Who Will Miss the NHL Playoffs From the West in 2012?

Yesterday, I predicted the top eight teams in the West, with a caveat that, while picking the Columbus Blue Jackets for the last playoff spot, it is more than likely that Calgary will be there instead. So, I have no choice but leading with the Flames on the list of teams that we think won't make the playoffs.

1. Calgary Flames: If I were completely objective and rational, I'd put Calgary into the playoffs, based on the way they finished last season. If they keep that rate up, they can do even better than eighth. They lost defenseman Robgyn Regehr over the summer, and they didn't add much, so there is a good chance they won't play as well as they did late in the last season. Who knows? This is a big guess anyway.

Nfl 2012

2. Phoenix Coyotes: The loss of Ilya Bryzgalov in goal will be devastating. So will be the departure of Vewrnon Fiddler, Ed Jovanovski, and Eric Belanger. It's hard to see how the offseason additions will make up for the offseason losses. Having said that, though, if things click, the Coyotes still could make the playoffs.

3. Minnesota Wild: Defense seems to be a challenge this year. Plus, it looks like a front office "tear it down before we build it back up" situation. So, why then, are we picking the Wild at 11th rather than lower? We think they'll play reasonable solid hockey for the talent level that they have in place.

4. Nashville Predators: A lot of people think Nashville, coming off a playoff win last year, will improve this year. In fact, it would be easy to pick them for the last playoff spot. But, it just seems that things just aren't right. They lost a lot of people in the summer, and I'm not sure really good players like Shea Weber can make enough of a difference.

5. Edmonton Oilers: We love Edmonton fans. We think they need a moral victory, if not the first choice in the NFL draft. So, we're not picking them last. We're picking them two spots from last. We can't see the Oilers making the playoffs, but we can see them dropping below 13th.

6. Colorado Avalanche: The Avalanche are in a deep amount of hurt. But maybe not. Maybe the will squeeze into the playoffs. Maybe we are out of our minds to pick them this low. New goaltenders are always scary. Look for a tough year in Denver.

7. Dallas Stars: We may be the only people who pick Dallas last. The ownership issues make things tough. They won't make the playoffs. Quite simply, they need to rebuild, and that's what they will do. Look for them to get a very high draft pick.

Who Will Miss the NHL Playoffs From the West in 2012?

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2012 Philadelphia Eagles Offseason Needs

The Philadelphia Eagles made a huge splash when they added some big-time names to the roster last season, which in turn led new backup quarterback Vince Young to label the Eagles as the "Dream Team." Despite the lofty expectations that came with their intimidating name, the team quickly descended from its high perch and delivered a hugely disappointing 2011 campaign. The Eagles weren't even able to make the playoffs, ending up with a record of just 8-8. The team did show signs of life late in the year, and it wouldn't surprise me if they had a major rebound season in 2012. In order to do so, they need to continue to address some of the big holes they overlooked last year. Here are some of the Eagles' big additions and subtractions so far in this young offseason, plus a breakdown of their biggest needs heading into the draft.

Additions:

Nfl 2012

ILB DeMeco Ryans

OT Demetress Bell

G Steve Vallos

Subtractions:

OT Winston Justice

DE Juqua Thomas-Parker

WR Steve Smith

DT Trevor Laws

C Jamaal Jackson

Top 5 Needs:

1. Outside Linebacker

Despite all the additions they were able to make last year, the Eagles featured one of the worst starting linebacker corps in the entire NFL. As a result, their defense was left powerless against the run. Philadelphia traded its fourth-round pick for DeMeco Ryans, but the Eagles urgently need to add some help on the outside. Against their normal judgment, the Eagles need to go after linebackers early, unless they can target the player that can be had in the later rounds.

2. Defensive Tackle

Through smart picks, I believe that this is the one area that the Eagles could improve right away through the draft. Cullen Jenkins played well, but Mike Patterson is better suited as a reserve. Head coach Andy Reid is known for going after linemen, so he might just have eyes for Mississippi State's Fletcher Cox with the 15th overall pick.

3. Safety

The Eagles' starting safeties proved to be a disappointment last year. Nate Allen improved at free safety as the season went on, and he is pencilled in to be the starter in 2012. Rookie Jaiquawn Jarrett and Kurt Coleman, however, played horribly at strong safety. The Eagles still see potential in Jarrett and they may not give up on him just yet. However, if they went after Alabama's Mark Barron, then they could truly solidify their unit. Barron is widely considered as the top safety in the draft, and he has incredible instincts against the pass and is great against the run. If they do decide to go on a different direction and upgrade on the front seven, they might just bring some help via the free agency.

4. Wide Receiver/Tight End

Despite the fact that the Eagles were able to re-sign DeSean Jackson, it is pretty clear that quarterback Michael Vick would greatly benefit from a big wideout or tight end that he could really rely on in the red zone. No wideout on the team had more than five touchdown catches all season. Philadelphia has a number of players more than capable of making plays in the open field, but without a good wideout or tight end, then this squad will have some trouble when it gets deep inside opponents' territory.

5. Quarterback

After his incredible run in early 2010, Michael Vick hasn't been the same, and he is one hit away from being sidelined for a number of games. Rumors have swirled that the Eagles are looking into moving up to grab Texas A&M's Ryan Tannehill. While there may not be truth to those rumors, the Eagles would be better off if they can find someone they can groom over the next couple of seasons.

2012 Philadelphia Eagles Offseason Needs

Click here for the latest odds from the respected site BetFirms.com.

How to Create a Business Budget for 2012

Just into the first quarter of 2012, you're probably wondering about how to do things better. Or how to do things differently. In today's tight economy, one thing many small businesses need to do is to learn how to manage their marketing budget. Because either you manage it...or it is going to er, "manage" you.

Fox Business.com reported recently that a 30-second spot at the Super Bowl cost .5 million. Now some companies are spending that much (and more) for their marketing budgets. But for more small companies, they may not even "have" a budget. So they spend money as they need to - on marketing. In the short term, this seems wise. But to help you plan long term, and to best understand your marketing needs, this is shooting yourself in the foot, over and over again. Save yourself the time & hassle, and learn to set a marketing budget, now.

Super Bowl 2012

How do you set a marketing budget? Every company's needs are different. Look at your business plan, goals for the year. Do you want to attract new customers? Have you opened new stores/locations in a new area? Basically, if you are looking for additional growth, you probably will have to spend more on marketing than you were planning to. Try to find what you've spent on marketing for the past two or three years, and why you chose to do marketing at that time (a sale, a promotion, bring in new business, etc.).

Not all marketing costs money. Some things, like social media and networking, often simply cost time and effort. Think about that for a moment. A successful small business I know does something about marketing every single day. You heard me: every single day. Like brushing your teeth. Even if business is so hectic, you couldn't imagine another customer or client walking through the door. But this example is helpful because doing regular marketing pays off. Even if you don't do things every day, if you do things every week, they will start to bring in results. But setting that marketing budget is helpful because you are planning for your success instead of going about it when you think about marketing occasionally, when you realize you "need" to market just before a sale or a promotion. You always need to be marketing!

Study your competition and learn from them. You may not want to do everything your competition does. And just because something is successful for your competition doesn't necessarily mean that it will be successful for you. You need to find what you would enjoy doing and what "fits" your small business to a "T." But by studying your competition, you can best create your marketing plan because you'll develop ideas and strategies for marketing. Instead of doing what you've always done, you'll find new tactics for marketing.

Now, you can ignore setting a marketing budget. Some small businesses do. But they wind up on that frantic treadmill, always thinking short term about their marketing instead of able to think long term. When you create a marketing budget and plan for your marketing, you offer your business the opportunity to grow and develop. It is like the difference between creating a business plan - and choosing to run your business without one. It's entirely your choice!

How to Create a Business Budget for 2012

Article written by Lawrence Reaves, writing on behalf of http://www.galorath.com - providing software estimation tools for complex business projects.

Developing a Career in Sports in the UK

In 2010 research was published showing that growth of the sports sector in England had outstripped the UK economy and that the number of people with sports related jobs had reached 441,000, nearly 1.8% of all employment in England. Sport and fitness covers a large sector of employment comprising professional, commercial and voluntary sports clubs, leisure centres, swimming pools, gyms and fitness clubs and Stadia. These are run by a variety of Local Authority services, Trusts, private operators and voluntary or community organisations.

The great news for people considering developing a career in this industry is that the workforce has a high proportion of young people working within it - some 24% are in the age range of 16-24.

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Golden Decade of Sport
There's never been a better time to consider entering the sports industry. Over the next 10 years we have lots of big events happening in the UK which the government hopes will help establish sport and fitness as a much bigger part of our daily lives and encourage younger people to be more active. Here's a few examples of the main events happening over the next 10 years:

2010
Ryder Cup, Celtic Manor, Newport, Wales
World Lacrosse Championships, Manchester
Women's Rugby World Cup, London
ATP Tennis World Tour finals, The O2, London

2011
World Short-Track Speed Skating Champs, Sheffield
Football Champions' League final, Wembley, London
ATP Tennis World Tour finals, The O2, London

2012
Olympic & Paralympic Games, London

2013
Rugby League World Cup

2014
Commonwealth Games, Glasgow

2015
Rugby Union World Cup

2019
Cricket World Cup

Bidding for:

Super Bowl (2015 or 2017 rumoured)
Football World Cup 2018
Commonwealth Games 2018 (Cardiff, Sheffield or Liverpool).

What Can You Expect?
The average salary after training is between 20k and 35k in the sport and fitness industry. You can expect to have to work shift patterns and weekends in a lot of cases. Working in the industry can offer international opportunities as sport transcends boundaries typically there in other industries. The sports industry is expected to continue to grow at a much faster rate than the rest of the UK economy so domestic opportunities should increase.

Which Sector or Specialisation
There are far more opportunities in the leisure industry than in sports in roughly an 80/20 split. Everyone has heard of the big names in the industry but most clubs and organisations are actually quite small in terms of numbers of employees. This means that you can feel like you're contributing much more than with a small organisation but also that it may be harder to find work initially.

Planning Your Career
An absolute priority has to be to plan your career. Investigate what routes are open to you and think about what is realistic but challenging. You can change your plan as often as you like but you should always have a career plan.

Summary
There's never been a better time to develop a career in the sports industry. With some detailed research and career planning you should be able to carve out your ideal career with the very real possibilities of international travel and working for big brand names.

Developing a Career in Sports in the UK

Start your career planning process by visiting GlobalSportsJobs where you'll find the latest sports jobs advice and content

2012 New York Giants Offseason Needs

The 2011 postseason saw one of the most remarkable turnarounds in NFL history. Despite people writing off the New York Giants after losing five of six games late in the year, they put forth a finish that shocked many. First, the Giants won their last two games to clinch the division title. From there, the Giants would go on an improbable run by defeating the Atlanta Falcons, Green Bay Packers, San Francisco 49ers and New England Patriots en route to a second Super Bowl win in five years. The Giants handily proved that it matters more how you end the year, than how you started it. The shock of the Giants' run may have worn off and the NFC East is as tough as ever, but it seems that New York is ready to contend for years to come. Here are some of the Giants' big additions and subtractions so far in this young offseason, plus a breakdown of their biggest needs heading into the draft.

Additions:

Super Bowl 2012

OLB Keith Rivers

OT Sean Locklear

TE Martellus Bennett

CB Antwaun Molden

Subtractions:

RB Brandon Jacobs

WR Mario Manningham

CB Aaron Ross

ILB Jonathan Goff (free agent)

OT Kareem McKenzie (free agent)

Top 5 Needs:

1. Offensive Tackle

The Giants seem to have moved on and have no plans to bring back starting right tackle Kareem McKenzie, and I believe Will Beatty is just not good enough to be the answer on the left side. David Diehl can obviously play left tackle if needed, but the Giants need to make sure they find someone who is a capable replacement for McKenzie. Second-year tackle James Brewer is an option, but the Giants don't seem too convinced about him starting for the long run.

2. Tight End

Jake Ballard came on strong late in the season and provided a huge boost for the Giants. He came out of nowhere to catch 38 passes for 604 yards and four touchdowns. Unfortunately, he tore his ACL late in the season and the Giants could use an upgrade or added depth at this spot. Stanford's Coby Fleener could just be the guy the team goes for with the final pick in the first round, as he is the highest rated tight end in the draft and a perfect fit for quarterback Eli Manning and the passing attack.

3. Running Back

Brandon Jacobs and Ahmad Bradshaw formed a pretty good tandem in the backfield when healthy. Sadly, Jacobs decided to leave New York to sign a big contract with the 49ers, leaving the Giants in need of someone who can spell Bradshaw. It's no problem, though, as the Giants should be able to find help at the spot with of their picks later in the draft.

4. Middle Linebacker

New York made a splash when they traded for promising outside linebacker Keith Rivers, and he should make an immediate impact right off the bat. With Rivers on this squad, New York has the option of moving Michael Boley inside. Whatever the Giants decide, this won't be as big a need going into the draft. However, it wouldn't hurt to add some additional depth at this spot.

5. Safety

Antrel Rolle's subpar season last year has a lot of people questioning his skill and talent as a team player; however, what most people fail to realize is that Rolle played out of position most of the year to compensate for the Giants' losses at corner. When Rolle played nickel back, he played extremely well and the Giants may opt to use him at that spot in 2012. This need really isn't that pressing, but it would definitely be helpful to add more depth, whether at the draft or through free agency.

2012 New York Giants Offseason Needs

Click here for the latest odds from the respected site BetFirms.com.

Tom Brady Stays In New England

Tom Brady will officially be with the New England Patriots for another four seasons. His contract extension has been signed and it's paying him out a million signing bonus. The Pats knew what needed to be done and they did it.

On top of his wonderful signing bonus, his annual salary has increased as well. His 2010 salary went from .5 million to .5 million for this current season. Although he his salary for this year was only .5 million, he had plenty of bonuses paying him as well. He has those lined up in his new deal as well.

Nfl 2012

In 2011 and 2012 Brady's salary will drop to .75 million. Then the following two seasons, 2013 and 2014 it will increase to .75 million. His 2010 and 2011 salaries are guaranteed as well.

His bonuses will leave his family tree happy for many generations. Just for being on the roster next season he'll earn an extra million and between 2012-2014, he can earn another million in roster bonuses. That's an extra million right there!

Who said roster bonuses were enough? What about workout bonuses? Just for working out over the next four seasons, he'll pick up an extra million. That's 0,000 in bonuses per year for working out.

Bonuses are great, but he won't get them if there's an unfortunate injury. For this reason, Brady and his agent guaranteed .5 million in his contract. Regardless of his health of the next four years, he's getting paid big bucks!

So he's taking home .5 million and he has another million to earn in bonuses. If he gets hurt, the bonuses are unreachable. Oh and let's not forget about how much he makes in endorsements!

Tom Brady has been the best QB in the NFL over the last decade. He's brought championships to New England, but let's see if he can still do that!

Tom Brady Stays In New England

In addition to writing about sports, this author also writes about home renovations. He recently wrote about the best exterior hardware including garage door hardware.

2010 Tax Year

2010 was a crazy, tumultuous for tax law complete with a white knuckle final law that passed at the last-minute. For a super-nerdy accountant guy like me this was more drama then Super Bowl and the finale of my wife's favorite soap opera combined. Now that the dust has settled, and you're doing end-of-year tax planning or preparing to file 2010 tax numbers, the question is "Tyler, what really changed with all these laws and how does it affect me as an entrepreneur." Great question, let's investigate.

Basically, there were three big tax acts in 2010: the HIRE Act, the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act, and the Tax Relief, Unemployment Insurance Reauthorization and Job Creation Act of 2010. The last of these, we'll call it the Tax Relief Act, basically kept in place all of the so-called Bush Tax Cuts through 2012. The second, we'll call it Patient Protection, will primarily promise higher taxes for some taxpayers in future years, and the first, the HIRE Act has some sweet short-term discounts to encourage hiring.

Super Bowl 2012

The Tax Relief, Unemployment Insurance Reauthorization and Job Creation Act of 2010 in brief

This act was passed primarily to continue most of the tax cuts put in place during the Bush Administration until 2012, an election year.

• Income Tax Rates - 2009 individual income tax rates will be continued for 2010 and through 2012 for all taxpayers.
• Capital Gains Tax Rates - 2009 rates on capital gains and qualified dividends will be extended through 2012.
• Payroll rebate - 2% Social Security rebate for employees - The employee's share of Social Security taxes will reduce from 6.2% of wages to 4.2% for 2011. Self-employment tax will decrease to 10.4%. The best part of the deal is that social security benefits will not be affected by discount, although, at some point in time some taxpayers will have to foot the bill for it.
• What employers have to do - employers "must implement the new rules as soon as possible but no later than January 31," in the words of the IRS. If you don't catch this by the first payroll then you can make an adjustment to the second to compensate.
• What employees have to do - absolutely nothing. It is your employer's responsibility to comply.
• AMT Patch - the exemption amount for the Alternative Minimum Tax is increased to ,450 for individuals, ,450 for married taxpayers filing a return jointly and ,225 for married but filing separately couples.
• Estate Tax - Among the biggest dramas of 2010 has been whether George Steinbrenner's heirs would inherit his estate without owing any estate tax ("death tax" to you tea party types). Well, thanks to this bill I can confidently tell you maybe, but probably not. For 2010 estate managers will have the option of selecting the new regime of a million dollar exclusion with a 35% rate thereafter or of opting under the system that would have a 0% rate but would have denied the "step-up" in basis that inheritors have received under the previous rules. It gets complicated and few of my readers are passing on > million estates in 2010 (unless you plan on dying tomorrow).
• Bonus Depreciation - what's sexier than 50% bonus depreciation? Try 100% bonus depreciation! For select fixed assets placed in service from September 9, 2010 through the end of 2011, 100% of the purchase price of the asset may be depreciated in the year of purchase. For the entrepreneurs with smaller businesses this is important because you can take bonus depreciation even in a loss situation whereas Section 179 cannot put you into a loss. Also, bonus depreciation could be advantageous with the purchase of a vehicle used for business purposes.

HIRE Act

The HIRE Act was only in effect for 2010 and provided employers with an incentive to hire previously unemployed persons by giving them a 100% reduction on the employer portion of the payroll tax of the qualified hiree. Furthermore, if the employee remained hired for 52 consecutive weeks then the employer could be eligible for a credit of up to ,000 per employee. While it is too late to hire a new employee if you hired someone eligible for the credit don't forget to apply for the ,000 credit when they hit 52 weeks!

Tax Planning in 2011

The oldest trick in the book for tax planning is for cash-basis (as opposed to accrual basis) taxpayers, like most of you, to accelerate expenses into the current year through a number of tactics, including accelerated depreciation (like Section 179 or the 100% bonus depreciation available in 2011) or through the purchase of goods and services in the current year that won't be needed or utilized until the subsequent year. Alternatively, the taxpayer could delay the receipt of revenue by not sending out billings until the subsequent year. This is the "kick the can down the road" strategy for taxes; the income will eventually have to be recognized (nerdy accountant speak for saying that taxes will be owed on it) but we would rather that day came later instead of sooner. Well, the problem with this strategy comes in times of increasing taxes, such as we are likely to enter soon. All of the above mentioned laws that provide or extend tax benefits are temporary measures that will expire in 2012, an election year. Most of the political junkies who follow these things would guess that taxes will have to rise in order to keep pace with the gigantic debt the United States is ratcheting up. If this is the case then in 2011 you could actually find yourself in the position of wanting to prepay your taxes by accelerating revenue or deferring expenses.

An additional tax bill that has already been passed into law, as part of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act, and the Tax Relief, Unemployment Insurance Reauthorization and Job Creation Act of 2010, will tack on an additional 0.9% Medicare tax for married filing joint taxpayers earning greater than 0,000 and for single taxpayers earning greater than 0,000 for the 2013 tax year by 0.9%. In addition, those same taxpayers will be charged a 3.8% Medicare tax on earnings on investments; which were previously not subject to employment taxes.

In conclusion, 2010 was a year of great uncertainty and apprehension regarding taxes for the productive class. In the end, most tax hikes and any tax reform was pushed further down the road; leaving us with something rather like 2009. Certain tax hikes are already in the books, albeit not taking effect until further down the road, and taxpayers can expect additional uncertainty in 2012 when the current tax rates expire.

2010 Tax Year

As the WebCPA and the author of WebBizFinance.com, my job is to help you grow your business and solve your business finance and accounting problems! Please visit me at WebBizFinance.com

Tyler