Years ago references were solely used for validation once an employer decided they would extend an offer to a candidate.

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The bad finish almost virtually assured that Rutgers will miss the NCAA tournament for the first time in 11 years and left the WNIT as the only option to continue playing until Stringer told tournament officials not to extend an offer.

WSJ: Rutgers will bypass WNIT because of injuries

Or he might even draw in moderate Knesset members from both parties to lead the government himself. (He appeared on Sunday to extend an offer to Mr Peres, whose political career had seemed at an end after the Labour leadership race.) The idea of Labour and Likud forming a coalition simply to spite and exclude Mr Sharon, though not impossible, seems unlikely.

ECONOMIST: The ��bulldozer�� sends tremors through Israeli politics