Though I'm sure some on the radio and Fox will try. This is a failure that consumes the greater flaws of both parties.
No U.S. Team in Sailing's America's Cup
By PAUL LOGOTHETIS, Associated Press Writer
document.write(getElapsed("20070520T202416Z"));
1 hour ago
VALENCIA, Spain - Facing the first of four must-win races, BMW Oracle Racing swapped helmsman, put its owner back onboard and even changed its dock-out song Sunday. All to no avail.
Luna Rossa of Italy beat the Americans again in their America's Cup challengers series, clinching the best-of-nine semifinals 5-1. For the first time in 24 years, there will be no American team in the Louis Vuitton Cup final.
The Italians routinely outsailed the Americans despite the nearly $270 million that owner Larry Ellison poured into BMW Oracle Racing to bring the Auld Mug back to the United States for the first time since Dennis Conner lost it in 1995.
"It certainly wasn't the outcome we planned for or expected," Ellison said. "Luna Rossa raised their game and deserve a lot of credit. I am very proud that our team went out and fought right down to the last jibe. We never gave up."
BMW Oracle Racing CEO and skipper Chris Dickson, who was pulled from the boat by Ellison for substitute helmsman Sten Mohr, had a simple answer.
"What did we lack? Wins," Dickson said. "We were beaten. The reason for our departure is that Luna Rossa has excelled this week. They have quietly been building and this week they outsailed us."
Ellison was aboard the USA-98 yacht _ after sitting out the fifth-flight loss _ with Mohr, sailing in only his second America's Cup match race. He lost his first in the round-robin stage to the last-place China Team.
But just as Luna Rossa helmsman James Spithill dominated Dickson in the startbox throughout the series, Mohr could do little with his one chance as the 27-year-old Spithill _ competing in his third America's Cup _ had the Italians off the line quicker again on the way to a 33-second victory.
"I just didn't handle the pre-start very well. I just made a bad decision," Mohr said. "With about three minutes to go, it was quite obvious we were second best."
Dickson defended his backup helmsman, who only learned Sunday morning that he would be racing.
"He went out there and did a fantastic job," Dickson said. "No one did a bad job this week. Luna Rossa did a better job."
Dickson said he would see out the end of his contract with the San Francisco-based syndicate, but would not say whether he would be part of the team's campaign for the 33rd America's Cup.
Luna Rossa skipper Francesco De Angelis said the Italians were peaking at the right moment.
"The racing was much harder than the scoreline reflects," De Angelis said. "Now we need to recharge the batteries a bit and keep working to improve the boat and ourselves a bit ... and let (the Kiwis and Spanish) fight it out themselves."
Luna Rossa will meet the winner of the other semifinal series between Emirates Team New Zealand and Desafio Espanol.
The Kiwis lead 4-2 after the Spanish won the sixth-flight race Sunday by 15 seconds.
Desafio Espanol helmsman Karol Jablonski held the team's starboard entry advantage, survived a tacking duel with Kiwi counterpart Dean Barker, then coasted on a building wind to keep the local favorites fighting for a spot in the final, which begins June 1.
The Spanish boat parked along the harbor front of Port America's Cup to celebrate with spectators, with sailors spraying champagne into the crowd while team cheerleaders waved pompoms after the victory.
"I think Desafio has glued and got stronger," Jablonski said. "We were able to survive. We have survived the good and bad days and that is the sport. All the results have come from close races."
Barker would prefer to be in Luna Rossa's shoes after the Kiwis picked the Spanish as a result of finishing top of the round-robin standings.
"You certainly can't afford to drop your guard _ if you get any decisions slightly wrong, or get the better-off start or whatever," Barker said. "If you give them a sniff of the lead, they are a very hard team to pass."
Emirates Team New Zealand and Desafio Espanol will race their seventh flight match-race Tuesday.
The winner of the June 1-11 Louis Vuitton Cup final will advance to sail against defending champion Alinghi in the America's Cup from June 23-July 4.
Sunday, May 20, 2007
Tuesday, December 19, 2006
(From Boston Globe) I am speechless!
I am speechless!!!
Coast Guardsman pleads guilty to distributing KKK material
December 19, 2006
BOSTON --A Coast Guardsman has pleaded guilty to posting Ku Klux Klan recruitment fliers at two sites on Cape Cod as well as a variety of weapons and explosives charges.
Petty Officer Chad Blair, 26, pleaded guilty at a court martial on Monday to posting the fliers last March at Barnstable Municipal Airport and at the Cape Cod Mall.
Blair, who is assigned to Air Station Cape Cod, also pleaded guilty to storing seven unregistered weapons, as well as grenade parts, fuses and explosive powder in military housing at Otis Air National Guard Base.
He also pleaded guilty to charges of drunken and disorderly conduct, using a government computer to access a hate Web site while on duty, drinking on duty, and lying to investigators.
Blair faces a dishonorable discharge and up to 30 years in a military prison at sentencing scheduled for Tuesday in U.S. District Court.
Blair also said in court he contacted the grand wizard of the KKK in California in an attempt to start a local chapter.
"I believe I brought discredit upon the service, sir, by recruiting for an organization that is contradictory to the Coast Guard's mission," Blair said in court.
Blair also admitted mailing the seven guns to his father's home in Louisiana after telling investigators that he did not have any weapons. The guns were recovered by federal agents. Investigators also seized several bomb-making books from his home.
The judge noted during Monday's hearing that Blair expressed no intent to blow up anything.
Blair is a procurement officer who joined the Coast Guard in January 2004 for a four-year stint. He is married with a young daughter.
Coast Guardsman pleads guilty to distributing KKK material
December 19, 2006
BOSTON --A Coast Guardsman has pleaded guilty to posting Ku Klux Klan recruitment fliers at two sites on Cape Cod as well as a variety of weapons and explosives charges.
Petty Officer Chad Blair, 26, pleaded guilty at a court martial on Monday to posting the fliers last March at Barnstable Municipal Airport and at the Cape Cod Mall.
Blair, who is assigned to Air Station Cape Cod, also pleaded guilty to storing seven unregistered weapons, as well as grenade parts, fuses and explosive powder in military housing at Otis Air National Guard Base.
He also pleaded guilty to charges of drunken and disorderly conduct, using a government computer to access a hate Web site while on duty, drinking on duty, and lying to investigators.
Blair faces a dishonorable discharge and up to 30 years in a military prison at sentencing scheduled for Tuesday in U.S. District Court.
Blair also said in court he contacted the grand wizard of the KKK in California in an attempt to start a local chapter.
"I believe I brought discredit upon the service, sir, by recruiting for an organization that is contradictory to the Coast Guard's mission," Blair said in court.
Blair also admitted mailing the seven guns to his father's home in Louisiana after telling investigators that he did not have any weapons. The guns were recovered by federal agents. Investigators also seized several bomb-making books from his home.
The judge noted during Monday's hearing that Blair expressed no intent to blow up anything.
Blair is a procurement officer who joined the Coast Guard in January 2004 for a four-year stint. He is married with a young daughter.
Thursday, December 14, 2006
Baseball will regret this move
BOSTON - Daisuke Matsuzaka threw his first pitch off the Fenway Park mound Thursday, the end of an 8,000-mile journey that the Red Sox hope will give them a new ace.
Boston announced Matsuzaka's $52 million, six-year contract at a packed news conference that ended several long days of negotiation. Now it wants the Japanese star to follow Roger Clemens and Pedro Martinez as a dominant major leaguer.
"In our minds, it was not a certainty until the very end," Red Sox general manager Theo Epstein said.
Red Sox officials and the pitcher's agent spent the early part of the week negotiating in Newport Beach, Calif., where bargaining often bogged down.
But on Wednesday morning _ with a preliminary agreement and Matsuzaka and agent Scott Boras on board _ Epstein and other team officials got on principal owner John Henry's plane and headed east.
Despite the often contentious negotiations, Red Sox officials, Matsuzaka and Boras smiled broadly at a news conference that was punctuated by repeated flashes from dozens of media cameras.
"I'd like to contribute to the world championship," Matsuzaka said. "I'd like to meet Curt Schilling."
Pitchers and catchers report for spring training on Feb. 16 in Fort Myers, Fla. The 26-year-old Matsuzaka will join Schilling in a strong rotation that includes Josh Beckett, Jonathan Papelbon and Tim Wakefield. The Red Sox also will have another Japanese pitcher, lefty reliever Hideki Okajima, in training camp. He signed on Nov. 30.
"For the next six years we hope to get the prime of (Matsuzaka's) career," Epstein said. "We want Daisuke to be a Red Sox for the rest of his career."
They're certainly making a huge investment.
Add the team's winning $51.11 million bid for negotiating rights to the Japanese ace, which must be paid to the Seibu Lions by Dec. 21, to the $52 million contract and Boston's investment comes to $103.11 million. That doesn't include $8 million in escalators based on Matsuzaka winning awards.
"Today what we're really doing is announcing the signing of a national treasure," Epstein said. "We understand his importance in Japan. We know what he represents."
Matsuzaka was then handed a jersey with the No. 18 _ the number worn by Johnny Damon before he left for the New York Yankees as a free agent.
Matsuzaka said he had toured Fenway Park _ a place he'd seen several times on television _ and saw ongoing renovations before his news conference.
"Very beautiful and very impressed," he said.
The team's newest pitcher threw off the mound to Henry, with the soft toss sailing over his head. The owner fell backward before propping himself with both hands on the ground behind him.
"We didn't go over signals," Henry joked.
The bleacher fans no doubt will hang "K" placards from the green wall behind them every time Matsuzaka _ whose first name is pronounced "Dice-K" _ records another strikeout. In eight pro seasons, all with Seibu, he has 1,355 strikeouts in 1,402 1-3 innings.
"Matsuzaka called me after his press conference to thank me and he sounded very happy," Seibu acting president Hidekazu Ota said. "I wish him and his family all the best."
Matsuzaka was in the spotlight in 1998 when he led Yokohama High School to the Koshein Tournament championship. He pitched in the 2000 and 2004 Olympics and was most valuable player last March in the inaugural World Baseball Classic, won by Japan.
Matsuzaka passed a physical at Massachusetts General Hospital on Wednesday night. Minutes after Thursday's news conference, his deal was finalized when the terms were confirmed by the commissioner's office and the players' association.
"There were certainly a lot of ups and downs" during the negotiations Epstein said. "I think all the parties had a common goal which was for Daisuke to join the Red Sox and start his major-league career."
Epstein and Boras said the turning point came when Matsuzaka was satisfied that his wife and daughter would be taken care of during the transition to a new country.
"In any negotiation, there's a time limit," Boras said. "You make decisions and reach decisions based upon (the fact) you're forced to and the time frame for doing that obviously was escalated."
Had an agreement not been reached by midnight EST Thursday, 30 days after the Red Sox won the bidding, Matsuzaka would return to Japan and they would have kept their money.
Matsuzaka has a 108-60 record in Japan with a 2.95 ERA and 1,355 strikeouts in 204 games.
He gets a $2 million signing bonus payable upon approval of the contract, $6 million next year, $8 million in each of the following three seasons and $10 million in each of the final two years.
Epstein wouldn't say if Boston has baseball's best starting staff, but Red Sox chairman and owner Tom Werner wasn't shy about doing that.
"We've certainly had some exciting days at Fenway Park in the past few years," he said, "but the excitement at Fenway Park in 2007 will really be ratcheted up another notch."
___
Boston announced Matsuzaka's $52 million, six-year contract at a packed news conference that ended several long days of negotiation. Now it wants the Japanese star to follow Roger Clemens and Pedro Martinez as a dominant major leaguer.
"In our minds, it was not a certainty until the very end," Red Sox general manager Theo Epstein said.
Red Sox officials and the pitcher's agent spent the early part of the week negotiating in Newport Beach, Calif., where bargaining often bogged down.
But on Wednesday morning _ with a preliminary agreement and Matsuzaka and agent Scott Boras on board _ Epstein and other team officials got on principal owner John Henry's plane and headed east.
Despite the often contentious negotiations, Red Sox officials, Matsuzaka and Boras smiled broadly at a news conference that was punctuated by repeated flashes from dozens of media cameras.
"I'd like to contribute to the world championship," Matsuzaka said. "I'd like to meet Curt Schilling."
Pitchers and catchers report for spring training on Feb. 16 in Fort Myers, Fla. The 26-year-old Matsuzaka will join Schilling in a strong rotation that includes Josh Beckett, Jonathan Papelbon and Tim Wakefield. The Red Sox also will have another Japanese pitcher, lefty reliever Hideki Okajima, in training camp. He signed on Nov. 30.
"For the next six years we hope to get the prime of (Matsuzaka's) career," Epstein said. "We want Daisuke to be a Red Sox for the rest of his career."
They're certainly making a huge investment.
Add the team's winning $51.11 million bid for negotiating rights to the Japanese ace, which must be paid to the Seibu Lions by Dec. 21, to the $52 million contract and Boston's investment comes to $103.11 million. That doesn't include $8 million in escalators based on Matsuzaka winning awards.
"Today what we're really doing is announcing the signing of a national treasure," Epstein said. "We understand his importance in Japan. We know what he represents."
Matsuzaka was then handed a jersey with the No. 18 _ the number worn by Johnny Damon before he left for the New York Yankees as a free agent.
Matsuzaka said he had toured Fenway Park _ a place he'd seen several times on television _ and saw ongoing renovations before his news conference.
"Very beautiful and very impressed," he said.
The team's newest pitcher threw off the mound to Henry, with the soft toss sailing over his head. The owner fell backward before propping himself with both hands on the ground behind him.
"We didn't go over signals," Henry joked.
The bleacher fans no doubt will hang "K" placards from the green wall behind them every time Matsuzaka _ whose first name is pronounced "Dice-K" _ records another strikeout. In eight pro seasons, all with Seibu, he has 1,355 strikeouts in 1,402 1-3 innings.
"Matsuzaka called me after his press conference to thank me and he sounded very happy," Seibu acting president Hidekazu Ota said. "I wish him and his family all the best."
Matsuzaka was in the spotlight in 1998 when he led Yokohama High School to the Koshein Tournament championship. He pitched in the 2000 and 2004 Olympics and was most valuable player last March in the inaugural World Baseball Classic, won by Japan.
Matsuzaka passed a physical at Massachusetts General Hospital on Wednesday night. Minutes after Thursday's news conference, his deal was finalized when the terms were confirmed by the commissioner's office and the players' association.
"There were certainly a lot of ups and downs" during the negotiations Epstein said. "I think all the parties had a common goal which was for Daisuke to join the Red Sox and start his major-league career."
Epstein and Boras said the turning point came when Matsuzaka was satisfied that his wife and daughter would be taken care of during the transition to a new country.
"In any negotiation, there's a time limit," Boras said. "You make decisions and reach decisions based upon (the fact) you're forced to and the time frame for doing that obviously was escalated."
Had an agreement not been reached by midnight EST Thursday, 30 days after the Red Sox won the bidding, Matsuzaka would return to Japan and they would have kept their money.
Matsuzaka has a 108-60 record in Japan with a 2.95 ERA and 1,355 strikeouts in 204 games.
He gets a $2 million signing bonus payable upon approval of the contract, $6 million next year, $8 million in each of the following three seasons and $10 million in each of the final two years.
Epstein wouldn't say if Boston has baseball's best starting staff, but Red Sox chairman and owner Tom Werner wasn't shy about doing that.
"We've certainly had some exciting days at Fenway Park in the past few years," he said, "but the excitement at Fenway Park in 2007 will really be ratcheted up another notch."
___
Wednesday, December 13, 2006
Starpower
LOS ANGELES - Leonardo DiCaprio knows global warming is a problem, and he wants answers. That's why the award-winning actor posted a question on the "Yahoo! Answers" Web site, prompting visitors to share their solutions.
"We can all be environmentalists," DiCaprio, 32, said in a statement to The Associated Press. "Creating communities online that are interested in discussing and embracing smart, simple and serious solutions reminds us we can all take action in our own homes and where we work."
The United States "can set an example for the rest of the world by protecting our cities and protecting ourselves," he said.
The environmental organization Global Green USA invited DiCaprio, who serves on its board of directors, to post the question online.
"It's meant to provoke thought about what people can do in their own lives and what leaders can do to take us in a different course," said Matt Petersen, president and chief executive of Global Green USA. "We're fortunate to have (DiCaprio) on our board because he can help shine the light on the challenge, shine the light on the experts and shine the light on the solutions."
DiCaprio currently stars in "The Departed" and "Blood Diamond."
"We can all be environmentalists," DiCaprio, 32, said in a statement to The Associated Press. "Creating communities online that are interested in discussing and embracing smart, simple and serious solutions reminds us we can all take action in our own homes and where we work."
The United States "can set an example for the rest of the world by protecting our cities and protecting ourselves," he said.
The environmental organization Global Green USA invited DiCaprio, who serves on its board of directors, to post the question online.
"It's meant to provoke thought about what people can do in their own lives and what leaders can do to take us in a different course," said Matt Petersen, president and chief executive of Global Green USA. "We're fortunate to have (DiCaprio) on our board because he can help shine the light on the challenge, shine the light on the experts and shine the light on the solutions."
DiCaprio currently stars in "The Departed" and "Blood Diamond."
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