user: Q: TEXT: It's getting a lot of chatter, but is it real? A new story about some New Jersey hospitals seeing a spike in births nine months after Superstorm Sandy has sparked talk that there just might be a post-Sandy baby boom. Monmouth Medical Center in Long Branch is seeing a 35% jump, and two other hospitals are seeing 20% increases, a review by the Asbury Park Press found. It's the latest in a series of reports suggesting that when Mother Nature knocked out the power, some couples who were cooped up at home let nature take its course there, too. As CNN's Susan Candiotti reported in March, some doctors have been overwhelmed with business. "It got to the point where we had to stop seeing new obstetrical patients to the practice," said Dr. Robert Rubino, who runs an OB/GYN practice in West Orange, New Jersey. "We think we have a Sandy baby," Rubino's patient Meredith Swormstedt and her husband Hank told CNN. Stephanie Tych and Brian Boruch said the same. "Well, there was no TV," Boruch said, blushing. Tych put it this way: "We just got closer." For these couples, there's no doubt that Sandy -- amid all its destruction -- led to something joyous. A study suggests some natural disasters lead to an increase in pregnancies -- not where the destruction is most severe, but in areas that are affected and remain livable. "You may run out of power, but you're not running for your life. There's probably more opportunities for reproductive behavior," says Richard Evans, an assistant professor at Brigham Young University and author of the 2007 study "The Fertility Effect of Catastrophe." In 2009, CNN affiliate KPRC reported on some hospitals seeing an increase in births after Hurricane Ike. But some hospitals in the area struck by Sandy are not reporting any increase in birth rates nine months after the storm. Sandy still bringing down homes, but families vow to be back. New York City's Mount Sinai hasn't seen any such spike, Dr. Raymond Sandler, head of labor and delivery for the hospital, told CNN on Wednesday. The idea that people have more babies after natural disasters is "just not documented," he says. "I don't know why people are even saying it." These days, most people plan when to have children, and don't suddenly change their minds in a storm, says Sandler, who has worked in obstetrics in New York for 40 years. And those who "don't practice safe sex -- they're going to have babies whether the lights are out or not," he said. Snopes.com, the online myth debunking site, says the baby boom reports that inevitably follow nine months after crises "typically prove to be nothing more than natural fluctuations in the birth rate," or, in many cases, no variation in the birth rate at all. Carl Haub, a demographer with the Population Reference Bureau, a nonprofit that provides information about population trends, has looked at birth rates for decades and never found clear evidence that a region has a baby boom nine months after a disaster. It's possible, but it's "hard to pin down" variations "to a single event," he told CNN on Wednesday. When post-storm baby booms are reported, they're usually by individual hospitals, not broad regions, he said. So people in a small area may have stayed in and stayed busy, but they didn't represent a big swath of the population. Nine months after the New York City blackout in November 1965, The New York Times reported on a sharp increase in births. The report turned out to be inaccurate, which the Times itself later acknowledged. It will be some time before it can be determined whether Sandy caused an overall baby boom in the Northeast. Birth figures would need to be tallied and studied for numerous factors, particularly in areas that have been growing anyway. But for the couples CNN spoke with, what matters is the baby boom at home. Hank and Meredith Swormstedt told CNN they ruled out one name for their child pretty quickly: "Not Sandy."
A: Highlights: Report suggests a baby boom 9 months after Superstorm Sandy at some N.J. hospitals. Some couples told CNN their children were conceived during the storm. Experts disagree over whether disasters lead to baby booms. Some doctors say it's a myth.

Q: TEXT: The achievements of famous Manchester United Class of 92 have been well documented – but for every success story there is a hard luck story not far away. And while the likes of Ryan Giggs, David Beckham, Nicky Butt, Paul Scholes and the Neville brothers went onto to have great careers at United – Birmingham-born midfielder Richard Flash was not so lucky. Flash was a highly rated player in the Birmingham area and had trials at both St Andrew’s and Aston Villa – but he caught the eye of United’s Midland scout and went to play for the Manchester Eagles. Former Manchester United youth player Richard Flash outside UCFB in Burnley. The Eagles alumni included both Terry Cooke and David Johnson who both went onto play for United and Flash became the captain of the team. But Flash’s career all but ended before it started when he dislocated his knee playing back in Birmingham. He didn’t tell anyone about the injury as he was under pressure to earn a contract with United. He told The Bleacher Report: ‘My knee never felt right, but I didn't tell anybody. I was under pressure to earn a United contract, more so because my injury was hampering my game, but I won a two-year contract after a few more trial games. Flash came through at United in 1993 - a year behind the likes of Ryan Giggs, Nicky Butt, David Beckham Paul Scholes and the Neville brothers. Manchester United youth team coach Eric Harrison with Giggs, Butt, Beckham, Gary and Phil Neville, Scholes and Terry Cooke. ‘I remember seeing Paul Scholes; he was tiny, and I didn't think he was any good. ‘I moved up to Manchester in 1993, still wearing my brother's boots; I'd always worn his hand-me-downs. I earned £39 per week and lived in digs with David Beckham near the Cliff training ground. ‘Pete Smith, another guy in the digs, didn't get a professional contract and became a postman. I didn't tell anyone about my knee, but I kept picking up niggling little injuries - probably associated with the knee.’ Paul Scholes became one of the best midfielders in his generation - but when Flash first saw him he thought he was too small. Flash went onto play for Graham Taylor at Watford. Injury was not the only problem for Flash and his Class of 93 teammates, twice they were caught drinking by Sir Alex Ferguson and warned about their futures. Flash added: ‘The class of '92 were regularly beating us 7-0 in training. I frequently tried to mark Scholes but struggled. I was fast, but I couldn't read the game as quickly as he could. He could turn and leave you for dust.’ His United career never really took off. He played a couple of reserve games and B Team games before being released. Flash went on to play for Wolves, Watford, Lincoln and Plymouth before calling time on his career in 1999 – the same year the Class of 92 reached their peak winning the Treble. Flash went to university and did a Masters degree. He now works as the head of the academic department at UCFB - a higher education institution delivering degrees in sports and the football industries - based in Burnley and Wembley. Looking back on his career, Flash added: ‘I look back at my football career with positive and negative feelings. I should have sorted my knee out when I first did it. I played too much in my early teens, and that led to an injury, but I made good friends at football and learned much, which helps with my current job.’ To read the full interview with Richard Flash go to The Bleacher Report as well as reading stories from Arnau Riera, Lionel Messi's first captain as a professional footballer and Richard Irving who played for Manchester United and Nottingham Forest.
A:

assistant: Highlights: Richard Flash was born in Birmingham but caught the eye of Manchester United scouts. Flash lived in the same digs as David Beckham in Manchester. Midfielder dislocated his knee and never really recovered.