Over the past few years, several new ballparks have been built, and although the main purpose behind each was to stimulate baseball tickets sales, we were wondering if where these stadiums were built have anything to do with the team s resulting success. No fewer than a dozen new stadiums have opened in recent years, and today we re going to look at where some of these stadiums were built and whether location was a relevant factor in the team s fortunes. Examples of New Urban Stadiums Of all the ballparks built most recently, almost all of them could be considered urban. Urban for our purposes means a park that was built in the center of the team s city or is at least easily accessible via public transportation and near the bulk of the workforce. Basically, if walk-up traffic to a game is a possibility, we re considering that stadium urban for our purposes. By unofficial count, 11 new stadiums were built with these parameters in mind. Looking at the teams that play in these new venues, one can deduct that at least seven of these teams experienced a higher degree of success at...

It is common belief that collecting art is something that only those belonging to a much older generation do. This may be true when it comes to works of art by the so-called Old Masters Rembrandt, Caravaggio, El Greco and many others which often go for sums that can only be described as astronomical. But with the advent of contemporary art, an entirely fresh bunch of thirtysomething and fortysomething art collectors are crowding art galleries all over the world trying to get their hands on masterpieces by contemporary art figures such as Jean-Michel Basquiat and Andy Warhol. These young collectors, who range from hedge fund managers to scions of wealthy families, are slowly taking over the art community. And unlike the older generation of art collectors, these young art enthuisiasts would rather spend a significant part of their money on the contemporary artworks of the likes of Takashi Murakami and Jeff Coons than on the Picassos and Dalis that their predecessors have bid to high heavens on. This new generation of art collectors is not as interested in the Degases and the Van...

Having trouble getting to sleep at night. Feeling a little confused in the mornings or unable to remember what you have to do today. Not getting enough sleep can really throw you off your game. Before you write it off to eating a late dinner or an excess of caffeine, consider that you might have a sleep disorder. Insomnia not only can adversely affect your mental health, but also can lead to weight gain, energy depletion and stress. Nearly all of these symptoms can disappear when you get enough sleep. The root of the problem often lies in the central nervous system. Melatonin is a chemical in your system that regulates the sleep cycle. Serotonin, which regulates appetite, sleep and mood, is necessary for your body s production of melatonin. A vitamin-enriched supplement, such as XTKO from Xyience, could help. If you re not getting enough vitamin B-6, magnesium and zinc in your diet, your body might not be producing enough melatonin and serotonin. Along with these nutrients, XTKO contains gamma-aminobutyric acid, or GABA, an amino acid that plays a role in normal sleep function...

When I was little, jelly beans were found in most stores at only one time of the year and that was during the Easter season. The choices were very limited, typically the regular assorted bag of flavors and colors or bags of spiced jelly beans. Today, there is vast array of jelly bean choices along with some unusual flavors. And you can find jelly beans all year long on the store shelves or via the Internet. The most popular year-round jelly bean is probably Jelly Belly . They come in dozens of colors and flavors such as the pretty multi-colored tutti fruiti flavored ones to the surprisingly delicious buttered popcorn ones, to the intensely flavored jalape o Jelly Belly jelly beans. Jelly beans are definitely not just for Easter anymore. One of my favorite things to receive is a bag of jelly beans that announce the birth of a baby. I ve received little bags of either pink or blue jelly beans announcing It s as Girl or It s a Boy. They re cute and something that s a little different than the chocolate candy bars many people hand out for new baby births and certainly not as bad for...

Can you believe all of the news about anabolic steroids right now. It is really causing a stir but not necessarily for the right reasons. Let s take a few moments to consider what makes the prevalent use of these performance enhancers besides the fact that people are cheating. First let s discuss whether this is really cheating or at least try to gain perspective on this. To do this we have to know what we are talking about. Anabolic means to build up rather than catabolic which means to tear apart or break down . Steroid is just a type of molecule that is found in the body and because of its makeup serves as a hormone and regulates the synthesis of DNA by entering the nucleus and attaching itself to different parts of the machinery that produces the DNA. So these anabolic steroids are simply substances that go to muscle, among other tissue, and build it up. Basically they are just adding to an already natural process that goes on in all of our bodies. Those people who naturally have higher levels of these hormones are going to have naturally bigger muscles and also greater...