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June 2009

Rangers trade Gomez to Canadiens in 6-player deal (AP)

Tue, 06/30/2009 - 16:09 — admin

NEW YORK – Scott Gomez's brief New York tenure ended Tuesday when the star center was traded by the Rangers to the Montreal Canadiens as part of a six-player deal.
The key player coming back to New York is forward Chris Higgins, a Long Island native who is set to become a restricted free agent. The deal was announced one day before the NHL's free-agent shopping season opens Wednesday.
New York had been looking to clear space under the NHL salary cap and cut out a major contract that still has five years and $33.5 million left on it. The cap hit on Gomez's deal is $7.35 million.
Gomez was sent to Montreal with minor leaguers Tom Pyatt, a forward, and defenseman Mike Busto. Along with Higgins, the Rangers received defensemen Ryan McDonagh and Pavel Valentenko from the Canadiens.
"We think that Higgins is a goal-scorer and we're happy to have him," Rangers general manager Glen Sather said on a conference call. "He is from the New York area and he's excited to be coming home.
"We also got two good prospects in this deal and it gives us options (Wednesday)."
Gomez never really found his stride in New York after leaving the New Jersey Devils as a free agent two summers ago. He is signed through the 2013-14 season, but is coming off a disappointing year in which he had 58 points — his fewest since he had 55 during the 2002-03 campaign with New Jersey.
After winning two Stanley Cup titles with the Devils, Gomez was part of the Rangers' rebuilding program when he signed his big deal the same day fellow center Chris Drury left the Buffalo Sabres for a lucrative contract with New York.
Gomez had 16 goals and 54 assists in his first season with the Rangers and 16 goals and 42 assists last season.
"I have no complaints about him," Sather said. "He's a terrific guy who is going to do well in Montreal."
Higgins, a 26-year-old forward from Smithtown, N.Y., is also coming off a sub-par season. He had a career-worst 23 points — including 12 goals — last season. He played in only 57 games due to injuries that knocked him out of the lineup several times. Higgins scored at least 20 goals in the previous three seasons, his first three full campaigns in the NHL.
"I didn't expect to be traded," Higgins said. "I heard my name thrown around ever since I've been in Montreal, but I never expected it to happen. When it happened, I was absolutely thrilled."
While he is unsigned, Higgins will still come at a cheaper cost than Gomez. He earned $1.7 million in his final season with Montreal. In 282 NHL games, all with the Canadiens, Higgins has 84 goals and 67 assists.
"I am looking forward to a new challenge. It's something I take great pride in to put on a Rangers uniform," Higgins said.
He scored a career-high 27 goals in the 2007-08 season when he played in all 82 games.
"I suppose it won't be any more pressure than I had in playing in Montreal," Higgins said. "Growing up here, I know what the Rangers fans are about."

Kim reaches 1-year anniversary of last win (AP)

Tue, 06/30/2009 - 15:51 — admin

BETHESDA, Md. – Anthony Kim pressed a cell phone against his ear as he listened to Tiger Woods, the tournament host of the AT&T National, congratulate him on another impressive victory that seemed to mark the arrival of America's next great golfer.
That was one year and 25 tournaments ago.
Kim has yet to pose with another trophy he could call his own. Remember, the Ryder Cup is an exhibition, and no matter how thoroughly the 23-year-old dismantled Sergio Garcia in the leadoff singles match, it was a team effort.
Over the last year, Kim has made news for not remembering how many majors Woods had won, not being fully aware that the automobile industry was hurting, not realizing Colin Montgomerie had been selected Ryder Cup captain for Europe or not knowing Congressional once hosted a U.S. Open or two.
Trouble is, he has not made news for what matters.
Kim started the season with a runner-up finish at Kapalua. He has not finished in the top 10 anywhere in the world since. So perhaps it was not surprising Tuesday when someone asked him the best thing that has happened to him this year.
He thought about this briefly, then smiled.
"I made it to my 24th birthday," he said.
His age should count for something. When he unleashed a bogey-free 65 in the final round at Congressional last year for a two-shot victory, Kim became the first American under 25 since Woods to win at least twice on the PGA Tour in the same year.
Woods, who was home in Florida recuperating from reconstructive knee surgery, told him that day to keep working hard and there would be no limits on what Kim could achieve. And it appeared that Kim was headed in that direction.
He was in the mix Sunday at Royal Birkdale, his first taste of links golf. He was in the final group at the Canadian Open until he kept his foot on the accelerator through one too many construction zones, as Kim is prone to do. He was a birdie putt away from joining the playoff at the season-ending Tour Championship.
And there was that week at the Ryder Cup, where Kim was the life of the party in so many ways.
Still, celebrations for his golf have been rare.
Kim has dealt with more nagging injuries than he can recite, whether it was his jaw from a horseback riding in New Zealand to the most recent setback, an injury in his left thumb that kept him from making an aggressive pass at the ball.
He had to stick with fairway metals at long and soggy Bethpage Black, and he was pleased to finish tied for 16th with those kind of restrictions. He made 11 birdies in the second round at the Masters when he shot 65, but he didn't break par the other three rounds.
"It's probably been my toughest year on tour, the fact that I've had these little injuries that have held me back," Kim said. "But I'm learning more about myself when I'm not playing well. I'm learning how to play this game. I'm learning how to approach different situations when you're not playing you best, and it's going to help me when I do start hitting the ball well, and do start putting well, when my game comes together."
Kim isn't the only player who has struggled this year.
British Open and PGA champion Padraig Harrington has missed his last four cuts. Adam Scott had a hard time breaking 80 a few months ago. Ernie Els hasn't won in 16 months and has fallen out of the top 20.

The fact Kim has gone an entire year without winning is a reminder that winning is never easy on the PGA Tour.

"We live in the era of Tiger Woods, who makes winning look ridiculously easy," Paul Goydos said last week. "The more I think about it, the more I feel Tiger Woods is the most underrated player on this tour. You guys have no concept of what he accomplishes on a weekly basis when he plays. It's ridiculous how good he plays."

Even with 67 career victories and — pay attention, Anthony — 14 majors, Woods conceded that it's never easy.

"I certainly have won my share of tournaments, but I've lost more than I've won," he said. "And that's the nature of our sport. We do lose a lot of events."

Having turned 24 a few weeks ago, time is on Kim's side.

He is the defending champion at Congressional — remember, Anthony, it will host the U.S. Open in 2011 — and winning again will be more difficult this time with his health just now returning and Woods at full strength.

It would be easy to speculate that Kim is enjoying fruits more than labor, although only he knows how hard he is working. At least his objectives have not changed.

"I want to win golf tournaments. I'm here to do that," he said. "But at the same time, I have so much to look forward to. I heard you don't hit your peak at golf until 31, 33 years old. So I have a long way to go. I have a long career ahead of me. And as long as I stay positive and keep working hard, I should be in pretty good shape."

Jackson family: Michael Jackson had a will (AP)

Tue, 06/30/2009 - 14:00 — admin

LOS ANGELES – The lawyer for Michael Jackson's family says a will for the late pop star has been presented and is to be filed in court.
Attorney L. Londell McMillan says his clients are now aware of the will, and the late singer's advisers are looking for additional documents.
A court filing is expected.
The existence of a will, and the likely appointment of an executor, could complicate a petition by Jackson's mother Katherine to become the administrator of his estate.
In documents filed in Superior Court, Jackson's parents say they believes their 50-year-old son died without a valid will.

Racing Schools

Tue, 06/30/2009 - 12:21 — admin

Running a distance is the most basic form of racing, but races are often conducted in vehicles, such as boats, cars and aircraft, or with animals such as horses.

There are also other stock car governing bodies, such as Automobile Racing Club of America and United Speed Alliance Racing.

Racing Schools

Jackson kids' godfather never saw him take drugs (AP)

Tue, 06/30/2009 - 05:51 — admin

CHELTENHAM, England – The godfather of Michael Jackson's three children says the circumstances surrounding the singer's death "don't add up" because he never saw him take drugs.
Former child star Mark Lester, known for his lead role in the 1968 movie version of the stage show "Oliver!," told The Associated Press in an interview Monday that Jackson was in excellent shape when he visited London in March to announce his comeback concerts.
He said his friend seemed excited about the shows when he spoke with Lester by telephone shortly before his sudden death.
"The circumstances of his death just don't add up for me," said Lester, a Jackson friend for more than 25 years who said he never saw the singer use drugs. "It just doesn't make sense."
The two met extensively when Jackson was in London in March and Lester found his friend to be fit and in good spirits at the time. Their families had meals together at Jackson's hotel, with the singer indulging in his British favorite, fish and chips.
Lester said he has a close relationship with Jackson's three children and has spoken to them since the loss of their father. He said he supports the bid of the singer's mother, Katherine Jackson, to obtain custody.
"I understand his mother is taking control and that is probably the best thing for them," he said. "She is a very loving, kind and gracious woman and she had a very close relationship with Michael and a very good rapport with her grandchildren. I know the kids are fine. They are deeply saddened by what's happened but they're coping."
Lester, 50, said he does not plan to become directly involved in the children's care, even though he became their godfather at a 2003 ceremony in Las Vegas. He said Jackson also became godfather to his four children, who are badly shaken by his death.
"They are devastated, coming to terms with the fact that we'll never see this great man again," said Lester, whose eyes seem haunted by the loss of his friend.
The two first became friends some 27 years ago when Jackson's manager told Lester the singer wanted to meet him. Both shared the experience of early stardom, although Lester left show business — he is now an osteopath in this bucolic small town in southwest England — while Jackson remained a performer until his death.
"Michael thrived on it really," Lester said. "He told me he was an illusionist, creating an illusion, and that his singing and dancing were a gift from above, that he was just the receptor of this gift. There were ups and downs to it but Michael Jackson loved being Michael Jackson, he loved the adoration he got from his fans. And he liked the trappings that came with it."
Lester said one reason he is suspicious about Jackson's sudden death is because the singer was so enthusiastic about his upcoming return to the stage, set for July 13 at the 02 Arena in London. They spoke recently about Jackson's plans to come over to London for final rehearsals, and Lester and his family planned to be there opening night.
"He was really fired up, really positive, really looking forward to it," said Lester. "He wouldn't tell me about the show, he said he wanted me to be surprised. He said it would be extraordinary."

Girl Who Needs Adult Help Swears Friend To Secrecy (Dear Abby)

Tue, 06/30/2009 - 05:27 — admin

DEAR ABBY: I'm 10 years old and worried about my friend "Kelly." Her father has fought in two wars and suffers from PTSD, and when he loses it, he hits her.

I really want to tell someone who can help her, but she wants to "keep it a secret." I'm afraid if I tell, my best friend will get separated from her family. What should I do? -- HOPING TO HELP A FRIEND

DEAR HOPING TO HELP: Some secrets are meant to be kept, but physical abuse isn't one of them. One of the saddest things about abuse is that the victims often come to believe they deserve it because that's what the abuser tells them (This is YOUR fault -- YOU made me do this!). Of course, when someone loses control, it isn't the victim's fault but rather the abuser's, because the abuser is unable to control his (or her) emotions.

There are worse things than being removed from a violent family situation, among them the risk of serious injury. That's why it's important that you tell a trusted adult what's happening to Kelly. This needs to be reported so her father can get the help he so desperately needs.

DEAR ABBY: In our school, we're not allowed to have our cell phones out or turned on, but of course, people do it anyway. Some of these students have extremely high-pitched ring tones. They are at such a frequency that the older teachers cannot hear them. Many adults do not hear the noise.

These "mosquito" tones hurt my ears, and just about everyone in the room cringes when someone gets a text message. I'm not sure what to do. The teachers are oblivious, and there are far too many cell phones out to report them all. Should I endure it until I graduate? -- HATING THE INVISIBLE NOISE

DEAR HATING THE NOISE: Have a private chat with the teacher, tell him or her what's going on, and explain that the tones are a distraction in class. Then talk to some of the other students you see cringing when the "mosquitoes" start buzzing. If a number of you start visibly reacting to the noise, your teacher should notice and begin to take action.

P.S. Some electronics-savvy educators insist that all cell phones be placed on their desks when students enter the classroom.

DEAR ABBY: My husband and I married in an impromptu ceremony while visiting his parents. We didn't have a ring, so his mother offered to give me the wedding ring she had inherited from her mother as a gift.

About a year ago, my husband gave me an anniversary band, which I decided to wear with the ring from my mother-in-law. However, when she heard about my new ring, she asked me to return her mother's ring. I am hurt that she wants it back because I'd like to keep it. What should I do? -- TWO-RING CIRCUS

DEAR TWO-RING: First, let me tell you what not to do. Although the ring was a "gift," do not allow it to become a bone of contention. In the interest of family harmony, return it to your mother-in-law with a sweet note thanking her for letting you wear it all this time, and telling her how much that "symbol of her love and acceptance" has meant to you all these years. Maybe she'll leave it to you in her will.

Dear Abby is written by Abigail Van Buren, also known as Jeanne Phillips, and was founded by her mother, Pauline Phillips. Write Dear Abby at www.DearAbby.com or P.O. Box 69440, Los Angeles, CA 90069.

For an excellent guide to becoming a better conversationalist and a more sociable person, order "How to Be Popular." Send a business-sized, self-addressed envelope, plus check or money order for $6 (U.S. funds) to: Dear Abby -- Popularity Booklet, P.O. Box 447, Mount Morris, IL 61054-0447. (Postage is included in the price.)

FDA panel to vote on painkiller restrictions (AP)

Tue, 06/30/2009 - 03:57 — admin

ADELPHI, Md. – Government experts are scheduled to vote on whether Nyquil and other combination cold medications should be pulled from the market to help curb deadly overdoses.
The Food and Drug Administration has assembled more than 35 experts for a two-day meeting to discuss and vote on ways to prevent overdose with acetaminophen — the pain-relieving, fever-reducing ingredient in Tylenol and dozens of other prescription and over-the-counter medications.
Despite years of educational campaigns and other federal actions, acetaminophen remains the leading cause of liver failure in the U.S., sending 56,000 people to the emergency room annually, according to the FDA. There are about 200 acetaminophen-related deaths each year.
"It can happen to anybody, but it's very rare," said Dr. Lee Simon, an associate professor at Harvard Medical School, who attended Monday's meeting. "Obviously it's important that we improve the communication about these products because they are ubiquitous, and we still see people inadvertently overdosing."
The drugs that could be pulled off shelves are combination medications, such as Procter & Gamble's NyQuil or Novartis' Theraflu, which mix acetaminophen with other ingredients that treat cough and runny nose.
The FDA is not required to follow the advice of its panels, though it usually does. The panel vote is scheduled for Tuesday afternoon.
Manufacturers could lose hundreds of millions of dollars in sales if combination drugs are pulled from the market. Total sales of all acetaminophen drugs reached $2.6 billion last year, with 80 percent of the market comprised of over-the-counter products.
The FDA says patients often pair the cold medications with pure acetaminophen drugs, like Tylenol, exposing themselves to unsafe levels of the drug.
But the industry group that represents Johnson & Johnson, Advil-maker Wyeth and other companies defended the products Monday, saying they pose a relatively small risk to patients.
Only 10 percent of deaths linked to acetaminophen medications involved over-the-counter combination cold medications, according to the Consumer Healthcare Products Association.
The majority of deaths were caused by either single-ingredient drugs or prescription strength combination drugs like Endo Pharmaceutical's Percocet, which combines oxycodone and acetaminophen.
"We believe there is a clear health benefit of over-the-counter combination products containing acetaminophen," said Linda Suydam, the group's president.
Tylenol-maker Johnson & Johnson also pushed back against a proposal to lower the maximum daily dose of acetaminophen, which is currently 4 grams daily, or eight pills of a medication like Extra Strength Tylenol.
While taking more than 4 grams per day can cause liver injury, J&J argued that taking the exact dose is proven to treat osteoarthritis pain.
The FDA panel also will vote on a series of other proposals, including changes to the packaging and labeling of medications. Both ideas are designed to prevent patients from taking more than the recommended dose of the drug.

Did Someone Say Coup? (Mona Charen)

Tue, 06/30/2009 - 03:45 — admin

Creators Syndicate –
The news that Honduran President Manuel Zelaya was removed from his post and spirited out of the country by the Honduran military has elicited official condemnations from the governments of France, Ecuador, Chile, Spain, and Argentina; as well as protests from the Organization of American States and the United Nations. The U.S. State Department called the events an "attempted coup," and demanded that Mr. Zelaya be returned to power in order to facilitate the "restoration of democratic order."

Hold on. There was an attempted coup in Honduras, but it was Zelaya who initiated it, not his opponents. As the invaluable Mary Anastasia O'Grady reported in the Wall Street Journal, Zelaya, a Hugo Chavez acolyte, was attempting to ape his mentor by rewriting Honduras' constitution. Under Honduran law, however, the president cannot call a referendum on the constitution on his own authority. O'Grady explains: "While Honduran law allows for a constitutional rewrite ... A constituent assembly can only be called through a national referendum approved by its Congress. But Mr. Zelaya declared the vote on his own and had Mr. Chavez ship him the necessary ballots from Venezuela. The Supreme Court ruled his referendum unconstitutional, and it instructed the military not to carry out the logistics of the vote as it normally would do." The attorney general of Honduras, as well as the nation's Supreme Court, had declared the referendum illegal. Zelaya attempted an end run. O'Grady writes: "Calculating that some critical mass of Hondurans would take his side, the president decided he would run the referendum himself. So on Thursday he led a mob that broke into the military installation where the ballots from Venezuela were being stored and then had his supporters distribute them in defiance of the Supreme Court's order."

Zelaya had a good teacher. Hugo Chavez has been patiently and persistently undermining the democratic character of Venezuela for 11 years — a slow-motion coup. Just a day before Zelaya's confrontation with the army and the courts came to a head, thousands of Venezuelans once more took to the streets of Caracas, this time to protest the threatened closure of Globovision, the only remaining television channel in the country critical of President for Life Chavez. Two years ago, RCTV (Radio Caracas Television), then the nation's leading station, lost its license because it declined to provide fawning coverage of Chavez (one is tempted to call him "the Dear One" as they do in North Korea). "The media terrorism in Venezuela is a permanent practice by a big part of the private media," Andres Izarra, a government spokesman, explained to the Washington Post. "Messages of hate," Izarra asserted, "some inserted subliminally," had been detected by the government even in entertainment shows. Chavez has hardly been subtle about his goals. In a statement that could have come from Vladimir Lenin, Adolf Hitler, or Joseph Stalin, he declared, "I am going to go after those resisting the revolution and eliminate them one by one." His targets have included priests, independent journalists, businessmen, opposition politicians, and Venezuela's tiny Jewish community.

Globovision stands accused by the government of "media terrorism" because a commentator suggested that Chavez might end his days the way Benito Mussolini did. Two weeks ago, CBS reports, police raided the home of Globovision's president, Guillermo Zuloaga, and ordered the station to pay $2.3 million for giving free airtime to anti-government groups during a 2002 oil strike. The government was further enraged when Globovision provided coverage of an earthquake before the official media arrived on scene, and particularly that Globovision was critical of the government's handling of relief. Chavez accused the station of spreading terror and needlessly alarming the nation.

If Globovision is silenced, there will be no free television at all in Venezuela. Thousands of Venezuelans marched to protest the dying of the light, yet foreign ministries around the world were silent. Neither Secretary of State Clinton nor President Obama has breathed a word of condemnation of Chavez's slow strangling of freedom in Venezuela, nor his export of Chavismo to Nicaragua, Bolivia, or Honduras. But without a moment's reflection, the secretary of state and the president offered crucial diplomatic support to Chavez disciple Manuel Zelaya.

When Barack Obama was asked about the book Chavez handed him last April, "Open Veins of Latin America," the president said he hadn't read it. Now I'm not so sure.

To find out more about Mona Charen and read features by other Creators Syndicate writers and cartoonists, visit the Creators Syndicate web page at www.creators.com.

COPYRIGHT 2009 CREATORS SYNDICATE, INC.

Another update due on Vick bankruptcy (AP)

Tue, 06/30/2009 - 03:03 — admin

NORFOLK, Va. – Lawyers for suspended NFL star Michael Vick are headed back to bankruptcy court in Virginia.
Vick is not expected to attend Tuesday's hearing in Norfolk, where attorneys will update the judge on progress toward developing a new Chapter 11 bankruptcy plan. The judge rejected Vick's first plan in April, saying it wasn't feasible.
Vick is winding down his 23-month sentence for operating a dogfighting ring. He's serving the last two months on home confinement in Hampton and is scheduled to be released from federal custody July 20.
NFL commissioner Roger Goodell is waiting until the 29-year-old former Atlantic Falcons quarterback completes his sentence before deciding whether to lift his suspension.

The Most Dangerous Sport: Cheerleading (LiveScience.com)

Tue, 06/30/2009 - 01:45 — admin

Cheerleading safety efforts have led to modest reductions in the
number of serious injuries in recent years, according to a new report
about college and high school sports and cheerleading mishaps.

But cheerleading continues to cause more serious and deadly injuries by far than other sports.

Researchers have long known how dangerous cheerleading is, but records were poorly kept until recently. An update to the
record-keeping system last year found that between 1982 and 2007, there
were 103 fatal, disabling or serious injuries recorded among female
high school athletes, with the vast majority (67) occurring in
cheerleading. The next most dangerous sports: gymnastics (nine such
injuries) and track (seven).

Today, the National Center for Catastrophic Sports Injury Research
at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill released its 26th
annual report on the topic. The latest figures are from the 2007-2008
academic year for college and high school sports, male and female. The
report defines catastrophic injuries as any severe or fatal injury incurred during participation in the sport.

The new numbers are for the 26-year period from the fall of 1982 through the spring of 2008:

There were 1,116 direct catastrophic injuries in high school (905) and college sports (211).
High
school sports were associated with 152 fatalities, 379 non-fatal injuries and
374 serious injuries. College sports accounted for 22 fatalities, 63
non-fatal injuries and 126 serious injuries.
Cheerleading accounted
for 65.2 percent of high school and 70.5 percent of college
catastrophic injuries among all female sports.

The number of cheerleading injuries fell slightly in the 2007-08 academic year.

"Progress has been slow, but there has been an increased emphasis on
cheerleading safety," said the study's author Frederick O. Mueller.
"Continued data collection on all types of cheerleading injuries will
hopefully show that these safety measures are working to reduce
injuries."

Cool Video: Sports in Slo Motion
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