TAMPA, Fla. (AP) — Andy Pettitte pulled his cap downnike outlet factory
low, peered into the catcher and delivered each pitch with the intensity of a postseason game.
Clearly, this was no ordinary bullpen session.
Pettitte arrived at camp on Tuesday, took a physical and pulled on the familiar navy pinstripes. The lefty felt right at home with the New York Yankees.
"It's weird to say it. I feel like I never left," Pettitte said. "I don't know how to explain it."
Pettitte ended his brief retirement last Friday, signing a minor league contract that would pay him $2.5 million if he's added to the major league roster. He is three months shy of his 40th birthday, but he feels fine physically and hopes to help the Yankees win their 28th World Series championship.
Pettitte threw 50 pitches to catcher Russell Martin and was so encouraged that he joked he might be ready in three weeks, even though the target date for his return to the Bronx is May 1. Pitching coach Larry Rothschild and others want Pettitte to ease his way back after not pitching for 17 months.
"I really feel like I'm progressing. I really felt good aurora nike outlet
about it," Pettitte said. "I told Larry: 'You're going to have to make me take it slow.'"
Martin was quite impressed with Pettitte's performance.
"That's as good a bullpen as I've caught all spring," Martin said. "As far as executing pitches, that's as good as I've seen. He kept executing pitch after pitch after pitch."
Martin said what stood out was Pettitte's command and "how serious he is every pitch. It's like a game out there."
Yankees manager Joe Girardi wants to see more.
"I don't get too caught up in it," Girardi said of Pettitte's mound session. "You have to wait until guys get going. We'll have to decide how many bullpens we feel he needs before throwing BP. The big thing is getting his body in shape."
It's possible Pettitte will pitch in an exhibition game before the Yankees head north. The plan is for him to stay in extended spring training and then join New York's rotation perhaps by May.
"I am a little surprised I felt as good as I did today," Pettitte said.
Pettitte was with the Yankees in camp this spring as an instructor. He threw batting practice several times, and continued throwing when he went home. He told Yankees general manager Brian Cashman the day he showed up on the first day of spring training that he was interested in coming back, and was thinking he'd be back in uniform sooner than this.
"I thought they would sign me within a couple days," Pettitte said. "Obviously, it took a little while."
Cashman said he offered Pettitte a deal in the $10-12 million range in December. Pettitte wasn't ready to make the commitment then because he wasn't certain he could do it.
"The money they were talking about, that makes you have the confidence you can do it," Pettitte said. "Mentally, I didn't think I could do it to the capacity I wanted."
There was never a doubt that Pettitte would only come back to New York.
"Me and my wife talked about it and there was no considering going anywhere else," he said. "Obviously, I could've gotten more money if I went somewhere else. This is where my heart was, man. I had no desire to go anywhere else."
Even though he interrupted his career in New York to play for his hometown Houston Astros from 2004-06, Pettitte will always be considered a true Yankee. He's one of the "Core Four" along with Derek Jeter, Mariano Rivera and Jorge Posada. The quartet helped the Yankees win World Series titles in 1996, 1998, 1999, 2000 and 2009. In both 1998 and 2009, Pettitte won the World Series finale.
Pettitte is 240-138 with a 3.88 ERA in 16 major league seasons. He has excelled in the postseason, setting a major league record for wins by going 19-10 with a 3.83 ERA.
In 13 seasons with the Yankees, Pettitte was a three-time All-Star, earning the honor in 1996, 2001 and 2010. He was a 20-game winner in 1996 and 2003, twice going 21-8. Pettitte has 203 wins for the Yankees, trailing only Whitey Ford (236) and Red Ruffing (231). He is second to Ford in strikeouts (1,823) and starts (396).
Pettitte was 11-3 with a 3.28 ERA in his last season, but was plagued by injuries. He feels he benefited from the time off.
"When I retired, those last games I pitched in the postseason, my groin and my lower back were hurt," he said. "Those are the things I would be concerned about, if thernike store coupons
e was a concern. I've had 16 months for those to heal."
Pettitte is one of five starters looking to fill three rotation spots behind CC Sabathia and Hiroki Kuroda. He put a lot of thought into this decision and promises no regrets.
"It's a great opportunity. It's a great challenge," Pettitte said. "No matter what happens, I prayed about the decision with my family and my kids for a long time and we feel it's the right thing to do."
2012年3月21日星期三
Woods shows no signs of injury at exhibition
(Reuters) - Tiger Woods appears recovered from the mild Achillesnike outlet memphis
strain that forced him out of the WGC-Cadillac Championship after carding a level par 72 in the final round of the Tavistock Cup on Tuesday.
Woods, who withdrew from the final round of the WGC event in Doral, Florida, on March 11 with a mild Achilles strain, showed no signs of distress in this week's exhibition but was far from his top form.
Britain's Ian Poulter was the only golfer in thenike store coupon code
elite 24 player field to shoot a higher score, returning a four-over 76 on the Lake Nona layout just outside of Orlando, Florida.
Woods is scheduled to return to the PGA Tour this week at the Arnold Palmer Invitational as he continues his buildup to the April 5-8 Masters.
The former-world number one mixed two birdies with two bogeys for Team Albany on Tuesday, which finished last in the four-team competition with a two-day total score of 26-under.
Team Lake Nona of Ben Curtis, Ross Fisher, Retief Goosen, Peter Hanson,nike outlet store
Graeme McDowell and Gary Woodland enjoyed home course advantage claiming victory with 41-under.
The event features 24 of the top touring professionals who are members of the Albany, Isleworth, Lake Nona and Queenwood Golf Clubs.
strain that forced him out of the WGC-Cadillac Championship after carding a level par 72 in the final round of the Tavistock Cup on Tuesday.
Woods, who withdrew from the final round of the WGC event in Doral, Florida, on March 11 with a mild Achilles strain, showed no signs of distress in this week's exhibition but was far from his top form.
Britain's Ian Poulter was the only golfer in thenike store coupon code
elite 24 player field to shoot a higher score, returning a four-over 76 on the Lake Nona layout just outside of Orlando, Florida.
Woods is scheduled to return to the PGA Tour this week at the Arnold Palmer Invitational as he continues his buildup to the April 5-8 Masters.
The former-world number one mixed two birdies with two bogeys for Team Albany on Tuesday, which finished last in the four-team competition with a two-day total score of 26-under.
Team Lake Nona of Ben Curtis, Ross Fisher, Retief Goosen, Peter Hanson,nike outlet store
Graeme McDowell and Gary Woodland enjoyed home course advantage claiming victory with 41-under.
The event features 24 of the top touring professionals who are members of the Albany, Isleworth, Lake Nona and Queenwood Golf Clubs.
2012年3月15日星期四
CBS renews 18 prime-time shows, including 'NCIS'
NEW YORK (AP) — CBS on Wednesday announced the renewal of a staggering 18 prime-time series for next season, making the annual May announcement of its fall schedule almost moot and sending a message of stability.
Fans of television's top-rated network won't have to worry about whether old favorites such as "NCIS," ''CSI: Crime Scene Investigation" and "Survivor" are coming back in the fall.
The Monday comedy lineup of "How I Met Yournikes shox
Mother," ''2 Broke Girls" and "Mike & Molly" will return intact, and CBS said it is negotiating to bring the Ashton Kutcher-led "Two and a Half Men" back. Thursday's "The Big Bang Theory" also will return, CBS said.
"This large-scale renewal is testimony to the strength, stability and success of a deep and diverse roster of top-rated programming," said Nina Tassler, CBS entertainment president.
A handful of series did not get renewals, immediately putting them on the bubble for return. These include the New York and Miami spinoffs of "CSI," the new dramas "Unforgettable" and "A Gifted Man," the sixth-season comedy "Rules of Engagement" and the new comedy "Rob."
This doesn't necessarily mean those series will be canceled. They'll likely compete with potential new series for spots in the lineup.
Wednesday's announcement sends a clear message to producers of new series being considered by CBS: Raise your game because competition for space is fierce, said Brad Adgate, an analyst for Horizon Media.
The CBS announcement also is aimed at advertisers who will be making decisions this spring about where to spend billions of dollars to hawk their wares.
"When you're the top network and have been the top network for seven or eight seasons, you can do this," Adgate said.
CBS could probably put the same lineup onhigh top nikes
next fall and do well but doesn't want to run the risk of getting stale, he said.
Besides "NCIS," CBS has already committed to bringing back its Los Angeles spinoff. Other dramas that will return are "Hawaii Five-0," ''nike outlet factory
Criminal Minds," ''Person of Interest," ''The Mentalist," ''Blue Bloods" and "The Good Wife."
"The Amazing Race" and "Undercover Boss" will join "Survivor" as CBS reality shows to return. The newsmagazines "60 Minutes" and "48 Hours Mystery" will be back.
Fans of television's top-rated network won't have to worry about whether old favorites such as "NCIS," ''CSI: Crime Scene Investigation" and "Survivor" are coming back in the fall.
The Monday comedy lineup of "How I Met Yournikes shox
Mother," ''2 Broke Girls" and "Mike & Molly" will return intact, and CBS said it is negotiating to bring the Ashton Kutcher-led "Two and a Half Men" back. Thursday's "The Big Bang Theory" also will return, CBS said.
"This large-scale renewal is testimony to the strength, stability and success of a deep and diverse roster of top-rated programming," said Nina Tassler, CBS entertainment president.
A handful of series did not get renewals, immediately putting them on the bubble for return. These include the New York and Miami spinoffs of "CSI," the new dramas "Unforgettable" and "A Gifted Man," the sixth-season comedy "Rules of Engagement" and the new comedy "Rob."
This doesn't necessarily mean those series will be canceled. They'll likely compete with potential new series for spots in the lineup.
Wednesday's announcement sends a clear message to producers of new series being considered by CBS: Raise your game because competition for space is fierce, said Brad Adgate, an analyst for Horizon Media.
The CBS announcement also is aimed at advertisers who will be making decisions this spring about where to spend billions of dollars to hawk their wares.
"When you're the top network and have been the top network for seven or eight seasons, you can do this," Adgate said.
CBS could probably put the same lineup onhigh top nikes
next fall and do well but doesn't want to run the risk of getting stale, he said.
Besides "NCIS," CBS has already committed to bringing back its Los Angeles spinoff. Other dramas that will return are "Hawaii Five-0," ''nike outlet factory
Criminal Minds," ''Person of Interest," ''The Mentalist," ''Blue Bloods" and "The Good Wife."
"The Amazing Race" and "Undercover Boss" will join "Survivor" as CBS reality shows to return. The newsmagazines "60 Minutes" and "48 Hours Mystery" will be back.
Clooney uses star power to spotlight Sudan crisis
WASHINGTON (AP) — George Clooney used his Hollywood celebrity Wednesday to draw attention to the humanitarian crisis in the volatile border area between Sudan and South Sudan, offering a firsthand account of the suffering as thousands are forced to take refuge in caves because of daily aerial bombardments.
"What you see is a constant drip of fear,"blue nike basketball shoes
the actor and human rights activist told the Senate Foreign Relations Committee.
Just back from an eight-day trip to the region, Clooney described a secret, six-hour trip across the border to the Nuba Mountains, with rocket attacks, death and destruction. He recalled how a 9-year-old boy had his hands blown off.
Teamed with John Prendergast, co-founder of the advocacy group the Enough Project, Clooney made a film that captured the images of crimes against humanity.
The four-minute video showed refugees in caves, the boy with bloody arms and a woman marked by her wounds. In the final image, Clooney stood above what appeared to be a dead man splayed on the ground.
"How many more bodies until the Nuba Mountains become the next Darfur?" asked the video, which was released online.
More than two decades of fighting in the region gave way last year to an agreement to create the world's newest country, South Sudan. It seceded from Sudan last July amid hopes that have deteriorated into border clashes, deadly fighting and a standoff on oil.
Clooney said civilians who have farmed the fields are unable to work for fear of bombs dropping from military planes. Sudan has refused to allow aid agencies into the region. Nancy Lindborg, an official with the U.S. Agency for International Development, told the committee that 250,000 people are on the brink of a famine with the upcoming rainy season.
"These are not the cave people of the Nuba Mountains," Clooney said in an interview with reporters before his testimony. "They're hiding in these caves because they're attacked on a daily basis. The Geneva Convention calls that war crimes."
Sudan President Omar al-Bashir is wanted for war crimes by the International Criminal Court for killings and rapes committed in Darfur. Clooney referred to Bashir and others as war criminals.
Darfur has been in turmoil since 2003, when ethnic African rebels accusing the Arab-dominated Sudanese government of discrimination took up arms. The Khartoum government is accused of retaliating by unleashing Arab militias on civilians — a charge the government denies. The U.N. estimates 300,000 people have died and 2.7 million have been displaced.
The committee chairman, Sen. John Kerry, acknowledged that Americans' attention is often diverted by other crises around the world, butnike outlet store
resolving the issues in the Sudan region is critical.
"Make no mistake: It is the leaders in Khartoum and Juba (South Sudan's capital) who must choose between a future of conflict and poverty or a future of security and prosperity. But we must not abdicate the important role the United States can play in helping to nurture that process, just as we helped midwife the birth of this new nation," Kerry said.
Clooney said he understood the competition from other major stories such as the Arab Spring and jobs, but he argued that the Sudan conflict should matter to Americans because of its affect on the price of gas.
Oil-rich South Sudan and Sudan, the keeper of the pipelines, have been at odds over oil and profits. Exports have stopped, putting pressure on oil prices worldwide. China receives about 6 percent of its oil from Sudan, and with that source shut off, it must go elsewhere to buy.
"So we actually have a financialmen s nike free run
interest in this working out," Clooney told reporters.
Clooney suggested that the Senate send a special envoy to China to seek their help with the Sudan dispute and freeze the financial assets of the Sudanese leaders to prevent them from buying weapons.
Clooney also met with Susan Rice, the U.S. ambassador to the United Nations, on Tuesday and planned to meet with President Barack Obama at the White House and Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton on Thursday.
"I'm not a policymaker," he told reporters. "My job is to just raise the volume."
"What you see is a constant drip of fear,"blue nike basketball shoes
the actor and human rights activist told the Senate Foreign Relations Committee.
Just back from an eight-day trip to the region, Clooney described a secret, six-hour trip across the border to the Nuba Mountains, with rocket attacks, death and destruction. He recalled how a 9-year-old boy had his hands blown off.
Teamed with John Prendergast, co-founder of the advocacy group the Enough Project, Clooney made a film that captured the images of crimes against humanity.
The four-minute video showed refugees in caves, the boy with bloody arms and a woman marked by her wounds. In the final image, Clooney stood above what appeared to be a dead man splayed on the ground.
"How many more bodies until the Nuba Mountains become the next Darfur?" asked the video, which was released online.
More than two decades of fighting in the region gave way last year to an agreement to create the world's newest country, South Sudan. It seceded from Sudan last July amid hopes that have deteriorated into border clashes, deadly fighting and a standoff on oil.
Clooney said civilians who have farmed the fields are unable to work for fear of bombs dropping from military planes. Sudan has refused to allow aid agencies into the region. Nancy Lindborg, an official with the U.S. Agency for International Development, told the committee that 250,000 people are on the brink of a famine with the upcoming rainy season.
"These are not the cave people of the Nuba Mountains," Clooney said in an interview with reporters before his testimony. "They're hiding in these caves because they're attacked on a daily basis. The Geneva Convention calls that war crimes."
Sudan President Omar al-Bashir is wanted for war crimes by the International Criminal Court for killings and rapes committed in Darfur. Clooney referred to Bashir and others as war criminals.
Darfur has been in turmoil since 2003, when ethnic African rebels accusing the Arab-dominated Sudanese government of discrimination took up arms. The Khartoum government is accused of retaliating by unleashing Arab militias on civilians — a charge the government denies. The U.N. estimates 300,000 people have died and 2.7 million have been displaced.
The committee chairman, Sen. John Kerry, acknowledged that Americans' attention is often diverted by other crises around the world, butnike outlet store
resolving the issues in the Sudan region is critical.
"Make no mistake: It is the leaders in Khartoum and Juba (South Sudan's capital) who must choose between a future of conflict and poverty or a future of security and prosperity. But we must not abdicate the important role the United States can play in helping to nurture that process, just as we helped midwife the birth of this new nation," Kerry said.
Clooney said he understood the competition from other major stories such as the Arab Spring and jobs, but he argued that the Sudan conflict should matter to Americans because of its affect on the price of gas.
Oil-rich South Sudan and Sudan, the keeper of the pipelines, have been at odds over oil and profits. Exports have stopped, putting pressure on oil prices worldwide. China receives about 6 percent of its oil from Sudan, and with that source shut off, it must go elsewhere to buy.
"So we actually have a financialmen s nike free run
interest in this working out," Clooney told reporters.
Clooney suggested that the Senate send a special envoy to China to seek their help with the Sudan dispute and freeze the financial assets of the Sudanese leaders to prevent them from buying weapons.
Clooney also met with Susan Rice, the U.S. ambassador to the United Nations, on Tuesday and planned to meet with President Barack Obama at the White House and Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton on Thursday.
"I'm not a policymaker," he told reporters. "My job is to just raise the volume."
2012年2月13日星期一
Elite Security Services Announce Enhancement of their Home Security Systems in Canada with Introduction of Smoke Detection Equipment
The Canadian customers of home security systems can now enjoy the benefits of an excellent smoke detector as a part of their home protection package. Elite Security Services recently launched this component in Canada. They launched their service in Canada last year. The company presently offers three low cost security packages for home protection
(PRWEB) February 12, 2012
The users of home security systems packages from Elite Security Services in Canada will now have the privilege of receiving a useful smoke detection device. The device has just been launched in the country and is being offered now as a part of all the packages installed by them. Elite Security Services is one of the latest entrants in the security market, in Canada. They have expanded to almost all parts of Canada within a few months. The company is already a major force in the American home protection industry and is noted for their low cost security solutions. The customers of the company have expressed their satisfaction about the launch.
All advanced home security systems companies provide a motion detector in their package. Smoke detectors are capable of detecting the source of smoke using ionization and photoelectric mechanism. These devices are indispensable parts of a security package because they act as an alarm for fire. With the recent technological advancements in the field, smoke detectors are now even more efficient. The company owner, Mr. Paul Shakuri, introduced this equipment to Canada saying, “This is an advanced smoke detection device that can detect heat changes even if there is a source of fire within the walls. We are pleased to offer this device to all our customers in Canada”. Mr. Shakuri is a respected personality in the security industry in the United States.
The three home security systems packages from the company are equipped with all the latest features. They have specially designed packages for households that have no landline telephone connection. The company presently offers its basic package for a rental of only $35.99 per month. As a customer of the company, Elton from Toronto rates them very highly. He says, “I am happy that I opted for Elite Security while installing my security package. They gave me one of the best deals of my life”.
About the Company: Elite Security Services is a security company providing protection to homeowners in Canada and the United States. They are also an active associate of Protect Your Home.
Contact
(PRWEB) February 12, 2012
The users of home security systems packages from Elite Security Services in Canada will now have the privilege of receiving a useful smoke detection device. The device has just been launched in the country and is being offered now as a part of all the packages installed by them. Elite Security Services is one of the latest entrants in the security market, in Canada. They have expanded to almost all parts of Canada within a few months. The company is already a major force in the American home protection industry and is noted for their low cost security solutions. The customers of the company have expressed their satisfaction about the launch.
All advanced home security systems companies provide a motion detector in their package. Smoke detectors are capable of detecting the source of smoke using ionization and photoelectric mechanism. These devices are indispensable parts of a security package because they act as an alarm for fire. With the recent technological advancements in the field, smoke detectors are now even more efficient. The company owner, Mr. Paul Shakuri, introduced this equipment to Canada saying, “This is an advanced smoke detection device that can detect heat changes even if there is a source of fire within the walls. We are pleased to offer this device to all our customers in Canada”. Mr. Shakuri is a respected personality in the security industry in the United States.
The three home security systems packages from the company are equipped with all the latest features. They have specially designed packages for households that have no landline telephone connection. The company presently offers its basic package for a rental of only $35.99 per month. As a customer of the company, Elton from Toronto rates them very highly. He says, “I am happy that I opted for Elite Security while installing my security package. They gave me one of the best deals of my life”.
About the Company: Elite Security Services is a security company providing protection to homeowners in Canada and the United States. They are also an active associate of Protect Your Home.
Contact
Daniela Hantuchova wins Pattaya Open again
Slovakia’s Daniela Hantuchova won her second straight Pattaya Open title Sunday, defeating Russia’s Maria Kirilenko 6-7 (4), 6-3, 6-3.
This was Hantuchova’s fifth career title and her first since winning in Thailand a year ago.
“Even after I lost the first set, I kept fighting and never looked back,” said Hantuchova, who successfully defended a title for the first time. “This is special for me.”
Not wanting to break a winning routine, Hantuchova said she had eaten chicken fried rice and salad for the past seven days, and was looking forward to something different.
“It could be a pizza or anything,” she said. “I also kept eating the same thing in Indian Wells and I won.”
Hantuchova, seeded third, won in 3 hours, 14 minutes. Kirilenko had already spent more than 9 1/2 hours on court just to get to the final, her first on the WTA Tour in nearly 16 months.
She was a break up in the first set before eventually taking it on a tiebreaker when Hantuchova netted a backhand after 1 hour, 14 minutes.
Hantuchova won the second set after an early break before Kirilenko needed treatment on court for a right hip injury.
The Russian double-faulted to give Hantuchova the crucial break and a 5-3 lead in the deciding set. Hantuchova closed the victory with help of two forehand winners down the line.
This was Hantuchova’s fifth career title and her first since winning in Thailand a year ago.
“Even after I lost the first set, I kept fighting and never looked back,” said Hantuchova, who successfully defended a title for the first time. “This is special for me.”
Not wanting to break a winning routine, Hantuchova said she had eaten chicken fried rice and salad for the past seven days, and was looking forward to something different.
“It could be a pizza or anything,” she said. “I also kept eating the same thing in Indian Wells and I won.”
Hantuchova, seeded third, won in 3 hours, 14 minutes. Kirilenko had already spent more than 9 1/2 hours on court just to get to the final, her first on the WTA Tour in nearly 16 months.
She was a break up in the first set before eventually taking it on a tiebreaker when Hantuchova netted a backhand after 1 hour, 14 minutes.
Hantuchova won the second set after an early break before Kirilenko needed treatment on court for a right hip injury.
The Russian double-faulted to give Hantuchova the crucial break and a 5-3 lead in the deciding set. Hantuchova closed the victory with help of two forehand winners down the line.
Brazil "very likely" to choose French fighter jet: sources
Brazil is "very likely" to choose France's Rafale fighter jet to refurbish its air force, government sources say, a decision that would award one of the emerging-market world's most coveted defense contracts to a jet whose future was in doubt only two weeks ago.
President Dilma Rousseff and her top advisers believe that Dassault Aviation's bid to sell at least 36 Rafales offers the best terms among the three finalists, the sources told Reuters on condition of anonymity.
The other two bidders are Boeing's F-18 and Saab's Gripen.
Rousseff has cast the deal as a watershed decision that will help mold Brazil's military and strategic alliances for the next few decades as it continues to establish itself as a leading economic power. The contract will have an initial value of about $4 billion but will likely be worth considerably more over time once maintenance and follow-on orders are included.
Rousseff previously had concerns about the Rafale because the jet had not found any buyers outside France. That raised doubts about whether Dassault would have the scale necessary to build the jets at a reasonable cost and maintain them over time.
The sources said those concerns were assuaged when India announced on January 31 that it had entered exclusive talks to buy 126 Rafales. Brazilian Defense Minister Celso Amorim traveled to New Delhi last week to discuss the deal with Indian officials and examine documents related to Dassault's bid.
"The India deal changed everything," one of the Brazilian sources said. "With India's decision, it's now very likely the Rafale will be the winner here."
The sources said that Dassault offered the best combination of a high-quality aircraft and the sharing of proprietary technology that Amorim has said is critical to the deal. Brazil hopes to use that technology to expand its own budding defense industry, led by aircraft maker Embraer .
Dassault touts the Rafale as an agile, medium-sized aircraft with low operating costs that can be more quickly deployed than its bulkier competitors. Those attributes may appeal to Brazil, which has no significant problems with its neighbors and plans to use the aircraft mainly for defensive purposes such as patrolling its recently discovered offshore oil fields.
Boeing's offer of technology has yet to be finalized but the sources said they believe it cannot compete with Dassault's bid because the United States has historically placed tight restrictions on the sale of military technology abroad.
If confirmed, the deals would enhance France's partnerships with two of the world's biggest up-and-coming economic powers - Brazil and India. They could also provide a boost to President Nicolas Sarkozy, who has cast himself as a champion of French industry and an energetic salesman of the Rafale in particular as he faces a tough re-election fight this year.
The sources said that unexpected developments, especially a breakdown in India's talks with Dassault, could still cause Rousseff to change her mind.
They also said her decision would probably not be announced until after France's April-May election, in an attempt to keep the deal from becoming overly politicized.
MEMORIES OF U.S. TENSIONS OVER JETS SALE
Brazil's air force contract is one of several deals in developing countries that have been highly contested by European and U.S. defense companies as their home markets suffer due to budget cuts. Companies are also competing for jet contracts in the United Arab Emirates, Qatar and South Korea.
Brazil's bidding process has gone through several ups and downs over the years. Rousseff's predecessor, Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva, said in 2009 that Brazil would choose the Rafale. However, he left office without finalizing the deal.
Rousseff was extremely close to Lula as his chief of staff, but upon becoming president in January 2011 she surprised her Cabinet ministers by asking them to re-evaluate the bids from scratch. A month later, Rousseff told visiting U.S. Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner that Boeing's F-18 was the best jet among the three finalists, but she still wanted better terms on the technology transfers.
The F-18 is widely believed to be cheaper than the Rafale. Boeing recently confirmed that it will offer the F-18 to Brazil at the same per-unit price as during the last round of bidding in 2009, Reuters reported on Friday.
Ultimately, though, Rousseff grew frustrated by what she perceived as Boeing's inability to improve the guarantees on the transfers, the officials said. Rousseff is a moderate leftist who has built her presidency around policies she believes will help Brazilian industries in areas from oil exploration to auto production.
The officials said that Rousseff was also wary of a 2006 incident in which the United States blocked the sale of Embraer's Super Tucano military aircraft to Venezuela's leftist government. Washington had the power to veto the deal because Embraer's planes contained U.S. technology.
In a separate incident in 2009, Embraer said it was temporarily blocked from selling commercial jets to Venezuela because they contained U.S. communications systems.
The episodes raised doubts about whether Brazil would face similar restrictions in the future with the technology it received from Boeing as part of the F-18 bid. "Nobody's ever forgotten what happened with Venezuela," one official said.
Brazil's point man in the confrontation with the United States in both Embraer incidents was Amorim - he was Lula's foreign minister at the time and Rousseff appointed him as her defense minister in August.
Despite her misgivings regarding Boeing, Rousseff also did not want to choose a jet that might not even be in production a decade into the future. In December, French Defense Minister Gerard Longuet warned that Dassault would stop production of the Rafale in 2021 if it did not win any export orders.
Within days of India's announcement regarding talks for the Rafale, Amorim traveled to New Delhi to gauge the bid's terms and its likelihood of proceeding as planned.
Amorim told the Times of India on Wednesday that Indian officials "promised to give us some documents ... such as basic rules on the tender process that we could compare to ours."
Brazil is not the only country that appears to be suddenly following India's lead. French newspaper La Tribune reported on February 2 that Dassault could soon seal a sale of at least 60 Rafale fighter jets to the United Arab Emirates, turning around a deal that also appeared to be a lost cause.
President Dilma Rousseff and her top advisers believe that Dassault Aviation's bid to sell at least 36 Rafales offers the best terms among the three finalists, the sources told Reuters on condition of anonymity.
The other two bidders are Boeing's F-18 and Saab's Gripen.
Rousseff has cast the deal as a watershed decision that will help mold Brazil's military and strategic alliances for the next few decades as it continues to establish itself as a leading economic power. The contract will have an initial value of about $4 billion but will likely be worth considerably more over time once maintenance and follow-on orders are included.
Rousseff previously had concerns about the Rafale because the jet had not found any buyers outside France. That raised doubts about whether Dassault would have the scale necessary to build the jets at a reasonable cost and maintain them over time.
The sources said those concerns were assuaged when India announced on January 31 that it had entered exclusive talks to buy 126 Rafales. Brazilian Defense Minister Celso Amorim traveled to New Delhi last week to discuss the deal with Indian officials and examine documents related to Dassault's bid.
"The India deal changed everything," one of the Brazilian sources said. "With India's decision, it's now very likely the Rafale will be the winner here."
The sources said that Dassault offered the best combination of a high-quality aircraft and the sharing of proprietary technology that Amorim has said is critical to the deal. Brazil hopes to use that technology to expand its own budding defense industry, led by aircraft maker Embraer .
Dassault touts the Rafale as an agile, medium-sized aircraft with low operating costs that can be more quickly deployed than its bulkier competitors. Those attributes may appeal to Brazil, which has no significant problems with its neighbors and plans to use the aircraft mainly for defensive purposes such as patrolling its recently discovered offshore oil fields.
Boeing's offer of technology has yet to be finalized but the sources said they believe it cannot compete with Dassault's bid because the United States has historically placed tight restrictions on the sale of military technology abroad.
If confirmed, the deals would enhance France's partnerships with two of the world's biggest up-and-coming economic powers - Brazil and India. They could also provide a boost to President Nicolas Sarkozy, who has cast himself as a champion of French industry and an energetic salesman of the Rafale in particular as he faces a tough re-election fight this year.
The sources said that unexpected developments, especially a breakdown in India's talks with Dassault, could still cause Rousseff to change her mind.
They also said her decision would probably not be announced until after France's April-May election, in an attempt to keep the deal from becoming overly politicized.
MEMORIES OF U.S. TENSIONS OVER JETS SALE
Brazil's air force contract is one of several deals in developing countries that have been highly contested by European and U.S. defense companies as their home markets suffer due to budget cuts. Companies are also competing for jet contracts in the United Arab Emirates, Qatar and South Korea.
Brazil's bidding process has gone through several ups and downs over the years. Rousseff's predecessor, Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva, said in 2009 that Brazil would choose the Rafale. However, he left office without finalizing the deal.
Rousseff was extremely close to Lula as his chief of staff, but upon becoming president in January 2011 she surprised her Cabinet ministers by asking them to re-evaluate the bids from scratch. A month later, Rousseff told visiting U.S. Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner that Boeing's F-18 was the best jet among the three finalists, but she still wanted better terms on the technology transfers.
The F-18 is widely believed to be cheaper than the Rafale. Boeing recently confirmed that it will offer the F-18 to Brazil at the same per-unit price as during the last round of bidding in 2009, Reuters reported on Friday.
Ultimately, though, Rousseff grew frustrated by what she perceived as Boeing's inability to improve the guarantees on the transfers, the officials said. Rousseff is a moderate leftist who has built her presidency around policies she believes will help Brazilian industries in areas from oil exploration to auto production.
The officials said that Rousseff was also wary of a 2006 incident in which the United States blocked the sale of Embraer's Super Tucano military aircraft to Venezuela's leftist government. Washington had the power to veto the deal because Embraer's planes contained U.S. technology.
In a separate incident in 2009, Embraer said it was temporarily blocked from selling commercial jets to Venezuela because they contained U.S. communications systems.
The episodes raised doubts about whether Brazil would face similar restrictions in the future with the technology it received from Boeing as part of the F-18 bid. "Nobody's ever forgotten what happened with Venezuela," one official said.
Brazil's point man in the confrontation with the United States in both Embraer incidents was Amorim - he was Lula's foreign minister at the time and Rousseff appointed him as her defense minister in August.
Despite her misgivings regarding Boeing, Rousseff also did not want to choose a jet that might not even be in production a decade into the future. In December, French Defense Minister Gerard Longuet warned that Dassault would stop production of the Rafale in 2021 if it did not win any export orders.
Within days of India's announcement regarding talks for the Rafale, Amorim traveled to New Delhi to gauge the bid's terms and its likelihood of proceeding as planned.
Amorim told the Times of India on Wednesday that Indian officials "promised to give us some documents ... such as basic rules on the tender process that we could compare to ours."
Brazil is not the only country that appears to be suddenly following India's lead. French newspaper La Tribune reported on February 2 that Dassault could soon seal a sale of at least 60 Rafale fighter jets to the United Arab Emirates, turning around a deal that also appeared to be a lost cause.
Harrison, Isner complete US rout of Switzerland
FRIBOURG, Switzerland (AP) — The United States completed its 5-0 rout of Switzerland in the first round of the Davis Cup on Sunday, with 19-year-old Ryan Harrison and John Isner winning the closing singles matches.
Harrison made his Davis Cup debut, defeating Michael Lammer 7-6 (0), 7-6 (4) to extend the Americans' lead to 4-0. Isner, who stunned Roger Federer in four sets Friday, then beat Marco Chuidinelli 6-3, 6-4 to give the U.S. its first sweep since a 2004 first-round series against Austria.
"It was really exciting to be out there," Harrison said. "To be part of this week was a huge experience."
The U.S. will play at France in the April 6-8 quarterfinals. In other pairings, it's: Argentina vs. Croatia, Austria vs. Spain and Czech Republic vs. Serbia.
Harrison was selected by captain Jim Courier after the U.S. sealed its victory Saturday, when Mardy Fish and Mike Bryan beat Olympic doubles champions Federer and Stanislas Wawrinka. Federer and Fish had been scheduled to meet in Sunday's first match.
Courier praised Harrison's maturity and all-around game.
"You see the weapons. He has got a lot of upside and I look forward to sitting on the bench and watching it firsthand," Courier said. "This was a great experience for Ryan and for me."
Harrison, ranked 95th, dominated the first-set tiebreaker against the 251st-ranked Lammer with volley winners and strong serves, clinching it with a powerful passing shot.
"I got the first point off and that was pretty big. After that, it just kind of flowed," Harrison said.
Courier, a Davis Cup and four-time Grand Slam winner, suggested the 17th-ranked Isner is on the verge of a career breakthrough.
"I learned that John can beat anyone at any time, because no one has a chance if he plays the way he plays, and serves the way he serves, unless they play incredible defensive tennis," Courier said.
Isner cruised against Chiudinelli, the 190th-ranked childhood friend of Federer, and served his ninth ace on match point.
"I definitely played top-notch tennis this weekend in tricky conditions — in Europe, in February, on clay," Isner said. "No matter the surface, no matter the opponent, a lot of times the ball, the point, the match is going to be in my control."
Harrison made his Davis Cup debut, defeating Michael Lammer 7-6 (0), 7-6 (4) to extend the Americans' lead to 4-0. Isner, who stunned Roger Federer in four sets Friday, then beat Marco Chuidinelli 6-3, 6-4 to give the U.S. its first sweep since a 2004 first-round series against Austria.
"It was really exciting to be out there," Harrison said. "To be part of this week was a huge experience."
The U.S. will play at France in the April 6-8 quarterfinals. In other pairings, it's: Argentina vs. Croatia, Austria vs. Spain and Czech Republic vs. Serbia.
Harrison was selected by captain Jim Courier after the U.S. sealed its victory Saturday, when Mardy Fish and Mike Bryan beat Olympic doubles champions Federer and Stanislas Wawrinka. Federer and Fish had been scheduled to meet in Sunday's first match.
Courier praised Harrison's maturity and all-around game.
"You see the weapons. He has got a lot of upside and I look forward to sitting on the bench and watching it firsthand," Courier said. "This was a great experience for Ryan and for me."
Harrison, ranked 95th, dominated the first-set tiebreaker against the 251st-ranked Lammer with volley winners and strong serves, clinching it with a powerful passing shot.
"I got the first point off and that was pretty big. After that, it just kind of flowed," Harrison said.
Courier, a Davis Cup and four-time Grand Slam winner, suggested the 17th-ranked Isner is on the verge of a career breakthrough.
"I learned that John can beat anyone at any time, because no one has a chance if he plays the way he plays, and serves the way he serves, unless they play incredible defensive tennis," Courier said.
Isner cruised against Chiudinelli, the 190th-ranked childhood friend of Federer, and served his ninth ace on match point.
"I definitely played top-notch tennis this weekend in tricky conditions — in Europe, in February, on clay," Isner said. "No matter the surface, no matter the opponent, a lot of times the ball, the point, the match is going to be in my control."
Kentucky beats Vandy 69-63 for 17th straight win
Kentucky (25-1, 11-0) disrupted Vanderbilt with aggressive defense in the first half, and the Wildcats held off a furious charge in a sold-out and electric Memorial Gym by scoring the final eight points of the game. The young and talented Wildcats wound up holding off the experienced Vanderbilt squad that had been predicted to be their best challenge this season.
“This was two teams slugging it out, it really was,” Kentucky coach John Calipari said. “(Vanderbilt) wasn’t going away, and we weren’t going away. We made some shots. They missed some shots. We won the game. Hats off to Vanderbilt fans. It was a great environment. It is why we do what we do, both players and coaches.”
Calipari wasn’t quite ready to credit his defense for Vanderbilt missing its final nine shots, saying he needed to check the tape to see if the Commodores simply missed some of those attempts. The Kentucky coach did appreciate a strong test for a team that had won its last four SEC games by 20 points.
“We need all of this. In every huddle, I kept saying this is great for us. It is what we need,” Calipari said. “To be honest, I would rather we be up 23 points. They are an execution team, a veteran team, seniors. They played like that. We got better today.”
Now Kentucky has a three-game lead in the conference with five games remaining.
“I don’t think we’re going to lose that many games,” Davis said.
Lamb finished with 16 points, Anthony Davis added 15 points and seven blocks, Terrence Jones scored 14 and Marquis Teague had 13.
Vanderbilt (17-8, 6-4) led 63-61 with 4:08 to go on a jumper by Brad Tinsley. The Commodores didn’t score again and snapped a four-game home winning streak over No. 1 teams. They missed a chance to pull into a tie with Florida for second in the SEC.
They had four senior starters and the top two scorers in the conference, but none of it was any match for Kentucky.
“It was a pretty good college game if you didn’t care who won,” Vanderbilt coach Kevin Stallings said. “I thought our guys really battled in the second half. We just kind of come out of the gate, gassed out at the beginning, I think. We fought hard. We rebounded hard. And, like I said, they just made a couple more plays than we did. We’re very disappointed.”
Vanderbilt top scorers in league play are Jeffery Taylor and John Jenkins, but neither matched their average. Jenkins led Vanderbilt with 15 points and Taylor had 13. Tinsley and Festus Ezeli also added 13 each.
Kentucky had held its previous five opponents to an average of 49.6 points with the nation’s stingiest field goal percentage defense at 35.8 percent. Vanderbilt came in with the SEC’s best percentage from beyond the arc, and Kentucky held the Commodores to just 8 of 21 from 3-point range (38.1 percent)— well below their 42.1 percent average.
The Wildcats led 36-23 at halftime and had been up by as much as 14 in the first half. That included a stretch where they held Vanderbilt scoreless for five minutes.
“Digging ourselves that hole kind of cost us the game there in the first half,” Taylor said.
Vanderbilt opened the second half by hitting six of its first seven shots from long range and 10 of its first 14 overall from the floor in rallying back.
Taylor, held to only two points in the first half, scored 11 as Vanderbilt chipped away at the lead, and his 3-pointer with 11:58 tied it up at 48. The Commodores got a turnover under the Kentucky basket, and Goulbourne passed to Tinsley for a dunk he celebrated with a scream, giving Vandy a 53-51 lead that was its first since 9-8.
Ezeli added a dunk for Vanderbilt’s biggest lead.
Davis answered with a jumper and a dunk he finished with a free throw for a three-point play. Tinsley hit a 3-pointer before his bucket with 4:08 to go. Lamb then put Kentucky ahead to stay with his 3 from the left corner in front of the Wildcats’ bench after the Commodores collapsed on Darius Miller in the paint.
“I was wide open in the corner, and I knocked it down,” Lamb said.
Michael Kidd-Gilchrist, who played much of the second half in foul trouble, hit two free throws and Darius Miller also scored.
Taylor’s 3-point attempt in the final minute was blocked by Davis before bouncing off the back of Ezeli’s head.
“We missed some bunnies,” Stallings said. “They pressed us and we break the press and we’ve got a dunk and we drop the ball, foul. We had some opportunities. We just didn’t take advantage of them.”
“This was two teams slugging it out, it really was,” Kentucky coach John Calipari said. “(Vanderbilt) wasn’t going away, and we weren’t going away. We made some shots. They missed some shots. We won the game. Hats off to Vanderbilt fans. It was a great environment. It is why we do what we do, both players and coaches.”
Calipari wasn’t quite ready to credit his defense for Vanderbilt missing its final nine shots, saying he needed to check the tape to see if the Commodores simply missed some of those attempts. The Kentucky coach did appreciate a strong test for a team that had won its last four SEC games by 20 points.
“We need all of this. In every huddle, I kept saying this is great for us. It is what we need,” Calipari said. “To be honest, I would rather we be up 23 points. They are an execution team, a veteran team, seniors. They played like that. We got better today.”
Now Kentucky has a three-game lead in the conference with five games remaining.
“I don’t think we’re going to lose that many games,” Davis said.
Lamb finished with 16 points, Anthony Davis added 15 points and seven blocks, Terrence Jones scored 14 and Marquis Teague had 13.
Vanderbilt (17-8, 6-4) led 63-61 with 4:08 to go on a jumper by Brad Tinsley. The Commodores didn’t score again and snapped a four-game home winning streak over No. 1 teams. They missed a chance to pull into a tie with Florida for second in the SEC.
They had four senior starters and the top two scorers in the conference, but none of it was any match for Kentucky.
“It was a pretty good college game if you didn’t care who won,” Vanderbilt coach Kevin Stallings said. “I thought our guys really battled in the second half. We just kind of come out of the gate, gassed out at the beginning, I think. We fought hard. We rebounded hard. And, like I said, they just made a couple more plays than we did. We’re very disappointed.”
Vanderbilt top scorers in league play are Jeffery Taylor and John Jenkins, but neither matched their average. Jenkins led Vanderbilt with 15 points and Taylor had 13. Tinsley and Festus Ezeli also added 13 each.
Kentucky had held its previous five opponents to an average of 49.6 points with the nation’s stingiest field goal percentage defense at 35.8 percent. Vanderbilt came in with the SEC’s best percentage from beyond the arc, and Kentucky held the Commodores to just 8 of 21 from 3-point range (38.1 percent)— well below their 42.1 percent average.
The Wildcats led 36-23 at halftime and had been up by as much as 14 in the first half. That included a stretch where they held Vanderbilt scoreless for five minutes.
“Digging ourselves that hole kind of cost us the game there in the first half,” Taylor said.
Vanderbilt opened the second half by hitting six of its first seven shots from long range and 10 of its first 14 overall from the floor in rallying back.
Taylor, held to only two points in the first half, scored 11 as Vanderbilt chipped away at the lead, and his 3-pointer with 11:58 tied it up at 48. The Commodores got a turnover under the Kentucky basket, and Goulbourne passed to Tinsley for a dunk he celebrated with a scream, giving Vandy a 53-51 lead that was its first since 9-8.
Ezeli added a dunk for Vanderbilt’s biggest lead.
Davis answered with a jumper and a dunk he finished with a free throw for a three-point play. Tinsley hit a 3-pointer before his bucket with 4:08 to go. Lamb then put Kentucky ahead to stay with his 3 from the left corner in front of the Wildcats’ bench after the Commodores collapsed on Darius Miller in the paint.
“I was wide open in the corner, and I knocked it down,” Lamb said.
Michael Kidd-Gilchrist, who played much of the second half in foul trouble, hit two free throws and Darius Miller also scored.
Taylor’s 3-point attempt in the final minute was blocked by Davis before bouncing off the back of Ezeli’s head.
“We missed some bunnies,” Stallings said. “They pressed us and we break the press and we’ve got a dunk and we drop the ball, foul. We had some opportunities. We just didn’t take advantage of them.”
Seton Hall beats Pittsburgh 73-66
Ashton Gibbs had 26 points, including 15 of Pittsburgh’s final 19 of the game, to lead the Panthers (15-11, 4-9), who have lost two straight as they try to recover from an 0-7 start in the conference.
Nasir Robinson’s layup with 8:12 to play gave Pittsburgh a 61-55 lead. With 6:40 to play, Seton Hall’s Fuquan Edwin scored on a drive but was called a charge on the play. It was the fifth personal foul for the best defensive player on the Pirates, but the points started a 10-0 run that ended with Haralds Karlis’ 3-pointer with 4;37 left, his only points of the game.
Gibbs hit a jumper with 3:58 left to make it 65-63, but Jordan Theodore, who finished with 15 points and nine assists hit a short jumper to make it 67-63 with 3:36 left.
Gibbs hit all three free throws after being fouled taking a 3 with 1:27 left. Pope scored down low on a pass from Theodore with 30 seconds left.
Freshman Brandon Mobley stole the ball from Pittsburgh point guard Tray Woodall on the next possession. As Seton Hall passed the ball to waste time, Robinson was called for a flagrant foul on Pope at midcourt.
Pope made the two free throws and on the ensuing possession he was fouled with 9.7 seconds left and made both for the final margin.
Cosby finished 5 of 9 from 3-point range as the Pirates went 10 of 23 from beyond the arc.
Nasir Robinson’s layup with 8:12 to play gave Pittsburgh a 61-55 lead. With 6:40 to play, Seton Hall’s Fuquan Edwin scored on a drive but was called a charge on the play. It was the fifth personal foul for the best defensive player on the Pirates, but the points started a 10-0 run that ended with Haralds Karlis’ 3-pointer with 4;37 left, his only points of the game.
Gibbs hit a jumper with 3:58 left to make it 65-63, but Jordan Theodore, who finished with 15 points and nine assists hit a short jumper to make it 67-63 with 3:36 left.
Gibbs hit all three free throws after being fouled taking a 3 with 1:27 left. Pope scored down low on a pass from Theodore with 30 seconds left.
Freshman Brandon Mobley stole the ball from Pittsburgh point guard Tray Woodall on the next possession. As Seton Hall passed the ball to waste time, Robinson was called for a flagrant foul on Pope at midcourt.
Pope made the two free throws and on the ensuing possession he was fouled with 9.7 seconds left and made both for the final margin.
Cosby finished 5 of 9 from 3-point range as the Pirates went 10 of 23 from beyond the arc.
Plumlees help No. 10 Duke top Terps, 73-55
Mason Plumlee finished with 16 points and 10 rebounds while Miles had the most rebounds of any player in Hall of Fame coach Mike Krzyzewski’s 37-year career.
“And I told Miles, `I’ve coached some pretty good players,”’ Krzyzewski quipped.
It was the first time both Plumlee brothers had double-doubles in the same game during their three seasons together at Duke. Their 32 combined rebounds were one fewer than the entire Maryland team.
“The Plumlee brothers were dominant,” Maryland coach Mark Turgeon said. “Their big guys kicked our big guys’ tails.”
Seth Curry scored 19 points to help the Blue Devils (21-4, 8-2 Atlantic Coast Conference) pull away. They followed up their last-second victory over rival North Carolina with their fifth straight victory in the series.
They built a 48-33 rebounding advantage but struggled to separate themselves on the scoreboard until they closed the game with a 13-2 run.
Nick Faust scored 15 points but Terrell Stoglin, the ACC’s leading scorer, finished with 13—nine below his average—on 4-of-16 shooting with some questionable shot selection for the Terps (14-10, 4-6).
“They just weren’t going to let Terrell beat them,” Turgeon said. “That’s the reason (Krzyzewski) has won 900-something games. He’s not a dummy. They weren’t going to let Terrell beat them, and he can’t handle it, and then we get frustrated because he throws out of the double team, and guys aren’t making plays.”
Playing their first game since starting point guard Pe’Shon Howard was lost for the season with a torn right knee ligament, they were just 1 of 14 from 3-point range, missing their first 10, and lost their third in four games.
Still, they kept themselves in it for much of the way. Faust’s jumper in the lane with 5 minutes left pulled Maryland to 60-53, but the Terrapins managed just one field goal the rest of the way.
Meanwhile, Austin Rivers countered with a free throw and a deep 3, Curry had a pretty drive down the lane and Miles Plumlee followed Curry’s missed jumper with an authoritative slam that made it 68-53 with 1:30 left.
“We were able to get good stops and streak them together and make a run,” Curry said. “We kind of dominated, got the crowd into it and (pushed) the lead up.”
Rivers, whose buzzer-beating 3 gave Duke an 85-84 victory over the Tar Heels, finished with 11 points for the Blue Devils.
Mychal Parker added 12 points for Maryland.
Duke broke out its new gray uniforms—their manufacturer calls it “platinum”—with “Blue Devils” replacing the school’s name on the front and the years of their four national championships in barely visible stars along the back shoulders.
But for a while in this one, they looked like the same team that hasn’t played particularly well lately at Cameron.
Duke entered having lost two of its last three home games and the only win there in that stretch—a close victory over St. John’s—felt like a loss to Krzyzewski. Neither team led this one by more than seven points in the opening half, and Duke was up 32-29 at the break after starting 1-for-10 from the field.
“I felt that initially, today, they wanted it too much and they were into themselves a little bit more than being outward, and they finally kind of got outward,” Krzyzewski said. “That was easier to do (at UNC) because there were 25,000 people there against you and you have to be together and you have to talk or else you’re going to get annihilated.”
“And I told Miles, `I’ve coached some pretty good players,”’ Krzyzewski quipped.
It was the first time both Plumlee brothers had double-doubles in the same game during their three seasons together at Duke. Their 32 combined rebounds were one fewer than the entire Maryland team.
“The Plumlee brothers were dominant,” Maryland coach Mark Turgeon said. “Their big guys kicked our big guys’ tails.”
Seth Curry scored 19 points to help the Blue Devils (21-4, 8-2 Atlantic Coast Conference) pull away. They followed up their last-second victory over rival North Carolina with their fifth straight victory in the series.
They built a 48-33 rebounding advantage but struggled to separate themselves on the scoreboard until they closed the game with a 13-2 run.
Nick Faust scored 15 points but Terrell Stoglin, the ACC’s leading scorer, finished with 13—nine below his average—on 4-of-16 shooting with some questionable shot selection for the Terps (14-10, 4-6).
“They just weren’t going to let Terrell beat them,” Turgeon said. “That’s the reason (Krzyzewski) has won 900-something games. He’s not a dummy. They weren’t going to let Terrell beat them, and he can’t handle it, and then we get frustrated because he throws out of the double team, and guys aren’t making plays.”
Playing their first game since starting point guard Pe’Shon Howard was lost for the season with a torn right knee ligament, they were just 1 of 14 from 3-point range, missing their first 10, and lost their third in four games.
Still, they kept themselves in it for much of the way. Faust’s jumper in the lane with 5 minutes left pulled Maryland to 60-53, but the Terrapins managed just one field goal the rest of the way.
Meanwhile, Austin Rivers countered with a free throw and a deep 3, Curry had a pretty drive down the lane and Miles Plumlee followed Curry’s missed jumper with an authoritative slam that made it 68-53 with 1:30 left.
“We were able to get good stops and streak them together and make a run,” Curry said. “We kind of dominated, got the crowd into it and (pushed) the lead up.”
Rivers, whose buzzer-beating 3 gave Duke an 85-84 victory over the Tar Heels, finished with 11 points for the Blue Devils.
Mychal Parker added 12 points for Maryland.
Duke broke out its new gray uniforms—their manufacturer calls it “platinum”—with “Blue Devils” replacing the school’s name on the front and the years of their four national championships in barely visible stars along the back shoulders.
But for a while in this one, they looked like the same team that hasn’t played particularly well lately at Cameron.
Duke entered having lost two of its last three home games and the only win there in that stretch—a close victory over St. John’s—felt like a loss to Krzyzewski. Neither team led this one by more than seven points in the opening half, and Duke was up 32-29 at the break after starting 1-for-10 from the field.
“I felt that initially, today, they wanted it too much and they were into themselves a little bit more than being outward, and they finally kind of got outward,” Krzyzewski said. “That was easier to do (at UNC) because there were 25,000 people there against you and you have to be together and you have to talk or else you’re going to get annihilated.”
Payne, Green pace No. 11 MSU past No. 3 OSU
“I knew we were just dragging because we had gone, like, 11 straight days,” he said. “I listened to my players. Draymond Green took care of (talking to his teammates) and it was just a focused walkthrough. Those kinds of things, they don’t come up on the stat sheet. Nobody understands. But that’s what leadership and togetherness is all about.”
The Spartans (20-5, 9-3 Big Ten) pulled into a tie with the Buckeyes (21-4, 9-3) for first place in the conference by playing a withering, physical defense. Ohio State hit just 26 percent of its shots from the field (14 of 53).
“You have to give them a lot of credit. That’s what they hang their hat on — pressure defense and limiting us to one shot,” said Aaron Craft, who almost doubled his average with 15 points for Ohio State. “We got a little selfish and we were looking for our own shots.”
Swapping body blows and occasional buckets, the teams took turns making mini-runs in the second half. Ohio State pulled to 44-40 on a 15-footer by All-American forward Jared Sullinger, but Keith Appling, who had 14 points for the Spartans, hit two free throws and Derrick Nix coaxed in a baby hook to push the lead back to eight.
Payne then banked in a left-handed shot over Sullinger, before Sullinger was called for a charge to pick up his fourth foul with 2 minutes left. Next Green drove around Deshaun Thomas for a baseline layup to stretch the lead to 10.
Ohio State never got closer than eight again.
“I thought we did a good enough job defensively to win the game,” Buckeyes coach Thad Matta said. “It all came down to our inability to put the ball in the basket.”
Izzo was happy with what he called perhaps his team’s best defensive effort of the year, but also said he was relieved that the Buckeyes continually misfired even when unguarded.
“Maybe they wore down a little bit, I don’t know,” he said. “They missed some 3s, a couple of open, open ones late that I’ve seen them make on a regular basis.”
Sullinger had 17 points and 16 rebounds but was just 5 of 15 from the field. Deshaun Thomas and William Buford, averaging a combined 30 points, totaled just 12—each hitting just 2 of 12 shots from the field.
“I wasn’t expecting the double (team). Michigan State didn’t show that on film,” Sullinger said. “They had a great game plan.”
Nix, who had shared with Payne the responsibility for guarding Sullinger, was stunned when told Sullinger’s stats.
“He had 10 turnovers? Wow,” he said. “I guess we did frustrate him.”
The Buckeyes were held 29 points under their season scoring average.
Sullinger said he and his teammates lost sight of their strengths.
“We’ve played 25 games,” he said. “We decided in the 25th game that we weren’t going to play our system.”
Payne had a big game a year ago when the Spartans came to his home state and lost. This time the Dayton native was 6 for 6 from the field and also had four rebounds, two blocks and two steals.
A former AAU teammate of Sullinger and Craft, Payne was cheered by his father, brothers and cousins in a raucous rooting section behind the Michigan State bench.
“I just love playing here in my home state,” he said. “My family gets to come up. They don’t get to travel that much to get to all my games. So it means a lot.”
The teams meet again on March 4 in East Lansing, Mich.
Izzo praised the Buckeyes, despite their worst game of the season.
“I don’t feel any different than I felt a month ago, or six months ago: Ohio State’s the best team in the league,” he said. “But on this given day we were able to get them.”
The Spartans (20-5, 9-3 Big Ten) pulled into a tie with the Buckeyes (21-4, 9-3) for first place in the conference by playing a withering, physical defense. Ohio State hit just 26 percent of its shots from the field (14 of 53).
“You have to give them a lot of credit. That’s what they hang their hat on — pressure defense and limiting us to one shot,” said Aaron Craft, who almost doubled his average with 15 points for Ohio State. “We got a little selfish and we were looking for our own shots.”
Swapping body blows and occasional buckets, the teams took turns making mini-runs in the second half. Ohio State pulled to 44-40 on a 15-footer by All-American forward Jared Sullinger, but Keith Appling, who had 14 points for the Spartans, hit two free throws and Derrick Nix coaxed in a baby hook to push the lead back to eight.
Payne then banked in a left-handed shot over Sullinger, before Sullinger was called for a charge to pick up his fourth foul with 2 minutes left. Next Green drove around Deshaun Thomas for a baseline layup to stretch the lead to 10.
Ohio State never got closer than eight again.
“I thought we did a good enough job defensively to win the game,” Buckeyes coach Thad Matta said. “It all came down to our inability to put the ball in the basket.”
Izzo was happy with what he called perhaps his team’s best defensive effort of the year, but also said he was relieved that the Buckeyes continually misfired even when unguarded.
“Maybe they wore down a little bit, I don’t know,” he said. “They missed some 3s, a couple of open, open ones late that I’ve seen them make on a regular basis.”
Sullinger had 17 points and 16 rebounds but was just 5 of 15 from the field. Deshaun Thomas and William Buford, averaging a combined 30 points, totaled just 12—each hitting just 2 of 12 shots from the field.
“I wasn’t expecting the double (team). Michigan State didn’t show that on film,” Sullinger said. “They had a great game plan.”
Nix, who had shared with Payne the responsibility for guarding Sullinger, was stunned when told Sullinger’s stats.
“He had 10 turnovers? Wow,” he said. “I guess we did frustrate him.”
The Buckeyes were held 29 points under their season scoring average.
Sullinger said he and his teammates lost sight of their strengths.
“We’ve played 25 games,” he said. “We decided in the 25th game that we weren’t going to play our system.”
Payne had a big game a year ago when the Spartans came to his home state and lost. This time the Dayton native was 6 for 6 from the field and also had four rebounds, two blocks and two steals.
A former AAU teammate of Sullinger and Craft, Payne was cheered by his father, brothers and cousins in a raucous rooting section behind the Michigan State bench.
“I just love playing here in my home state,” he said. “My family gets to come up. They don’t get to travel that much to get to all my games. So it means a lot.”
The teams meet again on March 4 in East Lansing, Mich.
Izzo praised the Buckeyes, despite their worst game of the season.
“I don’t feel any different than I felt a month ago, or six months ago: Ohio State’s the best team in the league,” he said. “But on this given day we were able to get them.”
No. 4 Missouri drop 3-pointers, No. 6 Baylor 72-57
That’s what they was giving us and that’s what we was taking. And making,” Dixon said.
Missouri is 14-0 at home with an average margin of 24 points and got an easier test a week after needing a 11-0 run to beat Kansas by three. Both games were sellouts but the matchup against Baylor (21-4, 8-4), carrying a higher ranking, failed to match that atmosphere.
Still, the Tigers said they were energized by the response from the fans in the second half.
“Yeah, it got pretty loud,” Dixon said. “The crowd does ignite us.”
Quincy Miller had 20 points and Perry Jones III had just four on 2-for-12 shooting for Baylor, which flopped for the second straight game after a 14-point home loss against No. 8 Kansas on Wednesday night. The Bears shot just 36 percent, negating a whopping 40-27 rebounding advantage.
Baylor has lost twice to Missouri and Kansas and is unbeaten otherwise.
“When Missouri is on, there is nobody in the country as good as them offensively. Nobody. Period,” coach Scott Drew said. “And when I mean on, is when they’re making their 3s. So you have to hope they’re not on. They’ve been on a lot this year.”
Baylor stopped Ricardo Ratliffe, Missouri’s lone inside threat, but nobody else. Ratliffe was held to six points on 3-for-9 shooting after entering the game shooting 75.5 percent, threatening the NCAA single-season record.
“When you’re making shots, it’s really tough to go out there and try to chase around the guys that they have that can break you down off the bounce,” Drew said. “So usually you have to give up something, and tonight we gave up the 3.”
Pierre Jackson, who had 20 points and 15 assists in a one-point loss to Missouri at home on Jan. 21, had five points on 2-for-9 shooting with five assists in the rematch. Baylor entered the game leading the Big 12 in 3-point shooting but was just 4 for 17 from long range.
The 6-foot-11 Jones, a sophomore, is a top NBA prospect, but has struggled in both meetings against Missouri, totaling eight points and four rebounds at home. He also was off at Kansas, getting five points on 1-for-8 shooting.
“The problem is he’s judged on that potential sometimes,” Drew said, “and that’s hard on everybody.”
Denmon had 16 points, passing Jon Sundvold for 10th on Missouri’s career scoring list. Dixon finished with 16 points and six assists, and Kim English had 12 points, all in the second half.
Missouri shot 48 percent from the field overall. It had 12 3-pointers twice earlier in the season, against Oklahoma and Niagara.
Pressey totaled 16 3-pointers in the first 24 games. Three of his 3-pointers on Saturday came in the first half, including two in the final 1:42 to help Missouri take a 33-29 lead.
Missouri hit six 3-pointers and Steve Moore had a dunk during a 20-6 run that broke open a one-point game midway through the second half. Dixon had the last two from well beyond the line for a 58-43 cushion with just over eight minutes left, and his 3-pointer started the run.
Baylor had a 13-1 rebounding advantage early, taking full advantage of its height advantage against Missouri’s four-guard attack.
Baylor has lost 11 in a row at Missouri and hasn’t won in Columbia since 1948. The Bears have lost nine in a row to top-10 opponents.
Missouri is 14-0 at home with an average margin of 24 points and got an easier test a week after needing a 11-0 run to beat Kansas by three. Both games were sellouts but the matchup against Baylor (21-4, 8-4), carrying a higher ranking, failed to match that atmosphere.
Still, the Tigers said they were energized by the response from the fans in the second half.
“Yeah, it got pretty loud,” Dixon said. “The crowd does ignite us.”
Quincy Miller had 20 points and Perry Jones III had just four on 2-for-12 shooting for Baylor, which flopped for the second straight game after a 14-point home loss against No. 8 Kansas on Wednesday night. The Bears shot just 36 percent, negating a whopping 40-27 rebounding advantage.
Baylor has lost twice to Missouri and Kansas and is unbeaten otherwise.
“When Missouri is on, there is nobody in the country as good as them offensively. Nobody. Period,” coach Scott Drew said. “And when I mean on, is when they’re making their 3s. So you have to hope they’re not on. They’ve been on a lot this year.”
Baylor stopped Ricardo Ratliffe, Missouri’s lone inside threat, but nobody else. Ratliffe was held to six points on 3-for-9 shooting after entering the game shooting 75.5 percent, threatening the NCAA single-season record.
“When you’re making shots, it’s really tough to go out there and try to chase around the guys that they have that can break you down off the bounce,” Drew said. “So usually you have to give up something, and tonight we gave up the 3.”
Pierre Jackson, who had 20 points and 15 assists in a one-point loss to Missouri at home on Jan. 21, had five points on 2-for-9 shooting with five assists in the rematch. Baylor entered the game leading the Big 12 in 3-point shooting but was just 4 for 17 from long range.
The 6-foot-11 Jones, a sophomore, is a top NBA prospect, but has struggled in both meetings against Missouri, totaling eight points and four rebounds at home. He also was off at Kansas, getting five points on 1-for-8 shooting.
“The problem is he’s judged on that potential sometimes,” Drew said, “and that’s hard on everybody.”
Denmon had 16 points, passing Jon Sundvold for 10th on Missouri’s career scoring list. Dixon finished with 16 points and six assists, and Kim English had 12 points, all in the second half.
Missouri shot 48 percent from the field overall. It had 12 3-pointers twice earlier in the season, against Oklahoma and Niagara.
Pressey totaled 16 3-pointers in the first 24 games. Three of his 3-pointers on Saturday came in the first half, including two in the final 1:42 to help Missouri take a 33-29 lead.
Missouri hit six 3-pointers and Steve Moore had a dunk during a 20-6 run that broke open a one-point game midway through the second half. Dixon had the last two from well beyond the line for a 58-43 cushion with just over eight minutes left, and his 3-pointer started the run.
Baylor had a 13-1 rebounding advantage early, taking full advantage of its height advantage against Missouri’s four-guard attack.
Baylor has lost 11 in a row at Missouri and hasn’t won in Columbia since 1948. The Bears have lost nine in a row to top-10 opponents.
Short-handed Gators fall to Tennessee again, 75-70
“I think these are the experiences where you get kind of hardened a little bit and our team needs to be hardened a little bit,” Donovan said. “We need to be more battle-tested, battle-weary, so to speak.”
Trae Golden led Tennessee with 17 points. Jeronne Maymon added 15 points and 11 rebounds as the Volunteers (13-12, 5-5 Southeastern Conference) won for the first time in eight road games this season and swept Florida for the first time since 2009. They also snapped Florida’s home-winning streak at 19 games.
“This is one of the most impressive wins of the season,” said guard Kenny Hall, who eight points. “We got on them early and made sure we had the lead for most of the game.”
It was a downright debacle for Florida, which lost consecutive games for the first time since the end of the 2009-10 season.
Coming off a lopsided loss at Kentucky and wearing gray uniforms to commemorate the program’s back-to-back national championships in 2006 and 2007, the Gators (19-6, 7-3) trailed by double digits early and never mustered anything resembling a legitimate comeback.
“Where we’re going we might be in the NIT if we don’t just turn around right now,” Beal said. “If that didn’t fit into our minds and really stick in our minds, then I don’t know what’s going to happen. We really have to turn around, and I think we’ll do that.”
Florida’s biggest problem was it played most of the game without their top two reserves, guard Mike Rosario and forward Will Yeguete. Forward Cody Larson also was out because of a stomach virus.
Rosario missed the game because of a hip pointer, and Yeguete suffered a head injury early in the first half when he slammed into the padding at the base of the basket. He was briefly knocked out, then went to the locker room for stiches. He failed a concussion test during halftime, and Donovan said he is out indefinitely.
The Gators essentially were left with a seven-man rotation that included seldom-used guard Casey Prather.
Nonetheless, Donovan blamed the loss on the team’s recent practice habits.
“Just guys maturity-wise being focused on what we’re doing and not getting distracted by, `I got fouled on this play,’ and being upset `cause they got fouled,” Donovan said. “I’ve gotta find a better way to get them to be more productive than we’ve been. And you know what? I’ve seen them do it. I’ve seen them do it as a team. It’s not like they’ve never done it. They’ve done it.
“But you know what? It’s that maturity level. Sometimes we do it, sometimes we don’t. And we went up against a team tonight that was veteran, experienced, deep and hardened and that part of us got exposed today.”
The Volunteers took it to Florida from the start, driving the lane repeatedly and getting big men Patric Young and Erik Murphy in foul trouble. Tennessee finished with 36 points in the paint, 17 second-chance points and 12 offensive rebounds.
Florida, which leads the nation in 3-pointers, made 11 of 29 from behind the arc. But most of those came late.
Murphy drained two 3s in the final minute, trimming Tennessee’s lead to 71-64 with 18.3 seconds remaining. But the Volunteers closed it out from the free throw line.
Tennessee used a 15-2 run midway through the first half to take a 24-12 lead and never let the Gators back in it.
The biggest difference was Florida’s depth. With a short bench, the Gators had few substitutes and no real chance to press and try to force tempo.
“It’s an eye-opener,” Boynton said. “We could wake up and play or we can be in the NIT. … The main thing is practice. We haven’t been focused in practice and it’s carried over into the game and it’s showing.”
Trae Golden led Tennessee with 17 points. Jeronne Maymon added 15 points and 11 rebounds as the Volunteers (13-12, 5-5 Southeastern Conference) won for the first time in eight road games this season and swept Florida for the first time since 2009. They also snapped Florida’s home-winning streak at 19 games.
“This is one of the most impressive wins of the season,” said guard Kenny Hall, who eight points. “We got on them early and made sure we had the lead for most of the game.”
It was a downright debacle for Florida, which lost consecutive games for the first time since the end of the 2009-10 season.
Coming off a lopsided loss at Kentucky and wearing gray uniforms to commemorate the program’s back-to-back national championships in 2006 and 2007, the Gators (19-6, 7-3) trailed by double digits early and never mustered anything resembling a legitimate comeback.
“Where we’re going we might be in the NIT if we don’t just turn around right now,” Beal said. “If that didn’t fit into our minds and really stick in our minds, then I don’t know what’s going to happen. We really have to turn around, and I think we’ll do that.”
Florida’s biggest problem was it played most of the game without their top two reserves, guard Mike Rosario and forward Will Yeguete. Forward Cody Larson also was out because of a stomach virus.
Rosario missed the game because of a hip pointer, and Yeguete suffered a head injury early in the first half when he slammed into the padding at the base of the basket. He was briefly knocked out, then went to the locker room for stiches. He failed a concussion test during halftime, and Donovan said he is out indefinitely.
The Gators essentially were left with a seven-man rotation that included seldom-used guard Casey Prather.
Nonetheless, Donovan blamed the loss on the team’s recent practice habits.
“Just guys maturity-wise being focused on what we’re doing and not getting distracted by, `I got fouled on this play,’ and being upset `cause they got fouled,” Donovan said. “I’ve gotta find a better way to get them to be more productive than we’ve been. And you know what? I’ve seen them do it. I’ve seen them do it as a team. It’s not like they’ve never done it. They’ve done it.
“But you know what? It’s that maturity level. Sometimes we do it, sometimes we don’t. And we went up against a team tonight that was veteran, experienced, deep and hardened and that part of us got exposed today.”
The Volunteers took it to Florida from the start, driving the lane repeatedly and getting big men Patric Young and Erik Murphy in foul trouble. Tennessee finished with 36 points in the paint, 17 second-chance points and 12 offensive rebounds.
Florida, which leads the nation in 3-pointers, made 11 of 29 from behind the arc. But most of those came late.
Murphy drained two 3s in the final minute, trimming Tennessee’s lead to 71-64 with 18.3 seconds remaining. But the Volunteers closed it out from the free throw line.
Tennessee used a 15-2 run midway through the first half to take a 24-12 lead and never let the Gators back in it.
The biggest difference was Florida’s depth. With a short bench, the Gators had few substitutes and no real chance to press and try to force tempo.
“It’s an eye-opener,” Boynton said. “We could wake up and play or we can be in the NIT. … The main thing is practice. We haven’t been focused in practice and it’s carried over into the game and it’s showing.”
2012年2月11日星期六
Bahrain expels activists ahead of protests anniversary
Bahrain said on Saturday it had expelled two human rights activists who had arrived in the Gulf kingdom from abroad for "illegal" activities, ahead of Tuesday's anniversary of the outbreak of Shiite-led protests.
The authorities said the two women, Huwaida Arraf and Radhika Sainath, had arrived in Bahrain over the past few days and were deported "for applying for tourist visas under false pretences."
The pair "obtained tourist visas upon arrival at the airport. However, once in Bahrain, they declared their intentions to join demonstrations in order to report on them," the official Information Affairs Authority said in a statement.
"Arraf and Sainath were picked up at an illegal demonstration in Manama this afternoon (Saturday)," it added.
The statement added that the two "work with a group calling itself 'Witness Bahrain' and established a website and Twitter accounts to promote the activities of the banned organisation, the Bahrain Centre for Human Rights."
Tensions have run high in Bahrain as the opposition and activists prepare to commemorate the first anniversary of their uprising on Tuesday.
Activists have announced plans to march to Manama's former Pearl Square, the focal point of the protest, which was razed after the deadly crackdown.
The Bahraini authorities have rejected a visa request by AFP and other international media to cover the first anniversary of the pro-democracy Shiite-led protest that was brutally crushed.
Last year's crackdown led to the deaths of 35 people, including five security personnel and five detainees who were tortured to death, an independent commission of inquiry appointed by King Hamad found.
An opposition activist said earlier on Saturday that security forces injured three people after firing tear gas at demonstrators ahead of the anniversary.
Several others suffered from breathing difficulties after inhaling the gas.
Bahraini forces "are excessively using tear gas to punish residents in areas where protests are taking place," said the opposition activist.
The authorities said the two women, Huwaida Arraf and Radhika Sainath, had arrived in Bahrain over the past few days and were deported "for applying for tourist visas under false pretences."
The pair "obtained tourist visas upon arrival at the airport. However, once in Bahrain, they declared their intentions to join demonstrations in order to report on them," the official Information Affairs Authority said in a statement.
"Arraf and Sainath were picked up at an illegal demonstration in Manama this afternoon (Saturday)," it added.
The statement added that the two "work with a group calling itself 'Witness Bahrain' and established a website and Twitter accounts to promote the activities of the banned organisation, the Bahrain Centre for Human Rights."
Tensions have run high in Bahrain as the opposition and activists prepare to commemorate the first anniversary of their uprising on Tuesday.
Activists have announced plans to march to Manama's former Pearl Square, the focal point of the protest, which was razed after the deadly crackdown.
The Bahraini authorities have rejected a visa request by AFP and other international media to cover the first anniversary of the pro-democracy Shiite-led protest that was brutally crushed.
Last year's crackdown led to the deaths of 35 people, including five security personnel and five detainees who were tortured to death, an independent commission of inquiry appointed by King Hamad found.
An opposition activist said earlier on Saturday that security forces injured three people after firing tear gas at demonstrators ahead of the anniversary.
Several others suffered from breathing difficulties after inhaling the gas.
Bahraini forces "are excessively using tear gas to punish residents in areas where protests are taking place," said the opposition activist.
‘Clean Cities’ Project Still Needing Participation From North Texas Towns
FORT WORTH (CBSDFW.COM) – We all know why its better to have fleets of vehicles burning natural gas instead of diesel and gasoline.
“Its the environmentally good thing to do,” said Cory Lipe, a fan of Fort Worth’s ‘The T’ bus system. “That’s why I don’t drive a car.”
The question is, how many businesses and cities are following The T’s lead of switching to alternative fuel vehicles? The answer could be worth millions of dollars.
Here’s why. The Federal government says North Texas has to clean up the air, We are in ‘non-attainment’ of EPA standards for ozone.
If we don’t satisfy Congress and the EPA that we’re doing enough to clean the air, the region doesn’t get as much money for road projects.
And the responsibility for proving that we’re doing enough falls on the North Texas Council of Governments, a group of representatives from cities and counties around the region.
And one of the programs helping the council is Clean Cities. They’re taking an online survey to figure out how many fleets of vehicles have cleaner burning vehicles.
The more cities and private businesses that participate, the better the chance at landing more highway money.
But, right now they don’t have the number of entities taking the survey they need.
“The government has to know that these fleets are participating and that they’re doing their part to help reduce emissions in the region,” said DFW Clean Cities Coordinator Pamela Burns. “If they don’t know that they’re doing it its really hard to get funding for these projects.”
From the last survey it conducted (and the figures are just from the 75 fleets that participated), Clean Cities figured alternative fuel vehicles reduced greenhouse gas emissions in our area by 28,000 tons and reduced gasoline consumption by 11.8 million gallons.
“11 million gallons of gas!” Lipe exclaimed after hearing the figure. “That makes me feel better.”
That’s the kind of reaction the council needs in Washington to land the millions of dollars for projects in North Texas.
“Its the environmentally good thing to do,” said Cory Lipe, a fan of Fort Worth’s ‘The T’ bus system. “That’s why I don’t drive a car.”
The question is, how many businesses and cities are following The T’s lead of switching to alternative fuel vehicles? The answer could be worth millions of dollars.
Here’s why. The Federal government says North Texas has to clean up the air, We are in ‘non-attainment’ of EPA standards for ozone.
If we don’t satisfy Congress and the EPA that we’re doing enough to clean the air, the region doesn’t get as much money for road projects.
And the responsibility for proving that we’re doing enough falls on the North Texas Council of Governments, a group of representatives from cities and counties around the region.
And one of the programs helping the council is Clean Cities. They’re taking an online survey to figure out how many fleets of vehicles have cleaner burning vehicles.
The more cities and private businesses that participate, the better the chance at landing more highway money.
But, right now they don’t have the number of entities taking the survey they need.
“The government has to know that these fleets are participating and that they’re doing their part to help reduce emissions in the region,” said DFW Clean Cities Coordinator Pamela Burns. “If they don’t know that they’re doing it its really hard to get funding for these projects.”
From the last survey it conducted (and the figures are just from the 75 fleets that participated), Clean Cities figured alternative fuel vehicles reduced greenhouse gas emissions in our area by 28,000 tons and reduced gasoline consumption by 11.8 million gallons.
“11 million gallons of gas!” Lipe exclaimed after hearing the figure. “That makes me feel better.”
That’s the kind of reaction the council needs in Washington to land the millions of dollars for projects in North Texas.
Why Did Ron Paul Skip CPAC?
Texas Rep. Ron Paul opted to skip this year's Conservative Political Action Conference, making him the only GOP presidential contender not to put in an appearance at the annual Washington gathering.
Paul's absence is curious considering he has dominated the conference's presidential straw poll for the past two years, but campaign spokesman Gary Howard told Business Insider the candidate opted to skip CPAC to "concentrate on campaigning" -- and perhaps put his supporters to better use:
Howard told Business Insider that the campaign knew that if Paul spoke at the conference this year, his fans would descend on Washington to listen and represent their candidate in the straw poll. With this in mind, the campaign decided that those human resources would be of far greater use in the field, Howard said, where Paul is gearing up to compete in 12 Republican nominating contests over the next few weeks.
But despite Howard's explanation, Business Insider noted, Paul's public schedule over the past several days has been relatively light. As the Washington Post reported on the first day of CPAC Thursday, Paul's campaign said he wouldn't be attending due to "travel constraints" -- even though he had no public events scheduled for the day.
While Rick Santorum, Mitt Romney and Newt Gingrich each spoke to the conference Friday, Paul appeared on CNN from his home state of Texas and spoke about the Maine caucuses. He is spending the final day of CPAC in Maine, where he's hoping to extend Romney's losing streak in the state's caucuses Saturday.
"I think we have a very good chance," Paul told caucus-goers Saturday morning, according to the Associated Press. Romney will "be better off if he wins it and I'm going to be a lot better off if I win. So this will give me momentum and it will just maintain his. It's a pretty important state as far as I'm concerned."
As Business Insider noted, Paul's CPAC absence could have the "added benefit" of "quelling tensions between the event's organizers and Paul's staunchly libertarian fan base." Despite sweeping straw poll votes, his vocal support base hasn't yet translated into actual presidential contest wins, and his supporters have previously "raised a ruckus as their views — particularly those on foreign policy — came into conflict with those of the other CPAC attendees."
Paul has also been known to take time off from the campaign trail during some key moments, the Post pointed out: He spent New Year's in Texas ahead of the Iowa caucuses Jan. 3. He ultimately finished third.
Paul's absence is curious considering he has dominated the conference's presidential straw poll for the past two years, but campaign spokesman Gary Howard told Business Insider the candidate opted to skip CPAC to "concentrate on campaigning" -- and perhaps put his supporters to better use:
Howard told Business Insider that the campaign knew that if Paul spoke at the conference this year, his fans would descend on Washington to listen and represent their candidate in the straw poll. With this in mind, the campaign decided that those human resources would be of far greater use in the field, Howard said, where Paul is gearing up to compete in 12 Republican nominating contests over the next few weeks.
But despite Howard's explanation, Business Insider noted, Paul's public schedule over the past several days has been relatively light. As the Washington Post reported on the first day of CPAC Thursday, Paul's campaign said he wouldn't be attending due to "travel constraints" -- even though he had no public events scheduled for the day.
While Rick Santorum, Mitt Romney and Newt Gingrich each spoke to the conference Friday, Paul appeared on CNN from his home state of Texas and spoke about the Maine caucuses. He is spending the final day of CPAC in Maine, where he's hoping to extend Romney's losing streak in the state's caucuses Saturday.
"I think we have a very good chance," Paul told caucus-goers Saturday morning, according to the Associated Press. Romney will "be better off if he wins it and I'm going to be a lot better off if I win. So this will give me momentum and it will just maintain his. It's a pretty important state as far as I'm concerned."
As Business Insider noted, Paul's CPAC absence could have the "added benefit" of "quelling tensions between the event's organizers and Paul's staunchly libertarian fan base." Despite sweeping straw poll votes, his vocal support base hasn't yet translated into actual presidential contest wins, and his supporters have previously "raised a ruckus as their views — particularly those on foreign policy — came into conflict with those of the other CPAC attendees."
Paul has also been known to take time off from the campaign trail during some key moments, the Post pointed out: He spent New Year's in Texas ahead of the Iowa caucuses Jan. 3. He ultimately finished third.
Dortmund, Bayern Munich both win in Bundesliga
Mario Gomez opened the scoring in Munich with his league-leading 18th goal of the season in the sixth minute, with Thomas Mueller making it 2-0 in the 30th.
Borussia Moenchengladbach stunned Schalke with three first-half goals to win the late game 3-0 and take over from the visitors in third, one point behind Bayern.
Marco Reus got the home side off to a flying start in the second minute, when he eluded two Schalke defenders to score inside the far post from a tight angle.
Mike Hanke then played a delicate one-two with Juan Arango before curling a shot beyond Lars Unnerstall in the 16th.
And Reus teed up an indirect free kick for Arango to stroke over the wall and in off the underside of the crossbar from 20 meters (yards) in the 32nd.
“I always said we weren’t stable enough to mix it up (among the candidates) for the title,” Schalke coach Huub Stevens said. “That was confirmed today.”
Elsewhere, Stuttgart beat hapless Hertha Berlin 5-0, Werder Bremen drew 1-1 with Hoffenheim, and Mainz and Hannover also played to 1-1.
Dortmund toiled for long periods to break down the Leverkusen defense, but Kagawa finally made the breakthrough before the interval.
The Japan midfielder left Leverkusen defender Bastian Oczipka sprawling on the right as he brought the ball inside before shooting beyond the outstretched Bernd Leno in off the far post for his seventh goal of the season.
Former Germany captain Michael Ballack was left on the Leverkusen bench for the third game in a row following criticism of him by club management. Leverkusen hosts Barcelona in the Champions League on Tuesday.
Bayern’s routine win over relegation-threatened Kaiserslautern—which hasn’t won in Munich since 1997—was Jupp Heynckes’ 100th as Bayern coach.
The 66-year-old Heynckes played David Alaba for Bastian Schweinsteiger, who tore a right ankle ligament in Wednesday’s 2-0 cup win at Stuttgart, and started with Arjen Robben on the bench for the second game in a row.
Franck Ribery noticed Gomez completely free at the near post and crossed for him to nod with ease past Kevin Trapp.
Kaiserslautern coach Marco Kurz said the early goal decided the game.
“The bottom line is we had no chance,” Kurz said.
Mueller, who played on the right instead of Robben, scored his first league goal since September when he met Toni Kroos’ free kick.
Mueller made way in the 56th for Robben, but the Dutch winger was unable to find a way past Trapp.
“Robben was highly motivated and he fit into the team seamlessly,” Heynckes said. “That was very positive, but I expected it of him.”
In Stuttgart, Vedad Ibisevic scored against Hertha in the 25th, with a scissors kick past the helpless Thomas Kraft from close range.
It was the Bosnian’s first goal for his new club since his winter transfer from Hoffenheim, and he followed it up by playing a perfect pass for Martin Harnik to make it 2-0 three minutes later.
Hertha midfielder Andreas Ottl was then sent off for a senseless challenge on Tamas Hajnal in the 30th, and Shinji Okazaki effectively ended the game when he scored with a header two minutes later.
Ibisevic set up Harnik again in the 41st and the Austrian celebrated his hat trick in the 58th.
It was Hertha coach Michael Skibbe’s fifth loss in a row in all competitions since he took over from the sacked Markus Babbel.
“I’m terribly disappointed with the performance we delivered,” Skibbe said. “It was an absolute catastrophe.”
Babbel, meanwhile, got off to a dream start in charge of Hoffenheim, when Jannik Vestergaard rose unopposed to head in a corner at Bremen in the fourth minute. However, Marko Arnautovic claimed a deserved last-minute equalizer for the home side.
Babbel was appointed Hoffenheim coach on Friday, after Holger Stanislawski was fired a day earlier.
Hannover also relied on a 90th-minute equalizer, Artur Sobiech scoring to earn a share of the points at Mainz, which had taken the lead through Mohamed Zidan in the seventh.
Borussia Moenchengladbach stunned Schalke with three first-half goals to win the late game 3-0 and take over from the visitors in third, one point behind Bayern.
Marco Reus got the home side off to a flying start in the second minute, when he eluded two Schalke defenders to score inside the far post from a tight angle.
Mike Hanke then played a delicate one-two with Juan Arango before curling a shot beyond Lars Unnerstall in the 16th.
And Reus teed up an indirect free kick for Arango to stroke over the wall and in off the underside of the crossbar from 20 meters (yards) in the 32nd.
“I always said we weren’t stable enough to mix it up (among the candidates) for the title,” Schalke coach Huub Stevens said. “That was confirmed today.”
Elsewhere, Stuttgart beat hapless Hertha Berlin 5-0, Werder Bremen drew 1-1 with Hoffenheim, and Mainz and Hannover also played to 1-1.
Dortmund toiled for long periods to break down the Leverkusen defense, but Kagawa finally made the breakthrough before the interval.
The Japan midfielder left Leverkusen defender Bastian Oczipka sprawling on the right as he brought the ball inside before shooting beyond the outstretched Bernd Leno in off the far post for his seventh goal of the season.
Former Germany captain Michael Ballack was left on the Leverkusen bench for the third game in a row following criticism of him by club management. Leverkusen hosts Barcelona in the Champions League on Tuesday.
Bayern’s routine win over relegation-threatened Kaiserslautern—which hasn’t won in Munich since 1997—was Jupp Heynckes’ 100th as Bayern coach.
The 66-year-old Heynckes played David Alaba for Bastian Schweinsteiger, who tore a right ankle ligament in Wednesday’s 2-0 cup win at Stuttgart, and started with Arjen Robben on the bench for the second game in a row.
Franck Ribery noticed Gomez completely free at the near post and crossed for him to nod with ease past Kevin Trapp.
Kaiserslautern coach Marco Kurz said the early goal decided the game.
“The bottom line is we had no chance,” Kurz said.
Mueller, who played on the right instead of Robben, scored his first league goal since September when he met Toni Kroos’ free kick.
Mueller made way in the 56th for Robben, but the Dutch winger was unable to find a way past Trapp.
“Robben was highly motivated and he fit into the team seamlessly,” Heynckes said. “That was very positive, but I expected it of him.”
In Stuttgart, Vedad Ibisevic scored against Hertha in the 25th, with a scissors kick past the helpless Thomas Kraft from close range.
It was the Bosnian’s first goal for his new club since his winter transfer from Hoffenheim, and he followed it up by playing a perfect pass for Martin Harnik to make it 2-0 three minutes later.
Hertha midfielder Andreas Ottl was then sent off for a senseless challenge on Tamas Hajnal in the 30th, and Shinji Okazaki effectively ended the game when he scored with a header two minutes later.
Ibisevic set up Harnik again in the 41st and the Austrian celebrated his hat trick in the 58th.
It was Hertha coach Michael Skibbe’s fifth loss in a row in all competitions since he took over from the sacked Markus Babbel.
“I’m terribly disappointed with the performance we delivered,” Skibbe said. “It was an absolute catastrophe.”
Babbel, meanwhile, got off to a dream start in charge of Hoffenheim, when Jannik Vestergaard rose unopposed to head in a corner at Bremen in the fourth minute. However, Marko Arnautovic claimed a deserved last-minute equalizer for the home side.
Babbel was appointed Hoffenheim coach on Friday, after Holger Stanislawski was fired a day earlier.
Hannover also relied on a 90th-minute equalizer, Artur Sobiech scoring to earn a share of the points at Mainz, which had taken the lead through Mohamed Zidan in the seventh.
First black NBA player gets honor at Hawks game
ATLANTA (AP) — Earl Lloyd remembers when he suited up for the Washington Capitols more than 60 years ago as the first black to play in an NBA game and wondering if he would make a good enough impression to stick around.
Lloyd and the Capitols lost the game. But he played well enough to earn a roster spot and break the color barrier in a league that had only three black players in 1950 and now features the highest percentage of African-American athletes in any of the major professional leagues.
"Before the game, I was terrified," recalled Lloyd, who scored six points and grabbed 10 rebounds for the Capitols in a 78-70 loss to the Rochester Royals on Oct. 31, 1950. "I had a fear of disappointing the people who depended on me. Luckily, letting people down was not a part of my DNA.
"I'm glad I was part of something that helped pave the way for others."
Now, as part of Black History Month, the 83-year-old Hall of Famer will be honored for his breakthrough at halftime of the Atlanta Hawks-Miami Heat game on Sunday. The former West Virginia State standout along with six other African-Americans will be recognized at all Hawks home games this month.
"I'm blessed to still have my health," said Lloyd, who also became the Detroit Pistons first black coach in 1971. "I know that there are a lot of people who didn't make it to 61 years of age. So for me to be around this long and still get some recognition."
Since Lloyd made history, the NBA has increased its number of black players to 78 percent, according to the league's racial and gender report last year. About 83 percent of the players in the league are people of color.
These days, Lloyd said some of his favorite players to watch are LeBron James and Dwyane Wade of the Heat. He personally met James a couple years ago, but has yet to meet Wade.
"They might be too busy with the game to come and see me," he said with a chuckle. "I've met LeBron before but hopefully if Dwyane slows down for a moment and decides to give me a high five, I'll be sure to return the favor."
Lloyd, who was drafted in the seventh round, was one of three blacks to play in the NBA in 1950. His debut was a couple of days before two other African-Americans who helped integrate the NBA — Chuck Cooper of the Boston Celtics, the first black draftee; and Nat Clifton of the New York Knicks, the first black to sign a league contract.
The 6-foot-5 Lloyd had his best season in 1955, averaging 10.2 points and 7.7 rebounds for Syracuse, which beat Fort Wayne for the NBA title. He and Jim Tucker became the first blacks to play on an NBA championship team.
Lloyd played in more than 560 NBA games in the league and became known for his defensive prowess. In eight seasons, he averaged 8.4 points and 6.4 rebounds.
When Lloyd first appeared in an NBA game, he said he couldn't have imagined the league as it is today. He gives credit not only to himself, but also to Cooper and Clifton for breaking the color barrier.
"The league has come a long way," he said. "I'm happy that Chuck, Nat and myself helped pave the way for others."
Lloyd and the Capitols lost the game. But he played well enough to earn a roster spot and break the color barrier in a league that had only three black players in 1950 and now features the highest percentage of African-American athletes in any of the major professional leagues.
"Before the game, I was terrified," recalled Lloyd, who scored six points and grabbed 10 rebounds for the Capitols in a 78-70 loss to the Rochester Royals on Oct. 31, 1950. "I had a fear of disappointing the people who depended on me. Luckily, letting people down was not a part of my DNA.
"I'm glad I was part of something that helped pave the way for others."
Now, as part of Black History Month, the 83-year-old Hall of Famer will be honored for his breakthrough at halftime of the Atlanta Hawks-Miami Heat game on Sunday. The former West Virginia State standout along with six other African-Americans will be recognized at all Hawks home games this month.
"I'm blessed to still have my health," said Lloyd, who also became the Detroit Pistons first black coach in 1971. "I know that there are a lot of people who didn't make it to 61 years of age. So for me to be around this long and still get some recognition."
Since Lloyd made history, the NBA has increased its number of black players to 78 percent, according to the league's racial and gender report last year. About 83 percent of the players in the league are people of color.
These days, Lloyd said some of his favorite players to watch are LeBron James and Dwyane Wade of the Heat. He personally met James a couple years ago, but has yet to meet Wade.
"They might be too busy with the game to come and see me," he said with a chuckle. "I've met LeBron before but hopefully if Dwyane slows down for a moment and decides to give me a high five, I'll be sure to return the favor."
Lloyd, who was drafted in the seventh round, was one of three blacks to play in the NBA in 1950. His debut was a couple of days before two other African-Americans who helped integrate the NBA — Chuck Cooper of the Boston Celtics, the first black draftee; and Nat Clifton of the New York Knicks, the first black to sign a league contract.
The 6-foot-5 Lloyd had his best season in 1955, averaging 10.2 points and 7.7 rebounds for Syracuse, which beat Fort Wayne for the NBA title. He and Jim Tucker became the first blacks to play on an NBA championship team.
Lloyd played in more than 560 NBA games in the league and became known for his defensive prowess. In eight seasons, he averaged 8.4 points and 6.4 rebounds.
When Lloyd first appeared in an NBA game, he said he couldn't have imagined the league as it is today. He gives credit not only to himself, but also to Cooper and Clifton for breaking the color barrier.
"The league has come a long way," he said. "I'm happy that Chuck, Nat and myself helped pave the way for others."
First Black NBA Player Gets Honor at Hawks Game
Earl Lloyd remembers when he suited up for the Washington Capitols more than 60 years ago as the first black to play in an NBA game and wondering if he would make a good enough impression to stick around.
Lloyd and the Capitols lost the game. But he played well enough to earn a roster spot and break the color barrier in a league that had only three black players in 1950 and now features the highest percentage of African-American athletes in any of the major professional leagues.
"Before the game, I was terrified," recalled Lloyd, who scored six points and grabbed 10 rebounds for the Capitols in a 78-70 loss to the Rochester Royals on Oct. 31, 1950. "I had a fear of disappointing the people who depended on me. Luckily, letting people down was not a part of my DNA.
"I'm glad I was part of something that helped pave the way for others."
Now, as part of Black History Month, the 83-year-old Hall of Famer will be honored for his breakthrough at halftime of the Atlanta Hawks-Miami Heat game on Sunday. The former West Virginia State standout along with six other African-Americans will be recognized at all Hawks home games this month.
null
AP
FILE - In this April 5, 1955, file photo, Ft.... View Full Caption
"I'm blessed to still have my health," said Lloyd, who also became the Detroit Pistons first black coach in 1971. "I know that there are a lot of people who didn't make it to 61 years of age. So for me to be around this long and still get some recognition."
Since Lloyd made history, the NBA has increased its number of black players to 78 percent, according to the league's racial and gender report last year. About 83 percent of the players in the league are people of color.
These days, Lloyd said some of his favorite players to watch are LeBron James and Dwyane Wade of the Heat. He personally met James a couple years ago, but has yet to meet Wade.
"They might be too busy with the game to come and see me," he said with a chuckle. "I've met LeBron before but hopefully if Dwyane slows down for a moment and decides to give me a high five, I'll be sure to return the favor."
Lloyd, who was drafted in the seventh round, was one of three blacks to play in the NBA in 1950. His debut was a couple of days before two other African-Americans who helped integrate the NBA — Chuck Cooper of the Boston Celtics, the first black draftee; and Nat Clifton of the New York Knicks, the first black to sign a league contract.
The 6-foot-5 Lloyd had his best season in 1955, averaging 10.2 points and 7.7 rebounds for Syracuse, which beat Fort Wayne for the NBA title. He and Jim Tucker became the first blacks to play on an NBA championship team.
Lloyd played in more than 560 NBA games in the league and became known for his defensive prowess. In eight seasons, he averaged 8.4 points and 6.4 rebounds.
When Lloyd first appeared in an NBA game, he said he couldn't have imagined the league as it is today. He gives credit not only to himself, but also to Cooper and Clifton for breaking the color barrier.
"The league has come a long way," he said. "I'm happy that Chuck, Nat and myself helped pave the way for others."
Lloyd and the Capitols lost the game. But he played well enough to earn a roster spot and break the color barrier in a league that had only three black players in 1950 and now features the highest percentage of African-American athletes in any of the major professional leagues.
"Before the game, I was terrified," recalled Lloyd, who scored six points and grabbed 10 rebounds for the Capitols in a 78-70 loss to the Rochester Royals on Oct. 31, 1950. "I had a fear of disappointing the people who depended on me. Luckily, letting people down was not a part of my DNA.
"I'm glad I was part of something that helped pave the way for others."
Now, as part of Black History Month, the 83-year-old Hall of Famer will be honored for his breakthrough at halftime of the Atlanta Hawks-Miami Heat game on Sunday. The former West Virginia State standout along with six other African-Americans will be recognized at all Hawks home games this month.
null
AP
FILE - In this April 5, 1955, file photo, Ft.... View Full Caption
"I'm blessed to still have my health," said Lloyd, who also became the Detroit Pistons first black coach in 1971. "I know that there are a lot of people who didn't make it to 61 years of age. So for me to be around this long and still get some recognition."
Since Lloyd made history, the NBA has increased its number of black players to 78 percent, according to the league's racial and gender report last year. About 83 percent of the players in the league are people of color.
These days, Lloyd said some of his favorite players to watch are LeBron James and Dwyane Wade of the Heat. He personally met James a couple years ago, but has yet to meet Wade.
"They might be too busy with the game to come and see me," he said with a chuckle. "I've met LeBron before but hopefully if Dwyane slows down for a moment and decides to give me a high five, I'll be sure to return the favor."
Lloyd, who was drafted in the seventh round, was one of three blacks to play in the NBA in 1950. His debut was a couple of days before two other African-Americans who helped integrate the NBA — Chuck Cooper of the Boston Celtics, the first black draftee; and Nat Clifton of the New York Knicks, the first black to sign a league contract.
The 6-foot-5 Lloyd had his best season in 1955, averaging 10.2 points and 7.7 rebounds for Syracuse, which beat Fort Wayne for the NBA title. He and Jim Tucker became the first blacks to play on an NBA championship team.
Lloyd played in more than 560 NBA games in the league and became known for his defensive prowess. In eight seasons, he averaged 8.4 points and 6.4 rebounds.
When Lloyd first appeared in an NBA game, he said he couldn't have imagined the league as it is today. He gives credit not only to himself, but also to Cooper and Clifton for breaking the color barrier.
"The league has come a long way," he said. "I'm happy that Chuck, Nat and myself helped pave the way for others."
DeRozan scores 21 as Raptors shock Celtics
We’d kind of worked out all our kinks and then, all of a sudden the last couple of games, it’s returned out of nowhere.”
Rivers, who lambasted his players during one first quarter timeout, huddled with his staff outside the locker room for several minutes after the game.
Asked whether Sunday’s home game against league-leading Chicago could be the tonic to get his team back on track, Rivers didn’t think so.
“The way we played the last two games, we need to be in a gym running,” Rivers said.
The Celtics scored 75 or fewer points for just the third time in franchise history and the first time since Jan. 12, 2001, when they had 72.
Amir Johnson had 12 points and 12 rebounds and Aaron Gray matched a season high with 11 rebounds as the Raptors avenged a 100-64 loss at Boston on Feb. 1, their worst defeat of the season. James Johnson scored 14 for Toronto.
“We knew they had a back-to-back with the Lakers,” Amir Johnson said. “Our strategy was just to come in and hit them in the mouth.”
The Raptors, who snapped a three-game losing streak, had lost five of six coming in. They were treated to a rare standing ovation from the crowd of 19,207 in the final minute.
“I don’t even remember the last time we beat Boston,” Calderon said. “They’re always beating on us.”
Kevin Garnett scored 17 points, Paul Pierce had 12 and Brandon Bass had 10 for the Celtics, who were without center Jermaine O’Neal because he had a sore left shoulder.
Ray Allen scored just six points and Rajon Rondo had only five. The pair combined to shoot 5-for-18.
“You can’t take anything positive away from this game,” Rondo said. “You’ve just got to move on.”
The Celtics, who had won nine of ten before Thursday’s defeat, dropped back-to-back games for the first time since a five-game skid from Jan. 6-16.
“We just didn’t show the mental toughness tonight,” Pierce said. “We feel like we’re getting so close to being the team we want to be and the to take a couple of steps back is definitely frustrating. These are games we’re supposed to win.”
Trailing 63-51, to begin the fourth, the Celtics were unable to mount a serious comeback. Allen’s jumper cut it to 77-69 with 3:35 left, but Linas Kleiza answered with a 3-pointer. And after Garnett made one of two from the line to trim the deficit to 81-72 with two minutes left, Calderon hit a step-back 3 to push the lead back to 12.
“By the time the fourth quarter came they made shots and we couldn’t stop them,” Allen said.
Toronto started strong, using a pair of running dunks by James Johnson and Calderon’s alley-oop pass to DeRozan to open an 18-7 lead with 4:30 left in the opening quarter. DeRozan had nine points in the first, Calderon and Johnson had eight each as Toronto led 26-14 after one.
Boston made six turnovers in the first, but also had Rivers fuming after failing to inbound the ball on one possession, forcing a timeout. Rivers yelled angrily at his team in the huddle before stomping back to the bench to let the players sort themselves out.
“In a way, (Thursday) night’s loss kind of lingered on to this loss today,” Rondo said. “It’s a different story if we won.”
The Celtics closed the gap in the second, when Toronto made just four of 15 field goal attempts, but still trailed 41-34 at the break. Allen and Rondo combined for only two points in the first half, missing seven of eight shots.
The Raptors pulled away again in the third with DeRozan feeding Amir Johnson for an alley-oop to make it 61-45 with 3:52 left, matching their biggest lead of the game. Boston trailed 63-51 heading into the fourth.
NOTES: DeRozan has scored 20 or more in three of his past four games. … The loss snapped Boston’s season-high three-game road winning streak. … Celtics G Avery Bradley (right shoulder) and F Sasha Pavlovic (left wrist) sat out for the second straight game. … The Raptors are 7-2 this season when leading at the half. … Toronto G Jerryd Bayless was unavailable after leaving Wednesday’s loss to Milwaukee with a sore left ankle.
Rivers, who lambasted his players during one first quarter timeout, huddled with his staff outside the locker room for several minutes after the game.
Asked whether Sunday’s home game against league-leading Chicago could be the tonic to get his team back on track, Rivers didn’t think so.
“The way we played the last two games, we need to be in a gym running,” Rivers said.
The Celtics scored 75 or fewer points for just the third time in franchise history and the first time since Jan. 12, 2001, when they had 72.
Amir Johnson had 12 points and 12 rebounds and Aaron Gray matched a season high with 11 rebounds as the Raptors avenged a 100-64 loss at Boston on Feb. 1, their worst defeat of the season. James Johnson scored 14 for Toronto.
“We knew they had a back-to-back with the Lakers,” Amir Johnson said. “Our strategy was just to come in and hit them in the mouth.”
The Raptors, who snapped a three-game losing streak, had lost five of six coming in. They were treated to a rare standing ovation from the crowd of 19,207 in the final minute.
“I don’t even remember the last time we beat Boston,” Calderon said. “They’re always beating on us.”
Kevin Garnett scored 17 points, Paul Pierce had 12 and Brandon Bass had 10 for the Celtics, who were without center Jermaine O’Neal because he had a sore left shoulder.
Ray Allen scored just six points and Rajon Rondo had only five. The pair combined to shoot 5-for-18.
“You can’t take anything positive away from this game,” Rondo said. “You’ve just got to move on.”
The Celtics, who had won nine of ten before Thursday’s defeat, dropped back-to-back games for the first time since a five-game skid from Jan. 6-16.
“We just didn’t show the mental toughness tonight,” Pierce said. “We feel like we’re getting so close to being the team we want to be and the to take a couple of steps back is definitely frustrating. These are games we’re supposed to win.”
Trailing 63-51, to begin the fourth, the Celtics were unable to mount a serious comeback. Allen’s jumper cut it to 77-69 with 3:35 left, but Linas Kleiza answered with a 3-pointer. And after Garnett made one of two from the line to trim the deficit to 81-72 with two minutes left, Calderon hit a step-back 3 to push the lead back to 12.
“By the time the fourth quarter came they made shots and we couldn’t stop them,” Allen said.
Toronto started strong, using a pair of running dunks by James Johnson and Calderon’s alley-oop pass to DeRozan to open an 18-7 lead with 4:30 left in the opening quarter. DeRozan had nine points in the first, Calderon and Johnson had eight each as Toronto led 26-14 after one.
Boston made six turnovers in the first, but also had Rivers fuming after failing to inbound the ball on one possession, forcing a timeout. Rivers yelled angrily at his team in the huddle before stomping back to the bench to let the players sort themselves out.
“In a way, (Thursday) night’s loss kind of lingered on to this loss today,” Rondo said. “It’s a different story if we won.”
The Celtics closed the gap in the second, when Toronto made just four of 15 field goal attempts, but still trailed 41-34 at the break. Allen and Rondo combined for only two points in the first half, missing seven of eight shots.
The Raptors pulled away again in the third with DeRozan feeding Amir Johnson for an alley-oop to make it 61-45 with 3:52 left, matching their biggest lead of the game. Boston trailed 63-51 heading into the fourth.
NOTES: DeRozan has scored 20 or more in three of his past four games. … The loss snapped Boston’s season-high three-game road winning streak. … Celtics G Avery Bradley (right shoulder) and F Sasha Pavlovic (left wrist) sat out for the second straight game. … The Raptors are 7-2 this season when leading at the half. … Toronto G Jerryd Bayless was unavailable after leaving Wednesday’s loss to Milwaukee with a sore left ankle.
APNewsBreak: Union targets Tropicana conventions
ATLANTIC CITY, N.J. (AP) — Atlantic City's main casino union is asking groups that have booked conventions at the Tropicana Casino and Resort to take their business elsewhere as a labor dispute between both sides grows more contentious.
Local 54 of Unite-HERE says it has asked 30 groups to cancel bookings at the Tropicana to protest the casino's intention to terminate pension plans for its employees.
The Tropicana declared an impasse in contract talks last month and said it will unilaterally implement its final offer, which includes an end to pension contributions. The casino wants to give that money to workers in a cash payment or to their 401K accounts.
"There are lots of good choices in Atlantic City," Local 54 president Bob McDevitt said. "Right now, Tropicana is not one of them. They are not good corporate citizens, and we are addressing that with their customers.
"They are threatening to implement a contract which destroys the pensions of 1,200 workers," McDevitt said. "Their business model is to destroy the pensions of their workers, and we are not going to allow that."
The casino says no group has canceled a booking but acknowledges it is concerned about the effect of a prolonged effort to keep convention and meeting business from it.
"This type of response from the Unite-HERE leadership could have a devastating effect on our employees if convention groups go elsewhere," Tropicana president Tony Rodio said. "They're taking away overnight stays, which hurts housekeepers and room attendants, taking away people being on the casino floor and not getting drinks from beverage servers, or eating at the restaurants. They're hurting the Tropicana, but they're also hurting themselves."
The union used the convention-targeting tactic to great effect in a labor dispute with Resorts Casino Hotel last year, persuading at least three convention groups to cancel and go elsewhere. Local 54 has since declared a truce with Resorts as it attempts to work out a new contract.
So far, the union has contracts in place with eight of Atlantic City's 11 casinos at a time when both sides agree labor peace is needed more than ever. Atlantic City is reeling from lost revenue and jobs caused by fierce competition from casinos in neighboring states. Since 2006, its revenues have fallen from $5.2 billion to $3.3 billion at the end of last year.
The union and management at most of the casinos have worked hard to avoid labor disputes over the last year, realizing that a strike with the Atlantic City market in a weakened condition could prove disastrous, as customers now have more nearby gambling options than ever before. Local 54's 2004 strike lasted 34 days and inflicted serious damage on both sides before a pact was reached.
Rodio said the contract Tropicana will impose is identical in virtually every respect to contracts the union reached with the four Caesars Entertainment casinos and the two Trump Entertainment Resorts casinos in Atlantic City. The only difference is that the Tropicana would be making its payments directly to its employees instead of into The National Retirement Fund, a nationwide fund into which casinos, hotels and other businesses contribute.
Rodio said the fund is underfunded by $1.4 billion and was deemed to be in "critical status" in 2010 because of that liability.
He said because the Tropicana was purchased by billionaire Carl Icahn out of bankruptcy, it was absolved of responsibility for its share of the pension fund's liability. He said the casino told the union at the start of contract talks last summer of its intention to withdraw from the fund. Staying in the fund could expose Tropicana to significant liability, which threatens the future financial viability of the casino, Rodio said, declining to estimate the amount of the liability.
The casino instead will contribute the $1.77 per hour per employee that otherwise would have gone into the pension fund to an employee's 401k plan, or to a lump-sum cash payment, at the discretion of each employee for as long as they work at the casino, Rodio said.
Local 54 of Unite-HERE says it has asked 30 groups to cancel bookings at the Tropicana to protest the casino's intention to terminate pension plans for its employees.
The Tropicana declared an impasse in contract talks last month and said it will unilaterally implement its final offer, which includes an end to pension contributions. The casino wants to give that money to workers in a cash payment or to their 401K accounts.
"There are lots of good choices in Atlantic City," Local 54 president Bob McDevitt said. "Right now, Tropicana is not one of them. They are not good corporate citizens, and we are addressing that with their customers.
"They are threatening to implement a contract which destroys the pensions of 1,200 workers," McDevitt said. "Their business model is to destroy the pensions of their workers, and we are not going to allow that."
The casino says no group has canceled a booking but acknowledges it is concerned about the effect of a prolonged effort to keep convention and meeting business from it.
"This type of response from the Unite-HERE leadership could have a devastating effect on our employees if convention groups go elsewhere," Tropicana president Tony Rodio said. "They're taking away overnight stays, which hurts housekeepers and room attendants, taking away people being on the casino floor and not getting drinks from beverage servers, or eating at the restaurants. They're hurting the Tropicana, but they're also hurting themselves."
The union used the convention-targeting tactic to great effect in a labor dispute with Resorts Casino Hotel last year, persuading at least three convention groups to cancel and go elsewhere. Local 54 has since declared a truce with Resorts as it attempts to work out a new contract.
So far, the union has contracts in place with eight of Atlantic City's 11 casinos at a time when both sides agree labor peace is needed more than ever. Atlantic City is reeling from lost revenue and jobs caused by fierce competition from casinos in neighboring states. Since 2006, its revenues have fallen from $5.2 billion to $3.3 billion at the end of last year.
The union and management at most of the casinos have worked hard to avoid labor disputes over the last year, realizing that a strike with the Atlantic City market in a weakened condition could prove disastrous, as customers now have more nearby gambling options than ever before. Local 54's 2004 strike lasted 34 days and inflicted serious damage on both sides before a pact was reached.
Rodio said the contract Tropicana will impose is identical in virtually every respect to contracts the union reached with the four Caesars Entertainment casinos and the two Trump Entertainment Resorts casinos in Atlantic City. The only difference is that the Tropicana would be making its payments directly to its employees instead of into The National Retirement Fund, a nationwide fund into which casinos, hotels and other businesses contribute.
Rodio said the fund is underfunded by $1.4 billion and was deemed to be in "critical status" in 2010 because of that liability.
He said because the Tropicana was purchased by billionaire Carl Icahn out of bankruptcy, it was absolved of responsibility for its share of the pension fund's liability. He said the casino told the union at the start of contract talks last summer of its intention to withdraw from the fund. Staying in the fund could expose Tropicana to significant liability, which threatens the future financial viability of the casino, Rodio said, declining to estimate the amount of the liability.
The casino instead will contribute the $1.77 per hour per employee that otherwise would have gone into the pension fund to an employee's 401k plan, or to a lump-sum cash payment, at the discretion of each employee for as long as they work at the casino, Rodio said.
Syria uprising intensifies, spills into Lebanon
Syrian armour moved against protest flashpoints and a general was gunned down in Damascus on Saturday as the bloodshed showed no signs of abating, even spilling over into Lebanon.
The Syrian National Council, or SNC, said Arab recognition of the opposition umbrella group was imminent, ahead of key talks on the crisis in Cairo on Sunday.
In Aleppo, tensions escalated as President Bashar al-Assad's forces stepped up security after twin car bombs killed 28 people and wounded 235 in Syria's second city on Friday, activists said.
Thirty-one people were killed across the country on Saturday, mostly civilians, said Rami Abdel Rahman of the Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights.
Tank shelling killed 10 civilians in Homs, nine of them in the rebel stronghold neighbourhood of Baba Amr, Abdel Rahman told AFP. Dozens were wounded.
Assad's forces have waged a brutal week-long onslaught on the central protest city of Homs that has killed at least 500 people since February 4, Abdel Rahman said.
Homs activist Hadi Abdullah accused policemen and soldiers of pillaging the Inshaat neighbourhood. "They are stealing computers, television sets... and even blankets."
Security forces also advanced into Zabadani, another main centre of resistance near Damascus, said Abdel Rahman, adding that three civilians were killed there.
A general was shot dead outside his Damascus home, state media said. If confirmed, this would be one of the most brazen attacks on the top brass in the capital since the uprising erupted in March last year.
"An armed terrorist group this morning assassinated brigadier general and doctor, Issa al-Khawli, the director of Hamish hospital, outside his home in the district of Ruknaddin," SANA state news agency said.
A YouTube video posted on the Internet showed Syrian tanks bearing huge portraits of Assad firing on a road in Douma, a Damascus suburb which has been plagued by months of violence.
In another video, protesters are seen marching in the Damascus district of Al-Aassali carrying banners which said: "We will only kneel before God," and "Long live Syria, down with Bashar al-Assad."
In Lebanon, a 17-year-old girl was among three people killed and 23 were wounded in clashes between Sunni Muslims hostile to Syria's regime and Alawites who support it, a security official said.
Ten of the wounded were Lebanese soldiers, including a sergeant in critical condition.
The rival factions in Tripoli fired guns and rocket-propelled grenades at each other in the bloodiest clashes since June, when six people died in the wake of demonstrations against Syria's government.
In recent years Tripoli has been rocked by intense clashes between members of its Sunni-majority community and Alawites -- the community from which hails the Syrian president.
Syrian state media, meanwhile, blamed "terrorists" for Friday's double car bomb attacks on security posts in Aleppo.
The rebel Free Syrian Army accused the "criminal" regime of launching the attacks "to steer attention away from what it is doing in Homs, Zabadani and elsewhere."
A report citing unnamed US officials said the bombings were likely to have been carried out by the Iraqi branch of Al-Qaeda, along with attacks on Damascus in December and January.
McClatchy Newspapers said the incidents appeared to verify Assad's charges of Al-Qaeda involvement in the uprising against his 11-year rule.
And Iraq's deputy interior minister said on Saturday that Jihadists are moving from Iraq to Syria, as are weapons being sent to Assad's opponents.
"We have intelligence information that a number of Iraqi jihadists went to Syria," Adnan al-Assadi told AFP, adding that "weapons smuggling is still ongoing" from Iraq to Syria.
On Saturday, snipers were deployed and at least three armoured vehicles were seen entering Sakhur, an Aleppo neighbourhood where dissent against Assad's regime simmers, one activist said.
Some Aleppo residents who lost family members in the bombings were frustrated by the authorities' refusal to hand over their bodies, an activist who identified himself as Mohammed told AFP from the city.
Th commercial hub has been largely spared the violence that rights groups say has killed more than 6,000 people in Syria since last March.
In Doha, the SNC's Ahmed Ramadan said the group has "confirmations of an Arab recognition that will soon take place, though not necessarily on Sunday."
Arab League foreign ministers are meeting on Sunday in Cairo to discuss their next move over the Syrian crisis following a meeting of the six-nation energy-rich Gulf Cooperation Council.
Earlier this week the Gulf monarchies said they would withdraw their envoys from Syria and expels Damascus's ambassadors, joining mounting international pressure on Assad over the killings of civilians.
Syria, meanwhile, said it has asked Tunisia and Libya to close their embassies in Damascus in a tit-for-tat move after they both expelled Syria's envoys.
And its neighbour Turkey said it plans to lodge a formal request to the UN for an aid operation to help Syrians suffering a "humanitarian tragedy."
The Syrian National Council, or SNC, said Arab recognition of the opposition umbrella group was imminent, ahead of key talks on the crisis in Cairo on Sunday.
In Aleppo, tensions escalated as President Bashar al-Assad's forces stepped up security after twin car bombs killed 28 people and wounded 235 in Syria's second city on Friday, activists said.
Thirty-one people were killed across the country on Saturday, mostly civilians, said Rami Abdel Rahman of the Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights.
Tank shelling killed 10 civilians in Homs, nine of them in the rebel stronghold neighbourhood of Baba Amr, Abdel Rahman told AFP. Dozens were wounded.
Assad's forces have waged a brutal week-long onslaught on the central protest city of Homs that has killed at least 500 people since February 4, Abdel Rahman said.
Homs activist Hadi Abdullah accused policemen and soldiers of pillaging the Inshaat neighbourhood. "They are stealing computers, television sets... and even blankets."
Security forces also advanced into Zabadani, another main centre of resistance near Damascus, said Abdel Rahman, adding that three civilians were killed there.
A general was shot dead outside his Damascus home, state media said. If confirmed, this would be one of the most brazen attacks on the top brass in the capital since the uprising erupted in March last year.
"An armed terrorist group this morning assassinated brigadier general and doctor, Issa al-Khawli, the director of Hamish hospital, outside his home in the district of Ruknaddin," SANA state news agency said.
A YouTube video posted on the Internet showed Syrian tanks bearing huge portraits of Assad firing on a road in Douma, a Damascus suburb which has been plagued by months of violence.
In another video, protesters are seen marching in the Damascus district of Al-Aassali carrying banners which said: "We will only kneel before God," and "Long live Syria, down with Bashar al-Assad."
In Lebanon, a 17-year-old girl was among three people killed and 23 were wounded in clashes between Sunni Muslims hostile to Syria's regime and Alawites who support it, a security official said.
Ten of the wounded were Lebanese soldiers, including a sergeant in critical condition.
The rival factions in Tripoli fired guns and rocket-propelled grenades at each other in the bloodiest clashes since June, when six people died in the wake of demonstrations against Syria's government.
In recent years Tripoli has been rocked by intense clashes between members of its Sunni-majority community and Alawites -- the community from which hails the Syrian president.
Syrian state media, meanwhile, blamed "terrorists" for Friday's double car bomb attacks on security posts in Aleppo.
The rebel Free Syrian Army accused the "criminal" regime of launching the attacks "to steer attention away from what it is doing in Homs, Zabadani and elsewhere."
A report citing unnamed US officials said the bombings were likely to have been carried out by the Iraqi branch of Al-Qaeda, along with attacks on Damascus in December and January.
McClatchy Newspapers said the incidents appeared to verify Assad's charges of Al-Qaeda involvement in the uprising against his 11-year rule.
And Iraq's deputy interior minister said on Saturday that Jihadists are moving from Iraq to Syria, as are weapons being sent to Assad's opponents.
"We have intelligence information that a number of Iraqi jihadists went to Syria," Adnan al-Assadi told AFP, adding that "weapons smuggling is still ongoing" from Iraq to Syria.
On Saturday, snipers were deployed and at least three armoured vehicles were seen entering Sakhur, an Aleppo neighbourhood where dissent against Assad's regime simmers, one activist said.
Some Aleppo residents who lost family members in the bombings were frustrated by the authorities' refusal to hand over their bodies, an activist who identified himself as Mohammed told AFP from the city.
Th commercial hub has been largely spared the violence that rights groups say has killed more than 6,000 people in Syria since last March.
In Doha, the SNC's Ahmed Ramadan said the group has "confirmations of an Arab recognition that will soon take place, though not necessarily on Sunday."
Arab League foreign ministers are meeting on Sunday in Cairo to discuss their next move over the Syrian crisis following a meeting of the six-nation energy-rich Gulf Cooperation Council.
Earlier this week the Gulf monarchies said they would withdraw their envoys from Syria and expels Damascus's ambassadors, joining mounting international pressure on Assad over the killings of civilians.
Syria, meanwhile, said it has asked Tunisia and Libya to close their embassies in Damascus in a tit-for-tat move after they both expelled Syria's envoys.
And its neighbour Turkey said it plans to lodge a formal request to the UN for an aid operation to help Syrians suffering a "humanitarian tragedy."
Greek premier defends bailout deal on eve of vote
ATHENS, Greece (AP) — In a televised address, Greece's prime minister defended austerity measures Saturday that include painful wage and pension cuts but would ensure the country receives a euro130 billion ($170 billion) bailout deal and stave off bankruptcy.
Lucas Papademos made the comments on the eve of a parliamentary debate and vote on emergency legislation approving the new bailout and a debt-swapping deal with private creditors. The debate began at committee level Saturday afternoon. Further legislation will be up for vote a few days later.
Papademos said the alternative to austerity is catastrophic bankruptcy — echoing comments made earlier by the leaders of parties backing Greece's coalition government — socialist George Papandreou and conservative Antonis Samaras.
"The deal will ensure our country's future inside the (eurozone) ... Bankruptcy would lead to uncontrollable economic chaos and social explosion," Papademos said.
He added that under bankruptcy Greeks would lose their savings, the state would be unable to pay for salaries and pensions and there would be shortages in import items such as medicines, fuel and machinery.
Elections are due in October 2013, but Samaras called for an immediate vote once the bond swap deal with Greece's private creditors is over, saying he would not agree to the extension of the mandate of the coalition government beyond that date.
The bond swap deal with Greece's private creditors is expected to help Greece get rid of around euro100 billion ($130 billion) of its debt. The bond swap must be completed before March 20, the redemption date for euro14.5 billion ($19 billion) worth of bonds. Elections could then be held about three weeks later than that, at the earliest.
Lucas Papademos made the comments on the eve of a parliamentary debate and vote on emergency legislation approving the new bailout and a debt-swapping deal with private creditors. The debate began at committee level Saturday afternoon. Further legislation will be up for vote a few days later.
Papademos said the alternative to austerity is catastrophic bankruptcy — echoing comments made earlier by the leaders of parties backing Greece's coalition government — socialist George Papandreou and conservative Antonis Samaras.
"The deal will ensure our country's future inside the (eurozone) ... Bankruptcy would lead to uncontrollable economic chaos and social explosion," Papademos said.
He added that under bankruptcy Greeks would lose their savings, the state would be unable to pay for salaries and pensions and there would be shortages in import items such as medicines, fuel and machinery.
Elections are due in October 2013, but Samaras called for an immediate vote once the bond swap deal with Greece's private creditors is over, saying he would not agree to the extension of the mandate of the coalition government beyond that date.
The bond swap deal with Greece's private creditors is expected to help Greece get rid of around euro100 billion ($130 billion) of its debt. The bond swap must be completed before March 20, the redemption date for euro14.5 billion ($19 billion) worth of bonds. Elections could then be held about three weeks later than that, at the earliest.
The Coldest Day This Winter
t is looking like this might be the coldest day we’ve had all winter so far. Highs might nudge up to 38°, that was the high on Dec.6th, the LAST TIME we had an afternoon high only in the 30’s. Right now at 2p its 36° at DFW. Wind chills all day have stayed in the low to mid-20’s.
An update on the wintery mix that hits Sunday night/Monday morning coming in a few hours after I pour over the latest models. That’s computer model data in case you had any thought that us (weekend) meteorology types are anything other than boring nerds.
An update on the wintery mix that hits Sunday night/Monday morning coming in a few hours after I pour over the latest models. That’s computer model data in case you had any thought that us (weekend) meteorology types are anything other than boring nerds.
Iraqi dissidents form new opposition
BAGHDAD (AP) — A group of political dissidents created a new Iraqi opposition party Saturday, vowing to act as a check on the government as the prime minister warned that a push for regional autonomy could tear the country apart.
About 45 activists announced the creation of the Union of Patriotic Figures and described it as a secular political group of Sunnis, Shiites and Kurds from about 27 mostly minor Iraqi parties.
"We will be an opposition to monitor both the government and the parliament," Mishaan al-Saadi, who unsuccessfully ran for election to parliament in 2010 on the secular but Sunni-dominated Iraqiya list, told reporters.
Iraq has been mired in a political crisis for months. It was galvanized mostly by Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki's pursuit of suspected terrorists and resulted in charges filed against hundreds of Sunnis, including a vice president. In turn, many Sunnis are threatening to break away from the central Shiite-led government and create their own state in Iraq.
Speaking at a conference of his Shiite political party, al-Maliki said that such a system would, at the least, freeze vital government services like electricity and security for the areas that break away. At worst, he said, the fractures could lead to fighting among Iraq's regions.
"The situation won't help. It might even be an entrance for internal battles," al-Maliki said in his speech in Karbala, a holy Shiite city 55 miles (90 kilometers) south of Baghdad.
Al-Maliki has struggled to avoid defections from the coalition government he formed after the 2010 elections, which failed to produce a clear winner.
Government instability linked to the political crisis and fears caused by the withdrawal of U.S. troops in December continues to give new impetus to insurgents.
Bombs ripped through three Iraqi cities on Saturday, killing one and injuring 11, according to local police and health officials.
Among the wounded were four policemen — three in Baghdad and one in the town of Jbala, about 60 miles (110 kilometers) south of Baghdad.
In the city of Fallujah, a former al-Qaida stronghold located 40 miles (65 kilometers) west of Baghdad, police said two car bombs killed an insurgent and wounded his accomplice as they planned to plant them across the city. Investigators described the two men as wanted terrorists.
About 45 activists announced the creation of the Union of Patriotic Figures and described it as a secular political group of Sunnis, Shiites and Kurds from about 27 mostly minor Iraqi parties.
"We will be an opposition to monitor both the government and the parliament," Mishaan al-Saadi, who unsuccessfully ran for election to parliament in 2010 on the secular but Sunni-dominated Iraqiya list, told reporters.
Iraq has been mired in a political crisis for months. It was galvanized mostly by Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki's pursuit of suspected terrorists and resulted in charges filed against hundreds of Sunnis, including a vice president. In turn, many Sunnis are threatening to break away from the central Shiite-led government and create their own state in Iraq.
Speaking at a conference of his Shiite political party, al-Maliki said that such a system would, at the least, freeze vital government services like electricity and security for the areas that break away. At worst, he said, the fractures could lead to fighting among Iraq's regions.
"The situation won't help. It might even be an entrance for internal battles," al-Maliki said in his speech in Karbala, a holy Shiite city 55 miles (90 kilometers) south of Baghdad.
Al-Maliki has struggled to avoid defections from the coalition government he formed after the 2010 elections, which failed to produce a clear winner.
Government instability linked to the political crisis and fears caused by the withdrawal of U.S. troops in December continues to give new impetus to insurgents.
Bombs ripped through three Iraqi cities on Saturday, killing one and injuring 11, according to local police and health officials.
Among the wounded were four policemen — three in Baghdad and one in the town of Jbala, about 60 miles (110 kilometers) south of Baghdad.
In the city of Fallujah, a former al-Qaida stronghold located 40 miles (65 kilometers) west of Baghdad, police said two car bombs killed an insurgent and wounded his accomplice as they planned to plant them across the city. Investigators described the two men as wanted terrorists.
Pop Legend Whitney Houston Dies at 48 -- Twitter Reacts
Whitney Houston, pop music icon and the singer of such songs as "I Will Always Love You" and "The Greatest Love of All," has died at the age of 48.
Houston's death, which comes on the eve of the 54th Annual Grammy Awards, was first reported by the Associated Press. The cause of death is unknown at this time.
[More from Mashable: First Photos of Beyonce’s and Jay-Z’s Baby Emerge on Tumblr [PICS]]
Houston, whose music career spanned nearly 30 years, sold more than 55 million records in the U.S. alone. Although her career peaked in the mid-1990s, Houston's legacy as one of the great female vocalists of all time was never in question.
Already, tributes and messages praising Whitney are taking over Twitter and Facebook streams.
[More from Mashable: Snooki Channels Her Inner Zuckerberg With New Facebook Game]
For Spotify users, enjoy Houston's greatest hits album, available via this playlist.
Leave your Whitney Houston memories in the comments.
Houston's death, which comes on the eve of the 54th Annual Grammy Awards, was first reported by the Associated Press. The cause of death is unknown at this time.
[More from Mashable: First Photos of Beyonce’s and Jay-Z’s Baby Emerge on Tumblr [PICS]]
Houston, whose music career spanned nearly 30 years, sold more than 55 million records in the U.S. alone. Although her career peaked in the mid-1990s, Houston's legacy as one of the great female vocalists of all time was never in question.
Already, tributes and messages praising Whitney are taking over Twitter and Facebook streams.
[More from Mashable: Snooki Channels Her Inner Zuckerberg With New Facebook Game]
For Spotify users, enjoy Houston's greatest hits album, available via this playlist.
Leave your Whitney Houston memories in the comments.
2012年2月10日星期五
'Haunted' Ohio Prison a Hot Spot for Weddings
The 100-year-old Ohio state prison featured in "Shawshank Redemption" has taken on a new, significantly less creepy role in recent years: wedding venue.
The penitentiary even hosted its fifth annual Glamour in the Slammer bridal show this month, drawing more than 500 potential brides and grooms to view the venue's space and outfit their weddings.
The jail was famously the setting of "Shawshank Redemption," the 1994 film about an escape from prison. The Mansfield Reformatory Preservation Society now runs historic tours, hosts paranormal events including ghost hunts, and rents the space out for weddings and banquets.
"The room is beautiful," said Susan Nirode, operations manager of the Preservation Society. "It's seated right between both of our cell blocks, in the very center of the building, with large granite columns, black and white marble floors, and floor-to-ceiling glass walls."
Weddings start at $1,000 for venue rental, according the Preservation Society, and the prison's Central Guardroom is booked through the end of 2012. They've already hosted more than 50 weddings in the space, she said.
The prison has also been home to film crews for the movie "Air Force One," a rap video for Lil Wayne, an advertisement for World Wrestling Entertainment, and the reality show Ghost Adventures.
It was an operational jail which held prisoners from the late 1890s to about 1990, Nirode said, when the inmates were transferred to a newer facility nearby. A group of interested citizens organized the preservation society, eventually securing the deed to the prison. It's now run as a non-profit.
After a few years of haunted tours and film fans visiting the prison, a couple suggested a "spooky" wedding in the Central Guardroom. Nirode and others from the board decided that a renovation, completed in 2006, would help draw more events and, eventually, an additional revenue source for the prison.
Nirode, who runs the bridal show for the Preservation Society, said that many brides can shake off the prison feeling when they see how beautiful the building is.
"When you walk up, it looks like a castle from the outside. For the weddings most couples even leave the curtains in the guard room open so people can look down the halls at the cells. And it's not couples you would think would want to have weddings in prison. Very simple, very elegant," she said. "You wouldn't even know you're in prison."
The penitentiary even hosted its fifth annual Glamour in the Slammer bridal show this month, drawing more than 500 potential brides and grooms to view the venue's space and outfit their weddings.
The jail was famously the setting of "Shawshank Redemption," the 1994 film about an escape from prison. The Mansfield Reformatory Preservation Society now runs historic tours, hosts paranormal events including ghost hunts, and rents the space out for weddings and banquets.
"The room is beautiful," said Susan Nirode, operations manager of the Preservation Society. "It's seated right between both of our cell blocks, in the very center of the building, with large granite columns, black and white marble floors, and floor-to-ceiling glass walls."
Weddings start at $1,000 for venue rental, according the Preservation Society, and the prison's Central Guardroom is booked through the end of 2012. They've already hosted more than 50 weddings in the space, she said.
The prison has also been home to film crews for the movie "Air Force One," a rap video for Lil Wayne, an advertisement for World Wrestling Entertainment, and the reality show Ghost Adventures.
It was an operational jail which held prisoners from the late 1890s to about 1990, Nirode said, when the inmates were transferred to a newer facility nearby. A group of interested citizens organized the preservation society, eventually securing the deed to the prison. It's now run as a non-profit.
After a few years of haunted tours and film fans visiting the prison, a couple suggested a "spooky" wedding in the Central Guardroom. Nirode and others from the board decided that a renovation, completed in 2006, would help draw more events and, eventually, an additional revenue source for the prison.
Nirode, who runs the bridal show for the Preservation Society, said that many brides can shake off the prison feeling when they see how beautiful the building is.
"When you walk up, it looks like a castle from the outside. For the weddings most couples even leave the curtains in the guard room open so people can look down the halls at the cells. And it's not couples you would think would want to have weddings in prison. Very simple, very elegant," she said. "You wouldn't even know you're in prison."
Citadel Sex Abuser Later Carjacked Cocaine Mule
The man at the heart of a Penn State-style sex abuse scandal at the Citadel is now in prison in Puerto Rico awaiting sentencing for his role in the kidnapping, robbery and murder of a cocaine courier by a SWAT team of fake federal law enforcement agents.
Former Marine Capt. Michael Arpaio, now 37, served 15 months in prison for molesting boys at the South Carolina military college's summer camp between 1995 and 2001. According to lawsuits filed against Arpaio, while a counselor he molested boys, gave them drugs and alcohol and made them watch while he had sex with a woman.
The camp closed in 2006 after the Citadel paid $3.8 million to five campers who said Arpaio had abused them. But alleged abuse at the camp is back in the news because of a fresh lawsuit by another alleged Arpaio victim, and because a second ex-counselor, Skip ReVille, now faces criminal charges of molesting nine boys -- alleged offenses that occurred long after the Citadel failed to tell authorities about a camper's complaint against ReVille.
Arpaio was released from prison in 2004. As part of his guilty plea, Arpaio, was supposed to register as a sex offender on his release. Instead, he seemed to disappear -- until the Charleston Post and Courier found him in federal custody in Puerto Rico.
After serving his time, Arpaio had returned to his home state of Georgia. Instead of registering as a sex offender, however, he moved to the U.S. possession of Puerto Rico and started using the name Michael Holland. He became part owner of a restaurant in the tourist district of Old San Juan.
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He lived in Puerto Rico for four years before federal authorities arrested him for failing to register as a sexual offender. He pled guilty to the offense and was sentenced to 15 months.
Carjacking By Fake Federal Agents
While Arpaio was in federal custody, however, authorities charged him with taking part in a drug-related murder, an audacious carjacking that ended in the death of a drug courier named Elis Manuel Andrades Telleria.
According to prosecutors, on May 21, 2008, Arpaio, AKA Holland, and his 11 codefendants, a group that included one former and two current police officers, "agreed to conduct a pretext stop" of a Toyota pickup driven by the victim "to steal from him a load of cocaine."
After Police Officer Osvaldo Hernandez-Adorno, in uniform and driving his police vehicle, stopped the victim's truck, other defendants converged on the truck. They were dressed in black tactical uniforms and federal law enforcement hats, according to the indictment, in order to convince him that he was under arrest by federal agents. They allegedly pointed guns at him and relieved him of at least 14 kilos of cocaine.
The men then allegedly handcuffed Telleria, placed him in a Toyota Sequoia and drove him to an auto-body shop, where they grilled him about whether he had other narcotics or valuables. Arpaio followed behind in a third vehicle.
Some of the defendants, including Arpaio, then allegedly went to the victim's apartment, where they stole a gun, watches and two safe boxes, which they put in Arpaio's car.
Back at the auto-body shop, where Telleria still sat handcuffed in the back seat of the Sequoia, the defendants debated what to do with him. Four of them then got into the car "and asphyxiated Andrades Telleria using their own hands and a piece of rope."
According to the plea agreement, "co-defendants Michael Joseph Arpaio [and 2 others] were in the premises of the auto/body shop at the time the victim was killed but they did not participate in the murder. " Arpaio was also accused, along with a municipal police officer, of plotting the disposal of the body.
Arpaio pled guilty to one count of carjacking and is currently in federal custody awaiting sentencing. A spokeswoman for the U.S. Attorney's office in Puerto Rico told ABC News no sentencing hearing is currently scheduled." She refused to comment on what type of sentence prosecutors are seeking, though because of his past criminal history Arpaio's offense carries a possible life sentence. Arpaio's court-appointed attorney did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Former Marine Capt. Michael Arpaio, now 37, served 15 months in prison for molesting boys at the South Carolina military college's summer camp between 1995 and 2001. According to lawsuits filed against Arpaio, while a counselor he molested boys, gave them drugs and alcohol and made them watch while he had sex with a woman.
The camp closed in 2006 after the Citadel paid $3.8 million to five campers who said Arpaio had abused them. But alleged abuse at the camp is back in the news because of a fresh lawsuit by another alleged Arpaio victim, and because a second ex-counselor, Skip ReVille, now faces criminal charges of molesting nine boys -- alleged offenses that occurred long after the Citadel failed to tell authorities about a camper's complaint against ReVille.
Arpaio was released from prison in 2004. As part of his guilty plea, Arpaio, was supposed to register as a sex offender on his release. Instead, he seemed to disappear -- until the Charleston Post and Courier found him in federal custody in Puerto Rico.
After serving his time, Arpaio had returned to his home state of Georgia. Instead of registering as a sex offender, however, he moved to the U.S. possession of Puerto Rico and started using the name Michael Holland. He became part owner of a restaurant in the tourist district of Old San Juan.
Follow ABCNewsBlotter on Facebook
Follow BrianRoss on Twitter
He lived in Puerto Rico for four years before federal authorities arrested him for failing to register as a sexual offender. He pled guilty to the offense and was sentenced to 15 months.
Carjacking By Fake Federal Agents
While Arpaio was in federal custody, however, authorities charged him with taking part in a drug-related murder, an audacious carjacking that ended in the death of a drug courier named Elis Manuel Andrades Telleria.
According to prosecutors, on May 21, 2008, Arpaio, AKA Holland, and his 11 codefendants, a group that included one former and two current police officers, "agreed to conduct a pretext stop" of a Toyota pickup driven by the victim "to steal from him a load of cocaine."
After Police Officer Osvaldo Hernandez-Adorno, in uniform and driving his police vehicle, stopped the victim's truck, other defendants converged on the truck. They were dressed in black tactical uniforms and federal law enforcement hats, according to the indictment, in order to convince him that he was under arrest by federal agents. They allegedly pointed guns at him and relieved him of at least 14 kilos of cocaine.
The men then allegedly handcuffed Telleria, placed him in a Toyota Sequoia and drove him to an auto-body shop, where they grilled him about whether he had other narcotics or valuables. Arpaio followed behind in a third vehicle.
Some of the defendants, including Arpaio, then allegedly went to the victim's apartment, where they stole a gun, watches and two safe boxes, which they put in Arpaio's car.
Back at the auto-body shop, where Telleria still sat handcuffed in the back seat of the Sequoia, the defendants debated what to do with him. Four of them then got into the car "and asphyxiated Andrades Telleria using their own hands and a piece of rope."
According to the plea agreement, "co-defendants Michael Joseph Arpaio [and 2 others] were in the premises of the auto/body shop at the time the victim was killed but they did not participate in the murder. " Arpaio was also accused, along with a municipal police officer, of plotting the disposal of the body.
Arpaio pled guilty to one count of carjacking and is currently in federal custody awaiting sentencing. A spokeswoman for the U.S. Attorney's office in Puerto Rico told ABC News no sentencing hearing is currently scheduled." She refused to comment on what type of sentence prosecutors are seeking, though because of his past criminal history Arpaio's offense carries a possible life sentence. Arpaio's court-appointed attorney did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
White House Gunfire Suspect Fit for Trial
Alleged White House shooter Oscar Ortega-Hernandez has been determined to be competent to stand trial, but will undergo further psychiatric testing and evaluation.
Ortega-Hernandez was declared to be competent to stand trial by court-appointed psychiatrist Dr. Elisabeth Teegarden.
The 21-year-old Idaho man is charged with attempting to try to assassinate President Obama for allegedly shooting at the White House on Friday, Nov. 11, 2011. He was arrested five days later in western Pennsylvania, after he allegedly fled from the Washington area.
When asked in court today whether he understood the proceedings, Ortega-Hernandez said: “Yes, sir.”
The U.S. Attorney’s Office is asking for further review, because Teegarden’s assessment was based on only 50 minutes of screening, according to a motion prosecutors filed this afternoon.
“Although the government does not dispute that conclusion, the government notes that it was based only on a 50-minute screening and submits that a full psychiatric or psychological screening…given the serious nature of the criminal charges pending against the defendant and the likelihood that mental health issues may arise in the course of these proceedings,” prosecutors said in the filing.
Ortega-Hernandez, who is being held without bond, is scheduled to be back in court Dec. 12, after the additional screening, and prosecutors may have an indictment in the case by then. Ortega-Hernandez has only been charged in a criminal complaint.
Ortega-Hernandez was declared to be competent to stand trial by court-appointed psychiatrist Dr. Elisabeth Teegarden.
The 21-year-old Idaho man is charged with attempting to try to assassinate President Obama for allegedly shooting at the White House on Friday, Nov. 11, 2011. He was arrested five days later in western Pennsylvania, after he allegedly fled from the Washington area.
When asked in court today whether he understood the proceedings, Ortega-Hernandez said: “Yes, sir.”
The U.S. Attorney’s Office is asking for further review, because Teegarden’s assessment was based on only 50 minutes of screening, according to a motion prosecutors filed this afternoon.
“Although the government does not dispute that conclusion, the government notes that it was based only on a 50-minute screening and submits that a full psychiatric or psychological screening…given the serious nature of the criminal charges pending against the defendant and the likelihood that mental health issues may arise in the course of these proceedings,” prosecutors said in the filing.
Ortega-Hernandez, who is being held without bond, is scheduled to be back in court Dec. 12, after the additional screening, and prosecutors may have an indictment in the case by then. Ortega-Hernandez has only been charged in a criminal complaint.
Newest Cain Accuser Has History of Financial Trouble
Like one of his earlier accusers, the latest woman to accuse Republican presidential candidate Herman Cain of sexual misconduct has a history of financial trouble, with a threat of eviction for non-payment of rent just two weeks ago.
Ginger White, who claimed in an interview with Atlanta Fox News affiliate WAGA to have had a 13-year-affair with Cain, has liens and civil judgments in Kentucky and Georgia dating back to 1994.
Eleven of those liens have been filed since 2009, with nine in 2011. The owners of her apartment complex in Dunwoody, Georgia have sued her for non-payment of rent nearly every month since the beginning of the year.
White, a 46-year-old unemployed single mother who is at least twice divorced, was described by WAGA as an Atlanta-area businesswoman. While living in Louisville, Kentucky, she worked at Recruitment Plus, LLC. According to WAGA, she filed a sex harassment claim against an employer ten years ago, and the case was settled. The station also found a bankruptcy filing from the late 1980s.
In January, there is a scheduled court date in an unrelated civil suit filed against her by a former business partner, Kimberly Vay, who alleges that White stalked and harassed her and had sought a protective order. A judge has entered a default judgment in Vay's favor.
White said in her interview that her alleged affair with Cain was "pretty simple."
"It wasn't complicated," said White. "I was aware that he was married. And I was also aware that I was involved in a very inappropriate situation, relationship."
WAGA reported that White provided documentation to support her claims, including cell phone records indicating calls and texts from Cain, some in the early morning hours. White also claimed Cain flew her to different cities and lavished her with gifts.
"He made it very intriguing, very fun," White said. "It was something that took me away from my humdrum life at the time."
READ: WAGA's Full Report 'Ga. Woman Alleges Herman Cain Affair'
An attorney for White told WAGA that Cain had also provided financial support to White when she fell on hard times.
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Cain spoke out about White's allegations just minutes before her interview aired. Cain said on CNN Monday there would be "another accusation that I had an affair with someone, a woman."
Before WAGA's broadcast, Cain said that he knew the woman and had considered her a friend but emphatically denied any affair took place.
"I want to get out in front of [the story] because I have nothing to hide," Cain said. "I have done nothing wrong."
Cain has previously denied accusations of sexual harassment leveled against him by several women both publicly and privately.
Cain's attorney, Lin Wood, provided WAGA with a statement before the broadcast saying White's claim "appears to be an accusation of private, alleged consensual conduct between adults -- a subject matter which is not a proper subject of inquiry by the media or the public."
"No individual, whether a private citizen, a candidate for public office or a public official, should be questioned about his or her private sexual life," Wood's statement said, according to WAGA. That statement, apparently made before Cain's appearance on CNN, said the presidential candidate would not speak about the allegations.
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In a statement, Cain's campaign called the accusations just another attempt to "derail the Cain Train."
"The Cain Campaign is not surprised that another female accuser has come forward due to the fact that earlier allegations were unable to force Herman Cain to drop his presidential bid to renew America," the campaign said in a statement.
The accusations came just two weeks after Cain's wife of 43 years, Gloria, made a rare public appearance to defend her husband and deny he had ever strayed. "His conscience would bother him and he couldn't look me straight in the eye."
Earlier Cain Accuser's Rocky Financial, Job History
Sharon Bialek of Chicago came forward on November 7 to allege while Cain was president of the National Restaurant Association in 1997, he had sexually harassed her.
According to Bialek, she sought his help finding employment during a meeting in Washington. Bialek claims that after drinks and dinner, Cain stuck his hand up her skirt and tried to pull her head toward his crotch.
"I said, 'What are you doing?'" alleged Bialek, who said she had contacted Cain for help getting a job. "You know I have a boyfriend. This isn't what I came here for."
According to Bialek, Cain answered, "You want a job, right?"
According to public documents reviewed by ABC News, Bialek, 50, has a history of job changes and financial woes over the past two decades.
She has declared bankruptcy twice, and has lost multiple court judgments for debts totalling more than $10,000.
Bialek filed for bankruptcy in 1991 and again in 2001. Among the debts listed in 2001 are over $14,000 in credit card charges and more than $17,000 owed to the lawyer who handled a paternity case.
As of August 2011, she owed the Illinois Dept. of Revenue $4,384. By 2009, she owed the federal government $5,176 in taxes for years 2004 and 2005. There was also a lien for $885 filed against her in 2006 by a company that installed a water heater in her apartment. It was not clear if Bialek has repaid the debts.
In 2000, a judge awarded plaintiff Broadacre Management $4930.77 for unpaid rent, which included court costs. Broadacre was listed as a creditor on her 2001 Chapter 7 bankruptcy filing. Last year Bialek lost a default judgment for more than $3,500 to Illinois Lending, according to Cook County online court records, and in 2005 lost another judgment in a separate case for more than $3,000.
Cain campaign spokesman J.D. Gordon said in a statement that Bialek's accusations were false and that Cain's opponents were behind them. He claimed that Cain's opponents "have now convinced a woman with a long history of severe financial difficulties, including personal bankruptcy, to falsely accuse the Republican frontrunner of events allegedly occurring well over a decade ago for which there is no record, nor even a complaint filed."
Ginger White, who claimed in an interview with Atlanta Fox News affiliate WAGA to have had a 13-year-affair with Cain, has liens and civil judgments in Kentucky and Georgia dating back to 1994.
Eleven of those liens have been filed since 2009, with nine in 2011. The owners of her apartment complex in Dunwoody, Georgia have sued her for non-payment of rent nearly every month since the beginning of the year.
White, a 46-year-old unemployed single mother who is at least twice divorced, was described by WAGA as an Atlanta-area businesswoman. While living in Louisville, Kentucky, she worked at Recruitment Plus, LLC. According to WAGA, she filed a sex harassment claim against an employer ten years ago, and the case was settled. The station also found a bankruptcy filing from the late 1980s.
In January, there is a scheduled court date in an unrelated civil suit filed against her by a former business partner, Kimberly Vay, who alleges that White stalked and harassed her and had sought a protective order. A judge has entered a default judgment in Vay's favor.
White said in her interview that her alleged affair with Cain was "pretty simple."
"It wasn't complicated," said White. "I was aware that he was married. And I was also aware that I was involved in a very inappropriate situation, relationship."
WAGA reported that White provided documentation to support her claims, including cell phone records indicating calls and texts from Cain, some in the early morning hours. White also claimed Cain flew her to different cities and lavished her with gifts.
"He made it very intriguing, very fun," White said. "It was something that took me away from my humdrum life at the time."
READ: WAGA's Full Report 'Ga. Woman Alleges Herman Cain Affair'
An attorney for White told WAGA that Cain had also provided financial support to White when she fell on hard times.
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Cain spoke out about White's allegations just minutes before her interview aired. Cain said on CNN Monday there would be "another accusation that I had an affair with someone, a woman."
Before WAGA's broadcast, Cain said that he knew the woman and had considered her a friend but emphatically denied any affair took place.
"I want to get out in front of [the story] because I have nothing to hide," Cain said. "I have done nothing wrong."
Cain has previously denied accusations of sexual harassment leveled against him by several women both publicly and privately.
Cain's attorney, Lin Wood, provided WAGA with a statement before the broadcast saying White's claim "appears to be an accusation of private, alleged consensual conduct between adults -- a subject matter which is not a proper subject of inquiry by the media or the public."
"No individual, whether a private citizen, a candidate for public office or a public official, should be questioned about his or her private sexual life," Wood's statement said, according to WAGA. That statement, apparently made before Cain's appearance on CNN, said the presidential candidate would not speak about the allegations.
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In a statement, Cain's campaign called the accusations just another attempt to "derail the Cain Train."
"The Cain Campaign is not surprised that another female accuser has come forward due to the fact that earlier allegations were unable to force Herman Cain to drop his presidential bid to renew America," the campaign said in a statement.
The accusations came just two weeks after Cain's wife of 43 years, Gloria, made a rare public appearance to defend her husband and deny he had ever strayed. "His conscience would bother him and he couldn't look me straight in the eye."
Earlier Cain Accuser's Rocky Financial, Job History
Sharon Bialek of Chicago came forward on November 7 to allege while Cain was president of the National Restaurant Association in 1997, he had sexually harassed her.
According to Bialek, she sought his help finding employment during a meeting in Washington. Bialek claims that after drinks and dinner, Cain stuck his hand up her skirt and tried to pull her head toward his crotch.
"I said, 'What are you doing?'" alleged Bialek, who said she had contacted Cain for help getting a job. "You know I have a boyfriend. This isn't what I came here for."
According to Bialek, Cain answered, "You want a job, right?"
According to public documents reviewed by ABC News, Bialek, 50, has a history of job changes and financial woes over the past two decades.
She has declared bankruptcy twice, and has lost multiple court judgments for debts totalling more than $10,000.
Bialek filed for bankruptcy in 1991 and again in 2001. Among the debts listed in 2001 are over $14,000 in credit card charges and more than $17,000 owed to the lawyer who handled a paternity case.
As of August 2011, she owed the Illinois Dept. of Revenue $4,384. By 2009, she owed the federal government $5,176 in taxes for years 2004 and 2005. There was also a lien for $885 filed against her in 2006 by a company that installed a water heater in her apartment. It was not clear if Bialek has repaid the debts.
In 2000, a judge awarded plaintiff Broadacre Management $4930.77 for unpaid rent, which included court costs. Broadacre was listed as a creditor on her 2001 Chapter 7 bankruptcy filing. Last year Bialek lost a default judgment for more than $3,500 to Illinois Lending, according to Cook County online court records, and in 2005 lost another judgment in a separate case for more than $3,000.
Cain campaign spokesman J.D. Gordon said in a statement that Bialek's accusations were false and that Cain's opponents were behind them. He claimed that Cain's opponents "have now convinced a woman with a long history of severe financial difficulties, including personal bankruptcy, to falsely accuse the Republican frontrunner of events allegedly occurring well over a decade ago for which there is no record, nor even a complaint filed."
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