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Topics - daryn

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31
Football / Charlie Davies injured in accident that takes another life
« on: October 13, 2009, 02:09:29 PM »
ARLINGTON, Va. -- U.S. soccer forward Charlie Davies was in surgery on Tuesday afternoon after being involved in a severe one-car accident on the George Washington Parkway in Virginia during the early hours of Tuesday morning.

There was a fatality in the accident, said U.S. Soccer spokesman Neil Buethe. He added that Davies was in stable condition and that his injuries were not considered life-threatening.

Davies, who plays for the French club Sochaux, was expected to required more than five hours of surgery.

One person died in the accident, which took place at about 3:15 a.m. Tuesday in the southbound lanes of the highway. The U.S. Park Police identified the fatality as Ashley J. Roberta, 22, of Phoenix, Md.

No other U.S. players were in the car. The U.S. team, which qualified for the 2010 World Cup on Saturday in Honduras, is in Washington, D.C., for its final qualifier on Wednesday night against Costa Rica.

original location: http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2009/soccer/10/13/charlie.davies/index.html


32
What about Track & Field / Track's oldest record broken
« on: September 04, 2009, 02:55:38 PM »
BRUSSELS (AP) -- A Kenyan quartet has beaten the oldest world record in athletics -- edging the 32-year-old 4x1500 meter mark of West Germany.

William Biwott, Gideon Gathimba, Geoffrey Rono and Augustine Choge set a time of 14 minutes 36.23 seconds at the Van Damme Memorial on Friday, just within the mark of of 4:38.8 the West Germans set in 1977.

The relay distance is never run at major championships and very rarely at big meets like the Golden League.


33
BERLIN (AP) -- The Jamaican team asked track's governing body to withdraw six athletes, including former 100-meter world-record holder Asafa Powell and two Olympic gold medalists, from the world championships entry list Wednesday in an apparent dispute over training camp attendance.

IAAF secretary general Pierre Weiss said the request was made early Wednesday but didn't disclose a reason. The Jamaican athletics federation has been in a dispute with several athletes over a training camp for worlds.

The other athletes are 100 Olympic champion Shelly-Ann Fraser, 400 hurdles Olympic gold medalist Melaine Walker, hurdler Brigitte Foster-Hylton, sprinter Shericka Williams and 400 runner Kaliese Spence.

The request could be rescinded because the final entry list has to be with organizers 48 hours before the opening event. The worlds start Saturday in Berlin, and the withdrawals will only become official at midday Thursday.

Jamaican officials attending the IAAF congress declined to immediately comment.

Any such pullout would seriously undermine Jamaica's chances of maintaining its domination over the United States in the sprint events that it established at last year's Beijing Olympics.

After capturing five of six sprint events in Beijing with the U.S. winless, Jamaica's rise had been expected to be a key theme at the worlds.

Even though three-time Olympic champion Usain Bolt is not directly affected by the decision, a sprint relay team without Powell is expected to be weaker. Powell ran the anchor leg in Beijing as Jamaica set a world record, one of three for Bolt at the games.

The Jamaican federation also asked the IAAF to ban the withdrawn runners from the athletes village.

Earlier this week, Jamaican Amateur Athletic Association president Howard Aris warned the athletes that they would miss worlds unless they appear at a training camp outside Berlin.

Original article: http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2009/more/08/12/powell.ap/index.html#ixzz0NyjwIuKz

34
Jokes / Price is Right contestant
« on: July 22, 2009, 01:02:45 PM »
<a href="http://www.youtube.com/v/H246FhwXO6s" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" class="bbc_link bbc_flash_disabled new_win">http://www.youtube.com/v/H246FhwXO6s</a>

35
SAN FRANCISCO (AP) -- A former UCLA basketball player is suing the NCAA over its use of former student athletes' images in DVDs, video games, photographs, apparel and other material.

In a federal lawsuit filed Tuesday, Ed O'Bannon says the NCAA illegally has athletes sign away their rights to the commercial use of their images and does not share any of the proceeds from their use with former athletes.

"While the NCAA, its member conferences and schools, and its for-profit business partners reap millions of dollars from revenue streams ..., former student athletes whose likenesses are utilized to generate those profit centers receive no compensation whatsoever," the suit claims.

The lawsuit seeks unspecified damages and calls on the NCAA to pay the former athletes what it has allegedly made from the use of their images. That amount has yet to be determined, said Megan Jones, a partner with the law firm of Hausfeld LLP, which is representing O'Bannon.

It also seeks an injunction on behalf of current student athletes barring the NCAA from licensing the rights to their images.

"There has been an awakening in the former student athletes," Jones said. "They are seeing their images and likenesses in more places now than ever before."

Bob Williams, a spokesman for the NCAA, declined to comment on the suit, saying the NCAA had yet to review it.

"However, the NCAA categorically denies any infringement on former or current student athlete likeness rights," he said.

The lawsuit, which also names the NCAA's licensing representative, the Collegiate Licensing Company, seeks class action status on behalf of former NCAA Division I basketball and football players.

O'Bannon won the national championship with UCLA in 1995 and was named the tournament's most outstanding player. He went on to a short-lived career in the NBA.

A message left for a Collegiate Licensing Company spokeswoman late Tuesday was not immediately returned.

The filing of the lawsuit was first reported by Yahoo! Sports.

Copyright 2009 Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.

36
Other Sports / World's fastest everything
« on: July 14, 2009, 08:54:19 AM »
<a href="http://www.youtube.com/v/k4oCrCwEIEA" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" class="bbc_link bbc_flash_disabled new_win">http://www.youtube.com/v/k4oCrCwEIEA</a>

37
AKRON, Ohio (AP) -- What happens at LeBron's camp stays at LeBron's camp.

A minor controversy erupted at the LeBron James Skills Academy on Monday night when two videographers recorded a pickup game in which Xavier's Jordan Crawford dunked on James.

Gary Parrish reported on CBSSports.com that a Nike representative confiscated tapes of the dunk after conferring with James.

A representative with Nike, which runs the camp at the University of Akron in James' hometown, made no mention of Crawford's dunk. He said the tapes were confiscated because videotaping of after-hours pickup games at the camp is not allowed.

"Nike has been operating basketball camps for the benefit of young athletes for decades and has long-standing policies as to what events are open and closed to media coverage. Unfortunately, for the first time in four years, two journalists did not respect our no videotaping policy at an after-hours pickup game following the LeBron James Skills Academy," said Nike spokesman Derek Kent on Wednesday.

A spokesman for James said he had no comment.

The camp features 80 top basketball prospects from around the nation.

Crawford said his dunk happened in the first 20 minutes of a game that lasted about two hours and did not prompt any reaction from James.

"We just went on playing," Crawford said Wednesday. "It was exciting just to be playing on the same court as him. I can see why he is so great at what he does."

38
Other Sports / Steve McNair found shot to death
« on: July 04, 2009, 03:01:11 PM »
NASHVILLE, Tenn. - Former Titans quarterback Steve McNair has been killed. Police said McNair suffered a fatal gunshot wound to the head in downtown Nashville.

The incident happened near 2nd South & Lea Avenue. A female victim was also found dead.

According to Don Aaron with the Metro Nashville Police Department, no suspects have been taken into custody. Several people were being taken to police headquarters for questioning.

39
Trinbago, NBA & World Basketball / The Power Game
« on: June 17, 2009, 04:14:09 PM »
ESPN has a looong article on the increasing popularity of basketball in DC these days



Washington's Most Influencial are suddenly taking up hoops, all in the hopes of getting a run with President Obama
BY WRIGHT THOMPSON

WASHINGTON -- Baron Hill is in training, working on his jumper, pumping iron, doing rep after tedious rep on the weight machines to strengthen his bum knee. He swore 15 years ago that he'd never play competitive basketball again, but here he is at his health club, 55 years old, shooting baskets alone. Once, he was an Indiana high school legend, a member of the state's hall of fame, but those pictures are in black and white.

Just your typical bourgeois midlife crisis, right? Not exactly. Consider who Hill is, where he is and why he's doing this. For starters, he's an influential member of the U.S. House of Representatives, a powerful guy, co-chairman of the Blue Dog Democrats. The court he's on isn't at a local Y. He's in Room SB-322 of the Rayburn House Office Building: the famous House gym. There's a little electronic device he keeps on his key chain that lets him in whenever he wants.

The why is a bit more complicated. Outside D.C., it would seem absurd. In D.C., it's just doing business. Getting his basketball game up to speed isn't about him. Well, that's not entirely true. It's somewhat about him, about his own political future. But it's also for the 675,000 citizens of his Indiana district, the people he has been sent here to serve. The reason he's back in training isn't because he wants to be but because the president of the United States likes to ball.

continued

40
General Discussion / Indian Mangoes — Now In America
« on: June 11, 2009, 02:32:02 PM »
anybody ever had an Indian mango?



Indian Mangoes — Now In America
by Sandip Roy

Morning Edition, June 11, 2009 · President George W. Bush made his first trip to India in 2006. He praised the new agreement on nuclear cooperation between India and the United States. But for Indians living abroad in the U.S., he said something else that really caught attention.

"The United States is looking forward to eating Indian mangoes."

For almost 20 years, Indian mangoes (thought to be some of the best in the world) weren't allowed in this country because of FDA import standards. And there was a little problem with a pesky seed weevil.

Two years ago, the mangoes started arriving with little stickers proclaiming, "Treated By Irradiation."

Before the Indian mango detente, all you could get in the U.S. were undocumented mangoes smuggled in through customs by fanatics like my friend Nawaaz.

"I had this bag, wondering what should I do? Should I throw these mangoes away? They were smelling so much. Or should I just try to smuggle them through anyway? My heart was beating terribly. I decided the mangoes smelled too good to actually waste."

But now I can walk into my local Indian grocery store and find boxes of mangoes from India next to the basmati rice. The store clerk at Namaste Plaza in Silicon Valley says that when summer rolls around, he starts getting phone calls from regular customers who will buy a few boxes and distribute them to relatives.

At over $30 a box, that's a king's ransom for a taste of home. But I paid up.

Inside were 12 forlorn mangoes, each wrapped in a little pink Styrofoam net stocking. This is not how mangoes were meant to be sold. In India, you find them piled on the side of the street, great pyramids of red, green and gold, ripening in the lazy heat. And a vendor chants the names of his mangoes: Himsagar, Babu Himsafar, Langra.

There are said to be some 1,500 varieties of mangoes in India. Only a couple have been cleared for export to the U.S. One, the Alphonso, is known as the King of Mangoes in India.

For a more unbiased opinion, I took my shrink-wrapped Alphonso to Elizabeth Falkner, chef and author of Demolition Desserts. We stood in the bustling kitchen of Orson, her restaurant in San Francisco.

First she tried the little yellow Mexican mango. She liked it; it's pretty much what she's used to in a mango.

Then she tried the big red and green Guatemalan one.

"There's a stringiness to them. And that's something I'm not really crazy about. They taste more like vegetable than fruit."

And the Alphonso.

"Oh my god. That is really good. Mmmm. They have a really different flavor than most mangoes I've had. It's a deep sort of sweetness, almost like a caramelized sweetness. Wow, can you tell me where I can buy these now?"

The Alphonso is still king, even when it's eaten in a kitchen in San Francisco. But I still crave that first mango of summer in Calcutta, the juice dripping down my chin, the cool orange flesh the only thing that made the muggy days bearable. My mother can still summon the mangoes of her childhood as if reciting a prayer.

"Langra is most delicious, but Bumbai is sweeter. Madhu Gulglui, you make a hole and just squeeze out the flesh and all the juice comes out, leaving only the seed."

The taste of mango was a price of immigration. It was our symbol of loss, and all the sweeter for it. Now my local Indian paper advertises Alphonso saplings for sale in California, one per family. The Alphonso might become just another fruit. But at least for the other 1,499 varieties, you still need to catch a plane to India.

original article location: http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=104881449#

41
Kung Fu star Carradine found dead


David Carradine
Carradine was best known recently for starring in Kill Bill


Kill Bill and Kung Fu star David Carradine has been found dead in a Bangkok hotel room, BBC correspondent Jonathan Head has reported.

The 72-year-old was in Thailand filming his latest film Stretch, according to his personal manager Chuck Binder.

Mr Binder said the news was "shocking", adding: "He was full of life, always wanting to work... a great person."

More soon.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/entertainment/8083479.stm

edit: updated text from the same url

Kill Bill and Kung Fu star David Carradine has been found dead in a Bangkok hotel room on Thursday.

Thai police told the BBC the 72-year-old was found by a hotel maid sitting in a wardrobe with a cord around his neck and other parts of his body.

The US star was in Thailand filming his latest film, Stretch, according to his personal manager Chuck Binder.

Mr Binder said the news was "shocking", adding: "He was full of life, always wanting to work... a great person."

A US embassy official confirmed the actor's death, but added that the cause of death had not yet been established.

Mark Kermode pays tribute to David Carradine

However, Thai newspaper The Nation reported that police believe the actor took his own life, and preliminary investigations found that he hanged himself.

Carradine was part of an acting dynasty which included his father, John Carradine, and brothers Bruce, Keith and Robert.

The star was best known for his role as Kwai Chang Caine in the 1970s TV series Kung Fu, which spawned sequels in the '80s and '90s.

The character became one of the most iconic roles in US TV and earned Carradine both Emmy and Golden Globe nominations.

While his film career saw him working with directors including Martin Scorsese and Ingmar Bergman, the cult actor was considered something of a B-movie legend.

In 2003, after years in the straight-to-video market, Carradine found a new audience thanks to his role in the Quentin Tarantino film Kill Bill.

He was most recently seen on the big screen as a Chinese mobster in Crank: High Voltage, opposite British actor Jason Statham.

Carradine was an accomplished composer, musician, musical performer and songwriter. According to his official website, he was also a sculptor and a painter.

He is survived by his wife, Annie Bierman, and three children including actresses Calista and Kansas.

42
Boy chosen by Dalai Lama turns back on Buddhist order
Dale Fuchs in Madrid
guardian.co.uk, Sunday 31 May 2009 23.11 BST

As a toddler, he was put on a throne and worshipped by monks who treated him like a god. But the boy chosen by the Dalai Lama as a reincarnation of a spiritual leader has caused consternation – and some embarrassment – for Tibetan Buddhists by turning his back on the order that had such high hopes for him.

Instead of leading a monastic life, Osel Hita Torres now sports baggy trousers and long hair, and is more likely to quote Jimi Hendrix than Buddha.

Yesterday he bemoaned the misery of a youth deprived of television, football and girls. Movies were also forbidden – except for a sanctioned screening of The Golden Child starring Eddie Murphy, about a kidnapped child lama with magical powers. "I never felt like that boy," he said.

He is now studying film in Madrid and has denounced the Buddhist order that elevated him to guru status. "They took me away from my family and stuck me in a medieval situation in which I suffered a great deal," said Torres, 24, describing how he was whisked from obscurity in Granada to a monastery in southern India. "It was like living a lie," he told the Spanish newspaper El Mundo. Despite his rebelliousness, he is still known as Lama Tenzin Osel Rinpoche and revered by the Buddhist community. A prayer for his "long life" still adorns the website of the Foundation to Preserve the Mahayana Tradition, which has 130 centres around the world. The website features a biography of the renegade guru that gushes about his peaceful, meditative countenance as a baby. In Tibetan Buddhism, a lama is one of a lineage of reincarnated spiritual leaders, the most famous of which is the Dalai Lama.

According to the foundation biography, another leader suspected Torres was the reincarnation of the recently deceased Lama Yeshe when he was only five months old. In 1986, at 14 months, his parents took him to see the Dalai Lama in Dharamsala, India. The toddler was chosen out of nine other candidates and eventually "enthroned".

At six, he was allowed to socialise only with other reincarnated souls – though for a time he said he lived next to the actor Richard Gere's cabin.

By 18, he had never seen couples kiss. His first disco experience was a shock. "I was amazed to watch everyone dance. What were all those people doing, bouncing, stuck to one another, enclosed in a box full of smoke?"

43
Other Sports / Interview with Ivan Lendl
« on: June 01, 2009, 01:43:27 PM »
May 24, 2009
The Ivan Lendl interview
Tennis ace Ivan Lendl was mocked and derided but he is smiling now
Paul Kimmage - The Times


Tennis player Ivan Lendl running to make a return shot during a
match against Ramesh Krishman at the Stella Artois Tennis tournament in
London in 1992.



A sweltering Saturday afternoon at Feather Sound Golf Club in Florida: he unfolds the small plastic chair he paid five bucks for in Walmart and plants himself at the back of the sixth green. “This is the life,” he sighs, “watching your kids play sport.” The clipped Czech accent hasn’t changed but the expression is unrecognisable. Ivan Lendl is beaming.

I have travelled from London to write a feature on Lendl and his five sporting daughters. Two of them, Isabelle, 18, and Daniela, 16, are golf prodigies and were playing this afternoon in a Future Collegians World Tour event at Feather Sound. The arrangement was that I would interview Lendl before the round and then follow him as he watched them play the 18 holes.

The walk was as enjoyable as any I have spent on a golf course but the interview wasn’t quite what we had planned. His girls are witty and lovely and brilliant but how do you spend a day with a tennis legend and ignore the quirks and traits that drove him to the top?

In the perfect world of Ivan Lendl there is no subjectivity. There are no politicians, no newspaper columnists, no grey areas. There are facts, box scores, black and white . . . his vision of a sports daily is something along the lines of France’s L’Equipe.

He merely wants to read that in the second minute of the third period a guy was penalised, the other team scored and it might have turned the hockey game. Please, no opinions. “I’m not interested in a psychological profile of the guy who took the penalty and what motivated him,” he says.”
- Greg Garber, The Hartford Courant, 1993.

“So, you didn’t like reading profiles of other athletes,” I suggest.

“No.”

“Why?”

“Well, you can call me sarcastic - and probably rightly so - because I know what was written about me and how much of it was wrong, or untrue, so I would read a profile of Jack Nicklaus and sit there, wondering, 'Why am I reading this? How much of this is true?’ So I grew rather hesitant to take information from that. I want the facts.”

“Has that changed? Are you interested now in other sportsmen and what drives them?”

“I am very happy to read question and answer. I am very happy to watch question and answer. I am not going to read or watch somebody’s opinion about something.”

“So you are still mistrustful of writers?”

Continued here

44
Other Sports / Favourite Ref
« on: May 24, 2009, 07:39:56 PM »
Anybody have a favourite ref (or umpire) in sports/sports entertainment?

some famous ones off the top of my head.

Collina (football)



Mills Lane (Boxing + the courtroom)



Earl Hebner (WWF/WWE)


Dick Bavetta (NBA)



Joey Crawford (NBA)



Dickie Bird (cricket)


Ramesh Ramdhan (football)



Ed Hochuli aka the strongest ref in the world (NFL)



have quite a few cricket umpires I coulda put up.


45
NEW YORK (AP) -- Former NBA forward Brian Grant revealed Monday that he has Parkinson's disease and is starting a Web site devoted to his fight with the neurological disorder.

The 37-year-old Grant told ESPN.com that he was diagnosed in January with "young onset Parkinson's" and began having tremors in his left hand last summer. He consulted two other well-known Parkinson's suffers, Michael J. Fox and Muhammad Ali, and quickly implemented several lifestyle changes.

Grant played parts of 12 seasons in the NBA with Sacramento, Portland, Miami, Phoenix and the Los Angeles Lakers. He last played in the 2005-06 season, when chronically bad knees forced his retirement. He averaged 10.5 points and 7.4 rebounds per game in his career.

"Brian Grant is one of the greatest team players and warriors that I have ever coached," Miami Heat president Pat Riley said Monday night. "I'm saddened by this news. Brian will find a way to fight this because that is the way he's always been, a fighter. He will overcome this."

Grant, who lives in Portland, told ESPN that a combination of traditional and non-traditional treatments -- such as several doses daily of vitamins, herbs, powders and cod-liver oil -- have already helped some symptoms subside.

"Just me believing in a positive spirit will take me farther in the long run," Grant said.

Grant, who played collegiately at Xavier, was on the NBA's All-Rookie team in 1995.

46
Other Sports / Federer beats Nadal on clay in Madrid
« on: May 17, 2009, 01:03:52 PM »
MADRID (AP) -- Roger Federer beat top-ranked Rafael Nadal in a final for the first time in two years on Sunday, claiming the Madrid Open 6-4, 6-4 for his first title of the season.

It was only the second victory Federer has on clay against his top rival, with the other coming at the Hamburg final two years ago. The win also ended Federer's five-match losing streak to Nadal.

"He was simply better than me," Nadal said.

Federer ended Nadal's 33-match clay winning streak going into the French Open, where the Spaniard is going for a fifth straight title.

Federer and Nadal joked after receiving their trophies in a scene that contrasted with the one in February when Federer was in tears after losing to Nadal in the Australian Open final.

Only Ivan Lendl and John McEnroe have met in more finals -- 20 -- as the pair played for a 16th time with Nadal having earned 11 titles. Nadal leads the overall series 13-7.

Federer, who is also the only top-10 player to have ever beaten Nadal on clay, saved two Nadal break chances before converting his first try in the ninth game.

Federer slapped a forehand winner down the near line to set up the point and converted when Nadal weakly backhanded into net. Federer served out to love to take the opening set.

Nadal's grueling semifinal win against Novak Djokovic took its toll as he failed to reach many balls he would normally get.

"It doesn't help to play four hours yesterday," said Nadal, who also pointed to his troubles with Madrid's faster pace brought on by higher altitude.

Federer applied a soft drop to set up a break chance in the fifth game of the second set and took a 3-2 lead after Nadal hit long.

Nadal rallied the 12,500 spectators at the "Magic Box" after setting up a break chance in the final game, but the Spaniard slapped his cross-court backhand wide.

Federer netted his first match point but replied with his 25th winner to close it out. Nadal, who has won five titles this season, had only 12 winners in the rivals' first match in front of Nadal's biggest supporters.

It was Federer's first Masters title since Cincinnati in 2007.

47
Other Sports / George Bovell Sets Meet Records in Prelims
« on: May 16, 2009, 01:41:09 PM »
CHARLOTTE, North Carolina, May 16. THE third day of long course meter action at the Charlotte UltraSwim featured a meet record in the men's 50 free. George Bovell provided the first 21-second performance in meet history. Bovell posted a time of 21.88 to beat the 2008 mark (22.33) of Cullen Jones.

Meanwhile, Eric Shanteau of Longhorn wiped out the men's 200 breast meet standard with a time of 2:11.73. That effort knocked nearly two seconds off the previous record of 2:13.65 set by Luca DeMatteis in 2008.

The UltraSwim is part of the USA Swimming Grand Prix series.

Mary DeScenza of Athens Bulldog just kept on trucking towards a likely overall Grand Prix series title with a top-seeded time of 2:10.09 in the women's 200 fly. North Baltimore's Felicia Lee qualified second in 2:11.86, while Express' Adrienne Bicek finished third in 2:12.61.

Swim Wales' Jemma Lowe (2:14.65), Bluefish's Alex Forrester (2:14.71), Minot's Dagny Knutson (2:15.89), SoNoCo's Addi Koelle (2:16.83) and Club Wolverine's Caitlin Dauw (2:16.84) completed the rest of the A final field.

With world record holder Michael Phelps focusing on a more sprint-centered program this weekend, former Club Wolverine teammate Dan Madwed cruised in prelims with a top time of 2:00.90. Tennessee's Davis Tarwater qualified second in 2:02.81 with Team Ontario's Curtis Samuel touching third in 2:03.38.

Brazil's Thiago Pereira (2:03.42), Gator's Omar Pinzon (2:03.64), Club Wolverine's Alon Mandel (2:03.76) and Tyler Clary (2:03.92) and Gator's Balazs Gercsak (2:04.02) also earned spots in the finale.

The always exciting sprint 50s took place next. Swim Atlanta's Amanda Weir checked in with the top time in the women's heats with a 25.66. Tennessee's Michelle King placed second in 25.73 with Julia Smit joining them under 26 seconds with a third-place 25.86.

Arianna Vanderpool-Wallace (26.03), Club Natation's Victoria Poon (26.11), North Baltimore's Christie Raleigh (26.17), Caitlin Geary (26.32) and Athens Bulldog Kara Lynn Joyce (26.35) grabbed the other championship heat spots.

Phelps, swimming for North Baltimore, gave himself a shot at the men's splash-and-dash title as he squeaked into finals with an eighth-place 23.24. Bovell (21.88) and SwimMAC's Cullen Jones (22.22) provided the morning fireworks as both bested Jones' 2008 meet mark of 22.33.

Fred Bousquet (22.37), Bryan Lundquist (22.90), H2Okie Kaan Tayla (23.03), SwimMAC's Jared White (23.04) and Sun Devil's Nick Brunelli (23.12) also will vie for the sprint crown this evening. Phelps later scratched to focus on the 100 back.

Elizabeth Beisel of Bluefish led the way in the women's 100 back with a 1:02.23, while DeScenza posted a 1:02 as well with a second-place 1:02.58. Minnesota's Roxane Akradi (1:03.22) and North Baltimore's Elizabeth Pelton (1:03.28) will bracket the top two in finals.

Alana Dillette (1:03.73), Emile Ewing (1:03.93), FLA Aquatics' Lauren Driscoll (1:04.08) and Betsy Webb (1:04.26) also made finals.

Phelps was back at it in the men's 100 back with a second-place time of 55.61. He qualified behind Longhorn's Aaron Peirsol, who clocked a 55.56 for the top seed.

Max Murphy (55.84), North Baltimore's Nick Thoman (55.97), Daytona Beach's Ryan Lochte (55.98), Green Mountain's Patrick Murphy (55.98), Indiana's Ben Hesen (56.40) and SwimMAC's Jared White (56.46) each made the finale as well.

Suburban's Corrie Clark led the way in the women's 200 breast with a 2:33.92, while Bluefish's Laura Sogar qualified second in 2:34.65. Tennessee's Martina Moravcikova (2:34.95) and Team Ontario's Hilary Bell (2:35.26) took third and fourth behind them.

Oakville's Julie Calvert (2:35.36), Abby Macgregor (2:35.49), Magnus' Laura Moriarty (2:36.03) and Virginia's Kat McDonnell (2:36.80) also picked up final slots.

In the men's 200 breast, Shanteau demolished the meet record with a 2:11.73. That swim beat the 2:13.65 set by Luca DeMatteis in 2008. Local hero Mark Gangloff of SwimMAC qualified way behind in second with a 2:19.58. Pittsburgh's Warren Barnes finished third in 2:19.88.

Team Ontario's Marco Monaco (2:20.27), Swim Wales' Robert Holderness (2:20.75), Davie Nadadores' Leo Martins (2:21.77), Samak's Simon Dupuis (2:21.77) and Rob Yeager (2:21.90) also made finals.

In what is becoming at least a budding friendly rivalry, North Baltimore's Katie Hoff and Knutson went 1-2 in qualifying for the women's 400 free. Hoff posted the top-seeded time with a 4:14.88, while Knutson qualified second in 4:15.85.

The top two shouldn't rest on their laurels in finals as the rest of the championship field is stocked. Smit (4:17.76), Maggie Bird (4:18.50), Club Wolverine's Emily Brunemann (4:18.92), Kate Dwelley (4:19.82), FLA Aquatics' Lauren Driscoll (4:19.92) and North Baltimore's Camryne Morris (4:19.94) will all give chase in the finale.

Club Wolverine had a field day in the men's 400 free. Peter Vanderkaay (3:56.11), Tyler Clary (3:56.77), Charlie Houchin (3:57.44), Matt Patton (3:58.48) and Adam DeJong (3:58.64) qualified 1-2-3-5-6 to make up the bulk of the final field in the middle distance event.

Badger's Ryan Feeley (3:57.75), Brandon BlueWave's Vincent Donnell (3:59.70) and Gator's Alex Gomez (4:00.59) comprise the rest of that field.

48
Trinbago, NBA & World Basketball / Dream Team coach Daly dead at 78
« on: May 09, 2009, 08:33:05 AM »
DETROIT (AP) -- Chuck Daly, who coached the original Dream Team to the Olympic gold medal in 1992 after winning back-to-back NBA championships with the Detroit Pistons, has died. He was 78.

He died Saturday morning in Jupiter, Fla., with his family by his side, the team said.The Pistons announced in March that the Hall of Fame coach had been diagnosed with pancreatic cancer and was undergoing treatment.

He was renowned for his ability to create harmony out of diverse personalities at all levels of the game, whether they were Ivy Leaguers at Pennsylvania, Dream Teamers Michael Jordan and Charles Barkley, or Pistons as dissimilar as Dennis Rodman and Joe Dumars.

"It's a players' league. They allow you to coach them or they don't," Daly once said. "Once they stop allowing you to coach, you're on your way out."

Daly was voted one of the 10 greatest coaches of the NBA's first half-century in 1996, two years after being inducted into the Basketball Hall of Fame. He was the first coach to win both an NBA title and Olympic gold.

"I think Chuck understood people as well as basketball," former Pistons guard Joe Dumars told The Associated Press in 1995. "It's a people business."

Doug Collins, a former Detroit Pistons and Chicago Bulls coach, learned the intricacies of the game from Daly.

"He was a man of incredible class and dignity. He was a mentor and a friend," Collins said. "He taught me so much and was always so supportive of me and my family. I loved him and will miss him."

Daly had a golden touch at the Barcelona Games with NBA superstars Magic Johnson, Jordan, Larry Bird and Barkley, using a different lineup in every game.

"I played against Chuck's teams throughout the NBA for a lot of years. He always had his team prepared, he's a fine coach," Bird said shortly after Daly's diagnosis became public.

"Chuck did a good job of keeping us together," Bird said. "It wasn't about who scored the most points, it was about one thing: winning the gold medal."

Daly humbled the NBA superstars by coaching a group of college players to victory in a controlled scrimmage weeks before the Olympics.

"I was the happiest man in the gym," Daly said afterward.

Daly also made the right moves for the Pistons, who were notorious for their physical play with Bill Laimbeer and Rick Mahorn leading the fight, Dennis Rodman making headlines and Hall of Fame guards Isiah Thomas and Dumars lifting the team to titles in 1989 and 1990.

Former Piston John Salley gave Daly the nickname Daddy Rich for his impeccably tailored suits.

Daly had a career regular-season record of 638-437 in 13 NBA seasons. In 12 playoff appearances, his teams went 75-51. He left Detroit as the Pistons' leader in regular-season and playoff victories.

"The Daly family and the entire Detroit Pistons and Palace Sports and Entertainment family is mourning the loss of Chuck Daly," family and team spokesman Matt Dobek said. "Chuck left a lasting impression with everyone he met both personally and professionally and his spirit will live with all of us forever."

Despite his success, Daly wasn't part of a Coach of the Year presentation until he handed the trophy to then-Detroit coach Rick Carlisle in 2002.

"This is as close as I've ever been to that thing," Daly said, looking at the Red Auerbach Trophy.

Born July 20, 1930, in St. Marys, Pa., Charles Jerome Daly played college ball at St. Bonaventure and Bloomsburg. After two years in the military, he coached for eight seasons at Punxsutawney (Pa.) High School and then spent six years as an assistant at Duke.

Succeeding Bob Cousy as coach at Boston College, Daly coached the Eagles to a 26-24 record over two seasons and then spent seven seasons at Pennsylvania, leading the Quakers to the Ivy League championship in 1972-75.

Daly joined the NBA coaching ranks in 1978 as an assistant under Billy Cunningham in Philadelphia. His first head coaching job was with Cleveland, but he was fired after the Cavaliers went 9-32 over the first half of the 1981-82 season.

In 1983, Daly took over a Detroit team that had never had two straight winning seasons and led the Pistons to nine straight. He persuaded the likes of Rodman, Thomas, Dumars, Mahorn and Laimbeer and to play as a unit and they responded with back-to-back championships in 1989 and 1990.

Far from being intimidated by the Pistons' Bad Boys image, Daly saw the upside of it.

"I've also had players who did not care," he said a decade later. "I'd rather have a challenging team."

After leaving Detroit, Daly took over the New Jersey Nets for two seasons and led them to the playoffs both times.

He left broadcasting to return to the bench 1997 with the Orlando Magic and won 74 games over two seasons, then retired at the age of 68 because he said he was weary of the travel.

Daly joined the Vancouver Grizzlies as a senior adviser in 2000.

In retirement, he split time between residences in Jupiter, Fla., and suburban Detroit.

The Pistons retired No. 2 to honor their former coach's two NBA titles in January 1997.

"Without you, there wouldn't be us," Mahorn said to Daly during the ceremony.

Daly is survived by his wife, Terry, as well as daughter Cydney and grandchildren Sebrina and Connor.

49
General Discussion / Saudis debate ban on women drivers
« on: May 07, 2009, 07:29:17 PM »
Saudis Debate Ban on Women Drivers
By Robert Mackey (The Lede, The New York Times News Blog)

<a href="http://www.youtube.com/v/d1vQ2WgCJU4" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" class="bbc_link bbc_flash_disabled new_win">http://www.youtube.com/v/d1vQ2WgCJU4</a>

A young Saudi woman has launched an online campaign using YouTube, Facebook and Flickr to get Saudis to discuss, and possibly reconsider, the ban on women drivers in the Kingdom.

As an article published last month in the English-language Saudi newspaper Arab News explained, the project, called “We the Women,” was started by a 24-year-old Saudi woman studying design in the United States who asked to be identified only by her first name, Areej. According to Arab News, she started thinking about how onerous the ban was when she saw that her retired father was forced to spend much of his time “chauffeuring her, her mother and three sisters.”

The core of the campaign is a set of stickers, in the form of speech bubbles and bumper stickers, which Saudi men and women are encouraged to download from Flickr, fill in with their thoughts, and then display. Some people are also taking pictures of what they write on their stickers and then adding those photographs to the project’s Flickr set of “Declarations.”

Printed at the foot of each sticker is the simple message: “To drive, or not to drive, that is the question.”

As the project description on Flickr explains, the woman behind it wants to hear other voices, not just amplify her own:

    We the Women is a campaign that aims to raise the issue of women driving in Saudi Arabia and to start a real, public conversation. The We the Women declaration bubbles and bumper stickers were created as a space for self expression. Feel free to fill it out with your opinion on the issue and stick it wherever you feel it needs to be.



An image posted on the We the Women “Declarations” set on Flickr.


The images of the speech bubbles posted on Flickr so far have already sparked debate. Here is part of an exchange the woman running the project had in the comments thread beneath a speech bubble that said, simply, “I don’t like the backseat!” with two other Flickr users, calling themselves Mac Moo and Mr. Nice 2009 (web punctuation intact):

    Mac Moo says:

    lol….my dear….u are goood at writing,,,but its for your own safety… women must not left alone…in islam…and thats for good of both man and women…. you know how exactly west world is…..i think the government is doing it rite.

    N7nu - We the Women says:

    just to clarify…This is a user submission. I did not write this. Secondly, do you think that if women were allowed to drive we would be westernized as a society? How come women in the time of the prophet were allowed to ride camels. Isn’t that the same thing?

    Mr. Nice 2009 says:

    how pleasure it’s to be drived. the roads in the kingdom need fast driving and braveness. if u got some1 to do for u the driving, u should be proud of. i am against that if woman drive there is alot of dangers, but my confidence in saudi women is high. not driving does not mean u r denied right, but means u r well cared of. Thank ur creator for that.

Other speech bubbles posted on Flickr include: “God did not say I can’t drive” and “I saved 1500 SR by driving myself around Saudi.”

In addition to the back and forth on Flickr, the campaign’s Facebook page has 1,100 fans, who are engaged in an active debate of whether the ban should be lifted, and comments have appeared on the promotional video for the campaign posted on YouTube (the version embedded above is in English, other are in Arabic). The video was shot in Oregon, but the campaign’s organizer told Arab News “I had to make look like it was in Saudi.”

According to Arab News, there is apparently wide support in Saudi Arabia for ending the ban: “Although there are no specific statistics on the number of people who are for or against women driving, most women believe it is their God-given right to drive.”


The Flickr Page
Youtube

50
What about Track & Field / Anniversary of the first 4 minute mile
« on: May 06, 2009, 11:22:28 AM »
Today is the 55th anniversary of the first 4 minute mile.

<a href="http://www.youtube.com/v/uz3ZLpCmKCM" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" class="bbc_link bbc_flash_disabled new_win">http://www.youtube.com/v/uz3ZLpCmKCM</a>

Shortly after, Roger Bannister retired from athletics to concentrate on his career as a medical doctor.

51
Six positives in Olympic doping retests; two are medalists
   
LONDON (AP) -- The IOC's pursuit of drug cheats paid off Tuesday as six Olympic athletes -- including two medalists -- were nabbed for blood doping in retests of their Beijing samples.

Eight months after the games closed, the International Olympic Committee said a total of seven positive tests involving a half-dozen competitors came back positive for CERA, an advanced version of the blood-boosting hormone EPO.

A person familiar with the test results told The Associated Press the tests busted three track and field athletes, two cyclists and one weightlifter. The IOC did not name the competitors or sports involved, saying it was notifying the athletes through their national Olympic committees.

The person, speaking on condition of anonymity because the names haven't been released by the IOC, said one medalist was in cycling and the other was a male track and field athlete who won only one gold medal.

The Italian Olympic Committee said one of the six was an Italian athlete, though it declined to name him. The Italian news agency ANSA identified him as cyclist Davide Rebellin, silver medalist in the road race.

U.S. Olympic Committee spokesman Darryl Seibel said the federation hadn't received notification from the IOC of any adverse findings involving a U.S. athlete.

"Unless we hear otherwise, we are treating no news as good news," Seibel said.

The IOC reanalyzed a total of 948 samples from Beijing after new lab tests for CERA and insulin became available following the Olympics. The testing began in January and focused mainly on endurance events in cycling, rowing, swimming and athletics.

"The further analysis of the Beijing samples that we conducted should send a clear message that cheats can never assume that they have avoided detection," said Arne Ljungqvist, chairman of the IOC medical commission.

Coaches, athletes and anti-doping organizations welcomed the announcement, saying it helps restore credibility to Olympic sports.

"I'm in favor of anything they're doing to clean up the sport," said Glen Mills, coach of Jamaican sprinter Usain Bolt, who won three gold medals, in the 100 meters, 200 meters and 4x100 relay.

Bolt "has not heard anything -- and he will not hear anything," Mills said by telephone from Jamaica.

The IOC will wait for word from the national Olympic bodies before holding any disciplinary hearings. Athletes found guilty of doping face being disqualified from the Olympics and stripped of any medals they won.

The positive findings were based on "A" sample test results. Athletes will be allowed to ask for a testing of their backup "B" samples.

In the meantime, national and international bodies are free to impose provisional suspensions of athletes, the IOC said.

A Greek race walker, Athanasia Tsoumeleka, announced in January that she had tested positive in the new Beijing checks. Tsoumeleka, who finished ninth in Beijing in the 20K walk, was charged by a Greek prosecutor earlier this month with using banned drugs.

The IOC previously disqualified nine athletes for doping at the Aug. 8-24 Olympics. In addition, there were six doping cases involving horses in the equestrian competition.

The IOC has already stripped four athletes of Beijing medals -- Ukrainian heptathlete Lyudmila Blonska (silver), Belarusian hammer throwers Vadim Devyatovskiy (silver) and Ivan Tsikhan (bronze) and North Korean shooter Kim Jong Su (silver and bronze).

The IOC is storing doping samples for eight years so they can be tested retroactively when new detection methods are developed.

The World Anti-Doping Agency welcomed the IOC findings. Under the WADA code, athletes can be disciplined up to eight years from the date of a doping violation.

"We suggest that athletes who may be tempted to cheat keep this reality in mind," WADA president John Fahey said. "We believe that retrospective testing serves as a strong deterrent."

Lauryn Williams, a member of the U.S. track and field team in Beijing and a 2004 silver medalist in the 100 meters, also backed the testing system.

"To go ahead and weed out the cheaters is a good thing," she said. "To find out there are additional cheaters is not a great thing."

52
Six Beijing Olympic Athletes Test Positive for Doping, IOC Says

By Bob Bensch

April 28 (Bloomberg) -- Six athletes from the Beijing Olympics produced positive doping results in retesting of samples, the International Olympic Committee said.

Seven tests involving the six athletes came back positive for the stamina booster CERA, or Continuous Erythropoiesis Receptor Activator, the IOC said.

The committee didn’t identify the athletes or their sports, citing confidentiality rules as it notifies those involved in the retests and their national Olympic committees.

The IOC retested 947 samples from Beijing after new procedures for finding CERA and insulin emerged. The organization is storing Olympic samples for eight years for reanalysis as new testing becomes available.

“The further analysis of the Beijing samples that we conducted should send a clear message that cheats can never assume that they have avoided detection,” said Arne Ljungqvist, the IOC Medical Commission chairman. “The vast majority of athletes do not seek an unfair advantage. We intend to do all we can to ensure that they have a fair environment for competition.”

The IOC said disciplinary procedures, including hearings and penalties, would be conducted using anti-drug rules in effect during the 2008 Games, which produced doping cases against nine athletes from among 4,700 drug tests.

53
Basketball Prospect Leaving High School to Play in Europe
By PETE THAMEL (NYTimes)
Published: April 22, 2009

SAN DIEGO — Jeremy Tyler, a 6-foot-11 high school junior whom some consider the best American big man since Greg Oden, says he will be taking a new path to the N.B.A. He has left San Diego High School and said this week that he would skip his senior year to play professionally in Europe.

Tyler, 17, would become the first United States-born player to leave high school early to play professionally overseas. He is expected to return in two years, when he is projected to be a top pick, if not the No. 1 pick, in the 2011 N.B.A. draft.

Tyler, who had orally committed to play for Rick Pitino at Louisville, has yet to sign with an agent or a professional team. His likely destination is Spain, though teams from other European leagues have shown interest. A spokesman for Louisville said the university could not comment about Tyler.

“Nowadays people look to college for more off-the-court stuff versus being in the gym and getting better,” Tyler said. “If you’re really focused on getting better, you go play pro somewhere. Pro guys will get you way better than playing against college guys.”

His decision is perhaps the most important one since Kevin Garnett jumped straight to the N.B.A. from high school in 1995. Garnett was the No. 5 pick in the N.B.A. draft and ushered in a generation of preps-to-pros stars like Kobe Bryant, LeBron James and Dwight Howard. A minimum-age rule passed for the 2006 draft cut off that route, essentially forcing players to spend at least one year in college.

But Brandon Jennings, a point guard from Los Angeles, became the first player to graduate from high school, skip college and play professionally in Europe. (Whether Jennings would have qualified academically to play at Arizona, where he had signed a letter of intent, is unknown.) He is in his first season with Lottomatica Virtus Roma in Italy and is projected as a high pick in the N.B.A. draft in June.

Tyler took Jennings’s path and added a compelling twist, perhaps opening the door for other elite high school basketball players to follow.

Sonny Vaccaro, a former sneaker company executive, orchestrated Jennings’s move and has guided Tyler and his family through the process.

“It’s significant because it shows the curiosity for the American player just refusing to accept what he’s told he has to do,” Vaccaro said. “We’re getting closer to the European reality of a professional at a young age. Basically, Jeremy Tyler is saying, ‘Why do I have to go to high school?’ ”

Vaccaro said he was unsure how much money Tyler would make, though it will most likely be less than the $1.2 million Jennings made in a combination of salary and endorsements this season. Vaccaro said Tyler would make a six-figure salary, noting that the economic crisis in Europe could hurt his earnings.

Vaccaro made his name by signing Michael Jordan to Nike in the mid-1980s and has advised numerous elite players over the years. “I believe he’ll be a 10-time All-Star with his ability,” Vaccaro said of Tyler.

For now, Tyler said he was working out eight to nine hours a day at local gyms and schools and spending two and a half hours a day to get his high school diploma online. He said he had his “ups and downs” in the classroom but was on track to qualify academically to play in college.

Tyler said that his game stagnated by playing high school basketball here and that he was frustrated by the rules of the California Interscholastic Federation and the National Collegiate Athletic Association.

He averaged 28.7 points during a tumultuous junior season in which his team went 15-11. Two of his coaches were fired in part because of their roles in trying to bring in three star players to complement Tyler. Kenny Roy, the former head coach, denied any wrongdoing.

But the three transfers were ruled ineligible, leaving Tyler the centerpiece of a team whose next biggest player was 6-2.

“It was boring and I wasn’t getting better,” Tyler said. “Each game was the same thing. I was getting triple-teamed and getting hacked. After each game I’d have scratches and bruises up and down my arms from getting triple-teamed. It just wasn’t for me.”

Spain is the most likely option for him because of the structure of its basketball league. Vaccaro said Tyler could shuttle between his professional team and its development squad for 18-year-olds. So if Tyler, who turns 18 in June, struggles early against professional men, he will be able to play and practice with the younger team.

Tyler, who was raised primarily by his father, James, and his uncle, Maurice, will move to Europe with his older brother, James. A rotation of relatives plan to visit. Tyler’s father said he had reservations at first about sending his son overseas, knowing there would be a strong reaction in the community.

“You know what? It’s just a job,” the elder James Tyler said. “He gets a chance to work the job of his dreams and have fun doing it. There’s kids leaving to go to Iraq at age 18. They took a job to serve their country. He’s going to play ball.”

Along the way, Tyler may just become a trailblazer for other high school basketball prodigies.

“This is what I want to do,” he said. “It will help me get better and grow up.”


54
Jokes / Diff'rent Take
« on: April 17, 2009, 12:42:33 PM »
A new take on Diff'rent Strokes

<a href="http://www.youtube.com/v/Kr-e3qGQ884" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" class="bbc_link bbc_flash_disabled new_win">http://www.youtube.com/v/Kr-e3qGQ884</a>

55
General Discussion / Sweden targets webcam strippers for tax
« on: April 15, 2009, 08:31:53 AM »
Sweden targets strippers for tax

 
Sweden's tax authorities are seeking the bare facts about webcam strippers' income, estimating that hundreds of Swedish women are dodging the law.

The search involves tax officials examining websites that feature Swedish strippers, in an effort to identify them and chase them for tax returns.

The tax loss is estimated at about 40m Swedish kronor (£3.3m) annually.

Project leader Dag Hardyson said 200 Swedish strippers had been investigated so far. He said the total could be 500.

"They are young girls, we can see from the photos. We think that perhaps they are not well informed about the rules," said Mr Hardyson, head of the tax authority's national project on internet trade.

The investigation into strippers is part of a wider tax project that includes online poker and fake trader locations.

Detective work

Mr Hardyson told BBC News that the strippers could be liable to pay about half of their earnings in tax. Striptease via webcam is quite legal in Sweden, unlike prostitution, he added.

"I don't think they have any costs really - almost 100% of what they earn is pocketed. Many have regular work and this is extra income. We want them to register their activity as a business - it's still taxable, even if it's a hobby," he said.

He stressed the difficulty of identifying strippers, saying the contact information on the websites was often "not obvious".

"We have to visit the companies behind the websites to get the information, then we have to work with the electronic wallets where the money is going in."

He said the Swedish tax authorities had been tipped off about Swedish internet strippers by the Dutch authorities, who had started a similar investigation earlier.

Web search tools like spiders had failed to detect the Swedish strippers.

"When we investigated the sites manually it worked better," he added.

from: BBC Europe

56
Other Sports / Update on Rodney Rogers
« on: March 23, 2009, 03:18:43 PM »
Charlotte Observer has an article on Rodney's progress today

For 1st time, Rodney Rogers talks about his ordeal

Rodney Rogers begins the first interview since the crash that left him paralyzed by taking exactly 16 seconds to describe the moment that changed his life ...

full article here

57
Other Sports / Extra Extra Read all about it
« on: February 11, 2009, 10:42:29 AM »

58
Other Sports / High school football coach charged in player's death
« on: January 27, 2009, 11:47:42 PM »
High school football coach charged in player's death


(CNN) -- A popular Kentucky high school football coach was arraigned Monday on a reckless homicide charge in the heat-exhaustion-related death of one of his players.

Coach Jason Stinson has been charged with reckless homicide in the heat-related death of a player.

Pleasure Ridge Park football coach Jason Stinson was released with no bail, said a spokesman for the Commonwealth's Attorney Office.

CNN affiliate WLKY reported Monday that Stinson pleaded not guilty at the arraignment.

A grand jury indicted Stinson on Thursday in the death of Max Gilpin, 15.

The player collapsed August 20 during a summer practice and died three days later. "It's a sad day," Stinson told supporters gathered on his lawn to pray Saturday, CNN affiliate WHAS reported. "My heart is broken. Part of my life has been taken away. I no longer teach, and I no longer coach at the school that I love."

The case has stirred strong feelings beyond the Louisville, Kentucky, suburb where Gilpin died. Some say the teen's death was a tragic accident; others insist it was the result of a criminal act.  Watch Stinson's arraignment »

"The best example I can give you is like someone shooting into a building not knowing anyone is in there, then killing somebody," Commonwealth's Attorney R. David Stengel told WHAS. "They didn't know they were in there, but they should have known that shooting into a building where people normally are is something dangerous."

Current and former students reacted with shock to the indictment -- and possible imprisonment -- of Stinson, a beloved coach and teacher.  Watch an outpouring of support for the coach »

"Coach is amazing," former player Casey Ford told WLKY. "Coach truly cares about his players."

Stengel said investigators interviewed almost 100 players, eight coaches, school officials and bystanders. A summary of the interviews was provided to the grand jury. The grand jury denied Stinson's request to give testimony.

Questions surrounding the case include what school officials did before and after the high school sophomore collapsed. Craig Webb, the school's athletic director, said in a deposition obtained by WLKY that he witnessed the incident and went over to assess Gilpin's condition.

"He was breathing," Webb said during the deposition, WLKY reported. "You know, he had a pulse. And we -- I automatically thought we might have had an exhaustion situation. He was sweating profusely."

Gilpin's body temperature reached 107 degrees and witnesses said Stinson had denied the student water on the hot August day, WLKY reported. Gilpin was rushed to an area hospital where he later died.

"If he denied him access to water, that's really, really serious," said CNN senior legal analyst Jeffrey Toobin. "I can see the case moving forward."

As supporters cheered and wept Saturday, Stinson spoke emotionally outside his home, WHAS reported.

"The one thing people keep forgetting in this is that I lost one of my boys that day," he said on a WHAS video. "It was a boy that I loved and a boy that I cared for and a boy that meant the world to me. That's the thing that people forget. And that's a burden I will carry with me for the rest of my life."

Gilpin's parents released a statement saying they hope they will gain access to details of the investigation, including information they believe school officials have withheld from them citing confidentiality, the affiliate said.

"We intend to closely monitor the prosecution and expect anyone responsible for Max's death to be held accountable," the statement said, according to WHAS.

The parents have filed a wrongful death lawsuit against six coaches at the school. The suit claims they were negligent in their actions and that more than 20 minutes passed between the time Max Gilpin collapsed and the time one of the coaches called paramedics, according to WHAS.

Stinson is the only person who has been charged with a crime

59
Other Sports / Study bodes ill for NFL players
« on: January 27, 2009, 11:44:55 PM »
By Stephanie Smith
CNN Medical Producer
     
(CNN) -- For years after his NFL career ended, Ted Johnson could barely muster the energy to leave his house.

 
 "I'd [leave to] go see my kids for maybe 15 minutes," said Johnson. "Then I would go back home and close the curtains, turn the lights off and I'd stay in bed. That was my routine for two years.

"Those were bad days."

These days, the former linebacker is less likely to recount the hundreds of tackles, scores of quarterback sacks or the three Super Bowl rings he earned as a linebacker for the New England Patriots. He is more likely to talk about suffering more than 100 concussions.

"I can definitely point to 2002 when I got back-to-back concussions. That's where the problems started," said Johnson, who retired after those two concussions. "The depression, the sleep disorders and the mental fatigue."

Until recently, the best medical definition for concussion was a jarring blow to the head that temporarily stunned the senses, occasionally leading to unconsciousness. It has been considered an invisible injury, impossible to test -- no MRI, no CT scan can detect it.

But today, using tissue from retired NFL athletes culled posthumously, the Center for the Study of Traumatic Encephalopathy (CSTE), at the Boston University School of Medicine, is shedding light on what concussions look like in the brain. The findings are stunning. Far from innocuous, invisible injuries, concussions confer tremendous brain damage. That damage has a name: chronic traumatic encephalopathy (CTE).

On Tuesday afternoon, researchers at the CSTE released a study about the sixth documented case of CTE in former NFL player Tom McHale, who died in 2008 at the age of 45, and the youngest case to date, an 18-year-old multi-sport athlete who suffered multiple concussions.

While CTE in an ex-NFL player's brain may have been expected, the beginnings of brain damage in an 18-year-old brain was a "shocking" finding, according to Dr. Ann McKee, a neuropathologist at the Veterans Administration Hospital in Bedford, Massachusetts, and co-director of the CSTE.

"We think this is how chronic traumatic encephalopathy starts," said McKee. "This is speculation, but I think we can assume that this would have continued to expand."

CTE has thus far been found in the brains of six out of six former NFL players.

"What's been surprising is that it's so extensive," said McKee. "It's throughout the brain, not just on the superficial aspects of the brain, but it's deep inside."

CSTE studies reveal brown tangles flecked throughout the brain tissue of former NFL players who died young -- some as early as their 30s or 40s.

McKee, who also studies Alzheimer's disease, says the tangles closely resemble what might be found in the brain of an 80-year-old with dementia.

"I knew what traumatic brain disease looked like in the very end stages, in the most severe cases," said McKee. "To see the kind of changes we're seeing in 45-year-olds is basically unheard of."

The damage affects the parts of the brain that control emotion, rage, hypersexuality, even breathing, and recent studies find that CTE is a progressive disease that eventually kills brain cells.

Chris Nowinski knows well the impact of concussions. He was a football star at Harvard before wrestling professionally with World Wrestling Entertainment.

In one moment, his dreams of a long career wrestling were dashed by a kick to his chin. That kick, which caused Nowinski to black out and effectively ended his career, capped a career riddled with concussions.

"My world changed," said Nowinski. "I had depression. I had memory problems. My head hurt for five years."

Nowinski began searching for studies, and what he found startled him.

"I realized when I was visiting a lot of doctors, they weren't giving me very good answers about what was wrong with my head," said Nowinski. "I read [every study I could find] and I realized there was a ton of evidence showing concussions lead to depression, and multiple concussion can lead to Alzheimer's."

Nowinski decided further study was needed, so he founded the Sports Legacy Institute along with Dr. Robert Cantu, a neurosurgeon and the co-director of the CSTE. The project solicits for study the brains of ex-athletes who suffered multiple concussions.

Once a family agrees to donate the brain, it is delivered to scientists at the CSTE to look for signs of damage.

So far, the evidence of CTE is compelling.

The Center for the Study of Traumatic Encephalopathy, along with other research institutions, has now identified traumatic encephalopathy in the brains of late NFL football players John Grimsley, Mike Webster, Andre Waters, Justin Strzelczyk and Terry Long, in addition to McHale.

Grimsley died of an accidental gunshot wound to the chest. Webster, Long and Strzelczyk all died after long bouts of depression, while Waters committed suicide in 2006 at age 44. McHale was found dead last year of an apparent drug overdose.

"Guys were dying," said Nowinski. "The fact of the matter was guys were dying because they played sports 10 or 20 years before."

So far, around 100 athletes have consented to have their brains studied after they die.

Ted Johnson was one of the first to sign up. He said he believes that concussions he suffered while playing football explain the anger, depression and throbbing headaches that occasionally still plague him.

Johnson said he played through concussions because he, like many other NFL athletes, did not understand the consequences. He has publicly criticized the NFL for not protecting players like him.

"They don't want you to know," said Johnson. "It's not like when you get into the NFL there's a handout that says 'These are the effects of multiple concussions so beware.' "

In a statement, the NFL indicated that their staffs take a cautious, conservative approach to managing concussions.

While they support research into the impact of concussions, they maintain that, "Hundreds of thousands of people have played football and other sports without experiencing any problem of this type and there continues to be considerable debate within the medical community on the precise long-term effects of concussions and how they relate to other risk factors."

The NFL is planning its own independent medical study of retired NFL players on the long-term effects of concussion.

"Really my main reason even for talking about this is to help the guys who are already retired," said Johnson. "[They] are getting divorced, going bankrupt, can't work, are depressed, and don't know what's wrong with them. [It is] to give them a name for it so they can go get help."

"The idea that you can whack your head hundreds of times in your life and knock yourself out and get up and be fine is gone," said Nowinski. "We know we can't do that anymore. This causes long-term damage."

60
The riddle of Matthew Hayden – brute, bully and a true great

The Independent
Wednesday, 14 January 2009

The Australian opener bows out with a record that speaks for itself, writes cricket correspondent Angus Fraser



Getty

Matthew Hayden poses with his wife, Kelly, and children after announcing his retirement from cricket yesterday



And then there was one. The retirement of Matthew Hayden leaves the all-conquering Australian team of the past 15 years with just one player, Ricky Ponting, who could be described as a great of the game. Twenty-six months ago, while Australia were handing England the mother of all 5-0 Ashes thrashings, Ponting, the Australian captain, was surrounded by figures that deserved to be categorised in such a way. Ponting, 34, still has a few years left, enough to overtake Sachin Tendulkar and become the highest run scorer in Tests, but, as he tries to find a way of bucking Australia's fall from the pinnacle of world cricket, he must be feeling pretty lonely.

How he must yearn for the days when greats like Shane Warne, Glenn McGrath, Adam Gilchrist, Justin Langer and Hayden were under his control. Captaining then must have seemed easy. All he had to do was toss a coin, tell them when and where they were batting or bowling and then watch the opposition flounder.

Australia will find batsmen to score Hayden's runs but they are unlikely to find a player that had his presence. Hayden was the big, strong, imposing figure they sent out first to confront and bully the opposition. Australia has produced more refined opening batsmen than the Queenslander but it is questionable whether any have been better. Hayden's record – 8,625 runs at an average of 50.73 in 103 Tests and 6,133 runs at 43.80 in one-dayers – is outstanding. In Test cricket only five batsmen have scored more than his 30 hundreds and just eight have a better rate of converting fifties to tons.

"I have lived the dream and loved every minute of representing Australia and Queensland – there's zero regrets when it comes to my cricket performance," said Hayden. "I am retiring from cricket, but not from life. I'm humbled by my background and by the fact that I've got so much support. That's why I can feel so proud of what the team has achieved over the period of time I've contributed to it."

It is normally big, fast bowlers who like to bully, towering over a batsman so they could look down on him whenever they could. But no bowler wanted to get too close to the left-hander, who used to walk out to bat with his Australian shirt stretched tightly across his huge chest. England famously confronted him during a one-dayer at Edgbaston prior to the 2005 Ashes after Simon Jones rather recklessly threw the ball at him. England, with their "one in, all in" policy surrounded Hayden when he reacted angrily to Jones' throw, and it seemed to affect him. During the series his huge upper body and skinny-legged appearance earned him the nickname "Buzz Lightyear" from the England team. On several occasions he lost his wicket trying to impose himself on Matthew Hoggard.

In the past decade Australia's batsmen took Test cricket forward by trying to score at four runs per over, and Hayden was the force behind the legacy. He was a brute who constantly looked to get forward so that he could drive you powerfully down the ground or clip you over mid-wicket. Unless you were a proper fast bowler – 88mph plus – it was almost impossible to push him back. As a batsman Hayden did not possess great touch, but boy did he work at his game; a trait brought on by the amount of time it took him to establish himself in the Australian Test side. Hayden made his Test debut in 1994 but it was only during Australia's 2001 tour of India that he made himself a permanent member of the team.

Prior to the India tour Hayden spent weeks practising playing spin in Queensland where he would scuff up pitches and get as many local spinners as he could to bowl at him. Australia lost a memorable series 2-1 but Hayden had an outstanding tour, scoring 549 runs at an average of 109.8 in three remarkable Tests. Further great achievements followed. In front of his home Brisbane crowd he scored 197 and 103 in the first 2002-03 Ashes Test, the match in which Nasser Hussain famously invited Australia to bat.

He briefly held on to the highest individual score in Test cricket too, when he struck 380 against Zimbabwe in Perth. Brian Lara reclaimed the record when he scored 400 not out against England in Antigua.

As a person Hayden is something of a riddle. He loves fishing, hunting and cooking, and those that have shared a changing room with him have only had good things to say. But he could be a pig to play against. Hayden is a religious man, as could be seen when he crossed himself each time he scored a hundred, but he was one of the nastiest sledgers Australia has produced.

From the slips or at gully he would say horribly insulting things to batsmen. But then, having a beer at the close of play, he would be charming.

To many Englishmen the legend that surrounds the "Baggy Green" Australian cap has become a bit nauseating. But in an age when respect for anything and anybody is sadly diminishing it continues to serve a purpose, representing something of greater importance than any member of the team. Hayden has helped continue that legend. The eulogies offered by some players can appear empty but when McGrath speaks it is worth listening. When asked about Hayden he said: "It's been an absolute honour and privilege to play with him, and even more so to call him a mate. I'd have him in every team I played for."

Australia's departed

Born: 29 October, 1971, Queensland

Tests: 103 for Australia (1992-2009), 8,625 runs (high of 380 in October 2003) at an average of 50.73, 30 centuries

ODIs: 161, 6,133 runs, (high of 181) average of 43.80, 10 centuries

Hayden is the fifth high-profile retirement from the all-conquering Australian side of recent times.

Shane Warne, 1992-2007, 145 Tests, retired January 2007. Bowling average 25.41

Glenn McGrath, 1993-2007, 124 Tests, retired January 2007. Bowling average 21.64

Justin Langer, 1993-2007, 105 Tests, retired January 2007. Batting average 45.27

Adam Gilchrist, 1999-2008, 96 Tests, retired March 2008. Batting average 47.60

Hanging 10: Barbecues and beaches beckon retiree

The former Australian opener should find plenty to keep himself occupied in retirement:

Religion: Hayden has been a devout Catholic all his life. "Religion has been a tremendous reference point for me."

Cooking: A keen cook, Hayden prepared meals for his team-mates and has had two cookbooks published in Australia.

Surfing and sailing: A keen surfer and sailor whose boat capsized in 2000 while sailing in Queensland, he and two colleagues (including Australia international all-rounder Andrew Symonds) swam a kilometre to safety. It took them an hour to reach the shore, battling against the waves, currents and exhaustion.

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