angerinall

Jackson's death unleashes barrage of online scams

2012-03-15T05:57:00.000-07:00

Minutes after any big celebrity dies, Internet swindlers get to work. They pump out specially created spam e-mails and throw up malicious Web sites to infect victims' computers, hoping to capitalize on the sudden high demand for information.

Michael Jackson's death was no different, and security experts say the fraud artists are just getting started.

The scams started cropping up almost instantaneously as Jackson's death was still hitting the news. As days have gone by, they've gotten more sophisticated _ and dangerous.

Jackson's death "took a lot of people by surprise _ the spammers, too," said Dermot Harnett, principal analyst for …

BACK TO SCHOOL! // With No Strike Threats, It's Time to Hit the Books

2012-03-15T03:31:00.000-07:00

The days of summer are winding down to a precious few at theFoley household in Hanover Park, as in thousands of others all overthe suburbs.

"We're trying to get in all the swimming we can do," says KarenFoley, whose children, Mickey, 10, Danielle, 7, and Keith, 6, beginthe fifth, second and first grades, respectively, in one week.

While the Chicago public schools hurtle toward what seems likeinevitable strike or shutdown or some other sort of calamitouscollapse, most suburban schools are opening quietly this term.Depending on the location, some suburban kids began cracking thebooks Tuesday, while others start at various times over the nextweek.

The …

Dodgers rally from 5-run deficit, beat Braves 8-6

2012-03-15T01:07:00.000-07:00

ATLANTA (AP) — James Loney's three-run double was the key hit in a five-run seventh inning for Los Angeles and the streaking Dodgers rallied after trailing by five runs to beat the Atlanta Braves 8-6 on Friday night.

Andre Ethier added a two-run single in the seventh and Juan Rivera drove in three runs for the Dodgers, who have won five straight and 10 of …

Twins 9, Indians 3

2012-03-14T22:47:00.000-07:00

Minnesota @ Cleveland @

ab r h bi @ ab r h bi

Span cf 4 2 0 1 ACarer ss 4 1 2 0

OHudsn 2b 4 3 3 2 GSizmr cf 5 1 2 1

Mauer c 5 1 2 1 Choo rf 5 0 0 0

Mornea 1b 4 1 1 2 Kearns lf 4 0 1 1

Cuddyr rf 5 0 2 1 Hafner dh 4 0 2 1

Kubel dh …

Nation & world

2012-03-14T20:26:00.000-07:00

Video may show

Marine tossing dog

HONOLULU - Military officials are investigating an Internet videothat purports to show a Marine throwing a puppy off a rocky cliff.

Marine officials are calling the YouTube video "shocking anddeplorable" and say it violates "the high standard we expect ofevery Marine."

The low-quality video shows two Marines joking as one holds upwhat appears to be a motionless black and white puppy, which he thenhurls into a rocky gully. A yelping sound is heard as it fliesthrough the air.

Clinton appears

on 'Daily Show'

NEW YORK - With late-night comedy appearances seeming to work forher in the days before crucial …

Queen Aretha Franklin stars at SWWT's 'Spirit of a Woman' Reception and Concert

2012-03-14T18:06:00.000-07:00

Even though Queen Aretha declared that her appearance at the Chicago Theatre on New Year's Eve was her final tour, she didn't say that she would cease singing. It has already been proven that she is still active. Queen Aretha will headline the entertainment at Southwest Women Working Together's fundraising event, "The Spirit of a Woman," that is scheduled for June 13, at the Civic Opera House, 20 N. Wacker Dr.

Sharing the spotlight with Queen Aretha will be India.Arie and Iyala Vanzant will serves as hostess for the reception. SWWT is a Chicago-based organization, that for 29 years has made it its mission, to help women and children fleeing domestic violence.

Some of the …

Bank of England cuts base rate half a point

2012-03-14T15:45:00.000-07:00

The Bank of England has surprised the market by cutting its base lending rate by half a point to 4.5 percent.

A rate cut had been expected, but Wednesday's action was a day earlier than scheduled and followed the government's action to partly nationalize major banks. Prime Minister Gordon Brown has told the House of Commons the rate cut was part of a coordinated action around the …

Bath dance spectacular

2012-03-14T13:25:00.000-07:00

International ballet superstars Alina Cojocaru and Johan Kobborgare taking time out of their busy schedules London's Royal Ballet tocome to perform with friends as part of an intimate gala performanceat The Assembly Rooms in Bath on Saturday December 18.

The night has been organised to help promote The Covent GardenDance Company's Choreographic fund that was set up in September ofthis year. The Choreographic Fund was founded in memory of thelegendary ballet critic Richard Buckle and aims to commission andfinance young choreographers to create new short works.

The evening is arranged around a champagne reception and stunningthree course dinner and will …

Court Bans Defendants From Cafeteria

2012-03-14T11:05:00.000-07:00

CLEVELAND - No soup for you!

A man and a woman accused of scamming stores out of millions of dollars have been banned from the courthouse cafeteria after a police officer said the two were spotted lifting food.

"If they do that in here, then what are they doing out there on bond?" said Richmond Heights police Sgt. Chuck Duffy.

Duffy said Joan Hall, 65, loaded a takeout lunch into a plastic bag and set it atop a newspaper rack near the checkout counter. Then, he said, Roger Neff, 75, moved the lunch to the top of a trash can, …

National Hockey League Standings

2012-03-14T08:44:00.000-07:00

W L OT Pts GF GA

x-New Jersey 49 27 4 102 238 205

x-Philadelphia 43 25 11 97 257 230

x-Pittsburgh 43 28 9 95 255 237

N.Y. Rangers 41 30 9 91 204 214

N.Y. Islanders 26 44 9 61 196 264

Northeast Division

W L OT Pts GF GA

z-Boston 51 18 10 112 262 184

Montreal 41 29 10 92 244 239

Buffalo 38 32 9 …

Christmas party brings good cheer to center's kids

2012-03-14T06:24:00.000-07:00

A lively Christmas party for more than 300 exceptional childrenbrightened the University of Illinois' President's Lounge recently.

The Center for Craniofacial Anomalies held its third annualholiday celebration for members of the medical staff, patients of thecenter, their families and friends.

Since 1949, the center has been providing medical andpsychological treatment to children who have deformities at birth,from disease or severe accidents.

This year's party saw guests enjoying a family of costumedclowns, Dinky the Giant Elf, and Santa Claus - in person!

The kids sang carols, played games, had their faces painted byartists, made Christmas …

Convicted Marine apologizes to Iraqi civilians

2012-03-14T04:03:00.000-07:00

CAMP PENDLETON, California (AP) — When Staff Sgt. Frank Wuterich finally spoke in court he did not address the judge but instead directed his words at the Iraqi family members who survived his squad's attacks in Haditha that left 24 unarmed civilians dead.

The 31-year-old Marine apologized for the loss of their loved ones and said he never intended to harm them or their families. He went on to tell the court that his guilty plea in no way suggests that his squad behaved badly or dishonorably.

"But even with the best intentions, sometimes combat actions can cause tragic results," Wuterich said.

The lone Marine was convicted of a single count of negligent dereliction of …

Sabres call up G Enroth to fill in for Lalime

2012-03-14T01:11:00.000-07:00

The Buffalo Sabres have called up goaltender Jhonas Enroth from the minors to fill in after backup Patrick Lalime hurt his groin.

The move was announced Wednesday prior to Buffalo's home game against the New York Islanders. Coach Lindy Ruff said Lalime is day-to-day after he was hurt in practice earlier this week.

Enroth was Buffalo's second-round pick in the 2006 draft. The Swede got off to a slow start in his second American Hockey League season with Portland, Maine. He's 3-7 with a 3.9 goals-against average in 10 games.

He was previously called up by the Sabres last February, but did not appear in an NHL game.

Jailed Kazakh activist files complaint with UN

2012-03-13T22:19:00.000-07:00

ALMATY, Kazakhstan (AP) — A U.S. advocacy group says a widely respected human rights activist in Kazakhstan has filed a complaint with the United Nations over his imprisonment, which he says was designed to silence him.

Yevgeny Zhovtis was sentenced to four years in prison in 2009 for his involvement in a fatal car accident after a trial that attracted wide international criticism for appearing to be politically motivated.

The New York-based Open Society Justice Initiative said in a statement Wednesday that after all his appeals in Kazakhstan failed, Zhovtis has written to the UN Human Rights Committee.

The complaint sets an embarrassing precedent for the authoritarian Central Asian nation as it seeks to mold an image as a modernizing nation trying to shed its Soviet past.

Pop novelists have no shame, says Mailer

2012-03-13T19:28:00.000-07:00

Best-selling authors often know little about people and get awaywith it because "they have no shame," Norman Mailer says.

Among other observations during a wide-ranging talk recently atthe University of Iowa in Iowa City: "Liberals are tiresome," and theSoviet Union is no "evil empire."

"They can't even make soap. How can they make a missile thatcan hit me?" said the 67-year-old Mailer. -

Speeding Toward the Future

2012-03-13T16:33:00.000-07:00

Universities and companies are teaming up to develop networks 100 times faster than today's.

RESEARCH SCIENTISTS have an insatiable need for speed-at least when it comes to Internet access. Mister transmission times translate into the ability to share information and collaborate on huge projects, such as battlefield simulations, weather forecasting, folding proteins for cancer drug research, computational fluid dynamics, and finite element analysis. Broadband is only the beginning. In the world of home computer users, we talk about speeds measured in megabits per second. But scientists are already lusting after Internet access speeds 100 times faster, measured in multiple gigabits per second. Even today's most advanced Internet technology may not accommodate wide use of these kinds of capabilities, which is why researchers aren't waiting for telecommunications companies to build the infrastructure for them. Universities arc teaming up with technology companies, such as Cisco, to develop their own lightning-fast national fiber-optic networks, with a spirit reminiscent of the Internet's earliest days.

It's not surprising that today's scientific community is taking the initiative when you consider the Internet's history. In 1969, the first four nodes on the Department of Defense's Advanced Research Projects Agency's ARPANET, the initial incarnation of the Internet, were research institutions (the Network Measurement Center at UCLA, Stanford Research Institute, UC-Santa Barbara and the University of Utah).

One new project in keeping with the collaborative academic spirit of the Internet's roots is the National KambdaRail (NLR), a consortium of U.S. universities and technology companies that is creating a national fiber-optic networking infrastructure using dense wave division multiplexing (DWDM) and 10 gigabits per second ethcrnet (LAN PHY) technologies. The idea is to foster networking research and next generation network-based applications in science, engineering, and medicine. For example, using NLR, scientists at universities and Department of Energy (DOE) labs around the country will be connected to the $1.4 billion Spallation Neutron Source, an acceleratorbused neutron source being built by six DOE labs in Oak Ridge, Term., expected to be completed in 2006. As the creation of NSFnet led to commercialization of the Internet, one goal of the NLR is to enable the technology transfer into commercial development and the creation of new markets.

The beauty of the NLR is that it puts the control of experimental network infrastructure in the hands of the nation's scientists and researchers. That the NLR is user-owned makes it, and other networks like it, inherently threatening to the existing tclecom infrastructure. "Such networks represent an inherently disruptive innovation," states the IEEE-USA's position paper "Accelerating Advanced Broadband Deployment." "Their deployment is, therefore, having and is likely to continue to have direct impact on the business models of current telecom providers." But, they argue, nothing less than the country's competitiveness is at stake.

"Our telecom infrastructure is falling rapidly behind the rest of the world, especially behind our most likely competitors: Japan, China, and South Korea," explains Alan McAdams, professor of managerial economics at Cornell University and the architect of the position paper. That's why it's important for the United States to adopt policies that will ensure that user-owned fiber-optic networks "are given a fair marketplace opportunity to prove themselves on their merits as contributors to enhancing the country's national productivity, homeland security, and international competitiveness." Look no further than the Internet itself for proof that the strategy works.

[Sidebar]

The idea is to foster networking research and next generation network-based applications in science, engineering, and medicine.

[Author Affiliation]

Mary Kathleen Flynn has covered technology for more than 15 years for a variety of media outlets, including Newsweek, the New York Times, U.S. News & World Report, CNN, and MSNBC

Families Torn by Toddler Backover Deaths

2012-03-13T13:42:00.000-07:00

RICHARDSON, Texas - It was Adrianna's day to go shopping at the mall, and her mom was looking forward to it. Mother and daughter alone together.

Just three weeks before, Rachel Clemens' own mother had died after a long illness and in the past week she'd organized her son Andrew's seventh birthday party. She and her husband, David, had taken Adrianna and Andrew bowling with his friends and a couple of them had spent the night.

The next day, Oct. 9, 2004, a Saturday, would be Adrianna's day, although for this family it would forever be linked with tragedy.

David had made breakfast for everyone and cleaned up while Rachel and 2-year-old Adrianna took a bath.

"I was blow-drying my hair," Rachel recalls. "I flipped my hair over. I looked up and she wasn't there." Adrianna probably went upstairs to see her brother and his friends, she thought.

Then she heard David's screams.

He had told her he was going to move their SUV so he could get into a storage area above the garage ceiling to retrieve some decorations for Halloween.

"Adrianna must have come out of the kitchen and out to the garage," she says. "And he backed out."

Little Adrianna was hit by a 2 1/2-ton mass of steel.

Their precious little girl, whose raven hair and dark eyes resembled her mother's, was gone. She was pronounced dead at the hospital.

Adrianna was one of more than 1,200 children under 15 who were killed since 2000 in nontraffic motor vehicle accidents in the United States. Half of those fatalities were in backovers, almost all of them involving children under 5, according to Kids and Cars, a child safety advocacy group in Leawood, Kan.

Each week, at least two children are killed and another 50 are hurt in backover accidents. Over three days in April, six children were killed; by the end of the month, 11 more died, the group said.

Rear cameras and audible warning sensors, technology that could reduce the number of fatalities, are not considered safety equipment by automakers and are offered only as optional parking aids in most vehicles. It could be years before they become as ubiquitous as seat belts.

"Everybody says the worst thing that could ever happen is the death of a child," says Janette Fennell, the advocacy group's founder and president. "What's different in these, in over 70 percent of the cases, it's a direct relative of the child that's behind the wheel - mom or dad, grandma or grandpa, aunt or uncle."

Losing a child, compounded by unimaginable guilt over who was responsible for the accident, leaves families traumatized and immobilized in their grief. With no easy answers for why it happened to their child or their family, anger and blame often are misdirected. The strain on relationships can be tremendous.

Rachel and David believed they'd taken all the precautions to protect their children. They had installed a fence around the backyard swimming pool, with a gate latch high enough so the kids couldn't reach it. But when they purchased their Infiniti QX4, they were coaxed into getting a sunroof. No mention was made of rear cameras that could help them see better as they back up, Rachel says.

"My husband and I were comatose for months" after Adrianna died, Rachel says, and she still appears broken and frail, seated in an overstuffed chair in the den of their suburban Dallas home.

On the beige walls of the converted bedroom she calls her "safety haven" are family snapshots and studio photos of Adrianna, one depicting her as an angel.

"I have to have her all around me," Rachel says. "I feel her with me when I'm in here. I feel her closeness."

She hung poster-size images of Adrianna on one wall but David couldn't bear to look at them so Rachel put them away.

David still won't speak publicly about that day. Two-and-a-half years later, his anguish is still too raw.

"You have a name on you now and it's a horrible feeling," Rachel says. "We're not just the Clemenses. We're 'the ones.' My husband, it took him years before he could even walk down the street. You just feel like everybody looks at you, pointing to you.

"It's not that they don't want to talk to us. They don't know what to say," she says. "As a grieving parent, my advice is not say anything, just let us talk. That's the best comfort you can give us."

Adrianna and Andrew already were the best of friends, two peas in a pod, their mother called them, yet strikingly different personalities. Andrew is the sensitive one, "more protector than anything else," Rachel says. Adrianna was outgoing, fearless.

"Nothing would get by her," Rachel says. "She'd let you know. She'd defend Andrew in front of his friends and Andrew's friends would cry because Adrianna would yell at them."

"How could it happen?" Rachel asks, but she finds little comfort in any explanation.

Fennell calls it "bye-bye syndrome." A parent says they're running out briefly. The child hears "bye-bye" and decides, "I want to go bye-bye, too."

"They sneak out. They can see the car. ... They have no idea they're putting themselves in harm's way," Fennell says.

It's been almost five years, and Greg Gulbransen has begun to forgive himself for his very human mistake.

A pediatrician from Syosset, N.Y., Greg believes he and his wife, Leslie, did all the right things. They childproofed their Long Island home and researched the safest SUV for their two sons, Scott, 5, and 2-year-old Cameron, before settling on a BMW X5.

One evening, Oct. 19, 2002, Greg went out to park the truck with the rear facing their condominium. Street traffic could be heavy in the morning when he left for work.

"I remember explicitly driving that car from the street into the driveway that night," he says. "I was backing it in between parked cars on the driveway. I was going very slowly. I didn't want to hit anything. I was looking through the rearview mirrors, looking over my shoulder.

"I felt a bump. The bump was at the front wheel. I was going backward. What was down there - 9:30 at night? The newspaper wasn't there yet. As the car went back farther, my son was in the headlights."

It was Cameron.

"He opened and closed the door for the first and last time in his life," his father says. "I administered CPR in the driveway. I had my stethoscope in my hand. He was bleeding through his nose, through his ears. He died on the driveway. They tell me he died in the hospital.

"I know he died in my arms."

Greg says he was "numb" for a year.

"When people realize a conservative, well-educated, middle-aged pediatrician taking all the necessary safety measures, who spends his days and nights helping families stay safe and healthy, accidentally backs over and kills his son, then it's time to realize backover injuries are real," he says.

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, in a report to Congress in November, said backover accidents are not a recent phenomenon. But NHTSA disputes perceptions that the number of accidents is increasing as the size of the nation's vehicle fleet grows - led by SUVs and minivans, which tend to have larger rear blind zones.

A study by Consumer Reports magazine suggests SUVs, pickups and minivans are longer and taller and their blind zones extend as much as 50 feet from the rear bumper. These factors contribute to poor visibility, the report says.

Recording reliable statistics of accidents often depends on whether they occurred on a public roadway - where they are counted by a government agency - or private property like a driveway, where they are not.

So no one really knows for sure if the trend is up or down.

And while NHTSA cites groups like Kids and Cars for raising awareness of backover fatalities, it concedes that any statistics collected "very likely underestimate the true extent of the backover crash problem."

What's clear is that from 1991 through 2004, federal figures show an average of 76 backover fatalities annually on public roads, almost three-fourths of them involving passenger cars, pickups and SUVs. The report said most of the dead were children under 5.

Fennell's database shows backovers claimed the lives of 104 children under 15 in 2005 and again in 2006.

Devices like audible warning sensors or rear cameras are standard in some luxury brands and only about 100 vehicle models. Warning sensors can add $100 to a vehicle's price, a camera system about $300 - still cheaper than aftermarket cameras and sensors, which range from $150 to over $1,000.

"Our government, and rightfully so, has put a lot of focus on belts and air bags, and if you do all those right things and are unfortunate to get in a crash, you might be able to walk away," Fennell says. "But they've totally ignored the fact that at 1 mph, the interaction of a child and vehicle is lethal."

Greg and Leslie Gulbransen sought therapy before deciding to confront the tragedy in their own way.

"I didn't blame Greg. I feel sad for him that he has to live with this the rest of his life," Leslie, a private school teacher, said in an e-mail. "Believe me, this isn't easy for him or any of us, but it is a part of our lives and we have to deal with it."

Greg still drives a BMW like the one he drove the night Cameron was killed, but his new model is equipped with a rear camera. The Clemenses replaced their Infiniti SUV and also equipped their new vehicle with a rear camera.

"When I got the camera installed, I cried and cried," Rachel says. "My gosh, the technology was there. It's not like we're asking the auto industry to invent it."

Supporters of Kids and Cars are prodding the government, in Cameron's name, to require automakers to expand the field of view for drivers and create a database to track backover accidents. If the Cameron Gulbransen Child Auto Safety Act is approved by Congress, the Department of Transportation would draw up rules and carmakers would have up to four years to comply.

"Safety really is our priority," said Wade Newton, a spokesman for the Alliance of Automobile Manufacturers, an industry trade group that represents nine top automakers. But any safety device is of little value without parental supervision, he said.

The Gulbransens have a new addition to their family, a delightful little girl named Julia, who's now 3.

"I sometimes look at her and cry and smile at the same time, realizing how lucky I am to have her and how sad I am to have lost Cameron," Leslie says.

But the tragedy refocused their appreciation for the wonderful life they have. Scott is a happy, well-adjusted 10-year-old, and Greg has a renewed purpose. He's been to Capitol Hill at least five times in recent years to push for passage of Cameron's bill, most recently in February.

"I love where I am in life. I just hate how I got here," he says. "This was hell."

Rachel and David Clemens are still crawling out of their private hell. They're in therapy with their son, Andrew, now 9.

Rachel was troubled by her fading memories of Adrianna that first year.

"(Then) slowly, with time, you start remembering," she says. "Now, one little memory, it's so hard to digest. Even if it's a great memory, it's so painful."

For Andrew, Adrianna's death just three weeks after their grandmother's passing raised all kinds of concerns. "He's thinking: My gosh, am I next?" his mother says.

As she speaks, Andrew strolls in, cuddles up next to her and plants a kiss on her cheek. Then he leaves to join his dad for an egg salad lunch.

Gastineau, controversy score a TKO

2012-03-13T10:42:00.000-07:00

Controversy keeps hitting Mark Gastineau like a solid left jab.

In his second professional fight, Gastineau (2-0) scored asecond-round TKO over heavyweight "Iron" Mike Acklie Thursday at theHammond Civic Center when the bout was stopped on the advice of ringphysician Al Willardo.

After winning the first round decisively, Acklie - a 248-pounderfrom Lincoln, Neb. - suffered cuts late in the second round and wasbleeding from his right ear and above his right eye.

Willardo examined Acklie, then advised referee Sean Curtin tostop the fight - much to the chagrin of the crowd of 300. The judgeshad the fight even at one round each.

"I was robbed," said Acklie, whose record fell to 6-3-1. "Itook the fight to him. I was bleeding, but I wasn't hurt. My sisterhits harder than he does."

Gastineau's victory came in the wake of his controversial debutJune 8, when he knocked out Derrick Dukes in 12 seconds. Dukes latersuggested he was paid to throw the fight.

Because of the incident, two members of the Indiana BoxingCommission were in attendance.

"I knew all about that fight," Acklie said. "And I knew thejudges and the ref would be on his side because he's a big celebrityand I'm a nobody from Lincoln, Nebraska. I'd fight him anytime,anyplace."

Gastineau, who is scheduled to fight against a yet-to-be-namedopponent Sept. 11 in Oklahoma City, wasn't pleased with hisperformance, although he looked better in the second round.

"I was nervous," Gastineau said. "I'm relieved, but I'm upset.My jab wasn't coming off and I wasn't the person in the ring I wantedto be.

"Maybe sometime before I get knocked out I'll show that personI'm capable of being." Rick Parker, Gastineau's promoter, blamed himself for schedulingtoo tough of an opponent for his unseasoned fighter.

"He's been under tremendous scrutiny so we had to step up inclassification," Parker said. "He proved that when he gets hit, hestands there and fights. But this is the last time we try to pleaseother people."

In the feature bout, Marty Jakubowski (24-0) won the IndianaLightweight Championship, scoring a unanimous decision over MarkBrannon.

Royals 5, Giants 3

2012-03-13T07:20:00.000-07:00

Royals 5, Giants 3
SAN FRAN @ KANSAS CITY @
ab r h bi @ab r h bi
FLewis lf 4 1 1 0 Dejesus lf 4 1 1 0
Drham dh 2 2 1 0 Aviles ss 4 0 3 2
Winn rf 4 0 0 0 AGrdon 3b 1 1 0 0
BMolna c 1 0 0 2 JGuilln dh 4 1 2 2
Rwand cf 4 0 0 0 Grdzln 2b 3 0 0 1
Bowker 1b 4 0 1 0 Teahen rf 4 0 0 0
Aurilia 3b 4 0 1 0 JBuck c 4 0 0 0
JCstillo 2b 4 0 0 0 Gload 1b 4 1 1 0
Vizquel ss 3 0 0 0 Gthrght cf 3 1 0 0
Totals @ 30 3 4 2 Totals @31 5 7 5
San Francisco 000 002 010_3
Kansas City 100 200 20x_5
E_Meche (3). LOB_San Francisco 5, Kansas City 8. 2B_Aviles (7), Gload (6). HR_JGuillen (12). SF_BMolina 2.
IP H R ER BB SO
San Francisco @
Correia L,1-5 5 6 3 3 4 2
Hinshaw 1 1-3 0 1 1 1 0
Sadler 0 1 1 1 1 0
Taschner 1 2-3 0 0 0 0 0
Kansas City @
Meche W,5-8 5 2-3 3 2 1 2 7
Mahay 1 1-3 1 0 0 0 0
RRamirez 1 0 1 0 1 0
Soria S,19 1 0 0 0 0 2
Sadler pitched to 2 batters in the 7th.
PB_JBuck.
Umpires_Home, Chuck Meriwether	First, Bill Welke	Second, Todd Tichenor	Third, Tim Welke.
T_2:55. A_28,903 (38,030).

Flawed process endangered Bell's unblemished record

2012-03-13T03:30:00.000-07:00

Ten days ago at a Heathrow airport hotel, an RFU disciplinarypanel passed judgment on the actions of Duncan Bell in Bath's awaywin at Sale in the middle of last month.

Bath's venerable loosehead had been cited by the independentcommissioner for "making contact with the eye or eye area of anopponent" - in this case Sale's former England forward, Chris Jones.

While such a charge covers a range of actions, it also includesthe "heinous crime" - to quote Duncan himself - of eye gouging. Soit was that virtually all of the media reported Bell had beenaccused of precisely that.

Gouging is disgustingly awful and carries a dreadful stigma onthe back of accusation alone. For some commentators, justice doesnot wait for the judicial process to run its course.

The no-smoke-without-fire merchants are often quick to condemn,intentionally or otherwise, through the medium of garish andoverlysimplistic headlines. It's a story, after all, written up bysome and believed by others.

The local press publicised both the allegation and then, afterthe hearing, the fact that the citing was dismissed withoutreservation. Some other journalists, however, ran the original storybut did not follow it up with Bell's acquittal, presumably as a non-story is far less newsworthy.

A well-deserved reputation for an honest approach to an intenselyphysical and confrontational sport, acquired over a long career, canbe lost, or damaged at best, through the injudicious use ofemotionally-charged language such as eye gouging.

In Bell's case there had been no complaint, either to the refereeat the time or later, from the supposed victim or his club. Indeed,they were to provide disproving evidence at the disciplinary hearingwhich helped to exonerate the Bath prop.

The charge was brought by the citing commissioner after he hadviewed video footage of the incident. So far, so good - and fairenough, it might seem.

However, in determining the validity or otherwise of the charge,the panel viewed other video footage which conclusively showed thatBell made no contact whatsoever with the eyes or eye area of anyopponent - even unintentionally, let alone deliberately.

Surely that same reverse-angle video evidence must have beenavailable to the citing commissioner? He should certainly have triedto obtain any such additional video footage, in my opinion, beforedeciding to cite the player for such an abhorrent offence.

Bell's hitherto unblemished conduct record has been unnecessarilysullied for want of a sufficiently professional approach to such animportant aspect of policing the game.

In some cases of allegedly disreputable behaviour it is right andproper that full consideration to all of the circumstances is givenat a tribunal procedure to ensure that justice is done and, asalways, seen to be done.

In other situations - such as when a grievous accusation like eyegouging is seen to have been made - then surely there must be atleast some prima facie evidence, like a victim statement, medicalreport or clear video footage, to justify a charge being broughtagainst a player.

The panel found that the citing complaint in Duncan's casedescribed events accurately up to the point when the confrontationoccurred - and were deafeningly silent as to their verdict on itsaccuracy thereafter.

While the general warning to players of the need to avoid anytype of contact with another's eyes or eye areas is of courseentirely valid, it should also be equally unnecessary.

However, its inclusion in this judgment serves only to attempt tospare the total embarrassment of the independent citing commissionerfor undeservedly endangering the reputation of a fine player on theflimsiest of grounds.

SUPPORTERS' CORNER The supporters' club coach travelling toGloucester on Saturday departs Great Pulteney Street at 10.15am andLambridge at 10.30am. The cost is Pounds 8 for members and Pounds 10for non members.

Transport to Saracens on Sunday, April 3 will cost Pounds 13 formembers and Pounds 15 for non-members, departing Great PulteneyStreet at 9.15am and Lambridge at 9.30am.

The trip to the rearranged game at Newcastle will see the coachdepart Bath at 7.30am on Saturday, April 30 and return the followingevening after an overnight stay at the Novotel Airport Hotel,including breakfast. It will cost Pounds 83 per person sharing adouble or twin room, or Pounds 88 for non-members, and an additionalPounds 15 for a single supplement. A Pounds 35 non-refundabledeposit is required on booking and the balance must be paid by April9. For all travel enquiries, contact Jan or Mike on 01380 871416.

On Wednesday, prop Duncan Bell will return to the caller's chairfor Belly's Bingo in the clubhouse (7pm for 7.30pm start). The eventis free for BRSC members and will cost Pounds 2 for non-members.Bingo books will cost Pounds 5. Tickets are available from JanWarrington on 01380 871416 or from the BRSC table in front of theclubhouse.

The supporters' club's traditional race night is still scheduledfor Friday, April 15 but the planned visit to the club's new centreof excellence at Farleigh House has been postponed.

Tactics were right - pity about result Aberdeen's big match tactics against Celtic worked to perfection in the first half of the entertaining clash with the SPL champions.

2012-03-13T00:26:00.000-07:00

Aberdeen's big match tactics against Celtic worked to perfectionin the first half of the entertaining clash with the SPL champions.

I was delighted to see Jimmy Calderwood adopt a 4-4-2 formationthat featured Scott Severin in his more familiar central midfieldberth.

And the Dons seemed to draw real confidence from the system asevery player was comfortable in the role they were being asked tooccupy.

Football is a simple game but at times managers, coaches andtacticians over complicate things.

Sir Alex Ferguson has built his managerial reputation on using atraditional 4-4-2 line up that has served him so well at Pittodrieand Old Trafford.

Calderwood's troops responded favourably to his approach and theytook a deserved lead in the first half thanks to Craig Brewster'ssimple tap in.

But they failed to build on that lead and Celtic eventually ranout winners thanks largely to an awesome 30-minute spell in thesecond half when they completely dominated Aberdeen.

Shunsuke Nakamura started to run the show after the interval andwas the architect behind most of Celtic's attacks.

Calderwood tinkered with his tactics once Gordon Strachan's Bhoysstarted to take control.

Michael Hart was eventually asked to man mark Nakamura who draggedhim all over the pitch.

That caused a little bit of uncertainty in the Dons side whicheventually played with a back three in the closing stages of thegame.

Unfortunately a strike from Massimo Donati and a Kenny Millerdouble rescued the game for the Celts who claimed all three points.

Calderwood will also have been heartened by the way Zander Diamondand Andrew Considine performed against a dangerous Celticstrikeforce.

Diamond's display was reminiscent of the performances he producedwhen he first broke through into the senior side under StevePaterson.

There's was no messing around against the Hoops from the Scotlandunder-21 cap who cleared almost everything that came his way.

Considine also showed real strength of character as he returned tothe team a fortnight after gifting Dundee United all three pointswith a blunder at Tannadice.

But the central defender showed no hangover from that mistake andthe pair deserve the chance to start alongside each other againstHibs at Easter Road at the weekend because they showed that they canwork well together as a partnership.

Algerian army kills 6 militants

2012-03-12T21:28:00.000-07:00

ALGIERS, Algeria (AP) — The army says it has killed six Islamist militants in an operation east of the capital Algiers.

An official said army units encircled the Chouicha forest on Monday near the town of Boumerdes, 38 miles (60 kilometers) east of the capital, and killed Adel Bourai, a top official in a local group.

Five more members of the Akram Brigade were also killed Tuesday in a gun battle deep in the forest as part of the military's mopping up operation in the area.

The official spoke on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to speak to the press —

For two decades, Algeria has been battling an Islamist insurgency, now allied to al-Qaida, that continues to conduct attacks.

Boumerdes and the nearby Berber enclave of Tizi Ouzou have turned into strongholds for al-Qaida in the region.

Flower Power

2012-03-12T18:02:00.000-07:00

FUEL CELLS

THE LAUNCH OF a power source is rarely a red carpet event. But Arnold Schwarzenegger and Colin Powell were on hand for the introduction of the Bloom Box, a solidoxide fuel cell touted as promising inexpensive, emission-free energy. So were top executives from Google, eBay, Wal-Mart, FedEx, and CocaCola. The brainchild of K.R. Srihar, former University of Arizona aerospace and mechanical engineering professor and director of the Space Technologies Laboratory, the Box can generate electricity wirelessly and is intended to replace big power plants and transmission-line grids the same way laptops offer alternatives to desktops and cellphones to landlines. Critics question the steep price - at present, one refrigerator-size unit costs $750,000 or more. But so far, Bloom Energy's customers have been more than satisfied. Last yea r, eBay saved over $ 1 00,000 on energy costs after the company purchased five units for its campus. And Srihar believes that over the next few years, he can reduce costs to $3,000 per unit, making the box commercially viable. If he's right, it will be springtime for fuel cells. - ALISON BUKI

Meeks is NBA bound; Harangody staying put

2012-03-12T14:12:00.000-07:00

Jodie Meeks is taking his long-range game to the NBA. Luke Harangody decided to return to college for his senior year and a chance to become the leading scorer in Notre Dame history.

The deadline for underclassmen who had declared for the NBA draft but did not hire agents to withdraw was Monday.

Meeks, the slick shooting 6-foot-4 guard from Kentucky, Wake Forest point guard Jeff Teague, Gonzaga forward Austin Daye and Texas A&M forward Chinemelu Elonu were among the notable players who chose to remain draft eligible.

Maryland guard Greivis Vasquez and Georgia Tech power forward Gani Lawal joined Harangody in withdrawing their names and will return to school.

Meeks led the Southeastern Conference in scoring and was eighth nationally with 23.7 points as a junior for Kentucky. He had declared himself eligible for the draft but did not hire an agent, leaving the door open to return to the Wildcats and their new coach John Calipari.

"I want to thank the fans and the city of Lexington," Meeks said in the statement. "They have been great and I will always be a Kentucky Wildcat. I feel comfortable with my decision and I'm confident in my ability. My family and I talked over the weekend and decided this was the best decision."

Meeks provided one of the few highlights in a lackluster Kentucky season when he scored a team-record 54 points against Tennessee.

The 6-foot-8 Harangody was a consistent bright spot for an Irish team that fell short of high expectations and did not make the NCAA tournament. He averaged 23.3 points and 11.8 rebounds last season to lead the Big East in both categories in consecutive seasons. He was the league's player of the year in 2008.

"We have a great nucleus next year and I know one of Luke's goals is to get back to the NCAA tournament." coach Mike Brey said. "He also has the chance to carve a unique place in the long and storied history of the Notre Dame basketball program."

Harangody needs 738 points next season to pass Austin Carr as Notre Dame's leading scorer. He needs 370 rebounds to pass Tom Hawkins as the school's leading rebounder.

Teague led the Demon Deacons (24-7) in scoring at 19 points per game, helping them earn a No. 1 ranking in January before being upset by Cleveland State 84-69 in the first round of the NCAA tournament.

"I'm very excited for the opportunity that Jeff has in front of him," coach Dino Gaudio said. "It's his dream to play in the NBA. I'm glad we were able to help him reach that goal.

"I told his mom and dad, 'Thanks for giving me the opportunity to coach your son for two years.'"

Gaudio said he figured Teague was a 50-50 bet to stay in the draft when he first declared, and he expects the 6-foot-2 guard will be a first-round pick.

Daye averaged 12.7 points and 5.8 rebounds as a sophomore for Gonzaga.

Elonu, a 6-10 junior, averaged 9.8 points and a team-best 7.3 rebounds and had 53 blocked shots. He set a school record by shooting 66.5 percent from the field.

The Aggies got some good news on Monday, too. Guard Donald Sloan and forward Bryan Davis announced they would be back next season.

Vasquez led Maryland in scoring (17.5 ppg), rebounding (5.4 rpg) and assists (5.0 apg) last season.

Lawal, a 6-foot-9 forward, averaged 15.1 points and 9.5 rebounds for the Yellow Jackets.

Iverson talking with 76ers about reunion

2012-03-12T10:42:00.000-07:00

Recently retired guard Allen Iverson and the Philadelphia 76ers met Monday to discuss his possible return to the team.

Team president Ed Stefanski said in a statement that both parties remain noncommittal about a final decision after a nearly two-hour meeting in Dallas. The 76ers were in town to play the Dallas Mavericks.

Iverson, his agent and his business manager met with Stefanski, 76ers coach Eddie Jordan and two other members of the organization in the first formal meeting between the sides. Stefanski said the team ''will continue to discuss internally whether or not to pursue this course.''

Iverson, who retired last week after playing in only three games this season with the Memphis Grizzlies, is among those the 76ers are considering to replace point guard Lou Williams, who's expected to miss eight weeks after having jaw surgery.

Iverson, a four-time scoring champion and 10-time All-Star, played the first 10-plus seasons of his career with the 76ers before being traded to the Denver Nuggets in December 2006.

- A person with knowledge of the situation said New Jersey Nets general manager Kiki Vandeweghe will coach the team for the rest of the season. The Nets, who are expected to announce the move today, fired coach Lawrence Frank on Sunday, then tied the NBA record with 17 losses to start a season.

NHL

OVECHKIN HURT IN CAPS' WIN

Washington Capitals star Alex Ovechkin left the team's 3-2 road victory against the Carolina Hurricanes with an apparent injury to his right knee midway through the first period.

A spokesman for the Capitals said Ovechkin's injury would be evaluated overnight and that any further information from the team would come this morning.

Ovechkin was injured with 7:55 left in the first period. He appeared to initiate a knee-to-knee collision with Hurricanes defenseman Tim Gleason and was down on the ice for several minutes before being helped off. He was given a five-minute major penalty for kneeing and a game misconduct.

BASEBALL

TBS, CARAY PART WAYS

Former Cubs broadcaster Chip Caray has called his final game for TBS. Network spokesman Jeff Pomeroy said TBS and Caray had decided to part ways.

Caray had called first-round playoff games for TBS for the last three seasons. He also had been part of TBS' regular-season broadcast on Sunday afternoons.

- New York Yankees captain Derek Jeter was named Sports Illustrated's Sportsman of the Year.

COLLEGE BASKETBALL

BATTLE FUELS PENN STATE

Talor Battle scored 28 of his 32 points in the second half, and Penn State (5-2) withstood a furious rally in the last four minutes to earn a 69-66 victory against Virginia (4-3) in the opener of the ACC/Big Ten Challenge in Charlottesville, Va. The Nittany Lions led 55-43 before hanging on.

AUTO RACING

DANICA SIGNS EXTENSION

Danica Patrick signed a three-year contract extension with Andretti Autosport that will keep her with the IndyCar Series team through 2012. The deal isn't expected to affect talks for Patrick to become a part-time driver on the NASCAR Nationwide Series next season.