TORRANCE, Calif. – September 4, 2011 – Honda will notify affected owners of two voluntary recalls in the U.S. in late September 2011.

On Monday, the automaker announced it is recalling 936,000 of its 2006 CR-V models and 2005 compact Fits.

Honda says the voluntary recall was issued to replace power window switches that apparently can cause fires when residue builds up on them.

Twenty-six thousand CR-Z vehicles were also recalled due to potentially malfunctioning software.

The automaker says it will begin letting its affected customers know about the recalls later this month

SHANGHAI — For the past eight years, the major competitive story line at every meaningful swimming championship has arisen from Michael Phelps’s international and historic dominance. How many medals will he win? How many records will he break?

“I would love to break a world record. I would love to do a best time,” he said. “It’s time to get up and race now. It’s like the old feeling I used to get leading up to meets – just being excited to get in the water and race.”

Phelps said he was in much better shape than he was last year and had starting to get the kind of feeling back that he had before the Beijing Olympics and 2009 World Championships。

“This is like a pre-Olympic meet. Really shows you how everybody else is preparing and what you need to do,” he said. “I’m excited. Looking forward to seeing how everything is going to go. This is going to be the start for next year. That’s something that I’m ready for.”

Here are some pics of Michael taken in Shanghai.

Australia wins men’s 400 freestyle relay July 24, 2011  

Phelps can’t believe the result

Updated July 26: Ryan Lochte beats Michael Phelps in World 200m freestyle final

Lochte, 26, clocked ,1:44.44 seconds for gold, with fellow American Phelps taking silver in 1:44.79 ahead of defending champion Paul Biedermann.

The Chicago Cubs have agreed to a one-year deal with free agent outfielder Xavier Nady.

The base salary of the deal is $3.3 million, with bonuses that could make it worth as much as $5.35 million.

Nady, 31, missed 2009 after his second Tommy John surgery, but had his best season in 2008, when he hit .305 with 25 home runs and 97 runs batted in between Pittsburgh and the Yankees.

In theory, Nady is coming in to play right field for Kosuke Fukudome when there’s a left-hander on the mound—Fukudome only batted .167 against lefties in 2009. However, the right-handed hitting Nady has historically been much better against right handed pitchers, hitting .020 higher and having a .050 higher slugging percentage against right-handers.

The Cubs chose Nady over other free agents like former-Cub Reed Johnson and former-White Sox Jermaine Dye to provide depth to the bench.

PHOTO! Here is a picture of the hybrid Ford Transit Connect! The Ford Transit Connect won Detroit Auto Show Top Truck award!

Transit Connect Commercial Fleet Van Launched in the US and gets 5-Stars In Crash Test Results. With its five-star crash safety rating in both frontal and side crash tests by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA), Transit Connect achieved the highest crash safety rating the agency grants vehicles.

NHTSA issued its five-star crash safety rating in frontal testing to both the driver and passenger seats.

The five-star crash safety rating was issued for both the front seat and rear seat during the side crash test. That means you can be sure your driver and Transit Connect’s contents are well-protected while en route to the next delivery.

Ford Transit Connect was recently launched in the US today. This is really a must-own commercial fleet van for all businesses that needs it.

FOXBOROUGH, Mass. — The Baltimore Ravens have left linebacker Paul Kruger inactive for their playoff game against the New England Patriots.

Kruger, a second-round draft pick, has joined with Michael Oher and Lardarius Webb to make significant contributions as rookies this season. He played in the last eight games of the regular season and had an interception in overtime against Pittsburgh in the penultimate week.

Also inactive for the Ravens on Sunday were receiver Justin Harper, defensive backs Marcus Paschal and Keith Fitzhugh, offensive linemen David Hale and Tony Moll and defensive lineman Kelly Talavou. John Beck was the third quarterback.

The Patriots left inactive wide receiver Isaiah Stanback, cornerback Terrence Wheatley, running back BenJarvus Green-Ellis, linebacker Thomas Williams, defensive lineman Ron Brace and offensive linemen Rich Ohrnberger, Dan Connolly and Mark LeVoir.

At the half: Ravens 24, Patriots 7
Maybe in the past, this was the spot where you expect the Patriots to come back.

It’s hard to see — outside of blind faith — where you’d conjure that confidence now. Unless you’re hoping for a banged-up Joe Flacco to hand New England the game.

This one ain’t complicated. The Patriots got blocked up on the 83-yard touchdown run by Ray Rice. And then, they threw up all over their shoes. Two picks and a strip sack add up to 17 Baltimore points, and here we are.

Perhaps the greatest indication on what’s happening here came on the final six plays of the first half. There was no pretense about what Baltimore was doing there. Running the ball, running the clock, and trying to get in the locker room with a 17-point lead intact. And the Ravens run it six times, churn two first downs out, and take a knee.

That’s a physical football team right there, folks, that’s punched the home team in the mouth, and has that opponent reeling.

Here’s why coming back is going to be very, very difficult … The Patriots offense has 61 yards of total offense. Kevin Faulk has 61 yards from scrimmage. That means, outside of Faulk, the Patriots have netted a grand total of zero yards. And that offense had to fight like hell to get in the end zone, even when gifted a turnover (Why in the world didn’t John Harbaugh challenge there?) to set them up on the Raven 16.

The Ravens, to be fair, aren’t exactly going up and down the field. But they’re excellent when playing with a lead, and they have a big one now. Chances are, the air comes out of the ball, and on both sides, Baltimore turns this one into a street fight.

With the way Flacco’s playing (2-of-6 for 9 yards, INT), I’m not totally counting New England out. But it’s close.

The 2010 Fiesta Bowl with TCU Horned Frogas vs. Boise State has already had drama. In the first quarter, Brandyn Thompson has intercepted a pass and ran it back 51 yards for a score putting Boise State up 7-0.

(Media-Newswire.com) – The 2010 Fiesta Bowl with TCU Horned Frogas vs. Boise State has already had drama. In the first quarter, Brandyn Thompson has intercepted a pass and ran it back 51 yards for a score putting Boise State up 7-0.

The teams are highly rated as the Horned Frogs from TCU comin in as the #3 ranked team with Boise State as the #6 ranked team.

This is the first time two non-qualifying BCS teams will meet in the big game.

“I would say by having two non-qualifying schools in a BCS game, that has changed the landscape of college football forever as far as the BCS is concerned,” TCU coach Gary Patterson was quoted as saying this weekend.

Both teams come into the game undefeated this season.

Pat White, the Miami Dolphins’ Rookie Quarterback from West Virginia, was injured on a 3rd down play against the Pittsburgh Steelers with 3:05 minutes to go in the 3rd Quarter of Sunday’s game.

White, who was known as a Spread Offense quarterback at West Virginia, was running a version of the Miami Dolphins ‘Wildcat’ System. As he was running to try and pick up a first down, White was hit by two Steeler defenders, but CBS Television replays show it was Steeler Defensive Back Ike Taylor’s helmet-to-shoulder-pad blow that almost immediately froze White as he fell to the ground.

Once White was knocked out of bounds he was immobile. Players from both the Steelers and Dolphins motioned for medical help as White lay on the grass. Play was stopped as trainers and doctors worked to determine White’s condition. After a few minutes a flat-bed cart was brought out and White, who’s body was placed in a restraining apparatus, was carried off the field.

Pat White was the first pick of the Dolphins at the 2009 NFL Draft and selected for his position flexibility. White’s also a winner At West Virginia, White was an 18-win, 2 loss starter over his four year career, with a 4-0 bowl record.

In the Dolphins Offense, White occasionally spelled starting Quarterback Chad Pennington, as was done when White was injured Sunday.

The Eagles vs. Cowboys game will decide the NFC East champion. This is the second Eagles vs. Cowboys game in 2010, and this one will hold all the marbles for the winner. Both Dallas and Philadelphia can clinch the NFC East with a win on Sunday, but there also exists the possibility that they could clinch the #2 seed in the NFC Playoffs. That puts everything on the line on Sunday, making the Eagles vs. Cowboys a must watch for NFC fans.

The Philadelphia at Dallas game has a 1:15 P.M. PST (4:15 P.M. EST) start time, and will be broadcast on FOX around the country. Philadelphia comes into the game with an 11-4 record on the season, while Dallas has posted a 10-5 record so far. Philadelphia has been one of the hotter teams in football lately and would like nothing more than to cap off their season at 12-4 with a win. Dallas on the other hand, is trying to quiet the analysts stating they have fallen apart, and by winning the NFC East they could do just that.

The reason that the #2 seed is still up in the air is because the Minnesota Vikings have gone cold. They come into Sunday’s games tied with Philadelphia for the second best record in the NFC, but lose the head-to-head tie-breaker with the Eagles if Philadelphia can win on Sunday. There is also a chance that if Minnesota and NFC West winner Arizona loses that Dallas can jump into the #2 seed and really put to bed any critics that they have had this season.

It’s shaping up to be a really good game in Cowboys Stadium, and its good that FOX has this one scheduled for a wide audience. In a divisional rivalry game such as this it is hard to pick a favorite because both teams will be playing with a lot of pride on Sunday. Keep an eye on Eagles receiver DeSean Jackson and Cowboys receiver Miles Austin because the two will be looking to break big catches and reach the end zone quickly.

Game time for the Eagles vs. Cowboys game is 1:15 P.M. PST (4:15 P.M. EST) on Fox today.

GM needs to get rid of thousands of Saturn and Pontiac cars and they are having what some are calling a “fire sale” to get rid of the two brands that are now discontinued by General Motors. With leftover inventory on dealer lots, GM is offering some attractive incentives to dealerships so they can move the Saturn and Pontiac cars off the dealer’s lots. Anyone looking for a new car from the discontinued Saturn and Pontiac line could walk away buying one for up to 46% off the sticker price.

General Motors recently sent out letters to dealers offering $7,000 for every new Saturn or Pontiac on their lot that is moved to rental-vehicle or service-vehicle fleets operated by the dealers. Once they are moved to the rental or service fleet, the dealer can sell the cars to the public, but they have to do their own advertising. GM will wash their hands of these popular brands once the dealer accepts the $7,000 offer.

CBS reported that 14,500 new Saturns and Pontiacs filled dealership inventory at the beginning of December, 2009. The offer from GM is good until January 4, 2010 if dealers plan to take part.

End of year sales for dealers could skyrocket with this plan in place. After a tough year for car dealers, selling off the popular Saturn and Pontiac cars should not be a problem. They are a trusted brand and with a large discount, people in the market for a new car will likely get an amazing deal.

The downside of buying a discontinued Saturn or Pontiac

The deal may be great but what happens after you buy the car? It shouldn’t be too traumatic. GM is offering to stand by the warranty on these cars although some could see a reduction in resale value if they plan to unload the car at a later date. However, if you buy a new car and get in the area of 46% off the sticker price, it’s worth hanging on to — at least while you have the GM warranty.

NFL Playoff Scenario 2010 Update : Currently after the defeat of Vikings in their match against Chicago Bears who’s already will not be playing in the NFL playoffs miss the Vikings a home court advantage. And if your wondering if your favorite NFC and AFC team is included in the playoffs here’s our NFL Playoff scenario update for 2010.

1. Indianapolis Colts : vs Bills
2. San Diego Chargers : vs. Redskins
3. New England Patriots : vs Texans
4. Cincinnati Bengals : vs Jets

Wild Card

5. New York Jets : vs. Bengals, win and enter the playoffs
6. Baltimore Ravens : vs Raiders, win and enter the playoffs

We will post more updates regarding NFL scenarios of the upcoming playoff this 2010. You can bookmark us for later use and references. You can also check this NFL Playoffs from About.com for more details.