The NFL Needs a New Tiebreaker – Recreation
The NFL Needs a New Tiebreaker
Terry Mitchell
After enduring that disgusting final weekend of the NFL regular season, I have come to the conclusion that a new tiebreaker is needed. How a team performs during the final weekend should be the first tiebreaker, with all the current tiebreakers falling in line after that. A team that won its final game would hold the first tiebreaker advantage against a team theyre tied with that lost its final game. If they both lost, both won, or both tied their final game, then the current tiebreakers would take effect in the order that they currently exist. That would accomplish at least three of positive things.
First, a team with a one game lead for a playoff spot, headed into the final weekend, would have more difficulty "backing in" to the playoffs the way Minnesota did this year. By all rights, New Orleans should have made the playoffs instead of the Vikings. They finished with identical records. However, the Saints won their final game, while the Vikings lost theirs. In fact, under the NFLs current crazy tiebreaker system, the Vikings loss, while ultimately not damaging their own playoff hopes, ironically was one of the major factors that kept the Saints out of the playoffs! Under my proposed rule, the Saints would have been in and the Vikings would have been out.
Second, it would keep more playoff berths/positions open going into the final weekend and maintain more excitement and suspense all the way to the end. Currently, a team with a one game lead for a playoff berth, bye, home field advantage, and/or seeding can have that position clinched before the final weekend if they own the tiebreaker over the teams they lead. Under my proposal, that would not be possible. That position would still be open through the final weekend of the season. For example, the Pittsburgh Steelers would not have clinched the home field advantage in the AFC until they beat Buffalo in the final weekend, instead of having it already clinched going into that game.
Third, it would also keep teams with one game leads from having de-facto "byes" during the final weekend. Take Indianapolis for example. The Colts game against Denver this weekend was meaningless to them, even though it meant everything to the Broncos. Although the Colts had only a one game lead over San Diego for the number three seed in the AFC, they owned the tiebreaker over the Chargers. I dont care what anyone says, the Colts, with their lack of effort, effectively rolled over and allowed the Broncos to win, which wasnt fair to Jacksonville and Baltimore, the teams competing with the Broncos for the final AFC playoff spot. Under my proposal, the Colts would have had to win to maintain their third seed in the playoffs.
About The Author
Terry Mitchell is a software engineer, freelance writer, and trivia buff from Virginia, USA. He operates a website - http://www.commenterry.com - on which he posts commentaries on various subjects such as politics, technology, religion, health and well-being, personal finance, and sports. His commentaries offer a unique point of view that is not often found in mainstream media.
terrymitchell@verizon.net
Got a Small Business Choose the Right Domain Name – Domain Name
Got a Small Business Choose the Right Domain Name
Blake Kritzberg
Choosing a domain name can be daunting. Research the subject after all, youre the type of marketer who researches, right and youll be hit with a landslide of opinions, most contradictory. There is, however, two points that everyone agrees on:
Pick your domain before you launch your business.
This is especially true if your market niche has lots of competition. Research your domain before you commit to a business plan.
Dont wait too long if you like a domain.
While youre researching, youll likely come across a couple of domains that attract you. You might be tempted to wait, since you havent finalized or refined your business plan. Dont. A handful of domains isnt going to cost you much at an affordable registrar like GoDaddy, and once theyre gone, theyre gone. Chances are you can even resell the rejects at cost, if not a profit. Or "develop" them with unique content and point them to your main site for extra traffic.
Now that we have the easy part of the way, lets wade into murkier waters.
Q. Which TLD top-level domain is best
A. If youre a juggernaut in the business world with a giant ad budget, the answer is dot-com .com. If youre a smalltime business struggling for search engine positioning, the answer is still dot-com.
People do disagree on the value of a dot-com TLD. Some assert that dot-coms have no particular value in the search engines, which may be true.
However, the fact is, if you havent yet seared your brand on the collective brow of the planet, dot-com makes you easier to remember. If you eschew dot-coms, then in some deep dark place inside, people will remember you as "that hard-to-remember URL with the ending that isnt dot-com." Whats worse, if you pick an otherwise memorable domain ending in dot-net, -us, or God forbid -tv, some of your traffic will end up at that competitor who snagged the dot-com version of your domain.
Understanding the Importance of Mortgage Protection Life Insurance – Mortgage
Understanding the Importance of Mortgage Protection Life Insurance
Claire Bowes
Your house is a big investment - probably one of the biggest youre every likely to make. It is also the place that you and your loved ones call home; a shelter and haven from the outside world. Thats why it is so important to ensure that your home and family are protected in the event of your death. Its not a topic that any of us like to dwell on, but the sad fact is that should you die and the family are no longer able to afford repayments on the house, they will lose the property and the roof from over their heads.
Having a good life insurance policy in place to protect your property in the event of your death is vital. When you die, your family will have enough to worry about without the added stress of how they are going to hold on to the family home. Your life insurance policy will ensure that this problem is eliminated, with the mortgage balance being paid in full upon your death.
The main types of mortgage life cover
The type of mortgage life insurance cover that you require will depend upon what type of mortgage you have, a repayment or an interest only mortgage. There are two main types of mortgage life insurance cover, which are:
Decreasing Term Insurance
Level Term Insurance
Decreasing term insurance
This type of mortgage life insurance is designed for those with a repayment mortgage. With a repayment mortgage, the balance of the loan decreases over the term of the mortgage. Therefore, the sum of cover with a decreasing term insurance policy will also go down in line with the mortgage balance. So, the amount for which your life is insured should match the balance outstanding on your mortgage, which means that if you die your policy will hold sufficient funds to pay off the remainder of the mortgage and alleviate any additional worry to your family.
With the decreasing term insurance, the cover is usually taken out over the term of the mortgage, and payment is made should you die during the term of the policy. Once the policy has expired, it becomes null and void, so you will receive nothing at the end of your policy if you are still living. There is no surrender value on this type of cover, but it does provide a cost effective means of protecting your home and family during the life of your mortgage.
Level term insurance
This type of mortgage life insurance cover is for those that have a repayment mortgage, where the principle balance remains the same throughout the term of the mortgage and the repayments made by the property owner cover the interest payments on the mortgage only.
The sum for which the insured is covered remains the same throughout the term of this policy, and this is because the principle balance on the mortgage also remains the same. Therefore the sum assured is a fixed amount, which is paid should the insured party die within the term of the policy. As with decreasing term insurance, there is no surrender value, and should the policy end before the insured dies no payout will be awarded and the policy becomes null and void.
Terminal illness benefit
Both of the above types of cover normally include terminal illness cover, which means that the mortgage is cleared should you be diagnosed with a terminal illness rather than waiting until you actually die. This helps to ensure that you do not have the additional worry of trying to meet repayments when a terminal illness takes away your ability to work and earn money, and at a time when the whole family has enough to worry about without having to stress about meeting mortgage repayments.
Critical illness cover
Critical illness cover is another type of insurance policy that can be added on to either of the above mortgage life insurance polices and provides an extra element of protection and peace of mind. This type of cover can also be taken out as a stand-alone policy, but usually proves much better value if simply added on to a main insurance policy.
With critical illness cover you will be eligible for a payout in the event that you are diagnosed with a critical illness. If you then go on to recover from the critical illness, the payout is yours to keep but the policy becomes null and void following your claim. The illnesses that are covered by this type of policy are defined by the insurer so you should ensure that you check the terms when taking out critical illness cover.
Adding critical illness cover to your policy will only increase your repayments by a small amount, but can provide valuable protection if you are diagnosed as critically ill and are therefore unable to work. With your mortgage repaid from the payout of this policy, you will not have the additional worry of trying to keep a roof over your head at a time when you should be concentrating on trying to make a recovery.
Summary
As indicated by the features of the two main types of mortgage life insurance cover, the policy you go for will depend largely upon the type of mortgage you have. Both types of cover offer value for money, with some really low cost deals available. Of course, the amount that you pay will ultimately depend upon the level of cover you require. For total peace of mind it is always advisable to go for a policy with critical illness cover incorporated into it.
Having some form of mortgage life cover is essential to protect your home and your family. After working hard to buy your own property, the prospect of it being repossessed in the event of your death can be worrying both for you and for your family. A mortgage life cover policy will ensure that this does not happen, and will give your family the security of knowing that whatever happens they will still have a roof over their heads.
About The Author
Claire Bowes is a successful freelance writer and owner of http://www.a1-life-insurance-quotes.co.uk where you will find further information on critical illness, life insurance, and unemployment cover.