Unhealthiest Foods At The Mall

(Source: Yahoo! Health)

Worst Mall Drink

Jamba Juice Peanut Butter Moo’d (22 oz)

770 calories

20 g fat (4.5 g saturated)

108 g sugars

The scary thing about this 22-ounce shake is that you can consume nearly half a day’s worth of calories in 3 minutes of spirited sipping, all under the pseudohealthy banner of the sacred smoothie. What’s even scarier is you’ll be slurping up the sugar equivalent of 6 packs of peanut M&M’s, all while thinking you’re doing your body a favor. While at Jamba, stick to their impressive list of smoothies in the All Fruit and Light categories.

Worst Slice of Pizza

Sbarro Stuffed Pepperoni Pizza (1 slice)

890 calories

42 g fat

3,200 mg sodium

The architecture of this thing makes it less like a slice of pizza and more like a pizza-inspired Chipotle Burrito. It relies on an oversize shell of oily bread to hold together a gooey wad of cheese and pepperoni. The net result is a pizza pocket with two-thirds of your day’s fat and more than a day’s worth of sodium. And the traditional pizza slices aren’t much better; few fall below 600 calories. If you want to do well at Sbarro, think thin crust with nothing but produce on top.

Worst Chinese Meal

Panda Express Orange Chicken with Fried Rice

970 calories

38 g fat (7.5 g saturated)

1,540 mg sodium

It’s unfortunate that this dish happens to be one of the most popular on Panda’s menu. Consider the recipe: Battered and fried, then coated in a sugary syrup. It’s like Colonel Sanders meets Willy Wonka. Pair with a scoop of fried rice and you’ve got a dish with serious flab-enhancing potential. Here’s a better survival strategy: Skip the rice altogether and choose steamed veggies instead. Then pick any entrée besides orange chicken.

Worst Sandwich

Panera Bread Full Chipotle Chicken on Artisan French

990 calories

56 g fat (15 g saturated, 1 g trans)

2,370 mg sodium

Panera, home to soups, salads, and a general feeling of well-being (not to mention free Wi-Fi!), benefits from a beaming health halo—a perceived virtuousness that doesn’t necessarily play out in the hard realities of their nutritional stats. Yes, you can carefully construct a well-balanced 500-calorie meal, but you can also unknowingly consume 1,500 calories without breaking a sweat. Take this sandwich: It begins innocently enough (chicken and white bread), but is supported by a scurrilous cast of bacon strips, high-fat chipotle sauce, and a tarp of cheddar cheese, the most fattening of cheese choices.

The Worst Mall Food in America

Cinnabon Regular Caramel Pecanbun

1,100 calories

56 g fat (10 g saturated, 5 g trans)

47 g sugars

141 g carbohydrates

Cinnabon and malls are inseparable. Consider it a symbiotic relationship: Researchers have found that we’re turned on by the smell of cinnamon rolls, and further studies have shown that we’re more likely to spend money when we’re thinking about sex. But just because Cinnabon might be good for Gap doesn’t mean it’s all good for you. This dangerously bloated bun contains nearly an ENTIRE day’s worth of fat, two and a half times the unhealthy trans fats you should get in a day, and more than half of your daily allotment of calories. (For those keeping score, that’s as much as you’ll find in 8 White Castle hamburgers).

To read more, go to http://bit.ly/c3EJK2

Higher Prices Make Box-Office Debut

(Source: WSJ)

Tickets get costlier as movie chains seek to cash in on consumers’ willingness to pay more for 3-D

Major U.S. movie-theater chains, seeking to accelerate the surge in revenues fueled by such 3-D hits as “Avatar” and “Alice in Wonderland,” are imposing some of the steepest increases in ticket prices in at least a decade.

The new prices take effect Friday in many markets across the country in theaters owned by such major exhibitors as Regal Entertainment Group, Cinemark Holdings Inc. and AMC Entertainment Inc.

The increases, in one case as much as 26%, vary from theater to theater, but many cinemas are raising prices most—or even solely—for 3-D showings, which accounted for the vast majority of last year’s 10% jump in domestic box-office sales. 3-D movies generated 11% of domestic ticket sales in 2009, up from just 2% in 2008.

At an AMC theater in Danvers, Mass., a Boston suburb, 3-D ticket prices are jumping more than 20% to $17.50 from $14.50, while the adult admission price for a conventional film will remain at $10.50. At one Seattle multiplex, adult admission is rising to $11 from $10 for a conventional film, to $15 from $13.50 for a regular 3-D showing and to $17 from $15 for Imax 3-D.

A 3-D Imax movie at New York City’s AMC Loews Kips Bay will cost $19.50, up from $16.50.

The increases weren’t announced by the theater operators, but were reflected in prices posted Wednesday on movie-ticketing Web sites, such as Fandango.com.

AMC and Cinemark declined to comment. Comment from Regal wasn’t immediately available.

The industry’s move comes on the heels of a record-setting year at the domestic box office, with revenue surpassing $10 billion for the first time. Movie attendance in the U.S. and Canada grew 5.5% in 2009, with 1.42 billion tickets sold, the most since 2004. Ticket sales so far this year are running 10% higher.

Movie theaters typically charged $2 to $3 extra for 3-D movies. But the brisk demand for the premium-priced tickets led many exhibitors to conclude they were still underpriced. About 83% of the record $2.6 billion in ticket sales for “Avatar” came from 3-D and Imax screens. AndWalt Disney Co.’s “Alice in Wonderland” also set records when it hit 3-D screens earlier this month.

While the new prices could boost theater owners’ already buoyant revenues, some industry watchers think they could also spark a consumer backlash. Studios, theater operators, and trade groups have long touted films as a bargain, compared with other forms of entertainment. A decade ago, the average ticket at a multiplex was $5.39, but prices have edged up between 2.7% and 6.1% a year since then, according to the Motion Picture Association of America.

To read more, go to:

http://finance.yahoo.com/banking-budgetingk/article/109177/higher-prices-make-box-office-debut?mod=family-love_money

MLS First Kick 2010 Special: 5 Reasons Philadelphia Union Will Win

(Source: Goal.com)

An expansion team is rarely favored coming out of the gate. Players haven’t played together long, the coaching system may not have been fully implemented, and well, it’s an expansion team – how many of those do well in their first go-around?

For the Philadelphia Union, traveling to Seattle to take on the Sounders is no easy task. One of the most successful expansion teams in recent sports history, Seattle has raised the bar as far as what to expect from a new team in the league. On Thursday night, the Union will try to raise it further by taking the match to the home side and heading back east with a victory.

Here are five reasons why I think this can happen.

The New Team Mystery

Philadelphia come in to the match having played exactly zero league games. Their pre-season hasn’t been televised. Their training has been all over North America. So it goes without saying that the opposingSeattle Sounders brass know very little about the product that the Union will put on the field this Thursday evening. In effect, this gives Peter Nowak and his team the upper hand as they know what they plan on doing and they know generally who/what Seattle will put on the field. To use and amend the old adage, the Union are playing their cards close to their chest, and Seattle has never seen them play before. Should definitely push things in Philly’s favor.

Versatility

The Union’s roster is filled with players that can fill various slots and can be worked around the pitch accordingly. They are shifty and many of the players are happy working in different areas. This will be a big boost for Peter Nowak as he can keep his line-up quiet up until kickoff, which ties into the mystery thing, which will give Seattle coach Sigi Schmid fits. Gameplanning for a player taking up one position and then as the game kicks off he’s in another one will really cause trouble for a Sounders squad that has never seen the Union play before.

The Forwards

Though their dry preseason may suggest otherwise, the Union do boast a talented group of players up top. A mix of veterans and younger guys will be able to pop up at any time during the match and knock in a cheeky winner or the like. Led by former Sounders player Sebastian Le Toux, the group is rounded out by MLS veteran Alejandro Moreno, #1 overall pick in this year’s MLS SuperDraft Danny Mwanga, and fellow rookie Jack McInerney. The chances may not be many but these guys are strong finishers, Mwanga in particular, and should do well to slot in a couple when the favored Sounders don’t expect it.

High Expectations

As previously mentioned, Seattle went through one of the most successful seasons for an expansion sports team in this country’s recent history. Like they were shot out of a canon, the Sounders took last year’s First Kick and had a strong season that saw them make the playoffs (something the league’s earlier expansion club, Toronto FC, hasn’t been able to do) and were even able to snag the U.S. Open Cup by beating D.C. United. Point is, they weren’t expected to do that much in their first season. Now that they have, they have greater expectations for this season, ones that could be too hard to reach. An early crack in the armor could be exposed quite easily by a talented Philadelphia side.

Peter Nowak

The guy is a winner, through and through. He already has two MLS Cups to his name, one as a player and one as a manager, the wily Polish team manager will have his boys prepared for the match in every way possible and may just out-coach Sigi Schmid if it comes to that. Simply put, with Nowak in charge, you always have a chance, even if the odds are against you.

So there it is. The five reasons why I think the Union could take this year’s opening match. It’ll be a difficult season, for sure, but coming into this match, the Union have every reason to believe the three points are theirs for the taking.