net/officialSite.html
http://www.vh1.com/artists/az/carter_ron/bio.jhtml
    1939-- In his first-ever at-bat in the city of Detroit, rookie Ted Williams becomes the first player to hit a homer which totally clears the right field seats at Briggs Stadium.
    1940-Duke Ellington bad records “Cotton Tail,” “Don’t Get Around Much Anymore” for Victor.
    1942 - The Battle of the Coral Sea commences.
    1942- The United States begins food rationing.
    1948-Author Norman Mailer’s first book is published, ”The Naked and the Dead.”
http://www.kirjasto.sci.fi/nmailer.htm
http://www.pbs.org/wnet/americanmasters/database/mailer_n.html
    1948--Birthday of American composer John Newell in Charlotte, NC. An accomplished pianist and conductor, he founded and conducted the Berkshire County Chamber Orchestra in Pittsfield, Massachusetts. For the past twelve years he has served as music director for the Congregational Church of Worthington, Massachusetts. He is affiliated with Broadcast Music, Inc. and is an artist member of the American Music Center. He publishes his work through Abierto Music.
    1956---Top Hits
Heartbreak Hotel/I Was the One - Elvis Presley
Moonglow and Theme from ’Picnic’ - Morris Stoloff
Standing on the Corner - The Four Lads
Blue Suede Shoes - Carl Perkins
    1956 - Gene Vincent and his group, The Blue Caps, recorded "Be-Bop-A Lula" for Capitol Records in Los Angeles. Interesting note: Vincent had written the tune only three days before he auditioned in a record company talent search that won him first place. The record was rush-released just two days later and became a rock and roll classic. Vincent recorded two other charted songs in 1957 and 1958: "Lotta Lovin’" and "Dance to the Bop".
    1957- "The Alan Freed Show" debuted on ABC-TV. The legendary disc jockey's rock 'n' roll variety show was cancelled some months later after black teenage singer Frankie Lymon was shown dancing with a white girl.
    1959- The first Grammy Awards were presented by the National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences. Record of the year and song of the year was "Nel Blu Dipinto Di Blu" - better known as "Volare" - by Domenico Modugno. Henry Mancini won the Album of the Year award for "The Music From Peter Gunn" and the Kingston Trio won the first country Grammy for "Tom Dooley."
    1960-- the birth control pill was approved by the FDA in the U.S. It was developed at the Worcester Center for Experimental Biology. The work was financed by Katherine McCormick who gave the center $150,000 a year from 1953 on to develop an oral contraceptive. McCormick was the second woman graduate of M.I.T. She married into the McCormick family and took over the International Harvester business when her husband became hopelessly insane.
    1961-- US considers intervention in Vietnam. At a press conference, Secretary of State Dean Rusk reports that Viet Cong forces have grown to 12'000 men and that they had killed or kidnapped more than 3,000 persons in 1960. While declaring that the United States would supply South Vietnam with any possible help, he refused to say whether the United States would intervene militarily. At a press conference the next day, President John F. Kennedy said that consideration was being given to the use of United States forces. Kennedy's successor, Lyndon B. Johnson, did eventually commit more than 500'000 American soldiers to the war.
    1961-Militant students joined James Farmer of the Congress of Racial Equality (CORE) to conduct “freedom rides” on public transportation from Washington, DC, across the deep South to New Orleans. The trips were intended to test Supreme Court decisions and Interstate Commerce Commission regulations prohibiting discrimination in interstate travel. In several places riders were brutally beaten by local people and policemen. On May 14, members of the Ku Klux Klan attacked the Freedom Riders in Birmingham, Alabama, awhile local police watched. In Mississippi,, Freedom Riders were jailed. They never made it to New Orleans. The rides were patterned after a similar challenge to segregation, the 1947 Journey of Reconciliation, which tested the US Supreme Court’s June 3, 1946, ban against segregation in interstate bus travel.
    1963 - Andy Williams's album, Days of Wine and Roses, hit the Number 1 spot on the LP pop chart, and stayed there for 16 weeks.
    1963-The Beach Boys "Surfin U.S.A." LP debuts on the charts.
    1964---Top Hits
Can’t Buy Me Love - The Beatles
Hello Dolly! - Louis Armstrong
Bits and Pieces - The Dave Clark Five
My Heart Skips a Beat - Buck Owens
    1964- “Another World, “created by lrna Phillips and sponsored by P&G, this soap was set in fictional Bay City. It was the first soap to air for a full hour and the first to beget two spin-offs (“Somerset” and “Texas’). Charles Durning,Ted Shackelford, Eric Roberts, Ray Liotta, Kyra Sedgwick, Faith Ford, Morgan Freeman, Jackëe Harry,Victoria Wyndham and Valarie Pettiford are some of its well-known alums. The show was cancelled in1999 and the last episode aired dune 25, 1999.
    1964 - No. 1 Billboard Pop Hit: "Hello Dolly," Louis Armstrong.
    1964 - The Beatles set a "Billboard" magazine Top 100 chart all-time record when, today, all five of the top songs were by the British rock group. The Beatles also had the number one album with "Meet the Beatles", the top album from February 15 through May 2, when it was replaced by "The Beatles Second Album". During the first three months of 1964, it was estimated The Beatles accounted for 60 percent of the entire singles record business. The top five Beatles singles, setting the record, were: 1) Can’t Buy Me Love 2) Twist and Shout 3) She Loves You 4) I Want to Hold Your Hand 5) Please Please Me
    1967-The Turtles receive their first of two gold singles, for their recent Number One pop hit, "Happy Together." Their second gold single will come with "She'd Rather Be with Me."
    1970- Still fresh in minds of students who attending college during this time, four students (Allison Krause, 19; Sandra Lee Scheuer. 20: Jeffrey Glenn Miller. 20 and William K. Schroeder, 19) were killed by the National Guard during demonstrations against the Vietnam War at Kent(Ohio) State .
http://dept.kent.edu/sociology/lewis/lewihen.htm
    1972---Top Hits
The First Time Ever I Saw Your Face - Roberta Flack
I Gotcha - Joe Tex
Betcha By Golly, Wow - The Stylistics
Chantilly Lace - Jerry Lee Lewis
    1973-Led Zeppelin open their 1973 U.S. tour, which is billed as the "biggest and most profitable rock & roll tour in the history of the United States." A group spokesman predicts the group will gross over $3 million.
    1974-The first skyscraper higher than 1,400 feet in height was the 110-story sears Building of sears Roebuck and Company, measuring 1,454 feet high located on Jackson Boulevard between Adams and Franklin streets in Chicago.
http://www.sears-tower.com/index.html
http://www.the-skydeck.com/homeDefault.htm
    1975-Baseball’s One Millionth Run. Bob Watson of the Houston Astros raced around the bases on Milt May’s home run against the San Francisco Giants an crossed the plate with what was declared to be the one millionth run scored in major league baseball history. Watson’s hustle paid off. Davey Conceptcion of the Cincinnati Reds scored another run in a different game in a different city seconds later.
    1976- The Illinois Legislature declares today as Rick Monday Day because of his patriotic gesture of saving the American flag from being burned in Los Angeles by two fans.
    1977 - No. 1 Billboard Pop Hit: "Hotel California," The Eagles.
    1978-Jefferson Starship receive a platinum record for what will be their last LP with Grace Slick and Marty Balin. Just a few weeks later, both are gone and the band has to be revamped.
    1980---Top Hits
Call Me - Blondie
Ride like the Wind - Christopher Cross
Lost in Love - Air Supply
Are You on the Road to Lovin’ Me Again - Debby Boone
    1986 - No. 1 Billboard Pop Hit: "West End Girls," Pet Shop Boys.
    1988---Top Hits
Where Do Broken Hearts Go - Whitney Houston
Wishing Well - Terence Trent D’Arby
Angel - Aerosmith
It’s Such a Small World - Rodney Crowell & Rosanne Cash
    1989 - Col. Oliver North was found guilty in the investigations into the Iran-Contra affair. As part of the Iran-Contra affair, a federal jury convicted Marine Lieutenant Colonel Oliver L. North, a former official of the National Security Council, on charges of obstruction of justice and destruction of evidence.
Although President Reagan was heavily implicated by North in his testimony during the televised congressional hearings and also by Walsh in his final Iran-Contra report, neither he nor Vice President George Bush were directly indicted in the subsequent criminal trials. Oliver North, whose convictions were later suspended in an appeals court, eventually had all his convictions overturned by a federal judge because the prosecutors had used testimony that North had given to Congress under immunity.
    1990 - Thunderstorms produced severe weather from the Lower Ohio Valley to Virginia and the Carolinas. A tornado at Augusta Springs VA killed two people and injured ten others, and another tornado caused 1.7 million dollars damage at Colonial Heights VA. Temp-eratures soared into the 90s in northern California. The high of 98 degrees in downtown Sacramento was their hottest reading of record for so early in the season.
    1991- Indians' first baseman Chris James establishes the club record for RBIs by driving in nine runs with a pair of homers and two singles, helping Cleveland to crush the A's, 20-6.
    1994---Top Hits
The Sign- Ace of Base
Bump N Grind- R. Kelly
The Most Beautiful Girl in the World- The Artist
Return to Innocence- Enigma
    1999---Top Hits
Livin La Vida Loca- Ricky Martin
No Scrubs- TLC
Kiss Me- Sixpence None The Richer
Every Morning- Sugar Ray
    2006 - Pearl Jam sticks around after taping a song for CBS' "The Late Show With David Letterman to play a 10-song set inside New York's Ed Sullivan Theatre exclusively for members of its fan club.

Stanley Champions This Date

    1969 Montreal Canadiens

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