A.O.L Blog

Apa itu Visual Basic ?

2011-08-11T19:43:00.003+07:00

Bahasa Basic pada dasarnya adalah bahasa yang mudah dimengerti sehingga pemrograman di dalam bahasa Basic dapat dengan mudah dilakukan meskipun oleh orang yang baru belajar membuat program. Hal ini lebih mudah lagi setelah hadirnya Microsoft Visual Basic, yang dibangun dari ide untuk membuat bahasa yang sederhana dan mudah dalam pembuatan scriptnya (simple scripting language) untuk graphic user interface yang dikembangkan dalam sistem operasi Microsoft Windows. Modul Dasar Pemrograman Visual Basic 2, Visual Basic merupakan bahasa pemrograman yang sangat mudah dipelajari, dengan teknik pemrograman visual yang memungkinkan penggunanya untuk berkreasi lebih baik dalam menghasilkan suatu program aplikasi. Ini terlihat dari dasar pembuatan dalam visual basic adalah FORM, dimana pengguna dapat mengatur tampilan form kemudian dijalankan dalam script yang sangat mudah. Ledakan pemakaian Visual Basic ditandai dengan kemampuan Visual Basic untuk dapat berinteraksi dengan aplikasi lain di dalam sistem operasi Windows dengan komponen ActiveX Control. Dengan komponen ini memungkinkan penguna untuk memanggil dan menggunakan semua model data yang ada di dalam sistem operasi windows. Hal ini juga ditunjang dengan teknik pemrograman di dalam Visual Basic yang mengadopsi dua macam jenis pemrograman yaitu Pemrograman Visual dan Object Oriented Programming (OOP). Visual Basic 6.0 sebetulnya perkembangan dari versi sebelumnya dengan beberapa penambahan komponen yang sedang tren saat ini, seperti kemampuan pemrograman internet dengan DHTML (Dynamic HyperText Mark Language), dan beberapa penambahan fitur database dan multimedia yang semakin baik. Sampai saat buku ini ditulis bisa dikatakan bahwa Visual Basic 6.0 masih merupakan pilih pertama di dalam membuat program aplikasi yang ada di pasar perangkat lunak nasional. Hal ini disebabkan oleh kemudahan dalam melakukan proses development dari aplikasi yang dibuat.

Selain itu, Visual Basic adalah salah satu development tool untuk membangun aplikasi dalam lingkungan windows. Dalam pengembangan aplikasi, visual basic menggunakan pendekatan visual untukmerancang user interface dalam bentuk form, sedangkan untuk kodingnya menggunakan dialek bahasa basic yang cenderung mudah dipelajari. Visual basic telah menjadi tools yang terkenal bagi para pemula maupun para developer.

Dalam lingkungan Window’s User –interface sangat memegang peranan penting, karenadalam pemakaian aplikasi yang dibuat, pemakai senantiasa berinteraksi dengan user-interface tanpa menyadari bahwa dibelakangnya berjalan instruksi-instruksi program yang mendukung tampilan dan proses yang dilakukan.

Pada pemograman visual, pengembangan aplikasi dimulai dengan pembentukan user interface, kemudian mengatur properti dari objek-objek yang digunakan dalam user interface, dan baru dilakukan penulisan kode program untuk menangani kejadian-kejadian (event). Tahap pengembangan aplikasi demikian dikenal dengan istilah pengembangan aplikasi dengan pendekatan Bottom-Up .

20+ App Membuat Game

2011-08-11T19:36:00.000+07:00

Kita semua suka bermain game tetapi tidak banyak diantara kita yang bisa membuat game sendiri karena programming game cukup susah. Tetapi sekarang anda bisa membuat game berkualitas bagus seperti apa yang anda inginkan dengan bantuan teknologi aplikasi.

Berikut berbagai aplikasi membuat game yang bisa digunakan siapapun yang ingin membuat game sendiri.

Membuat Game Berbasis Flash

1. AlbinoBlackSheep
http://www.albinoblacksheep.com
Disini banyak sekali game dan video termasuk tutorial tentang bagaimana membuat game berbasis flash.

2. FlashKit
http://www.flashkit.com
Disini anda bisa menemukan banyak tutorial bekerja dengan flash termasuk panduan langkah demi langkah untuk beberapa tipe game.

3. Kirupa
http://kirupa.com
Banyak sekali tutorial ekstensif untuk membuat game flash termasuk panduan untuk game-game spesifik seperti game shooter.

4. Lassie Adventure Studio
http://lassie.gmacwill.com/lower.php?section=news&page=index
Dengan aplikasi ini, anda dapat membuat gambar 2D untuk game petualangan dengan mudah dan membuat gamenya.

5. Sploder
http://www.sploder.com
Disini anda bisa membuat game flash dari berbagai macam jenis obyek dan kemudian meletakkannya pada MySpace, Blogger dan situs-situs lainnya.

Membuat Game Standard dan Panduannya

6. Anim8or
http://www.anim8or.com
Aplikasi modeling animasi 3D untuk game yang mudah digunakan.

7. Byond
http://www.byond.com
Disini anda bisa membuat game anda sendiri dengan bantuan peralatan alikasi yang sudah disediakan dan kemudian anda sharing dengan orang lain untuk mengetahui pendapat mereka.

8. Game Discovery
http://www.gamediscovery.com
Disini semua yang anda inginkan untuk membuat game ada, character making, gameplay making dan juga anda bisa menemukan ide-ide membuat game disini.

9. Martin Piecyk’s Website
http://www.pages.drexel.edu/%7Emfp27/gamemaking/
Panduan belajar bagaimana untuk membuat game dengan disertai link ke berbagai sumber.

10. VGMusic
http://vgmusic.com
Jika anda ingin menambahkan efek sound atau soundtrack game yang anda buat, anda bisa temukan disini, banyak sekali file-file midi yang bisa anda gunakan untuk keperluan game yang anda buat.

11. Visionaire2d
http://www.visionaire2d.net
Aplikasi ini dapat membantu anda membuat game petualangan 2D tanpa perlu pengetahuan programming.

12. YoYoGames
http://www.yoyogames.com
Disini anda akan temukan banyak perlengkapan untuk membuat game seperti beta testing, download, work in progress, community dan banyak lagi lainnya.

Membuat Game RPG

13. Charas-Project
http://charas-project.net
Generator karakter yang mudah digunakan untuk karakter RPG yang anda ingin buat.

14. CrankEye
http://www.crankeye.com
Ada banyak sekali panduan untuk membuat RPG seperti editor karakter, soundfile dan lain sebagainya.

15. DualSolace
http://dualsolace.com
Disini anda dapat menemukan software membuat game MMORPG 2D RealFeel.

16. FreeMMORPGMaker
http://www.freemmorpgmaker.com
Software gratis untuk membuat MMORPG termasuk membuat bagian-bagian game seperti karakter, efek dan suara.

17. PhanxGames
http://www.phanxgames.com/index.asp
Anda bisa membuat RPG dan juga disertai membuat grafis, sound file midi, wav, kemudian jika anda selesai membuatnya, anda bisa menguploadnya di situs tersebut hingga ukuran 50 MB.

18. PlayerWorlds
http://www.playerworlds.com
Aplikasi populer yang banyak digunakan untuk membuat game seri RPG.

19. RPG Maker
http://www.rpg-maker-downloads.tnrstudios.com/
Program RPG Maker di situs ini ada beberapa seri yang bisa anda pilih sesuai keinginan anda.

20. RPGCrisis
http://rpgcrisis.net
Disini anda dapat menemui berbagai download dan aplikasi untuk membuat RPG pada berbagai sistem apakah PC atau yang lainnya.

21. RPG Revolution
http://www.rpgrevolution.com
Perlengkapan dan aplikasi untuk membuat game RPG pada lebih dari 13 sistem game making berbeda.

http://www.resep.web.id/komputer-internet/20-aplikasi-membuat-game-sendiri-dengan-mudah.htm

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Bagaimana Cara MEnjadi Seorang Programer ?

2011-08-11T19:34:00.002+07:00

1. Mulailah dari basic

Apakah anda pernah mendengar Visual Basic keluaran Microsoft? Itulah bahasa pemrograman (Saya akan singkat BP di dalam post ini) yang paling basic di antara Visual Basic, Visual C# dan Visual C++. Sekarang saya sudah belajar Visual C#. Apalagi jika anda masih duduk di bangku sekolah, ini akan menjadi dasar dari BP anda dan sangat cocok sekali.

2. Lihatlah tutorial berbahasa Inggris di YouTube

Memang saya tidak akan menjelaskan cara membuat program di dalam post ini. Tapi mudah-mudahan saya bisa mengajari anda "Cara Membuat Program" di post berikutnya. Anda pasti tahu bahwa YouTube adalah sarana paling cocok untuk belajar dengan melihat secara jelas bagaimana orang membuat program sederhana. Mulailah dari yang paling sederhana.

3. Belilah buku minimal 2 buah.

Dengan 2 buah buku, diharapkan anda sudah bisa meraih tingkat "Menengah" atau dalam bahasa Inggris "Amateur" karena dalam bahasa Inggris sebelum Amateur ada Beginner yaitu anda yang akan memulai BP.

4. Bergurulah kepada seorang professional.

Saya sedang berguru kepada seseorang yang sangat mahir ber-bahasa programming. Karena itu, bergurulah walaupun biayanya cukup mahal tapi dengan cara ini anda bisa membuat program secanggih Ms. Office.

5. Kuasai algoritma
Merupakan sebuah langkah awal menadi seorang programmer, karena algoritma merupakan sebuah langkah-langah logis dalam penyelesaian sebuah permasalahan dan alur dari sebuah program. Algoritma juga disertai dengan pseudo code dan flowchart.

6. Berfikir yang logis dan masuk akal.
Dalam memprogram kita harus berfikir logis karena computer bekerja dengan logis dan tidak mengerti bahasa manusia. Computer hanya mengerti kode-kode dan angka-angka. Kita tidak perlu menguasai matematika, etapi cukup menguasai aljabar logika.

Tips: Janganlah sekali-kali mencoba menjadi hacker, karena kepintaran bukanlah digunakan untuk menjahati orang lain. Kepintaran akan menghasilkan buah yang banyak jika anda menggunakannya dengan hati-hati.
Mungkin sekian yang saya sampaikan. Semoga anda kelak menjadi programmer handal.

Tahukah Anda??

2011-08-11T19:16:00.000+07:00

Apakah anda sudah mengetahui trick dari mengatifkan aplikasi ini ???
jika sudah, beritahukan rahasia ini kepada teman teman kita agar kita bisa berbagi bagi trick
menjebol pulsa dengan bantuan program aplikasi java lewat mig33 .
supaya kita bisa terus chating menggunakan server mig33 atau layanan lainnya tanpa terlalu harus banyak membeli pulsa.

tapi ketika anda sudah bisa memiliki dan mengaktifkan aplikasi ini jangan pernah membocorkan cara mengaktifkannya secara cuma cuma.kecuali kalau teman anda berani membayar kepada anda untuk cara mengaktifkannya.
anda boleh membantunya karena disamping itu bisa menjadi sumber penghasilan anda dari memberikan informasi juga menjaga USER CRACKING FULL.
karena jika terlalu banyak orang yang menggunakan aplikasi ini untuk melakukan crack kode voucher.tidak menutup kemungkinan kode kode yang sedang anda crack sudah didahului oleh orang lain.sehingga anda bisa menjadi orang yang terlambat.

jika anda belum mengetahui aplikasi dan informasinya silahkan baca petunjuknya terlebih dahulu..!!
jangan pernah terlambat...!!!!
Program ini hanya berlaku bagi pengguna server mig33 dan HANDPHONE yang sudah memiliki fitur untuk menjalankan aplikasi java.
modal hadware anda tidak perlu menggunakan komputer yang harganya JUTAAN atau menggunakan software pendeteksi kode yang harganya lumayan cukup mahal sekitar RATUSAN RIBU RUPIAH seperti brutus yang hanya bisa di instal di Komputer.
itupun bukan untuk mencracking kode voucher tapi untuk mengcracking kode kode password.
tapi ini cukup menggunakan handphone biasa yang sudah berfasilitas java,Karena sebetulnya aplikasi ini memang dirancang untuk bisa dioperasikan di handphone yang sudah memiliki fitur java.
tidak ada salahnya kita mencoba dan berusaha untuk memakai aplikasi ini.
yakinkan pasti anda bisa melakukan keahlian menckacing dengan cara mendownoload dan menginstalkannya terlebih dahulu di handphone anda.
ketika anda berminat mengaktifkan aplikasi ini link downloadnya akan dikirim melalui sms ke nomer handphone anda secara otomatis dan anda sudah bisa menggunakan aplikasinya secara free.

Tidak ada unsur penipuan dari memberikan informasi dan menjalankan program aplikasi ini.
meskipun ada sedikit tehnik cracking kode voucher sehingga anda butuh panduan kecepatan dan ketekunan yang harus anda lakukan dalam proses pengcrackingan.
itupun HANYA MENGGUNAKAN KODE VOUCHER M3 atau MENTARI BEKAS yang kodenya sudah terpakai.
saya akan membantu anda mengaktifkan aplikasi itu agar anda bisa menggunakannya di handphone anda.ikuti langkah langkah yang saya dijelaskan.
baca petunjuknya karena 100% benar aplikasi ini memang ada dan sudah banyak digunakan oleh para cybercrime di internet.

jangan takut untuk mencoba karena tidak ada unsur hacking untuk mencuri ID anda dalam memakai program apliksai ini bahkan sama sekali bukan virus program aplikasi pencuri password atau pencurian $ IDR yang sering terjadi di server mig33 atau virus virus handphone yang sering merusak dan berkeliaran di internet.
target dari aplikasi yang dijalankan adalah MENJEBOL KODE VOUCHER M3 dan MENTARI milik perusahaan INDOSAT.
bukan software untuk mencuri ID atau nick user Mig33.

Kenapa sasaran dari aplikasi ini kode voucher M3 dan MENTARI ??
karena anda juga pasti tahu tehnik ini lebih membantu menguntungkan kita daripada melacak kode kode password dan ID mig33.
khususnya bagi mereka atau anda yang menggunakan kartu M3 dan MENTARI yang setiap saat terkoneksi ke internet aplikasi ini pastinya akan sangat dibutuhkan oleh anda.karena ini adalah kesemptan anda pertama kali mengetahui aplikasi penjebol kode voucher m3 dan mentari yang muncul di indonesia dengan bantuan server mig33.
fasilitas program aplikasi ini yang akan membantu anda menjebol kode kode voucher M3 dan MENTARI.
saya akan memberi penjelasan sedikit kepada anda anda yang belum mengetahui mig33 .
mig33 adalah salah satu server chat dari australia yang bisa diakses oleh aplikasi handphone.

didalam data base server MIG33, di indonesia ternyata pengguna terbanyaknya adalah nomor nomor INDOSAT.
setiap saat meregistrasikan ID mig33 dengan nomor indosat ternyata itu memberi celah untuk membongkar domain domain kode kode yang bisa diketahui oleh aplikasi ini.
agar anda tahu kenapa stock voucher fisik indosat akhir akhir ini menurun dan kenapa voucher fisik m3 dan mentari bisa digunakan bersama.semua itu adalah salah satu alasan karena untuk menghindari kode voucher blank yang telah banyak di crack oleh mereka para cybercrime mania.
complain dari sekian banyak konsumen juga yang menyebabkan produksinya selalu diminimalisir.
serta kehabisan domain kode itulah juga yang menjadikan perusahaan itu membuat kode kode voucher yang sudah lama diaktifkan kembali sehingga kemungkinan besar kode kode itu bisa terdeteksi oleh aplikasi apapun yang bisa melacak code code blank melalui bantuan server tertentu

ketika dalam tahap anda sedang menggunakan aplikasi itu
setiap kode kode yang muncul dari layar aplikasi itu harus cepat cepat anda masukan ke nomor handphone anda yang dipakai caranya dengan mengetikan *556*KODE yang muncul# lalu tekan ok / yes. (itu untuk M3) dan *151* KODE yang muncul# ok / yes itu untuk (MENTARI). sama caranya ketika anda memasukan kode voucher ke nomor anda sendiri dari kartu voucher fisik yang mungkin pernah anda lakukan dari handphone anda.
sebelumnya catat baik baik dengan benar semua kode kode blank yang muncul dari aplikasi itu jumlahnya sekitar 14 digit. dibutuhkan kecepatan juga dalam mencatatnya, karena aplikasi itu hanya berjalan kurang lebih 5 menit dari setiap kali anda mengaktifkannya.setelah 5 menit aplikasi itu akan secara otomatis melakukan dont send close sendiri karena untuk menjaga agar tidak terdeteksi oleh server mig33.yang akhirnya bisa melakukan pemblockiran terhadap ID mig33 anda.
setelah itu baru anda aktifkan kembali untuk melakukan craking selanjutnya.

Ingat baik baik karena kita sangat ingin menjamin rahasia dan menjaga privasi ID mig33 anda untuk berusaha mencoba membuka mendapatkan kode pulsa lewat mig33 ini.saya ingatkan kepada anda jangan pernah sekali kali mencoba program aplikasi ini dengan ID Master anda karena itu akan sangat beresiko jika ID master anda sampai terdeteksi oleh server Mig33 dan indosat ketika anda melakukan cracking kode voucher dengan ID master, Kemungkinan ID master anda oleh server mig33 bisa di block dan di non aktifkan.dan itu akan merugikan ID master anda sendiri yang akhirnya ID anda itu tidak bisa login lagi di server mig33.
dan ingat satu hal lagi program aplikasi ini berbau cybercrime yang banyak dilakukan oleh para neter yang berbuat kriminal di dunia maya.
maka hati hatilah saya mengingatkan anda sebelumnya karena pencurian KODE VOUCHER yang anda lakukan dengan bantuan aplikasi itu sama dengan perbuatan dosa meskipun itu hanya terjadi dan tidak akan diketahui oleh penegak hukum di dunia maya.
kejahatan yang nanti akan anda lakukan dengan aplikasi cybercrime java ini dijamin tidak terlalu berbahaya.bahkan tidak akan sampai anda masuk kedalam pintu penjara.karena proses ini hanya memanfaatkan kelemahan pada sistem jaringan saja.bukan hacking pencurian data data yang menghancurkan sistem pada suatu jaringan.karena meskipun sedikit kriminal tapi tidak ilegal jadi anda akan aman menggunakan aplikasinya
sekarang matangkan baik baik apakah anda sudah yakin mau mencoba melakukan cybercrime dengan aplikasi java ini ??
jika anda ragu dan anda tidak mau terlibat dengan kejahatan seperti yang banyak dilakukan cybercrime di internet maka saya sarankan jangan pernah mencoba mengaktifkan aplikasi ini.
disampimg keraguan hanya akan menghambat proses anda untuk berusaha,keraguan juga akan membuat anda tidak berani mencoba tantangan peluang dan kesempatan yang sudah terbuka untuk anda.

karena dalam menjalankan program ini memang sedikit berbau kriminal,
untuk menghindari dan memanipulasi hal tersebut saya menyuruh anda untuk Register dan membuat ID mig33 baru dengan menggunakan kode area luar negri atau nomernya ngarang saja terserah anda seperti ( +614XXXXXXXX )
untuk tahap selanjutnya anda masuk login dengan ID dan password mig33 yang sudah anda buat ngarang tersebut lalu Klik Remind me latter pada aplikasi itu.
sama halnya yang ada seperti pada fitur aplikasi mig33 product vendor project goths.
perbedaannya diaplikasi ini tersedia fitur khusus untuk mencracking kode voucher M3 dan MENTARI.
agar kami tidak terlalu panjang lebar dalam menjelaskan diwajibkan anda sudah mengerti sampai tahap itu.
ID mig33 yang anda buat tadi tidak akan bisa digunakan untuk memasuki room meskipun suatu saat nanti apabila terjadi pemblockan oleh server terhadap ID anda itu tidak akan terlalu beresiko terhadap anda.
selanjutnya tahap pemasukan kode voucher bekas yang ada di fitur aplikasi itu.
tapi awas jangan keliru kami tidak bermaksud menyuruh anda memberikan kode voucher kapada saya.
kode voucher bekas itu adalah yang nantinya akan di crack oleh anda sendiri.
jadi jangan sekali kali memberikan kode kode voucher yang baru kepada siapa pun dari hasil cracking kode aplikasi itu jika tidak mau anda menjadi orang yang rugi.
jika anda belum mempunyai kode voucher M3 atau MENTARI yang bekas untuk mencobanya silahkan beli saja dulu ke counter counter pulsa terdekat lalu sebelum dilakukan crack masukan isikan dulu kode voucher tersebut ke nomor handphone sendiri jangan anda masukan kepada nomor handphone orang lain ingat gunakan saja untuk anda sendiri.
atau kalau anda tidak mau membeli yang baru,coba nyari saja didekat conter conter pulsa terdekat siapa tahu kebetulan ada kode voucher fisik M3 atau MENTARI yang BEKAS yang sudah dibuang lalu ambil dan manfaatkan.
catat oleh anda kode voucher bekasnya tersebut untuk dijadikan bahan eksperimen dari program aplikasi itu.

perlu diklarifikasi saya tidak terlalu mengharapkan anda memberi voucher M3 atau MENTARI kepada saya tapi andai kata anda memiliki kerelaan untuk memberi, saya tidak akan menolak untuk menerimanya.karena dari sekian banyak orang yang sudah mencoba berhasil menjalankan aplikasi ini mereka ada diantaranya yang dermawan dan tahu balas budi tanpa dipinta pun mereka langsung mentransferkannya ke nomor handphone server saya.
saya ucapkan terima kasih kepada rekan rekan yang baik hati mudah mudahan kebaikan yang anda berikan menjadikan pahala buat menutupi kejahatan cybercrme yang akan dan sudah anda lakukan.
kalaupun anda sudah banyak berhasil melakukan crack dengan program aplikasi ini saya ikut senang berarti anda telah sukses menggunakan program aplikasi ini.silahkan gunakan untuk anda sendiri atau bersiaplah anda beralih profesi menjadi seorang donatur yang baik hati memberi pulsa kepada teman teman atau rekan rekan anda yang membutuhkan atau mudah mudahan saja anda menjadi seorang bisnismen pulsa hasil cracking dan menjualnya kepada teman teman yang membutuhkan pulsa tapi dengan catatan anda harus berani bersaing menjualnya dengan harga miring alias murah.yang terpenting bagi anda Modal yang anda keluarkan sebesar kurang dari Rp10.000 untuk mengaktifkan aplikasi ini sudah bisa kembali lagi ketangan anda.
dan saya yakin itu sama sekali tidak membuat anda menjadi miskin pulsa seumur hidup karena ini bukan program penipuan yang sering banyak dilakukan lewat media internet.
saya memberi informasi ini tidak akan membuat kecewa anda dengan nilai dibawah 10000 dibandingkan dengan nilai aplikasi yang digunakan dan itu bisa menghasilkan lebih dari nilai 10000 yang anda keluarkan.
karena nanti kalau anda sudah terlalu banyak dengan jumlah pulsa yang anda dapatkan dari trick menjebol pulsa dari aplikasi ini tidak ada salahnya kita saling berbagi bagi.
catat dan perhatikan langkah langkah cara aksesnya lihat jumlah amount yang harus dikirim nilainya itu kurang dari 10000.
kalau anda mengirimkan jumlah amount sampai 10000 atau lebih anda melakukan kesalahan besar.file link downloadnya tidak akan bisa terakses ke nomor handphone anda.secara detail saya jelaskan amount yang diminta untuk mentransfer file link download aplikasinya jumlahnya adalah 8053.

saya katakan sekali lagi program aplikasi ini hanya untuk pengguna handphone yang sudah memiliki minimal fitur symbian atau java.dan saya tidak ingin melakukan program penipuan informasi hanya dengan nilai sekecil itu jadi anda mau percaya atau tidak
saya tidak menyarankan unsur paksaan kepada anda.intinya keberuntungan mendapatkan program aplikasi yang saya berikan itu tergantung pada kemauan dari anda sendiri.
sekarang pertanyaannya adalah apakah anda yakin mau mencoba atau tidak ?

jika anda sudah yakin mau mencoba silahkan anda lanjutkan membaca informasi ini.
cara untuk mengaktifkan aplikasi ini tidak terlalu rumit untuk di akses lihat panduan diakhir informasi ini.
karena aplikasi ini membutuhkan ketekunan cracking maka saya sarankan kepada anda jangan pernah putus asa dan jenuh untuk mencoba karena semua itu bagian dari usaha anda sebagai seorang cybercrime java.
menggunakan aplikasi ini tentunya mental judi anda harus dipertaruhkan karena kemungkinan kesempatan anda menjaring kode kode voucher yang dilakukan itu ada dan terbukti banyak yang berhasil.
diantara yang berhasil itu adalah mereka para cybercrime yang tidak putus asa mengotak ngatik kode kode voucher blank yang muncul di aplikasi itu.

perlu di ketahui anda memakai aplikasi ini berarti anda sudah termasuk golongan cybercrime java.
meskipun termasuk kejahatan di dunia maya yang terpenting sekarang bagaimana anda mencoba mengikuti jejak keberhasilan neter java seperti mereka yang pernah mencoba.
mereka yang sudah mencoba program aplikasi ini tidak pernah memberikan komentar kekecewaan dan penyesalan sedikitpun kepada saya karena aplikasi ini sangat memberikan keuntungan bagi mereka.
dan satu lagi yang perlu anda ketahui aplikasi ini pembuatannya dibantu oleh 5 orang MASTER HACKER PROGRAMER HEBAT yang sudah dipecat dari perusahaan INDOSAT yang sebagian besar sahamnya itu dikuasai oleh orang asing ini.
identitas mereka sekarang selalu dijaga dan dirahasiahkan privasinya karena mereka sangat membenci perusahaan ini sehingga mereka bekerja sama berencana dan berhasil membuat program aplikasi semacam ini mengharapkan perusahaan ini bangkrut dan banyak di bobol oleh para cybercrime java indonesia.

untuk mencegah hacking link oleh para downloader maka aplikasi ini hanya diberikan kepada mereka yang sudah yakin mau mencoba menjadi seorang cybercrime java dengan segala bentuk resiko apapun yang terjadi.
link download nya akan dikirim secara otomatis lewat sms ke nomor M3 anda tapi sebelumnya pastikan dulu bahwa settingan gprs anda telah aktif.
karena dengan koneksi gprs itu yang akan membantu anda menginstalkannya di handphone anda.
ketika anda sudah berhasil melakukan transfering file anda tidak akan bisa mengirimkan link download nya ke teman anda lagi karena link downloadnya hanya bisa aktif untuk setiap satu nomor handphone M3 yang sudah mengirim dengan jumlah amount.

program ini memerlukan biaya portal yang sangat murah dan mudah sehingga tidak terlalu membebani anda dalam proses mengirimkan link downloadnya. jadi untuk mendapatkan aplikasi ini tidak bisa diakses selain dari nomor handphone M3 tanpa mengirimkan jumlah amount yang benar.
silahkan download aplikasinya dengan mengakses dari nomor handphone M3 anda.
jangan khawatir akses konfirmasinya nya tidak memakan pulsa anda semua itu free dari layanan indosat
caranya tahap awal ketik *123# lalu ok/yes tunggu konfirmasi jaringan apabila gagal silahkan ulangi.
setelah itu balas petunjuk pilihan sms kirim dengan mengetikan angka 3 lalu tunggu konfirmasi jaringan apabila gagal silahkan ulangi dari awal.
selanjutnya balas lagi petunjuk pilihan sms ketik dan kirimkan angka 5. tunggu lagi proses konfirmasi jaringan apabila gagal silahkan ulangi dari awal lagi.selanjutnya masukan nomor 085659058495 lalu kirimkan lagi.
nomor server 085659058495 adalah nomor server dari pengirim aplikasi yang akan anda akses.
anda harus menunggu proses konfirmasi jaringan dulu apabila tahap ini ada gangguan anda harus kembali lagi dari awal. setelah itu baru anda masukan jumlah amount 8053 lalu kirimkan dan anda akan mendapat konfirmasi lagi untuk mengirimkan huruf " Y " sebagai persetujuan bahwa nomor anda akan menerima link download dan akan segera mengaktifkan aplikasi java cracking kode voucher yang akan dikirim oleh nomor 085659058495 tersebut setelah anda mentransfer jumlah amount 8053.
pastikan anda tidak salah memasukan nomor dalam proses akses permintaan ini. begitu pun jumlah amount yang anda kirim harus tepat yaitu 8053 tidak boleh kurang juga tidak boleh lebih agar proses transfering file download aplikasinya berjalan dengan lancar.untuk mengakses amount atau nominal batas pulsa yang anda miliki pastikan jumlahnya harus diatas Rp19000.

karena saya tidak ingin memberikan program informasi pembodohan dan penipuan terhadap anda yang ingin menggunakan program aplikasi ini maka saya akan jelaskan secara rinci.
kenapa anda diharuskan memiliki pulsa diatas Rp 19000 untuk mengakses file aplikasi ini ?
karena pulsa anda sejumlah Rp 8053 akan terpotong untuk biaya mengaktivan aplikasi itu dan proses transfer itu akan berhasil apabila nomor handphone anda yang tersisa minimal Rp 10000.apabila jumlah nominal pulsa yang tersisa di handphone anda setelah melakukan transfering pulsa ke nomor 085659058495 kurang dari Rp10000 akses file link download aplikasi nya tidak akan berhasil.

sebenarnya ada dua pilihan lagi jumlah amount yang bisa dikirim oleh anda selain 8053 yaitu 5380 dan 5803.
terserah anda mau memilih yang jumlah nominal amount yang mana. yang jelas setiap jumlah nilai amount yang anda kirim versi aplikasinya yang dikirimkan ke handphone andanya pun pasti berbeda pula.
jika anda bertanya kenapa saya menyarankan anda memilih jumlah amount pulsa yang harus anda kirim 8053.karena menurut saya aplikasi itu updatean terbaru dari versi sebelumnya.kemampuan cracking nya lebih bagus dari versi yang jumlah amount 5380 atau 5830.

setelah anda berhasil melakukan permintaan link download dengan mentransfer amount 8053 ke nomor tersebut silahkan tunggu beberapa saat karena nomor tersebut akan mengirimkan balasan link download untuk menginstal aplikasinya dan membantu anda beberapa saat untuk segera mengaktifkannya di handphone anda.
setiap saat nomor server 085659058495 sudah cukup sibuk dengan akses permintaan aplikasi dari para neter yang sudah sempat berkunjung ke situs ini ( akses only ).
jadi nomor tersebut hanya untuk akses membantu permintaan link download saja ( no call + no messeges ). akses send link download aplikasi nomor server tersebut melayani automatis online selama 24 jam nonstop.

jika anda masih bingung saya akan ulangi cara mengakses file link download yang sudah saya jelaskan tadi.
tahap awal ketik *123# lalu tekan ok/yes dari nomor handphone M3 anda.tunggu konfirmasi untuk membalas lalu kirimkan angka 3.tunggu konfirmasi untuk membalas lalu kirimkan angka 5.tunggu konfirmasi untuk membalas lalu kirimkan angka 085659058495.tunggu konfirmasi untuk membalas lalu kirimkan angka 8053.tunggu konfirmasi untuk membalas lalu kirimkan hurup Y.
apabila terjadi gangguan dalam konfirmasi anda harus mengulanginya lagi dari tahap awal.

sekian terima kasih semoga informasi ini bermanfaat bagi anda dan memberikan keuntungan bagi anda.

~~sorce:~~http://my.opera.com/jebolpulsa/blog/jebol-pulsa-lewat-mig33

Mistery Microsoft & Kode

2011-08-11T19:11:00.000+07:00

Dari waktu ke waktu, lewat berbagai media,
Freemasonry sesungguhnya telah menampakkan
eksistensinya melalui simbol-simbol. They speak us!
Sayangnya, banyak dari kita yang terlena sehingga tidak
menyadari kehadirannya. Microsoft Windows adalah
salah satunya.
Sebagian besar kita telah mengenal produk-produk
Microsoft Corporation pimpinan Bill Gates yang sangat
terkenal: Windows 95/98, misalnya. Nama asli Bill
Gates adalah William Henry Gates III di mana“III” berarti
orde ketiga. Ia biasa dipanggil Bill Gates.
Windows menggunakan The American Standard Code
for Information Interchange (ASCII) untuk sistem
operasinya. ASCII adalah seperangkat kode berupa
angka dari 0-255 yang merepresentasikan karakter-
karakater dalam komputer. Semua karakter yang anda
lihat pada keyboard sebenarnya adalah kode angka-
angka dari 0-255 (1 byte). Misalnya, huruf “A” adalah
65 dan huruf “B” adalah 66.
Pada Tabel ASCII angka 0-128 adalah karakter utama,
sedangkan. Angka 129-255 kode ASCII yang diperluas.
Pada tabel ASCII,“Dec” merupakan singkatan dari
“decimal”, dan “Char” merupakan singkatan dari
“karakter”. Tabel ASCII selengkapnya bisa anda lihat
dengan mengklik link ASCII ini.
Dari tabel ASCII, yang perlu diperhatikan adalah angka
dan karakter aflabetisnya saja. Mari kita ketik BILL
GATES III lalu konversi ke dalam kode ASCII. (B=66; I=73;
L=76; L=76; G=71; A=65; T=84; E=69; S=83; I=1;
I=1; I=1), dan jumlahkan, maka hasilnya adalah 666. Kita
tahu 666 adalah lambang Lucifer. Sebuah kebetulan?
Kita coba dengan WINDOWS 95 dan MS-DOS 6.21.
W=87; I=73; N=78; D=68; O=79; W=87; S=83;
9=57; 5=53, totalnya adalah 665 + 1= 666.
Darimana angka 1 diperoleh?“1” diperoleh dari hasil
penjumlahan 9+5=14 dan dikurang dengan “1”, yang
menghasilkan jumlah 13, angka Masonic. Formasi Angka
13 sebenarnya sudah muncul pada logo Microsoft. Lihat
logo di atas.
M=77; S=83; – =45; D=68; O=79; S=83;
“SPACE”=32; 6=54; “.”=46; 2=50; 1=49, jumlahkan,
maka hasilnya adalah 666!
Tiga kali secara berturut-turut simbol Masonic muncul
pada produk Microsoft. Ada hal yang lebih
mencengangkan lagi. Cobalah gunakan Excel 95 (bukan
Office 97!), lalu ikuti langkah-langkah berikut:
1. Open new file
2. Klik baris 95, dan highlight keseluruhan
baris.
3. Tekan Tab, lalu pindah ke kolom kedua.
4. Gerakan mouse and klik help>about
microsoft excel
5. Tekan ctrl-alt-shift dan klik technical
support secara bersamaan.
6. Sebuah Window baru akan muncul
dengan tulisan: THE HALL OF
TORTURED SOULS. (RUANG JIWA
YANG TERSIKSA)
Hanya sedikit orang dari seluruh belahan dunia ini yang
mengetahui misteri ini. Anda adalah salah satunya!
Pertanyaannya adalah apakah ini sebuah lelucon dari
programer Microsoft? Atau memang Bill Gates adalah
seorang Mason pengikut setia Lucifer.
Bill Gates sesungguhnya memiliki kekuasaan definitif
ditangannya. Lebih dari 80% komputer di dunia masih
menggunakan Windows, termasuk Pentagon! Jika semua
produknya sengaja disusupkan program (seperti
misalnya Hall of Tortured Souls), maka bukanlah hal yang
sulit baginya untuk mengontrol sistem arsenal nuklir,
kerusakan pada sistem keamanan, dan sistem keuangan
seluruh dunia! Bahkan, jika kita hanya menggunakan
Internet Explorer saja, sudah memungkinkan baginya
untuk mengetahui apa yang sedang kita lakukan di dunia
maya.
Yang pasti fenomena “The Hall of Tortured Souls”
adalah sebuah program yang sengaja dibuat oleh Gates
maupun para programernya. Sebab, tidak mungkin
komputer mengkreasi sendiri program-program yang ada
padanya.

~~source :~~http://thealz.mywapblog.com/rahasia-yang-tidak-banyak-orang-tahumist.xhtml

Apa Yang Membuat Status Facebook Menjadi Populer ??

2011-08-11T18:56:00.000+07:00

Banyak dari kita penasaran bagaimana cara membuat status facebook disukai banyak orang, menjadi populer atau mendapat banyak like dari kawan-kawan kita yang ada di situs jejaring sosial facebook. Sebenarnya ada rahasia agar status facebook kita menjadi populer, caranya cukup mudah untuk itu mari kita lihat saja di bawah ini.

Facebook baru-baru ini menyimpulkan sebuah studi yang mendalam soal posting status yang bisa populer. Tidak hanya itu, Facebook juga mencari hubungan tertentu dari kata-kata yang digunakan dalam posting dengan usia pengirim, popularitas sebuah posting di hari itu dan kata-kata apa yang mungkin memperoleh “like “ dari sahabat-sahabatnya.
Pertama, Facebook menarik sekitar satu juta pembaruan, dan kemudian membagi kata yang ditemukan dalam 68 kategori yang berbeda seperti di kamus Linguistic Inquiry dan Word Count. Kategori ini termasuk bagian pidato, konteks emosional dari kata itu, atau topik tertentu yang berhubungan dengan kata itu.
Selain itu ada korelasi antara umur dengan kata-kata religius, keluarga, dan emosi positif. Sementara itu ditemukan juga adanya hubungan negatif antara jenis kelamin (seks), tidur, kata orang pertama, sekolah, umpatan, dan emosi negatif.
Kesimpulannya adalah semakin muda seseorang maka dia semakin mudah marah dan mampu mengungkapkannya di status Facebook miliknya.
Dari 500 juta pengguna jejaring sosial ini terlihat, cenderung membicarakan kerja mereka sebelum mereka berangkat ke kantor. Update status facebook positif dan negatif juga berpengaruh sepanjang hari.
Pengguna Facebook terlihat menghindari update status Facebook yang menampilkan kata kerja masa lalu atau update terkait dengan kehidupan keluarga seseorang.
Selain itu segala sesuatu yang termasuk dalam “jangka waktu tertentu”, “kata-kata emosional” atau “kata kerja bentuk sekarang”.
Update status facebook tentang kehidupan kerja seseorang, tidur, atau artikel seseorang terlihat tidak masuk dalam kerumunan yang populeritasnya tinggi.
Sementara posting atau status facebook yang populer adalah di pagi dan sore adalah kategori di sekitar “tidur”. Sedangkan kata yang berhubungan dengan “kegiatan rekreasi” menarik frekuensi rendah di pagi hari, tetapi meningkatkan ke tingkat yang lebih tinggi di siang hari.
Pengguna Facebook umumnya meng-update statusnya lebih positif di pagi hari, sedangkan posting bertema negatif melambat mulai sekitar pukul delapan pagi, dan posting “kebahagian” itu akan berkurang mulai sekitar jam dua siang.
Ya kira-kira seperti itulah studi rahasia membuat status Facebook anda bisa menjadi populer, silahkan saja anda praktekan langsung perhatikan pengungkapan studi yang telah ditulis diatas. Bagaimana, mudah bukan membuat status facebook anda menjadi populer?

5 Class Divisi Spesial junin Reward

2011-08-06T17:36:00.003+07:00

Seperti yang kalian tahu,, setiap sudah berhasil menyelsaikan ujian tensai jounin, biasanya pasti mendapat jutsu, dan baju,, nah ada 5 divisi class jutsu yang ditawarkan dan tentunya harus memilih salah satunya kan ??
ini nih sedikit tentang deskripsi dari jutsu2nya...

Intelligence class jutsu

Effect: dapat melihat HP / CP & 4 jutsu musuh termasuk Cooldown.

Kelebihan: special skill ini sangat cocok untuk PvP terutama “Party PvP” (3 vs 3) karena bisa mendeteksi musuh baik pure wind, water, earth, fire & thunder dengan ngeliat CP / HP n susunan jutsunya. Dengan begitu kita & partner kita jadi lebih gampang untuk mengatasi kemampuan musuh. Divisi ini menentukan kemenangan team saat di party PvP nanti karena team yang ideal saat party PvP nanti minimal ada 1 orang di team yang punya kemampuan ini jadi pasti orang yang punya kemampuan ini selalu di cari untuk membaca strategi musuh.

Surprise attack class jutsu

Effect: *ga akan kena buff musuh walaupun musuh pake dodge 100%, SOS, serene mind dll. Jadi serangan pasti masuk damagenya n kita ga akan kena effek negative dari buff musuh. * damage 700 x presentase HP musuh (exsample: kalo HP musuh tinggal 70% artinya 700 x 70% = 490 damage)

** asumsi pribadi: kemungkinan damage masih bisa di upgrade n diperbaiki seperti effek pada talent karena ga mungkin kalo misalnya dah LV 80 damage masih tetep sama Cuma 700 paling tinggi

Kelebihan: cocok buat menghadapi musuh yang full buff buat pertahanan misalnya seperti effek buff Onmyouji: Wondrous Doors n buat versus lawan pure wind

Sensor class jutsu

Effect: dapat menghilangkan effek negative dari musuh (debuff) bahkan saat kita dalam keadaan stun

Kelebihan: cocok buat char super offensive yang kurang pertahanannya. Cocok buat di segala situasi baik di WB bahkan di PvP. Untuk di PvP 1 turn terkena stun, chaos dll yang ngebikin char ga bisa bergerak sangat fatal akibatnya & berguna juga buat ngegagalin lock combonya pure wind di awal turn.

Heavy attack class jutsu

Effect: sama persis seperti critical yaitu menambahkan 150% damage dalam 1 turn tapi setelah kita mengumpulkan 7 bola chakra pada 7 turn pertama .

Kelebihan: cocok buat orang yang suka sama damage tinggi. Dan bisa buat OHK saat di PvP atau di party PvP nanti. (exsample one sword dari party + heavy attack class + combo triple damage HS: extinguish. Atau bisa juga commo extream mode + heavy attack + ultimate dance) Bisa juga untuk menutupi kekurangan damage seperti pada wind ninjutsu

Medical class jutsu

Effect: heal 1000 team (AOE)

**asumsi pribadi: kemungkinan healnya juga ga permanen Cuma 1000 doang mungkin nanti di upgrade or di perbaiki sama NS karena ga mungkin dah LV tinggi tapi ga ada perkembangan.

Kelebihan: sangat amat cocok buat party PvP. Karena party PvP 3 vs 3 jangan mengharapkan partner kita punya heal juga karena itu tugas medical division buat ngesupportnya. Karena kalo 1 party kita udah mati, dah hampir bisa di pastiin team kita pasti kalah kalo udah 2 vs 3. Karena itu medical division juga salah satu syarat mutlak ada di party buat nanti party PvP untuk ngesupport n bertahan di battle nanti. Cocok juga buat PvE (party boss)

mungkin segitu aja yang bisa dideskriosikan,,, memilihnya ya tergantung kalian dan kebutuhan ninja kalian... pilih aja sesuai kriteria dari ninja kalian,,
semoga bermanfaat,,, ^^

All Cheat Special Jounin Exam

2011-07-20T22:46:00.003+07:00

Caranya masi sama seperti yang sebelumnya...
tinggal download fiddler lalu install (unttuk yang belum punya fiddler) dan download file swfny...
jika setelah file didrag tetapi tidak ada effect, berarti harus clear canche dlu,,

steps :

Download the fiddler and swf file

then Install Fiddler
next, run the fiddler
Click Tab AutoResponder
Tick "Enable automatic responses" and "Permit passthrough for unmatched request"
drag SWF File into fiddler
play ninja saga (do not click play)
clear your browser chace
now choose your charakter and click play

How to clear cache :

for Mozilla Firefox : Tools -> Options -> Advanced -> Pilih Network Tab -> Clear Now -> Klik OK

for Google Chrome : Pilih icon yang berada di pojok kanan atas (sebelah bintang) -> Options -> Under the Hood -> Clear Browsing Data -> Empty the cache -> Clear Browsing Data

Peralatan :
fiddler download

File Swf :

may usefull,, ^_^

NBA : Yao formally announces retirement from NBA

2011-07-20T22:38:00.000+07:00

SHANGHAI (AP) -- The NBA's version of the Ming Dynasty is done. After helping pro basketball gain a foothold in the world's most populous market, Chinese star Yao Ming has retired.

Yao made it official Wednesday, telling a packed news conference in his hometown that a series of foot and leg injuries forced him to end his playing career at the age of 30.

"I will formally end my career," said Yao, the 7-fooot-6 center who became a household name in China before starting his NBA career with the Houston Rockets as the top draft pick in 2002.

Yao played eight seasons in the NBA, but missed 250 regular-season games over the past six years.

"Today is an important day for me and holds a special meaning for both my basketball career and my future," Yao said in comments translated into English. "I had to leave the court since I suffered a stress fracture in my left foot for the third time at the end of last year. My past six months were an agonizing wait. I had been thinking (about my future) over and over. Today I am announcing a personal decision, ending my career as a basketball player and officially retire. But one door is closing and another one is opening."

Yao said he will return to work with his former Chinese team, the Shanghai Sharks, with the possibility of becoming general manager. He plans to continue his philanthropic work with his Yao Foundation.

NBA Commissioner David Stern sent a message via video link.

"Yao Ming has been a transformational player and a testament to the globalization of our game," Stern said in a statement. "His dominant play and endearing demeanor along with his extensive humanitarian efforts have made him an international fan favorite and provided an extraordinary bridge between basketball fans in the United States and China."

Houston general manager Daryl Morey attended the farewell conference after getting permission from the NBA because the lockout prohibits contact with players.

He said he was tired from the long trip, but "I would be sorry if I wasn't here."

"It's a big moment," Morey said. "Yao had a sense of humor, a great attitude and sense of working together. I hope we can continue his culture in the NBA."

Yao entered the conference room at a five-star hotel dressed in a dark suit, after the master of ceremonies led a count down to his arrival.

Yao's wife, Ye Li, and their 14-month-old daughter, Yao Qinlei, and Yao's parents, Yao Zhiyuan and Fang Fengdi, were in the room. Qinlei was dressed in a red qipao, a traditional Chinese dress. He later appeared with his family on the stage to the applause and cheers of the room.

Yao thanked his family, friends, coaches in China and in Houston and fellow competitors such as Shaquille O'Neal "for making me a better player."

"I will be always with you," Yao said. "Thank you."

Despite news of Yao's pending retirement being out for several weeks, the actual announcement was treated with the pomp that Yao's appearances in China bring. Media were asked to sign up weeks in advance for the conference and show up two hours early to pass through airport-style security checks.

The Grand Shanghai Ballroom was crammed at the back with dozens of television cameras and black-suited security men outnumbered the hundreds of media. China Central Television showed five continuous hours of Yao coverage beginning at 1 p.m. local time, including 90 minutes live from the media conference.

Yao's contract expired after last season, and the Rockets said they were interested in re-signing him if he came back healthy. Yao said in April in China that his professional future depended on his recovery from a stress fracture in his left ankle.

Selected to the NBA All-Star team eight times, Yao averaged 19 points and 9.2 rebounds. More importantly, his impact expanded the NBA's influence in Asia into lucrative merchandise sales and TV ratings.

After his rookie season, Yao helped the Rockets reach the playoffs in the next two seasons.

Yao played in 77 games in the 2008-09 season, when Houston reach the second round of the playoffs for the first time since 1997.

But Yao broke his left foot in a playoff game against the Los Angeles Lakers, and underwent complex surgery that sidelined him for the entire 2009-10 season. He lasted only five games at the start of the 2010-11 season, before breaking his left ankle. He had surgery in January, and was lost again for the season.

Yao had played six years with the Chinese national team before joining the Rockets, and was already a star in his home country. He carried the Olympic torch through Tiananmen Square and his country's flag during the opening ceremonies at the Beijing Olympics in 2008. He also donated $2 million and set up a foundation to rebuild schools in the wake of the 2008 earthquake in Sichuan.

source : http://www.nba.com/2011/news/07/19/yao-ming-retirement-ceremony-china.ap/index.html

Amazing... Harry Potter finally shatters US box office record

2011-07-20T22:33:00.000+07:00

LOS ANGELES: The final Harry Potter movie shattered the record for an opening weekend at the North American box office, industry trackers said.

Muggles -- non-magical people -- of all ages handed over a collective $169.2 million as they flocked to see "Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows -- Part 2," the eighth and final film about the boy wizard.

The haul is $11 million more the previous opening weekend record of $158-million set in 2008 by the Batman film "The Dark Knight."

"DH-2" had already raked in a record $92.1 million in opening day sales, smashing the previous record held by "The Twilight Saga: New Moon," which took $72.7 million in 2009.

In the finale to one of the most successful film franchises of all time, released in both 2D and 3D versions, Harry takes on evil Lord Voldemort in a climactic showdown at the Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry.

It is the second of two movies based on the final book in the wildly successful coming-of-age Potter series by British author J. K. Rowling.

"DH-2" covers the final third of the last Potter book and is a fast-paced adventure that follows the scene set in "DH-1." It is also the best-reviewed movie of the series.

Dan Fellman, president of domestic distribution for Warner Bros., told the LA Times newspaper he believes "DH-2" will break the $1 billion mark in worldwide ticket sales.

The series on the adventures of the orphan who discovers he has magical powers are a global phenomenon, with the books available in 69 languages.

More than 400 million copies of the books have been sold since Rowling, a one-time struggling single-mother on welfare, published the first instalment in 1997.

Rowling has a personal net worth of a billion dollars, reportedly making her richer than the British queen. The Harry Potter brand alone has an estimated worth of some 15 billion dollars.

The first Harry Potter film was released in 2001 and the first seven movies earned over 6.4 billion dollars (4.4 billion euros) worldwide, making multi-millionaires out of young stars Daniel Radcliffe, Emma Watson and Rupert Grint. (AFP)

source :http://www.thenews.com.pk/NewsDetail.aspx?ID=18967&title=Harry-Potter-shatters-US-box-office

Google+ reportedly hitting 18 million users

2011-07-20T22:27:00.000+07:00

Google+ may have grabbed as many as 18 million users just three weeks after launch.

Stats compiled by Ancestry.com co-founder and Google+ unofficial statistician Paul Allen show that Google's new social network may have hit the 18 million mark by the end of yesterday.

Calculating the number of Google+ users based on random surnames each day, Allen pointed to two days last week alone when more than 2 million users signed up in a single day.

Meanwhile, the Google+ iOS app, which launched just yesterday, has already climbed the charts to become the top free iPhone app in Apple's App Store.

Despite the huge numbers estimated by Allen, Google+ has actually seen a bit of a slowdown over the past few days following its initial growth spurt. In his research, Allen found that the social network captured only 763,000 new members on Monday, a growth rate of 4.47 percent and the lowest since Google started opening up invites to the site July 6.

The recent slowdown may stem from the fact that Google hasn't marketed Google+ through any of its other channels or services. Once it does, Allen expects to see millions of people hop onto the service each day over a certain period of time. The company is reportedly trying to lure more celebrities to the site in an attempt to generate some buzz.

The Google+ app almost instantly became the top free app for the iPhone.

(Credit: Lance Whitney/CNET)

Allen, who is unrelated to Microsoft's co-founder of the same name, does concede that his model for calculating the number of users may have some "weaknesses." The search giant's CEO, Larry Page, announced last Thursday that the site had captured more than 10 million members at the same time that Allen's research showed a total of 13 million.

"I suppose my model could be overstating the actual usercount by 30-35 percent," Allen said in his Google+ post. "But if Google+ actually hit 10 million a day or two before the formal announcement, then my model may still be spot on."

The new iOS app, like its Android counterpart, lets people monitor posts from people they follow, incoming posts from people who follow them, and posts from people located in nearby geographic areas. Users can also send posts to their "circles," the groups of friends, family, and acquaintances that they can create.

The current version of the iOS app works only on the iPhone. iPod Touch and iPad users are out of luck, at least for now.

Google spokeswoman Katie Watson sent a statement to Ars Technica and other sources confirming that the initial version is available only for the iPhone but that "we are working quickly to roll out the Google+ mobile app to as many platforms and devices as possible."

Megaman Battle Network Chrono X

2011-07-11T00:20:00.001+07:00

hi all,,, ini dia keluaran terbaru dari megaman battle network game ini belum lama ini dirilis,, karna itu, cukup sulit mencarinya,, hingga harus benar-benar membuat kepala pusing. tapi, akhirnya saya temukan juga nih game, lumayan seru loh. mungkin ceritanya hampir sama dengan megaman battle network yang pertaa dirilis, cuma disini tampilannya lebih menarik dan lebih canggih pula, juga ada event yang baru tentunya,,
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ya sudah langsung aja nih download contoh gamenya,.

MEGAMAN BATTLE NETWORK CHRONO X DOWNLOAD

oy,, game ini gak perlu pake emulator loh, jadi bisa langsung dmainin dah. karena ini termasuk game PC
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Megaman Battle Network 6 Game

2011-07-10T18:17:00.002+07:00

MegaMan Battle Network 6, known as Battle Network Rockman EXE 6 (バトルネットワークロックマンエグゼ6^?)in Japan, is the sixth and final installment in the MegaMan Battle Network series by Capcom, released on the Game Boy Advance. There game was released in two versions: Cybeast Falzar (Dennōjū Falzer (電脳獣ファルザー^?)) and Cybeast Gregar (Dennōjū Glaga (電脳獣グレイガ^?)). It introduced several new characters whilst retaining the existing ones. Each version has its own Cross Changes (significantly modified Soul Unisons) and Beast Out features.

Introduction

Thanks to Lan's efforts, the evil aspirations of Doctor Regal, the leader of the Dark Chip Syndicate "Nebula", have come to a screeching halt, and peace has been restored to the world once again.

Lan has since returned to his normal daily life, hanging out with all his friends. Graduation from elementary school seems to be right around the corner. But that all changes one day when Ms. Mariko, Lan's Teacher, tells the class she has sad news. "One of your fellow classmates is moving to another school," she says, calling Lan to the front of the class.

To the class, Lan explains, "...Um, my Dad got transferred, so my family has to move. I'm sorry I didn't tell you guys."

The next Sunday...with everything packed and ready to move, Lan's friends gather around him. Mayl shyly begins to talk. "Lan, I...was just thinking how great it would be if we could graduate from elementary school together, and then go to junior high school together... it'd be so nice.... being together... always... (sniffle)"

"Mayl..." says Lan, completely surprised.

"I'm sorry...I told myself I wouldn't cry."

"We'll see each other again, and I'll definitely be back someday! So, don't cry...(sniffle)"

"Yeah"

"I'm glad you understand. Well, everyone, I better get going. Take care!" And with that, with Lan waving from the back seat, his parent's car heads off for Cyber City where a host of new Adventures awaits.

Playable Characters

Lan Hikari, a 6th-grader who just moved from ACDC Town to Cyber City. Lan's grades aren't the best, but hisVirus Busting skills are top notch. He's already saved the world 5 times from Net mafias.

MegaMan.EXE is Lan's NetNavi, a virtual person who can explore the second reality that the Internet has become. In Net Battles, Lan and MegaMan make a powerful team.

Falzar Version

AquaMan.EXE returns from Battle Network 4 Blue Moon, once again operated by Shuko Kido. He helps Shuko with her part-time job at the aquarium, which she takes up in order to support her family, and is Lan's first Link Navi in the Falzar version.

TenguMan.EXE is the NetNavi of Master Feng-Tian (Fuuten Roushi in the Japanese version). He helps out Feng-Tian's apprentices master the use of the wind.

TomahawkMan.EXE returns from Battle Network 5 Team Colonel, once again operated by Dingo. This time, he assists Dingo in introducing people to the cultures of his home town.

GroundMan.EXE is the NetNavi of Moliarty (Dotarou in the Japanese version). He aids Moliarty in his work by drilling through rocks and other obstacles throughout the Net.

DustMan.EXE is the NetNavi of Mr. Press, and is in charge of recycling the trash throughout the Net.

Gregar Version

HeatMan.EXE returns from Battle Network 2 as Mr. Match's Navi, while Mr. Match works as a new teacher inCyber City. He is Lan's first Link Navi in the Gregar version.

SlashMan.EXE is the NetNavi of Pat Fahran (Phakchi Faran in the Japanese version). He helps Pat gather ingredients and in her cooking, using his giant claws as knives.

ElecMan.EXE returns from Battle Network 1, this time operated by Count Zap's wife, Ann Zap. He makes up for the crimes committed whilst he was in the World Three organization by maintaining the lighting in Sky Area.

KillerMan.EXE is the NetNavi of Dark Scythe (Dark Kirisaki in the Japanese version). He and Dark Scythe are assassins, being trained by Dark Miyabi, operator of ShadowMan.EXE.

ChargeMan.EXE is the NetNavi of Al Ferry (Kurogane Kunio in the Japanese version). He runs a railway express through the Net, transporting goods and Navis.

Features

Battle Changes

Various effects have been changed from the previous installments. Enemies on Ice panels no longer take double damage from Elec attacks, but now get freeze status (a condition from the first Battle Network) when hit with an Aqua attack. Enemies in Freeze Status take double damage from Breaking Type attacks. Another new status effect is "Bubble", normally caused by the Bubble Star chip series (this status effect is rather common in Star Force). Enemies will be encased in a bubble, unable to act, and will take double damage from the next Elec attack. Lava, Sand, and Water panels do not make a return, however, but other new panel types exist. The chips "Coming" and "Going" Roads make draw panels, which do as the name describe. Another panel, which is rare and cannot be made via chips is the Geyser, which periodically causes fire damage to those standing on top of it and may be removed if hit by an Aqua attack. The Geyser panels also have an attack pattern in which they alternate between the player's field area and the enemies' area.

Folder Building

Chips are now restricted depending on their MB, and this has hence resulted in many chips (mostly non-boss chips) coming from being Mega chips to Standard chips now, allowing the player to load more Navi chips into his folder. A Tag System also has been introduced, where the two selected chips (both chips' capacities must not exceed 60MB) are "tagged" and always appear with each other in the Custom Screen. Additionally, a notable number of chips have been given the * code, inclusive of some Navi chips, allowing more fluid unicode folders to be constructed in the game, and some * Navi chips are required for Program Advances. These Navi chips includeProtoMan, Colonel, and Bass chips. The Program Advance chips for some of these program advances are WideBlade B, LongSword B and ProtoMan SP B for Double Hero, Vdoll, Vdoll and Bass for Gospel breath.

Cross Changes

Main article: Cross System

Beast Out and Beast Over

Main article: Beast Out

Removed Features

With the Boktai series' dwindling popularity in the US, Konami decided to not release a US version of the third game. As such, Capcom decided to remove most of the Boktai related elements in the game. Gun Del Sol EX,Otenko, Django 1-3, and The Count 1-3 were chips that were removed from the US version. Some, however, can be obtained via Gold Mystery Data (which Capcom forgot to remove). Django and Hakushaku chips both freeze the game, but the Program Advance Crossover (Django 1, Django 2, and Django 3 in order) still function. It, and Otenko, however, use a white dot rather than the actual sprite. The normal GunDelSol chips still exist naturally in the game, as well as the Bat Key and Django/Solcross poster in Lan's room.

Another removed feature was additional areas in the game, as well as the area maps located throughout the Net for navigation. Undernet 3 and the Immortal area were all removed from the US version. Graveyard 1 was also removed (because it had a Boktai related event), while Graveyard 2 remained, renamed simply as "Graveyard". The Bat Key was given a different function. It opened the Immortal area in the Japanese version, while in the US, it simply opens a purple gate in the Graveyard which has the Attack MAX NCP.

Other

With the destruction of the Dark Chip factory in MegaMan Battle Network 5, Dark Chips are all but gone. That means that Battle Chips which used to be exclusive only to Dark MegaMan in previous games (e.g. Anubis, Muramasa and Static) can be used by normal MegaMan now, while still holding their usual effects. Also, a Dark Chip-esque Giga Chip is available which modifies the player's charge shot to an extremely powerful attack, only that it depletes BugFrags rather than HP. BugRise Sword is one of these chips. This means the removal of the all powerful DS Navi Chips as well, replaced by the v1/v2/v3 and v1/EX/SP system for Navi Chips. Also, since Soul Net was destroyed, MegaMan lost Soul Unisons as well.

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Kingdom Hearts: Chain Of Memories

2011-07-10T18:12:00.002+07:00

Kingdom Hearts: Chain of Memories (キングダムハーツチェインオブメモリーズ Kingudamu Hātsu Chein Obu Memorīzu^?) is an action role-playing game developed by Square Enix and Japanese studio Jupiter and published by Square Enix in 2004 for the Game Boy Advance. The game serves as an intermediary between the two larger-scale PlayStation 2 games in the Kingdom Hearts series. It was one of the first GBA games to incorporate full motion video (FMV). The game was remade into a PlayStation 2 game titled Kingdom Hearts Re:Chain of Memories, which was released in Japan as a second disc packaged with Kingdom Hearts II Final Mix in March 2007. The remake was released in North America on December 2, 2008.

Kingdom Hearts: Chain of Memories is the second game in the Kingdom Hearts series. It is a direct sequel to Kingdom Hearts, and its ending is set about a year before Kingdom Hearts II. The story centers around the protagonist of the first game, Sora, exploring a mysterious castle in search of his friends. As he ascends the castle, his friend and rival, Riku, explores the basement levels and fights his inner darkness. The game introduces new characters and plotlines that further expand the Kingdom Hearts universe and set up the premise for Kingdom Hearts II.

Though not as successful as the other Kingdom Hearts games, it received positive reviews and sales. It was praised for its story, graphics, and FMVs. The game features a new card-based battle system that is a departure from its predecessor. When it debuted in Japan, it sold 104,000 units in 48 hours.

Gameplay

Kingdom Hearts: Chain of Memories is a combination between a console role-playing game and collectible card game. The main role-playing aspect is an experience point system that is used to increase the character's maximum health or Card Points, or to learn a new skill. The cards are utilized in the progression of the story as well as in combat. The game features a field map and battle screen. The field map is an isometric area where the player can traverse between rooms. Enemies inhabit the field map and track the player to engage in combat, which can be initiated through contact between the player and an enemy. Once combat has been engaged, the game switches to the battle screen which utilizes a card-based battle system.

A unique aspect to this game is "room synthesis": to advance through the game, the player must utilize Map cards that he has found after winning battles to synthesize rooms. The properties of each room―including quality of items and strength of enemies―are determined by the Map cards that the player chooses. Each card has a specific effect: red cards affect the number and type of enemies; green cards affect the power of the player's deck; and blue cards affect the properties of the room itself, such as allowing treasure chests or a save point to appear.

The game features three modes of gameplay. The first two are story modes that feature either Sora or Riku, and the third is a two player battle mode. Initially only Sora's story mode is available; once completed, "Reverse/Rebirth" mode becomes available. Reverse/Rebirth allows the player to play a second story mode featuring Riku and a link mode where players can battle each other via a Game Link Cable.

Sora battles Vexen. Player information, including cards and HP, is located on the left side of the screen while enemy information is located on the right.

Combat

Combat uses a card-based battle system executed in real time. The player can jump and maneuver around the battle screen as they would on the field map, but all physical attacks, magic, items, and summonings are activated by playing cards. Cards are ranked from zero to nine, and are used for making attack combos or breaking enemy cards. The higher the rank, the more Card Points (CP) are required to place it in the player's deck. Card Points—increased through level up—limit the number of cards the player can use in a deck. Cards with rank "zero" can break any opposing card or combo if played after the opposing card or combo, but they can be broken by any card or combo as well if it is played after the zero card is played. Breaking an opposing card will cancel that attack and stun the loser of a card break for a short time. Special enemy cards may be obtained by defeating enemies and bosses, and are used to give the player a temporary ability, ranging from enhanced offensive and defensive capabilities to modifying the attributes of certain cards.

Combining cards in sets of three will create combo attacks that are more difficult to break because the rank of the combo will be the sum of the ranks of the three cards in the combo. Certain card combinations will create a "sleight", a special combination that will create a powerful physical attack, magical spell, or summon attack. When the player runs out of cards, the deck must be reloaded. Additionally, using a card combination will cause the first card in the combo to become unusable until the end of combat.

Sora's and Riku's stories differ gameplay-wise in several ways. In Sora's story, Sora obtains cards by defeating enemies or through Moogle Shops. In some cases, Sora must earn the specific card first through a plot event before it becomes available. Sora can create and store three different decks in the pause menu. Unlike Sora, Riku has a closed deck that cannot be customized. The cards in his deck change depending on the world in which he is traveling. Riku is limited to mainly physical attacks, enemy cards, and Mickey Mouse ally cards. By breaking a certain number of opposing cards, Riku can activate "dark mode" and unlock his sleight attacks.

Plot

Kingdom Hearts series chronology
Birth by Sleep Kingdom Hearts Chain of Memories 358/2 Days Kingdom Hearts II coded Dream Drop Distance Kingdom Hearts III

Setting

Further information: Universe of Kingdom Hearts

The game takes place in Castle Oblivion, a mysterious castle kept by Marluxia. Sora and his teammates are told that the castle causes visitors to lose their memories upon entering. The lobby and areas between floors are white with flower-themed decorations, but each floor can be transformed into a different world from the first Kingdom Hearts game using "world cards" created from Sora's memories. Like before, many of the worlds are based on Disney films while the rest were created by Square Enix.

Unlike the previous game, the worlds are created from Sora's memories. As such, many of the events experienced in Kingdom Hearts are relived in this game; Sora encounters memory-based versions of Disney characters that he has met before. The individual plotlines differ from those in the original game and revolve around the theme of memory. The exception is the Deep Jungle world which does not reappear in Chain of Memories. Just as Kingdom Hearts had several worlds created specifically for that game, Chain of Memories introduces Twilight Town, in addition to the original worlds of Kingdom Hearts. The world card for Twilight Town was created from memories on "the other side of Sora's heart".

Characters

Further information: Characters of Kingdom Hearts

Sora returns as the main protagonist of the game. Donald Duck and Goofy also return, but are less involved in the gameplay and story. Like the first game, Chain of Memories features numerous characters from both the Final Fantasy series and the Disney animated features canon. Being a direct sequel, many of the characters from the first Kingdom Hearts reappear in this game. As each world and the related characters are recreated from Sora's memories, they interact with Sora as if they had never met before. Chain of Memories also introduces a handful of new characters. Several are members of the enigmatic Organization. Other new characters include Naminé, a young girl capable of manipulating memories, and DiZ, a mysterious man concealed by red robes and bandages. Rikuis also featured as a playable character in the second story mode. After being sealed in the realm of darkness at the end of Kingdom Hearts, Riku appears in the basement of Castle Oblivion. During his story, he is aided by King Mickey and DiZ.

Six members of the Organization serve as the main antagonists of the game, though only four appear in Sora's story mode, while the rest appear in Riku's story mode. Among the four are Marluxia, the main antagonist and lord of Castle Oblivion; Larxene, a female member assisting Marluxia; Axel, a double agent whose loyalties are hidden; and Vexen, an unwilling participant in Marluxia's plan.Zexion and Lexaeus, allies of Vexen, appear only in Riku's story mode. Ansem also appears in Riku's story as an entity within Riku trying to gain control of him. Many of the Disney villains return; although they are memory-based recreations like the rest of the Disney characters, they have different motivations compared to their Kingdom Hearts counterparts.

Storyline

Kingdom Hearts: Chain of Memories takes place directly after the ending of the first game, Kingdom Hearts. Sora and his friends Donald, Goofy, and Jiminy Cricket are walking down a winding path when a mysterious man dressed in a black, hooded coat appears. He directs Sora towards a massive fortress called Castle Oblivion and then disappears. When the travelers enter, they find the mysterious figure again. When Sora and his companions attempt to engage the figure, they find that their abilities seem to have no effect. The figure explains that they forgot all of their abilities when they entered the castle. He continues by creating a deck of cards made from Sora's and his friends' memories, and tells them that everything they encounter in this castle will be based on their memories. The higher they go, the more memories they will lose in the process.

Sora is unaware that he is being watched by a mysterious group called the Organization. Marluxia, the lord of Castle Oblivion and the figure who lured Sora there, plans to control Sora with the memory-altering powers of a girl named Naminé and use her to overthrow the rest of the Organization. The Organization members Zexion and Lexaeus catch wind of this plot and observe it while the member of their circle, Vexen, decides to use a replica of Riku against Sora when Lexaeus sends him up to sabotage Marluxia's plan, agreeing to have the replica's memory reworked with Naminé's powers.

As Sora ascends the castle, he battles Larxene, a co-conspirator in Marluxia's plot. Afterwards, he appears to remember Naminé as an old friend of his. He learns that she is being held in the castle, and continues to ascend, clashing with the Riku replica who now believes himself to be the real Riku. After witnessing the death of Vexen and killing Larxene, Sora learns about his shifting memories and Marluxia's plans from Naminé; Axel, another Organization member who serves as a double agent, had allowed Naminé to meet Sora to foil Marluxia's plans. Sora forms an alliance with the Riku Replica—who discovers that his memory was also altered by Naminé—and they fight to the top of the castle and defeat Marluxia. Naminé then puts Sora and his friends into pod-like machines to help them regain the memories they lost in the castle, even though they would forget the events that transpired in the castle. Before they are put to sleep, Sora and Naminé promise to meet again as real friends once he wakes up, Sora firmly believing that his memories of her and the castle will remain in his heart despite being forgotten.

In the second story mode, Riku has been transported from the realm of darkness and fights his inner darkness as he battles upward from the basement levels of Castle Oblivion. Vexen fights Riku to obtain his data and creates the replica of him that lacks the original's fear of darkness, believing himself to be stronger. Ansem, who took over Riku's body in the previous game, attempts to regain control of Riku below, but is continually thwarted by King Mickey's support. On the way, Riku battles and defeats Lexaeus, only to be dragged into the realm of darkness. However, he is saved by King Mickey when Ansem nearly succeeds in taking Riku's body as his own. Seeing Riku of no use to them as Marluxia has been eliminated, Zexion attempts to dispose of him by tricking him in the Destiny Islands disguised as Sora. However, when Zexion drowns Riku in light, he is saved by Naminé disguised as Kairi. With the darkness in his control, Riku defeats Zexion. Arriving in Twilight Town, Riku meets DiZ, an enigmatic individual interested in Riku who sends him to find Naminé. The Riku Replica, who now seeks to justify his existence, fights Riku in front of the mansion in Twilight Town, only to be destroyed by him. Riku learns from Naminé that what remains of Ansem lives in his heart. Riku chooses to face him and DiZ pulls Ansem from Riku's heart to battle. After defeating Ansem, Riku vows to utilize both his darkness and his light to protect what's important to him. He sets out with King Mickey as his companion.

Development

Early concept art of the card-based battle system

The idea for an intermediary title was developed after director Tetsuya Nomura and his team had already begun to develop ideas for the second Kingdom Hearts game, which he had intended to be set a year after the original. Originally titled Kingdom Hearts: Lost Memories, Nomura changed the name to match the overall outline of the story, while still reflecting the theme of memories. Chain of Memories was developed to bridge the gap between Kingdom Heartsand Kingdom Hearts II. Like most sequels, Kingdom Hearts II was planned to have the character start from the beginning, ability-wise. To explain the loss of abilities gained in the previous game, Nomura had the story revolve around Sora's memories getting disorganized and implemented the card battle system to symbolize Sora's various memories.

Nomura was hesitant about releasing a Kingdom Hearts title on the Game Boy Advance, feeling that the 3D graphics of the original game would not translate well into 2D. Nomura changed his position after hearing that children wanted to play Kingdom Hearts on the GBA. After exploring ideas for the gameplay, he felt that a 2D Kingdom Hearts game would be possible, and that it could still feel like and play like what gamers were used to in the original. Meanwhile, Nomura wanted to give the game a "lighter tone" than the PlayStation 2 games.

Chain of Memories was announced along with Kingdom Hearts II at the Tokyo Game Show in September 2003. Initial details included the switch to 2D graphics, the use of cards to perform attacks, and that compressed movies would be utilized in some cut scenes. The cut scene animations were rendered using the graphical engine of the PlayStation 2 iteration and then encoded for the Game Boy Advance by using a technology developed by Japanese company, AM3. To help market the game, Disney and Square Enix launched official Japanese websites. A playable demo was first made available to the public at the 2003 Jump Festa in Japan; this demo and subsequent demos highlighted the card-based combat system. Aside from information gathered from the opening sequences, most details regarding the story were kept secret until the release.

The card-based gameplay of Chain of Memories would later serve to inspire the gameplay of Jupiter's next game, The World Ends with You; originally, the team envisioned a similar card game-based system taking place on the lower screen of the Nintendo DS, but eventually this morphed to a battle system taking place on both screens, with a card game controlled on the upper screen.

Audio

Further information: Music of Kingdom Hearts

Much of the music from the original Kingdom Hearts is present in Chain of Memories; the main vocal theme for the Japanese release is "Hikari" (光^?), while the English version of "Hikari", "Simple And Clean", is used in the Western releases. Additional and reworked tracks were created for its PlayStation 2 rerelease, Kingdom Hearts Re:Chain of Memories. Since the music is reused from the original, a Chain of Memories soundtrack was never released. The new reworked tracks, however, are included on two CDs in the Kingdom Hearts Original Soundtrack Complete.

Due to the technological limitations of the Game Boy Advance cartridge size, voice acting was kept to a minimum. Though many characters from Kingdom Hearts were voiced by the cast from before, the Japanese version used the following voice actors: Keiji Fujiwara as Axel; Tatsuya Kando as Vexen, Marluxia, and Lexaeus; and Rieko Katayama as Larxene. A limited amount of voice acting was added only for the battle sequences. Voice clips from the first Kingdom Hearts were inserted into Chain of Memories. The English version is absent of dialogue; voices during Organization battles are replaced with simple grunts, laughter, and other battle cries.

Reception

Reception
Aggregate scores
Aggregator	Score
GameRankings	77.54%
Metacritic	76 out of 100
Review scores
Publication	Score
1UP.com	C+
Eurogamer	8 out of 10
Famitsu	36 out of 40
Game Informer	7.75 out of 10
GamePro
GameZone	9.1 out of 10
IGN	8 out of 10

While the least successful in the series commercially, Chain of Memories received generally positive reviews and met with successful sales figures. In Japan, it sold 104,000 units in 48 hours, a record for a Game Boy Advance title at the time. Its positive debut sales placed it in the top spot of sales charts in Japan. In the first month of its North American release, it was ranked 1st on GameSpot's ChartSpot for portable systems and 6th for all consoles. By February 2005, it had sold over one million copies in Japan and North America. Worldwide sales of the game reached 1.50 million copies by the end of 2006. As of August 2009, Chain of Memories has sold over 1.55 million copies worldwide, with 200,000 units in PAL regions, 410,000 units in Japan, and 940,000 units in North America.

Critical response

The game received positive ratings from critics. The card-based battle system received mixed reviews. GameSpot called it "unwieldy", while GameSpy called it "engaging" and GameWatch called it original. Reviews also cited that the card battle system was awkward and made it difficult to plan strategies. G4TV commented that the gameplay was well suited for portable play and that it successfully combined card battles and random dungeons, "two much-maligned RPG" elements. Some critics found the Room Synthesis to be far too linear. The most frequent praise went towards the story. IGN called it an “engrossing storyline that actually changes up after the adventure comes to an end" and rated the presentation a 10 out of 10.

The quality of the graphics was well received, particularly the cut scenes. IGN cited them as "wonderfully produced FMV sequences". GameSpot stated that the movies were true to the art style of the original and were on par with GBA video paks. They also commented on the detailed and well animated game sprites. GameWatch described the event scenes as "high quality". Many critics stated that though the graphics were not as good as the PlayStation 2 predecessor, they were very good for a GBA game. G4TV complimented the graphics stating that Chain of Memories was "one of the best-looking GBA games out there.

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The NBA lockout enters Day 4 on the Fourth of July.

2011-07-07T16:42:00.000+07:00

1. Which team must make a major move this offseason?

Nate Drexler, Magic Basketball: Los Angeles. Mike Brown is in a precarious situation in L.A. as he hopes to provide Kobe with one or two more championships in the twilight of the five-time champ's career. The time is now to cash in on some wily veterans. The primary agenda for L.A. should be getting younger by moving Pau Gasol.

James Ham, Cowbell Kingdom: Without a doubt, the Lakers are the team who have to make a deal this offseason. The team that won back-to-back before last season's meltdown could try to make one more run with their current roster. But let's be honest, if Phil Jackson couldn't motivate this group, what can Mike Brown do?

Patrick Hayes, Piston Powered: With the second-highest payroll in the league, which couldn't even get it out of the first round, Orlando is the obvious choice. Even a deal that shuffles Orlando's bad contracts for the bad contracts on another team is worth exploring for Orlando, and the Magic can't afford to do nothing.

Devin Kharpertian, Nets Are Scorching: The Lakers and/or Celtics. The league is moving forward fast, with young teams, such as the Bulls, Heat and Thunder, ready to take over as top dogs. Both teams hung on to their core too long and got demolished in this year's playoffs. If they don't make changes soon, they could be in fifth-seed purgatory for the next three years.

Jeremy Schmidt, Bucksketball: Perhaps the move won't be as drastic as the moves they made last season, but the Heat have some serious work to do around their big three. The washed-up veteran route was filled with potholes by season's end. Miami must add young players who can improve around its stars.

2. Pick: Tyson Chandler, Marc Gasol, Nene Hilario, Yao Ming or Greg Oden.

Chandler

Nene

Nate Drexler, Magic Basketball: With all the hype around Gasol and Chandler, I'd still take Nene. He's a little under the radar after so many years of being overpaid, but assuming you're paying all these guys the same amount of money, Nene gives you the best numbers with a player efficiency rating of more than 20. Centers are at a premium, so even if you have to pay more for Nene, it's worth it given his numbers.

James Ham, Cowbell Kingdom: Chandler has a ring and Gasol is younger, but I would choose Nene. All of these guys are going to get paid, so money shouldn't be the end all. Nene is the best two-way player of the lot and a dominant offensive weapon. Oden and Yao just aren't worth the risk.

Patrick Hayes, Piston Powered: Chandler. He's not the best player in the group, but adding Chandler to a good team will be cheaper than Nene or Gasol, probably a shorter term commitment and his defensive impact will help any team he's on become better. His presence in Charlotte and Dallas made each of those teams among the league's best defensive units.

Devin Kharpertian, Nets Are Scorching: Tyson Chandler. His offensive game may be limited, but his phenomenal interior defense was one of the catalysts of Dallas' title run this year. Nene and Gasol are both terrific players and superior offensive threats, but the center position is a team's defensive anchor -- and outside of Dwight Howard, Chandler is the best in the business.

Jeremy Schmidt, Bucksketball: If you're looking for one player in this group that can be most reliable on both ends of the ball at a reasonable value, Gasol is the man. He has a combination of reliable offense and defense that his three peers can't offer.

3. Who's the best non-center available this summer?

West

Nate Drexler, Magic Basketball: Far and away it is Mr. Consistency, David West. He's everything you expect from a traditional power forward, except he also gives you a solid 20-foot jumper. From Chris Bosh to Zach Randolph, we saw these playoffs how difficult it is to stop teams with jump-shooting big men. West might be that "next step" guy in 2011-12.

James Ham, Cowbell Kingdom: Outside of the center position, this is an extremely weak free-agent crop. The aging group of small forwards --Tayshaun Prince, Caron Butler and Andrei Kirilenko -- are all interesting. But at age 24,Wilson Chandler will match their production at a fraction of the cost.

Patrick Hayes, Piston Powered: David West is the obvious choice, but I'm going with restricted FA Thaddeus Young. He started only one game last season and gets lost in the shuffle a bit since Philly has Andre Iguodala and Evan Turner on the wings and Elton Brandat power forward. He's a high percentage shooter, solid rebounder, versatile defender and quietly just had his best season.

Devin Kharpertian, Nets Are Scorching: David West. That speaks more to the dearth of talent in this free agent class than it does to his value, but West is still a talented player who's put up 19-8 nightly for five seasons now. He won't be ready to go by the start of next season (assuming it starts on time), but he'll contribute to whichever team acquires him.

Jeremy Schmidt, Bucksketball: Sadly enough, the answer appears to be David West. The one-legged West looks to have three or four more productive seasons left in him -- which is three or four more than most players in this free-agent class have left in them.

4. Bargain hunting: Who's the best buy on the market?

Smith

Nate Drexler, Magic Basketball: I'd take J.R. Smith. He's young, explosive, versatile, and unlike other people with these traits, he is not out of control ... for the most part. Everybody needs quality minutes off the bench, but Smith can take over a game. In the right situation, I think Smith could be Jamal Crawford 2.0 (and at about 60 percent the cost). The question is, will he be satisfied in that role?

James Ham, Cowbell Kingdom: Call me a homer on this one, but the Kings'Marcus Thornton can flat out bring it. The 24-year-old former second-round pick averaged 21.9 points per game over the Kings' final 18 games, helping the 24-win team go 9-9 over that stretch. He made $762,000 last season and is due for a big raise.

Patrick Hayes, Piston Powered: Among veterans, it's Joel Przybilla. He's a physical rebounder who will be less expensive than the first-tier big men available. A younger guy?Jonas Jerebko. He missed last season with a torn Achilles tendon, but he hustles, rebounds, plays defense and hits the offensive glass. It would take a significant offer for Detroit not to match, but there's little doubt he would be a nice addition to any contender.

Devin Kharpertian, Nets Are Scorching: Troy Murphy -- if he returns to form. After suffering a back injury in training camp, Murphy played out of shape all year and turned in a disastrous 2010-11 campaign. Murphy will be lucky to get a veteran's minimum, despite averaging a double-double just two seasons ago. If he's 100 percent, any team that picks him up will get a steal.

Jeremy Schmidt, Bucksketball: Don't laugh: Anthony Carter. I know it's crazy, but Carter is a perfect late offseason addition for an established team with two solid young point guards (think Thunder). He never gets in trouble, gets rave reviews as a teammate and showed a spark in the playoffs last season.

5. Use the Trade Machine to make a deal that should happen.

Nate Drexler, Magic Basketball:
Orlando gets: LeBron James, Mike Miller
Miami gets: Dwight Howard, J.J. Redick
See the deal
I mean why not? Miami gets a "get out of jail free" card in dealing the guy who didn't show up in the playoffs and come away with the ultimate piece that will give D-Wade another few championships. Meanwhile, small-market Orlando gets major attention and starts packing the Amway Arena on the regular. Best part: People can finally start forgetting about how LeBron handled his decision.

James Ham, Cowbell Kingdom:
Orlando gets: Andrew Bynum, Lamar Odom, Steve Blake, Shannon Brown
Los Angeles Lakers get: Dwight Howard, Gilbert Arenas
See the deal

Dwight Howard is walking away after next season so the Magic might as well deal him for the next best thing, Andrew Bynum. There is no way the Magic swap Howard without tossing in Gilbert Arenas, who might be able to revitalize his career alongside Kobe Bryant. Looks like a win-win.

Patrick Hayes, Piston Powered:
Charlotte gets: Paul Millsap
Utah gets: D.J. Augustin, Matt Carroll
See the deal

The Jazz have a glut of big men. Paul Millsap is easily movable because his contract is reasonable. They save a bit of money over the next two years by swapping Milsap's contract for Matt Carroll's and get a chance to see if D.J. Augustin is a long-term answer at point guard while Charlotte gets a hard-working player in Milsap and clears playing time forKemba Walker.

Devin Kharpertian, Nets Are Scorching:
San Antonio gets: Travis Outlaw
New Jersey gets: Richard Jefferson
See the dealIt's a minor deal, but most trades are; the Nets and Spurs should swap troubled small forwards Travis Outlaw and Richard Jefferson. Financially, Outlaw would help the Spurs getfurther under the luxury tax, while Jefferson's contract ends a year earlier. Both players are reviled by their respective fan bases, but a change of scenery and role could revive their careers.

Jeremy Schmidt, Bucksketball:
Atlanta gets: Monta Ellis
Golden State gets: Josh Smith
See the deal

The Hawks aren't going anywhere with Smith, likewise the Warriors with Ellis. Ellis may thrive next to an adept passing 2-guard like Joe Johnson, while Smith would give the Warriors another defensive-minded athlete. Both are flawed, but have the talent to at least give their respective new franchises' fan bases reasons to look up.

WOW

2011-07-07T16:39:00.000+07:00

No wonder the British consortium that owns the new New York Cosmos anointed Le Roi as the man to bring the fabled franchise back to life. After all, Cantona spent his career making something out of nothing on the soccer field. And let's face it: Right now the Cosmos have no players, no stadium, no league.

But they do possess two priceless assets -- the name of the last professional American team the rest of the world took seriously and a charismatic Frenchman as their director of soccer.

Apart from his gray-flecked beard, the 44-year-old Cantona looks remarkably like the virtuoso who helped transform United from a club with massive support but minimal silverware into a juggernaut that won four league titles and played the kind of swashbuckling soccer that has since become its trademark. He was voted United's player of the century when he retired in 1997. Even today, it is not uncommon to hear the Old Trafford faithful burst into rapturous chants of "Ooh-ah, Cantona" or songs like "On the first day of Christmas my true love sent to me, Eric Cantona …"

Equal parts philosopher, provocateur and performance artist, Cantona still retains the mad glint of a man who doesn't care if the rest of the world is in on the joke.

When we met in his suite at an uber-trendy hotel in SoHo, I told him that in 1996 he had broken my Gooner heart with two thunderbolts of such ferocity that Arsenal goalkeeper David Seaman, then England's No. 1, could only admire them as they flew by him.

"Which one hurt more?" he asked with an impish grin. "The free kick or the volley?"

"Actually," I said, " I was hoping you'd apologize for both."

"I apologize for nothing," he fired back.

New York CosmosAs the Cosmos' director of football, Cantona said the team's style of play will be "all about Johan Cruyff."

The conversation then swerved back and forth from Cantona's mythic career to his romantic vision for the Cosmos to his love for Johan Cruyff. His English is heavily accented, and he often speaks in half-baked Cantona-isms that sound more profound than they really are. (A decade later, philosophers are still trying to deconstruct his most celebrated koan: "When the seagulls follow the trawler, it's because they think sardines will be thrown in the sea.")

Only one subject was off the table: the French national team. Though he scored 20 goals in 45 appearances for Les Bleus, Cantona was famously dropped from the squad in 1988 for calling the manager Henri Michel "a bag of s---" on television. So I thought he would have at least been amused by the French team's mutiny at the 2010 World Cup when Nicolas Anelka was sent home for criticizing coach Raymond Domenech.

"Plus ca change …" I said, trotting out the extent of my high school French. "What did you think of the World Cup farce?"

Suddenly, a "red mist" descended on Cantona and he glared at me with the slightly menacing look of a man who was still capable of leaping over the table between us and implanting his shoe in my sternum.

"I don't know about the French team," he snarled. "Maybe I don't know because I don't care."

I took the hint and moved on.

DH: I don't know if you saw the Champions League match Wednesday between Arsenal and Barcelona, but Robin van Persie scored a Cantona-like goal that was so outrageously cocky the keeper never saw it coming.

EC: I was traveling to New York so I didn't get to watch the game but I saw the highlights later. No one expected Van Persie to shoot from that angle, but that is the beauty of football. Sometimes you surprise the goalkeeper and sometimes the goalkeeper surprises you. In my career, I tried to do more of the first than the second.

DH: What do you think of the way Barca plays with all their tippy-tappy passing? Is that a style you admire and hope to emulate with the Cosmos?

EC: This is nothing new. It goes back to Cruyff and Total Football. He brought it to Barcelona when he was the manager in the early '90s, and they have perfected it. It's all about knowing what you're going to do when you receive the ball. Who is free, where is the space, always with one touch. But not everyone can play that way. At Manchester United, there were very good players who did other things. Roy Keane. Paul Ince. They were not going to pass you to death.

DH: How do you think those United teams would fare against the Barcelona of today?

EC: When I played, you could only use a few non-English players in European competition. But if we could use all our foreign players, then we would have the same chance against Barcelona that Arsenal has. I always wanted to play against the best. All my life, I need to test myself, to risk the art inside me.

“
I always wanted to play against the best. All my life, I need to test myself, to risk the art inside me.
”-- Eric Cantona

DH: Is that why you were always getting in trouble as a player -- because you were risking your art?

EC: I think life is a big game we play. It's a circus, but the press wants to treat everything so seriously. They try to analyze the money, the power, the player. I enjoy watching them trying to analyze me. So when I go to a press conference, I don't play their game. I play my own game. I talk about seagulls. It's not about what I say. It's the action that means something, not the words.

DH: But the action you're most famous for is jumping into the stands and kicking a fan who called you names. If the words mean nothing …

EC: I never said I was an example. I don't want to be a role model. I don't think I'm more important than somebody trying to insult me. I'm a human being. He's a human being. We're equals and if I want to kick another human being, I do it. Who is wrong? Me for acting like a man or the press for making me into a superior person who comes from another planet?

DH: Is it just a coincidence that the other most famous incident of a player losing his sangfroid also involved a Frenchman? Is there something in the water in Marseille, where you and Zidane grew up, that turned you both into excitable boys?

EC: There is nothing wrong with Marseille. We both came from immigrant families who worked very hard so we could play football. Marseille gave us a good education about life.

DH: Have you ever talked to Zizou about his head-butt in the 2006 World Cup final?

EC: No, we don't speak about these things. He's younger than me, so I have not spent much time with him. I think the craziest thing he did in the World Cup final was the way he took the penalty kick. That is what I prefer to remember, not the head-butt.

DH: Zidane has since said that he's sorry for his cheap shot. Do you have any regrets about what you did at Selhurst Park?

EC: Yes, I regret not kicking him harder. We are not all saints. I know there are some players who take their image very seriously.

DH: Yes, I believe you'll be working with one on the Cosmos. Fellow by the name of Pele. He's the honorary chairman of the club, and he takes this role-model business very seriously. On the other hand, the Cosmos' "international ambassador" Giorgio Chinaglia is more like you. He doesn't care what people think of him as long as he's winning trophies.

AP Photo /Peter Wilcock/PAEric Cantona helped usher in a golden period for Manchester United in the 1990s.

EC: Pele and I are very different personalities. And I know about Giorgio from watching the film about the Cosmos, "Once In A Lifetime." I am not worried. I don't think we all have to be the same person. One of the great things that Ferguson did at Manchester United and still does is to make sure not everyone is the same. He wants to have strong personalities, which is important to win games, but look at the difference between Beckham and Keane or Neville and Solskjaer. I know many managers who want everyone to be the same because that is easier, but I like players who are not afraid to be themselves. What is most important is to make them feel comfortable, to give them the confidence so they feel free to express themselves. It works not just in football, but in life.

DH: What happens, though, when players become so confident they feel they are bigger than the team? Ferguson let Keane and Beckham go when he thought they had crossed the line.

EC: If you feel they are no longer right for the personality of the team, then you get rid of them and find others. But if I had a choice between strong personalities and someone who never says anything to upset the manager, I take the one who thinks for himself.

DH: There is so much money in the game today that there are far more players who are motivated by their bank accounts than in your day. What did you think, for instance, ofWayne Rooney threatening to leave United if he didn't get a pay raise to $300,000 a week?

EC: I have no problem with players taking their share, because without players you have no game. But money cannot be your motivation. If the money is crazy, you can go play for another team. But the demands don't always come from the player. There are people around him who are trying to manipulate him. I think the question we have to ask the players at the Cosmos Academy is "Why do you want to play professional football?" Do you want to be a great player, or do you want to become rich and famous? What is your dream? If you just want to become a professional and make money, I don't want you on my team. But if you want to become the best player in the world and score a goal in the last minute to win the game, then I will help you become that. Me, when I was 4 years old, it was my dream to play with the best. When I got older, they paid me to play, but I would have played for nothing. I didn't become a football player to become rich. Yes, rich as a person. Trophies. Memories.

[+] Enlarge

Shaun Botterill/Getty ImagesHeads up: Cantona played for United from 1992 to 1997, scoring 82 goals.

DH: With so many of the world's big clubs, including Manchester United, piling up massive debt, are you concerned about the future of the game?

EC:What I think is a shame is that people from lower backgrounds can't afford to go to the stadium anymore. These are the real fans of football. The game is in their blood. Football is not for rich people. Sure, rich people love football, but it is not such a big part of their life like it is for the working class. I think clubs should make a quarter or half of the stadium where the tickets are not expensive, where these people don't have to make a big sacrifice to go to the game. It's their children who will grow up to be the great professional players, not the children of rich people.

DH: What kind of game do you envision the Cosmos playing?

EC: When Johan Cruyff was coaching Barcelona, one of his players was Pep Guardiola, who now manages the team. Guardiola was not big and strong and when Barcelona was playing Mallorca, he went up against Miguel Angel Nadal [Rafael's uncle], who was tall and powerful. Cruyff said to Guardiola, "Don't jump with him, because you will have no chance to win the ball. Try to realize where the ball will be going and be there. Think ahead. Anticipate." Clever tactics like that. Cruyff is an inspiration to me. When I was a kid and he was a player at Ajax, I wanted to play like him. Controlling the game. It's all about Johan Cruyff.

DH: If it's all about Cruyff, why don't you add him to your stable of legends in the Cosmos front office?

EC: Because now we have Eric Cantona.

David Hirshey has been covering soccer for more than 30 years and has written about the sport for The New York Times, Time, ESPN The Magazine and Deadspin. He is the co-author of "The ESPN World Cup Companion" and played himself (almost convincingly) in the acclaimed soccer documentary "Once in a Lifetime."

Michael Beasley ticketed for marijuana

2011-07-07T16:38:00.000+07:00

MINNEAPOLIS -- Michael Beasley's first season in Minnesota was quiet off the court, an encouraging sign for the Timberwolves as they hoped to see him mature and emerge as a go-to player for a franchise that desperately needs one.

His first full offseason here isn't off to a good start.

Beasley was ticketed for possessing marijuana and speeding in the Minneapolis suburb of Minnetonka last week, police said on Wednesday.

Beasley
Capt. Scott Boerboom said that an officer stopped Beasley around 3 a.m. on June 26 on Interstate 394 after clocking him going 84 mph in a 65 mph zone. He said the officer smelled a strong odor of marijuana coming from the car.

The officer allegedly found 16.2 grams of the drug in a plastic bag under the front passenger seat of Beasley's car. Beasley told police the marijuana was not his, but belonged to a friend whom he had just dropped off. According to the report, Beasley cursed when an officer pulled out the bag.

The possession charge is a petty misdemeanor that carries a fine of $128.

The Timberwolves said they could not comment during the league's lockout, and The Associated Press left a message for Beasley's agent, Jeff Schwartz.

NBA spokesman Tim Frank said the league's anti-drug agreement, including testing and penalties, is not in effect during the lockout so it's unclear what will happen if and when owners and players reach agreement on a new labor deal. Under the previous collective bargaining agreement, Beasley would have faced a five-game suspension if found guilty of his third marijuana-related violation.

Whatever happens, the traffic stop was a discouraging sign for a player who appeared to be putting his troubles behind him. Beasley's NBA career started in Miami, where he acknowledges violating the drug policy twice. He entered a treatment facility in Houston in 2009. With two young children in Miami, Beasley spoke of settling his life down and staying away from the glitzy scene on South Beach.

He was traded to the Timberwolves last summer to help clear room for the Heat to land LeBron James and Chris Bosh.

Timberwolves President David Kahn was fined by the league after he said in a radio interview that Beasley was "a very young and immature kid who smoked too much marijuana" while he was playing in Miami, but Beasley stayed out of trouble in his first year up north, moving into a house on the outskirts of the Twin Cities suburbs becoming a regular on the golf course.

On the court, Beasley averaged a career-high 19.2 points per game, putting together stretches of dominance that showed why he was the No. 2 overall pick in 2008. He topped 25 points 10 times in a 13-game stretch to finish November, including scoring 42 against Sacramento and 35 against the Knicks on back-to-back games.

But he badly sprained his ankle in December, an injury that recurred several times throughout the rest of the year and stunted his development as a player.

Beasley has spent much of the summer working out in Los Angeles with teammates Wes Johnson and Derrick Williams. Kahn said Beasley also is working with former Lakers player Norm Nixon, who is serving as something of a mentor for him on and off the court.

"They're working on everything, basketball and even some things off the court," Kahn said in June.

Teammates spoke glowingly about Beasley's light-hearted demeanor in the locker room and scoring talents on the court, but some observers wondered if his days in Minnesota were numbered when the Wolves selected Williams with the No. 2 pick in the draft. The Arizona forward has a similar skill set, with the ability to play both the small forward and power forward, shoot from outside and break down defenders off the dribble.

Kahn laid that speculation to rest shortly after the pick, saying emphatically that he wasn't going to trade Beasley and was anxious to see how the two super-athletic scorers would play together.

But Kahn also made it clear in his season-ending press conference that he expected to see more growth from Beasley heading into next season, both as a person and as a player.

"Michael has been, in many ways, a positive force on this team," Kahn said. "Especially in the locker room. He's very well-liked by his teammates. He's a very boisterous, up-beat person. And people, they gravitate to that.

"And it's important to have people like that in the locker room. But ... we will see. I think Michael will understand that me saying we will see doesn't mean I doubt him. But, show us."

Associated Press

Derek Jeter's march to 3,000 hits

2011-07-07T16:36:00.002+07:00

As the Derek Jeter countdown ticks toward 3,000 hits, is it OK to change the subject?

Look, nobody loves debating whether this man is one of the most overrated or underrated players in history more than me. I did, after all, write a book about that once (shameless book-plug link). But there's other stuff to talk about.

And I would never dismiss the importance, to the Yankees, of the clear reality that Jeter isn't the same player he used to be. But there's other stuff to talk about besides that, too.

The reason is this: What Derek Jeter is now -- as a player, as a hitter -- has very little to do with how he got to the precipice of 3,000 hits.

You know what got him here? Greatness. That's what.

Pure, relentless, machine-like greatness. For a decade and a half. Nonstop.

Very, very, very few players -- and fewer shortstops -- have had the kind of career this man has had, where every season looked just about exactly like every other season. Until the last two, anyway. And that's what it takes to get a man into the 3,000-Hit Club.

But for some reason, as Jeter completes the journey to one of the most important milestones of modern times, we haven't focused enough on that aspect of Jeter's march to 3,000 hits. So let's change the subject, OK?

STRIKE ONE -- JUST 17 DEPT.
He arrived in the big leagues on May 29, 1995. He arrived to stay in September 1995. So this is only Jeter's 17th season in the major leagues. And you know how many players since 1900 have reached 3,000 hits in 17 seasons or fewer?

Just five -- and now him.

See if you've heard of these other five men:

Pete Rose, Stan Musial, Hank Aaron, Ty Cobb and Paul Waner.

And if you'd like to see how many hits some other great players had in their first 17 big league seasons, check out this list at baseball-reference.com. It was a list that really put this feat in perspective for me.

STRIKE TWO -- THE 190-HIT CLUB
Take a look at Jeter's career numbers. Now check out the hit column. Maybe Jeter didn't quite crank out 190 hits or more in every season of his career. But it was close.

He's done it 10 times already. And the list of players who have had 10 seasons of at least 190 hits since 1900 is another very cool group. Here it is, according to Lee Sinins' Complete Baseball Encyclopedia:

1. Pete Rose, 13
2. Ty Cobb, 12
T3. Stan Musial, 10
T3. Derek Jeter, 10
T3. Ichiro Suzuki, 10

If you're hanging around with those dudes, you could hit, friends. It's that simple.

But this guy wasn't just slapping singles for all those years. If you want to limit the list to seasons of 190 hits and a .400 slugging percentage, only Rose, Cobb, Musial and Jeter had at least 10 years like that.

And how many other players had at least 10 seasons with 190 hits, plus double figures in both home runs and stolen bases?

Not ONE.

Just Derek Jeter.

You could look it up.

STRIKE THREE -- IN SHORT ORDER DEPT.
Finally, there's one other thing we ought to mention: This man did all this as a shortstop.

My friend Brian Kenny got me to thinking this week how rare it is to inject that little subplot into the 3,000-hit conversation. So let's inject it right now.

How many members of the 3,000-Hit Club spent most of their careers as a shortstop? Precisely two -- Honus Wagner and Calvin E. Ripken Jr.

And while the list of shortstops with sustained stretches of offensive excellence is longer than that list, it isn't a whole lot longer.

There's no easy way to measure that sort of thing. But the statistic that comes closest is adjusted OPS-plus, because it adjusts the numbers for eras, ballparks, etc.

So through the miracle of the baseball-reference.com Play Index, I ran this list of most seasons with an adjusted OPS-plus of 110 or above by shortstops in modern history.

No shortstop in history had more seasons like that than Wagner (13). But after him, the leader board looks like this:

Jeter 11
Arky Vaughan 11
Luke Appling 11
Barry Larkin 10

Wagner, Vaughan and Appling are already in the Hall of Fame. Larkin should be standing at the podium 12 months from now. And you know where Jeter is heading one of these years.

Brian Kenny and I also talked on his radio show about how many shortstops had a 10-season stretch you would rank above Jeter's 10 best seasons (1998-2007). The only names that even made it into the conversation were Wagner, Vaughan, Ripken and Alex Rodriguez. And A-Rod didn't really play 10 full seasons as a regular shortstop, so he probably shouldn't count.

Larkin was close, but didn't stay anywhere near as healthy. Alan Trammell and Robin Yount were slightly behind. Ernie Banks would have surpassed Jeter, but he didn't play 10 full seasons at short. Guys like Lou Boudreau, Vern Stephens and Joe Cronin were in there someplace. And then there was Ozzie Smith.

He wasn't in the same area code as Jeter offensively. And even if you factor in defense, there was no 10-year stretch in which the Wizard's wins above replacement total beat Jeter's greatest decade.

The way Derek Jeter played baseball over those 10 years doesn't resemble the kind of baseball he's playing now. That's indisputable.

But as this guy stands on the verge of becoming the first Yankee in history to accumulate 3,000 hits, it's time to take a step back and salute the career that made all this possible. Really.

We'll have plenty of time to debate what the rest of Derek Jeter's career will look like. Is it OK if we resume that debate once hit No. 3,001 arrives? Sure it is. Trust me on this.

Tevez 'relaxed over price tag'

2011-07-07T16:27:00.000+07:00

ESPNsoccernet understands that Carlos Tevez remains optimistic that one of Europe's top clubs will meet his £50 million asking price this summer.

GettyImages
Carlos Tevez is seeking to leave Eastlands
• Tevez asks to leave again
• Hubbard: Can't live with him...

Tevez has once more announced that he wants to leave Manchester City, but there are doubts as to whether any club will have both the desire and the capability to meet his transfer valuation and wage demands.

However, there is a belief that Tevez going public with his desire to move on might prompt clubs into action and the forward is said to be relaxed about the issue.

A source told ESPNsoccernet: "Now that it is out there that Carlos Tevez wants to leave, let's see what offers come in and how much they are.

"Everyone is aware of how much Manchester City value their captain and top goal-scorer, and why shouldn't they, when you look at the stats, and see his worth compared to other players?

"At the moment, there is nothing to report, but let's see what transpires in the next few days. There is no next stage - [it is just a case of] letting the dust settle and seeing which clubs are willing to pay the asking price for such a valuable player. Either they will or they won't - who knows?

"But Tevez is a rare commodity, a top goal-scorer who delivers, and they are worth their weight in gold, so let's see if there are clubs willing to pay the price. There is a feeling that there are two or three clubs who might just do that, and we shall all soon find out if they are or not."

By Harry Harris, Football Correspondent

Can't live with him...

2011-07-07T16:26:00.000+07:00

If it is a transfer window, it must be time for Carlos Tevez to publicly eye new pastures. If there is a sense of weary familiarity about this week's events at Manchester City, it is understandable. Tevez has become as high maintenance off the field as he is high energy on it, a player who can create as many problems for his own club as he invariably causes for opposition defenders.

GettyImages
Carlos Tevez has again outlined his desire to leave Eastlands
While City strike a bullish pose, declaring that they want £50 million for their captain, the probability is that they will be both better and far worse off without him. An end to the repetitive sagas about the striker's future would be welcome along with a sense that the club is populated by players who actually want to be there.

In other respects, however, City are likely losers. Naming a price is one thing, commanding it another altogether. A lack of plausible destinations benefits neither. Nor, indeed, does City's wealth. By paying over the odds for players, they have created a situation where rivals aim to pay under the market value to entice arrivals from Eastlands. Others are sufficiently savvy to know the licence City's involvement grants them. Such situations can develop into games of brinkmanship where it is a case of who - buyer, seller or footballer - blinks first.

City may argue otherwise, but leaving Tevez to rot in the reserves is not an option. Indeed there are very few options available: not Manchester United, for instance, while AC Milan and Chelsea are well-stocked with strikers, Arsenal and Tottenham have wage structures and Barcelona little need for a player of even Tevez's calibre.

So, should Real Madrid or Inter Milan not stump up the fee desired, a cut-price deal or the sort of loan move that took Emmanuel Adebayor to the Bernabeu in January is feasible. If normal footballing logic dictates that the values of players who have excelled escalates, City are the exception to the rule. With UEFA's Financial Fair Play rules a worrying presence on the horizon, the quest to recoup money is progressing slowly. But it is one thing making a loss on a player considered deadwood (for some reason, Wayne Bridge's name comes to mind), another altogether to take such a hit on their top scorer and talisman.

Moreover, Tevez's importance makes him all but irreplaceable. It is not merely that, with 43 goals, the Argentine is the most prolific player in the Premier League in the last two years; it is the context. While he managed 20 last season, none of his team-mates mustered more than half a dozen. With four goals in three games against Chelsea, he has cemented a reputation for scoring big goals that was established at both Manchester United and West Ham. A more recent habit is of scoring the game's first goal, setting City en route to victory.

In any one-striker system, that individual assumes a disproportionate significance. It has been exacerbated at City by the contrast between Tevez and the alternatives. A self-sufficient forward with a sense of responsibility, an ability to hold the ball up and commit defenders, a tireless runner and regular scorer, his attributes are rare.

GettyImages
Carlos Tevez is currently in Argentina for the Copa America
While City managed to win an FA Cup semi-final and some crucial league games in his absence, the forward line looked more patched up than permanent. Edin Dzeko has appeared ponderous, lacking the pace to chase through passes and thus open up space behind him for David Silva. Mario Balotelli's mercurial nature extends to his position: it is hard to call the Italian an out-and-out striker, given the wandering brief he normally adopts. Moreover, unlike Tevez, his goals invariably came against inferior opponents. The one forward City own who has displayed the pedigree and natural athleticism for the lone forward's role is Adebayor, but the sense is that his bridges have already been burned.

Outside Eastlands, the list of potential successors is surprisingly brief. That City's premier attacking targets were Alexis Sanchez and Neymar is a microcosm of the elite market: most of the major talents are attacking midfielders, wingers or second strikers, rather than men who prefer to lead the line. Most of the few who are natural occupants of a No. 9 shirt are contracted to the world's elite clubs; some have snubbed City in the past. Among the anomalies, Falcao may soon join the ranks of the super-rich and, if City cannot hijack Juventus' move for another Argentine, Sergio Aguero, he should be out of reach as well.

If Tevez wanted to stay, that would put him in a strong bargaining position. As he doesn't, the small man threatens to create a huge void in the City attack. A tendency to leave a trail of destruction in his wake has rendered them a more potent team, but it would make him a greater loss. Of Tevez, City may lament: can't live with him, can't live without him.

By Norman Hubbard

The Gospel of Eric Cantona

2011-07-07T16:22:00.001+07:00

NEW YORK -- The first thing you notice about Eric Cantona is that his collar is still up, 14 years after he bestrode Old Trafford as if it were his personal kingdom. Granted, he's wearing an Army-green sweater and not a red Manchester United jersey, but time hasn't diminished the swagger that saw him score some of the most memorable goals in the history of soccer -- and execute a leaping kung-fu kick on a fan that would have put Nigel de Jong to shame.

No wonder the British consortium that owns the new New York Cosmos anointed Le Roi as the man to bring the fabled franchise back to life. After all, Cantona spent his career making something out of nothing on the soccer field. And let's face it: Right now the Cosmos have no players, no stadium, no league.

But they do possess two priceless assets -- the name of the last professional American team the rest of the world took seriously and a charismatic Frenchman as their director of soccer.

Apart from his gray-flecked beard, the 44-year-old Cantona looks remarkably like the virtuoso who helped transform United from a club with massive support but minimal silverware into a juggernaut that won four league titles and played the kind of swashbuckling soccer that has since become its trademark. He was voted United's player of the century when he retired in 1997. Even today, it is not uncommon to hear the Old Trafford faithful burst into rapturous chants of "Ooh-ah, Cantona" or songs like "On the first day of Christmas my true love sent to me, Eric Cantona …"

Equal parts philosopher, provocateur and performance artist, Cantona still retains the mad glint of a man who doesn't care if the rest of the world is in on the joke.

When we met in his suite at an uber-trendy hotel in SoHo, I told him that in 1996 he had broken my Gooner heart with two thunderbolts of such ferocity that Arsenal goalkeeper David Seaman, then England's No. 1, could only admire them as they flew by him.

"Which one hurt more?" he asked with an impish grin. "The free kick or the volley?"

"Actually," I said, " I was hoping you'd apologize for both."

"I apologize for nothing," he fired back.

New York Cosmos
As the Cosmos' director of football, Cantona said the team's style of play will be "all about Johan Cruyff."
The conversation then swerved back and forth from Cantona's mythic career to his romantic vision for the Cosmos to his love for Johan Cruyff. His English is heavily accented, and he often speaks in half-baked Cantona-isms that sound more profound than they really are. (A decade later, philosophers are still trying to deconstruct his most celebrated koan: "When the seagulls follow the trawler, it's because they think sardines will be thrown in the sea.")

Only one subject was off the table: the French national team. Though he scored 20 goals in 45 appearances for Les Bleus, Cantona was famously dropped from the squad in 1988 for calling the manager Henri Michel "a bag of s---" on television. So I thought he would have at least been amused by the French team's mutiny at the 2010 World Cup when Nicolas Anelka was sent home for criticizing coach Raymond Domenech.

"Plus ca change …" I said, trotting out the extent of my high school French. "What did you think of the World Cup farce?"

Suddenly, a "red mist" descended on Cantona and he glared at me with the slightly menacing look of a man who was still capable of leaping over the table between us and implanting his shoe in my sternum.

"I don't know about the French team," he snarled. "Maybe I don't know because I don't care."

I took the hint and moved on.

DH: I don't know if you saw the Champions League match Wednesday between Arsenal and Barcelona, but Robin van Persie scored a Cantona-like goal that was so outrageously cocky the keeper never saw it coming.

EC: I was traveling to New York so I didn't get to watch the game but I saw the highlights later. No one expected Van Persie to shoot from that angle, but that is the beauty of football. Sometimes you surprise the goalkeeper and sometimes the goalkeeper surprises you. In my career, I tried to do more of the first than the second.

DH: What do you think of the way Barca plays with all their tippy-tappy passing? Is that a style you admire and hope to emulate with the Cosmos?

EC: This is nothing new. It goes back to Cruyff and Total Football. He brought it to Barcelona when he was the manager in the early '90s, and they have perfected it. It's all about knowing what you're going to do when you receive the ball. Who is free, where is the space, always with one touch. But not everyone can play that way. At Manchester United, there were very good players who did other things. Roy Keane. Paul Ince. They were not going to pass you to death.

DH: How do you think those United teams would fare against the Barcelona of today?

EC: When I played, you could only use a few non-English players in European competition. But if we could use all our foreign players, then we would have the same chance against Barcelona that Arsenal has. I always wanted to play against the best. All my life, I need to test myself, to risk the art inside me.

“
I always wanted to play against the best. All my life, I need to test myself, to risk the art inside me.
”
-- Eric Cantona
DH: Is that why you were always getting in trouble as a player -- because you were risking your art?

EC: I think life is a big game we play. It's a circus, but the press wants to treat everything so seriously. They try to analyze the money, the power, the player. I enjoy watching them trying to analyze me. So when I go to a press conference, I don't play their game. I play my own game. I talk about seagulls. It's not about what I say. It's the action that means something, not the words.

DH: But the action you're most famous for is jumping into the stands and kicking a fan who called you names. If the words mean nothing …

EC: I never said I was an example. I don't want to be a role model. I don't think I'm more important than somebody trying to insult me. I'm a human being. He's a human being. We're equals and if I want to kick another human being, I do it. Who is wrong? Me for acting like a man or the press for making me into a superior person who comes from another planet?

DH: Is it just a coincidence that the other most famous incident of a player losing his sangfroid also involved a Frenchman? Is there something in the water in Marseille, where you and Zidane grew up, that turned you both into excitable boys?

EC: There is nothing wrong with Marseille. We both came from immigrant families who worked very hard so we could play football. Marseille gave us a good education about life.

DH: Have you ever talked to Zizou about his head-butt in the 2006 World Cup final?

EC: No, we don't speak about these things. He's younger than me, so I have not spent much time with him. I think the craziest thing he did in the World Cup final was the way he took the penalty kick. That is what I prefer to remember, not the head-butt.

DH: Zidane has since said that he's sorry for his cheap shot. Do you have any regrets about what you did at Selhurst Park?

EC: Yes, I regret not kicking him harder. We are not all saints. I know there are some players who take their image very seriously.

DH: Yes, I believe you'll be working with one on the Cosmos. Fellow by the name of Pele. He's the honorary chairman of the club, and he takes this role-model business very seriously. On the other hand, the Cosmos' "international ambassador" Giorgio Chinaglia is more like you. He doesn't care what people think of him as long as he's winning trophies.

AP Photo /Peter Wilcock/PA
Eric Cantona helped usher in a golden period for Manchester United in the 1990s.
EC: Pele and I are very different personalities. And I know about Giorgio from watching the film about the Cosmos, "Once In A Lifetime." I am not worried. I don't think we all have to be the same person. One of the great things that Ferguson did at Manchester United and still does is to make sure not everyone is the same. He wants to have strong personalities, which is important to win games, but look at the difference between Beckham and Keane or Neville and Solskjaer. I know many managers who want everyone to be the same because that is easier, but I like players who are not afraid to be themselves. What is most important is to make them feel comfortable, to give them the confidence so they feel free to express themselves. It works not just in football, but in life.

DH: What happens, though, when players become so confident they feel they are bigger than the team? Ferguson let Keane and Beckham go when he thought they had crossed the line.

EC: If you feel they are no longer right for the personality of the team, then you get rid of them and find others. But if I had a choice between strong personalities and someone who never says anything to upset the manager, I take the one who thinks for himself.

DH: There is so much money in the game today that there are far more players who are motivated by their bank accounts than in your day. What did you think, for instance, of Wayne Rooney threatening to leave United if he didn't get a pay raise to $300,000 a week?

EC: I have no problem with players taking their share, because without players you have no game. But money cannot be your motivation. If the money is crazy, you can go play for another team. But the demands don't always come from the player. There are people around him who are trying to manipulate him. I think the question we have to ask the players at the Cosmos Academy is "Why do you want to play professional football?" Do you want to be a great player, or do you want to become rich and famous? What is your dream? If you just want to become a professional and make money, I don't want you on my team. But if you want to become the best player in the world and score a goal in the last minute to win the game, then I will help you become that. Me, when I was 4 years old, it was my dream to play with the best. When I got older, they paid me to play, but I would have played for nothing. I didn't become a football player to become rich. Yes, rich as a person. Trophies. Memories.

[+] Enlarge
Shaun Botterill/Getty Images
Heads up: Cantona played for United from 1992 to 1997, scoring 82 goals.
DH: With so many of the world's big clubs, including Manchester United, piling up massive debt, are you concerned about the future of the game?

EC:What I think is a shame is that people from lower backgrounds can't afford to go to the stadium anymore. These are the real fans of football. The game is in their blood. Football is not for rich people. Sure, rich people love football, but it is not such a big part of their life like it is for the working class. I think clubs should make a quarter or half of the stadium where the tickets are not expensive, where these people don't have to make a big sacrifice to go to the game. It's their children who will grow up to be the great professional players, not the children of rich people.

DH: What kind of game do you envision the Cosmos playing?

EC: When Johan Cruyff was coaching Barcelona, one of his players was Pep Guardiola, who now manages the team. Guardiola was not big and strong and when Barcelona was playing Mallorca, he went up against Miguel Angel Nadal [Rafael's uncle], who was tall and powerful. Cruyff said to Guardiola, "Don't jump with him, because you will have no chance to win the ball. Try to realize where the ball will be going and be there. Think ahead. Anticipate." Clever tactics like that. Cruyff is an inspiration to me. When I was a kid and he was a player at Ajax, I wanted to play like him. Controlling the game. It's all about Johan Cruyff.

DH: If it's all about Cruyff, why don't you add him to your stable of legends in the Cosmos front office?

EC: Because now we have Eric Cantona.

David Hirshey has been covering soccer for more than 30 years and has written about the sport for The New York Times, Time, ESPN The Magazine and Deadspin. He is the co-author of "The ESPN World Cup Companion" and played himself (almost convincingly) in the acclaimed soccer documentary "Once in a Lifetime."

By David Hirshey
Special to ESPN.com

When lockout ends, deals will be made

2011-07-07T16:18:00.003+07:00

The NBA lockout enters Day 4 on the Fourth of July. No signings or trades are allowed until a new agreement between owners and players is reached. When it eventually does end, however long it may take, deals could heat up quickly. Here's who should get moving when the custodians of the game find the keys to the gym, turn on the lights and let the action start. Let's go 5-on-5:

1. Which team must make a major move this offseason?

Nate Drexler, Magic Basketball: Los Angeles. Mike Brown is in a precarious situation in L.A. as he hopes to provide Kobe with one or two more championships in the twilight of the five-time champ's career. The time is now to cash in on some wily veterans. The primary agenda for L.A. should be getting younger by moving Pau Gasol.

James Ham, Cowbell Kingdom: Without a doubt, the Lakers are the team who have to make a deal this offseason. The team that won back-to-back before last season's meltdown could try to make one more run with their current roster. But let's be honest, if Phil Jackson couldn't motivate this group, what can Mike Brown do?

Patrick Hayes, Piston Powered: With the second-highest payroll in the league, which couldn't even get it out of the first round, Orlando is the obvious choice. Even a deal that shuffles Orlando's bad contracts for the bad contracts on another team is worth exploring for Orlando, and the Magic can't afford to do nothing.

Devin Kharpertian, Nets Are Scorching: The Lakers and/or Celtics. The league is moving forward fast, with young teams, such as the Bulls, Heat and Thunder, ready to take over as top dogs. Both teams hung on to their core too long and got demolished in this year's playoffs. If they don't make changes soon, they could be in fifth-seed purgatory for the next three years.

Jeremy Schmidt, Bucksketball: Perhaps the move won't be as drastic as the moves they made last season, but the Heat have some serious work to do around their big three. The washed-up veteran route was filled with potholes by season's end. Miami must add young players who can improve around its stars.

2. Pick: Tyson Chandler, Marc Gasol, Nene Hilario, Yao Ming or Greg Oden.

Chandler

Nene
Nate Drexler, Magic Basketball: With all the hype around Gasol and Chandler, I'd still take Nene. He's a little under the radar after so many years of being overpaid, but assuming you're paying all these guys the same amount of money, Nene gives you the best numbers with a player efficiency rating of more than 20. Centers are at a premium, so even if you have to pay more for Nene, it's worth it given his numbers.

James Ham, Cowbell Kingdom: Chandler has a ring and Gasol is younger, but I would choose Nene. All of these guys are going to get paid, so money shouldn't be the end all. Nene is the best two-way player of the lot and a dominant offensive weapon. Oden and Yao just aren't worth the risk.

Patrick Hayes, Piston Powered: Chandler. He's not the best player in the group, but adding Chandler to a good team will be cheaper than Nene or Gasol, probably a shorter term commitment and his defensive impact will help any team he's on become better. His presence in Charlotte and Dallas made each of those teams among the league's best defensive units.

Devin Kharpertian, Nets Are Scorching: Tyson Chandler. His offensive game may be limited, but his phenomenal interior defense was one of the catalysts of Dallas' title run this year. Nene and Gasol are both terrific players and superior offensive threats, but the center position is a team's defensive anchor -- and outside of Dwight Howard, Chandler is the best in the business.

Jeremy Schmidt, Bucksketball: If you're looking for one player in this group that can be most reliable on both ends of the ball at a reasonable value, Gasol is the man. He has a combination of reliable offense and defense that his three peers can't offer.

3. Who's the best non-center available this summer?

West
Nate Drexler, Magic Basketball: Far and away it is Mr. Consistency, David West. He's everything you expect from a traditional power forward, except he also gives you a solid 20-foot jumper. From Chris Bosh to Zach Randolph, we saw these playoffs how difficult it is to stop teams with jump-shooting big men. West might be that "next step" guy in 2011-12.

James Ham, Cowbell Kingdom: Outside of the center position, this is an extremely weak free-agent crop. The aging group of small forwards -- Tayshaun Prince, Caron Butler and Andrei Kirilenko -- are all interesting. But at age 24, Wilson Chandler will match their production at a fraction of the cost.

Patrick Hayes, Piston Powered: David West is the obvious choice, but I'm going with restricted FA Thaddeus Young. He started only one game last season and gets lost in the shuffle a bit since Philly has Andre Iguodala and Evan Turner on the wings and Elton Brand at power forward. He's a high percentage shooter, solid rebounder, versatile defender and quietly just had his best season.

Devin Kharpertian, Nets Are Scorching: David West. That speaks more to the dearth of talent in this free agent class than it does to his value, but West is still a talented player who's put up 19-8 nightly for five seasons now. He won't be ready to go by the start of next season (assuming it starts on time), but he'll contribute to whichever team acquires him.

Jeremy Schmidt, Bucksketball: Sadly enough, the answer appears to be David West. The one-legged West looks to have three or four more productive seasons left in him -- which is three or four more than most players in this free-agent class have left in them.

4. Bargain hunting: Who's the best buy on the market?

Smith
Nate Drexler, Magic Basketball: I'd take J.R. Smith. He's young, explosive, versatile, and unlike other people with these traits, he is not out of control ... for the most part. Everybody needs quality minutes off the bench, but Smith can take over a game. In the right situation, I think Smith could be Jamal Crawford 2.0 (and at about 60 percent the cost). The question is, will he be satisfied in that role?

James Ham, Cowbell Kingdom: Call me a homer on this one, but the Kings' Marcus Thornton can flat out bring it. The 24-year-old former second-round pick averaged 21.9 points per game over the Kings' final 18 games, helping the 24-win team go 9-9 over that stretch. He made $762,000 last season and is due for a big raise.

Patrick Hayes, Piston Powered: Among veterans, it's Joel Przybilla. He's a physical rebounder who will be less expensive than the first-tier big men available. A younger guy? Jonas Jerebko. He missed last season with a torn Achilles tendon, but he hustles, rebounds, plays defense and hits the offensive glass. It would take a significant offer for Detroit not to match, but there's little doubt he would be a nice addition to any contender.

Devin Kharpertian, Nets Are Scorching: Troy Murphy -- if he returns to form. After suffering a back injury in training camp, Murphy played out of shape all year and turned in a disastrous 2010-11 campaign. Murphy will be lucky to get a veteran's minimum, despite averaging a double-double just two seasons ago. If he's 100 percent, any team that picks him up will get a steal.

Jeremy Schmidt, Bucksketball: Don't laugh: Anthony Carter. I know it's crazy, but Carter is a perfect late offseason addition for an established team with two solid young point guards (think Thunder). He never gets in trouble, gets rave reviews as a teammate and showed a spark in the playoffs last season.

5. Use the Trade Machine to make a deal that should happen.

Nate Drexler, Magic Basketball:
Orlando gets: LeBron James, Mike Miller
Miami gets: Dwight Howard, J.J. Redick
See the deal

I mean why not? Miami gets a "get out of jail free" card in dealing the guy who didn't show up in the playoffs and come away with the ultimate piece that will give D-Wade another few championships. Meanwhile, small-market Orlando gets major attention and starts packing the Amway Arena on the regular. Best part: People can finally start forgetting about how LeBron handled his decision.
James Ham, Cowbell Kingdom:
Orlando gets: Andrew Bynum, Lamar Odom, Steve Blake, Shannon Brown
Los Angeles Lakers get: Dwight Howard, Gilbert Arenas
See the deal

Dwight Howard is walking away after next season so the Magic might as well deal him for the next best thing, Andrew Bynum. There is no way the Magic swap Howard without tossing in Gilbert Arenas, who might be able to revitalize his career alongside Kobe Bryant. Looks like a win-win.

Patrick Hayes, Piston Powered:
Charlotte gets: Paul Millsap
Utah gets: D.J. Augustin, Matt Carroll
See the deal

The Jazz have a glut of big men. Paul Millsap is easily movable because his contract is reasonable. They save a bit of money over the next two years by swapping Milsap's contract for Matt Carroll's and get a chance to see if D.J. Augustin is a long-term answer at point guard while Charlotte gets a hard-working player in Milsap and clears playing time for Kemba Walker.

Devin Kharpertian, Nets Are Scorching:
San Antonio gets: Travis Outlaw
New Jersey gets: Richard Jefferson
See the deal
It's a minor deal, but most trades are; the Nets and Spurs should swap troubled small forwards Travis Outlaw and Richard Jefferson. Financially, Outlaw would help the Spurs get further under the luxury tax, while Jefferson's contract ends a year earlier. Both players are reviled by their respective fan bases, but a change of scenery and role could revive their careers.

Jeremy Schmidt, Bucksketball:
Atlanta gets: Monta Ellis
Golden State gets: Josh Smith
See the deal

The Hawks aren't going anywhere with Smith, likewise the Warriors with Ellis. Ellis may thrive next to an adept passing 2-guard like Joe Johnson, while Smith would give the Warriors another defensive-minded athlete. Both are flawed, but have the talent to at least give their respective new franchises' fan bases reasons to look up.

ESPN.com

UNLV great Armen Gilliam dies at 47

2011-07-07T16:15:00.001+07:00

UNLV great and former NBA player Armen Gilliam died Tuesday night while playing pickup basketball at a Pittsburgh-area health club. He was 47.

The Allegheny County Medical Examiner's Office said Wednesday that Gilliam died Tuesday night at the LA Fitness gym in Bridgeville while he was playing basketball.

The office says a cause of death has not yet been determined pending an autopsy.

Dick Raphael/NBAE/Getty Images
Armen Gilliam, seen in 1989 against the Celtics' Kevin McHale, played 13 seasons in the NBA.
Gilliam, a 6-foot-9 forward, played 13 NBA seasons with six teams after leading UNLV to a 37-2 record and the Final Four in 1987. He was the No. 2 overall pick of the Phoenix Suns in the 1987 NBA draft.

Nicknamed "The Hammer," Gilliam played for the Suns, Charlotte Hornets, Philadelphia 76ers, New Jersey Nets, Milwaukee Bucks and Utah Jazz.

"We are deeply saddened to learn about the loss of Armen Gilliam," said Rod Thorn, president of the 76ers. "He was a hard-working, physical player during his distinguished 13 years in the NBA and we are proud of the contributions he made to the Sixers from 1990 to 1993.

"On behalf of the entire Sixers organization, we send our deepest condolences to the Gilliam family during this very difficult time."

Gilliam, who averaged 13.7 points and 6.9 rebounds during his NBA career, changed the spelling of his first name from Armon to Armen during his professional playing days.

"On behalf of the entire Phoenix Suns family, I'd like to express our sadness at the news of the passing of Armen Gilliam and offer our condolences to his family," Suns president Lon Babby said in a statement.

"Armen will always have a place in Suns history as only the second No. 2 overall pick for the franchise, but the rugged, tough enforcer known as 'The Hammer' on the court will be remembered by his former teammates and our fans for his easy-going nature off the court."

UNLV retired Gilliam's No. 35 jersey in 2007 and inducted him into the school's athletic hall of fame in 2008. He was a consensus second-team All-American and Big West player of the year in 1986-87 as UNLV went 18-0 in conference play and reached the school's second Final Four.

"He was one of the greatest Rebels ever and one of the best players we have ever had," Jerry Tarkanian, his coach at UNLV, said in a statement released by the university. "He was such a great person. Everybody loved him and he loved everybody. He was such a gentle person and such a caring guy. I am all shook up over it. I think the world of him and am just really shocked."

Gilliam coached and played for the Pittsburgh Xplosion in the American Basketball Association in 2005 and 2006. He also coached Division III Penn State-Altoona from 2002 to '05.

"The Runnin' Rebel family lost a true legend," current UNLV coach Dave Rice said. "As great a player as Armen was, he was even a better person."

ESPN.com news services

Rory! Rory! Rory!

2011-07-07T16:04:00.003+07:00

Rory McIlroy played his way into the record books last night, winning the US Open golf tournament by a staggering eight shots and becoming the youngest player to win the title since 1923.

Playing his final victorious round on Father's Day, the 22-year-old from Northern Ireland dedicated his win to his dad.

Receiving the trophy, he called out to his father in the crowd: "Happy Father's Day - this one's for you."

As crowds chanted "Rory! Rory! Rory!" to the young champion, he added: "The whole week has been incredible. I could not have asked for any more and I am so happy to hold this trophy."

Rory's win yesterday was remarkable as only a few weeks ago he dramatically lost the US Masters on the final day. After three rounds McIlroy had had a commanding lead, but on the final day, as the world watched, he lost his nerve and his game disintegrated.

Although he said that he had put the failure behind him, his supporters were watching nervously as he once more stepped out on the final day as the tournament leader. They were desperately hoping history would not repeat itself.

But Rory delighted his fans and the young star played a dream final round to take the US Open 2011 title.

Ranked number four in the world, he now hopes he can mimic his childhood hero, Tiger Woods, and become the greatest player.

Meanwhile in Northern Ireland celebrations went on through the night. This is the country's second win in a row at the US Open. Last year fellow countryman Graeme McDowell took the title.

Rory said he was looking forward to getting home to celebrate with his friends and added: "For such a small nation to win two US Opens in a row is pretty special."

Click here to test your knowledge of golf in out quiz.

Fury over Olympic football team announcement

2011-07-07T16:03:00.003+07:00

Football chiefs in Scotland have been outraged by a "historic" announcement that players from all home nations could be invited to play for Team GB in the Olympics.

The announcement by the British Olympic Association (BOA) was made with the knowledge of the English Football Association, but came as a shock to the Scottish, Welsh and Northern Irish FAs.

SFA chief executive Stewart Regan said: "We are very surprised and disappointed."

The SFA believes that fielding a British football team will damage their standing in the eyes of the governing body for international football, FIFA.

Traditionally Scotland, Northern Ireland and Wales have all competed individually in the European Championships and in the World Cup.

The fear is that if they are seen to be joining forces with England to create a Team GB for the Olympics, FIFA may be tempted to force the nations together for other international championships in the future.

The BOA has said that any player can turn down an invitation to play.

It is unlikely that a player from Scotland would be prepared to go against the wishes of their home nation and accept the invitation - although turning down an opportunity to appear on the world stage would be hard for some.

Scots such as Julie Fleeting and Kim Little in the women's game would be certainties to play for a British women's team. For them, the Olympics could be the most high-profile tournament they ever compete in.

Some believe the hurried announcement has been made in order to generate interest in Olympic football ticket sales. A total of 1.7million 2012 football tickets go on sale this Friday. Matches will take place all around the UK including eight at Hampden Park in Glasgow.