"Dee's going to be the disruptive one," Latos said.

Adding Gordon's game-changing speed in front of sluggers like Stanton and free-agent pickup Michael Morse gives the Marlins one of their most dynamic lineups in years. The club now has one of the fastest players in the game setting the table for one of the league's most imposing sluggers.

With the Dodgers last year, Gordon swiped a Major League-best 64 bases. The Marlins haven't had a player lead the Majors in steals since Juan Pierre posted his franchise-record total of 65 in 2003.

A lack of speed was a weakness of the 2014 Marlins, who stole just 58 bases -- fourth fewest in the Majors.

Marlins introduce Gordon, Latos and Morse

The Marlins introduce a trio of new stars with Dee Gordon, Mat Latos and Michael Morse, who are all ready to take Miami to the next level

Now with the projected lineup of Gordon at the top of the order and Christian Yelich hitting second, Miami has two running threats in front of Stanton and Morse. Along with stealing bases, they are capable of scoring from first on a double.

"Stanton and Morse, those are the guys who are going to knock Dee in," Latos said. "Those are going to be the guys you're scared of. Pitchers are scared of them, but they can always walk them. You don't want to walk Dee."

The question with Gordon is if he will get on base enough. He batted .289 with a .326 on-base percentage and 31 walks in 2014. Gordon also struck out 107 times. If he is struggling at the leadoff spot, the Marlins have versatility in their lineup to adjust. Yelich is experienced leading off, and Martin Prado can bat second.

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Speedy Gordon gives Marlins dynamic lineup

January 14, 2015 - Major League Soccer (MLS) Portland Timbers PORTLAND, Ore. - The Portland Timbers have added radio play-by-play broadcaster Jake Zivin in an expanded, full-time role with the club and Samantha Yarock as a versatile reporter who will feature on Timbers television broadcasts and online video content for the 2015 season presented by Simple, it was announced today.

Zivin enters his second season as the radio play-by-play announcer for Timbers broadcasts on 750 The Game and will assume a new, expanded role as web stream play-by-play broadcaster for the club's T2 USL PRO home games in 2015. Garnering extensive experience with Major League Soccer - interning in the league's broadcasting department and working for two years on the production staff for ABC/ESPN's MLS and U.S. National Team broadcasts - Zivin will be the main play-by-play broadcaster for T2. Zivin joins the Timbers after spending four years at KEZI-TV in Eugene, Ore., including three as the station's sports director. He began his career in Montana, where he was the sports director at KECI-TV in Missoula. A native of Evanston, Ill., Zivin graduated from Carleton College in 2007 with a degree in mathematics.

Yarock joins the Timbers as a reporter who will contribute to Timbers television broadcasts and online at Timbers.com following time as an on-air talent and content producer for MLSSoccer.com. Before working at MLS, Yarock, whose Timbers online coverage begins at the MLS SuperDraft on Thursday, earned a master's degree in multimedia communications from the Academy of Art University in San Francisco, where she reported and did play-by-play for the university's men's and women's NCAA basketball games. Yarock, who also holds a bachelor's degree in journalism from the University of Wisconsin, hosted and produced segments for GoStanford.com and interned for the sports departments at KPIX-TV/CBS 5 and KTVU/FOX 2 while in the Bay Area.

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Timbers Announce Additions to Broadcast Team for 2015 Season

Los Angeles, CA (PRWEB) January 13, 2015

Konnect Public Relations, a full-service PR firm specializing in custom campaigns for consumer brands, started the new year with the opening of a new agency location in Austin, Texas and a completely redesigned website. The PR agency has experienced significant expansion since its founding in 2009, growing from four employees to over 30, with more than 470 percent growth in revenue, and these next steps further exemplify the success of the companys dynamic and disruptive approach to public relations.

Now open in SoLa (South Lamar), a hotbed for creative and business industries, Konnect PRs Austin office will continue to service food and beverage brands, baby and childrens products and franchise concepts. The office will represent many clients already in the area, while expanding its reach to the multitude of dynamic consumer brands in the region.

Much like the public relations agency itself, the newly launched website illustrates the agencys passion for meaningful client relations and distinct culture, while showcasing the companys unrivaled results. With a sleek parallax design that features animations that come to life with each scroll, the new website offers visitors information about how Konnect PR continues to challenge the typical notion of public relations. Konnect PRs new website includes in-depth information about the PR agency, its ROI-driven approach, industry awards and accolades, its team of dedicated publicists as well as testimonies from clients such as Menchies, Fatburger, Rhythm Superfoods, Sky Zone Trampoline Park, KRAVE Jerky, Nuna and more.

2015 is already shaping up to be a banner year for Konnect PR with the opening of our second office and a website that really personifies our team and the experience we provide for clients, said Konnect PR CEO Sabina Gault. Konnect PR is dedicated to inspiring the discovery of the extraordinary in the brands we work with and we believe these two new additions are our way of doing just that.

For more information on Konnect PR please visit http://www.konnect-pr.com.

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About Konnect PR Konnect Public Relations is a full service agency located in Los Angeles. The public relations firm specializes in food and beverage, baby and childrens products, franchise and lifestyle clients. Since its start in 2009, this dedicated team of publicists has made it their goal to create ROI-driven campaigns, land strategic media placement opportunities and deliver results that cater to the specific needs of each client. For more information about Konnect PR, please visit http://www.konnect-pr.com.

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Konnect Public Relations Kicks Off 2015 With A Second Location And New Website

Destinys second expansion,House of Wolves, doesnt have anofficial release date (rumors suggestits out on March 10. 2015), but the savvy fan community has managed to dig up a bunch of details on what shape it takes. Before we go any further, take note that none of this is actually confirmed and any or all of it might be subject to change.

That said, we just got back from CES week in Las Vegas, and in the spirit of all the gambling that happened wed say thatthe broad strokes you see here (at the very least) are a safe bet.

A 4chan user put together a graphic (via Reddit) that summarizes everything known, complete with what appear to be in-game thumbnail previews of all the items listed. This includes all raid weapons and armor, all exotic weapons and armor, all legendary armor and class items available from the Tower vendor, and all ships, plus a few other bits and pieces that well look at individually. It should be noted that the image doesnt include any non-raid legendary weapons. That doesnt mean there wont be any inHouse of Wolves, but no ones discovered anything yet.

There are also three sections that dont relate to gear. One, labeled Banks, lists Shader Collection, Ship Collection, and Special Emblem Collection, which suggests thatHouse of Wolves will expand the in-game vault which lets you share gear between your own characters to include these three new storage silos (shaders, ships, and emblems are all stored in the same place right now).

Related:Destiny is Digital Trends game of the year for 2014

A Crucible section focuses onHouse of Wolves competitive multiplayer mode additions. Four new maps are coming Thieves Den (Venus), Black Shield (Phobos), Widows Court (Earth), and The Timekeeper (Mars) as well as some new hardcore mode variants that appear to connect to each ofDestinys three Crucible factions.

Finally, an Activity section runs through all of the additions to the PvE side of the game inHouse of Wolves. Heres where the spoiler-averse should take note: The list includes quest descriptions for each of the three story quests, as well as the new Strike and the new Raid. For those that would rather just know the raw stats, read on and dont enlarge the image below.

In terms of raw numbers, youre looking at three new story missions, one new Strike, and one new Raid. Much likeThe Dark BelowDLC and its Crotas Bane Reputation rankings earned from completing Eris Morn bounties, it looks likeWolves follows suit with a newReef Bounty system. The DLC also adds a new level 28 Vanguard Dragon option to the Strike Playlists menu (a space is already reserved for it in the game right now).

There are plenty more details for eagle-eyed fans to pore over, and you can do just that by checking out this imgur link (or the Reddit source link at the top). All of this info was compiled by the images creator, MattWGordon, and pulled out of data mined by the communities at DestinyTracker, DestinyDB, and DestinyPlanet.

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Heres almost all the new gear, missions, and more in Destinys second DLC, House of Wolves

George Lucas wanted to direct Episode VII

George Lucas has revealed that he originally wanted to direct the new Star Wars sequel.

The filmmaker told USA Today that, prior to Disneys acquisition of LucasFilm in 2012, he was planning a seventh Star Wars film for release in May 2015. He later decided to step away from the series, after realising that overseeing a new trilogy would require a commitment of at least 10 years.

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Star Wars: Simon Kinberg is the new screenwriter for stand-alone Star Wars film

Simon Kinberg (X-Men: Days of Future Past) is the new screenwriter for Godzilla director Gareth Edwards's forthcoming stand-alone Star Wars spin-off, according to the latest rumours. It was recently announced that screenwriter Gary Whitta (After Earth) had left the project.

Read the story in full here

12.1.14

Screenwriter Gary Whitta leaves Disney's stand alone Star Wars film

Gary Whitta, the screenwriter behind Gareth Edward's forthcoming stand alone Star Wars movie, has left the project.

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Star Wars Episode 7: news, rumours & spoilers

SACRAMENTO, Calif. (AP) - LeBron James declined to speak to reporters after Clevelands latest loss without him. His Cavaliers teammates had another quiet night, too.

DeMarcus Cousins had 26 points and 13 rebounds and the Sacramento Kings beat Cleveland 103-84 on Sunday, handing the Cavaliers their seventh loss in eight games with James out with a strained back and sore left knee.

Cleveland has lost five straight and is 1-8 in its last nine games to drop to 19-19. The Cavaliers fell behind by 15 points in the second quarter and the Kings maintained a double-digit lead.

They came out and punched us in the mouth. The first time we got into a double-digit deficit we just hung out heads, said Kevin Love, who had 25 points and 10 rebounds.

In addition to James absence, the Cavaliers are playing for a new coach, adjusting to offseason moves and the additions last week of JR Smith and Timofey Mozgov.

Were going through a lot of trials and tribulations, a lot of changes, Cleveland coach David Blatt said. Were making adjustments on the fly. Tonight was definitely not a step forward. It wasnt a good performance, you cant sugar coat it.

Kyrie Irving had 21 points and had seven assists for Cleveland. Mozgov, acquired from Denver last week, had 14 points and 12 rebounds.

LeBron being out, thats 27 points we have to make up every game, said Irving, who was ineffective after hitting four 3s and scoring 14 first-quarter points.

Smith struggled after scoring 27 points in his second game since joining Cleveland in a trade with New York. He had four points on 2-of-10 shooting in 30 minutes.

Rudy Gay added 23 points for Sacramento. Darren Collison had 16, and Carl Landry 11.

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Cousins helps Kings rout LeBron-less Cavaliers 103-84

[WARNING! POTENTIALBATMAN V SUPERMANSPOILERS AHEAD!]

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Fans of all things Dark Knight and Man of Steel already know that a rumor buzzing around the internet claims thatBatman V Superman: Dawn of Justicemight be split into two filmswith Part 1:Enter the Knightarriving on October 23, 2015 and Part 2:Dawn of Justiceon the films previously confirmed date in March 25, 2016.

Our only source for this was an image which appeared online and quickly spread across the interwebs like a Kryptonian virus. It seemed wildly unlikely that Warner Bros./DC Comics would pull a move like this, but then again, 2015 will be completely void of any big screen DCU entries could there have been a shred of truth to this development? According to Superman himself, Henry Cavill: Nope.

Cavill recently attended a BAFTA party in Los Angeles, and according toVarietys Ramin Setoodeh, (hat tip to CBM)Cavill denied the two-part rumor, among other comments onBvS.

Setoodeh tweeted the following regarding the films potential split into two parts:

Henry Cavill says 'Batman v Superman' won't be split into two movies. #BAFTATea

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Batman V Superman: Henry Cavill Denies Two-Movie Split; Doomsday & Cyborg Rumors

Dec 2

Our team has had a ton of fun drawing Geofilters and using them to decorate some of our favorite places around the world. From coffee shops in Venice to coastal towns in Oslo, we hope youve enjoyed discovering each little piece of art! Recently, weve had more and more Snapchatters ask us to help them create their own Geofilters - for marriage proposals, favorite cities, and even birthday parties!

Today were thrilled to announce our Community Geofilter website. Now its easy to draw a little piece of art and put it somewhere meaningful to you and your friends. We cant wait to decorate the world with our Community Geofilters - just in time for the holidays!

Love,

Team Snapchat

Nov 17

Today is a big day for us - we are launching our first product created in partnership with another company. Were huge fans of the folks at Square and have been big admirers of Square Cash since it launched just type a dollar amount into the subject line of an email and send cash to friends. Genius!

We loved it so much that we wanted to create something with them that felt Snapchat-y. So we built a Snapcash prototype and shared it with the team at Square. Luckily for us, they were just as excited as we were and wanted to build it together.

The product youre seeing today is fast, fun, and incredibly simple. After you enter your debit card, its securely stored by Square, who will swiftly process your payment and send cash directly to your friends bank account. Just swipe into chat, type the dollar sign, an amount (e.g. $11.25), and hit the green button.

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Snapchat

And every minute of every day between the start of November and the middle of February, this is the focus.

Dipoto discusses the Angels' new acquisitions

Angels general manager Jerry Dipoto talks about the club's moves this offseason, including acquiring Andrew Heaney

"The team that's deepest is going to wind up being the team that's on the dance floor the most often," Dipoto said, referencing the postseason and basically summoning his own rallying cry. "We'd like to be that team."

That's why, in Dipoto's mind, Thursday's trade was so important, even though it probably won't have any impact on the coming season.

In acquiring 24-year-old Kyle Kubitza -- in a prospect swap that sent 17-year-old starter Ricardo Sanchez to the Braves and also brought back relief-pitching prospect Nate Hyatt -- the Angels got what they believe is their third baseman of the future; someone who should be ready to step in once David Freese hits the free-agent market after the 2015 season.

It's a delicate balance, no doubt, but it's all about building that next wave of players while maintaining the fabric of an immediate championship contender.

"Right now, we're hyper-focused on being prepared for Feb. 19, the start of Spring Training, and getting ourselves prepared for the 2015 season," Dipoto said. "But we're always paying attention to what happens in 2016 and beyond, and trying to build in layers of depth in the system."

The No. 1 priority -- perhaps also the second, third, fourth and fifth -- is accumulating a wealth of young, controllable pitching because, as Dipoto likes to tell his front-office group, "If you tap into the pitching, you have the key to get the other things we need."

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Depth charts at heart of Angels' offseason strategy

January 9, 2015 - International League (IL) Scranton/Wilkes-Barre RailRiders Moosic, Pa. - A slew of familiar faces and two noteworthy additions will make up the 2015 field staff for the Scranton/Wilkes-Barre RailRiders (Triple-A/New York Yankees). Manager Dave Miley, pitching coach Scott Aldred, athletic trainer Darren London and strength & conditioning coach Lee Tressel will again mentor, mend and develop the players that call NEPA their summer home. The additions come from within the organization with hitting coach Marcus Thames and defensive coach Justin Tordi.

Miley, who was named Manager of the Year for all of minor league baseball in 2012 by Baseball America, enters his ninth season as the skipper in SWB and 10th with the Bombers' Triple-A unit. The 2014 inductee into the IL Hall of Fame also called the shots during the Yankees' final campaign in Columbus (2006). This marks year six with the squad for Aldred, who pitched in the bigs for nine seasons. London, the International League's Athletic Trainer of the Year in 2006 and 2012, has spent more than two decades as the Yankees' Triple-A athletic trainer with this season marking his 23rd at the level and 27th in a row with the organization. Tressel enters his 12th year in pinstripes and his seventh with Scranton/Wilkes-Barre.

Thames, 37, was a 30th-round pick by the Yankees in 1996 before spending a decade in the big leagues with the Yankees (2002, 2010), Texas Rangers (2003), Detroit Tigers (2004-09) and Los Angeles Dodgers (2011). The corner outfielder belted the first of his 115 homers in his first MLB at-bat against 2015 Hall-of-Fame inductee Randy Johnson. Thames assembled a career line of .246/.309/.485/.794. He still owns Detroit's franchise record for best at-bat/HR ratio on a career at 14.8. He spent the 2014 season as the hitting coach with Double-A Trenton and served in the same role with Advanced-A Tampa in 2013. He played 314 games in the International League including a four-game SWB stint in 2010.

Tordi, 30, was selected by the Cincinnati Reds in the 41st round of the 2005 draft out of the University of Florida. He spent last season as a first-base/bench coach with Low-A Charleston. The Rochester Hills, Mich. native played first, second, third, short, caught and pitched over his four seasons in the minors with the Reds. He reached Double-A both in 2008 and 2009 with Chattanooga and Carolina respectively. He earned second-team All-SEC honors in 2005 for the national runner-up Florida Gators as the team's shortstop.

The RailRiders open their 2015 season at home on April 9 against the Syracuse Chiefs (Washington Nationals). For more information please call (570) 969-BALL (2255) or visit swbrailriders.com.

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Thames, Tordi Join SWB Field Staff