Blackhawks' Niemi gets $2.75M in arbitration

Finnish goalie Antti Niemi was awarded a $2.75 million salary for next season, an arbitrator's decision that could force the Stanley Cup champion Chicago Blackhawks to make another tough decision about their NHL roster.

Niemi earned $826,875 last season as a rookie. He played all but one period of Chicago's playff run to the title, going 16-6 with a 2.63 goals-against average, and two shutouts.

To remain under the NHL's $59.4 million salary cap, the Blackhawks may have offered as little as $2 million to Niemi, who has played in just 42 regular-season games in his career. The NHL Players Association confirmed the arbitrator's ruling on Saturday.

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CHIODOS: ALL'S WELL THAT ENDS WELL

CHIODOS: ALL'S WELL THAT ENDS WELL

CDS

When I listen to music for fun, I like a whole lot of variety in my song selection. Usually that takes many, many artists, but hey, Chiodos is more than happy to do it singlehandedly. The latest from these Michigan men, All's Well That Ends Well, will either satisfy your eclectic needs or drive you crazy. Guitars give way to haunting piano solos; synthesizers to strings, drums to vocal harmonies. Dynamic shifts that would make Trent Reznor jealous. Chiodos takes a rapid-fire approach, throwing everything into the pot and topping it with the disc's one constant, Craig Owens' Linkin Park-esque roaring. Subtle it's not, nor is it entirely …

Brazilian supermarkets post biggest sales increase in five years

Brazil's supermarket sector posted its biggest increase in five years in 2007, thanks mostly to the population's rising purchasing power, the Brazilian Supermarket Association, said Tuesday.

Supermarket sales rose 5.9 percent in real terms in 2007, the association announced, taking into account the government's calculation of 4.46 percent inflation.

The results are …

Strikes cost BA GBP30m

BRITISH Airways said the cost of industrial action over itsproposed swipe card clocking-on system will be between GBP30 millionand GBP40 million.

The announcement came as the airline revealed first quarter pre-tax losses of GBP45 million.

It said the …

FOCUSING ON THE NFL PLAYOFF PICTURE

With two weeks left in the NFL season, the playoff picture hasbeen pared to the following teams: NFC CENTRAL

Minnesota (9-5): Needs victory or Packer loss to clinch.

Green Bay (8-6): Has to win last two games (Bears, Dallas) andMinnesota must lose last two to win division. Has chance for wildcard because of conference record. NFC EAST

Philadelphia (10-4): Tied with New York for first, hastiebreaker advantage over Giants.

N.Y. Giants (10-4): Good shape for wild card. Would miss onlyby losing last two games while Green Bay wins twice. Even then,could make it if Rams lose two.

Washington (8-6): Long shot. Must win last two and Rams …

Stocks stumble after unemployment rises to 9.8 pct

NEW YORK (AP) — An unexpected rise in the U.S. unemployment rate pushed most stocks down Friday as investors moved money into safer assets.

The unemployment rate climbed to a seven-month high in November as employers added just 39,000 jobs. Economists had expected a gain of 145,000.

The unemployment rate climbed to 9.8 percent from 9.6 percent.

Investors had hoped that a strong jobs report would help extend a two-day stock rally. Expectations of job growth rose Wednesday after a report showed that hiring at small businesses increased to the highest levels in three years. That along with signs of stronger retail spending pushed the Dow Jones industrial average up 356 …

Women's World Open Squash Results

Results Sunday from the Women's World Open squash at Frans Otten Stadion (seedings in parentheses):

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