MK set to Seal Seat Sharing Deal Over Breakfast

<Deal Of The Dayp>Discussions over seat sharing reached a feverish pitch on Tuesday at Anna Arivalayam, with parties of the DMK front making a beeline to hold talks. A tone of finality is expected to be reached on Wednesday morning, when DMK patriarch M Karunanidhi would discuss the matter over breakfast with all the allies at one go. On Tuesday, however, a picture emerged on who would contest in how many and which seats, with the DMK reaching agreements with two of its allies.

Karunanidhi finalised the seat sharing agreements with the Manithaneya Makkal Katchi and Puthiya Tamilagam in the presence of his party's seat sharing committee. The two allies would receive one seat each, according to an official release from the DMK.

While Manithaneya Makkal Katchi has been given the Mayiladuthurai constituency Puthiya Tamilagam has been allotted the Tenkasi (SC) constituency, where it commands considerable influence. These agreements were achieved in a matter of minutes after the allies walked into the DMK office on Tuesday evening.

The other two allies, however, would have to wait till the breakfast meeting with Karunanidhi. It is yet unclear how many seats the VCK would get.

The party has stood by the DMK for over five years, and is expecting to get more seats than it did in 2009, when it contested in the reserved Chidambaram and Villupuram constituencies.

Sources in the VCK told Express they have asked for five seats. They have named Chidambaram (SC), Villupuram (SC) and Kancheepuram (SC) as non-negotiable allotments, and also asked for one general constituency each in the northern region and one in the south.

This request is expected to be addressed during the sit-down with Karunanidhi. VCK leaders, however, indicated that they are most likely to get the three reserved constituencies they have asked for.

In all likelihood, the IUML would get one seat and would contest under its own symbol (ladder) rather than under the DMK's symbol (rising sun) as it did in 2009. There is no clarity on which seat would be allotted to the IUML, with some saying it has been denied the Vellore constituency, where it is incumbent.

If these calculations turn out to be final, the DMK would contest 33 seats in Tamil Nadu and the one seat in Puducherry.

After finalising these agreements, the DMK would be prepared to release its official list of candidates by as early as Wednesday evening, party sources said.

Nikeid Shoes Reviews 2014: Save with Nike id Promo Code for Customized Shoes

Get Nike id Promo Codes and save on Nike id shoes for men, women and kids at Nike.com. Design your own Nike shoes and look great with new and stylish shoes from Nike.

NikeiD is the revolutionary concept of Nike which enables customers to create their own shoes with customized color, style, design and size. Nike comes up with new designs and styles, and likes to experiment with different looks and patterns. Nike iD gives its customers the wonderful opportunity to unleash their imagination and make something solely theirs. Nike churns out new models of shoes and accessories, with the help of new technology and new age thinking. Nike shoes have a class of their own; they look good, feel wonderful and transfer a quiet confidence that helps you achieve all the physical goals you set. Now NikeiD does that and more, with new inspirations and small nudges. Shop now and get Free Shipping on your Nike id shoes with our exclusive Nike id coupons from Nike.com.

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Samsung Galaxy Grand 2 vs Galaxy Grand Duos Price and Specs Comparison

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The long expected Samsung Galaxy Grand 2 was released following the amazing predecessor Galaxy Grand Duos. Samsung is well known for its quality/price ratio as they have always released high quality products for a share of the price of its main competitor Apple. However not all their products have met the expectations as Galaxy Grand Quattro. We therefore look at Samsung's Galaxy Grand 2 and Galaxy Grand Duos and compare them in order to get a sense of how much more successful will Galaxy Grand 2 be.

Display

Galaxy Grand 2 comes with a slightly bigger display of 5.2 inches which is a slight upgrade from 5 inch display on Grand Duos. While this may not seem much of an improvement the pixel resolution and density definitely sets them apart as Grand 2 benefits of an impressive 720×1280 pixel resolution and 280 (ppi). In comparison Grand Duos figures are 480×800 pixels and 187 ppi. This simply translates into better display, better pictures quality and watching videos or movies will be more enjoyable.

Dimensions

Grand 2 is quite bigger measuring 146.8×75.3×8.9 mm whilst Grand Duos measures 143.5×76.9×9.6 mm but the weight difference is almost insignificant with only one gram difference - 163 g for Grand 2 and 162 g for Grand Duos.

Hardware

Galaxy Grand 2 comes with Quad-Core 1.2 Cortex-A7, Adreno 305 GPU and Qualcomm Snapdragon 400 with 1.5 GB of RAM and the operating system on it is Android 4.3. Grand Duos works on Android 4.1.2 and comes with a dual-core 1.2GHz Cortex-A9 processor. The CPU running on the Grand 2 makes it the better option.

Camera

No changes have been made as far as the camera is concerned as both phones comes with 8 MP camera including auto focus and good-fitted LED flash. The only slight difference is that Grand Duos comes with MP front camera and Grand 2 with a 1.9 MP one. But the 0.1 MP difference cannot be considered a drawback.

Memory

As mentioned above the Galaxy Grand 2 features 1.5GB RAM which is an improvement compared to the 1GB RAM found on Grand Duos. But as far as internal memory goes there is no difference there as both devices have been equipped with 8GB memory. Dual SIM is supported on both smartphones and the microSD cards support the expansion of internal memory up to 64GB.

Battery

This is a controversial subject when talking about smartphones as users are constantly looking for better battery life expectancy.

Grand Duos run on Li-Ion 2100 mAh, supposedly translates into 10 talk-time hours for 2G and more than 400 of them in standby. However Grand 2 has a more greater autonomy, Li-Ion 2600 mAh, that gives users longer talk-time (17 hours) in a 3G network and about 370 hours in standby mode.

Price

Samsung have always been at the top as they have successfully managed to release high-end quality devices at an affordable price.

Unveiled in India, the price for Samsung Galaxy Grand 2 has been set from Rs 22990 to Rs 24990 or found on Amazon at $400. In comparison the Samsung Galaxy Grand Duos costs between Rs 17,000 and Rs 19,500 or can be found on Amazon at a price of $280.

Galaxy Grand 2 wins the color round too for it is available in pink, black and white unlike the Grand Duos which was mainly available in white.

Here you can also find a comparison between Samsung Galaxy Grand 2, Moto G and Lumia 1320.

Jason Collins signs contract with Brooklyn Nets

Nearly 10 months after becoming the first openly gay NBA player, Jason Collins will finally get his chance to, well, play.

With free-agent-to-be forward Glen Davis telling the Los Angeles Clippers on Sunday that he intends to sign with them after he clears waivers at 5 p.m. Eastern and thereby taking the Brooklyn Nets' top free agent option off the table, the Nets moved quickly to finalize a 10-day Deal News with Collins. And after USA TODAY Sports first reported Davis' intentions, the Nets confirmed the expected signing of Collins to a 10-day contract in a statement about the historic event. Collins, who will be the first openly-gay player in all four major North American professional sports, is expected to be available for tonight's game in Los Angeles against the Lakers.

FTW: Collins belongs on NBA roster -- period

"The decision to sign Jason was a basketball decision," Nets general manager Billy King said in the statement. "We needed to increase our depth inside, and with his experience and size, we felt he was the right choice for a 10-day contract."

New NBA Commissioner Adam Silver issued a statement about Collins' signing as well.

"Jason told us that his goal was to earn another contract with an NBA team," Silver said. "Today, I want to commend him on achieving his goal. I know everyone in the NBA family is excited for him and proud that our league fosters an inclusive and respectful environment."

MORE: Collins comes out as gay man

The 35-year-old Collins announced his homosexuality by way of Sports Illustrated in late April, and thus became known as the first openly-gay NBA player. Yet because Collins never continued his career, the revelation was somewhat anticlimactic in terms of its possible social impact.

WHO IS COLLINS?: A look at his career

That changed on Sunday, though, as the Nets and other teams vying for Davis' services were told that he would sign with the Clippers and the runway for Collins' moment was thereby cleared. Per the rules of the NBA's collective bargaining agreement, a team can only sign a player to two 10-day contracts in the scope of one season. So if all goes well with the Nets, they would have to decide whether to sign Collins for the rest of the season either at the conclusion of this 10-day deal or the next. Collins' twin brother and former NBA player, Jarron Collins, hinted at the forthcoming excitement via Twitter not long after the news of Davis' intentions was first reported by USA TODAY Sports.

"Hope everyone is enjoying their Sunday. Today should be a pretty cool day!"

Davis reached a buyout agreement with the Orlando Magic on Friday, and was known to be considering the Nets and Clippers as options (the Golden State Warriors and Chicago Bulls, among other teams, also had interest).

The Nets, meanwhile, were considering a list of free agent possibilities that included players currently playing in the National Basketball Development League and others who are playing in China. Brooklyn has a clear need for another big body down low, as they had extensive trade talks with the Los Angeles Lakers about center Jordan Hill leading up to the deadline but ultimately passed on that possibility.

In 13 seasons, Collins became known as a classy professional who averaged 3.6 points and 3.8 rebounds per game with six teams. He spent his first six season with the Nets when the team was still in New Jersey.

Shoptimist: Savings site puts money back in your bank account

SavingStar was launched in 2011 and has since grown to almost 5 million members. Users create an account and register grocery or drugstore loyalty cards with the site. Locally, Kroger, Food Lion and CVS cards can be registered.

Once your cards are uploaded, you can scroll through the digital coupons on the site or app (available for iPhone and Android). If you see something useful, click "I Want This!" and the coupon will be uploaded to all registered cards.

When you go shopping, these coupons won't be deducted from your bill. Instead, the site will recognize when purchases are made and transfer the value of the coupon(s) into an account on the website. Depending on where you shop, the savings will be transferred between two and 22 days. Once you've saved at least $5 the money can be transferred directly into a bank account or PayPal account, or can be added to an Amazon gift card.

Types of coupons

A few different kinds of coupons are available on the site. Some are basic coupons offering cents or dollars off a particular product. Other coupons offer dollars off a minimum purchase of a particular brand. For example, currently you can save $5 when you spend $20 on Dole products.

Some coupons can only be used once and some can be used multiple times - the rules are noted in the description when you upload coupons. New coupons are generally added on Thursdays but new savings can pop up at any time.

The site recently introduced the Healthy Offer of the Week and Friday Freebies. The Healthy Offer is released every Tuesday and features savings on fruits and vegetables. This week you can save 20 percent on bananas. Each Friday a new product is introduced for Friday Freebies. If you upload this coupon you'll get 100 percent back upon purchasing the product. Some previous Friday Freebies have included Barilla pasta, Starkist tuna, Bush's Baked Beans and Arm & Hammer Baking Soda. This week's offer is for Jiffy Corn Muffin Mix.

SavingStar also features a Cashback Mall. When you shop online at participating retailers, such as Lands' End, Groupon or Macy's, you can earn a percentage back from select purchases. This money goes into the same account as your coupon savings. Earn your money back by accessing the retailer's site through SavingStar and clicking the "Shop Now" link or by using one of the Best Buy provided by SavingStar. The percentages vary by retailer.

I've used this site with success. A wide variety of product coupons are available and they change often, so it's important to keep checking back. One of SavingStar's best attributes is that it won't interfere with coupon usage in the grocery store or drugstore. If you have a SavingStar coupon and a Kroger or Food Lion digital coupon for the same product uploaded to your store loyalty card, your SavingStar account will be credited and you'll get the grocer's digital coupon savings at the register.

You can also use old-fashioned paper coupons and still get credit for SavingStar coupons. With the app and the option to email or print your uploaded coupon list, it's easy to keep track of your savings, too.

Have you tried SavingStar? If so, share you experience on the Shoptimist blog at blogs.roanoke.com/shoptimist.

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Free financial education from Bank On Roanoke Valley

2014 Fantasy Outlooks: Oakland Athletics

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After two straight American League West titles and two straight ALDS losses to the Tigers, it appears that Athletics general manager Billy Beane's "stuff" still doesn't work in the playoffs. It may not work particularly well in Fantasy either. Though Beane's squad had more than enough power and pitching to earn a postseason berth, they were short on elite players and well-rounded talents who are sought out by Fantasy owners.

Consistent with their reputation for exploiting market inefficiencies, the A's were led by an overlooked 27-year-old catcher-turned-third baseman ( Josh Donaldson), a 33-year-old outfielder who finally turned in his first 20-20 season ( Coco Crisp), an injury-prone shortstop who managed to deliver a full season's worth of games ( Jed Lowrie), a platoon first baseman ( Brandon Moss) and a 40-year-old contact pitcher ( Bartolo Colon). Yoenis Cespedes, probably the most recognizable Fantasy entity coming into 2013, couldn't clear the bar he set as a rookie, when he was a top 20 Rotisserie outfielder. Difficulties in making contact helped to shave 52 points off Cespedes' batting average, as he languished with a .240 mark and No. 33 ranking among Roto outfielders.

Despite the team's collective success, you could easily get through the first three or four rounds of your upcoming mixed league drafts without seeing a single Athletic go off the board. Still, Donaldson and Cespedes are legitimate early-round options (if not the very early rounds), and Crisp and Moss can be targeted in the middle rounds, particularly in Roto leagues. Colon is out of the picture, having signed with the Mets this offseason, but Sonny Gray and A.J. Griffin are solid candidates for your mixed league rotation. New closer Jim Johnson is also an appropriate pick for the middle rounds. Lowrie, outfielder Josh Reddick, catcher John Jaso and starting pitchers Jarrod Parker and Dan Straily are all players worthy of late-round fliers.

The A's did lose a few key pieces from their 96-win team, but they found solid replacements during the offseason. Colon and closer Grant Balfour departed via free agency, but Beane signed Scott Kazmir and traded for Johnson to take over for them. Kazmir is another name to add to your late-round sleeper list after completing a successful campaign with the Indians last year. The team also added bullpen depth by trading outfielder Seth Smith to the Padres for Luke Gregerson, and they maintained their outfield depth by acquiring Craig Gentry from the Rangers.

Fantasy teams don't usually face the same payroll constraints that the A's do, so they don't have to mimic the franchise's no-stars approach. That said, the organization still offers plenty of players who can help Fantasy owners win a title this coming season, if not the centerpieces to build a team around.

Injury-risk sleeper No. 1 ... Scott Kazmir, starting pitcher

Kazmir gave us a nice comeback story last year, just by virtue of cracking the Indians' rotation and staying there through the end of the season. What he accomplished, especially from late June on, was actually much more impactful than simply winning and keeping a job. Kazmir gave owners strikeouts all year long, and his 4.04 ERA and 1.32 WHIP obscure how dominant he was over his final 18 starts. Over that three month-plus stretch, he posted a 3.06 ERA and 1.15 WHIP, as he threw more than two-thirds of his pitches for strikes and recovered from poor early luck with hits on balls in play. As long as Kazmir doesn't revert to his prior history of injuries and wildness, he has a shot at pitching like a top 30 starter.

Injury-risk sleeper No. 2 ... John Jaso, catcher

Jaso's first season in Oakland got off to a slow start, as he hit just .252 with one home run through the end of May. His Fantasy owners didn't get to enjoy the fruits of a midseason revival for long, as Jaso's year was done for good on July 24 when he was concussed as a result of taking foul tips off his mask in back-to-back games. Any time a player returns from a concussion, it's a risk to assume they can pick up where they left off, but Jaso is in a situation that is as close to ideal as possible. He will spend most of his time as the designated hitter, spared from the rigors and injury risks of catching, and assuming he is healthy, Jaso should be able to amass more than his previous career high of 404 plate appearances. Given that you may be able to get the likes of Geovany Soto, Alex Avila or Welington Castillo off waivers in a two-catcher mixed league, it's worth giving Jaso a try with a late-round pick, as there is minimal cost if he doesn't work out. If all goes well, he could provide a decent batting average and power with a high on-base percentage.

As part of a crowded infield situation a year ago, Lowrie headed into spring training looking poised for a utility role, but he emerged as the starting shortstop. Then Lowrie did something unprecedented, turning in a full season in a regular role. He finally answered the question, "What could Lowrie do if he could just stay healthy for a full season?", and the answer was to his owners' liking. Hitting .290 with 15 home runs, 75 RBI and 80 runs, Lowrie finished fourth in standard Head-to-Head scoring among shortstops and seventh in Rotisserie value. Lowrie was aided by his career-high batting average and 45 doubles, which were partially boosted by a drop in strikeouts but also by a 28 percent line drive rate. That's more than 10 percentage points higher than his rates from each of his three previous seasons, and it has regression written all over it. Health permitting, Lowrie should be able to provide 15-plus homers for the third straight season, but don't be surprised to see his batting average and doubles total plunge. Despite his lofty rankings from 2013, Lowrie is best viewed as a late-round option this spring.

Prospects Report

Addison Russell's stock has been enhanced by his rankings on top prospects lists, and he put up stats in the California League that back up the hype. Then again, lots of hitters do in that hitter-friendly circuit, but Russell's home park in Stockton is not an especially favorable environment. The 20-year-old shortstop could bring his power-speed combination to Oakland sometime this season, making him worthy of a flier in deeper leagues. ... Michael Ynoa may be the best known of the A's current pitching prospects, but Raul Alcantara is younger, fared much better after making the jump from Class A to Advanced Class A, and doesn't have Ynoa's history of elbow injuries. Both pitchers should be targeted in deeper dynasty leagues. ... Other than Russell, first baseman Maxwell Muncy is probably the prospect closest to the majors, but he may not arrive this year, and when he does debut, he may not hit for much power. ... Outfielder Billy McKinney and third baseman Renato Nunez are still working through the lower minors, but both have sufficient promise to merit a pick in dynasty formats.

Stay in touch with the most passionate Fantasy staff in the business by following us on Twitter @CBSFantasyBB or Al Melchior at @almelccbs .

Amazon Attacking Barnes & Noble On Campus?

Review-storefront.png"> The homepage for Amazon's new UC Davis store. Amazon promotes things students might want to buy most.

While Barnes & Noble may be struggling right now as a company, it's mostly the Nook digital media division that's dragging down earnings - both B&N's chain of retail stores and college bookstores are showing relatively healthy revenues and profits, despite the intense competition from Amazon and other booksellers.

Now, Amazon, perhaps not content to best Barnes & Noble on the ebook battlefield, is going after the retailer in one of its strongholds: the college campus. Amazon has formed a partnership with University of California, Davis to create an online storefront geared specifically toward the university's students.

Barnes & Noble does the same thing in the physical world, operating nearly 700 college bookstores across the country, including at Ivy League schools like Harvard and Yale, state schools like Indiana University, and community and technical college systems. Through the first half of the company's fiscal 2014, its college division had sales of $963 million. In fiscal 2013, it had nearly $1.8 billion in sales.

For the Amazon deal, UC Davis Stores, the company that operates the university's retail network, will get about 2% of revenues from purchases through the new online storefront. A scholarship has also been established that will use store revenues.

"The collaboration is a win-win for the university and its students," UC Davis Stores director Jason Lorgan said in a statement. "The site complements the existing UC Davis retail operations and provides additional items that we're unable to provide. We expect it will generate significant revenue for the university and do not believe it will harm our in-store sales."

Whether deals like this harm UC Davis Stores sales is an open question and, now, an ongoing experiment. Less immediately clear is if such a deal will put a dent in one of Barnes & Noble's healthiest businesses. In 2013, the college bookstore segment showed modest 1.1% growth while both the company's other divisions shrank. The retail segment, which is roughly three times the size of the college business, shrank by about 6% and the beleaguered Nook digital business shrank by nearly 17% in 2013. Losses at the retail stores seem to have stemmed somewhat in 2014 while the bleeding at Nook has intensified.

Requests for comment from Amazon on its college strategy were not responded to before press time.

"The new program is a way for Amazon to better serve our university student customers," an Amazon spokesperson said in an email to me. "By collaborating with the college bookstore, we're able to complement the on-campus selection, offering students millions of items at great prices with free two-day shipping through Amazon Student. And when students shop with Amazon through this program, they support their university. We think it's a win-win."

The spokesperson went on to confirm that the program is a pilot and Amazon hopes to roll it out to other college campuses.

Barnes & Noble as a whole is struggling on many fronts. A disastrous holiday quarter exposed massive losses at Nook. The company is being sued by shareholders and a class action complaint was recently filed. And the appointment of Michael Huseby as the new CEO has signaled to investors, employees and observers that the break up and sale of the company may be imminent.

Observers have predicted that Nook will be sold or shuttered and at least one investing industry observer cheered that notion. One industry analyst speculated that Wal-Mart could buy Barnes & Noble in an effort to bolster its book sales competition with Amazon.