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Texans Lose Johnson, Beat Steelers 17-10
Andre Johnson went down, so the Houston Texans turned to their other offensive star to beat the Pittsburgh Steelers.
Arian Foster rushed for 155 yards Sunday, including the go-ahead touchdown in the fourth quarter of the Texans' 17-10 win.
Johnson, Houston's All-Pro receiver, left in the second quarter with a right hamstring injury and did not return to the game, though he was back on the sideline late to watch Houston (3-1) finish off Ben Roethlisberger and the injury-plagued Steelers (2-2).
Big Ben was beat up all day, sacked five times behind an offensive line missing two regular starters. The Steelers also lost running back Rashard Mendenhall (hamstring), linebacker James Harrison (eye) and defensive end Aaron Smith (foot) during the game.
Roethlisberger hurt his left foot but stayed in, and he was wearing a walking boot when he left the stadium. He said he was injured on the second-to-last series when he was tackled from behind. Roethlisberger had an X-ray after the game but said he didn't know the results.
Foster, meanwhile, finally looked healthy after weeks of nursing a left hamstring strain. He broke a 42-yard touchdown run with about 12 minutes left after the Steelers rallied to tie it at 10-all. Foster finished with 30 carries.
"He stepped up for his team today," Houston coach Gary Kubiak said.
Matt Schaub threw a touchdown pass to Owen Daniels in the first half. The Texans led 10-0 at the break, and an ill-timed penalty cost them another touchdown.
AP
Houston Texans' Jason Allen (30) and Troy...
Houston was on the move in the second quarter when Johnson pulled up without getting touched.
The five-time Pro Bowl receiver caught a pass, turned upfield and then fell forward near the 40-yard line, immediately clutching the back of his right leg. He limped off and walked to the locker room on his own.
The Texans seemed to lose their edge after that. The drive stalled and Neil Rackers kicked a 22-yard field goal for a 10-0 lead. Rackers improved to 10-for-10 this season.
Schaub threw a 30-yard pass to Daniels to the Steelers 42 early in the fourth. Foster took it from there, breaking outside and outrunning the Pittsburgh secondary to the end zone.
Johnson was back on the sideline for the final 10 minutes and he watched Houston's defense finish it off.
Antonio Smith and Mario Williams sacked Roethlisberger, and linebacker Connor Barwin swatted away Big Ben's fourth-down pass with 2:38 left.
The Steelers had one last gasp after Houston had another touchdown wiped away by a penalty. Joseph intercepted Roethlisberger's pass from the end zone and returned it for a score, but rookie J.J. Watt was flagged for roughing the passer.
The Texans got an interception that counted by Jason Allen to end the drive and clinch the win.
Another Houston penalty in the first half wiped out a sack and forced fumble by Barwin.
The Texans dominated the first half, with Foster setting the tone on the first drive.
The 2010 NFL rushing champion ran over, around and through the Steelers' defense, gaining 41 yards in all. He had a pair of 5-yard runs to the Pittsburgh 1, and with the Steelers keying on him, Daniels was open and Schaub found him for an easy touchdown.
The score finished a 19-play drive that consumed 10 minutes, 55 seconds, both franchise records.
Williams sacked Roethlisberger on the fourth play of the second half. But Pittsburgh's line starting holding up better, and Roethlisberger threw a 23-yard pass to Antonio Brown to the Houston 15. Mendenhall scored on a 3-yard run, his last play before leaving with the injury.
Backup Isaac Redman broke an 18-yard run across midfield to start the Steelers' next series. Pittsburgh chewed up the last five minutes of the third quarter with the drive, and Suisham tied it with a 26-yard field goal.
Posted on http://abcnews.go.com/Sports/wireStory/texans-lose-johnson-beat-steelers-17-10-14651524
Date Published: Oct 02, 2011 - 4:02 pm
Facebook Charging in 2011? Not Now, Not Ever
Rumor had it that Facebook would begin charging its users up to
$10 to maintain their spot on the social media network.
Thankfully, Mark Zuckerberg will not be reaching his hands into
our coin purses any time soon.
Normal 0 false false false EN-GB X-NONE X-NONE After word
spread that Facebook may require users to pay, a representative
for the company took to its Facebook page to squash
speculation.
"A rumor on the internet caught our attention. We have no plans to charge for Facebook. It's free and always will be," read the post. With 460,678 likes, 46,029 comments, and 102,825 shares, it seems as if Facebook dodged a bullet.
However, there is no doubt that Facebook could reap great spoils by charging members.
Currently, the site has 800 million active users with more than 50 percent of active users logging onto Facebook in any given day, according to the site's statistics. Facebook's IPO could be high as $76 a share with an estimated overall value of $33.7 billion, according to The New York Times.
With a charge of $10 per month per user for the supposed "gold membership," that would add up to a whopping $96 billion in annual revenue.
Alas, it could never be that simple. Facebook's revenue is heavily tied to participation. "Once that drops, its revenue is going to decline," said Sam Hamadeh, chief of PrviCo, in a Fox4kc.com article.
This most recent hoax began just days after Facebook's facelift last week. The site now features a Ticker, it groups categories of friends together to allow for more detailed tracking, newly added photographs appear larger, and the "Poke" button is now concealed. A timeline is also slated to be available within the next few weeks.
The rumor spread virally on peoples' news feed, via a message that said Facebook would charge people for access unless they copied and pasted a certain message onto their Wall. "If you copy this on your wall, your icon will turn blue and Facebook will be free for you," the message said. "Please pass this message on, if not your account will be deleted if you do not pay," according to PC Magazine
Many users are reportedly complaining about the site's changes. A monthly charge would probably not go over well either.
With other social networking sites such as Twitter and Tumblr showing exponential growth, Facebook needs to maintain its "free forever" mantra in order to stay afloat.
Twitter announced that it has over 100 million active users worldwide, half of whom log in daily and 40 percent of whom have not tweeted in the last month, according to the Huffington Post. There are said to be 200 million tweets per day.
Rumors about a potential Facebook fee have been circulating since 2009.
Read more http://www.ibtimes.com/articles/220120/20110927/facebook-charging-in-2011.htm
"A rumor on the internet caught our attention. We have no plans to charge for Facebook. It's free and always will be," read the post. With 460,678 likes, 46,029 comments, and 102,825 shares, it seems as if Facebook dodged a bullet.
However, there is no doubt that Facebook could reap great spoils by charging members.
Currently, the site has 800 million active users with more than 50 percent of active users logging onto Facebook in any given day, according to the site's statistics. Facebook's IPO could be high as $76 a share with an estimated overall value of $33.7 billion, according to The New York Times.
With a charge of $10 per month per user for the supposed "gold membership," that would add up to a whopping $96 billion in annual revenue.
Alas, it could never be that simple. Facebook's revenue is heavily tied to participation. "Once that drops, its revenue is going to decline," said Sam Hamadeh, chief of PrviCo, in a Fox4kc.com article.
This most recent hoax began just days after Facebook's facelift last week. The site now features a Ticker, it groups categories of friends together to allow for more detailed tracking, newly added photographs appear larger, and the "Poke" button is now concealed. A timeline is also slated to be available within the next few weeks.
The rumor spread virally on peoples' news feed, via a message that said Facebook would charge people for access unless they copied and pasted a certain message onto their Wall. "If you copy this on your wall, your icon will turn blue and Facebook will be free for you," the message said. "Please pass this message on, if not your account will be deleted if you do not pay," according to PC Magazine
Many users are reportedly complaining about the site's changes. A monthly charge would probably not go over well either.
With other social networking sites such as Twitter and Tumblr showing exponential growth, Facebook needs to maintain its "free forever" mantra in order to stay afloat.
Twitter announced that it has over 100 million active users worldwide, half of whom log in daily and 40 percent of whom have not tweeted in the last month, according to the Huffington Post. There are said to be 200 million tweets per day.
Rumors about a potential Facebook fee have been circulating since 2009.
Read more http://www.ibtimes.com/articles/220120/20110927/facebook-charging-in-2011.htm
Date Published: Sep 27, 2011 - 3:18 am
'Pan Am' premiere review: Lighter than air, but not bubble-headed?
by Ken Tucker
David Caruso needs his trademark sunglasses to look up at the bright sky and glimpse CSI: MIami‘s new Sunday-night competition: the sleek airliners of Pan Am; it’s a new series that is, to use a word that would have been employed during the era in which the show is set, kicky — fun, with the promise of something more.
West Wing director and Pan Am executive producer Thomas Schlamme directed a dreamy vision of what it was like to be a stewardess circa the early 1960s, and his smooth visual storytelling did a lot to cover up clunky dialogue and corny plot twists such as a married passenger boarding a flight containing the gamine stewardess (a pert Karine Vanasse) he’s been having an affair with. Kate (Kelli Garner) is helping out the CIA with a little espionage, even as the Bay of Pigs mess is dragged in to lend some heavy seriousness to a series that really wants to be lighter than air.
The most engaging co-star is Christina Ricci, playing a rebellious stewardess with a working knowledge of Marxism (you can practically see her beatnik black turtleneck beneath her stew uniform; and Ricci’s wide dark eyes suggest evenings spent pounding bongos while reciting protest poetry). In general, Pan Am juggles romance, espionage, and comedy in subplots that will take a while to get sorted out. Right now, the show doesn’t seem to know exactly what it wants to be, and is experimenting with tone, and seeing what works and what doesn’t. That’s the kind of attitude that, if the tinkering is done right, could lead to an interesting series.
Pan Am — along with The Playboy Club, which has already landed with a resounding flop in the ratings — suggest the deep yet almost inexplicable envy that broadcast networks have of Matthew Weiner’s Mad Men. The period drama has a persistent allure for network programmers, despite the fact it hasn’t really worked for them, ratings-wise, in a long time (pace Swingtown, Homefront, American Dreams), and that if Pan Am were to only get Mad Men-sized ratings for ABC, it’d quickly do a death spiral into cancellation.
The show could certainly do without dialogue that tries to articulate what it wants us to believe about it — that back then, the career of stewardess led to, as one of the horny pilots says without a trace of believability, “a new breed of woman… they just had an impulse to take flight.” Puh-leese. What Pan Am is selling is fantasy, or an envious reminder of what life used to be like up, up, and away — yes, kids, there really used to be roomy seats and attentive service. (But then again, you were wearing suits and ties or dresses to fly, not sweat pants and t-shirts with Starbucks stains on them.) I’m intrigued enough to watch again to see how the show shakes down, what proportion of romance vs. spy story it will settle upon. Are you?
Read more http://watching-tv.ew.com/2011/09/25/pan-am-christina-ricci/
David Caruso needs his trademark sunglasses to look up at the bright sky and glimpse CSI: MIami‘s new Sunday-night competition: the sleek airliners of Pan Am; it’s a new series that is, to use a word that would have been employed during the era in which the show is set, kicky — fun, with the promise of something more.
West Wing director and Pan Am executive producer Thomas Schlamme directed a dreamy vision of what it was like to be a stewardess circa the early 1960s, and his smooth visual storytelling did a lot to cover up clunky dialogue and corny plot twists such as a married passenger boarding a flight containing the gamine stewardess (a pert Karine Vanasse) he’s been having an affair with. Kate (Kelli Garner) is helping out the CIA with a little espionage, even as the Bay of Pigs mess is dragged in to lend some heavy seriousness to a series that really wants to be lighter than air.
The most engaging co-star is Christina Ricci, playing a rebellious stewardess with a working knowledge of Marxism (you can practically see her beatnik black turtleneck beneath her stew uniform; and Ricci’s wide dark eyes suggest evenings spent pounding bongos while reciting protest poetry). In general, Pan Am juggles romance, espionage, and comedy in subplots that will take a while to get sorted out. Right now, the show doesn’t seem to know exactly what it wants to be, and is experimenting with tone, and seeing what works and what doesn’t. That’s the kind of attitude that, if the tinkering is done right, could lead to an interesting series.
Pan Am — along with The Playboy Club, which has already landed with a resounding flop in the ratings — suggest the deep yet almost inexplicable envy that broadcast networks have of Matthew Weiner’s Mad Men. The period drama has a persistent allure for network programmers, despite the fact it hasn’t really worked for them, ratings-wise, in a long time (pace Swingtown, Homefront, American Dreams), and that if Pan Am were to only get Mad Men-sized ratings for ABC, it’d quickly do a death spiral into cancellation.
The show could certainly do without dialogue that tries to articulate what it wants us to believe about it — that back then, the career of stewardess led to, as one of the horny pilots says without a trace of believability, “a new breed of woman… they just had an impulse to take flight.” Puh-leese. What Pan Am is selling is fantasy, or an envious reminder of what life used to be like up, up, and away — yes, kids, there really used to be roomy seats and attentive service. (But then again, you were wearing suits and ties or dresses to fly, not sweat pants and t-shirts with Starbucks stains on them.) I’m intrigued enough to watch again to see how the show shakes down, what proportion of romance vs. spy story it will settle upon. Are you?
Read more http://watching-tv.ew.com/2011/09/25/pan-am-christina-ricci/
Date Published: Sep 26, 2011 - 1:54 am
Diana Nyad Makes Another Attempt to Swim From Cuba to Florida
Sept. 24, 2011
This time, the 62-year-old endurance swimmer from Los Angeles said she's ready for the planned 60 hour journey which she began in Havana Friday night.
"I'm prepared and even saying that though, how many times do you get to do something of this big an adventure? You know, how many times do you get to feel this alive? This awake and alive?" said Nyad.
An asthma attack ended her attempt last month after 29 hours in the water. She was 15 mph off course due to strong currents, according to Tweets on her page at the time.
Nyad is hoping to break her own world record for open-water swimming without a shark cage. A swimmer from Australia finished a swim from Cuba to the Keys in 1997 but used a cage.
If she completes the swim, she would break her 1979 record, where she swam 102.5 miles from the Bahamas to Florida.
"I feel in better shape at 62 than I was at 28, which is the first time I tried this, 28 years old - I'm not as fast as I was then and I'm a little fatter, uh, but that's ok," she said.
Well wishers cheered Nyad on as she began her swim Friday.
"I know I'm going to be cold," Nyad told the Associated Press. "I know I'm going to run into all kinds of jellyfish and the nights are going to be long."
On Nyad's twitter account, her assistants have been updating the public of the swimmer's progress.
At one point, it appeared she was stung by a moon jelly.
"Chief handler Bonnie Stoll said, "Diana was stung along both arms the side of her body and her face," in a message posted on her twitter account.
After changing suits and rehydrating, Nyad continued her journey.
If all goes well, she predicts reaching Florida early Monday morning, the Associated Press reported.
ABC News' Enjoli Francis, Eric Noll, ABC News Radiol and The Associated Press contributed to this story.
Taken from http://abcnews.go.com/US/diana-nyad-makes-attempt-swim-cuba-florida/story?id=14596664
Date Published: Sep 24, 2011 - 7:54 am
Floyd Mayweather vs. Victor Ortiz live updates
Mayweather lands big combo with Ortiz huddled downward. Ortiz gets his feet, pounds Mayweather against ropes with his own hard barrage. Mayweather nods it doesn't hurt. Ortiz hurts Mayweather, but loses a point on head butt. Mayweather knocks down Ortiz with right and left. Ortiz is counted out. Fight over. Controversial finish. Referee Joe Cortez had separated the fighters after the point deduction. Cortez gave a weak signal to resume, and Mayweather unleashed blows to Ortiz, who was seemingly trying to apologize to Mayweather and didn't know the fight had resumed. He tried to get up at 7 and couldn't.
Post-fight update here.
Round 3
Mayweather slaps Ortiz with lefts. Ortiz looking for opening to no avail. Mayweather gets in jab. Nice firm right to face by Mayweather. Nice right to jaw by Mayweather. Ortiz too slow, walking into punches. Mayweather lands right, quickly backs away. Mayweather hides behind left shoulder and lands rights. All Mayweather now. Mayweather 10-9
Round 2
Ortiz lands a shot. Mayweather lands big counter right. Ortiz charges in. Mayweather again. Ortiz right to body. Mayweather holds in corner. Ortiz flails. Mayweather lands. Mayweather 10-9
Round 1
Mayweather throws two rights and ducks after each. Both guys feeling jab. Mayweather lands jab and right. Ortiz swings a glancing left. Mayweather gets in a right. Ortiz charges with a left. Mayweather to body before hold. Mayweather 10-9.
Pre-fight
Call him a villain if you want, but Floyd Mayweather Jr. is 41-0 with 25 knockouts and the most successful pay-per-view fighter in the world.
"Floyd is motivated because he's the best thing out here at this time in boxing, and he wants to show the world how great he is," said his uncle and trainer, Roger Mayweather.
If Mayweather's boxing skills match his swagger tonight, look out.
Mayweather, 34, expressed no concern about the issues some fight fans feel could be detrimental to him inside the MGM Grand Garden Arena boxing ring.
Has a 16-month layoff built up rust on his aging body? Might legal problems, including a three-felony domestic violence case set to resume next month, distract him?
"Next question," Mayweather said earlier in the week while playfully flipping a reporter's notebook page.
Ortiz, 24, listened and reasoned, "He tries a little too hard to scare people. I think it's funny how hard he tries to get into somebody's head. He talks some stuff. I'll take it."
Ortiz will receive $2 million in guaranteed money, plus a share of pay-per-view revenues, while Mayweather is guaranteed $25 million, and could make as much as $40 million.
--Lance Pugmire
Originally posted on
http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/sports_blog/2011/09/floyd-mayweather-victor-ortiz-live-updates.html
Date Published: Sep 18, 2011 - 2:33 am
Metta World Peace: Ron Artest changes name to better the world
Metta World Peace: Ron Artest changes name to better the
world Metta World Peace is now officially Ron Artest's new
name. Mr. World Peace's name change was initially delayed due to
outstanding traffic tickets.
By Associated Press / September 17, 2011
Ron Artest's bid to become Mr. World Peace was delayed, but not denied.A
court commissioner granted the Lakers forward's request to officially change his
name to Metta World Peace on Friday, three weeks after the bid
was blocked because Artest had unpaid traffic tickets.
Artest, 31, did not attend a brief hearing Friday.
Superior court spokeswoman Patricia Kelly said that Artest's new last name will be World Peace.
His publicist, Courtney Barnes, said the player chose Metta because it is a traditional Buddhist word that means loving and kindness toward all.
"Changing my name was meant to inspire and bring youth together all around the world," World Peace said in a statement released after the hearing. "After this short delay, my tickets have been paid and I'm glad that it is now official."He requested the change in June, citing only personal reasons. He is scheduled to appear on the next season of "Dancing With the Stars."
Barnes wrote in an email that World Peace will now have to get a new driver's license to reflect his new name, but the switch won't affect his contracts with the Lakers or any endorsement deals.
Artest helped the Lakers win an NBA title in 2010 and in April he received an award for outstanding service and dedication to the community.
He has testified before Congress to support mental health legislation.
Artest isn't the first athlete to adopt an unusual name.
Lloyd Bernard Free, a professional basketball player who played in the league from 1975-88, had his first name legally changed to World in 1981. A friend had given him the nickname because of his 44-inch vertical leaps and 360-degree dunks.
In the NFL, wide receiver Chad Johnson legally changed his last name to Ochocinco in August 2008 to reflect his jersey number. The name means "eight five" in Spanish. Ochocinco is now with the New England Patriots.
Originally article was posted on http://www.csmonitor.com/The-Culture/Latest-News-Wires/2011/0917/Metta-World-Peace-Ron-Artest-changes-name-to-better-the-world
By Associated Press / September 17, 2011
Artest, 31, did not attend a brief hearing Friday.
Superior court spokeswoman Patricia Kelly said that Artest's new last name will be World Peace.
His publicist, Courtney Barnes, said the player chose Metta because it is a traditional Buddhist word that means loving and kindness toward all.
"Changing my name was meant to inspire and bring youth together all around the world," World Peace said in a statement released after the hearing. "After this short delay, my tickets have been paid and I'm glad that it is now official."He requested the change in June, citing only personal reasons. He is scheduled to appear on the next season of "Dancing With the Stars."
Barnes wrote in an email that World Peace will now have to get a new driver's license to reflect his new name, but the switch won't affect his contracts with the Lakers or any endorsement deals.
Artest helped the Lakers win an NBA title in 2010 and in April he received an award for outstanding service and dedication to the community.
He has testified before Congress to support mental health legislation.
Artest isn't the first athlete to adopt an unusual name.
Lloyd Bernard Free, a professional basketball player who played in the league from 1975-88, had his first name legally changed to World in 1981. A friend had given him the nickname because of his 44-inch vertical leaps and 360-degree dunks.
In the NFL, wide receiver Chad Johnson legally changed his last name to Ochocinco in August 2008 to reflect his jersey number. The name means "eight five" in Spanish. Ochocinco is now with the New England Patriots.
Originally article was posted on http://www.csmonitor.com/The-Culture/Latest-News-Wires/2011/0917/Metta-World-Peace-Ron-Artest-changes-name-to-better-the-world
Date Published: Sep 17, 2011 - 2:44 am
Pat Robertson infuriates Christian faithful with Alzheimer's comments
But the television evangelist's most recent statements -- condoning divorce when a spouse has Alzheimer's -- appears to have offended many Christians who feel it violates the sanctity of marriage and that most cherished of marriage vows: Til death do us part.
The controversy stems from comments Robertson made recently on the "700 Club" program on Christian Broadcast Network. His comments came in response to a caller who said that a friend had begun dating other women while his wife lies seriously ill with Alzheimer's, and justifies it by saying that "his wife, as he knows her, is gone."
Robertson said he agrees with the man: "What he says basically is correct. I know it sounds cruel, but if he's going to do something, he should divorce her and start all over again, but make sure she has custodial care and somebody looking after her."
His co-host pressed Robertson about whether that violates the marriage vows. Robertson responded that Alzheimer's "is a kind of death" and added, "I certainly wouldn't put a guilt trip on you" for choosing divorce in such a scenario.
The comments on Christianity Today's news blog were nearly universal in their criticism and disappointment:
"I am horrified by Robertson's response!" said one.
Many of the commenters said they were outraged, and described how they -- or a mother or father -- lovingly cared for a spouse with Alzheimer's.
"Such irresponsible, callous comments made by Robertson. My father cared for my mother who was diagnosed with Alzheimer's at age 55...until the day he placed her ravaged body in the grave. He kept his vows. Be ashamed of yourself, Pat Robertson."
On Twitter, Walter Price, who identifies himself as a pastor, said: "Pat Robertson is WRONG on his alzheimers statement. Un-Christlike; unbiblical; dead wrong! So sad!"
And Russell D. Moore, dean of the school of theology at Southern Baptist Theological Seminary in Louisville, Ky., wrote in an article at Baptist Press News, "This is more than an embarrassment. This is more than cruelty. This is a repudiation of the Gospel of Jesus Christ."
Robertson did not respond to an interview request from The Times submitted to Christian Broadcast Network.
--Rene Lynch
Photo: Pat Robertson. (AP Photo / Clem Britt)
Originally posted on http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/nationnow/2011/09/pat-robertson-infuriates-faithful-with-alzheimers-comments.html
Date Published: Sep 16, 2011 - 1:41 am
Andy Whitfield, Star of ‘Spartacus’ Series, Dies at 39
Normal 0 false false false false EN-GB X-NONE X-NONE
Andy
Whitfield, who starred in the television series “Spartacus:
Blood and Sand” died on Sunday in Sydney, Australia. He was
39.
By SARAH MASLIN
NIR
Published: September 12,
2011
Andy
Whitfield, who starred in the television series “Spartacus:
Blood and Sand” died on Sunday in Sydney, Australia. He was
39.
The cause was non-Hodgkin’s
lymphoma, his wife, Vashti, said in a statement.
Mr. Whitfield, who was from
Wales but lived in Australia, was a relatively unknown actor
until he was chosen for the series, a sex- and blood-soaked
version of the early life of the Thracian gladiator who led a
slave rebellion against the Roman ruling class from 73 to 71
B.C.
Mr. Whitfield took what was
supposed to be a temporary leave from the show, which was an
instant hit after its January 2010 debut, after a routine
check-up in March of that year revealed a recurrence of
cancer.
Starz Entertainment, the
premium channel that airs the show, used different actors to film
a prequel called “Spartacus: Gods of the Arena,” while awaiting
the star’s return. But Mr. Whitfield never recovered enough to
come back.
Liam McIntyre, a virtual
unknown from Australia, took over the leading role for the show’s
second season.
Mr. McIntyre said then:
“Andy’s such a wonderful actor. I don’t want to follow that guy,
and everybody hurts that he’s had to give up the role, myself
included.”
Chris Albrecht, president
and chief executive of Starz, said in a statement, “The man who
played a champion on-screen was also a champion in his own life.”
Mr. Whitfield faced cancer with “courage, strength and grace,” he
said.
In addition to his wife, Mr.
Whitfield is survived by two children and a sister. In her
statement, his wife described him as “our beautiful young
warrior.” She said he died in her arms.
A version of this article
appeared in print on September 12, 2011, on page D9 of the New
York edition with the headline: Andy Whitfield, 39, Star of
‘Spartacus’ TV Series.
Originaly this article
was published on The New York Times
Date Published: Sep 12, 2011 - 2:17 am
In the Graphic Skyline, Twin Towers Fade From View
By David Ho
-
- A timeline view of the Downtown Alliance logo, from the 1990s to today.
For years, the distinctive dual silhouette was seemingly everywhere: on plumbing trucks and tour buses, shopping bags and deli awnings. Woven into the fabric of New York life, it would appear at unexpected moments, stirring memories both painful and fond.
But in the decade since Sept. 11, 2001, the iconic image of twin towers has faded from view.
A cityscape anchored by the twin towers was the logo on New York Heating Corp.’s fleet of trucks and vans for 20 years. After the attacks, the Brooklyn company considered changing the design but kept it as a tribute, said Paul Scarola, the company’s vice president.
“We felt it was an example of strength and remembrance,” he said.
Then about three years ago, the company updated its logo, making it crisper and more professional, Scarola said. The old look was replaced with a more abstract design with a single skyscraper, one that evokes the Empire State Building.
While the company still has a mural of the original World Trade Center in its office, it recently replaced most of its 15 vehicles; now only a couple carry the old skyline around the city.
A similar evolution happened on the sides of Gray Line New York’s red double-decker buses. Before the attacks, the ubiquitous buses were emblazoned with the old skyline as they ferried tourists around Manhattan. In the aftermath, a touch of paint memorialized the twin towers with a red, white and blue ribbon. Now, large advertisements cover many of the buses.
Since the 1990s, the Alliance for Downtown New York, which manages the Lower Manhattan business improvement district, has had a logo with the letters in “Alliance” shaped like buildings. For much of that time, the double “L” was clearly the twin towers. About four years after the attacks, the logo was updated, the towers replaced with more generic skyscrapers.
“It was time for a change,” Alliance spokesman Jeff Simmons said.
Sensing that New York’s twin towers imagery was disappearing, Ji Lee started the World Trade Center Logo Preservation Project in 2009. He sought out the logos around the city and encouraged New Yorkers to join him in submitting pictures to online collections, which now have about 200 photos of the towers decorating vehicles, storefronts, bialy packaging and coffee mugs.
Lee, who recently relocated to California for work, said he saw the World Trade Center destroyed from his apartment window. Coming across that pair of skyscrapers in movies and logos revives that horrific moment, but also makes him appreciate that something as magnificent as the twin towers once existed.
“I don’t think they’re ever going to disappear from our consciousness,” he said.
Some businesses hold tight to the old image despite new World Trade Center buildings rising higher each day.
All City Glass and Mirror in Brooklyn put the twin towers in its logo in 1979. The design can still be seen on the sides of more than a dozen of its trucks and vans on the job throughout the city. The company never considered changing its logo after the attacks, said Julie Toros, who handles accounts and advertising.
“That’s the face of the company,” she said. “Even though the towers are not there, they’re still an icon for New York City.”
This article originaly posted in "The Wall Street Journal"
Date Published: Sep 11, 2011 - 12:42 pm
The French Open at a glance
A capsule look at the year's second Grand Slam event in tennis.
French Open
A look at the French Open tennis tournament:
Schedule: The tournament is 15 days, with play beginning today. The women's singles final is June 6; the men's singles final is June 7.
2008 men's singles champion: Rafael Nadal of Spain.
2008 women's singles champion: Ana Ivanovic of Serbia.
Last year: Nadal beat Roger Federer, 6-1, 6-3, 6-0, in the final, the most lopsided Grand Slam loss of Federer's career. Ivanovic won her first major title to briefly rise to No. 1 in the rankings.
Key statistic: 28-0 -- Nadal's career record at Roland Garros. He is trying to become the first man to win the French Open five years in a row.
Prize money: At the current exchange rate, the total is about $21.8 million, with about $1.4 million each to the men's and women's singles champions.
TV: ESPN2, Tennis Channel, Channel 4.
On the Web: http://www.rolandgarros.com/en--FR/index.html
Source: Associated Press
Originally Posted on www.latimes.com
Date Published: May 24, 2009 - 7:04 am
Loss galvanizes Cavaliers
This article was posted by Doug Doughty on www.roanoke.com
As Virginia's players and coaches prepare for the men's lacrosse Final Four, Will Barrow is never far from their thoughts. In fact, they want to be reminded of him, hence the team T-shirts that bear the expression, "Just the boys."
It's a saying that many associate with Barrow, a co-captain for the Cavaliers' team that reached the Division I men's lacrosse semifinals in 2008.
"It's a term that morphed into a rallying cry for the team," said Max Pomper, one of UVa's co-captains this year. "When everything hit the fan, all we had was each other. When the going gets tough, it's just about us, just about the boys.
"If anyone coined the phrase, it was probably Will."
Barrow would not have been a member of this year's team. He completed his eligibility last year, but he was around the team in the fall and was living in Charlottesville when he took his life Nov. 22.
"We lost one of our best friends and we still think about him every day," said Pomper, who was on the same midfield unit as Barrow. "We loved him like a brother. We don't really have to say much to get fired up for games. We're playing for Will now."
Top-seeded Virginia (15-2) has returned to the Division I men's lacrosse final in Foxborough, Mass., where the Cavaliers will meet fifth-seeded Cornell (12-3) this afternoon at 2:30. Third-seeded Duke (15-3) and No. 2 Syracuse (14-2) will play at noon in the first semifinal.
Syracuse defeated Virginia in a 2008 semifinal that featured a breathtaking individual effort by Barrow, who absorbed multiple checks while spinning his way through the Orange defense for a second-period goal.
"I've seen the highlight plenty of times," said UVa coach Dom Starsia said, who is in his mid-50s. "It's one of the really, really remarkable plays I've ever seen made in our sport.
"When we're doing our scouting sessions, we're always referencing back to previous games with our opponents and I told our team before our first game, 'Be prepared to see Will on the screen, fellas. If we need to talk about it, let's talk about it, but we're not going to be able to avoid it.'
"It's always sort of bubbled just below the surface, not necessarily in a bad way. It's always there with us."
From the moment that the 2008 season ended, Virginia was viewed as one of the favorites for 2009, but the UVa men's lacrosse family has been through a lot.
Matt Poskay, an All-America midfielder on the UVa team that won the 2006 national championship, recently was diagnosed with testicular cancer. Chris Sanderson, goalie for the Cavaliers' 1997 national championship team, is dealing with a brain tumor.
"It's been a tumultuous year, but Will's thing is very, very real for kids this age to have to deal with," Starsia said. "Imagine if you lived next door and a friend of yours hung himself in his room. It's kind of unfathomable in a lot of ways."
The obvious question is, "Why?" But, the players don't ask.
"Not really," Pomper said. "We've moved past that. More than anything, it kind of brought us all together and told us how special this program is and how much we care for each other. Coach Starsia was a big help in keeping us together, 40 of us with all different personalities."
Barrow's first name is embroidered on the sleeves of UVa's game jerseys, but the tribute has been intentionally understated.
"I wasn't completely comfortable with having a big sign on our chests," said Starsia, who was voted into the lacrosse hall of fame this year.
"Parents have to explain these things to kids and I said, 'Hey, look, I would prefer that we low-key this the rest of the way and maybe we'll do something at the end of the year.' I don't think we're throwing it up in somebody's face."
Virginia has a tradition before each of its games in which a senior addresses the team, sometimes reading from notes that run a page or more. Invariably, said Starsia, this year's seniors mentioned Barrow.
"We're both from Long Island," said Pomper, son of former Roanoke College lacrosse standout Bruce Pomper, a member of the Maroons' 1978 national championship team. "When I was being recruited here, Will was one of the guys I stayed with on my official visit.
"We started alongside each other for three years. Basically every memory I have on the lacrosse field involves Will."
During one stretch at midseason, Virginia won three straight games by one goal, including a seven-overtime affair against Maryland, and the Cavaliers are 4-0 in one-goal games for the season. However, they were hammered in a pair of late-season losses to Duke (15-10 and 16-5) and Starsia wondered if his team had any more to give.
The Cavaliers didn't play for 16 days following a loss to Duke in the first round of the ACC tournament, then came back and blew out Villanova and Johns Hopkins in NCAA games, 18-6 and 19-8.
"We kind of felt a well of emotion here at the end that's picked us up a little bit," Starsia said.
Barrow is with them in spirit.
"That's definitely the case," Starsia said. "Not to be melodramatic, but there were so many life lessons there -- how short life is, those sort of things. It's there when you try to get kids to wake up and smell the coffee a little bit. You never know when this thing can be snatched away from you."
Date Published: May 23, 2009 - 3:26 pm
Walk-off home run ends Red Demon baseball season
This article was posted by Keith Jenkins at dodgeglobe.com
MAIZE — For the second year in a row, the Wichita North Redskins put an end to the Dodge High Red Demons baseball team's season.
Last year, the Demons lost to the Redskins in the Class 6A regional final, and on Wednesday Wichita North rallied late to once again defeat Dodge City 6-3 in the first round of the regional tournament.
The game remained scoreless through the first three innings, but in the top of the fourth, third baseman Ernie Fernandez doubled to left center field and later scored on a single by first baseman Laton Dowling to give Dodge a 1-0 advantage.
Dodge's starting pitcher, Ty Thomas, continued to keep the Redskins off the scoreboard through four. But with two outs in the bottom of the fifth, Thomas ran into his first bit of trouble, and the Dodge defense failed to back him up.
"He pitched great," Dodge City coach John Neill said of Thomas. "Unfortunately, we made him throw a lot more pitches than he needed to. We had plays that were left out there and it cost us, plain and simple."
With runners on second and third, Thomas got Wichita North second baseman Kord Sanders to hit what looked to be a routine popup between Dowling and second baseman Jeff Castillo. But the ball dropped in, both runners scored and the Redskins took the lead 2-1.
"That was a big one right there," Neill said. "It's one of those plays where the middle infielder's got priority, and he needs to take control there. And he gave up on it, assuming someone else was going to make the play, and when you assume stuff like that, it ain't going to go away."
DCHS bounced back the following inning, however, as Fernandez tagged Wichita North pitcher Skyler Sumner for a solo home run to tie the game at two runs apiece.
In the bottom of the sixth, things continued to unravel for Thomas and the Demons.
Wichita North's Daniel Gilchrist scored from third as DCHS catcher Tyson Carpenter failed to handle the delivery from Thomas. The Redskins once again took a one-run lead.
The Demons tied the game once more in the seventh. Outfielder Keanu Espinoza singled and then stole second for Dodge. Zach Harvey hit the ball to right field, bringing home the tying run with Espinoza. But in an attempt to stretch a single into a double, Harvey was called out at second.
With the game knotted 3-3, Thomas forced Wichita North second baseman Wade Shaw and Sanders to hit it right back to the mound for two quick outs. But then he walked two straight, prompting Neill to bring in sophomore pitcher Cesar Lopez in relief.
Lopez, who started the year on JV, faced one batter — Wichita North outfielder Logan Stevenson — who belted a three-run blast to end the game 6-3. The loss put a close on Dodge's season.
"It was a tough situation, a tough spot to be in," Neill said of Lopez making a relief appearance in the bottom of the seventh in a tie game. "He came in and threw strikes, and that's what we want. The kid (Stevenson) made a great hit, and I tip my hat off to him."
Dodge loses six seniors from this year's team, but Neill said he will rely heavily on those junior starters returning next season to lead the Demons to victory in 2010.
"We're going to need a lot of leadership from our seniors next year," Neill said. "We're going to need them to set the bar at how hard we want to work, and determine from there how good we're going to be."
Reach Keith Jenkins at (620) 408-9909 or e-mail him at keith.jenkins@dodgebglobe.com.
Date Published: May 23, 2009 - 3:02 pm
GradeGov.com
This article was originally posted By Ellen Miller on http://blog.sunlightfoundation.com
"Politico’s Victoria McGrane wrote a piece that got my attention about a new Web site that might help congressional lawmakers stay in touch with their constitutents. The site, GradeGov.com, is still in production, but is supposed to launch next week. It has as its motto: “They work for you. Remind them.” The site’s goal is to give average Americans a means through which they can have their views reach lawmakers without going through the filter of newspapers, pundits, pollsters or paid staff. This sounds all well and good.
GradeGov.com will be designed to allow users to grade individual congressional lawmakers’ performance, write letters and read others, and help users find and follow lawmakers. The site will require users to log in and provide their ZIP code, among other information, so lawmakers can tell where the users that has graded them lives (i.e., whether they are a constituent or not).
After reading McGrane’s article, several of us here at Sunlight put our heads together in order to suggest what we hope is helpful advice. Here are some of our thoughts and questions:
As the article says, the site’s target community is “average voters” with an overall “nonpartisan” bent. With the outliers of obviously corrupt/incompetent lawmakers aside, there is no consensus in American politics of how to rate politicians. For aggregate evaluation to succeed, there must be some general idea of what “good” and “bad” are."
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Date Published: Apr 30, 2009 - 7:35 am
Best Deals, Freebies and Coupons Everyday on Spoofee
If you like to save money and enjoy your shopping as well, there is a very great place to do it.
At Spoofee.com you can easily find the latest coupons, huge discounts, bargains, weekly ads and great deals for all your shopping needs.
It is updated everyday and can be fantastic benefit for shopping lovers.
Do you love to shop online?
Date Published: Apr 28, 2009 - 8:51 am
How to Be a Savvy Online Shopper
This useful information for shopping lovers was posted on Ivanhoe.com
"ORLANDO, Fla. (Ivanhoe Newswire) -- The days of shop 'til you drop are over. Now, that perfect sweater or gift is just a few clicks away. We have the inside scoop on websites that will save you money instantly and can even help you find free stuff.
Shopping is as easy as one, two, three. Find the latest coupon codes for online stores at www.retailmenot.com, or visit www.pricegrabber.com to compare the prices of whatever product you're looking for. We found a Coach purse, originally $300, marked down to $240. An even better deal … a pair of Roberto Cavalli sunglasses were originally $390, but price grabber found them for just $100.
Not in the mood to spend money? At www.heyitsfree.net you can find free giveaways you can take advantage of right away."
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Date Published: Apr 28, 2009 - 8:34 am
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