Great Story

Dog, missing 9 years, returned to family

Feb. 27, 2009 06:58 AM
Associated Press

PORT ST. LUCIE, Fla. - A German Shepherd named Astro who has been missing from his family for more than 9 years is finally home.

The Geary family was shocked when they recently received a call from an animal control officer who said that Astro had been found.

The dog went missing from the Geary family's Port St. Lucie, Fla. home shortly after the family adopted him. Since then, they have moved three times and ended up in Louisville, Ky.

On Jan. 29, 2009, an animal control officer in Tennessee picked up Astro after receiving a report about a dog running loose. Officers tracked down the family through a microchip implanted in the canine.

Dennis Geary says he wasn't sure if Astro would remember him. But when they were reunited, the dog sat down and began licking him.

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Looming Death of the NBA

Clearly this league is in serious financial trouble, as attendance has dived precipitously this season, and what tickets are being sold are at rock bottom prices along the lines of $10 per ticket. Now news has emerged the league office has procured a $200 million loan (how they did this in this credit frozen market is a miracle) to distribute to around 15 of the 30 clubs so those clubs can continue to meet operating expenses. Television revenue and viewership are stagnant at best, and likely to decline with the ongoing increasing financial and economic collapse hammering everyone and everything. Payrolls and operating expenses are enormously out of whack with current and future projected revenues.

Add to the mix the coming meltdown of labor peace, and continued image problems with the players and products themselves in very basic and moral ways and appearances. The writing is starting to appear on the wall that this league and professional basketball is headed quickly down the path to its demise.

NCAA basketball, the NHL, and even MLB are at serious risk of moving in this direction as well.

http://sports.espn.go.com/espn/page2/story?page=simmons/090227

http://sports.espn.go.com/espnmag/story?id=3937034

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