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for the Salisbury Post

CHINA GROVE — when Patrick King was a toddler, he wandered around the house saying, “And they lived happily ever after,” over and over and over again. He had no idea what the words meant, but he loved the sound of them, the rhythm.

things weren’t exactly happy around the King household. Patrick’s parents, Susan and David, had no idea what was going on with their son, but they knew there was a problem. Patrick was rarely talking. He was prone to meltdowns. He had the habit of shaking his hands in front of his face. He hated loud noises. Even strong smells bothered him.

“He was so frustrated. I felt so bad for him,” Susan remembers.

when it was time for Patrick to move from the 2-year-old class to the 3-year-old class at his day care, teachers told Susan he wasn’t ready. Rounds of tests followed.

the diagnosis: autism.

at one point, the Kings were told that their son, the youngest of their four children, might even be borderline mentally handicapped.

that was 15 years ago.

Patrick, now 19, is about to graduate from South Rowan High School. He’s won regional honors in swimming. He’s performed in the all-state chorus. And he’s headed to Pfeiffer University this fall on athletic and academic scholarships.

It’s enough to make a mom shout the good news … which in fact she does in a phone call to set up the interview with her son at their China Grove home.

perfectly understandable. It’s been quite a journey for Patrick and his family. Even though it’s the afternoon following the prom, Patrick is wide awake and wearing his ever-present smile. his date was his good friend, Ava quick, a senior at Carson High School. They posed for pictures by a waterfall in his beautiful backyard. They went to dinner with a whole passel of classmates. They danced the night away.

“It was great hanging out with all my friends,” Patrick reports.

• • •

Patrick doesn’t really remember his early years.

“when I was young, I was uncertain about a lot of things,” he says. “when we’re young, we don’t know what’s going on in the world.”

his autism made it worse. his three sisters, Katie, Emily and Sarah, couldn’t understand it, either. They couldn’t understand why he didn’t have to do chores like they did. Sarah called him “the Prince” for the longest time. Patrick gets a good laugh when his mom reminds him about that.

Susan and David were taking Patrick to the TEACCH Center in Charlotte for therapy. the center serves individuals with autism. at the urging of therapists, they took the girls. an intern talked with them in German. next, they were taken into a room where music was played at an ear-splitting level. Finally, they were asked to put on woolly gloves and try to pick up pennies. They couldn’t do or understand anything.

the staff told them, “Patrick’s brain works differently.”

And then they understood.

It’s been good for the girls to have a special-needs sibling, Susan says. “Patrick just became our family’s priority. Our daughters had to learn sacrifice. It’s given them a sensitivity to people who have struggles.”

Katie Morgan, 24, is a sixth-grade science teacher at Corriher-Lipe Middle School. Emily, 23, is a nurse at Rowan Regional Medical Center. Sarah, 20, following in her sister’s footsteps, will graduate from the East Carolina University School of Nursing in 2013.

Susan and David had different reactions to their son’s diagnosis.

“I cried because I knew life was going to be hard for him,” she says. “we were headed in one direction and this was a detour. David said, this is no problem. It’s going to be fine.”

With numerous therapies, it has been.

the transition from elementary school to middle school was hard, Patrick admits. so was the transition from middle school to high school. But he met those challenges of transition. He’s set his own patterns and routines in high school. He’s fixed the same lunch for the past four years: peanut butter and jelly sandwich on whole-wheat bread, sliced apples, strawberries, popcorn and Sprite Zero in a can. He points out that, according to Weight Watchers, that’s a meal worth only 5 points.

He learned to cope with the loud cafeteria. “It’s still loud to me, even to this day. But it’s fine.”

the administration is kind enough to give him a heads-up about fire drills so he won’t be startled. during swim meets, he brings along a camp chair, set off to the side, for when he needs a few minutes to himself in an environment reverberating with noise. when he talks to his teammates, he’s not bothered by his surroundings, and when he’s thinking about swimming, he’s OK, too.

On April 20, when he signed with Pfeiffer, some 15 of his teammates came to the event, along with many of his former teachers and coaches.

“I don’t usually cry,” Patrick says. “I didn’t cry, but I was getting pretty emotional. It was wonderful seeing all these people who care about me.”

Through it all, Susan and David’s faith has been steady.

soon after Patrick’s diagnosis, Susan went to a Women of Faith conference in Charlotte. the speaker talked about taking your questions to God. so Susan did.

And what she heard was: “You can’t do this. But we can.”

she continues, “we have been able to see God moving in Patrick’s life. He’s a wonderful son. This has been about perseverance and trusting God. He’s been such a blessing to us. there are things in life that are just beyond you, and that’s where you meet God.”

• • •

at Pfeiffer, Patrick will major in computer science.

“in elementary school, I fell in love with video games,” he says. He wants to make a career in game development — developing characters, story lines and the like.

Patrick had always planned to go to college. “I know how job opportunities are so scarce, especially if you don’t have a degree.”

Admittedly, his parents for a time didn’t know whether it would be a possibility. But, Susan says, “I didn’t want to set any limits.”

Patrick was thinking of attending the University of North Carolina at Charlotte, but his parents worried the big campus would overwhelm him. so they were open to other options. Patrick began swimming as a freshman. Two of his three sisters had been on the swim team, and he decided to give it a try. He was 60 pounds heavier then. Swimming and Weight Watchers changed that.

Following the regional swim meet in February, Patrick found out that Pfeiffer was interested in him.

Boy, were they ever.

when the Kings visited campus, they found a reserved parking space for Patrick and banners heralding his arrival.

“They know how to make you feel welcome,” Patrick says, grinning.

“It just felt so right,” Susan says.

Patrick wanted to be ready for the scholarship interviews. He and his mom practiced questions so Patrick would feel comfortable before the interview panel.

“It was a God thing,” he says. “He just helped the interviews to be so good.”

when the interviews were over, Patrick had two-thirds of his college expenses paid.

in talking with the panel, he was open about his autism.

“there is hope,” Susan says. “there can be progress.”

Susan and Patrick have been invited by Partners in Learning to be the keynote speakers at a mini-conference on special needs on May 5 at Catawba College. Their speech is titled, “Blessings and Challenges of Living with Autism.”

Susan has made an outline of her remarks, but Patrick will practice everything he’ll say once a day the week before.

“I feel better when I’m prepared,” he explains.

the next few months, Patrick will prepare to enter Pfeiffer.

“It’s gonna be a big adjustment for me,” Susan admits. “so much time has been put into helping him, but it’s time for him to be more independent. now he has the opportunity to fly. He’s gonna soar. I think he’ll do great. God has big plans for this young man.”

One day soon, Patrick King will load up his champagne-colored Honda Civic and drive himself down U.S. 52 to Pfeiffer.

And he’ll have his happy ending.

Freelance writer Susan Shinn lives in Salisbury.

Grant Halverson/Getty ImagesSafety Josh Bush was the first of three sixth-round picks by the Jets.

Still looking to add depth to their secondary, the Jets selected Wake Forest safety Josh Bush with their first of three sixth-round picks.

Bush, a 5-11, 205-pound prospect who played free safety and cornerback in college, registered 59 tackles and six interceptions his senior year. He made eight starts as a junior. his only year as a full-time free safety was 2011.

Despite not being highly rated on analysts’ draft boards — Mel Kiper had Bush as the 87th best safety prospect — Bush said he’s looking forward to the opportunity to showcase his skills. He was not invited to the combine and said the Jets clocked him at 4.49 in the 40-yard dash at his pro day. He visited with the team on April 17.

“It’s football to me,” he said. “I’m just ready to get there and get comfortable around the guys and just play football, it’s something I want to do and I’m blessed to have the opportunity.”

With just one year of experience at safety, Bush said he’s comfortable projecting himself at the position in the NFL.

“I’m pretty much thinking I’m a safety with a little bit of cornerback attributes which should help in the coverage aspect,” he said.

His defensive scheme at Wake Forest, with a heavy focus on man coverage, molds well with the Jets’.

“We definitely ran a lot of man coverage, pretty much our zone coverage turned into man to man,” he said.

Bush’s claim to fame — back in his sophomore year in 2009 — was intercepting Russell Wilson, ending his NCAA-record 379 straight passing attempts without an pick, taking the interception back 61 yards.

He was a third-team All-American last year as a redshirt senior.

“I definitely wanted to come to the Jets,” he said. “Being around the coaches they had a great feel for me.”

With their second sixth-round pick (No. 202) the Jets went with running back Terrance Ganaway from Baylor.

Looking to replenish a position group that lost LaDainian Tomlinson at the end of the season, the Jets added a productive back who rushed for 1,547 yards and 21 touchdowns last year in an explosive offense alongside Robert Griffin III.

Their third sixth-round pick, right after at no. 203 went to Robert T. Griffin, a guard out of Baylor.

By Jean Bentley while doing promotion for his second of three big movie releases in 2012, Jason Segel stopped by "The Late Show with David Letterman" April 23 to talk all things "Five-Year Engagement." of his new movie, Segel tells Letterman that the …
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Your good doctor usually works lots and does not take long vacations.  It usually takes me a day or two to wind down and start feeling the “relaxation” mode.  For most people, taking a vacation implies NOT doing the day-to-day mundane things that become so routine and occasionally boring.  Alarm goes off, get ready for the day, if you have small children, get them up and get ready, go to work, lots of stress there, get home, prepare dinner, help with homework , time for bed and then the alarm signals “here is goes again”.  The act of losing weight is mundane and tedious.  Nothing fun about it.  To take a “vacation” from your “dieting” is a very fun idea.  Try not to look at it this way though.  You are going through lots of effort which will result in improved health and happiness, and also looking much younger.  These are exciting endpoints so try not to get bogged down in the process of getting there.

The new Total Turf Experience will have all of the top amenities — including health care. Virtua's Sports Medicine Program will be on site offering athletes a safe environment by providing immediate care for anyone who might get injured, …
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Gloucester County Times – NJ.com

Note: This video could be considered slightly NSFW, for scantily-clad people and very brief partial nudity.

It’s often pointed out that long ago, jazz was once dance music. It’s usually a way of lamenting its current reputation as a cerebral art for seated contemplation. but nothing says music can’t be for both hips and head.

Here are two music videos which, in their own ways, visually convey the dance roots found in even modern jazz. Neither are choreographed dance routines in the way of Michael Jackson or Beyonce, but I think both represent a strong movement imperative. Incidentally, NPR Music and WBGO will carry a live video webcast of both bands tonight at 8 p.m. ET, if you can join us.

The first video, above, is from the band Now vs. Now — a trio from the keyboardist Jason Lindner, with drummer Mark Guiliana and vocalizing bassist Panagiotis Andreou. On “Big Pump,” the dancing, cinematography and video editing reflects the energy of the song’s arc. When the soloing and the beat are at their most intense, the bodily movement and lighting are too. It’s a representation of the song’s peaks and valleys, like an iTunes visualizer — except in the form of humans gyrating.

The lack of a coherent narrative to it all is worth noting. Instrumental music like this can’t quite tell a story in the same way words do. but if it grooves like this, it can still provoke a bodily reaction, and an emotional resonance. The underground nightclub vibe of this video, disjunct as it is, conveys both the dance and the abstraction.

In contrast, there’s very much a story behind this second video, from the band third World Love. This is the video for “Avanim.”

Like Now vs. Now, third World Love also specializes in bouncy grooves, but of a different sort. The band has clearly absorbed a lot of Middle Eastern and African music, and that folk element is manifested in the swaying character of many tunes. It also often plays rock clubs, meaning it has experience playing for standing, active audiences. Here’s a good illustration: Watch as trumpeter Avishai Cohen can’t help but move about toward the end of this performance clip. The tune is “Song For Sankoum” (after Senegalese kora player Sankoum Cissoko) and a recording of it appears on the new album Songs and Portraits.

“Avanim” is a slower song, and unusually for this group, it has vocals too. but watch at 3:17, when the lyrics have ended and the band is drenched: Keyboardist Yonatan Avishai (also the singer here) and bassist Omer Avital are dancing about in the desert like madmen. That dance seems to be building up through the entire piece, and once the singing has finished, the tension releases in joyous celebration. Moving about seems like the natural expression of that.

The video seems to end on a hopeful note, but the lyrics are actually a bit ambiguous, and open to other interpretations. It appears to be a portrait of someone traveling home — or perhaps of a permanent nomad. (Perhaps it’s also about the life of a busy musician too?) It’s in Hebrew — three-quarters of the band are from Israel — but the band has supplied a translation, below.

“Avanim” (Small Stones)

Small stones pave my roadThe road is long, the road to my heartAnd the rhythm of my steps is the rhythm of my heartIs the rhythm of the tune on my lips

On my back I carry a bagThe bag is full of treatsAll my friends are eager for my returnThere is honey, and fruits, a fiddle and storiesAnd in the bottom of the bag, small stones …

At night, I will pitch my tent on the riverbankI will count the stars till dawnIn my bag I will cherish one lonely falling starWho will light my way, and will join me on my journeys

The road is long; my home keeps getting further awayAnd my heart is still searching, and growing tiredMy home is the river, and my home is the bagThe stones are my path — the path to my heart

This is part 6 of a 10 part series dedicated to letting know about the 101 most common and detrimental mistakes committed by dieters and and people trying to lose weight. You can find links to the other parts at the end of this post.

51. fear of exercise pain

There was a time when I struggled a lot with the fear of exercise pain, this is when I would always plan to do exercise but then gradually back out because I was scared of the burn.

This is a common point where dieters fall off the wagon, the fear of the discomfort which exercises poses is often strong enough to wean you off the right path.

I can’t think of any easy solutions to this but from my experience doing workouts in the presence of others is motivating enough to keep you going a bit longer (for fear of embarrassment). However this doesn’t make you do the exercise in the first place, in that case I find that finding a personal trainer is a great weight loss strategy.

A personal trainer can not just help sculpt a suitable exercise program, he/she can also be your greatest external source of motivation. they can make you feel a full sense of responsibility for your weight loss, kick you into gear when you’re just not feeling like it and encourage you to complete workouts whilst your doing them.

Personal trainers are expensive so the second best option is find a friend (or someone else you can relate to weight loss wise) and motivate each other.

Groups are another option, where you form a community of like minded people with similar dieting and weight loss goals. You hold each other responsible for your collective progress.

52. not seeking advice

All of our achievements start from a point where we knew nothing of what we were eventually to do. this is no less true when it comes to living a healthy lifestyle which includes a balanced diet and plenty of physical activity.

To set off on the right foot I recommend you seek some expert advice for both how to construct a healthy diet to and regarding exercise. You can do this by

• contacting a nutritionist – possibly the best option for working out a suitable diet.
• looking up books (making sure it’s a recommend one) – great way to build up some personal knowledge about nutrition, diet, exercise and health in general. this gives a good foundation when you’re talking to others to know what they are talking about.
• asking a personal trainer or expert friends – possibly the best option for working out a suitable exercise program.
• looking on internet forums – there are plenty of these, and you’ll find loads of great information, but make you read thoroughly and take the advice from the experts not novices.

53. not using the right equipment

Exercising and working out is great and if you are doing that then well done! However working out using unsuitable equipment is a recipe for injury, poor results and slow recovery.

For example jogging in trainers which aren’t well fitting will result in sprained ankles, painful heels and toes. Constantly aggravating your ankle will eventually lead to greater injury, putting an end to jogging for quite a while.

It’s vitally important to use the right tool for the job, to get it done efficiently, effectively and as safely as possible.

If you’re unsure what the right equipment is then find out. There’s more than enough and easily reachable sources of information readily available via an internet search. Nowadays there’s even a lot of videos being posting on how to use certain pieces of equipment properly.

For things you have to wear such as running shoes the best and easiest option is to go to a well reputed sport store. Ask for an in store assistant to help you choose something which is suitable, and well fitting. same principle applies for all other equipment too.

54. not doing exercises correctly

Having the right equipment is the first step, the next and continuing steps are to exercise and correctly.

Doing exercise wrong is another recipe for injury and poor results. this is particularly true for weight training, where not doing reps correctly can easily injure you and produce poor results.

Getting your posture right is the difference between plenty of unwanted strains and a effective workout. find out what is right and make sure you do them as demonstrated. Here are few tips to follow:

• Use a mirror – keep an eye on your posture so that you can self correct
• Get a running mate – by running together you can correct each other
• Make use of fellow gym goers – there’s always going to be someone more experienced than you, let them give you hand and putting you right

Avoid mistakes to avoid injury, too much downtime, unwanted aches and strains.

55. not warming up and down before and after workouts

So now you know that is important to use the right equipment and do the exercises correctly, but now you also have to make sure you prepare correctly.

Warming up before working out gets the blood flowing and as it says warms your muscle up. this helps prevent injury. Here are some good ways to warm up.

• Go for a slow jog
• Some stretching of the major muscles in your legs and arms, which also helps with flexibility
• Wear a tracksuit whilst exercising lightly – the tracksuit helps insulate you keeping you warm

Warming up shouldn’t take very long, around 5 minutes should be sufficient. it shouldn’t tire you out since that the job of the rest of your exercise session.

56. Punishing yourself when things aren’t going to plan

Self punishment is a common trait when you fail to achieve something you feel is important. I remember berated myself whenever I failed to complete a workout successfully. self punishing can come in many forms – self berating, thinking that you are worthless, or physical things such as self harm. this is not the way to go!

I eventually realized that punishing myself was not getting any closer to my goals, in fact it was doing the exact opposite. By making myself feel terrible about myself I put on massive pressure which eventually chipped away at my motivation.

I realized with some help from from more enlightened individuals that the only way to achieve those goals was to focus on successes. So how can you use this lesson?

• Reward yourself when you do well (but not with food, not would be a twisted sort of punishment!) by acknowledging your success you reinforce positive attitude, and there’s also something to look forward to by trying hard.
• Get close friends or family to stop you when you are punishing yourself – it hard to bring yourself out of a bad cycle but observers can give you a hand.
• Realize that it all a learning process – life is a big lesson, don’t let it get you down. the sooner you realize this the sooner you’ll live a fuller, happier life and success will come much more easily.

57. not drinking water 30 minutes before meals

In my other posts I often talk about the importance of drinking water when you’re trying to lose weight. in fact I’ve written a whole post dedicated to it, you can check it out after reading this post here – Drinking Water To Lose Weight

The brain sends the same signal in response to both hunger and thirst, so a lot of the time when you thought you were hungry you weren’t. You were thirsty!

There are signs of thirst like dry lips but not distinct sensation, so you just feel hungry.

Drink a glass of water 30 minutes before eating, it should alleviate any hunger due to thirst which will help prevent overeating at meals and that means less calories consumed).

Keeping well hydrated throughout the day is also important for not feeling false hunger between meals, so keep yourself well hydrated.

58. Being too strict on food variety

If you’re following a very strict diet plan in terms of food variety then I recommend you stop following it. It’s not something which is sustainable, because a healthy balanced diet should include a lot of food variety. It’s the principles of healthy diet which are quite strict not the actually food choice.

So start thinking about the principles before the actual food items themselves. Reread mistake #52, it’s important to educate yourself on the things you’re trying to do. If it’s weight loss then diet is obviously the foundation of that, so read books, ask nutritionists, successful dieters for what they recommend.

Most importantly you have to distill out the principles from all the information so that you can apply them yourself.

59. Focusing on mistakes

Hope you read the point about self punishment when things are going wrong, well that’s partly because you keep on focusing on the mistakes you make. I would never tell people to ignore their mistakes, because only by recognizing them can you learn, avoid and improve from them.

But overly zoning in on your mistakes is a sort of obsessive indulgence which can only lead to negative feelings. Common symptoms are low self-esteem, lack of confidence, neurotic over-thinking and others.

I recommend that every time you realize a mistake you’ve made to immediate think of something you can do to improve it. So for example if you finding a workout too hard instead of berating yourself start thinking why it feels too hard, and then of possible solutions – advice from experts (personal trainers, the internet, friends).

60. Only doing cardio

The great big cardio myth – doing as much cardio as possible to burn more calories. this is true but it’s not very effective, and there are other ways to burn more calories without overexerting yourself.

There comes a point of diminishing returns with cardio, where your fitness is noting increasing and your extended workout.

An alternative to is to do a sensible amount of cadio (up to 1 hour per day) and include some higher intensity training (HIT). HIT includes sprinting, sprinting cycling, intense rowing and all other things which you can’t maintain for long.

HIT is an anaerobic process meaning it uses up energy stored in your muscles, and in the recovery process energy stores must be restored this the what burns fat for up to 48 hours after the workout. It’s truly burning extra calories as you sleep!

I hoped you gained a lot of insight from those 10 common mistakes, avoid them and stop hampering your weight loss efforts. good health to you!

Links to the rest of the series:

101 Weight Loss Mistakes – Part 1

101 Weight Loss Mistakes – Part 2

101 Weight Loss Mistakes – Part 3

101 Weight Loss Mistakes – Part 4

101 Weight Loss Mistakes – Part 5

101 Weight Loss Mistakes – Part 6

 AAA Mid-Atlantic’s first full-service, state-of-the-art automotive-repair and maintenance facility opened  in Tredyffrin celebrated their grand opening with a ribbon-cutting Monday, The 8,248-square-foot, newly built Car Care, Insurance and Travel Center is at 849 W. Lancaster Ave. in the Devon Shopping Center near the whole Foods. The center opened in December.Tredyffrin Board of Supervisors Chairwoman Michelle Kichline briefly spoke reminding those in attendance of the historical significance of the nearby Lancaster Pike to transportation.TREDYFFRIN BOARD CHAIR MICHELLE KICHLINE SPEAKS

The store provides both traditional AAA  services such as trip planning as well as car-repair services including maintenance, diagnostics and repairs.“Historically, AAA is synonymous with all things automotive and leisure travel, with road maps, with TripTiks and TourBooks, with airline tickets and cruises, with towing and tire changes, with driver and traffic-safety programs and with the school Safety Patrol program,” explained Berni Koch, president and chief executive officer of AAA Mid-Atlantic. “And now with the opening of this new car-care facility, AAA’s vision for the future of automotive services is coming into fruition. this site serves as a natural extension of the auto club’s original mission for its members and the motoring public.”Koch said that AAA is planning to open 25 additional centers in the region including Upper Darby.  AAA Mid-Atlantic also operates three CCIT locations in Frederick and Towson, Md., and in Fairfax, Va., and one in Toms River, N.J.Follow us on FacebookFollow us on Twitter

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You need to do more to win the California Strawberry Festival recipe contest than show up with a pre-made pie shell filled with strawberry-flavored gelatin.

Just ask Yoshiharu Sogi, the professional chef from Napa who last year nabbed first place — and a four-night cruise — with his “Iron Chef”-style preparation of strawberry, tuna, scallop and shrimp tartare.

Past winners of the Berry Blast off have included such dishes as tilapia fillets with strawberry-blood orange salsa, shrimp and strawberry coleslaw drizzled with spicy maple vinaigrette and strawberry, white chocolate and key lime tart.

And with a new festival in the works for may 19-20 at Strawberry Meadows in Oxnard’s College Park, organizers are looking for another batch of recipes. The entry deadline is noon April 30.

Recipes must be original and use fresh strawberries in the preparation. Baking is prohibited, but grills, fryers and stovetops are allowed.

Recipes must serve six people and be able to be prepared in 60 minutes or less. That’s because five semifinalists will be selected to make their recipes in a timed competition at 11 a.m. may 8 in the professional kitchens of the Courtyard by Marriott Oxnard.

Strawberries and basic equipment — stoves and sinks — will be provided, but semifinalists will be responsible for all other ingredients and tools.

Dishes will be judged on flavor, texture, ease of preparation, presentation and use of strawberries.

Two finalists will advance to an onstage competition at the festival on may 19.

The winner will receive a four-night Carnival cruise. to be eligible for the prize, the winner must be 21 or older.

The runner-up will get an overnight stay in a deluxe suite at Courtyard by Marriott Oxnard and dinner for two at Tierra Sur, the restaurant at Herzog Wine Cellars in Oxnard. The runner-up also will receive four special-entry festival passes.

Each semifinalist will receive four festival tickets and copies of the event’s commemorative poster.

Everyone who submits a recipe will receive a ticket to the festival. The offer is limited to one per person or one per family.

For a complete list of rules and guidelines, call 888-288-9242 or visit http://bit.ly/HR8MLd.

For Reading, celebration and relaxation. they secured promotion with two matches to spare, the Championship title with one to spare and head for an open-top bus parade through the town centre today, the presentation of their trophy at the Madejski Stadium and a four-day jaunt to Spain.

For Birmingham, the torture has just begun before, possibly, they join Reading in the Premier League next season. Having endured their 60th fixture of the campaign yesterday, by easing past the champions at St Andrew’s, they now face potentially three more games before they, too, can claim the £90 million top-flight windfall. Birmingham’s hard-earned success lifted them above Blackpool into fourth – and the teams will meet in the first leg of the semi-final at Bloomfield Road on Friday and in the return at St Andrew’s a week on Wednesday.

Yet despite showing signs of battle fatigue, also caused by lengthy Europa League and FA Cup campaigns, Birmingham enter the final furlong still at a gallop. a goal in each half of an error-strewn contest extended their unbeaten sequence to nine matches. "it was a good way to go into the play-offs," Chris Hughton, the Birmingham manager, said. "We’ve got good momentum and I’m desperate for us to finish the job off." Desperate, too, for some good news, with the club yesterday informed that their transfer ban would stay in place until at least 31 July, after parent group, Birmingham International Holdings Limited, again delayed publication of their2010-11 accounts.

Reading arrived with more than 4,000 travelling fans bearing inflatables. If they were not on the beach already, they were thinking about it. Birmingham’s pacy pair of Nathan Redmond and Andros Townsend caused havoc and Redmond set up substitute Adam Rooney to slide in the opener.

Penalties then dominated. Colin Doyle’s save from Ian Harte’s spot kick – Harte’s second miss of the season and Reading’s sixth – after Pablo Ibanez had clambered on Alex Pearce and Wade Elliott’s conversion, after Jay Tabb had handled. Adam Federici saved another Elliott penalty in stoppage time.

Still, no more play-offs heartache for Brian McDermott, their manager. "I’m just so pleased we’re not involved in them this time," he said. "No one can call them. I defy anyone to pick from Blackpool and Birmingham or Cardiff v West Ham."

Birmingham City (4-4-2): Doyle; Ramage, Davies, Ibanez, Murphy; Elliott, N’Daw (Burke, 69), Gomis, Townsend; Redmond, Zigic (Rooney, 19).

Reading (4-4-2): Federici; Connolly (Cummings, 60), Pearce, Gorkss, Harte; McAnuff, Leigertwood (Gunnarsson, 70), Tabb, Robson-Kanu; Le Fondre, Church.

Referee Robert Madley.

Man of Match Townsend (Birmingham).

Match rating 7/10.