Joe “The Connector” Kennedy, blogging from the Mariners game tonight – post will be updated as it happens, so if you are following live, you might need to refresh.

Mariner’s ace pitcher Felix Hernandez got the start tonight, looking to improve on his 1-1 record after three starts in this young season.  To the delight of those sitting in King’s Court, King Felix struck out Cleveland lead offer batter Michael Brantley, got the 2nd batter, second baseman Jason Kipnis to fly to left and then Cleveland’s third batter Shin-Soo Choo, chopped weakly to Justin Smoak at first.

In the Mariner first, Chone Figgins struck out, Dustin Ackley worked a full count , but then took a called third strike and Ichiro hit a long fly ball out to center field on the first pitch from Cleveland hurler Josh Tomlin.

In the top half of the 2nd, Felix gets Tribe clean up hitter Carlos Santana to ground weakly to the right side.  Left handed hitting DH Travis Hafner steps up and works Felix for a one out walk.  Up comes another lefty, Casey Kotchman, who quickly gets two strikes, but hangs tough fouling off four more pitches before striking out swinging on an off speed breaking pitch.  Shelley Duncan, the Cleveland left fielder steps up and hits a one hopper to Smoak at first for the third out.

For the Mariners in the bottom half of the 2nd, first baseman Justin Smoak steps up and hits a one hopper to 2nd on the first pitch he sees.  Third baseman Kyle Seager rips the first pitch he sees for a hard hit double down the first baseline.  Next up is Michael Saunders, the Mariners’ center fielder.  Saunders smokes a liner out to right that drops in just before Choo could get it.  Now men on first and third with one out and Miguel Olivo at the plate.  Olivo hits a chopper to shortstop for a rally-killing double-play.

Leading off the Cleveland half of the third inning is Indian third baseman Jack Hannahan – batting left, which is a little unusual for a third baseman.  Hernandez got Hannahan swinging for the first out, bringing up the 9th Cleveland batter, shortstop Jason Donald.  Felix gets him swinging on the fourth pitch.  Leadoff hitter Brantley steps up to try his luck again, but again he is sent down swinging …

The Mariners send up tonight’s DH, John Jaso to start their half of the third inning.  Jaso chops out to second base.  Up steps the Mariners 9th hitter, Brandon Ryan, who is barely hitting his weight early this season.  Hopefully he can heat up tonight, but not in his first at bat, as he is caught looking at a called strike three.  Figgins steps up and fakes a bunt on the first pitch, bringing in the third baseman, but it doesn’t help as on the very next pitch he hits a lazy fly ball to left field to end the inning.

Felix strikes out Kipnis to start the fourth inning, the Choo grounds weekly to Smoak at first base – again.  That brings up Cleveland catcher and clean-up hitter who hits a 2-1 pitch to the wall in right center for a two out double.  Indian DH Hafner then grounds to first to end the inning.  Felix has six strikeouts through the first four frames.

Dustin Ackley starts off the fourth inning for the Mariners by stretching a hard hit single into right center into a double, sliding in hard to beat the throw into second.  Next up is Ichiro Suzuki who quickly falls into a 0-2 hole and eventually strikes out on a curve ball in the dirt, drawing a throw to first and enabling Ackley to reach third with only one out.  Smoak steps up and smokes the first pitch toward right field, but it is unfortunately right into the mitt of Triber first baseman Casey Kothchman.  Seager up with runner on third and two outs.  He’s hitting .295 coming into the game and nearly gets an rbi on a ground ball up the middle that turns into out number three.

Kotchman starts the fifth inning for the Indians by grounding out to second.  Hernandez then strikes out Duncan on a 2-2 pitch and get Hannahan to bounce to Ackley at second base.  Quick inning and Felix is looking good, but the Mariners need to get him some runs.

Justin Smoak leads off the Seattle fifth inning with a drive to the right center field wall on two hops and gets into second base with a double.  Olivo sacrifices him to third on his 2nd try.  John Jaso steps up with Saunders on third and just one out.  The Indians are playing with the infield in in an attempt to cut off the run at home.  Jaso quickly falls behind 0-2 and then hits a slow roller up the middle, causing Cleveland second bagger Kipnis to hesitate and then throw over the catcher’s head trying to get Saunders at home.  Saunders is safe at home and Jason move up to 2nd on the error.  Ryan then grounds out to the right side of the field, moving Jaso to third with two outs and Chone Figgins coming up.  Tomlin gets Figgins to an 0-2 , before Chone grounds out to second to end the inning.  Mariners up 1-0.

King Felix strikes out Jason Donald to start the 6th, Brantley lines to short for the 2nd out and then Kipnis hits a long warning track out to Figgins in left field.  Another quick inning.  If he keeps it up, Felix might just get to finish this one.

Ackley leads off again for the M’s, but this time is caught looking at strike three.  Ichiro steps up looking to redeem himself after a terrible last at bat.  Unfortunately this time around isn’t any better and Ichiro pops out to the third baseman in foul territory.  Smoak steps up with two outs and strikes out swinging on four pitches – and after a questionable strike call by the home plate umpire Dan Iassogna.  On to the seventh inning.

Choo steps up and hits a long fly ball out to Figgins on the first pitch he sees from Felix.  Indian clean-up batter Santana works Hernandez to a 3-1 count before hitting a one hopper back to the pitcher.  That brings up Travis Hafner with two outs.    Hafner drills a line drive to left center that gets past Figgins to the wall for a stand up double.  Kotchman comes up with a man at second and two outs, and King Felix sends him back to the Tribe bench after looking at strike three.

Kyle Seager leads off the seventh inning for the Mariners.  He hits the first pitch he sees to the warning track in right center, nearly 385 feet for an out.  Saunders steps up and hits his first pitch on the ground to Kotchman at first.    Olivo steps up and takes a couple of huge, hefty whiffs before dumping one into left center for a hard sliding double.  Jaso is up with two outs and man on second, but grounds weakly to second base on the first pitch.  Quick half for the M’s, but at this point that is a good thing.  Keep Felix warm and ready to finish it off.

Left fielder Duncan leads off the 8th for the Tribe with a .273 average.  Felix is working him hard low and outside and they get to a full count before Duncan fouls off another four pitches – and then Hernandez finally gets him swinging.  Hannahan steps up with one out and hits a soft liner over the head of M’s shortstop Ryan for a one out single.  Tribe shortstop Jason Donald steps up with one out and one on and grounds one back up the middle that Felix has trouble with and boots.  The official scorer gives Donald a base hit and Brantley comes up for the Tribe with one out and men on first and second.  He’s only hitting .190 on the season, but works the count to 3-2 before hitting a grounder just of the glove of diving second baseman Dustin Ackley.  Hernandez is left in the game with the bases loaded and only one out.  Cleveland second baseman Jason Kipnis steps up and strikes out swinging on four pitches and is Felix’s eleventh strikeout victim of the night.  Tribe right fielder Choo steps up with two outs and the bases still drunk.   Hernandez appears to turn it up a notch and strikes out Choo on a half swing to get out of a tough jam and preserve the 1-0 lead.  He is relieved after 8 strong innings – 5 hits, 1 walk, 12 strikeouts and no runs.

Brendan Ryan leads off the Mariner half of the 8th, with Cleveland started Tomlin still on the hill.  He pops out to the first baseman in foul territory for the first out, bringing up left fielder Chone Figgins, who lines the second pitch he sees to Duncan in left field.  Up comes Dustin Ackley with two outs and nobody on.  He strikes out quickly on three pitches – including the last one over his head.

Instead of letting the dominant King Felix stay on to finish up his gem, Mariners skipper Eric Wedge opts for the adventure that M’s closer Brandon League always brings with him.  Indians catcher Carlos Santana leads off the 9th for the Tribe against League and draws a lead off walk.  Hafner comes up and drives a hard hit ball that drops right in front of Ichiro in right field.  Now men on 2nd and 3rd with no outs and Kotchman  comes up with a crucial sacrifice bunt to move the runners up to 2nd and 3rd.  Two men in scoring position , with one out for left fielder Duncan who is hitting .265.  After a 1-1 count, Cunningham is brought in to pinch run for Hafner at second.  League then walks Duncan to load the bases for Triber third sacker, Jack Hannahan.  Wedge sends the pitching coach out to try to calm down League., who gives up a two run single through the left side to Hannahan for what may turn out to be the game winner.  Indian shortstop strikes out to League – and then, get this, Wedge brings in a left hander (Luetge) to relieve League …

Bringing in the closer fails again.  How many times is Manager Eric Wedge going to make this same mistake?  Does he really think his closer is better than Felix?  PLEEEEASE.   How can he expect his players to work for him with crappy decisions like this?  There is no way Felix will want to stay here when his contract is up if he’s continually treated like this.  Mr. Wedge – that was a MAJOR FAIL.

12,142 Paid Attendance at tonight’s game.

Reminder:  Tomorrow, Friday April 20th, the Mariners celebrate their first 35 years as a franchise and their first ever draft pick – Mr. Ruppert Jones.  It also happens to be Ichiro bobblehead night ….  Tickets are still available.

1.  Spreecasts can be public or private.  Whether you want to hold private Spreecast or invite the public to join in, the choice is yours.

2. Spreecasts are a great way to hold company meetings.  Whether 1 on1 meeting with an associate on the other side of the world or a corporate board meeting, Spreecasting meetings is simple.

3. Spreecasts are recorded and reviewable.  Once your Spreecast is over, it is archived and available to review.  Great for checking links, comments and other information shared during the Spreecast.

4. Spreecasts are easily embedable.  You can put your archived Spreecasts on your websites and blogs for long term exposure and traction.  Spreecasts provide great content to keep visitors on your sites.

5. Spreecasts are easily shared socially.  Spreecast is a social network platform that plays well with other major social platforms like Google+, Facebook and Twitter.

6. Spreecasts are a great way to educate, market and sell.  The types of information exchanged through Spreecasts are only limited our minds (and public decency).  Classes, conferences, seminars, networking events, many different types of events can be Spreecast.

7. Spreecasting can save you money.  In so many ways, Spreecasting is saving companies money in this tough economy.

• Having company meetings via Spreecast saves your employees the time it takes to drive into the office to attend a meeting – or at least the time it takes to walk down the hall to the conference room.
• Spreecasting is a god-send for those who telecommute.
• Having company meetings via Spreecast means you don’t have to spend a ton of cash on food and drink – and that there is no clean up!
• It also means that your employees who work outside of the office don’t have to spend their valuable time (and gas money) commuting to and from the office for meetings.

8. Spreecasting is good for our environment.  See #7 above – Spreecasting saves fuel and commuting time, cuts down on emissions and reduces our carbon footprint.

9. Your competitors and clients are using Spreecast.  If they aren’t yet, they will be soon.  Would you rather lead the charge or follow the pack? Is your company an innovator or a “me too” company?

10.  Gary V uses Spreecast.  Social media, wine and now business consulting guru Gary Vaynerchuk of VaynerMedia has his own Spreecast channel, which may or may not be a reason that you should be using Spreecast.  At the same time, since Gary Vaynerchuk uses Spreecast, you probably do want to take a solid look.

11. Spreecast is a super cool company with awesome technology.  In what other company does the founder broadcast live on a regular basis to talk about product challenges and improvements?  Very refreshing to see Spreecast Founder Jeff Fluhr and his team sharing with the public – and including them in their broadcasts!

Bonus Reason #12: You would help me out by connecting with Joe “The Connector” Kennedy on Spreecast so that I can go to work for Ron Levi, to help make his life easier and help grow the amazing community at Spreecast, both in the US and across the Globe.  It’s hard to believe that I’ve only known about Spreecast for a week – I have not been so excited about anything for a very long time.  I really want to #HelpRon – so thank you in advance for your assistance to #HelpJoeConnect.

Joe Kennedy can be found on Spreecast, Google+, Facebook, LinkedIn, Twitter, Eastside Entrepreneurs and at JoeConnector.com.

The other night we had the first ever Eastside Entrepreneurs Virtual Networking Event and it was cool – we were able to cycle through and get about 10 different people on camera, introducing themselves and their businesses.  I’d like to personally invite you to get your free Spreecast account, make sure to follow me, test your webcam and microphone and then RSVP at the bottom of the page for our 4 O’Clock Friday Networking Virtual Networking Event via @Spreecast.

I hope to see you there, but if you cannot make it – subscribe to our channels to be notified of our future Spreecasts.  And don’t be afraid to try Spreecasting yourself – it’s easy, it’s fun, it’s free and you are not going to break anything!

MIVAL was the inspiration of a handful of local artists in 1961. At that time they agreed to form a network of local artists to meet regularly to discuss art, show and sell their artwork, and to provide art demonstrations to members. For fifty years, MIVAL has continued to provide inspiration and support to numerous artists in our community.

We have painters, fiber artists, photographers, as well as artists who work in glass, jewelry, ceramics, encaustic media and film. We hold regular meetings and exhibit our work at over ten venues in our community.

In 2009, MIVAL opened a gallery in the spirit of a cooperative. Each member takes part in the support and management of the gallery. Membership is open to all members of the larger MIVAL organization. All MIVAL members have opportunities to show their work at the gallery as well as other venues on Mercer Island.

Join us for gallery receptions on the first Friday of the month from 5 – 8 pm and see our CALL FOR ENTRIES page for open calls for upcoming art shows.

Here is their listing from the Eastside Business Directory at BellevueBusinessJournal.com:

Mercer Island Visual Arts League and Arts Gallery

A good cure for this problem is to be linked to and from by other sites – especially sites that rank well for your desired keywords.  For instance, if it would be important to you to be ranked highly under the keywords “Bellevue Business”, it would probably be very beneficial to you to be linked to the Eastside Business Directory at BellevueBusinessJournal.com (which is consistently the #1 organic ranked site on Google for the keywords mentioned).  Once you have a link from us (we’ll probably want to share you on Twitter and Facebook too), you might want to share the love with a link back to our site from yours – and you might even decide that you would like to write a regular (or semi-regular) column for us.

The price of this online marketing help is normally only $100 for an entire year!!!  For a very limited time and only the first 50 businesses, the price has been slashed in half to $50 for 12 full months!  Get your business listed in the Eastside Business Directory now – before your competitors do!

Here is some more information about the directory:

Who should list their business in Eastside Business Directory?
(there are 180 categories – if we don’t have yours, let us know and we’ll create it)

• Anyone who sells a product, whether it’s a physical product or a digital product like an e-book
• Anyone who provides a service, like graphic designers, web designers, nannies, cleaning services, and bookkeepers
• Anyone who owns a store, whether it’s a bricks & mortar store or an online store
• Anyone who has a blog, website or other online presence they want noticed
• Anyone who wants increased sales, more exposure, and improved SEO.

Why should you list your business in Eastside Business Directory?

Here are just a few good reasons I can think of:

• It’s an extremely affordable way to market your business – it’ll cost you just $100 per year or $0.27 per day.
• It offers maximum exposure – something you definitely need. Well, at least for your business.
• It will help you increase your sales all year round.
• It will boost your SEO by having your URL link on a Google Page Rank 4 site
• It will get you on the #1 Googled site for Keyword “Bellevue Business”
• It will support your new business, product launches, promotions, specials and more

What will my Eastside Business listing look like?

Your Bellevue Business Journal Listing will look awesome. No, really…check out our current Eastside Business Directory

美國房屋與都市發展部(The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development ，英文簡稱HUD) 連同NeighborWorks 美國今天宣佈推出緊急的房屋業主貸款計劃(Emergency Homeowners’ Loan Program，英文簡稱EHLP)，協助美國二十七個州和波多黎各處於房屋沒收風險的房屋業主。

美國國會作為多德-弗蘭克華爾街改革和消費者保護法案(Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act)的一部分提供美金十億予HUD去執行EHLP。這個計劃將協助由於美國經濟情況或病情導致非自願的失業或就業不足構成收入減少而處於房屋沒收風險的房屋業主。

在EHLP的準則下，合資格的房屋業主可以有資格得到免利息的貸款用來支付部分的月供房屋貸款，為期最多兩年或金額最高是美金$50,000，以先達到的情況為準。

「奧巴馬政府透過緊急的房屋業主貸款計劃繼續我們協助家庭在艱難的經濟時刻可以保住家園的強有力承諾。」房屋與都市發展部長肖恩•多諾萬表示。「通過NeighborWorks 美國讓我們可以與全美的社區夥伴合作。我們很滿意今天在美國二十七個州和波多黎各推出這個計劃去協助家庭在尋找工作或身體康復的同時也可以保住家園。」

EHLP的資金將支付獲得批准申請人的部分月供房屋貸款，包括逾期未付的房屋貸款或 逾期未付的費用如本金、利息、稅款和保險。EHLP預期會協助最多三萬位的苦惱貸款者，平均的貸款額是美金$35,000。

「通過我們在全美的工作，NeighborWorks 美國非常了解在這個經濟艱難的時刻，面對房屋會被沒收的房屋業主會盡一切所能尋找各種的協助途徑。截止的日期是2011年七月二十二日。我們鼓勵房屋業主現在就遞交他們的資料，看看自己是否符合這個新的房屋貸款援助計劃的資格，以及讓有房屋方面需求的人士知道更多其他可以選擇的資料。」NeighborWorks 美國的首席執行長艾琳M. 菲茨杰拉德表示。

EHLP資金是房屋危機打擊最嚴重的美國十八個州和哥倫比亞特區提供美金七十六億的重災區基金(Hardest Hit Fund)的補充。EHLP基金將提供給以下的州﹕阿拉斯加、阿肯色、科羅拉多、夏威夷、愛荷華、堪薩斯、路易斯安那、緬因、馬省、明尼蘇達、密蘇里、蒙大拿、內布拉斯加、新罕布夏、新墨西哥、紐約、北達科他、俄克拉荷馬、南達科他、德克薩斯、猶他、佛蒙特、維吉尼亞、華盛頓、西佛吉尼亞、威斯康辛和懷俄明，以及波多黎各。五個基本上運行類似計劃的州通過現存的計劃提供EHLP的資金，這五個州是﹕康乃迪克、德拉威、愛達荷、馬里蘭和賓夕法尼亞。今天推出這個計劃後，美國每個州都向失業和就業不足的房屋業主提供房屋貸款的協助。

參與機構的聯絡資料、有意申請人士的篩選問卷、以及更多有關EHLP協助的資訊和資格規定，請上網到www.FindEHLP.org 查詢，或致電免費電話855-FIND-EHLP (346-3345)。

有關美國房屋與都市發展部 (U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development，英文簡稱HUD

HUD的使命是為所有人建立起堅固的、可持續的、包容的社區和廉價的優質房屋。HUD 正努力加強房屋市場、振興經濟和保障消費者、滿足廉價出租房屋的需求﹕利用房屋作為改善生活水平的平台、建立沒有歧視的包容和可持續社區，以及轉變HUD的經營方式。有關HUD和其計劃的更多資訊可以上網到www.hud.gov 和 espanol.hud.gov查詢。

有關NeighborWorks 美國

NeighborWorks 美國透過提供購買房屋的機會和租住安全和廉價的房屋，從而改善人們的生活和加強社區。自1991年起，我們協助過接近一百二十萬低到中收入家庭的房屋需求。我們的成功大部分透過支持 NeighborWorks 網絡達到。這個網絡有超過235個社區發展組織在美國五十個州、哥倫比亞特區和波多黎各的超過4,400個城市、郊區和鄉下社區工作。在過去的五年裏，NeighborWorks 的組織已經產生超過美金一百五十億的資金再投資在這些社區上。NeighborWorks 美國在全美培訓從事社區發展和廉價房屋專業人士上站領先的地位。

While I have been focusing on my real estate business lately, I have also been inspired to follow through on what is perhaps the best business idea I’ve ever had in my life.  It is a fully scalable, and repeatable business that will get the support of many, many local business people (including many of the 1,900+ Eastside Entrepreneurs) – as well as consumers.  

This idea is long overdue and would be great for the current economic climate.

To get it started, I will need a retail location in downtown Bellevue.  It does not have to be huge, but does need to have a store front and an area to hold classes and events of 25-50 people or more.  Easy parking is a necessity (as it is for most retail businesses).

The ideal situation would be a space that is currently available – and may have been available for some time – a space like the old Village Bellevue would be almost perfect.  This space would be owned by a motivated and flexible owner, who might consider partnering on this business – and possibly on future expansion.

Alternatively, I may consider taking on equity and/or working partners.

The space used for this biz could also be part of an existing business that isn’t fully utilizing all of it’s space – or another business which would love a lot of traffic coming and going daily.

If you have any ideas or suggestions, please contact me asap – I’d be happy to make a presentation to any possible principles.

“One of the most valuable parts of the site is the Water Information Resource Center,” explained Don Wright, Forum Project Manager for the new Web site. “The Forum has worked hard to compile a broad range of water related data into one place.” The resource center serves as the hub for data related to the water supply, water resources, environmental stewardship and conservation activities of the Forum and other partners within the region.

The new site also showcases the Forum’s recently released 2009 Regional Water Supply Outlook. The 2009 Outlook is a comprehensive assessment of municipal water supply and demand in King, Pierce and Snohomish Counties. The Outlook contains current and projected municipal water demands for each county within the three-county region.  It also includes an analysis of regional water supplies, and details of potential future municipal water supply options including enhanced conservation, and wastewater reuse.

“Our Web site exemplifies the Forum’s mission to provide a venue for policy discussions on critical issues related to water supply and stewardship,” said Wright.  “It also allows us to share utility perspectives and insights with the public and key leaders throughout the region.” The Forum aids members and the public by providing a portal for water supply and related water resource issues.

About the Water Supply Forum

The Water Supply Forum is a cooperative effort of representatives of public water systems and local governments in the Central Puget Sound region of Washington State. The Forum addresses current and future water supply issues, including supply planning, environmental stewardship, and other water supply related issues currently facing the region.

March’s host, the PowerPlay Arcade has more than 105 gaming stations, from the to-scale Ferrari simulator with life size rear-ends and 62″ high definition televisions as windshields to the 16 Sega Outrun 2 full motion simulator suites that are inspired by Hummer and Harley Davidson. Then there is the Laser Maze which challenges players to race against the clock by navigating the room without breaking the beam just like Mission Impossible.

Each guest will receive a game card that will allow them to enjoy all that PowerPlay has to offer!

YPN @ Lucky Strike Lanes
Date: Thurs, March 25, 2010
Time: 5:30 to 7:30 p.m.
Location: Lucky Strike Lanes 700 Bellevue Way NE, Suite 250, Bellevue 98004
Members: $15 pre-paid ($20 after 3/23, $25 at the door)
Non-members: $20 ($25 at the door)
Register: Online or contact Larry Pike at larryp@seattlechamber.com | 206.389.7215

About our host
Lucky Strike Bellevue is a sleek, sexy, upscale entertainment venue. The 50,000 square feet includes 16 bowling lanes, pool tables, a private Luxe Lounge, 3 bars, a large open lounge and Power Play which is an adult high-end gaming lounge with more than 125 different arcade games. Lucky Strike can hold parties from 8 guests up to 1450. A happy hour is offered daily from 4-7 p.m. in their lounge with 1/2 off appetizers and drink specials. You can find a live DJ on Friday and Saturday nights with no cover for entry. Whether you are planning a birthday party, holiday party, corporate event or just stopping in with friends or family, Lucky Strike Bellevue will create a memorable experience for every guest.

Why get involved in YPN?

• Exposure to what is going on in Seattle
• To build your business network with other young professionals
• Unique access to regional business leaders and political figures