plus 2, London tackling Virginia job from all sides - Billings Gazette

London tackling Virginia job from all sides - Billings Gazette
Roche to decide on massive job cuts: report - Yahoo Finance
Get to Know Lad Drago: Career has provided travel, enjoyment in many ways - Everything Alabama Blog

London tackling Virginia job from all sides - Billings Gazette

Posted: 29 Aug 2010 01:27 AM PDT

Mike London didn't realize how consumed he had become with his new job as Virginia's football coach until his daughter asked him a question.

"Dad, are you coming to my concert?" Jaicyn asked about her elementary school performance. "You are supposed to come to my concert."

London made the concert, but "had to make some calls" to rearrange his schedule.

Then he was back promoting his program and trying to build goodwill on campus and in the community.

"This," London has said several times, "is a work in progress."

London, who was at Richmond, has been in constant motion since he was hired in December 2009 _ working to turn around a Virginia program that had fallen on hard times under his predecessor, Al Groh.

It is London's third stint at Virginia, where he twice was an assistant to Groh.

Part of his plan has been to reach out to former players; he wants them to be part of Cavaliers football again.

Former quarterback Aaron Brooks, who played under George Welsh from 1996-98, welcomed the chance to get involved again. He and several other players recently attended a closed scrimmage and afterwards ate with the team.

Brooks is impressed by what he has seen.

"What makes coach London so dynamic is that he has the ability to relate to these kids, to these players," Brooks said. "I think that's something they missed with Al.

"It seems like they were not having fun. They were afraid to make mistakes," he said. "Any time you are having fun and not having an iron fist slapped on you, players will go out and do more than the coach can even imagine."

Perhaps no player appreciates the change more than quarterback Marc Verica.

He came out of nowhere to be the starter in 2008 after one quarterback was dismissed from school and another was declared academically ineligible. But last season, with Groh going with other options and a new offense, Verica went back into the background feeling like an afterthought.

This summer, as the Cavaliers' unquestioned leader, Verica led the team through optional 7 on 7 drills. He said the energy that London brings has infused the team.

"When you're here every day, you have a good feel just for the air, the atmosphere and the environment surrounding the team," he said. "There's no question it's been positive."

London also reached out to the community, inviting the Boys & Girls Club to attend practice. The team held a bone marrow drive, and London brought a benefactor to meet the team.

He visited sororities and fraternities, telling them he needed their help, and sent players to help with their fundraisers, trying to create a sense of reciprocal support.

"If you're going to ask people to do things like come to my games, you've got to show that you're interested in what they are doing, too," London said.

He visited with deans, assuring them that he was as committed as they are to having his team perform in the classroom, and was among the coaches doing class attendance checks.

"I have three rules," London said. "The first is go to class. Gotta go to class. The second is show class in all you do, and the third is treat people with dignity and respect."

On the academic side, the team he inherited had some problems.

"Some guys were scrambling to get in a position where they could breathe academically," he said. "It will be better than it was, because what it was not very good."

London has put together a coaching staff that shares his vision, meeting individually with players to lay out his expectations, and recruiting the state.

In Virginia, that means having a big presence _ and a lot of success _ in talent-rich Hampton Roads, where Hampton High School coach Mike Smith said Groh had "quit recruiting."

"I think Al just wanted people from a different area," Smith said.

A Hampton Roads native, London and his staff quickly began making inroads.

Smith's Crabbers this year will feature David Watford at quarterback; next season, he'll be at Virginia, the first Hampton player to commit to the Cavaliers in the past 10 years.

He chose Virginia over Virginia Tech, which has dominated recruiting in the area.

That's a step in the right direction, even if results this year might not be what Cavaliers fans are hoping for right away.

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Roche to decide on massive job cuts: report - Yahoo Finance

Posted: 29 Aug 2010 06:42 AM PDT

On Sunday August 29, 2010, 9:04 am EDT

ZURICH (Reuters) - Swiss drugmaker Roche Holding AG (VTX:ROG.VX - News) could decide at a management meeting this week to cut a large number of jobs in its pharma unit, Swiss newspaper Sonntag reported, quoting an unnamed source.

"This will not only concern a few hundred people but many more. And the job cuts will not be made in one single country but on a worldwide scale," the source familiar with the matter was quoted as saying in an article published on Sunday.

Jobs would not only be slashed in the sales team but also in research and development, production and administration of the pharma division, Sonntag said.

Contacted by Reuters, Roche spokesman Alexander Klauser said: "We are always working to improve productivity and will continue to do so. But it is too early to speculate on potential job cuts."

He said Roche management would hold its monthly meeting at the beginning of the week but no decision would be made on job cuts.

The world's largest maker of cancer drugs has recently faced setbacks for key drugs. Last week, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) rejected the Swiss group's request to fast-track a license application for a new treatment.

The FDA might also revoke approval for Roche's blockbuster breast cancer drug Avastin.

Drugmakers are facing increased pricing pressures as cash-strapped governments, particularly in Europe, wrestle with record budget deficits by slashing medicine costs.

Austerity measures are expected to have a 2 percent impact on Roche's sales this year, Chief Executive Severin Schwan said when the group published its first-half results in July.

(Reporting by Silke Koltrowitz; Editing by David Cowell)

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Get to Know Lad Drago: Career has provided travel, enjoyment in many ways - Everything Alabama Blog

Posted: 29 Aug 2010 07:10 AM PDT

Published: Sunday, August 29, 2010, 9:04 AM

Birthplace: Gulfport

Hometown: Daphne

Family: Wife, Heather; children, Laurie Grace and Matthew

Occupation: Insurance agent

Activities: Soccer, swimming, golf

DAPHNE, Alabama -- Variety has been the hallmark of Lad Drago's career, starting when he left his hometown of Gulfport and moved to Baton Rouge to attend LSU.

"I graduated with a degree in advertising, and I went right into a job in pharmaceutical sales with Eli Lily," Drago said. "I only did that a year before I moved to Atlanta."

He took a job in outside sales with Aberdeen Marketing, working for a small startup company that provided direct marketing and design.

"It was a very small operation, and from there I moved to Holiday Inn Worldwide," he said. "I got into their corporate marketing program working with Priority Club.

"I got on with Tommy Hilfiger Golf as a territorial sales representative," he said. "I marketed to resorts and private country clubs. It was a fun job."
In addition to working in his then-favorite hobby, Drago was able to attend golfing events.

"I got to see neat things, like we took part in two U.S. Opens," he said. "I got to spend a week at the U.S. Open and I traveled a lot."

He also met his wife, Heather, and after they married, decided to slow down.

"She was the buyer for a country club in St. Louis and we dated long distance a while," he said. "At that point I was traveling 200 nights a year, and after four years, I decided I didn't want to do it anymore."

The two moved back to Baton Rouge, and Drago took a position there with the men's clothing store McLavy Ltd.

"I was hoping to buy the business, but it didn't work out," he said. "Then my State Farm agent encouraged me to try insurance, and it sounded like a good opportunity."

He enrolled in the program to become a State Farm-approved candidate and in 2006, got the opportunity to move to Daphne.

"We were praying about getting over here. After Katrina hit, half the population of New Orleans moved to Baton Rouge," he said. "The opportunity arose, and it felt like a good time to relocate."

He became the State Farm agent in Daphne in October and 3½ years later relocated his office to Spanish Fort.

"It's been a great move," he said. "We like the location and we're very involved in the communities in both towns."

Drago is finishing his term as president of the Daphne-Spanish Fort Kiwanis Club, another opportunity he found through work.

"I wanted to get more involved in the community, and one of my (State Farm) customers took me to a meeting," he said. "I liked that (the Kiwanis) focus is on supporting the youth, and I liked that I was able to work with both communities."

He is also involved at Christ the King Catholic Church in Daphne, where he serves on the finance committee and also has children in the school.

"We do a lot with the church, and I like being involved with my kids," he said. "That's my hobby."