ldquoThis is who I amrdquo Lesnar once said

It later suspended supplies of transit gas towardsUkraine, disrupting distribution across Europe. Russia's Gazprom said there was no point delivering the gasbecause Kiev had shut down the lines Ukraine said Russia wasdeliberately starving Europe of gas. "The Russians have to respect their contractual obligationsto Europe," Sarkozy said, while Merkel warned that it was inRussia's "interest in being seen as a reliable partner". However, both leaders indicated that Europe also heldUkraine responsible for the situation. "As for Ukraine, I think I am well placed to say that Europehas done a lot for Ukraine," he said, explaining that France hadhelped obtain a privileged status for Ukraine in its dealingswith the European Union "No one should hold anyone hostage," he added. Southeast Europe has borne the brunt of the disruption, butit has affected supplies as far west as France and Germany asEurope faced freezing mid-winter temperatures "Searching for the causes is not the first priority.

Thefirst priority is for gas to reach Bulgaria, Serbia and Bosniaagain," Merkel said. "Germany is relatively well-equipped with storage facilitybut other countries aren't. UFC Heavyweight Champion Brock Lesnar was released from a hospital in Bismark, ND, Tuesday and he is currently recovering at his home in Minnesota from Mononucleosis and a serious bacterial infection in his intestinal tract.Last month, Lesnar (4-1), the 2000 NCAA heavyweight wrestling champion at the University of Minnesota, was forced to cancel his scheduled title defense at UFC 106 against Shane Carwin (11-0) due to a previously undisclosed illness.The bout versus Carwin, 34, was almost immediately rescheduled for UFC 108 in early-2010.However, Lesnar, 32, indefinitely postponed his slated match with Carwin last week because his illness had yet to subside.“Brock’s very, very sick,” UFC President Dana White told TMZ. “He’s not well and he’s not going to be getting well anytime soon.”White said that Lesnar’s condition would necessitate “major surgery.”Last July in Las Vegas, Lesnar avenged his only defeat as a professional mixed martial artist when he pulverized past titlist Frank Mir (12-4) with strikes and won by TKO in the second round.Lesnar, a former three-time WWE champion who was invited to try out for the Minnesota Vikings in 2004, is UFC’s glittering attraction and he seemed destined to dominate his division for the foreseeable future.“There’s a possibility Lesnar will never fight again,” said White of the native of South Dakota.If Lesnar is unable to return to UFC, it will be one of the most premature and unfortunate retirements in recent sports history.In January 1991, spectacular Los Angeles Raiders running back Bo Jackson suffered a serious hip injury during a playoff game against the Cincinnati Bengals.Jackson, a young 28-year-old at the time he was injured, was an all-time elite athlete who absolutely excelled on both the gridiron for the Raiders and on the baseball diamond for the Kansas City Royals.The trauma Jackson suffered to his hip was so severe that he was obligated to instantly retire from the sport of football and he was relegated to simply being a designated hitter in 1993 for his new team, the Chicago White Sox.Jackson, the 1985 Heisman Trophy winner, would have inevitably continued to dominate his two sports for many years had he not been so badly wounded.Unfortunately, Jackson was never physically able to maximize his potential and his legacy is not nearly as accomplished as it should have been on the field.If Lesnar never again enters the octagon, the sport of MMA will be deprived of watching a prime superstar in a similar manner to the way that football and baseball were when they lost Jackson nearly 20 years ago.“This is who I am,” Lesnar once said. “I am a fighter.”As Nike made clear, Bo Jackson “knew” sports and he thrived competing in them.Brock Lesnar knows how to fight and that is one of the reasons he is nicknamed, “The Next Big Thing.”Fans of mixed martial arts should hope that “The Next Big Thing” is not the second coming of Bo Jackson. Floyd Mayweather is a coward if he doesn't fight Manny Pacquiao (Article ) New Muhammad Ali DVD is "The Greatest" documentary ever (Article ) Randall Cunningham Should Fly Like An Eagle To Canton (Article ) . NEW YORK, Jan 8 (Reuters) - Nasdaq OMX (NDAQ.O) islaunching a new index to track the performance of companiesthat receive funds under U.S government bailout efforts. Stocks Global Markets The index, comprising companies that have received at least$1 billion from the Troubled Asset Relief Program (TARP) orother government aid plans, is called the Nasdaq OMX GovernmentRelief Index.

Late last year, as the financial crisis wiped out bankssuch as Lehman Brothers Holding Inc (LEHMQ.PK) and forced thefire sale of Wachovia and Merrill Lynch, the governmentlaunched a $700 billion TARP to strengthen banks hammered bymounting losses. The program was later extended to non-banking financialinstitutions and the cash-starved automakers. More than 100 companies have applied to participate in thetaxpayer-funded government plan, which exchanges a cashinjection for preferred shares and warrants. (Reporting by Juan Lagorio, editing by John Wallace) Stocks Global Markets. New Advances in the Science and Treatment of PainWhat: American Academy of Pain Medicine 25th Annual MeetingWhen: January 28-31, 2009Where:Hilton Hawaiian Village, Honolulu, HawaiiMediaContact:Sue 847-375-3686NewsworthyTopics: War-related pain; abuse potential of the cannabinoid class ofmedicines; advances in: calcium channel blockers research,pain care for the elderly, chronic pain, back pain,fibromyalgia, and migraine treatments; balancing under-treatment of pain and prescription medication abuse; andeastern and western approaches to painKeynote:Neuroplasticity and Chronic PainNorman Doidge, MD, PhD, DscAuthor, The Brain That Changes Itself: Stories of PersonalTriumph and Emerging Advances in the Treatment of Pain andAddictionMoreInformation: http:// in 1983, the American Academy of Pain Medicine (AAPM)is the medical specialty society representing more than 2,000physicians practicing in the field of pain medicine.TheAcademy is involved in education, training, advocacy andresearch in the specialty of pain medicine.Information isavailable on the practice of pain medicine at http:// Academy of Pain Medicine. Wednesday night's France-Ireland football clash maywell have had Ireland on the way to the 2010 World Cup, had it not been for the "Hand of Henry."Unfortunately, yet again, the beautiful game turned out to be anything but attractive, as France vs Ireland highlights will show.The fixture came on the back of the first Ireland vs France meeting that took place on Saturday night in Dublin, which saw France triumph 1-0 and hold a crucial away goal advantage.The Irish were massive underdogs heading into the second leg, with william hill bookmakers , for instance, giving odds of 6/1 for an Irish win at the Stade de France in Paris.Nobody apparently told this to Robbie Keane , as he unexpectedly put Ireland ahead in the 33rd minute with an excellent firsttouch shot.The Irish surprisingly dominated a majority of the match, and Damien Duff almost made it 2-0 for the visitors in the 61st minute, after going one-on-one with French keeper Hugo Lloris, having run onto a marvellous through ball. Still, at the end of the 90 minutes it was France 0 - Ireland 1 which meant that the two teams were tied 1-1 on aggregate after 180 minutes of football.This would mean that Irish would have to score again in extra time or win a penalty shoot-out in order to post an incredible victory in the series, and secure a spot in the 2010 World Cup in South Africa .Unfortunately for the Irish it was not to be.