So how does a broody Vietnam vet with a long-term case of post-traumatic stress disorder keep busy in the backwaters of Thailand for 20 years between Rambo III and the sequel called just plain Rambo? Judging from the appearance of Sylvester Stallone, who co-wrote, directed, and stars in the hell-with-it-all bloody fourth run of the stomping action franchise, John James Rambo at 61 has kept fit via a regular regimen of wrangling poisonous snakes, running a longboat, and keeping his head bandannas clean. Unfortunately, that quiet life is interrupted by a party of howlingly naïve Christian missionaries and medics from Colorado who request Rambo's navigational services. The do-gooders are headed upriver to assist ethnic Karen refugees in Burma (apparently no one's told Rambo that the country's called Myanmar now), underdogs who have been fighting a brutal civil war with the ruling military junta for 60 years.
The fools have chosen a profoundly dangerous route, of course, as befits any war pic involving the word ''upriver.'' It's a given that Rambo will initially say no, followed by grrr. Also a given is the capture of the hapless missionaries, the arrival of a search party of colorful mercenaries, and Rambo's mournful decision to blow all of Burma to hell to rescue the hopeless lot of them — mercenaries and missionaries alike. Baby-stabbing, decapitation, gang rape, and rivers of blood: Rambo is up to its boot tops in numbing violence.
The brutality, tough enough to take, would be intolerable if Stallone didn't toss the movie like a cant-clearing grenade at notions of stay-the-course righteousness (not to mention at the sermonizing of more faith-based agonies staged by Mel Gibson). Rambo teaches that fighting sucks, good intentions can be futile, and coalitions of the willing are a charade: A man's got to do what a man's got to do. Sometimes that means tying on the old bandanna to hack one's way out of the Hollywood jungle so disorienting to aging action stars. B-
Source:http://www.ew.com/
Saturday, January 26, 2008
Woods Isn’t Driving Perfectly, but He’s Cruising
SAN DIEGO — In the relative calm before the coming Pacific storm, Tiger Woods churned inexorably across the North Course at Torrey Pines on Friday, making birdies from the rough, a par from the sand, a chip-in par from the green and putts from everywhere else. His bogey-free round of 65 on a striking California day provided yet another Tiger Woods Clinic, this one titled: How to Thrive When You Can’t Drive.
It was another tough day on the tee box for Woods, the world’s No. 1 golfer, who hit only 6 of 14 fairways after hitting only 7 of 14 in Thursday’s first round. Of course, that did little to slow his march toward his sixth Buick Invitational victory, his fourth straight, and his 62nd tour win.
Woods’s 36-hole total of 12-under-par 132 put him four strokes ahead of 29-year-old Kevin Streelman, ranked No. 1,114 in the world. Streelman, the third and final alternate to make the field, had been sitting on the practice putting green Thursday when he was told he had five minutes to make it to the 10th tee on the North Course. He hustled over, hit the fairway with the first of his 67 shots and added 69 more to get himself into a Saturday tee time with Woods and Stewart Cink, who also shot a 69.
“Tomorrow is probably going to be the most gratifying, fun day of my life,” Streelman said to the TV cameras.
For Woods, it will be something else, another step on the path of golf history as he continues his quest to break almost every record in the book. This is not to suggest he does not appreciate the difficulties along the road traveled by struggling golfers like Streelman. “It’s a fine line,” he said. “People don’t realize the difference between someone making cuts out here on tour, getting on the tour and winning a golf tournament.”
While fans of quixotic quests will have their eyes on Streelman, and those of tournament organizers will be on the predicted storm that is expected to dump rain on Southern California starting Saturday night, Woods will be focused on the prize.
Regardless of the forecast, the size of his lead or the ranking of those chasing him, Woods never eases up or relaxes until the last putt drops Sunday.
“Tomorrow, hopefully, I can shoot a good round and move up — increase my lead,” he said. “They’re not handing out the trophy today. You’ve just got to keep going forward. If they handed out the trophy today then it would be over and no big deal.
“But since we have so many more holes to play, as you’ve seen on tour anything can happen. You’ve got to keep pushing, keep going forward and making birdies.”
That is a lot easier to do when you have no bogeys on a day when your driver is still not cooperating. Even though he hit one fewer fairway Friday than Thursday, Woods was at least slightly happier with the direction things were headed.
“I drove like a dog yesterday,” he said of Thursday. “But today I at least started the ball on line. I over-shaped them, that’s fine, O.K., I can fix that, it’s not a problem. I feel pretty good with it.”
Phil Mickelson will be working on fixing his misses this weekend from further back in the field. He hit 12 of 28 fairways through the first two rounds, one fewer than Woods, but was unable to offset that deficiency by raising his iron play. He has hit 19 of 36 greens through two rounds, 10 fewer than Woods. Mickelson remained upbeat, despite being tied for 40th after his 73 on the South Course.
“You never know when it’s going to click,” he said. “I’ve got to go off early tomorrow, one of the first groups off the back side, and I should get nine holes of greens that are fairly smooth and maybe I can get the putter rolling and make some birdies.”
For Streelman, the objective is to survive. He got here by making it through three stages of qualifying school. He has never made it on any level above the mini-tours, not even on the Nationwide Tour. The most he has won playing golf is $25,000, which he earned in last year’s The Ultimate Game, a Las Vegas made-for-TV event in which golfers play for their own (or their sponsor’s) money by putting up $50,000 each.
“It’s been a very difficult road,” he said. “You have pitfalls and tremendous highs and lows, especially when you’re scrounging money to get to the next tournament and to put gas in your car sometimes.
“It can be quite an experience. At the same time I think that makes you a stronger person and a stronger golfer.”
This weekend will test the strength and resolve, on very different levels, of Woods and Streelman. For Woods, more history is in the balance; for Streelman, it will be a chance to make a little of his own.
Source:http://www.nytimes.com
It was another tough day on the tee box for Woods, the world’s No. 1 golfer, who hit only 6 of 14 fairways after hitting only 7 of 14 in Thursday’s first round. Of course, that did little to slow his march toward his sixth Buick Invitational victory, his fourth straight, and his 62nd tour win.
Woods’s 36-hole total of 12-under-par 132 put him four strokes ahead of 29-year-old Kevin Streelman, ranked No. 1,114 in the world. Streelman, the third and final alternate to make the field, had been sitting on the practice putting green Thursday when he was told he had five minutes to make it to the 10th tee on the North Course. He hustled over, hit the fairway with the first of his 67 shots and added 69 more to get himself into a Saturday tee time with Woods and Stewart Cink, who also shot a 69.
“Tomorrow is probably going to be the most gratifying, fun day of my life,” Streelman said to the TV cameras.
For Woods, it will be something else, another step on the path of golf history as he continues his quest to break almost every record in the book. This is not to suggest he does not appreciate the difficulties along the road traveled by struggling golfers like Streelman. “It’s a fine line,” he said. “People don’t realize the difference between someone making cuts out here on tour, getting on the tour and winning a golf tournament.”
While fans of quixotic quests will have their eyes on Streelman, and those of tournament organizers will be on the predicted storm that is expected to dump rain on Southern California starting Saturday night, Woods will be focused on the prize.
Regardless of the forecast, the size of his lead or the ranking of those chasing him, Woods never eases up or relaxes until the last putt drops Sunday.
“Tomorrow, hopefully, I can shoot a good round and move up — increase my lead,” he said. “They’re not handing out the trophy today. You’ve just got to keep going forward. If they handed out the trophy today then it would be over and no big deal.
“But since we have so many more holes to play, as you’ve seen on tour anything can happen. You’ve got to keep pushing, keep going forward and making birdies.”
That is a lot easier to do when you have no bogeys on a day when your driver is still not cooperating. Even though he hit one fewer fairway Friday than Thursday, Woods was at least slightly happier with the direction things were headed.
“I drove like a dog yesterday,” he said of Thursday. “But today I at least started the ball on line. I over-shaped them, that’s fine, O.K., I can fix that, it’s not a problem. I feel pretty good with it.”
Phil Mickelson will be working on fixing his misses this weekend from further back in the field. He hit 12 of 28 fairways through the first two rounds, one fewer than Woods, but was unable to offset that deficiency by raising his iron play. He has hit 19 of 36 greens through two rounds, 10 fewer than Woods. Mickelson remained upbeat, despite being tied for 40th after his 73 on the South Course.
“You never know when it’s going to click,” he said. “I’ve got to go off early tomorrow, one of the first groups off the back side, and I should get nine holes of greens that are fairly smooth and maybe I can get the putter rolling and make some birdies.”
For Streelman, the objective is to survive. He got here by making it through three stages of qualifying school. He has never made it on any level above the mini-tours, not even on the Nationwide Tour. The most he has won playing golf is $25,000, which he earned in last year’s The Ultimate Game, a Las Vegas made-for-TV event in which golfers play for their own (or their sponsor’s) money by putting up $50,000 each.
“It’s been a very difficult road,” he said. “You have pitfalls and tremendous highs and lows, especially when you’re scrounging money to get to the next tournament and to put gas in your car sometimes.
“It can be quite an experience. At the same time I think that makes you a stronger person and a stronger golfer.”
This weekend will test the strength and resolve, on very different levels, of Woods and Streelman. For Woods, more history is in the balance; for Streelman, it will be a chance to make a little of his own.
Source:http://www.nytimes.com
Cora Skinner: Brody Jenner’s New Girlfriend
Brody Jenner and Cora Skinner, his new girlfriend, are happy together. She has even met mom and dad!
Don’t look for her on The Hills anytime soon, however.
“She’s met the parents. She’s part of the family. But no, she’s not on the show,” Jenner, 24, told People.
“I’m choosing to keep her away from being on The Hills because that would bring a lot of conflict and drama to the relationship [of myself and] Lauren Conrad.
Lauren Conrad, who turns 22 on February 1, was the last girlfriend to receive an enthusiastic thumbs up from Jenner father, Olympic star Bruce Jenner, and his wife, Kris Kardashian. Yes, Kim Kardashian’s mother.
Despite any possibility of a reality show conflict, Brody Jenner conceded, “[Cora Skinner] may just do a little guest appearance.”
But the 22-year-old model is no stranger to the camera, having appeared in Maxim, Playboy’s lingerie catalog, and on CSI: Miami.
However, camera shots aren’t the kind that interests Brody.
“My family comes from the South. I love a girl who can hold a shotgun,” he said of the pair’s skeet shooting outings. “I don’t know what it is. But a girl that can hold a shotgun well. … that turns me on.”
And what does Cora Skinner (click for more photos) like about him?
“My bedroom style,” Jenner says.
Source:http://www.fashion.ie/
Don’t look for her on The Hills anytime soon, however.
“She’s met the parents. She’s part of the family. But no, she’s not on the show,” Jenner, 24, told People.
“I’m choosing to keep her away from being on The Hills because that would bring a lot of conflict and drama to the relationship [of myself and] Lauren Conrad.
Lauren Conrad, who turns 22 on February 1, was the last girlfriend to receive an enthusiastic thumbs up from Jenner father, Olympic star Bruce Jenner, and his wife, Kris Kardashian. Yes, Kim Kardashian’s mother.
Despite any possibility of a reality show conflict, Brody Jenner conceded, “[Cora Skinner] may just do a little guest appearance.”
But the 22-year-old model is no stranger to the camera, having appeared in Maxim, Playboy’s lingerie catalog, and on CSI: Miami.
However, camera shots aren’t the kind that interests Brody.
“My family comes from the South. I love a girl who can hold a shotgun,” he said of the pair’s skeet shooting outings. “I don’t know what it is. But a girl that can hold a shotgun well. … that turns me on.”
And what does Cora Skinner (click for more photos) like about him?
“My bedroom style,” Jenner says.
Source:http://www.fashion.ie/
Television: Disney's 'Minutemen' stresses chemistry, not brain strain
"Minutemen" likely won't hit the ratings stratosphere of "High School Musical," but it's still a zippy and entertaining trip through time that's liable to attract lots of kids to the Disney Channel again.
There are a couple of things this new made-for-TV movie does have in common with the other Disney phenomenon that broke cable records and created a national fever for Zac Efron and Vanessa Hudgens: "Minutemen" also was filmed in Utah and was produced by Utahn Don Schain and his Salty Pictures production company.
And it does have some of the infectious likability of "HSM," thanks to a trio of young actors who spice up the comedy.
The movie premieres tonight at 9 on the Disney Channel.
Virgil and Charlie (Jason Dolley and Luke Benward, respectively) are two nerdy students at Summerton High (which looks suspiciously like Murray High School) who meet when they become victims of a football team prank and are hung by their undies from the giant statue of the school's ram mascot.
Charlie may be small and young, but he's a genius inventor. His latest creation is using any light source (in this case, a slide projector) to bend time. With the help of Virgil and a loner biker boy named Zeke ("Sky High's" Nicholas Braun), they build a time machine that can send them back a day or two.
While buying a lottery ticket is the first thing they think of(who wouldn't?), the boys decide to use their invention for good instead of evil and go back in time to help other nerds avoid being the targets of pranks by the cool kids.
But when they travel back too far, it creates a disruption in the time continuum. A black hole appears in the high school's football field and starts sucking in the whole planet (which means Salt Lake County is toast, for sure).
"Minutemen" is a nicely paced, simple comedy that, unlike other time-splitting stories, keeps the paradoxes of science at bay. Think of it as an undemanding version of "Back to the Future."
It all works because the heart of the movie is the three boys and their comic chemistry. Benward, in particular, who starred in "Because of Winn-Dixie" and "How to Eat Fried Worms," has a spunky presence. Moms everywhere will just want to pinch his cheeks.
More important, the movie ends up saying something about the value of friendship and teamwork. Yes, those might be overused messages, but if the Children of America are going to rule this country one day, they'd better start learning to be nice to each other.
As a Utahn, I'm pleased with the kind of work that Schain and his Salt Lake City-based Salty Pictures have done after shooting 40 movies in the state, 19 for the Disney Channel. (He has another one coming up later this year called "Dadnapped" that was filmed mostly in Magna.)
His movies, including both "High School Musicals" he produced, have shown audiences the beauty of this state better than any travel bureau could ever do.
Source:http://www.sltrib.com
There are a couple of things this new made-for-TV movie does have in common with the other Disney phenomenon that broke cable records and created a national fever for Zac Efron and Vanessa Hudgens: "Minutemen" also was filmed in Utah and was produced by Utahn Don Schain and his Salty Pictures production company.
And it does have some of the infectious likability of "HSM," thanks to a trio of young actors who spice up the comedy.
The movie premieres tonight at 9 on the Disney Channel.
Virgil and Charlie (Jason Dolley and Luke Benward, respectively) are two nerdy students at Summerton High (which looks suspiciously like Murray High School) who meet when they become victims of a football team prank and are hung by their undies from the giant statue of the school's ram mascot.
Charlie may be small and young, but he's a genius inventor. His latest creation is using any light source (in this case, a slide projector) to bend time. With the help of Virgil and a loner biker boy named Zeke ("Sky High's" Nicholas Braun), they build a time machine that can send them back a day or two.
While buying a lottery ticket is the first thing they think of(who wouldn't?), the boys decide to use their invention for good instead of evil and go back in time to help other nerds avoid being the targets of pranks by the cool kids.
But when they travel back too far, it creates a disruption in the time continuum. A black hole appears in the high school's football field and starts sucking in the whole planet (which means Salt Lake County is toast, for sure).
"Minutemen" is a nicely paced, simple comedy that, unlike other time-splitting stories, keeps the paradoxes of science at bay. Think of it as an undemanding version of "Back to the Future."
It all works because the heart of the movie is the three boys and their comic chemistry. Benward, in particular, who starred in "Because of Winn-Dixie" and "How to Eat Fried Worms," has a spunky presence. Moms everywhere will just want to pinch his cheeks.
More important, the movie ends up saying something about the value of friendship and teamwork. Yes, those might be overused messages, but if the Children of America are going to rule this country one day, they'd better start learning to be nice to each other.
As a Utahn, I'm pleased with the kind of work that Schain and his Salt Lake City-based Salty Pictures have done after shooting 40 movies in the state, 19 for the Disney Channel. (He has another one coming up later this year called "Dadnapped" that was filmed mostly in Magna.)
His movies, including both "High School Musicals" he produced, have shown audiences the beauty of this state better than any travel bureau could ever do.
Source:http://www.sltrib.com
CBS2 anchor Salerno dies in Wis. snowmobile smashup
Randy Salerno - 1963-2008 | His best friend, Scott D. Hirschey, is accused of driving under the influence, awaits homicide charge
A boyhood friend of WBBM-Channel 2 news anchor Randy Salerno was accused Friday of killing the television personality in an alcohol-related snowmobiling accident in northern Wisconsin.
Salerno died Thursday night after a snowmobile he was a passenger on slammed into trees after dinner with friends, officials said.
"I don't know what we're going to do without him,'' said his morning and midday co-anchor, Roseanne Tellez. "He was one of a kind."
Salerno, 45, a resident and native of far northwest suburban Crystal Lake, was riding on a snowmobile on Plum Lake near Sayner, Wis., about 90 miles north of Wausau.
Scott D. Hirschey, 44, of Crystal Lake, was driving the snowmobile. He was arrested on allegations of homicide by intoxicated use of a vehicle, said Vilas County Sheriff's Department Chief Deputy Joe Fath. Formal homicide charges will likely not be filed until next week, said Vilas County District Attorney Albert Moustakis.
Salerno and Hirschey have known each other since second grade, said Salerno's wife, Irene. Even as Salerno left the state for a time before rising to Chicago television stardom and Hirschey remained in Crystal Lake working in construction, the two remained close. Last summer, they shared Little League baseball coaching duties. Hirschey is the godfather of Salerno's son.
"Two buddies having a good time -- to have it end this way . . . it's unbelievable,'' said Salerno's high school basketball coach, Gary Collins.
Hirschey, who was in fair condition at a hospital in Marshfield, Wis., is said to be devastated.
"I'm sure Scott would change places with Randy in a second if he could,'' said Irene Salerno, who added that she has no animosity toward her husband's friend. "It was just a horrible accident,'' she said.
Salerno flew to the area with friends Thursday aboard a private plane, Channel 2 said. The accident occurred after one of the snowmobiles broke down while the group was returning to the Eagle River Inn and Resort about 11:30 p.m., after dinner.
Hirschey agreed to drive a snowmobile designed for one passenger with Salerno riding on back. The snowmobile slid off a trail, throwing Hirschey off, while Salerno "took the full force of impact" when it hit several trees, Channel 2 said.
Salerno was pronounced dead at the scene, according to the sheriff's office. Hirschey was flown to St. Joseph Hospital in Marshfield.
Channel 2 devoted its 11 a.m. newscast, which Salerno usually co-anchored, to his death, with colleagues remembering him fondly.
Reporter Susan Carlson, who delivers traffic reports on the morning show, said that while Salerno could be dry-witted, "if you had a personal thing that was going on in your life that was difficult, Mr. Sarcasm would be the one to send you a touching card. I don't think he wanted that to get out."
"Working with him was a daily delight,'' said Sun-Times columnist Bill Zwecker, who, as Channel 2 entertainment reporter, worked with Salerno.
Nearly 6-foot-6, Salerno was a star basketball player at Crystal Lake South High School. He was named most valuable player and elected to the school's Hall of Fame in 1981, said boyhood friend Chuck Ahsmann. "Randy was more of a quiet guy in school. You wouldn't imagine him at an anchor desk,'' recalled Ahsmann, who now teaches physics there.
Around Crystal Lake, Salerno would sometimes wear a ball cap and sunglasses. "I used to kid him, 'You've got your disguise on today,''' Collins said. "He wasn't big on 'Hey, I'm Randy Salerno from TV.' "
Crystal Lake Mayor Aaron Shepley said Salerno was active in community events, often accompanied by Hirschey.
Besides his wife, Irene, whom he met while she was a producer at WGN-TV, a Channel 2 spokeswoman said, he is survived by Haley, 13, a daughter from his wife's earlier marriage; daughter, Slone, 9, and son Charlie, 7. Other survivors include his parents, a brother and a sister.
Source:http://www.suntimes.com
A boyhood friend of WBBM-Channel 2 news anchor Randy Salerno was accused Friday of killing the television personality in an alcohol-related snowmobiling accident in northern Wisconsin.
Salerno died Thursday night after a snowmobile he was a passenger on slammed into trees after dinner with friends, officials said.
"I don't know what we're going to do without him,'' said his morning and midday co-anchor, Roseanne Tellez. "He was one of a kind."
Salerno, 45, a resident and native of far northwest suburban Crystal Lake, was riding on a snowmobile on Plum Lake near Sayner, Wis., about 90 miles north of Wausau.
Scott D. Hirschey, 44, of Crystal Lake, was driving the snowmobile. He was arrested on allegations of homicide by intoxicated use of a vehicle, said Vilas County Sheriff's Department Chief Deputy Joe Fath. Formal homicide charges will likely not be filed until next week, said Vilas County District Attorney Albert Moustakis.
Salerno and Hirschey have known each other since second grade, said Salerno's wife, Irene. Even as Salerno left the state for a time before rising to Chicago television stardom and Hirschey remained in Crystal Lake working in construction, the two remained close. Last summer, they shared Little League baseball coaching duties. Hirschey is the godfather of Salerno's son.
"Two buddies having a good time -- to have it end this way . . . it's unbelievable,'' said Salerno's high school basketball coach, Gary Collins.
Hirschey, who was in fair condition at a hospital in Marshfield, Wis., is said to be devastated.
"I'm sure Scott would change places with Randy in a second if he could,'' said Irene Salerno, who added that she has no animosity toward her husband's friend. "It was just a horrible accident,'' she said.
Salerno flew to the area with friends Thursday aboard a private plane, Channel 2 said. The accident occurred after one of the snowmobiles broke down while the group was returning to the Eagle River Inn and Resort about 11:30 p.m., after dinner.
Hirschey agreed to drive a snowmobile designed for one passenger with Salerno riding on back. The snowmobile slid off a trail, throwing Hirschey off, while Salerno "took the full force of impact" when it hit several trees, Channel 2 said.
Salerno was pronounced dead at the scene, according to the sheriff's office. Hirschey was flown to St. Joseph Hospital in Marshfield.
Channel 2 devoted its 11 a.m. newscast, which Salerno usually co-anchored, to his death, with colleagues remembering him fondly.
Reporter Susan Carlson, who delivers traffic reports on the morning show, said that while Salerno could be dry-witted, "if you had a personal thing that was going on in your life that was difficult, Mr. Sarcasm would be the one to send you a touching card. I don't think he wanted that to get out."
"Working with him was a daily delight,'' said Sun-Times columnist Bill Zwecker, who, as Channel 2 entertainment reporter, worked with Salerno.
Nearly 6-foot-6, Salerno was a star basketball player at Crystal Lake South High School. He was named most valuable player and elected to the school's Hall of Fame in 1981, said boyhood friend Chuck Ahsmann. "Randy was more of a quiet guy in school. You wouldn't imagine him at an anchor desk,'' recalled Ahsmann, who now teaches physics there.
Around Crystal Lake, Salerno would sometimes wear a ball cap and sunglasses. "I used to kid him, 'You've got your disguise on today,''' Collins said. "He wasn't big on 'Hey, I'm Randy Salerno from TV.' "
Crystal Lake Mayor Aaron Shepley said Salerno was active in community events, often accompanied by Hirschey.
Besides his wife, Irene, whom he met while she was a producer at WGN-TV, a Channel 2 spokeswoman said, he is survived by Haley, 13, a daughter from his wife's earlier marriage; daughter, Slone, 9, and son Charlie, 7. Other survivors include his parents, a brother and a sister.
Source:http://www.suntimes.com
Thursday, January 24, 2008
Spirit of the Marathon
The best sports movies all have one thing in common: a strong and relatable emotional core that transcends whatever athletic pursuit the film involves. This tenet holds especially true for the fine new documentary "Spirit of the Marathon," which takes a passionate look at long-distance running, culminating at 2005's Chicago Marathon.
Even if you've never run for anything but a bus, you'll likely get swept up in this movie's inspiring journey of physical endurance and personal achievement.
Producer-director Jon Dunham, a marathon runner and USC film school graduate, has crafted an efficient yet comprehensive study that focuses on six intensely dedicated runners as they prepare for Chicago's annual 26.2-mile footrace.
These intimate portraits of seasoned athletes Deena Castor (a 2004 Olympic bronze medalist) and Kenya-born marathoner Daniel Njenga, along with four average Chicagoans -- Northwestern grad student Lori O'Connor, Boston Marathon hopeful Ryan Bradley, single mom Leah Caille and plucky septuagenarian Jerry Meyers -- are not only absorbing but also lay an affecting base for the film's third act, set during the Windy City's highly popular marathon. Before all is said and done, you'll find yourself wanting to grab a pair of cross-trainers and take to the streets.
Vintage archival footage, as well as comments from running experts such as past marathon champs Frank Shorter, Bill Rodgers and Paula Radcliffe, round out the doc, which was shot by Dunham and Sarah Levy and tightly edited by Christo Brock. The movie is also something of a love letter to Chicago, vividly capturing many of the city's most photogenic spots.
"Spirit of the Marathon" is being shown only once tonight, with simultaneous screenings in nearly 500 theaters across the country (with an encore scheduled for Feb. 21). Detailed information is available at www.marathonmovie.com.
Source:http://www.latimes.com
Even if you've never run for anything but a bus, you'll likely get swept up in this movie's inspiring journey of physical endurance and personal achievement.
Producer-director Jon Dunham, a marathon runner and USC film school graduate, has crafted an efficient yet comprehensive study that focuses on six intensely dedicated runners as they prepare for Chicago's annual 26.2-mile footrace.
These intimate portraits of seasoned athletes Deena Castor (a 2004 Olympic bronze medalist) and Kenya-born marathoner Daniel Njenga, along with four average Chicagoans -- Northwestern grad student Lori O'Connor, Boston Marathon hopeful Ryan Bradley, single mom Leah Caille and plucky septuagenarian Jerry Meyers -- are not only absorbing but also lay an affecting base for the film's third act, set during the Windy City's highly popular marathon. Before all is said and done, you'll find yourself wanting to grab a pair of cross-trainers and take to the streets.
Vintage archival footage, as well as comments from running experts such as past marathon champs Frank Shorter, Bill Rodgers and Paula Radcliffe, round out the doc, which was shot by Dunham and Sarah Levy and tightly edited by Christo Brock. The movie is also something of a love letter to Chicago, vividly capturing many of the city's most photogenic spots.
"Spirit of the Marathon" is being shown only once tonight, with simultaneous screenings in nearly 500 theaters across the country (with an encore scheduled for Feb. 21). Detailed information is available at www.marathonmovie.com.
Source:http://www.latimes.com
Saturday, January 19, 2008
Plainview teen killed while speeding
A 16-year-old Plainview boy with a learner's permit died early Saturday when he lost control of his friend's car while trying to find out "how fast it would go," Nassau police said.
Brian Assa, a Plainview-Old Bethpage JFK High School junior, was pronounced dead at the scene shortly after the 1:50 a.m. crash in Woodbury, police said.
A passenger, David Darvas, 17, also of Plainview, was taken to Nassau University Medical Center in East Meadow and admitted in critical condition. A family member said Darvas was in surgery Saturday afternoon.
While loved ones kept vigil for Darvas, Assa was remembered as a beloved teenager.
"He was absolutely amazing," said Vanessa Assa, Brian's 28-year-old sister. "Everybody loved him, his friends' parents, his teachers."
According to Nassau County police, Assa was driving Darvas' 2001 Volkswagen Jetta north on Woodbury Road at a high speed.
Darvas, who has a senior license, was in the front passenger's seat when the Jetta approached the Seaford Oyster Bay Expressway overpass and Assa lost control, police said.
The Jetta drifted across the southbound lanes and onto a sidewalk before it hit a wall supporting the overpass. It continued and crashed into a LIPA pole before finally striking a tree, police said. Both teens were wearing seat belts, and neither alcohol nor drugs were involved, police said.
After dropping off other friends, Assa and Darvas were attempting to see "how fast it would go," said Nassau Det. Michael Fleming.
"This was simply a gross misjudgment," Fleming said.
Police found 300 feet of skid marks at the crash scene but hadn't determined the car's crash speed.
At the Assa family's home on Spector Lane, Brian's father, Jerry Assa, 55, said his son's friends called him early Saturday after the crash.
He said he rushed to the scene but police stopped him.
"They wouldn't let us near it," Assa said of the wreck. "Electrical wires were down."
Assa said witnesses had told him his son wasn't driving, information contradictory to the police account of the crash.
"They didn't know who was who for sure," Assa said of emergency workers who freed the teens from the wreck.
At NUMC, Darvas' family and about 10 students gathered on the second floor to await news of his condition.
Wayne Richards, of Plainview, a relative of the Darvas family, said the boy's parents weren't commenting because their son just had surgery.
Brian Assa was a soccer player who made the varsity as a junior, his father said. But a knee injury kept him from playing this past season.
"He loved it," Jerry Assa said. "He played multiple positions. Mostly, he loved playing halfback."
Sherry Gordon was one of the visitors to the Assa home yesterday to pay respects. She said her son, Brian Gordon, was friends with Brian Assa.
"This kid didn't have a bad bone in his body, a heart as big as they come," Gordon said.
Plainview-Old Bethpage Central School District spokesman Robert Zimmerman said the district would offer counseling to students and staff when school opens on Tuesday.
Source:http://www.newsday.com
Brian Assa, a Plainview-Old Bethpage JFK High School junior, was pronounced dead at the scene shortly after the 1:50 a.m. crash in Woodbury, police said.
A passenger, David Darvas, 17, also of Plainview, was taken to Nassau University Medical Center in East Meadow and admitted in critical condition. A family member said Darvas was in surgery Saturday afternoon.
While loved ones kept vigil for Darvas, Assa was remembered as a beloved teenager.
"He was absolutely amazing," said Vanessa Assa, Brian's 28-year-old sister. "Everybody loved him, his friends' parents, his teachers."
According to Nassau County police, Assa was driving Darvas' 2001 Volkswagen Jetta north on Woodbury Road at a high speed.
Darvas, who has a senior license, was in the front passenger's seat when the Jetta approached the Seaford Oyster Bay Expressway overpass and Assa lost control, police said.
The Jetta drifted across the southbound lanes and onto a sidewalk before it hit a wall supporting the overpass. It continued and crashed into a LIPA pole before finally striking a tree, police said. Both teens were wearing seat belts, and neither alcohol nor drugs were involved, police said.
After dropping off other friends, Assa and Darvas were attempting to see "how fast it would go," said Nassau Det. Michael Fleming.
"This was simply a gross misjudgment," Fleming said.
Police found 300 feet of skid marks at the crash scene but hadn't determined the car's crash speed.
At the Assa family's home on Spector Lane, Brian's father, Jerry Assa, 55, said his son's friends called him early Saturday after the crash.
He said he rushed to the scene but police stopped him.
"They wouldn't let us near it," Assa said of the wreck. "Electrical wires were down."
Assa said witnesses had told him his son wasn't driving, information contradictory to the police account of the crash.
"They didn't know who was who for sure," Assa said of emergency workers who freed the teens from the wreck.
At NUMC, Darvas' family and about 10 students gathered on the second floor to await news of his condition.
Wayne Richards, of Plainview, a relative of the Darvas family, said the boy's parents weren't commenting because their son just had surgery.
Brian Assa was a soccer player who made the varsity as a junior, his father said. But a knee injury kept him from playing this past season.
"He loved it," Jerry Assa said. "He played multiple positions. Mostly, he loved playing halfback."
Sherry Gordon was one of the visitors to the Assa home yesterday to pay respects. She said her son, Brian Gordon, was friends with Brian Assa.
"This kid didn't have a bad bone in his body, a heart as big as they come," Gordon said.
Plainview-Old Bethpage Central School District spokesman Robert Zimmerman said the district would offer counseling to students and staff when school opens on Tuesday.
Source:http://www.newsday.com
In Anderson Island versus geoducks, a point for the people
If you want to spark passion on an idyllic South Sound island, say these two words together three times, fast: “Geoduck farm.”
On Friday, Anderson Island Community Improvement Association members filled their meeting hall, ready to fight 2 acres of planted bivalves.
Residents had gotten wind of a Department of Natural Resources plan to use the island’s Treble Point for a geoduck farming study.
In 2003 the Legislature instructed the department to look into whether, and where, it could lease state-owned lands to geoduck farmers. To the state’s credit, it required environmental research first.
By last fall, the department had picked three sites, each about 2 acres, to lease to commercial giant-bivalve farmers. It planned a 10-year study on the impact on the beach, the waters and all the critters passing by or flying over them.
In the wild, native geoducks are as unobtrusive as a mollusk gets. They get by, and get big, by sinking through a yard of sediment, a depth that gives them a fighting chance against ambitious clammers.
In cultivation, for about two years they take over the beach where they’re planted in plastic tubes protected by netting.
Taylor Shellfish Co., with the proposed lease on the Anderson Island beach, generally plants 35,000 plastic tubes per acre. The tubes are 3 feet long, 6 inches across and 18 inches apart. They’re stomped into the muck until about 3 inches remain exposed, then they’re planted with three or four geoduck seeds and covered with a net for about 18 months. At that point, the tubes come out, but the net goes back up for three months. Then the mollusks keep clam for another four to five years until farmers harvest them by pumping water into the bed.
The business has been growing in the Puget Sound region, and the pressure was on to use state lands.
DNR follows four guidelines in the management of 2.6 million acres of aquatic land owned by the people of Washington. Encouraging public use and making the most of renewable resources can generate revenue. Protecting the environment and fostering “water-dependent uses” eat money.
Though DNR leases 2,000 acres for aquaculture, there’s no geoduck farming on state land yet. DNR was working toward that possible use with the Anderson Island proposal.
Taylor Shellfish Co. has been in the shellfish business in Washington for 118 years, and already has geoduck farms in the South Sound, to the consternation of some of the farms’ neighbors.
Disputes over permits and practices have mobilized and polarized shoreline communities. People who are not making money off the giant clams argue that the farming practices spread trash throughout the Sound and damage marine habitat. They’re concerned that the water pumps used to harvest mature geoducks destroy sedimentary habitat. They have photos of birds caught in the netting, and they speculate that habitat disruption could damage salmon runs.
Given that, you can imagine the reaction Anderson Islanders had when they heard their much-loved public beach was on the DNR list.
They rallied for public meetings, and they contacted their state officials.
State Sen. Mike Carrell, who has training in oceanography, stepped up to their cause and carried their arguments to DNR officials.
On Friday, he rode the 6:30 p.m. Steilacoom II ferry to the island with a surprise in his briefcase.
He had written two bills that would have shooed the farm away from the island, and he outlined them to the crowd at the meeting.
Then he tore up the one that called for siting a farm on McNeil Island.
That afternoon, he said, he had gotten a letter from Francea McNair, DNR’s aquatic lands steward. Treble Point is off the list, she wrote, thanks to recently received “site specific environmental information.”
It could be something about eel grass. Or perhaps the agency feared hot tempers on the island might worsen global warming.
Either way, score one for the people who love Anderson Island enough to fight for it.
Source:http://www.thenewstribune.com
On Friday, Anderson Island Community Improvement Association members filled their meeting hall, ready to fight 2 acres of planted bivalves.
Residents had gotten wind of a Department of Natural Resources plan to use the island’s Treble Point for a geoduck farming study.
In 2003 the Legislature instructed the department to look into whether, and where, it could lease state-owned lands to geoduck farmers. To the state’s credit, it required environmental research first.
By last fall, the department had picked three sites, each about 2 acres, to lease to commercial giant-bivalve farmers. It planned a 10-year study on the impact on the beach, the waters and all the critters passing by or flying over them.
In the wild, native geoducks are as unobtrusive as a mollusk gets. They get by, and get big, by sinking through a yard of sediment, a depth that gives them a fighting chance against ambitious clammers.
In cultivation, for about two years they take over the beach where they’re planted in plastic tubes protected by netting.
Taylor Shellfish Co., with the proposed lease on the Anderson Island beach, generally plants 35,000 plastic tubes per acre. The tubes are 3 feet long, 6 inches across and 18 inches apart. They’re stomped into the muck until about 3 inches remain exposed, then they’re planted with three or four geoduck seeds and covered with a net for about 18 months. At that point, the tubes come out, but the net goes back up for three months. Then the mollusks keep clam for another four to five years until farmers harvest them by pumping water into the bed.
The business has been growing in the Puget Sound region, and the pressure was on to use state lands.
DNR follows four guidelines in the management of 2.6 million acres of aquatic land owned by the people of Washington. Encouraging public use and making the most of renewable resources can generate revenue. Protecting the environment and fostering “water-dependent uses” eat money.
Though DNR leases 2,000 acres for aquaculture, there’s no geoduck farming on state land yet. DNR was working toward that possible use with the Anderson Island proposal.
Taylor Shellfish Co. has been in the shellfish business in Washington for 118 years, and already has geoduck farms in the South Sound, to the consternation of some of the farms’ neighbors.
Disputes over permits and practices have mobilized and polarized shoreline communities. People who are not making money off the giant clams argue that the farming practices spread trash throughout the Sound and damage marine habitat. They’re concerned that the water pumps used to harvest mature geoducks destroy sedimentary habitat. They have photos of birds caught in the netting, and they speculate that habitat disruption could damage salmon runs.
Given that, you can imagine the reaction Anderson Islanders had when they heard their much-loved public beach was on the DNR list.
They rallied for public meetings, and they contacted their state officials.
State Sen. Mike Carrell, who has training in oceanography, stepped up to their cause and carried their arguments to DNR officials.
On Friday, he rode the 6:30 p.m. Steilacoom II ferry to the island with a surprise in his briefcase.
He had written two bills that would have shooed the farm away from the island, and he outlined them to the crowd at the meeting.
Then he tore up the one that called for siting a farm on McNeil Island.
That afternoon, he said, he had gotten a letter from Francea McNair, DNR’s aquatic lands steward. Treble Point is off the list, she wrote, thanks to recently received “site specific environmental information.”
It could be something about eel grass. Or perhaps the agency feared hot tempers on the island might worsen global warming.
Either way, score one for the people who love Anderson Island enough to fight for it.
Source:http://www.thenewstribune.com
Veteran TV actor Allan Melvin dies in L.A
OS ANGELES (Reuters) - Allan Melvin, a character actor known for appearances in such TV staples as "The Phil Silvers Show," "All in the Family" and "The Brady Bunch," has died, the Los Angeles Times reported on Saturday.
Melvin succumbed to cancer on Thursday at his home in Los Angeles, the paper said, quoting his wife, Amalia. He was 84.
Born in Kansas City, Missouri, and raised in New York City, Melvin got his big break on "The Phil Silvers Show," which ran from 1955 to 1959, playing Cpl. Henshaw, the right-hand man to Silvers' Sgt. Ernie Bilko.
He went on to play Archie Bunker's neighbor Barney in "All in the Family," and different roles on at least eight episodes of "The Andy Griffith Show." Fans of "The Brady Bunch" knew him as Sam the butcher, the boyfriend of Alice the housekeeper.
Melvin also worked in cartoons, providing the voices of Magilla Gorilla in the Hanna-Barbera series of the same name and Bluto on "Popeye," the Times said.
Source:http://ca.reuters.com
Melvin succumbed to cancer on Thursday at his home in Los Angeles, the paper said, quoting his wife, Amalia. He was 84.
Born in Kansas City, Missouri, and raised in New York City, Melvin got his big break on "The Phil Silvers Show," which ran from 1955 to 1959, playing Cpl. Henshaw, the right-hand man to Silvers' Sgt. Ernie Bilko.
He went on to play Archie Bunker's neighbor Barney in "All in the Family," and different roles on at least eight episodes of "The Andy Griffith Show." Fans of "The Brady Bunch" knew him as Sam the butcher, the boyfriend of Alice the housekeeper.
Melvin also worked in cartoons, providing the voices of Magilla Gorilla in the Hanna-Barbera series of the same name and Bluto on "Popeye," the Times said.
Source:http://ca.reuters.com
B.J. Penn defeats Joe Stevenson to win lightweight title at UFC 80: Rapid Fire
NEWCASTLE, England - B.J. Penn had his way with a bloody Joe (Daddy) Stevenson at UFC 80 on Saturday, choking him out in the second round to win the lightweight title and become only the second fighter to claim UFC championship belts in two different weight classes.
Penn, a former welterweight champion known as The Prodigy, joins Randy Couture (light-heavyweight and heavyweight) as the only title-holders in multiple weight classes.
It was bad for Stevenson from the beginning. Penn hurt him with the first flurry of the fight and controlled the rest of the first round from on top.
"I thought I was going to ice him right there," Penn, who was unmarked after the fight, said of the opening. "I thought that was it but he came back strong. Joe was fighting, like he said, for his family and all that stuff when you fight for those reasons, you're tough."
Stevenson, who has three kids with another on the way, tried to fight back from the bottom as the round wore on but finished the round with his forehead masked in blood after Penn opened a cut on the hairline with an elbow.
"Until that big cut happened, it was an interesting fight," said UFC president Dana White. "I mean that was a nasty cut, that thing was pouring blood and I think that affected the fight big time."
Blood streaming down his face, Stevenson came out swinging in the second but Penn avoided the rush and counter-punched effectively. Referee Herb Dean had the doctor look at the cut midway through the round but the fight was allowed to continue. Penn hurt Stevenson, who went down and then was mounted. Penn took his back and mounted him again, methodically improving his position before finally choking him out at 4:02 of the round.
Penn (13-4-1 including 8-3-1 in the UFC) and Stevenson (33-8 and 5-2) ended up fighting for the 155-pound title after Sean Sherk was stripped as champion for testing positive for steroids last July at UFC 73. Sherk denied cheating but was given a six-month suspension by the California State Athletic Commission.
He watched the two fight for his title from ringside, where he was part of the commentary crew. His ban now over, Sherk will take on Penn next in May at Las Vegas.
"I think it's all going to be about conditioning," White said in handicapping the Penn-Sherk bout.
The smack talk has already started.
"Sean Sherk, you're dead," Penn, who won a US$35,000 bonus for submission of the night, said in the ring before Sherk joined him in the cage.
"You can talk a lot of crap if you want to," countered Sherk.
In the first fight of the night, Canadian lightweight Sam (Hands of Stone) Stout evened his record at 2-2 in the UFC with a comfortable decision over outmatched Swede Per Eklund. Stout will next fight in Canada, on the April 19 event in Montreal.
Eklund, who fell to 14-3-1 in his UFC debut, had no answers for Stout (also 14-3-1).
Saturday's card was titled Rapid Fire and it lived to its billing with four of the nine bouts lasting less than 90 seconds. Dutch kickboxer Antoni Hardonk probably took longer putting on his trunks than the 17 seconds he needed to floor 39-year-old Northern Ireland heavyweight Colin Robinson.
The fight of the night went to English welterweights Paul Kelly and Paul Taylor, who each earned a bonus of $35,000 for putting on a show in going the distance on the preliminary card.
Kelly improved to 8-0 in his UFC debut by using his wrestling and ground-and-pound skills to keep a game Taylor on his back and win by unanimous decision. Taylor (8-3-1 and 1-2 in the UFC) opened the fight with a machine-gun flurry of punches but eventually was controlled by Kelly, who carved open a nasty cut on Taylor's forehead with an elbow at end of the second round.
In a battle of big Brazilian heavyweights, Fabricio Werdum won a second-round TKO over Gabriel Gonzaga in the co-main event.
Gonzaga seemed to have the better of it in the early going, scything Werdum down twice with vicious leg kicks in the first round before Werdum rallied later in the round. But Werdum got Gonzaga in a Thai clinch in the second round and hurt him with a knee. Gonzaga was never the same and passively took punishment before the referee stopped it 4:34 into the second round.
Werdum, who also defeated Gonzaga in 2003, improved to 10-3-1 (1-1 in the UFC). Gonzaga, beaten by Couture last time out, fell to 8-3 (4-2 in the UFC).
Werdum needed the win after a sluggish showing in his UFC debut, a mind-numbing loss to Andrei Arlovski at UFC 70. For Gonzaga, once the poster boy of the UFC after nearly decapitating Mirko (Cro Cop) Filipovic on the same card, it's back to the drawing board.
The UFC came to Tyneside in a bid to build on its European audience and reward what is seen as a thriving pocket of English fight fans.
But the show was largely ignored by local media in the days leading up to the fight, as all eyes were on the reappointment of Kevin Keegan as manager of Newcastle United. While fists were flying before a sellout crowd of 8,412 at the Metro Radio Arena, Newcastle tied Bolton Wanderers 0-0 before 52,500 at St. James' Park.
The fight card drew a venue record gate of $1.25 million.
In a night full of big knockouts, welterweight Marcus (The Irish Hand Grenade) Davis ran his win streak to 11 by stopping Jess (The Joker) Liaudin with a left behind the ear after just 64 seconds. Liaudin saw his five-win streak snapped emphatically in what some had thought would be the best fight on the card.
Davis, a former pro boxer with an MMA record of 19-4 (6-1 in the UFC), was not happy at some of the London-based Frenchman's pre-fight comments. When Liaudin (12-9 and 2-1 in the UFC) launched a kick, Davis put him to sleep.
"I was pissed. I literally said I wanted to punch a hole through his face," said Davis.
Veteran Jorge (El Conquistador) Rivera was another heavy hitter, slamming six-foot-six Hawaiian beanpole Kendall Grove with a string of unanswered punches before flooring him with a left to the chin 83 seconds into the middleweight bout.
Rivera, at 35 some 10 years older than Grove, improved his record to 15-6 (4-4 in the UFC) in his first fight since having his jaw broken by Terry Martin at UFC 67 in February.
Grove, stopped by Canadian Patrick Cote last time out, fell to 10-5 (3-2 in the UFC).
Elsewhere light-heavyweight Wilson Gouveia (10-4 and 4-1 in the UFC) crumpled Jason (The Punisher) Lambert with a left hook out of nowhere 37 seconds into the second round. Lambert (23-7 and 4-2 in the UFC) had controlled Gouveia on the ground for most of the first round but paid for a lapse in the second when he was caught defenceless as he began to swing a right.
Gouveia won $35,000 for KO of the night.
Light-heavyweight Alessio Sakara needed just 90 seconds to end James Lee's unimpressive UFC debut via TKO. Sakara subsequently said he will move down to middleweight to campaign at 185 pounds.
Source:http://canadianpress.google.com
Penn, a former welterweight champion known as The Prodigy, joins Randy Couture (light-heavyweight and heavyweight) as the only title-holders in multiple weight classes.
It was bad for Stevenson from the beginning. Penn hurt him with the first flurry of the fight and controlled the rest of the first round from on top.
"I thought I was going to ice him right there," Penn, who was unmarked after the fight, said of the opening. "I thought that was it but he came back strong. Joe was fighting, like he said, for his family and all that stuff when you fight for those reasons, you're tough."
Stevenson, who has three kids with another on the way, tried to fight back from the bottom as the round wore on but finished the round with his forehead masked in blood after Penn opened a cut on the hairline with an elbow.
"Until that big cut happened, it was an interesting fight," said UFC president Dana White. "I mean that was a nasty cut, that thing was pouring blood and I think that affected the fight big time."
Blood streaming down his face, Stevenson came out swinging in the second but Penn avoided the rush and counter-punched effectively. Referee Herb Dean had the doctor look at the cut midway through the round but the fight was allowed to continue. Penn hurt Stevenson, who went down and then was mounted. Penn took his back and mounted him again, methodically improving his position before finally choking him out at 4:02 of the round.
Penn (13-4-1 including 8-3-1 in the UFC) and Stevenson (33-8 and 5-2) ended up fighting for the 155-pound title after Sean Sherk was stripped as champion for testing positive for steroids last July at UFC 73. Sherk denied cheating but was given a six-month suspension by the California State Athletic Commission.
He watched the two fight for his title from ringside, where he was part of the commentary crew. His ban now over, Sherk will take on Penn next in May at Las Vegas.
"I think it's all going to be about conditioning," White said in handicapping the Penn-Sherk bout.
The smack talk has already started.
"Sean Sherk, you're dead," Penn, who won a US$35,000 bonus for submission of the night, said in the ring before Sherk joined him in the cage.
"You can talk a lot of crap if you want to," countered Sherk.
In the first fight of the night, Canadian lightweight Sam (Hands of Stone) Stout evened his record at 2-2 in the UFC with a comfortable decision over outmatched Swede Per Eklund. Stout will next fight in Canada, on the April 19 event in Montreal.
Eklund, who fell to 14-3-1 in his UFC debut, had no answers for Stout (also 14-3-1).
Saturday's card was titled Rapid Fire and it lived to its billing with four of the nine bouts lasting less than 90 seconds. Dutch kickboxer Antoni Hardonk probably took longer putting on his trunks than the 17 seconds he needed to floor 39-year-old Northern Ireland heavyweight Colin Robinson.
The fight of the night went to English welterweights Paul Kelly and Paul Taylor, who each earned a bonus of $35,000 for putting on a show in going the distance on the preliminary card.
Kelly improved to 8-0 in his UFC debut by using his wrestling and ground-and-pound skills to keep a game Taylor on his back and win by unanimous decision. Taylor (8-3-1 and 1-2 in the UFC) opened the fight with a machine-gun flurry of punches but eventually was controlled by Kelly, who carved open a nasty cut on Taylor's forehead with an elbow at end of the second round.
In a battle of big Brazilian heavyweights, Fabricio Werdum won a second-round TKO over Gabriel Gonzaga in the co-main event.
Gonzaga seemed to have the better of it in the early going, scything Werdum down twice with vicious leg kicks in the first round before Werdum rallied later in the round. But Werdum got Gonzaga in a Thai clinch in the second round and hurt him with a knee. Gonzaga was never the same and passively took punishment before the referee stopped it 4:34 into the second round.
Werdum, who also defeated Gonzaga in 2003, improved to 10-3-1 (1-1 in the UFC). Gonzaga, beaten by Couture last time out, fell to 8-3 (4-2 in the UFC).
Werdum needed the win after a sluggish showing in his UFC debut, a mind-numbing loss to Andrei Arlovski at UFC 70. For Gonzaga, once the poster boy of the UFC after nearly decapitating Mirko (Cro Cop) Filipovic on the same card, it's back to the drawing board.
The UFC came to Tyneside in a bid to build on its European audience and reward what is seen as a thriving pocket of English fight fans.
But the show was largely ignored by local media in the days leading up to the fight, as all eyes were on the reappointment of Kevin Keegan as manager of Newcastle United. While fists were flying before a sellout crowd of 8,412 at the Metro Radio Arena, Newcastle tied Bolton Wanderers 0-0 before 52,500 at St. James' Park.
The fight card drew a venue record gate of $1.25 million.
In a night full of big knockouts, welterweight Marcus (The Irish Hand Grenade) Davis ran his win streak to 11 by stopping Jess (The Joker) Liaudin with a left behind the ear after just 64 seconds. Liaudin saw his five-win streak snapped emphatically in what some had thought would be the best fight on the card.
Davis, a former pro boxer with an MMA record of 19-4 (6-1 in the UFC), was not happy at some of the London-based Frenchman's pre-fight comments. When Liaudin (12-9 and 2-1 in the UFC) launched a kick, Davis put him to sleep.
"I was pissed. I literally said I wanted to punch a hole through his face," said Davis.
Veteran Jorge (El Conquistador) Rivera was another heavy hitter, slamming six-foot-six Hawaiian beanpole Kendall Grove with a string of unanswered punches before flooring him with a left to the chin 83 seconds into the middleweight bout.
Rivera, at 35 some 10 years older than Grove, improved his record to 15-6 (4-4 in the UFC) in his first fight since having his jaw broken by Terry Martin at UFC 67 in February.
Grove, stopped by Canadian Patrick Cote last time out, fell to 10-5 (3-2 in the UFC).
Elsewhere light-heavyweight Wilson Gouveia (10-4 and 4-1 in the UFC) crumpled Jason (The Punisher) Lambert with a left hook out of nowhere 37 seconds into the second round. Lambert (23-7 and 4-2 in the UFC) had controlled Gouveia on the ground for most of the first round but paid for a lapse in the second when he was caught defenceless as he began to swing a right.
Gouveia won $35,000 for KO of the night.
Light-heavyweight Alessio Sakara needed just 90 seconds to end James Lee's unimpressive UFC debut via TKO. Sakara subsequently said he will move down to middleweight to campaign at 185 pounds.
Source:http://canadianpress.google.com
Ron Paul Celebrates Nevada Second
Ron Paul's fervent supporters have something to crow about: With nearly all precincts reporting, the Texas representative is sitting in second place in the Nevada caucuses.
Now, a few caveats. First off, it's a pretty distant second. Paul only got 14 percent of the vote, far behind Mitt Romney's 51 percent. Secondly, Paul barely edged out John McCain, who didn't campaign in Nevada, whereas Paul ran ads in the state. And third, Paul is not looking like a factor in South Carolina, where voters went to the polls today.
Still, second place is second place, and the Paul campaign is celebrating.
“Ron Paul has once again topped multiple media-anointed ‘frontrunners’ with his poll-defying second place showing in Nevada,” Paul campaign chairman Kent Snyder said in a statement. “We’re in this race to win, and we’re going to battle for every delegate in this wide-open race for the Republican nomination.”
Source:http://www.cbsnews.com
Now, a few caveats. First off, it's a pretty distant second. Paul only got 14 percent of the vote, far behind Mitt Romney's 51 percent. Secondly, Paul barely edged out John McCain, who didn't campaign in Nevada, whereas Paul ran ads in the state. And third, Paul is not looking like a factor in South Carolina, where voters went to the polls today.
Still, second place is second place, and the Paul campaign is celebrating.
“Ron Paul has once again topped multiple media-anointed ‘frontrunners’ with his poll-defying second place showing in Nevada,” Paul campaign chairman Kent Snyder said in a statement. “We’re in this race to win, and we’re going to battle for every delegate in this wide-open race for the Republican nomination.”
Source:http://www.cbsnews.com
Pros vsJoes
YOU know the type: nestled into the couch, beer at the ready, shouting at the screen. Forget baseball or football -- trash-talking is our true national pastime, the God-given right of all Americans to express their most vitriolic feelings from the comfort of their living rooms.
We do it to politicians, prevaricating and dodging questions. (They're just asking for it.) We do it to celebrities, pretty, sometimes vacant and often smug. (Really asking for it.)
Athletes, though, would seem to be less appealing targets. There's something impenetrable about their physical prowess that should, rightly, prevent such thoughts from taking hold. Their strength and skills aren't relative -- they're absolute.
But Americans are stubborn in their can-do commitment to self-expression, so stubborn in fact, that they're willing to put their physical health on the line to back up the words they utter in private. It is the only explanation for "Pros vs. Joes," which starts its third season on Spike TV on Wednesday (regular time slot is 11 p.m. Thursdays).
On this uniquely cruel show, very fit and extremely hubristic laymen square off against a range of recently retired (or not) professional athletes in challenges that are sometimes entertaining and more routinely humiliating. In previous seasons, this has involved attempting to score a goal against Claude Lemieux, playing home run derby with Jose Canseco, and getting beaten about the head by Roy Jones Jr. It is one part celeb-reality, one part "Fear Factor."
Some people don't even need the allure of the pros to put their bodies at risk. The competitors on "American Gladiators" (NBC, 8 p.m. Mondays) are content to compete against the freakishly muscular in-house warriors, and they pay for it -- there have been injuries in two of the first four episodes this season.
"Gladiators," which debuted this month with generally charmless hosts Laila Ali and a slightly desiccated Hulk Hogan, resurrects the late '80s-early '90s syndication franchise with few tweaks. (Reruns of the original air on ESPN Classic; sorely missed in the reboot is co-host Mike Adamle, who gave the charmingly amateur proceedings a dose of seriousness.)
The competitions are still sublimely simple -- climbing a wall, jousting, running a gantlet -- though there is, inexplicably, more water this time around. And the Gladiators, in an improvement over the original, are self-aware bordering on campy. Titan, a four-time Mr. Universe, has wavy hair, a practiced grin and overactive eyebrows. Toa is the cousin of The Rock and has borrowed his bemused stoicism. There is also a brutish, stocky blond named Hellga -- her lack of a Viking hat suggests at least a touch of restraint.
Though they often appear to be thick with 'roid rage -- "It's a good day to look scared, dog," says Mayhem -- all of the Gladiators have tested clean, according to the website Broadcasting & Cable. (Will there one day be a Mitchell Report devoted to the show's original run?)
So you can trust the Gladiators, but should you root for them? Both shows test the fan-athlete relationship -- whom to support, the underdogs or the heroes? This season "Pros" will feature, among others, running back Ricky Williams, pitcher Al Leiter, mixed martial arts fighter Bob Sapp, boxer Arturo Gatti and basketball player Charles Oakley, all of whom still command fan worship.
When they can get a word in edgewise in between raspy outbursts from host Petros Papadakis, the Joes invariably crack wise about the Pros' presumed creakiness, but it is always the Pros who get the last laugh. Their evident glee in shooting down the Joes' dreams is perhaps the highlight of the show. This week, basketballer Kendall Gill proclaims, "My main objective here is not to win but is to defeat you, embarrass them and show you guys that you were never ever meant to be in the same class as us pros." Last season, when wide receiver Andre Reed left one unfortunate Joe in the dust, former slam dunk champion Spud Webb chimed in from the sidelines: "At least be in the damn picture!"
You can lead a Joe to a Pro, but you can't force respect. Accordingly, the frequent Joe-to-Pro posterior-slapping feels awkward and compensatory, like a teammate's privilege that needs to be earned. And though there have been some impressive Joes over the last two seasons, too often their success has more to do with slip-ups by the Pros than outmaneuvering by the Joes.
Similarly, the outsized Gladiators can often be taken down with a little nimbleness. This can make for tough, empty bragging rights. But both shows make up for the imbalance with dashes of theater. "I hope to make it across and try not to catch the mange," one contestant said as he prepared to tackle the rings course against the Gladiator Wolf, who replied, "I'm smellin' fear, I'm smellin' blood, and I'm gonna eat you." Then he howled.
Off the major networks, the original "Gladiators" sometimes felt as if it was taking place in an alternate universe. Now, bolstering NBC during the writers strike, it has become a big deal. The lighting design is impressive, the crowds are loud. And in addition to prize money, the winners of "Gladiators" will receive the chance to become Gladiators themselves next season.
But a more profound satisfaction probably comes from winning "Pros." Previously, the winning Joe would get the jerseys off the Pros backs, but that appears to no longer be the case -- perhaps it was too intimate, too much like a war trophy. The competitions take place in imposing arenas -- the Rose Bowl, the Superdome, and more -- but there are no crowds, only the combatants. And so the reward is humbler -- a pat on the back from an icon, a boost of pride and the opportunity to head right back to the couch and talk, loudly, about the time you took it to the Pros. If you can't join 'em, beat 'em.
Source:http://latimes.com
We do it to politicians, prevaricating and dodging questions. (They're just asking for it.) We do it to celebrities, pretty, sometimes vacant and often smug. (Really asking for it.)
Athletes, though, would seem to be less appealing targets. There's something impenetrable about their physical prowess that should, rightly, prevent such thoughts from taking hold. Their strength and skills aren't relative -- they're absolute.
But Americans are stubborn in their can-do commitment to self-expression, so stubborn in fact, that they're willing to put their physical health on the line to back up the words they utter in private. It is the only explanation for "Pros vs. Joes," which starts its third season on Spike TV on Wednesday (regular time slot is 11 p.m. Thursdays).
On this uniquely cruel show, very fit and extremely hubristic laymen square off against a range of recently retired (or not) professional athletes in challenges that are sometimes entertaining and more routinely humiliating. In previous seasons, this has involved attempting to score a goal against Claude Lemieux, playing home run derby with Jose Canseco, and getting beaten about the head by Roy Jones Jr. It is one part celeb-reality, one part "Fear Factor."
Some people don't even need the allure of the pros to put their bodies at risk. The competitors on "American Gladiators" (NBC, 8 p.m. Mondays) are content to compete against the freakishly muscular in-house warriors, and they pay for it -- there have been injuries in two of the first four episodes this season.
"Gladiators," which debuted this month with generally charmless hosts Laila Ali and a slightly desiccated Hulk Hogan, resurrects the late '80s-early '90s syndication franchise with few tweaks. (Reruns of the original air on ESPN Classic; sorely missed in the reboot is co-host Mike Adamle, who gave the charmingly amateur proceedings a dose of seriousness.)
The competitions are still sublimely simple -- climbing a wall, jousting, running a gantlet -- though there is, inexplicably, more water this time around. And the Gladiators, in an improvement over the original, are self-aware bordering on campy. Titan, a four-time Mr. Universe, has wavy hair, a practiced grin and overactive eyebrows. Toa is the cousin of The Rock and has borrowed his bemused stoicism. There is also a brutish, stocky blond named Hellga -- her lack of a Viking hat suggests at least a touch of restraint.
Though they often appear to be thick with 'roid rage -- "It's a good day to look scared, dog," says Mayhem -- all of the Gladiators have tested clean, according to the website Broadcasting & Cable. (Will there one day be a Mitchell Report devoted to the show's original run?)
So you can trust the Gladiators, but should you root for them? Both shows test the fan-athlete relationship -- whom to support, the underdogs or the heroes? This season "Pros" will feature, among others, running back Ricky Williams, pitcher Al Leiter, mixed martial arts fighter Bob Sapp, boxer Arturo Gatti and basketball player Charles Oakley, all of whom still command fan worship.
When they can get a word in edgewise in between raspy outbursts from host Petros Papadakis, the Joes invariably crack wise about the Pros' presumed creakiness, but it is always the Pros who get the last laugh. Their evident glee in shooting down the Joes' dreams is perhaps the highlight of the show. This week, basketballer Kendall Gill proclaims, "My main objective here is not to win but is to defeat you, embarrass them and show you guys that you were never ever meant to be in the same class as us pros." Last season, when wide receiver Andre Reed left one unfortunate Joe in the dust, former slam dunk champion Spud Webb chimed in from the sidelines: "At least be in the damn picture!"
You can lead a Joe to a Pro, but you can't force respect. Accordingly, the frequent Joe-to-Pro posterior-slapping feels awkward and compensatory, like a teammate's privilege that needs to be earned. And though there have been some impressive Joes over the last two seasons, too often their success has more to do with slip-ups by the Pros than outmaneuvering by the Joes.
Similarly, the outsized Gladiators can often be taken down with a little nimbleness. This can make for tough, empty bragging rights. But both shows make up for the imbalance with dashes of theater. "I hope to make it across and try not to catch the mange," one contestant said as he prepared to tackle the rings course against the Gladiator Wolf, who replied, "I'm smellin' fear, I'm smellin' blood, and I'm gonna eat you." Then he howled.
Off the major networks, the original "Gladiators" sometimes felt as if it was taking place in an alternate universe. Now, bolstering NBC during the writers strike, it has become a big deal. The lighting design is impressive, the crowds are loud. And in addition to prize money, the winners of "Gladiators" will receive the chance to become Gladiators themselves next season.
But a more profound satisfaction probably comes from winning "Pros." Previously, the winning Joe would get the jerseys off the Pros backs, but that appears to no longer be the case -- perhaps it was too intimate, too much like a war trophy. The competitions take place in imposing arenas -- the Rose Bowl, the Superdome, and more -- but there are no crowds, only the combatants. And so the reward is humbler -- a pat on the back from an icon, a boost of pride and the opportunity to head right back to the couch and talk, loudly, about the time you took it to the Pros. If you can't join 'em, beat 'em.
Source:http://latimes.com
BoxingScene predictions: Jones-Trinidad
This coming Saturday, a dream bout between two fan favorites is taking place at New York's Madison Square Garden. Former three-division champion Felix "Tito" Trinidad (42-2, 35 KOs) will come out of retirement after a near thirty-two month layoff to challenge former four-division champion Roy Jones Jr. (51-4, 38 KOs) at a catch-weight of 170-pounds
Trinidad has never fought above 160 pounds and the last time he was seen in the ring, back in May 2005, he was dominated in all 12 of his one-sided rounds with Winky Wright. The last time we saw Jones being Jones was probably back in 2003 when he outboxed John Ruiz to capture the WBA heavyweight title. Jones, no stranger to weight issues, has not fought below 175 pounds since 1996. On paper, the fight appears to be closer than many expect, or at least closer than it would have been in 2002, but most experts are still predicting a blowout victory by Jones.
The event, televised by HBO pay-per-view, has been bludgeoned with a sea of criticism from all corners of the boxing world. Many fans and writers are unhappy with the fight being sold as a $50 pay-per-view and eyebrows were raised over the unusually high ticket prices. Articles published in major newspapers and credible boxing websites pertaining to Trinidad-Jones slammed the fight as a whole.
The staff of BoxingScene.com comes together to voice their opinions, strategies and predictions for the big fight.
Michael Katz — This is like picking the winner of the 2010 NHL All-Star game. Nobody cares and nobody knows how much each of these "titans" has left. Off their old form, it's a mismatch: Jones is too big, too fast, too good, but with a 39-year-old chin, he's no longer a sure thing. My pick: This fight dies a deserved death at the box office.
Keith Idec — Roy Jones by 10th-round KO. You don't end a nearly three-year layoff against someone who is better, bigger and stronger, even if Jones is a little slower at 39 than he once was.
Jake Donovan — This is the fight I've always dreaded. One of my all-time favorites (Jones) against my absolute all-time favorite (Tito). I've never picked against either fighter at any point in their careers. In Tito's case, I never hesitated to pick him the moment one of his fights was announced, a fact two-time trainer of the year and good chum Dan Birmingham, Winky Wright's lifelong trainer, STILL reminds me of whenever he sees me. But there's a first time for everything. As much as I'd like to believe that Tito has it in him to land one last great bomb and possibly end his career on a high note (though we all know he'll still continue to fight anyway), I just don't see it happening. Roy is on the downside, but nowhere near as shot as everyone insists is the case. That, plus Tito coming off of a near three-year layoff and fighting 10 lb. above his career heaviest, has me believing that Roy will have his way with El Gran Campeon. Roy will check his chin early, and if he doesn't believe he can get rid of him without taking back anything in return, then he'll potshot his way to a wide (possibly shutout) unanimous decision, with perhaps a knockdown or two along the way. Jones by UD.
Tim Smith — Roy Jones by TKO in seven. Jones is bigger, faster and stronger.
Cliff Rold — If they had fought in 2001, it's Jones by KO, probably in three or less. In 2007, it's Jones probably in three or less. If they meet again one day in heaven and Tito is carried on the wings of Gabriel to battle, it's Jones, probably in three or less.
Patrick Kehoe — It's interesting how many people in boxing and the media are assuming that Roy Jones will crush Trinidad, one big shot and it's finito, Tito! The question in this fight is will Tito have the patience to work the jab, which Jones never does, and to make openings when Jones rests on the ropes, which has become a reoccurring theme in Jones' fights in the 21 Century.
The problem for Tito is his lack of hand and foot speed and getting clipped by left hooks. Tito's been vulnerable to counter left hooks his entire career and that's the one good punch that Jones can still produce with his back against the ropes. Therein lies the drama of Jones vs. Trinidad. Who will win the strategic chessmatch along the ropes? Tito will stalk and periodically punish with Jones resting, readying to harpoon the hunter. In mid-ring it should be all Jones.
Cautionary Notes: Jones has been flattened twice in two of his last five fights, losing three of those five and Tito's reflexive agility in the ring has evaporated. Team Trinidad think punchers manhandle the aging R.J. (now 39) and Master Jones believes Tito's too small to last against him.
The End: The truth is either guy could go, but I pick Jones to get the stoppage in round six — 170 is just too heavy for Tito! Pow! A double left hook takes care of Tito.
CompuBox/Bob Canobbio — Roy Jones by decision. He does enough to blunt the smaller man Tito's advances, but not enough to score the KO he predicted.
Dave Sholler — The man who presides over the $5 bill once said "And in the end, it's not the years in your life that count. It's the life in your years." While we can all get warm and fuzzy about Abraham Lincoln's quote, the truth is that both Roy Jones Jr. and Felix Trinidad must prove to the boxing community that they still deserve to be headlining an HBO PPV. In essence, the duo must realize that the toughest pill for fans to swallow is often the one where former greats hang on for too long. With that said, Jones and Trinidad have to demonstrate that regardless of what they've accomplished, there's still reason to believe they are fit to fight.
Heading into Saturday night's bout, Jones predicted victory by the fourth round while Trinidad vowed to stop the self-described "Superman" inside two. When all is said and done at Madison Square Garden, Jones' crystal ball should be more accurate. In addition to being stronger than the Puerto Rican star, Jones has been more active in recent years. In a bout featuring two fading competitors, Trinidad's rust will be the deciding factor.
Prediction: Jones Jr. by sixth round stoppage.
TK Stewart — The San Juan sun has set on Felix Trinidad and it's twilight time in Roy Jones' Pensacola. Whatever the case, Jones wins this one big. He still has way more left than Tito does and at 170, Jones will be quick and fast whereas Tito will be bloated and tired. I like Jones by a knockout, maybe early.
Jose Aguirre — Former four-division champion Roy Jones Jr. will give former-three division champion Felix Trinidad a late birthday gift by handing him a certified boxing lesson. At the same time Jones will be giving himself a late birthday gift: a win against a fellow future hall-of-famer.
Alphonso Costello — Jones and Trinidad are still active? Well, this fight will turn out to be a bore. Roy Jones Jr. in four. I guess.
Jaime Estrada — Roy Jones to win the easy money fight.
James Blears — No prediction because this is a pointless fight going nowhere. In their primes, which was a long time ago, neither could have been matched. I just hope no one gets hurt, especially Jones, who doesn't have much punch resistance left. Will the winner fight Don King?
John Hively — Jones should stop Trinidad. He's too fast for Felix. If Oscar and Hopkins can box a prime Trinidad's ears off, a past-his-prime Roy is too big, too fast, too hard a puncher, for an rusty, aging, well worn Felix. That being said, maybe Trinidad has a few tricks up his sleeve to make the fight look competitive for a few rounds. This fight might even go the distance if Roy allows it to by not fighting as aggressively as he can. This mismatch between two past-their-prime former greats should never have been made.
This fight is happening a few years too late but can they give fight fans a great fight to go along with their great names? If the old RJ shows up I think we may be in for a great night of boxing. Roy Jones, Jr. will prove to be too big, too fast and too strong for Tito Trinidad at 170 pounds. Roy Jones, Jr. by decision over Felix Trinidad.
Ernest Gabion — Jones is too big and too fast for Tito, who's been off for over 30 months and had his last fight at 160. Roy Jones Jr. by TKO in six.
Don Colgan — Jones is washed up and, unless he reaches way, way back for a vintage 1998 performance, I don't see how he can withstand Tito's power. I see Roy holding his own for two or three sessions, then gradually succumbing to Trinidad's attack. Look for one or two sixth round knockdowns and possibly a brutal knockout in the 7th session. Trinidad by KO in 7.
Larry Tornambe — Even though both Trinidad and Jones are not at the top of their games, Jones is much better than Trinidad at this stage. I can't imagine how Felix feels he can win this bout. Based on his most recent performances, and mucho time off, I don't see any way Trinidad can be competitive. I feel that Jones has enough skill and hand speed left to annihilate Trinidad within six rounds.
Dave Wilcox — This fight is a complete joke. Trinidad didn't win a round against Winky Wright. I think Jones is way past his best as well, but with his size advantage and his boxing ability, even a past-his-prime Jones should have no trouble with Tito. Let me know how it goes because I won't waste my time or money on this garbage. I think UCLA is going against Oregon State in women's basketball that night. I'm busy. If Tito looks like he did against Wright, Jones should knock him out. If Tito is sharp, easy decision for Jones.
Richie Maldonado — Roy Jones, Jr. by humiliation.
Paul Gallegos — I predict that everyone who buys into this fight is a sucker and boxing should be ashamed for having this on pay-per-view. Old-name fighters fighting old-name fighters with nothing on the line. Where was this Roy Jones and Tito fight when it could have meant something? Roy will win the fight via a mediocre performance and elevate himself into a major fight. Sad, but true.
Dan Creighton — I've got Roy Jones winning a dull decision.
Ron Gallegos — Roy Jones used to be one of my favorite fighters. Pound for pound he was the best. I liked Muhammad Ali as well. Smokin' Joe was right up there and Foreman is still is a favorite. And then there's Jersey Joe and Marciano and Willie Pep. If any of the above are still alive and capable of a few rounds, let's put them on pay-per-view. They can make a few bucks and we get our fix. Who will win this one, Tito or Roy? Probably Tito. I don't think he's spent yet. Roy really needs to go enjoy all the money he's made. What's next? American Gladiators, The Dance King, or WWE. Look for Tito with a KO in the seventh. Hate to see that happen to Roy, but age beats us all.
Joe Harrison — It is unfortunate that it's taken so long for these two warriors to finally meet. Now the fight is upon us and it's difficult to say which of them has enough left in the tank. Trinidad hasn't fought in years, Jones hasn't fought elite competition in years. If anyone has an advantage it would have to be Jones. Not only has he stayed active, but he's having Trinidad fight above 160 pounds for the first time. As much as I can see another power puncher sending Jones to the canvas yet again, I believe it is more likely that Jones has enough skills left to outbox Trinidad for twelve rounds. Jones by decision.
Carlos Irusta — I pick Roy Jones by KO. In my opinion, Trinidad had lost the train some years ago (at Penn Station, when he was KOed by Hopkins) and Father Time is unbeatable. Jones, of course, is not in his prime either, but I think he will be the winner without any trouble.
Bradley Yeh — Prediction: This is a hard fight for me to make a concise prediction with as it's hard to know precisely where Jones' and Trinidad's athleticism, skills & reflexes are at their current ages. If you're going to listen to all that's said by the guys themselves, my guess is that if you divide by two all that each guy has been saying about their own abilities, you're probably closer to the mark.
That doesn't mean one of the knockouts each is predicting will not come through though.
Jones has probably been the more active fighter of the two over the last five years, but his level of competition, in my opinion, is very questionable as it has known to be at times, even in his prime. Tito has been far less active than Jones recently, but he has engaged in fights with measurably better competition (Wright & Mayorga) during the last five years, even if they have been noticeably less frequent.
In his prime, Tito, for the most part, faced great competition and prior to Hopkins, he regularly flogged them or knocked them out or both. Sure he didn't look great against Winky, but as a blogger on boxingscene.com rightly said, "Tito may not have looked so great against Winky in his prime either."
Winky is a hard nut to crack — unless head-butted of course.
Trinidad's fights with Vargas, Oscar, Whittaker, Reid, & Joppy were text book lessons on either technical boxing or search and destroy fighting. Without a doubt, Trinidad has taken bigger risks with his matchmaking and I believe this is why he has the more genuine record with dangerous fighters all throughout his career, and it is probably why Tito still enjoys a hero's following.
For me, when reflecting upon Jones' uncanny athleticism of his past years, there's a slight coincidence between the decline of his super human skills and the announcement of the BALCO scandal. I appreciate that this is not going to be received favorably by some Jones fanatics, but in my opinion, you have to search through Jones' career a little bit harder to find the same quality of opposition that Tito more regularly tested himself with. I am aware that Jones defeated Toney and Hopkins, and I have enjoyed watching Jones fight, but does all this mean the prediction is any easier?
It's often said that boxing is a game of physical psychology, and if that's true then the amount of beatings a fighter has worn surely goes a long way toward defining not just his mindset, but also lifespan at the top. To my knowledge, Tito has worn the least punishment in those fights where his hand hasn't been raised at the end. Furthermore, I get the feeling that Jones is slightly underestimating Trinidad in this fight, perhaps banking on the perceived speed and weight advantage that Jones sees himself possessing.
Looking at how Jones has been hit easily in recent fights whilst his right hand was down, Jones' chin won't want to stray too close to any Trinidad left hook in my opinion. Likewise, Tito surely will hope that Jones doesn't come in as refreshed and invigorated as Jones states will be the case now that he has "recovered" from the "weight" of years gone by as claimed.
With all that said, going on past performances and in consideration of the fact that Jones didn't KO Anthony Hanshaw or Prince (whatever his last name was) in his last two fights, it becomes pretty clear that if Felix Trinidad comes into the fight in similar condition to that with which he faced Wright, he should not be getting knocked out by Jones.
JC Casarez — Roy Jones Jr. wins by TKO. I expect Roy's speed to present too many problems for Trinidad early. Sure, Trinidad can punch but while Jones may not be the same fighter he was pound-for-pound years ago, he's remained somewhat active and that will definitely become a telling factor. Look for Roy to get a stoppage mid-fight as the smaller Trinidad plays catch up and shows signs of ring rust from being retired for almost three years.
Patrick Connor — This matchup would've been much more interesting had Trinidad defeated Hopkins in 2001, but both still have just a hint of what made them great and both certainly have their names. As to the fight itself though, even six-plus years later, Roy Jones is probably still much quicker than Trinidad and Tito still probably has that punching power. Look for a few iffy moments for Roy early on leading to a boring decision most people wished they hadn't paid for.
Rick Reeno — It's hard to back Trinidad in this fight. The biggest question mark in the fight is Trinidad. Does he have enough punching power to make it competitive at 170? Does he have anything left after a near three-year layoff?
If he actually has some pop at 170, he stands a decent chance of winning — if he makes it past six rounds. Most are judging Trinidad's punching power by his brief stint at 160 pounds. He was able to blow away smaller middleweights like Joppy and Cherifi, but his power had little to no effect on Winky Wright and Bernard Hopkins. It's not really fair to judge his power at middleweight based on Wright and Hopkins, who possess two of the better chins in the sport. In reality, Trinidad's two losses were against two of the better technical fighters of our era and both were in their prime.
Jones was very hittable in his last fight with Hanshaw. The defense was gone. According to CompuBox, Hanshaw was able to land more punches on Jones than any previous opponent in the 29 fights involving Jones that they covered. Jones was never one to throw a lot of punches in a fight, but he still appeared to be tired down the stretch against Hanshaw. Even when he dropped Hanshaw and got him in trouble in the eleventh, he was too tired to finish him off.
In my opinion, Trinidad has faster hands than Hanshaw. If Trinidad connects big and Jones eats the punch without flinching, the fight is officially over for the Puerto Rican superstar. If he connects and Jones buckles, expect a close fight down the stretch with Jones going into a shell and using his skills and quicker feet to win a "boxing" contest.
I just don't think Jones is that far gone where a fighter like Trinidad is able to come out of retirement after nearly three years on the bench and beat him. This is the last shot for both of them. The winner, as crazy as it sounds, will be in position for a sizable payday against Bernard Hopkins, Joe Calzaghe or maybe someone else at 168 or 175. After the smoke clears, I expect Jones to overwhelm Trinidad to the point where some people will actually think he's back.
Source:http://msn.foxsports.com
Trinidad has never fought above 160 pounds and the last time he was seen in the ring, back in May 2005, he was dominated in all 12 of his one-sided rounds with Winky Wright. The last time we saw Jones being Jones was probably back in 2003 when he outboxed John Ruiz to capture the WBA heavyweight title. Jones, no stranger to weight issues, has not fought below 175 pounds since 1996. On paper, the fight appears to be closer than many expect, or at least closer than it would have been in 2002, but most experts are still predicting a blowout victory by Jones.
The event, televised by HBO pay-per-view, has been bludgeoned with a sea of criticism from all corners of the boxing world. Many fans and writers are unhappy with the fight being sold as a $50 pay-per-view and eyebrows were raised over the unusually high ticket prices. Articles published in major newspapers and credible boxing websites pertaining to Trinidad-Jones slammed the fight as a whole.
The staff of BoxingScene.com comes together to voice their opinions, strategies and predictions for the big fight.
Michael Katz — This is like picking the winner of the 2010 NHL All-Star game. Nobody cares and nobody knows how much each of these "titans" has left. Off their old form, it's a mismatch: Jones is too big, too fast, too good, but with a 39-year-old chin, he's no longer a sure thing. My pick: This fight dies a deserved death at the box office.
Keith Idec — Roy Jones by 10th-round KO. You don't end a nearly three-year layoff against someone who is better, bigger and stronger, even if Jones is a little slower at 39 than he once was.
Jake Donovan — This is the fight I've always dreaded. One of my all-time favorites (Jones) against my absolute all-time favorite (Tito). I've never picked against either fighter at any point in their careers. In Tito's case, I never hesitated to pick him the moment one of his fights was announced, a fact two-time trainer of the year and good chum Dan Birmingham, Winky Wright's lifelong trainer, STILL reminds me of whenever he sees me. But there's a first time for everything. As much as I'd like to believe that Tito has it in him to land one last great bomb and possibly end his career on a high note (though we all know he'll still continue to fight anyway), I just don't see it happening. Roy is on the downside, but nowhere near as shot as everyone insists is the case. That, plus Tito coming off of a near three-year layoff and fighting 10 lb. above his career heaviest, has me believing that Roy will have his way with El Gran Campeon. Roy will check his chin early, and if he doesn't believe he can get rid of him without taking back anything in return, then he'll potshot his way to a wide (possibly shutout) unanimous decision, with perhaps a knockdown or two along the way. Jones by UD.
Tim Smith — Roy Jones by TKO in seven. Jones is bigger, faster and stronger.
Cliff Rold — If they had fought in 2001, it's Jones by KO, probably in three or less. In 2007, it's Jones probably in three or less. If they meet again one day in heaven and Tito is carried on the wings of Gabriel to battle, it's Jones, probably in three or less.
Patrick Kehoe — It's interesting how many people in boxing and the media are assuming that Roy Jones will crush Trinidad, one big shot and it's finito, Tito! The question in this fight is will Tito have the patience to work the jab, which Jones never does, and to make openings when Jones rests on the ropes, which has become a reoccurring theme in Jones' fights in the 21 Century.
The problem for Tito is his lack of hand and foot speed and getting clipped by left hooks. Tito's been vulnerable to counter left hooks his entire career and that's the one good punch that Jones can still produce with his back against the ropes. Therein lies the drama of Jones vs. Trinidad. Who will win the strategic chessmatch along the ropes? Tito will stalk and periodically punish with Jones resting, readying to harpoon the hunter. In mid-ring it should be all Jones.
Cautionary Notes: Jones has been flattened twice in two of his last five fights, losing three of those five and Tito's reflexive agility in the ring has evaporated. Team Trinidad think punchers manhandle the aging R.J. (now 39) and Master Jones believes Tito's too small to last against him.
The End: The truth is either guy could go, but I pick Jones to get the stoppage in round six — 170 is just too heavy for Tito! Pow! A double left hook takes care of Tito.
CompuBox/Bob Canobbio — Roy Jones by decision. He does enough to blunt the smaller man Tito's advances, but not enough to score the KO he predicted.
Dave Sholler — The man who presides over the $5 bill once said "And in the end, it's not the years in your life that count. It's the life in your years." While we can all get warm and fuzzy about Abraham Lincoln's quote, the truth is that both Roy Jones Jr. and Felix Trinidad must prove to the boxing community that they still deserve to be headlining an HBO PPV. In essence, the duo must realize that the toughest pill for fans to swallow is often the one where former greats hang on for too long. With that said, Jones and Trinidad have to demonstrate that regardless of what they've accomplished, there's still reason to believe they are fit to fight.
Heading into Saturday night's bout, Jones predicted victory by the fourth round while Trinidad vowed to stop the self-described "Superman" inside two. When all is said and done at Madison Square Garden, Jones' crystal ball should be more accurate. In addition to being stronger than the Puerto Rican star, Jones has been more active in recent years. In a bout featuring two fading competitors, Trinidad's rust will be the deciding factor.
Prediction: Jones Jr. by sixth round stoppage.
TK Stewart — The San Juan sun has set on Felix Trinidad and it's twilight time in Roy Jones' Pensacola. Whatever the case, Jones wins this one big. He still has way more left than Tito does and at 170, Jones will be quick and fast whereas Tito will be bloated and tired. I like Jones by a knockout, maybe early.
Jose Aguirre — Former four-division champion Roy Jones Jr. will give former-three division champion Felix Trinidad a late birthday gift by handing him a certified boxing lesson. At the same time Jones will be giving himself a late birthday gift: a win against a fellow future hall-of-famer.
Alphonso Costello — Jones and Trinidad are still active? Well, this fight will turn out to be a bore. Roy Jones Jr. in four. I guess.
Jaime Estrada — Roy Jones to win the easy money fight.
James Blears — No prediction because this is a pointless fight going nowhere. In their primes, which was a long time ago, neither could have been matched. I just hope no one gets hurt, especially Jones, who doesn't have much punch resistance left. Will the winner fight Don King?
John Hively — Jones should stop Trinidad. He's too fast for Felix. If Oscar and Hopkins can box a prime Trinidad's ears off, a past-his-prime Roy is too big, too fast, too hard a puncher, for an rusty, aging, well worn Felix. That being said, maybe Trinidad has a few tricks up his sleeve to make the fight look competitive for a few rounds. This fight might even go the distance if Roy allows it to by not fighting as aggressively as he can. This mismatch between two past-their-prime former greats should never have been made.
This fight is happening a few years too late but can they give fight fans a great fight to go along with their great names? If the old RJ shows up I think we may be in for a great night of boxing. Roy Jones, Jr. will prove to be too big, too fast and too strong for Tito Trinidad at 170 pounds. Roy Jones, Jr. by decision over Felix Trinidad.
Ernest Gabion — Jones is too big and too fast for Tito, who's been off for over 30 months and had his last fight at 160. Roy Jones Jr. by TKO in six.
Don Colgan — Jones is washed up and, unless he reaches way, way back for a vintage 1998 performance, I don't see how he can withstand Tito's power. I see Roy holding his own for two or three sessions, then gradually succumbing to Trinidad's attack. Look for one or two sixth round knockdowns and possibly a brutal knockout in the 7th session. Trinidad by KO in 7.
Larry Tornambe — Even though both Trinidad and Jones are not at the top of their games, Jones is much better than Trinidad at this stage. I can't imagine how Felix feels he can win this bout. Based on his most recent performances, and mucho time off, I don't see any way Trinidad can be competitive. I feel that Jones has enough skill and hand speed left to annihilate Trinidad within six rounds.
Dave Wilcox — This fight is a complete joke. Trinidad didn't win a round against Winky Wright. I think Jones is way past his best as well, but with his size advantage and his boxing ability, even a past-his-prime Jones should have no trouble with Tito. Let me know how it goes because I won't waste my time or money on this garbage. I think UCLA is going against Oregon State in women's basketball that night. I'm busy. If Tito looks like he did against Wright, Jones should knock him out. If Tito is sharp, easy decision for Jones.
Richie Maldonado — Roy Jones, Jr. by humiliation.
Paul Gallegos — I predict that everyone who buys into this fight is a sucker and boxing should be ashamed for having this on pay-per-view. Old-name fighters fighting old-name fighters with nothing on the line. Where was this Roy Jones and Tito fight when it could have meant something? Roy will win the fight via a mediocre performance and elevate himself into a major fight. Sad, but true.
Dan Creighton — I've got Roy Jones winning a dull decision.
Ron Gallegos — Roy Jones used to be one of my favorite fighters. Pound for pound he was the best. I liked Muhammad Ali as well. Smokin' Joe was right up there and Foreman is still is a favorite. And then there's Jersey Joe and Marciano and Willie Pep. If any of the above are still alive and capable of a few rounds, let's put them on pay-per-view. They can make a few bucks and we get our fix. Who will win this one, Tito or Roy? Probably Tito. I don't think he's spent yet. Roy really needs to go enjoy all the money he's made. What's next? American Gladiators, The Dance King, or WWE. Look for Tito with a KO in the seventh. Hate to see that happen to Roy, but age beats us all.
Joe Harrison — It is unfortunate that it's taken so long for these two warriors to finally meet. Now the fight is upon us and it's difficult to say which of them has enough left in the tank. Trinidad hasn't fought in years, Jones hasn't fought elite competition in years. If anyone has an advantage it would have to be Jones. Not only has he stayed active, but he's having Trinidad fight above 160 pounds for the first time. As much as I can see another power puncher sending Jones to the canvas yet again, I believe it is more likely that Jones has enough skills left to outbox Trinidad for twelve rounds. Jones by decision.
Carlos Irusta — I pick Roy Jones by KO. In my opinion, Trinidad had lost the train some years ago (at Penn Station, when he was KOed by Hopkins) and Father Time is unbeatable. Jones, of course, is not in his prime either, but I think he will be the winner without any trouble.
Bradley Yeh — Prediction: This is a hard fight for me to make a concise prediction with as it's hard to know precisely where Jones' and Trinidad's athleticism, skills & reflexes are at their current ages. If you're going to listen to all that's said by the guys themselves, my guess is that if you divide by two all that each guy has been saying about their own abilities, you're probably closer to the mark.
That doesn't mean one of the knockouts each is predicting will not come through though.
Jones has probably been the more active fighter of the two over the last five years, but his level of competition, in my opinion, is very questionable as it has known to be at times, even in his prime. Tito has been far less active than Jones recently, but he has engaged in fights with measurably better competition (Wright & Mayorga) during the last five years, even if they have been noticeably less frequent.
In his prime, Tito, for the most part, faced great competition and prior to Hopkins, he regularly flogged them or knocked them out or both. Sure he didn't look great against Winky, but as a blogger on boxingscene.com rightly said, "Tito may not have looked so great against Winky in his prime either."
Winky is a hard nut to crack — unless head-butted of course.
Trinidad's fights with Vargas, Oscar, Whittaker, Reid, & Joppy were text book lessons on either technical boxing or search and destroy fighting. Without a doubt, Trinidad has taken bigger risks with his matchmaking and I believe this is why he has the more genuine record with dangerous fighters all throughout his career, and it is probably why Tito still enjoys a hero's following.
For me, when reflecting upon Jones' uncanny athleticism of his past years, there's a slight coincidence between the decline of his super human skills and the announcement of the BALCO scandal. I appreciate that this is not going to be received favorably by some Jones fanatics, but in my opinion, you have to search through Jones' career a little bit harder to find the same quality of opposition that Tito more regularly tested himself with. I am aware that Jones defeated Toney and Hopkins, and I have enjoyed watching Jones fight, but does all this mean the prediction is any easier?
It's often said that boxing is a game of physical psychology, and if that's true then the amount of beatings a fighter has worn surely goes a long way toward defining not just his mindset, but also lifespan at the top. To my knowledge, Tito has worn the least punishment in those fights where his hand hasn't been raised at the end. Furthermore, I get the feeling that Jones is slightly underestimating Trinidad in this fight, perhaps banking on the perceived speed and weight advantage that Jones sees himself possessing.
Looking at how Jones has been hit easily in recent fights whilst his right hand was down, Jones' chin won't want to stray too close to any Trinidad left hook in my opinion. Likewise, Tito surely will hope that Jones doesn't come in as refreshed and invigorated as Jones states will be the case now that he has "recovered" from the "weight" of years gone by as claimed.
With all that said, going on past performances and in consideration of the fact that Jones didn't KO Anthony Hanshaw or Prince (whatever his last name was) in his last two fights, it becomes pretty clear that if Felix Trinidad comes into the fight in similar condition to that with which he faced Wright, he should not be getting knocked out by Jones.
JC Casarez — Roy Jones Jr. wins by TKO. I expect Roy's speed to present too many problems for Trinidad early. Sure, Trinidad can punch but while Jones may not be the same fighter he was pound-for-pound years ago, he's remained somewhat active and that will definitely become a telling factor. Look for Roy to get a stoppage mid-fight as the smaller Trinidad plays catch up and shows signs of ring rust from being retired for almost three years.
Patrick Connor — This matchup would've been much more interesting had Trinidad defeated Hopkins in 2001, but both still have just a hint of what made them great and both certainly have their names. As to the fight itself though, even six-plus years later, Roy Jones is probably still much quicker than Trinidad and Tito still probably has that punching power. Look for a few iffy moments for Roy early on leading to a boring decision most people wished they hadn't paid for.
Rick Reeno — It's hard to back Trinidad in this fight. The biggest question mark in the fight is Trinidad. Does he have enough punching power to make it competitive at 170? Does he have anything left after a near three-year layoff?
If he actually has some pop at 170, he stands a decent chance of winning — if he makes it past six rounds. Most are judging Trinidad's punching power by his brief stint at 160 pounds. He was able to blow away smaller middleweights like Joppy and Cherifi, but his power had little to no effect on Winky Wright and Bernard Hopkins. It's not really fair to judge his power at middleweight based on Wright and Hopkins, who possess two of the better chins in the sport. In reality, Trinidad's two losses were against two of the better technical fighters of our era and both were in their prime.
Jones was very hittable in his last fight with Hanshaw. The defense was gone. According to CompuBox, Hanshaw was able to land more punches on Jones than any previous opponent in the 29 fights involving Jones that they covered. Jones was never one to throw a lot of punches in a fight, but he still appeared to be tired down the stretch against Hanshaw. Even when he dropped Hanshaw and got him in trouble in the eleventh, he was too tired to finish him off.
In my opinion, Trinidad has faster hands than Hanshaw. If Trinidad connects big and Jones eats the punch without flinching, the fight is officially over for the Puerto Rican superstar. If he connects and Jones buckles, expect a close fight down the stretch with Jones going into a shell and using his skills and quicker feet to win a "boxing" contest.
I just don't think Jones is that far gone where a fighter like Trinidad is able to come out of retirement after nearly three years on the bench and beat him. This is the last shot for both of them. The winner, as crazy as it sounds, will be in position for a sizable payday against Bernard Hopkins, Joe Calzaghe or maybe someone else at 168 or 175. After the smoke clears, I expect Jones to overwhelm Trinidad to the point where some people will actually think he's back.
Source:http://msn.foxsports.com
Runaway Jury
RUNAWAY JURY If you liked John Grisham's novel, be warned: This 2003 movie adaptation is about guns instead of cigarettes; the defendant was a tobacco company in the book. Try to pretend you didn't read the book and give the movie its due. It benefits from an especially strong cast, including Dustin Hoffman and Gene Hackman as professionals working opposite sides of a trial. Both are concerned about one juror (John Cusack) with an agenda. (CC) (2 hrs.) (7 p.m. Ch. 11)
Source:http://www.dallasnews.com
Source:http://www.dallasnews.com
south carolina exit polls
It's a tight race in South Carolina, with McCain and Huckabee competing for first place. A couple of observations...
First, we know that the Republican base turned out in large numbers -- more so that eight years ago when George W. Bush won the state. As for independents, they make up about 19% this year. Compare that to 2000 when independents made up 30% of the electorate.
We're seeing a large turnout of evangelicals -- 58%. Huckabee courted this group and today they gave him 41%; however, McCain received 27% and Romney 11%. A sizeable advantage for Huckabee, but not the same that we saw in Iowa.
As in every contest this year, voters in South Carolina want someone who shares their values. Forty-two percent said this; 23% think that experience matters. Among the voters that said experience matters, McCain gets a large majority: 67% to Romney's 24%. Huckabee gets a meager 2%.
Lastly, voters in South Carolina say that John McCain is the best person to beat the Democratic nominee: McCain 41%, Huckabee 22%, Romney 20%.
Source:http://firstread.msnbc.msn.com
First, we know that the Republican base turned out in large numbers -- more so that eight years ago when George W. Bush won the state. As for independents, they make up about 19% this year. Compare that to 2000 when independents made up 30% of the electorate.
We're seeing a large turnout of evangelicals -- 58%. Huckabee courted this group and today they gave him 41%; however, McCain received 27% and Romney 11%. A sizeable advantage for Huckabee, but not the same that we saw in Iowa.
As in every contest this year, voters in South Carolina want someone who shares their values. Forty-two percent said this; 23% think that experience matters. Among the voters that said experience matters, McCain gets a large majority: 67% to Romney's 24%. Huckabee gets a meager 2%.
Lastly, voters in South Carolina say that John McCain is the best person to beat the Democratic nominee: McCain 41%, Huckabee 22%, Romney 20%.
Source:http://firstread.msnbc.msn.com
All-American Lowery to compete in East-West Shrine Game today
San Jose State's All-American cornerback Dwight Lowery has one final game to wow NFL scouts.
The former Soquel High and Cabrillo College star will compete today in the 83rd annual East-West Shrine Game in Houston today.
Kickoff is at 4 p.m. The game will be televised nationally on ESPN2.
"He's the best finisher on a ball I've ever coached," said Spartans assistant Keith Burns, who has coached several professional defensive backs, including Jason Sehorn. "Sure, I've coached guys with more speed, and better athletes -- Sehorn could 360 dunk and played nine years in the NFL -- but if it's Dwight Lowery and the receiver, Dwight Lowery wins. To me, it's one thing -- does the other guy catch it?"
Lowery, a 6-foot-1, 185-pound senior, is expected to be picked in the first three rounds of the 2008 NFL Draft in New York City on April 26 and 27, according to several online draft analysts.
Lowery was occupied with bowl game festivities Friday night and was unavailable for comment.
On Nov. 29, Lowery was honored by the American Football Coaches Association for a second straight year. He's the first player in SJSU history to be honored twice as a first-team All-American.
He finished with 13 interceptions in 25 games with the Spartans in two seasons.
Last season, he made four interceptions, seven pass breakups and 44 tackles for the Spartans [5-7 overall].
His biggest game in 2007 came in a 42-35 overtime loss against nationally ranked Hawaii on Oct. 12. He scored two touchdowns, returning a punt 84 yards in the second quarter and an interception 24 yards in the third quarter.
"I feel like I'm capable of doing that week in and out," Lowery said in November. "It's my expectation of how I need and want to play."
Lowery executed a school-record and national co-leading nine interceptions in 2006, when the Spartans won the New Mexico Bowl. He was given first-team All-American honors by the AFCA and Football Writers of America Association, and third-team honors by The Associated Press.
Before signing with San Jose State, Lowery made 13 picks in 15 games at Cabrillo College under then-coach Steve Cox.
Denver Broncos linebacker Jordan Beck, formerly of San Lorenzo Valley High and Cal Poly San Luis Obispo, was the last player from Santa Cruz County to play in the East-West Shrine Game. Beck competed in 2005, when the contest was held in San Francisco. He was later selected in the third round of the NFL draft by the Atlanta Falcons.
Source:http://www.santacruzsentinel.com
The former Soquel High and Cabrillo College star will compete today in the 83rd annual East-West Shrine Game in Houston today.
Kickoff is at 4 p.m. The game will be televised nationally on ESPN2.
"He's the best finisher on a ball I've ever coached," said Spartans assistant Keith Burns, who has coached several professional defensive backs, including Jason Sehorn. "Sure, I've coached guys with more speed, and better athletes -- Sehorn could 360 dunk and played nine years in the NFL -- but if it's Dwight Lowery and the receiver, Dwight Lowery wins. To me, it's one thing -- does the other guy catch it?"
Lowery, a 6-foot-1, 185-pound senior, is expected to be picked in the first three rounds of the 2008 NFL Draft in New York City on April 26 and 27, according to several online draft analysts.
Lowery was occupied with bowl game festivities Friday night and was unavailable for comment.
On Nov. 29, Lowery was honored by the American Football Coaches Association for a second straight year. He's the first player in SJSU history to be honored twice as a first-team All-American.
He finished with 13 interceptions in 25 games with the Spartans in two seasons.
Last season, he made four interceptions, seven pass breakups and 44 tackles for the Spartans [5-7 overall].
His biggest game in 2007 came in a 42-35 overtime loss against nationally ranked Hawaii on Oct. 12. He scored two touchdowns, returning a punt 84 yards in the second quarter and an interception 24 yards in the third quarter.
"I feel like I'm capable of doing that week in and out," Lowery said in November. "It's my expectation of how I need and want to play."
Lowery executed a school-record and national co-leading nine interceptions in 2006, when the Spartans won the New Mexico Bowl. He was given first-team All-American honors by the AFCA and Football Writers of America Association, and third-team honors by The Associated Press.
Before signing with San Jose State, Lowery made 13 picks in 15 games at Cabrillo College under then-coach Steve Cox.
Denver Broncos linebacker Jordan Beck, formerly of San Lorenzo Valley High and Cal Poly San Luis Obispo, was the last player from Santa Cruz County to play in the East-West Shrine Game. Beck competed in 2005, when the contest was held in San Francisco. He was later selected in the third round of the NFL draft by the Atlanta Falcons.
Source:http://www.santacruzsentinel.com
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