That's what watching college basketball has become

 That's what watching college basketball has become.What has the NCAA done?  Nothing.  Plain and simple.Maybe the NCAA should follow the NFL's lead.Peace out.. Use of free quit-smoking services triples following 62-cent increase oncigarettesMINNEAPOLIS, April 23 /PRNewswire/ -- The recent federal tax increase oncigarettes has a lot of Minnesotans trying to quit smoking. QUITPLAN Services,the free stop-smoking program provided by ClearWay Minnesota(SM), has seenuser volumes spike following the increase. Congress increased the cigarettetax nationwide by 62 cents to expand the State Children's Health InsuranceProgram (SCHIP).(Logo: http://)Since the new tax took effect on March 31, thousands of Minnesotans havecontacted QUITPLAN Services for help. During the week of March 30 throughApril 5, 807 calls were made to QUITPLAN Services, an increase of 372 percentfrom the first week in March.

In addition, 568 people registered onquitplan over the same time span, an increase of 207 percent from thefirst week in March. More people contacted QUITPLAN Services in the first weekof April 2009 than did in the entire month of April 2008.Studies in Minnesota and across the nation have found a direct relationshipbetween cigarette price increases and quitting smoking. In 2005, a healthimpact fee increased the cost of a pack of cigarettes in Minnesota by 75cents. At the time of the price increase, nearly 42 percent of Minnesotasmokers thought about quitting, according to the 2007 Minnesota Adult TobaccoSurvey. In addition, more than one-fourth (26 percent) of current and formersmokers (31 percent) report that they had made a quit attempt as a result ofthe fee increase. The more times a smoker attempts to quit, the more likelythe chance of success."The research from Minnesota and other states clearly shows that priceincreases on tobacco products are effective at helping current smokers quit,"said David Willoughby, Chief Executive Officer of ClearWay Minnesota. "We'rehappy that so many Minnesotans are accessing the free, professional help fromQUITPLAN Services to help them successfully quit smoking, save money andimprove their health."With the cost of cigarettes increasing, Minnesotans can rely on ClearWayMinnesota's QUITPLAN Services for free counseling, support and access tonicotine patches, lozenges and gum to help them quit smoking.

ClearWayMinnesota serves Minnesota through its grant-making program, QUITPLAN(R)stop-smoking services and statewide outreach activities. It is funded with 3percent of the state's 1998 tobacco settlement. For more information onClearWay Minnesota or QUITPLAN Services, call 952-767-1400 or visitclearwaymn .Contact:Mike SheldonCommunications ManagerClearWay Minnesota(952) 767-1425SOURCEClearWay MinnesotaMike Sheldon, Communications Manager of ClearWay Minnesota, +1-952-767-1425. Hearing the new's that former LSU quarterback Ryan Perrilloux signed with Jacksonville State two thoughts entered my head...1 How much trouble can he get in Jacksonville,Al?2.

This kid will find trouble in Jacksonville,Al.Coming out of East St. Apparently, OCD makes you counterfeit twenties and try to sneak on riverboat casinos.Now I am a believer in second chances. This guy was given plenty of chances and he did not take them.It just goes to show that if you can play a sport better than most, you will always have a place in this world.I will be pulling for Ryan, but this is another example of an athlete thinking all he has to do is show up and he will be successful.. Elephant Talk Communications, Inc. Announces 2008 Fiscal Year Results andProvides Shareholder Update- Shareholder Equity Improves $18.6 Million, to $8.8 Million, for the YearEnded December 31, 2008- Executed Letter of Intent to Acquire ValidSoft Limited, a State of the ArtFraud Prevention CompanySCHIPHOL, the Netherlands, April 23 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Elephant TalkCommunications, Inc. (OTC Bulletin Board: ETAK), an international telecom andmultimedia content distributor specializing in carrier grade mobile enablingplatforms announced 2008 fiscal year results on April 15, 2009 and isproviding a shareholder update.KEY OPERATIONAL HIGHLIGHTS--Entered into a letter of intent to acquire controlling interest inValidSoft Limited.

ValidSoft is an emerging global leader inpreventingelectronic bank theft, credit card fraud, and identity theft.--Through its proprietary software, ValidSoft provides strong mobileauthentication, transaction verification capabilities and locationbased services. The Company providestraditional telecom services, media streaming, and distribution servicesprimarily to the business-to-business (B2B) community within thetelecommunications market where it has a presence. The Company's globalfootprint as a fully licensed carrier, supported by its propriety IN(Intelligent Network) and Billing/CRM (Client Relationship Management)Systems, has been designed to offer cutting-edge solutions to the increasinglycompetitive global multimedia industry. Elephant Talk's telecommunicationsplatform eliminates the usual limitations caused by national borders,networks, devices or media and, therefore, enables its B2B customers tooperate as independent telecom and multimedia distribution organizations.Elephant Talk is also a developer for mobile telecom and content distributionsolutions; and, as a Mobile Virtual Network Enabler (MVNE), the company haspositioned itself as the premier outsourcing partner for both Mobile NetworkOperators (MNO's) as well as for Mobile Virtual Network Operators (MVNO's). Atthe same time, Elephant Talk assists its MNO partners to more efficientlyprovide a broad range of sophisticated services to their own existing base ofMVNO's.