Abstract: A carrying case for sporting equipment, particularly hockey sticks and accessories such as pucks includes a block-shaped body which has an upwardly protruding carrying handle, a first longitudinally disposed, vertical side of the body which has formed therein a pair of longitudinally disposed, vertically spaced apart troughs, and a first side lid hingedly fastened to a lower edge of the body, the side lid having formed in an inner surface thereof a pair of troughs shaped similarly to those in the body. Stacked pairs of hockey stick handles are placed in either the lid troughs or body troughs, with the lid pivoted outwardly from the body to an open position; with the lid pivoted to a closed position in contact with the body, the lid and body troughs confront one another to form a pair of closed, longitudinally disposed channels which retain the handles therewithin. The lid is held in a closed position in contact with the body by releasably engageable fastener elements located on the lid and body.

Abstract: Data extracted from the Multiple Listing Service (MLS) or similar database are mined to analyze and display real estate market growth. A plurality of selection criteria that define a real estate market is accepted and two time period definitions are also accepted. Data associated with properties in the defined real estate market sold during the two time periods and retrieved from the MLS are aggregated. The data are analyzed to determine the growth in the defined real estate market between the two time periods and indications of the growth are graphically displayed. The displays may be as percent change or change in value of a metric, and may comprise single and double bar graphs, respectively, each bar or pair of bars graphing the metric for a geographic area or for a real estate office. The metrics may include dollar volume, number of units, median price, average commission, and average days on market.

Abstract: A suite of software tools performs data mining on data periodically extracted from one or more Multiple Listing Service (MLS) databases to support the management of a real estate business. Data relating to properties listed or sold by units of the business, such as agents, offices, regions, or the entire business, are extracted and aggregated at each hierarchical level. Novel performance metrics are defined, calculated, tracked and displayed in a consistent manner across hierarchical levels. The similarity of views of the data facilitate communication across organizational levels and support improved productivity. The tools may access MLS-derived real estate data associated with other properties to perform market analysis—including both market share by selected competitors and overall market trends—to support pricing of properties, and to discover and recruit high performance personnel.

Abstract: A carrying case for sporting equipment, particularly hockey sticks and accessories such as pucks includes a block-shaped body which has an upwardly protruding carrying handle, a first longitudinally disposed, vertical side of the body which has formed therein a pair of longitudinally disposed, vertically spaced apart troughs, and a first side lid hingedly fastened to a lower edge of the body, the side lid having formed in an inner surface thereof a pair of troughs shaped similarly to those in the body. Stacked pairs of hockey stick handles are placed in either the lid troughs or body troughs, with the lid pivoted outwardly from the body to an open position; with the lid pivoted to a closed position in contact with the body, the lid and body troughs confront one another to form a pair of closed, longitudinally disposed channels which retain the handles therewithin. The lid is held in a closed position in contact with the body by releasably engageable fastener elements located on the lid and body.